#kisumiday

[eldurwen-arts]

Collabs with @revilis! Arts for KisumiDay~ (late, whoops!)

[shyfoxes]

Hayato comes to spend Kisumi’s birthday with him. Then he wakes up to a surprise.

Kisumi Day 2016.

When Hayato had said he wanted to come and stay with Kisumi for the weekend of his birthday, Kisumi had been more than excited. Sousuke would be busy for the weekend, unfortunately, something about getting roped into taking the shifts a co-worker had guilt-tripped Sousuke into taking. Rin had said there was some matters at his university he needed to attend to, and left it at that. A tiny pang of sadness that gone through him at the thought of not getting to see Rin’s face on Skype or feel Sousuke’s gentle but nervous fingers running on the inside of his wrists as he mumbled happy birthday as they wished Rin was with them. He could count on Makoto (and Haru by extension) to text him, but really, he was prepared to spend a birthday alone this year.

Then his little brother had called on the phone and asked if he wouldn’t mind him coming, with the promise of his Zootopia dvd for them to watch. He wasn’t about to deny his baby brother in the least and had arranged with his mother to take the train down to Sano and ride up with his brother on the Friday.

Hayato kicked his legs against the seat, beaming up at Kisumi as he cradled the chubby body of his Judy Hopps tsumtsum. Kisumi affectionately patted his head.

“What do you think, Hayato? Should we get some snacks while we watch or maybe some pizza?” Kisumi asked.

Kisumi didn’t bother to hide his smile as Hayato’s eyes widened, his toy nestling up under his chin.

“Pizza!” Hayato cheered.

“Pizza it is. We’ll make sure to leave a little for Sousuke, too, right? He’s going to be hungry when he comes home from work,” Kisumi added.

“Sou-nii isn’t going to watch with us?” Hayato said, a little crestfallen. He always was fond of Sousuke.

“Not this time. But he was really looking forward to it. He thinks Chief Bogo is cool,” Kisumi joked.

“I’ll take him to the Disney Store then!” Hayato said. “We can pick one out for Rin-nii, too.”

Kisumi leaned his chin into his hand, elbow digging into the back of his train seat with a grin; “Rin would definitely love that, Hayato.”

He pulled his little brother up under his arm and told him to lay his head on his lap and nap for a bit, since they still had two hours to go.

-

“Here we are, Hayato! Home sweet home,” Kisumi said, dropping his little brother to his feet as they crossed through the doorway. “What do you think?”

Hayato kicked off his shoes, hands still gripping his kiddie bag straps as he took in his surroundings.

“It’s not as nice as your room at home, Brother,” Hayato admitted. Children were always so unfiltered, it could sometimes be really adorable. “There’s not a lot of things.”

Kisumi laughed; “That’s because Sousuke and I don’t have Mom and Dad to help us furnish it. But hopefully the next time you come, it’ll be a bit nicer.”

Hayato seemed placated with that, following after Kisumi down the hall and into his room. They paused a moment to peek into Sousuke’s dark little cave of a room. It was less messy than Kisumi had imagined. Rin’s influence on his friend had been apparent. Then they dumped Hayato’s stuff on Kisumi’s bed and hurried back to the living room to boot up the Zootopia DVD as Kisumi dialed for a few boxes of pizza. Hayato wouldn’t eat more than two at best, but Sousuke could probably eat a whole box on his own. It was best to prepare.

Hayato scrambled up onto their old couch, his bunny resting on the tops of his knees as he dutifully watched through the previews. He recited the dialogue almost word for word as he joined in. By the end of the second or third preview, he had gotten Kisumi to promise at least three different movie outings with him.

Kisumi borrowed the blue polka dot patterned blanket Sousuke had brought from his parents’ home from the hall closet and draped it around Hayato’s shoulders, clicked off the lights, and settled down with his little brother as Mickey’s familiar whistling came on screen.

-

Kisumi vaguely registered that he was being moved. His eyelids were too heavy and all he could do was lazily paw at the air half-heartedly to try and grab the back of Hayato’s shirt. A hand instead grabbed his, lacing their fingers together. The soft feel of lips on his fingers made Kisumi snuggle into the shoulder his cheek was lying against.

Kisumi was laid down on his bed, shifting almost immediately onto his side. He cracked his eyes open long enough to see a pair of arms laying Hayato down next to him, still draped in the blue polka dot blanket. Another pair of hands gently brushed at the little boy’s bangs before drawing up the blanket under his chin. What looked like ears poked out from under the sheets.

A pair of lips pressed against Kisumi’s forehead. He hummed softly, slinging an arm over his baby brother as his eyes drifted shut. Another kissed was pressed to the underside of his jaw before Kisumi was out like a light.

-

Kisumi heard faint angry muttering before anything else as he was waking up. He groaned, reaching across his bed to try and rouse Hayato from where he was supposed to be also sleeping if last night wasn’t a complete dream. The only one strong enough to carry him would be Sousuke, Kisumi figured, but that couldn’t be right. Kisumi patted the empty space and hurriedly shot up, looking around. Hayato’s Judy Hopps tsumtsum was the only thing staring back at him from underneath Sousuke’s polka dot blanket where his little brother should have been.

