Christmas Eve

by KatiKat



The two small boys were sitting on the bench under the window. They were curled up together sharing a big warm blanket. It was Christmas Eve and they were determined to see Santa Claus no matter what. So when Sister Helen finished her nightly check up, they snuck out of their beds, leaving Shini safely tucked under Heero´s warm covers and made themselves comfortable on the small bench. The window was frosted over and they had to breathe on it to clear two small "lookie holes" as they called them, just big enough for them to see through. The place at the window was fairly cool and they shivered from cold from time to time but instead of going to bed - where they should have been sleeping like all the other children - they just snuggled closer together, hugging each other around their waists and peering outside in hope to spot the magical gift bringer.

"Heero, you up?" Duo asked as he blinked sluggishly. The warmth he felt right then and the comforting thumping sound of Heero´s heart as he laid his head against his chest were making him sleepy. But he didn´t want to sleep. He wanted to see Santa Claus.

"Huh?" answered Heero after a couple of seconds. "Yeah, I'm awake. Not sleeping." He shook his head a little to emphasize his statement. "You?"

Duo opened his eyes very very wide to prevent them from closing. "´wake. No sleep," he answered. "See?"

"Hm."

They were quiet for some time and Duo´s eyes started to close again when Heero asked in a hushed tone: "Duo? D´you really b´lieve that Santa exists?"

Duo forced his eyes to open just a bit again but the strain he was putting on them was starting to make his head ache a little. "Yeah, he ´xists really."

"Huh?" Heero yawned and snuggled closer to Duo, hugging him tightly. "How c´n you tell?"

"He gave you to me," Duo reasoned in a thick, sleep filled voice.

That seemed to startle Heero and it roused him from his sleepy state - well, just a little bit. "But, I didn´t come ´ere on Chris´mas Eve."

"I know, dummy." Duo patted Heero´s arm and brought the blanket - that slipped away a little during his moving his arm - closer around them to ward off the chill that was coming from the window. "Santa comes even during the year and brings you presents but you just don´t know it´s him. It´s a big secret," he added in a very hushed whisper. After that his eyes closed again and this time he didn´t fight to open them again. He would just rest them for a while.

"´ro? You ´wake?" he asked a couple of minutes later.

"Huh..." was the only answer that came. Heero - who was propped against the wall and was holding Duo practically in his lap - just couldn´t open his eyes no matter what. They seemed like they were superglued. And so - after he gave it a second of thinking - he decided to just try it a little bit later. Maybe they will work then.

"Is good. Would really hate to miss Santa," Duo managed to say before he fell asleep leaning against his best friend, being held and holding him in his small arms.

And so they slept. Unnoticed, their small "lookie holes" frosted over again, and the snow began to fall, covering everything in a shiny white blanket and the cheerful sound of jingle bells could be heard in the silent night.

The End