TACHIBANA AN & TANEGASHIMA SHUUJI

[bana_an_na]

Who: Tachibana An & Tanegashima Shuuji
What: An and Shuuji on their Christmas date. Ugly sweaters, hot chocolate, presents and some loser cuteness.
When: Christmas Eve
Where: Shuuji's apartment
Rating: Mostly G




Hand in hand they slowly made their way back to Shuuji’s apartment, thankfully the older man lived relatively close to one of the nicer spots to go see Christmas illuminations so it wouldn’t be that long of a trek. An didn’t mind all to much and actually enjoyed the fact that gone was the chatter of people and seasonal jingles that had been playing and now a more comforting silence received them as the crowds died out.

An had understood the appeal of going out on Christmas eve but she never had really experienced it for herself.There was almost something whimsically romantic about walking about with all the colorful lights and sure it wasn’t snowing but it was enough to feel like they were celebrating. As nice as the lights had been, An was curious to what her boyfriend had set up back at his apartment as she only catched a small glimpse when she had dropped off a few thing as they headed out.

“That was fun though you’d think more people would be eating fried chicken considering it’s Christmas but guess that isn’t romantic enough.” She said with a small grin, Shuuji did say he wanted to eat fried chicken and An wasn’t against that at all but she did notice that wasn’t exactly most couples meal of choice.

“Not romantic enough? What’s more romantic than fried chicken?” Shuuji joked as he toed off his shoes in the doorway. “Especially paired with Christmas cake,” he added, taking her coat to hang it on one of the coat hooks by the front door. Though, he supposed being outside where it was cold and wanting to snuggle up with someone you cared about lent a bit more to something warm like hot chocolate or butternut squash soup with cranberries.

Awaiting them was the big surprise he had planned for her. She already knew he had been doing some decorating for the holiday; he didn’t celebrate Christmas in the traditional western sense, but any excuse to put up decorations and give gifts was a good excuse in his book. He had put up a small Christmas tree and lights as well as four stockings (for him, the two bunnies, and An) as well as couple wrapped gifts earlier in the week. But in preparation specifically for their date, he had arranged every pillow and cushion in the house (and admittedly purchased a few additional huge pillows) to build a massive pillow and blanket fort that was strung with white Christmas lights. If nothing else, it would make for Pinterest-worthy selfies.

There was another surprise, of course, in the wrapped gift and stocking for her. He had been planning this for nearly a month and he was excited that she would finally get to see it. Keeping Christmas surprises from her was getting harder since she was spending so much time at his apartment, lately. But if all he had to sacrifice to see her all the time was a little element of surprise, that wasn’t such a big sacrifice.

Mimicking the older man, she unlaced her boots and gave him a smile as he helped her out of her coat, “Some would argue that fried food are unattractive.” An would argue that it was delicious and it didn’t really matter to her.
As much as An wanted to step in and see what Shuuji had set up she decided to be patient and instead pick up the wrapped gift that she had dropped off. She hadn’t told him that it was for him but it didn’t need to be said really. Considering that her boyfriend seemed to pretty much have everything he could want , she had to really think outside the box and could only hope that he liked what she had picked out for him.

“Does it really matter if it’s unattractive once it’s in your belly?” Shuuji came back to the door wearing a hideous Christmas sweater that he at least had the sense to not wear when they were wandering around to look at the lights. It was everything wrong with a Christmas sweater in one package - green, red, and white yarn with some… reindeer on it? It also had a small button near the hem that would switch on LED lights that made it look like it had glowing snowflakes on it. If anything was unattractive, it was this god awful sweater. He had been saving this beauty for Christmas night.


Speaking of unattractive, the older man soon appeared in what many would call a sin to the fashion gods. All she could do was blink as she inspected every part of the sweater, especially the glowing snowflakes. An wanted to feel surprised at Shuuji’s sudden change in clothes but it didn’t seem like not something he would choose to wear. Maybe part of an odd christmas tradition.

“It doesn’t really matter then..” An responded once she decided to look past his sweater and walk towards the living room, “I hope those lights don’t decide to explode, we wouldn’t want your ugly sweater catching fire now would we?” Giving one of the lights a poke she finally gazed over Shuuji’s handy work.

