"Hiyori, we weren't expecting—oh wow, you're completely soaked!"

Yukine's raised voice caught Yato's ears from the living room and he quickly scrambled to the entrance of the house.

Her school uniform and hair were plastered to her skin and her umbrella hung at her side. With a forced smile, she explained, "This typhoon was kind of unexpected and my umbrella broke after it got turned inside out…"

"Hiyorin, oh no!" Kofuku joined the group at the doorway, pushing past Yukine and Yato as she cried out and grabbed the other girl's wrist, "Come in, come in! Hurry up and take a bath before you catch a cold!"

"Thank you." Hiyori gave a real smile this time as she slipped off her shoes and put her broken umbrella in the holder before she let Kofuku pull her into the house.

As the two girls passed by him, Kofuku shouted, "Yato-chan, get Hiyorin some of your clothes so she has something dry to wear!"

He moved towards the stairs without a second thought until he faintly heard Yukine ask, "Why don't you give her some of your clothes, Kofuku-san?"

"Becaaaaaaause." Her voice answered mischievously.

Yato shook his head and ignored the slight flush on his cheeks, muttering to himself, "Wearing her clothes would probably jinx Hiyori anyway."

He grabbed a pair of plaid pajama pants and one of his Capypa graphic t-shirts before freezing in place. 'What about…' His blush doubled before he remembered the bra and underwear set he had purchased for her shortly after their trip to Capypa Land. As much as he inwardly cringed at how inappropriate he acted towards her before, he couldn't help but think the gift sure was coming in handy right now.

He dragged his feet as he made his way downstairs and cleared his throat as he entered the laundry room connected to the bathroom, "H-Hiyori? I bought you some clothes… I'm leaving them right by the door."

After a moment her voice answered back, just as flustered, "Um… Okay. Thanks, Yato."

"You're welcome. I'll, uh… Be in the living room…" He trailed off awkwardly as he quickly made his way back into the hallway while he inhaled deeply. Yukine watched him with a seemingly pitying look as he sat down at the table, looking up to question the other god in a grumble, "Kofuku, why would you do that?"

"Oh, don't act like you aren't thrilled by the idea of Hiyorin wearing your clothes, Yato-chan." She looked back with a grin and Yato sunk lower onto the table.

"So that's what you forced him into." Daikoku sighed heavily as he entered the room, shaking his head as he leaned against the doorway, "Are you sure your mischief won't cause any problems for Hiyori-chan?"

Kofuku puffed her cheeks out in response, "It's just clothes, what could happen?"

"If you say so." Daikoku shrugged before nodding back towards the kitchen, "I've got to finish dinner, so behave yourself."

The pink haired god gave a high-pitched huff as he left the room but didn't say anything else in response. Her lips turning back into a smug smile, she teased, "You know, if you just gave the clothes to me, I would have given them to Hiyorin. You didn't have to take them to the bathroom yourself."

"…I just left them at the door, it's fine." Yato turned his head and tried his best to ignore her.

"Well, since Hiyori's here, I'm gonna go upstairs and grab some of my homework." Yukine slipped out from underneath the table, "Be right back."

"Okay." He answered, his eyes following the young boy to the doorway. Taking a breath, he turned back to the other god, "Look, Kofuku… I get what you're trying to do. And I appreciate the thought, really. But we really shouldn't bother Hiyori with stuff like that, okay?" He gave a forced smile, "She's got her own life to live, you know. I'm fine just to be a part of it at all."

Kofuku frowned deeply, reaching out, "But Yato-chan—"

"I'm a god of fortune now, so I've got to look out for her properly." He pointed a finger towards her, "No more teasing for my sake."

"For your sake." Kofuku repeated and sounded somewhat sarcastic.

Just as Yato was going to ask what she meant, Yukine reappeared and asked, "What's with the serious tone? What are you talking about now?"

"Adult stuff." Yato answered automatically.

Narrowing his eyes, Yukine retorted back, "Considering I'm permanently stuck at fourteen, you have to consider me an adult eventually."

"Today's not that day." The god shook his head before reaching over to ruffle Yukine's hair as the boy sat down, "Besides, you'll always be my kid."

