I originally meant to post this on Father's Day but I couldn't control myself any longer lmao.

Devotion

Hiyori had made the shrine for him months ago, but he just couldn't help himself from admiring it every time that he was near it. Yukine was busy reading at the moment anyway, so it's not like he had anything more important to do.

Yato rested his hand over the uneven roof and used the other to pull the shrine closer to him, a wide grin taking over his face as he stared at his name carved onto the small plaque. It wasn't flawless by any means, but neither was he, and she had worked so hard on it. It was perfect, and literally a dream come true.

He was well on his way to becoming a god of fortune, all thanks to Hiyori's encouragement and Yukine's dedication.

His grin turning into a soft smile, he glanced upward to look at his hafuri. At some point while Yato was admiring his shrine, the blonde boy had fallen asleep; his book wobbling back and forth as his hands started to relax and fell into his lap. He had to laugh, especially after he spotted a small contented smile on the boy's face.

Yukine had been a brat at first—hell, he could still be a brat, but he turned out to be everything Yato ever needed in a shinki. As Sekki he was perfect; a long blade perfect for his combat style, and their compatibility only increased when he became two separate blades after the clash with Bishamon. As a person and a guidepost, he was constantly pushing Yato harder and motivating him to do better. Sure, they had some disagreements here and there, but they shared just as many laughs now.

Most of all, Yukine had stayed even when he finally divulged the secrets of his past. The part of his life he had intended to keep locked away from everyone, especially Yukine and Hiyori, for fear that they would no longer see him in the same way. They'd become too important to him that he couldn't bear the thought of losing him, but their involvement in saving him from Yomi left him no other choice; he couldn't avoid it anymore.

Yukine's reaction had been even more surprising when Yato later revealed that secret part of his life had continued into the present. Even though he couldn't hide the shock on his face, Yukine still moved to his side and reassured him that he would guide Yato to be the kind of god he wanted to be.

And somehow, on top of all of his otherworldly duties, he still tried his best to be a normal kid; studying with Hiyori, taking on part time jobs, and doing chores around the house for Daikoku and Kofuku.

He was amazing in literally almost every way, and that almost broke Yato's heart on a regular basis. He tried not to think on them too often, but the memories he had witnessed when he had named Yukine made his blood boil and his eyes well with tears. He didn't deserve any of that—he didn't deserve to lose his life at such a young age. Not that any one of his or any other god's shinki deserved to die, but Yukine's story in particular shook him to the very core.

Still, Yukine's dark past was one of the things that drew Yato to him in the first place, so he supposed he had to be grateful. He could relate all too well to the boy because of the constant abuse from his own father, growing up and even now.

His methodologies had changed, but the end result was the same; Yato was terrified of him. It was the reason why he absolutely refused to let Yukine go, even when he was on the verge of death from his stings.

And now it was one of the reasons why he was trying so hard to break away from his father and Nora.

From the start, Yato hadn't been the best father figure, guardian, or even master. But he tried. He got him clothes and what little scraps of food he could manage before asking Hiyori and later Kofuku and Daikoku for help. He complimented and praised him when he did well.

But he wasn't very patient and despite the fact he could see Yukine falling apart in front of him, he did little to help. He used the excuse that he wanted to purposely let the situation get worse so Yukine would learn from it, but the truth was he just didn't know how to handle it. With Hiyori's intervention in the ablution and advice from others, he finally managed to start building a much stronger bond.

And considering how Yukine put his life on the line to protect him and stuck by his side ever since, despite his continued fuck ups, he supposed he had to have done something right along the way.

"Yukineeeee." Yato wiggled across the floor and called his name in a loud whisper, "Wake up!"

The boy scrunched up his face and let out a small groan before peeking open one of his eyes, "What?"

"I think you're hitting the books a little too hard." He nodded towards the book in his regalia's lap, "Maybe you should call a quits for the rest of the day."

Yukine shook his head to wake himself up and quickly defended, "No way, Hiyori's going to test me the day after tomorrow! And the only reason I'm tired is because you're constantly talking in your sleep and keeping me up." He sat up straighter and pulled his book back up to his face.

Yato let out a huff of air, "What do you say we take the day off after your test, then? You need to take a break with something. You've got too much going on."

"You're just using it as an excuse for you to be lazy." The blonde glared over the top of his book.

"Nuh uh! I'm serious. We'll do whatever you wanna do." He sat up and moved to Yukine's side, blinking his eyes and pouting, "C'mon, please!"

He lowered his book ever so slightly, asking in a low voice, "Seriously?"

Yato nodded eagerly, "One hundred percent!"

Yukine let out a small sigh and closed his book, relenting, "Okay."

"Yayyyy!" The god immediately collected his hafuri into his arms and hugged him tightly, ignoring the cringe on the boy's face, "It's going to be the best father/son day ever!"

"Waaahhh!" He immediately let out a loud yell as Yato entangled himself around his torso. Twisting his body and pushing the god's arms at full force, he yelled, "Get off of me! This is exactly why I avoid saying stuff like this to you. Don't you think I suffer enough of your sweaty hands when we're fighting phantoms!?" With a final strong shove, he finally managed to push him off.

Yato held his hands together and commented in an adoring tone, "So you don't mind me calling you my kid after all. Just my hands; which, by the way, is a medical condition."

Yukine flushed, "You named me so I guess I'm stuck with whatever you want to call me, to be honest. But by the same token, I can still call you Drippy."

"Don't be mean to me!" The god clutched his chest and wiped his eyes dramatically, "I just offered you the day off, remember!?"

"Yeah." He lifted the book back up to his face and opened it, but Yato could see the small smile he hid behind it, "…Thanks."