@petitechocomochi replied to your link “Buy alli a Coffee. ko-fi.com/nikiforoov”
Here, here~ in the same boat and lost my job a few weeks ago 😔 I wish I could contribute but I will share this for now ❤️❤️
this really sucks, i’m sorry you’re going through the same ;;; but we’ll both manage somehow, i’m sure of it ♥ let’s just try to think of this setback as the beginning of something new and better! thank you for signal boosting, it helps a lot ♥
@petitechocomochi's bday is today (yes I'm tagging u in every social media account u got) Wish her a good time today!! And this is her sweet son Casper, we're excited for a scene like this in our roleplay omg
...*slides in awkwardly* yes hello just wanted to let you know that you reblog a lot of my posts and ur amazing I hope you have a great day/night ;3; <33
SENPAI NOTICED MEEEEE!! Okay so I wanna say that you’re totally awesome and your art style is really great!!!! Also, I’m so glad to find someone who loves viktuuri and snowbaz so much too! THANK YOU, YOU LOVELY PERSON
You are literally the kindest and sweetest person on earth and such a wonderful influence on the YOI fandom, thank you for being here with us 🙏
ahhhh…. ;;;; ♥ thank YOU for being a part of this fandom, sending messages like this is so important ♥♥♥ thank you so much for making the fandom a nice place to be in ♥
//edit: wait what this showed you as anon in my inbox! fixed my wording a little :D ♥♥
To @baritaguz, I’m your secret santa! I’m sorry this ended up being late, I got caught up in the holidays and then the first piece I worked on didn’t end up how I wanted it, so I did another! Here it is, though, and I hope you like it! Merry (belated) Christmas!! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿
'a different kind of storm' - a No.6 fanfic for petitechocomochi~
[To @petitechocomochi from @shieon]
To my Secret Santa, petitechocomochi! Your prompt was a lot of fun to work on, I apologise for any errors, and I hope you enjoy the finished product - Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! <3
Words: 3,670k
Theme: Blizzard
Pairing: Nezushi
The shack had looked run down and worn at a distance, and the view from up close was no better; the door swings loudly on the rusted hinges as it slams behind Shion, the gale from outside still whistling in through the numerous cracks creeping across the old wood.
Nezumi moves quickly to the centre of the room, tugging angrily at his scarf until it comes loose – clumps of melting snow stick to the fabric even as he shakes it violently in an effort to dislodge them.
“‘Clear night skies’ my ass!” He hisses, running his numbed fingers through his hair and groaning in annoyance as he realises that even that is covered in a layer of quickly melting white. “How can you have a whole building complex full of goddamn machines built to predict the weather, and still fuck it up this badly?!”
Shion ruffles his own hair as he walks to one of the dusty windows set into the wall, smiling bemusedly at the energetic irritation of his companion. “They do their best, Nezumi, and it’s highly unlikely that they focus too much on predicting the weather for uninhabited areas like these.”
He drags his index finger across the pane of glass and wipes the resulting lump of dust off against his jacket. “They’re correct 90% of the time concerning the weather reaching the cities, and travelling through the wilderness – in the middle of winter and on foot, no less - is highly discouraged.”
Nezumi scoffs in the way that means he’s about to impart some ‘real world’ knowledge to Shion, and the committee leader smiles into his own scarf as he begins to unwrap it carefully.
“Of course they’re only focused on themselves and their little corner of land. I should have expected as much,” Nezumi says with a roll of his eyes, nose pointed upwards like a lady of the manor who has just been offended by an ill-mannered acquaintance, “but luckily for me, when I first travelled through this area, I used the skies to predict what kind of mess nature was going to throw at me – and it seems like I should have stuck to doing that instead of getting lazy and relying on your fancy tech to have my b– ack!”
His words are cut off as a huge drop of freezing cold water falls from the roof and lands in between his nape and the collar of his coat, running down his spine unpleasantly. Nezumi quickly steps to the side and both men look up to see that it’s not the only patch leaking – the roof is dotted with dark, molded splodges where the intense weather had taken a toll over the years. Nezumi makes a noise of disgust and rubs his shirt over his back, while Shion makes a mental note to check the stability of the floor upstairs before they try to settle for the night.
