#i can not believe he has never made or seen made like homemade crayons or whatever before

[kawaiianimeredhead]

.

[theworldofmycreations]

Shredder’s Little Light Chapter 2

Aurora sat quietly with her knees on the floor coloring in the coloring book she got from the grocery store on the coffee table, her crayons from the faulty cardboard crayon box while singing along to a song playing on her little kiddy radio that Tiger Claw had found in the junkyard while scouring around and slaving over her father.

 It had been over a week since Aurora had settled into the church and already she made this church feel like home to her, even without her mother.

 In the morning, around 8 am, she would be woken up by Tiger Claw and treated to either a homemade breakfast or takeout breakfast from the nearest fast food restaurant by Xever, Bradford, or Baxter.

 After breakfast, Tiger Claw would help her get bathed, cleaned, and dressed for the day. Once bath time was over, Aurora was free to do whatever she pleased, which was mostly playing with some of her toys or watching cartoons on the TV whilst Shredder’s henchmen we’re taking orders and going on patrols until lunch came around.

 When lunch time came and went, Aurora had "quiet time" for an hour or two where she could either quote on quote read a book, or color, or take a little nap, or watch her shows on the TV until dinner was prepared or given to her via takeout.

 After her bath and brushing her teeth, Aurora would sneak down to the dungeon to chat or have a bit of playtime with Karai before she crept up to her room to go to bed before Tiger Claw could even reach the door of her room to bid her goodnight or read her a quick story before she went off to sleep.

 Sometimes, her routine would switch up a bit and instead of being in the lair for most of the day, Tiger Claw would take her out to the playground to burn off some energy, get some ice cream to cool off with the horrendous weather they've been having, or sneak to the community pool after hours to splash in the refreshing water.

 This was the case during the hours of the day; Aurora went to the park for the whole day and now she was coloring a couple of hours before bedtime.

 Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Aurora while she was coloring.

 The little one looked up from her coloring book and turned off the radio.

 The Shredder was standing over the coffee table with a blank expression on his face. However, what was different about the Shredder was that he was without his helmet and Aurora could easily see the giant burn marks on his face.

 Aurora put down the red crayon she was using and held up her coloring book to show her daddy the page she was coloring in. It was of a cartoon lion and zebra walking around in a jungle scenery.

 Aurora held up the coloring book and showed the page she was coloring to the Shredder.

 Shredder only stared at her and the coloring page.

 Aurora saw the look on Shredder's face and her smile turned into a frown and she lowered the coloring book, putting it back on it's spot on the coffee table and bent her head down in fear of her father.

 Shredder then turned away and walked down the hall.

 Now, she became curious.

 Where was his helmet?

 He never walked around with it on.

 Aurora put down her crayon and quietly followed her father and peeked in the throne room from behind one of the doors.

 In the throne room was not only her father and the Foot Bots, but there was Baxter, Xever, Bradford, and Tiger Claw standing before her father as he stood at the steps near his throne.

 “...find my helmet,” Shredder demanded, his growling tone demanding respect, but earning intimidation and fear. “Until it is returned to me, you will do nothing else. Nothing!” 

 “Uh, Master Shredder,” Xever spoke up hesitantly.

 “Can't you just get another helm-“ He wasn’t able to finish. The Shredder’s fist made a striking impact to the fish mutant’s skull, and he was thrown back a good way. 

 Aurora let out a small gasp when Xever got hit. 

 She wanted to go up to her father and at least get some attention from him by telling him off on how wrong it was to hurt Xever and fix Xever's injury, but she was to scared to do so. 

 The clunking footsteps of the Shredder’s armor approached Xever, and the Foot leader loomed over him.

 Her father began to tell the story of how Shredder’s helmet came to be. Aurora listened with attentive ears as if she understood but really she didn’t. 

 The Shredder looked to his soldiers. “I am sworn to protect it with my life. You will find it, and you will bring it to me.” The blades on his forearm swung out and he shoved them into Xever’s face. The mutant tilted his head to the side as the blades got uncomfortably close to his scaly skin. “Understand?” Shredder demanded.

 “Uh, Yes, Master,” Xever stammered his reply.

 The Shredder pulled back his blade to point at his followers. “Xever, you go with the fly. Tiger Claw, go with Bradford.” His soldiers bowed in obedience to their master. He turned away, walking to his throne. He stopped to give one final warning, “Do not fail me. I promise you, the consequences will be dire.”

 Aurora shrunk her head down a bit as the soldiers, Xever, Stockman, and Bradford left the throne room to prepare themselves to hunt for the helmet. 

 She backed up to leave to go back to her coloring until she bumped into a leg. 

 Aurora looked up and there stood Tiger Claw, his yellow eye glowing in the slight darkness of the hallway. The little one turned to face the giant tiger. 

