Yo! Firebird here, under a new alias. My old account was shut down 'cause of some certain SNITCHES who don't believe in freedom of expression. Ergo, over 100 reviews deleted into digital nothingness… alas. Nonetheless, I am back. Finally. I'm leaving this in its original form (including comments and such at beginning and end) it's just here for those folks who e-mailed me and said they missed it. Thanks guys, you make my world go 'round. I'll not be posting the promised lemon, however, or any others at this site… see my profile on directions for those. Nothing's up over there at the moment, however, because of technical difficulties. Right, enough out of me… everything past this point is old news….
This story was inspired by the beautiful picture in the front of the 6th book. It occurred to me that Raenef, being a southerner, possibly has never seen snow before. That, and the image of Raenef lying sprawled in the snow and Eclipse on top of him with snowflakes in his hair haunted me day and night, begging to be written. Thus, here it is.
Warnings: Shounnen-ai, fluff, my attempt at humor. Chapter fic with brief chapters; it's the kind of thing that should be given in small doses. This is Raeclipse (if anyone has used this phrase before, alert me please, lest I unknowingly bask in the false pride of coining it) and if you don't like it, then don't read it. Simple? Good.
Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. Guys in black suits no arrest me.
And so, without further ado:
First Snow
Chapter 1
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((sob) My asterisks disappeared... my snow swirls (above) have no snowflakes...)
The fragile stillness of the crisp winter morning was abruptly shattered by a panicked shriek.
"ECLIPSE!!"
Raenef, resident demon lord-in-training, hurtled pell-mell through the grand marble halls of his castle with no name, green eyes wide with fear and pale blonde hair flying about his face, slightly mussed from being slept on all night.
"Eclipse!!" he shouted again, but at a slightly lower volume since he was trying to breathe at the same time. His bare feet slapped lightly on the white marble floor, which was as cold as the icicles hanging on any available ledge outside. It was virtually the crack of dawn, an unusually early hour for him, but the sharp coldness of this particular winter morning had bitten him awake, at which time he had made an apocalyptic discovery that had resulted in his current flight through the castle.
"Ecli—!" Raenef ran smack into the object of his search as said demon burst from his room to investigate the reiterations of his name, at exactly the same time when the blonde came barreling around the corner. Eclipse was knocked back a couple of feet by the force of collision, but, blessed as he was with the resilient grace of a feline, he recovered easily in time to catch and steady his not-so-blessed charge.
He stared down perplexedly at his armful of trembling Raenef, who met his gaze with wide terrified eyes, clutching weakly at his robe.
"Whatever is the matter, Master Raenef?"
"Eclipse! The world is ending, Eclipse! Please do something—!" 1 (Argh! Even my brackets disappeared!!)
"What in all the seven…?" Eclipse stared at him in utter bewilderment.
"Look!" Raenef dragged him into the nearest room—Eclipse's room—and tore back the thick velvet drapes that concealed the massive window behind.
Eclipse looked.
Raenef waited impatiently for his mentor's assessment while he attempted to catch his breath; he was still panting from his run, and each breath of frigid winter air sliced his throat and lungs like shards of glass. A nasty stitch in his side furthered the strain of each inhalation.
Suddenly he noticed that Eclipse had ducked his head slightly and his shoulders were shaking. Raenef blinked as his brain processed this. Then a muffled sound escaped the raven-haired demon, and realization dawned on him.
Eclipse was laughing.
Raenef blinked again. "…Eclipse…?"
Eclipse turned to look at him, trying valiantly to suppress his laughter, but abruptly abandoned the effort when he saw the look of pure consternation on his young lord's face. He laughed until his sides hurt, having to lean on the wall to prevent himself from falling over. Raenef flushed, having no clue what was so amusing but still feeling he was the central issue.
"Eclipse…!" An indignant pout mingled with his confusion as Eclipse continued to laugh uncontrollably. Finally, when his fit of mirth subsided, Eclipse simply smiled at his young lord, who was still looking adorably puzzled and slightly abashed. He reached out to smooth the youth's tussled blonde locks in apologetic affection.
"The world isn't ending, little Master. It's snowing."
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"…and right when I was about to destroy him with my Holy Bolt, someone started screaming like fire and brimstone were falling from the heavens and woke me up," Chris finished, glaring sullenly at that certain someone.
Raenef flushed in embarrassment, staring wordlessly down at his plate and pushing his breakfast around like a shepherd herding his flock.
"Except it wasn't fire and brimstone, it was the exact opposite. Right, Rae?" Erutis commented cheerfully, grinning at him.
He pouted cutely, looking adorably indignant. "It's not my fault I've never seen… seen… seen…"
"Snow," injected Erutis helpfully.
"…yes, that, before. I've lived in the South all my life, and we don't get… that stuff down there." His large green eyes were misted with tears at being the cause of Chris's bad mood. The cleric sighed, unable to stay angry when the loveable demon lord brandished his ultimate weapon: the Irresistibly Adorable Hug-Me Puppy Pout™. Even the stolid Eclipse faltered when dealing with this.
Erutis patted his shoulder consolingly.
"Don't worry about it, Rae. It's not like you interrupted anything important," she chirped, ignoring Chris's death glare.
Raenef looked at Chris expectantly. Another sigh passed through the cleric's lips.
"Yeah, whatever," he yielded grudgingly.
Raenef beamed.
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Eclipse closed the book with a snap. Raenef didn't even blink. Sighing heavily, Eclipse conjured up a lick of flame and tossed it onto the youth's sleeve. And waited.
…
"Aaahh!" Raenef shrieked and fell over backward, swatting at the fire chewing up his sleeve. Eclipse snapped his fingers and the flame vanished. Emerald eyes peered up at him sheepishly.
"I can see," Eclipse said wearily, "that we are not going to get anything productive done today."
"I'm sorry," replied the blonde meekly, drawing one knee to his chest and ducking his head slightly. "It's just that… I've never seen it before… and…"
"It's alright, Lord Raenef. You may go." The demon folded his arms and looked out the window, where the two mortals were playing on the grounds.
"Really?" Puppy ears appeared on Raenef's head and his tail wagged eagerly.
Eclipse sweat-dropped. "Yes." He paused. "On one condition."
"What's that?"
"You have to tell me what it's called."
Raenef stared at him blankly.
Eclipse sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright, just go."
"Yay!" Raenef glomped him happily and kissed his cheek. Caught unprepared, Eclipse staggered back a few paces.
"Thank you, Eclipse!" The bubbly youth bounced out the door before Eclipse could recover.
He stood in the empty room, listening to his heart beat in his throat. An invisible wind slithered up his suddenly hyper-sensitized skin, and he touched the spot on his cheek lightly where Raenef's lips had alighted. Then he quickly retracted it.
Stop it. You're acting like a lovesick teenager.
He stared unseeingly at his lord's vacated chair, and suddenly found his hand back at his cheek.
But they were so soft…
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TBC
1 This line was borrowed from a novel. Take a guess in your review! It's a toughie, so if no one gets it I'll put up a hint in the next chapter. First to guess correctly, I'll do a… (nervous swallow) …a fic request. (shudder) I'm afraid to offer it because I have to be inspired to write, and I don't want a request to turn out crappy. But, I'll do my best. Oh, and kudos for anyone who can also tell me who said it! Gan batte! (Good Luck!)