“Hayato?” Kisumi softed called.

“Shi - Shoot!” Someone hissed down the hall. It sounded suspiciously like Rin if he was straining his ears right. But that couldn’t be?

“Don’t cuss around the kid,” Sousuke whispered back. “And don’t be so loud. You’ll wake Kisumi.”

“Can I try some?” Hayato’s voice piped in. There was some shuffling before Sousuke’s deep voice softly said something like “here”.

Kisumi blinked. He threw off his sheets and hurried out of his room towards the kitchen. More faint but indiscernible cursing, notably in English was heard alongside the click of Sousuke’s tongue. Kisumi’s feet hit the creak just before the kitchen on the laminated floor, making everyone in the kitchen turn towards him.

Kisumi’s eyes widened; “Rin. What are you doing here?” Kisumi breathed around a surprised laugh. “Sousuke, you’re up before noon. Don’t you have work by one?”

Rin looked at him a bit sheepishly from where his hands were covered in batter and botched looking cookies were being laid out on a cookie tray. Beside him was Sousuke looking deliberately grumpy at Kisumi’s jab. Another mix of batter was in his hands. Between them, standing on a chair was Hayato, peeking around Rin’s arm.

“Good morning, Brother,” Hayato greeted. “Happy Birthday.”

Rin motioned down at Hayato with his chin; “What he said. Happy Birthday. I couldn’t miss another one of your birthdays right? Sousuke and I have been planning this for a month.”

Kisumi’s eyes flew towards Sousuke. “But you had that other shift?”

“Lied, sorta,” Sousuke mumbled. “I did do an overtime shift last night and the night before so I could have the weekend free. My co-worker actually switched with me.”

Sousuke nudged Hayato, who nodded. Sousuke picked Hayato up from underneath his arms and gently placed him on the ground. Then he put a plate stacked high with pancakes in his hands, and walked behind him, hands hovering behind his little shoulders, as they made their way past Kisumi and towards the dining table. Taking his eyes off of Hayato for a split second, Sousuke bent to peck him quickly at the corner of his mouth with a quiet, “Happy Birthday”. Kisumi balked a bit; Sousuke was usually so embarrassed to be so intimate with others around, especially with Hayato just a few feet away. He deliberately didn’t look at Kisumi’s loving grin as he turned bcak to Hayato, ears pink. Sousuke took the plate from the little boy to put on the table before high-fiving him.

A nudge at the back of his leg made Kisumi turn towards Rin’s sly grin.Rin stepped into his space, lips parted invitingly as Kisumi grinned a little coyly back at him. Rin motioned him down, a slightly longer kiss on his lips as Rin murmured a “Happy Birthday” into his mouth before turning back to making a mess out of the batter.

Kisumi rubbed the back of his neck. He yelped as Sousuke hauled him out of the kitchen to walk past him to Rin’s otherside. “Go sit with Hayato,” Sousuke instructed. “We’ll join you in a minute.”

Kisumi glanced back in time to see another two plates of food in Sousuke’s hands, and Sousuke teasingly drawing away from Rin each time he tried to nip at his bottom  lip. Kisumi sat down next to Hayato, putting some of the smaller pancakes on Hayato’s plate. After the table had been filled, and the cookies haphazardly put into the oven, and Rin’s hands finally free of his mess, they all sat down to eat.

Ten minutes later, Rin was jumping up at the ding of their timer and taking out his tray of ugly but surprisingly tasty sugar cookies. They piled the cookies up, taking out a tube of pink icing to write a messy, “Happy Birthday Kisumi” across them and serenaded him.

“Now for presents! I saved up just to get it for you!” Hayato said. “Wait here, brother.”

Hayato slid off his chair and ran down the hall into Kisumi’s room. Rin beamed after the little boy.

“He’s actually the one who got me and Sousuke up this morning, you know?” Rin said. “I got in late last night, and took a cab in time to get Sousuke from work and come back here.”

“He almost made us promise that we couldn’t leave without watching his movie with him,” Sousuke added. “So I hope you’re ready for a rerun.”

Kisumi waved a hand; “I really wanted to watch it again anyway. Doesn’t bother me. But...Rin might cry.”

“Shut up!”

“Rin,” Kisumi joked. “I’m just warning you before hand.”

“I believe it,” Sousuke said, snickering. “He’s been dying to see it. He missed watching it in Australia.”

“You didn’t even bother watching it at all,” Rin accused.

“I had Hayato to rely on for that,” Sousuke piped in.

“That just means you’re lazy, Sousuke,” Kisumi said. Rin pinched Sousuke’s cheek when he frowned.

The sound of Hayato’s feet on the laminate floor, they all turned to watch Hayato leaping into Kisumi’s lap. He pushed something soft into Kisumi’s face, eyes wide with excitment. Kisumi cradled his brother in the crook of his arm as he looked over at it. “Do you like it?” Hayato’s small voice said.  A Nick Wilde tsumtsum to mirror his brother’s Judy one, how could he not?. Kisumi squeezed his brother against him, pressing kisses all over his face. Somewhere to the side Rin was sniffling.

