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“So, what would you guys do during Christmas?”
Kiryu's question caught the attention of the friend group of six in the class, including the always sleeping Sugishita.
Suo answered Kiryu first.
“Hm, I don't have anything to do. Maybe I would like to watch the sunset while the snow fall,”
“If you guys are free, let's go to the karaoke place!” Tsugeura's loud voice echoed across the class, blending his voice with other students’ chatter.
Kiryu had an agreeing sentiment towards Tsugeura, proven by his smile and nodding gestures. Suo, however, politely rejected the offer.
Sakura pouted while his head laid slowly on his crossed hands on the desk, oversaw the class’ window, glazed with the wonder of snow outside.
“I don't think I don't have anywhere I want to go,”
Nirei then looked at Sakura, his eyes enlarged, as if dreaming to bring him somewhere.
“Then, Sakura. Let's spend some time with me! I have a place somewhere I want to show you!”
“Huh!?”
It was the 23th of December, Christmas was around the corner. Everything and everyone was getting festive.
Makochi streets were as bustling as usual. Decorated, tall pine trees stood tall between each opening of each buildings’ alleyways. The lamp streets’ vibrant and warm light contrasts the white snow that falls slowly onto the streets.
Everyone has their own stories. Everyone will finish their 12th chapter of this year, to start anew. From home to home, each lit up house wove a different fate and story.
Sakura's house, however, has never been lit up with other people in it than him.
Nirei had the feeling he should show Sakura the amazing views of the town during the night of Christmas. He even had a place somewhere in his mind he should show to him.
Perhaps it was purely out of yearning towards him.
The time then quickly passed by a day.
——————————————————
“I promise you, Sakura. This will be the best night you'll ever have in your life,”
Nirei, enthusiastically. While holding Sakura's wrist.
“Fine.. I guess I can accept your plea,” Sakura could not handle his hand being held by someone else in an affectionate way.
For so long, he had endured pain and disappointment from his peers, his relatives. From each house to house where he got adopted, had he never felt the hands nor voices that acknowledged nor loved him, unconditionally.
Seeing as Nirei held his wrist was undeniably flustering to him, for he never knew what it felt like to experience physical love language.
“The thing is, why are you holding my hand while we are walking..” Sakura mustered up the courage to ask Nirei why he was holding his wrist.
“You're silly, Sakura. We are a couple, remember?”
Nirei giggled while looking at Sakura, then softened his grasp on Sakura's wrist, to hold his palm.
Sakura, who was still as red as a strawberry, looked away in embarrassment.
“It's nothing! I just forgot. It happened recently, so I sometimes forget.”
Around a month ago, both of them proposed to each other at the same time. It was weird, but it was odd that it happened. Regardless, both of them accepted each proposal and became a couple. It went hot for a few days in the school, for it was an all boys’ school. There was some gossip revolving around Sakura and Nirei. But in the end, everybody was accepting of their engagement.
——————————————————
After several minutes of hill walking, they reached a well hidden spot in Makochi, a small restaurant with a huge space outside where you can oversee the sunset in the horizon, and watch the fireworks display at night which will happen that night.
“Here we are! This is Makochi's only hidden restaurant with a good viewing spot! I only came to know about this place a few days ago from reading a magazine at Cafe Pothos.” As excited as Nirei was, grinning a huge smile across his face. He was definitely waiting for this moment.
“Oh, wow. This view is awesome.” Sakura, astonished at the view. He couldn't help but be reminded of a memory from the distant past back then, after seeing Nirei's warm smile.
His handsome and cute face, combined with the sun almost setting across the horizon, was like stargazing the meteor shower at night, while the galaxy glitters across the midnight sky, as was the benevolent night sky Sakura always remembered, after hopping from house to house.
In Sakura's heart, a wish sparks within.
‘Nirei, for as long as I live on and understand the nature of life, let me be your painter as you are my muse.’
In Nirei's perspective, Sakura simply looked speechless to even speak anything. Nirei knew that Sakura was adoring the great view of the restaurant, oblivious that Sakura was forming a resolution.
