Work Text:
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You kiss me, it hits me
The thing I never knew I needed, ah
Lookin' through my rosy glasses
I can't go back now
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A kiss. His hands cupping your jaw. Another kiss. A chuckle. A small nip on your lower lip. Another laugh, and your fingers running through his hair. Moments like these are where Bachira finds his true bliss, windows open as the summer breeze sets the perfect stage for the only alone time you'll have tonight. Soon enough, Isagi would knock on the door and you'd have to return to your positions, an amicable distance between you too while you went over to Kunigami’s place, for your Secret Santa reunion.
A kiss. If he pays attention, he can listen to his friend's footsteps up the stairs of his building complex, a telltale sign your time together was coming to an end. He squeezes your waist and you let out a small laugh against his lips, making him kiss you again. Bachira isn't sure why you insist on creating a distance when Isagi is around— it's not like he doesn't know about your arrangement. What's the problem if he wants to give you a goodnight kiss in front of him? Or if he wants to have you sitting on his lap like he usually has you when you're all alone? Maybe hold your hand while you walk around town? Still, he respects your boundaries, but as his friend's steps echo down the hallway, he really wishes you'd reconsider.
A kiss. And another one. And one more. He playfully bites down on your lower lip and chuckles when you reciprocate the action. He's entranced by how you always manage to meet his energy halfway, and that may be one of the reasons why he ended up in this position with you in the first place.
Bachira presses your cheeks together with his thumb and index and pecks your puckered lips repeatedly. He does this even when the room is suddenly filled by the sound of his friend knocking on his apartment door, not wanting to let go.
"Isagi's here," you manage to say but Bachira is relentless. He lets your cheeks go only to continue his trail of small and quick kisses all over your face. "Meguru, c'mon," you giggle.
"He can wait," he tries to argue in between playful pecks. He can’t believe how fun it is to watch you laugh and wriggle underneath him, begging him to stop, even if your fingers are still looped around his messy locks.
"You’re such a bad friend," you tease him.
Bachira hums, playing along as he moves his hand to your chin, softly tilting your head from side to side. "You sure?” he asks. “Do bad friends do this?"
Before you can reply, he leans forward and slowly licks the side of your jaw to the spot where it meets your neck. You shudder, tightening the grip on his hair as he does so. Your body instinctively presses to his and you’re instantly rewarded by his hardening bulge poking against your thigh. A curse falls off your lips as you rock your hips against him. Bachira’s low chuckle against your ear shoots a bolt of pleasure straight between your legs and you sigh, picking up the pace of your hips.
Isagi knocks again.
“Shit,” you hiss, coming back down to reality. You gently push Bachira away to sit up on the couch. “Sorry, sorry, coming!” you call out, blindly fixing your hair before you have to meet him.
"Well, not anymore," Bachira mutters, making you laugh at his dejected voice. When you turn to him, you’re met with a childish pout and it takes even more of your resolve not to kiss it away. He stands up and stretches his arms up, his back popping in a way you wish yours would. "Can you get the door, please? 'm gonna take a quick shower before we leave."
When you hum, he leans down again and gives you a quick kiss, filled with the tenderness you were used to. You smile against his lips and watch him disappear inside his bedroom, quickly getting the main door to let Isagi inside.
Both of you are in the know of why you took so long to open and you appreciate he doesn’t tease you about it as he steps inside.
“Bachira’s taking a shower,” you inform him, before guiding him to the kitchen. You grab a water bottle from the fridge and toss it to him. “But you know him, give him ten and he’s ready.”
Isagi chuckles. “Yeah, he’s usually very fast at that.”
“Hope you don’t mind keeping me company while I fix my makeup,” you say, grabbing your purse from the kitchen aisle, right where Bachira had pulled you into his arms and guided you to his couch for your make-out session. You take the seat next to Isagi at the kitchen diner and start placing everything on the table so you could redo your eyeliner and, especially, your lips. “So, who did you get for Secret Santa?”
