When Shion lived in No.6, he never experienced real snow very often. When the automatic cleaners came out, there'd hardly be any snow in the public areas as it was deemed hazardous. There was a specific place you could go at the right time of year, where they had snow, and you could play with it, taste it, touch it. His only real memory of a white winter was having snow fights and making a snowman in the park with Safu. That was such a long time ago.

It snowed freely in some parts of the West District, as he came to learn. It wasn't as magical as he'd imagined; there was little normal folk could do to afford a good heating system around here. Temperatures could drop drastically at night and it became unbearable without a central environment control system. People died quicker. The clean-up crew had more business, so that made some people happy.

Shion breathed out harshly, and made a delightful sound when his breath formed into a deep white fog before him.

"What are you, five?" said his companion irritably.

"You try it too, Nezumi."

"I'll pass," he said flatly, walking at a slightly quicker pace.

They were on their way home from a little grocery shopping. Nezumi was fine going alone, but Shion had insisted on coming along to help. In truth, he really wanted to see how winter differed in the various districts. At the street market the snow had turned black. Nezumi said it was because it was that dirty. No one cared about public cleanliness. Sometimes, there were flasks or cups under the roofs, collecting melted snow water for drinking or cooking or washing. Shion wondered if that was even hygienic.

The place they lived was less inhabited, and the snow was left mostly untouched. Tonight, it seemed to glow a deep blue, reflecting the sky above. It crunched pleasantly under their feet, leaving two perfect sets of footprints behind.

The ruined playground looked like a picturesque scene from a book, as they passed through it.

"Ah!" something stole Shion's attention and he jogged ahead of Nezumi, his breath trailing behind him like a ghostly mist.

"Don't slip, idiot," Nezumi called after him.

"Swings!"

"Huh?"

Shion had come to a pair of old swings and was lightly pulling the frozen chains, as though testing their strength.

"No shit," said Nezumi, rooted to his spot, looking disinterested. "I'll be going back first then." He turned away.

"Stay."

Just one word, and Nezumi found himself unable to move.

"Stay with me, Nezumi," Shion said it again, with much earnest in his voice, and Nezumi gave in, a little too easily for his taste. It caught him like a web.

Knowing this would take some time, he laid the bag of groceries on a broken see-saw. He might as well allow Shion his stupid carefree moment.

"Don't you like swings, Nezumi?" Shion brushed the snow off the seat before sitting on it. "Although, I can't imagine you ever been on one before."

"Tsk, what do you know about me," Nezumi scoffed, kicking him in the back and sending him through the air.

"Uwah!" The sudden push caught him by surprise. The cold air hit his face and he stiffled a sneeze.

Nezumi just sniggered, tugging on the chain of the other swing. "My apologies, princess."

As Shion's swing came close to a halt, he laughed whole-heartedly, face a-flush, before kicking himself off the ground to create a more comfortable momentum. Leaning a foot casually against the wooden seat of the other swing, Nezumi watched, a little captivated. The white, almost translucent locks reflected the blue of the snow around it. Shion was commenting on how it felt, the last time he did this, but Nezumi wasn't listening, not quite. Shion turned to face him, that smile radiating with such innocence and mirth; suddenly remembering to breathe, Nezumi looked away.

"Don't just watch, Nezumi. When was the last time you played on a swing?"

"Heh, we don't need any more children running about here."

"Hey I'm not-"

He noted the irony of the comment, as something wet and cold hit the side of his head, and he grinded his feet to a halt.

"Nezumi!" he cried, shaking the ice from his hair. The culprit had already escaped.

When he opened his eyes again, Nezumi had deftly climbed his way up a pipe pole structure some distance away.

"You ruined the moment," Shion pouted, as he caught up to the other boy.

The dark green poles of the framework were half caked in frost except for where Nezumi had used them as footing. It was slippery and cold to the touch wherever Shion placed his hand. He yelped when Nezumi kicked his boots together, sending flakes of snow into his face.

"Is every kid from No.6 this easy to bully?" Nezumi smirked.

"You're just mean." Shion dusted the snow off his shoulders and attempted to mount the thing himself. It looked pretty fun up there.

"If you fall, I won't be able to catch you," Nezumi teased.

"I won't," said Shion, but gripped the bars tightly as he climbed. At the back of his mind, Shion wouldn't really mind falling back onto the snow if he slipped. Nezumi could laugh all he want.

So, he didn't expect the hand that extented out to him then. "Come here." Nezumi smiled, and Shion immediately forgave his earlier mischief.

