Some kinda vague spoilers for chapter 55 & up. The cover art was created by Tumblr user xnatiix who was my partner for the Noragami Big Bang 2k16!
Anything
"Maybe we should have went to Takamagahara with Yukine-kun." Hiyori raised a hand to her forehead, pushing back her bangs while also blocking out the sunlight from her eyes, "It is really hot today…"
"Nah. I think he and Kazuma still need time alone to get reacquainted." Yato answered from her side and she turned her head to see that he was still looking up at the sky.
With a small smile, she nodded, "Yeah, you're right."
His eyes flickered towards hers, suggesting, "We could always cool down with some ice cream."
Hiyori blinked in thought, "Sure, that sounds nice." She sat up and started to reach for her wallet before she noticed Yato standing up in the corner of her eye, "Wait, don't you need money?"
"Nope, it's on me!" He called back loudly as he kept walking.
She tapped her fingers against the top of her wallet, curious, "Hmm..."
It wasn't unheard of for Yato to pay for something, but it usually meant that he had gotten the money from Kofuku or stolen it from Yukine. Or if it actually was his own money, he usually had some sort of motive. So when he returned and extended the ice cream out to her, she of course had to ask, "So what's the occasion?"
"Can't I just buy you ice cream?" He gave her a small glare.
She continued to watch him curiously and didn't say a word, absent-mindedly removing the wrapper from her ice cream as she waited.
Finally he gave in and sighed as he sat down next to her, "I wanted to thank you, okay?"
"For what?" Hiyori blinked and furrowed her brows, trying to rack her brain for anything she might have done recently.
Yato's cheeks and ears started to turn a soft shade of pink, his focus switching to unwrapping his ice cream rather than her, "For… everything."
"Everything?" She repeated slowly after she had taken a bite, looking up to watch him again. After he nodded sheepishly in response, she asked, "What do you mean?"
"Literally everything." He licked his ice cream idly, still avoiding her gaze, "You changed almost every aspect of my life, Hiyori." He rested his free hand against the side of his face, his expression partially hidden behind it and his fingertips pressed into his hair, "You're the reason why I'm able to have such a good relationship with Yukine after so many years of struggling with regalia. You're the one who built a shrine for me, the thing I dreamed about for so long. And you've been the one who's always encouraged me to better myself and made me truly believe I could become a God of Fortune. In fact, if it weren't for you, me and Yukine wouldn't even be here." His voice lowered and he took a breath, "And honestly, I could probably keep going. You've done so much for us; for me."
She flushed and looked away from him as well, her focus switching to a line of trees on the other side of the park, "You don't have to thank me for any of that. W-we're friends, right?" Her voice shook, "You always do your best to help me, too. Besides, everything you've accomplished and everything you're working towards—you've always been capable of doing those things. Yukine-kun and I just give you a little extra push here and there, that's all."
Yato sighed again and she spun back around to face him, her eyes meeting his ice blue ones full of concern as he started talking, "I figured you'd probably say something like that. And even if it's true, I still wanna thank you anyway." His eyes moved downward and he commented quietly, "Your ice cream's melting."
"Oh!" She jumped a bit in surprise, looking down to see a few drops making their way down the side of her hand, "Sorry…" She took a few small bites of the part that seemed to be melting the most, using a napkin to wipe her hand clean.
"Everyone always says that I try too hard… and considering how most of my plans backfire in my face, I guess they're right." He twirled the popsicle stick around, "Still, I thought it'd be pretty hard to screw up ice cream."
Hiyori smiled and let out a small laugh, "I think that their point was that you don't always have to do something big for it to mean a lot to someone."
"You didn't even want me to thank you, though." He gave a pout in response before continuing to lick his ice cream, "So it's not exactly like this is going well."
"Yato…" She lifted herself up and moved closer to him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound unappreciative." She let out her own sigh, "I guess I'm not so great at this, either."
He looked over at her curiously, his gaze softly washing over her.
