Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Nezumi grunted as he lifted up a heavy prop box to place backstage. His black hair was all in disarray, and his long, poufy dress made it hard for him to move his legs as he tried painfully to walk to the back of the stage. His tired, storm-grey eyes beheld the less-than-magnificent stage as cold air swatted at his skin and nighttime silence abounded with the voices of his cast mates. It was December 19, and his boss demanded that there would be a play every day until the day after Christmas, along with daily practices that started so early that some cast members had decided to live in the theater until the end of the play. It was an outrageous schedule, but some of the homeless people had demanded it, since they had no family to go to for Christmas, and Nezumi's director had decided that he did not want to let those homeless customers down. They were willing to pay for their entertainment, after all.
Normally, Nezumi wouldn't be so outraged by this strange schedule, but this year was a bit different. Nezumi couldn't hold back an unexpected sigh when he thought of the white-haired boy with eyes as red and sparkling as rubies waiting for him at home. Before this year, Nezumi lived alone, and never felt the need to celebrate Christmas since he had no family, but this would be Shion's first Christmas away from his mother in Lost Town. Nezumi felt a sudden surge of guilt when he thought of Shion, all alone in the house for the next seven days. Nezumi had agreed to go home during the nights after setting up the stage for the next practice, but he wouldn't be home until late, and Shion would most likely be fast asleep by the time he arrived.
Nezumi dropped the heavy box where it belonged, and stretched his back in relief. He was tired, and the heavy makeup that he was wearing had really begun to make him sweat despite the cold air of the theater. Nezumi could see his breath as he exhaled, and the slight wind in the theater made his hair blow softly backward and cooled off his sweaty face a little bit. The theater was dark and cool, and the sound of the cast members' voices echoed across the theater in bouncing waves. Nezumi heard footsteps echoing close by, and turned to see one of his many unfamiliar cast members walking towards him, a grin stretching across her face.
"Oi, Nezumi! That was some performance, eh? You were really great!" the woman praised before chuckling at Nezumi's expressionless face.
"What do you want?" Nezumi asked in the bored tone he had perfected. Even though it was almost Christmas, that didn't mean Nezumi was in the Christmas spirit. Actually, the closer it got to Christmas, the more annoyed Nezumi seemed to get with other people.
"Ah, Nezumi. You never were one for praise, huh? Well, I guess I'll just jump right into it. You know that boy you live with? The white haired one?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
Nezumi stiffened, a sudden wave of wariness hitting him. What on earth would she want with Shion? On the other hand, how would she even know that Shion lived with him?
Well, besides the fact that Shion would sometimes come with Nezumi to the theater, but they could have easily been interpreted as friends….
"Yeah, what about him?" Nezumi asked, trying his best to clamp down his wariness, yet not bothering to be polite.
The woman glared at him suspiciously at his lack of courtesy towards a woman, but quickly shrugged it off and smiled.
"Well, you see, I have a daughter who has been kind of lonely lately, and I was wondering if that boy is single. I think he would be very interested…."
"He wouldn't be," Nezumi growled, his wariness altering into anger quickly. Something unpleasant tugged at his chest, which made him want to rage. I wish I could go just ONE day without this crap…
The woman looked startled, but recovered quickly. "Are you sure? I think he would be really happy with her!"
"I'm quite sure, thank you," Nezumi grumbled, his voice beginning to turn deep and irritated. With the sudden tension surrounding Nezumi, only a fool would think to stay in his presence.
Clearly, this woman was one of those fools.
"Would you at least ask him?" the woman asked pleasantly, not even seeming to notice Nezumi's pissed off tone.
Before Nezumi could reply, the director clapped his hands loudly, startling Nezumi out of his response.
"Alright, ya mutts! I'm about to be locking up, so if ya aren't stayin the night, then get dressed and get out!" he yelled in his obnoxious voice, and Nezumi couldn't help but thank the man silently for his interruption.
"Oh, I guess that means you should go. I'll expect a full reply tomorrow in the morning," the woman said, and with a flip of her hair, turned the other way and sashayed off, her skirts billowing in the soft breeze.
Nezumi sighed, his earlier okayish mood sullied by that encounter. That woman didn't even know Shion's name, and she was willing to offer her daughter to him? People like that made Nezumi sick.
Pissed off, Nezumi made his way to the dressing rooms to change. Because he was so popular among all of the plays he had done, Nezumi was offered his own dressing room in the spacious yet broken down theater. It wasn't much, but it did hold all of his costumes and makeup, and left plenty of room for him to keep a few props. He lit a few candles and changed into his normal clothes before tying his hair up in his usual ponytail and wiping off the heavy, powdery makeup. He noticed some candy canes that one of his many admirers had sent him, and placed a few in his pocket before setting out for home.
Nezumi's thoughts unintentionally began to drift to Shion as walked out of the theater and into the cold night air. Snow sparkled in the soft moonlight as Nezumi made his was quickly across the shiny, broken sidewalk on his way home. Shion would probably be asleep by now, Nezumi figured as he passed old trash that had frozen over in the cold winter night. Nezumi could tell it was close to midnight, as there was pretty much no one out on the streets, and even the animals that were usually found digging through the trash were fast asleep in their own homes.
