Snow Angels
-a Shaman King fan fiction by Calliope-
Message: I haven't had the opportunity to see as much of this series as I would like (only 28 episodes) so please forgive me a few minor indiscretions if you happen to come across them. I tried to avoid anything I could be wrong about. I've never read much about the pairing I chose to write about, but I thought it sounded like fun, so this is what I came up with. I was challenged by one of the readers of another fic of mine to write something a little more detailed so I hope this will suffice.
Summery: Horo Horo seems to have found himself in a hopeless situation, more or less trapped all alone, until Ren, grudgingly, comes to his aid.
Warnings: HoroXRen, mild shounen-ai and a little bit of foul language, nothing too bad.
Trudging through knee deep snow, toes numb, and cheeks burning from the frost, Horo Horo was beginning to regret the gracious offer he'd so eagerly made. Play slave to Anna and prepare dinner with Tamao, or brave a little now to buy salt - of all the ridiculous things. Those were the choices.
When he'd first weighed the options in his head he'd come to the obvious decision, but as he currently plodded along, his headband pulled down low over his ears and forehead to protect them from the burning wind, he was surely regretting it.
He supposed that's what he deserved though, for being stupid enough to accept a task so obviously designed to get rid of him. (Anna had a knack for coming up with them.)
"I've put up with worse than this," he thought aloud, as he hugged himself tightly, trying to keep warm, "a little cold couldn't hurt me of all people!" He laughed aloud to no one in particular, as if to show his defiance of the weather.
The streets were totally empty; a near whit-out was no place for walking, but the familiar surroundings made navigating the roads simple. At least, it would have been had he been able to keep his eyes open for more than a moment or two. The brisk winds, blowing icy crystals against his skin like shards of glass, made it difficult for him to see.
"God damn it I'm an idiot!" Horo Horo cursed himself aloud, pulling his bare hands up to his mouth and blowing on them, his warm breath doing little to repress the numbness.
"No, it's not big deal, I don't need gloves!" He mocked himself, thinking in the back of his mind, how dumb it had been of him to think he'd be fine without them. Then again, it hadn't been blowing like this when he'd left the house. He pulled his face down deep into the collar of this jacket, tightening the straps to keep out as much of the wind as he could.
It wouldn't be long now, just a little further.
As Horo Horo approached the deck of the bridge, it appeared clear enough, the winds had all but blown the snow away, causing low drifts to form on the railings.
"Just a few more minutes." he assured himself, jumping up and down, in a vain attempt to warm his body up a little.
With a hint of renewed spirit Horo Horo started off a cross the bridge, determined to just get this whole little excursion over with. But he was little more than a few steps onto the bridge deck when he lost his footing. There'd been no way for him to see all the black ice covering he smooth concrete like a thin skin; laying in wait for unsuspecting pray.
Struggling to keep his balance his foot twisted underneath of him as he fell back and hit the ground; his hands to deep in his coat sleeves to reach out and brace himself. The hard impact on his ankle made him cry out in pain, biting down on the crystallized edge of his jacket collar to keep himself from screaming. He seethed through gritted teeth, unwinding his foot from underneath himself.
"Fuck!" He shouted out into the darkness, the blinding white drifts of snow and howling winds drowning out his voice.
Grabbing hold of the cold, icy, metal railing with his bare hand he tried to pull himself up, but his swelling ankle and the ice beneath him wouldn't let him to so. Slamming his fist against the ground Horo Horo began to look around frantically. Nothing but snowdrifts and road for as far as he could see; which wasn't very far at all.
"Hello?!" Horo Horo called out into the cold, "Anybody out there!?" but his voice was barely even making it out of his throat as he was choking back tears of extreme pain. No one heard him, and as far as he knew he was the only idiot, dumb enough to brave a storm like this. And for salt too.
He tried his best to untie the tightly drawn laces of his boot around his swelling ankle but his fingers were too numb and his laces were too icy. His bare legs were taking the brunt of the glass like snowflakes as the wind pelted him relentlessly.
He scowled at his shoes bitterly, thinking how pathetic it was that a little snow could hinder him so much. Pouting childishly he rubbed way at his frozen cheeks, trying to think of something to do.
Over and over again he tried to get up, every time falling back down, doing little more than hurting his tailbone. The numbness running though his body was helping the pain to subside but what good was that going to do him if he was still trapped there, on that icy bridge of imminent doom?
Exhausted, Horo Horo flopped down on his back and pulled his headband over his eyes. His breathing was deep in his chest and almost painful.
"Could I die here?" He began to think, as he tried in vain to shield his face from the wind and snow, "Could something the petty really kill me?"
He knew he was being ridiculous, but hopeless seeming situations like this never sat well with him. He would far rather be back at Yoh's house, having Anna treat him like a slave, or letting Pilika chew him out for something petty. Anything would be better than this. Feeling as though he would die alone, in the cold, his leg swelling up and the cold in his lungs slowly choking him.
