Holiday Kisses | Secret Santa 2022

𝐈.𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ━━━━━━

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￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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Happy Holidays, Ace! I'm your secret Santa, so I wrote you some cute Tamaki x Nejire fluff. I hope you enjoy!

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━━━━━━ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏.𝐒𝐈𝐒 ━━━━━━

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Tamaki and Nejire are in their last year of high school, excited for what the future has in store for them.

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Tamaki Amajiki, Nejire Hado

➥ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fluff

➥ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2,476

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 13,802

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As Tamaki came to the crest of the hill, he gazed upon his favorite cherry blossom tree. A lone tree on the outskirts of Musutafu, perched perfectly on top of a hill. It stood alone, outlined against the blue sky behind it. But his eyes did not drink in the beautiful pink petals for long, for his dark pupils soon shifted to another, new shape. That of a woman sitting on a blanket near the trunk, still laying out food from a basket. The woman had lilac hair braided into pigtails, and a sunhat covering the top. She wore a simple yellow dress adorned with a white ribbon and bow around the waist.

Her cheerful gaze caught his dark one as she noticed his approach. She beamed at him, her teeth almost as dazzling as the sun, and ushered him closer. As he neared, she spoke up. "Every Showa Day, all you do is sit under this tree and read for hours. I thought you might like some company, so I made us a picnic. I can leave after we eat if you want your solitude."

Tamaki found a position on the blanket, sitting down cross-legged next to Nejire. She leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. He waited for her to finish unpacking before they began to eat. She had brought an entire three-course meal, and he doubted they'd have room in their stomachs for it all. "So," Nejire began the conversation, her voice muffled by some food still in her mouth. Tamaki raised an eyebrow at her, and she swallowed before continuing. "Our last year of hero school, huh? Aren't you excited?"

"Uh...I guess," Tamaki shrugged. "I don't really know what I'm gonna do after graduation, though. I don't want to be a sidekick forever."

"What, do you plan on going pro the moment you graduate?" Nejire giggled. "You have plenty of time. Fat Gum's already hired you as a sidekick, it's not like you're fresh out of an internship with no money or job."

"I'm not worried about being fired," Tamaki explained. "Just that if I don't change things as soon as possible, I'll grow too complacent and never meet my goals."

"You're so cute when you get so serious about the future," Nejire teased. "Well, the good news is, you have a whole year to think."

"What about you?" Tamaki repeated the question. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm happy where I am," Nejire shrugged. "I'm gonna stay with Ryukyu until I can learn from her what it takes to run a hero agency, then probably make my own."

"Well," Tamaki said, grabbing a juice box. "Here's to our last high school year." He raised it up slightly and toward Nejire. She frantically searched around for her water bottle before grabbing it and toasting with Tamaki.

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .

Tamaki bent down to grab Nejire's discarded flip-flops. He shook the sand off of them before sliding them into his bag and following her, albeit at a much slower pace, down to the shoreline. Despite the sand shifting under her feet, she ran gleefully and unhindered, until she was ankle-deep in the water of the ocean. Tamaki didn't follow her all the way, instead opting to find a nice spot to set up their chairs and umbrella.

She didn't stay in the water long. She was back by his side before he was even finished setting up. As he unfurled the umbrella, she grabbed his arm to stop him. "No no, the umbrella is for my chair," she corrected him.

"But it's easier to read in the shade," Tamaki protested as she pulled the umbrella out of the sand and shifted its position. "The sun makes the pages too bright."

"Boo hoo," Nejire stuck her tongue out at him. Her hair was down, twisting and twirling around itself. She wore the same hat she wore on Showa Day and a pure white bikini. "Besides, you'd look hotter with just a little bit of a tan."

"Nejire, you promised I could bring my book," Tamaki sighed.

"Aw, is that the only reason you're here?" she pouted. "And here I thought you liked me or something."

She sat down on her chair, crossed her arm, puffed out her cheeks, and looked away from him in an exasperated show. With a sigh, Tamaki moved over to her, sitting beside her. "Nejire..." He grabbed her chin to turn her head. There was no resistance, and she was smiling when he bent down ever so slightly to plant a kiss on her lips. "Stop being so dramatic."