He dramatically rolled his eyes in response but gave a small smile as he started to look down at his books.

Kofuku giggled, "You're such a good boy, Yukki." Standing up, she motioned towards the kitchen, "I'm going to go see if Daikoku needs any help."

'I'm not sure if he wants it even if he does need it.' Yato thought to himself, but nodded, "Alright."

"But really, is everything okay?" Yukine peered up from his homework.

Yato shook his head and smiled, "I just told her to not mess with Hiyori, that's all. I think she's been through enough today. I mean, you saw her when she came in; she looked like a drowned rat."

"Ahem."

His shoulders jerked upward in surprise and he immediately felt regret wash over him as he turned around, "H-Hiyori…! I was just—I meant—"

"It's fine, I was a mess when I got here." She admitted with a begrudging pout, making her way over to the table. She dried her hair with a towel one more time before letting it drape around her neck. Glancing at Yato briefly, she looked down at her clothes and flushed as she tugged at the hem, "Thanks for these."

"Y-yeah, I mean, it's the least I could do." He nodded sheepishly.

The younger boy raised his eyebrows at both of them for a moment before changing the subject, "Hey, Hiyori. Since you're here, would you go over this problem with me?" He moved his finger over a certain section of the page, taking a breath to clarify, "Only if you feel up to it, of course."

"Oh, of course, Yukine-kun!" Her eyes lit up and she eagerly leaned over towards Yukine's textbook, "Let's see…"

Yato finally let his shoulders relax, watching the other two get absorbed in schoolwork. Satisfied with the return of routine and normalcy, he reached into his pocket for his phone and scrolled through Twitter to keep himself occupied while his friends worked.

After a short while, Kofuku waltzed back into the living room with an armful of drinks, dribbling liquid as she went. "Dinner's ready! But first," She put glasses of a dark red liquid in front of Yukine and Hiyori, "Some juice for you two." At another seat she put down a glass of what he assumed was the same juice, "For me and Daikoku." Lastly, she put another down in front of Yato, "And for you, Yato-chan."

"Thanks." He gave a forced smile, seeing Yukine already hurriedly wiping up the mess she had made, "Why juice though?"

"It's summer, why not?" She shrugged before taking a seat and taking a sip of her own glass.

After he'd put his books in a safe location away from the table, Yukine heaved a sigh before sitting down and taking a sip out of his glass. He hummed, acknowledging, "It is refreshing."

Yato took his own sip and nodded, looking to Hiyori who seemed to make a strange face at the taste for a moment but quickly smiled along with everyone else.

Daikoku stumbled in with a large serving tray full of different dishes, carefully lowering it down to the table, "Dinner's served!"

"Thanks for the meal!" Everyone in the group answered loudly before the sound of clinking plates and tableware filled the room.

The group idly chatted as they ate but Kofuku soon pointed out, "Are you alright, Hiyorin? You're being pretty quiet."

Hiyori blinked slowly before giving a delayed smile that seemed a bit overly enthusiastic, "I'm fine, Kofuku-san. Thank you."

Kofuku parted her lips to speak again but Yato interrupted, "Are you sure you're not feeling sick? You seem… off."

As Hiyori turned towards him, her eyes narrowed as she smiled even wider, "I feel a little funny, but I think I'm just… I'm just really happy."

"Happy?" Yukine repeated, now giving her a look of concern as well.

She nodded, "Just being here with all of you." With that, her focus went back to her food.

Yukine looked to Yato who merely shrugged.

A few minutes later, Hiyori started to wobble a bit.

Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, Yato asked, "Are you sleepy, Hiyori?"

"A little." She admitted before she toppled over completely, ending up partially in Yato's lap but also caught by one of his arms. Her eyes widened in surprise before she fell into a fit of quiet giggles as she looked up at him asking, "Did it hurt?"

He ignored everyone else's eyes on him and tried to ignore the burning of his cheeks as he answered, "No, it's okay. I'm worried about you, though."

"No, no, that's not what I meant." She pouted before her voice lowered again and she asked, "Did it hurt…when you fell from heaven?"