The fact that he was a shaman even began to seem funny to him. Fighting in potentially deadly battles, for the right to be the king of all shamans, and yet here he was, lying alone in the road, with a non life threatening injury, and yet contemplating his own death. A death at the hands of his own element none the less. Ironic, it seemed.
There's nothing like the feeling of helplessness to make a person question their own mortality.
This ridiculous idea actually made him want to laugh. A hint of a snicker escaped him as he lay there, feeling lost.
"I come out here, expecting to find you frozen to death, and you're laughing."
Startled by a voice from behind, Horo Horo pushed up his headband and tried to turn around, but a quick surge of pain through his leg made him yelp. He grabbed at his ankle, a stream of curses flowing from his mouth.
"Ok, shut up already." A mournfully toned voice told him.
Horo Horo looked up into familiar golden eyes, framed by a thick mat of snow covered black fur. It was Ren, all bundled up in a parka, looking down at him with a spiteful glare.
"Ren! What the hell are you doing here?!" Horo Horo yelled at him, as if he were insulted by the very sight of him.
"Looking for you, you moron." He replied flatly, his words half muffled by the knit scarf around his neck. "Your sister's throwing a fit, and I couldn't stand it any more. Yoh was going to come look for you but he's just as likely to get lost as you."
"Shut up!" Horo Horo sneered at him, "I'm not lost!"
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are we going home now or what?"
"Yeah, yeah! Hold your horses!" Horo Horo shouted at him. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed hold of the frosted rail again and tried to force himself to stand. His legs burned and the pain ran through him like and electric shock. Falling back down, Ren grabbed him by his sleeves and pulled him up, Horo Horo putting most of his weight on Ren's strong shoulder.
"If you're hurt you're going to have to be careful, idiot." Ren shook his head at him.
"Shut up! I'm fine!" Horo Horo snapped, letting go of Ren. Standing unsteadily on his one good foot he tried to brush the snow from his bare legs, which were red with windburn. Ren could see the way his right ankle was turning a yellowish purple color just above his sock line.
"You've twisted it." Ren pointed out calmly.
"Yeah, I know that! I'm not completely stupid you know."
"Look, let me help you." Ren sighed, knowing full well that Horo Horo would never be able to make it back on his own.
"I'll be fine! I don't need help. Especially not from you!"
"Fine then! Be a bastard! See if I care!" Ren finally shouted at him, walking off and leaving Horo Horo to his own, stubborn, devices.
Horo Horo grabbed hold of the railing with both hands, he felt as if his skin were burning more so than freezing. He breathed hard though clenched teeth, shaking the ice crystals from his coat and headband. Trying to put all of his wait on the rail he moved cautiously back towards the road. The ice underfoot was compromising, but he'd do it himself if it killed him.
Horo Horo was too stubborn to let anyone help him, least of all Ren, one of his more formidable opponents. But what was he going to do what he ran out of rail? The thought crossed his mind and he tried to put his food down, but it was as if his stiff knee wouldn't even let him.
When he reached the end, he slumped down on to his knees, the pain in his leg bringing tears to his eyes; ones which would never fall, as they instantly turned to ice on his face.
"You're going to make it worse that way."
Looking up into the dark, white, swirling snow, Horo Horo could make out Ren's dark figure, illuminated by the streetlights.
"Yeah well, I've been though worse!" Horo Horo insisted.
"Pretty pathetic I'd say." Ren taunted him.
"Shut up!" Horo Horo yelled, more forcefully this time. Teeth clenched tight Horo Horo forced himself to get up, groping at his leg in pain as he forced it down.
"Don't do that!" Ren shouted at him, running over to him and grabbing his arm.
"Leave me alone!" Horo Horo demanded, trying to push him away.
But he couldn't even struggle, he was too cold. He gave up and let Ren grab hold of him, putting his arm around his shoulder and using him to brace himself. Slowly and awkwardly the pair made their way down the street, slipping every now and then on the icy roadway.
"We can't keep going like this." Horo Horo finally said, noticing the way Ren was beginning to tier.
"Well do you have a better idea?" Ren inquired cynically.
"Why don't we just ask somebody for help?"
"From who dumbass? These are all businesses, and nothings open anymore, it's too late. Besides, no one's crazy enough to go out in this kind of weather."
"Doesn't say much for you then does it?" Horo Horo snickered.
"You wanna' be left here?"
"No." he whined slightly.
Looking around Horo Horo noticed a space in the alley to the right of them covered by a low awning, well out of the way of the blistering wind and frost.
"Look, why don't we just rest there for a while," Horo Horo suggested, pointing through the snow and down into the dark alleyway, "maybe the snow will let up a bit."
"Fine." Ren sighed, more relieved for the break then he was letting on.
