This took me a year to write. I swear, I started this last Christmas and I never finished it on time...and even now I'm late in posting it.
And, this is officially my 100th story on I've been here a while...
Disclaimer: Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel(French), Merii Kurisumasu(Japanese), Sheng Tan Kuai Loh(Chinese), Nadolig Llawen(Welsh), Rozdjestvom Hristovim(Russian).
-Winter Wonderland-
The gentle, cold wind against his face made his eyes flutter open slowly, the breeze refreshing to his tan skin, erupting with shivers despite the invigorating feeling left behind by the swaying air stream.
He sucked in a breath, watching his own float away in a mist to the evening sky above, letting fall the snowflakes to the layers already frozen upon theearth. Before him, in the distance stood nothing but jade, veiled by the immaculate ivory that never ceased its slow descent.
It was all beautiful, the scenery, the setting sun and rising moon that consumed the sky with a navy only growing darker as the orange and rose dissipated. Yet, he found it odd that nothing his eyes settled upon was in focus, blurred clouds and a forest surrounding him was the same, even the snow at his feet was hazy.
His gloved hands rubbed the ocher orbs but to no avail, nothing changed. An icier gust blew past him, causing him to turn his head until it died. From the corner of his eye though, the sight of faint lights appeared from afar, a mixture of blues and reds, greens and yellows.
As he turned, his feet stumbled, he glanced down, realizing there were skates instead of boots, strapped on tightly. He blinked repeatedly and wobbled in them, trying to walk towards the alluring illumination, despite his difficulties with the unbalanced steps.
The closer he got to the lighting, dim voices danced in the air, quiet laughter and finally, people all skating on a rink. They were hard to make out, nonetheless, still not clear but he continued to approach. The pine trees around him adorned with the sets of lights that drew him nearer were spread all around the large rink, making it glow harmoniously.
Noises soon got louder, everything around the rink itself was like a smudge to his vision but the teenagers, absorbed in the activity were all visible and with a few steps forward, Rei finally noticed they were all his friends.
His pace quickened until a conversation floated over andthe voices he knewwere familiar, speaking with words rather large to be average, a dialect of genius that the speakers were highly proud of.
First, he heard a deeper vernacular that was still English but more intellectual than his own and it belonged to a good friend, the brains that kept his blading days alive in the bleakest moments; Kyuoju. He was chatting with Emily, a long time rival, both of them obviously cold from the weather but still managing to exchange words back and forth, nothing insulting, a vocabulary reserved for moments when they were alone and complements could be heard escaping their throats.
''Hey guys!'' Rei called out, surprised when either head turned to smile a welcoming.
As he stood before them and either flinched, a slender ebony brow raised as he wondered if they had not heard him but he was so close to them. Were they ignoring him?
''Hello?'' He tried again, receiving nothing as a reply but he persisted and waved a hand between their faces, staring at each other in their silence.
They couldn't be that absorbed, he mused, ruling out the possible explanation but not finding another, he grunted, ignoring them as they did him and tip toed his way over to the ice's entrance. He shrugged it off as nothing, or maybe a joke...
No sooner, he opened the door, hesitantly placing a sharp skate atop the ice; two figures zoomed by, racing around the perimeters. His body jolted backwards and the next thing he knew, Rei was sitting in a pile of snow, chilling his derriere. It did not take long for the racers to return, one triumphantly proclaiming himself the victor and champion. The smug American tone, boastful and cocky was from one male, the stereotypic boy from the states, Michael.
Yet his competitor, out of breath, panting as he joined Michael at the line, tanned cheeks flushed a deep red cursed in a language native to Rei himself. Rai did not look pleased to have lost the event andRei triedcalling out to his childhood brother, before those swears translated into and English string of profanities.
''Rai!'' Again nothing as Rai didn't even glance at Rei who had pulled himself back up to his clad feet; not a single response. A stitch of hurt nagged at his heart when he had been unseen yet another time, the same results when he tried to have a discussion with Michael.
Something did not feel right, not in the slightest and things only got even more perplexing when Rai, pouting and sulking was given a kiss by the first place ranker that seemed to make everything better.
Giggling soon caught his attention and guiding himself with the rails, he tried to make his way over to the fiendish commotion occurringalong on the death trap. Rei could not help the fact he could not skate or that every entity so far had overlooked him like if he was a ghost, not even there.
