...
Amity
...
Snow…
It's such a beautiful thing… Like a blanket holding everything underneath its cold comfort… Ironic, isn't it? To find solace in something so cold… lifeless…
A pink-haired youth casually made his way towards an empty park bench, carefully sweeping off the snow before taking his seat. He donned a buttoned up navy blue overcoat with a white scarf wrapped around his neck, whilst jeans and boots served to give warmth to his lower extremities. Small particles of snow were falling from the sky, covering up everything in its pristine hues, and he himself wasn't spared. The trees, the grass, the benches, the playground, and even his clothes all had a nice settling of snow upon them; even the small pond had frozen in the cold. The park had lush green vegetation in the summer, but now… during the winter, it was as if all colors were taken form it, leaving only blankness… only the color white… the absence of all color. Leafless cherry blossom trees aligned the park's pathways, lumps of snow made their home upon its empty branches.
Sounds of laughter brought the teen's attention away from nature. A group of children had come by, playing in the snow on the field to his right… Ah, yes… How could he forget? He used to love the snow as much as these kids back when he was a child himself… The simple joys of the youth… How he wished that things were as simple like that for him…
"Kanmuri? Oi, Kanmuri!!"
The calling of his name brought the teen from his musings, looking up, he saw a familiar figure, running across the snow towards his location…
"Azuma-kun?" came a surprised voice from the first teen as he looked up at the newcomer standing before him. Looking at the teen from head to toe, he saw that the boy wore a cream-hued bonnet, a zipped up thick white turtleneck jacket, and red mittens to go along with a faded pair of jeans and sneakers.
"What are you doing here, Kanmuri? Its Christmas Eve tonight, aren't you supposed to be with your family?" the one called Azuma asks, in between his pants for breath.
"Ah, well… You know how it is with my family, Azuma-kun…" the Kanmuri teen replied, a wry smile upon his lips. "How about you, why are you here? Your family is in Niigata, isn't it?"
"Yes, well…" Kazuma scratched the back of his head. "I figured that since everyone in the store will be out of town for Christmas, there'd be no one to watch over the store… I got worried that something might happen while we're all on leave so I decided to just stay here in Tokyo… I've already called up my mom in Niigata and explained everything to her and she said it's alright…"
Shigeru just shook his head at the brunet's logic, typical Azuma… "So, what brings you here?" the artisan decided to ask, just for the sake of conversation… After all, it had been two days since he had contact with anyone and even if he didn't want to admit it, he sort of missed his co-workers.
"Oh, you know… just strolling around town… Wanna join me?" the brunet invited, beaming.
"Well…"
"Come on, Kanmuri, its Christmas! Lighten up! It's not even lunch; we've got a whole day to enjoy! Don't tell me you plan to just sit there all day…"
"What if I tell you I was planning that?"
"Oh, haha… Let's go!" Kazuma then promptly grabbed Shigeru by his wrist and pulled up the teen, dragging the artisan along as he went on his way.
...
"Azuma-kun, slow down!" Shigeru called out as he ran after the brunet. It had been a long day, both of them were continuously on the go, seeing as only a few stores were open and simply because it was just plain fun to run about with the cold winter air about.
"Can't catch me!" Kazuma returned the shout as he ran farther away, treading through the ice that have settled on the ground, the shadows engulfing his form as he ran.
Shigeru paused, shaking his head upon realizing where Kazuma had run off to. Why, it was no place other than the park where the two of them met earlier that day… Looking to the skies, a slight frown made its way to the artisan's lips as he saw the dark of the night taking over the light of the day… A few stars already daring to come out as the sun continued to set in the western horizon… It took a while before Shigeru managed to pry his eyes away from the beauty of nature… and a bit more time before he remembered that he had to find Kazuma…
"Azuma-kun?" the pink-haired artisan shouted as loudly as he dared, streetlights lighting up around him as the night continued to descend.
SPLAT!
A wet ball of something collided against the unsuspecting artisan, effectively wetting the right sleeve of his overcoat. "Who's there?" Shigeru demanded, masking his surprise with a demanding tone. However, a giggling from somewhere nearby reached his ears and it didn't take long for the Harvard graduate to realize what was going on. "Oh, so first you're into hide-and-seek and now we're having a snowball fight?"
"Get your game on, Kanmuri!" came Kazuma's voice once more, this time though it was farther.
Sometimes, Kazuma can be quite childish… but at those times, his being childish is the best thing about him.
Shigeru ran forward, following the echo of the brunet's voice in the bare trees, barely avoiding an oncoming snowball as he came nearer the still unseen brunet. Bending down to scoop up snow onto his bare hands, Shigeru expertly shaped it into a ball, simply ignoring the cold. Another snowball then came his way, luckily for him, he saw it when it was still far away, allowing him enough time to dodge the ball of ice. His sharp amethyst orbs easily located where the snowball came from, giving him quite a lead in discovering the brunet's position.