A big smile spread over her face as An looked at all the little details that Shuuji had thought of, this was turning out to be much nicer than the illumination that they had been looking at not to long ago. “ I love it.” Between the lights , the pillows and the blankets it looked so comforting.

Shuuji smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You did ask for some extra pillows.” With the lights dimmed, it was the perfect ambiance for snuggling by just the Christmas lights. Shuuji was always amazed by the small gestures that seemed to excite An. She was easily delighted by things that cost him little more than an afternoon of effort. He hoped that meant she would love her gift under the tree, as well.

“You know, this is actually my first Christmas date.” Shuuji had dated around quite a bit before meeting An, but somehow he always found himself alone around the holidays. Maybe it was because of his wandering nature or that he was just difficult to be in a relationship with because he wore (possibly flammable) ugly Christmas sweaters for kicks and giggles. But it was novel to be with someone on Christmas, this year.

An had always been pretty simple, she didn't need very much to be happy and the effort put on by Shuuji was more than enough for her. It made her feel loved? Thinking about it made her cheeks flare up.

With Shuuji’s confession, she couldn't help but turn around and give him a look. Some how it surprised her seeing as the olderman seemed to be really into this kind of festivity. Still she smiled and pushed the brightly wrapped gift into his chest. “It's mine as well so don't feel so left out on that.” While she had celebrated Christmas it usually was with her brother or her friends so the whole going out as a couple was new to her. At thought she did have to wonder how Kippei's date with Akira was going.

Shuuji took the gift and admired the wrapping, holding it against his chest. “You, too, huh? Well, then we’ll just have to set the golden standard for Christmas dates.” He took the box and set it under the tree next to the wrapped present for her. “Let me know when you want to open presents - I was thinking hot chocolate first.”

Following him along, she continued to look around enjoying the mix match of colored blankets that Shuuji had set up. “I think we’ve done really well for ourselves.” Or so she thought so far. Presents could wait so An gave him a smile before hugging his arm, “Sure, want me to help you?”

“Sure.” Shuuji wandered into the kitchen and gathered cocoa powder, sugar, milk and the pot to boil it on the stove. “I think I have marshmallows in the pantry if you wanna take a look.” Despite his best efforts, he didn't find bunny shaped marshmallows in time for Christmas.

Considering the time she had spent at Shuuji's apartment at this point she knew her away around his kitchen and didn't have a problem finding his pantry. Her problem suddenly became trying to grab the bag of colored marshmallows from the second shelf as she leaned up with extreme concentration and tried as she could to pull it down.

“I hate your pantry made for tall people.” An whined as she let out a sigh. Of only she had mind powers it would make things easier or possible an extra 4cms would also do just fine.

Shuuji stepped up behind An and reached over her to grab the marshmallows off the stupid tall people shelf and handed them to her. He then placed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “You didn’t see? I got you a step-stool.” He motioned to the step stool that was tucked away beside the fridge. It wasn’t anything fancy - actually, it was something that he asked his parents to mail him because he thought it was funny. Painted on it in white letters were the words, step up to be tall, step down to be small. And a bunny. Always a bunny. “Zaizen will probably use it when he’s here, too.” With that, he went back to the stove and started to bring the milk up to a simmer.

Taking a look at the stool, An couldn’t help but pout at the words written on it and let out a dry laugh. “I don’t even think with the stool it would actually make me be tall..” But at least she could manage to reach the last shelf.

“Does Zaizen-kun come here often?” She asked as she opened up the bag of marshmallows and leaned against the counter. She was rather tempted to eat a few before they ended up in their hot cocoa so first she offered up one to the older man’s mouth, “I assume he needs a weekly dose of bunny snuggles.”

Since no one ever said no to marshmallows, Shuuji happily accepted the marshmallow extended to him. He had to be careful once he opened a bag of them to not just sit down and munch away at them while he was cooking or playing with the bunnies, or just hanging around the house. “We have this arrangement that he can come over whenever he wants and hang out with the bunnies and be left alone. I don’t actually know how often he comes, but every now and again I find evidence of him. When I see him, I just give him some space.” He wasn’t entirely confident in saying it, but he was fairly certain that he and Zaizen had reached an understanding that at least mimicked friendship. He was regularly mocked by him which seemed like a good sign.