“Thank you, Hayato! I love it,” Kisumi said between kisses. “He’ll never leave my bed. And he’ll come with me when I visit. How’s that?”

“That’s good,” Hayato said, trying to turn away from his brother. He slid a little out of his grasp before Kisumi was hauling him back up and tickling him. “Wait, wait! I just ate!”

“Yeah, give the kid a break, you haven’t even gotten our gift yet!” Rin piped.

Kisumi paused. He resettled Hayato on his lap with Nick on Hayato’s. Rin stood up, fishing out a little box from his pockets. Sousuke nervously tapped his hands on the table top.

“Proposing?” Kisumi gasped. “Rin, I’m not ready yet!”

“Shut up!” Rin barked, face turning red as Kisumi’s grin grew wider. “Why don’t you open it, huh?”

Hayato accepted the box for him, holding it in his hands as Kisumi took the lid off. Kisumi blinked. A single key sat in the middle of a wad of cotton, with a small keyring attached. Kisumi took it out, twisting it in his hands.

“A key….to your heart, Rin?” Kisumi joked.

“No, a key to our new home,” Sousuke piped in. “Three bedroom, two bathrooms. A pretty decent backyard for a kid or a dog.” he cleared his throat. “If you like that sort of thing.”

“Three bedrooms?” Kisumi inquired, with a quirk of his lips. “Hayato gets his own room?”

“Maybe,” Rin added in hastily. “If everything goes right, maybe Hayato will have...two rooms?”

Kisumi felt his cheeks burning before he had even realized it. He looked back at the key again, a wobbly smile on his lips. Hayato looked between them, confused. He laid a hand to his brother’s in questioning. Kisumi petted his head.

“I think things will go pretty okay,” Kisumi admitted. “More than okay.”

Sousuke and Rin’s shoulders sagged, and Kisumi bent to bury his face in Hayato’s curls. He peeked up in time to see Sousuke reaching for Hayato who gladly wove his arms around the other man’s neck, sitting on his forearm easily. Rin came around his other side, pulling Kisumi to his feet, hand decidedly tangled in his with no option to let go. Sousuke sat in the middle with Hayato in his lap, and Kisumi and Rin on either side. Hayato pulled a handkerchief from his pockets and handed it to Rin.

“Here you go, Rin-nii,” Hayato said. “I remembered to bring one for you just in case.”

Rin didn’t even have the heart to be upset. He only kissed the little boy on his forehead and settled down against Sousuke’s shoulder as Kisumi did the same. He turned on the DVD player and they buckled down for the movie.

-

AN: (Late!!) Kisumi Day entry. Kisumi’s birthday isn’t on the weekend obviously, but for the purpose of letting Hayato stay with him to avoid him missing school, I changed it, yeah? I imagine he ended up going to Tokyo as well, sharing an apartment with Sousuke. So please excuse that little tidbit if you will!

I may or may not also want a Nick Wilde tsumtsum, shhhh. Though, I think Hayato would really like Judy the most. So, the Nick one goes to his big brother.

Google says 3 hours by train from Tokyo to Iwami? So, that’s what I was going with.

[bakapandy]

I’ve discovered since drawing him a couple times for his bday, that I REALLY LIKE DRAWING Kisumi

[princessmatsuoka]

I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship

Rating: T Pairing:  fem!KisuRin, past sou/fem!rin Warnings:  None Summary:  Kisumi is worried that her crush on Rin will ruin things between them.

AO3 mirror

Written for @kisumiday!!  Happy birthday Kisumi, have some femslash!!  (I totally wasn’t listening to a certain song while plotting this...)

~~

“Sousuke and I broke up.”

Kisumi inhaled sharply, looking up from her bento to stare at Rin.  Her friend simply continued eating, as though she hadn’t just dropped such important news.

“I’m sorry, what? I thought you two were getting along fine,” Kisumi said, confusion evident in her voice.  Rin and Sousuke had seemed so happy together so this came as such a surprise to her.  A small part of her, one that she tried to crush, was overjoyed by this news.  Her crush on Rin hadn’t gone away, despite Rin dating their best friend.  At least now she wouldn’t feel like she was somehow betraying Sousuke.

“Well, yeah but it didn’t feel right?  We were just doing the exact same stuff as before and when we kissed, it was really awkward.  It felt like kissing my brother or something.”  Rin stuck out her tongue before laughing softly.  “Hey Kisumi?  If I tell you something, will your promise not to tell anyone?  Well, you can tell Sousuke because we talked about it but no one else, okay?”

Kisumi set her bento down beside her, turning her full attention to her friend.  “Yeah, of course I promise.”

Nodding, Rin set her down bento down too before shifting to face Kisumi.  “I…  I don’t know if I like guys?  I mean, I do but… I think I also like girls.  Maybe I like them more, I don’t know.  It’s weird, huh?”

“I don’t think it’s weird!”  Kisumi blurted out, her voice higher than she meant.  Coughing a bit, she tried to give Rin what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I mean, you should do what makes you happy.”

“You really think so?  You don’t think it’s gross?”  The fear in Rin’s voice was so evident that Kisumi’s felt her chest tighten.

“I don’t think it’s gross, Rin.  I don’t think you’re gross.  So you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?”

