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For as long as they can remember, Yuuji and their grandfather held up a Christmas tradition that’s very dear to them. It’s not quite a legal one, but they’ve always thought it wasn’t too bad. Who’s gonna miss a single pine tree in the middle of some forest? No one. Yuuji has always justified their grandfather’s actions of simply felling a tree in the middle of the night and taking it back home telling themself so.
Yes, their grandfather was really passionate about chopping down a tree just one day before Christmas eve and bringing it home. He was irrationally zealous about picking a tree too; each year, the pines he chose got taller and taller until half the living room was solely branches and Christmas lights.
Though, as his health decreased, the duty of felling and carrying the tree home part became their duty alone. Since they’ve always been strong, the weight has never been a hassle, the issue has always been the size of the tree. Bulky and huge doesn't make for an ideal tree to steal stealthily. One of the only parts they’ve always hated, though, is how sticky a pine tree’s branches are.
Really, it’s gross.
Years later and with their grandfather gone, they’re still eager to get a Christmas tree just like each year. In fact, it seems almost more important to them, now. It’s winter, snow has been piling up around jujutsu tech and half of December has passed in a flurry. By now, Yuuji has scouted the area and found some good places to steal a tree from. The forests not far from school are vast and actually make for nice training grounds. Running around unstable grounds is good for one’s legwork or something. Maybe. At the very least it’s fun and on their way to find the perfect tree, Yuuji wastes quite a bit of time. Once snow begins to fall again though, they stop slacking off and get down to business.
And their business is bringing joy and a huge Christmas tree to the students’ dorms of jujutsu tech. Decoration duty has been split up by Kugisaki and Inumaki-senpai. Therefore, Yuuji will have to fell the tree earlier than they’re used to. Kugisaki isn’t a heap of patience after all; she’ll want to get started decorating the tree as early as possible.
She really is an amazing friend. In some ways, they’re glad they’ve come here. They do miss their old friends, but everyone here is amazing too. Odd as they can be. Yeah, they've got to really bring home a big one this year, don't they? For their new friends, upperclassmen and teachers.
After about two hours of scouting, they find themself in front of a tree that's not too huge, but sizable enough. It's got fresh, bright green branches and not many dry parts.
That's gotta be the one. Imagining it all decorated and lit up comes to them easily. Yuuji can't fight a grin, seizing it up from top to bottom once more before taking a step closer. They didn't bring no axe or saw, not this year. What's the point of tools if they can use cursed power? Of course they'll have to be careful, lest they shatter a good part of the bark…
A Christmas tree is no cursed spirit after all. It's not an enemy. Pff.
Thinking about it, in a way that’s great training too, right? The entire controlling the flow and output of cursed energy thing… the stuff Toudou got around to explain them a couple of months ago… it proved useful many times. And even here, they’re gonna be able to apply their recently mastered skills.
They won’t shatter the entirety of that tree. They’ll just punch through the balk gently and deliver the felled tree back to jujutsu tech asap. It’s already getting dark by now anyway, so enough with the dilly-dallying.
Time to let their fist speak already. With a bit of focus, the power output concentrates on their hand, a moment more and it’s reached the minimum of cursed energy they can manage. Usually, they want the maximum, so this is really hard to do; they can’t imagine keeping this state up for longer amounts of time.
“There you are.” Footsteps approach. Yuuji is startled at the sudden company appearing behind them. There goes their focus, there goes their cursed energy. It’s been a while since they’ve been distracted by something so minor.
Must be the forest and how quiet it is. They sure haven’t expected anyone to appear here.
“Fushiguro!” They turn to face their classmate and close friend. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“Dinner is almost done.” Fushiguro walks up, placing themself close to their side. “Inumaki-senpai said to come get you.”
“Oh, right.” Yuuji reaches out and touches the hand so close to theirs briefly. It never stops being comforting, that little touch. "I'm gonna take just a bit longer here, so…"
"I figured." Fushiguro touches the balk of the tree they've chosen. Their head tilts back a bit, eyes wandering up to the top of the pine. "You really love winter after all."
Even in these freezing temperatures, these simple words spoken in such quiet fondness, warm Yuuji's heart.
"I do. It’s my favourite.” They can’t help a grin, hooking their index finger around Fushiguro’s for a second. “Right now, though, I really need to get that tree.”
“Yeah, that’s another reason I’m here.” Their fingers slip apart when Fushiguro retrieves a sword from the back of their belt. “You didn’t take any weapons. And even if you had, you can be rough. A clean cut is kind of essential for a Christmas tree to be able to properly stand upright.”
