Shion woke when the soft rays of morning sunlight hit his eyelids, and he yawned. Gee, what a night! He had never stayed up so late before, and when he finally got to sleep, he just conked out like the dead!

Like the dead…

Shion's face flushed as remembered what he did last night. That sudden kiss must have been a result of too much happiness when Shion finally got to see Nezumi after a whole day of his absence. Yeah, that was it.

Shaking his head, Shion got out of bed and stretched his tired muscles. He yawned again and tried not to think about what he did last night as he walked out of the room to get some breakfast. He padded into the kitchen to find Macbeth and Cravat sitting on one of the wooden stools, nibbling away on what seemed to be some crumbs of bread. Cravat looked up as Shion walked in, and squeaked a greeting before continuing to eat.

"Good morning to you, too," Shion said happily, and pat the two rats on their heads. Macbeth squeaked and jumped off of the stool, running past a startled Shion.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Shion asked aloud, and followed the rat into the living room, worried. Was there something wrong?

Macbeth stopped in front of the tree and squeaked loudly, startling Shion yet again. What was wrong with Macbeth…?

Shion's gaze rose to under the pine sapling and he nearly stopped breathing at what he saw. Under the tree, amid the fallen, brown needles, was a beautiful, pure white wildflower. Shion slowly picked up the flower and felt the fragile petals wrap around his fingers, and its subtle scent wafted around Shion's nose.

"So this is what he got me?" Shion murmured aloud, and closed his eyes. A feeling that closely resembled drinking hot chocolate after being out in the cold wrapped around Shion, and he smiled as he held the flower close. The simple gift was astoundingly beautiful, and the flower hadn't even withered in the night that it had been lying under the tree. Shion brought the flower up to his face and sniffed it, bright yellow pollen dusting the tip of his nose.

"It smells so nice," Shion murmured, and opened his eyes to see Macbeth watching him curiously, his head cocked to the side in amusement.

"What do you think I should give Nezumi for Christmas, Macbeth?" Shion asked the rat. Macbeth looked at him quizzically before scampering off back into the kitchen, leaving Shion alone in the living room.

Shion sighed, content and thoughtful. Nezumi was so kind to him. First candy canes, now a flower? Suddenly, Shion decided not to regret kissing Nezumi goodnight last night. Although Shion had, at the time, meant for it to be more than a chaste kiss goodnight, he was still glad that he did it. This gift also must mean that Nezumi wasn't mad at his sudden rash move, which made Shion happy. But what could Shion give to Nezumi that would repay him for his thoughtfulness?

Shion pondered about that as he returned to the kitchen, flower in hand, to get ready for the day.

"This filthy prop! It's completely useless!" The director yelled, completely pissed off, and threw the nearly shattered snow globe across the stage, and nearly hit an unexpecting Nezumi.

"Hey! Watch where you are throwing that crap!" Nezumi yelled in retaliation, and flipped his hair in annoyance. The director had been pissed off all day, and his attitude was really beginning to rub off on everyone in the cast as well.

The director heaved a heavy sigh and turned to Nezumi.

"I need ya to go to the store and get a new snow globe. You don't go on for a while, so take this money and buy a new one," the director said, and dug around in his pocket and pulled out a few coins. He handed them to Nezumi and glared at him, making even Nezumi a little worried. The director was really stressed out nowadays….

"There should be a snow globe in the store next door. I don't have time to go and get it, so I'm counting on you!" the director said, then sat back down in his chair and continued on with the play.

So he wants me to just waltz into the store in a dress like this and expects me return? Nezumi thought snippily as he walked off the stage and out of the door and into the cold air of the day. Despite the brightly shining sun, the streets were covered in snow, so there weren't many people out braving the cold as Nezumi hurried out to get to the store, his heels clicking on the slippery sidewalk. He clutched the money in his hand and entered the store, and found himself face to face with multiple snow globes.

Ugh, which one should I get? Nezumi fretted when the store clerk suddenly appeared.

"Hello, Nezumi! Long time no see," the man said, and Nezumi, recognizing the voice, turned and saw his old friend, Tsukasa.

"Hey, Tsukasa! How did you know it was me?" Nezumi said, and shook the man's extended hand in greeting.

Tsukasa shrugged and smiled. "I heard you were in the play, so I kinda figured you'd be in a dress, considering how your stage name is Eve."

Nezumi shrugged and grinned.

"I guess that's fair enough. Can you help me find a snow globe for the play? I have to be back on in a few minutes, so I have to hurry."

"No problem! Dogkeeper just brought in a few more this morning. They're all broken, but that's no surprise, considering how the people of the inner city just dump them out once they have a small crack," Tsukasa said, and laughed.

"I have one that looks like the one the director bought a few weeks ago. You think that's the one he wants?" Tsukasa asked as he turned to go into the back of the store.

"Probably," Nezumi said, and went to the counter to count out the coins. It wasn't much, but Nezumi knew that Tsukasa and the director were on good terms, so hopefully Tsukasa would cut the cost a little bit….

