The Rat Returns
The tall, lean man rested his forehead on the door to the house in front of him, his eyes closed, his face placid and calm. His hair, blueish-black with subtle flecks of silver spilled over his right shoulder, falling in a still-frame waterfall that ended somewhere around his middle. He looked to be in his late twenties, though only because of the stubble shadowing his chin and the slight creases around his eyes. Other than that, he could have been a mature, mysterious-looking teenager.
He straightened away from the entrance, a look of resolution in his eyes that just barely masked the scared-shitless feeling he had boiling on the inside.
Nezumi took a deep breath, braced himself, and raped his knuckles hard two times on the door.
Silence.
He stood still, his head slightly bowed to listen for the sound of footsteps or voices coming from inside, but he heard nothing. He glanced down the street on either side of him, taking in the quiet, peaceful feeling of the neighborhood. Flowers on windowsills fluttered and danced in the evening breeze. It felt safe, but not overly monitored. What a difference a decade makes. He couldn't believe the transformation Number 6 had undergone since he left it a crumbling husk of a city so long ago.
Since he left Shion all those years ago.
He pushed his hands stiffly into the pockets of his black jacket, feeling torn with what to do next. A year ago, he'd finally made the decision to circle back to the city he had once wanted to destroy. As he made the journey back, he had used his trusty mice to send messages to Inukashi, receiving tiny snippets of information on the town, and more importantly, on how Shion was doing. Where did he live? What did he do? He always tried to keep the questions simple, skirting around the most burning question he had but couldn't ask.
Is he with someone new?
Couldn't he very well have a wife? A girlfriend? A boyfriend? A lover? He went back and forth with how he would react if that were the case. Would he rejoice if the white-haired young man had found happiness? Certainly, he only wanted Shion to be happy, and ten years was such a long time. Too long to wait around for some vagabond wanderer that might never return…
Nezumi ground his teeth, frustrated at himself. Why had he been so stubborn to return?
After his good-bye on the edge of the destroyed Number 6, the months had flowed one into the next, and eventually, he found that it had been almost five years since he had left the ill-fated city. He thought of Shion almost every day, missing his carefree smile, his frightening seriousness, his boyish looks. But the years that separated them also worried him. What if he did come back, and Shion was different? What if he didn't even remember Nezumi? The thought haunted him, and so he stayed away, delaying the secret wish he had to see the man again and know for certain where they stood.
Were they now merely strangers, old friends turned acquaintances?
Did Shion miss him at all?
He had been a coward, afraid to recognize his own feelings: the regret at leaving, the jealousy when he pictured Shion with anyone else, the love he knew had been there all along, pulsing brighter with each heartbeat in his chest for the kid who rescued him, the young man who made him open up, and the proud, amazing man he had surely become.
Shion…the name resonated in his mind and body, a mantra, a prayer, that somehow he would find him.
"Shion." He spoke out loud, the name forced from his lips out of desperation.
He heard a footfall sharply behind him, followed by a loud smack on the ground. Whirling around on instinct, he pulled his knife out and hunched battle-ready, eyes blazing only to find a pair of beautiful ruby-red orbs staring back at him, wide and faintly wet with unshed tears.
"Nezumi?"
The knife clattered to the ground, joining the produce that had once been in a large bag but was now strewn across the ground at their feet like so many brightly-colored gems. Neither of the men seemed to notice or care about the fallen fruits, instead focused only on each other.
Shion had certainly changed. He was now almost at eye level with Nezumi, lean and broader across the shoulders. His face had also become more defined, but he still retained a boyishness in his eyes and his cheeks. His shocking white locks fell in long waves around his shoulders, half of it pulled back in a short ponytail. His scar still showed pink, like a permanent blush on his cheek.
He was quite possibly the best thing Nezumi had seen in a long time.
Shion seemed to quake on the spot, his eyes roving over Nezumi's face, his arms, his body, taking in the changes just as Nezumi had. The shorter man seemed to debate over whether to speak or cry, his mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish.
"Shion." Nezumi said it again, this time with the note of a hello in his voice. He felt bashful, which was not an emotion he normally experienced.
"You…" Shion began, reaching forward with shaky hands, grasping onto Nezumi's shirt collar with a surprisingly strong grip, "bastard!"
Before Nezumi had a chance to react, Shion was pinning him to the ground, a crimson apple inches away from his head. He gasped as the white haired man straddled him, still gripping his shirt and pushing hard on his neck, eyes ablaze.
