#knbss2017

[fucklovingmeme]

to: @silvertheredhairedstranger from: @fucklovingmeme merry christmas and happy secret santa!!! remember to be careful out there, the ice is slippery ;^)

[xihe]

@artisticpixie im your secret santa, here’s kagakuro walking home in the snow after doing some gift shopping, i hope you like this! happy holidays!!

[girlslikecarsandmonet]

once upon a december...

To: @sann-lykke

From: @girlslikecarsandmonet

Message/Note: surprise AGAIN!!! i had to do it after that one conversation we had because i’m really extra, and also because i couldn’t not do your otp :>

[whyhedgehog-blog]

To: @the-honestlycrazycollection From: y Hello, I was your secret santa this year! You said you wanted AkaMomo, so I drew a scene from the last OVA - more specifically, the one where Akashi switches out with Momoi so she can join the others in the game, too. It’s a really sweet scene I always enjoyed! I hope you have (or are having) a great Christmas, and that the rest of the year left also goes great!!! And the next, and the next, and the next…

[cheswirls]

hey @fucklovingmeme what a coincidence. I edited my queue bc this was scheduled for later bc. wow. i was your secret santa. how about that.

anyway,, we seem to have so many hcs in common, so i loved writing this. i hope the rest of your year is good !

-

The “good feeling” he had about this play was about to pay off in the sweetest way.

He could read these first years like a book.

Dropping the hand with three raised fingers, Kouki eyed the attempting point guard in front of him, slightly leaning off to the left, in turn making the kid balance on his right. He glanced up to see Kagami blocking off the last one and veered right, slipping past the first year and, with the rest of them all guarded by their seniors, went right for an easy layup.

He dropped back to the court, the frustrated groans of the newbies making him smile slightly. Kawahara came and knocked his shoulder, sporting his own proud grin, and the second years on the sidelines let out a few catcalls at the hopeless expressions now on the faces of their newest recruits.

A sharp whistle sounded the end of the play. Another two after ended practice itself.

Kouki looked over to see the whistle drop back onto Riko’s chest, one hand on her hip and the other clutching her clipboard. “Fine, fine,” she called. “Clearly I won’t see anything today, since some people-” she pointedly looked at Kouki and Kuroko, who had wandered up next to him, “-like to show off. We’re done for the day. Go change.”

Kuroko curls a palm around Kouki’s shoulder, his own small smile embedded on his lips. “Great play there, captain,” he muttered before wandering over to where Riko was still muttering, the second years around her beginning to disperse.

“Seriously, how to you lose one-oh-seven to forty-nine? Forty-nine! And we went almost an hour over today, which cuts into my time and ugh I do not get paid enough for this-”

“Sorry about that, coach,” Kouki called out, coming to a stop a couple feet away. Riko looked up at him and pierced him with her third true glare of the day. It’d been a long day.

“You are too much, Furi,” she told him, quite bluntly. “What the hell was that last move? I didn’t teach you that. It was perfect, too. What the hell.”

“Slide,” Kuroko told her, joining them. “It’s something new we’ve been working on.”

Riko drops her clipboard to the ground with a clang and doesn’t hesitate to squeeze Kuroko’s head between both her hands, bringing a pained expression to his face and muttered stutterings of pain. “You. Why do I even bother? It’s a weekend and my midterms are coming up, and here I am apparently useless because you coach yourselves.” She sighed then, letting her arms drop. “Not that I don’t love it. Just. We just let these first years join. I have to see what they’re capable of, y’know? You gotta give them a chance.”

“We let them have half,” Kouki muttered, then froze. A mistake.

She jabbed her pointer finger against his chest, making him flinch back. “I don’t wanna hear it!”

“At least they all seem to be normal,” a new voice called. “You don’t have to deal with any idiots this term.”

Kuroko immediately cracked up into an open palm, muffling his laughter. Kouki’s face screwed up as he watched Riko’s eyes meet Kagami’s as he wandered over.

