Shion stirred when the sun's morning rays gently kissed his eyelids, and he opened his sleepy eyes to find that Nezumi had left already left for practice. Shion placed a warm hand over the now cold spot where Nezumi had lain next to him, and he smiled. For some reason, he felt a sort of victory that he had convinced Nezumi to sleep with him last night. He could still feel Nezumi's wind-chilled arms wrapping tightly around him, and Shion sighed contently, just lying on the couch and attempting to wake up.
Once Shion felt fully awake, he got off of the couch and stretched, then, with a sudden burst of eagerness, went to the tree to see what Nezumi had left him today.
The bell was so small that if the bright red ribbon wasn't there to draw Shion's attention to it, he would have missed it entirely. Shion picked up the fragile looking bell and placed it in his palm, the ribbon flowing through his fingers like silky water. Shion noticed the bell was cold, and he clenched it in his fist to warm it up, a smile slowly creeping up his face as he closed his eyes. It didn't matter that Nezumi had already gotten him gifts for three days already; Shion always felt so warm and happy to know that Nezumi continued to give him gifts. Shion wondered briefly where Nezumi continued to get these gifts, but quickly brushed the thought off with a shrug. He probably didn't want to know.
Shion's fuzzy daze was interrupted by a knock at the door. Curious as to who would be visiting so early in the morning, Shion placed the bell carefully back under the tree and went to answer the door.
On the other side of the door was Dogkeeper, looking almost panicked as she clutched two sickly looking puppies in each of her hands.
"Shion! Thank god you're here! You gotta help me—I don't know what to do!" Dogkeeper said in a panic, startling Shion. He had never seen Dogkeeper's face so pinched with worry before. Dogkeeper barged into the house, and Shion, after quickly closing the door behind her, followed Dogkeeper to the couch, where she placed the two puppies.
"What happened? What's wrong with them?" Shion asked, a tightness beginning to form in his throat. He knew how much Dogkeeper cared about her dogs—it was as if they were her family. And these were puppies, too….
"I don't know what happened! I woke up this morning and they were like this. Are they going to be okay?" Dogkeeper asked worriedly as Shion ran a finger across each of the puppies' noses. They were warm and dry, not a good sign. Shion noted with a sinking feeling that the young pups were breathing heavily, their tiny bodies heaving up and down rapidly with their fast paced breaths.
"So far, it just looks like some sort of fever to me," Shion said uncertainly, and patted Dogkeeper's hand. "They need a warm place to rest and a lot of water to keep them hydrated."
"But my hotel is freezing. There's no way that they'll rest in a warm place there," Dogkeeper mumbled, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Before Shion could open his mouth to say anything, Dogkeeper snapped back to attention and glared at Shion sharply. Shion nearly shuddered when he saw that intense gaze upon him—it meant that Dogkeeper had an idea and that she wasn't going to back down until she got her way.
"I'm letting them stay with you. You know how to take care of them, and I can't leave the hotel for long without someone trying to break in or something."
Shion gave a startled laugh. "I can't do that. Nezumi doesn't like dogs, remember?" Shion tried to reason, but the look in Dogkeeper's eyes made him stop short. Shion nearly shook his head in defeat. There was no use in trying to reason with that stubborn woman once she made up her mind.
Shion sighed and slumped his shoulders, his heart sinking down onto his feet. "Alright, I'll look after them," he mumbled, and turned his attention to the sick pups. He was hoping for the day off to clean up the house a little for Christmas, but with the two puppies now in his care, he didn't see that happening anytime soon.
"Atta boy! I'm counting on you, Shion. Take care of them, and bring them by tomorrow when they're better," Dogkeeper said, her worried expression shifting into one of relief.
Or so it would seem. Shion noticed the worried look in her eyes lingered as she gazed at the sleeping puppies, so much like how a mother would look if her children had gotten sick.
Dogkeeper noticed Shion staring, and huffed, offended to be caught in such a state.
"Stupid boy, didn't your mother tell you it's rude to stare?" she muttered, and left without a backward glance. Shion flinched when he heard the door slam, and he got up to lock the door before turning his attention back to the pups. He made a small nest of blankets on the couch and placed the puppies in it, then started a fire to keep them warm. After making sure the puppies were tightly bundled and warm, Shion sighed and sat down, placing his head in his hands. How on earth was he going to explain this to Nezumi? He knew that Nezumi was going to be pissed if the puppies did anything to make the house smell bad or look different, even if only slightly.