The interruption from the leaking roof, however much of a nuisance it may turn out to be, is a good chance to share his own view on Nezumi’s weather prediction skills.
“Actually, you’ve failed to predict your fair share of storms during this trip too, Nezumi,” he says in a tone that doesn’t sound even half as annoyed as Nezumi’s had over the ramifications of such a miscalculation, walking over to help brush the remaining snow out of Nezumi’s hair before it begins to melt. “I seem to remember a morning where we had to stay inside the B&B we found for a few extra hours after waking up because our clothes were still hanging over the side of the tub waiting to dry.”
Nezumi stands still and closes his eyes as Shion’s fingers work quickly over his hair, this reminder not changing his stance on the situation in the slightest. “The weather between No.3 and No.4 has always been erratic.” He smirks faintly, just the corner of his lips tilting upwards as he opens one eye to watch Shion’s face as he concentrates on his task. “And if I remember correctly, you hardly seemed to mind. We really wouldn’t have gotten so wet if you hadn’t of kept stopping to stare up at the clouds, you know.”
With a final brush, Shion decides that Nezumi’s hair is as rescued as it’s going to get, and he leans forward to quickly press a kiss against his lips. Nezumi follows as he leaves, and steals another before pulling back and sighing in exaggerated dismay at the state of the roof.
“Oh, but what foul and forgotten hovel have we been forced to seal our dreams within?”
“It’s not so bad – no rude innkeepers, at least. And don’t you think that putting the back of your hand against your forehead would have added to the flourish of that scene?”
“Do not attempt to critique my acting skills, Shion.”
Their playful banter continues easily as they both begin their well-practised routine of preparations for the night; Shion scouts the top floor (making sure to check any gaps and spaces for wild animals who may have had the same idea as them) while Nezumi digs through his backpack to find their thick masking tape, a type strong enough to keep the freezing air from blowing in through the cracks in and around the windows for the night.
Shion gathers every stray scrap of material he can find to stuff at the bottom of the doors, shaking each one out away from his face and watching whatever insects scuttle out with a mix of interest and squeamish discomfort – spiders have never bothered him, but roaches, while not unfamiliar, were still not a welcome guest in his house.
The supplies inside the shack are a strange mix of relatively new and very, very old. A broken gramophone sits in one corner with ceiling water dripping into the metal amplifier, but across from it is a radio that still turns on when Shion prods curiously at it. There’s no shower installed in the bathroom, but the toilet flushes and the taps run with water that’s clean enough to be used for washing hands. Despite having felt tired from their travelling upon entering, the white-haired man is enamoured with the atmosphere of the run-down structure and he finds himself wishing to know more about it as he peers through the mossy eves and creaking floorboards.
Finally finished with the downstairs windows, Nezumi joins Shion on the single upstairs floor and soon notices the quest for answers Shion has found himself on. He smiles and leans against the doorway; Shion hadn’t looked this excited to be checking in at any of the other places they’d stayed, despite Nezumi having chosen quite a few more luxurious locations than he had on his first trip around.
“They use it during the summer harvest.” Nezumi begins, and Shion turns quickly to listen to the explanation being offered to him. “That’s why it’s so useless against the cold. They don’t get summer storms here, and it’s boiling hot for the majority of the year so the cracks we just covered would be a blessing.”
“Ah!” Shion exclaims happily, nodding in gained understanding. “Yes, that explains most things – except the lack of showers, but I suppose they just make do with tipping water over themselves from the taps.”
“Excellent deduction, Your Majesty.” Nezumi says teasingly – soon after returning to fulfil his promise, he had noticed that Shion’s open ended observations had changed slightly, with most now ending with a guess at the answer to his posed question; not quite there yet, but certainly an upgrade to his previous state.
“I’d like to see it.”
“What?”
“The harvest – I’d like to be here to see it in action, and perhaps help out if I was allowed. I’ve never seen a corn harvest take place in person before.”