 "Tigger," Aurora asked, "Wha's going on? Whewe's my daddy's hewmet?"

 "Apparently someone has stolen it from under our noses," Tiger Claw explained, "a man named Anton Zeck who claims himself to be a master thief according to the buisness card he left behind."

 "A fief?" Aurora asked,  "but why wowld he wanna steal daddy's hewmet?"

 "Probably to earn money or want power." Tiger Claw replied.

 "You can eawn monies by deawing?" Aurora asked.

 "Yes, but I would not advise you do so," Tiger Claw told Aurora, placing a paw on her shoulder, "Stealing is hate crime and you do not want to grow up to become a criminal do you?"

 "No siwee!" Aurora said, folding her hands behind her back earning a chuckle out of Tiger Claw.

 "Good," Tiger Claw said, "I'll be back within a few hours. We're all going out to find your father's helmet."

 "Ooh! Ooh! Can I come wif you an doggy?" Aurora begged, almost jumping up and down.

 "No Aurora, it's late at night and you need to start getting ready for bed soon," the giant tiger replied.

 Aurora frowned.

 Tiger Claw then added, "But, how about tomorrow I'll take you out to that aquarium that you've been begging to go to for the past week."

 The aquarium?!

 Aurora loved the aquarium! Even though she's never been to one… but she has looked at pictures of the aquarium in books and seen them on TV all the time and it looked super cool to her. All the fish and other creatures swimming around without a care.

 "OK Tigger!" Aurora said, "I be goowd!"

 "I know you will." Tiger Claw said before getting up and ruffling her hair.

 He then left the lair and headed for the door.

-----

"Dere are dowfins dere too?!"

 "In most aquariums, yeah."

 "Woah! Yowr lucky Kawai! Ife never been to an aquareeam before!"

 "Trust me Aura, you don't know what you're missing."

 Aurora sat on the floor in front of Karai's cell, wearing her new Bambi pajamas Tiger Claw had ordered from Walmart.

 Since she was alone with the exception of the Shredder, she had to skip her bath and head straight to brushing her teeth and putting on her clothing for the night before she ran down to the dungeon to talk with Karai.

 Aurora, or better known by her newly anointed nickname "Aura" by Karai as of a week ago, was talking to Karai about the promise Tiger Claw had made about taking her to the aquarium the following day if she behaved and got to bed on time. Karai smiled and then began to tell her about her experience in the aquarium she had when she was around Aurora's age and Aurora couldn't believe what she was she was hearing.

 "Oh, I awmos forgot!"

 Aurora got up from her spot and handed Karai a drawing she did.

 Karai smiled at the gift that her little sister gave her, "Aw Aura, it's a nice.. uh, what is it?"

 "It's da wainbow fish!" Aurora said, smiling proudly, "Tigger read me the 'dory befowe I went to bed yesderday an I dwew this fow you!"

 "It's beautiful Aura, thank you." Karai smiled.

 Aurora smiled but frowned a little.

 "Aura, what's wrong?" Karai asked.

 "… I showed daddy the colowing page I was dowing an he didn' say anyfing to me.." Aurora sighed, "I jus wan him to like me.."

 Karai frowned at the sight of her sister. She didn’t like it when Aurora was upset. She held her hand and rubbed it gently.

 "…Hey, don't get upset about it. Dad was just worried about his prized helmet being missing. Like I said, he's selfish like that." Karai explained. "He likes you… in his own unique way."

 Aurora understood and rub her eye a bit, it was getting late and it would soon be her bedtime.

 "You should be getting back up there, the others should be coming back any minute and it's almost your bedtime."

 "Kay," Aurora yawned, "An when I go to da aquareeam tomowwow, I's gowna tell you all abowt it."

 Karai smirked and replied, "I'd like that. Night Aura."

 "Nigh-Nigh Kawai.." Aurora said in between a yawn.

 She slowly walked up to her bedroom which had since been cleaned out and made to look like an actual bedroom, climbed into her bed, and drifted off to sleep clutching Barley close to her heart, dreaming away of colorful fish, dolphins flipping above the waves, dancing sea lions, and sharks with pointy teeth swimming around in giant fish tanks.

 Aurora smiled in her sleep as she dreamed that she was within all the fun, swimming on the back of a dolphin, holding on tight for a bumpy ride.

----

A giant paw gently shook Aurora's shoulder, causing the little one to stretch and yawn.

 "Sleep well Aurora?" Tiger Claw asked as he helped her sit up on her bed.

 "Mm-hmm.." Aurora replied sleepily, rubbing her eye, "I dweamed dat I was swimming wif all da fishies an dowfins too. Awe we gowing to da aquareeam today?"

 "Yes Aurora," Tiger Claw replied, "Just you and me…. after breakfast. Now come, your waffles are on the table and I do not want them to get cold."

