(A/N: I don't own any of the characters. I wish I did, though.)
What a dumb holiday.
Or so Guntz thought. To him, it's a regular Tuesday. There was no rhyme or reason as to why anyone thought a holiday would measure up to be the perfect time to profess undying, unrelenting love to someone, who'd have no idea beforehand until this dumb, miserable day. It would be the same every year; Guntz would go out into the village to see love-whirling residents, holding hands or some other stupid gesture whilst he walk past his grumble. He'd rate this day as the first worst holiday—Christmas was obviously right up there—paired with the unnecessary, cold and damp harrowing days. Not to mention, it reminded Guntz too much of the day his father had fell. There had been no good with the winter since then.
And now, alongside the cold, he had to deal with the unrelenting show of love that this day had to bring.
True, Guntz can be somewhat of a downer; Pango had jested lightly in his steed about how he seemed to bring the clouds after the sun. Now that the lone wolf thought about it, he never could bring himself to actually hate Pango, actually. In fact, he was a semblance of an active father figure in his life. Although Guntz couldn't stand his cheeriness at times, there was one other person whose happy-go-luckiness seemed to chip away at him, though in bits and pieces. His days previously had always been to get through another day, but once this particular figure entered his life, it was almost as if he was giving the parched wolf water to survive.
Klonoa.
The cabbit tend to be the sunshine to his clouds. Guntz would never admit it aloud, however—there was a slight tinge of embarrassment whenever Pango so much as mention his name when referring to their stark differences. Of course, Klonoa brought about a different air to what Guntz is used to, with his bumbling, cheery personality and optimism that is unmatched regarding to seeing the best in different, yet otherwise hopeless situations. It was the fresh air that the wolf needed, though his response to such is taunting him in surmounted rivalry. Of course, it was always nice to see the cabbit grow flustered in trying to mark the sharpshooter, and Guntz always got a rile of it once the two end their days knowing whose victory.
Still, it was only a fraction of how Guntz felt. Sure, it was a way to bond with Klonoa, but underneath that guise, he wondered how long he could continue hiding what he truly feels. Even so, the wolf isn't sure of how hefeels for the cabbit, and he often sits in wonder if it's truly a platonic grace, or deeper feelings that are shelved for the convenience of both of them. It is also remarkably out of character for the God of Death to have any feelings whatsoever, let alone for his rival and occasional comrade. Guntz thought it was simply too stupid for him to even get worked up over, and decided to ignore it.
But even so, those feelings still bubble up inside of him, waiting for the question to be popped by a slow letdown that Guntz isn't what Klonoa wants. After all, he saw how Klonoa reminiscences about his travels with Lolo, all fawn-like and what have you. He simply did not bother in dabbling in those feelings. Hell, even the mere mention of Lolo sends the cabbit into a bliss, and Guntz figured he wasn't cut out for the whole 'love' thing, and whatnot. He figured it was just his luck, Guntz thought as he approached his front door. As he walked into the homely abode of what he was able to muster in a village house, far from the tenants that live amongst each other in happy estates—the wolf himself couldn't stand nearing too many inhabitants as his job is a bounty hunter; he'd be damned to be scrutinized for his way of living—he settled in by putting his jacket on the coat stand hanger and preparing to lounge in silence.
It wasn't until Guntz started up the fireplace where there was a few brisk knocks on the wooden door, and his ears perked up. Usually there wasn't an unwarranted visitor unless it was the bill collector, and they wouldn't show up until next month. Guntz made sure of that. He came to his feet and grumbly opened the door, as he dug in his right ear. "What is it? I'm busy..." His scruff came to a close once he opened his eyes.
Lo and behold, there stood Klonoa. The cabbit stood in a garnished coat that was oversized for even himself; it must have been a nice hand-me-down from his grandfather, though it looked as though it was thrown on with the way it hung off of his smaller body. There was small, breaths of air that emitted that seem to spout in a flurry of puffs that emitted from his chest, and Guntz could only assume that he must have ran to this destination as the wolf had never given his address to anyone. He was being followed in his own stupor of anger, and the wolf only condemned himself as he let his own guard down.
Before Guntz could speak, Klonoa immediately drew from behind himself a heart-shaped box of chocolate. The wolf looked down at his yellow-gloved hands and—was it a blush or was it the weather?—saw the cabbit with averted eyes and a tinge of blush on his cheeks; he almost looked adorable biting the bottom of his lip. It looked as though he was in primary schooling all over again, though with the inconvenience of such happening at his front doorstep than the leisure of school.