Awkwardly and unsteadily, Ren helped Horo Horo to sit down on the dry ground under the low roof. It was no warmer, but at least they could see, as the vicious flakes had no way of reaching them in the narrow space.
"Uh, Ren?" Horo Horo began, as the dark haired boy huddled next to him, pulling his thick, frosted, hood away from his face.
"What?"
"Thanks." He muttered.
"Whatever." Ren shrugged, "You know, you should really get that shoe off."
Horo Horo looked at him doubtfully, then looked down at his bare hands. They were red and puffy, and completely numb.
"Here, let me do it." Ren sighed and shook his head, "Put these on."
He handed Horo Horo his thick black groves and shuffled around in front of him. Carefully he cracked away the ice clinging to Horo Horo's laces and untied the brittle strings. The frost was cold against Ren's warm fingers but it was obvious that Horo Horo couldn't feel a thing. He didn't even wine when Ren pulled the shoe from his foot.
The one good thing about the bitter cold was that it had helped to keep Horo Horo's ankle from swelling up too badly. Ren touched the cold skin beneath his sock tentatively, looking up at him to see if he had any reaction.
"Do you feel this?" he asked as he pressed lightly on Horo Horo's discolored skin.
"Not at all." Horo Horo shook his head.
"That's not good." Ren sighed. He undid his heavy parka and laid it across Horo Horo's bare legs, tucking the edges under his foot.
"What the hell, now you're gonna' get cold." Horo Horo pointed out.
"It's ok, unlike you I actually dressed for the weather."
"This is a snowboard jacket! It's meant for the snow!" he defended himself.
"Yeah, snow. Not a fucking blizzard. And you're not much better off in shorts now are you?"
"Yeah well," Horo Horo sighed, crossing his arms bitterly across his chest.
The two sat there silently for a while, with nothing but the wind making a sound. After a while Horo Horo began to rub his hands together again, clapping and trying to get the feeling back into his fingers.
"Still numb?" Ren asked quietly.
"Yeah," Horo Horo sighed, "I feel like a popsicle."
"Look, give me your hands." Ren shook his head, grabbing Horo Horo's hands mid-clap.
"What are you doing?" he scowled, as Ren pulled the gloves from his hands.
"My skin's warmer than those are." Ren explained, in a tone which Horo Horo perceived as irritation.
Ren shuffled closer to Horo Horo and closed his warm hands around Horo Horo's numb fingers.
"You don't have to you know." Horo Horo said.
Ren just looked up at him sternly, as if waiting for him to tell him to stop. Horo Horo didn't though, as the feeling of Ren's warm skin against his own was making his hands sting and tingle, a sign that the numbness was beginning to subside.
Ren lifter heir hands up to his face and blew gently against their fingers, closing his eyes as he did so. Horo Horo's fingers felt as if they were burning, as the stinging sensation grew stronger.
"It hurts." Horo Horo mumbled quietly under his breath.
"That's a good thing." Ren assured him.
Horo Horo sat back, letting his head rest against the wall, while Ren warmed up his hands for him. It felt almost strange to him to have him in such close quarters. Ren was always stand-off-ish, to everyone, especially Horo Horo, as if it seemed his enthusiasm had a way of making Ren uncomfortable.
"Ren?" Horo Horo said, in almost a whisper.
"What?" he muttered, not looking up at him.
"Do you like me?" he asked flatly.
"What?!" Ren exclaimed, clearly thrown off by his abruptness. "What the hell do you mean by that?!" He scowled, letting go of his hands; his bright goldish eyes slanting bitterly.
"Just what I said."
"Of course I don't like you!" Ren snapped at him.
"No, I mean, well, do you not hate me?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, you're around a lot but you never really seemed to like me much." Horo Horo explained.
"I like you just fine." Ren stated quietly, sitting back and crossing his arms.
"Oh, ok." Horo Horo nodded.
Ren turned his eyes towards Horo Horo, who sat quietly looking down at his hands, folded in his lap. Shards of ice and bits of snow clung to his matted sky blue hair; the normally spiky tresses hanging down into his eyes, and the dark, wet hair around his ears and neck contrasted sharply against his pale skin.
The sickly apathetic look on his normally exuberant face gave Ren a heavy, depressing, feeling in his chest. Sighing he turned his attention back to the snow on his shoes and tried not to think about it.
Horo Horo watched the way Ren twisted his sweater around his hands and buried his face deep into his thick woven scarf. He felt bad that he'd gone and gotten Ren stuck out here like this.
"Here," Horo Horo said, holding out Ren's gloves, "you can have them back now."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it's ok."
"It's alright, I don't need them either." He shook his head, placing them down on the ground at his side. "But I think the wind starting to change direction." Ren pointed out, noting how the wind had begun to snake its way down the alley.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Horo Horo sighed, pulling his knee in against his chest.