“Chigiri,” he replies, taking a long swig from his bottle. He takes a Christmas-themed envelope from his pocket and puts it on the table. “He wanted some hair products that I really couldn’t find, so I got him a gift card from that beauty store downtown. Thought it might be better.”
“Yeah, definitely,” you chuckle, popping your lips to smear your lipstick. “I love receiving gift cards, so much better than sticking with something that you really didn’t want.”
“Right? Hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way.”
“I hardly think so, I wouldn’t worry about that,” you shrug. Your eyeliner is doing mostly fine, so you just put a fine layer of setting powder over your cheeks.
“And who did you get?”
“Bachira," you grin mischievously, closing your pocket mirror and putting it back in your purse. With a dramatic twirl of your wrist, you point at the shoebox-sized package sitting on the dining table wrapped in pretty Christmas paper. “Got him a football table! It’s not like, uh— big or like the ones they have in bars,” you laugh. “But it does look cool. Thought he could set it up here, have you guys over and play together or something.”
Isagi raises one of his eyebrows. “That looks very small for a football table.”
“Ah, yeah, I mean, it’s a decoy gift,” you explained. “The box for the football table is way too big, so I left it at Kunigami’s a few days ago. Wanna see what’s in the box?”
“Sure.”
With quick steps, you brought the box back to the kitchen table and opened it for him. When he leans over, Isagi notices a black and yellow knitted bracelet and a Christmas card with a couple of snowmen on the front.
“I knitted it myself,” you mention with a proud smile on your face. “Made it really thin so he can wear it around his ankle during games. And, obviously, I had to give him a card with a cheesy pun.”
You hand it to Isagi and he takes a moment to read the speech bubble next to the snowmen, who are peeking through the living room window and watching a family eat dinner inside. “Oh my God, they’re eating noses!” one of them exclaims and Isagi scoffs, a small chuckle leaving his lips against his better judgement. It was corny, and he knew Bachira would adore it.
“Can I read it?” he asks. At your enthusiastic nod, he opens the card, directing his eyes to the handwritten note inside.
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I'm truly lucky that my Secret Santa is you, who has made this year a lot better than I ever expected. You’re a beautiful person with an equally beautiful soul and I will forever be thankful that I get to call myself your friend. Every day I'm amazed at your incredible talent but, more than that, I'm in awe of the way you don't let yourself get discouraged, no matter how tough the problem you're facing. You have the ability to make any of my days brighter and better— even when I felt my world was crashing down, you always point at the bright side, and suddenly, my problems don't feel as bad anymore. You give me the courage to face my own trials and tribulations, and even if I falter, I know you'll always have my back.
I don't believe in destiny, but it's hard not to when everything seems so easy with you. Well, I guess it doesn't matter in the end. Let it be fate or chance, as long as it lets us stay together for the years to come. Merry Christmas, Meguru <3
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Your excited grin disappears the moment Isagi’s lips turn into a fine line. He relaxes them immediately but by then it’s already too late.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he replies a bit too fast. He puts the card back inside the box and closes it. “The card is pretty funny, Bachira’s gonna—”
"Isagi," you insist. “What, is there something wrong with the card? Did it have a typo, or…?”
He shakes his head. “No, there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“Then what? There’s clearly something going on and—”
“Okay, fine, it’s just…” he can feel your eyes over him but he doesn’t think he can hold your gaze at the moment. “Like I said, nothing wrong with it,” he shrugs and scratches the back of his neck. “I just… I don't think that's how people talk about their friend with benefits, you know?"
Your expression falls at his words as the gears start turning inside your head, rapid and unforgiving, thoughts colliding against each other and combusting before leaving a resolution. In that moment, the door of Bachira’s bedroom opens and he appears, fresh out of the shower in the shirt and jeans he had shown you the day before during one of your video calls. You turn to him and notice the tiny particles of water still present on the end of his messy hair. His cheeks are rosy, as they always are after a shower and you can’t stop the smile that forms on your lips. He notices it and smiles back, his boyish grin lighting up the room in an instant. The moment he does so, your heart jumps out of your chest, an action quickly followed by a dreadly feeling.
Oh, fuck.