It was an odd sort of arrangement in her books but if both were content in it being that way than who was she to judge? Chewing on her own marshmallow and enjoying the simple sweet, she nodded slowly. “I see, I’m sure the bunnies appreciate the attention then.” Zaizen certainly was a character but An did enjoy their odd chats and talks of her apparent death bear army.

Pushing herself off from the counter, An stepped closer to the older man and quietly leaned into his side as she watched the pot start to simmer.

“I’m sure they do, they like getting cuddles.” Shuuji mixed in the sugar and the cocoa powder. He already had two mugs sitting on the counter for them. The first was his favorite mug that he picked up from Starbucks on a trip to Tokyo before he moved there. Starbucks might not make the best coffee on the market, but they had cute seasonal mugs. The second was a Kumamon mug Shuuji bought while visiting An and Kippei’s family thinking that one day An might like to have tea or coffee over at his apartment. Now he knew he would get in trouble if he tried to serve her with any other mug.

Absently stirring the cocoa on the stove, Shuuji asked, “Do you know what the plan is for New Years, yet? I already told my family I’d be spending it with you and Kippei. Don’t be surprised if they send you New Years money, that’s just how they are.”

An had almost forgot that Shuuji was spending New Years with her and her family. When An mentioned it to her parents they seemed more than delighted at the prospect but An hadn’t told them they were dating yet and New Years seemed like the place to tell them. “ I’m heading home early to help out with the cooking but it seems like it’ll be us stuffing our faces and watching Kohaku. We can go to a shrine after.” She paused and opened her mouth and closed it once deciding that telling him that they needn't bother doing that was useless, “ I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.”

After a pause, Shuuji smiled, “Guess you will, huh?” She would at least as long as she decided to keep him around during the holidays. He certainly hoped this wouldn’t be the last Christmas or New Years together, but he hadn’t really given it the kind of thought that her words prompted until that moment. She was going to have to get used to it if she was with him… so he hoped she got used to it. “That all sounds great, too. I’ll look forward to it.”

With a smile, she noticed that their cocoa looked to be about done and turned off the stove for him. “You have to promise me you’ll come with an empty stomach, Mama’s going to make you try everything.” Pulling away from the older man as he fixed up their mugs she set out to the living room, “You also will have to be patient since both my parents are probably going to hound you with questions. They don’t know that you’re my boyfriend yet.”

“Oh, I can come with an empty stomach if it means I get to eat everything.” Shuuji followed An into the living room after turning off the stove and taking another marshmallow out of the bag for the road. “Are you planning on telling them by bringing me to your family New Years?” It seemed like it would be way easier to just… call them or have coffee with them between now and then as bringing a boyfriend to New Years might actually make things seem much more serious than they really were. “But I don’t mind a million questions if they don’t mind a million answers.”

Giving it a thought, a heads up would probably be for the best for both her and Shuujis sake. “I do have to tell them something at least, or I’d probably get my ear yelled off. We just started dating so I’ll make sure they understand that.” Looking to the fort and back to the tree she looked at the gifts, “Do you want me to grab them and we can open them in our lovely fort?”

“Well now you’re talking. We should definitely open them in the fort.” Shuuji plopped down in the pillows, crossing his legs and holding his mug between both hands. “Don’t forget to grab the stockings, too.” Not that the stockings for the bunnies really had anything of interest in them, mostly just snacks and toys. “Do you wanna grab coffee with your parents between now and New Years so they aren’t caught off-guard on New Years?”

It really was a good idea though An did find herself struggling with two boxes and four stockings but she barely made it back with it all to their fort. Plopping herself on the ground she grinned up at Shuuji and picked up his gift. “Should we open them at the same time?” It certainly felt alittle silly but it was part of the christmas cheer and maybe they could actually use her gift once they opened it if that was what Shuuji wanted.
At his question she ended up answering with another question, “We could do that..or I could just let them know, what do you think?”

