Title: An Afternoon In The Snow
Ship: Fubuki x Manjoume
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 5,802
Genre: Romance||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing: YGO GX: canon: H30, slice of life fic; GX Non-Flash Bingo, #092: warmth; Word Count Set Boot Camp, YGO GX, #46, 5,802; Chapter Set Boot Camp, #31, 1 chapter; Pairing Diverity Boot Camp, YGO, #15, warming; Include The Word, YGO, #20, fall
Notes: This takes place several years post-canon, with an already existing relationship between Manjoume and Fubuki. This was also written as a (late) gift for SilvorMoon's birthday and as an answer to two prompts she requested.
Summary: It started with some snow. Then Fubuki came. And Manjoume's afternoon turned out better than he'd dreamed it could, with snow and beef stew and fireworks and Fubuki.
Manjoume didn't look outside. He knew what he'd see out there if he did and he'd seen it once already that morning and he felt no need to look again. It would have only gotten worse in the past four or five hours. Besides, it was just snow. He knew what snow looked like. Everyone did. It was white and thick and messy and got over everything and in the way and sometimes it got dirty and he would be very, very glad if he never saw it again as long as he lived.
Especially when he had something far better to look at - his deck. He had all of the cards set out neatly and carefully, sorted into spells, traps, and monsters. He'd tucked all of the Ojama cards out of the way. They would always be a part of his deck, whether he liked it or not - and he absolutely didn't and if anyone had ever suggested he take them out, then he would take them out, as noisily and quickly as he possibly could. But he wanted to revise the rest of his deck and make sure it was up to his standards.
"Hey, boss!" Ojama Yellow caroled from wherever it was. "Your boyfriend's coming!"
Manjoume's shoulders stiffened at once. If someone had been looking at him, they might well have noticed a faint dusting of a blush over his cheeks for a few seconds before he jerked up. "He's not my boyfriend!" He and Fubuki weren't dating! They just - went out together a lot, to eat and to go to movies and concerts and sometimes really awesome duels, and sure, they'd kissed about thirty or forty times, and done quite a bit more than kissing, but that didn't mean they were dating!
Sure, he growled to himself. And if he told himself that often enough, then maybe he'd actually believe it one of these days. Somehow or other, he'd ended up dating the brother of the girl he had a crush on in high school. Someone somewhere was probably getting a really good laugh out of this. Well, if they were, at least they weren't laughing where he could hear them. He'd settle for that.
The door swung open and he could feel the faintest hint of a cold breeze touch the back of his neck. He packed up his cards and slid the deck back into place. He'd never get anything done with Fubuki there. At least not anything card related. He might end up doing other things, of course. Fubuki had a way of persuading him. Even if he hadn't, Manjoume knew himself well enough to know he might very well bring the subject up himself.
"There you are!" Fubuki didn't quite pounce on him but he didn't not pounce on him either, wrapping his arms around Manjoume without fear of being bitten by his coat, and snuggling into his neck before he dropped a quick kiss on the tip of Manjoume's nose. "Are you busy?"
That was an improvement. Normally Fubuki just wandered in and pulled him off on whatever madcap adventure he had in mind. Sometimes he'd ask what Manjoume was doing before pulling him away from it. So perhaps Fubuki was actually maturing?
Probably not. Manjoume would rather believe Fubuki just wanted to know how much of a fight he'd put up before being pulled away. He shrugged for the moment.
"Nothing I can't stop for right now. What do you want to do?" They hadn't had any particular plans for tonight. Manjoume had even thought Fubuki wouldn't come over, given the weather. But now his boyfriend cheerfully brushed snow off of his shoulders and shot Manjoume a very mischievous look.
"Let's go out."
Oh, that look didn't bode well. At least not in the sense of having a peaceful evening at home preparing for when the next season of the Pro Leagues got started. But sometimes Manjoume did like a little time away. It often seemed to clear his mind and he fought better, especially when he could hear Fubuki's clear and bright voice singing his praises from the audience.