That’s a good point, in all honesty. Yuuji takes a step back to make place. “That’s true. Kugisaki wouldn’t be pleased if the balk was all… torn up and uneven. Thanks for saving my butt, Fushiguro!”
That earns them a tiny smile in return and their heart melts just a little bit. They want that smile to remain on its handsome face forever.
Or maybe they don't. Maybe they want to kiss it away, put their mouth on it over and over again, taste it, keep it warm in this unrelenting cold--
With a creak, the pine falls into the snow. There's no real sound, the impact being cushioned by the layer of snow covering even the ground inside the forest.
Maybe their desire can wait just a little bit longer.
Fushiguro looks pleased by the clean cut of the balk. Honestly, Yuuji is impressed too. To be so masterful is a very typical thing for Fushiguro. It’s definitely something to admire, among many other things.
“Thank you, Fushiguro!” They hurry to lift the balk so they can proceed to get out of the snow. Since the sun’s set, the temperature’s been dropping quickly. In other words, it’s freezing out here by now. Usually, they don’t mind, but they’re also usually moving in whatever way. Staying still, the cold is much worse. “Let’s go home.”
“Home, huh?” Fushiguro sheathes their weapon and turns to face in the general direction of the school. There’s an air of pensiveness surrounding them. Perhaps they don’t see this place as their home, which is also fair. Their sister isn’t with them, after all.
To Yuuji, though, Jujutsu tech has definitely become home. While they still mourn their grandfather, they've also rapidly gotten used to living here. Their upperclassmen and Kugisaki are like their siblings. Junpei makes them feel like they have a place they belong to. Fushiguro makes them feel safe. How can they not feel at home here? Where everyone cares for each other and they've fallen so in love? With two people at that?
They've always been a loner, or so they thought. Nowadays, that's certainly not true anymore.. Tokyo changed them a lot in that regard as well. They can’t and won’t complain about it.
“Yeah, home! C’mon.” As if picking up a mere stick, they lift the balk and place it on their shoulder. The pine’s just as sticky as every other would be. Somehow that’s nostalgic, even if they hate it as much as ever, Well, at least it smells of Christmas.
Like this, they should be able to pull it all the way to school. One-handed even; they could hold hands with their free one, now.
A few steps into their way back from the forest, they’ve decided to go ahead and snatch Fushiguro’s hand. In a way, they should have known what was gonna happen, because it so frequently does. Yuuji has held their date’s hand so many times by now, but the times it was actually them who initiated the physical affection they can count on one hand. More often than not, they find themself thinking how nice it’d be to join hands right before Fushiguro takes theirs. Really, it’s like they’re sensing that desire or have synced desires sometimes…
So right before Yuuji can take the hand next to theirs, it wraps around theirs and holds on tight. And, also as usual, it’s really cold. Freezing.
They don’t even think of letting go despite that.
“I’ve been thinking.” The snow crunches underneath Fushiguro’s feet. Yuuji maneuvers the tree past some roots sticking out of the ground. For a few moments, neither of them speaks, the sounds of their feet and the forest around them joining them in blissful silence. There is something that still bothers one of them, though, so Fushiguro goes on and shares their thoughts. “Or rather, I’ve been researching and figuring stuff out. I think…. I want to try out female pronouns. Neutral ones are okay, but they also don’t feel like me.”
“Oh! Of course, if that’s what makes you most comfortable. Female terms are okay too, right? Like girlfriend– I mean, um.” Yuuji stops themself from going on. They haven’t been in a relationship with Fushiguro for all too long. In fact, they’ve never even called her any term that would clearly define that they’re in a relationship with her. As far as they know, she wants things to develop at her own pace. And that means there has only been a little bit of hand holding and some messages between cellphones during sleepless nights.
Honestly, Yuuji doesn’t need much more than that. She’s a great source of comfort for them with things the way they are right now. Besides, her comfort is all that matters and they can respect any boundaries; they like her the way she is.
“Yeah. Any girl-related terms are fine. I might be somewhere between demi and trans girl. It already feels right, but I’ll have to wait and see before I can really decide that this is me.” She squeezes their hand and side-eyes them. It’s faint, but they can make out the expression in her eyes. Adoration? “And, to be honest, I really like the way it sounds when you say it. Girlfriend. More than anything, I know that’s what I am.”
"Then I'm your datemate!" Yuuji blurts out. Warmth spreads in their chest. It's such a silly thing but hearing that she calls herself their girlfriend is just so… they don't know how to describe this feeling. Euphoria probably. They feel excited and enamoured. "And hey, you're you before any label! You don't have to fit into a box completely, if at all. Let me know if anything changes."
