Work Text:
"You could just come inside, you know."
Yato shivered in the cold, the hard bark of the tree trunk pressing bruises into his back, the old remembered conversation rising unbidden in his mind.
"You just need to apologize to Father, that’s all." A soft hand rested on his cheek—he couldn’t decide if he wanted to shrink from the touch or lean into it, so he just lay still.
"It’s your own fault, you know. You’re a failure who doesn’t even want to shed blood, and a coward who runs away from us at any opportunity. But Father is forgiving—even now he will still allow you to return to his side after all." A soft voice wrapped soothingly around him, cold lips tickling the tips of his ear.
"I’m not wrong," Yato growled, clenching his fists hard enough for his nails to draw blood. "Maybe I’m a failure, but I’m not wrong!"
"He just wants what’s best for you. You were born to grant these sort of wishes, you were made to be a killer. Fighting your destiny is just going to make everyone miserable." The hand moved up, brushing his hair behind his ear. He trembled at the touch.
"I just want to make people happy…" Yato mumbled in response to the memory, squinting his eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.
"Just apologize, Yato. Say you’re sorry. Promise you won’t run away again. Then you can come inside where it’s warm and he won’t be angry at you anymore."
Yato wrapped his arms tightly around himself, thinking back to an even earlier memory. ”He said I didn’t even deserve to sleep in a dog house for all I’ve done.”
"Please? Do it for me?" the soft hand returned to his cheek, petting him softly. "It’s so cold out here, and I miss you." A small, warm body curled up next to him. Reluctantly, Yato rested his arm against the soft warmth, and closed his eyes, breathing deeply in the sharp and bitter air. But he did not get up.
And he did not beg.
*~*
Hiyori tossed and turned in her bed, her eyes closed but her mind whirling with distractions. It seemed like one of those nights where, no matter what she did, sleep just would not come and take her. Flipping over once more, she dared to open her eyes to glance at the clock. “2:43” the clock lights gleamed, mocking her.
"God—-" she muttered, then covered her hand with her mouth. Now that a certain god was particularly attached to her, she’d found that even a simple curse as that was sometimes enough to summon him—what with his mysterious ability to appear directly beside (or above) her when she least expected it.
She waited for a moment in silence, and when no dark shape resolved itself in the shadows, she turned around again to face the wall, forcing her eyes shut once more.
And still, she could not sleep.
"This is ridiculous!" she groaned, throwing the covers off of her. Nights like this called for some stargazing—not that any stars could really be seen, but even just being outside where she could think in peace would be better than this.
Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, Hiyori stepped out onto the balcony outside her room. As soon as she stepped outside, however, she immediately regretted it.
"Brrrrr!! It’s f-freezing out here!" she whispered, clutching the blanket even more tightly around herself as a light but cold wind whipped around her. As she suspected too, the few stars that would have been out were hidden behind a low veil of clouds, making everything even more gloomy. As she stood there, not quite willing to go back inside and try to sleep again, she suddenly heard a rustle of leaves, and the low creak of a branch bearing a weight too heavy for it from the tree directly above her.
That was her only warning before the creaking sound popped, and Yato came tumbling out of the tree, smacking flat on his back on the balcony floor not two inches from where Hiyori was standing.
"AH!!!" she yelped, jumping back.
Yato groaned, arms and legs splayed open and unable to move, even to save what little was left of his dignity.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Hiyori demanded.
Yato winced, and Hiyori couldn’t tell if it was out of pain or embarrassment. “Sleeping…sorta,” he said.
"…In a tree?" Hiyori said, cocking her head quizzically to the side.
Yato sat up slowly, rubbing his sore neck. “Yeah.”
Hiyori shivered again, the cold leeching through her blanket despite her best efforts. She couldn’t even imagine what Yato felt like, in his threadbare jersey. Shaking her head, she held the door to the balcony open, gesturing Yato inside. “Come on inside, it’s freezing out here, and I have an extra couch you can sleep on.”
Yato looked at the open door, wide-eyed, then at Hiyori, his face an open question mark. Hiyori waited for a moment, still holding the balcony door open, as Yato made no move to get up or go inside. “Well?”