He eyed Fubuki carefully. "What do you have in mind?" He wanted to know before he made up his mind on if he would be stubborn or not today.
"Let's go for a walk!" Fubuki wrapped his gloved hands around Manjoume's wrists and started to tug him to his feet. Manjoume wriggled back; he wasn't ready to haul stakes just yet.
"It's snowing. It's cold out there," Manjoume pointed out. He'd set up his office in here so he didn't have to look outside and see the snow packed practically to his knee if he didn't have to. Why on Earth would he want to go out in it? Let it all melt and he'd be thrilled to step outside. Not until then.
Fubuki blinked at him, shaggy head tilted to one side. "I know! I've been out in it all morning. It's beautiful out there! The clouds are clearing up." He tapped a finger on the side of his face. "You might want some sunglasses, though. Don't want you to go snow-blind!"
Manjoume shook his head. "Not going anywhere. Talk to me when the snow's not there. Want some hot chocolate?" Surely that would distract Fubuki from this insistence on going out in the snow.
Fubuki's eyes lit up and he opened his mouth for a second before shutting it and shaking his head. "I'll make you a deal," he said, his eyes sharpening. "First we go out for a long walk. Then when we get back, we'll have hot chocolate and cuddle in front of your fire." He nodded at the electric fireplace, before he smiled at Manjoume. That sweet, sweet smile that struck right into Manjoume's heart, teasing him to do whatever it was Fubuki had in mind.
Walking in the snow would be cold and annoying. The Ojamas would be a pain, insisting on following them everywhere. He'd probably slip and fall. But - Fubuki would catch him if he did. Fubuki always did. Fubuki would be there for him, and Fubuki would hold him afterwards.
It might be worth the trouble, now that he thought about it.
"All right," he relented. "One long walk. Then right back here." He wasn't going to let Fubuki get away with turning this into some kind of wild adventure that would end up with his hair soaked in snow and dirt and rocks and who knew what else.
Not that Fubuki wouldn't figure a way to do that if that was what he wanted, but Manjoume just wouldn't let him get away with it. Or so he rather fondly told himself.
"All right!" Fubuki tugged on him again and this time Manjoume got to his feet. "Get your coat on! And earmuffs! And something for your eyes! And your boots!"
Manjoume rolled his eyes, leaned over for a brief touch of his lips to Fubuki's, and stepped away. "I know how to dress for the cold. And I don't need all of that." His time in North School had been brief, all things considered, but some things stayed with you no matter what. A coat and boots would do nicely - and maybe something for his eyes. Other than that, he'd be fine.
As soon he stepped into the bedroom, the Ojamas popped up around him, chattering happily to one another. He hated to admit it, but they liked Fubuki, and tended to be even happier when the two of them went out together. Manjoume had expected this.
"All right, runts," he snapped as he searched in his closet. "Keep quiet while we're out. This is supposed to be just me and him."
"But-" Ojama Yellow waved tiny gremlin hands around. "You-"
Manjoume cut whatever the spirit had in mind off with a snap of his head. "You can chatter later. If you're going to come along," and they would, he couldn't get away from them, "at least be quiet and don't interrupt."
The three of them nodded, though he didn't believe for a second they'd listen to him. He knew them too well by now. He settled his coat around himself and made sure his boots were tightly fastened before he headed back. He wouldn't have been surprised to find the idea of walking out had already vanished out of Fubuki's head. While Fubuki could be flighty, when he really wanted something, he stuck with it. It seemed he really wanted this walk, since he fidgeted not too far from the door, waiting eagerly for Manjoume to get back.
"Let's go!" Fubuki chirped the moment Manjoume stepped out of the bedroom. He didn't wait until they were out before he slid his hand around Manjoume's and squeezed it lightly. Manjoume returned it with a small smile. Sometimes Fubuki could get on his nerves, but more often than not, he found it all worth it.
