Shion

Time seemed to stand still. Neither one knew what to say to the other. A quiet tension hung about in the air around them. Shion made the first move.

"H-hey Nezumi." Shion's cheeks turned as red as his scar. He found his slippers oddly interesting in that moment. As he looked down he realized he was under dressed for this occasion.

"Oh!" He hurried to cover himself. In his defense it was hot in the room, so he decided to just wear his boxers. He heard Nezumi cough. He looked up and his eyes met with silver ones.

"Please, don't cover up on my account! I must say though, your majesty, boxers are a huge upgrade from the tighty-whiteys you used to wear. Tell me, do you feel like an adult now?"

Shion narrowed his eyes. He felt his hand twitch. He didn't fully comprehend what had happened until he felt his hand throb. The pain egged him on even more.

"Cut the bull crap Nezumi. Stop acting like an immature teenager. It's been five years; I thought that maybe you would've grown up in that time. But nope! Still cynical. Now tell me why you're here before I do it again!" Shion wasn't used to being... angry. But that's all he felt as his palm connected with the side of Nezumi's face.

He was shocked at his behavior, but he composed himself within a few seconds.

"Why are you here Nezumi?" Shion was breathing hard. He didn't notice his bedroom door creaking open just an inch. He watched as Nezumi strolled to his bed and sat down towards the edge. Nezumi sat with his head in his hands, seeming to wait for Shion to calm down. Slowly, he lifted his head and made eye contact with Shion again.

"Shion... it's been five years. You really have grown up a lot haven't you? Karan told me that you had matured, but I couldn't see it. Haha!" Nezumi chuckled. His eyes clouded over as he looked at Shion.

"I never thought that you would ever be able to hit someone. And with such force! Oh, what a day indeed! " Nezumi dramatized.

"You broke your promise to me Shion." His voice foreboding.

It broke towards the end of his sentence. His voice was wavering, and he was shaking physically; only then did Shion get a good look at him.

His hair was long, too long, curling at the base of his neck. His eyes were still the deep silver he used to know, but they were surrounded by bags and little tiny wrinkles that aged Nezumi a few years. His lips were chapped, and Shion noticed a cut around his nose. Overall, he looked...tired.

"Shion, come here." Shion shook his head. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, Nezumi. You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"I'm here to see you of course."

"But why? Why now Nezumi? I needed you years ago, I don't need you now." Nezumi flinched as if he had been hit, again. The concept of Shion not needing him was painful, like stepping on hot nails. He got up to his feet slowly.

Nezumi

Shion... didn't want him. Shion didn't want him. Shion didn't need him.

The thought kept circling and circling around in his head. He was too late, and now Shion didn't need him.

"Shion, please! Just, let me explain why-"

"Why it took you so long to come back? Please, do tell." The sarcasm in his voice hurt. Shion really had matured in the past five years, and even his comebacks were witty and sharp and quick.

"I was wondering around. Sleeping outside and skipping through towns. I visited No. 4 and No.5 and found a part time job at a library in No.2. There was always something for me to do, always somewhere for me to go.

"After my first year though, I noticed something was wrong. I... I was lonely. Sure, I had Cravat and Hamlet and Moonlit, but you weren't there. Of course, I didn't realize what was missing until the mice started talking about you. I had half a mind to send one back to you with a note, just to tell you I was okay.

"But I couldn't. I was selfish. I didn't want to talk to you unless you were really there. I figured that it wasn't worth it, wasting my time trying to tell your majesty why I had left. And plus, I didn't want to open a route of communcation between us. I didn't want to talk to you."

Nezumi knew how out of character he sounded, but he had to explain to Shion. He had to show him why...

"Nezumi, why did you leave in the first place?" While Nezumi was talking, Shion had walked over to the bed and sat next to him, Indian style on the bed. He could feel the younger man's heat pouring off of him in waves.

"If I said I knew why, Shion, I'd be lying."

"Oh." It was quiet in the room. The three mice fell asleep on one of Shion's slippers, long deserted by the shutters. Nezumi felt a weight upon his shoulders, and soon after, light snoring reaches his ears.

Shion was asleep on his shoulder.

Smiling, Nezumi laid back in the bed. He wrapped Shion in his blanket, and peeled of his own shoes, scarf, and jacket with one hand. Shion curled up into his side, his face burrowing in his neck. Nezumi's neck tickled with every exhale of Shion's breath.

Sighing to himself, he drifted off into the best sleep he'd had in five years.

Shion

"You're still a fitful sleeper."

Nezumi was sitting at a chair in Shion's bathroom. Shion pointed at the newly acquired bruise on his thigh. He was lifting up the leg of his boxers. Nezumi scoffed.

"Put your boxers back down airhead! You shouldn't be comfortable pulling your boxers up around me!" Shion laughed and pushed Nezumi's head back into the sink. He felt him tense up beneath his hands.

"Calm down Rat! It's just a little water and soap! You'll be looking like yourself in no time!" Nezumi huffed beneath him.

"And how do I know I can trust you?"

"Well, I've been cutting my own hair for the past 3 years. Look at it. I promise you, you'll look fine. Now sit back, and relax."

Shion started running the water from the sink. He lathered his friend's hair with the lemon shampoo he had next to him. He gently ran his fingers through the dark, dark blue hair of Nezumi. Nezumi twitched underneath him, and let out a satisfactory sigh. Shion hummed a tuneless tune.