“No. There are idiots.” She shrugged. “I’m talking to one of them.”

Kagami threw his hands up, trying to speak and failing. Harsh. Still, Kouki collapsed into giggles himself, which earned him a glare from the redhead. Well. He kinda fell into that one.

“Um, Coach Aida?”

She tipped her head, angling towards, well well, one of the first years who had wandered up. “Yes?”

“I was just wondering, well, is it true Seirin doesn’t aim for Interhigh like Fukuda was saying?”

“Hmmm.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “Yes, I suppose it is. We still try, but uh, until next season, there isn’t much of a point. They have too much of a trump over us.”

“Unless Daiki gets injured,” Kuroko muttered. Still, it’s loud enough to be an interjection, and the first year squeals and moves a few steps back, almost falling to the floor.

Immediately, Riko turns on him. “Kuroko! What have I said about scaring people?”

He raised his hands. “In my defense, some things never change.”

Kagami rolled his eyes in the background. “More like some things never improve with time.”

“Whatever.” She turned back to the kid. “In short, we fucked up a couple years ago, so our overall chances of victory over them, and entry into the interhigh competition, is very, very slim. Doesn’t mean we don’t try with all our might, but if anyone tells you not to get your hopes up, they’re doing you a favor. I think Shuutoku’s supposed to have the highest chance this year, actually.”

The first year nodded, stunned.

“Language, Riko,” Kouki hissed, eyeing her warily.

“We can’t afford to have our coach fired,” Kuroko said, voice monotone, like he honestly didn’t care. He did, but. Still.

She spun around then, slamming a foot down onto her clipboard still on the ground, and oh, yep, there’s the fourth glare of the very long weekend practice day. Right there. There it was.

“Hurry up and change,” she seethed. “I want to leave. Badly. Desperately. Please.”

That did the trick. The remaining members made their way to the locker room, leaving her to inspect the damage to the wooden clipboard.  

-

Kouki didn’t understand how it could be only October in Tokyo and yet be cold. But there he was, on the doorstep of his house, jangling his key in the lock and watching his breath appear from his mouth like fog.

When he finally gets the stupid thing to go in, he breathes out a big sigh of relief, pushing the door open and eternally grateful for the warm air he’s met with. “I’m hom-Uh . .”

He pauses in the entryway, long enough for Akashi to look up from his phone, swinging his head back behind him and meeting the other’s eyes.

He closes the door, suddenly suspicious, and kicks off his shoes. In turn, Akashi picks himself up off the couch and pockets his phone.

“Hi,” he says, a little sheepish.

Kouki stands there for another moment, calculating just how much later he got off of practice that he was supposed to, and then sighs in defeat, figuring he owed his boyfriend for waiting than getting on to him for making an impromptu trip. He wandered over into warm arms, humming in a soft greeting. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d pay you a visit.” He returned the hug, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“A while.”

That was a different voice.

They broke apart and Kouki saw his mother in the archway to the kitchen, leaning against the wall. “Seriously Kouki, what took so long?”

“Um.” He blinked. “First year testing. Sort of.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But it’s too late for Akashi to take a train home now, he’ll have to stay the night.”

“Uh,” Akashi began beside him, brows furrowing. Kouki already knew where this was going. One, he didn’t want to impose. Two, the trains were clearly still running, and would be for some time. He still hadn’t quite embraced the niceties of social engagements, such as this, his mother being concerned with him leaving while it was dark. So, like any good person, he took care of it.

“That’s okay. Thanks, mom,” he interrupted, giving his boyfriend a pointed look. That shut him up, and also made his mother wander back into the kitchen with a nod of her head. She called that dinner was almost ready, and Kouki led the other up to his room. He didn’t shower at school, so he at least needed to change beforehand.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Akashi muttered, trudging behind him, letting his hand be held out in front of him.

“There are some things she just won’t let you get away with,” he retorted. “I just made your impending loss of an argument come sooner, saving us all time.”

Akashi winced. “Harsh.”