Rin smiled shakily as she leaned forward and hugged Kisumi.  “Thank you.  You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Feeling her face grow warm, Kisumi returned the hug, doing her best to ignore how it felt to hug her friend.  This wasn’t about her, this was about making Rin feel better.  “I’ll always support you and Sousuke.  What are best friends for?”

~~

Kisumi hung around the soccer field after cheer practice, hoping to catch Sousuke before he headed to the locker room.  She gave him a small wave as he finished talking to the team, gesturing for him to come over.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home with Rin?  Your practice ends before ours.” Sousuke asked as he neared her.  “Or is this about us breaking up?”

“You’re not as dumb as you look, Sou-chan,” Kisumi said, giggling at the look of annoyance on his face.  “Yes, yes, don’t call you Sou-chan, I know.  But yes, that is what I wanted to talk to you about.  Rin said it was mutual.”

Sousuke nodded, a frown working its way onto his face.  “Yeah, it was mutual.  It was just really awkward and we both agreed that being friends would be better. Why?”

Shrugging a bit, Kisumi looked down at her feet, scuffing her toe against the grass. “Just worried.  You know people are going to talk.  I mean, the soccer captain and the cheer captain breaking up? Everyone thought you two were perfect together.”

“We don’t care. At least I don’t.”  Sousuke sighed a bit before nudging Kisumi.  “I assume she talked to you about the other thing?”

“Yeah, she did. I was surprised but it’s not like I’ll tell anyone,” Kisumi said, nudging Sousuke back.  “You really are like her overprotective big brother.”

Sousuke snorted, finally cracking a smile.  “Well, someone has to be.  She gets in too much trouble otherwise.”  He chuckled a bit before shaking his head and turning serious again.  “You should give it a shot.”

Those words made Kisumi tense and she swore she could feel her heartrate spike.  She turned to look at Sousuke, eyes wide as she searched his face.  Did he know? How did he know?  “What…?”

“You’re one of my best friends, Kisumi.  I kind of figured it out.  Rin might be dense as hell but I know you too well not to see it,” Sousuke said, reaching over to ruffle her hair.

“Hey!”  Kisumi swatted his hands away, frowning up at him. “Are you okay with it?  And how do you know Rin will be okay with it?”

“We broke up, Kisumi.  She’s like a sister to me, so yeah, I’m okay with it.”  He smiled a bit, nudging her once more.  “I don’t know for sure but I think you’ll be okay.  Trust me.”

“If things go bad, you owe me two weeks worth of your cola.  Got it?”  Kisumi frowned up at him, crossing her arms as she watched him struggle to agree with her terms.

After a moment, he nodded, rolling his eyes.  “Fine. But I stand by what I said. You’ll be okay.  Now go get changed.  Rin’s probably wondering why you ditched her.”

“Aw shit. I’ll see you later, Sousuke!” With that, she turned and ran off to the locker room.

~~

A week passed after Sousuke and Rin’s break up and Kisumi still had no idea how to ask her out.  She didn’t want it to feel like she had been waiting for their breakup, because she had wanted them to be happy.  Even if Sousuke said things would be alright, she still didn’t know how to approach Rin about it.  Just because she said she was probably attracted to girls didn’t mean she would be attracted to Kisumi.

So, she bribed Sousuke with tonkatsu in order to get his advice again.

“Just ask her, Kisumi.  Or buy her food.  That always works,” he said, shoving a slice of pork in his mouth.

“No, that works for you.  Besides, we have a competition soon.  She’d get annoyed if I bought her junk food.”  Sighing, Kisumi sat back in her chair, watching as Sousuke continued to shovel food into his mouth.

Sousuke stayed quiet until he finished eating.  “You know,” he said, setting his chopsticks down, “She thinks you’re mad at her or something.  She said you’ve been acting weird.  You should just tell her, Kisumi, or she’s gonna end up thinking it’s because of what she told you.”

“I guess you’re right.  I should at least let her know it’s not because of that.”  Kisumi pushed her chair back as she spoke, running a hand through her fluffy hair in an attempt to make it look a bit neater.  “Is she at home?  I’ll go talk to her now, I suppose.  Before I chicken out again.”

“I think so? She’s probably helping Gou with homework or studying.  It’s what she usually does on her time off.  You know that,” Sousuke laughed, shaking his head a bit.  “Now go.  I’m going to get more tonkatsu.”

~~

Kisumi fidgeted as she stood outside Rin’s house, twirling a strand of hair around her finger nervously.  Maybe she should have gone home to change or reapply her make up.  She lifted her arm and sniffed her sleeve, frowning at the aroma of tonkatsu that clung to the fabric.  Well, maybe Rin wouldn’t notice.  After all, she might be used to it, given how much Sousuke loved to eat the stuff.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to ring the doorbell, only hesitating briefly before she pressed the button.  The moments seemed to drag on, making Kisumi all the more nervous.  The thought of running off briefly crossed her mind but before she could act on it, the door opened.

