Nezumi felt awakened. He no longer felt the exhaustion which had sunk into his body just hours before. He was going to see Shion and he was going to see him now. In his mind, he replayed all the best memories he had of the white haired boy with the snake scar. He hoped and prayed to a God he did not believe in that Shion had remained Shion during the time when Nezumi had been traveling. Inukashi's joke was still playing in his head and he had a painful tug at his heart as he heard that someone else was interested in Shion.
He was barely paying attention to where he was going. He knew the path that lead into the city and he knew nothing was going to get in his way. Once he entered the city, he noticed there were very few people wandering around in the streets. He didn't know what time it was, only that it was late.
Nezumi suddenly found himself facing the bakery of Shion's mother. He had traveled this far and could barely believe his eyes. The lights were out inside of the bakery but his trained eyes could see the baskets Karan would use to hold rolls, the cash register on a counter near the back, and a door which Nezumi assumed lead to the other parts of their small house.
Now that he was so close to Shion, Nezumi allowed himself to play in his head the parts of his memories he had kept tucked away. There were many instances when he had been with Shion where he felt an overwhelming emotion towards the boy. It took him much time to come to grips with the feelings he had towards Shion but once he did, Nezumi realized for the first time what had been missing in his life. He could no longer imagine a life for himself that didn't involve Shion. Although he had been away for over two years, he always knew he would come back to the white haired boy who had changed his life.
As he stood in front of the bakery, Nezumi closed his eyes and replayed in his mind the strongest memories he had of Shion, hoping that the boy he knew was inside this small bakery would be the same as he was the day Nezumi left. His heart quickened in response to the images of stroking Shion's hair, of watching Shion sleep next to him each night, of Shion leaning down to lightly press their lips together in what he knew was a lie of a kiss.
Nezumi saw himself watching the smaller boy cry but this memory quickly changed to a stronger one. In the next moment, Nezumi felt chills all over his body as he remembered being held by Shion when he completely lost himself and gave in to his emotions. This was the strongest memory Nezumi had of the other boy. For once, the roles had been reversed and he had opened himself to Shion enough that he had been sobbing outright in the other boys arms, unable to stop himself. All the while, Shion remained calm and rubbed Nezumi's back, muttering to him that it was okay to be crying.
Nezumi opened his eyes and looked at the barrier keeping him from the one person he needed to see at this very moment. He reached for the door handle and turned. It was locked. He had guessed it would be and wasn't about to allow this to keep him from entering. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a thin piece of metal which he used to silently and effectively unlock the door.
As he took a step into the bakery, he had the feeling that there was someone in the room with him. Almost on cue, he felt a small weight on his shoulder and a tickle of whiskers against his cheek.
"Tsukiyo!" Nezumi whispered as he recognized the small mouse.
The mouse twitched his nose and squeaked as he jumped into Nezumi's open hand. He watched as Tsukiyo climbed down his body and leapt to the floor. The mouse ran towards the door in the back of the bakery but then turned around and squeaked at Nezumi, as if encouraging the man to join him. Nezumi quietly shut the door to the bakery and followed the mouse, shushing it as he went so as not to make too much noise.
Nezumi didn't know where Shion's room was and was thankful for the help the small mouse was giving him. He crept along behind the dark spot on the floor, hoping that they were both remaining quiet enough that they would not alert anyone in the house of their presence. Nezumi didn't know if Shion would be asleep or what he might be doing if he wasn't sleeping. The dark haired boy couldn't contain his grin as the mouse lead him to the other boys bedroom.
The door was cracked open and there was light spilling out into the hallway. Tsukiyo jumped through the crack without a second glance toward Nezumi. As skillfully as possible, Nezumi peered into the room without making a sound.
From his position in the hall, he could just barely make out that there was a bed against the wall opposite from the door. Nezumi's breath caught in his throat as he watched the white haired boy laying on his back across the bed. Shion was reading a book by the light of the lamp next to his bed. Nezumi saw Tsukiyo leap up and join Shion on his pillow.
"I was wondering where you went, Tsukiyo," Shion said quietly, glancing at the small mouse. "This is one of your favorites, you usually don't just take off like that in the middle of my reading!"
Shion smiled to the mouse then went back to his book. He read out loud a few lines from the classic story as Nezumi stared at him from the hall. He watched as Shion's hand reached to turn the page and decided that it was the proper moment to reveal himself.
Nezumi slowly pushed the door open wide enough for him to enter the room just as the clock at town hall began to chime that it was midnight. The white haired young man cast his eyes toward the door with a slightly confused look on his face. As he took in the tall, dark haired person standing in the doorway, his expression changed to that of awe. He slowly, as if in a trance, placed his book down on the bed, stood up, and began to walk towards Nezumi. Once he was right in front of him, Shion gently reached his hand out and stroked the taller man on the face, as if to check that he was real. His fingers spread out and cupped Nezumi's cheek, all the while keeping the same shocked look on his face. Nezumi closed his eyes and lightly pushed his cheek into Shion's hand, reveling in the fact that he was finally back in front of the one person who meant the most to him.
"Nezumi..." Shion whispered, the adoration in his voice obvious. "I can't believe it. You're actually back..."
On the ninth chime of the clock, Nezumi opened his eyes to look into Shion's face. He took in the bright white hair, as shiny as ever but longer than when he had left, he watched as Shion's eyes began to tear up, and he vaguely noticed that Shion had grown a bit taller as well but none of this mattered to him. All that mattered was that he was back in the presence of this white haired, airheaded, mouse loving boy and he could not be happier. As the final chime rang, signaling the start of a new day, the taller boy bent down and pressed his lips against Shion's. Nezumi pulled back, a true grin on his face. He reached for Shion and brushed his thumb across the snake scar that could be seen on Shion's neck. He took another step towards the smaller boy, closed his eyes once more, and bent down again so that their foreheads were touching.
"Happy birthday, Shion," Nezumi said as he heard a small sob come from the boy standing in front of him.
He wasted no time in pulling Shion to his chest and wrapping his arms firmly around him. He held the boy as he shook and cried, caressing his hair and whispering words of comfort into his ear. He knew how badly he had missed Shion but seeing him in this state, so completely broken, was too much for Nezumi to bear and he soon found himself shedding tears into the smaller boys hair. Nezumi knew that he would never again be able to leave Shion for such a long amount of time, two and a half years had been too much.
The two of them stayed joined together in this way until they no longer had tears to cry. Exhausted, Shion silently lead Nezumi back to his bed where they both got underneath the covers. The white haired boy seemed unable to take his eyes off of the person laying next to him and left on the lamp beside his bed. Shion continued to stare into Nezumi's eyes as the minutes passed, every once in a while leaning over to steal a kiss from the dark haired boy. Nezumi ran his fingers up and down Shion's side, never taking his eyes off of him. Eventually, they both drifted off to sleep, Nezumi's arm resting across Shion and their faces nearly touching on the same pillow.
