12 Days of Christmas Shipping Challenge

Sweater Weather - Sanniuri / 산노요미

2. Person A is trying to convince Person B to wear a homemade ugly Christmas sweater. Person B wants to say no, but can't because Person A is too cute/hot.

***

The first week of December had finally arrived, and Mikado had taken to spend more time at home since pyromancers and cold weather did not mix well in general. He continued his hacking work and kept the dorm clean, but he noticed that his dear journalist had been going out with not much warm clothing when he needed to get his 'scoops.'

One night, Mikado was laying on his stomach with Nikei's laptop on his back. He was on the journalist's lap with his head in his arms, but he couldn't help but feel concerned as Nikei shivered more than usual. Even though Nikei had just come out of the cold, the wizard still silently worried.

That night, when Nikei had somehow managed to fall asleep - which may or may not have involved Mikado taking away his laptop and refusing to give him caffeine - the blonde had gone through his wardrobe and observed what kind of outfits the smaller boy had. Mikado sighed in disappointment; despite wearing numerous layers, Nikei had nothing that was thick enough to insulate warmth.

Suddenly, the wizard had an idea: Christmas was coming up, so he could probably knit his doll a sweater to warm up in! He raced to get on his laptop and looked up a few knitting tutorials, jotting down the instructions and measurements he needed, as well as a list of materials he either needed to buy or beg Yoruko to borrow.

For the next few weeks, whenever Nikei was out of the dorm they shared, Mikado would get out his laptop and materials and begin knitting to the best of his ability. Whenever something seemed hard or the wizard began to despair, he thought of how warmer Nikei would be when he got the sweater and continued working on.

During the process, he brainstormed small details that Nikei might like. He first made the sweater out of orange wool, Nikei's favourite colour, but thought that it might look cuter if he added details. Mikado stared at the creation and hummed in thought, wondering what he could add. It suddenly occurred to him that Nikei's orange scarf had black and yellow dots, so maybe he would like those kinds of dots on there? And maybe a black and yellow stripe in the middle too!

With his new ideas in mind, Mikado continued knitting until he heard the sounds of Nikei coming home and had to quickly hide his creation in the closet.

***

When Christmas morning came and Mikado eventually pried Nikei's heat-seeking body off his own, they went to open the presents under the fake tree while their coffee brewed. Mikado's present from the journalist was a new cookbook and a cute dark blue choker. The wizard hugged the smaller boy as they laughed together.

When Nikei opened his present from Mikado, he never expected to see a sweater inside. He held it up, seeing the orange clothing with dots and a couple stripes that weren't even straight half of the time. He stared at it in horror, but put on an interested smile for Mikado's sake. "Huh, this looks neat! Thanks, Kado!" He lied, not wanting to hurt the wizard's feelings.

However, Mikado seemed to get more excited upon seeing Nikei's happiness, unaware that it was a lie. "Why don't you try it on?" He excitedly asked, to Nikei's dismay.

"I, uh...sure!" The journalist agreed, knowing that saying no would probably cue Mikado into the fact that he was lying. Nikei took off his pyjama shirt and put on the sweater, which turned out to be too big for him. Even so, Mikado leaned forward and hugged the small boy.

"Aah! You're so cute, doll!" The wizard exclaimed, holding onto the other boy tightly as the big sweater began to bunch up in his hold. Nikei then realized how soft and warm he was in the sweater and relaxed into the hug, tilting his head up to lightly kiss the wizard. Mikado retaliated by covering Nikei's face in kisses.

A few days later, Nikei continued working on his article while wearing the homemade ugly sweater. It was much warmer than his other clothes, and he was shivering a lot less than before. Mikado was laying on his lap yet again, his head resting on the overabundance of the sweater as he took a nap. This wasn't so bad, Nikei realized. As long as this was warm and soft, he could put up with the ugliness.

That sweater later became one of Nikei's favourite articles of clothing.

***

Art credit: yoonsic932828 on twitter