Archive of Our Own

Hiori couldn’t help but listen to the conversions of others as he dropped into his seat for class, eavesdropping mindlessly as he reached for the nearest art supplies and his canvas from the day before.

Christmas was only a few days away and everyone was talking about their plans for the break. Some happily chattered about visiting relatives, while some bragged about the vacations they would be going on.

As usual, Christmas would just be another day for him. His parents would give him money and he would have a new, extensive training plan for over the break. There would be no excitedly waking up to check the Christmas tree, nor laughing while enjoying a big meal with his family; he would stay holed up in his room, in front of the blue light from his computer screen.

They were all told to start their work as the teacher gave a reminder about due dates, who then started to chat with the TA. Chatter started again as everyone hurried to continue their paintings before Friday. Hiori silently poured paint onto his palette and started to paint. In the background, he could hear talking. Everything was some variation of “ My cousins are coming to visit ”, or “ I’m getting a new phone ”.

His greatest solace was the beacon of silence at the canvas next to his own, Itoshi Rin.

Itoshi Rin could be called a prodigy in many aspects. He excelled in physical education, was moved up a grade for most of his subjects (including art), and most importantly, he was the star of the soccer team. Hiori had listened to too many rants from his parents about him, about how he should ‘dethrone’ Rin and take the star spot for himself.

He turned to face him. “Itoshi-kun, can I borrow yer white paint?” he asked politely. 

Part of the unit involved students using their own paint, but his parents had deemed it a ‘waste of money’ since it wasn’t soccer related, so he had ended up stuck using the class’s subpar paint. 

Rin didn’t turn to look at him, but spoke anyway. “Call me Rin.”

“Ah, Rin-kun. Can I borrow some of yer white paint?” Hiori asked again, and this time Rin tilted slightly towards him, grabbed a tube and handed it to him.

“Don’t use it all,” he said, eyes still glued to the canvas.

His reaction was what Hiori expected from him. Rin was standoffish, blunt, and cold to everyone he interacted with. He acted as if he was better, probably since he was. Despite this, he liked art. Hiori could tell. It was a gut feeling. 

Hiori opened the tube and poured a small amount onto his palette before mixing it with the red and yellow to make a lighter shade of orange, as well as to thicken it slightly. He was happy to see that it worked. It gave his painting the effect he wanted. 

He reached his hand to pass the tube back to Rin, who didn’t turn to look at him. Hiori then glanced at Rin’s eyes to see them full of light with an ethereal shine to them, so incredibly focused. 

He bit down the disgusting feeling of jealousy that threatened to bloom in his core. “Rin-kun?” he tried, getting his attention.

Rin snapped his head to face him. “What is it?” His voice was annoyed, angry even. 

Hiori quickly raised his hands placatingly, He outstretched the hand holding the paint. “Thank you for letting me use this,” he let out a nervous chuckle. Rin took it out of his hands with a slightly annoyed hum and rested it next to the other paints.

Hiori awkwardly turned back to face his work, continuing to paint . Rin’s angrier than usual, he thought. Something might have happened… But then again, he could’ve just gotten into another fight with Shidou. Their fights were so bad that they had to be moved to different art classes, right?

His thoughts were drowned out by chatter in the background while he struggled to get the lighting on his artwork right. He certainly didn't expect Rin to talk again, out of the blue.

The sound of shuffling could be heard next to him, before, “Hey–” Rin cleared his throat, “I… didn’t mean to snap at you.” 

Awkward was the only way Hiori could explain it. He froze up in shock momentarily. Before he could reassure Rin that it was fine, Rin leaned forward and pointed a finger to the area of the painting which Hiori was struggling with.

“It’ll look more like the reference if you use a more yellowy-orange,” Rin stated, grabbing one of his own yellow paint tubes and handing it to Hiori, who was too stunned to do anything but take it. 

Rin silently turned back to his own painting immediately after. Hiori nervously started to follow his instructions, mixing a bit of the yellow into his orange and brushing it over the old highlights in small amounts. The improvement was immediate. The new shade of orange complimented the other shades much better than it had before. Hiori murmured out a polite thank you.

There was a silence — a couple of minutes of Hiori tediously deciding if he should say anything else or not. He decided to say something, but then the problem becamw what he should say. He and Rin had never spoken much before; he had tried to make friends with Rin in the beginning of the year as he had done with everyone else, but after being shut down he hadn’t bothered him any more about it. 