"Found you, Azuma-kun!" Shigeru declared, throwing his own snowball with full force towards the shadows in the two o'clock direction. A startled cry with Kazuma's voice told him he was right, not wanting to miss his chance, Shigeru instantly ran towards the trees… or at least, what had been left of the trees. Moving forth between two barren cherry blossom trees, a grin found its way on the artisan's lips when he found a still-shocked Kazuma looking up on him from his squatted position on the ground.
"H-How…?" Kazuma's caramel orbs were huge as he stared up at the artisan before him.
"I told you I found you…" Shigeru said matter-of-factly.
"Well, you haven't caught me yet!" Kazuma said, quickly getting up on his feet and darting away.
Shigeru blinked, dumbstruck at the brunet's sudden action. Smiling, the artisan shook his head breaking into a run as well, trying to catch up with his 'prey'…
"I see you!" Shigeru cried in a singsong way as he spotted Kazuma running onto a clearing in the midst of the trees in the park. Adrenaline rush going through his veins as he willed his feet to go faster until he caught up with his target.
"Ack! Kanmuri!" was all that Kazuma could say before he found himself 'trapped' as Shigeru's arms encircled his own, weighing him down, thus making the two of them fall onto the snow-covered ground.
"Gotcha!" Shigeru managed to say, despite the fact that due to impact he and Kazuma were now rolling on the snow, at the same time getting themselves covered in the cold white ice.
When all the rolling had finally stopped, Kazuma found himself covered in snow, his back lying on the wet snow on the ground, looking up he saw that Shigeru was in no better state than he was. Out of the blue, Kazuma found himself laughing… just laughing…
Confusion came over the pink-haired artisan at his co-worker's antics. "Azuma-kun, is anything the matter?" Shigeru asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kazuma gave a long sigh as his laughing died off, still snickering, the brunet managed to reply to the teen's query. "I-It's nothing, K-Kanmuri… I was just having so much fun! That's all…"
A breath of relief escaped Shigeru's lips, "And here I thought all the cold had already affected your brain…"
"Is that even possible?" Kazuma asked, his breath now coming out in pants.
"Yeah… Sort of…" Shigeru replied nonchalantly, finding himself somewhat distracted as he stared down at the brunet underneath him.
No words were exchanged between the two artisans' for a couple of minutes as both were in the process of calming down their nerves after an adrenaline filled game.
"Azuma-kun?" words escaped Shigeru's mouth even before he realized.
"Hm?" the brunet in question merely tilted his head to the side.
"I… Well… The thing is…" Shigeru tried his earnest to come up with an answer but each time he met with Kazuma's caramel orbs, he found himself getting lost more and more…
"Kanmuri, you have snow on your hair…" Kazuma noted lightly, raising one arm to brush away the aforementioned material from his companion's hair.
Shigeru merely leaned in to Kazuma's hand as the brunet gently brushed away the coldness from his pink tresses, closing his eyes, savoring the warmth that came with the tanned teen's light touches.
"Kanmuri?" Kazuma's soft tone broke through their silence.
Opening his eyes, Shigeru was surprised to find Kazuma just an inch away from his face, the brunet's hot breath mingling with his own. Apparently, whilst he had his eyes closed, Kazuma had raised himself using his other arm to support his weight as he lifted his rather petite body from the snowy ground.
"Azuma-kun?" Shigeru found himself asking, both his hands unconsciously supporting the brunet's damp back.
"It's cold…" Kazuma whispered.
"Well of course… it's winter, Azuma-kun…" Shigeru said in reply, keeping his voice low as well for reasons unknown to himself.
"I know…" Kazuma answered with a smile on his lips, his free hand playing with Shigeru's pink locks, wrapping them around his fingers as though curling them.
"Good…" Shigeru couldn't take it any longer, one more word and he might just loose himself. Every time Kazuma would speak, his breath would tease his lips, making him want more of it… It was warm in the midst of all the cold surrounding them and it was just too near for him to consider just letting it go. Softly, lightly, he settled his lips against Kazuma's, just savoring in the warmth that the other offered.
Kazuma wasn't much surprised to find lips softly pressing against his own, somehow, the brunet knew in the back of his mind that this was bound to happen… why he didn't do anything to counter it was way past him… All he knew was that he felt much pleasure from such a contact.
The kiss remained light… both artisans finding contentment with soft kisses and caresses… Warmth slowly spreading throughout their bodies due to their sensual contact with each other… Gasping for breath, Shigeru gradually pulled away from Kazuma, who gave a small grunt of discontent…
The previous flow of events suddenly registered in the pink-haired teen's mind, and he immediately got off the tanned teen upon realizing that their position was much too compromising, taking a few steps back in an effort to create distance between the two of them. An unnerving feeling making itself known to him when he realized the implications of his previous actions towards the brunet…
Kazuma, on the other hand, just tilted his head towards his side, a quiet whine escaping his lips. Shifting until he was able to sit up properly, the tanned teen lightly traced his lips with his mitten-clothed fingertips, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.
"A-Azuma-kun…" Shigeru watched his breath, which were like puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth as he spoke, turning around with his back facing Kazuma.
"Hm?" was Kazuma's light reply as he stood up, treading through the snow as he made his way towards his co-worker.
