Title: A Winter's Day
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: Here Is Greenwood
Pairing: Shinobu/Mitsuru
Rating: PG13
E-mail address for feedback:: nemsmuses@msn.com

Disclaimers: Shi and Suru belong to me? I could only wish. Nope, not mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is made. This is purely to silence the voices in my head. ^_^

Notes: This was written for the 'While We Tell of Yuletide Treasure' project. My recipient wanted a 'happy' fic. This was rushed since I had to start completely over only a couple of days before the due date because my original started screaming 'teen angst'. And even then, I had a damned hard time finding a 'happy' idea.

Summary: Mitsuru and Shinobu enjoy the first snow of winter.
Warnings: Shonen ai.

"Mitsuru...Wake up."

Ikeda Mitsuru buried his head further under his pillow and tried to ignore the voice that threatened to pull him from his dreamland.

"Mitsuru. If you continue to ignore me, you won't like the results."

If experience had taught the blonde anything, it should have taught him to heed the warnings. And had he been awake, perhaps he would have. Unfortunately, experience provided little help when a body slept as deeply as he did. Instead of doing the smart thing, Mitsuru rolled over and snuggled the blankets closer to his chin.

A door nearby opened and closed and blessed silence ruled for a few more minutes.

It proved to be the calm before the storm however as the sound repeated and quite suddenly Mitsuru found himself drowning in a puddle of ice cold water.

"Shinobu!!"

Sopping hair and sheets were plastered to his face as he lifted his head to glare at his roommate.

The boy in question smirked at him. "I did warn you."

Mitsuru rolled his eyes and pulled the sheet free. "It's not funny. And why is it so important that I get up in the first place?"

Weekends at Ryokuto Hall, better known as Greenwood, where they lived tended to be laid back, each student sleeping as long as they liked.

It was unlike Tezuka Shinobu to bother waking him.

Especially considering the late night they'd had.

He flushed hotly at the memory. Despite having been roommates and best friends for over three years, the more intimate aspects of their relationship were still very new and he hadn't quite gotten used to facing Shinobu after a night of passion, hence his dragging himself to his own top bunk as opposed to just passing out on the lower one with his lover.

Almost as if he read Mitsuru's mind, which he probably had, Shinobu's smirk took on a sly cast. The silver-haired boy leaned in closer to the bed, propping his arms against it and resting his chin on them. "Sleep well?"

Sputtering, Mitsuru grabbed his pillow and flung it at his tormentor's head. He wasn't exactly surprised when it missed the intended target as Shinobu shifted his head to one side.

Not once in three years had he managed that. It didn't keep him from trying though.

It took a second, but once he'd gotten control of his embarrassment, the younger of the pair decided to ignore the comment and slid out of bed. "There are nicer ways to wake a person up, you know."

Polite in his own evil way, Shinobu handed him a towel. "Yes, but none quite so amusing. Here, you're dripping water all over the floor. To answer your question, you were the one complaining about the lack of snowfall this winter." The silver head inclined towards the window. "It looks like Mother Nature was listening."

Mitsuru, who'd begun to rub his head vigorously with the towel, paused and glanced over. "Really?"

"Yes. There is perhaps eight inches on the ground and it's only just slacked off." North country-bred, Shinobu didn't sound too impressed, but the Khoryu temple run by the Ikedas was in Tokyo. And besides, any snow he didn't have to shovel was good snow!

"All right!" Genuine enthusiasm filled him as he tossed the towel at his friend and grabbed his bath things. "It's perfect! We'll haul Shun and Hasakawa out and bury them in snowballs! Between the two of us, they'll never know what hit them!"

He'd been sick off and on the entire winter before and had, for the most part, been forced to remain inside.

The gregarious boy hated being left out of things.

Especially fun things.

A deceptively mild emerald gaze watched him. "Even Hasakawa is not quite naive enough to go into any kind of fight against either of us and expect to win." Mitsuru stuck his tongue out at the other boy. "Besides which, you know how easily you catch colds. I suspect staying indoors would be a better idea because I have no intention of nursing you through another winter like I did last year." It was just a token protest and they both knew it. Shinobu could be remarkably cold, even towards his best friend and lover, but he tended to thaw somewhat when faced with the truly pathetic sight of a sick Mitsuru. "And don't stick that out unless you intend to use it."

The blonde fled to the bathrooms with a blush.

~*~*~

A few hours later found the pair outside with Hasakawa and Shun.

Shinobu had taken a perch on a park bench and was watching on in vague amusement as his trio of dorm mates ran around flinging snowballs at each other.

The redhead had diverted the upperclassman's attention to himself while Shun darted in from behind.

"Hey! No fair!" Mitsuru went down laughing.

Long pink hair soaked from the snowball fight, Shun looked like some sort of drowned rat as he laughed. "But it's war, Mitsuru-sempai! That means anything goes!"

"Yeah, and it's not like you don't deserve it," Hasakawa declared with a self-righteous smirk as he began throwing a volley of hastily made snowballs.

"Shinobu!" Both indignant and amused, Mitsuru looked to his lover. "Help! They're ganging up on me!"

Arching one cool eyebrow, Shinobu shrugged. "You did attack them first, Mitsuru."

The blonde groaned and flung a handful of snow that Shinobu easily avoided with a simple shift on the bench. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Heat flared in both emerald and amethyst gazes before Shun shoveled snow into Mitsuru's face and the moment was lost.

"Take that, Mitsuru-sempai! Nobody can save you!"

The younger friends shared a look and with a loud war call, pounced.

Shinobu chuckled and stood. "Of course, now they've called my own honor and ability into question."

Hasakawa and Shun shrieked as they suddenly found themselves bombarded.

A quick glance over showed that Shinobu was standing there with his hands behind his back and a beatific smile on his face. "Perhaps it's time to head indoors? The three of you look quite cold."

Amidst much groaning and grumbling, the underclassmen headed in. Mitsuru stayed were he was and stretched out his arms. "I love winter, don't you, Shinobu?

"I suppose."

With a lazy flapping of his arms and legs, he started making a snow angel. "You should have played with us. You'd have had fun."

"I did have fun."

Mitsuru made hummed faintly. It was always like that, he thought. Shinobu seldom deigned to join in with such frivolous activity. More often than not, he merely controlled everyone else from afar. The other boy seemed happy enough with it, but he just couldn't see how. It was only when you were in the middle of the action that you could really have fun, or that's how Mitsuru felt.

"If you stay down there, you really will catch a cold." He looked up to see a soft and genuine smile aimed at him. "Come on, now. I think I can dig up some hot coco while you and the others are getting into dry clothes."

"Real stuff or instant?" Mitsuru asked with a grin as he lifted up a hand to see if his lover would help him up.

Shinobu shrugged and reached down to haul the blonde to his feet. "We'll see."

Laughing happily, Mitsuru glanced around and once sure they were alone, pulled Shinobu down on top of him. He planted a cold and wet kiss on willing lips and hugged his friend tight.

"You're so childish." Somehow, it didn't sound like a complaint.

"But that's what you love about me."

"Hmm.. perhaps." Shinobu stole a kiss of his own then stood up, bringing Mitsuru with him.

The pair went back into the dorms, resuming the usual physical distance between them.

The intimacy remained.

~*~*~