“I’ll just support whatever works for you and your relationship with your parents.” Shuuji pulled his gift onto his lap, admiring the wrapping paper. He resisted the urge to shake it to see if it made noise just in case it was something fragile, but the five year old in him almost couldn’t stop himself. “Stockings first, though.” Shuuji motioned to the stockings, knowing full well what was in his because he and An had the same thing. He had put together a collection of expensive chocolates, some snacks, some cute warm gloves, and a few other fun odds and ends for them to enjoy.

Eyeing her own brightly wrapped gift from Shuuji's she could only wonder but to did feel like a type of book was in it but no matter, she'd know soon enough.

“They'll be fine, I'm more worried about what makes you comfortable.” An said as she picked up a fluffy red stocking. She had seen them in movies but she had never been gifted one before. Taking out it's contents was turning out to be fun as finding small boxes of chocolates were always a good thing and An especially loved the patterned gloves he had put in there as well.

Her smile was bright as she looked up to Shuuji, “ This is great..I was needing a new pair of gloves.”

“Oh, perfect.” Shuuji put on his own gloves, tugging them down around his wrists. He clapped his hands together to make a “puff” sound. “I thought the pattern on them was fun. They’re nice and warm, too. Like you.” He leaned closer to give her a kiss on the cheek before settling back with his box once more.

An gave him a look as she put one on to try on. They were a dark blue with small snowflakes bordering in rows and were exactly what she needed when she was heading to class. His compliment managed to make her ears burn as she put up her gloved hand to poke at his cheek, “Are you sure about that? I think that’s a better description of you.” At least that’s what she believed.

Now all they had left were their own gifts and somehow, An felt almost self conscious about her choice as she stared at his lap. She leaned against Shuuji’s side and looked up to him, “You should go first.”

Shuuji pulled the box closer to himself, grinning. “Oh, do I have to?” He joked, but it was clear that he was excited to see what was in the box. An was a thoughtful person, he was sure that whatever she had picked out was going to be something he would love. He, at first, acted as though he was going to slowly, carefully open the box, but then winked at her and ripped the wrapping paper. Inside was something he never would have guessed (and he was glad that he had not shaken) - a mobile planetarium. “This…” His smile widened and he started to open the box without hesitation. “This is amazing - this will be perfect for our blanket fort.”

Laughter bubbled up from her as she watched Shuuji open up his gift as he regressed back to being a 10 year old. Her heart felt like it skipped for a moment but all was well and her smile grew, “I know it’s not like the night sky in Tanegashima but…” Her face grew warm thinking about his confession, “I thought you might like at least a little taste of it from here.”

It took her awhile to think about what she could get Shuuji for Christmas, but when she thought about them it made sense to get him one.

Shuuji looked at her with a bit of surprise on his face. That night in Tanegashima, even if it was a little silly with the… uh… excessive drinking on the part of the three of them, was one of his best memories. It was the first time he felt like he could be open about his affections, the first time he felt like maybe An was feeling the same things, and, well, there was the naked playing in the ocean with Kippei, but that didn’t specifically bring him back to the stars. That she thought that he might miss his little piece of home up here, especially in a time when he never saw his family… it made his heart swell.

“Thank you,” Shuuji said genuinely, his hands moving a bit more slowly to pull out the planetarium. “Thank you, I love this.” He wanted to share it with her, like so many other things he wanted to share with her from now on.

It truly made her happy to know that he loved her gift. It meant something to the both of them and it was probably better than anything else she could have thought of. Leaning up she pressed a kiss to his jaw, “I’m glad you do~ Now it’s my turn to see what you’ve gotten me.” She said playfully pulling up the wrapped what seemed to be book. Looking at him once more An slowly ripped away until at first she saw curls and had to stop to give Shuuji a look before completely ripping of the paper.

“...Is this your photobook?”

“I gave you the gift of me,” Shuuji joked, setting aside the planetarium to wrap an arm around her and watch her open the book. Though it was his photobook, he had written notes on every page of the book. Little things that he thought about her, memories that he treasured with her, sweet nothings, and the like. All stuff that would either make her blush or groan, but each one accompanying a picture of him from the book. However, her particular copy of the book had something extra special beyond all the hand-written notes, it had one additional picture that no other copy did.

