First Date Accomplished

by thisloveisradiant

"Saruhiko...Did you seriously just google 'what do normal people do on a date?"

Colourful balloons hang from the ceiling, red and green lines decorated the wall, and Christmas songs played loudly for hours on end. The restaurant had been extremely lively tonight, much to Yata's displeasure. Everyone was laughing and eating to their heart's content without a care in the world while he had to work his ass off. Life was so goddamned unfair sometimes.

"Ah, what the hell, I wanna meet him." At a time like this, it was kind of frustrating not being by that guy's side. They hadn't exactly had a nice holiday last year, so Yata wanted nothing but to ditch work and enjoy the festival with his…b-boyfriend.

Then again, Fushimi had to work on Christmas too, probably trying to catch a cunning criminal or a mad underground boss. Ever since the Slate had been destroyed, Scepter 4 had reorganized into a high-leveled police force which only dealt with the most difficult cases and leftover Strains. Good for them, yeah, but seriously, they were just a bunch of workaholic bastards.

"Yata-san, set 3 to table 1, set 5 to table 3!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." He grumbled back.

The restaurant was overflowed with pinkish aura - loving couples and happy family were everywhere. Yata knew it was childish of him to be jealous, but he couldn't help it. This kind of atmosphere made him miss Fushimi too bad.

Yata didn't really think much about difficult stuff like love, but when he saw the lovely-dovey couple holding hands at table 1, it suddenly occurred to him that he'd always loved Fushimi. The acknowledge of that realization shocked him still for a moment, and then bloomed into a bright smile dancing on his lips.

Even he himself was surprised by how far they went from the point where all of it had seemed to be the end. Yata still remembered it clearly. Fumbling in the chaos of Kings and powers and fucked-up missions, they had somehow made it through – shouting face-to-face, fighting back-to-back, making promises with a smile. And when the night had come, Fushimi had broken down in tears while telling him everything, repeating again and again, until Yata had finally understood. It had been messy, complicated, painful, but they had managed to claw their way out by sheer raw feelings. As the first light of the dawn had been born, they had shared a hug so tight that felt like glue pouring into the cracks of their souls and sticking all the broken pieces back together.

After that, it had been a wild adventure of figuring their relationship out. Fushimi wasn't exactly the best at dealing with emotional matter and Yata wasn't the calmest person on earth, so yeah, lots of stupid things had happened for them to reach where they stood now.

Yata chuckled at the memories. Sure, they had acted like fools sometimes, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, there was a small matter that concerned him… Just the thought of it made his smile went sour.

It had been more than four months and they hadn't done any typical couple stuff yet. Not a single one. Absolutely none. No date, no hug, no cuddle, no kiss, no nothing whatsoever. It wasn't like he didn't try his best, but one could only go so far with such an uncooperative partner. I swear to God, Saruhiko sure is one super tough don't-touch-me nut to crack,Yata bitterly thought, and to think we were so close back in middle school…What the heck.

W-well, but it wasn't like he wanted to try these embarrassing things anyway!

…

(…Except he totally did.)

Because, darn it, FOUR fucking months! And the best things he could work up to do were fist bumps, shoulder hugs and hands holdings, all last for like one minute! Fushimi didn't even try to initiate anything! Fuck! If their love confessions hadn't been so heartfelt, they would have the most unromantic love story ever!

"Your dishes, miss and mister." Yata put the food down with the fakest business smile ever, being too invested in his misery to be a professional waiter.

"Eh…thank." The girl glanced nervously at him, then scooted even closer to her boyfriend, to the point of practically sitting on his lap.

"Please enjoy your meal."Whatever, he totally didn't twitch his eyebrows. Nah, not at all. "Have a lovely holiday."

Thankfully, it was getting pretty late for dinner, so there were enough slow moments to have a break. Yata leaned back on the wall, exhaling slowly with closed eyes. He wondered what Fushimi was doing right now. Doing paperwork? Gathering Intel? Chasing lawbreakers through the streets? It was snowing outside, he hoped that careless guy should better wear the handmade scarf that he had prepared this morning. Though it did look a little too "red" for Fushimi's…working environment, since Yata secretly intended it to be a "back off blue pants, this man is mine" gift after all. (Fushimi didn't look like he minded, so why not?)

Just when did he turn this sappy? Ugh. This was all Fushimi's faults.

Also, the fact that Yata he had actually wanted a Christmas date didn't help improve his mood one bit. They should have gone watching a movie, eating out and maybe cuddling up a bit if Yata was brave enough, but no, Fushimi had to refuse with his infamous dead fish eyes – "Unlike you, I have important actual work to do."

It wouldn't take a genius to guess what happened next.

"Why do I have to fall for the most difficult, annoying, troublesome guy on earth? What terrible things had I done in my previous life?" Yata sighed, even though his tone came out more fond than irritated.

"Hehe." A silky whisper suddenly attacked his ears, making Yata jump at least an inch in surprise. "From what I see right now, you might as well have done great heroic deeds or so, Yata-san ~" His coworker, a cheerful 19-year-old boy, winked teasingly.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Because I am the kindest, the smartest, the single most wonderful hero in the world, I've decided to sacrifice myself on Christmas eve just to save your non-existent sex life. You should be grateful!" The boy nudged Yata's side playfully, giggling without an ounce of respect. At the same time, all the staff glanced at Yata with mischievous glee in their eyes and a lopsided smile.

"S-s-se-…! What the fuck! Have you gone crazy?" Yata could feel the heat climbed up his face despite his confusion. "What's ya'll laughing at!?"

