#uonami

Decorated trees were standing all over the place. Signs that screamed about well wishes and greetings for all of the different holidays that took place at this time of the year were hung up everywhere. Multicolored lights that strung from entranceways, on sides of houses, on trees, and even businesses glittered like false stars in the darkness.

Uozumi let the door slide apart on its own before he walked into the store. He looked around and bit his bottom lip as his nerves rose.

“Hi, can I help you with anything?” a woman of short stature asked him in English. She smiled at him nicely, and Uozumi glanced at her nametag but couldn’t understand what her name was.

“I, uh…” He searched his brain for what to say. He’d been living in America for only a few months. He knew a decent amount of English, but he was still coming into terms with living in a new place that had a new language. It was difficult. “I was just looking around,” he finally said.

“Okay. Let any of the employees know if you need any help,” she told him. She gave him another smile before walking off.

Uozumi relaxed and walked more into the store. He pulled out his cellphone and clicked one of his contacts to call them. He walked deeper into the store, listening to the phone buzz in his ear as he waited to hear somebody answer.

“Hello?”

“Iwashimizu!” Uozumi’s demeanor quickly changed, and he smiled at the familiar voice.

“Uozumi!” Iwashimizu matched his cheerfulness. “How’s America?”

“It’s so hard to understand the language. It’s even harder to speak it,” he admitted sheepishly. He walked through a section of clothes, glancing at items and prices.

“English is really hard. I was never any good at it in school,” Iwashimizu said. “I was going to call you later, but not until the 25th!”

Uozumi blinked to himself and smiled. “I’ll wait for your call then.”

Iwashimizu laughed on the other end of the call. “Why’d you call, by the way? You sound a bit distracted.”

Uozumi sighed heavily. “I’m trying to figure out what to get Min—” He paused. “Kazuki… for Christmas,” he finished.

I’m still getting used to calling him that, he thought to himself.

“Christmas seems to be a pretty big deal here in America. We haven’t done a lot of festive things here since we came abroad, so I wanted to honor this tradition of getting him a gift for this holiday.”

“That holiday does seem pretty fun,” Iwashimizu remarked mindfully. “Are you looking for something for him right now?”

“Yeah.” He picked up a shirt and tried to imagine Minami wearing it. He set it back down when he remembered that Minami wasn’t really into polka dots. “It’s kind of hard when I’m not sure what to get him…”

“You know him better than anybody else,” his friend said.

Uozumi frowned. “I know. I don’t want to screw this up. I want it to be special because it’s our first big holiday that we can celebrate here. People usually get gifts for each other, so it’s pretty big for me.”

“You’re really bent out of shape about this, aren’t you?” Iwashimizu teased.

“Please… You’re not helping.”

He heard Iwashimizu snicker.

“Iwashimizu!”

“Alright, alright. Just get something that’ll mean a lot to him or the both of you. Maybe Minami has been dropping hints about things. Ooh! Do something romantic! Minami is such a closeted romantic. He thinks he’s so subtle.”

“But he’s not,” they both said in unison, laughing afterwards.

“Well, I guess I could think up something romantic and that means a lot,” Uozumi added.

“Great. If you need any more help, call me.”

“I always do.”

“I know. It’s getting annoying.”

“Iwashimizu…”

His friend snickered again and promised that he was only kidding.

Minami looked up at the sign that sat on top of the building. It glowed against the darkened sky, and Minami smiled at the English words on the sign. He pressed his hands against the glass door and pushed it open with ease. A Little bell rang above his head, earning him a glance from one of the employees that was standing behind the counter.

They walked out from behind it and met him in the center of the store.

“Welcome,” they greeted him. “How may I assist you today, sir?”

“May I see your rings?” he asked, his English coming out smoothly.

Studying really paid off, he thought with relief.

Minami held the handle to the bag as he exited the store. He’d been contemplating on what to get for Uozumi for his birthday for weeks. His boyfriend’s birthday had been coming up rapidly, and without a present for him, Minami had been on edge for days. He hoped that his uneasiness hadn’t been apparent.