"The radio said it'd be sunny tomorrow, so I don't doubt this will all be over soon."
"I hope so."
"Cold?" Ren inquired, watching as Horo Horo shivered.
"No. You?" he lied.
"No." he lied back.
But both of them moved in closer together, shoulders pressed against one another, their knees overlapping.
Ren had always been so serious, his cold demeanor had always seemed abrasive in Horo Horo's mind, but it was becoming apparent that Ren did have more approachable side. His eyes didn't have that usual "I'd like to kill you" look in them. Likewise in Ren's mind he was noticing how Horo Horo didn't have to be all ego and exuberance. Even if he wasn't willing to admit his pain, Ren could see it on his face.
It had always bothered Horo Horo to think about the fact that Ren was so much stronger than him. As a shaman and as a person. For as much spite as he felt towards the spike haired boy he also couldn't help but admire him. Ren's personal tragedies and hard times had made his spirit far stronger than Horo Horo's, which was based mostly on determination and ego. Horo Horo's general love for life may have been stronger, but it didn't mean much when the sort of trials they faces as shamans required so much more than just enthusiasm.
"I'm sleepy." Horo Horo finally yawned, rubbing his eyes, causing flakes of ice to fall from his headband as he grazed it.
"You shouldn't sleep you know." Ren told him, noticing that he himself was feeling sleepy, as it was getting on late into the evening.
"I know." Horo Horo nodded, closing his eyes and leaving his head back against the wall. "Do you think they're worried about us?"
"Pilika will no doubt be frantic." Ren nodded, in his calm voice.
"Yeah, I think you're probably right." Horo Horo smiled.
Yawing again Horo Horo leaned over and rested his head on Ren's shoulder. More or less to his surprise though, Ren didn't move. Noting this he settled down, enjoying the feeling of Ren's warm sweater against his face and the soft threads of his knitted scarf against his forehead.
Ren looked down at him, his eyes closed and his long dark eyelashes spreading out across his wind-reddened cheeks. He watched how his nose would twitch when he breathed deeply, and how he licked his lips too much, but he supposed it was the quirky little things like that that made Horo Horo the way he was.
Closing his own eyes, Ren let his head rest against Horo Horo's, his own cold, damp, dark violet hair contrasting sharply against Horo Horo's snow frosted bluish tones. Sighing, he let his muscles relax and his mind wander.
Horo Horo could feel every time that Ren breathed, and he began to count his rhythmic breaths, much the way that he would sheep before bed. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. At first he hadn't noticed but he began to feel Ren shivering slightly, as he was taking the brunt of the cool breeze against his left side. Opening one eye he saw the way Ren's hands where shaking.
Turning his shoulder in towards him, Horo Horo grabbed hold of Ren's hand with his own, and pressed his fingers against his wrist. Ren twitched a little, but slowly, he turned his hand over so their palms were touching.
"Cold?" Ren asked again, nearly inaudibly.
"Maybe." Horo Horo whispered back.
They both sighed heavily, questioning one another, as they sat silently, both staring down at their intertwined fingers. A tingly, tense moment passed between them, before Horo Horo noticed Ren's shoulder relax again. Ren closed his eyes tightly, feeling the strange sensation of Horo Horo's warm hand against his own run up his arm and into his throat.
Horo Horo moved Ren's jacket around so as to cover both of them, and he pulled the finer built boy in close to him. They both shivered, yet this time not from the cold.
Reaching around Horo Horo, Ren found himself moving his hand up inside Horo Horo's jacket and against the warm skin beneath his shirt. Ren's hand was considerably colder than Horo Horo's worm back, sending a strong tingle up his spine and into his neck.
Their foreheads pressed together, Horo Horo took Ren's other hand and guided it up underneath the front of his jacket and against his warm stomach, holding it there with his own. Both of them could feel their hearts beating shallowly, as neither of them seemed to breathe.
Ren's cat like golden eyes meeting up with Horo Horo's, they both just stared at each other a while, not even thinking. Horo Horo's eyelids were falling sleepily, his concentration unfixed as a hint of a smile crossed his face.
Leaning in again to rest his head on Ren's shoulder Ren felt a tingle in his jaw as Horo Horo's cheek grazed along it and down his neck, his warm lips touching him ever so slightly as Horo Horo's warm breath against him made his skin writhe. Nearly asleep in Ren's arms Horo Horo squeezed his hand twice underneath of his coat, partially out of recognition and partly as the feeling in his leg was beginning to come back.
Ren pulled his hand away and raised it to Horo Horo's face, pushing away a few stray black hairs behind his cold ears and beneath his headband. He looked down at Horo Horo, sleeping soundly against him, their bodies warm against one another. The crystals of ice floating around them played softly off Horo Horo's angelic looking face, sometimes coming to rest softly before melting away.
Ren sat quietly, this unlikely situation barely even registering in his mind, just content in his state. An unlikely guardian angel.