Kouki ushered him inside and closed the door with his foot, letting out another -how many times was that this evening?- sigh as he stripped his shirt and edged over to his closet to grab a clean one. “Sei, what’s the point of this visit?”

“There uh, well . .” Akashi slumped his shoulders. “There isn’t. Not really.”

“Hmm.” Well, he couldn’t help that. He said as much aloud. “Okay, it’s good. Nothing we can do now. You’re kinda stuck here.” At the silence, Kouki turned to peer at him. “Not that I’m not happy. I missed you.”

Akashi’s bottom lip pursed. “Yeah. I missed you too. That’s why I’m here.”

“Aww.” He wandered closer, looping his arms around Sei’s neck. “You’re such a sap. Hey- is that my sweater?”

The soft smile on Akashi’s face froze. “Um. Yes. That’s why I came -to return it.”

“Liar.” Kouki sniffed. “It’s okay, you’ll probably leave with another.”

“Well, if I have permission-”

“You don’t-”

“Okay okay,” he laughed. “Sorry.”

He scrunched his nose. “It even looks better on you than it does me. How is that fair?”

A blush decorates Akashi’s cheeks. He’s suddenly aware Kouki’s arms are still around him. “T-Thank you.”

“Oh? That’s unusual.” Kouki smiles. “For you to stutter.”

“Well-” Akashi’s protests die as he gets kissed on the nose, softly. He feels an impending breath leave, and his eyes widen, slightly.

It comes back as a voice yells at them from down the stairs.

Kouki’s lids lower in exasperation, and he separates from Akashi. “Oh well. Come on.”

As they depart for the kitchen, he couldn’t help but send a silent, mental word of thanks to Riko for letting them have the day off tomorrow.

[wolfydraws]

To: @furufish

From: wolfy

merry christmas monmon!! i drew furuhashi for you, i hope you like it! its not very winter-y ww my bad

[furufish-blog]

Merry (belated) Christmas @naniething !!! Sorry for the slight delay! When I first got your assignment, I was so happy and excited to see kiridai! They’re my favorite team too, so I made sure to put a lot of love into this piece! It’s not very Christmassy, but I always liked to imagine them playing games together. I’d love to share kiridai headcanons with you sometime! Hope you have a wonderful rest of the year!

[naniething]

To: @girlslikecarsandmonet

Merry Christmas !! I hope you like your gift 💕

[stacinadia]

Happy holidays, @kurokonomochi!  I was your KnB Secret Santa!  The AoKa Christmas light showdown was such an awesome idea, I had to write it!  I hope you like it!

Also on AO3! 

**********

They were living the dream, Taiga thought.  He and Aomine had graduated high school a few months ago.  Neither of them had the greatest grades, but they were enough to pass.  And now they were going to UCLA in America on basketball scholarships.  It was what they had always wanted to do, be able to play basketball.

The two lived in one of the dormitories, luckily managing to get single rooms next door to each other.  They could have gotten one dorm room for both of them and no one would have bat an eye at them, as America was far more accepting of gay or bisexual couples than Japan, but they had each wanted their own space for the time being, and so they’d gotten separate rooms.

Being in America was a completely different experience from Japan.  Taiga had lived there before and was used to the differences between the two countries, but it was a whole new experience for Aomine.  “Just about everyone calls me Daiki, not Aomine!” he had told Taiga in surprise after their first day of classes.  “And they barely even know me!”

“Yeah, that was something it took me a while to get used to when I first came here,” Taiga had admitted.  “They use given names in this country, not family names.”

But now, a few months into their first semester, they were both used to being called Taiga and Daiki, not Kagami and Aomine.  Some of Taiga’s classmates had even started calling him Tiger, which still made Aomine laugh.  They had even started speaking a little bit of English amongst themselves, not just when they were talking to Americans, though they preferred using Japanese.

On a quiet November day, the couple walked into a large superstore.  “What are we doing here, Kagami?”  Aomine asked.  “Getting groceries?”