 Aurora leapt out of bed and walked beside Tiger Claw down the hall to the kitchen as she talked on and on about her wonderful aquarium dreams.

[omgahgase]

Okamura Twin’s Birthday

Hey guys! I know it’s been a long time since I wrote something 6 fucking months, but it’s the boy’s birthday so I whipped this up for everyone. It’s mostly BonRin centered, but Yukio is in here too. It’s been a hard couple months trying to finish all the works I started, but I’m back on track, so expect more fanfics in 2018! I hope everybody likes this, it’s probably the longest fic I’ve written. Please enjoy!

Happy Birthday Rin

Suguro didn’t know what was worst, being trapped under the mistletoe with Okumura or actually wanting to be trapped under the mistletoe with Okumura.

Christmas. It used to be his favorite holiday of the year, but as Suguro grew older he realized that the things he wanted, Santa couldn’t bring him. In a weird way it taught him to work hard for what he wants, determination will always succeed in the end no matter what’s in your way. That’s what he believed in.

But now, at the age of eighteen, all Suguro wants is to take a nap. He was doing just that until Shima barged into his room and yelled at the top of his lungs. “I didn’t get them a gift!” He didn’t see the textbook flying until it smacked him in the face.

“Get the hell out. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t care. I had a bad day and all I wanna do is sleep.” Grumbled Suguro as he burrowed under the covers.

“But Bon!” Shima whined. “It’s the twins birthday party tonight and I didn’t get them anything.”

“Buy them a gift card.”

Shima pouted at his friend. “Whatever, I’ll just go ask Koneko, he cares about his friends birthdays.” He stuck his tongue out at the boy and left all while mumbling about what to buy.

It’s not that Suguro didn’t care about Rin’s and Yukio’s birthday, he knows they don’t care about that kind of stuff. Being born on Christmas, for most kids, means you get a double whooping of presents. But he knew that their dad couldn’t get them much growing up, he grew up the same way. Birthdays are to celebrate the day someone was born, not the receive presents just for being alive. But if he shows up to the party without a gift, will they be mad? Even if he did get something, would they even like it?

Suguro shook his head to clear his thoughts then sighed. Guess he’s buying something for the twins. And they better appreciate it.

He climbed out of bed and rummaged through his backpack for his wallet. He opened it then flinched. He’s completely broke. Great, just great. Now what?

He looked through his drawers for some money, but only found some out paper cutouts Shiemi made him. After finding some crayons (that Shiemi left in his room after making the cutouts), Suguro decided to make a card for Yukio. It may not have been much, but it’s the thought that counts.

Since Shiemi has a knack for arts and crafts she taught Suguro the basics for making a homemade card. It wasn’t hard until he had to color in the lines of his letters then outline them. He can vanquish deadly demons on a regular basis, but he can’t color inside the lines. Go figure.

“There, finished!” He exclaimed as he sat cross-legged on the floor. Crayons and scraps of paper littered the place where he sat. Suguro held up the card to admire his handiwork.

It took him awhile, almost half an hour, to complete his little gift. All it said was a quick birthday wish, thanks for all he’s done for the class and being a good friend, and Suguro also found a good luck charm in his dresser so he stuck it in the card. One twin down, one more to go.

Suguro stood up and went to place the card in his backpack. But as he stared at the present, a frown appeared on his face.

Yukio was easy, Suguro knew he’d appreciate the card even if it was kind of shitty. But Suguro didn’t know how Rin would react to getting the same gift as his brother. He’d probably like it, but then wonder why he didn’t receive anything different.

“I can’t give a card to Rin,” he said to himself. “I want his gift to be special.”

After the words left his mouth, Suguro was glad he was alone. Did he really just say that? Yeah, he wanted to get something a little different for the older twin, but does he want it to be that special? Like, with emotions and stuff?

Suguro shook his head. Rin is his friend, a really good friend. It’s his birthday so of course, the gift has to be great. It’s not every day your average demon turns seventeen.

The boy placed the card in his backpack and glanced at the clock. Three o'clock, that gives him an hour to find the perfect last-minute present for his best friend. Suguro rolled his neck and shouldered his bag. “Time to get crackin’.”

                                                             *

Izumo was no help. Her and Paku got the twins jackets, one was blue with a white smiley face doing the peace sign and a black one that says “No.” also painted in white. By just looking at them, you can tell which is for the which twin.

“I’m actually surprised you bought them anything,” said Suguro as he sat next to them on the fountain. “Usually you don’t give a crap.”

Izumo crossed her arms. “I was just going to give them socks, but Paku said we should get them something nice.”

Paku lightly shoved her friend. “This is the first time she’s been invited to a birthday party, she wanted to go all out.”

“Paku!” Izumo had a light blush on her cheeks. “Why’d you tell him?”

