Manhattan, New York
December 31st, 11:53PMFifteen-year-old Uesugi Eiri stood huddled between his tutor and his sister's friend, wishing he had worn a heavier coat and gloves like Tohma had suggested. How was he supposed to have known the temperature would drop twenty degrees around midnight when such a light coat had been perfectly acceptable earlier in the day? Regardless, he had to grin and bear it because if either one of them noticed—
"Eiri-kun," said Tohma. He was always the first to notice. "You're cold, aren't you?"
"N-No," said Eiri as he pulled his coat tighter around himself. "I'm fine."
Tohma stared down at him with a disapproving gaze before he started to remove his coat. Kitazawa, however, was faster and he draped his own winter coat around Eiri's shoulders with a satisfied smile.
"Better?" Kitazawa asked and Eiri slowly nodded.
Tohma glared at the tutor, continued to remove his coat and draped it on top of Kitazawa's. "My coat is warmer."
"Your coat looks ridiculous," said Kitazawa with a roll of his eyes. "Eiri-kun shouldn't have to look like he's wearing a dead animal."
"Eiri-kun shouldn't have to look like a sumo wrestler with that big cotton coat of yours!"
"Um…." Eiri looked between Tohma and Kitazawa, wishing that for once in their lives they would quit arguing. Somehow, it seemed like such a wish would not be coming true, even for New Years. If Eiri hadn't been standing between them, the two older men would probably be trying to strangle one another.
Eiri sighed and shifted uncomfortably. Tohma's gaze was locked on Eiri's hands and the competitive gleam in his eyes was a little frightening. Without a word, Tohma removed his gloves, took Eiri's hands into his own and started fitting them on.
"Here," said Tohma in the gentle tone of voice he reserved only for Eiri. "You can wear my gloves."
"A-Ah. Thank you, Tohma," said Eiri.
"You bastard," shouted Kitazawa and pointed at Tohma as though he were stealing candy from a baby. "You know I'm not wearing gloves!"
"You should have thought ahead," gloated Tohma. With a grin, he removed his bowler hat and plopped it onto Eiri's head. Well, the blond certainly was warm now, but he would have rather been cold than see his two closest friends argue over him like this.
"Please stop fighting!" Eiri stared up at them with a flustered expression. After a moment, Tohma and Kitazawa glanced at each other before crossing their arms and turning away from one another. "Thank you."
The temporary pact of friendship was broken a minute later when Kitazawa visibly shuddered. Tohma grinned at him while Kitazawa glared.
"Cold, Kitazawa-san? If you'd like, I can remove my sweater and let you wear it."
"That won't be necessary," said Kitazawa and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "It's understandable, though."
"What's understandable?" asked Tohma, his tone suspicious.
"Your act of kindness toward Eiri-kun wasn't nearly as humble as mine."
"It was perfectly humble! Besides, I was the one who noticed first!"
"Yes, but you're dressed warmer than I am! Removing my coat for Eiri-kun was more selfless than you doing it because my clothing is lighter!"
"Your clothing is only lighter because you were too stupid to check the weather forecast! Then you convinced Eiri-kun to wear light clothing, too, and now he's freezing!"
"No!" Eiri interjected. "I'm fine! Really!"
The two 'adults' were seething again but neither of them seemed intent on ruining Eiri's first New Years Eve in Times Square. The three of them stood silently in the bitter cold winds of December, waiting for the countdown again.
Kitazawa was the one who broke the silence this time.
"You know," he said. "It's tradition that you share a kiss at midnight on this day with a person you care most about."
"Really?" Eiri titled his head as he looked up at Kitazawa with a curious expression.
"Yes," continued Kitazawa. "We shouldn't break tradition!"
"Kitazawa-san!" Tohma's tone of voice suddenly sounded murderous. He stood rigidly, glaring at Kitazawa in a way that, if looks could kill, would have murdered him at least a hundred times. "You're not stealing the virginity of Eiri-kun's mouth!"
"Pervert!" Kitazawa shouted. "I was talking about his cheek! Get your mind out of the gutter, Seguchi!"