The End
Message: I haven't had the opportunity to see as much of this series as I would like (only 28 episodes) so please forgive me a few minor indiscretions if you happen to come across them. I tried to avoid anything I could be wrong about. I've never read much about the pairing I chose to write about, but I thought it sounded like fun, so this is what I came up with. I was challenged by one of the readers of another fic of mine to write something a little more detailed so I hope this will suffice.
Summery: Horo Horo seems to have found himself in a hopeless situation, more or less trapped all alone, until Ren, grudgingly, comes to his aid.
Warnings: HoroXRen, mild shounen-ai and a little bit of foul language, nothing too bad.
Trudging through knee deep snow, toes numb, and cheeks burning from the frost, Horo Horo was beginning to regret the gracious offer he'd so eagerly made. Play slave to Anna and prepare dinner with Tamao, or brave a little now to buy salt - of all the ridiculous things. Those were the choices.
When he'd first weighed the options in his head he'd come to the obvious decision, but as he currently plodded along, his headband pulled down low over his ears and forehead to protect them from the burning wind, he was surely regretting it.
He supposed that's what he deserved though, for being stupid enough to accept a task so obviously designed to get rid of him. (Anna had a knack for coming up with them.)
"I've put up with worse than this," he thought aloud, as he hugged himself tightly, trying to keep warm, "a little cold couldn't hurt me of all people!" He laughed aloud to no one in particular, as if to show his defiance of the weather.
The streets were totally empty; a near whit-out was no place for walking, but the familiar surroundings made navigating the roads simple. At least, it would have been had he been able to keep his eyes open for more than a moment or two. The brisk winds, blowing icy crystals against his skin like shards of glass, made it difficult for him to see.
"God damn it I'm an idiot!" Horo Horo cursed himself aloud, pulling his bare hands up to his mouth and blowing on them, his warm breath doing little to repress the numbness.
"No, it's not big deal, I don't need gloves!" He mocked himself, thinking in the back of his mind, how dumb it had been of him to think he'd be fine without them. Then again, it hadn't been blowing like this when he'd left the house. He pulled his face down deep into the collar of this jacket, tightening the straps to keep out as much of the wind as he could.
It wouldn't be long now, just a little further.
As Horo Horo approached the deck of the bridge, it appeared clear enough, the winds had all but blown the snow away, causing low drifts to form on the railings.
"Just a few more minutes." he assured himself, jumping up and down, in a vain attempt to warm his body up a little.
With a hint of renewed spirit Horo Horo started off a cross the bridge, determined to just get this whole little excursion over with. But he was little more than a few steps onto the bridge deck when he lost his footing. There'd been no way for him to see all the black ice covering he smooth concrete like a thin skin; laying in wait for unsuspecting pray.
Struggling to keep his balance his foot twisted underneath of him as he fell back and hit the ground; his hands to deep in his coat sleeves to reach out and brace himself. The hard impact on his ankle made him cry out in pain, biting down on the crystallized edge of his jacket collar to keep himself from screaming. He seethed through gritted teeth, unwinding his foot from underneath himself.
"Fuck!" He shouted out into the darkness, the blinding white drifts of snow and howling winds drowning out his voice.
Grabbing hold of the cold, icy, metal railing with his bare hand he tried to pull himself up, but his swelling ankle and the ice beneath him wouldn't let him to so. Slamming his fist against the ground Horo Horo began to look around frantically. Nothing but snowdrifts and road for as far as he could see; which wasn't very far at all.
"Hello?!" Horo Horo called out into the cold, "Anybody out there!?" but his voice was barely even making it out of his throat as he was choking back tears of extreme pain. No one heard him, and as far as he knew he was the only idiot, dumb enough to brave a storm like this. And for salt too.
He tried his best to untie the tightly drawn laces of his boot around his swelling ankle but his fingers were too numb and his laces were too icy. His bare legs were taking the brunt of the glass like snowflakes as the wind pelted him relentlessly.
He scowled at his shoes bitterly, thinking how pathetic it was that a little snow could hinder him so much. Pouting childishly he rubbed way at his frozen cheeks, trying to think of something to do.
Over and over again he tried to get up, every time falling back down, doing little more than hurting his tailbone. The numbness running though his body was helping the pain to subside but what good was that going to do him if he was still trapped there, on that icy bridge of imminent doom?
Exhausted, Horo Horo flopped down on his back and pulled his headband over his eyes. His breathing was deep in his chest and almost painful.
"Could I die here?" He began to think, as he tried in vain to shield his face from the wind and snow, "Could something the petty really kill me?"
He knew he was being ridiculous, but hopeless seeming situations like this never sat well with him. He would far rather be back at Yoh's house, having Anna treat him like a slave, or letting Pilika chew him out for something petty. Anything would be better than this. Feeling as though he would die alone, in the cold, his leg swelling up and the cold in his lungs slowly choking him.
