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I'm back!
Christmas Eve.
The better part of the day had been taken up by Souji and Naoto shopping together for various bits and pieces of Christmas décor to spruce up Naoto's apartment for the holidays. First, the ornaments for the tree.
"How are these?" The two turned to each other in unison to sport some orbs or differing colors, but something was peculiar. Naoto was holding a silver one, while Souji was holding one of a deep blue. The color significance clicked in a second and they were smiling sheepishly as they put the two colored items in their cart.
The browsing for differing decorations went on for a time, at lease for the rest of the morning. After that was done, there they were, splitting the work to speedily finish decorating the apartment before the night was done.
Naoto was setting some streams of cheerily colored lights above the kitchen table, but, due to her height, she was forced to stand on a box to reach accordingly. As she reached back into the decorations box next to her, her hand came into contact with a strange feeling object. Pulling the object in question to hold it in view, she blushed a bit as she realized that it was small bundle of mistletoe. As Souji walked by, she clutched the small item to herself as she thought mischievously about what she could do with something so simple. Finally, a very simple decision was made as Souji was on his way around.
"Souji-ku~n…"
Souji turned to see Naoto standing on her box for a slight boost so that she was almost at Souji's eye level, and his gaze wandered to the tuft of mistletoe that was clutched lightly in the small hand above him. He looked down again at Naoto, who was smiling…the kind of tranquil smile that reflected the hint of pure love in her eyes. "I'm sure you know what this is for, no?"
Souji returned the smile as he stepped closer to wrap an arm around her waist, reaching up with one hand to take hers, which was still dangling the mistletoe above them. "I can make a wild guess…"
Naoto draped an arm around his shoulders as their lips met, and Souji instinctively held her tighter. He steeled his grip as he lifted her off the box, letting Naoto jump a bit so Souji could hold her legs up as she latched onto him. Naoto deftly tossed the mistletoe back into the decoration box so she could throw both arms around his neck as Souji took a step back to keep his balance. They exchanged feather kisses as Souji adjusted his grip so that he was carrying her bridal style. Hugging her to him tightly, he chuckled as Naoto pecked his cheek affectionately. "I love this season…Christmas, lights outside…and you're here. My gift came early this year."
Souji sat her on the table as he led her into another kiss, which she happily returned as she pulled him closer. As it ended, she closed her eyes as she pressed her face into his shoulder, and contentedly listened to his soothing murmurs as she peeked at the ring that rested on her finger. Holding him close, her mind wandered to little over a month or two ago.
"…a month or two ago."
Souji drowsily opened his eyes and sat up, shifting around and stretching as he yawned. As he threw off the blanket he was under, he searched the room for Naoto while he shuffled towards the bathroom. "Naoto?"
He leaned over the sink as he splashed some water on his face, then stared as his reflection as some droplets streamed down. He turned his gaze towards the door as he heard the sound of the kettle in the kitchen whistling. "Naoto?"
"I'm in the kitchen!"
Sighing in relief, Souji stopped and checked himself. It's not like she'd disappear from her own apartment. What…am I worried about?
As he stepped into the living room he saw Naoto smile warmly and nod at him before she turned her attention back to pouring out two cups of hot water for morning coffee. Souji stepped around her to open a high cabinet, reaching in to take out the materials he used to make Naoto's favorite blend. "You're up pretty early."
"I was a bit anxious…"
"What about? There's nothing out of the ordinary."
"We're engaged. I suppose it would be more fitting to say that I'm…excited."
"Ooh…enlighten me."
"I was meaning to ask you. How are we going to tell the team? I was trying to think of some way to-"
"Ahh…okay. There's cause to be anxious there, indeed."
"How would you approach the matter?"
"Hmm. I would wing it."
"W-…wing it?"
"Yeah." He helped Naoto mix the special combination of ingredients that made the coffee as he explained. "There's no complicated process to this. They're our friends, not a committee."
"I…I see what you mean…"
"Actually…here, let me demonstrate. Watch the coffee."
