We finally managed to finish the story!

So, here are the last two chapters :) enjoy Christmas with Otoya and Tokiya ^_^

Merry Christmas, everyone! :)

The next morning came with a warm, golden light; it made the crystal blanket of snow glitter and shine, the light radiating with a warmth and brightness that was strangely unfitting for the time of the year.

A harsh, cold wind was blowing, though – making it feel even colder than it already was, leaving people shivering and with chattering teeth as they hurried by, trailing clouds of warm breath behind them.

Inside, though, behind the windows of the dorm, everything was warm and cozy. The sun was shining through the glass and lit the room with its warm light, glazing the two sleeping forms on the bed with gold.

Tokiya's arm was resting lightly on Otoya's side, keeping him just close enough that their bodies were touching. His breath was on Otoya's neck, ghosting over the bare skin in a calm, slow rhythm in his sleep.

Otoya was the first of them to wake up. Slowly, he stirred, blinked, and finally settled for just shifting a bit. It was only then that it hit him where he was – that he hadn't been sleeping alone in the bed.

He sucked in a sharp breath, and his eyes widened; he stared at Tokiya's body next to him. Their legs were still entangled, and they were close, so close - Otoya didn't dare to move. His eyes had been glued to Tokiya for several seconds now, frozen in place in a state of disbelief and... shock? Otoya himself wasn't quite sure how he felt. Or how he was supposed to feel.

When he took a deep breath and finally managed to tear his eyes away, he remembered in a flash how he had crawled into Tokiya's bed last night – how he had searched his scent, how he had buried himself in the blankets and pillows and had secretly wished Tokiya closer. The thought alone made him blush now.

Even worse, Tokiya must have seen him like that. Oh god, he must have come home to see Otoya snuggled into his blanket. It was… embarrassing.

Tokiya stirred next to him, and Otoya froze. He tried to wrap his mind around the next question – what was Tokiya doing here, then?

Why hadn't he just kicked him out of the bed, woken him up, or, at least, used Otoya's free bed instead? Why would Tokiya choose to sleep right next to Otoya instead?

Without wanting to, Otoya had to smile, a surprising thought – or wish – creeping into his mind.

Warmth rushed up to his cheeks, his blood tinting the skin with a soft blush, then spreading through the rest of his body with a soft, tingling sensation.

"Otoya?", Tokiya mumbled all of a sudden. It made Otoya flinch, his eyes widening in shock and his fingers gripping the sheets as if for help.

For a moment, it was silent, and neither of them made a sound – but yes, Tokiya had clearly said his name.

"Yes?", Otoya brought out after a moment. Tokiya pressed his lips together; he seemed to be taking a deep breath, and a few more seconds passed. Then, finally, his lips curled into a careful smile.

This was something Otoya hadn't seen coming – and he could feel his stomach clenching together, a strange, confusing sensation overwhelming him.

"You're still here?", Tokiya mumbled.

Otoya didn't know what to do - he felt completely unable to answer - unable to do anything, in fact, but staring back at the other with wide eyes.

This… couldn't be real, no. Not only was Tokiya calm, relaxed, and not mad at him at all – no, he even seemed to be happy that Otoya was there, with him, sharing the same bed.

"Yeah, I am", Otoya brought out. It was almost a sigh, and he couldn't help but feeling relieved, even happy – without really knowing what was even going on in Tokiya's head, though.

Once again, it was silent for a moment. The moment stretched into seconds, the silence becoming uncomfortable – and Otoya didn't want to think about how Tokiya was feeling – how ashamed, angry, furious he probably was. And should be, of course; Otoya knew that Tokiya had every right to be angry at him. Especially after the kiss when they had said goodbye; Otoya had already embarrassed him once.

Suddenly, Tokiya sat up straight in the bed, staring at Otoya. Otoya swallowed. Then, slowly, Tokiya's lips turned into the most tentative, most delicate smile. "Good. I'm glad", he mumbled, and got out of the bed without giving Otoya any chance to react.

A few hours later, both Otoya and Tokiya were in the music room, together with the rest of STARISH, including Haruka. They were chatting lazily, barely getting any work done – and actually, there wasn't much to do, anyway. The next concert was still a good two months away, and Haruka was writing their song for them while everyone else focused on keeping up a good public face. So right now, other than the weekly singing and dancing training, there was nothing to do.

