Title: Christmas Eve redux
Rating: T
Fandom: Sakura Wars
Relationship: Kamiyama Seijuro/Shiba Reiji
Wordcount: 500
Short summary: A year later, Reiji and Seijuro spend Christmas Eve the same but also differently.
It was Christmas Eve once again, and with all of the Flower Brigade members taking the day to relax before the big performance, Seijuro snuck down to the hangar to check on Reiji. Of course that meant once he pulled Reiji away from work, they got into the hot bath with some sake and began drinking.
“Remember when we did this last year?”
Seijuro groaned. Last year’s Christmas Eve was a night Seijuro wanted to forget but knew he never would.
“You brought my mugen into the bath and said she was your girlfriend,” he grumbled.
And afterwards Reiji had talked his ear off afterwards about all the great things a mugen could do, making Seijuro even more uncomfortable... Of course Reiji hadn’t known about the weird experience that Seijuro had earlier in the day with Hiromi’s special treat, but Seijuro had really been afraid of Reiji wanting to modify his body into that of a cyborg.
“It’s not like I could have told you how I truly felt.” Reiji laughed after downing another cup of sake. “You were so oblivious back then.”
Seijuro blushed. “It was... I just...”
“Your obliviousness is one of your charming points despite everything.”
Seijuro perked up. “Really?”
“No, it’s frustrating.” Reiji smiled wryly. “But amusing too. I supposed it helped out in the end since you didn’t notice everyone else being in love with you too.”
Seijuro remembered how Sakura and Hatsuho both smacked him for apparently “leading them on”, but once they heard his confusion about his feelings, they turned their smacks into hits of support. After all, Seijuro was still mostly attracted to women, but Reiji was just… He was just different. Really, Sakura’s and Hatsuho’s encouragement was probably the reason Seijuro and Reiji even managed to get together. With Seijuro’s obliviousness and Reiji’s stubbornness, who knows when they would have managed to connect their feelings if they were left to their own devices.
“Reiji...” Seijuro murmured softly, shifting closer to Reiji so that their arms now touched, his right arm to Reji’s left.
Reiji chuckled. “And you were even jealous of yourself.”
Seijuro felt his whole face flush crimson. “Shut up!”
Reiji’s chuckles turned into full-bodied laughs. Seijuro gritted his teeth but still allowed Reiji to slide his left arm around Seijuro’s back and pull him close. He could feel Reiji’s breath against his right ear.
“As if anyone could measure up to you.”
The gentle way that Reiji had said those words made Seijuro’s heart swell. “Reiji… I could say the same about you.”
Seijuro felt a light kiss against his ear. “You charmer.”
Reiji’s left arm tightened around Seijuro while his right hand reached up and cupped Seijuro’s cheek. Their lips were barely a centimeter apart now.
“Merry Christmas, Seijuro.”
“Merry Christmas, Reiji.”
Their lips met, gently sealing their wishes. There was nothing else that needed to be said, not with words anyway, as their lips met again and again for many kisses to celebrate this very special night.