"Oh, the fresh smell of the youth~"

"Go away Yata you make me feel so lonely my life sucks…"

"I'm so envious, Yata-san, you dog! That one scores a perfect 100 point right there!"

"You better bring some good pictures back!"

"Now, now, let our young man live his life, everyone." The restaurant's manager whistled from behind the counter. "Look out the window, Yata-chan."

"Wha-"

Standing quietly beside a street lamp across the road was a familiar thin figure in a blue coat. He looked reluctant, pouting and sulking and all, as if he was debating whether to cross the road or not. In his hand was a small bouquet of roses which he held the same way as he wielded a sword.

"Saruhiko!?" Yata rubbed his eyes before taking a second look. To say he was shocked was an understatement. "Why is he here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" His boss laughed, even went as far as scratched his chin like a dramatic evil mastermind. "The love of your life has come to pick you up for a date. I can't believe this day finally comes."

Neither do I, to be perfectly honest. The thought popped up in Yata's mind, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Everyone in the restaurant (included the customers, what the heck) literally dragged him to the front door, magically taking his apron off, putting his new nice coat on him, and combing his hair on the way. By the time Yata was pushed outside, he looked like he had just come out of a beauty salon.

"That was wild." Fushimi's dry voice rang right above his head. "Is it just me or your co-workers do get weirder and weirder after each time I come?"

"…It's probably just you. Why are you here? I thought you were working."

"…"

Yata stared at Fushimi who refused to meet his eyes. The scowl on Fushimi's face sunk deeper, the "don't look at me I'm regretting my life choice" kind of scowl. After some long awkward seconds, Yata got fed up with it. He was way too done with this shit over the past ten months.

"Spill it out already. Or do you need a punch?" It was their little deal. If Fushimi couldn't work up enough courage to say something emotional within fifteen seconds, Yata could literally beat it out of him. Needless to say, Fushimi had been punchedA LOT(though he did throw knives back in revenge every time). Yup, in short, their relationship was as violent as ever.

The sullen glance Fushimi gave was endearing, but Yata hit him in the stomach anyway.

"Tsk, fine. Job done, something happened, annoying captain said something, so here I am. This…is for you." Fushimi tossed the bouquet of roses in Yata's face, making damn sure to turn the most thorny side outward. The redhead caught it with a triumphant grin despite getting his fingers pricked - call him a lovesick fool, but hey, Fushimi of all people on earth was giving him roses.

"Your explanation is incredibly unhelpful. But thanks!" Yata laughed, too busy being happy to feel annoyed. The bouquet was simple but nicely arranged, making the roses and baby's breathes look like rubies on snow. What an amazing guy, even in the way he chose flowers.

"Hm. It's fine now, isn't it? Let's go." Fushimi mumbled, hands fidgeting in his coat's pockets as he took a few steps away from Yata's workplace. "They are still looking, what the heck. You should change job as soon as possible."

"Don't be rude. They are good guys. Well, most of the time, at least."

"Most of the time, you said…"

"As if you have the right to judge anyone. You practically hate the world, don't ya?"

"Not really…. The world doesn't seem so bad when you're with me."

Startled silence fell upon them, as Yata stared speechlessly at his partner, who was trying to walk ahead of him just a little faster. The sounds of their footsteps and relentlessly noises from passing vehicles were the only thing that distracted Yata from his own heartbeats.

"Saruhiko, you really do mean it?" By any means, Fushimi saying such words might as well equate normal people screaming wedding vows or something. If Yata didn't know better, he could trick himself into thinking Fushimi's reddened ears had nothing to do with the weather. A small"ding~" went off in his chest at the sight, and Yata wondered why on the earth he was this easily affected.

"I guess. When you don't act like a total moron, it's sort of bearable."

"Ah gzee, shut up! Why do you always go that way whenever you get the slightest hint of serious feelings?" Yata shot right back though his tone was filled with fond exasperation. By now, he more or less understood that there was love hidden in all of Fushimi's half-insults. "Where are we going, by the way? What's your grand plan for our date, hm?"

"Our what now?" Fushimi halted in the middle of the track, which made Yata oh so ungracefully bump into him like a toddler. "Whoa–!"They ended up stumbling a few steps until both fell down on top of each other. Yata's mouth collided with Fushimi's shoulder harshly, and the latter got his face in contact with the thick snow.

"Shit! S-Sorry! Ah, but it's your fault for stopping out of the blue!"

"…"

"Saru? Hey, are you okay?"

Cautiously, Yata turned the man underneath him around. He wasn't sure what he was expecting - angry scowl and killing threats, maybe - but Fushimi blushing all the way down his neck was definitely not on the list. It felt almost unreal, so Yata did the only thing seemed rational to him at that moment. That was, of course, to bring his face even closer to admire the lovely shade of red on Fushimi's normally pale face.

"Misaki?" Wavering blue eyes gazed up into Yata's own hazel ones, clearly startled by their sudden proximity. The breathy whisper ghosted over his cheeks in such a charming way that sent shivers down his spine. At the same time, Yata saw a small drop of blood swelled at the corner of Fushimi's lips where the porcelain skin was scratched, and with mind spiraling out of control he thought of nothing but the desire to kiss it better. Should he? This…was a right mood for a kiss, wasn't it?

Right then, Fushimi answered his unspoken question.

By kicking the shit out of him.

God. Fucking. Damn. It."Just what the hell is your problem, Saruhiko!?"