“Well, it’s almost Christmas, so we have to buy some decorations,” Taiga answered, leading the blue-haired boy to the Christmas section.  “I forgot the pack the ones I had in my old apartment.”

It was a little overwhelming, looking at the massive variety of Christmas things.  There were countless rolls of wrapping paper and nametags and everything else needed for decorating presents, lots of ornaments in every color of the rainbow and of pretty much anything imaginable, and plenty of shining lights.  There were huge inflatable things that were meant to be set out on the lawn and tons of boxes of holiday cards.  It almost made Taiga’s head spin.

Aomine was going wide-eyed with shock.  “Christmas sure is a lot different here than in Japan,” he managed.

That was an understatement.  “Yeah,” Taiga agreed.  “Here it’s all about family and togetherness and lots of presents and food.”

“I bet that was always your favorite part of the holiday,” Aomine teased, poking Taiga in the stomach.

Taiga glared.  “I’m still basketball fit no matter how much I eat!” he snapped at the other boy, who couldn‘t stop laughing.

“And I’ll never figure out how, Bakagami,” Aomine smirked, using the nickname he‘d used to call Taiga back in high school.  “I’ll never forget the day you ate forty burgers at Maji’s!”

“Never gained a pound after it, either, Aho!” Taiga said proudly, using his old nickname for Aomine as well.  “And you’ve eaten at least a couple dozen burgers after playing, too!  Or have you forgotten?”  

He put the conversation with Aomine out of his mind for a moment and looked over at the rows filled with different lengths and colors of lights.  He picked out a medium length string of multicolored lights.  “I’m going to put this around my dorm door, I think,” he mused.

Aomine smiled again, but it was a soft, gentle smile that he only ever gave to Taiga.  “You’re so cute, Taiga, with how much you like Christmas,” he teased, kissing Taiga on the cheek.

Taiga immediately turned a shade of red nearly as dark as his hair.  “Aho!” he whined.  “That’s embarrassing!”  Turning away to hide his red face from Aomine, he asked.  “Do you want anything for your door, too?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Aomine said dismissively.  “I don’t need that stuff.”

Taiga shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  Come on, Daiki.  Let me go pay for this.”

**********

The other residents of their dorm liked the lights he hung around his doorway.  They oohed and aahed for a couple of days, and then the popularity of his door faded.  Some of the other residents hung lights or decorations as well, and they were simple like Taiga’s.

The following day after class, Taiga returned to his dorm room.  He was surprised to see people gathered around Aomine‘s door.  Taiga went over to where everybody was and had to blink several times to make sure he was actually seeing the sight in front of him.  His boyfriend’s door was covered in several strands of multicolored lights, which were all blinking.  He tried not to show it to the other students, but Taiga was seeing red

After everyone else had dispersed and no one else was around, Taiga went over to Aomine’s door and banged on it.  “Aomine!” he yelled.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Aomine’s smirking face.  “Yes?” he asked.  His voice oozed innocence, but his eyes sparkled with mischievousness.

“What is all this?”  Taiga exploded.

“I changed my mind.  I decided to decorate after all,” Aomine said.  “Don’t you like it?  I think it might even be better than your non-blinking lights.”

Taiga glared.  “You weren’t even interested until you saw everyone looking at my door.  You were jealous!” he declared, pointing at Aomine.

“And now you’re the jealous one,” Aomine pointed out with a smirk.  “Catch you later, Taiga.”  And with that, he closed his door.

Taiga fumed as he unlocked his own door and went into his room.  “He thinks his lights are so great?  I’ll show him!”  He collected the money his father had recently sent to him and headed for the store once again.

**********

The next day, those living in their dorm were gathering once again at Taiga’s door.  Now he didn’t just have the plain multicolor lights on his doorway.  There were also blinking lights on his door.  He didn’t put up as much as Aomine’s, but Taiga’s lights didn’t just blink.  They also played a variety of Christmas songs.  The watchers laughed and sang along with the tunes.

