I know: Not Earth, no Christ. Still calling it Christmas.
Yuri's breath came out in huffs of frosted fog with every exhale. Flynn shivered beside him, The Furball tucked against his chest under his meager clothes. This was without a doubt the coldest winter they'd ever seen. Winter in the Lower Quarter had been a shock for Flynn who'd had the privilege of his parents. Winter back then was about fun and snowball fights and building forts and coming inside to cozy warmth and hot chocolate; a time of family and celebration and togetherness and presents.
Not so with orphans in the Lower Quarter. Winter was a dangerous time of trying to conserve warmth and find enough food to survive through the killing season until spring came and warmed the world again. Snow wasn't a wonder of fun to toss about, it was death in a fluffy, white disguise. Already they both went to bed with all their clothes on and snuggled together to share warmth. Staring out over the frozen-over blastia in the square, Flynn honestly wondered what he'd ever seen in winter.
It had started bitter cold and gotten worse from there. Ground caches had become unreachable because the ground had frozen solid. Crime rate was up, everything from food to precious firewood. Desperate people seeking any source of heat had already resulted in a number of fires around Zaphias; even up in the Public Quarter. The Lower Quarter was slightly lucky in one regard: the higher buildings from the upper Quarters meant that they were well-insulated from most of the wind-chill, and Yuri and Flynn were lucky to be on the second floor, out of direct contact with the heat-sapping ground while whatever small bit of heat was generated below them rose and helped to keep their room at a stable 'teeth-chattering' cold as opposed to outright lethal.
Then some people had gotten the idea in their minds to commit a crime and get arrested for it, getting a free stay in the palace dungeons that were merely slightly chilled. The only thing that had done was get all the guards up in arms and start harsher punishments. Now Flynn and Yuri had a flogging out in the snow to look forward to if they got caught.
Yuri let out a frosted sigh, his chilled fingers wrapped around a cup of cold water before holding it out, "This is about as good as it's gonna get."
Flynn thanked him and unzipped his jacket, the cat's furry head popping up like a spring daisy with a small mew. The blonde held the mug so kitty-Yuri could get a drink. Yuri looked away as the feline shivered from being exposed to the cold air for even a few moments. That was another thing to worry about; people were getting desperate and small animals around town were disappearing. Survival meant more to some than other people's pets, apparently. Not that Yuri and Flynn had been immune; the dark haired boy's skill with stone-slinging had brought them more than one meal when unwary birds were near. But it was to the point where even the vermin were near-gone and everyone was waiting desperately for the coming spring.
Even the spirit of the holiday season in the upper Quarters was strained with a sense of desperation, smiles forced as peddlers praised their wares for the coming gift exchanges. At the very least it meant they were near the end of winter, but Yuri wasn't sure they'd make it the rest of the way. If he felt like being ruthlessly honest, both he and Flynn had dropped a dangerous amount of weight, and what little meat they could get they both shared with their furry companion. It was stupid and sentimental and likely to wind up with them all dead, because the cat certainly wouldn't survive the rest of the season without them there to care for it; and neither of them could help themselves, practicality be damned.
"Yuri?"
Another thing: his mind was wandering more and more, and that worried him; mistakes could be fatal, "Sorry, what?"
"...Are we going out?"
They had to get something to eat that was more than flavored water- and Yuri didn't miss that Flynn put more of the coco into his because of his damned sweet tooth. "Yeah, not like we'll find anything here." He grabbed the stones from the table and put them in his pocket in case they'd need them, going over to hold their cat's head down so Flynn could zip his coat over to keep it warm.
They made their way up to the Public Quarter- it was certain they wouldn't find anything in the Lower Quarter. Flynn was unusually quiet next to him, even in the darkest times, Flynn had always tried to keep Yuri from losing hope by keeping him distracted with small talk. By the time noon rolled around and they'd come no closer to a meal, Yuri was more worried about Flynn than his complaining stomach.
They settled down on a bench, watching young upper Quarter children run around throwing snow and shrieking as they played in the white stuff. Or, more accurately, Flynn watched them while Yuri watched him, "Flynn? Is something wrong?"
Flynn was quiet for a few moments more before looking down, "Do you remember when you saved Yuri and I told you I didn't want you putting yourself at risk for something like that again?"
"Flynn, I assure you: being offered the throne itself wouldn't get me to jump into a body of moving water in this cold."
