Hiyori sighed for what seemed like the 50th time that night. After nearly an hour of tossing and turning in her bed, she reached over to her nightstand and unplugged her phone from the charger, bringing it closer to her so she could scroll through whatever social media she had. Sleepless nights have become a common occurrence since meeting Yato and soon after, Yukine. She didn't regret meeting them in the slightest, but she would appreciate some more sleep to be quite honest. As she scrolled through Twitter, she noticed a very familiar friend of hers—more like god . . . or so he claims—tweeting all kinds of nonsense about being the most reliable person anyone could ask for. And for a mere five yen! She giggled softly and favorited one of his tweets, continuing to scroll though her feed in hopes of getting sleepy.

A small thud coming from near her window had her sitting up straight as a board, eyes wide and heart racing uncontrollably until she recognized the figure standing just feet from her bed. She threw a pillow in his direction and pulled the covers up further over her body for no particular reason.

"Yato, don't sneak up on me like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack," she chastised, placing a hand over her heart and attempting to slow her breathing.

Yato chuckled and moved to sit on the edge of her bed, a sheepish smile gracing his features. "Ah, sorry, Hiyori. But when you favorited my tweet, I figured I'd stop by. I wanted to anyway, but I didn't know if you were asleep. Last time I did that, your scream nearly had your parents calling the cops. But since—"

Hiyori slapped her hand over Yato's mouth with a look of exasperation. "You talk a lot, you know!"

After removing her hand, she placed her forefingers on either side of her head, rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry, Yato. I just haven't been getting much sleep lately. I think it's making me irritable."

Yato simply grinned and shrugged off her comment about him not being able to shut his trap. Sometimes he couldn't help himself when it came to her. Sometimes . . . more like all the time. He played with the hem of his gray t-shirt, and looked up a bit shyly at Hiyori. "I could try to help you fall asleep if you want."

Hiyori looked at him, questions abundant in her eyes—and a bit of suspicion. "How so?"

Yato held both his hands out, palms facing her. "I could braid your hair! Girls like that, don't they?"

Hiyori giggled. Yato could be awfully cute when he wanted to be. "Sure." Hiyori pushed the blanket back and turned around in place so she was facing the headboard. She made sure all of her hair was behind her and began tracing the patterns of her pillowcase. "Thanks, Yato."

"Of course! You don't even have to pay me anything this time since it was my idea," he commented, gathering all of her hair in his hands and brushing his fingers through some of the tangles. Hiyori closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. She had always loved the feeling of others playing with her hair. When she was a little girl, she and her mom would spend hours on the couch watching Disney movies while her mom experimented with all different kinds of braids on her hair.

"Did you hear me, Hiyori?" Yato asked, pulling her from her memories.

Hiyori quickly opened her eyes and shook her head slightly. "No, sorry. What was that?"

"W-We could always do this more often. If it helps you, that is. You don't have to if you don't want to. It's just a thought," Yato rambled on, feeling more nervous with each word that left his lips. Hundreds of thoughts ran through Yato's mind in a single day—most of them pertaining to Hiyori and how he could get closer to her. This little crush of his was getting a little more out of hand than he had expected. He would never force her to do anything she didn't want to though. Even if he came off as clingy most of the time.

"Maybe," Hiyori replied, feeling a little sleepier than she did before. Yato's fingers combed through her hair, twisting it and pulling gently to achieve whatever kind of braid he was trying to achieve. Hiyori had a small feeling that Yato had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but she didn't mind. Yato had quickly become one of the two people she was now the closest to. She knew he did many things for her well-being or just to ensure she's comfortable and safe. Although he comes off as overbearing a majority of the time, she learned to live with it—and to like it, even. Yato wouldn't be Yato if he wasn't constantly reminding her of how she should visit more often or to call him as soon as she made it home safe whenever she did visit.

Hiyori's eyes felt heavier as the seconds passed until she finally turned around with a smile. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now. Thank you, Yato." Yato grinned once more but complete and utter shock covered his features the second Hiyori's lips met his cheek. Almost instantly, Yato's cheeks heated up and before he could respond, Hiyori was already fast asleep clutching her pillow. His fingers gently touched the spot where she kissed his cheek, and his heart skipped a beat. Yato made sure Hiyori was tucked into bed before he left to go back to his room at Kofuku's house.

The next morning, Yato entered Kofuku's kitchen with much more enthusiasm than Daikoku would have liked for that particular hour of the morning.

"What's with you?" Daikoku asked, sipping on coffee as though his life depended on it. He still had a few minutes before he needed to start preparing breakfast. Not that it was entirely necessary, but the last time he had let Kofuku try to prepare a meal on her own, the kitchen nearly ended up in flames. Being that she's the goddess of poverty and all, he probably should have taken that into consideration. Now he knows, though.

"Nooothing," Yato said in a sing-song voice. "It's just that Hiyori loooooves me!"