Rin stood in front of her, dressed in a tank top and workout shorts and still looking effortlessly beautiful.  Her face was bare of make up and her hair wasn’t styled and suddenly Kisumi felt all too overdressed in her skirt and glittery pink top.  Of course Rin would be wearing really casual clothes at home, which made Kisumi feel even more out of place.  Maybe she should have gone home to change first.

Gathering her courage, she said, “Rin!  I um, I need to talk to you?”

“You sound like you’re not sure.  But come in! I can take a break from studying.” With that, Rin grabbed Kisumi’s wrist and dragged her into the house.  “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Kisumi faltered a bit, trying not to focus too hard on the fact that Rin was almost holding her hand.  “Um… no. No, I’m good,” she managed to say, feeling her heart sink a bit when Rin let go.  “Sousuke… Sousuke said you thought I was upset with you or something. And I wanted to let you know that I’m not!”

Rin’s smile dropped and her eyes widened.  “I… Oh, I guess he would be worried, huh?  I should have just talked to you but I guess I was scared.”

“I’m the one who was scared,” Kisumi admitted, fidgeting with her hair a bit.  “I mean…  I don’t really know how to say this but I’ve… liked you for a long time but I didn’t think you’d ever be interested.  I didn’t want to ruin anything between us!  You’ve been one of my best friends since we were kids and I’d be so upset if my stupid crush ruined all of that!”

After blurting all that out, she stood there awkwardly, heart pounding as she stared at the floor.  Rin wasn’t saying anything and she was too afraid to look up, so she simply stood there, tugging at her hair.

A smaller hand covered her own, gently pulling it out of her hair.  “Stop tugging on your hair.  It’s too pretty for you to rip out, y’know,” Rin muttered as she moved into Kisumi’s personal space.  “Why did you think that would ruin anything?”

Kisumi stared down at her, wondering why Rin didn’t look upset.  In fact she seemed happy, if the little smile on her face was anything to go by.  “Well, I… I don’t know, really.  At first I thought you’d think it was weird and then I just figured that just because you liked girls didn’t mean you like me.”

Rin’s smile only widened a bit as she moved her hand to hold Kisumi’s properly, a pretty blush coloring her cheeks.  “Who wouldn’t like you, Kisumi?”

“Don’t… Don’t say things like that, Rin!  It’s embarrassing,” Kisumi whined, pouting a bit.  “Rinrin always says embarrassing, romantic things.”

“Hey!  Don’t call me Rinrin!  Don’t make me come up there,” Rin huffed, kneeing Kisumi in the leg.

“Oh, and what’s little Rinrin going to do about it?” asked Kisumi, smiling at how easily they fell into their old teasing routine.  Maybe things really would be okay, even if Rin didn’t return her feelings.

“This.”  With a smirk, Rin stood on her toes, pressing a soft kiss to Kisumi’s lips.  She pulled back slightly, still smirking.  “Still think things have been ruined between us?” she whispered, her breath tickling Kisumi’s lips.

“No.”  With that, Kisumi returned Rin’s smirk with one of her own as she leaned down to press another kiss to Rin’s lips.

[ereans]

walking the long road

Pairing: Nanase Haruka/Shigino Kisumi Warnings: College, Pre-Relationship, Fluff. Summary:  If this is Haruka’s version of flirting, Kisumi likes it. A lot. Notes: Happy Kisumi Day! I’m not late at all, shut up. Also: this was written very, very quickly, because I had writer’s block all week trying to write this and then I had my muse come back for like, a solid hour. That said, let me know if you spot any typos! God knows I can hardly English normally.

There's always been something about the door to Haruka's dorm that's been a little intimidating to Kisumi. He doesn’t entirely know why. Thinking back on his previous experiences with it, it most likely has something to do with the fact that it's been a common occurrence for it to, whether Haruka was inside or not, simply not open for him. 

Or, in other circumstances, to slam in his face. Honestly, depending on the context, he sometimes wonders which is the lesser of two evils.

Tonight proves no different; Haruka's door stands out among the rest of the hallway in a familiar sort of way, and because Kisumi is many things and among those many things is not subtle, he wastes no time in rapping his knuckles incessantly along the very center of the door.

Daunting or not, Kisumi is far too tired to care tonight.

"Oi, Haru," he calls, still knocking, now deciding to use his foot to tap at the bottom corner of the door, where there's always been a sliver of wood missing at the edge. Kisumi thinks he's memorized every inch of this door by now. "Haru, I know you're in here tonight!"

Nothing. Haruka has to be on another art kick, he figures. Or maybe his introversion is keeping him quiet again.

Kisumi's learned that with Haruka, the reasoning for his actions is a constant guessing game.

"Don't ignore me," he whines, perhaps ironically deciding to ignore the pair of boys that walk past him in the hall, eyes trained curiously on him. Glancing back down at the floor, Kisumi can't help but start to laugh. "Haru, I can see the light under your door."

One second goes by. Then two. Then, with a close but muffled click, the light from under the door goes out.

The little shit.

"Not funny! Ha-ru," Kisumi sing-songs, peering through the very wrong side of the peephole. Well; door viewer, as his mother would call it. "Don't make me sleep out here again! My back's still busted from last time!"