"I… Well… Just so you know… Actually, the thing is…" Shigeru suddenly felt conscious of the brunet's presence beside him. Words just came out of his mouth, and he knew that he didn't even make any sense at all but he knew that if he just stood there, not saying a thing… he might as well just explode from all the pressure that was building up within himself.
"Kanmuri, why are you facing away from me?" Kazuma asked, placing a hand on Shigeru's left shoulder, slowly making his fellow artisan face him.
"I…" However, Shigeru just ended up gritting his teeth when his amethyst orbs met with soft caramel ones. "Azuma-kun, look, I'm want to say sorry about what I did… I… I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that… So I guess that… you should just forget that it happened…" Shigeru ended his sentence with his head downcast.
"Forget?" Kazuma repeated as though he didn't quite understand what the teen had said. "You mean, I should just… forget… just so easily like that?" The brunet continued his question, holding Shigeru's gaze, as his hand grasped the artisan's shoulder firmly but gently.
"It's not like that, Azuma-kun… it's just… I don't want to cause you any trouble…" Shigeru just shook his head… He knew that he could never get things right anymore… He wasn't even aware of harboring any feelings for the brunet until just now…
A small smile then made its way onto Kazuma's lips, his hand sliding from Shigeru's shoulder down towards the pale artisan's hand, grasping it tightly. His actions, greatly surprising his companion, making the pink-haired teen stare at him with utter disbelief.
"If you're so keen on forgetting…" Kazuma began, taking a step closer towards Shigeru at the same time leading the artisan's hand around his waist. "Then just imagine that this isn't happening…" The tanned teen continued, resting his cheek against his companion's…
Shigeru was quite startled at the sudden contact, but then again… "Azuma-kun… What does this mean?"
"I forgot…" Kazuma answered lightly, a small giggle coming through his lips.
"No, really…" Shigeru urged gently, Kazuma facing him of his own accord.
"Kanmuri, I don't really know…" the smaller teen admitted after about a full minute of just staring. "…Everything's still new to me…"
"Same here…" was Shigeru's response, his amethyst eyes never leaving the brunet's face as he gave the teen a warm smile. Kazuma on the other hand, simply smiled back, his face as close as ever to Shigeru's but neither of them seemed to mind it one bit… Snowflakes soon fell about them, one by one, landing on their heads, their clothing, and upon everything that surrounded the two…
"It's getting dark now…" Kazuma mused aloud, using one hand to brush away the bits of snow that made homage upon his companion's pink tresses. "And colder…" the warm-handed teen added as a particularly cold breeze blew past, bringing with it more snow.
"So I guess that means we'll have to go home now…" Shigeru commented, gently letting go of Kazuma's hand. He then used both his hands to remove the scarf from around his neck and proceeded to wrap the white material around Kazuma's neck instead.
"But Kanmuri-" Kazuma tried to protest.
"Azuma-kun, it's Christmas Eve… It'd be quite irresponsible of me if I let you catch a cold…" Shigeru said dismissively. "Come on… I'll walk you back to your place…" With that, the fair-skinned artisan wrapped his arm around his tanned companion's shoulders, and led their way back.
...
"Kanmuri… Thank you for today… It's been really fun…" Kazuma happily said as he and Shigeru finally reached the Southern Tokyo Branch. His tanned face albeit pinkish, most probably due to the cold… but then again, having Shigeru's scarf snugly wrapped around his neck might have helped too…
"Well, good night then, Azuma-kun…" Shigeru bade, watching as the brunet went up the flight of stairs towards the flat above the store.
Kazuma halted in his steps, taking a look back at the artisan. "Kanmuri, wait! What about your scarf?" the tanned teen dared to ask, going down a step or two…
"You can keep it for now… Anyway, I'd best be on my way back now…"
"But it's already getting late, are you sure-"
"Azuma-kun, it's barely seven-thirty… Either way, the more questions you ask, the longer it'll take for me to get home…"
"Won't you get sad spending Christmas Eve by yourself?" by the time that Kazuma finished asking his last question, the brunet was already outside once again, standing just a feet away from Shigeru.
"Wouldn't you?" Shigeru asked back.
"Well, you could spend the night here if you want… I've got loads of spare clothes…" Kazuma wasn't even trying to mask the eagerness in his voice.
"Is it okay with you, to invite me over?" Shigeru asked, a grin set upon his lips, his right hand deep within the pocket of his overcoat.
"Well of course! What are friends for, Kanmuri?" Kazuma replied, albeit too excitedly as he took hold of Shigeru's left wrist and proceeded to drag the artisan up the flight of stairs.
Shigeru inwardly shook his head… Typical Kazuma… Unconsciously Shigeru's hand slipped and ended up holding onto Kazuma's tanned hand… eventually fingers were interlaced as the distance between palms soon became extinct…
'Yeah… Friends…'
...
A/N: What happens when an authoress is insomniac? This happens. Good or bad? You decide… And before anyone asks, I know it's a Christmas fic and I'm also well aware that it's June… Yes, I am out of season… Just a little drabble made at one o'clock in the morning… :D