Suguro stood then said he’d meet them at the party later. As he was walking he ran into Nemu and his weird puppet. He was invited too but said he had other plans. Pretty sure the only thing he’s doing is talking to his doll.

While mindlessly walking around campus, Suguro heard his name being called. He turned to find Shima and Koneko running towards him with a big bag.

“Bon! You gotta see this!” Yelled the pink haired boy as they reached him. He opened the bag and Koneko grabbed what was inside. Suguro has seen a bunch of gag Christmas gifts before, but this was something else.

It was a white chef’s apron that had the words “KISS THE DEMON” plastered on the front in black.

“Don’t you think it’s perfect?” Asked Koneko. “I bought the apron at the mall a couple of days ago, then just altered the saying.”

Suguro looked at Shima who had a proud smile on his face. “So you just jumped on his gift? Without contributing?”

Shima faked a pained expression. “How dare you, of course I contributed!”

“He sewed the words,” said Koneko. “I was actually impressed he was able to do it.”

Suguro’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “You can sew?”

“When you have a rambunctious little sister who tears her dresses, you tend to pick up some useful stuff.” Shima winked at them then placed the apron back in the bag. “We also got something special for Yukio, but you’ll have to wait to see it.”

“What did you get the twins, Bon?” Asked the shorter boy.

Suguro rubbed the back of neck sheepishly. “I made Yukio a card, but I haven’t gotten anything for Rin yet.”

Koneko patted his arm in a reassuring way. “Don’t worry, whatever you decide to get, Rin will like it.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it came from you.” He smiled then turned to walk back to the dorms. “See you at the party!”

Suguro turned and walked a little farther until he sighed and plopped on a bench. He took out his phone to check the time. 3:41 pm, he had little over fifteen minutes to think of something for Rin. He slouched on the bench, for some reason, what Konekomaru said was replying in his head. As long as the gift was from him, Rin would be happy.

Suguro sat bolt up. It was so freaking obvious that he missed it. He doesn’t need to buy a gift for Rin, he could just spend a whole day with him and the guy would be happy. Not to mention Suguro would be happy too, they haven’t had much time to hang out like regular friends do.

Maybe they could go watch a movie or get some dinner. Rin’s been meaning to go to that new arcade that opened at the mall, he could take him there. Then they’d take a walk in the park and get some ice cream and…wait a minute. Would this be like a date? It kind of seems like a date. But it’s just two friends hanging out, nothing between them, right?

A dark blush crept up to Suguro’s face at just the thought of going on a date with Rin. There’s nothing wrong with going on a date with him, it’s just that Suguro has never been on a date before. He’s always focused on school or exorcist training to really date anyone. He’s been asked out before by a good number of girls, but he just never felt anything towards them to actually accept them.

Suguro shook his head to clear him of those thoughts. He didn’t need to be remembering his lack of a love life when he was supposed to be looking for a gift. He stretched his arms above his head and heard satisfying pops in his shoulders. He then stood, taking his phone out of his pocket. 3:48 pm. Suguro had enough time to run back to the dorms and take a quick shower before the party.

He turned to the direction of the dorms and started walking. While walking, he couldn’t help but linger on the thought that going out with Rin wouldn’t be too bad.

                                                             *

By the time Suguro arrived at the dorms and took a shower it was ten past four. He was deciding what to wear when his phone rang. He picked it up to see Shima’s number.

“Hello?”

“Bon, are you still in the dorms?” He sounded like he was in a panic.

“Yeah, why?”

Shima sighed in relief. “Go to my bedside table and grab the little card by the lamp.”

Suguro spotted the card, he picked it up then snorted. “A certificate for free mineral water at the school cafeteria and store for a year?”

“Yup, that’s the one! Bring it when you get to the party and hurry up, everyone’s here already.”

“Yeah, yeah, be there soon.” They hung up and Suguro put the card in his back pocket. He turned back to his closet and just chose the first thing he saw. It was a good thing he did laundry yesterday.

Suguro looked in the mirror and couldn’t help but run his fingers through his short hair. He kinda misses his long hair, but it was time for a change. He did a once-over to make sure his clothes looked fine. He was wearing blue jeans and a black button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. In his own opinion, he looked good.

He made sure his phone and the certificate were in his pocket. He looked out the window to check for snow but there was nothing. The weather has been weird lately so there’s been no sign of snow, even in the middle of December. Even if there’s none, Suguro snatched his jacket and gloves off the bed. He grabbed the homemade birthday card from his backpack and was out the door.

On his way to the twin’s dorm, Suguro couldn’t help but think if his idea is a good plan. It could backfire on him in a good number of ways. He might stutter while asking Rin and make a complete fool of himself. Or Rin might say he has other plans and reject him. Or they go out, they start arguing, and then Rin flames up during dinner and everyone wonders why there’s a screaming boy on fire in the middle of a ramen shop.