He doesn't know what it is about what he's said that did the trick, but the door swings open, regardless, and Haruka—who looks less than pleased to have opened it, eyes drooped down on a slant, mouth frowning—is there, and that's really all Kisumi cares to ask for right now. As far as Kisumi's concerned, Haruka could be wearing just about any kind of look and still be a sight for sore eyes tonight.

Neither of them says anything, although there is a moment where Haruka looks very much like he wants to ask Kisumi what he's doing here. He instead just gives one quick glance over Kisumi's form, and there's a streak of dark blue under his right eye that cracks when he squints it.

"I didn't make you do anything," is what he starts with, tone somehow both bored and accusatory. Kisumi relaxes at the sound of it. "You didn't have to sleep out here."

"It's not like I had anywhere else to go," Kisumi whines, and when he sees the tell-tale twitch of annoyance pulling Haruka's eyebrows upward, he slips through the doorway before the door can shut. "My roommate shut me out again."

"He doesn't shut you out. He puts a sock on the doorknob," Haruka deadpans, still at the door somewhere behind Kisumi. "I didn't say you could come in."

Kisumi can only smile to himself. "You didn't say I couldn't, either," he says, triumphant tone preceding his collapse along Haruka's bed. "And anyway, a sock on the doorknob is shutting me out. Haven't you ever heard of being sexiled?"

"Yes." The door shuts with a click, and Haruka sighs. Kisumi watches him walk past, inevitably back to his artwork. His paint is scattered all over his desk, along with a dozen sketches of a dozen different things and a single, paint-smudged canvas; a talented artist, Haruka is, but certainly not an organized one. "Don't you have other friends that have dorms here?"

Kisumi sees no reason to lie. "Yes."

Haruka's stare is incredulous. Kisumi grins. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous,” Kisumi parrots, tipping his head off the side of the bed to stare at Haruka sideways. "You're so cold, Haru. How did you get to be this way?"

The glance Haruka throws over his shoulder is unflinching. "Years of practice."

“I’d argue that you’re just inherently unwelcoming.”

“Or maybe you’re inherently irritating.”

“You’ll break my heart at this rate,” Kisumi sighs, and then taps the very top of his right cheek. “Nice war paint, by the way. It’s a good look on you.” 

Haruka actually looks a little startled by that for a moment, before he catches on and starts to thumb at the top of his own right cheek. A bit of the blue crumbles away, not nearly all of it, but Haruka must not notice or not care, because he leaves it. “I’ve been painting.”

Kisumi pointedly eyes Haruka’s desk. “You don’t say.”

“... If I wanted, I could kick you out.”

“You wouldn’t,” Kisumi openly pouts. “I’ve nowhere else to go, you see. Kicking me out would just be plain cruel.”

“I’d get over it.”

Kisumi snorts. “Anyone ever tell you how cute you are when you’re mad?”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than get on my nerves?” Haruka retorts. To his credit, he looks much less put off by the compliment than he would have been a year ago. It’s endearingly impressive.

"Afraid not, darling. Teasing you is the only thing I'm good at," Kisumi says, pressing his smile a little bit wider as he does.

Haruka doesn't budge an inch, just blinks unamusedly. "Then find another hobby."

“That’s boring,” Kisumi says. “The best hobbies take natural talent. We can’t all be renaissance men like you, Haru.”

"Whatever," Haruka sighs. He gets to clearing his desk off—or maybe he’s just making more room for more of a mess—by moving the tubes of paint off to one side, shuffling the discarded sketches off to a corner in the process. 

For a few minutes, the clatter of it all is the only thing that disrupts the silence. Kisumi gets to a point of becoming used to it, as he normally does, and so when Haruka speaks again, as if they’d never stopped, he almost jumps. 

"I let you in for a reason, anyway.”

Which, if nothing else, gets Kisumi’s attention. “Oh?”

“Yes,” Haruka says, though he looks somewhat hard-pressed in admitting it. It tips past hesitance, now, and Kisumi realizes, with a rush of clarity, that he’s embarrassed.

“Haru,” Kisumi drawls. “How scandalous!”

Now, Haruka glares. “Kisumi—”

“I know. Ah, Haru. You know I know that you’re ace,” he says, tossing his eyes upward in an exaggerated roll. "I'm not the kind to tread where I'm unwelcome."

Haruka makes a sound like an aborted scoff. "Right."

“I’m sorry,” Kisumi continues, with a wave of his hand. “You were saying?”

In the middle of his dorm, with Kisumi’s eyes on him and the only light being that of the lamp on his desk, Haruka blends in abstrusely with the shadows. Kisumi notices, and in the next moment, the feeling is gone. Haruka is fleeting, in more ways than one.

He makes a noise, one that resembles a grunt, and then he steps back and to the side and pulls something rectangular and solid out from behind his desk. He says nothing, not as he thumbs at the edges of it, not as he steps closer with it in his hands.

“I didn’t get to see you yesterday,” is what he precedes handing it over with, and when Kisumi stands to take it, he takes an immediate step backward.

Kisumi would pick on him for doing it, too, if he weren’t so distracted by his own expression.

An old one, that is. One from some time ago, etched into a shaded contrast of line work and curves and more, much more than Kisumi thinks he can understand.

