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“It’s freezing out there! It’s freezing in here! Frostheim sucks!”
You giggled a little at Kaito’s outburst as you followed him into his room. The bleach blond tossed a somewhat sheepish glance over his shoulder at you as he set his bag down near the table.
“Ah, sorry. Probably you didn’t want to just hear me whine about it. Not as if complaining about the weather changes it,” he murmured, cheeks still rosy with what could easily be mistaken as just the cold.
You shook your head, taking your own seat across from him, opening your bag and setting it to your side. The study sessions–when the both of you could make them–seemed to be helping, and Kaito’s focus and determination at each session made a small swell of pride within your heart. “Hey, sometimes a little complaining is good to vent,” you concurred, then turned your gaze back to him with a gentle smile. “At least your room is a bit of an oasis to the cold.”
He scratched nervously beside his head and sat down. “I have to keep it at least a little warmer in here. Otherwise our study sessions would end up with our fingers turning blue.” He glared a pointed look towards where the thermostat was. “Even if I keep turning that thing up, though, pretty sure someone’s been flicking it back down.” His volume lowered a moment to a grumble. “You’d think Frostheim wouldn’t care about a heating bill.”
You stifled another chuckle, your hand politely covering your mouth before you nodded your head towards the windows. “At least the snow is a good view.”
Kaito nodded, turning from the waist to look where you had indicated. You heard him sigh softly. The grounds that could be seen from his window near blindingly sparkled with the fresh snow, the color of the sky almost fuzzy with the day’s peaceful winter display. Trees glimmered in the setting light of the sun with the same sprinklings of frost that clung stubbornly to the edges of the windows’ panes. “Yeah. I definitely like looking at it more than walking in it.”
After watching the snow continuing to fall for a beat, you took a deep breath and turned your textbook to the page you were working on, reaching thoughtfully towards a pencil. “I can agree with that. I don’t look forward to trudging back through the stuff. Maybe I can crash here, if it’s not imposing?”
When you looked back up at Kaito, he had turned back to you but appeared to be in suspended animation, his teal eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
“Kaito?” you asked.
He didn’t even blink.
“Hey, Kaito? Are you okay?” you asked, a little louder this time.
The volume switch appeared to reboot Kaito, though the first thing to move was the color rushing to his face in a wave of deep red. “Y-yeah. You could… crash… h-here…”
In a wave of motion that nearly made you jump, Kaito pressed his palms down on the tabletop and pressed himself upwards to stand at attention. “HOT CHOCOLATE!” he announced suddenly. “I’LLGOMAKESOMEHOTCHOCOLATETOWARMUSUPBERIGHTBACK!”
As quickly as his words had babbled out of him, the ghoul had dashed away in a blur that would’ve given Haru’s bahnti competition.
His hands shook as he prepared the drinks for both of you, though the idea of you possibly staying in his room was at least making Frostheim’s chill tolerable; Kaito’s heart was beating so fast he thought he might faint, but the increased circulation warmed him right up. “Come on, Kaito, come on,” he coached himself. This isn’t a big deal. This shouldn’t be a big deal. Just relax. You can’t make them walk home in the snow! Of course there’s probably any other number of people willing to let them stay over. They could ask them.
Try as he might to bid them otherwise, images of the other Frostheim ghouls offering their rooms floated to the surface of his frantic thoughts.
No. No! They asked you! That’s good, right?
He forced himself to take a deep and slow breath, and then he slowly leaned around the corner of the entryway where you sat, now casually back to attending your own coursework.
You were too cute.
Naturally, that was why you had come here in the first place. You had been such an endlessly encouraging presence on the study sessions–Kaito had to stop himself for the millionth time thinking of it as a study date—that Kaito actually thought he might pass the test he was worried about. And then–
He had honestly thought it would be shrugged off as a joke when the idea had slipped out his lips: that if he passed, he might be rewarded with taking you out on a date.
A real date.
Just the two of you.
But you had surprised him by agreeing–and sincerely, at that. Of course, he would never think you to be the cruel type to have lied about your agreement, but… well, Kaito had the self-awareness to know that the small, doubtful inner voice that suggested you might be messing with him was just an aspect of his less-than-stellar self-esteem. But it still sucked, even if he knew, rationally, what it was.