The blonde finally smiled at that, looking over at him, "No, I know, it's just... Isn't that what we're doing now?"
Yuri blinked, looked up at the sky, then back to the other boy, "I know snow is technically water..." he trailed off.
"I... I think we should find find a home for Yuri."
He stiffened. It was a thought that had crossed his mind, but just as quickly been put aside; that cat meant everything to Flynn. And maybe he had gotten a slight bit attached to it himself- not the point. They'd made it through so much together, how could Flynn- Flynn!- suggest giving the little furball away? He stood up in anger, "How can you say that? I didn't risk my life for that little ball of fuzz to-"
"But that's just it, Yuri; that's what I've been making you do all winter: risk your life- risk all of our lives, because I was unwilling to give up a cat. I-I love him, he's the first pet I've ever had- but when you love something, you have to think of what's best for it, not yourself. It's not best for him to stay with us when we can barely feed ourselves."
"Where would we even put him? You know pets have been going missing, the moment he's out of our sight he's liable to end up dinner for some desperate soul with a taste for domestic animals."
"I know a place..."
Yuri raised an eyebrow, "You 'know a place'?"
"I... I've been thinking of this for a while."
"Since when?"
"Since the night you waited until you thought I was asleep to slip him your dinner and went hungry."
He looked away, unable to stare into those too-bright blue eyes, "I've gone hungry before. I can handle it."
"That's just it: we can't handle it anymore. Yuri, please..." he sighed and sat again, and Flynn nodded towards the playing children, "See that little girl, there? I overheard her in the market the one day; all she wants for the holiday is a kitten, it's all she's asked her parents for. And they have money- money enough to take care of him, but there haven't been any street cats around because- well..."
Yuri sat in silence for several minutes, eyes turned up to the clouds above, "You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"
"I have."
"Flynn..."
"It's okay, really. This is best for all of us."
Yuri let out a harsh laugh that was almost a sob, "I'm sorry." he wiped at his eyes, turning to face Flynn, "Let me see." The blonde unzipped his coat, the fuzzy black head popping up, and Yuri leaned in close, rubbing his nose against the young cat's equally chilled one, hearing the rising purr in response, "We tried our best, I'm sorry it wasn't enough. You're annoying, so annoying. You get up insanely early and stay up late, chasing shadows across the room, you seem to take great pleasure in using my stomach as a springboard, you take up more than your fair share of the bed- though I don't mind much that it's Flynn's half." the blonde gave a watery chuckle and leaned their foreheads together as they stared down and the purring bundle, hand coming up to wipe at tears Yuri didn't realize were his, "You're a constant bother, heat-seeking little demon, and your definition of 'presents' needs major redefining, and I am going to miss you so, so much..."
"*mew*"
Yuri rubbed a velvety ear, then pushed the little head back down and zipped it up. He stood up and wiped his eyes furiously, Flynn scrubbing at his own wet cheeks with the arm of his jacket, then the dark-haired boy took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "Come on."
Flynn stood and followed him before asking, "Where are we going?"
"We're going to do this the right way."
That night, just before the killing cold set in, Yuri and Flynn were in the better-off part of the Public Quarter and hidden from plain sight in a darkened alley after placing a carefully prepared package on the doorstep across the street and knocking loud enough to wake the dead. They watched as the door opened, spilling light into the street, and a woman stepped out with a little girl at her waist, spotting the box on their step. Without waiting for her mother's permission, the little girl reached down and pulled the top off of the box, a small, dark, fuzzy form popping up with a meow, bright red and green ribbon around his neck tied in a too-big bow. The girl squealed happily and picked him up, cuddling him close, "Kitty!"
Her mother checked the tag attached to the bow, "His name is Yuri." she looked back out at the street again, and Yuri slid a little deeper into the alley, Flynn at his side, before she turned away, "Hmm. Well, let's get him inside out of the cold and get him something to eat."
"Welcome home, Yuri."
The two boys in the shadows pulled back as the door closed, walking back to the Lower Quarter hand-in-hand, the gald they'd been saving up to get each other a small gift surprise put to use as good-bye presents for the missing one of their trio. All they had left was each other and Yuri's hand tightened around Flynn's, his voice thick, "Merry Christmas, Flynn."
"Merry Christmas, Yuri..."