Hand in hand, they stepped outside, and Manjoume wondered if just a quick walk around the block would work. Not when it was Fubuki, he knew. He would want a full walk, and probably would sneak a snowball fight or some ice skating in there too. As far as Manjoume knew there weren't any places to ice skate in his neighborhood but that didn't mean Fubuki wouldn't figure out something if that was what he wanted to do.
He kept his attention on where he set his feet as they walked along, not wanting to take the chance on slipping and falling, even if that might mean ending up in Fubuki's arms. He could do that perfectly well without making an idiot of himself. The snow piled thick everywhere, shimmering mounds of white that came up sometimes to his ankles or mid-thigh and in one or two rare spots a bit higher. He could see streaks of blue sky as the clouds cleared away slowly, and shafts of golden sunlight slid down to send crystalline sparkles racing over the snow.
Fubuki sighed one of his most melodramatic sighs, admiring all of the beauty all around him. Manjoume had seen that expression many times before, usually when they went to the beach or when he'd pulled off an especially impressive play in a duel. He smiled one of his most brilliant smiles, dropping Manjoume's hand so he could spin around gracefully.
"This is gorgeous! We should have done this long ago!" A light laugh trilled from his lips. "Too bad we had to wait for it to snow!"
Manjoume wanted to point out they could go for a walk anytime - just being with Fubuki would make it special enough for him. Before the words could shape themselves, Fubuki sent a smoldering glance his way and stepped back, arms spread wide, and looked about ready to say something, when his foot caught on a tuft of dead grass hidden underneath the snow. He stumbled and Manjoume moved without thinking, darting forward to wrap one arm around Fubuki's waist, catching him before he could hit the snow.
For a few moments they stayed like that, blinking at one another. Then Manjoume quickly got Fubuki back on his feet and brushed him off. "You all right?"
"I'm fine." Fubuki regarded him, a light smile playing about his lips before he darted in to press them against Manjoume's. Manjoume knew very well what being kissed by Fubuki was like - sweet and soft and strong and amazing all at once. He leaned into the embrace and returned the kiss, not caring what brought this on. When they finally stepped apart, though only to arm's length, Fubuki grinned at him. "My hero! I hope that was a good enough reward for saving me."
Manjoume's cheeks burnt bright red. He'd known Fubuki properly since he was fifteen and he still had no idea of how just a few easy words could turn him into a blushing mess.
Fubuki's grin deepened. "I don't think it's enough." One finger stroked along Manjoume's chin. "I might have to thank you even better later."
Manjoume drew in a chilled, stuttering breath. "I think - I think we should keep going?" He wasn't sure of what else he could say or do right now. Clearing his head sounded like such a good idea. If he could have plunged his head into one of the nearest snowdrifts to cool his blood right now, then he would have gladly done so. As it was, he thought about finding somewhere to get a good drink. Hot chocolate might be the most traditional right now, or some green or ginger tea. He'd also developed a taste for amazake. There was a particular sweet shop this way that sold some of the best malted rice that he had ever drunk.
I have my card, he mused as they moved along, Fubuki's arm tucked comfortably around him, and he returned the embrace. He knew that Fubuki liked the drink as well.
"Hey," he nudged his boyfriend lightly, getting his attention. "I'm thirsty." Which was and wasn't true. He was, but he wanted the drink for other reasons than that.
"I think there's a vending machine around here somewhere," Fubuki mused, glancing ahead of them to a more populated region of the street. Manjoume shook his head at once.
"I want some amazake."
Fubuki's eyes lit up at the word. "Oh, that does sound great!" He looked around, orienting himself, and then started tugging on Manjoume's arm. "This way!"
Manjoume might have argued, but that was the way that he wanted to go regardless. So he hurried his steps along, if a trifle carefully. They'd have to find somewhere to drink it; in times like this it wasn't likely there would be seats available anywhere near the shop itself. But perhaps he could persuade Fubuki to head back home so they could enjoy themselves in front of an open fire or under a good warm blanket.
Just the thought of either of those set his temperature rising a little more. He strove very hard not to let Fubuki see it. Sometimes he didn't mind, but today was turning out to be different in many ways.