He got into his car that was parked on the side of the road and sighed with a smile on his face.

He cranked up the car and drove off. The car ride was silent except for the holiday music that was playing out through the radio. Minami had to have something playing in the background, or he’d feel very uneasy.

Christmas… he thought to himself when he started to pay attention to the lyrics. Ah, people here are really into that holiday, apparently.

He stopped at a stoplight and pulled out his phone. He searched for something on his internet app and widened his eyes when he realized that that popular holiday fell on his boyfriend’s birthday.

“I knew he was special,” he said aloud, laughing to himself. He put his phone down and watched the light change colors. He’d memorized which light meant which signal. The top light was blaring, so he started to drive again.

It took him a few minutes to return to his college dormitory. Once he got there, he hid the bag in his coat’s pocket and hurried to his room. He walked in slowly and called out Uozumi’s name. When he didn’t get an answer in return, he shut the door and pulled out the bag.

I got it!

Uozumi rushed out of the post office with a box being tightly held in his hands. He ran to the bus stop and panted from his sprint down the long stretch of sidewalk. He waited for the bus impatiently, tapping his foot against the pavement and checked his phone every so often for the time.

When the bus finally pulled up, he boarded and paid for his entry. He sat down and kept his eyes on the passing scenery, gripping the box in his lap with protectiveness.

Minami turned over in the bed. It’d been a few days since he’d brought home his present for Uozumi. He’d hid it away and knew that his boyfriend wouldn’t be able to find it since he never opened his drawers.

As he opened his eyes, he saw that Uozumi was asleep next to him. His shirt was rolled up slightly, revealing his stomach as the blanket was hanging off of his body and his arms were above his head, clutching his pillow.

Smiling gingerly, Minami reached over and placed a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s red cheek. Uozumi suddenly stirred and blinked opened his eyes. Minami looked down at them. Every day, he wished that he could see them for what they truly were. He’d asked Uozumi once what color his eyes were.

“Green,” he’d told him.

“Ah… I bet they’re a beautiful shade of green,” Minami had responded with a weak smile.

Uozumi had blushed then and had rubbed the back of his neck from embarrassment. “Not really… You’re not missing much.”

“I am if I can’t even see the right color of your eyes,” Minami had told him. He’d been clutching the strap to his back pack as they were walking to their classrooms. “It’s the little things that make me wish that I could see what you see.” Minami hadn’t looked at Uozumi then and had just bid him a curt farewell and had vanished into his classroom, leaving Uozumi staring after him with worry.

“Good morning,” Uozumi greeted him. He smiled up at his boyfriend and brushed back his hair. It was unkempt but soft.

Minami smiled back at him. “Happy birthday.”

Uozumi blinked.

“It’s the 25th already?”

Minami smirked lightly. “Yeah. C’mon and get dressed, and we’ll go get something to eat. You can pick out everything that we eat today.”

“Are you sure about that?” Uozumi questioned him as he rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned.

“I’m pretty sure,” Minami assured him. He sat up in the bed and stretched his arms upward, earning a stare from Uozumi. He nudged him gently with his foot, and Uozumi laughed as he got out of the bed.

“The dorm seems empty…” Uozumi remarked as they walked down the stairs at the end of their hallway.

“Americans tend to get this time off for the holidays,” Minami reminded him. “I like it. It’s not as busy.”

Uozumi reached out to hold Minami’s hand and nodded. “Me, too.”

Minami smiled and pushed on the door to exit out the building. They got into his car and after buckling up, pulled out of the parking space and drove out of the dormitory’s parking lot.

They arrived at this small diner that Uozumi had wanted to try out. Minami laughed when Uozumi ate so much that he had to lay his head down on the table for a few seconds.

“Poor baby,” Minami teased him as he laughed.

After breakfast, they went to the park and found some people ice skating on the frozen pond that was near the playground.

