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(December 23)
Evening
Dammit! Kanji thought as he paced back and forth in his room. It’s just a phone call, am I a man or aint I?
Kanji stopped and looked in his mirror and ran his fingers through his hair and grinned. Since his mitten lesson with senpai , he had stopped bleaching his hair and now his roots were finally showing his real colors. Thinking about that mitten lesson made Kanji go red. He had been in senpai’s room which, at the time, didn’t seem important, but thinking back now he realized that it was the first step he had taken in dealing with his feelings for senp… for Souji.
Kanji smiled. Souji had insisted that Kanji stop calling him senpai after the lesson on mittens. He looked down at his phone, Why the hell can’t I call him?! He resumed pacing across the room, occasionally flipping open his cell phone. It’s simple you idiot, just call and freaking ask ‘em.
Kanji scrolled down to Souji’s number and hovered over the call button. But if he wanted you there, he would have called you! said a small voice in his mind. He isn’t like you, he’s normal.
“Shut up!” Kanji growled, “I’m not strange, I’m me, and he… and we…” Kanji’s pace faltered as he looked back down at his phone. Why hadn’t he called?
“Kanji!” A voice called from the front of the shop.
Kanji jumped and dropped his phone. “What!?” Kanji yelled back at his mother as he stooped to grab the phone.
“Your senpai from school is here to see you!”
Kanji gulped and took a deep breath before walking down the stairs to the shop. There stood Souji in his casual clothes looking through the stuffed animals Kanji’s mother had insisted on selling in the front of the shop; they were incredibly detailed. “Hey, Senpai.”
Souji looked up from the elephant he was holding and smiled. “Hello Kanji, didn’t I ask you not to call me that anymore?”
“Dammit, umm… sorry,” Kanji could feel himself going red, “So umm, what’s up?”
“Would you like to spend Christmas Eve at my place? Nanoko and my uncle won’t be able to come home yet.”
Kanji’s face felt like it was on fire, but that was senpai for you, always speaking his mind and always right to the point, with no fear. “Ummm…” stuttered Kanji.
“Kanji would love to, dear,” his mother answered for him.
Spinning to look at his mother Kanji said. “But wha’ about you? Won’t you get, like, lonely?”
“Don’t go worrying about me,” his mother laughed, “Go and have some fun,” she beamed at him before heading to the back room.
Souji turned and looked at Kanji, waiting. So damn calm about everything, thought Kanji. He took another deep breath mumbled, “Yeah sure, alright”.
Souji exhaled slowly. It was then that Kanji realized that he had been holding his breath the entire time; he was worried I would say no?
“Is six okay with you?” Souji asked.
“Yeah, sure.” Souji smiled again and Kanji’s heart raced a little faster.
“I’ll see you then,” and he turned and left.
(December 24)
Christmas Evening
Kanji arrived at Souji’s at 6pm on the dot. He wore his favorite studded jacket over a Christmas tree shirt that had a skull for a star. It was the only Christmas shirt he had ever made. He carried a gift for Souji under his arm, a doll he had sewn to look like Senpai’s first persona, including its mask, coat and sword. He had been working on it since Souji had told him about it during their mitten lesson. It was incredible detailed. He gulped as he looked up at Souji’s house. There’s nothin’ to be afraid of you idiot, he told himself, if Senpai didn’t want you here, he wouldn’t have asked ya, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
“Hello Kanji,” Souji said and showed him into the house.
Souji wasn’t dressed in his normal street clothing; he had on a shirt with some weird animal on it. When Kanji asked about it, Souji replied that “It’s a platypus. It was an early gift from Nanako since, she wanted us to have matching shirts. I wore it when I went to see her today.” He went a little red, “Not really Christmas-y, but it made her happy”.
“Hey man, if it made Nanako-chan happy, I don’t care what the hell you wore.” Souji smiled and Kanji could feel a wave of gratitude that left him feeling a little braver.
“This is for you,” Kanji gave him the box that held the doll. “You um, can open it now if ya want.” Souji grinned at the box. It was wrapped with a furashiki that featured dancing bears with large glasses. He had gotten his mother to special order it for him.
“I got you something too, it isn’t as well wrapped though,” Souji placed Kanji’s gift on the kitchen table and walked over to a large box on the table near the TV. He picked it up and turned toward Kanji, then froze. Kanji had followed him over to the table.
Kanji blinked at Souji and couldn’t understand why he had frozen and was going so red. And then Kanji looked up. “Rise put it up there when everyone was decorating for when Nanako gets home” he said quietly. Kanji just stared at the mistletoe. It was directly above them, he and Souji had completely forgotten that Rise had put it there.
“Ummm,” stuttered Kanji, still blinking at the mistletoe. “We ah, don’t have to if you, you know, don’t wanna,” he finished rather lamely.
Souji seemed to hesitate for a second. Then he put the box down, took a deliberate step toward Kanji and reached out his hand, running it slowly over Kanji’s cheek and up through his hair resting gently on the back of his head, his eyes never leaving Kanji’s and drew him closer. Kanji’s heart felt like it could stop at any moment, and Kanji almost wanted it to, the moment was almost too much for him to handle. Fuck it, Kanji thought and leaned in to meet Souji in a kiss. He could feel the coolness of his breath seconds before feeling the pure heat from Souji’s lips.
Kanji gasped as their lips released one another and almost didn’t hear the faint whisper that came from Souji. “I love you Kanji.”
Kanji took a breath to steady himself. Now or never, he thought “I love you too, senpai”. Souji gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
“I told you to call me Souji”.
Kanji leaned in and kissed him again. As the parted once more, Kanji whispered “I love you, Souji”.
“Can you stay the night?” Souji asked. Kanji nodded and for a brief second as he drew Souji closer once more he could swear he saw bright sparkles out of the corner of his eye. However, Souji was far more… interesting. While Kanji quickly forgot the lights, he would always remember that night and their bond.