On the back cover of the book, he had pasted a copy of one of their selfies from when they went to the gardens together. It was his favorite picture they had taken together so far. They both had such a great time that day, she looked super cute, he was glowing from her being so sweet to him and making him bunny onigiri, it was just a great picture. Under it, he wrote something he had not been able to say up until now that he wanted her to know. All my smiles are for you, it read above the picture. And over the bottom, I love you.

Shuuji had mentioned that he would give her his photobook but An hadn’t actually taken him seriously when he had said it. As she opened it , the most important part of it all were all the messages that she took the time to read over. “Shuuji...you really..” Oh There was one that made her blush: I can get through any turbulence if I’m with you. To anyone that would seem like a nod to just flying but An knew what exactly what it meant. She shot him a teasing look and continued on.

Everything he had written had been thoughtful and just knowing that made her smile as she finally made her way to the last page and fingered the words at top. The picture that he had chosen was one that she ended up printing out for her board of pictures in her room. Everything about that picture made her happy so it was nice addition.

Finally reaching to the bottom, her eyes widened and her heart instead of just skipping a beat decided to take off multiple as her ears burned. I love you It hadn’t been that long since they started dating but reading it again she looked back up to Shuuji with a smile “This is all really thoughtful..” She paused, “Do you really mean it?”

Regarding her, Shuuji nodded seriously. “I don’t want you to ever question what I feel, anymore,” he explained. Their relationship had been mired with uncertainty as An was trying to navigate what sort of person Shuuji was and why he did the things he did. There was always method to his madness, but he could come across as flippant or silly when he actually very rarely said something that did not come from a place of truth. “I love you, An,” he said, restating what was in the book. He was proud of his voice for not trembling, as frightening as it was to say aloud. “You are the reason for my smiles.”

An listened to him as she closed and set the photobook down. Shuuji really was a peculiar fellow but that was part of his charm and one of the reasons she agreed to go out with him. He did things in his own odd way and An knew that she should have more faith in his words. So far as she looked at him his eyes never wavered and always looked true to her. She wanted to do the same for him as well.

Pushing herself up on to her knees it made her tall enough for her to look him straight. “Thank you..” She started as she put her hands on his face and she pulled him in for a warm kiss. The sound of her heart beat played off in her ears and while she couldn’t say those words to him just yet, An wanted to show the adoration she had for him this way.

That was all Shuuji could ever ask for. His eyes closed, his long lashes fluttering against his cheek bones as they kissed, and he was not going to be the first one to move away. He wanted the moment to last as long as he could hold it, hold her, like this. Her feelings were clear even without the display of affection - the gift had said everything he could have possibly needed to know. Of all the decisions he had made in his life up until now, the decision to be with her was by far the easiest.

After a few moments that seemed quite a bit longer than that, An slowly pulled away but just enough to nuzzle her nose against his own. Her own eyes remained shut as she enjoyed just being close to him. “I know I said thank you but...Thank you for coming into my life…”

Shuuji let out a sigh, not realizing he was holding his breath until he did. “Thank you, Ladybug.” His fingers gently touched her cheek, momentarily in awe of her. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve this incredible woman, but he wasn’t going to take it for granted now or ever. “For everything.”

Opening her eyes, she kissed him once more before sitting back in between the blankets with a laugh, “ I'll just have to let you finish with that because we may never finish if I say No, Thank you.”

Shuuji grabbed the mobile planetarium, leaning into the blanket fort beside An and fiddling with it to see what it would take to get it set up. “We don’t want to be stuck in a forever thanking loop,” he agreed, leaning his head on top of hers. Now that she had seen her gift and he was able to say what he was thinking, he was starting to feel almost tired from the relief of going from such a heightened emotional place to… well, normal. This was his normal, now.

Before wrapping it , An made sure to charge it up in the likelihood that Shuuji's wanted to use it as soon opened it. She had tried it out and it was rather impressive all the functions it had.

“Exactly..” She murmured with a smile lifting a hand up to pet the top of his unruly head.

After a couple moments of study, Shuuji was able to get the planetarium turned on and was projecting it half on his chest, half on the blankets around them while he studied all the buttons on it. “Oh, we should turn off the other lights,” he said, setting down the planetarium properly so it projected on the ceiling like it was supposed to. He slipped away momentarily to turn off the lights, then sank back into the blanket fort by the light of the stars on the ceiling. “Wow!” He said, grinning lopsidedly as he enjoyed the show.