Suguro sighed. Will Rin even want to go out with him?

He made it to the dorms and slipped inside. He took off his shoes by the door and walked to the dining area where he heard laughter. He entered the room to see the party in full swing. Yukio was hanging decorations. Shima, Koneko, and Shiemi were throwing confetti around and handing out party hats. Paku and Izumo were setting up the karaoke machine. Shura was sneaking snacks from the kitchen and Kuro was running around with a small Santa hat on his head.

“Hey, Suguro!” Rin came bounding from the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. There was flour powdered on his clothes and frosting on his cheeks. He looked freaking cute. “Glad you could make it buddy!” He draped an arm around his shoulders (with a little difficulty because he’s shorter).

Suguro snorted as he was lead further into the room. “You kidding me? I wouldn’t miss your birthday.” Suguro saw the light blush color Rin’s cheeks before he could turn away.

“Alright, everybody’s here,” called Shima from the stereo system. “Let’s party!” He pushed a button and music started blasting from the speakers. Everyone cheered and began dancing, even Yukio was laughing at the antics of his friends.

“C'mon Suguro!” Rin grabbed his hand and Suguro tried to ignore his pounding heart as the boy dragged him to the dance floor.  

                                                               *

Present opening is a wonderful time at birthday parties. You get to watch your friends face as they open your gift or in Suguro’s case, you’re freaking out thinking your friends will hate your gift.

As everyone gathered around the center table in wait for the twins to open their gifts, Suguro was fidgeting in his seat across from Rin. He was tearing apart the box that Izumo gave him when he finally opened it, he smiled so brightly, he outshined the sun.

“Izumo! This is amazing, thank you!” He pulled her into a hug despite her protests.

Yukio opened his and chuckled at the sight of his jacket. “Thank you Paku. I feel like it suits me well.”

They moved on to Shiemi’s gift which were handmade scarfs. Yukio’s scarf was white with little snowflakes dotting the yarn, while Rin’s was a royal blue with night stars splattered across the length.

“Shiemi, how long did it take you to make these?” Asked the younger twin as he ran his hand along his gift.

“Oh not that long, probably about two months. My mom helped me with the patterns, I’m not very good at knitting so it took a while to get the hang of it.” She smiled at Yukio, a light blush blooming on her face. The next thing she knew, he pulled her into a bear hug, enveloping her in his arms.

“Thank you.”

Suguro snuck a glance at Rin, he had a small smile, but his eyes looked sad. He knew the guy was happy that Yukio and Shiemi are getting closer, but there’s something still bothering him. Whatever it was, he wasn’t about to let it get between his little brother and the girl he liked.

“Okay, yeah those are great and all,” said Shima as he wiggled his way between the twins. “But get ready to be amazed!” He placed a bag in front of Rin and a small box in front of Yukio. “You guys can thank me and Konekomaru later.”

Rin dug into his bag and pulled out his folded apron. He took one look at the saying and his face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. “You guys, this is freaking awesome!” He stood and tackled his two friends into a hug. “Thank you so much!”

Yukio eyed his box, expecting something to jump out of it. “Nothing is going to hurt me is it?”

Shima snorted. “Nah, the thing in there is one hundred percent safe.” He smiled a smile the Cheshire cat would be jealous of.

Yukio hesitantly opened the box, reclining a bit just in case something sprang out and attacked him. When he peered into the box, he snorted. “You guys really get me.” He took out the small card and presented it to Rin. “At least my friends remembered about my mineral water.”

“Oh my God! It was one time!” Rin had an irritated tone in his voice but he had a smile on his face.

The whole room erupted into fits of laughter at his outburst. He looked like he wanted to hug his little brother or put him in a chokehold. Either way, both would still be laughing.

“Okay kiddies,” said Shura as she came up behind the twins and placed a hand on both their heads. “My turn.”

“Should I be scared?” Asked Yukio.

“You should be if you don’t like it.”

She reached and grabbed a square box from the far end of the table and placed it in Rin’s lap. “It’s somethin’ for the both of you so I don’t wanna hear any complainin’.”

“If the gift is anything like your wrapping,” said Rin as he began opening the box, “then I would be…very…” He trailed off once the top was removed.

Inside was a framed picture of the boys and Fujimoto. The three of them were under a sakura tree outside the church, both boys were wearing their middle school uniforms and huge smiles. They had their diplomas in the hands that weren’t around their dad, who looked like the proudest person on Earth.

No one in the room moved or spoke. Everything was quiet. No one wanted to disturb the moment that had everyone frozen.

Surprisingly, Yukio was the first to break the silence. “How’d you get this?”

Shura shrugged. “I went to the church and asked around. One of the guys told me that there was a picture, a single picture that survived the fire. The last one Shiro took before he…” She choked on her words but quickly recovered. “Before the incident.”