Ren had used the chance and propped himself up on a chair, his feet resting on Masato's legs next to him; surprisingly enough, Masato didn't seem to mind at all – except for the occasional furrowing of his brow when Ren shifted his feet around. Otoya was watching them out of the corner of his eyes, and he was quite sure that Ren did it on purpose. It looked very much like he wanted to push Masato, teasing him a little.

It surprised him more that Masato didn't seem to mind – no, actually, that he seemed to like it. From time to time, Otoya even thought that he had seen an affectionate smile ghosting over Masato's face.

Otoya had to smile to himself when he watched the two of them; he had no idea what was going on between them, but he couldn't help but feel happy for them. It was adorable.

At the other side of the room, Tokiya was standing next to the window, his arms crossed, his whole posture a little too stiff and a little too bored.

Actually, he would have looked just the same as always if it wasn't for the tentative smile on his lips, and the unusual hint of soft lines around his eyes. If one looked closer, and knew him well enough, one could see that his whole expression looked rather soft, relaxed.

His eyes, though, were fixed on Otoya – he was watching him smile and chatter, watching him as he grinned to himself whenever he noticed Masato and Ren doing something funny or adorable.

It was almost as if Tokiya physically couldn't tear his eyes away from the redhead; he tried, though, but he found himself getting lost in thoughts and staring at him again after only a few seconds.

He didn't understand it himself. Tokiya didn't understand why he felt so mesmerized by Otoya, why he felt the need to watch him so very closely, as if something would happen to him if he didn't.

He only knew that he could feel this strange warmth in his stomach everytime he saw him smile – it was the same sensation that had kept his mind busy while he had been away, the same sensation he remembered from the day Otoya had kissed him. It also was the same sensation he had felt this morning – this wonderful, simply happy warmth.

The longer Tokiya kept watching Otoya, the better he could understand what had made him snuggle up to him last night instead of doing the reasonable thing. Even more, he felt like he could understand what had made him feel so anxious, so torn and tense when he had been away for the tour.

He had missed Otoya so much. His adorable smiles, his laughter, his lively, sometimes nervous chattering. His kiss.

In the end, Christmas came sooner than expected and while flustered behaviour whenever facing the other had turned out to become a regular habit, neither kissing nor cuddling - not to mention talking about feelings - had taken the same road.

Otoya still wasn't sure what to expect when it came to Tokiya, while said one was still figuring out if he should approach the other, and, if yes, when and where and especially how.

Days kept passing filled with blushed cheeks, abruptly broken eye contact and stuttered words ending in awkwardly babbled conversations and by the end of the week Tokiya simple couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm out to run some last errands for Christmas," Otoya hastily threw random things in his bag and Tokiya seriously wondered if the other was even noticing that he was now carrying at least three packages of tissues, reaching for the fourth.

"Uhm, about Christmas...," within a second Otoya was whirling around, facing the other with a look of pure shock. "You're still staying, aren't you?" he was obviously trying to control his voice, the slight wavering nevertheless betraying him, "even though it would be alright if you didn't. I don't want to force you into anything, so you don't need to spend your holidays here just because of me, or something. I would be glad but-".

He was babbling again. Tokiya felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance, "Of course I'm still staying," he started, trying to calm Otoya down and smoothing his nerves ,"I just wanted to ask what exactly you were planning."

"I thought-," but afraid of another whirl of words, Tokiya interrupted the other again,"Maybe we could just spend the evening in here? Maybe decorate the room and, well... Spend a quiet Christmas?"

Trying his hardest to look sincere and relaxed at the same time, Tokiya silently cursed his own hammering heart, the possibility to have gone too far displeasingly present in his whirling thoughts.

"I'd like that," Otoya smiled at him, even though rather shyly while dangling his bag, "but I really need to go now."

Without another word Tokiya found himself alone in their shared room, starring at the slowly closing door in confusion, the feeling of relief slowly sinking in, a small smile settling on his lips.

They were going to celebrate Christmas together, just the two of them, and Tokiya knew by now this would be the right time to straighten out whatever they had – maybe even starting something completely new.