In the beginning I guess I have to clarify few facts about this AU:

- This is non-despair AU as I said in the tags, though Komaeda's past remains mostly the same.

- Komaeda's luck is still present somewhat but it has mellowed out with time.

- They have a dog, her name is Hope (in English, while they still speak Japanese...) and she's a golden retriever. There'll be more told about her in the later one-shots~

- Update schedule will be mostly free form, unless mentioned otherwise.

- They live in a house, not in an apartment.

- Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'll do my best to explain!

- Oh and I guess I need to mention that any similarities to my other AU fic Long Road to North are completely by chance or just for fun, and these two are not really related.

Now for the actual beginning one-shot, this is the first one I wrote so I'll publish it first, but after this one there'll be quite a few Christmas specials coming out until it's over. I'm planning about 4-5 for Christmas but I'll still have to see. This first one is in the middle of summer though and while it might be a bit out of place now I hope you'll have fun with it anyways. Just pretend it's summer outside while you read it~

"Hinata-kun, it's so hot…"

"That's just how it is. Bear with it," Hinata answered shortly and sighed. Not that he didn't feel like complaining too; according to the weathercast, today was the hottest day of the summer so far. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and closed his eyes.

"But it's unbearable…," Komaeda whined and Hinata opened his eyes to look at him.

"If it's unbearable then don't rest your head on my lap. It's not helping you at all," he answered and Komaeda rolled to lay on his side from his back to look at him with a sheepish smile on his lips.

"Sorry, is it bothersome to you?" he asked. Hinata looked into his eyes for a moment before lifting his gaze to their backyard. The grass had grown way too long tall since neither of them had wanted to mow it in this weather.

"Well… of course it is," Hinata answered absentmindedly as he looked at the small tree standing in the yard and the lonely cicada sitting on it, under the shade from the leaves. It wasn't much different from the two of them, sitting on the porch and under the protection of the cote, and Hinata briefly wondered if it was feeling hot in this sweltering weather as well. At least it wasn't dripping with sweat, like he was.

He just got to thinking whether his sweat would drop on Komaeda if he wasn't careful, when he felt the weight shift on his lap as Komaeda tried to get up. Gently Hinata just pushed him back.

"I didn't say I mind it. You're tired, right?" Hinata said as he began to stroke Komaeda's hair, swiping the soft strands of thick hair from his face. The other closed his eyes, his expression resembling what most would presume as uncomfortable, but Hinata knew better. Komaeda would always look uncomfortable when receiving affection, but in reality it was just him trying to deal with the conflicted emotions of wanting the affection yet feeling like he didn't deserve any.

It made Hinata a bit angry whenever he saw it, but he always responded by giving him even more attention and care. It was maybe half out of spite, but mostly he just did it in hopes that Komaeda would someday get used to it, and finally start accepting it.

When he had swiped all the hair from Komaeda's face, he just kept stroking his cheek quietly as he kept thinking. For a while they just stayed like that in silence.

"… It's still hot…," Komaeda mumbled eventually and Hinata sighed again before smiled and grabbed a magazine with his free hand and began to fan Komaeda. With his other hand he still kept stroking Komaeda's cheek.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked and Komaeda gave him a tiny nod, looking slightly embarrassed. "That's good. Try to take that nap of yours now, okay? Let's go get ice cream when you wake up," he added. Komaeda nodded again before closing his eyes. He looked so peaceful that Hinata had to hold back the urge to lean down and kiss him. It was rare that Komaeda let him spoil him, so he didn't want to interrupt the moment. He glanced at the tree again to see that the lonely cicada had gained company, the other one resting a little higher on the tree. They still didn't seem to be sweating from the heat, but they were both resting safely in the shadows.

"Sorry for the bother, Hinata-kun…," Komaeda said softly and Hinata frowned slightly as he looked down at him.

"I'd prefer a 'thank you' instead," he said in a scolding tone, and a small smile found its way to Komaeda's lips.

"Thank you, Hajime. Let's buy lots of ice cream later," Komaeda said as he huddled a little bit closer to Hinata, completely oblivious to the small blush on Hinata's face. Komaeda still rarely called him by his first name, so it often took him by surprise. It made him want to kiss Komaeda even more, and he lifted his eyes back to the yard.

It would be nice to take a nap too…

Thank you for reading! I'll post the next one on either the 14th or 15th day of December and it'll be the first Christmas special as I mentioned before. Oh, and while I still remember! If you have anything you'd like to see, I do take request ideas for the future chapters, after the Christmas specials are over. I have a list already but it can never be too long~