He took another slow and deep breath to calm his nerves. It wasn’t even just the prospect of the date. Kaito really enjoyed spending time with you, even if it involved schoolwork. The way your eyes would sparkle when he got a question right, or the way you’d let him down gently when he more often got it wrong–
He was still pretty sure you were an actual, literal angel.
“Well, the nice kind anyway,” he reasoned quietly out loud, deciding he might pair the hot chocolate with a couple of muffins he had baked the other day. “...not the Biblically accurate kind with all the eyeballs.”
He hadn’t realized he was talking to himself until you called out towards him: “Kaito? Did you say something?”
“N-nothing! Be right out!” Way to go, birdbrain. Inner monologue is supposed to STAY inner.
He arranged his treats on a tray to carry back out, resolving to just keep things as they had been. After all, the study sessions were wonderful on their own, and if you stayed over, it wouldn’t be a big deal! It would just be practical! Because of the snow! Practicality was important!
Just be cool, Kaito. Just be cool.
If you heard the cups rattle slightly on the tray, you didn’t say anything, and you looked up at Kaito with a gloriously adorable smile that made the ghoul feel like his heart was melting into a puddle that rested comfortably in his chest.
Yeah. Maybe just this once… he could be cool.
ˋ°•*⁀➷♡
The hot chocolate was smooth, the muffins were perfectly crumbly, and Kaito’s attention to the schoolwork was impressive.
“Okay, so… Sea ghosts, Living ghosts, Child ghosts… uh…. Wandering spirits…” Kaito’s eyes clenched shut in concentration as he recited the list, counting off on his fingers. “Mother ghosts… vengeful spirits, and…and…ah, I always forget this one…Goryō!” He grinned as his eyes opened, and you clapped your hands together gleefully. “That’s all seven types of Yūrei!”
“Great! You got it!”
The freckled ghoul stretched his arms up with a distinct look of pride and fell backwards, lying on the floor with a thrilled “Yes!”
You made a little checkmark on the paper in front of you, face beaming with a grin of your own. “That should do it for today, I think.”
“Oooh, good,” Kaito drawled, still lying on the floor. “Because I think my brain is full. If I try to cram anything else in there, I might forget how to tie my shoes.”
You glanced up towards the window again. The sun had completely sunk now. The only thing visible against the black of night was the incessant snowfall, specks of white drifting with a seemingly preternatural glow down to earth. You sighed as you gathered your things together. “Though we might not even have all of our classes tomorrow,” you speculated. “I don’t know what Darkwick’s weather policy is, but I don’t think it’ll be easy for people to get out.”
You took out your phone to check messages–you and Kaito had agreed early on to put the phones aside while studying–and confirmed your suppositions with a nod. “Ah! Isn’t that just as well, Kaito? They cancelled classes. Snow day~”
When the blond didn’t respond, you set your phone down with a puzzled expression. “Kaito?”
You stood, immediately seeing why he hadn’t responded.
Arms still stretched out above him, Kaito was fast asleep right where he lay, the faintest snore starting.
He really was tired.
You crossed around the low table, kneeling beside him. He looked so relaxed and calm, smiling ever so slightly in his sleep. Not wanting to startle him, you softly placed a palm on his elbow and gently nudged him. “Kaito. Hey,” you breathed quietly. His lashes fluttered open, and his ocean-colored eyes settled on you with hazy focus. You couldn’t help smiling. “Don’t wanna sleep on the floor, do you?”
His bangs shifted a little as he shook his head side to side. “...No,” he agreed, voice low and drowsy. “Wouldn’t be…very comfortable.” He groaned softly as he tried to sit up, his eyes still not coming into focus. He was definitely exhausted.
You let your hand move down to rest on the floor beside him as he wavered sleepily in place for a beat. “No classes tomorrow. Called for snow.”
“Mm.” His eyes closed again, though his smile widened. “Cool.”
Once again, you found yourself laughing a little. “You never answered me earlier,” you pointed out, feeling your own cheeks redden a little at the request. “Is it okay if I stay the night?”