Before they got into sight of the shop, Manjoume could hear the unmistakable sounds of a crowd - shuffling feet, people muttering among themselves, one or two who sounded very annoyed about having to wait, and a great many more. He'd heard that sort of sound several times before. The difference in those sounds and these were that before, those people were lining up to see him. Right now, they were lining up to get hot drinks, and were very annoyed that they weren't getting them fast enough.
He eyed the length of the line and decided that he didn't like it. "Let's try somewhere else," he suggested, trying not to show how annoyed this made him. But Fubuki only grinned.
"We're already here and anywhere else is going to be just as crowded," he pointed out, before he rolled his shoulders and did something that in Manjoume's mind translated to being more noticeable.
This was going to be interesting.
Fubuki strolled forward. Even in a warm jacket and boots concealing his normally flamboyant dress style, he drew every eye just by the way he walked and the cheerful warmth of his smile. He picked out the last person in line who looked likely and smiled at her. By all rights, the smile should have melted a good finger's worth of snow. The young lady blushed just at the sight of him.
"Hi there," he greeted cheerfully. Almost anyone else would have been told to get to the back of the line. That kind of thing never happened to Fubuki. "I was wondering, could my friend and I go ahead of you?"
"I- of course!" The lady moved to one side. "I'm not in any hurry."
Fubuki beckoned to Manjoume, who hurried over to join him. They hadn't stood there for very long before more people stepped aside, apparently just by the sweet way that Fubuki smiled, and one or two of them even were dueling fans, who gladly let Manjoume Thunder get closer to the head of the line. Soon enough they stood there ordering the amazake. He folded his hands around the cup, enjoying the heat, as the two of them stepped away. Manjoume savored the taste of it slowly, taking care not to slip on the ice anywhere, and hoping that Fubuki did the same thing.
"I'm getting hungry," Fubuki declared somewhere in he middle of his drink. "Let's hit up somewhere with some nikujaga."
Manjoume hadn't thought about it before, but now that Fubuki mentioned it, the idea of a hot beef stew appealed to him. But he wasn't sure of where they could get any. He didn't eat out a great deal in this area, preferring to either have his meals made at home or to go out to a slightly larger city when he was in the mood for rarer fare. But Fubuki looked around, sniffed the air a moment or two, then grabbed onto his hand.
"This way! There's a restaurant." He charged forward, ignoring the way the snow and slush crunched under their feet, equally ignoring Manjoume's startled yelp as he had to hurry along. If he weren't used to this, then he might well have lost his footing and gone down hard.
As it was, he just managed to keep himself balanced, until Fubuki whirled around the end of a street and gestured ahead of them. He beamed as if he'd invented the restaurant himself and was responsible for its entire existence.
"The Duelist's Table! I get a discount there."
Manjoume blinked as they moved towards it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to ask why. He thought if he did, Fubuki might tell him. He trusted in Fubuki's faithfulness, but there were things that he just didn't want to know. Maybe he'd find out at some point in the future.
"Come here a lot?" That was all that he asked. He didn't get out here that much. He knew that he probably should, but he'd picked this town to set up his home in because it was far away from where his brothers would want to come and visit. They got along better now than they had when he was a teenager, but that didn't mean he wanted to see them on a regular basis. E-mail and video calls sufficed for him.
"Sure do! They've got some great food." Fubuki tugged him inside and waved a greeting to one of the servers. Enough of the tables inside had people at them that Manjoume could guess the food was good, but there wasn't much of a line at the moment. They'd clearly arrived at a very good time. He found a trashcan for his cup and disposed of it before following Fubuki to where they were seated.
Menus were brought over and he and Fubuki started perusing them. Fubuki didn't for long; he knew what he wanted. Manjoume decided that was a good idea too. While waiting for their order, Manjoume took a look around the restaurant. There were several small tables, seating no more than four for the most part, though he could also see larger tables in other areas. He would guess the restaurant was about half-full at the moment, probably with people seeking warmth or just hungry or both. He thought they qualified for both.