Another sudden pang of guilt hit Nezumi as he thought of Shion, all alone at home. Nezumi sighed, his breath turning white in the air, and he shook his head, trying to rid himself of that guilt. It was no use feeling bad about the circumstances—Nezumi needed to make the money somehow. And he was pretty sure that Shion understood that. Yet, as he walked further and further among the broken, slippery sidewalk, the pounding in his heart only made things worse. By the time he reached the door to his home, Nezumi felt pale and troubled, and that made him feel angry.
"Why am I so concerned about this?" Nezumi muttered to himself as he dug around for his keys, his cold fingers numbly brushing along the ring of his keys and the candy canes he had stored earlier. "There is no use feeling guilty—it couldn't be helped."
But this is Shion's first Christmas alone, the thought mercilessly nagged him as he opened the door and walked into the warmth of the house. Shion had started a fire in the hearth, making the house feel warm and toasty. Nezumi couldn't help a small smile as he saw the pathetic "Christmas" tree that Shion had found growing around Dogkeeper's hotel. Nezumi remembered how Shion insisted that Nezumi help him dig it up and place it in an old, dirty bucket to bring home. It wasn't even a Christmas tree—just a young pine sapling that had miraculously been able to take root in the rocky soil around the broken down hotel.
"Everyone needs a Christmas tree for Christmas!" Shion had said happily as he hooked up pine cones and acorns that he had found and placed them on the tree as ornaments.
Now the nearly wilted tree stayed next to the fireplace, its browning needle leaves falling in various places on the floor. Normally, Nezumi would be annoyed by the mess, but the scent of pine wafting throughout the house was nice enough to make him ignore it.
Nezumi took off his shoes and gloves before walking over to the couch where Shion laid, fast asleep. His white hair was a mess upon his head, making him look cute and boyish in the firelight. Suddenly feeling soft, Nezumi couldn't help but bring a hand to Shion's soft locks and stroke it lovingly. Shion's eyelids fluttered before he grinned softly in his sleep and pulled his coat around him tighter. Nezumi smiled softly at the sleeping boy, and he grabbed a wool blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around the white-haired boy. Nezumi straightened and went to the bathroom to wash up and put on some sleeping clothes. But as he walked to the bedroom, yet another wave of guilt crashed into him.
"Arg!" Nezumi groaned, and sat on his bed. He hung his head in his hands and sighed, his earlier soft mood officially ruined to give way to uncomfortable feelings. Why the hell was he so guilty? It wasn't as if he actually wanted to go to the play for Christmas, but now that he had Shion in the house with him, he needed the money to keep them both fed and clothed. If Shion needed someone to celebrate Christmas with, he could always go to Dogkeeper's place or hang out with Rikiga.
Despite all of those options, Nezumi couldn't help but still feel bad. Defeated, Nezumi just lied down on his bed, not bothering to change his clothes. He needed to get up early anyway.
Nezumi felt something thin and hard pressing against his leg, and, confused, he sat up and dug in his pockets. He pulled out the candy canes and stared at them. Why he brought them, he didn't know. He had no intention of eating them, so he might as well give them to Shion in the morning….
With a sudden burst of genius like a punch to the gut, Nezumi had a brilliant idea. Excitement filling his veins, he practically jumped out of bed to put his wonderful plan in action before he could ponder the stupidity of his idea.
Shion yawned and stretched his sore muscles as soft morning light greeted his sleepy eyes. Vision still blurry from sleep, he rubbed his eyes, only to find a wool blanket tangled up in his legs. Shion frowned. How did that blanket get there…?
Shion had originally intended to stay on the couch until Nezumi got home to greet him, but he must've fallen asleep, because it was morning, and Nezumi was gone. Shion felt a sudden pang of sadness that he had missed his chance to talk to Nezumi, but tried not to dwell on it. Nezumi needed to make money, after all.
That was when he looked up at his little "Christmas" tree to find something underneath it. Confused, Shion got up and approached the wilting tree, only to find a surprising sight lying underneath the browning leaves. Candy canes and a note from Nezumi were lying among the fallen leaves. Curious, and a little flattered, Shion picked up the letter and read it aloud;
Shion,
Since I can't be there for you for Christmas day, I decided to try something. Instead of being there on Christmas day, I decided to give you a "Seven days of Christmas" thing. So yeah, hope you like it.
Nezumi didn't sign it, but Shion wasn't surprised. This was Nezumi, after all. Shion picked up the candy canes, a warm, fuzzy feeling suddenly threatening to overflow his chest. So he thought of me, Shion thought, a happy smile tickling its way across his cheeks. He held the candy close to his chest, those warm feelings making him want to cry.
A squeak made Shion look behind him. Cravat the rat was trying to get his attention, and with a wave of panic, Shion remembered. He was late for his job at Dogkeeper's! He quickly got dressed and ran out the door, all the while clutching the candy that Nezumi had sent him.
GAH SORRY FOR THE LONG BORING CHAPTER! IT WILL GET BETTER I PROMISE!
So yeah, I thought it would be a great idea to make a little story with my favorite characters from No. 6 during Christmas. It was going to be 12 days of Christmas, but midterms came up and, well…you know. So now it's 7 days of Christmas. I hope you enjoyed the boring first chapter, and I hope to see you again in the next chapter!