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Seishirou supposes he should have expected the late night knocking on his door to be Reo.
Who else would be knocking on a late, cold winter night? Although he doesn't expect the bitter mood rolling off his usually boisterous friend. It makes the air feel weird, almost like lightning is about to strike nearby. Still, he rubs his eye with the back of his hand and stifles a yawn. Must have been another fight within the Mikage household. It's really the only thing that makes sense.
Without a word, he opens the door wider to allow Reo into his (now kind of neat) one room apartment.
"You think we could have one holiday without my parents being assholes, right? No apparently that's too difficult." Reo thuds face first onto Seishirou's bed unceremoniously and lets loose the biggest sigh he's heard this week. And that's saying something since his primary form of communication was sighing. Everything else was just a bother.
"So... you aren't going home for the holiday then?"
Christmas is just a few days away after all. Not that it mattered; he just enjoyed having a little time off from school.
"Nah, not really feeling the holiday cheer thing anymore."
He doesn't reply, but he does lay on what little space Reo left on the bed for him. To be fair, the apartment is tiny. It's intended to fit just one person for sleeping purposes, the occasional meal, and maybe some study time at the little desk shoved under the window. And that's about it. Not that he studies anyway; the desk serves more as a stand to keep Choki the cactus close to the window. He needs to remember to water it tomorrow. Instead of setting an alarm in his phone to do so, he opens one of his games and starts to tap mindlessly on the screen and Reo reaches for one of his discarded manga to skim through.
Seishirou hasn't gone home for any of the holiday breaks which is probably why Reo doesn't ask if he is or not. Sometimes it seems like his parents forget he exists; he knows that they know he does, but they have such minimal contact that anything else would be too much effort. The only reason he's sure they remember is because he still has his apartment. He's… fine enough on his own anyway; he has Reo now. Reo who reminds him to eat, who helps carry him or his stuff around the school, who is a steady, warm, and originally kind of disruptive presence at the center of Seishirou's world. He doesn't realize his eyes are starting to burn from staring at the phone screen, or that his eyelids are starting to stay closed when he blinks. But he does feel the softness of the blanket (a gift from Reo when it started to get cold) as it's tossed over the both of them, and the warmth of the body next to his as he falls asleep.
In the morning, Reo drags him out for breakfast and they end up at a restaurant a train ride away, bundled up in scarves and gloves to keep out the snow chill. He's not sure when Reo's stuff appeared; maybe Gran brought it this morning? He looks a lot better than he did last night in the doorway, much brighter and more chipper.
"I'm going to stay with you this whole week," Reo announces but the way he says it comes across like its the most obvious thing in the world.
Seishirou expected it, honestly. His place was usually where they crashed when the Mikage house sucked.
" 'Kay," he mumbles, just to give a response.
"And since I'm staying with you this week, I'm going to decorate," Reo grins, coffee halfway to his mouth and purple eyes much less stormy than they were last night.
Seishirou glances up from where he's slumped on the table and blinks before going back to pushing the food around on his plate. He really isn't into holidays. Bad memories and loneliness always linger close by this time of year. "That seems like a lot of work…" he finally mutters, "do you have to?"
"I don't have to, but that's what makes it fun, right?"
"Fun?" He says it like a foreign concept.
Reo's hand ruffles his hair gently, fingertips massaging along his scalp. It makes Seishirou's eyes close; he likes the feeling if he's honest even though an odd, heavy feeling settles in his stomach. But the hand draws away sooner than he'd like and he opens his eyes back up to a bright smile as Reo leans on the table to look him in the eye.
"You don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of it, okay?"
He really does have Christmas handled. At least, it seems that way to Seishirou as they walk through the shopping center. Reo hands him a bag with what looks like paper lanterns and strands of lights and some kind of fake greenery poking out the top. It's a lot and he's already tired thinking about putting it all up and taking it down. But he accepts the bag with an inward sigh and slumps forward slightly. It isn't heavy but Reo has the other bags weighing his arms down; the least he can do is carry this one. Absently, he reaches over and takes another from Reo's grasp. He doesn't look, but he senses the quizzical glance sent his way and their hands touch for the briefest moment, knuckles brushing knuckles in silent thanks.
His stomach must be unsettled today because something feels like it turns again. Maybe he's getting sick; this feeling sure has been happening a lot lately. He decides to ignore it and yawns instead. He hears a soft hum next to him and Reo gently bumps him with his hip before nodding towards the exit, "Let's head home."
Over the next few days, Christmas takes shape before Seishirou's eyes.
They get back to the apartment after their shopping trip and Reo tosses their shopping bags in the main room. Seishirou still thinks it's too much but, if anything, he goes with the flow and does whatever Reo asks him to do. He starts by hanging small, soft white lights around the window. When they get plugged in, a few start to twinkle like little stars. Reo turns from where he's hanging up a few red paper lanterns and grins, approving the work.