Naoto followed his gaze to the cup as he added sweetener. "Now watch as I add the creamer. Consider that our little social bubble. When I stir it…"
He stirred the creamer slowly, letting Naoto watch as it eventually blended into the color of the coffee until it looked like nothing had changed, albeit with a slight change in color. "…it still remains the same. Well, mostly. The little change in color is the change to what we live. See now?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." As Naoto took a sip from her cup, she closed her eyes contentedly as Souji patted her head gently, planting a light kiss on the top. "Okay?"
"Understood."
"Go on and sit down. I can make you a little something."
Naoto obediently took her seat and turned on the small television that sat on the far end of the living room. Closing her eyes as she drained her coffee, she immersed herself in the activity that droned in her humble apartment: Souji toiling away in the kitchen, to Marie's weather report droning on, to the simple noises of the birds outside. There seems to be a new tranquility in the air…thank goodness I can share it with…
"-Naoto?"
"Oh! Er…yes?"
"Are you alright? You were zoning out for a minute there."
She watched Souji taking a seat as he set a small plate in front of her. Accepting the fork she was offered, Naoto gave her thanks to Souji and they both began to eat. "I was thinking about us."
"Us?"
"Yes…I was thinking that-"
Pi-pi-pi…pi-pi-pi…
Souji clicked his tongue in annoyance as he apologized to Naoto, who waved him off and smiled understandingly. As he fished his phone out of his pocket, he gazed at Naoto as she turned her attention back to the news, stopping for a moment to watch her in silence. As she looked back at him, a light blush crossed her face as she silently inquired whether he wanted something, but he shook his head as he unconsciously opened his phone. "Hello…?"
"Souji-kun! Are you busy today?"
"Ah…good morning, Chie. And no, nothing's going on right n-…hold on." He took the phone away from her ear and covered the base as he looked at Naoto again, whispering, "You're not busy today, are you?"
Another smile, then Naoto shook her head in reply. Souji awkwardly returned the expression as he held the phone back up. "No, not busy today."
"Good! Do you think you can make it to Junes? Yosuke's calling a meeting."
"A meeting…sure. Okay, I'll get Naoto and meet you guys there. See you then."
"Yeah, see ya!"
Souji sighed as he put his phone back in his pocket, leaning one arm on the table as Naoto watched him intently. "Mr. Junes is calling a meeting at the headquarters."
"Hmm…shall we start heading out?" Souji nodded and motioned for Naoto to go on and change into a new set of clothes. He closed his eyes and waited for about five minutes until he felt Naoto tapping his shoulder gently. Turning, he beheld her handing him a neatly folded pile of clean clothes, and her patient gaze met his as he accepted the offer. He excused himself to the bathroom as Naoto turned off the TV. Hum…how to go about this…should I just tell them straight, or…no, no…I'll follow Souji-kun's plan…wing it.
"Ready?"
"Yes. Let's go."
"Don't forget your jacket. Here, the weather out there's getting colder."
Naoto turned her back to Souji and allowed him to put her jacket on for her, before turning again to put her hand on Souji's chest as he finished putting on his own. Their gazes met before Naoto blinked and turned her attention down so she could help him button up. Souji, having been relieved of his task, was left with nothing to do with his hands, so they stayed limply at his sides. "There."
Naoto smiled up at him as she fixed the last button, but cocked her head in confusion as she saw his face. A small grin made its appearance as he volunteered to do her buttons as well. As he finished the last one, he came face to face with Naoto, who was staying quiet with a sparkle of amusement dancing in her eyes. Souji half-closed his eyes as he leaned in a bit, glowing inwardly as he felt Naoto press herself against him. He stopped just before their lips met, deigning instead to brush some off her hair off her forehead before kissing it lightly. "There."
Taking a step back, he smiled innocently at her as she blushed and tried to hide the flicker of disappointment in her eyes, instead turning to let herself out the door. "L-lock the door behind us, will you?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hey, there they are! Naoto-kun! Senpai!"
The two were met at the street by Rise and Kanji, and they small group set a brisk pace towards Junes as they chatted amicably.
"Naoto-kun, what are you blushing for?"
"H-huh? Oh, er…no real reason…"
"Were you and Senpai doing something naughty?"
"N-no! I-…we were just having coffee and talking!"
"Senpa~i, what were you two doing?"
"What the detective said."
"Hmm…Kanji-kun, what do you think?"