"What's this?" Guntz dumbly asked. He slightly flipped the box with the tension of his wrist, and his blue emerald eyes looked up to see a somewhat embarrassed cabbit; there was a slight blush on Klonoa as he began to explain. "Well, ah—for this holiday, you have to give your loved ones a token of your appreciation, a-and, well, usually chocolate is given t—"
The wolf grumbled. "I know it's chocolate, 'Noa," he interjected, though with a bit of contradiction behind his previous statement. Guntz then stared at the heart-shaped box once again. The air slowly began to take after the ambience of the village in the far distance. Klonoa began to suffocate by the silence, slowly beginning to believe the gift was dejected, and then paced his footing to head back to the village. The air suddenly became as murky as the expression on Guntz; it was contorted in a way where Klonoa couldn't exactly pinpoint, though somewhat amusing. Despite this, Klonoa decided to hold his footing, stepping backwards as he somewhat stammered in his words, "I... I just thought it'd be a way to show you my appreciation," he stumbled. His face was as flustered as Klonoa came to a startling conclusion in the midst of his words.
"Um, well... I'm going to head ba—"
That was the second time Klonoa was interrupted before Guntz pulled the shorter inhabitant into a measly hug, whereas Klonoa dove into the thick coating of fur from the wolf. It was brisk, as the cabbit did not expect anything but a dishelmed frown and a 'shoo' away from the house, as typical Guntz. But this was all new, all unfamiliar territory as this was quite a different side he didn't expect from his older friend. He hadn't thought much of it until now, where the two were interlocked in a close embrace. But something told Klonoa this was atypical of a different expression, where a friendly exchange would mean nothing more of a homely embrace; something in the depth of his heart told the cabbit this, too, was also new for Guntz, as he didn't particularly share these exchanges with just anyone. Klonoa noticed he was being shifted onto the tip of his toes, as his shoes began to crease as the cabbit was pulled deeper; there beheld a new intimacy where Guntz encouraged the hug to become reciprocated, and Klonoa began to follow suite.
It was a while until the cabbit heard anything in the long, intimate enclosure, where the two took note of the other's breathing, the slow, gentle brushing of the back of one another, the deep sighs that came with finding air after nuzzling in the other's fur of one head and in the depths of the coat of another—it felt as though it was eons before the low grumble came from the initiator. And by goddess, he wouldn't have mentioned this dare to anyone, not even in the proximity of where the two stood, but there was a sliver of a tear that threatened to spout from the waterworks of the older figure.
"...Thank you," was the response Klonoa heard. It was somewhat stifled, as the cabbit could only make half of the gratitude. A slow smile approached on Klonoa, who then warmly ran his hand up against the wolf, where Guntz seemed to flush a bit underneath his coating. "Of course," Klonoa responded in a much happier shift, his voice chipper compared to the gruff, low voice of his counterpart. Then Klonoa beamed a happy smile, which caused Guntz to advert his gaze. "It's not much, but I didn't want you to feel left out on this holiday. I know Pango told me you don't really celebrate these kinds'a holidays, but, well, I still thought you deserved a gift."
Guntz slowly flustered in his position. He looked back down at the heart of chocolate and went into a brief thought. After a while of speculating, the wolf then closed his eyes and smirked. "Are you confessing to me?"
That was when Klonoa grew red. "N-No!" he quickly exclaimed, before Guntz set off into laughter. Klonoa then squashed the tip of his shoe onto the ground, twisting his ankle as he then reconsidered his words, truthfully. "...Um, well, maybe?"
His response caused Guntz to stop laughing. This time, he was growing red, and the two matched faces with one another. There was a long pause as the two adverted eyes from one another before the wolf decided to clear his throat and speak.
"...Come in. I'll make you something to drink. How's hot chocolate feel? There isn't any reason for you to be in this freight weather."
Klonoa then mustered up a smile. "Okay!"
(A/N: I'm late. Sorry. I tried to keep them in character as best as I could. I was also inspired by philosonica's set of fanfiction of this couple. This is the end result. I'll make something more original when I make another fanfiction of these two as I'm coming back to write more often. This was a nice warmup... What? I have to live up to my username at some point. I do hope to revive this account as I have not forgotten about it; I'm actually in my mid-twenties now, so go bother.)