Then again, he didn’t even have any other knowledge of what Rin liked, since Rin didn't talk to anybody . He only really knew that Rin liked soccer and had an older brother. One of those he himself had no interest in talking about, and the other he already knew was a touchy subject.

He then focused more on the chatter in the background and suddenly remembered an easy topic: holiday plans! It was all he had to work with after all. Anything else would just make it awkward. He bit back his hesitation and slowly started to talk.

“Do ya have any holiday plans, Rin-kun?” He asked, tentatively. 

“No.”

Rin didn’t look away from his painting and Hiori took that as a sign to resume his own work. Okay, he just doesn't want to talk then, that’s fine.

A minute passed, then another.

“Do you, umm, have any holiday plans?” Rin then asked awkwardly. 

So he DOES want to talk? Hiori blinked momentarily in surprise. It seemed today was full of surprises. “No, not really. I haven’t done anything for Christmas in a long time.”

“Me neither,” Rin replied. If Hiori weren’t so adapted to noticing everything, he could have missed the way Rin’s paintbrush left his canvas and his hand grasped tighter on it, as if he were annoyed, before continuing to paint.

“What are you going to do for Christmas Eve?” Rin continued stiffly. 

Hiori didn't need to give much thought to the question. “I’ll probably just play video games. You?”

“I’ll binge horror movies since my family won’t be home.”

Hiori paused, momentarily intrigued. “Ya like scary movies?” In hindsight, it was pretty obvious that someone like Rin would be a fan of horror, but in his defense he was still shocked that he was holding a conversation with Rin at all!

“Yeah, do you?” Rin asked. 

“Some of them are good, but I don’t get scared that easily. I’ve always prefered more sciency video game movies,” Hiori answered, before chuckling and adding, “well, that’s probably because I like video games huh?”

Rin hummed in response.

“What’s yer favourite movie?” Hiori asked, smiling as he painted. 

He should have expected that Rin would say The Shining. It was the type of horror movie he’d expect from Rin. 

“My favourite is Ready Player One,” he continued. “I’ve probably watched it about a hundred times already.”

“Hm, I’ve never seen it. Maybe I’ll watch it over the break, so the next time you try and strike up some lukewarm conversation, we’ll actually have something to talk about.”

Hiori paused, momentarily stunned. Does Rin want to end the conversation? But he said he wants more to talk about… so maybe he wants to share a common interest? Does that mean we’re friends? Or was this some type of silent rejection...?

Perhaps he felt like going out on a limb in that moment, or maybe talking with Rin had given him a confidence boost. “Hey, maybe ya could watch it with me? Then we could talk about it immediatly after,” Hiori grinned.

Sure, it was a bit of a crazy thing to ask, but there was no harm in trying, after all, the worst he could say was no–

“Hmm… Since we’re both spending Christmas Eve alone, come over to my house and we can watch it then. If you’d like, you can sleep over and leave in the morning.”

Some supernatural power, maybe the goddess of luck, must have been shining down on Hiori at that moment. He was stunned, completely frozen in place, aghast, possibly the most surprised since the start of the conversation.

“Really? I’d be delighted! Can you text me your address?” he leaned forwards, smiling and happy. 

Rin had invited him over to his house? For a sleepover!? To watch his favourite movie no less! If he told his parents he was invited over by Rin, the star of the soccer team, they would most definitely encourage him to go. He could already imagine it — “Yo, you can take this time to find out more about him, and then use this information to overtake him!”. Any sad excuse for ‘family bonding time’ (which would really just be awkward photo taking and his parents pressuring him about soccer), would be thrown out the window in favour of this! 

Rin’s voice was like a flash back to reality. “Give me your phone. I’ll type in my number.”

Hiori smiled and opened his phone, typing out the required information for a new contact before handing it to Rin. Rin hastily typed something out before handing it back.

Rin Itoshi

(XXX XXX XXX)

The contact photo remained as the standard monotone background with a large R in the center (Hiori would have to remind himself to change it later). His phone buzzed, and a message; the address, appeared on the notification. He smiled and closed it, sliding the phone back in his pocket.

 “I’ll text you the details later,” Rin said, before continuing to paint.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiori spotted the clock. There were only ten minutes left. Silently, he started packing up. He always made sure to start finishing earlier so that he could wash and return the paint supplies he used. Only a couple minutes later, the teacher's voice rang throughout the classroom still full of chatter, as he instructed everyone else to start packing up. 

