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Shun had already scoped out the perfect game plan.
Today was the perfect day to ambush his boyfriend with snowballs, and he had to take advantage of it. Flakes of delicate snow still fell from the sky, swirling through the freezing air with such grace that no one, not even Aren, could foresee such disaster (i.e. a snowball fight).
His mind was a bulletin board, detailing the exact steps he needed to take for this to succeed…
Brrrring!
...and he was ready to carry it out.
Cued by the dismissal bell, Shun pressed his palms on his desk and stood up. He scanned the classroom, watching his friends start to gather, practically on autopilot. He, however, had other plans - here's where the first step comes in: making an excuse.
“Kaidou, are you coming?” Shun hadn't the chance to even gather his school supplies before Nendou loomed over his desk, earning a flinch from the shorter boy.
It’s been like three seconds, he thought, but he didn’t have time to dwell over it. The task at hand was much more important.
Grabbing his winter coat from the back of his seat and starting to put it on, Shun recollected a nonchalant demeanor. “I’ll catch up with you. I have important manners to attend to.”
“Like what?” Nendou’s head tilted in blank curiosity. Shun paused for a moment, signature mystery clouding his face.
“I guess I’ll tell you, if you really want to know…” He shot Nendou a glare of forewarning, meeting his eyes precisely. “The Dark Reunion’s made a surprise appearance. You guys better head out. Tell the others, and make sure they know I’ll handle it myself...I wouldn’t want you all wrapped up in this business.”
Nendou only looked frightened for a split second. “Then why are you putting on your coat?”
Kaidou’s serious expression dropped, gallant pose gone limp.
“There’s no questioning the expert, Nendou! You think I’ll just sit here and let PK Academy burn to meager ashes?”
Nendou blinked. Then stood up straight.
“I guess that wouldn’t be good,” He said with a pondering finger to his chin, before shrugging and looking back at Shun. “Eh. Have fun.” He turned to leave, and for a moment Shun wondered if he could trust Nendou to tell the others not to come looking for him, but ultimately decided it’d turn out alright. After all, the first step was now complete.
Now that the group was gone, all he had to do to succeed with the next step was sneak outside to find a hiding spot. Aren had an afterschool thing today - something to do with “counseling” and “anger management” if he remembered correctly, y’know, the usual - so he had time to prepare before he started his walk home.
Man, this was gonna be awesome.
* * *
It took minimal planning to find a good hiding spot, since Shun had incredible stealth and survival instincts that he was surprised everyone didn’t compliment all the time.
The walk from school to Aren’s house was practically muscle memory for him; even when they walked with the rest of the group, the two of them usually ended up dragging behind and either parted ways at Shun’s house or went to one of their houses together.
Shun found a spot behind a relatively big tree, one with hefty leaves weighed down by heaps of snow. It wasn’t far from the school, close enough for him to be able to see the front doors. Now all that was left to do was wait...well, that and put on his mittens. He was already decked out in the winter clothes he wore to school: a cream-colored puffy coat (which he did not choose or willingly wear, his mom shoved him out the door with it) and a knit beanie. But if he didn’t put on his mittens, his hands would get unbearingly cold and the entire plan would shrivel right in front of him. He wasn’t taking any chances.
As he waited he prepared a pile of snowballs that some would call extensive, but he thought it was perfect. Some kind of childlike joy shimmered in him as he got ready - he had no reason to be enjoying this so much.
Scratch that, he had every reason to be enjoying this so much.
Finally, the fated sound arrived of the doors opening then slamming shut. Shun peeked out from his hiding spot, being extra cautious to not let the pom pom on his hat be visible. As expected, he caught a glimpse of dark purple hair and a stride that was somewhat intimidating but endearingly familiar nonetheless. Aren was wearing his own winter gear; a plain black coat and a scarf to match. As he got closer, Shun heard him whistling in casual boredom...but not for long. As soon as he was in the right place, Shun grabbed an armful of snowballs and popped out from behind the tree, a lively gleam in his eyes.
It’s go time!
He didn’t hesitate to start hurling the snowballs like his life depended on it. Nothing mattered right now other than absolutely annihilating Aren with these snowballs.
“Hey?!” Aren’s voice boomed in response, and in the next split second Shun was sure he was about to die. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but when Aren started glaring around, looking for the culprit, Shun’s first instinct was to dash behind the tree again, preparing to make another surprise attack.
Evidently, though, he didn’t move fast enough. A heap of packed snow bigger than every snowball in Shun’s pile hit him square in the face, knocking him down into the white, fluffy, cold ground beneath him. Then came more snowballs, obscuring his vision and every sense of strategy he thought he had. Just as he thought the anguish was over, a heavy snowball hit the tree he’d been hiding behind, sending all of the snow it collected into a pile on top of him.
