Shion stirred when the sunlight hit his eyes, and he smiled when he opened his eyes to find Nezumi asleep next to him, cradling Shion tightly in his arms as he slept. Shion could feel the warmth radiating off of Nezumi's naked chest and feel Nezumi's breath stir the strands of hair that his mouth touched. It was so different, being able to have Nezumi lying next to him after so long without him even in the house. It was even wilder when Nezumi was asleep, a rare sight since Nezumi was usually the first person up.
Nezumi groaned softly as he woke up, blinking his eyes at the uncommon sight of sunlight hitting his eyes, and the even more unfamiliar sight of a nude Shion lying next to him. A flood of memories from last night hit him like a freight train, and he gazed down at Shion's sparkling red eyes, smiling. For the first time in quite a while, Nezumi felt completely whole, and he hugged Shion closer, earning a light chuckle from the white-haired boy.
"Good morning, Nezumi," Shion murmured against Nezumi's chest, and Nezumi wanted to laugh as Shion's light breath tickled him.
"Good morning, Shion," Nezumi replied, and Shion looked up at him, a blissful smile on his face. Both boys stayed silent for a while, just smiling and enjoying each other's company as the morning light continued to warm up the cold house. Nezumi cast a quick glance out of the window and saw that it had indeed snowed last night as a blanket of white, powdery snow covered the sidewalks and streets. Children laughed as they ran about, having snowball fights and making silly snow angels as their parents watched from a distance, some drinking coffee that steamed in the cold air.
Shion's sudden growling stomach caught Nezumi off guard, and he laughed as Shion's face turned a bright red.
"I'm going to fix us something to eat. Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen," Nezumi said, and after giving Shion a quick peck on his forehead, he got up, dressed, and made his way to the kitchen.
Shion yawned loudly and attempted to get up, only to fall back down onto the bed as a sharp pain from his rear erupted behind him. Shion desperately tried not to groan in pain as his lower back nearly screamed with agony, and he slowly attempted to get up again. The pain wasn't as bad this time, but it still hurt like hell when Shion bent over to gather his clothes that he had folded neatly on the nightstand the night before.
By the time Shion had made it to the kitchen, Nezumi was already finished preparing their breakfast—oatmeal, Shion guessed by the smell. Nezumi took one look at Shion and frowned before pointing the big wooden spoon at him.
"You're hurting, aren't you?" Nezumi asked as Shion sat on the stool, wincing at the pain in his ass.
"Just a little," Shion admitted, and Nezumi walked over to him, a worried crinkle in his eyes. Had he been too rough with him last night?
"But I can manage," Shion said quickly, noticing Nezumi's discomfort.
"Are you sure?" Nezumi asked, still worried.
"Yeah," Shion said, and smiled at Nezumi. "Fix me a bowl. I'm starving!"
"Okay…," Nezumi said, still uncertain as he made his way to the small pot. He fixed himself and Shion a bowl and they ate in silence, peace lingering in the air like a soft blanket surrounding the two boys.
"So Nezumi, where on earth did you find that stuff? I've never seen it in any store I've been into before," Shion asked through a mouthful of oatmeal. Nezumi raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"What stuff?"
"You know, that stuff you put on your fingers?"
"Oh, the lube," Nezumi said, and then grinned.
"I don't really remember. I got it a long time ago. That's stuff's hard to find around here, which is probably why you haven't seen it in any of the stores," Nezumi said, and took another spoonful of oatmeal.
Shion pondered this for a moment. "But if it's so hard to find, then why did you have it?"
Nezumi didn't answer, just continued eating his oatmeal as a silly grin formed on his lips.
Once they were finished, Shion made his way to the living room, and Nezumi's heart pounded with anxiety. How would Shion respond when he found nothing under the tree…?
"Nezumi, come see!" Shion cried excitedly from the living room, and Nezumi, heart pounding, slowly made his way to the living room, fearing the worst.
Instead, his eyes beheld a magnificent sight.
