Outside, it's snowing.
Inside, they are sleeping, one peacefully, one fitfully. It is one of the only ways that they differ. Kaoru always falls asleep quickly, and is nearly immobile until morning. Hikaru falls asleep just as readily, but he tosses and turns in the night, even waking periodically.
Outside, the wind howls.
Inside, Hikaru turns over, away from his twin. He is dreaming, something terrible, something horrifying, and a small sound escapes his lips. His hands clench and unclench in the sheets, and he kicks his leg once, twice. He turns again, facing his brother once more. He throws an arm over Kaoru's stomach.
Outside, heavy, wet lumps of snow fall from the trees.
Inside, Hikaru's hands clench again, and one fist closes around Kaoru's hair. Hikaru pulls unconsciously, and his twin is startled awake.
"Hikaru?" Kaoru mumbles, sleepy and uncomprehending. Hikaru's eyes fly open and he sits bolt upright. His breathing is ragged, his heart pounding.
"K-kaoru," he pants, stumbling over his brother's name in his rush to say it. Kaoru takes his hand in the darkness, and Hikaru breathes a little more easily. "I was dreaming."
"I know," Kaoru says quietly, and he does. He dreams everything Hikaru dreams. His curse is being unable to wake from it. Kaoru tightens his grip on Hikaru's hand. It had been a particularly nasty dream, though neither can remember all of the details now. Only that it centered around pain and sadness and loss.
Hikaru sniffles, and Kaoru wonders if he's crying. With a start, Kaoru realizes that he is crying. Silent tears are falling down his face, and his nose is running. Next to him, Hikaru sobs quietly, as though trying to hide the noise. For no reason at all, it makes Kaoru cry that much harder.
"This-this is stupid," Hikaru says, struggling to speak through his tears. "We don't even remember everything."
Kaoru nods, agreeing. After a moment or two, they stop sobbing. Kaoru hears Hikaru move, and then starts slightly when he feels Hikaru's hand on his cheek. Kaoru leans his face into his brother's hand and sighs.
"Your face is wet," Hikaru says matter-of-factly.
"Let's wash up," Kaoru answers.
Outside, the snow is piling up. The world is being buried away, inch by inch. Soon, everything will be blanketed by snow, and nothing will look the same as it did when everyone went to bed.
Inside, two boys wash each other's faces and climb back into bed. They pull the blankets over their heads and ignore the changing world outside, in favor of the ever-constant world they have built in each other.