Had the time come to accept defeat..?
“Ha! You thought you could get away with that??” Aren taunted. Shun was buried in snow and couldn’t see where he was, but his voice seemed closer now. He felt a sudden surge of determination. Prying his arms out of the heavy snow, he pushed himself up, shaking his head to free himself of all the snowflakes he could. He opened his eyes just in time to see Aren’s demeanor change, his snowball-wielding hand lowering and his sinister expression softening.
“Shun?!” Aren ran to his side, instantly resorting to holding him as if he were on his deathbed. At first, Shun’s bewilderment overtook him - he thought it was completely probable that Aren attacked him mercilessly while knowing it was, in fact, him. But apparently, he hadn’t.
“I’m sorry! I thought you were an assassin or something!” Shun decided not to question the assassin comment and instead opted to play along. He went limp in Aren’s arms, dramatically pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.
“I trusted you…” He said weakly, closing his eyes for effect. It was extra believable because of how genuinely cold he was, teeth chattering and hands trembling. “How will I continue on with such fatal injuries?”
Aren’s eyes were wide, concerned stare fixed on Shun. “I swear it was an accident. Please forgive me…” Shun turned his head to look up at Aren again.
“I’ll see you on the other side, Aren.” He turned away and coughed, clutching his side to further drive in the point. Then, he met his eyes and moved his hand to cup the side of Aren’s face. “‘Till we meet again.”
Their expressions stayed still for a moment, eyes locked as Shun looked at Aren in almost believable agony. Aren’s brows tilted upward, his emotion just as theatrical as Shun’s.
Then, Shun broke character. He laughed, welled up eyes suddenly dawning the joy of a child on Christmas morning, expression coated with a playfulness that suited the situation just right. Aren could still see flakes of snow glimmering on Shun’s eyelashes, but he was too focused on the wide grin that erupted on his face to pay attention to that.
Shun wasn’t quite sure what Aren was thinking, but he could feel the other boy’s face heat up even though his mittens. He watched his cheeks flush pink, sending Shun through some sort of lovestruck spiral. Holy shit, he thought, gaze unwavering, I can’t get enough of him.
But there was a reason he was here in the first place. He had no intention to abandon his motives.
Reaching behind him as discreetly as he could, Shun grabbed a clump of snow and balled it up in his hand. Aren still stared at him, seemingly unsuspecting until Shun raised his arm, smashing the newly formed snowball into his boyfriend’s face.
Aren didn’t move for a moment, but after a few quick blinks and a shake of his head to get the snow off, his face glowed with the same childish gleam as Shun’s. Their enlivened grins matched just the same. Aren opened his mouth to speak.
“You’re on.”
As if on cue, both boys scrambled to their feet, Shun taking a bit longer since his legs were still buried in snow. Aren took advantage of his headstart and bolted to a patch of fresh snow, grabbing some and hurling it at Shun as soon as he gained footing. The shorter boy winced, stumbling a bit but catching himself before he could fall again.
Their challenging glares and heaping handfuls of snow evolved into a competition where they both lost track of the score, contagious fits of laughter and clumsy running turned treading through the snow distracting them from the idea of winning.
They continued on and on, moving down the sidewalk when they ran out of snow to clump up in their hands until finally, Shun threw a winning snowball at Aren that knocked him to the ground, leaving him more breathless than he already was. He found that he didn’t mind, though - Shun’s never-faltering bright laughter occupied too much space in his mind for him to feel defeated.
“Haha!” Shun exclaimed, striking a victorious, albeit dorky pose with one hand on his hip and the other pointing to himself with his thumb. “The sweet taste of reve-”
As if Aren wasn’t amused already, he watched as Shun came right down with him, his shoes seemingly not getting along with a certain icy spot on the sidewalk. He landed practically right where Aren had, arms hitting the ground right next to Aren first and preventing Shun from landing directly atop him. Now, Aren was the one to laugh while Shun looked at him flustered, though barely disappointed that victory had slipped out of his fingers. He’d spent the last hour, probably, with nothing on his mind but the pure joy Aren brought him. He wasn’t surprised to realize that was likely the goal of his plan all along - to bask in the radiant luxury that was his boyfriend.
Aren’s eyes only drove home that idea - they were a whole different kind of warm, a good kind, despite the strikingly cold air biting at their skin. He didn’t dare look away, even as he started to get up, this time more cautious about the icy concrete.