The tree appeared to be in full bloom, its brown, wilted trunk sprung up and strong, and a full set of bright green leaves covering each branch. But the most magnificent thing about it was the red and green ornaments that decorated the tree, along with a golden star topping the tree. Nezumi was confused, and he thought of how this possibly could have happened…
The rats gave a slight squeak to their master, and Nezumi turned to see them scatter in different directions throughout the house. Nezumi couldn't help but chuckle softly at his small companions, knowing fully well that they were up to the whole mystery, and he turned to Shion, who gazed at the tree in wonder.
"I wonder how it got so much better overnight?" Shion wondered aloud, and touched the ornaments. Shion looked up to Nezumi, a bright smile on his face as his eyes shined with happiness.
"Did you get these ornaments, Nezumi?" Shion asked, and Nezumi blushed. No, he hadn't, but if he knew his rats correctly, they would have made it appear that he had given them to Shion. Not questioning where the rats had gotten the sparkling ornaments, he smiled and nodded.
"Thanks so much, Nezumi!" Shion cried happily, and threw his arms around Nezumi, nearly knocking him over in his excitement.
"Hey, it snowed last night. Wanna go out and see it?" Shion asked after he had disengaged his arms from Nezumi's waist.
"Sure," Nezumi said, and grabbed his coat as Shion grabbed his.
They walked into the cold air, and nearly had to squint at the sight. The snow was blindingly white from the sun's bright rays, and the sky was clear and blue. It was truly a beautiful day. Nezumi gazed at it in amazement, the sight a welcome relief from the inside of the theater.
"Nezumi, duck!" Shion yelled as he picked up a snowball and threw it at Nezumi. Unable to respond fast enough, Nezumi was rewarded with a thick glob of snow to his face.
Shion laughed as Nezumi wiped off the snow and stared at him, narrowing his eyes. Nezumi glared at him, and Shion stopped laughing. For a moment, Shion thought Nezumi was mad at him.
That is, until Nezumi grabbed a bunch of snow and started rolling it into a ball, an evil grin spreading over his face.
"Do you really want to go there?" Nezumi asked in a deep voice, and before Shion could even think of running, Nezumi threw the ball of snow, hitting Shion directly on his shoulder.
"Hey, we want to play, too!" Nezumi and Shion heard some children complain, and they turned to see Karan and her brother running up to them, snowballs at the ready. Nezumi grinned that maniac grin of his and bent over to pick up another snowball, effectively beginning the fight.
It wasn't until evening that they all started to feel tired, and Shion and Nezumi sat down next to each other in the snow as the children nearby made snow angels, giggling to themselves.
"I had fun today, Nezumi," Shion said, his arm brushing against Nezumi's as he laid his tired head on Nezumi's shoulder. Nezumi brought his hand up to Shion's head and patted his hair—the same color as the snow on Nezumi's thick, black gloves.
"Me too," Nezumi said softly as the children waved their goodbyes and made their way home. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was painted dark orange as the sun gave way to night, making the snow glimmer a soft color.
"We should be getting home, too," Nezumi said after a moment of watching the sun set, and picked himself up. He gave Shion a hand, and Shion took it, only to have Nezumi pull him so hard that he ended up being thrown onto Nezumi's chest.
The impact was a bit hard, but one look in Nezumi's eyes and Shion could tell he did it on purpose.
"Shion," Nezumi murmured, his grey eyes going soft. His gloved hand went up to cup Shion's cheek, and he traced Shion's scar softly with his thumb.
"Nezumi, I love you," Shion said as Nezumi leaned in to kiss him.
Nezumi paused and looked at him, his heart filling up with an overpowering emotion as his eyes met Shion's.
"I love you, too," Nezumi murmured, and he kissed Shion tenderly as the sun set completely, the last rays of orange light catching Shion's white hair before sweet darkness settled over the land.
So here it is, the last chapter! I really do hope that everyone had as much fun reading it as I had writing it, even though I was a day off the entire time XD
As always, thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews, and a special thanks to all those who faved and followed. Just knowing that you like my story enough to follow it to the end makes me feel all loved and warm inside! And the reviews just about made my day and kept my enthusiasm to write more chapters when I felt as if the story was worthless, so a huge thanks to you guys who reviewed!
If anyone can think of a way that I can improve, please let me know by leaving a review. I really do hope to improve my writing, and any type of criticism would be very helpful.
Well, I guess now it's time to say goodbye. Thanks once again, and I hope to see you in my next story!