After a pause that made you think perhaps he had fallen back asleep while sitting up, Kaito reached blindly towards you. A small gasp fell from your lips as his hand found yours, his fingers wrapping around yours, warm and soft. You hadn’t even realized your fingers were so cold until that moment. “‘Course, Angel,” he mumbled sleepily.
Your heart fluttered in your chest. Angel? You shook your head, trying to push past the butterfly-soft tremble that inched through you. Nonetheless, you let your hand stay in his, maneuvering to slowly lace your fingers together. “Come on, Kaito,” you suggested, standing and trying to take him with you. He obediently stood up with another drowsy murmur. “Bedtime, Kaito. Come on.”
“Mmhm.” His eyes peeked open once again, his movements pliant as you walked him towards his bed. “Yeah. Seepy.”
It was almost too much. A part of you wanted to wake him up a little more, feeling somehow that his utterly… defenseless state was somehow something forbidden, that you were somehow sharing something decadent or even obscene, and yet…
You had definitely heard him call you “angel.” Obviously, he cared about you. And you certainly cared about him. Once upon a time, you had feared that this was just Kaito, that he was just wanting someone, anyone, and that idea hurt. You didn’t want to just be anyone, you wanted…
He had called you “angel.”
And angels were special.
Resolute now not to wake him, to let him sleep, you moved to remove his blazer for him as he sat on the edge of his bed. You remembered that he only had the one, and you didn’t want it to get wrinkled by sleeping in it. His tie was next, already loosened in his usual casual way, followed by his vest. Sleep-clouded, he moved with no resistance, those bright eyes of his trained, though unfocused, on you as you took each item and laid it neatly over the back of a nearby chair.
Turning back to him, your breath caught in your throat as he caught your hand once again in his. His eyes were closed again, a delicate smile on his bespeckled features.
Your heart fluttered again.
“Cold out,” he mumbled, the smile morphing into a slight frown. “Cold in here.”
You couldn’t resist smiling again; his groggy gestures were so soft and childlike, it felt sweet and light, like a dusting of powdered sugar. “Here. This is warmer,” you offered, lifting back his blankets for him.
Kaito swung his legs onto the bed and under the blankets gratefully.
He didn’t pull you in, not at all, but the ease with which you found yourself crawling under the blankets beside him was almost startling. His arms found their way around you, the motions both of you made as you nestled close seeming natural, instinctual. Kaito had been close to you on missions before. You had embraced before. It wasn’t as if this were the first time you had ever touched. Yet, this was different. He was so relaxed and calm now, the safety of sleep keeping his usual anxieties at bay.
His breathing slowed and steadied, and you allowed your eyes to close, allowed your own tensions and anxieties to melt away.
ˋ°•*⁀➷♡
He had never gotten used to the cold of Frostheim. He had never quite gotten comfortable with the too-large bed, with the too-pricey sheets; sheets that never even seemed to keep him warm. Even the crystalline tones of the walls seemed intentionally freezing. Sure, Kaito could check his own body temperature, and he was warm-blooded as any human, but Frostheim had always seemed to make the cold somehow deeper, somehow biting and bitter in his bones.
Until that morning.
The sun reflecting off the snow outside was enough to blind even the heaviest sleeper into consciousness. In some inexplicable way, sunshine on snow and ice still felt cold, in his opinion, but–
He wasn’t cold at all. When consciousness found him, Kaito at last felt warm. The ache of the bitter cold seemed to have finally, blessedly toasted out from his very soul, and he was warm.
When he realized why, it was a wonder he didn’t immediately pass back out.
That so-bright morning light haloed around your sleeping form, and if Kaito hadn’t already thought of you as a divine being, he would have now. Wrapped in his arms, nestled close and dozing softly, you seemed to have an ethereal glow about you. It was only a testament to how comfortable his sleep had been that he didn’t tense every last muscle in his body, and a testament to how desperately he didn’t want to disturb you that he maintained his composure as well as he did.
You stirred a little in your sleep, and the blond shifted only to wrap more blanket around you. Shyly, so softly that it might have been a dream, he brushed a stray lock of hair behind your ear.
It was a snow day. All of Darkwick was frozen, Frostheim was frozen even within, but here… here the both of you were warm.
Kaito closed his eyes.
He’d save his freak out for later.
ˋ°•*⁀➷♡