Things were improving. They weren't good, per se, but they were getting better. Conditions had certainly improved since the last time that Nezumi had been to No. 6.
Sion hadn't changed. Well, he hadn't changed that much. He'd taken it upon himself to raise that baby that he'd so stubbornly saved, and so, naturally, he had matured a bit. Grown up, just a little. It was nice. If Nezumi were honest, the fact that Sion hadn't changed much was reassuring. Sion was still very much (his) Sion.
Naturally, Sion had been nothing short of thrilled when Nezumi came back. He hadn't hugged him or kissed him – perhaps he'd finally got some sense, not to be so overly emotional about everything. However, his overall manner left no doubt in Nezumi's mind that Sion was thrilled. And why wouldn't he be? He certainly hadn't wanted Nezumi to leave. The way that Nezumi saw it, Sion was either going to be thrilled or furious – and it was Sion.
"I'm glad that you're back," Sion said simply.
"You're too emotional," Nezumi replied, though he was the one to hug his... what was Sion, to him? They were more than merely friends, surely. But... were they together? Nezumi didn't want to get too attached – attachments never ended well, after all. "I wasn't even gone that long." It had only been a year; Sion was clearly hopeless.
"You were gone for a year!" Sion exclaimed. Nezumi was worried that he might get angry – he knew well enough that Sion could get angry, and it wasn't a pretty sight when he did. However, he was relieved when Sion nuzzled into him. "I've missed you."
"Save it for later. What's happened while I've been gone?"
Sion beamed. "Let's go home and I'll tell you."
Note: I wrote this for a gift exchange. I've never actually written these characters before, but... I like this. I'm not entirely thrilled with it, but then again, I'm never entirely thrilled with anything I do. Even so, feedback is appreciated.