Yato's mouth hung open in surprise though it turned into a grimace as Kofuku and Daikoku simultaneously burst into laughter.

Tears brimming her eyes as she laughed nonstop, Kofuku realized out loud, "Oh my god, Hiyorin must have gotten my drink on accident. She's drunk!"

After he had gotten Hiyori sitting back up right and she had happily returned to her food as if nothing had happened, Yato firmly planted his forehead on the table as he hid his face. "Kofuku…"

"…I'll go make Hiyori some coffee." He heard Yukine call out, adding as he stood up, "And I'll pour this one out."

"I think it's best if Hiyori-chan stays the night here." Daikoku commented quietly.

Yato's head flew back up, "What?"

He nodded to the girl, frowning, "It's not like we can send her home like this…"

Hiyori drowsily clacked plates together before giving a delayed reaction, "Oops!"

As Yato heaved a sigh, Kofuku let out a squeal of delight, "Yay, Hiyorin's sleeping over!"

"You. You need to call her parents and tell her you're a friend from school and that she got sick from being out in the rain. Got it?" He snatched Hiyori's phone from the floor and shoved it into Kofuku's hands.

She put on a big pout, "Why me?"

"First of all, it's your fault Hiyori's drunk. Second of all, I don't think her parents would appreciate a male voice being the one to tell them she's staying at their house." He explained in a deadpan tone.

"Oooooh. You're right." She nodded in acknowledgement before she slipped out of the room to make the phone call.

Yukine walked back into the room with a steaming mug, setting it carefully in front of Hiyori. "Okay, here you go, Hiyori. This will make you act normal again."

She sniffed the steam wafting out of the drink and made a face before turning away, "I don't like coffee, it's really bitter."

Yukine's mouth parted, unsure of what to do. After a moment he put on an exaggerated frown and stammered, "Oh, but it's Yato's recipe. He made it himself and—"

Without another word, Hiyori had begun sipping on it. Though she made a face again as she swallowed, she flashed a smile to the god across the table as she put the mug back down, "I-it's great!"

"…Yukine, why?" Yato asked after managing to swallow a bite of his food, though his appetite was quickly dwindling.

"I had to get her to drink it somehow." He muttered back, sounding disgusted at the situation.

Noting that she was continuing to take small gulps of it, Yato sighed in defeat and admitted, "Yeah, I guess."

"Everything's all set for Hiyorin to stay the night!" Kofuku reappeared a moment later, passing the phone back to Yato, "Hiyorin's mom was awfully worried but don't worry, I won her over." She finished with a wink and a giggle.

With a small shake of his head, he answered, "Yeah, okay. Thanks." Pushing his plate forward a bit, Yato stood up and apologized, "Sorry, I'm not up to eating much more. I think I'll go upstairs and lay out the futons so Hiyori can get some sleep."

"I'll forgive you this once for not eating your food." Daikoku grumbled from the end of the table, "I'll wrap it up so you can eat it later."

"Thanks." Yato flashed a small smile before looking to his hafuri, "Yukine, look after her while I'm upstairs."

"Will do." He sat back down.

Finally alone as he made his way up the stairs, Yato wondered to himself, 'What's with Hiyori's sudden interest in me?' As he closed the door to their attic turned bedroom, he put a hand on his hip, 'I guess… a crush maybe? But I wonder why all of a sudden…'

Shaking his head, he moved to the closet to pull out the futons. 'Doesn't matter anyway. Not like I'm going to do anything about it.' As he laid out the futons, he considered the sleeping arrangements and gave a small laugh to himself as he remembered Yukine's brief interest in Hiyori. 'I don't think that's a problem anymore, but her sleeping on the other side of me is probably best so she isn't bothered by Yukine's lamp.'

Making a face, he also acknowledged, 'Hiyori's not used to alcohol at all either so I should probably get some sort of bucket or something in case she feels sick later…'

As he ran downstairs to the bathroom, he heard Hiyori's voice mixed among the others and gave a small smile to himself. 'Good, it seems like she's doing better.' Once he had their room set up to his liking and had changed into similar pajamas to the ones he lent out, he made his way back to the living room.

Yukine was watching with a soft smile as Kofuku brushed through Hiyori's hair with a thick pink brush.

