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It's already dark out when somebody knocks at their door.
"Kouta!" His mother calls from downstairs. "Your friend is here!"
He thinks about who could possibly be wanting to see him at this hour. Togame is unlikely. Tomiyama is slightly more plausible. Hiiragi, well… he's not going to put money on it. Against his better judgement, he leaves the comfort of his room—where he was perfectly happy reading in peace, thank you very much—and heads downstairs.
Stood outside waiting for him is Inugami, wrapped up in a quite frankly massive coat, scarf snug around his neck and adorned with hat and gloves to match in order to stave off the elements.
"Sako-san!" He chirps, canines bared in a smile, and his breath escapes in visible puffs of steam as he speaks. "Put on a coat, we're going out!"
"Out?" Sako raises an eyebrow, already feeling exhausted. "Out where?"
"You'll see!"
He really doesn't feel like entertaining Inugami's whims today, nor putting up with his unbearable levels of energy. He deals with it enough during their time at Shishitouren. But his mother is looking at him expectantly, with a polite smile that is definitely encouraging him to get out of the house and spend some time with your friend, Kouta.
So he sighs and, pulling on a coat, relents.
"Fine. Let's go."
"Yes! You definitely won't regret it!" And despite himself, Sako finds himself fighting back a smile as he grabs a scarf. Inugami's relentless optimism is, unfortunately, infectious, and he has yet to find a way to inoculate himself.
"We'll see."
It really is cold out. He feels the chill on his face as soon as he steps out of the door, and there are light flurries of snow falling from the darkened sky overhead. He wraps his scarf a little tighter than necessary around his neck and shoves his hands in his coat pockets, matching Inugami's stride as he sets off down the street.
"...So, where are we going?" Sako asks, after a few minutes of walking in (frankly unnerving) silence.
"I said you'll see, didn't I?"
Sako hums.
"You did, but I prefer to know what I'm getting into ahead of time." If they're about to get involved in another street brawl, just for example, he'd much rather know in advance.
"It's nothing bad!" Inugami reassures him, and Sako swears he can see the tail wagging behind him. "I think you'll like it! Here—" And without any further warning, Inugami grabs Sako's left wrist in one gloved hand and practically drags him along.
"Hey—"
"Just trust me! We're almost there." That's not the point, Sako thinks, flexing his fingers against the chill of the winter air.
"Almost wh—" he begins, and then they round the corner and he sees the where Inugami was referring to.
Along the length and breadth of the entire street, instead of the clear road he's used to seeing, sits rows of stalls decorated in white, reds, greens and a huge variety of other bright colours. Some seem to be selling homemade crafts and gifts, while others are offering drinks or freshly-cooked food—and Sako's mouth waters as he catches a waft of something that smells like baked dough drifting from further into the market.
Amongst everything else, he'd somehow forgotten it was almost Christmas.
He turns to look at Inugami and finds him grinning widely.
"...What?" He says.
"I knew you'd like it!"
Sako yanks his (now very cold) hand out of Inugami's grasp and shoves it back in his (not nearly warm enough) pocket.
"Are we just going to stand around talking, or what?" He says, stalking off towards the throng of people crowding around stalls and milling about—confident in the knowledge that Inugami is following right at his heels. He slows as he joins the crowd, carefully weaving his way along the row of stalls. Takes his time looking at a display of snowglobes.
"Sako-san, look!" Inugami says, and Sako turns his head to find him pointing at a tiny glass figurine of a fox that somehow looks deeply unimpressed. "It's you!"
He masks his laugh with a cough and clears his throat.
"Very funny."
"Was that a laugh?!"
"It was a cough."
"No, you definitely laughed—!"
They bicker until a couple stalls down, where something catches Sako's eye. "Look," he says, picking it up. "It's you." In his palm sits a small wooden carving of a dog. Inugami obviously does not take it for the subtle jibe it is, and he grins in a way that Sako would perhaps describe as blinding.
"Aw, Sako-san!" He brings his hands up to his face in a pantomime of narcissism. "You really think I'm that cute?" Sako feels the bubbling urge to laugh again and represses it until Inugami drops his hands, eyes going wide. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Hm?" He feels fine. Better than, even. He isn't sure what Inugami's getting at.
"Your hands are shaking." Inugami plucks the figurine from his hand and puts it back down on the table, in the same place where it sat before, then peels off a glove before wrapping his hand around Sako's own and oh.
It's so warm.
"You're freezing!"
Sako huffs.
"It's hardly my fault. Someone didn't give me enough time to put on gloves."
"Well, I'll just have to keep you warm then!" It's such a simple, uncomplicated statement, and Sako feels his face heat at the sheer weight of (very likely unintended) implication. Inugami keeps his fingers firmly wrapped around Sako's as he lowers their joined hands back down between them. "C'mon, I think I saw them selling churros over there. I wanna get some before they sell out."
Sako blinks in surprise.
"I thought you didn't like sweets."
"I don't, but you do. And I should at least try them, right? Otherwise I won't know for sure I don't like 'em." Sako lets himself be dragged along. "And if I don't like 'em, then you can eat my share." He grins over his shoulder. "Great plan, right?"
Inugami does not like churros.
"Eugh, nope," he says, shoving his portion in the direction of Sako, who's only partway through his own serving. "Didn't know they'd be covered in cinnamon." Sako raises an eyebrow.
"Who doesn't like cinnamon?"
"Me!" Inugami says, holding out his churros more insistently. It's almost comical. "C'mon, Sako-san, I don't wanna waste 'em."
"Then you should've thought about that before you bought them." Even so, he still plucks a churro from the container clutched in Inugami's hands. Shows him a little mercy as he takes a bite out of it, savouring the spiced-sweet taste; they're still warm, and his left hand is grateful for the respite from the biting cold.
He finishes his churros in relative silence, and he's only just disposed of the empty carton when Inugami grabs his hand again, holding it up for inspection.
"Your hands get cold really easily, huh?"
"It's winter," he says, tone flat, and attempts to pull his hand back. Inugami laces their fingers together instead.
"I said I'd keep you warm, didn't I?"
And, well.
He can't argue with that.
"...You did," he says, and takes another churro from the carton Inugami is still holding with his other hand. Bites down.
Spiced-sweet.
Warm.