Yato shook his head quickly, then, more politely than Hiyori had ever seen him, walked through the door with his head hunched low. “Pardon the intrusion,” he muttered, stepping out of the way as Hiyori came in behind him.
"So…what were you doing in that tree?" she asked, locking the door and settling down on the bed as Yato moved over to the couch and flopped sideways on it, already situated as if he were posing for an artist.
"Better than nothing, you know?" he said, trying to grin, but it came out looking more like a grimace instead.
"You weren’t watching me, were you?" Hiyori asked, squinting suspiciously at him.
"No!" Yato said, starting to shake his head, then thinking better of it. "Well…not really anyway, I mean…" he continued, his head hanging down, "Tenji didn’t want me sleeping at his shrine anymore and I couldn’t think where else to go and this looked pretty comfortable and I thought…maybe you’d…I don’t know." He stopped, and moved to sit upright, curling his legs up on the couch so his knees covered his mouth.
"What’s wrong?" she asked, leaning forward so she could hear him better. "You sound like I’m gonna bite you at any minute." Her voice came out in an almost laugh, but her eyes were full of concern.
Yato looked nervously to the side, not saying anything for a long minute. “I’ve just…never been invited inside anywhere,” he said finally, his voice barely audible above the gentle sound of the wind against the window.
"Oh…really?" Hiyori asked, cocking her head to the side, unsure if she really believed that.
"Yeah. I always have to sneak my way into places, or else just settle for staying outside…" he grew quiet, his mouth stretched into a thin line for several seconds, before it twisted into a cold and broken smile. "Not that I mind or anything, of course!" he said, trying to reassure her. "Sleeping outside can be pretty fun, once you get used to it."
"Yato…"
He laughed, eyes closed, waving his hand as if to dismiss everything that he had just spoken. “It’s nothing, really! Kofuku’s always been kind to me, and I can’t really blame Tenji for not wanting a bum like me on his front por—” he was stopped mid-sentence by a thick quilt wrapping around his shoulders, and the sudden warmth of Hiyori hugging him fiercely from behind.
"It’s okay," she whispered, her breath soft against his ear. "It’s alright. You don’t need to force yourself to smile for me."
Yato’s breath hitched in his throat, almost but not quite a sob. But that was ridiculous. Why would he be cry—
"I’m right here," Hiyori said, moving around the couch until she was beside him so she could hold him close against her. "It’s alright—you can cry here if you want."
Yato clenched his eyes tightly shut, curling in on himself in Hiyori’s embrace. Against his will, he felt twin streaks of tears leak slowly down his face, his breath shuddering in his throat. “I-I’m sorry…”
Hiyori shook her head, resting her forehead against the crown of Yato’s head. “There is nothing to forgive.” He shivered beneath her, his hands clutching at the blanket, white-knuckled, but did not answer.
Cupping his face with her palm, she tilted upward until his eyes met hers. “Yato, listen to me,” she said, her eyes boring into his, willing him to understand the sincerity in her words. “You are welcome here, no matter what. I don’t care whatever else happens, or where you might go. But you will always have a home here, okay?”
Tears welled in the corners of Yato’s eyes, a tiny kitten hiccup squeaking from his lips, too wobbly to quite manage a smile. “Hiyorin…”
She leaned forward, hugging him tightly once more. This time, Yato was able to wrap his arms around her in kind, drawing comfort from the warmth of her presence. She smelled like home, and he breathed in deeply—before another hiccup burst out. Hiyori giggled, he couldn’t help but smile in response.
Yato wanted the hug to last forever, but eventually, Hiyori pulled away, her hand still resting lightly on top of his. “It’s late,” she whispered, smiling gently at him. “We should sleep.”
"Yeah," Yato nodded, holding completely still as Hiyori crawled into her bed and clicked off the light.
"Goodnight, Yato."
Yato curled up underneath the blanket, his head resting on his elbow. “Goodnight, Hiyori.”
A long pause. Several minutes passed, and eventually, he could hear the slow and easy breathing coming from the other side of the room. Closing his eyes, he smiled, whispering where he knew no one would hear:
"Thank you."