''Takao, no don't.''
Rei identified that as Max, blatantly with Takao, his two best friends, before he could even spot them on the frozen water. Their giggles lead him to them, regardless of his slow speed and almost falling moments that reoccurred every few meters. They came into view, their playful nature expressed through the joy in their eyes and nostalgic mirth as Max with his arms extended, held Takaoand skated backwards, dragging theJapanese with him, although he was protesting the free lessons.
''Takao, Max!'' It was as if his calls were so tiny they could not be heard because, either gave the smallest of glimpses towards him. He could hear himself, he knew he had not lost his capability to speak but no one else appeared too.
He went right up to them, doing as much as trying to vigorously shake Takao's shoulder but he remained unaffected under the solid connection. He removed his hand anda pitched yelp resonated, leaving Max atop his buddyandeach burst out into laughter.Rei chortled as well, only having it hushed by aw as his friends shared a long, passionate engagement of their mouths, silencing their innocent giggles.
Diverting his gaze, Rei moved on to anyone else that rang a bell in his memory. It did not take long, though for him every moment he struggled on the ice was an eternity worst than hell, before he saw another couple skating placidly. He could not catch up with them, that was a fact but he was startled by another detail that linked both Hitoshi and Hiromi's hands together. A simple guess meant their cheerleader had an unspoken crush on the revolution team's former guidance coach and it was adorable, to say the least.
Further, down the railing, a vibrant fuchsia made Rei drag himself with more force, hesitantly trying to skate, deeming it faster but more dangerous and proved his theory accurate byending up flat on his back, looking up at the distantclouds. He groaned, taking his time to stand, finding his balance and maintaining it as he made his way over to the locks of pink he knew framed Mao's feminine face. With her was Mariam, both women residing as spectators rather than participants.
Blocking their view of all and sundry, the girls looked unfazed by his frame as if they could see right through him. Normally, Mao would bounce upon laying eyeson Rei but this was different, she was more engrossed by her female friend and the attention she was receiving, namely, an arm encircling her waist. Either answered him, just like everyone else. His brows furrowed, trying desperately to gain signs of life, his life, that is- but failed. Sighing, his head fell forward, shoulders slumping as his strands of ink veiled the confusion and disdain in the citrine depths.
He grieved butthe moment of pain dissipated when he raised his head, spotting over Mao's shoulder a deuce of people forthcoming, one large, the other miniscule. The deep voice and squeakier one, left no doubt that it was Gao and Kiki, their visages revealing so, when they leaned up against the boards. Complaining he could not see, the next thing Kiki knew, he was sitting on the broad bear's shoulders with the best view of them all. The blushing that no one could see except Rei on the youngest cheeks was enough for him to see as he shook his head lightly, a grin surprisingly appearing on his chapped lips.
More persons neared, each equivalent in size, their gliding gear held by their smaller mittens. The hats hid hair, which would have helped in the identification process but when a stern voicebroke the stillness that loomed, Rei presumed both of them.
''Joseph, are you alright?''
Joseph had tripped and landed face first into the fluffy snow, Ozuma dropping everything within an instance to help him up. While their faces had been in the vicinity of the other, it took but short seconds for a shy clash of lips to be made.
Backing up, Rei blinked but once and it was all it took for his back to come into impact with someone behind him. He hadn't fallen, which he was thankful for but and ouch sounded and spinning on his heels, though relatively at a snail's pace to be careful, a mass of lengthy red hair was all he could see and a hunched Kane helping the petite frame.
''Salima, Kane!''
The effort and enthusiasm behind his tone proved to be fruitless, even repeatedly. Salima blushed at her own clumsiness as Kane profusely asked if anything was hurt. The worry he uttered was touching and a finalgesture that portrayed how much he cared, he placed a chivalrous kiss to her hand like a gentleman would.
Then skating by were their teammates, Jim and Goki expressed their concern fortheir femalecomrade.She put their worries at ease when she twirled, confirming she was indeed all right. They went on; the last thing audible was Jim's complaint about his hands being cold and Goki's gestures to heat them up by lacing them with his own.
Rei's ankles throbbed under the tight pressure of his tied laces but he was appreciative that he did not break his foot due to the lack of his experience. He was a foreigner to the pastime, an obvious laky since he had barely covered half the surface and already wanted to quit. Although, next he saw Zeo and Gordo that had to be goingat same alacrity he was or even slower, but they were helping one another, hands saving each other from dropping to their butts. Eventually, they plummeted together, side by side and snickered about it, Zeo shyly pecking Gordo's jaw line as he hurried to position himself just like how they started.