While Shuuji worked on the projector, An made sure to pick up their mugs so none of the cocoa got anywhere. Staring at her own mug made her grin with the oddly blank happy stare of Kumamon meeting her eyes.

Inching away she made room for the older man before handing him back his mug and instead of staring at the ceiling of stars she found herself staring at Shuuji’s face. It made her happy to see his goofy grin as he enjoyed the scene before them. “ Pretty isn’t it?”

“This is great!” Shuuji enthused, absently holding his cocoa closer to himself. There was actually a lot more visible in the planetarium than the stars he could see from the beach back home, but it had the same appeal. For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them at the edge of the world. He looked back to An, not expecting her to be looking at him. “Man, we gotta do this more often. I love camping under the stars.”

“This is about as close as we can get to camping without freezing our butts off.” She grinned as she took a sip from the mug. It had cooled down some by now but it was equally as delicious. “We’ve got cocoa, blankets and the stars~ What more could you ask for?”

Shuuji snuggled in close, again, also taking a sip of his lukewarm cocoa. The marshmallows had melted, at least, and it did still taste good. “All I could ever ask for,” he said, touching his lips to her temple. “The person I want to share all those things with the most.”

And she thought her cocoa was sweet but with hearing Shuuji’s words An managed to find something sweeter albeit somewhat corny. An took another sip to hide her expression for a moment. “I’ll try my best to keep it at way.” She whispered taking one final sip before placing her mug away from herself as to not spill it.

Pressing her head against Shuuji's shoulder and taking his free hand into her own, she finally took a moment to gaze up at the ceiling, admiring the view. She had to hand it to herself, it was actually a great gift. “I’m glad you liked this little thing.”

“I love this little thing,” Shuuji replied, giving her hand a squeeze. He also turned his eyes to the ceiling and took in both the swirls of color and stars both familiar and so distant he had never seen before. He pressed another kiss to her temple. “I love this little thing with all my heart.”

She had thought he had made it clear the first time but then he decided to reiterate just in case. “Alright, I’m glad you loved it.” She laughed as she leaned back into the pillows making herself comfortable. An hadn’t let go of his hand in hopes that he’d join her. Cocoa was great but laying down with this view was much better.

Shuuji set aside the cocoa, laying back with An. “Love,” he joked one more time with a bright grin. He looked back to the stars projected on the ceiling and made himself cozy. “I'm wondering if I should set this up in the bedroom after tonight, it might help me settle for the night. Do you know if it has an auto shut off?”

With Shuujis grin, An couldn’t help but roll her eyes and shake her head. Maybe his Cocoa was somehow spiked. “ Actually it does, I think you can leave it up to an hour.” She said snuggling closer. At least An was sure that was what the box said. “I think that’s a great idea.”

“We should try it out tonight,” Shuuji suggested, turning his attention back to An. “Relive our glory days of naked shenanigans on the beach?” Though, admittedly, An had managed to keep her clothes on that night and it was actually just Shuuji and Kippei who were naked and fucking around in the ocean. Shuuji didn’t actually remember as much of that night as he probably should, but… well, that was a problem for past Shuuji.

Shuuji seemed to remember things differently than she did. Quirking a brow at him she lifted her hand up to pull on one of his cheeks, “if you mean you then yes, I don't remember being a part of that.” Although An did remember the two naked passed out on either side of her when she woke up.

Letting go his cheeks, she stared up at Shuuji and murmured, “I wouldn't mind if we stayed here, it's pretty comfy.”

No, An definitely wasn’t a participant so much as an unfortunate bystander. Shuuji reached up his hand to rub his cheek as though it had hurt, it didn’t, and tilted his head looking at An. “I just wanna be where you are.” Which, if he knew anything about An, following the pillow fort was a good first step.

Well then, that wouldn't be too hard. With a smile , she pushed herself up and brought her face closer to Shuuji's. “I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere.” A small smile played on her lips. They could move to the bedroom but that would ruin the nice thing they had going between the stars on the ceiling and the warmth of the blankets.

