Shion awoke from sleep, his eyelids fluttering as he took a deep breath and yawned. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room, trying to make the dizziness of sleep disappear. He didn't know what to think of last night, when Nezumi had kissed him. Shion had always known that there was something special between the both of them, but last night, it became clear to him that their relationship was no longer just friendship. Shion placed a hand over his heart as a rush of unfamiliar feelings came over him. No, they were much more than that. Now that Shion knew Nezumi held the same feelings for him as Shion did for Nezumi, Shion had the feeling that the boy who had always been on his mind since that rainy day four years ago was much more than his friend.

Shion sighed and clenched the soft fabric of his shirt. He had wanted to tell Nezumi to stop being so flustered every time they kissed and that he had feelings for Nezumi, but Nezumi had stuttered an apology and ran out of the room before Shion could even open his mouth. He wanted to go after him, but held himself back, since Nezumi had to get up early. Shion didn't want Nezumi to be exhausted because he had kept him up.

Shion suddenly got a brilliant idea, and took his hand off of his chest. Tonight, he would stay up and tell Nezumi how he felt. Yeah, maybe Nezumi wouldn't be so embarrassed if Shion told him that he felt the same way. Happy with his resolution, Shion got out of the warm bed and walked out of the room, and went to the tree to see what Nezumi had left him today. At first glance, Shion didn't really know what the large black discs were, but upon closer inspection, he saw that they were…records? Shion's eyes widened in astonishment. He didn't know these still existed…it must've been really hard for Nezumi to find these!

Unfortunately, he didn't know how to work them, and Shion just picked up the three large, light disks and brought them to the library. He saw an old phonograph there the other day, and he knew that the records were supposed to play on them. He gently placed the three records on the old record player, smiling as a rush of those familiar, warm feelings engulfed him, making him nearly blush with happiness. He loved that, despite the awkwardness between them, Nezumi had brought him a gift.

The sound of rats squeaking brought Shion out of his daze, and he looked to the rats.

"Hey, guys," Shion greeted, and petted each of them on their small heads. Suddenly feeling more generous than ever, Shion walked to the kitchen and took out a slice of stale bread, broke it in small pieces, and gave it to the rats, who gobbled it up the moment the pieces hit the floor. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and Shion knew that the rats needed some sort of present, even though they were animals.

I still don't know what I'm going to give to Nezumi, Shion thought to himself, and frowned. Of course, nothing would be able to match the generosity that Nezumi had shown Shion, but Shion needed to give something to Nezumi in order to repay him.

A thought popped into Shion's head, and he smiled at his great idea. He was planning to visit Dogkeeper's place again today to check up on the puppies…while he was there, he could ask Dogkeeper. Pleased with this plan, Shion trotted to the bedroom to get ready to set out.

"Dogkeeper, what do you think I should get Nezumi for Christmas?" Shion asked as Dogkeeper plopped herself down on the stairs, a bottle of what appeared to be beer in her hand.

"Hell, I dunno. It's not like we're friends or anything," Dogkeeper said, and took a long swig of her beer. Shion held a puppy in his hand, stroking its fur as it insistently licked and nibbled on his fingers.

"But you've knew him longer than I have. Are you sure you don't know?" Shion asked, his heart deflating. He was so sure that Dogkeeper would harbor some hints as to what Nezumi would want…

"Nope. Maybe you should bang him. Now that's what I would call a nice Christmas gift!" Dogkeeper said, and laughed loudly as she took another long swig of beer.

Huh?

Shion remembered Dogkeeper said something about Nezumi wanted to "bang" him, but Shion had no clue as to what that meant. By Dogkeeper's nasty laugh, Shion knew it wasn't something very nice.

"Dogkeeper, what do you mean by 'banging'?" Shion asked innocently, and Dogkeeper just stared at him, her eyes having a 'did you really just say that' look in them.

Then she burst into another fit of laughter, tears beginning to form in her eyes as the mere sound of her hysterical laughing bounced off of the walls. Shion just watched her, feeling stupid. He really wasn't used to talking slang, or whatever form 'banging' came in.