Was there love in the air? Rei assumed something had to be; it purely felt like that. If a slow song began to play, he swore couples would be swarming. Though, for King and Queen, arms wrapped around each other snugly, one would not be necessary, they were doing fine on their own. Eyes locked as if in a trance or a spell, they turned in a circle, foreheads leaned, noses grazing, they were oblivious to the world, but the world noticed them. That is when the pang of jealousy bit at Rei's heart, gnawing as he watched on enviously.
No matter how hard he tried to skate away from the love scene, another jumped out at him. He could distinguish Olivier's womanly giggle from anywhere without needing his vision in the least. Since his eyes were open, as not to pathetically fall again, he saw the Frenchman and the blonde Italian trying to keep up with the moving blades sashaying over the hoarfrost. Giancarlo scuffled pitifully, doing his best to ensue trying to laugh off his inability to perform as well as the artistic one of the two. With a sly grin and aflirtatious look, he halted, drawing the petite frame up to his own and found a solution to not moving.
''Get a room!'' Came a holler directed at them, laced with a one of a kind accent, thick and rich, snobbish and rude.
Jerking his head towards the bellowing, the citrine cat eyes immediately placed the intonation before the face that uncouthly arrived to support his statement with a disgusted and at the same time, playful scowl. They ignored Jonathan, which he seemed displeased with; Rei knew exactly how he felt.
''Leave them alone, Johnny.'' A new lilt, followed by its owner came into sight, the tall German with his serious and stern façade.
The Scot frowned at hislover and then his teammates who had finally parted for a breath with flushed cheeks but Ralph began to grin, cockily mind you, warranted when he through a sphere of snow, perfectly round that collided against the redhead and splattered.
''How dare you!'' The chase began, one in hot pursuit of the other at full throttle with a nefarious gleam to his mauve orbs and only one thing on his mind, sly revenge.
Along with the other boys, Rei laughed for a brief moment, finally ending with a sigh and a shiver. The atmosphere got colder, time slipped by him, the hour unknown as he sneezed and rubbed his gloved palms over his face and neck, gaining what little warmth he could. Past mid rink, it seemed irrelevant to push on but more perilous to cut across the center. They might not have felt him but Rei still felt everyone and the crashes.
The whole plane from an end to the other was crowded but playing it safe was deemed an eternity he did not want to go through. Gulping, as his hands let go of the rail and just as he was about to shove off, a voice so close to his left made him tense up.
''Hey…'' Was the masculine voice with a baritone enunciation talking to him?
Turning, a sight that made his eyes widen, a thought resurfacing to never cease haunting him, sprung up in his mind. It was Boris and a vehement thumping emitted from his ribcage. Yet, still unsure, was the greeting addressed to him?
''Hey…'' It was not... and Rei was greatly relieved about such. Instead, Yuriy skated up to his teammate, both arms behind his back, clasping something between his fingers. It was revealed and brought upwards, above their heads as the few inches between both Russians dispersed.
''Mistletoe.''
They kept the ancient tradition alive by kissing, Yuriy leaning in, Boris complying in an engagement of passion rather than an abbreviated moment of chastity and sweetness. The ardor and craze spread like wildfire and their lips, coaxing and irking mouths. Rei deviated from watching them, another monotonous exhale emanating from him.
Another distraction kept him off his route down the middle, this time from beyond the rink and from the snow banks.
''Nyet!''
''Da!''
More Russian resounded in the background, drawing curiosities that lead him to stare back. No surprise, the rest of Neo-Borg, Ivan and Sergei were the two arguing back and forth while in the midst of building a snowman. As mean as they wanted to sound, either could stay serious for long, smiles cracking and laughter was erupting, the cold fluff that was meant for the arctic sculpture was being thrown back and forth.
They may have been having the time of their lives, everyone seemed to be, but Rei was not. His heart felt melancholic and empty. He wondered if, this was all a dream conjured up by his unconscious self but every thud and soon to be bruise on his backside felt real enough.