"My my Nezumi! Your hair is dirty! How long has it been since you washed it?"

"That's none of your business. How long are you going to stand there and just shampoo? Shouldn't you be conditioning by now?"

Shion shook his head where he could see him.

"No, I need to rinse this out first. It might be a few minutes before I start to condition. I want to make sure your hair is as clean as it can get! And that might include me shampooing and a few times. So, don't complain. Unless you want to do it for yourself?"

Nezumi shook his head. He let out a mock grunt of frustration.

"Just hurry up and finish. You haven't even begin to cut it yet. What the hell have I gotten myself into? "

It had been a few days since the confrontation. Shion let him stay over at his new apartment. It was big enough that each one of them had their own room, but they shared a bathroom; Nezumi had a way of ending up in Shion's bed every night.

Shion introduced him to his mother. At first she was shocked, and highly upset that the man who hurt his son was back. But after a few minutes of talking and eating and apologizing, she started to see why her son was so into him. He was charming in his own way. He wasn't afraid to tell you that too.

Living with Nezumi wasn't bad. Shion had fun being the provider for the both of them, being as how Nezumi didn't have a job yet. A lingering of unspoken tension still hung in the air, but he was trying to let it go. He was trying to give him a second chance.

"-ion. Shion! Snap out of it! Are you back now?" In the process of zoning out, he had spilled water all over his shirt. He laughed it off.

"Sorry! I was just thinking about how different it is living with you now as it was 5 years ago. I get to be the provider this time! And you still don't have a job. So who's mooching now?" He smirked and watched Nezumi narrow his eyes.

"I'm not looking! You offered to let me live with you! You can't take it back now! And plus, I've been looking for a job, but this overdeveloped city has made it almost impossible for me to get a job at a decent place. All the jobs are taken by the other citizens. What am I supposed to do? The theater isn't done until next month, so I still have awhile to go before I start there. What more do you want from me?"

Shion shook his head and continued to wash his hair.

It was true, Shion had proposed a theatre be built too. It went through the board and it was due to be finished by next month. Nezumi dubbed it as his favorite project of the new No. 6. Shion managed to get him a job there. Now they just had to wait.

Waiting. Shion hated waiting. He was a man of action, and this Nezumi knew more than anyone. Shion had waited five years for Nezumi, and sometimes he still wasn't sure whether or not he fully forgave him.

If anyone had told him that he was coming back, he would not have believed them. If anyone had told him that he would be washing and cutting Nezumi's overgrown locks, he would have called them crazy and referred them to a mental health clinic.

Yet, here they were.

For some reason, Shion did forgive him. It was never in his heart to hold a grudge against him...forgiving Nezumi had been easy...

Shion woke up warmer than usual. He thought he was sick at first, because surely his temperature regulated room would have notice the sudden ascension of the temperature, but it hadn't, and Shion was sweaty.

The next thing he had noticed was the heaviness on his chest, and how he couldn't move his legs. He heard a chirping on his left. He opened his eyes and watched as three mice climbed over to him. They ran over to his head and chirped in his ear, and then ran towards his chest. Then he saw the reason for his state.

Nezumi had fallen asleep on him. He was lying almost spread eagle on Shion, his head to the right of his as their chests met in the middle; but Nezumi had his legs pinned. He tried to push the heavy male off of him.

"Stop moving airhead! I'm trying to get my beauty rest."

"Nezumi you're crushing me!" With on final heave, he pushed Nezumi on to the floor. As Shion sat up, he noticed how sore he was.

"You're still a fitful sleeper."

Nezumi glared at him from under his lashes. Shion blushed.

"You know, you didn't have to push me off the bed like that. Don't you think I deserve an apology?" Nezumi was stalking towards Shion, a strange glint in his eye.

Shion backed up towards the bed.

"I'm sorry Nezumi, were just so heavy and-" Nezumi pounced.

He pushed him back onto the bed in a position to where Shion was under him. He had his legs pinned underneath his ankles, and held both of his slim wrists in one of his hands. His fingers danced around Shion's sides.

"Ne-zu-mi! Stop-it! I'm too-old to be-tickled!" He could barely breathe as he was laughing so hard. Neither male had noticed Karan in the door way. Laughing, they both sat up on the bed.

"So are you back now? For good?" Both heads whipped around to the door. Karan was folding her hands over and over as she looked down at the floor.

'So that's where Shion got his nervous habits from' Nezumi thought. With the grace of a flowing river, he walked over and grabbed her hands in his. He waited until she was looking up at him.

"You have my word that I'll never leave Shion again." Both mother and son's cheeks began to glow. Karan gave a nervous giggle and ran one of her hands through her hair. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation she nodded at her son over his shoulder, and left the room.

"Lunch will be ready in a few minutes."

"Shion! Stop daydreaming and finish my hair!"

Is it long enough? Does it feel rushed? I really value my readers opinion, so please, please tell me what I'm doing right or wrong!

Also, I like where this has ended. Do you guys want an epilogue? I won't write one unless y'all want one.

But if you do want one, It has been proven that reviews and favorites make me write faster and upload sooner !

Also I would like to thank everyone who has read this far and hasn't given up on me lol. If you have any suggestions or you want a certain scene to happen, just tell me!

Nezumi: stop rambling and end it already!

Shion: let her talk, Nezumi! She's about to do the disclaimer!

I don't own No.6