Nirei however, was incredibly merry that he was able to bring Sakura somewhere. Perhaps it's for his dream to Sakura the ways of the world. To even be by his side as the number 1 in Furin. He had always been glad to grow alongside Sakura, together. The events of the first day are still fresh in his mind, lingering like a trophy displayed in a cabinet. Perhaps it was why he fell for Sakura.
“Well then, mind the amusement look for later. Let's take a seat and dine in!” Nirei was overjoyed that he dragged Sakura to a table nearby, to Sakura's dismay.
“Hey, stop it!”
Nirei apologised afterwards, and both of them started to look through the exquisite menus and ordered in the later minutes.
Nirei ordered a slice of lemon cheesecake, with a glass of jasmine lemon zest tea.
Sakura ordered a slice of red velvet black forest cake with fondant decorations on top, and a cup of hot chocolate.
That evening, they savored every second of every minute they went through that moment. Perhaps, they wanted nothing but wanted to enjoy them while it lasted.
The sun had begun to set. The sky that was reddish orange had turned to a navy blue gradient. Nirei took the chance to snap a selfie with Sakura with the sunset in the background.
“Sakura! Let's take a selfie together before it's set!”
Nirei urged Sakura to finish his cake faster. This time, he was truly a slow eater, maybe to genuinely enjoy the delightful taste of each sweet bite.
“Alright, alright.” Sakura finished the last bite, and was keen to rush toward Nirei.
“We're going to snap a lot of photos! I'm going to send them to the class group chat!”
Sakura had an idea in his mind.
As Nirei said ‘cheese’ and snapped a selfie, Sakura quickly planted a kiss on Nirei's left cheek right before the camera button clicked.
A picture of Sakura kissing Nirei's cheek unprecedentedly went into the gallery.
“Sakura? That was so sudden!”
Nirei flinched away from Sakura, blushing like a pine tree red bulb decor.
“I.. was trying to surprise you.. that's all.” Sakura replied back to him, embarrassed as well.
“That… was a nice surprise, Sakura. I'm really glad you did think about that.”
“Really..? Thanks.” He pouted then looked away, as if trying to be unbothered, when his hands were definitely unaware it's swinging back and forth in excitement and his blush flushed over his face.
“I guess, I should repay that notion back, too.” Nirei had a better idea in his mind. He nodded down, a huge smile carved on his face.
——————————————————
Shortly, after the sun sets, a distant noise of fireworks were being fired from afar.
The explosions were extremely dazzling, it caught the attention of the two boys who were being intimate on the restaurant's terrace balcony.
Each of them admiring the fantastic views of each firework being fired into the sky, completely amazed by such a view.
The still reddish orange sky after sunset, and the beautiful, splendid performance of pyrotechnics, made Nirei wish for this moment to last forever. For so long, he had been witnessing each passing festival every year alone and miserable.
For no one had to be there for him.
For no one had ever acknowledged his efforts.
Even if he stacked up thousands of note books, jotted down every single person who he had thought to look cool, there was never anyone that appreciated his efforts.
The only one who he idolized, was the former Furin student. That, was enough recognition for him.
Such is the life of the weak. The beast eventually prey on the small and fragile.
But that was no longer.
To him, Sakura calling him ‘cool’ and ‘not lame’ changed every single working neuron in his head. He was finally seen as cool. It unlocked the road of a venture worth a memorial never fleeting.
It was everything he had wanted. A godsent gift for Nirei.
…
Sakura nagged that it's a little loud, but regardless he liked how each fireworks had their own shapes and colors.
Nirei was amused by his opinion, and turned to look at the sky.
After a while, they went back to Makochi's streets.
Nirei had an idea from earlier, that he suggested he should stay over at Sakura's for the night.
Sakura was a little hesitant, but a little company, being his boyfriend, couldn't hurt for a little while. Afterall, people kept on barging into his home unknowingly anyway.
——————————————————
Both of them then arrived at Sakura's house. They spent a lot of time together with Kiryu, Suo and Tsugeura during the evening at the streets’ stalls. Time went by so quickly that it was around 11:12pm when they reached the doorsteps.