“I knew dad had this, but I didn’t know he developed it,” said Rin. He ran a hand over the glass. “That sly old man.”

“The guys told me he kept it in his room, next to his bed.” Shura ran a hand through her short hair. “You two were the last faces he saw before he slept and the first he saw when he woke up.”

At that, Rin finally cracked. A violent sob racked his body as tears trailed down his cheeks. His shoulders shook with every breath he took. To his right, Yukio was spilling a few tears himself, but he was so quiet, no one noticed.

Shura leaned down and wrapped her arms around both boys. “Geez, if I knew you two would cry, I would’ve just given you cash instead.”

Rin let out a chuckle as he wiped his eyes. “No matter how much I would appreciate that,” he looked at Yukio then to the picture, “I think this is way better than cash.”

She ruffled their heads. “Happy birthday.”

On the outside, Suguro was smiling at the family moment, but on the inside, he was screaming. Everyone gave the twins awesome gifts, but Shura’s is the icing on top. How is Suguro’s crappy card going to compete with any of those?

“Looks like that’s everyone,” said Shiemi. “It’s time to eat!”

Bless her.

Everyone started to gather more chairs around the table. Rin and Shura went to the kitchen to grab the food, while Konekomaru was setting the table. Looks like present opening is over.

“Wait a minute, there’s one left.” Shima picked the card up from the floor.

Fuck.

“It’s to Yukio, from Bon,” he said as he gave Yukio the card. When he passed by Suguro, he gave a thumbs up. Shima, you are a dead man.

The boy took the card then read the short note inside. He removed the charm from the crease and smiled. “Thank you, Bon. I really like this.”

Suguro felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. What was he so worried about? His friend appreciated his gift, no matter how shitty it may be. He can finally breathe easy knowing Yukio liked it.

“Hey look, he even drew you in the corner,” said Rin as he snickered at the card. “I think it captures you well.”

And the weight is back. How could he forget about Rin in that moment? Great, now Rin is going to be angry that his brother received a present from Suguro, but not him. His best friend.

Rin glanced over at him, probably expecting his own card with a crayon portrait of himself. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Konekomaru jumped in. “Alright, I’m starving, let’s eat!”

Koneko, you are an angel sent from above.

That snapped everyone back to reality and helped them realize that they were actually hungry. Shima and Shiemi brought out the rest of the food while Rin went to turn the music down. This was Suguro’s chance to talk to Rin and explain the whole gift situation.

The half-demon was about to walk back into the kitchen when he was pulled aside into a hallway. Okay, listen, Suguro didn’t mean to grab the dudes hand, it just happened. Let’s just say that when they were face to face in a dimly lit hallway, Suguro was glad Rin couldn’t see the blush appear on his face.

“Hey, dude, what are you doing? We’re about to eat,” said the shorter boy as he crossed his arms.

“I need to tell you something.”

“If it’s your undying love for me, can it wait till after the food?”

Well, that earned him a punch to the arm.

“I’m serious!” Rin snickered as the blush darkened and moved all the way to his ears.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” he said while failing to hide his laugh. “Go on.”

Suguro rubbed his neck and avoided eye contact. “Well, it’s just that, er…I didn’t get you a birthday present.”

He looked at his friend only to find an annoyed expression on his face. “Really? That’s all you had to tell me?”

“Um, yeah.”

The one that threw the first punch, was now getting punched.

“Hey, ow,” Suguro exclaimed as he tried to block the painful blows. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You idiot!” He landed a last one on his chest that’ll surely leave a bruise. “I thought something was wrong with you!”

“You’re not mad?” Asked Suguro as he rubbed his chest.

“Of course not!”

Well, that went better than expected. “But I didn’t get you anything.”

“I’m a little peeved that you gave Yukio a homemade card, but the fact that here you’re after the day you had is a gift in itself.”

“Oh, so you know about that?” Suguro kept his head down.

“Yeah, Konekomaru told me earlier, pretty sure the whole school knows about it.”

Earlier that day, a girl in one of Suguro’s classes asked him out and he bluntly rejected her. The girl, shaking in rage, dumped her lunch on his head in front of the whole courtyard. Apparently, the girl was pretty well known within the school as the daughter of a wealthy family who funded most of the school activities. Throughout the day, guys have been coming up to Suguro and telling him how stupid he was to turn her down. Others started picking fights because they were afraid that their clubs would be shut down if the girls family stopped their donations. Overall, Suguro had a really shitty day.

The taller boy slumped against the wall. “Yeah, well, it seems like the whole school wants to pick a fight with me.”

“Aww, is princess Bon-Bon scared?” Rin asked in a tone someone would use to talk to babies.