Her eyes were closed in relaxation as Kofuku smoothed out her hair but she also had a small smile on her face.

"I know it's early, but… ready for bed?" Yato leaned into his elbow against the doorframe.

Hiyori opened her eyes and looked up at him questioningly before giving a hum, "I am a bit sleepy…"

"Let Yukine get changed and then we'll go upstairs too." He nodded and the younger boy got up from the table and walked past him.

Kofuku continued to brush lovingly through Hiyori's hair, singing a nonsensical tune as Daikoku finished cleaning up the table.

"I'm all done." Yato heard Yukine's voice at the foot of the stairs and turned around, "Do you think you'll need help with getting Hiyori up the stairs?"

He looked back at her before turning back to Yukine, "I think she'll be okay."

Yukine shrugged in defeat before retreating, "Okay, see you in a minute."

Turning around, Yato waved, "You ready?"

Kofuku held down the brush at her side before hugging Hiyori, "Night night, Hiyorin! I'll see you in the morning!"

"Goodnight." She answered with a small laugh and hugged her back. Rounding the table, Hiyori tripped over the small height difference between the tatami flooring and the wooden flooring.

Yato quickly reached out to catch her by her forearm. Lifting her up, he grasped her hand and smiled, "Here, I'll help."

"Thanks, guess I'm more sleepy than I thought." She gave another giggle.

After carefully leading her up the stairs, Yato led her to the futon closest to the door. "I figured this would be the best spot for you in case you feel sick. There's also a bucket if you feel like you can't make it downstairs."

"Why would I feel sick? I feel fiiiine." She laid down on the futon and stretched out her legs and arms.

"For now." Yato mumbled under his breath.

"So I guess she's still out of it." Yukine commented from his own futon, a click ringing out through the room as he pulled the string on his lamp.

Yato took a breath and answered, "Yeah, a little." He pulled the switch by the door before crawling into his own futon. "Alright, goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight Yato and Yukine-kun." Hiyori answered cheerfully as she buried herself under the blanket.

"Goodnight." Yato heard Yukine answer softly, his view blocked by the small table he used to dim the effects of Yukine's lamp.

After a minute or two of only breathing sounds, Yato heard Hiyori call his name in an exaggerated whisper, "Yato, can I ask you a favor?"

He turned over towards her, "What is it?"

"Can you brush my hair like Kofuku-san was doing? It felt really nice."

Yato's lips parted in surprise, "I-I'm sure it did but you really should go to sleep, Hiyori."

"That's what I mean," She answered with a slight pout, "I think it'll help me fall asleep." She took a breath before suggesting, "You can just use your fingers."

Inwardly debating with himself, he gave in and reached out a hand to run it through her hair, "Like this?"

She hummed happily and shut her eyes, "Yes."

"Okay." He whispered back, continuing the motion until he himself drifted off.

He woke up later to a tickling feeling at his hand. He reflexively tucked it into his chest and made a small groan.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" He heard Hiyori whisper.

Slowly blinking his eyes open, he answered, "Kind of. But it's okay. What's up?"

"I woke up a little bit ago and I remembered everything that happened at dinner and I couldn't fall back asleep so I…" She looked like she was debating hiding her face, sinking into the pillow, "I want to apologize…"

"Not your fault, Hiyori. It's Kofuku's fault alcohol ended up in your drink." He gave her a sympathetic look.

"She didn't do it on purpose. Plus it's not like she forced me to… say what I said." Hiyori flipped onto her stomach and completely hid her face with a groan.

Despite the warmth growing on his cheeks, Yato joked, "I know pick up lines aren't really your style, so… I didn't read too much into it." He heard Hiyori make a noise in response before he noticed a small and messily made charm bracelet around her wrist, "What's that you're wearing? I don't think I've ever seen it before."

Hiyori peeked her head up to look at her arm. "Oh," She gave a smile, "Kofuku-san made this for me! I just wore it for the first time today."

His face immediately soured, "Well that explains your streak of bad luck… You should probably take it off."

"But she made it with good intentions, as a friendship bracelet." She grasped her wrist protectively with her other arm.