"Thank you." She slips her fingers through the gaps between theirs. Oh, her hand has become warm, huh? "I guess I just wanted to find a term to relate to. You're right though, I don't have to match all criteria or anything, even if I say I'm trans. In the end I'm just me and I won't do anything that doesn't feel right. If I don't want to do hormones, I won't. I'm still a girl even if I don't and so on."
Yes, that! Yuuji knows exactly what she means. Even though they're non-binary, they like to express more masculine. That doesn't mean they never dress more feminine - and that's just them. That's who they are, no matter what anyone thinks.
"I totally get you." They gently bump their free shoulder against hers. The school grounds are coming into view, but they wish their walk with her could go on for a while longer. "No matter what you do or don't, you're a girl. If that's what you feel you are, I mean. And if not, that's okay too, questioning and finding your gender can be hard."
“Thanks for saying so. It means a lot.” She slows her steps before coming to a complete halt. They are at the very edge of the forest now, just a few steps away from the dorms. Yuuji adjusts the tree on their shoulder, briefly glancing at her when she continues staying in place.
With her head tilted up, eyes staring at the evening sky, she looks ethereal. She’s so beautiful, they could keep their eyes on her all day and still not have enough of watching Fushiguro. Just a little longer and the desire to kiss her will return with even more force than before–
Oh, who are they kidding? The urge to press their lips against hers never even left their mind.
“Hey, Fushiguro.” Yuuji lets the pine slip off their shoulder to rest in the snow once again. The moment it makes a gentle thud sound, they turn to face her. They’re gonna ask right now. Maybe she’s thought about it as well after all? Of course, if she doesn’t want to, that’s okay too.
They really just need to gain clarity. They want to know if she's thinking about these things too.
Before they can think further or reconsider, they speak. That's their normal way of blurting out what they want or have to say. “We don’t have to, but I’d really like to kiss you.”
Even if it would normally be missed easily, they notice the slight flinch their words cause to Fushiguro. The tiniest tremor of her shoulders is all they witness. Yet the look she gives them once her head turns their way doesn't betray any negative emotion the way they expected from her reaction. No, all that’s written over her face is curiousity and a bit of surprise.
“I was just thinking the same.” She gazes right into their eyes for a moment. “I think– I mean, I’d love to. Kiss you.”
Many things go through their head before their brain can react to the fact that she really wants to do this. The most prevalent thing they notice is that they’ve wanted this so bad for much longer than they even realized.
Damn it. Going slow has never been their style in the end, has it? Sure they can and have been patient with Fushiguro, but since she gave her okay, well. Here they come!
Which doesn’t mean that they’re rushing ahead to knock out the breath of her lungs. Of course not; they slowly, but not without mind numbing anticipation, approach her. And she shares the sentiment, awaiting them with a small smile on her lips. A hand caresses their face once they’re in reach. A puff of hot breath, turned to fog by the cold temperatures, tickles their face. Just inches apart, their eyes fall close and their head tilts to the left, setting up the perfect conditions for a memorable kiss.
For a first kiss between two people, it really goes close to flawless. Fushiguro’s hand wanders to their hair once their lips are pressed to each other. She plays with the locks, twirling them around her finger, probably an unconscious act. Yuuji themself is hugging her, as they often do. Feeling her body, knowing she’s really here with them…
It’s become one of their favourite things. The two of them lead pretty dangerous lives after all. Not to mention, they love any kind of physical contact.
That said, the kiss they shared with her was amazing. She backs off before they do, but that’s alright. If just because she retracts her hand from their hair to trace her lower lip. Bedazzled, that’s how one could describe the expression on her face. It’s definitely a good look on her. If they could, they’d take a snapshot of her like this to save in their memory forevermore.
“Thank you for this. I wasn’t sure kisses were for me, but.” Fushiguro lowers her hand, taking theirs back into hers. “You really made me like them.”
Receiving vocal confirmation of the fact that she liked the kiss makes Yuuji feel even better about it. And since she said so, maybe this can happen even more often from here on out. The sole thought makes them so giddy, they feel a weird sensation in their chest. Are they getting punch drunk?
“Oh, the tree.” She cuts into their excitement without batting a lash. Right, the pine still has to be delivered to Kugisaki. Dinner is already waiting too. There goes their dream of sneaking a few more kisses before moving on…
“Right, the tree.” They lift the balk on their shoulder once more. Well, Fushiguro is holding their hand, so there’s at least that. With her there, they’re fine.
What else could they want?