They eat meals together, stay up late talking on the small bed. Their mornings are slow; Reo unhurriedly plays with his hair before getting up to make coffee and something to eat. There's one morning in particular that feels incredibly quiet. They woke up later than intended and he's got his arm wrapped around Reo to hold him close as he dozes. It happens as Reo wakes; Seishirou thinks he feels a kiss against his neck. He's completely still as he tries to figure out if what he felt was real or imagined but the magic breaks as Reo unburies himself and gets out of bed. He doesn't acknowledge if anything happened; Seishirou doesn't either, to be fair, but he keeps thinking about it. And he thinks about how much he wants it to be real.
Some mornings they curl up on the couch all day, Reo's legs resting in his lap. Others they eat and go for a short walk before playing a board game or video game. Reo breaks pattern and drags Seishirou down the street and together they carry back a very small tree. By some miracle, they get it to stand up by the window and they decorate it that night after dinner. Together they loop some of the extra lights around it and, on a whim, Seishirou hangs a few of the extra lanterns and other paper crafts on it. When he looks at Reo, he's giving him a look he's seen before but it feels… different. It's softer and more tender and he feels his stomach do that swoopy thing it's been doing.
"Looks really nice," Reo finally hums.
Even though he's talking about their tree, he's looking directly at Seishirou. His face feels warmer the longer they look at each other and he's so tempted to reach up and tuck that stray lock of hair behind Reo's ear. He gives into the temptation and his touch lingers at the side of Reo's head. Reo's skin colors softly, a flush crawling up his neck and into his cheeks.
"Yeah…" he agrees softly, "I think so too."
Something feels different on Christmas. Seishirou wakes alone in the bed which suddenly feels too spacious after days of being tangled up with Reo in it. He blinks and reaches up to rub the sleep from his eyes. There's a soft shuffling from the main room and he smells the rich, roasty smell of fresh coffee and something fresh baked. It smells sugary, maybe some cinnamon, and its enough to lure him out of bed. Reo is curled up on the couch with a book when Seishirou pokes his head out. There's fresh coffee cake on the small table and what looks like omelettes next to it. They eat and do this dishes together before curling back up on the couch for a blissful day of inactivity.
But instead of sitting on opposite sides of the couch, Reo leans back against Seishirou's chest and covers them both with a blanket before turning on a movie. It's comfortable, extremely so, and he finds himself tucking his nose into soft, purple hair. Breathing in, he catches the faint scent of something herby and fresh and not only does his stomach feel like it's in a free fall but his heart races in his chest. It feels like its trying to burst out of his chest so he breathes again. And again. And again until he feels more in control of himself. They stay curled up on the couch for dinner; fried chicken, coleslaw, and what he thinks is mac and cheese. He 's more excited about the strawberry cake that's sitting out on the counter, however, and busies his hands washing dishes while Reo cuts a few slices (he gives Seishirou the larger one).
They've made the couch their base of operations today and they once again find themselves there, curled up together. Only this time, Reo is practically seated in his lap. Seishirou wraps the blanket around them a little tighter. He's having a hard time paying attention to the movie they have on in the background. Instead he focuses on the way Reo feels pressed against him It's no different than how they spent the last few nights, but it feels like it is. The lights are dim except for the twinkling lights in the window and on the tree.
"Hey," Reo's voice is quiet, but there's a magnetism about it, "look at me for a sec?" Seishirou turns his head and blinks slowly because Reo's eyes sparkle. He's realizing what that weird feeling in his stomach is; attraction, adoration. It's a little scary putting a label on it.
Reo rests a hand on his cheek, thumb tracing his cheekbone, and Seishirou feels his breath catch in his chest. His gaze moves down slightly and lands on his lips. They look a little chapped which means they probably feel rough but they probably have a faint taste of the vanilla chapstick he put on earlier and—
Oh.
Oh…
This really is going to happen.
He watches those lips smile softly as he figures out what is going on and Seishirou immediately glances back to Reo's eyes.
"I'm going to kiss you now," Reo murmurs after a beat, leaning in a little closer, "if you're okay with it."
This makes everything real, and makes him feel nervous, but he wants him to. So he nods and waits. And waits. And waits… At first it feels like almost nothing, the faintest touch of their lips brushing and a warm breath against his skin. Until Reo kisses him more firmly and he does lose himself a little in the taste of vanilla and maybe some of the strawberry from the cake. He doesn't really process what's happening but he does chase him as he pulls away and kisses him again. Seishirou must be dizzy because the world seems to spin around them and suddenly his back is against the couch and he's looking up at Reo who's smiling at him.
"Was that my present?" He asks; he tries to keep his gaze from falling back to Reo's mouth.
"Mine too, I think," Reo hums, "been wanting to do that all week."
In this moment, Seishirou thinks back and everything strikes him with sharp clarity. All the times he felt that feeling in his stomach, unsettled and weirdly warm. Their hands brushing together, lazy mornings curled up in each others arms, seeing the way Reo looked at him… He liked him, liked him as more than a friend. And though he can't trace when exactly these feelings became what they are, he's happy he has them. Seishirou decides that kissing Reo feels like coming home.
Tugging Reo back down into another kiss, he closes his eyes as Reo's weight settles over him. Though not before he catches a glimpse of the little sprig of mistletoe hanging above their heads. He isn't sure when Reo hung it up but he didn't need it to begin with, did he?
All he needed was a little of that Christmas magic.