"I do appreciate the thank you and the ice cream too. I just don't want you to think that you ever owe me anything." She took another small bite, hesitating at first to reach out to touch his arm but eventually letting herself do it, "Any time that we can just be together and have fun like this—that's enough of a thank you. You don't have to do anything special."
He had glanced down at his arm as she touched it, but now he was wide eyed and lost in thought as he let her words sink in.
"U-um." Hiyori pulled back her arm and his head snapped upwards as she sheepishly pointed out, "Your ice cream's melting too." She held her arm out in front of her and he saw the orange and white droplet on her skin.
"Sorry!" He extended his arm out and held it out over the grass, looking around rapidly to find another napkin.
Hiyori held up the same one she had used a few minutes ago, shaking her head with a small smile, "It's okay, don't worry about it."
He cautiously brought his ice cream back to his mouth, taking a few more bites until it was gone, "There. It won't be a problem anymore." He laid the popsicle stick on top of the wrapper and looked back at her timidly, a blush starting to return to his face, "Did you really mean that, Hiyori?"
"O-of course." She gave a nod but her eyes only flickered towards his for a moment before she found herself looking back at the ground. As an excuse to not talk, she quickly returned to eating her ice cream.
Yato continued to watch her curiously without a single word as she ate, his hands folded neatly in his lap.
She eventually caught on, and her throat got tighter with every glance that she stole when she realized he wasn't going to look away. Finally she put the popsicle stick on top her wrapper as well, her voice nervous as she started, "I'm finished too. Do you want to head back to Kofuku-san's now?" She fanned her face with her hand, pretending as if the heat was the reason why she was starting to get red again, "I'm not sure how much longer I can last out here."
He blinked and tilted his head, "Why're you so nervous around me lately?"
She froze and felt the dread move through her body, "Huh?"
"It seems like anytime we're by ourselves, you always hit a point where you find an excuse to either go home or to go somewhere else where we'll meet up with someone." He gave a small pout, "So I was just wondering why."
She had a few reasons to blame; Fujisaki's question about her being in love with Yato, Kofuku tying their plaques together, dealing with the possibility of losing him as he engaged in a battle against heaven … and it seemed like the reasons kept piling on each day. The more she was around him, the more she couldn't deny how much he really meant to her.
"Y-you're imagining things." She grabbed his trash along with hers and stood up hastily, walking over to a trash can and disposing of their wrappers.
"No, you're just avoiding it." He jumped up and stood in front of her, blocking her path, "Can you please just tell me? If it's something that I'm doing, then I want to know so I can stop."
Hiyori quickly shook her head, "It's not like that, you're not doing anything."
"So what is it?" His face grew more concerned, "You said you would tell me anything that was on your mind, right?"
Her face fell as she remembered the first time he'd reminded her that she said that, when she'd ended up yelling at him that it was none of his business. She parted her lips and let out a little sigh, "I don't really know how to say it."
She hadn't really even admitted it to herself yet and the thought of saying it out loud, in front of him, was almost enough to make her faint. "Um… It is about you, but it's not a bad thing." She managed to squeak out, her voice barely above a whisper.
"But how could it not be a bad thing if you're avoiding me? Even though you just said that being together is what makes you happy?" Yato's shoulders fell and it was clear he was exasperated, "You're really confusing, Hiyori. I've told you that before. I want to believe you, but how can I when you constantly contradict what you say?"
"I-I'm sorry." She angled herself away from him and grasped her left arm tightly, embarrassed and angry at herself for causing him so much unnecessary pain, "I really don't mean to be that way." She took a breath, though she still stumbled on her words as she tried to explain, "I—I just…" Nothing sounded right. How could she say this?
"Just say it, whatever it is. Please." She heard his voice shift from frustration to sadness, "You don't have to sugarcoat it."
She whirled around and her heart dropped at the crushed expression on his face, "Yato, you're worrying over nothing. I promise you." She took a few steps forward, lingering in front of him.
His eyes watched her momentarily but eventually dropped back down, a small frown still on his lips.