“You fucker!” Suguro grabbed him by his shoulders and spun, pushing him against the wall he was leaning on. He twisted a hand in his shirt and snared. “I ain’t scared of nothin’!”

“Really now? You wanna fight on my birthday?” Rin wore a smile, one that made Suguro either want to punch or squish his face.

“I don’t wanna fight, you started it.” Their faces were dangerously close, nose only inches apart. Maybe Suguro could headbutt him and they’d be even.

Rin was about to say something but glanced upwards. He then smirked, a curl of his lips the worst villain would be proud of. “So you didn’t get me a gift, right?”

The hand in Rin’s shirt slacked a bit, but the fire in Suguro’s eyes didn’t die. “Yeah. And I’m trying to apologize for it.”

“You could make it up to me.”

Suguro’s face relaxed, but his hand tightened on Rin’s shirt again. He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to his personal space. “How?”

“Look up.” The smiled was back. That damn smile made Suguro’s heart skip a beat. He hated it when it did that.

When he looked up, his stomach dropped. Hanging below the doorway a few feet from them was a mistletoe, practically glowing green. Suguro looked at the ornament then to Rin, who looked so smug it made his stomach churn.

“You sneaky little bastard. Did you plan this?” He finally dropped his hand from Rin’s shirt and stepped back from him. “Or do you just want to get on my good side after that princess comment?”

“Oh?” Rin crossed his arms. “So you’re saying you’re not opposed to the idea?”

Suguro snorted. This fucker is really starting to piss him off. But if he’s being completely honest, the idea of kissing Rin didn’t make him sick. It had the opposite effect.

“You do know we’re not technically under the mistletoe, right?”

“You do know you didn’t give me a birthday present, right?” So he wants to play the guilt trip card. He really is the son of Satan.

Suguro slammed a hand against the wall next to Rin’s head, startling the shorter boy. He leaned down so they were eye level. He never noticed how strikingly blue his friend’s eyes were. It gave him a sort of calming reassurance to what was about to happen.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” said Suguro as he glanced at the boy’s lips. “This could end badly for both of us.”

Rin looped his right arm around Suguro’s neck and brought him closer to a point where they were sharing the same air. “Well, it’s my birthday. Whatever I want, I get.”

The next thing he knew, Suguro’s lips crashed against Rin’s. It wasn’t rough like he thought it would be, but instead, it was soft and warm. The feel on Rin’s lips against his slightly chapped ones made Suguro’s head spin. The hand that was on the wall moved to cup Rin’s cheek, while the other traveled down to hold his hip. The black haired boys left arm came up to drape across the boy’s neck, his right hand moved to lightly scratch the hair on his neck, making the taller boy shudder.

They broke apart when they both needed air, but instead of detaching, their heads leaned until their foreheads were touching and Suguro’s hands laced around Rin’s back. They didn’t say a word, they just stared into each other’s eyes like they were in a cliche romantic movie. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, but soothing, like something that used to hang in between them, something that they didn’t know was there, finally showed its light. Basically, it was the best few minutes Suguro has ever had. It just had to be ruined by a nosey pink haired perv.

They didn’t see their friend until the flash fired. In the doorway stood Shima with his phone out, trying to hide the laughter that so desperately wanted to escape. “That’s definitely going to be a Christmas card!”

“Shima!” Yelled Suguro as he untangled himself from Rin. “You are so dead!” With crimson cheeks, he lunged for the phone but missed when Shima bolted into the other room.

He ran after him, nearly crashing into Yukio who looked just as confused as the rest. The two boys played a game of cat and mouse, zig-zagging around the dining hall. Shima was going to make a beeline to the hallway leading upstairs until Izumo ‘accidentally’ stuck her foot out, tripping the boy. Suguro tackled him around the waist while he was regaining his balance. The two wrestled for the phone until Suguro got Shima into a headlock then snatched the device from his hand. He scrambled to his feet, intending to delete the photo, but was stopped by the little bastards password.

“You asshole, get rid of the picture!” Exclaimed the taller boy as he tossed the phone back.

“But why? You guys looked so cute!”

Suguro was about to lunge again when a happy squeal pierced the air. Shiemi was looking out the window, jumping up and down with glee. “Look, everyone, it’s snowing!”

With Shima completely forgotten, everyone gathered around the window. Sure enough, there were fresh layers of snow outside the dorm with more following suit. The sun finally set over the horizon, allowing the moon to brightly shine through the clouds, casting a mesmerizing light over the flakes falling from the sky. In a way, the snowflakes looked more like small diamonds.

“C’mon let’s go!” Shouted Paku as she and Izumo were putting their jackets on.

That made everyone jump to put on their coats and gloves. While bodies were rushing to get outside or stuff whatever food they could in their mouths, Rin finally stepped out from the hallway and made his way over to Suguro who still stood next to the window.