As Hiori swung his bag over his shoulder and waited next to the door for the period to end, Rin walked next to him to wait as well. Before any talking could start, the bell rang and they rushed out of the classroom. 

Since the hallways started to crowd with students and Rin’s and Hiori’s next periods were in opposite directions, Hiori turned to face Rin with a cheerful smile, “See you later Rin-kun!”. 

He turned around quickly so as to not get caught in chaos and to avoid getting crushed between two other students. It only took a moment for him to dismiss what he saw; the unmistakable pink tint to Rin’s face. After all, even though they were inside, the weather was getting colder.

—

Hiori stood in front of the address Rin had given him with a duffel bag over his shoulder, questioning his sanity.

Rin had invited him over to his house right? He hadn't just imagined the conversation and the texting that had led up to it, right ?

No… this isn’t the time to be having doubts, he thought. I’d be such an asshole if I canceled now, even if Rin inviting me over might be suspicious and he might be planning to murder me… Surely not… Besides, this is way better than spending Christmas at home anyways. And Mom and Dad were delighted to hear I was spending Christmas Eve with the captain of the soccer team. 

The house looked like any average house — large in size, sleek rooftop tiles, and a car in the driveway (suspicious, but maybe it was for Rin, since he had turned sixteen a few months ago). The roof was covered in snow, with icicles hanging off the edge like a perfect gingerbread house. 

He slowly ventured up the driveway to the front door. The first thing he noticed was that the door was… open? He could hear arguing from inside, which was immediately strange since Rin said he would be home alone. He put his hand on the doorknob for just a moment, which was seemingly enough force for the door to open almost all the way.

The sight he saw was certainly not a sight he was expecting.

Rin was grappling with someone, someone who Hiori immediately recognised as the third year infamous for getting into fights every week: Shidou Ryusei. Hiori didn’t interact with him much, but he knew about his explosive personality and violent tendencies. In most ways, his personality was a total opposite from Rin. They didn't mix at all . Even teachers knew not to have them sit next to each other since it would be a disaster every time. What Hiori didn’t know, was why Shidou was here of all places.

Standing near them with a blank expression was… the Itoshi Sae. The Itoshi Sae who had gone to Spain to join a professional soccer team, who had only returned to school in Japan a couple months ago.

Like a lightswitch, it clicked in his mind why Shiodu was here. It was relatively common knowledge to most of the people in the school that Sae and Shidou were a pair. They were a duo that no one expected, constantly topics of gossip. The fact that they were dating was less common news. Usually people only heard from a friend of a friend, from someone in their inside circle. Hiori had Karasu, who was actually somehow friends with Shidou, to tell him the inside scoop.

Sae was Rin’s brother and judging by the fact he was wearing his jacket and shoes, he had only come by their house to pick something up and leave immediately after. Of course, there was even more speculation about Sae’s and Rin’s relationship. Some thought it was comfortable, but most could see that it was very clearly strained. Rin’s constant anger and his fights with Shidou, paired with Sae’s indifference and the fact that he had never once stopped Shidou from fighting with his brother were the biggest proof of that.

The door creaked and all three heads snapped towards Hiori, who stood like a deer in headlights.

In an instant Rin shoved Shidou off him, a hand shooting up to cover his nose bleed immediately. Shidou’s face morphed into joy and surprise. 

“Well Rin-rin, is this why you're trying to get us to leave? I didn’t know you were hiding someone from us!” his tone was teasing as he looked Hiori up and down. 

“It's not— Hurry up and get out!” Rin shouted back, his hand not leaving his bleeding nose. 

“As your big future-older-brother in-law, you can tell me anything!” Shidou tried to swing his arm around Rin’s shoulder, which Rin dodged. “You don’t have to keep secrets from me.”

Before Shidou could tease Rin again, Sae spoke. “Hurry up Shidou, let's go.”

Shidou stopped quickly and gave one last pat to the top of Rin’s head (to which the latter gave a death stare), and walked towards the door, where Hiori was standing. “Get inside, Cyan-top! It’s cold out there.” 

Hiori almost jumped at being addressed directly, before quickly shaking the snow off his boots and stepping in. The entryway became crowded as Shidou and Sae both came to get their shoes, and Hiori awkwardly pressed against the wall to give them space. The door eventually slammed shut and the house was silent. 