"Happy birthday," Haruka says, and Kisumi's heart slams into his throat. "Sorry it's late."

Kisumi tries for a laugh, but it ends up kind of choked off. He remembers this drawing. It had been done months ago, during a break in the school year when they'd all gone back to Iwatobi. It had been a chance, among few, where they had all been able to get together again. Sousuke, ever eager to send Haruka out onto hot coals, had been the one to point out that Haruka was drawing Kisumi in the first place, and Haruka had barely flinched—had just explained that inspiration came at odd times—but his blush was telling. And very, very red. If Kisumi remembers correctly.

They'd all been on the beach, and Kisumi had bugged him for hours about it. Haruka refused to let him see any more than a short glimpse at a time.

He'd forgotten all about it.

"You remembered this." It isn't a question, mostly because Kisumi doesn't think he could work up the energy in his voice to make it a question even if he tried.

Haruka shifts from one foot to the other, but his expression remains neutral. “Yeah.”

You remembered this, he wants to say again, because his brain keeps getting stuck on that. Haruka’s eyes are a kind of wide he hasn’t seen before, and he can’t help but think that something, a barrier, has been broken here; somewhere between the lines.

“You kept saying you wanted it,” Haruka says. 

“I did.”

“... If you don’t like it, then just—”

“I do!” Kisumi exclaims; he hopes, with all of himself, that his heart is not about to burst. It certainly feels like it might, with all this fluttering in his chest.

"Then what is it?" Haruka asks; and yes, the barrier has been broken now. After years of wearing Haruka down, Kisumi thinks that he can pride himself on reading even the slightest changes in Haruka's tone, in his expression. And here, now, Haruka is undoubtedly, actually, concerned.

The fluttery feeling only thickens at the thought. Haruka blinks, eyes blue and curious and banking on impatience, and Kisumi can't help feeling a little like he's been backed into a corner.

What a fascinating, oblivious sort of predator Haru would make.

"Nothing," he manages on the flanks of an exhale, chin tipping upwards. He tries a smile on for size and, as always, it fits quite nicely. "Why do you ask?"

Haruka's eyes jump downwards and then back up to Kisumi's eyes, quickly. Something like mischief sparks in his irises. "You're acting weird."

Kisumi doesn't know if he likes the look or not. It certainly doesn't look bad on him, in any case, and Kisumi's smile just grows. "I am weird."

"I know," Haruka says, not missing a beat. It makes whatever’s crushing Kisumi’s chest a little bit lighter. 

He uses the ease to breathe, to reach out a single hand. "Can I?"

Haruka’s brow furrows; he looks confused, but, admittedly, not exactly opposed to anything Kisumi might be asking for. "What?"

He doesn't want to say it out loud, and so Kisumi takes a gamble with a single stride forward, hooking an arm around Haruka's neck and dragging him close. Haruka sort of gasps, but he doesn't pull away when their chests softly collide and he doesn't argue when Kisumi leans his face into the crook of Haruka's neck, so it feels like the right decision. An allowed one, at least.

"Thanks," Kisumi manages, finally, feeling winded. "Thank you."

For once, the silence is not expectant. There's no discomfort, no question, nothing to thicken the air between them. There is just this closeness, the kind that Kisumi wasn't even completely aware he wanted until he'd created it, and Haruka's hands are desperately soft when they lift to touch Kisumi's back.

"You're welcome," he says. "Don't cry."

Kisumi laughs, and it must feel uncomfortable for Haruka, warm and damp up against his neck, but he remains still, so Kisumi does, too. "Who am I, Rin?"

"No," Haruks says, and now he does retreat. His hands come up to the sides of Kisumi's face, though, and Kisumi finds that he's a little too busy sorting out the malfunctioning in his brain to complain about the loss of contact. "You're Kisumi."

He smiles, and it is the brightest thing Kisumi's seen all day.

“How sentimental,” Kisumi says, somehow feeling bold enough to touch the backs of Haruka’s hands with his own.

“Don’t get used to it.”

Kisumi lifts an eyebrow, wonders if Haruka’s aware that he’s so capable of causing Kisumi’s heart to beat in time with the sound of his voice, the spark in his aura. The simple warmth behind his touch.

“I think I might be already.”

Haruks pulls away, then, but it’s alright because Kisumi doesn’t think it’s because he’s said something wrong. On the contrary; right now, he doesn’t think it would be possible for anything to feel any less wrong.

“Well,” Haruka begins, because it does feel so very much like a beginning, "being sentimental isn't all bad."

The smudge of paint continues to crack, and Kisumi wonders, absently, when his smile came back.

Only, of course, to realize: it never left in the first place.

If this is Haruka’s version of flirting, Kisumi likes it. A lot.

He has to breathe, deeply, before he can ask, "Who are you? What have you done with my Haru?"

"Your Haru," Haruka scoffs, and as he steps away to return to his art, cheeks stained red, Kisumi can only smile.

Yes, he doesn’t say.

(Maybe he should.) 

If not now, someday soon.

