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Every year when Christmas comes around, it always feels as if the previous had only just passed you by, despite it being twelve months since.
This holiday season, that special day will no doubt be magical now with kids to spoil and memories to make. It's not like Akutagawa and Atsushi didn't celebrate in the past; since joining their respective organizations, there were always gift exchanges and celebrations that made what was once a depressing time of year for them warm. But now, as a couple and as a family, there is so much more to do, meaning that much more fun to have.
Ryuunosuke had always been a bit of a scrooge, having never seen the point of such a 'pathetic' and 'meaningless' holiday due to his own bitter history. However, it seems now he's left with no other choice but to be jolly for the sake of his three year old son who happens to be very excited for Christmas's coming approach; this would, after all, be his first, as the ability user that created the boy had sprung him into existance at that age. Atsushi had always adored everything there is to love about the occasion, so he is no doubt was in the spirit by the time December 1st rolls around.
On the first day of December, Atsushi returned home from work at around four, having finished up earlier than usual. Seeing as this particular date was a sure sign of how close Christmas is arriving, the weretiger was no doubt giddy since he woke up this morning and checked the calendar, excitement sending his nerves into overdrive which is probably what had him working more productively today than usual. He was anxious about getting home, about picking Kazue up from Haruno's apartment as she had agreed to babysit the boy for him even on her day off, because the sooner that time flew, the sooner Kazue could experience one of the best holidays of the year, with a birthday this month to top it all off.
Currently, it is a quarter after six, the light turned on in the kitchen and all the lamps in the living room, the sky pitch black at this hour during the winter months. Akutagawa gets so unnecessarily antsy about the power bills for some reason, so these seasons often have him more crankier than usual, which is still quite the step up from how Atsushi was used to seeing him act. Even though his boyfriend is more of a cook out of the two of them, Nakajima still volunteered to be the one in charge of cooking dinner tonight, especially if Ryuunosuke happens to run late.
The weretiger had soba prepared for the three of them, currently staring out the living room window and looking down over the city where people bustled along, Kazue entertaining himself with the plastic kitchen set they bought him a couple months ago that he still adores playing with above every other toy he owns, the TV playing a kids program in the background. Just before drawing the curtain back so he can finish setting the table for when Akutagawa would be expected to return in about ten minutes, his eyes sparkle at the sight of their first snow fall gently starting to stick to people's hair and clothes, not a breath of wind to disrupt such a beautiful sight. Normally, it's around the middle or end of November when the ground begins to turn white, but it's also not unusual for it to only start coming now.
Immediately, Atsushi rushes over to Kazue with a smile, the little one still having a plastic slice of bread and a tomato in his hands when his father crouches down and wraps his arms around him, grinning like an idiot as he whispered into the little one's ear, "Come look, I've got something to show you."
As fast as he had said it, Nakajima picks the little one up and sprints for the window, pulling the drapes away entirely so Kazue could get a full visual of the sight before him. The little one's purple-yellow eyes that matched Atsushi's to a tee widen at such a wonderful unfamiliarity, his tiny palms pressing against the glass as he's left mesmerized at the white flakes floating around everywhere.
Hugging him closer, Atsushi presses a fond kiss to his cheek, swaying absentmindedly as he points a finger to the sky and asks, "Do you know what we call that? Snow."
"Snow?" Kazue replies with a smile, beaming from ear to ear as he leans as close to the window as he could. "Where did it come from?"
"It comes from the fluff up in the sky. Remember when you and I laid down at the park together one day during the summer to go cloud-watching?" he asks, his son nodding his head in recollection. "Well, whenever it starts to feel really cold outside, the clouds drop it all over everyone. It's very wet and soft, but also cold. Sometimes if a lot falls, it stays on the ground and piles up over the winter."
"Really?!" the child gasps in amazement as if such an explanation is bizarre, Atsushi wishing the sky would of been lighter so it wouldn't be as difficult to see. "Can Kazue touch it?!"