Fushimi stood up and furiously brushed any visible dirt or snow off his coat, irritated frown starting to replace the blush. "That's my line, idiot. You made me fall face first in the middle of the street and get covered in freezing snow, what problems I don't have? On top of that, you are fucking heavy, not to mention too close!"

Okay, that sounded kind of reasonable. Didn't mean that he deserved a kick, though… "Fine, I'm sorry." Yata collected himself, took a deep breath, and after a moment, he felt a little better. Just thinking that Fushimi actually came back and stayed with him this Christmas was enough to calm himself down, or at the very least, to resist the urge to do anything that the younger man didn't feel up to yet. "Just thought that I should seize the chance when I finally had enough courage."

"To shove me around?"

"No! To k-k-kiss you, of course, dumbass!"

Fushimi blinked.

"What."

Eh.

Yata blinked back. What's with that reaction? "What the fuck do you mean 'what'?"

"Why, then."

"Hah? I just want to? I-I thought you gave the green signals, these roses and everything. Well, it's normal to kiss on a date, right?"

"Hold on a sec. I thought I misheard, but," With eyes all wide with genuine surprise, Fushimi dropped the bomb. "We are dating?"

Ehhhhhh.

"Aren't we?" Yata choked on his spit. "I mean, we did the whole confession thing. I literally screamed 'I love you' and you really did answer 'Me, too'. Granted, it took you like an eternity to say it, but it did count, right?"

It was kind of gratifying to see the light blush slowly crept back on Fushimi's ears. However, the moment Fushimi opened his mouth the good old annoyance hit back. "I meant 'me, too' as in 'I love me too. And no, that was a different matter. You never even asked to - what you called it again - ah, 'date' me."

"Gosh, are you fucking for real?" Yata stared at Fushimi blankly. He from a year ago would have freaked out thinking if he was getting ahead of himself, however, living with Fushimi again had taught him quite a lot. He was used to this kind of stupid reactions from the other, to the point of understanding when Fushimi acted stubborn just for the sake of stubbornness. "We confessed. We live together. We have basically been l-lo, I mean, lovers for months, do you seriously not notice?"

"Oh…"Realization slowly dawned on Fushimi's face "So it's like that."

"…You know, you really, really need to take a 'How to deal with human relationship 101' class."

" actually sound smart for once, huh? Congratulation, Misaki. "

Yata sighed. Sure, he didn't officially ask, just casually assumed they were an item ever since their heartbreaking reconciliation, but a normal human being must have interpreted things this way, argh! So this was the reason why they never really got anywhere the past four months. How could he forget that Fushimi didn't exactly know how relationships worked?

Not sure why I expected anything else, with the way he lived before… Oh well, better fix that properly. Seem like I have to work on it even harder than I am now.

"Okay. Listen clearly, Saruhiko." Yata coughed, struggling to fight his embarrassment and nervousness down. His face burnt, however, his voice was clear and determined. "Will you go out with me?"

"….We are already outside, though."

"DAMN IT, SARUHIKO!"

"Haha." Fushimi covered his mouth with the back of his hand to muffle a chuckle, though it wasn't very effective. The pure sound was so rare and sweet that Yata, caught off guard, helplessly felt his irritation melted away in an instant. A hand sneakily wormed its way around Yata's, pulling him forward a little so they could resume walking. "Hm, if you are fine with having me, idiot."

Finally, huh? At that, Yata cracked a bright smile. "Yeah, more than fine, jerkface."

He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but there was definitely something nice about having Fushimi so close, walking hand in hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. No, even better than nice. It felt wonderful. It felt right. As if their hands were made to intertwine each other.

"Your hand is cold, Saru." Yata tightened his grip, not wanting to let go. Never wanted these long, bony fingers to let go ever again.

"Your hand is small." To the redhead's surprise, Fushimi curled his palm slightly so their hands could fit even easier. The close contact sparked a pleasant warmth coiling from the tip of their fingers to deep in their chest, like a little secret fireplace just for the two of them. "Small and pretty, just like what your name suggests, Misaki."

"Whatever." Yata grinned. "What now? Where are you dragging me to?"

"… I'm hungry."

"Huh? Why didn't you tell me back at the restaurant? I could sneak some food out for you."

"I want to eat with you."

"Oh sorry. Since today was a big day, my boss forced everyone to have something before the rush hour, so I ate already."

Right after the last word came out of his mouth, Yata felt Fushimi's fingers twitched oddly as the blue clansman froze dead still in mid-step. Taken aback by confusion and curiosity, Yata leaned over to take a better look at his partner, only to have Fushimi turned away to avoid his gaze. Still, he could barely catch a glimpse of a sulky pout and a childish frown.

A light bulb went "ting" above his head. Metaphorically, of course.

"HAH! So you DID plan a Christmas date!"

"I just wanted a quick dinner outside and your workplace is conveniently on the way. I had no idea it would be considered a date." Fushimi was still looking at the nearby traffic sign as if it was the most interesting sign in the world.

"Don't even try to lie! I was wondering where all the flowers and mildly nice words came from! I even thought you were hit by a random leftover Strain or something. Let me guess, you mistook that we weren't dating, so you tried to woo me but failed miserably and somehow I ended up beating you to it, huh?"

"Should I call you Sherlock Misaki Holmes now? For your information, the roses bouquet wasn't my idea. The Lieutenant basically dragged me to the floral shop and Akiyama insisted on blocking the door unless I bought something." Fushimi rolled his eyes and finally gave up on fetching innocence. He looked straight into the redhead's eyes, mumbling in low but surprisingly soft voice. "Besides, it's not my fault that I'm no expert at flirting. It's hard to think clearly if I look at you too long."