"Ooh, that was smooth," Nejire chuckled. "You've come a long way since freshman year, Tamaki. You used to get flustered whenever I spoke to you, now you're the one making the moves."

"Yeah, the things I do for you," Tamaki scoffed. In reality, he hadn't come that far. He was still a train wreck around people. Nejire was simply the exception.

"We should start making this an annual tradition," Nejire considered as Tamaki went back to his chair. "I mean, doesn't it just make sense to spend Marine Day at the beach?"

"Next year, we'll be full-time heroes," Tamaki reminded her, opening his book and leaning back. "We might not have the time."

"There's no need to be so negative about it!" Nejire scolded him. "We'll make it work. We always do."

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .

"Why is it that every time I visit the cemetery, it's raining?" Nejire whispered from the back of the crowd. "It just makes everything more dismal."

"Maybe because you only ever come on the Autumn Equinox," Tamaki whispered back. "It tends to rain a lot this time of year."

"I don't like cemeteries," Nejire defended herself. Today, she wore a long, black dress that nearly reached the muddy ground. Her bright lilac hair stood in contrast to the dismal atmosphere, pulled into a beautifully loose bun. "I wouldn't have even come today if my family wasn't so into this tradition. Thanks for keeping me company, by the way."

Nejire claimed she believed paying respect to ancestors you never knew isn't something to force people to do. Tamaki knew she understood, though. She used to think ghosts and spirits were superstitious nonsense, and that paying respects did nothing. But after losing her grandmother, Autumnal Equinoxes had gotten a lot more difficult for her. "Of course, it's not a bother," Tamaki insisted. "You should go and pay our respects now, though."

He saw her shiver, looking at the shrine of flowers that had built up throughout the day. "Okay," she sighed, stepping forward to squeeze through the crowd of her extended family. Tamaki stepped to the side to keep an eye on her, and so he'd be in her line of sight when she turned back around. She approached the gravestones with a singular cosmos flower. He could hear what she said, but he saw her mouth moving and even some tears spilling from her eyes.

She tried to be subtle when she rose to her feet. She tried wiping away the tears without anybody noticing, but he knew. She shuffled her way over to him, and he put his arm around her shoulders. "How about we go have some ice cream after this?" he offered.

"You know me too well," she smiled meekly. She stood on her toes and gave him an appreciative kiss on his cheek.

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Tamaki was as still as a statue in the corner of the room. He sat in an armchair facing the seating room, with perfect posture. His hands were resting on his knees with a deathly tight grip, and he was staring straight ahead, trying his best not to curl up in a ball.

Nejire was throwing a Christmas party, and she had invited him without telling him.

Most people in the room knew each other, so they were content to mingle among themselves. But there would still be a person or two every once in a while that would try to strike up a conversation with Tamaki, only to quickly learn he was a stuttering mess. There were a couple of familiar faces, but they two only shared a few sentences with him before finding another conversation participant. "So, how are you and Nejire?" a class student approached him with.

"Oh? I'm good, and she's probably good too. She loves these parties," he said.

"No, I meant like, you two as a couple," they clarified. "Any issues there?"

Kind of a personal question, but that didn't occur to Tamaki. The first thing that came to mind was, "We're not together."

"Now I know you're bullshitting me," the acquaintance scoffed. "You guys are essentially ed at the hip."

Tamaki was left floundering for words. What else was he supposed to tell him? Why was he so interested? Tamaki couldn't even his name. Luckily, he was saved just in time. "Tamaki, can you help me in the kitchen real quick?" Nejire called from a doorway across the room.

After uttering a rushed apology, Tamaki fled from the room as fast as he could, ing Nejire in the empty kitchen. She was dressed for the holidays in a red pinafore over a dark green long-sleeved shirt. Her hair was in a low ponytail, a low-effort solution to keep it in control while she cooked and baked. "Could you check the faucet? It's not running."

