A/N: Surprise and a happy New Year! For the past Stingue week I reread my old stuff and realised that the Soulmate Au didn't get a proper ending, so here is the fluff to counter the angst. Like rather short but meh, I think it's a fitting ending for this AU. Also I combined it with today's date.

Title: Between the years

Rating: K

Warning: None!

Summary: Sometimes, it were the quiet moments which counted more than anything else

There are a lot of things Sting would prefer over working today, but he has to finance his study somehow, after all he can't let his mother shoulder everything alone – and experience will only help him, considering his major.

But what really keeps him going that day is the promise of seeing Rogue when he comes home, spending the night together in their small flat which is terrible but less so with the other one around, sharing a bed in the single bedroom they have or relaxing on the sofa in the living room, depending on Rogue being asleep or not.

And so when his shift finally ends, the thought of cuddling with his boyfriend his present throughout his way home, causing him to hum while he ignores how cold it is outside, single snowflakes lingering in the few blond strands his beanie doesn't cover until they melt.

It's quiet when Sting enters the building and makes his way to their floor, the calm before the storm as Rogue would say with an amused smirk and telling him to enjoy these quiet minutes. With a fond smile, Sting opens the door to their flat, the dark living room greeting him; Rogue seems to be sleeping so Sting is as silent as possible when he takes a quick shower before he enters their bedroom to put on some clothes to sleep in and lies down next to Rogue.

It's warm despite of the cold outside and so Rogue has a blanket wrapped around him but no shirt on, leaving his soulmate mark exposed. The blond smiles to himself, tracing his tattoo – the white dragon, the same he has in black – with his fingertips, not intending to disturb the other one's slumber, merely a habit he started when they hadn't been dating yet, a single gesture to make sure that this was real.

"Sting?"

Rogue doesn't move, no yawn leaving his lips and so Sting wonders if he had been sleeping in the first place, nevertheless he places a kiss against his mark as an apology.

"Sorry, didn't want to wake you up. Go back to sleep. It's fine."

It's barely a whisper but loud enough in their small room for Rogue to hear and so he also catches the tiredness in the other one's voice which causes him to turn over, wrapping his arms around Sting.

"You're warm", is the only explanation Sting gets to an unspoken question when Rogue buries his face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, a rest of the shampoo he used and the scent of the cold he left behind after entering the room.

It's perfect, just what Sting wanted, his own hands finding their way on Rogue's back, sighing contently. And yet, when his eyes fall on the clock sitting atop their bedside table, he can't help but to break this comfortable silence.

"Rogue, can I ask you a question?"

The other one hums, but doesn't move – he isn't really expecting anything which would require it, assumes Sting just wants to hear his agreement to something silly they could do the next day; not that he really needs that, he already told him that he can plan whatever he wants to do.

The actual question throws him off-guard.

"Did you ever doubt me being able to act on my feelings?"

Rogue blinks, surprised, before he moves away, just enough to look the other one in the eyes, searching for some hidden meaning in his expression but finding nothing.

"Why?", he eventually asks, doesn't give him a reply when he has no idea what it is really about, the fear to upset him not as present as the uncertainty about his own thoughts back then; Rogue couldn't doubt him, after all the possibility of Sting admitting his own feelings was the only thing keeping him believing in the soulmate concept.

"I just wondered... you could tell that we were not platonic soulmates right away... I'm kind of envious."

It's almost midnight and so Rogue gets why he would be thinking this now, but he's also surprised because he never would have thought that this between them needs to be addressed, thought that the issue had been resolved the day Sting asked for his permission to kiss him after confessing. Rogue can't believe it but at the same time he feels like laughing because this is ridiculous, he himself should be the envious one; he tells Sting exactly that.

"Even though I should be the one? After all you loved me before knowing about our bound. It took me our mark to realise. It's as if somebody wanted to tell me 'look you stupid guy there is the one you have to see' and... what?"

Rogue stops when he sees the other one's expression change, confusion shifting to fondness.

"I had no idea you felt this way, sorry", Sting grins, taking a deep breath, "I can't believe how amazing my boyfriend is."

"Oh, cut it out", Rogue grumbles, but it's only due to the darkness covering how much he really blushes in this moment, not just the faint colour Sting can see, that the other one doesn't mention anything further, satisfied with his reply.

"It would be nice staying with you like this", Sting says, resting their foreheads together, something he does whenever he feels like it's just the two of them, when the world around them stops spinning and nothing but Rogue matters to him.

"Go back to sleep"

Rogue buries his head in the crook of his neck again, but he doesn't deny the other one's wish which brings a smile to Sting's lips, the thought of how adorable his boyfriend can be running trough his head; there is always something new to learn about the other one and Sting will never be tired of it.

And while the part of the world outside their bed is still spinning, loud noises starting at the same time and colours filling the sky, the two of them stay like this and only when Sting catches the red numbers of their digital clock does he break the silence again.

"Rogue?"

"Hm?"

"Happy New Year."

There is a short moment of silence which causes Sting to wonder if Rogue had fallen asleep, but then he hears a sigh and feels the other one's breath ghosting against his skin.

"Happy new year, you moron."

The reply is nothing more than a murmur, but it doesn't fail to make Sting laugh lightly; it's the last spoken word before these two fall asleep in each other's arm and neither would have it any other way.

A/N: "Between the years" is a literal translation of the German phrase "Zwischen den Jahren" and means the time between Christmas and New year. It's actually a rather "complex" traditional thing but I liked the term for this chapter even though it might be used in the wrong way.