But the best part of the day was seeing Aomine glaring at him before slamming the door to his room closed.

*********

The talk of the dorm nowadays was the all-out decoration war between Taiga and Aomine.  Now it wasn’t just their doors involved.  There were also decorations in their windows and in the dorm rooms themselves.

It reminded Taiga of the days when he and Aomine were rivals playing the same position at their different schools.  He had missed those days where he had thought of nothing but playing basketball against this one amazing boy.  Sure, they had always played one-on-one against each other, and then they had played for the same team, first Vorpal Swords and then at UCLA, but it wasn’t the same as a great rivalry that came from being on separate teams.  There was a certain pleasure that came from beating Aomine, however temporarily, at something.

The two were sitting on the couch in Taiga’s room, watching a movie.  Taiga snuck a glance at Aomine, who was glaring at the silver tinsel laying around the television.  “Something wrong?” Taiga asked.

“These decorations are so ridiculous!” Aomine blurted out.  “Why do people here like them so much?  I’d never put this stuff up normally!”

“So why did you?” asked Taiga, raising an eyebrow.

“Because you did, and everyone liked your decorations!” the blue-haired boy yelled, pouting.  Taiga thought he looked adorable like that.

“Daiki,” Taiga said, taking his boyfriend’s hand.  “You don’t have to be jealous of my decorations, especially if they‘re not really your thing..  I have to say, though, it was really fun being able to compete with you again.”  He nudged Aomine’s side and grinned.  

He was thrilled when Aomine shot a small smile back at him.  “Yeah, that was pretty awesome.”

“But I’d rather sit here with you and watch movies and play one-on-one and do ordinary things.  I don’t care if you’re not crazy about Christmas.  I can decorate enough for both of us.”

“And cook enough, too,” Aomine‘s smile widened.  “I bet you could make a Christmas feast for both of us.”

Taiga nodded.  He’d cooked all through high school as he lived alone and learned to make really amazing food.  If he hadn’t wanted to be a basketball player, he would definitely want to go to culinary school and become a chef.

“So don’t worry about it anymore, okay?”  Taiga kissed Aomine, and soon Christmas decorations were the furthest thing from either of their minds.

**********

The next day, Aomine’s decorations were gone, and Taiga went back to just having his simple lights hanging around the doorway and some garlands around his window and room.  They both liked it so much better that way.

“We can still compete in one-on-one, right?”  Aomine asked as they worked on their homework side by side.

Taiga snorted.  “Of course.  And basketball season’s starting soon, so we‘ll be playing a lot.”

They smiled at each other.  Yes, everything is going to be so much better, Taiga thought.

[kurokonomochi]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aomine Daiki/Kagami Taiga, Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari Characters: Aomine Daiki, Kagami Taiga, Momoi Satsuki, Midorima Shintarou, Takao Kazunari, mentioned generation of miracles - Character Additional Tags: Mistletoe, thirsty aomine, Secondhand embarrassment, one pun Summary:

Aomine bought three bags of mistletoe. Enough said.

Here’s my knb secret santa submission! @knbss2k17

To: @tenzou-taichou

From: Kurokonomochi

Note: Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this!!!

[tenzou-taichou]

Hey @gundham 💕 Merry Christmas from your knb secret santa! Hope you have great holidays and hope you will enjoy this little gift from me! ❤❤❤

[girlslikecarsandmonet]

a garden rose and a wolf of winter

To: @sann-lykke 

From: @girlslikecarsandmonet

Message/Note: surprise :p it was a real trial to keep this a secret from you (i’m sure you can recall the elaborate assortment of white lies i’ve told you the past few weeks) but i honestly couldn’t have asked for a better recipient. i was so happy when i got my assignment because getting the chance to draw for you, one of the best friends i’ve made this year, turned out to be the real blessing in joining this thing. i know you don’t have christmas off where you are, but i hope you have a terrific day anyway. ilu so very much <3

[ize-09]

To: @moontailor
From: Ize ✨MERRY CHRISTMAS! ✨ I was your secret santa this year. I figured that Mayuzumi could dig the reindeer outfit so here we are! I hope you like your gift. ^^ Enjoy the rest of your holiday and also have a safe Christmas and Happy New Year!