For whatever reasons, that rare, honest sentence was the one that shot a direct bull's eye at Yata's heart. It was kind of adorable, really, when Fushimi unintentionally said such killer things without even knowing their true power. He couldn't help but smile warmly and tighten their entwined hands even more, ignoring how his face seemed to be on fire.

After a short discussion, they agreed on grabbing a bite at the nearest Mcdonalds. Going to a nice restaurant this late was too much of a hassle, especially when Yata had already had dinner and Fushimi didn't like fancy food anyway (The captain had just casually forced the vouchers on him, the blue clansman said, it was fine whether they actually went there or not). Thus, cokes and hamburgers and French fries worked just as well for them.

Just like the old time.

Actually, if Yata thought carefully about it, eating fast food on Christmas eve had been their little special "tradition". Their first holy night together, he had dragged Fushimi out of the empty house to explore the city in all its glory. They had gotten dead tired after walking through crowded streets and wrecking some minor havocs, so Yata had suggested it's time to attack the biggest Mcdonalds in town. Since then, somehow, they had ended up doing it every year - drinking coke and stealing each other's fries while making fun of the existence of lovey-dovey couples everywhere.

Even when Fushimi had gone to the blue clan, Yata still went to Mcdonalds on Christmas. The habit had felt more like pathetic loneliness and less like an amazing blessing, just sitting there looking at the double set and hoping for a certain someone to walk in… However, little had he known that across the city, Fushimi had done the exact same thing.

Last year was the only time they broke the chain. After receiving the news about Fushimi's false betrayal, Yata had run around the city like a madman looking for him. He had frantically stomped into most of the local fast food restaurants, only to leave every single one with an increasingly bitter mood, asking himself over and over again what could be the reason for Fushimi to go astray that far. It had been the worst Christmas for them, one that neither wanted to experience ever again.

This year, though, things were different. This year, they were truly together in every meaning of that word.

Crazy, huh?

"You're giggling." Fushimi waved a piece of chips in front of Yata's mouth teasingly. "What's so funny?"

Yata's eyes followed the chip for some seconds, like a cat on hunting job. He was waiting for the particular moment when it got in the range. "Not funny things. More like…happiness. I mean, you're here with me." There it was, stopping at a perfect spot! Grinning, Yata plunged ahead to bite half the fry clean off Fushimi's fingers.

"I see." With an amused smile, Fushimi slowly placed the remaining half onto the tip of his tongue, as if trying to taste the echo of Yata's lips. Beautiful eyes like blue pearl gazed at him, soft and contented and just a tiny bit shy.

Uh wa? Stop looking so good when you're just eating a goddamned chip, stupid Saru! It's unfair! It was lucky that Yata was busy chewing, because if not he'd have spilled his mind out right there.

Oblivious to the redhead's jumbled thoughts, Fushimi changed the subject in a flat tone like he was asking about the weather. "Where do you want to go after this, Misaki?"

"How about going to the cinema?" He mused. It was his original plan, after all. Chitose had recommended some romantic films and Kamamoto had given him a discounted coupon for popcorn. Huh. Wait. Come to think about it, Kusanagi had gifted him a new coat as a present and Anna had insisted that he must wear it today.

Yata glanced at the roses and Fushimi's unnatural nice hair. Something was fishy…

"I doubt there are good ones on without Christmas theme or some puppy romance shits." Clicking his tongue, Fushimi quickly tapped his PDA to search for movie schedule. "Yeah, figured."

"As expected, you don't like those kinds of movies, huh? I bet you will complain from the beginning to the credit." Yata switched his seat so he could sit next to Fushimi. True enough, the screen showed mostly stupid sugarcoated titles and over dramatic film posters. The few action flicks looked cheap, what's with giant orange monsters and gangsters in space fighting over a piece or rock. "I don't like them either, to be honest. Chitose knows nothing about us."

There was a brief pause when both of them tried to think what they should do next, and then Fushimi sighed heavily in defeat, fingers swiping a new search tab up.

"Saruhiko…"

"What?"

"Did you seriously just google 'what do normal people do on a date'?"

"If you don't have a better idea, shut up."

Surprisingly, huge loads of results came up. Seemed like the number of weird people was severally greater than normal ones.

"Concert? It's too late for getting tickets, out. Museums? Too boring. Bowling? No, you may destroy the whole centre with fireballs."

"Hey!" Yata protested, but nodded nonetheless. "Let me see too. Coffee shop? Not in the mood. Shopping…We don't need anything right now, though. What about zoo and aquarium?"

"They closed before evening, idiot."

"Ah, game arcade is fine, right!? Let's go to the arcade we used to play before. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Game arcade? Are you five?" Even though Fushimi rolled his eyes, he stood up quickly before going as far as pulling Yata to his feet. The latter had only three seconds to grab the bouquet and take the last sip of his drink.

Gzee, the pot called the kettle black. Unbelievable.

The road to their favourite arcade had changed a lot over the long years. Neon lights flashed above and around, everywhere. New shops popped up here and there, old houses disappeared, cherry blossom trees had grown much higher than they remembered. Here lay Shizume city's charm, the ever changing and accommodating flow of life regardless good or bad things. In the end, people lived just fine with or without the Slate.

"Saru, it's still here! Skyline game centre… It feels so nostalgic."

"Getting sentimental now? Misa–!"

The door abruptly flung just inches from Fushimi's face, who was about to open it, and a bald middle-aged man popped his head out. The man raised an eyebrow, giving them a weird once-over look, then smirked like a wicked mastermind.