“Hey, let’s do some ice skating!” Uozumi exclaimed.

“I don’t know…” Minami said. “I’ve never actually been skating before.”                  

“It’ll be fun,” Uozumi promised him. “I’ll hold your hands. It’ll be okay.”

Minami thought about it for a few seconds and then agreed reluctantly. They walked over and rented some ice skates that somebody was renting out to people. They laced up their skates carefully and stood at the edge of the pond. Uozumi grabbed Minami’s hand and walked out onto the ice with him.

Uozumi laughed at Minami’s frightened expression.

“Relax, Kazu~” he said teasingly. Minami narrowed his eyes at him. Uozumi grinned and held both of Minami’s hands as they drifted out onto the ice more. Everything was going smoothly, and Minami started to relax and even laughed when he got the hang of it. Soon, Uozumi was finally able to let go.

Minami skated around slowly as Uozumi took to skating like a pro around the pond. Minami watched in wonder, having no idea that his boyfriend was so graceful on the ice.

He continues to amaze me, he thought with a gleam in his eyes.

He suddenly looked away from Uozumi when something stumbled into his leg. He looked down to find a little boy gripping his pants leg. He had tiny skates on and was bundled from head to toe. Minami grabbed his hands and carefully and cautiously bent down on to sit on his knees. He looked at the little boy with softened eyes and smiled at him gently.

“Hello,” he greeted him in English. “Are you okay?”

The little boy stared at him fearfully and nodded slowly.

“Can you skate?” Minami asked him.

The little boy shook his head and then shrugged with uncertainty.

“That’s okay. I can’t skate very well either,” Minami told him.

“Timothy!” The little boy’s mother rushed over to him without wearing skates, practically falling as she steadied herself and picked him up. “I’m sorry,” she apologized to Minami. “He was just with his brother, but his brother just skated off without him.”

“That’s okay,” Minami told her. “He grabbed my leg, but he’s okay.”

“Thank you.” She walked off with her son, calling to her other child to get over there right that minute. Timothy gave a small wave towards Minami, and Minami smiled and waved back to him.

“Aren’t you just adorable?”

Minami turned around to find Uozumi watching him with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Minami blushed and frowned at him.

“Stop. I was just making sure that he was calm.”

Uozumi smiled at him then. “Still adorable.”

Minami rolled his eyes and laced his arm with his. “Skate with me.”

“Gladly!”

Uozumi plopped down on the bed and groaned, rubbing his stomach. Minami shut the door and shook his head at him helplessly. “You shouldn’t’ve eaten so much today. You ate a lot at breakfast, at lunch, and now at dinner. You’re going to be sick.”

“It’s my birthday,” Uozumi said. “Have some sympathy.”

“You eat with your eyes and not your stomach,” Minami commented.

“One of my very few flaws.”

Minami scoffed. “Few…”

“Hey…”

Minami smiled at him kindly. “Anyway, sit up. I have something for you.”

Uozumi suddenly felt energized and sat up in the bed. He peered over at Minami and smiled. “Really? You didn’t have to…”

“Of course I did,” Minami told him. He opened up his drawer and removed some items and pulled out a small box. It was made of suede and seemed pretty ordinary, but Uozumi was still bubbling with excitement as Minami walked over to him with it.

Minami sat down beside him and looked at him seriously.

“I’m glad that I met you, Takuya,” he started off saying. “You quickly became my best friend at Samezuka, and I enjoyed being with you. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’m glad that we decided to both come and continue our swimming here together. I love being with you.” His face started to pinken, and he found himself becoming shy. He looked down at the black box in his hands and cleared his throat. “Rings are kind of important in this country. I wanted to honor that, so I got you this.”

Uozumi stared down at his hands as Minami opened up the box to reveal a silver band with a simple blue diamond encrusted into it. Smaller diamonds ran around the band, which made the band seem like it was glowing with crystal blue dots.

Staring, Uozumi’s eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth drooped open.