While Yato was busy making heart eyes at nobody in particular, Daikoku chuckled. "Did she actually tell you that?"

Yato huffed and turned his back to Daikoku. "Well, no. But I know she does."

"How do you figure?" Daikoku challenged. This ought to be interesting.

"Well, I went to her house last night, right?" Yato began, earning himself a raised brow from the much larger man standing in front of him. "And I braided her hair—or tried anyway. It's the thought that counts. And you know what she did?"

Daikoku rolled his eyes and began taking out the ingredients he needed for breakfast. "What?"

Yato was nearly vibrating with excitement, leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen. "She kissed me on the cheek!"

"And then?" Daikoku prompted, intrigued and interested to hear the rest of the story.

"Well, that's it," Yato said, looking a bit confused when Daikoku looked ready to hear more.

"Huh," Daikoku said in response, chopping up vegetables as he tried to hold back laughter.

Before Yato could retort, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind, and he was met with a loud "YATO-CHAAAAAN!" from a voice that could only belong to the goddess of poverty herself.

"Good morning. Geez, could you be any louder? I'm sure the whole neighborhood could hear you," Yato complained, stepping skillfully out of Kofuku's embrace.

Daikoku glared and pointed the cutting knife at him. "Watch how you talk to my goddess."

Kofuku simply giggled and headed into the next room to wait for breakfast. Yato breathed a sigh of relief until he heard the front door slide open and a shy "Good morning, everyone." Hiyori is here already?! Yato thought to himself. He rushed to the bathroom in a panic and looked himself over in the mirror.

"This is no good," he told his reflection. He grabbed a brush—though he wasn't even sure who it belonged to—and brushed his hair back into a ponytail. "This'll have to do for now." He smoothed out the front of his white t-shirt and made sure the fly on his jeans was up. After taking several deep breaths, he stepped out of the bathroom and made his way to the family room.

"Morning, Hiyori!" Yato greeted enthusiastically.

Hiyori blushed and found herself stuttering as she greeted him back. "G-Good morning. Are you busy today?"

Yato tilted his head curiously and took a seat on the ground across from her and next to Yukine. Poor kid looked exhausted. Must be the training with Kazuma. "No, why?"

"Okay, good. After breakfast, come with me." Hiyori still refused to meet his eyes, but Yato nodded nonetheless.

"Okay."

Once breakfast was over, Yato and Hiyori excused themselves and began walking towards town. "What's this about?" Yato asked.

Hiyori stopped in her tracks and curled her hands into fists, mustering the courage to look Yato in the eyes. "Yato, I've been thinking a lot. Which is part of the reason my sleep has been so bad. I thought 'Oh no, this can't be possible', but it is."

Yato stood stunned and waited for her to elaborate on her thoughts.

"I-I think . . . No, I know that I like you. And not in the way that I like Yukine and Kofuku and my friends. B-But in a new way," Hiyori's courage was all used up and she dropped her attention to the pavement at her feet. "When I see you, my heart flutters. When you call my name, I feel warm inside. When you look at me the way you do—like you can see straight into my heart or something—I feel so much closer to you. A-And maybe I'm letting my imagination get in the way of logic, but I think you like me too. I mean, I don't see you bugging anyone else 24/7, and I mean bugging them relentlessly. N-Not that that's a bad thing though. It shows that you care, and I like that part about you too. And I was thinking . . . if you're up to it . . . I'd like to introduce you to my friends. Maybe they'll forget you in a day's time, but I just want the satisfaction of knowing that at one point they knew the one person that is most special to me in my heart right now."

Hiyori was afraid to look up and see the expression on Yato's face, so she kept her attention on the ground, following a trail of ants heading back to their home. She hardly had time to register the warm arms wrapping around her and pulling her in for the biggest hug she had ever received in her life. Her eyes widened, but on instinct, she returned his embrace, clutching the fabric of his t-shirt tightly.

"Hiyori, I've lived for so long. So much longer than you could ever imagine," Yato began, speaking into her hair. His voice was low and comforting and very soft. She hadn't quite expected this. "But nobody has ever said something like that to me. Nobody has ever meant so much to me the way you do. To feel loved by someone who doesn't just need me to survive or to use me—like Nora or my . . . dad—is the best feeling I could ever ask for. Thank you for saying what you did."

Hiyori's cheeks burned as she listened to Yato, burying her face into the soft fabric of his shirt. His words rang with so much truth that not even she could deny it if her imagination tried to run wild again.

She felt Yato pull back slightly, and he cupped her chin, eyes staring directly into hers as he made his next move. Hiyori closed her eyes in anticipation, heart beating more frantically than it ever had before. Yato's lips met hers and filled her with a warmth she had never experienced. It was a short kiss, but it held so much meaning and passion behind it.

"And I'd love to meet your friends," Yato said with a grin, leaning in to peck her lips one more time. He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers, pulling her along until they finally reached town. "Let's go!"