Sakura took a bath, then Nirei took turns in.
Sakura settled on his living room's floors, the same space he had always been using for all his activities, let it be sleeping, eating, or stargazing at the night sky.
Nirei was ruffling his wet hair with Sakura's towel. He couldn't be bothered to bring his own personal appliances, and would rather let Sakura's scent stick on him. It's no wonder why Nirei sometimes smelled unusual, because he would always use Sakura's personal things.
Nirei's eyes caught the gaze of Sakura, who was sitting while leaning against the wall. His futon covered half of Sakura's body, and his newly brought pillows from his classmates looked cozy next to him. Nirei took the chance to slip into his futon and sit next to him after turning off the lights, letting the moonlight bathed onto them.
“Seeing the stars again, Sakura?”
“Yeah,”
For the whole day since morning, the snow stopped falling. It's as if it's like it was destined for these boys to plan an outing today.
“You know, Sakura.”
“Hm?”
“You've always been the person I truthfully loved for,”
“Well, I do know that, what's the reason..?”
“Yearnings happen because the sight of love happens at the most sincere act. When those reciprocate, a flower blooms that signify those who persevered towards each other. Otherwise, yearnings that end on one-sided might be as well as playing a puppet performance for a quiet audience.”
Sakura tried to think about Nirei's words carefully. But alas, he couldn't understand it much further.
“I.. do not get half of what you meant,” said Sakura, turning his head low.
“That means, we both knew what our hearts wanted. What we longed and yearned for. Like me, I have yearned for your praises and affection long even before we got together. While you, you reciprocated it because you have always questioned what it felt like to love, and to be loved, a relationship as stable as skin and nail.”
“Oh. I get it now.”
“...”
“Because I never fully understood what it means to have someone that yearns for you. But I'm slowly getting it now. Thank you, Nirei,”
Nirei smiled. Every inches of Sakura's progress to witness the foundation of love reached new conclusions and resolutions.
“Sakura, look at me.”
Sakura turned his eyes to Nirei, the blue moonlight reflecting his eyes, bathed on his skin.
Nirei, in eye contact with Sakura, whose moonshine gleamed half of his whole silhouette, letting his two strands of hair stood out, then muttered.
“Thank you, for everything. For loving me.”
Closing his eyes, Nirei then pushed his head slowly onto Sakura's head.
A kiss connected on their lips, intertwined, and locked.
Sakura realised what happened to him. He was going to lash out quickly, but then realised it'd be rude. He decided to give in to the moment their lips connected, his eyes closed to enjoy, to understand.
The clock ticked 12 o’ clock.
Fireworks began to spark again outside.
In the distance, Kiryu and Suo were going out together in the children's playground when they witnessed the huge midnight fireworks performance.
Tsugeura was asleep in his room and looked a little messy from before.
Sakura and Nirei however, were being intimate with each other on the futon, their tongues fickling each other's mouth. Saluva slipped out of their mouths slightly.
Sakura's hands were locked onto Nirei's neck, suggesting Nirei he should not detach.
Nirei's hands however, were fiddling with Sakura's left ear and his head. His right hand ruffled his hair, prompting him to stay that way.
Neither of them wanted that moment to finish. Nor do any of them want them to stop.
Eventually, their rigorous actions laid them down on the futon.
With Sakura laying on Nirei, he detached his lips from Nirei and kissed his neck instead, planting kisses and hickeys on Nirei's neck.
Nirei tried to do the same, but he ultimately failed because he simply doesn't know how to give someone a hickey properly. Nonetheless, a huge hickey mark did appear on Sakura's lower right ear.
…
34 minutes have passed since.
Both of them were exasperated from kissing and laid down, facing each other while hugging. Nirei had already fallen asleep first, leaving Sakura awoke.
Sakura, watching Nirei snoring soundly on his grasp, gave a thought in his mind.
“You're welcome too, Nirei. I'm glad I could love you as much as I could.”
His grasp on Nirei slightly tightened.
Perhaps, the best Christmas present he could ever receive is having someone that loves him unconditionally.
Flawed human, found love. Asundered from society, inseperable with one of society.