A/N: Um, this is my first No. 6 fanfiction, and it's also the first fanfiction I've had the courage to post online. So I'm hoping this isn't terribly OOC or just…not too good. Constructive criticism is always appreciated!
It had been exactly two years. Two years since the Holy Day, which was no longer even celebrated in No. 6, which meant that it was also two years since the Correctional Facility—whose remains still cluttered the ground surrounding the old facility, making sure he never forgot what had happened—had been destroyed.
And it had been two years since Nezumi had walked away from him.
Sion remembered six years ago, when Nezumi broke into his room, clutching a bloody arm, wearing the sweater Safu had given him for his twelfth birthday by the end of the night. He remembered how Nezumi had teased him for his shouting episode outside, how he had let Sion tend to his wound, how he had flinched at the sight of a needle. And how he had held his hand as he drifted off to sleep that night.
And more recently, Sion remembered dancing with him. He remembered giving Nezumi a "goodnight kiss," and Nezumi calling him out for being a liar the next morning, and them promising each other that there would be no more farewell kisses and no more lies between the two of them. He remembered that wretched Correctional Facility. He felt himself shudder as he remembered that he killed the man who had shot Nezumi. He recalled that last kiss and Nezumi's departure. "You'll be fine," he had said before he left. Sure, Sion thought, I'm fine now, but I'm not how I was when I was with you. I was happier then. Sion couldn't shake the loneliness that hovered over him now.
A thunderclap boomed outside. Sion hadn't even realized it was raining until now. He rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes, trying to drown out the sound, drown out his memories of Nezumi, drown out everything. Just for a second, he decided, he didn't want to feel anything. Not loneliness, not remorse, not even chilled from the downpour outside his window.
And suddenly, he heard a scream coming from outside his window. "AAAAAAHHHH!"
Sion's eyes snapped back open. He impulsively jumped out of his bed and rushed down to his balcony to see if he could locate where the scream had came from. The scream came again, this time followed by laughter. Sion peered through the glass doors that separated his bedroom and the balcony area bordering it. There was a figure against the balcony railing. When he looked closer, he saw that it was a man wearing all black. His hair, which was tied up, was black as well.
Sion's eyes widened. The young man standing outside looked all too familiar, even from the back. No, he thought incredulously, it's not—it's not him, it can't be!
Sion opened the glass door, and called, "hello?" He walked out into the gray, stormy night, the rain dripping down on him.
The man let go of the railing and turned toward Sion. The long black hair that had escaped from his ponytail had been plastered to his face by the rain. Grey eyes met Sion's red eyes.
Sion gasped. It's him. It's Nezumi.
Sion held his breath, unable to move. "You were screaming," he said in disbelief. "You were screaming."
Nezumi chuckled. "Remind you of anyone?" He smiled fondly at Sion.
He numbly realized that Nezumi was referring to the first time they met, emulating his shouts that night. Another time, he might have blushed or acted bothered by his teasing, but now, all he could do was take a shaky step forward. Besides, it seemed appropriate that if Sion's shouts brought Sion and Nezumi together all those years ago, Nezumi's shouts just then had brought them face-to-face with each other again.
Time seemed to stop completely. They stared at each other, taking in the fact that they were here, together again. Neither one dared to move, as if the other would disappear if they did, as if it was all an illusion. Neither seemed to care that rain was falling on them, or that thanks to the storm, a sharp chill whipped at them, blowing their hair, freezing them both to the bone.
And then, Sion couldn't take the stillness anymore. He rushed toward Nezumi, as fast as he could make his body move. He crashed into Nezumi, who caught his body and embraced him as Sion wrapped his arms around his torso, clinging onto him. They fell backward, in a sitting position against the balcony wall.
"You came back," Sion breathed in disbelief.
Nezumi held him closer so that Sion's head was resting against his chest now and chuckled again. "We made a promise, Sion. No more farewell kisses. Remember?"
Sion nodded, color flushing into his face. "Yeah."
Gingerly, Nezumi lifted Sion's chin. He leaned forward, and pressed his lips onto Sion's. It was a tender kiss, only lasting a couple of seconds, but it was enough to leave Sion with a smile on his and an even bigger blush than before.
"So if we promised each other that we'd have no more farewell kisses," he asked, "does this mean you're not going to leave again? A-at least not any time soon?"
Nezumi answered with another kiss, which Sion could only assume meant "yes."
All this time, we were waiting for each other,
All this time I was waiting for you.