"Fushimi-kun, it's been a while. Yata-kun, welcome."

What the fuck.

"It's not business this time." Fushimi grumbled.

I'm telling you, what the fuck.

"Of course, a chirpy bird told me all I need to know. I must say I'm happy for you. Now, come in and play to your heart's content. Everything will be on the house." The old man laughed and turned to pat Yata on the shoulder while taking the bouquet in his hand at the same time. "Let me keep your roses safe. My, my. Finally, finally,finally."

"I don't – who're you – what's going o–; ARGHHH! Saru! EXPLAIN!"

"He's been Skyline's boss for several years. And also secretly an underground informant, apparently."

"BUT WHY DID HE SAY–"

"I don't even want to know. Stop screaming and choose a game already. At least it's free."

Okay then. Whatever. If you said so. This was ridiculous and incomprehensible and downright freaky, but fine, it wasn't like he hadn't stumbled over weirder things. What's his motto at a time like this? Ah, 'Just roll with it'. Sure.

"Alright… Hey, let's go zombie shooting!"

"Hah? You dare to challenge me in a target-aiming game?" Fushimi grinned, soaked in self-confidence. He set the shooting game on in no time like a true profession. The trailer played on the screen was a new one for them, but clearly still as bloody as ever.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm not out of practice since I accompany Anna all the times. She loves this game."

"…One just can't simply misjudge Anna, huh."

"…You don't say."

ARE YOU READY? Red flashing letters danced in front of them as they got into positions, guns held firmly in hand. It was…almost comical, actually, two grown ass men being this fired up over a zombie visual game. Thank God the arcade was deserted.

1, 2, ANNNDD 3! GOOO!

"Die die die die! Moahahah! See that?"

"Your shooting is nothing but key smashing, Misakiiii~"

"It's not– HEy how on earth you get 95% headshot combos are you fucking cheating our what!?"

"It's called skill."

"It's called 'Stop killing MY preys' you asshole!"

YOU LOSE!

"Damn it, again!"

"Haven't learned your lesson?"

YOU LOSE!

"One more match!"

YOU LOSE!

"I'll beat you this time…"

YOU LOSE!

"Shitty monkey!"

YOU LOSE!

YOU LOSE! YOU LOSE! YOU LOSE!

Panting loudly in an odd mix of irritation and excitement, Yata glared at his partner. The match was about to finish and he was going to lose yet another round. No way. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Time to switch strategy. "Saru."

"What? Admit defeat already?"

Without allowing himself to think over even a second more (because, honestly, if he was hesitant for even a second, he would definitely chicken out), Yata reached out to get a handful of Fushimi's collar and fiercely pulled him down to his level. His other hand sneaked up higher and buried itself in the dark locks in the most intimate way he could perform. Their faces were close enough for Yata to get a good look at his boyfriend's startled eyes and quivering lips, and it was so intoxicating that he almost forgot what he supposed to do. Still, he leaned in closer, then, with his best low voice, whispered directly in Fushimi's ear.

"Saruhiko. You're amazing. I love you."

Bang.

Satisfied with Fushimi's speechless state, Yata turned around to kill some more zombies totally unchallenged. It felt so good to score one over Fushimi every once in awhile instead of being ruffled the other way around.

YOU WIN! Fucking finally!

The cost might be a little high, though, as Yata could feel his skin prickled by killing aura. Oops.

"Mi - Sa - Ki."

Double oops.

He shut his eyes tightly, expecting a punch or at least a slap. None of them came, though, much to his confusion. After three seconds of waiting for nothingness - no harm in playing safe, Yata dared to crack his eyes open.

Only to be drowned in blue.

Fushimi was really close, possibly the closest they had ever been, with intense longing eyes that seemed to pierce its way into his heart. Thick eyelashes trembled marginally, the same way a lazy butterfly rest on a flower petal. Thin, alluring lips, just a few centimeters from his own, mumbled inaudible noises like they were pleading for attention.

"Misaki." He looked up when his name was called, something about the way it rolled on Fushimi's tongue made him shiver as if there were claws scraping at his nape.

"Wh-What?" Yata stammered. He honestly couldn't handle this.

Smiling somewhat evilly, Fushimi trailed a single finger along Yata's arm, toward his shoulder, then slid it over his neck and up his jaw, just a feather-light touch but it was enough to spark fire in his veins. Yata glared, but didn't resist beyond a quiet noise of half-hearted protest when the mischievous finger tilted his head upward a little. And even though he found it kind of embarrassing, he couldn't help but smile back, ignoring the way his heart beated like wild thunders or the fierceness of the heat on his cheeks.

Maybe…this was it? Was Fushimi going to kiss him? Now that things actually went this way he just didn't know what to do. Should he move closer, too? Should he close his eyes? Where should he place his hands? Maybe he ought to lean in more, just in case?

Yata chose to shut his eyes and stood still, wanting to fully savour the feeling. He felt nothing but excitement and tension building inside him as the silent seconds dragged on.

And still dragged on.

Only annoying tiny clicking sounds could be heard.

Wait. Clicking sounds?"Saru…?" Yata shot his eyes wide-open. Please let me be wrong please let me be wrong please"Don't tell me–"

That fucking bastard was indeed snapping pictures.

"Headshot." Fushimi smirked, smug face just begging to be punched. "Now we're even."

"You…" To say that Yata was royally, absolutely, extremely pissed off was an awful understatement. "…I'm so gonna burn you alive down to no blood no bone no ash no nothing at all!"