"All this time!" He thundered, Shion's voice a note deeper than he remembered, but still the same serious, earnest voice. "No word from you!" He pulled up and down on Nezumi's collar, jerking the man's head and neck with each movement. "I waited for you, damn it!" Shion was crying now, the tears dripping haphazardly on Nezumi's chest, his chin, his forehead. "You idiot!" Shion wailed, taking one of his fists and pummeling Nezumi's shoulder, the force behind it not half what it could be. "I've been waiting for you…" He whispered now, head bowed, shoulders bent, his hands limp at his sides as he stared down into the silver eyes that he only dreamt about seeing once more.
Nezumi stared back at Shion, his words and feelings battling inside of him for release. He felt his eyebrows drawing together, his mouth twisted into grim line. This isn't what he wanted. This was never what he wanted. But as much as it hurt him to realize Shion was angry with him, it was justified. In a way, he was glad to be pummeled, to be hit. It made him understand what a fool he had been to put that look on this man's face.
"Shion…" he choked, finding a lump in his throat. Unable to form the words, he slowly reached up, placing his hands on either side of the man's checks, feeling the tears wet under his touch. Shion flinched slightly, eyes wide at the tenderness in Nezumi's fingertips as he cupped both sides of his face.
They both moved at the same time, though to Nezumi it felt like he had pulled Shion down toward him first. Their lips met, salty with tears. Shion continued to cry, but now he was clutching onto Nezumi in desperation, stroking his face and running his hands through his hair as though to make them more solid with each caress. Nezumi's arms wound around Shion's now adult body, marveling at the lean muscles that moved under his hands, his waist trim but toned. Shion pressed down onto Nezumi's stomach, the contact electric.
Nezumi marveled at how right it felt to kiss Shion.
I missed you.
I love you.
I can't live without you.
With each thought, he gripped a little tighter, pressed his lips harder. He wanted to lay there in the street with apples and pears around his head, Shion on top of him kissing and hugging him forever. It was silly, it was crazy, but damn if it wasn't true.
Shion broke away, his forehead resting against Nezumi's as their gasping breaths mingled together, panting heat on their faces. Nezumi had so much to say, so much to tell the man he loved more than anything in the world. Shion knew that he could never go back to being without this dark-haired beauty of a man. He would beg and convince him to stay, whatever it took. No words were spoken, but somehow, they seemed to see into each other's minds. Shion smiled softly, the silver eyes so close he might drown in them. Nezumi returned the smile, his somewhat sad as he remembered the past ten years without this man, his warmth, his light.
Shion gulped, unsure how to begin.
"Was that an 'I'm back' kiss?" His attempt at levity was somehow so reassuring to Nezumi that the older man felt the tears of relief forming in his eyes before he could hold them back.
He shook his head, reaching up to run his fingers through a beautiful tendril of Shion's snowy hair.
"It wasn't an 'I'm back' kiss." Shion's momentary face fall spurred him on to finish. "It was an 'I love you' kiss."
He would remember Shion's face at that instant for the rest of his life, and Shion would engrain those words from Nezumi's lips onto his heart until it stopped beating. Those three words were like a trigger in Shion's brain, setting of a tidal wave of sentiments that made Nezumi smile and cry with the warmth that continued to grow and grow from within with each word.
"I love you, Nezumi."
"I know."
"You can't leave me again, idiot."
"I know."
"I want you always by my side."
"Me too."
"You have to read to me when I get old."
"I will."
"And I'll make sure you have plenty of books."
"I know."
"And…and…I'm so glad you're back."
"I know."
They were sitting up now, arms wrapped around each other tight, Shion snuggling into the crook of Nezumi's neck. Nezumi leaned into Shion's hair and inhaled the nostalgic scent, all at once returning him to their time together all those years ago. He was still his Shion, whatever might have changed. He would make up for the ten years and more. He had to.
It grew quiet between them, content and peaceful. So many questions and conversations buzzed just below the surface, waiting to happen, but they could wait. For now, the two lovers just needed to breathe the same air. Nezumi twirled a lock of pale hair around his finger, so pretty and soft. He grinned as it wrapped serpent-like around his digit.
"I like your hair, Shion. It's long."
At this completely normal compliment, Shion chuckled softly, Nezumi grinned wider, and the fruits continued to sit contentedly around them, silent witnesses to the reunion of a rat and his prince.
A/N: So glad I finally got around to writing a short little one-shot about these two. I've only seen the anime, but I loved their story and I tried to imagine a fairly realistic reunion between them. Hopefully I did them justice. R&R! &Niiroke&