I like it here, he decided, before turning his attention to Fubuki, wanting to ask something about how he'd located this place. The words never quite made it out of his mouth, not when Ojama Yellow, Black, and Green popped into existence right above his head and started exploring the area themselves.
"Oh, wow, this place is nice! Do you think they have anything that we could eat?" That was Yellow, peering over Manjoume's shoulder at the menu.
"We can find out! I smell some good stuff here!" Black. Who hovered almost right away over the food on someone else's table, and Manjoume found himself quite grateful that the spirit couldn't be seen.
"Is that a fireplace?" And of course, Green, who prodded at the fireplace and jerked back, saying a few words that no one else should hear.
Manjoume leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He did not need this, not now. Of course, they wouldn't be Ojamas if they didn't poke themselves in right when he didn't want or need them to. He'd tried. He'd tried so hard over the years to get them to just pop up when he was alone, or at most just with someone like Juudai or Johan, who could see them as well and wouldn't be giving him side-eyes whenever he started muttering to the empty air. Part of him wondered if that was why things had been doomed to failure with Asuka. She'd never been fond of supernatural events, and those happened around him almost as much as they did with Juudai.
Fubuki's hand flicked onto his wrist and Manjoume glanced at him. That cheerful smile warmed him down to his toes. "The Ojamas again?"
Fubuki never gave him strange looks, no matter what happened. Manjoume didn't think he could see spirits - or if he could, he'd never indicated that he could. But he also never seemed to worry whenever the inevitable spirit activity stirred around Manjoume. Sometimes he'd even thought he'd seen a spirit around Fubuki. Never very clear, never certain, but just a vague hint. He had a feeling he knew which one it was, too. But unless he actually saw it, he wasn't going to say anything. He might not even then. Not unless Fubuki mentioned that he'd seen the spirit too.
"Always," he muttered softly. He tried to look around some more. They were spirits; they couldn't do too much except yell. Sometimes they could move small things but he hoped no one would notice around here. The place itself seemed very duel oriented. There were framed articles on the walls about important dueling events, a few of them even signed by relevant duelists. He wondered if he'd sign one of them one day. The tables themselves had duel disk designs on them. It definitely was a place for duelists.
Fubuki's eyes cut to the side. Manjoume followed with his own, wondering if the Ojamas were up to something, then blinked when he saw a spill of black scales. He blinked and shook his head, not certain if he'd actually seen what he thought he did. Then Fubuki murmured, and he just caught the words.
"Reign them in, would you?"
For a heartbeat, Manjoume wondered if he meant him. But before he could shape a single thought, let alone words, the black scales turned out to be Red Eyes Black Chick, who unfurled gleaming wings and shot over to where the Ojamas were poking into someone's dinner. With a swipe of claws and snapping of teeth, all three were herded back over to Manjoume, flying right up against him, and all three babbled incoherently.
"Quiet down," he ordered, pitching his voice low. He knew that most people knew that on occasion he 'talked to the air' - you couldn't be the kind of famous duelist that he was and not get caught on camera conversing with spirits a few times - but he'd rather not do it in public if he could avoid it. "He's not going to hurt you."
At least he didn't think the Chick would. The dragon perched on Fubuki's shoulder, glowering at the Ojamas, who popped off into their cards with undignified squeaks. Manjoume thought they might just stay there all night.
"I didn't know you had one too," Manjoume asked a few minutes later, after their food had arrived and they'd satisfied their first hunger. He approved of coming here; he hadn't had a good beef stew like this in a while. He'd have to come here again if he waned another one.
Red Eyes Black Chick stayed on Fubuki's shoulder the whole time, looking all around but keeping silent and watchful. Manjoume hadn't thought that was what it would be like. But he'd never seen it out of the egg for long before.