"Of course Kazue can touch it! So can me and Daddy and everyone else," his father assures him with bliss, their moment suddenly interrupted by the fiddling of a lock and the opening of their front door.
Immediately, Kazue is flailing to get down, running towards Akutagawa the best he can as the man strips his jacket off and hangs it up on his usual hook, his tired, irritated expression quickly vanquishing when he notices his son's oncoming approach, him and Atsushi exchanging greeting smiles when their eyes meet.
The toddler finally reaches Ryuunosuke when he slips his final shoe off, already prepared for the hug he expects every single day when he comes home from work. Nothing melts Atsushi's heart more than seeing Akutagawa's face whenever he's around their son, and despite all the conflict that went on with the ability user that gifted them with him in the first place, they'll always be forever in her debt for the most priceless present they could of ever asked for, even if children had never been a desire of theirs in the past.
"Hey, angel. Have you been keeping Dad busy?" Ryuunosuke smiles softly, fingers running through the three year old's thick, black hair that mimicked his own without a fault.
"Daddy, look! There's snow falling from the sky!" the little boy cries excitedly, in his absolute glee all the while Akutagawa's eyes fill with pure delight, exchanging a glance with Atsushi who proceeded to watch them with undying attention.
"I just saw. Daddy's hair and coat is all full of it," the mafioso chuckles, still trying to pull out beads of it that stuck to his head. "Say, do you think Dad would mind if the three of us stepped outside for a few moments to see the snowfall before we eat?"
Kazue was obviously all on board for the idea as he giggled and clapped, the question more directed at Atsushi who they doubt would have any problem with the minor deviation of routine.
"Can we, Dad?! Please?!"
"Aw, of course we can!" Nakajima responds cooingly in reply to Kazue's polite but eager ask, now approaching the duo as their son cheered excitedly when Akutagawa plucks his tiny winter jacket, the boy smaller than most average kids his age.
Just before he is about to search the drawers for a pair of mittens and a hat, Atsushi can't help but laugh as he stops before his lover and picks off a particularly larger piece of snow that stuck to his bangs, the action reverting to more of a giggling cry when Akutagawa's arms sling around his waist only for him to slide his cold, icy hands up his shirt, smirking as his boyfriend playfully pushes him off, the older's back striking the door before Nakajima is stepping forward and pressing a kiss to his lips.
That had only lasted as long as it took for Akutagawa to bravely place said hands on the bare skin of his neck next, bursting out laughing when Atsushi squeaks and jumps away immediately, the weretiger glaring at him without serious anger before flicking him in the middle of the forehead.
"Come on, Jinko, have a little fun," the man teases as Atsushi kneels down on the floor to slide Kazue's mittens on over his hands, then the hat with the giant pompom on the top.
With too pleasant of a grin on his lips, Nakajima turns to him and sarcastically asks, "Oh, but you know what would be even more fun?"
"Caressing more of your skin with these cold, cold hands?" Ryuu stretches, clearly finding amusement in this, even more so when the coming reply is,
"Sleeping on the couch!"
"Ouch," Akutagawa fiends fake injury as he clutches his chest, his lover's laughter filling the air making it impossible to fight the smile that fought to break out. "That stung."
"And so do cold hands," is the final remark before they are finally ready to approach the outdoors, Ryuunosuke snickering and playfully pinching his companion's cheek before he's throwing open the door, Kazue taking each of their offered hands as they trek down the corridor of Akutagawa's apartment building.
When they stepped out onto the semi-busy sidewalk, only a small influx of people on the opposite side of the street as rush hour nears it's end, Kazue is beyond ecstatic as he stares up at the sky, Akutagawa gently guiding his hands so he could catch the flakes in his palms, further heightening his happiness peak.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Akutagawa comments out of the blue after they had stood there for a few moments, the snow still coming down as strong as it had when it first started. His family nods in agreement, the man further adding, "I suppose now you'll understand what people mean when they say they hope for a white Christmas."