Before he could boost himself up, though, Aren grabbed ahold of the exposed collar of his school uniform. Shun felt his unexpectedly gentle fingers brush against his neck ever so slightly, which made him shiver; for once, not from the cold. Now they were even closer than they’d been when Shun fell, their faces mere inches apart. Shun’s lower arms supported him on the ground on either side of Aren’s head, barely minding the cold now. At this point, both of their faces were bright red.
When Shun shifted his focus to Aren’s eyes, he wasn’t met with eye contact - instead, his purple eyes fell just below Shun’s gaze, fixed on his lips. Then he pulled him closer, one hand still firmly holding Shun’s dress shirt and the other moving to cup his face. And in an instant, the distance between them ceased to exist, eyes falling closed as their lips finally met. Aren’s lips were cold, and Shun was sure his were too, but the warmth that surged through him made up for it. He couldn’t help but melt further into the kiss, no longer caring to keep the space between them empty.
The next few seconds felt like a minute at least, one of those precious moments that made Shun long for more and want to dwell in forever at the same time. When Aren pulled away, it took a while for Shun to open his eyes. When he did, he was met again with the same warm, addicting gaze that he couldn’t get enough of. Just looking at him, Shun thought about the idea of never closing his eyes ever again.
Feeling Aren’s breath against his skin, visible as vapor in the cold air, Shun realized he’d forgotten to catch his breath.
“Thank you,” He rasped, hearing Aren chuckle in response.
“For what?”
Shun paused. He wasn’t quite sure what he was thanking him for either. For spending time with him, maybe. For being willing to put up with him; laughing with him, making him smile and feel at home like no one else had done before. For being his favorite person. But he didn’t say that - not yet.
“For that.” Shun felt himself blushing again, as if that hadn’t happened enough times today. He turned his head a bit and away, Aren’s hand still resting on the side of his face. “For everything.” From the corner of his eye he saw Aren’s smile grow wider, and it made his lips curve into a smile, too. An embarrassingly sheepish one, but he couldn’t help it.
“No need to thank me,” Aren said, “You get all whiny when I don’t kiss you, so-” Shun cut him off with a flick on the forehead, and Aren only laughed in response. “What?! I don’t mind it.” That only earned him another flick, so Aren decided to shut up. That didn’t put an end to his bout of laughter, though. “How about heading home? We can go to my place.”
“Do I have to move?” Shun asked, though he knew he would eventually. Aren raised an eyebrow, still smiling. They both had barely moved an inch since they pulled away from the kiss.
“Aren’t you cold?” Aren reached up to boop Shun’s nose, tinted red from the cold.
“No. This is kind of helping,” He replied, trying and failing to supress a shiver.
“If you don’t get up, you’ll either freeze to death or the snow will bury us here. Whichever comes first,” Aren insisted, though he didn’t move either.
“Fine.” Shun huffed, pushing himself up off the ground with his arms which he realized had sort of lost feeling. After brushing off what was left of the snow on his coat and pants, he held out a hand for Aren. “If you can’t find those fuzzy blankets again, I’m leaving.” Aren chuckled, taking Shun’s hand and finding his way to his feet.
“The ones with the little animals on them? I kept looking for them right after you left. They’re in my closet.” Shun’s eyes lit up in relieved excitement, but he quickly recollected himself, clearing his throat.
“They’re not just ‘little animals’. They’re brave and ferocious warriors, especially for their size.” He retorted, crossing his arms.
“Whatever you say,” Aren responded with a small, amused shrug.
Shun all of the sudden felt a soft sensation of wool on his shoulders and realized Aren had taken off his scarf and started wrapping it around him. He absolutely appreciated the gesture, but just like the animals on Aren’s fuzzy blankets, he was a brave and ferocious warrior who didn’t need an extra scarf.
“I don’t need-” Before he could finish his sentence, Aren wrapped the scarf high enough to cover the lower half of his face, including his mouth. Shun shot him a glare, seeing the entertained yet incredibly soft look on his face. “Thif if really warm.” He admitted, speech muffled by the wool. Aren laughed, emitting a melodious joy that made Shun’s shoulders bob in muffled laughter, too.
“See? Now hurry up,” Aren grabbed Shun’s hand, intertwining their fingers. He started to run through the falling snow and instantly the beaming, playful feeling returned to Shun, and he could see it in Aren’s eyes as well. They were both laughing again, trying to catch up with each other and prevent slipping at the same time. Shun used a hand to keep his hat in place and the other hand remained in Aren’s. He held onto it for dear life for no reason other than he could. He could cherish this moment, and every little thing that made them them, because he was Aren’s and Aren was his. And if Shun had anything to say about it, that’s how it’d be for the rest of their lives.