“K-Kazuki… This is…”

“It’s a promise ring. It’s to promise that we’ll always be together,” Minami explained casually.

“It’s so beautiful,” Uozumi said. “It must’ve cost a lot…” He looked at Minami guiltily.

Minami smiled. “I had a lot saved up. Don’t worry about it.”

Uozumi put his hand out. “I promise that I’ll be with you forever,” he told him. Minami placed the ring on his finger, and Uozumi leaned over to press their foreheads together. “I love you more than anything.”

“I love you more than anything,” Minami replied with a grin.

“That’s why I got you something, too,” Uozumi said. He stood up from his seat as Minami watched him in surprise.

“You did? For what?”

“For Christmas,” Uozumi told him. “Just like rings, the holidays at this time of the year seem to be really important. Christmas seems to be the biggest deal, so I got you something in honor of the holidays and Christmas.” He showed Minami a box that was poorly wrapped in red and green wrapping paper and that had a white bow on top of it. “Go ahead and open it.”

Minami slowly reached out to take the box from his boyfriend. He ran his finger across the wrapping paper and then took the bow off carefully.

“And don’t worry about the cost either,” Uozumi started to say. “I had money saved up, too.”

Minami laughed lightly. “I guess we’re similar in that way.”

Uozumi didn’t respond and only grinned as he watched Minami unwrap the gift. There was a cardboard box underneath it, which made Minami raise his brow.

“Open the box,” Uozumi urged him. He waved his hand towards the box, and Minami unpeeled the tape and opened the box up to be met with a pair of… “Glasses?” Minami picked them up and stared at them with ambiguity.

“They’re special,” Uozumi assured him. “I’d heard about them on the internet and got them for you. I wasn’t sure on what to get you until it just hit me that you’d appreciate these.”

“Takuya, what are these?”

“Just put them on, but look at my eyes first.” He bent down in front of Minami. Minami stared at his eyes, furrowing his brows as he did so. “Make sure that you know what they look like right now.”

“Okay…” He stared at him for a few more seconds and then nodded. “Alright, I got them.”

“Now,” Uozumi started to instruct, “put the glasses on and look at my eyes again.”

Minami slowly put the glasses up to his face and then slipped them on carefully. He blinked and adjusted his vision. Uozumi was looking at him still, and Minami’s hand went right over his mouth as his eyes started to water.

Uozumi’s eyes were a deep green. They sparkled with happiness over his reaction. Minami looked around the room and saw some of the colors popping more vividly than ever before. His lip began to quiver, and he let out of a cry of joy. He sniffled and laughed gently as he peered back at his wonderful and amazing boyfriend.

“I can see the colors for what they truly are,” he remarked ecstatically, lacing his fingers with Uozumi. “I can’t believe these exist…”

“I knew you’d like them.”

“I love them!” he corrected him. He tackled Uozumi to the ground, wrapping his arms around him. He kissed his cheeks and his forehead and his lips. He kissed him all over his face, thanking him over and over again. “I love you! I love you! I love you! You’re the best person ever! I love you, Takuya.” Tears were rolling down his cheeks as the happiness was too much for him to take. He peered down at Uozumi as he hovered above him on the floor. “Your eyes are a beautiful shade of green,” he commented, smiling.

Uozumi felt tears tugging at the corners of his eyes at how happy Minami was. He reached up and brushed back his hair. “Merry Christmas.”

Minami saw the ring on Uozumi’s hand and then smiled at him. “Happy birthday.”

He kissed him again as Uozumi kissed him back just as much.

Regretfully, Uozumi released and held Minami’s face in his hands. “Wait,” he said. “I had one more present.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small red bow. It was a bit wrinkled, but he didn’t care. He placed it on the top of his head and looked up at Minami. “I am also one of your Christmas presents.”

Minami’s eyes widened with joy, and he kissed Uozumi even harder and more tenderly.

“Romantic,” he said through the kisses.

Uozumi smiled against Minami’s lips. “I know. I love you.”