"And that they wish it cold," Atsushi chuckles weakly as he hugs his arms around his tremoring body, having not put a jacket of his own on after getting Kazue ready. He's trembling all over, teeth chattering as he leaned against the side of the apartment building, still not doing much for him as a cold breeze travels straight through him.
A sympathetic smile plastered on his face, Akutagawa strips Rashomon off his shoulders before approaching his suffering partner, the quirk of Nakajima's lips to express his thank-you pained. Ryuunosuke takes his hand into his own, both now just as icy, before guiding him further out to stand near the edge of the sidewalk where Kazue remained glued to his same spot, stood behind Atsushi once they stop so he could hug his body around him from behind to try and warm him up a bit, chin resting on his shoulder.
With so much love and tenderness in his expression, Atsushi stares at his companion as he holds a hand over the pair Akutagawa had wrapped around his body, resting on his stomach like a much too high belt. He further leans back into his embrace, the younger using his free to brush Ryuunosuke's hair behind his ear so he can get a better look at his face, noticing his eyes were closed just when a relaxed sigh falls from the criminal's nose.
His fingers still carding through his hair, Atsushi whispers, "Long day at work, I take?" in a gentle tone, knowing how much harder it is for the man to complete dangerous assignments when he doesn't allow himself to kill anymore, not only because Nakajima had him promise but now to maintain a positive image for his son.
He expects the silent nod, seeing as Ryuunosuke hates dragging the day's baggage back home with him to dump on Atsushi. The weretiger has said a million times that he'll listen to anything he wants to talk about anytime, he's willing to have any deep or not deep conversation no matter the heaviness and no matter the hour. Only very few times did the man ever take him up on that, days where work was more painful than usual or on nights where either of them were plagued with such terrorizing thoughts that they couldn't sleep, and that alone he's grateful for. Since they've become a couple, though, they are starting to become much more common and natural, which is really healthy for them.
But in times where Atsushi can simply comfort him through body language, that's also therapeutic, even in times he didn't know he needed it.
His eyes still heavy with fatigue, Akutagawa lifts his head to kiss Atsushi and assure him everything is ok, just barely missing the target as his lips press against the corner of his mouth. Nakajima giggles, cupping his face to return the favor only for him to intentionally miss as well, pecking him between the eyes.
"Your cheeks are so rosy," Akutagawa snorts, the thought seeming to roll off his tongue as his face still remains sandwiched between Atsushi's palms. Turning his head, he meets Kazue's gaze as he adds, "yours too," breath coming out in smoky clouds as the three of them giggled.
"Say, I've got a great idea," Atsushi pipes up, having both Kazue and Akutagawa's full attention. "How about once we get a lot more snow, all of us try and build a snowman."
"Like Frosty?" Kazue asks innocently, that program having been playing on TV earlier that day while he was at Haruno's.
"Yes, just like Frosty!" Atsushi exclaims, Akutagawa following along with the idea as he follows up with, "We can even snap a picture and show it to Quack when he flies home after the winter is over. I'm sure that would be his first time seeing snow too."
Quack, the duck Kazue frequently visits at the park who very easily became his best friend, is instantly a mood-booster for the little one, even when he's already at his highest point. Their son was already excited about seeing the snow, but now that's somehow tripled.
"Kazue will take lotsa photos for Quack. Using Daddy's phone," the child grins, Atsushi wishing he could of caught him saying that on tape as he reaches down to pick the little one up in his arms, peppering his flushed cheek in tons of kisses.
"Of course, my baby. But we've got all winter for that. Now, we need to go eat and warm up our bellies," Nakajima advises sweetly, squeezing him tighter as Akutagawa leads the way to the front entrance.
By now, his ears are numb, burning on the inside as did the tips of his fingers, grateful for the rush of heat as the trio step inside the porch. Hearing Akutagawa suggest they take a hot bath together after putting Kazue to sleep was like music to Atsushi's ears...