Ice Angels
Bitterness
You're a monster, Mr. Grinch,
Your heart's an empty hole
"I. Hate. The holidays."
It had been about a week since the hospital incident, and the snowstorm had cleared up. Krad and Satoshi had reluctantly trudged back to their apartment to find Daisuke and Dark made a habit of coming over and dragging them out in the snow, around for shopping, and to view Christmas lights that had been put up. Dark frowned, looking over at Krad who was sulking as the two walked along a long street lined with various brightly lit decorations. Krad's coat was wrapped tightly around him, a scarf spun around his neck till it nearly covered his mouth, and his hands shoved into his pockets.
"Why!" Dark had found even after a week of submitting the boy to anything full of happiness, the blonde was still as bitter as ever. When children passed and wished a happy holiday, he'd cough in reply. At least Daisuke had gotten Satoshi to decorate the tree, which they were now doing at the Niwa household. But Krad simply refused to budge, even stepping on the line between bitterness, and happiness.
"All the happiness and joy...It's pointless," Krad replied quietly. Dark groaned. Krad seemed to think a lot of things were pointless, and even after two weeks together, the blonde had not revealed the reason why. When he'd awoken at the hospital and found Dark sleeping by his side, he pushed the boy away and ordered to go home. Dark seemed to prefer the more dazed Krad, than the one walking next to him now. After walking and arguing for several hours the two boys sat down on a bench, listening to the band that continued to play in front of the enormous tree in the center of the Azumano Square that included several shops, malls, and other miscellaneous places.
It seemed that the song fitted the mood, as they were playing the ever famous Mr. Grinch. Krad wrinkled his nose and took his time to look up and stare at the top of the tree, his face sagging. When Dark noted what the blonde was looking at, he asked about it. For a long moment, the only sound between the two was the rhythmic breathing of their bodies.
"It's an...Ice angel," answered Krad. Dark blinked very slowly.
"They have an ice angel on a tree for Christmas? It's crying...Shouldn't it be more cheerful?"
"You've never heard the story of the ice angel?" asked Krad. His brow was furrowed in confusion as he turned to face the amethyst haired boy.
"No," Dark stated simply.
"Ah...Well...I forgot who told me the story, but do you want to hear it?" If Dark would have known the blonde longer, he'd know Krad was lying through his teeth.
He nodded like an innocent puppy, curling up and wrapping his arm around Krad. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and Krad only looked at it as being a childish act, in which he was the older brother, and Dark the eager younger. Besides, it was cold out. Wouldn't he want warmth? Body warmth, probably...
"All right, well..."
"Mama! Mama! Sato-kun broke the angel!" Krad rushed in with a small golden angel in shambles. The soft pearl like material lay cracked in his hands with a trembling child behind him. Krad growled and the younger boy backed away, sniffling.
"I didn't mean to!" defended Satoshi. He crossed his arms stubbornly, saggy clothes falling over his small figure. The mother simply smiled softly, took the broken angel, and walked to the kitchen, dropping the contents into the trash. When she came back she had a small old chest in her arms. The two boys huddled around it as she opened and a soft melody played. After a moment, it stopped and their mother, Rio, began to rummage through the chest. She opened a small compartment and pulled out an angel, just as big as the last, yet it looked rather different. Satoshi sat next to his mother, a thumb stuck firmly in his mouth. He pulled it out to say, "But Mommy," the child complained, "That one looks sad."
She ran a hand through the young boy's hair and smiled gently once more before she showed it to the boy's who were cuddled around her frail figure.
"Yes, she's crying. But you don't just cry when you're sad."
"You mean she's happy?" Krad asked, cuddling closer.
"Yes," Rio whispered, "She is very happy."
"There was a woman once...who was very sick."
A chilly wind blew and Dark cuddled closer to Krad, pulling the warmth closer. Krad did not see in anyway how he was warm, but found Dark to be. He inched closer to the boy as he gazed up at the Christmas tree. Neither of them said anything for a long time.
"Her daughter was very worried about her, and always helped her mother..."
"But Mommy, you said she was happy!" Satoshi furrowed his brow, holding a small teddy bear close to his form.
"S-S-Shh! I'll get to it," she cooed.
"Now," Rio continued, "Her mother was very sick. And her daughter cared and loved for her dearly. But one day, she found out that her mother was dying. She cried a river, but all her tears could do nothing. Her mother was in horrible pain, and the daughter knew she wouldn't be with her much longer."
Krad tightened his grip on his mother possessively. He had noticed the bags under her eyes. He had heard the wretched coughs at night. He'd seen her frail figure try to walk in the morning, body shaking. But Satoshi, young as he still was, did not.
"So one night, she went out in a horrible storm to find medicine for her mother. When she did, and made her way back home, she grew worried. She had left her mother alone for so long...Suddenly, the girl fell in the snow."
Beside Rio, Satoshi gasped.
"The little girl closed her eyes. She was cold, exhausted," Rio shivered, playfully pulling her children closer, "And she couldn't walk anymore. When she opened her eyes her mother was standing beside her, in a bright glow. Her mother brushed her hair, and kissed her cheeks, and told her good-bye. 'No! I'm so cold mother. Please...Don't leave me...I' sorry but I was to late...Please...' And her mother looked down at her daughter and sighed. And she smiled."
"What happen to the little girl Mama? What h-"
"Be quiet Kwad!" Satoshi muttered.
Th two glared at each other which brought a strained laughter from their mother. They looked back up and listened as she continued her story.
"So her mother knelt down and took her hand. And then, the girl was so warm. And when she opened her eyes, she was sitting in a big garden, with the sun on her face, and warmth all around her, and her mother was sitting right next to her."
"...They died, Mommy?" Satoshi stuck his thumb back into his mouth.
She nodded.
"They did."
"Then why would they be happy? Why is the girl crying?" Krad tugged at his mother's skirt, wanting an answer. She sighed and pulled herself up, placing the angel on top the tree.
"She was crying because she was happy. Because...She was with her mother. And they would never be apart..." She did not turn, but kept her face to the tree, her hand hovering above the angel.
"Mama," Krad started with a soft smile, "If you ever got hurt, I'd do anything for you!"
When she did not reply, and let her hand drop, turning to them, and looking down at them, they seemed to pull back, hands wrapped around their waists in confusion.
That night the two boys did not bother their mother as she escaped into her room in a silent dread. They did not bother her until the next morning...Christmas. It was the last they had woken her. The last time they'd seen her.
Dark looked back up at Krad once he ended the story. He sighed.
"That was sad," he murmured. Krad shook his head and looked up at the sky with a bitter smile.
"No. I'm sure they're both very happy. The woman and girl. At least...they can be happy..."
Dark wasn't sure if he really did see tears run down the blonde's face, whether it was tears, or the snow that melted on his cheeks. Either way, he gently wiped them away.
