Disclaimers: I own nothing, not even this computer. Or this desk. Or this chair. Or this fandom. But at least I own this particular order of words. I think...

This fic is dedicated to the SenKosh MLers who strive to keep the love alive, and to all my friends who believe I'm a good writer. Happy Holidays, minna!

Snowfall

by Shinri Ayase

It's not everyday that a giant snowball with the words "You're in love with Koshino Hiroaki" etched in large, block letters on its side rolls over and squashes you to the ground.

It's not a pretty picture, believe me (I caught the expression on my reflection on a car window we passed*). Even Kosh, who was the only other person around, got worried (visibly worried, at least - I know he worries ALL THE TIME without really showing it). He didn't bother acting annoyed when I began to stupidly smile at his direction.

I never did anything that stupid - alright, maybe stupid, but not THIS suicidal - before. Smiling like a bloody idiot in front of my best friend is not something a normal human being can survive unscathed. Yeah, yeah. Make jokes about me not being normal, but guess what? I didn't survive this unscathed! Hooray for me, I'm normal.

Ugh. I just know this experience is going to leave me psychologically scarred. One day, I'll be sitting in front of a shrink and telling him why, exactly, I like being chained upside-down to a dungeon wall while being whipped mercilessly and drenched in alcohol by a bunch of bad-tempered brunettes as I scream "Cleanse me! Make me worthy!"

See? Even now I'm unstable. Maybe I should start blaming all of this on my father, since all psychiatrists end up making you blame your parents anyway. Nah. Dad's cool, even though he really should stop using up my gel when there's barely any hair for him to put up in spikes, anyway.

Where was I? Oh yeah. The giant snowball.

The worst part of this whole thing - the bit that really, really, sucks - is the knowledge that I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING, REALLY. I have a track record for being a complete and utter idiot when it comes to falling in love. All previous paramours I've ever had could be summarized by best friend's unforgettable words: "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, SENDOH AKIRA?! I OUGHT TO SMACK YOU RIGHT NOW!"

How apt. said phrase is running through my mind like a mantra chanted by a million brain elves on a sugar and pixie stix high.

I fell in love with my best friend, and I just knew I was going to; I even laughed at the idea and planted it in my backyard only to find it a couple of years later as a giant adamantium beanstalk that nothing can topple.

...Okay, so maybe I ignored the possibility, but I should have known better! I made friends with him because he had a cute nose, for Kami's sake. And I thought he was feisty when he slugged me and put me through a three-day comatose!

I should feel lucky that he actually agreed to be friends with me, really. Even though his reasons were something along the lines of "I'm looking for a vocation as a full-time babysitter anyway."

...I really don't know why he puts up with me. And maybe...just maybe that's why I love him.

Because he does. Because I know he has better things to do than allow himself to be harassed by my escapades, and he still does.

Then again, I'll probably still love him even if he up and left me within the first hour of hanging out with me. There's something basically Kosh about him, something that I really find hard to keep away from.

Whatever it is, it was enough to make me catch my breath this morning, when he dragged me out of my house at three in the morning because even a baka like me "shouldn't miss such a pretty sight". And it was. The first snowflakes just hung on to him everywhere - his eyelashes, his hair, his clothes, his pert little nose, even his earlobes - as he huffed at me for being such a slowpoke.

It's not very different from home, actually. Not very different at all.

So now it's six in the morning, and everything is covered in white. The snow that's covering the small hill I'm sitting on is freezing my ass off, but I couldn't care less. I turn to look at Kosh...

And a snowball rushes straight at my face. I could hear Kosh laughing, and that surprised me since he rarely laughs like that.

So what was the occasion? Did I really look THAT funny? Maybe I should injure myself some more, if that's all I need to do to make him less worried.

And then he sits right next to me again, letting the laughter subside. He'd kill me if I tell him how perfect he looks right now. I don't have a death wish, so I'm really not going there.

"Akira no baka," he murmurs at me, looking at my direction. "You should fight back some more. Especially when I hit you."

I look at him seriously (at least, I try to - I never seem to get that expression right; my oneesan used to tell me that my "serious face" is as convincing as a notorious con artist) and answer, "I like being hit by you. It's a sort of security blanket, you know. Like hugging a teddy bear. The world's just normal when you hit me."

He cocks an eyebrow at me. "Have you been reading Half Wing** again?" He brushes a few powdery flakes of snow from my hair. "You really should stop reading that stuff. It might give you too many ideas involving rope and microphones." And then his voice lowers hesitantly, "And don't you dare think of trying any of that out on me, ecchi."

And I just know, from this moment until the very last one, I'll know. So I kiss him, just one of those brushes on the lips, because I know he'd kiss me back, he would have kissed me back, he'd always kiss me back.

Okay, so maybe I'm not such a normal human being after all (I should have a T-shirt printed with the words: "I fell in love with Koshino Hiroaki and survived!").

Looks like I'm home for Christmas, and I got the best present of all.

'Cause hey, it's not everyday that a snowball with the words "He loves you too, Sendo Akira" scrawled in delicate, perfectly-crafted letters, hits you square on the face.

OWARI

* Yeah, I know he's not that vain, but how else could he have known how idiotic he looked?

** Aki-saaaaan! Domodomodomo! That was one of the most beautifully-drawn comics I've ever seen. I'm working hard on your Christmas present...