A Snowball in Meifu
by Laekin
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Hisoka Kurosaki strolled towards the Judicial Building with a bemused expression on his boyish features. Wrapped in a thick wool peacoat of a soft tan color he rubbed his hands together and turned his face up towards the sky, feeling the gentle drift of snow falling across his features. Yes, snow. When Hisoka had woken up, and happened to look out his window, he’d thought for a moment that he’d forgotten something important. He thought that he’d forgotten traveling to Earth with his partner, Tsuzuki. However, a look around the familiar landscape of his little house and a couple firm pinches to his own arm confirmed that he really was still in Meifu and that he wasn’t dreaming. It was snowing in Meifu. And if the drifts that had accumulated on the ground were anything to go by, it had been snowing most of the night. Walking to work, Hisoka had to pick his way carefully across the snowy landscape as some of the drifts came up to his knees. Heading towards the back entrance to the Judicial Building, the sound of laughter and voices, caused him to pause. Cocking his head to the side Hisoka listened closely for a minute, picking out the bright, merry laughter that signaled Tsuzuki’s presence out back with what sounded like the rest of the crew. Looking at the non-descript door thoughtful, Hisoka shrugged and turned away, heading instead towards the back garden where he knew he’d find his partner. Slipping through the gate in the wall, which surrounded the building, Hisoka blinked as he beheld the merriment his coworkers were indulging in. There was a good two-foot layer of snow on the ground and Guardians were frolicking about, making snowmen and snow angels and of course having good old fashion snowball fights. Looking around, Hisoka could see Terazuma trying to convince Wakaba that snowmen actually did like to smoke and Saya and Yuma were busy trying to outdo each other in making the perfect snow angel. Chuckling a little, the young man’s eyes trailed around the garden until he spotted the dark coated form of his partner. Tsuzuki was perched on one of the tea tables, his long coat spread out around his legs. Snow was caught in his fly away dark hair and his face was alight with pure, simple joy as he watched his friends playing. Tugging the lapels of his own coat up closer to his chilled face, Hisoka trudged his way across the garden towards Tsuzuki. “Hey.” The youngest Guardian called over when he got close. Tsuzuki’s head snapped around and his pale features lit up with pleasure. “Hisoka! There you are. I was afraid you wouldn’t get here in time.” “Time for what?” Hisoka asked, genuinely curious. With a hop he cleared a drift that was a little deeper than the rest and settled his hip on the edge of the table Tsuzuki was sitting on. “Time to enjoy the snow!” Tsuzuki answered cheerfully. “Ah. Well… here I am.” Hisoka paused for a minute, looking around at the snow and then up to Tsuzuki’s face. “All right, I’ll ask. Snow?” Tsuzuki pulled his eyes away from Saya and Yuma and grinned down at the younger man. Leaning over, he set his arm across Hisoka’s shoulder, pulling his partner closer to his side and sharing the warmth of his coat with the boy. “Yeah, Yutaka got bored.” At first, Hisoka resisted Tsuzuki’s gentle tug but he really was a little chilly and since no one seemed to be paying them too much attention, he took a step which brought his hip up against his partner’s knee and allowed the warm coat to settle around his slender body. Peeking over his shoulder into Tsuzuki’s twinkling violet eyes, Hisoka shot the older man a skeptical look. “Watari-san is bored, so it is snowing?” Tsuzuki chuckled and leaned forward to explain. “Watari gets bored now and then and when he does, he makes little challenges for himself. Sometimes, this involves seeing if he can hack into Mother Computer, the system that dictates Meifu’s temperate weather. When he’s successful… snow.” “Oh, I see. And EnMaDaiOh is okay with this?” “Well, I don’t know that Enma really encourages this hacking but he doesn’t really punish Watari for it. Taka will have to write a detail report about how he was able to hack into the system but he actually enjoys writing reports so even that isn’t really punishment.” Hisoka pulled a face. Though he was much more disciplined about writing reports than Tsuzuki, it still didn’t mean the young Guardian enjoyed the task. “Whatever floats his boat I guess.” Tsuzuki’s soft laughter drifted to Hisoka’s ears, the sound rich and warming. “Exactly! And it’s a nice change of pace. However, though Enma is pretty laid back about the whole thing, Tatsumi is another matter.” As he spoke, Tsuzuki pointed across the garden. Following the path of his partner’s outstretched hand, Hisoka picked out the tall lean forms of Watari and Tatsumi coming pell mell around the corner of the building. Watari was in the lead, dressed for the weather in a turtleneck and warm looking sweater, with his herringbone long coat flapping along as he leaped like a ferret through the snow. His long hair was caught up in a haphazard braid, which flipped along behind him and Hisoka could hear the older man’s wickedly gleeful laughter as he careened along, leading his lover a merry chase. Tatsumi’s thick black overcoat was dusted with snow, his chestnut hair limp as the remnants of at least two snowballs melted on his person. His long legs were quickly eating up the distance between himself and his partner and Hisoka’s eyes widened as he saw that the Secretary was busily packing a snowball in his gloved hands as he ran after Watari. Watari, with a quick look over his shoulder, altered his course and headed for the cover of one of the snow-laden sakura trees. “Oh, bad move, Taka.” Tsuzuki said with a chortle. Seeing his partner change direction, Tatsumi slowed down to a walk, waiting patiently until Watari had ducked behind the trunk of the sakura tree. Bending gracefully to catch up another handful of snow, Tatsumi packed the snowball in his hand a little tighter, drew his arm back and cut loose, aiming the projectile up into the branches of the tree. His aim was dead on. The tree shuddered and the branches, already bent beneath the unfamiliar weight of the snow, shook and shed their icy burdens. The equivalent of about twenty snowballs came crashing down on Watari’s head, the young man’s surprised yelp echoing through the garden. There was a pause, as everybody watched the proceedings. There was a snigger… followed by a snicker… followed by a giggle… and a chortle… and in short order the silence was broken by many voices expressing highly amused laughter. With Tsuzuki laughing uproariously in his ear, Hisoka watched as Tatsumi neatly dusted off his gloves. The Secretary stood with his usual regal and dignified bearing, eyeing his snow-encrusted partner as Watari stepped away from the trunk of the tree. The scientist was shaking snow off his head and shoulders and Hisoka could see that Watari was laughing mischievously. Watari pulled a few damp bangs away from his glasses and grinned with warm affection at his partner. In return, one corner of Tatsumi’s lips twitched upwards and Hisoka could see the affectionate twinkle in the Kagetsukai’s sapphire blue eyes. With a final grin, Watari spun around and exploded into motion, chasing after 003 who had been hovering well clear of the fray. Tatsumi watched his partner for a long moment, before he turned and began to make his way back towards the building. |
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The GRAY KNIGHT series:
#1: Irresistible Force : Immovable Object #2: Ghost Ship #3: It's The Little Things #4: The Story of Chess #5: My Partner : My Lover #6: Shattered #8: A Snowball in Meifu |