"Wow, Shion. You really are dumber than a pile of bricks, aren't ya?" Dogkeeper said once she had wiped away the tears and regained control of her breathing. Shion felt the need to tell her that back in Chronos, he had been one of the top elite students in his class, but resisted and just nodded, silently asking her to continue.

"It means that you should have sex with him," she said bluntly, and Shion, taken completely off guard, stared at her before blushing a bright crimson.

Dogkeeper chuckled, her beer sloshing around in her bottle. "What? It's a joke, Shion. Don't take it too seriously."

"But you're suggesting that I should have…sex…with Nezumi?" Shion asked, his face hot with embarrassment. He liked Nezumi—no, more like really, really liked him—but never once had Shion thought that he should have sex with him!

Dogkeeper rolled her eyes, ignoring Shion's flustered appearance.

"Of course that was what I was suggesting, dimwit," she said, and took a chug of her beer. "And knowing how weird he is, he'd probably like it!"

They sat in silence for a moment, Shion feeling flustered and embarrassed while Dogkeeper enjoyed Shion's discomfort in her drunken haze. The puppy in Shion's lap barked softly before jumping off and joining its siblings off to the right, and Shion stood up, brushing off the dirt from his pants.

"I'm going to go home now. Thanks for letting me come over to check on the puppies," Shion murmured, and Dogkeeper giggled for no apparent reason.

"Welcome!" she exclaimed with more enthusiasm than necessary, and raised her bottle to Shion before taking another gulp of beer as Shion turned to leave.

Well, that was a total waste of time. All Shion was able to get was a drunk Dogkeeper and a suggestion to have sex with a boy that wouldn't even admit his own feelings to Shion. Shion sighed and thought about it for a moment. He really didn't know what Nezumi would want for Christmas, and he couldn't help but think about Dogkeeper's suggestion. If, in an alternate reality where Nezumi would admit to liking Shion, Shion had offered Nezumi the gift of himself, would it even work? Shion felt another blush creeping up his cheeks as he imagined a naked Nezumi on top of him, rubbing his heated skin against Shion's….

"Ah, I shouldn't be thinking of this!" Shion muttered to himself and, suddenly too keyed-up to walk, took off at a run towards home, struggling to control the raging blush creeping up his cheeks.

Nezumi wanted to hurry home today. It didn't matter that he had probably ruined his and Shion's friendship; he needed to get away from the theater. He thought he was going to go crazy in there! The cast members had finally hit their limits of each other, and fights broke out throughout the day, some almost onstage while they were performing in front of an audience! One of the cast members actually broke one of the stage props—a candelabra—, smashing the small thing into bits, which enraged the director beyond belief. Now that they didn't have their precious candelabra, they had to make do without it. Luckily, the three candles inside weren't too badly damaged, and Nezumi had taken them up to his dressing room, knowing that he could use some more at home. He also noticed that although there were three candles, only two of them were white while one was red. The same shade of red as Shion's eyes, too…

Nezumi closed his storm grey eyes and shook his head violently, feeling the candles bump against his chest. Despite the drama backstage, Nezumi had a hard time getting his mind off of the white-haired boy at home, and no matter what he did, he couldn't forget the way their lips had molded together as they kissed.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Nezumi felt the need to break down and cry. He was so stupid! He had ruined everything! The one person that he had ever let in his heart probably hated him, and now he had to go home to confront him. Even though Nezumi was upset, he still felt some sort of obligatory need to give Shion a gift. Nezumi never went back on his promises…

Nezumi was attacked as soon as he opened the door. Shion, who was waiting impatiently next to the door, had heard Nezumi unlock the door and, as soon as the door was open, he flung himself at Nezumi, wrapping his arms around Nezumi in a tight grip.

Startled, Nezumi just stood there in shock as Shion, his arms still tightly wrapped around Nezumi's waist, looked up at him with an intense look in his eyes.

"Before you say anything, there is something that I want—no, need—to tell you," Shion said in a deep voice the moment Nezumi opened his mouth to ask Shion what he was doing. Nezumi's heart thumped against his chest as he felt Shion's warm body press tightly against him, and Shion took a deep breath.

"I like you, Nezumi. I like you a lot. I like you more than I should, more than I know is healthy for me. And I know that you do, too. Please don't try to deny it," Shion said as he noticed Nezumi's face pale at his confession.