[moontailor]

To: Ize / @ize-09

From: Moonie

A very merry christmas to you Ize !! \(*´ 7 `*)/ I hope this wintery greeting card is to your liking ♥♥ Nijimura doesn’t handle the cold well and Himuro finds that very cute ; v ;  (full size [x])

I was really excited about the choice of otp’s you listed and I would’ve loved to also do MayuKuro, but I decided to gift the number one choice since I love HimuNiji a lot too~! I wish you a very pleasant and relaxing end of the year, sweetie~

[knbss2k17]

KNB Secret Santa 2017

Hello there~ Going to be continuing this trend for this year as well! We’ll be reusing KNB2k16′s blog this year, so we hope you don’t mind! Let’s all work together and have fun! 

As usual, you’ll be creating an artwork or a piece of fiction to make someone’s Christmas a little more special.

Rules (Please click to read a more detailed telling of the rules)

Only join if you know you’ll have the time!

It’s a Secret Santa, so keep it a secret! 

Please tag your work with #KNBSS2017 so we can reblog it.

The list of participants will be randomized, so you might end up with ships or characters you don’t feel strongly towards.

Only artworks and fanfics are accepted. 

(A poll link will be sent to those that applied by Nov 15 to decide whether gif-sets should be accepted.)

The minimum requirement for art is a finished piece. Although this is a bit vague, we trust you to know what is ‘finished’. Please put a lot of love and effort into your piece.

The minimum requirement for fics are a 1000 word limit. Again, please put a lot of love and effort into it.

Please try to stick to your recipient’s wishes as much as possible.

Please mention your favorite animal in the additional commentary section so we know you’ve read this.

If, for whatever reason, you really can’t make the deadline, please inform us as soon as possible.

Schedule

Applications close November 25th.

You will receive your giftee’s url and request, at the latest by November 30th.

You are responsible for submitting/queuing your work on your blog on December 25th. Please refrain from submitting earlier for the sake of spoiling the fun. *If you are unable to submit during that time (ex. out of town/vacation), please contact us, and we will help you.

If you are interested, you can apply here!!

If you have any questions, just send us an ask!

[tokikurp]

Letters Across the Water

Surprise @berryblissthefangirl °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° I’m your Secret Santa 🎅 🎉

Summary- Being separated by an ocean is hard enough already. But when letters take so long to arrive, it’s even hard. Especially when a letter doesn’t arrive in over two months, you begin to wonder if something happened.

Enjoy and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas 🎄 🎁

AO3

Sei, We’re safe, stop worrying about me! It’s my job to worry about you and I will not argue with you through these damn letters! ...if we did that, I swear I would forget what the hell we were fighting about because these letters take what, a month to arrive?

Like I said, we’ve made it safely. There weren’t any issues during or after, things went smoothly. We were greeted by King Mizuki and his fiance like you had said. We walked through the village and their people are strange. Then again, your own people are strange. But, everyone is very welcoming and it feels like one massive family.

By the time you receive my letter, we would have already started to discussion about the alliance proposal you and your Father put together. I still don’t get why I was sent instead of either of you. I swear he did this on purpose. Either way, I’ll do my best to propose the idea to them. We both know you’re the talker between the two of us and I promise no fights. ...at least not physical.

How have you been while I’ve been away? Haven’t done anything stupid, right? I know what you’re thinking, “Of course I haven’t done anything stupid. That’s Daiki and Taiga’s jobs.” WELL I NEED TO MAKE SURE! I’m not there to make sure you brats don’t get into any trouble. I know you rolled your eyes at me, Seijurou.

I miss you. I can’t wait for this to be over and I can be back with you.

