This took longer then expected, but it is still easily the fastest thing I've written here. Which is a little embarrassing since it took me three weeks ^^; but hey it worked out eventually.
Sorry about all the italic guess I just wanted some more emphasis. ;)
Disclaimer: Nah man, I don't own Noragami.
Kofuku clearly did not have the most beautiful garden in the whole of Japan like she would probably hope to claim.
Most of the shrines Hiyori had ever been to were incredibly flamboyant with the popularity and wealth of each god showcased with pride for all of their worshippers (and perhaps jealous, poor minor gods) to admire. Most of them would have a garden, maybe two, as a mere afterthought, but regardless you'd never see one ever being less than pristine.
The fact was Kofuku's quaint oden stand couldn't even be called a true shrine. Her garden was a pretty one at least, well loved and in places well turned out. A plain line could be drawn from anything Kofuku had touched to what her overbearing Shinki took care of.
But even with Daikoku's help the poverty goddess was still several leagues away from anything close to pristine.
Even with these more noticeable downsides Hiyori finds herself drawn to this place more than she was to any other. Smiling up at the piece of cloud barren sky that she can catch from underneath the porch's overhang, knowing it was entirely possible the people in it were the reason behind this attraction.
"Hey, Hiyori." Yato, who had sat down close by, was flicking at her bare toes, a question swimming in his eyes. "What's up?"
Her smile turns into a chuckle and the narrowed eyes peering at her over a coke can (Daikoku must have banned him from his usual drink of choice for today) inform her that he's even more intrigued than before.
It didn't matter how nosey he might be there was no good reason for telling him what she'd been thinking about. Considering the reason was him, he'd never waste an opportunity to bring it up.
If Yato had really thought about it he could probably put together why she always was here (goodness, it was really heating up out here wasn't it?). She's already exceeded the normal relationship one should have with a god, if there even was one.
Her head lifts from her sprawled position but even raised up she can only see the beginnings of the god still eyeing her. That didn't mean she had to go spelling it out for him. It would make things weird and these feelings were already hard enough to contain without Yato being aware of them.
She readied a typical, evasive 'nothing!' as she lifts her bent legs down so she can take in the rest of him. On such a small porch however (it wasn't really that small they were just closer than she'd guessed) she ends up accidentally placing her legs over his.
He gave a small start and she feels the heat of embarrassment rush through her as her smile begins to fade. The will to get off him and erase an unexpected, recent memory flows to her head like the blood to her cheeks. Of course saying anything about forgetting a memory to Yato might loosen the last grip he had on his composure at the moment.
She starts checking for exits, seeing how fast and how far she can get away before something even more upsetting can happen. Whether that regarded Yato or herself she isn't sure of. But even after she's wrenched her flopping limbs away from him, she can't follow through on her getaway plan because he's pulled them back.
Their faces have pinked considerably by this point and she snaps back to the Near Shore when he repeats himself in a slightly choked voice. "N-nothing, how are you, Yato?"
A small smile appeared, which was much more preferable (and less anxiety producing) then a flustered Yato. Still she can feel the tenseness of his form when he gingerly rests his folded arms atop of the pale shins in his lap; straining to appear calm.
"Good," he quickly peeped.
A songbird's chirrup can be heard from a pine tree not far off and she can also catch pieces of Kofuku's song as she zigzagged to and fro watering her various flora. Daikoku is vaguely heard clamoring with pots and pans behind them in an effort to clean up his "wife's" shop. Everyone else seemed to be moving along and making noise at the moment except for the two of them.
Hiyori would absolutely not say this was awkward at all.
"So, how was work?" his body's edges dull a little with the silence gone and he lays his chin along his forearms; which are still
on her shins and still making her fidgety. Blue eyes stray over to the poverty goddess singing affectionately to one of her shrubs. "Ah, slow. Some lady needed her kid walked to school."
She watches his eyebrow knit into something like distaste; his mouth twisting sourly. "Did something happen?" she inquired.
As long as she could help it she tries to keep looks like that off of his face. She did not like them.
