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December was always a rough month for the survivors of the Blue Night. Misumi still had nightmares of that day—he didn't know anyone who had lived through it for whom that wasn't the case—and they were only amplified further as the cold weather took another downturn. The harsh sting in the air brought up all sorts of unpleasant memories, none of which never really left his mind, but the longer he went without proper sleep, the harder they were to bear.
Shirou somehow made it look easy. Of course, the way he was letting the kids walk all over him undoubtedly had something to do with it.
"C'mon, Dad! Pleeeeeeease?"
With Rin holding steadfast to Shirou's right leg and Yukio clinging to his left, Shirou had to drag his feet to move. Not that he seemed to be trying so hard, groaning dramatically through the strain.
"You already had your sweets! No more!"
"Pleeeeaase!!" the boys chorused.
In the end, Shirou relented, handing out the pair of caramels they had been after. They were thick and chewy, homemade by kind parishes that had wanted to drop off a bit of kindness at their doorstep. The boys' cheered loudly as they received them and then they went running off at once as if afraid Shirou would change his mind afterwards.
"Sheesh. Just where do they get all that energy?"
There was a smile peeking around his lips even as Shirou shook his head. It dragged a chuckle out of Misumi, warm enough to chase away the persistent chill seeping through the cracks of the windows.
"Well, the sugar, for one, certainly won't help," Misumi pointed out as he finished drying the dishes that Izumi had washed earlier. The steady clack of the porcelain as he stacked them up was a muted echo that pressed against the empty spaces of the kitchen.
Shirou cracked a smile that made the circles under his eyes practically vanish. "True enough," he said ruefully, scratching the side of his cheek. "Guess we'll be staying up late at this rate. My bad."
Misumi waved away the apology, shrugging one shoulder. "It's the others that you'll want to watch out. They won't be happy when they realize what you've signed them up for," he said wryly, shaking his head.
"The others, huh?" Shirou let out a hum. "That mean you stepping out?"
Misumi made an affirmative noise, low in his throat. There was no need to elaborate where. They had each chosen their own means to chase away their demons. For Shirou, it was raising the kids that the woman he had loved had entrusted to him. For Misumi, it was creating a weapon that would subdue the evil that would one day return to haunt them from beyond their nightmares.
"Well, in that case..." In a few strides, Shirou was at Misumi's side, retrieving another handful of neatly wrapped caramels out of his pockets. He pressed them into Misumi's hand as soon as it was unoccupied, and Misumi blinked down at them in bemusement.
"Here. Take some with you," Shirou said simply. "In case you need a little extra something to keep you awake."
For a moment, Misumi's words failed him, and all he could do was watch Shirou step back wearing one of those easy smiles that Misumi could have never imagined on him back in those awful days of their early acquaintanceship.
"Thanks," he said belatedly, curling his fingers hesitantly around the small treats.
"Nah," Shirou waved a hand carelessly, turning towards the exit, "It's nothing," he said. "We've got plenty to share anyway."
He slipped out of the refectory with those words, and for hours later, Misumi couldn't help but to think back to that moment. Whenever he stepped into the eerier halls of the place where he had committed the worst of his sins, his heart always felt like a sore spot, one that only grew worse with age—but tonight, he felt a little less flayed. It must have shown on his face too because it caught Neuhaus' attention enough for him to comment on it.
"Did something happen?"
Although it was spoken behind the wall of polite veneer, a lingering curiosity was present in Neuhaus' demeanor, etched among the haggard expression on his face. Looking at him, Misumi had no doubt that the man hadn't gotten a lick of rest in recent days, and the sight of the disembodied hands that were his familiars working in the background to get them another serving of coffee had Misumi reaching for the treats he had brought with him.
"It's nothing really. Just received something sweet. Say, would you like some?"
The clinically cold air within Section 13 was stale and suffocating to endure on any given day, and although the caramels that he shared with Neuhaus didn't chase any of it away, the sweet taste that stayed with them even after the last of the sugar finished melting on their tongues did make it easier to bear through.