“Now, now, Shion. Don’t get too ahead of yourself. Let’s finish this journey before we start planning the next one, hm?” Nezumi says as he meanders towards the bare mattress laying on a raised wooden frame in the centre of the room. It’s clearly placed for maximum ventilation which works as a disadvantage at this moment, but the tape and cloth blocking every downstairs point of entry for the chill outside has worked well, and the room seems warmer than some of their recent outdoor camps.
Shion thinks for a moment and then shakes his head in disagreement. “It’s best for me to plan things quite far in advance so that they don’t get in the way of my work schedule.” Even years on, his work for the committee had barely lessened. Each advancement in the lives of those who had suffered at the hands of the previous government of No.6 opened the way for a further improvement, and each freedom returned to the citizens left them hungry for more; it was a fine line to walk between attempting too much and doing too little, but Shion liked to think he and his team had found the balance.
“When you’re planning on taking vacation time, it’s best to give as much notice as possible so they can find and train a suitable substitute.”
“A substitute?” Nezumi asks with a clear tone of surprise. “So there’s someone standing in for you right now?”
“Yes – Tori. He’s worked with me on the committee from the very beginning so he’s very reliable, but I feel bad leaving him with such a heavy workload. It would be better if he could step in for my position and have somebody else cover his own, but it’s just not that easy to find someone with the training who we can trust with such sensitive roles.”
Nezumi hums, and moves to throw himself onto the mattress but a sharp look from Shion stops him and he rolls his eyes as he reaches into his backpack to pull out a thick sheet brought to be used as a cover.
“Don’t roll your eyes at this – I would have thought you would be the one warning me not to just toss myself onto an old mattress I found in an abandoned hut!”
“I’ve told you Shion, it’s not abandoned. I’ve slept here before and it’s fine, but I suppose this is better than being woken up by you screaming when a spider cuddles up to you in the night.”
Shion catches his corner of the sheet as Nezumi tosses it and they both pull it flat, Shion tucking the edges in and smoothing them over neatly. Two small pillows are pulled from Shion’s bag and placed ready on the bed. “I wouldn’t scream, but I don’t relish the thought and neither do you.”
“I don’t care. I’ve slept in enough bushes that I’ve practically shared nests with them anyways.” Nezumi says dismissively with an elegant twirl of his hand. A sharp smile suddenly strikes his features.
“Did you know, Shion? Apparently a study once proved that humans eat around three spiders a year in our sleep without even knowing it.”
“What?!” Shion exclaims, and Nezumi’s white teeth peek through his lips as he prepares to enjoy winding Shion up, but his amusement is quickly doused when Shion shakes his head and firmly argues back.
“Nezumi, you need to provide me with those reports because they’re certainly inaccurate. First off, all the cities have very different ecosystems surrounding them so it would be almost impossible to work out an average for a figure like that. Secondly, the idea that such a large number of spiders-”
“Okay! I take it back!” Nezumi gives in with a groan, throwing himself onto the freshly made bed and instantly pulling the corners free, successfully mussing the entire set up within less than five seconds. Shion scrunches his nose and tugs stubbornly on his side of the cover again before laying down beside him far more carefully.
With Nezumi on the right side and himself on the left, he can easily see the singular window over the curve of Nezumi’s chest and shoulder. Displeased at being interrupted, Shion opens his mouth to continue his argument against the likely-incorrect report on spiders in the bedroom but is cut off by Nezumi as he catches Shion’s eyes and sees the flare preparing inside of them.
“It was a joke, Shion. That’s an old wives tales manufactured to see how quickly a baseless rumour could spread.”
“Well, it’s not a very funny or sensible one-”
“It’s not supposed to be!”
Nezumi huffs and begins to get comfortable, but sits up once he realises how damp his coat is. He pulls it off and hangs it over the rickety bedside table beside him and Shion does the same with his own jacket, having also fallen victim to the second trick of the snow. Once they’ve both settled back down, Nezumi turns to face Shion and moves his legs forward so their knees are touching. He smiles.