He was not the only one constantly tripping and, on center ice, two more boys sat defeated on the cold plain. However, they laughed merrily at themselves and like the rest of the skaters, got up and tried again. Miguel was slowly accustoming himself to the surface but Claude was not fairing any better. They were encouraging each other until finally; hand in hand, they cautiously skated off, together.
Some were just born to be professionals and performers. Julia, the eldest twin was no exception. Her life, along side with her brother, revolved around being the best they could and on the rink, they were by far the greater pair. Raul could spin her graciously and stop her at any given moment, executing patterns and dances flawlessly. They were true twins, a harmonious duo, bonded together and they were proud of it and of their love.
Rei sighed and headed back for the exit. He was a ghost, lost on a rink of joyous souls and it made tears burn at his honey eyes. He barely registered the presence of yet another brushing past him with a long tail swaying behind him, though not quite as long as his own. A fierce carrot top, Brooklyn, tried desperately to catch up with Garland. When he caught up though, he pinned the sportsman into the boards and smirked deviously. Rei turned his head to them and skated around their tender and playful display of affection.
It was as if Cupid hit every single one of them with an arrow, drenched and laced in the purest of love spells.
All but him, for he was alone.
Out of all those wondrous faces, there was one he had not yet seen, the visage he expected too, the only he really wished to see. It made him feel sadder and he trembled enough to make his knees give out. He blinked and once again found himself sitting on the frozen water as warm tears started trailing down his cheeks.
The voices around him began to dwindle until finally, he heard no one, not even the blades of their skates cutting through the thick ice. He was truly by himself, on the vast rink. His head jerked around to each side, looking for all the people he bumped into and yet, it was as if they had disappeared.
Until, suddenly, a voice called out to him. ''Are you okay, Rei?''
Then, the sounds of skates followed and someone stood beside him. Someone could see him. He was no longer invisible. Slowly, he peered up at the voice that resonated familiarly in his ears. His heart skipped a beat when a warm smile looked down at him. He felt overjoyed to see his friend.
It was Kai. His captain looked so relaxed and at ease under the winters moonlight. His slate bangs glowed as they fell over his face, but not enough to hide his red wine eyes. His skin looked even lighter, as white as the snow and his lips were a dark rose, still smiling genuinely.
He offered his leather gloved hand downward and looked so charming just then that Rei could not refuse the help. As he stood, Rei murmured a polite thank you but looked down, trying his best to conceal his embarrassment. He no longer had a reason to feel despair, for he knew that Kai could see him, in the flesh but his heart tightened with shyness.
''Why were you out here alone, Rei? Its Christmas Eve…you should come back to the house and celebrate with everyone.''
Rei did not answer at first, until he furiously rubbed his eyes and looked back upwards.
''Why are you out here?''
Kai laughed quietly. ''You know, I did ask you first…'' He kept smirking ''I came out here because I saw you leave the house alone.''
''Oh…'' Rei trailed off.
He could not even remember leaving the chalet but quickly repeated his thanks gratefully.
''Thank you…for worrying about me.''
There was a silence that loomed around them but it was serene and almost romantic. The snow began to fall again and the white flakes blended with the gray color of their breaths, floating away overheard. Rei dared to look up at Kai, standing so close to him and as he did, a bare hand, still warm,touched his cheek gently.
''Rei...'' Kai spoke his name, in a soft, husky tone and the warm fingertips drew him even closer.
They stopped, in one last moment, inches apart before they kissed for the first time, naturally and as if it was fate. It was long and innocent, warm and delicate. The feeling spread throughout their bodies as they lost themselves in the meshing and in the stillness of the precious instance that either wanted to end.
His lips felt cold.
''Rei…Rei…''
That was not Kai's voicespeaking to him. But who...
The stir made his eyes flutter open, introducing him to the new morn and not those scarlet, seductive eyes, burning in desire.Oh, how he hated mornings! That dream was too pleasurable to wake from…
-EndE-
Count them, 19 pairings. I doubt you will see that ever again. I wonder if it will be a record. However, I must say even if it is unfair to judge myself, the quality decreases because there is a hell of a lot of repetition and it looses its originality in the vocabulary section. As hard as I tried with the length, I do not do very often so I am not completely satisfied. Maybe, if you tell me different, I will feel better knowing I impressed some people. And…no one was OOC because it was a dream sequence. Hah!
Happy Holidays to all!
And, tell me your favorite couple from the story. I admit, my favorite is the Joseph x Ozuma kiss. I thought it was adorable.