That was exactly what Shuuji wanted - to stay right here with the blankets and the stars projected on their sky. He pulled An close for a gentle kiss, followed by another, and a series of soft kisses over her cheeks, her nose, and her forehead. He even managed to hold in any jokes about turbulence, for the moment, anyway. “So I was thinking,” he murmured against her skin. “Let’s have Christmas again next week so we can do this again.”

The soft kisses were more than welcomed as An closed her eyes and smiled even if the kiss on her nose tickled her a bit. Her hand thumbed Shuuji's as she brought up her other hand to rest on his cheek, “ Aren't we supposed to ring in the new year next week?” She laughed. “ I suppose we could or celebrate one of those weird holidays you like to let us know exist.”

“It is also Pumpkin Pie Day.” Shuuji had looked it up a few weeks back just in case it somehow became necessary to know what holidays other than Christmas fell on the same day. Specifically the really weird ones that he liked to share with everyone because they were so entertaining. “So… we didn’t do a good job of celebrating that one.”

Opening an eye, An stared at him. She was starting to wonder if Shuuji seriously remembered most of those holidays. “I wouldn’t have minded having some pumpkin pie.” Christmas cake had been more than enough. “We could just have some next week with some since we couldn’t today.” Any excuse to spend time like this was good one in her books.

“Pumpkin pie at New Years? Sounds like a great new tradition. Or should we celebrate Pumpkin Pie Day on our own?” Shuuji brushed some of An’s hair back behind her ear, thinking that the latter sounded nicer if only because then they didn’t have to share the pumpkin pie with the entire Tachibana clan, as much as he enjoyed her family. There was apparently a line in the sand for him when it came to pie.

“We could do that or just celebrate twice. Double the pie isn’t a bad idea either.” She said playfully as she wrapped her arms around Shuuji’s neck. An did love sweets so it wasn’t an odd idea to pop into her head. “We can figure that out in the morning, better make sure to not overstep another delicious sounding holiday.”

“Mm~ if we’re going to figure that out in the morning, what are we going to do now?” There weren’t a lot of things in the world that trumped pumpkin pie, but with their nice, romantic set-up and feeling warm and loved, there were at least a couple things that might be more… apropos than pumpkin pie.

“We could always put a puzzle together.” An tried to sound like she was serious but it was hard to keep face with how ridiculous that sounded. A small smile played on her lips as stroked the back of Shuuji’s head. “Have any better ideas?”

Two could play at that game, An should really know better. “I do like a good puzzle,” Shuuji said with a serious nod. “I think the only ones I have are ones with pictures of bunnies, but they’re 2,000 piece sets so it would take us a while.”

Sometimes even for An it was hard to notice when her boyfriend was being serious or not. She may have been teasing but he could very well want to do one. “Maybe another time. 2000 pieces just might put me to sleep.” The thought of sleep made her let out a yawn even if she tried to stifle it back. That wasn’t what she was going for. “Anything that can keep us awake?”

It was so cute to see her yawn, that Shuuji just grinned at her. “Coffee?” He suggested. Knowing immediately that there would be blowback, he laughed and said, “joking, joking.” He glanced past her up at the ceiling, then back to her face and said, “How about we consider this practice for the next time I get to enjoy time with you on a private beach in paradise?”

She let out a snort with Shuuji’s suggestion. Truth be told it would probably be helpful but another time. Listening to him instead, An decided to drop a hand from his neck to play with the hem of Shuuji’s sweater. “It’s not a bad idea,” She mused, “Though there is less sand.” Not that An minded, it was more comfortable this way. No chance of sand getting into strange places.

Shuuji ran his hand up An’s back, catching her shirt just slightly as he did. “We’ll just have to imagine the sand,” he said. Though it really would be better without. “Until we can go down there, again.” He touched another soft kiss to her cheekbone before touching their foreheads together and closing his eyes.

“We’ll just have to wait till next summer.” She murmured against his lips. “We can just practice here until we can.” If An were honest, these were the moments that made her feel like she could be with Shuuji. They could both be silly and go on about anything but still feel like it was something.

Giving Shuuji one last look over, An fluttered her eyes shut and gave him a firm kiss. Practice made perfect after all.