Love you, Shu

Shuuzo, I’m happy to hear you and the crew arrived safely. I will continue to worry about your safety until you return home. I do not care if you are in a kingdom we know everything about or a kingdom we know nothing about, I will always worry about you. To be honest, I would be surprised if you would even remember what we were arguing over about a month or two after the last letter. Again, I’m happy you’re safe and that your journey went well. I couldn’t help, but wonder how the waters were treating you. Yes, I understand this isn’t your first time sailing and that you have dealt with worst. But I can still worry about you.

I hope things are going well with King Mizuki, he can be a strange one. His people are lovely and I look forward to attending his wedding next summer. I hope the meetings have been going well and they’re listening to everything you have to say about the proposal. I know you are more of a fighter instead of a negotiator, you are after all my right hand man.

But please don’t get into any fights. I’m not in the mood for commanding the troops over a war you started with someone over there. Or heaven forbid, King Mizuki himself!

Shuuzo, behave yourself.

I’ve been well, thank you for asking. I’ve been busy since you left, so I haven’t done anything “stupid” as you mentioned. And I’m sure you will be surprised to hear that Daiki and Taiga haven’t done anything to give me a headache. ...That I’m aware of. I should probably check on them after I finish this letter.

I hope the meetings have been going well and that you are making good progress. I’m looking forward to hearing how the trip went and if they accepted the proposal.

But I’m most looking forward for your return. I hope you are doing well, while over there.

I miss you too.

I love you, Seijurou

Sei, Things have been crazy here! In a good way, there’s so much to do in this kingdom and the people here are nuts! There’s never a dull moment in this kingdom, reminds me of home. And don’t worry, they’ve been treating me well. It’s like they’re treating me like family, I wasn’t expecting that. But hey, I’ll take it.

I am having a little difficulty with them agreeing to the proposal. It’s not like they want to say no, they want to say yes, but there’s a few things that they’re concerned about. But we’re trying to reassure them that once they have agreed to the alliance, you and your Father will arrange a meeting to further discuss the agreements. King Mizuki is a strange one and I thought he would agree to the proposal, because he seemed like a peaceful guy. But I was wrong. I know kings will fight to make sure their people are well taken care of and this guy is more than willing to fight.

Well actually, some of his men are willing to fight (and two of them want to kill each other, it’s insane)! King Mizuki would rather discuss things and it’s fucking tiring! I think there were about five times or more that I almost fell asleep because he wouldn’t stop dragging his point out!

HE’S WORSE THAN MIDORIMA! AND THAT’S SAYING SOMETHING!

……..

How have things been going? I know it’s been a while since my first letter. Things got so busy afterwards, that I didn’t have time to sit down and write to you. I think it’s been over a month? Maybe two? I don’t know at this point, I’ve lost track of time.

All I know, I’ve been far too gone from you. I miss you like crazy.

Hopefully we can end this soon so I can come back to you.

Love you, Shu

Shuuzo, I’m glad to hear that you are being treated well, that’s what I wanted to hear. I’m also glad that their kingdom reminds you of home, I hope that doesn’t increase your homesickness. It’s wonderful to hear that they’re treating you as if you were from their kingdom. I’m looking forward to hearing the stories you have.

And I can image, you have a lot.

The hardest part about a proposal is getting the other party to agree and believe me, I have had my fair share of tough meetings. But I will agree, the ones that drag on and on are very tiring and draining. And I may have snuck in a few naps afterward those meetings. But I expect nothing less of King Mizuki, he is someone that would much rather have peace than war.

I also know who you are talking about. Say hello to Kimishita and Ooshiba for me, I hope they are doing well.

Nothing much has changed since my last letter. I did attend a few balls and though I enjoyed them, I did miss you by my side. And your snarky comments. I hope you’ll be back in time for the next ball, the last one was very interesting.

Also, I’m sure you’ll be surprised to hear (or not) that Tatsuya and Atsushi have entered a courtship. Atsushi just came up to me one day and said that Tatsuya agreed to the courtship. Though I know there’s more to it and I’m sure you’ll ask Tatsuya more about it.