Hiyori closed her eyes and exhaled before she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his back, causing him to gasp. She hugged him tightly but kept her eyes closed, afraid of whatever reality would bring when she did open them, "The only reason that I'm nervous around you is because I care about you—a lot." Her shoulders shook, embarrassing her more, as she endured the silence and tried to keep her eyes clamped shut.
She felt his arms first, reaching up to hold her gently while she felt like she was clinging on to him for dear life. Next she felt the pressure and warmth of his head lightly resting against hers, comforting enough that she loosened her grip on him and opened her eyes to blink a few times. She was completely enveloped in his smell that she loved so much and it was literally to the point where it was starting to become intoxicating as she breathed him in.
Eventually she tilted her head upward and met his eyes with curiosity, blinking a few times as she tried to clear the fog from her mind.
"Hey." He greeted with a sheepish smile.
She let out a small laugh, still in disbelief of her own actions as she answered, "Hi."
"Hiyori," He settled into her hair again, hiding his face as he reached behind her to run a hand through it, "Can I kiss you?" His fingers ghosted against her back for a moment before he went back to holding her waist, the pressure of his touch still very light against her skin.
Her breath caught in her throat and she gripped the back of his shirt. She knew what her answer would be, but the anticipation was already overwhelming and it took nearly all of her power to muster a tiny nod. Yato cupped the bottom of her chin and guided her upward, though she clamped her eyes shut again before he closed the distance between them completely. He barely brushed his lips against hers, but he tasted sweet and she could feel the vague stickiness of the left over ice cream.
She smiled against him and kissed him back, her hands wandering upwards to pull him closer. But no matter how close she pulled him or how much she tried to change their pace, he never deepened the kiss; he always maintained the same light pressure and kept his hands at her sides.
She pulled away, her breathing a little heavy as she gave him a frustrated stare, "So why are you nervous?"
"What are you talking about?" He blinked and furrowed his brows, almost pouting, but she knew it was an act.
"You're kissing me like you think you're going to hurt me, or like I'm going to disappear." She gripped his shoulders tightly as she spoke and he looked down at the ground shamefully in response. Her expression softening, she pressed her forehead against his and stared into his eyes, "Yato, I'm not going to forget you; I don't know how many times I have to say it. You and Yukine-kun both are always going to be a part of my life, no matter what happens."
He stared at her a moment, only closing his eyes when she tilted her head to capture his lips once again.
"I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever." She spoke against him, her words mumbled and soft but full of her devotion as she draped her arms around his neck, "Because I love you. As a friend, as a follower, as more than either of those things; I'll be whatever you need me to be as long as I can stay with you."
"Hiyori." His voice shook and he held onto her shoulders so that she couldn't interrupt him, though the rest of the words were lost on his lips and the only thing that he managed to say was her name.
When she looked up, his eyes were practically glowing as they looked at her. He was clearly shocked, but there was the smallest curve to his lips that let her know that he was okay. She just let him stare at her for a few moments before she finally gave a shy smile, teasing in a quiet voice, "So, do you love me too?"
His eyes widened and a look of surprise crossed his face before he shook his head, staring at her in disbelief, "Of course I love you. What kind of question is that?"
"You just looked a little lost for a minute." She continued to poke fun at him, starting to play with the ends of his hair.
He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, obviously debating his options for a response that he could snap back at her. However, her fingertips at the back of his neck became a clear distraction, which amused Hiyori to no end. Amidst the small giggles to herself at his struggle, Yato finally reached behind himself and flattened her hands against his neck, stopping their ticklish sensation.
Hiyori made her own pout this time, "You're no fun."
"I'm plenty of fun." He leaned forward and she watched him curiously, a smile taking over her face and her eyes closing as he got closer. She felt his breath against her lips as he continued, "I just don't like being teased."
"Well, that's basically what you were doing to me before since you were holding back—it's only fair." She answered back loudly, finishing her sentence just in time before Yato overtook her mouth in a much more forceful kiss than before.
His hand dropped from his neck and released hers, making its way across her arm and down her shoulder till he found her waist and angled her body closer to him. "Better?" He mumbled against her lips.
"Much better." She answered with a small laugh, thinking she could still taste the ice cream.