"He only just started showing up a few days ago." Fubuki told him. "I wasn't really expecting him." He raised one hand, and the dragon chick tucked his head there so Fubuki could rub behind the ears. Manjoume found himself a little envious; almost everyone else seemed to have such a different relationship with their spirits. Johan considered his family. Juudai - well, Manjoume wasn't even certain of what to call what he had going with Yubel. He heard from Hayato now and then about something his partner had said or done. He didn't hear often from Edo or Fujiwara but on those rare occasions, he did get the impression they were good friends with Bloo-D and Honest respectively. He'd even heard a rumor that Hell Kaiser and one of his Cyber monsters had formed a special bond.
And here was Fubuki, casually scratching a dragon's ears as if that happened every day of the week. And he had - Ojamas. Who were, of course, the aces of his deck, and he'd not trade them for anything no matter what. But they were still Ojamas.
It didn't matter in the end. If any other duelist insulted them, he'd use his Ojamas to pound them into the ground. That was all there was to it.
He started to reach to pay the bill but Fubuki shook his head. "This was my idea," he reminded Manjoume. "So it's all on me."
That was fine; they generally took turns paying whenever they went out anyway. Sometimes Manjoume wondered what Fubuki did to get money. Probably random street duels, since he wasn't a professional duelist and didn't seem to have any other line of work. But he always helped whenever he needed to.
Paid up, the two of them headed out into the cold again. Manjoume handled it better than before, given that he'd had the chance to warm up while they were inside. He glanced around a little, wondering if they should head home, when noise caught his attention. He peered a little farther that way, then started to tug on Fubuki's arm.
"Let's go check that out." It had been a long time since he'd seen a full on winter festival. He'd heard this town had a pretty good one, but he'd never bothered to check it out before. Now that they were out and about, he figured they might as well go see what was going on.
The closer they got to the actual festival, the more he could hear very pleasant music, and scented even more delicious scents that hung in the air. If he hadn't already eaten, then he would have started getting a lot hungrier just from that. He did pick up a small bag of sweets they could share once they were home, tucking it into his pocket after buying it. Another street after that revealed something even more incredible.
Fubuki, ever the artist in so many forms, caught his breath at the sight of a long street of ice sculptures. Perhaps they weren't as large or detailed as some of those that could be seen in larger cities, but as far as he or Manjoume were concerned, these were incredible. He hurried down to stare at each of them in turn, cooing over each ice and snow sculpture. Birds and blossoms, characters from movies or plays, there were many different views to look at here.
"Over here," Manjoume called, peering down another pathway. When Fubuki joined him, his smile shone brighter than ever when he saw what his boyfriend indicated.
Duel Monsters. All of them carved from ice or packed from snow, in loving detail. The two of them walked down that way, naming off some of them as they did. It didn't take much effort to identify each one; some were unmistakable, such as Black Magician, while another required careful examination to be certain if it were meant to be Wolf or Silver Fang. Manjoume still wasn't certain even after they agreed it was probably Silver Fang.
At least the Ojamas didn't pop out to give their opinion. If Red-Eyes Black Chick had a thought on the matter, the dragon said nothing at all.
Manjoume stopped at another sculpture, glanced at it and then at Fubuki, whose smile shone with a warmth equal to that of summer itself. Red-Eyes Black Chick leaned over to sniff at the sculpture, before flicking its tail and dismissing it altogether.
"I'll take a picture," Manjoume offered. "Go stand in front of it." He gestured to Fubuki, who quickly did so, posing with his arms spread wide, as if to embrace the enormous sculpture of Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself. Each scale had been carved with absolute precision, and somehow the artist had managed to involve color as well so it looked like it should, instead of a faded Blue Eyes White Dragon. Manjoume made sure he had the best shot, centered on both Fubuki and the dragon, clicked his phone, and glanced at the time before he put it away. "It's going to be dark soon."
He meant to say that they should head on home and spend the rest of the night cuddled up in front of the fire. Fubuki had other ideas - as he so often did. His boyfriend latched onto him, grinning mischievously.
"We are not going to miss the fireworks! They've got a great show here!"
Manjoume tilted his head. "Fireworks?" He'd seen fireworks plenty of times. But here?