"Please stop fighting, you two."
This time, however, Eiri's plea went ignored.
"My mind doesn't need to be in the gutter to pick up on what you're getting at, Kitazawa-san!"
"You only think that way because you're the one who wants to capture Eiri's lips at midnight!"
"Sensei! Tohma! Please get along! Just for tonight….!"
The two men quieted once more, but the tension in the air was palpable. Eiri sighed in relief and looked up at the huge ball that would be dropping any second. Tonight was definitely a night he'd remember for the rest of his life. It would be perfect if the three of them were smiling and getting along at midnight.
"Look, Eiri-kun," said Tohma and pointed toward the ball. "It's going to drop soon."
As usual, Tohma was right; a few seconds later the New Years Eve ball began its descent and millions of voices started the countdown. Eiri joined in as well and the excitement grew in his chest.
At forty-eight seconds, Tohma's hand was on Eiri's shoulder.
At thirty-six seconds, Kitazawa's hand was on Eiri's other shoulder.
At twenty-two seconds, Tohma turned toward Eiri.
At twelve seconds, Kitazawa turned toward Eiri as well.
At six seconds, Tohma's face was inches away from Eiri's cheek.
At three seconds, so was Kitazawa's.
At midnight, Tohma and Kitazawa both leaned in to kiss Eiri's cheek. Not wanting them to argue over him anymore, Eiri stepped back. It was easier that way—not being forced to choose just one of them.
Tohma noticed Eiri stepping away and stopped leaning forward. Kitazawa, however, had closed his eyes and only noticed it wasn't Eiri's cheek he was kissing until his lips were pressed against Tohma's.
Eiri stared up at them and suddenly regretted taking a step back. Judging by the angry expressions on both of their faces, it hadn't been the best decision to make. The two men stood there, frozen in the half-crouched positions they had used to be at level with Eiri's cheeks.
Kitazawa pulled back first, then grabbed Tohma by his sweater and shook him before shouting, "What the hell were you trying to do?!"
"You're the one who leaned forward, you idiot!"
"You shouldn't have had your mouth so close to Eiri!"
Tohma huffed and pried Kitazawa's hand off his sweater. "You're his teacher, not his friend! It's inappropriate to give him a New Years kiss!"
"Shut up! He's closer to my age than he is to yours!"
Eiri sighed heavily and glanced aside. They would argue until the end of time, wouldn't they? Tohma didn't understand that Kitazawa really was his friend. Kitazawa was the one who inspired him to be an author and the one who made him laugh the most. At the same time, Kitazawa didn't understand that Tohma always went out of his way for him; Tohma rescued him from Japan and the sneering faces of the boys and girls who claimed he wasn't Japanese enough. Plus, he was good friends with Mika-rin, and that was saying something.
Both Tohma and Kitazawa were very good to him. Perhaps, Eiri wondered, the reason they didn't get along was because they were so similar. They were both eager to do anything for him, even strip off their coats in below-freezing weather to keep him warm. To him, they were both like kind fathers.
"I'll have to brush my teeth six times a day just to get rid of your foul taste, Kitazawa-san!"
"You? I'm the victim!"
"You guys!" shouted Eiri. "Please don't argue anymore. It's a brand new year and it shouldn't start off so poorly, right? Why not save the fighting for tomorrow—or even better, make your New Years resolution to get along better with each other."
Kitazawa crossed his arms over his chest and stared Tohma down. "I will if he does."
Tohma mimicked Kitazawa's stance. "Then I will if he does."
"Good," said Eiri. He reached up and grabbed Tohma's hand and then grabbed Kitazawa's. "Tohma, let's make sure Sensei gets back to his apartment safely, okay?"
"Okay," said Tohma. "You're probably right, Eiri-kun. Kitazawa-san needs two bodyguards to make it back home."
"You prick!"
Eiri pulled them along in the direction of Kitazawa's apartment, even though he knew the two of them would argue the whole way there.
Although the celebration had been fun, the relationship between Tohma and Kitazawa was as sour as ever.