Chapter Text
Holidays at The Beach weren't the greatest. But when it was Christmas, everyone would go all out for it. People now had other jobs besides playing life-or-death games, like putting up decorations or making trays full of food. And Christmas was the only off day everyone collectively had so it made sense why people made the most out of it and pitched in whenever possible. As groups of players got ready for the big holiday, an intelligent yet short blonde was standing on a ladder to put some hanging decorations up.
Chishiya struggled to put the last mistletoe on the ceiling, feeling his feet wobble under him and almost give out since he was on an old ladder, until...he felt a hand and the tip of a gun hold him up; "Niragi—"
"Don't question it, pipsqueak. We don't need another dead body rotting in here anyway."
Chishiya rolled his eyes before returning to his duty as the guy who hung everything on the ceiling, finishing with a few minutes to spare before everyone else was eventually done. After Niragi retracted his hand and rifle away from Chishiya, the blonde got off the ladder and leaned it against a wall before shoving his hands into his pockets.
"What made you feel the need to let me not fall, Niragi? I thought you hated my guts?"
"Didn't I just tell you to not question me, you dumbass?"
Kujina interjected, "Can you two stop acting like y'all don't want each other?! Like jeez! Y'all argue like a damn married couple and expect people to see y'all as straight like get a grip..."
The woman was an easy reader, and clearly fed up with Niragi and Chishiya's constant arguments about basically nothing. But before she could speak even further, she got dragged away by Ann—her dearest girlfriend—while having ornaments stuffed into her hands.
Niragi cocked a brow, side-eyed Kuina, and then returned to talking to the blonde in front of him; "What is her damn deal?!"
Chishiya nonchalantly shrugged before grabbing some snowflake ornaments and hanging them on the wall (the main, big tree was too full so that's why he was doing that). Niragi felt like the air got a bit awkward so he backed off and walked away, accidentally running into Arisu with the tip of his gun.
Niragi smirked, "Oh, my bad."
Arisu rolled his eyes before pushing the gun off and away from his back, "Can you be more careful next time you decide to roam around?"
"And who are you to question—"
Usagi quietly walked by, returning to her new boyfriend's side before glaring at Niragi over her shoulder. She silently stood her ground, and it obviously worked since the rifle-carrying idiot walked away.
— — — — — —
After a few hours of more preparation, Christmas was finally there at the Beach. It was midnight when everyone finished their temporary jobs as decorators, which brought festive joy and excitement for the rest of the night up 'till the morning. As people started to grab food and celebrate with colleagues or even partners, Kuina and Ann were sitting with Usagi and Arisu.
Kuina poured a cup of alcohol mixed with juice, then toasted with her friends; "Merry Christmas to all you guys! I didn't expect all of us to still be in one piece by now, seriously."
Ann laughed, took a sip of her cup, and then nudged her girlfriend. They both noticed two "enemies" in some random corner, holding drinks while talking their asses off.
Kuina rolled her eyes while smiling, "They should just kiss already. Even though I'm against the idea of Niragi's existence, Chishiya's an odd yet perfect fit for his crazy self."
With the two idiots, they were talking about plans to sneak out and grab snacks per usual. Somehow, those two could get along over stealing/looting yet couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other (well, one couldn't stand the idea).
"What's the best thing you've found while looting?"
"Found a big stash of food in some random store, and I spent the rest of my night eating everything."
Chishiya rolled his eyes before making eye contact with Kuina across the room. She made a gesture that blatantly said "look above y'all." The blonde did and realized that there's been a mistletoe above him and Niragi the entire time. He looked back at Kuina and she mouthed, "shoot your shot for once."
Chishiya returned his attention to Niragi, "Don't take this too seriously but—"
"What?"
"…Can we, uh…"
Chishiya rarely asked people out, so it was obvious he was struggling to speak on the topic. Kuina picked up on it quickly, and immediately excused herself from Ann and her friends before going over to Chishiya and Niragi.
"What Chishiya is trying to say is that he wants to be your crazy partner in crime, idiot."
Kuina ran back to her seat, smiling while Niragi cocked a brow and looked at Chishiya.
"...Did she just cover for you?!"
"Obviously. I'm not the greatest at asking people out if you didn't notice, Niragi."