"Heh, I'd like to see you try."

How that deadly threat turned into "beating each other in as many kinds of games as possible", Yata had no idea. Before he knew it, they had tried most games in the centre at inhuman speed - one hour and three minutes, to be specific. The only thing left was the claw crane machine, which was filled with stuffed monkeys and penguins. For some reasons, they looked highly familiar. Eh.

"On second thought, maybe fishing plush toys is a little too humiliating." Fushimi clicked his tongue, looking vaguely annoyed at a particular scowling penguin. "Not to mention it reminds me of something I'd rather spend my life not knowing."

"It's Scepter 4's nonsense again, huh? I don't even want to ask."

Fushimi appeared to be a little ill for a moment, but seemed to recover quickly enough. Yata guessed the level of war flashbacks this time wasn't as concerning as last week's anko terror. Shrugging, the redhead figured it's time to leave. "What now? Should we go ho–Woah!"

"Ouch! Uhwa, mister, I'm s-sorry!" A small blond girl, who might be about Anna age, stumbled to keep her balance after her rather painful crash into Yata.

"No, it's okay. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The girl bowed her thank and looked up properly. Her eyes immediately drawn to Fushimi as realization dawned on her. "Oh, you are Fushimi-san!"

Said man stared at the girl for a very long moment. "…Miyuko, from the Himawari kindergarten? The teacher's daughter?"

Oh, something Yata understood without the need of an explanation, at last. He had heard about the blue King's unusual attachment with the children at that kindergarten and how Fushimi had always been dragged along. Nice to know that someone who tried to act cold all the times could actually be good to children.

"Yes! It's me, you remember me!" Smiling happily, Miyuko ran up to Fushimi, bowed politely, and all but clung to his hand. "Please, please, help me save Christmas!"

…Scratch that. He needed an explanation. NOW.

"What do you mean, Miyuko?" Yata asked before Fushimi might reject the girl without listening to her story. " We'l help. But first, calm down and tell us what happened."

"O-Our class's Christmas gifts was destroyed! Everyone was really upset, mom and dad and my friends loved Christmas so much, some girls even cried because they thought theyhadn't been good enough. But they are all really nice! So, I thought I must find something to give them instead." Miyuko pointed at the stuffed toys. "I'm good at this game so I may collect enough for everyone! But I can't deliver all of them before the morning by myself…"

Wow. Seriously, how could all 12-year-old children be this selflessly matured? The future of the world looked bright.

"You're the nicest girl on the list, Miyuko. Don't worry, we will definitely help you." Yata patted the girl's head. "Right, Saru?"

"…Tsk. Fine. Only because this shady gift ruining stuff may have something to do with my job." As Fushimi spoke he began to tap something on his PDA, presumably finding information on the weird Christmas gangsters or whatever. After a few minutes, he raised his voice. "Hey boss, I going to take all of these claw machines' content. Count it on Scepter 4 tab, including the information."

The Skyline's owner yelled back from the counter. "Confirmative. Man, in the end, it's still all about business with you."

Yata tried to connect the dots in his brain but failed miserably (as usual). These kinds of times were the ones reminded him why he belonged to Homra and Fushimi was one of the blue. "What? Does Scepter 4 have to deal with Christmas ruiners or something?"

"Nice call." Fushimi arched an eyebrow in amusement. "I'll consider code-named them as that in the informal reports. But if you must know, they are terrorists. Stupid ones, though."

Apparently, there was a small gang of terrorists, who pathetically called themselves "Krampus", was stirring scattered troubles to damage some important figures' reputation around this sensitive time. Namely: traumatizing children on Christmas so they and their family might blame the government for the lack of public security. They weren't dangerous by any means, but the media was fast on poking around like starving chickens, and of course the higher people of authorities didn't like it one bit. Scepter 4 had declined to take on this stupid job several until there was a rumour that the boss of Krampus was a Strain.

"That's so lame." Miyuko and Yata replied in unison.

"Well said."

They had done wrapping presents up and proceeded to bring them to the girl's parents. The elder couple of teachers would then deliver them to their students' house like their earlier intention (should be around 3 hours late, but better than nothing). Meanwhile, Fushimi and Yata should enjoy themselves some ass kicking and throwing troublemakers into prisons.

That was supposed to be the plan.

The.

Supposed.

Plan.

"So why the heck we are fighting terrorists with knife-filled snowballs while wearing a Santa suit again, MISAKI?" Yelled Fushimi who was hiding behind Yata and rolling a large snowball around his knife until it was completely covered. He wanted to do it faster, but his hands and legs were shaking badly from the cold.

"FUCK HELL IF I KNOW! Argh! Hurry up, I can't melt all this snow any longer!" The vanguard growled and glared at the offending incoming wave of snow, gracefully from the bottom of his heart that his remaining red power still could keep him warm. Still, the mental image of a Santa Claus on fire made him cringe. So much for believing in the magical night.

Why the heck did it come to this, you asked? My best guess is that because God hates us!

—-

"I'm really sorry, Fushimi-kun. It seems like we can't make it after all. My wife sprained her ankle when she chased the bad guys and I have a high possibility of catching a cold." The old teachers sighed wearily at the same time. They did look terrible, even Fushimi felt a little sorry for them.

On cue, Miyuko clung harder to Fushimi's hand and stared at him with teary eyes. "But, but! My friends have been nice all this year! They really want presents!"