Hiori’s eyes drifted to Rin, who was still clutching his nose, palm bloody.

“Hurry up and take your shoes off, and hang your coat on the shelf,” Rin muttered, and Hiori took the moment to observe him.

Rin was wearing a matching set of Christmas pajamas, accompanied by thick christmas socks. Apart from that, nothing had changed. Hiori himself was wearing a plaid, red, matching pajama set. He slid out of his shoes and took off his jacket, hanging it on an empty coat hanger on the shelf.. 

He belatedly realised he hadnt greeted Rin yet. “Hiya Rin-kun! How are ya?” 

Okay, maybe that hadn’t been the best idea. He could very clearly see how Rin was — annoyed, at his injury, maybe at Hiori and Sae, and definitely at Shidou.

“I’m fine,” Rin said. “Come on, follow me.” 

He was led to the kitchen, where Rin grabbed a paper towel to wipe the blood off his face and hands. Hiori looked for a moment as the paper stained with the blood. 

“Do you need help Rin-kun?” he asked, taking a step forward.

Rin muttered a “No,” in response, followed by two drops of blood falling onto his shirt. 

Hiori was sure he heard some curses, and he sighed as he stepped forwards. “Let me help you Rin-kun, I really don’t mind.” He moved into Rin’s direct line of sight and locked eyes with him. When he received no refusal, he set his hands on top of Rins and slowly pushed them down. “Can I touch your face?” He asked quietly. 

“Sure… whatever, fine,” Rin grumbled out.

Hiori brushed his hand over Rin’s face, before pushing up the large bangs that covered up most of his face and nose. “Hm… Do ya have bandaids? And also some hair clips?” It would probably be hard if his bangs were in the way. Hiori could feel Rin’s face become warmer under his hands.

“Yeah, upstairs,” Rin mumbled, grabbing a new paper towel for his nose. 

He started walking down a hallway, which Hiori followed, his duffel bag still with him. They went upstairs and Hiori watched as Rin quickly entered his room and slammed the door shut before he could see the insides. 

The door opened and Rin left the room quickly, slamming the door shut again. “Follow me to the washroom.” 

Hiori was starting to feel a bit like a lost puppy, following Rin around so much, but he did anyway.

The washroom was spacious and Rin opened a cabinet to get a box of bandaids out, before outstretching the hand with the hair clips and looking at Hiori expectedly. His face had a cute pink tint to it for whatever reason.

It took Hiori a moment to realise that Rin wanted him to continue helping. Hiori reached for the hair clips, stopping and holding them up when he felt the strange shape.

They were owls. Cute, teal owl clips. It seemed that every day Rin would shock him with some new piece of obscure information about himself. This explained the tint to Rin’s face, merely embarrassment, so luckily he wasn't injured in some other way. 

Hiori brought his hands up to Rin’s face again, collecting his bangs and clipping them to the sides.

Now that he was able to get a look up close at Rin’s face, he noticed that it really did resemble Sae’s, like an exact copy. Hiori had already seen their matching green eyes, but their eyelashes and their noses were the same as well.

He shook his head. He shouldn't be admiring Rin’s face. He should be helping. He trailed his hand along Rin’s nose. “Does this hurt?” 

Judging by Rin’s wince (a small noise, one that generated a strange, unknown emotion in Hiori), it did. “Not as much as earlier, a bit more when you touch it,” Rin replied calmly, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

Hiori was tempted to leave his fingers on Rin’s nose, to press down and soak up his reaction, but he let them rest there for only a second before retracting them. Instead of pushing it further, he grabbed a bandaid from the box and lined it up to Rin’s face. Slowly, he pressed it on the bridge of the nose, and Rin made a quiet noise of pain that sounded like he was trying to hold it back (Hiori could take that strange feeling, put it in a box, and think about it later).

“Put a paper towel to your nose to stop it from getting everywhere and ya’ll be a-okay,” his hands left Rin’s face. 

Rin’s hand trailed up to the bandaid on his nose. “Why do I need this? It’s useless.”

“Bandaids placed with care will make ya feel better,” Hiori smiled, taking a small step back and handing Rin a paper towel from a box on the counter.