Nezumi's heart skipped a beat. Shion…liked him? What was the meaning of this sudden confession? Didn't Shion hate him?

"Is this how you truly feel?" Nezumi asked in a whisper unable to manage more as he felt his heart nearly beating out of his chest. He felt warm, and the feelings he had for Shion suddenly surfaced out of the depths of his heart, nearly making him gasp in its intensity.

Shion blushed and nodded, squeezing his arms even tighter around Nezumi's waist. "Yes. I love you, Nezumi. I realized it when you kissed me last night, and I couldn't wait for you to get home today so that I could tell you," Shion murmured, Nezumi's face suddenly looming closer.

Nezumi felt relieved that Shion didn't hate him, but another feeling began to battle fiercely within him. A deep, dark desire lifted from him, and when he heard Shion confess his love to him, something in Nezumi snapped.

"Shion," Nezumi murmured dazedly and, without thinking twice, brought his lips to Shion's. Nezumi kissed him desperately, wrapping his arms around Shion and pulling him in closer.

Shion, surprised by Nezumi's sudden move, kissed him back tenderly, slipping his eyes shut as he let Nezumi kiss him. Their lips molded together perfectly, as if they were made for each other. Nezumi slipped his tongue into Shion's mouth, and Shion gasped, then moaned as Nezumi backed him into the wall. Pressed against the wall, their kisses became more heated, and Nezumi took Shion's arms from around his waist to place them above Shion's head, holding Shion hostage as Nezumi's other hand began to explore under Shion's shirt.

"Nezumi!" Shion yelped when Nezumi's lips began to explore the areas of Shion's neck. Shion could feel Nezumi's teeth gently nipping at the scar on his neck, making Shion feel hot. He was sensitive there! But even so, having Nezumi kissing him like this felt so good that Shion was reluctant to make him stop.

But the moment Nezumi's wandering hand started playing with Shion's nipples, Shion gasped and tried to pull away. This was going way too fast!

"Nezumi, stop!" Shion moaned, nearly biting his lip in pleasure when Nezumi sucked on his scar.

Shion's cry startled Nezumi out of his heated daze, and he released Shion, breathing heavily. Nezumi felt hot, and his lips felt bruised from where he had kissed Shion.

"Shion, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—," Nezumi started, but Shion silenced him with a quick peck on his lips.

"Don't apologize," Shion said, his face mere inches from Nezumi's. Their hot breaths mingled in their closeness as Shion said, "I don't regret what you did. We were just moving a little fast, is all."

Nezumi closed his mouth and nodded, a blush creeping up his already hot face.

"Okay," Nezumi murmured, and Shion smiled warmly.

"I missed you today," he said, giving Nezumi a tight hug. "Tomorrow is your last day at the theater, right?" Shion asked, pulling away from Nezumi to look the taller boy in the eyes.

"Yeah, it is," Nezumi said, his body beginning to cool down as Shion's red eyes regarded him sweetly. Nezumi couldn't help but smile at Shion, his feelings bubbling over. Why had he denied these feelings for so long? To his amazement, he had feelings for Shion, feelings that he both didn't know about and denied to himself.

"You should be getting some sleep. It's past midnight," Nezumi said after a moment of them just staring at each other in silence.

"Right. We wouldn't want Santa to skip the house tonight, right?" Shion said, and winked, making Nezumi chuckle softly. Unlike what many people thought, Nezumi actually did know the legend of Santa Clause.

"No, we wouldn't. Get to bed already, and I'll see you tomorrow," he said, and Shion gave him a quick kiss before running off to the bedroom.

Nezumi sighed as he put the red candle under the tree and lied down on the couch.

For the first time this week, Nezumi felt warm…and truly happy.

Sorry for the late upload! (again) I did try to submit yesterday, but I got the infamous "Error 503" message, and I couldn't upload until now.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I worked really hard on this one, trying to make it great for everyone. Thanks to everyone who faved, followed, and/or reviewed! It means a lot to me!

OH, AND THE NEXT CHAPTER IS RATED M. JUST A HEADS UP IF YOU DIDN'T GET ALL OF THE (sort of) SUBTLE HINTS IN THIS CHAPTER