"I know that, Hiyori. It's just her nature, it happens…" He gave a sigh before suggesting in a soft tone, "Look, just take it off for tonight and tomorrow we'll purify it, okay? Then it should be fine."

First giving a hesitant look, she gave in and delicately slipped the bracelet over her hand and pushed it across the floor and away from the top of the futon. "Okay."

"I don't know how long the effects might take to wear off, but since you're just up here sleeping, hopefully it should be fine." He pulled up the blanket and began to settle back into the futon.

"Right." Hiyori sank back down into her pillow.

"Something else wrong?" Yato questioned quietly, "You still seem…I dunno, tense."

She let out somewhat of a groan and answered, "Yeah, I just don't know if I want to get into it or not. But I sort of already opened that can of worms earlier…"

He raised an eyebrow, "What? I don't get it."

She raised her head slightly from the pillow and even in the dark he could tell her face was a dark shade of red, "T-there's a reason why I… hit on you…"

"I get it." Yato held out his hand to stop her but also covered his face with the other, "You don't have to say it. Nothing will be weird, I promise. And remember, Yukine got over his crush on you pretty quickly so… maybe it'll be the same." He finished in a mutter.

After a moment of silence, he heard Hiyori's voice in a somewhat teary whisper, "Ah… so you don't… I mean, of course you don't… You couldn't." She gave a small, sarcastic laugh to herself.

Yato dropped both of his hands to the floor and scooted closer to her, halfway out of his futon, "Hiyori, what's wrong?"

"It's fine, I'll be fine." She forced a smile but tears started freely flowing out of her eyes.

"Hiyori." Yato reached out to cup her cheek, "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

She gave a small shake of her head and laughed again through her tears, "I thought it was obvious by now. I'm in love with you, stupid." She reached up to wipe at her eyes, "But it doesn't matter."

"Love?" He repeated, awe-struck as his hand lingered in mid-air.

"Mm." She hummed an affirmative, closing her eyes as she continued to cry.

Yato stared at her as he tried to form words, "Since… when?"

"I don't really know." She answered honestly and wiped at her eyes again before looking at him, "It just sort of… hit me one day. That I have, for a while."

Without another word, Yato reached out and crushed her against him as tightly as he could. "It's the same for me." He whispered against her hair, "I just… I didn't want to lose you."

She returned the embrace as much as she was able to, "It was the same for me. But at the same time I felt like I was going to burst by holding it in for so long." She gave a small laugh, "So, as embarrassing as it was, today's mishap was kind of a relief…"

Yato relished in her warmth for a moment more before pulling away, a forced smile on his face, "But even as happy as this makes me… You deserve someone better than me, Hiyori. A normal human, someone more stable…"

She stared back with wide eyes for a moment before they narrowed in anger, "I think I know who I deserve and who I want. And it's you. So please, stop that." Hiyori closed the distance between them again, her lips softly meeting his.

Despite her words, he answered her affection carefully and with hesitation. His voice hoarse, he whispered, "Are you sure?"

"More than anything." She answered immediately, giving him another peck at the corner of his mouth.

Ignoring the tears stinging at the corner of his eyes, Yato cupped the side of her head and tilted her face so that their lips met again.

"Hey, Yukine. Breakfast is ready." Yato nudged the futon with his foot, his voice loud, "What's wrong with you? You usually never sleep in this late."

Yukine rolled over to face him and gave him a glare, "I'm tired because I was woken up in the middle of the night…"

He gave him a blank stare in return until the realization clicked and he started to turn a shade of pink, "Oh. So…um, how much did you hear?"

"Enough." Yukine groaned and shut his eyes, "I know you were trying to be quiet but, it was kind of hard to not hear once Hiyori started crying…" He sat up and rubbed his face with the back of his hand before giving a yawn, "I thought I was going to have to intervene, but thankfully you got it all worked out so I just stayed quiet."

"But aren't you happy for us, even if you did lose a little sleep?" Yato gave a wink and a grin.

Yukine rolled his eyes, "Sure, whatever. Congrats, I guess." He stood up and stretched out his arms, hiding his small smile, "So what's for breakfast?"