With the soft pink blush forming on Rin’s face, Hiori realised that his face wasn’t really that similar to Sae’s after all. Rin’s eyes were smaller and sharper, with bags underneath, and his eyebrows were thinner than Sae’s. His cheeks were also more full, more juvenile. It could almost be called innocent, but with Rin’s constant glower it really just looked more ethereal.

He let his eyes trail down for only a moment, before they landed on the fresh stain of blood on Rin’s shirt. “Oh yeah, ya should probably change too,” he suggested, while pointing to the stain. 

Rin looked down and his brow furrowed with annoyance. “Stupid roach. Stupid pink bug,” was all he said, before storming to the bathroom door. Hiori quickly followed behind.

As soon as Rin’s hand touched the doorknob, Hiori’s shot out to rest on his shoulder. Sure, he wasn't close with Rin at all, but Rin was obviously having a rough time. He could at least try to do something.

“Rin-kun, are you okay?” he asked tentatively, and Rin quickly shifted the hand off him. 

“You literally just watched me get whacked in the face, and now you have to help me because I have a nosebleed. Aren’t you embarrassed at all?” Rin shot, clearly agitated now.

Hiori was startled for a moment, before slowly setting his hand back onto Rin’s shoulder; watching for any indicator of discomfort.

“Rin-kun, I’m not embarrassed. I really don't mind at all. I could see that you didn’t really want to fight, but if you did I’m sure I still wouldn't care. Don’t worry about it.” He gave Rin’s shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze and felt as the muscles slowly stopped tensing up.

Rin only clicked his tongue and gave a half-assed wave to get Hiori’s hand off, before slipping away to his room. He was able to change in less than a minute, not that Hiori was counting.

His new shirt was a plain black one, and he glanced at Hiori briefly before muttering a “Follow me,” and leading him downstairs. They didn’t stop at the kitchen this time, and Hiori was instead led straight to the living room. It was a spacious place with a nice couch and coffee table, and a TV across from it. The room also had a fireplace, unlit. It looked like Rin had already prepared beforehand, since there was a bowl of popcorn on the table and a mess of throw blankets and pillows on the couch as well.

“Sit down and choose a blanket, unless you’ve already bought your own,” Rin said before dimming the lights and picking one up for himself. He took the left side of the couch, leaning forward to grab a remote while hugging a pillow.

Hiori took this as his sign to join him. He sat on the opposite side of the couch and dropped his duffel bag to the side before reaching inside. 

He pulled out a sheep plushie — his sheep plush Yuki — and held it in his arms. Since there was a soft, white blanket next to him, he took it, and he maneuvered into a comfortable position as Rin turned on the TV. The intro of the movie soon started to play.

Hiori had seen this movie a hundred times before. Rin had never seen it. Hiori couldn’t stop himself from sneaking glances at Rin to spot his reactions. 

Near the middle, there was an entire segment dedicated to The Shining. Hiori watched for the moment that Rin realised. The moment eventually clicked; Rin’s eyes lit up and he grabbed a pillow to hug and rest his chin on.Neither of them spoke until the end credits started rolling at about 9pm. They still had plenty of time, and it wasn't like either of them would sleep. 

I always slept late anyways, Hiori thought. And judging by those eye bags constantly under Rin-kun’s eyes, he probably doesn’t sleep early much either.

“So… What did ya think of it?” He asked eagerly, turning to face Rin. Rin’s eyes had a small sparkle to them, not given away by his monotone voice. “You didn’t tell me there was a part about The Shining in it.”

“I thought it would be a nice surprise,” Hiori smiled.

“The movie was okay,” Rin shrugged. “I liked the references to The Shining the best.”

“Didn’t expect anything less from ya,” Hiori nodded. A moment of silence then fell, and then he asked, “what d’ya wanna do now?”

“Watch another movie I guess. But it’s probably not late enough for scary movies. What do you think?” Rin reached over for the remote control again.

“Hmm... We could watch a Christmas movie this time? Have you seen The Grinch?” Hiori shifted his legs around to a more comfortable position, only to find out his right has fallen asleep. He shifted his whole body to get enough room to shake it around.

“Only the live action version, is the animated one any good?” Rin asked.

“Well, I guess it’s not terrible?” Hiori was surprised by the fact Rin had never seen it.

Rin then suddenly tossed him the remote out of nowhere, which he caught.

“Put it on. It’s on Netflix right? I’ll get the popcorn,” Rin grabbed a bowl and went to the kitchen.