[roseshell]

Title: Too Sweet Rating: G Genre: Fluff Series: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club Ship: Kisumi/Haru, background Kisumi/Haru/Makoto/Sousuke/Rin because no one can stop me Character(s): Kisumi, Haru Notes: My Kisumi Day fic - I really wanted to write something longer or more complex, but after a long weekend of family obligations and stomach flu surviving, this was the best I could do. I’ve been writing a different long piece for a while now, so this short fic was a welcome change

“Hey, where are the others?” Kisumi was scrubbing his wet hair with a towel as he entered the kitchen, sparing Haru only a glance before scanning the rest of the room as if the other men were simply hiding behind the furniture.

“They’re out running errands,” Haru said as he finished cleaning the last of the dirty dishes.

Kisumi cast a mischievous grin to Haru’s back. “Oohh, errands for what?” Kisumi teased, slinging an arm around Haru’s shoulder.

Haru remained expressionless, but he couldn’t hide the amusement in his eyes. Really, the surprise birthday party was doomed from the start. For all their careful planning, Rin and Makoto couldn’t be counted on to be subtle, while Kisumi had a unnatural talent for perception, particularly when someone was trying to hide something from him. Sousuke and Haru had told them as much, but Rin and Makoto had insisted they try anyways.

Still, Kisumi hadn’t outright voiced his suspicions, and Haru never confirmed them. Tonight at Rin’s place, Kisumi would be appropriately surprised and genuinely touched at the big reveal, overjoyed to see his friends, and he'd end drinking too much and eating too much and eventually passing out next to whichever of the four were closest to him at that moment. Essentially, even if it wasn’t a true surprise, if Kisumi had a good time, it would be enough for them.

“I made you something,” Haru eventually replied.

Kisumi smiled. “Did you? What is it?”

Haru shrugged away of Kisumi’s arm and walked over to the refrigerator, saying over his shoulder, “Go sit at the table in the other room.”

Kisumi obeyed with a chuckle. By the time Kisumi was settled on a cushion, his towel discarded beside him and enjoying the view of the late spring morning outside the open doors, Haru was entering the room with a plate that he set down in front of Kisumi.

“Oh, it's so pretty!” Kisumi rarely disliked anything, especially food, but Haru knew he prefered natural sweetness to candy sweet, so he had made a vanilla cake with real strawberries on top. About the diameter of Kisumi’s palm, the cake was small, simply but beautifully decorated, and knowing Haru’s cooking ability, probably delicious. Despite how touched Kisumi felt, he couldn’t help but tease, “Is this the cake for tonight? It’s a little small for a party.”

Haru gave him a look, whether for Kisumi’s joke or for his attempt to confirm the party’s existence, Kisumi wasn’t sure. “No, the cake is for you.”

Kisumi smiled then, a real, heartfelt smile, the kind of smile that always took Haru off guard. “Thank you, Haru. It looks beautiful, and it means a lot.”

Before Haru could feel too embarrassed, he scowled and let himself sink onto the cushion beside Kisumi. It was only when his head was securely nestled against Kisumi’s shoulder that he grumbled out a short, “You’re welcome.”

Kisumi ducked to give Haru a quick kiss to the top of his head. “Can I eat it now? It’s my birthday, so I’m allowed to eat cake for lunch, right?”

Haru made a small noise of amusement. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

The first bite that Kisumi took had him sighing with delight. “Ahhh, it’s good, Haru!” Even if Haru didn’t lift his head, Kisumi could feel him smile against his shoulder. Kisumi brought the fork up with a mouthful of cake towards Haru. “Do you want to share it with me?”

Haru lifted his head to give Kisumi an unsure look. “It’s your birthday cake. You don’t have to share.”

“I know, but I want to share.” Haru still didn’t move, so Kisumi added, “Think of it as rewarding you for being the only one to stick around and not ignore me on my birthday.”

Haru smirked at him then. “You’re ridiculous,” he said, but allowed Kisumi to feed him the cake. He seemed to take the time to judge his craft, his eyebrows furrowing as he studied the taste and texture, and as Kisumi watched he felt more adoration for his boyfriend blossom in his heart. Haru swallowed the cake and Kisumi swooped in to kiss him, the taste of vanilla and strawberries still lingering on his lips. Haru was used to these kind of kisses by now, but when Kisumi pulled away he was still met with a half-felt glare.

“This cake tastes good, but you taste even better,” Kisumi drawled dramatically.

Haru rolled his eyes. “You’re so ridiculous.”

“I love you too.”

In response, Haru’s fingers slipped between Kisumi’s own to take the fork from him. He picked up another piece of the cake, brought it to Kisumi’s lips, and said, “Happy birthday, by the way.”

Just as they finished the cake, Haru’s phone lit up with a text from Rin: We need your house for a bit, distract him.

“Wanna go somewhere?” Haru asked, slipping his phone back into his pocket before Kisumi could see.

Judging by his smile, Kisumi had guessed what the text was about, and didn’t mind. “Definitely.”

[wingedauthor]

Centaur SouKisu date for Kisumi’s Birthday!

I ended up getting really sick so I didn’t have time to finish the background before the end of the day but I’m quite pleased with how the horses came out! :D

Sousuke is a Clydesdale while Kisumi is a Thoroughbred.

[tewateroniakwa]

Kisumi day, savvy.