"Fireworks! It's going to be awesome. You don't want to miss them, do you?" Fubuki pouted at him, and if Manjoume had ever had any thoughts of doing so, those thoughts faded away without a trace. Fubuki had that effect on him.
"I guess not." He had a pretty good idea that Fubuki had arranged this just so they'd have a snow-filled date. Starting off with something small and not very time consuming, and now - now... Well, now he didn't think they'd get back any time soon. But if it made Fubuki happy, he was always up for it.
"I didn't think so!" Fubuki dropped a quick kiss on his cheek, ignoring the way a few older people glanced at them, and then hurried Manjoume along until they were out of town and on a small rise that wasn't quite big enough to qualify as a hill. It still gave them a fine view of the evening sky as it slowly darkened, and Manjoume's backside grew damp from siting on the snow-covered grass.
"We could have gotten a blanket or something," he muttered, fidgeting. "This isn't comfortable."
"It'll be fine." Fubuki assured him, wrapping one arm around him without fear of Manjoume's coat. That would always surprise him. Fubuki wasn't nearly as fastidious as some people he could think of, but he always seemed so much more put together than Manjoume himself would ever be. And yet he still happily hugged Manjoume whenever the opportunity presented itself and often when he just thought Manjoume needed a hug. There were people who murmured that Manjoume's coat was either sentient or could bite them and Fubuki would probably just pet it on the sleeve if it did, and go on hugging Manjoume.
For now, though, Manjoume leaned against him, and watched as the first fireworks started to blossom against the sky and the stars. Pop went the fireworks, rising up in columns of shining light to hang there for a few far too brief seconds before they faded away. Every color of the rainbow glowed up there, shaping intricate designs and waterfalls of beauty that Manjoume hadn't seen in person like this in a very long time. There were even a few images of famous Duel Monsters, mirroring the ice sculptures. He wondered if that had been deliberate or accidental.
Throughout it all, Fubuki drank in every moment, eyes wide and mouth open, pointing out particular shapes that caught his attention, and squealing when he saw others, grasping Manjoume's arm and pointing as if Manjoume couldn't see it all perfectly well for himself.
Manjoume wasn't the squealing type, nor was he all that fascinated by fireworks, not the way Fubuki was. But he enjoyed how Fubuki enjoyed everything more than anything else. It didn't feel as cold as it had, even with the sun having gone down. The longer he held onto Fubuki's hand, the warmer he felt. Occasional flicks of those deep brown eyes told him Fubuki felt the same warmth.
By the time the fireworks ended, Manjoume had to hold back his yawning. He wasn't doing a very good job of it either. But he tried, especially as Fubuki wrapped a firm steadying arm around him and helped him get home. The entire afternoon and early evening had melted away like snow in the sun. He almost wished that they could do it all over again, just so he could enjoy it for the first time.
But he couldn't, so he settled for enjoying settling on the couch near the fire, removing his jacket and getting into more comfortable nightwear, and curling up next to Fubuki, who provided a steaming cup of hot chocolate for the two of them to share. It took all of his energy to keep his eyes open. It didn't feel as if he should be that tired, but he was.
When he dragged his eyes open again, not wanting to miss a moment of cuddling, he could see the Ojamas perched over the fireplace, staring at a table across the room. He carefully swung his head around that way and wasn't surprised to see Red-Eyes Black Chick curled up there, tail over nose. The Ojamas weren't going to do anything to disturb the other spirit, he knew. They would just have to get used to him. He'd be sticking around a while.
"Let's go to bed," Fubuki murmured, and Manjoume nodded. They'd had an excellent afternoon and the night bid fair to be just as fine, no matter what they did or didn't do. Fubuki helped him to his feet and they headed for the bedroom. Manjoume so looked forward to what the next day would bring. Fubuki brought a breath of fresh air wherever he turned up – no matter how chilly the weather.
And if he were going to be completely honest with himself, he definitely looked forward to what the night would bring.
The End
Notes: I've been working on this for a while and finally got it to a point I was happy with it. Hope you like it!