Luckily, the TV in Hiori’s house (although less glamorous) used the same remote, so he wasn't totally lost. He opened Netflix to see three profiles, labeled ‘Sae’, ‘Pinky’, and ‘Rin’. The first two had profiles from some show he had never seen, but Rin’s profile was Jinx from Arcane.

Rin watches Arcane? Hiori had used to be a hardcore Arcane fan, but he hadn’t expected Rin to like it. To be fair, Jinx suits Rin perfectly as his favourite character, sibling angst and all.

He clicked on the profile and went to the search, finding the animated Grinch movie and starting it, pausing it so Rin could have more time to come back. When he did, it was silently, and he placed the bowl in between the two of them and sat in the same spot as before. Hiori unpaused the movie, and put the remote back onto the table as it started.

This movie was shorter than the one before, only one and a half hours. There was still popcorn in the bowl when it ended.

The first thing Rin said was, “The live action version was better.”

Hiori stifled a chuckle. “Guess I’ll have to watch it then.”

“Not now. I can’t take that much Grinch in one go.”

Hiori held back on replying with ‘is that because you’re basically the Grinch every day?’. Somehow, he knew that kind of remark wouldn’t go down well. Instead he said, “You got any games?”

Rin thought about it for a moment. “I have a console. Wanna play Smash?”

Hiori was delighted to find out that Rin had a Switch connected to his TV. They each took a controller and chose their characters. As they started to play, they fell into a nice, quiet rhythm.

After a while, Hiori spoke up. “I didn’t know you watched Arcane, Rin-kun,” he focused his eyes as the map flipped. 

Rin replied quickly “I did a while ago. Only the first season though. Jinx is my favourite.”

“Ekko is mine, and the second season is really good. You should watch it.” Hiori was still focused on the screen. 

“When I have time, maybe.”

They both started playing more rapidly, and of course Hiori won in the end. They played more rounds, each periodically switching characters. 

“Rin-kun, I brought a present for ya, but you don’t have a tree. Would you like it now or tomorrow?” Hiori won another round but while Rin selected his next character, he let go of the remote.

“Tomorrow, I’ll give you yours too,” Rin replied, before pausing. “It might not be something you like, since I don’t know anything about you and I haven’t gotten gifts for anyone in a while.”

Hiori didn’t feel like prying, but some friendly bonding on Christmas Eve could be good for the soul. Someone as beautifully broken as Rin surely needs someone to put the pieces back together and admire the cracks.  

“Did ya used to celebrate Christmas?” Hiori asked, monitoring the way Rin seemed to wince before speaking.

“I got presents until I was eight, but after my Nii– Sae, left, I never really bothered to do anything for it.”

“Your parents don’t celebrate?”

“No, too busy,” Rin paused for a moment. “Yours don't either?” he asked.

“No…” Hiori murmured, before continuing. “What are your parents busy with?”

“Work, obviously.”

“What are your parents’ jobs?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” Rin grumbled.

“I guess… I’m just curious,” Hiori paused. “You're an enigma, as far as I know. Ya only let a few people into your world. And as for the others, either they admire ya, or they fear ya, sometimes both. I admire you Rin-kun,” he laughed, even though it wasn’t really that funny.

Rin was silent, Hiori spoke up again. “Do ya wanna play a game?”

This time, Rin did reply. “We’re already playing a game. I don’t have that many games on this thing.”

“Not that type of game. I mean a question game. How about I ask one, then you ask one?” Hiori offered. 

Rin made a small ‘tch’ sound, before shaking his head. “As long as your questions aren’t lukewarm… I guess It’s fine.”

“Thank you Rin-kun,” Hiori selected his character and the game restarted. “I’ll go first. Where did you get the owl hair clips?”

Rin brooded. “I said no lukewarm questions. That's lukewarm.”

Hiori shrugged, “I thought we could start with something small. Anyways, you have to answer the question.”

It was quiet for a moment. “Bachira got them for me… as a gift from after we won a match a last season.”

“That’s nice. He gave me something too — the sheep keychain on my school bag,” Hiori recalled the party they had held after the game, a celebration at some bowling place. Bachira had given all of them gifts at that meetup, but Rin, despite being the captain of their team, hadn’t come. Bachira had probably tracked him down to give it to him some other time.

“Okay, my turn I guess… What’s your favourite colour?”