A dark head turns to hers. "Nah, it's just," he paused, his hand held out mid motion, palm facing the sky. "To her it was something
that needed to be done. She didn't have to work or anything she just didn't want to take her own kid to school."
She watches him without a word as his gaze sets on the age lines of the porch's boards. His fingers start to trace one. "I don't know
I guess it's hard for me to understand." She catches a glimpse of his eyes, but it didn't matter. He was miles away from her.
"I've been around a long time I've seen that side of humans before. I've had Shinki too so I know how they can act, but they can still be-" his fingers twitch while he gathers his thoughts. His face changing into an expression she really didn't enjoy. "-confusing and sometimes… hnugh." He burrows irritably into his arms like an angry mole and she would be amused if they weren't on such a heavy topic.
Yato has probably had his fair share of troubles with humans but, from what she's seen, even the rudest of clients he usually shrugs off. Maybe this job had brought up unpleasant memories of his own "father."
Her chest clenched in sympathy, she hates it when he goes and retreats into himself. Like the time he'd curled up under a blanket
and stayed when he couldn't have the shrine he'd worked so long for. She had hated that day.
She wants him to be excited about all of the yen he's earned or crowing proudly about Yukine for being a great guidepost. She doesn't even care if he's chattering on about capypers as long as she can watch the glee in his eyes and hear the cheerfulness in his voice.
Another voice within her says she's far too wrapped up in him, she doesn't bother to listen to it.
She definitely is not qualified, or prepared, to explain the human race to an immortal though. She sits up slowly as to not startle him bracing her weight on her palms and taking in a long breath. She can at least try.
"We're not—not all of us are like that." His eyes move to hers and she swallows, partially stunned by such an attentive gaze.
"I know I haven't lived as long as you, but humans can be nice from some of the things I've seen. I mean you know that, but sometimes people make it—" she trailed off as he lets out a short laugh before she can launch into her hastily scraped up lecture.
"You don't have to defend your race, Hiyori," he turns back to her with a more playful face. She breaths out her relief as the corners of his mouth stretch towards his ears. "I know not all humans are like that."
It would have been a completely innocent statement to add to their conversation but not in the way he was saucily crooning it at her. And she had been so ready to uplift and inspire too, now she was blushing like a red mess.
His head is barely tilted to the side and he has arranged his smile into something that causes her chest to squeeze her throbbing heart tightly. The sound of wooded boards complaining about movement is close and she emptily realizes she had Yato free calves.
Oh, and he's also right next to her.
"Hiyori?" He questioned softly. As if he doesn't know why she's like this. They're so nearby that she can see his pupils have become slits and, and… shouldn't most women have already slapped a man this close?
She gives a regrettably jerky 'hmm?' as an answer and directs her attention to a wind chime hanging over not by him. Even after catching a nose full of a warm, honey-sweet smell, she doesn't turn to face him again because that means he is way too close.
"I um, you-" he stumbles, and after her nod to continue Yato lets loose a shaky breath that finds her ear, (which is also red now) hesitating. Mixed feelings sprung from this: one, apprehension. She is far used to Yato's clingy-ness but this was much more intimate then any other interaction they've had. Two, relief at the signs that he was just as nervous as she felt. And three, a fear of what exactly was making him so nervous.
"You are," his voice sounds forced into steadiness and damp fingers brush over hers. It might as well have been a bolt of lightning for what it was doing to her poor heart.
"One of the ones I like."
She doesn't stop from whipping back around to his face. He's resting back on his palms to put distance between them, looking mortified at his traitorous mouth and trying to cover it with his raggedy bandana. A fantastic, rebellious mouth if you asked her.
Her grin is expanding with delight and her heart is thundering in her ears for new reasons. Such a reaction causes the ex-calamity god to look even more anxious which causes her pity to appear.
"Yato?" Her voice sounded odd with such exhilaration laced into it.
She leans towards him, a hand clamped over his surely, watching his expression switch from fearful to surprised as she reduced
the space between them. He disappeared from sight when their noses graze each other and her lips reach his.