"Tsk…"

Yata all but bit his inner cheeks to not laugh. It was kind of pleasant to see his grumpy partner being all reluctantly soft and confused with this tiny child looking at him so sincerely. He let himself enjoy the scene just a few seconds longer, then saved the day by jumping in and offering help. Delivering gifts to children together sounded like a nice dating idea, actually.

"Misaki–"

"Come one. Be nice on Christmas, Saru~"

"TSK!"

It appeared a little less nice when Miyuko wiped out two Santa suit and forced them to put it on, powerful sparkling childlike smiles and all. The clothes went full-on details, hats and beard included, and questionably fitted them both.

"No," was Fushimi's flat response.

"Please wear it, please, please! You two are…are superheroic Santas to me!" – and so the proud third-in-command gave in soon enough. He even gave Miyuko the cutest penguin before going, all the while disowning any knowledge of his action.

Throughout the night, they had to visit 21 houses without a rest. The children were either super excited or super skeptical of the two new Santa, and it was incredibly tiring dealing with both of those it was fun and heartwarming, definitely not bad at all. Fushimi mumbled complaints under his breath/beard from times to times but he never acted rude toward a kid, and Yata smiled fondly at that.

But, yeah, if anyone whom they knew were to see them running around the city in red suit and white beard and a large bag in hand, they would never let it die.

Skinny Santa Saru is cute, though. Worth it.

… No. He totally didn't just think that. Shut up.

When they finally finished giving the last child her gift (a laughing monkey wearing glasses which somehow made the girl happy enough to jump and kiss Yata's cheek), something weird happened.

They didn't notice it at first, just barely registered that the snow was making quiet rhythm sounds ofcrunchwith every step they took. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crack… And then Yata's feet suddenly lost balance as the crunch replaced with a loud shriek of surprise.

Without really thinking about it, he reached out to grab on Fushimi's coat for support. The quick reflex saved him from falling face down, but wasn't particularly helpful either as Fushimi also struggled to stand properly. They flailed around for nearly ten seconds, looking like a drunken couple trying to impromptu dance to an upbeat remix ballroom song, and sounding like one too based on their increasingly colourful curses. Their fake beards and hats dropped off messily, causing further unnecessary panic.

All of a sudden, a snowball zipped over Fushimi's head. The strike was not that hard, but the shock did its job. Without warning, his legs also gave up as they fell stumbled down on oddly moving snow. Fushimi didn't even have time to finish his complaint "not fucking again"when Yata quickly rolled over just in time to block a ton of freezing snow falling down from absolutely nowhere.

"What the fuck is happening, Saru?"

Yata could almost hear the gears in Fushimi's head spinning smokingly fast. The blue wasted no time to drill their way out by several flame-coated knives as he growled his deduction.

"It's Krampus's Strain! His ability must be controlling snow, that's why they deliberately choose to be active around winter. It's possible that they saw us ruining their stupid plan and took us for an eyesore. So there are people who hate children even more than me."

"Seriously? How can someone bethat lame?"

"You tell me. And it's not even the most ridiculous criminal. Damn, the shit I have to deal with in Scepter 4." Fushimi rolled his eyes, cringing when another snowball exploded right next to his ear.

"…Is he trying to kill us by throwing snowballs? I kinda accept the snow dumps, but snowballs?"

"Congrats, you finally found a dumber human being than yourself."

Another ton of snow poured down. Followed by dozens of large snowballs.

"Shut up! I'll try to melt the snow. You should do something about this mess, and fast!"

"Tsk." Fushimi observed the battlefield (?) for a moment to find the enemy's' location. For better or worse, they were not exactly subtle about their hiding. Who the fuck hid behind a pine tree to ambush people? Yata wasn't sure if he should laugh or not.

Fushimi decided to laugh anyway, before throwing a sharp knife at the target

Only to have it deflected by, guess what, fucking snow.

"Oh~~ surprisingly touch." Yata whistled.

Fushimi clicked his tongue. "It's cold. My hands get numb."

"Then finish them fast so we can go home and get in the kotatsu." Even as he said all that, Yata moved closer to Fushimi and turned his red up more. The aura acted like a heater, melting snow as well as keeping both of them warm. Fushimi, being a delicate cold-hating flower, unconsciously snuggled up against Yata to seek for more comforting heat while focusing intensely at the moving enemy.

Another experimental knife throwing failed the same way. Yata frowned. "Seems like we have to come closer and engage combat."

It didn't happen. Because, you know, hundreds of flying freezing snowballs. And Fushimi hated being wetter and colder anymore than he already was. To make it worse, the Satan suits were made of absorbent cotton, so they now were soaked by chilling water and heavier than rocks.

"Let try this. Hope they are dumb enough." Sighing heavily, Fushimi formed his own snowball with a knife hidden in it. Then, with all his strength, flung it to the nearest shady terrorist.

It fucking worked. One down.

Fushimi tried again, unable to believe this absurdity.

Two down.

Even Yata facepalmed. "They really couldn't tell it was an attack, could they? I know there were snowballs everywhere, but it was flying backward at them, Jesus Christ. They don't even learn the lesson from their fallen comrades."

Fushimi rubbed his forehead, the other hand scooping another handful of snow from the ground. "Whatever, I don't care anymore. I'm going to make another ball."

It looked like fun, though. If Yata wasn't radiate fire as a human heater bonus a shield (really weak due to the loss of the Slate, but still counted when snow was involved), he would join for sure.