Everyone is happy with their loved one and it makes me miss you even more. I know our reunion will be worth it once you return, but that still doesn’t make me stop wishing you were home now.

I love you, Seijurou

…

Akashi stared at the paper in front of him, wondering what word to put down. His letter was going to be short and straight to the point.

Why hadn’t he heard from his beloved?

He was worried. Nijimura hadn’t responded to his last letter in nearly two months. Akashi wished there was a much better way to communicate with other kingdoms. Letters just took too long and it made the prince anxious at times like this. The thought of not knowing scared him.

Did Nijimura get sick?

Did he get hurt?

Or...worse?

So many questions ran through Akashi’s mind as he stared down at the paper below him. What to say, what to say? He sighed and rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache coming, that he wished didn’t make its appearance at a time like this.

“Oi! Akashi!” Came a voice filled with urgency, alarming the prince. Akashi turned around to see Kagami entering the study room.

“The ship has returned! Nijimura and the others have returned!” Kagami reported.

….

What? Nijimura was back? But he never mentioned anything about returning anytime soon in…in the letter that was never sent. Was this because there was no letter sent? Because Nijimura was on the way back? He needed to find out.

Without a word, Akashi snapped out of his thoughts and gave a nod.

“Have they arrived at the docks yet?” The prince asked, staying calm as possible. In reality, he wanted to run past the knight and head towards the docks. Akashi was done being separated from Nijimura for how long now?

Far too long.

“They’re expected to arrive at the docks at any second.” Kagami responded, the prince returning the nod as he stood up from his chair.

“Very well. I will go and wait for them. Shuuzo and I have been separated for far too long.” Akaashi explained as he walked passed the knight.

“Hey uh...why was Nijimura gone for so long? What was he doing? I know he had to propose an alliance to another kingdom, but six months?”

Akashi stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Yes, he was proposing an alliance, but he was also taking in what type of kingdom they are. If King Mizuki accepted the alliance, our strengths will grow and we will be visiting that kingdom often. Also, it takes a month to get to their kingdom and back. So he was there for four months only. Now if you excuse me, I have someone to greet at the docks.”

“Finally, solid ground!” Nijimura exclaimed, stretching as he walked off the ship after a long journey home.

Too long for his liking.

How nice (and strange) it was to be back on solid ground, how he’d missed it! But what he missed the most was the familiar fish market that stood in front of the docks. Fishermen selling their catches of the day and trying to get people to buy them. Even six months later, everything still looked the same. Even that one weird looking bird with the black markings on its face, was still chilling by the water.

The site of the castle in view, so close, but yet so far still! He couldn’t wait until he was back in his own bed and holding-

“Shuuzo!” A familiar voice called out, making the knight look over to see who was calling out to him. A smile crossed his face when he saw the familiar and missed sight of red hair rushing towards him.

“Sei!” He called out, rushing up to meet Akashi half way.

They did and oh how tight they held each other close, embracing each other after six months away. It felt like home, a feeling the two of them had longed for.

“Welcome home.” Akashi whispered, just loud enough for Nijimura to hear. Nijimura chuckled and nuzzled his cheek against Akashi’s.

“Thank you, I’m glad to be home, finally.” As much as King Mizuki and his people had made it feel like he’d been at home, it just hadn’t been home. But finally being home made him relax and just so happy.

“Did your letter get lost? I was worried about you these past few months!” Akashi asked after a few minutes, cupping Nijimura’s cheeks.

“Ha? It never got to you? Great, must have gotten lost.”

Ah, figures.

Akashi let a sigh of relief out and smiled.

“Just as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. Come, you must be exhausted.” The prince said, starting to lead Nijimura towards the castle.

“You have no idea. Oh and they accepted the proposal.”

“You can tell me about that later, but now, let’s get you back so you can rest.”

“I have nothing against that idea.” The knight chuckled, he was ready to fall into his own bed and actually get a good night sleep.

Or a few days.