“And you said my question was lukewarm.”

“Just answer it.”

Hiori sighed. “Cyan. Same as my hair. Okay, my turn again. Ya said ya don’t celebrate Christmas anymore, so why do ya have Christmas pajamas in your size?” 

Rin’s character lost a life from his many applied debuffs. He was a hardcore Smash Bros player. “What is this, an interrogation?” he scoffed. “Since Sae’s home for this Christmas, my Mom bought us matching pajamas. She didn't feel like doing anything else.”

Hiori tilted his head. “If you didn’t like it, why were you wearing it?”

“It’s Christmas Eve and I have a guest over, I thought I should wear something festive. Anyways, that was two questions from you, so now I get to ask two.”

Hiori won the round, finishing off Rin’s character and then bringing up his hand to rub the back of his neck, “Ah, sorry about that,” he laughed.

Rin didn’t say anything for a moment, as if contemplating if he even should. “When you said you didn’t care about seeing me like that earlier, were you lying?”

…Huh?

Hiori wasn’t exactly under the impression that Rin would care if he had seen that. Hiori already knew about the fights. The whole student body knew! Most of the teachers knew as well. How was it different now? 

Maybe it was the holiday spirit that had Rin acting so out of whack, or maybe he was feeling sentimental? Actually, it was probably since Sae had been here, and even though him and Rin had a bad relationship (painfully obvious to anyone who looked at them), he had left to hangout with his boyfriend, and wasn’t even wearing their matching pajamas.

The more Hiori thought about it, the worse it seemed. He knew there was something wrong before, but whatever this was had turned out to be a whole lot of crazy which he wouldn’t even try to unpack. 

“Rin-kun, I wasn’t lying earlier. It doesn't make a difference to me if you fight people. If I cared that much I would have left already,” he reassured.

If they weren’t in a match, he would have turned to face Rin, but he didn’t want to lose.

“What’s your second question?” he asked, lacking other things to say.

Rin sighed. “Is there… uh, anything else you want to do?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Hiori, I’ve never brought people to my house before. You're nice enough that I feel you wouldn't say anything if you needed it. Is there anything you want to do right now? Are you bored?"

This time, Hiori did stop the game and put down the controller. He turned to Rin and reached out a hand to put on his shoulder.

“I’m not weak, Rin-kun. I know I’m nice and all but I can tell you if you’re bothering me.” He could feel Rin tense underneath him, so he added, “You're not bothering me. I haven’t spent Christmas with others in ages and we literally watched my favourite movie. I’m having fun right now!”

Rin didn’t look at him, but it was okay since his muscles were relaxing again. He grabbed his controller from where he’d placed it and brought it to the console to be plugged in. “It’s late. We should sleep before midnight. Use the upstairs bathroom. I’ll get out a mattress for you.”

Hiori grabbed the smaller bag from inside his duffel bag, the one with his night routine things, and headed upstairs. He remembered the way to the bathroom and was able to get everything done quickly.

When he came back downstairs, the mattress was set up with a pillow and Rin was heading upstairs for his own nighttime routine (probably). Hiori unpacked his sleeping bag and shuffled into it. He also grabbed Yuki, who had been discarded on the couch. 

Suddenly, he felt a weight fall on him from above. He turned over to realise that it was a blanket being dropped onto him by Rin. 

“It’s cold, even inside, your sleeping bag isn't enough,” Rin said.

“Thanks,” Hiori moved the blanket to cover himself more comfortably. As he looked up at Rin, the first thing he noticed was that the owl hair clips had been replaced in favour of an owl sleeping mask, currently resting on Rin’s forehead.

Rin turned the lights off and used the flashlight on his phone to maneuver to the couch with his own blanket. There was a lot of shuffling as Rin got into a sleeping position, and then the light was taken away.

“Good night, Rin-kun.”

“Good night, Hiori.”

—

In the morning, Hiori and Rin exchanged gifts. Hiori had gotten Rin an owl plushie off pure vibes alone — remarkably good choice, it seemed. Rin had gotten Hiori a Steam gift card, since he didn’t know what games Hiori did or didn’t have. Rin then made them both breakfast, the best pancakes Hiori had ever tasted, pancakes that sparked a special feeling in him, one that made him long to be cared for again.

A simple night. A simple morning. A simple act of kindness, an act that made him hope for something more in the future.