The fact that he was a shaman even began to seem funny to him. Fighting in potentially deadly battles, for the right to be the king of all shamans, and yet here he was, lying alone in the road, with a non life threatening injury, and yet contemplating his own death. A death at the hands of his own element none the less. Ironic, it seemed.
There's nothing like the feeling of helplessness to make a person question their own mortality.
This ridiculous idea actually made him want to laugh. A hint of a snicker escaped him as he lay there, feeling lost.
"I come out here, expecting to find you frozen to death, and you're laughing."
Startled by a voice from behind, Horo Horo pushed up his headband and tried to turn around, but a quick surge of pain through his leg made him yelp. He grabbed at his ankle, a stream of curses flowing from his mouth.
"Ok, shut up already." A mournfully toned voice told him.
Horo Horo looked up into familiar golden eyes, framed by a thick mat of snow covered black fur. It was Ren, all bundled up in a parka, looking down at him with a spiteful glare.
"Ren! What the hell are you doing here?!" Horo Horo yelled at him, as if he were insulted by the very sight of him.
"Looking for you, you moron." He replied flatly, his words half muffled by the knit scarf around his neck. "Your sister's throwing a fit, and I couldn't stand it any more. Yoh was going to come look for you but he's just as likely to get lost as you."
"Shut up!" Horo Horo sneered at him, "I'm not lost!"
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are we going home now or what?"
"Yeah, yeah! Hold your horses!" Horo Horo shouted at him. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed hold of the frosted rail again and tried to force himself to stand. His legs burned and the pain ran through him like and electric shock. Falling back down, Ren grabbed him by his sleeves and pulled him up, Horo Horo putting most of his weight on Ren's strong shoulder.
"If you're hurt you're going to have to be careful, idiot." Ren shook his head at him.
"Shut up! I'm fine!" Horo Horo snapped, letting go of Ren. Standing unsteadily on his one good foot he tried to brush the snow from his bare legs, which were red with windburn. Ren could see the way his right ankle was turning a yellowish purple color just above his sock line.
"You've twisted it." Ren pointed out calmly.
"Yeah, I know that! I'm not completely stupid you know."
"Look, let me help you." Ren sighed, knowing full well that Horo Horo would never be able to make it back on his own.
"I'll be fine! I don't need help. Especially not from you!"
"Fine then! Be a bastard! See if I care!" Ren finally shouted at him, walking off and leaving Horo Horo to his own, stubborn, devices.
Horo Horo grabbed hold of the railing with both hands, he felt as if his skin were burning more so than freezing. He breathed hard though clenched teeth, shaking the ice crystals from his coat and headband. Trying to put all of his wait on the rail he moved cautiously back towards the road. The ice underfoot was compromising, but he'd do it himself if it killed him.
Horo Horo was too stubborn to let anyone help him, least of all Ren, one of his more formidable opponents. But what was he going to do what he ran out of rail? The thought crossed his mind and he tried to put his food down, but it was as if his stiff knee wouldn't even let him.
When he reached the end, he slumped down on to his knees, the pain in his leg bringing tears to his eyes; ones which would never fall, as they instantly turned to ice on his face.
"You're going to make it worse that way."
Looking up into the dark, white, swirling snow, Horo Horo could make out Ren's dark figure, illuminated by the streetlights.
"Yeah well, I've been though worse!" Horo Horo insisted.
"Pretty pathetic I'd say." Ren taunted him.
"Shut up!" Horo Horo yelled, more forcefully this time. Teeth clenched tight Horo Horo forced himself to get up, groping at his leg in pain as he forced it down.
"Don't do that!" Ren shouted at him, running over to him and grabbing his arm.
"Leave me alone!" Horo Horo demanded, trying to push him away.
But he couldn't even struggle, he was too cold. He gave up and let Ren grab hold of him, putting his arm around his shoulder and using him to brace himself. Slowly and awkwardly the pair made their way down the street, slipping every now and then on the icy roadway.
"We can't keep going like this." Horo Horo finally said, noticing the way Ren was beginning to tier.
"Well do you have a better idea?" Ren inquired cynically.
"Why don't we just ask somebody for help?"
"From who dumbass? These are all businesses, and nothings open anymore, it's too late. Besides, no one's crazy enough to go out in this kind of weather."
"Doesn't say much for you then does it?" Horo Horo snickered.
"You wanna' be left here?"
"No." he whined slightly.
Looking around Horo Horo noticed a space in the alley to the right of them covered by a low awning, well out of the way of the blistering wind and frost.
"Look, why don't we just rest there for a while," Horo Horo suggested, pointing through the snow and down into the dark alleyway, "maybe the snow will let up a bit."
"Fine." Ren sighed, more relieved for the break then he was letting on.