Tamaki made his way over to the sink and messed with the handle. The water immediately started flowing. "What? It's fine," he turned toward Nejire, who was now standing beside him with an impish grin.

"I know, I just wanted you over here," she giggled, pointing upward. A quick glance revealed a mistletoe hanging over their heads.

"You're ridiculous," Tamaki chuckled. "There's no need to trick me."

"Yeah, but it's more fun," she said, standing on her toes so their lips would meet. The kiss lasted longer than their typical pecks, and Tamaki found his arms wrapped around her by the time they were done. "Oh my, so romantic. It's like we're officially a couple."

Tamaki was immediately reminded of the person who had questioned him earlier and broke away. "There was somebody who was asking about our relationship before you called me in here," Tamaki informed her, moving over to the counter to look at all the dishes she was working on. "He was convinced we're a thing."

"Tamaki, that's because we kiss on a regular basis," she laughed. "Friends don't typically do that."

"I know," he shrugged. "I just never know what to tell people when they ask ."

"Just say we aren't exclusive," Nejire shrugged, returning to her baking. "If people press further after you tell them we're not together, it's probably because they're interested in you or me. Saying that we're not exclusive will be all the information they need."

"But some people just give me weird looks," Tamaki shuddered. "They're obviously judging me."

"So what?" Nejire asked. "We're happy, and that's all that matters."

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .

"Family reunions are always such a hassle," Nejire said once the two had escaped from her cramped house. "You make it more bearable, thank you."

"You have like 20,000 relatives," Tamaki said, frazzled. Unlike the lilac-haired woman, he hated large gatherings. She loved parties, just not those comprised of extended family. "Why did you come if you don't enjoy it? You could have stayed at the dorms."

"Eh, I do like seeing my family," Nejire explained. "Just not so many all at once. It's hectic, but I don't want to miss the opportunity altogether. There's only one Vernal Equinox a year, after all."

"Is that the only day your family gets together?" Tamaki asked, incredulous.

"Well, not necessarily. We get together with closer family more often, but this is the only time of year we round up as many people as possible," Nejire shrugged. "What about you? You never invite me to your family get-togethers."

"We don't really have them," Tamaki confessed. "Dad and I are both introverts that are perfectly fine on our own."

"Well, that's a little sad, but at least you're both okay with it," Nejire sighed, pulling her coat tighter around her. She gazed off into the distance, at the sun setting behind the buildings of the city. "Isn't it insane? We're about to graduate and be full-fledged heroes, Tamaki."

"Yeah," he sighed, ing her in watching the sky change colors. "This year flew by."

"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tamaki answered after a moment of silence.

"I have too. I want to make us official," she revealed. He looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "Like, boyfriend and girlfriend, where you're mine and I'm yours. I don't want to share you anymore."

"You're not even sharing me now," Tamaki pointed out. "I don't go around kissing anybody else."

"Yeah, but I don't want that to be an option," she confessed. "I've really fallen for you, you know. I want that to be something of substance."

Tamaki stared out at the sun in silence. "Nejire, I'm moving to Tokyo."

She looked up at him, searching his face for sincerity. It wasn't hard to find. "Why?"

"I rented a building there to start a hero agency," he explained. "I told you, I wanted to start as soon as possible."

"But why so far away?"

"Closer to more action. More crimes to stop, more publicity to be had," he shrugged. "I...didn't know you wanted me around forever."

The two fell into silence again, both contemplating how their lives would unfold from here. "I'll visit you every other week," Nejire offered. "I can talk to Ryukyu about having t operations. Or, when I start my own agency, we can be partnered."

"Nejire, that's...going to be hard."

"I know. But I'm willing to put in the work if you are."

He looked over at her, to find she was already staring at him hopefully. Her once long and beautiful hair now framed her round face perfectly in a bob, the parted bangs curling at the end. She was dressed in a sweater and sweatpants, something comfortable for her. He turned his whole body toward her and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into him. They didn't break eye as they embraced. He craned his neck down to meet her lips for another long kiss

"We'll make it work. We always do."

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ━━━━━━

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￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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I hope you enjoy your holiday season!

#NejiTama