He took it gratefully, but still, he nearly fell off at the top. As expected, Nezumi caught him, like he always did. It was always Nezumi that made sure he was alright. They sat in close approximity with each other, thighs nearly touching. A cool breeze drifted past.

"You're so cold," Nezumi pointed out, as he let go Shion's hand.

He was right. Shion flexed his fingers a little. "I don't feel very cold. It's just my hands. Heh, I guess I might be a little anemic."

A sudden warmth engulfed his shoulders. It was part of Nezumi's thick scarf. Shion brought it closer around himself, pressing it to his cheek; it smelt of Nezumi all over, and it comforted him. They continued to hold hands after that, for warmth, more than anything, huddled together in Nezumi's impossibly large muffler. The city lights glowed like a warm furnace before them, and further in the distance, the cold blue brilliance of No.6 swathed the night sky in an eerie, artificial radiance.

Shion had to hold onto the scarf, as another wave of chilly air swept through the area. They sat in silence still, watching the galaxy beyond, sharing a simple contentment. Warmth from Nezumi's palm slowly poured into Shion's own. From there, the heat seemed to travel to his heart, and from there, the rest of him.

A shooting star. Shion was momentarily awed by his luck. He'd never seen one before.

"Did you make a wish?" Nezumi said, after a beat.

"Why would I?" Shion looked at him, clueless.

"Didn't you see that shooting star?"

"I did... Um... Is there something I should know?"

"Eh? Are you serious? Don't tell me you've never come across that saying; if you make a wish upon a shooting star, that wish will come true," Nezumi stated with a flair, seemingly sarcastic.

Shion had a puzzled look written all over his face. "That's scientifically impossible."

"Pretty unromantic, aren't you."

"Do you believe in that, Nezumi?"

"Hm. Not at all. I was actually going to poke fun at you, if you did make a wish."

"You wouldn't be so cruel."

"I'll always be 'round with you', Your Majesty. That is to say, I will never fib," he added, seeing Shion's blank expression at the Elizabethen term. "Well? Say you believed it, what would you have wished for, Shion?"

The snowy-haired youth paused in thought. It was harder than it looked. There were too many things to choose from. What did he want? What did he aspire for? Dreams, the Unobtainable. Lightly squeezing Nezumi's hand, he settled for something unrealistic and completely subjective.

"I'd want us to meet again in the next life."

He waited. Nezumi neither laughed nor spoke, for the next few seconds. Just silent contemplation.

"You believe in that sort of crap?" he said finally, but his tone wasn't mocking.

"You're pretty unromantic yourself," said Shion quietly. "But I mean it. I want to be by your side, no matter what happens."

"When we do get to this 'next life', you and I probably wouldn't even recognize each other anymore. We'd just be stangers, passing by on the street and we wouldn't even know."

"I'd know it's you," Shion replied simply. His gaze held nothing but truth and a sense of fearlessness that Nezumi would never come to understand, years from now. "I'll come to you for sure."

"Not if I manage to find you first," he challenged.

"It's a deal," Shion beamed.

A sudden blast of wind swept right through their very bones, as though signalling an end to a most tragic finale, sending Nezumi's muffler soaring into the air before either of them could hold on to it.

"Shit," cursed its owner.

"W-wait, Nezumi," Shion was left to scramble down the structure after Nezumi jumped off, in pursuit.

It wasn't long before they found it again, hanging off the branch of a particularly tall and lifeless tree. The wind had stopped howling.

"O-oh," said Shion, when he saw it. They both stared upwards, at a loss for a moment before Shion exclaimed, "Don't worry about it, Nezumi, I'll climb the tree to get it."

"Don't go deciding such things on your own!" Nezumi was clearly pissed. "You've never even climbed a tree in your life, haven't you? You'll just fall and break something."

"Alright, you can show me how it's done," Shion retorted.

"It's pointless; it's too far down the branch. Come, I'll carry you so you can grab it." He made as if to kneel down.

"H-huh? Why can't I be the one to carry you instead?" Shion was getting red, not only from the cold.

"Don't make me laugh."

"You think I can't?"

"I know you can't. Come on, get on my shoulders. It's a long way up."

"I'm not a small child, Nezumi. This is not going to be an easy feat."

"I know what I'm doing. Just get your legs over my shoulders."

It was harder than they'd both imagined. First, Nezumi lost his balance standing up and Shion almost fell backward from the lack of support, and when Nezumi finally got them both up, Shion had accidentally dug his fingers into the other boy's eyes, earning both a frustrated cry and a tumble into the snow, head first. It took some cooperation on both sides, and after a few tries, they both settled for the best position possible.