"Uh? Hmm…they don't got any reason to lie about breakfast, and Senpai ain't the type o' guy to lie about somethin' so silly anyway."
"Oh, really. Well, it did involve some coffee…"
Souji chuckled, speeding up as he saw the Junes sign, listening to Rise and Kanji inquire as Naoto grew more and more flustered, walking faster herself to match his new pace. "S-S-Souji-kun! Explain what happened clearly!"
"Ah, but…it's more fun this way, right?"
"No! I don't want them to think that…that…"
She trailed off as Souji smiled, and the simple honesty that radiated from him turned her to his side once again. "Ah…never mind…"
"It's okay, Naoto. All in good fun."
Naoto simply shrugged in exasperation, but an amused smile crept its way onto her face.
The rest of the group had already arrived at the food court when Souji's entourage made it. "Mornin', Souji! You brought Naoto-kun, Rise, and Kanji, too?"
"Hm…it's more like we met them along the way."
"Nice, nice. Take a seat, it's time to make some plans."
The rest of the team sat as Yosuke started to detail his schemes for the coming months. As per usual, Naoto took the seat closest to Souji and averted her gaze with a blush as he smiled knowingly at her. "So, I was thinking that…we should use the same timeframe for the ski trip as last time we went. The snow at the time seemed to be the best of that year."
"And…by that you mean the year after the case started. February, right?"
"Yep. Maybe we can stay for a few more days, too."
"I see…let's plan around that then."
Rise was actively taking part in the conversation and usually had a bubbly quip to add, but, as Naoto idly put her hand on the table to try and find a quiet way to pass the time, she found her attention being pulled from that chat to the ring that was adorning Naoto's finger. Curiously, she reached over to gently tap her shoulder, and as Naoto smiled inquiringly at her, she asked, "Naoto-kun…what's the…er, what's…the ring for?"
Naoto followed her gaze to the ring in question, and a light blush dusted her cheeks as she froze up and looked to Souji. Souji, who had started to listen as Naoto accidently nudged against him, grinned and nodded encouragingly. Naoto glanced then to her hand, at the ring which shined in the sunlight, then finally back to Rise, who was patiently waiting for an answer, albeit with a strange sparkle in her eye. "It's an engagement ring."
"Huh? F-from who?"
"Ahem…er…Senpa- I-I mean…Souji-kun."
Despite Naoto's extreme drop in volume, Rise was able to pick up on every word. "You're engaged?!"
Souji grinned and stood, offering Naoto his hand as she hesitantly joined him. As he stood next to her, he took he hand and leaned down a bit to whisper, "I guess it's time to wing it."
"Y-you were serious?"
"…A little bit, yeah."
Naoto sighed in exasperation as she nodded understandingly. Souji chuckled lightly as the group started to grow more and more curious. "Say it with me, now…okay?"
"Souji? What are you to standing for?"
Souji waited as Naoto took a breath to steel her nerves, before they said in unison, "We're engaged."
There was a moment of stunned silence...save for Rise, who was instead smiling brightly at the two. "You're engaged?!"
Souji took the opportunity to cover Naoto's ears as they were blasted with a shocked miasma of sound. Giving the bemused team a look, he started off by saying, "When you say it like that, it seems like it's coming completely out of nowhere."
"B-but-"Yosuke started to speak his mind as he waved off Chie, who was giving him a look of jealousy at the new development. "Uh…I-I don't-"
"It makes sense…I love her," Souji hugged her to him with his arms around her shoulders, "And I'm fairly certain that she loves me back."
Naoto smiled at his basic explanation and shrugged a bit, holding his arms as she chipped in after their twin watches beeped in sync. "It makes sense."
Shockingly, Kanji was the first to speak afterwards. "It makes sense." The group turned to stare at him as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "What? It does! They've been together for years now, it's kinda obvious what would come next."
The rest of them considered the logic before turning to the couple, saying agreeably in unison, "…It makes sense."
Souji and Naoto started to chuckle, and the rest soon joined in the lighthearted gesture. As the cheer started to quiet down, Souji murmured once again to Naoto. "See? It wasn't that bad."
"It seems your strategy worked. Once."
"I sense some challenge in that tone."
"Try me. I think you'll find that my abilities rival yours."