—

The fight (?) ended with horribly lost for both sides. Krampus: all of their members was arrested. Yata and Fushimi: a good amount of body heat and brain neurons died. A small compensation was that they managed to sneak away before Scepter 4 came, thus keeping their Santa appearance a safe secret. The only thing left was to pick their clothes and the roses up from Miyuko's house as well as report mission accomplished.

However, they must look quite terrible, because the first thing Miyuko said upon catching their sight was "Oh my God, Yata-san, Fushimi-san, are you okay?"

"Why are you still awake? It's almost dawn." Yata scolded, big brother instinct flaring up.

"I couldn't sleep… You two are really late, so…" Hugging the penguin plushy close, Miyuki started to drift off once relief washed over her.

"It's okay now, everyone got their presents. Safe, sound, and happy." Smiling gently, Yata carried the girl to her bed and tugged her in carefully. "Sleep well, Santa Yata and Santa Saru wish you a merry Christmas."

"Tha…nk you…" With one last smile, the girl curled and closed her eyes peacefully. Just as the very first sunlight peeked through the dark clouds.

"What an eventful Christmas, neh?" Yata chuckled when he felt Fushimi's hand patted his head softly.

"Sure is."

"Time to go home, yes?"

"Hm. Ah, I forgot something."

"What is it?"

"…No, never mind. I'm tired, let's go already."

Yata raised an eyebrow, but didn't press further.

The road home was remarkably calm, neither of them wanted to break the comforting silence. Yata was a little sleepy, so when he leaned closer to Fushimi and hold his hand he didn't feel so nervous anymore. It felt good. Floaty, even.

Maybe this was just a really nice dream - Fushimi being right next to him, loving him, playing together, fighting together. If so…Yata never wanted to wake up.

Before he knew it, Fushimi had opened the door and was quietly guiding him to the bed. He looked rather awkward, half avoiding Yata's eyes, half keeping seeking them. Yata blinked at the odd behaviour, sleepy fog starting to fade, then grinned mischievously.

"Saruhiko~ Has our date ended yet? What did you forget?"

Fushimi paused for a brief moment, searching Yata's face with wary eyes. His shoulders slumped a little and his face was impassive, but Yata knew Fushimi was just trying to cover how he was sorting out feelings inside.

Yata counted until he reached fourteen, wondering if he had to come down to violence one more time. As if sensing his intention, Fushimi shook his head lightly and pressed up against the Yata, hands finding their way to rest at the redhead's lower back. "May I?"

Yata tilted his head up, connecting the embrace by placing both hands around Fushimi's slender waist. "I'm waiting."

It started with a lethargic burn at the corner of his mouth, and Yata smiled into the almost-kiss. Heh, he really shouldn't have been surprised - despite everything, the Fushimi now was unexpectedly gentle when it came to the things he treasured.

Neither moved for a moment, just taking their time to bask in the sensation. Burning but at the same time caressing, the gentle flame danced around his chapped lips, ever so slowly, ever so lovingly. Yata felt like he was going to either melt away or float into the air, so he clung in sheer desperation to Fushimi's arms, not wanting this to end so soon.

His breath hitched, just a tiny little shushed noise, as a wet trail slid past his bottom lip – a tender demand for permission. Yata smiled wider, enjoying it with the adrenaline rush greater than any fights, and opened his mouth as a silent welcome.

The kiss was slow, sweet, almost heart-aching. It was everything Yata had ever wanted. And now he got a taste of it, he wanted more, way more.

"Misaki." It was a pity when their lips had to separate, even if the distance was only a little more than a centimeter. Yata opened his eyes when he heard his name in the form of a breathy whisper. "Misaki. I.."

"What is it?" Yata whispered back. His voice trembled slightly, in confusion or in anticipation, he didn't know.

"I…" A hesitant undertone was barely noticeable in Fushimi's voice. It disappeared in a flash, though, replaced by the usual lazy smirk. "You kiss like a virgin, Misaki. 30 points, max."

"Ugh." He sighed, lips still tingling with enough leftover sensitivity to not bite the bait. "Are you seriously trying to piss me off right after our first kiss?"

"Also your first kiss, clearly."

Yata tugged the taller's stubborn collar down and stood on his tip toes, kissing these thin lips with full vigor and adding a playful bite after a second thought. "Don't you dare act so high and mighty. It's definitely your first kiss too."

"At least I don't act like a virgin like you." Fushimi stuck his tongue out childishly. Taking advantage of the situation, Yata kissed it too. Its sudden quiver was quite…interesting, so he considered punishment well applied.

"Don't be a jerk, Saru."

"Fine, fine," There were hands on his hips, bringing the delicious flame back – and Yata almost forgot what he wanted to say for a second.

Almost.

"I'm happy, Saruhiko."Fingers tangling in the dark blue locks, Yata brought their forehead together. "I'm so damn happy."

"…Are you?"

Yata could see it now, the carefully wrapped uncertainness that he had missed for so long. No more. I won't allow it, not ever again.He had done with missing out on people he hold dear.

"Yeah. What about you? What are you thinking?"

"Nothing, just…"

"Say it."

"Tsk."

"Saruhiko. Talk in the next five seconds, or I'll punch you in the face."

"…You. For recently, no, for even longer, back in middle school." Fushimi drew a long breath, then tightened his embrace on Yata's waist, head lowering until it rested on his shoulder. "Uhm. For finally understanding or whatever… or like, not giving up on me like a stubborn idiot. For staying with me so day like this could happen. Anyway…thank you."

"That's more like it." Satisfied, Yata placed a kiss on top of the messy dark head, and felt the lips pressing on his collarbones spread into an unseen smile. "First date accomplished?"

"First date accomplished."