Tsukasa returned with a nearly identical snow globe, and Nezumi nearly sighed in relief.

"Hmm, that seems like it should do," Tsukasa said, and took the coins from Nezumi.

"Thanks a lot. I think you just saved the director from another heart attack," Nezumi said, and frowned when Tsukasa started to wrap a red ribbon with a small silver colored bell around the snow globe.

"What are you doing?" Nezumi asked, a bit confused. He just needed to get the snow globe back to the theater, so he didn't understand why Tsukasa was wrapping that thing around it.

"The boss demands we put a 'gratitude' gift around everything we sell. It's such a pain, but it pays, I guess," Tsukasa said, then handed the snow globe to Nezumi.

"Tell the director I said hello," Tsukasa said, and Nezumi nodded before heading out the door, a cold wind making his dress swish in the air.

Nezumi regarded the small bell tied tightly around the prop. It was rather cute, and when Nezumi jiggled the snow globe, he could hear the soft tinkling sound it made. Nezumi grinned at the small bell as he entered the theater, where the director was waiting impatiently for him.

"It's about TIME you showed up!" the director exclaimed, and nearly yanked the new prop out of Nezumi's grip. Nezumi felt a flash of irritation at the director's foul mood, but quickly brushed it off.

"What the hell is this for?" the director asked snippily, and nearly tore off the bell and ribbon—which would have probably broke the new snow globe as well.

Nezumi shrugged. "Gratitude gift?"

"Well, I don't want it. Take it and get the hell back onstage!" the director grumbled, and threw the bell at Nezumi, which tinkled softly once Nezumi caught it. It didn't weigh much, but it still shone brightly in the dim stage lights.

As Nezumi performed during the rehearsal, thoughts of Shion suddenly surfaced, making him stutter during one of his lines. He had placed the bell in one of the hidden pockets of his dress, and his hand crept slowly to it. He didn't know if Shion had liked his last gift, but with a sense of certainty, he had a feeling that Shion would probably like the little bell.

He suddenly remembered the kiss Shion gave him last night, and tried his best to cover up the blush that crept up his cheeks as he gave his line. Nezumi still wasn't sure what Shion had meant by that kiss. Did he mean it as a way to say goodnight, or…?

No. It must have been a simple goodnight kiss. This was Shion, for Christsakes! That naïve, innocent boy wouldn't have meant anything big by that little kiss, would he?

Nezumi resisted the urge to shake his head. He was so confused by that. It was a simple goodnight kiss. So why did he have the feeling that it meant more than that?

That night had a much better turnout than the last. The theater was practically brimming with people, and Nezumi couldn't help but feel a little pride in his performance as he walked home. He had also been able to evade that dreadful woman, which just added to his happiness. Nezumi unlocked the door to find Shion fast asleep on the couch. Nezumi chuckled and walked over to the sleeping boy, and ran his hand through Shion's snow-white hair.

"You really need to stop trying to wait for me," Nezumi murmured, and continued to stroke Shion's hair. Although Shion had fallen asleep, Nezumi was still touched that Shion would try to stay up this late to wait for him to return. Nezumi's hand glided down to the snakelike scar on Shion's cheek, and Nezumi stroked it with his thumb. The skin there was a bit rougher than the rest of Shion's cheek, but the scar was still so alluring in its own way. Nezumi bent down to kiss Shion's forehead, his cold lips lightly making contact with Shion's warm skin. Nezumi got back up and saw Shion slightly open his eyes.

Oops. He accidentally woke Shion up.

"Nezumi? Welcome home," Shion said in a heavy, sleepy voice, and lifted his hand to Nezumi.

"Hey," Nezumi said gently and, realizing his hand was still entangled in Shion's hair, pulled his hand free and looked at Shoin.

"You should go back to sleep," Nezumi said, and Shion smiled.

"Thanks so much for the flower, Nezumi," Shion mumbled, his eyelids beginning to droop in exhaustion. Gee, Rikiga must've made him run ragged with errands or something….

"It was nothing," Nezumi said, though he felt something warm bloom inside his chest. So he did like it….

"Mmm, Nezumi? Can you sleep with me tonight?" Shion asked, and Nezumi's heart nearly pounded out of his chest in surprise.

What?

What did he mean by that? Why would Shion ask him to sleep with him…?

When Shion opened the covers, the realization hit Nezumi, and he nearly blushed in embarrassment. So Shion just meant to sleep!

Nezumi couldn't help but feel perverted—and slightly disappointed, for some reason— as he got under the covers with Shion. The couch was a bit small, so Nezumi had to cuddle close to Shion to fit. Shion's warmth felt so inviting to Nezumi's cold body, and Nezumi sighed contently as Shion began to fall back to sleep.

I'll give him his gift before I leave in the morning, Nezumi thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around his sleeping angel and fell to sleep, his face buried in Shion's cloudlike hair.

Sorry for the wait! I really didn't mean to wait this long to update, but there was a Home Alone marathon playing, and I got kind of distracted…

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! A HUGE thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed my story! It really means a lot to me that you would do that :) I'll update the next chapter as soon as I can!