“No sign of snow the whole month, but the day my birthday rolls around, it falls in sheets.” He smiled as Shura threw a snowball at Yukio’s back. “Kinda weird this is happening again.”

Suguro raised an eyebrow. “Again? This happened before?”

Rin moved away from the window to grab his jacket hanging on a chair. “The weeks before our tenth birthday, Yukio and I would hope for snow, but always wake up to nothing. Then the moment we blew out the candles, we see the first snowfall.” He slipped his arms into the sleeves and started to pull his boots on. “Dad told us that our mom knew we wanted snow, so she granted our wish from heaven. It’s a lot cheesier when I think about it now, but back then, it made me feel like she really was watching us.”

Rin looked up to Suguro but was greeted with a beanie being pulled over his eyes. “I think it’s great that your dad did that.”

Suguro laughed as his friend tucked his ears into the hat, but was rewarded with his coat and mittens being flown into his face. “Hurry up, I wanna shoved snow down Shima’s pants.”  

They finished getting dressed and ran outside into the cold to join their friends. The second their feet touched the ground, they were bombarded with snowballs from all directions. Rin, being the little shit that he is, pulled Suguro in front of him to shield most of the attack, but only angered the boy in the process. When the raid stopped, everyone ran in separate ways to escape the doom that comes their way.

Suguro picked up a handful of snow and watched Rin do the same. He made like he was about to throw the ball at a passing Koneko, but instead smashed it in Rin’s face. He laughed as the boy screamed and tried to get the snow out of his shirt. An urge came over Suguro as he realized how cute Rin looked and the next thing he knew, he leaned down to peck Rin on the cheek then ran. He left the boy blushing and screaming his name.

Snow flew left and right as Suguro dashed away from Rin. He dodged snowballs, jumped over snow angels, and pushed Shima into a snowman (totally on accident, of course). He was about to turn and apologize to the guy when Rin jumped on his back like he wanted a piggyback ride. He was howling in triumph as he shoveled snow into Suguro’s coat. They stumbled along until he slipped on a patch of ice and went falling. The two landed in a fresh pile of snow to cushion their fall. When they made eye contact both busted out laughing at their appearances.  

“You look horrible,” said Rin.

“Yeah, well you don’t look too hot yourself, buddy.” Suguro flicked a speck of snow off his friend’s nose. As he stared at Rin, his mind went back to the kiss in the hallway. Those few precious moments they shared is burned into his heart as something Suguro will treasure. He knew he had a thing for the demon. He knew since the first day they met that this guy would become a very important person in his life. Either it’s as a best friend or something more, Rin will always be special to him.

“Hey,” said the boy next to him. “You okay? You’ve been lookin’ at me funny. If there something on my face?” He started patting his cheeks and forehead, looking for something that wasn’t there.

For the third time within the hour, Suguro found himself inclining his head towards Rin and kissing him. It caught the boy by surprise, but he responded by pulling the brown haired boy closer. It was short, just a few seconds, but it had butterflies exploding in Suguro’s stomach and made his head spin.

“Happy birthday Rin,” he said when they parted.

Rin just had a goofy smile on his face, one that made his eyes dance with joy. That single smile could make Suguro feel lighter than air. Just being around Rin could make him feel like the happiest person alive. He likes that feeling, he never wants to live a day without it.

Suguro was about to say something but was cut off when a snowball hit the back of his head. He whipped around to see, not just Shima, but Konekomaru also, holding their phones.

“You guys really are cute together,” said Koneko. “I’ll make sure to send both of you the pictures later.”

He gave them an innocent smile and walked away to join Shiemi in making a snowman that had a striking resemblance to Mephisto. The two then looked at Shima, who just shrugged and bolted in the direction he came from.

“We’re gonna get them, right?” Asked Rin as he stood and dusted off his pants.

“Maybe not Koneko,” responded Suguro. “But we can bury Shima neck deep in snow.”  

He was about run after their pink haired friend when Rin grabbed his jacket. He turned to find the boy looking to the left, trying to hide the blush that was present on his cheeks. Either it was from the cold, or because of the kiss, but right in that moment, he looked adorable.

“I just wanna say thanks.” Rin released the coat and stuffed hand in his pockets.

“For what?”

“For being in my life.”

Now it was Suguro’s turn to blush and this time, it wasn’t from the cold. “What’re ya thankin’ me for? I’m gonna be in your life, whether you like it not.”

That smile was back. No matter how many time he sees it, it will always make Suguro feel like that smile is reserved for him.

“Oh, one more thing.” Suguro was expecting another kiss, but he got a face full of snow instead. “You’re it!”

Rin sprinted pass him, laughing like a madman. Suguro shook his head free of snow then picked up a handful and chased the black haired idiot. While dodging snowballs, he thought he may not have gotten the perfect the gift for his best friend, but he did make up for it in more ways than one.