"N-Nezumi," Shion stuttered, holding on for dear life. "T-too high!"

"Not the eyes, please!" Nezumi warned.

"And stop wobbling so much!"

"I'm not the one who's wobbling!" Nezumi shouted from below. He vaguely realized he had his head between Shion's slender thighs; a position he would never be caught dead in. "I'm going to move now! Just grab it as soon as you can."

Shion gulped and nodded once. He felt vulnerable in this position, but nevertheless he freed his hands.

"Reach for it, Shion."

"M-more to the left. Yes! Got it!" Shion said triumpantly as he gathered the thick scarf into his arms.

"I'm going to bend down now, so don't you move," instructed Nezumi.

Shion slid off his back as soon as Nezumi had his knee to the ground. He seemed entirely pleased with himself and held onto the scarf a while longer. "We did it," he proclaimed, grinning widely.

"Good work." Nezumi chucked him under the chin.

Shion reached out to drape the scarf onto the other boy's shoulders. Slowly, he wound it loosely around Nezumi's neck until it looked like how it usually did. He then stood on his tip-toes to wind the ends into a light knot at the back, similar to how Nezumi always did it. Their faces were so close now, their foggy breaths mingled. His hand stopped just above Nezumi's beating heart, remembering the last time he did, and he stayed this way, looking up at the other with a smile in his eyes.

Shion had no words, but Nezumi understood him all the same. He grasped the hand on his heart, and brought it to his lips.

The snowy-haired youth flushed at the tender gesture but he didn't gasp, nor did he break his gaze. What lies in your heart, Nezumi? What is it do you want? For me to be your friend, or your foe... You don't even know it yourself, do you...

Nezumi blew a cloud of vapour into Shion's face. "You're much cuter when you're not talking," he observed.

"I'd rather not be called cute. Maybe I'll just keeping tal-"

He was silenced with a kiss to the lips, just as soft, just as delicate as the snow around them.

"Lady, as you are mine, I am yours; I give away myself for you and dote upon the exchange," Nezumi burst out in Shakespear, right after he broke the kiss.

"Much Ado About Nothing?" Shion recalled vaguely. He cringed in pain as Nezumi flicked his forehead.

"You were supposed to say, Speak, or stop his mouth with a kiss, and let him not speak neither," he said with a sudden flourish.

"I-in faith, lady, you have a merry heart?" Shion recited, a little unsure, but he wanted Nezumi to be proud of him.

The raven-haired boy grinned. "Yea, my lord, I thank it, poor fool, it keeps on the windy side of care."

After that, the night went on without a care indeed. Shion listened heartily as Nezumi continued to belt out act after act from Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream upon the top of a slide, putting in all the soul he had for his precious audience. There were no such performances in No.6, and so Shion soaked in all he could as always, eager to learn. He never understood how these mere words, when strung together so artfully, could ignite such emotion from him. Everything Nezumi taught him, he mused, was beautiful in every aspect.

They had supper under the stars, and Shion felt as though he could never ever betray these things they shared now. Not for anything. Neither could care less what tomorrow brought. All that mattered was this moment, the cold of the air, the snow in his hair, the memory of Nezumi's hand entwined in his own, the lingering touch of Nezumi's lips on his that still burned throughout his entire being.

"Think fast, Shion!"

He was too late, and the ball of snow smacked him square in the jaw. Shion just laughed like a schoolboy and ran further away to give himself some distance. Nezumi was really good at snow fights, he decided. If they were at playschool or something, Shion would definitely want Nezumi on his team. If possible, he'd want Nezumi on his team for life.

If then true lovers have ever crossed,

It must be that that love is destined to be;

Just as needed by love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs,

Wishes and tears, poor love's expressions are.

"You throw like a girl," Nezumi said, as they both returned to the play area to retrieve their things.

"Well excuse me for going soft on you."

"I won't go easy on you next time, princess."

As they were walking back, they found themselves holding hands. Shion didn't know why, really; he wasn't cold anymore, but he held on, like it was the most natural thing to do. The night grew cold around them, and Nezumi instinctively put both their hands in the pocket of his jacket.

Behind them, the radiance of No.6 grew smaller and smaller against the landscape, until it was no more.

-End-

A/N: I know, I know. I killed it towards the end 'cuz it was 4.30am and if it went on any longer I would hear my parents' alarm go off and I'll be in some deep shit if they find me on the computer still. Haha~ Review? :3