But then again, Nezumi was going to be gone most of the time, so if Shion managed to hide the puppies in the short time Nezumi was actually home…maybe he could get away with it?
Shion's head began to hurt, and he sighed again. His gaze lifted to the silver gift Nezumi had left him, and Shion's heart pounded while a soft blush crept up his cheeks. Lately, it seemed as if that happened whenever he simply thought of Nezumi. Nezumi, with his long black hair and storm grey eyes…the boy that Shion had rescued so long ago in the rain, and also the same boy who had saved him from the police only a few short months ago. Shion sighed and closed his eyes, his body suddenly turning warm…
A small whimper startled Shion out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see one of the puppies stretching, nearly tumbling off of the couch.
"Ah! Hold on, I'm coming!" Shion said, and rushed to catch the falling puppy.
Nezumi couldn't help but feel smug when he found himself able to both successfully avoid the annoying woman and find something for Shion—a cookie. The director, feeling bad for his harsh treatment of everyone yesterday, had bought some cookies from a local bakery and gave each of the cast members one. Nezumi didn't care much for sweets, but the moment the cookie was handed to him, he remembered Shion's fixation for sweets, and accepted it with a goofy smile on his face, which many people were astonished, and a few horrified, to see on the apathetic Nezumi's face.
Nezumi had felt elated when he woke up that morning with a sleeping Shion bundled up in his arms, and now all Nezumi could think about was Shion, Shion, Shion. That white haired boy never strayed from his mind, and his heart pounded whenever he closed his eyes to find Shion there, his smiling face greeting Nezumi with that innocent look in his eyes.
Unfortunately, it was also a major distraction from what he desperately needed to focus on—the play.
Nezumi didn't understand why he was feeling this way, but he had a feeling that this strong, overpowering emotion went way beyond the borders of simple friendship. He found himself wishing to be next to Shion all day, and this was starting to piss him off. Shion was a friend, but his heart seemed to continually say otherwise, and that made Nezumi angry.
Nezumi sighed and sat down on the floor of his dressing room, pulling his hands through his hair in misery. He was worried about going home—or actually, what might happen if he saw Shion again. He knew that these feelings for Shion were wrong, and that there was absolutely NO way that Shion would ever feel the same for him.
Nezumi sighed and put the cookie in his chest pocket before heading out into the cold, the constant worry about his own feelings ringing endlessly in his chest as he walked the slick, slippery sidewalk home.
Nezumi knew something was different the moment he walked through the door. Concerned, he walked into the living room to find a strange, appalling sight. For on the couch was Shion, asleep as usual, but in the crook of his arms were two small puppies, sleeping soundly curled up against Shion's chest and face. What on earth were some of Dogkeeper's stupid mutts doing here…?
Nezumi immediately knew that Dogkeeper was probably up to one of her old tricks again, and growled under his breath. He knew that Shion knew that Nezumi hated dogs, therefore would not intentionally bring a puppy into the house without asking Nezumi about it first. But nevertheless, the two puppies were still here. Dogkeeper must've forced the dogs on Shion or something, and Nezumi shook his head, his momentary anger dissipating into exhaustion.
Whatever. Normally, Nezumi would be furious about this turn of events, but he was too exhausted from his battle of feelings today to care.
Nezumi moved silently to the tree as not to wake Shion and placed the cookie under the tree soundlessly. He was glad that he had the sense to wrap the cookie in paper earlier so the rats didn't decide to eat it before Shion awoke. He just hoped that the puppies didn't decide to jump up and make it their midnight snack.
Nezumi heard Shion mumble something in his sleep, and Nezumi turned back to see that Shion had pulled the puppies closer and rubbed his face against their small, petite bodies.
Although Nezumi hated dogs of any type, puppy or full grown, he couldn't help but think that Shion cuddling with some puppies was rather…cute.
Nezumi sighed as a familiar, warm feeling hit him. It was the same feeling he had been harboring all day.
"Gah, what is wrong with me?" Nezumi muttered under his breath, and walked away from the white haired boy to go to the bedroom and clear his thoughts. He would think about this in the morning. Right now, he just wanted to sleep.
Sorry for another lame chapter! I was in a bit of a rush to get this one done, so I apologize if it wasn't as good as the others. But the next one will be a lot better, I promise! :D
Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! HUGE thanks to everyone who follows, faves, and/or reviews my little story. It really means a lot to me!
(And uhm…the last time I checked, this story had, well, 69 views for the day lolololol keep up the good work guys! XD )