Awkwardly and unsteadily, Ren helped Horo Horo to sit down on the dry ground under the low roof. It was no warmer, but at least they could see, as the vicious flakes had no way of reaching them in the narrow space.
"Uh, Ren?" Horo Horo began, as the dark haired boy huddled next to him, pulling his thick, frosted, hood away from his face.
"What?"
"Thanks." He muttered.
"Whatever." Ren shrugged, "You know, you should really get that shoe off."
Horo Horo looked at him doubtfully, then looked down at his bare hands. They were red and puffy, and completely numb.
"Here, let me do it." Ren sighed and shook his head, "Put these on."
He handed Horo Horo his thick black groves and shuffled around in front of him. Carefully he cracked away the ice clinging to Horo Horo's laces and untied the brittle strings. The frost was cold against Ren's warm fingers but it was obvious that Horo Horo couldn't feel a thing. He didn't even wine when Ren pulled the shoe from his foot.
The one good thing about the bitter cold was that it had helped to keep Horo Horo's ankle from swelling up too badly. Ren touched the cold skin beneath his sock tentatively, looking up at him to see if he had any reaction.
"Do you feel this?" he asked as he pressed lightly on Horo Horo's discolored skin.
"Not at all." Horo Horo shook his head.
"That's not good." Ren sighed. He undid his heavy parka and laid it across Horo Horo's bare legs, tucking the edges under his foot.
"What the hell, now you're gonna' get cold." Horo Horo pointed out.
"It's ok, unlike you I actually dressed for the weather."
"This is a snowboard jacket! It's meant for the snow!" he defended himself.
"Yeah, snow. Not a fucking blizzard. And you're not much better off in shorts now are you?"
"Yeah well," Horo Horo sighed, crossing his arms bitterly across his chest.
The two sat there silently for a while, with nothing but the wind making a sound. After a while Horo Horo began to rub his hands together again, clapping and trying to get the feeling back into his fingers.
"Still numb?" Ren asked quietly.
"Yeah," Horo Horo sighed, "I feel like a popsicle."
"Look, give me your hands." Ren shook his head, grabbing Horo Horo's hands mid-clap.
"What are you doing?" he scowled, as Ren pulled the gloves from his hands.
"My skin's warmer than those are." Ren explained, in a tone which Horo Horo perceived as irritation.
Ren shuffled closer to Horo Horo and closed his warm hands around Horo Horo's numb fingers.
"You don't have to you know." Horo Horo said.
Ren just looked up at him sternly, as if waiting for him to tell him to stop. Horo Horo didn't though, as the feeling of Ren's warm skin against his own was making his hands sting and tingle, a sign that the numbness was beginning to subside.
Ren lifter heir hands up to his face and blew gently against their fingers, closing his eyes as he did so. Horo Horo's fingers felt as if they were burning, as the stinging sensation grew stronger.
"It hurts." Horo Horo mumbled quietly under his breath.
"That's a good thing." Ren assured him.
Horo Horo sat back, letting his head rest against the wall, while Ren warmed up his hands for him. It felt almost strange to him to have him in such close quarters. Ren was always stand-off-ish, to everyone, especially Horo Horo, as if it seemed his enthusiasm had a way of making Ren uncomfortable.
"Ren?" Horo Horo said, in almost a whisper.
"What?" he muttered, not looking up at him.
"Do you like me?" he asked flatly.
"What?!" Ren exclaimed, clearly thrown off by his abruptness. "What the hell do you mean by that?!" He scowled, letting go of his hands; his bright goldish eyes slanting bitterly.
"Just what I said."
"Of course I don't like you!" Ren snapped at him.
"No, I mean, well, do you not hate me?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, you're around a lot but you never really seemed to like me much." Horo Horo explained.
"I like you just fine." Ren stated quietly, sitting back and crossing his arms.
"Oh, ok." Horo Horo nodded.
Ren turned his eyes towards Horo Horo, who sat quietly looking down at his hands, folded in his lap. Shards of ice and bits of snow clung to his matted sky blue hair; the normally spiky tresses hanging down into his eyes, and the dark, wet hair around his ears and neck contrasted sharply against his pale skin.
The sickly apathetic look on his normally exuberant face gave Ren a heavy, depressing, feeling in his chest. Sighing he turned his attention back to the snow on his shoes and tried not to think about it.
Horo Horo watched the way Ren twisted his sweater around his hands and buried his face deep into his thick woven scarf. He felt bad that he'd gone and gotten Ren stuck out here like this.
"Here," Horo Horo said, holding out Ren's gloves, "you can have them back now."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it's ok."
"It's alright, I don't need them either." He shook his head, placing them down on the ground at his side. "But I think the wind starting to change direction." Ren pointed out, noting how the wind had begun to snake its way down the alley.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Horo Horo sighed, pulling his knee in against his chest.
"The radio said it'd be sunny tomorrow, so I don't doubt this will all be over soon."