"I think my capacity to 'wing it' is probably better."
Back to the present day…
"Naoto?"
"Mm…?"
"You were zoning out there for a bit. Are you tired? We can take a break…"
Naoto opened her eyes and purred against his shoulder as she hugged him, feeling a fuzzy warmth inside her chest as he did nothing but return the embrace and listen. "No…I just…everything feels right."
"Yeah. You're completely right."
Naoto basked in his arms for a little while more before she spoke softly once again. "…You feel so warm."
"I think it's my jacket. Hmm…I should probably buy you a new one."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know. But we should get you something warmer. Want to go shopping with me sometime?"
"Mm…just not today."
"Haha. That's fine…you want to stay here for a little longer? We should get back to decorating."
"…I…I-I don't mind…if we stay like this."
Souji simply smiled as he pulled her head gently into his chest, rocking back and forth lightly as she sighed into his shirt. As he had done innumerable times before, his hand rose to brush her hair. …I love Christmas.
Beep.
Their watches beeping together seemed to snap the two out of their reverie, and Souji assisted Naoto in getting off the table with a helping hand. "I'll get the rest of the decorations from the closet. Find some ornaments for the tree, okay?"
"Understood."
Naoto watched him walk off with a small smile before turning her attention back to the box filled with shiny decorations. The discarded mistletoe was still poking out of the box in an almost cheeky manner. Blushing as she thought about her snap-decision plan from a few minutes ago, her arguments against herself gradually shifted to something else.
Hmm…it was a silly plan to get a kiss out of him…I doubt it would work again. No…I probably shouldn't.
…
…But I'd like to.
Giggling softly to herself, Naoto started to sift through the ornaments, picking out a select few that caught her fancy. Taking an armful of what she liked, she padded over to the tree and began scanning for optimal places to furnish.
Souji strode in the room with a few more boxes of various decorations but slowed his pace as he watched Naoto crouch down to hang an ornament lower on the tree. Smiling softly, he approached her as she started to stand. Swiftly taking her free hand, he pulled her towards him, and spun her before he ducked her towards the floor in a classic tango flourish. Naoto's mind was able to quickly lock on to what he was doing and followed his movements with perfect precision. She shot him a mock glare as she flicked his forehead, before mumbling in slight annoyance, "Did you not have enough fun when you were teaching me to dance?"
Souji flashed a cheeky smile as he remarked, "Well…you've definitely gotten better at going with the flow."
"I was under the tutelage of a very good teacher. He's quite handsome, too."
"Sounds like a keeper."
"Mm…" Souji leaned down to kiss Naoto softly before pulling her back up, twirling her in front of him, and taking her hands as he stepped in close enough to catch her in a gentle hug. Naoto blushed as she returned the embrace, before quickly relaxing and smiling into his shirt. "It always was more fun to dance with you. There's a certain energy that you can't quite find anywhere else."
"Here's hoping we can replicate that tomorrow. For now, I should stop bothering you."
He released her and motioned towards the new box. "I brought some more stuff to decorate with. You can take your time with the tree, but I'll get some lights around the rooms."
"Okay."
Souji took a wreath and some lights out and nodded politely before letting himself outside. Naoto touched her lips briefly before blushing heavily and scrambling to the ornament case to get her mind onto something else.
It didn't take long for Souji to finish setting up the lights and wreaths outside, and by then Naoto was almost done decorating the modestly sized tree. "Good, you're finished."
"That I am. Done with the tree?"
"Just about."
"We can probably just hunker down and rest for the rest of the day. I can get some cocoa going…maybe some cuddling…generally a good time."
"Hm…you like to 'cuddle' a lot, don't you?"
"But your skin is so soft…"
"H-hey! Don't say that out loud…"
It take about two minutes for Souji and Naoto to be back in their room, snuggling together on the floor in front of the bed and watching the bad Christmas movies that aired at that time of year.
Sorry I've been gone for so long, but there WILL be a Christmas fic/chapter following this one, so you all have something to look forward to. Granted, it may be short, but it'll be filled with enough little moments to satisfy you. Well…hopefully.
There's going to be a new story, unlike my other fics, coming out soon. If you're following me, then you'll know when it's up because as of now, I don't know when it'll be finished.
See you then.