Her eyes close naturally and she couldn't spread her lids apart to save her life. She wants to memorizes the feeling of how close they are. The satisfying warmth on her lips, the small shiver of nerves in her spine.
She doesn't want to open her eyes and go back to being timid and embarrassed, she wanted to stay like this. If only for a moment.
She leans away a second later, hooded eyes taking in his shocked expression as her uneven breaths fan over his chin. The thoughts of hesitating from before start to catch up with her, did she really just kiss him? This heat wave must be making her crazy.
His scent was the strongest she had ever smelt before and, along with the warmth, made her head spin, swirling it with the tempting thought of repressing her lips against the ones she knew were right in front of her.
She shuts her eyes firmly, willing him and these indecent thoughts to magically vanish and for the two of them to forget she'd ever done such a stupid, wonderful, crazed thing. The voice from earlier was back but it only seemed to whisper, 'I told you so.'
A humid breath that rushes across her mouth makes the one in her throat catch and causes her eyelids to break apart.
Their noses are almost brushing again; his eyes are sharp and so intently focused on her. She has to remind herself that breathing
is an essential part of staying alive.
"You were saying?" His words are quick, breathy, impatient.
What? She had been saying something? Oh that's right. "I-I," her tongue only flops in her mouth uselessly when his eyes travel to her lips.
"Hey! What are you two doing over there?" Yato gives a shout of surprise and she's not far off from letting out her own scream.
She scrambled apart from the blushing god and turns to see Yukine giving them a stern glare.
"Sitting! We're just sitting on— ah, the porch, Yukine! No need to look so nasty, we're fine everything's fine!" The more Yato babbles the more unamused Yukine looks, and the more Hiyori feels like she's been caught doing something illegal.
A gold eyebrow arches, not at all convinced by his master's actions, and his skinny arms move from his hips to fold across his chest. She tried a bright smile to try and diffuse the peeved Hafuri vessel. "Good afternoon Yukine."
He gives her a soft smile, gaze warming and she know she gotten off the hook, if only for now. "Hey, Hiyori." There's a bemused look in his eyes as he scrubs his nose, lightly soiling it with his gardening gloves. He turns back to Yato, who's mumbling something about why his Shinki had to be such a jerk, orange eyes settling on him seriously.
"Yato," The fortune god had enough sense to go quiet. The blond guidepost opened his mouth but seemed to disregard his next
words with a shake of his head.
"Don't be an idiot." Yukine grins and instead of sputtering and shouting out how he isn't an idiot Yato is calm. Fingers curl over hers and she sees him give the boy a gentle smile, "I won't, Yukine."
With a happy nod the teen looked satisfied, returning to Kofuku's cries of another icky weed being found. She watches after him knowing that exchange went deeper then insults as Yato wormed over to her side. Skin brushes her ear and she jolts in place and chances a look at who the only perpetrator could be. The one wearing an increasingly coy grin.
"So Hiyori," it must have been a huge surge of courage she'd been on before to have kissed him, because being too near him now was enough to litter her arms with goosebumps despite the summer sun.
"Yes?" She's thankful that her voice stays even as she becomes enamored with Yato's scarf, staring at it so as to keep still.
"What were you…" He shifts so that her shoulder meets his chest and even as abash as she is she'll admit it was kind of nice.
"Smiling about before?" That makes her stomach twist violently, there was no way she could tell him. Her courage for the day has already been exhausted.
His fingers pop up to tilt her head to him, those eyes of his have a way of erasing any of her excuses.
"You," she commands her throat not to shake. "I was thinking about you, Yato."
His lips are sweet.
At first there wasn't going to be any kissing but I like Yatori quite a bit so smooching it is. Plus it made for some good practice for the future.
Ah, I think we all know that feeling Yato hopefully we've all got our own Hiyori to try and make us feel better. This fic was really refreshing for me and I'm pretty happy with it.
Tell me if I did okay, or if there's a problem you saw that I need to fix (my punctation is usually terrible so sorry) or we could just talk about Yatori and how ridiculous they are...
Thank you for reading!