"I hope so."
"Cold?" Ren inquired, watching as Horo Horo shivered.
"No. You?" he lied.
"No." he lied back.
But both of them moved in closer together, shoulders pressed against one another, their knees overlapping.
Ren had always been so serious, his cold demeanor had always seemed abrasive in Horo Horo's mind, but it was becoming apparent that Ren did have more approachable side. His eyes didn't have that usual "I'd like to kill you" look in them. Likewise in Ren's mind he was noticing how Horo Horo didn't have to be all ego and exuberance. Even if he wasn't willing to admit his pain, Ren could see it on his face.
It had always bothered Horo Horo to think about the fact that Ren was so much stronger than him. As a shaman and as a person. For as much spite as he felt towards the spike haired boy he also couldn't help but admire him. Ren's personal tragedies and hard times had made his spirit far stronger than Horo Horo's, which was based mostly on determination and ego. Horo Horo's general love for life may have been stronger, but it didn't mean much when the sort of trials they faces as shamans required so much more than just enthusiasm.
"I'm sleepy." Horo Horo finally yawned, rubbing his eyes, causing flakes of ice to fall from his headband as he grazed it.
"You shouldn't sleep you know." Ren told him, noticing that he himself was feeling sleepy, as it was getting on late into the evening.
"I know." Horo Horo nodded, closing his eyes and leaving his head back against the wall. "Do you think they're worried about us?"
"Pilika will no doubt be frantic." Ren nodded, in his calm voice.
"Yeah, I think you're probably right." Horo Horo smiled.
Yawing again Horo Horo leaned over and rested his head on Ren's shoulder. More or less to his surprise though, Ren didn't move. Noting this he settled down, enjoying the feeling of Ren's warm sweater against his face and the soft threads of his knitted scarf against his forehead.
Ren looked down at him, his eyes closed and his long dark eyelashes spreading out across his wind-reddened cheeks. He watched how his nose would twitch when he breathed deeply, and how he licked his lips too much, but he supposed it was the quirky little things like that that made Horo Horo the way he was.
Closing his own eyes, Ren let his head rest against Horo Horo's, his own cold, damp, dark violet hair contrasting sharply against Horo Horo's snow frosted bluish tones. Sighing, he let his muscles relax and his mind wander.
Horo Horo could feel every time that Ren breathed, and he began to count his rhythmic breaths, much the way that he would sheep before bed. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. At first he hadn't noticed but he began to feel Ren shivering slightly, as he was taking the brunt of the cool breeze against his left side. Opening one eye he saw the way Ren's hands where shaking.
Turning his shoulder in towards him, Horo Horo grabbed hold of Ren's hand with his own, and pressed his fingers against his wrist. Ren twitched a little, but slowly, he turned his hand over so their palms were touching.
"Cold?" Ren asked again, nearly inaudibly.
"Maybe." Horo Horo whispered back.
They both sighed heavily, questioning one another, as they sat silently, both staring down at their intertwined fingers. A tingly, tense moment passed between them, before Horo Horo noticed Ren's shoulder relax again. Ren closed his eyes tightly, feeling the strange sensation of Horo Horo's warm hand against his own run up his arm and into his throat.
Horo Horo moved Ren's jacket around so as to cover both of them, and he pulled the finer built boy in close to him. They both shivered, yet this time not from the cold.
Reaching around Horo Horo, Ren found himself moving his hand up inside Horo Horo's jacket and against the warm skin beneath his shirt. Ren's hand was considerably colder than Horo Horo's worm back, sending a strong tingle up his spine and into his neck.
Their foreheads pressed together, Horo Horo took Ren's other hand and guided it up underneath the front of his jacket and against his warm stomach, holding it there with his own. Both of them could feel their hearts beating shallowly, as neither of them seemed to breathe.
Ren's cat like golden eyes meeting up with Horo Horo's, they both just stared at each other a while, not even thinking. Horo Horo's eyelids were falling sleepily, his concentration unfixed as a hint of a smile crossed his face.
Leaning in again to rest his head on Ren's shoulder Ren felt a tingle in his jaw as Horo Horo's cheek grazed along it and down his neck, his warm lips touching him ever so slightly as Horo Horo's warm breath against him made his skin writhe. Nearly asleep in Ren's arms Horo Horo squeezed his hand twice underneath of his coat, partially out of recognition and partly as the feeling in his leg was beginning to come back.
Ren pulled his hand away and raised it to Horo Horo's face, pushing away a few stray black hairs behind his cold ears and beneath his headband. He looked down at Horo Horo, sleeping soundly against him, their bodies warm against one another. The crystals of ice floating around them played softly off Horo Horo's angelic looking face, sometimes coming to rest softly before melting away.
Ren sat quietly, this unlikely situation barely even registering in his mind, just content in his state. An unlikely guardian angel.
The End