“You know, you used to be much easier to tease. I’m sad I missed my chance to have you believe that sleeping humans possess a voracious appetite for our eight-legged friends.”
Shion shuffles forward further until their legs are entwined to the thighs, and each exhale fans gently against the face of the other. An earnest smile decorates his slightly chapped lips. “The sixteen year old you would have been very pleased to see some of the gullibility go.” His voice is quiet, no need for it to be raised as there is now barely any space separating them. The storm continues outside but the winds are muted, making his whispers easy to hear.
Nezumi regards Shion carefully, half his face pressed into the pillow. “You’ll always be an airhead though,” He whispers back, pinching Shion’s earlobe gently between his fingers before tucking straying strands of pearly white hair behind his ear, “no matter how many ties you own.”
Shion smiles wider – he privately doubts that, but he doesn’t want to start a discussion about it with Nezumi. He knows it will only drag up bad feelings and worse memories – and besides, Nezumi could be right. Perhaps heis still an airhead. He doesn’t feel like one, but he’d like to believe it, despite the title no longer being such a fitting label for his reputation.
Soft squeaks pull their attention to the opening of Nezumi’s backpack and a small pink nose pokes past the fabric, twitching to test the temperature of the air before a mouse pops her whole furry body out. The white and grey speckled animal perches herself delicately on top of the bag, wiping at her long whiskers sleepily.
“Aha! So now you come out, huh? Sleep through all the cold and only show yourself once the hard work is over for the night?” Nezumi scolds the creature playfully, reaching over and smoothing the soft fur between her ears with his fingertip. Tiny paws tickle his hand as she pulls herself up and runs along his arm to reach Shion, peeping softly in his ear. He smiles tiredly and strokes her back, enjoying the feel of her whiskers tickling his skin, before she runs to his coat and begins to nest for the night, curling into the well-worn garment contentedly.
“We should name her soon.” Shion murmurs as he turns on his side to face Nezumi. His dark hair looks invitingly soft and before he knows it he’s already stroking it back, tucking it over the broad shoulder of the other and clearing the inky strands from his neck. Nezumi hums and relaxes into the touch, much warmer now with their modifications to the cabin turning it into something a little more weather proof than before. He clears his throat in preparation for putting out a little bed-sharing drama before they sleep for the night.
An invitingly vulnerable flutter of the eyelashes. A voice raised just a bar or two higher.
“I’m so cold, love. . are you sure we’ll wake again? Perhaps we should hold each other close,” exaggerated shivers and a sure and steady grasp reaching for Shion’s hip, a complete contrast that somehow manages to fit appealingly, “you know, to help us-”
A hand meets his and pulls it to lay over the smooth curve of Shion’s waist. Shion moves his body closer and tucks his face against the actor’s neck. Nezumi’s breath catches as the warm of his laugh spreads against his skin.
“Preserve warmth, yes – I couldn’t agree more, but did you know that this isn’t the optimal position? If we really want to keep the heat between us, then something like this would be far more appropriate-”
“Oh my, Mr Shion, are you sure this is appropriate at all-?”
“Yes, Nezumi, do you really think I’d try anything here? Even if we don’t eat them, the spiders are definitely still there-”
When Shion finally settles, evidently finished mauling his bedmate around like a rag doll, Nezumi’s grey eyes narrow at their new positioning.
“Are you really trying to spoon me right now?”
Shion laughs again, the feeling still highly distracting to Nezumi as the heat now pools against the back of his neck.
“Are you really going to refuse it? I’ve woken up enough times with you gripping me like a hot water bottle during this trip that I’d of thought you wouldn’t mind me taking the initiative from the start.”
“Getting quite bold, aren’t you?” Nezumi asks quietly. He moves his hands down until they can grip Shion’s wrists where they lay against his stomach and tug at them lightly, not truly fighting in the slightest but reluctant to accept this without some form of complaint.
“I think you’ll find that there’s still rules to this sort of thing, Shion, and since I know how oblivious to social conventions you can be I’ll warn you myself that you are stepping outside of your place with this one.”
He feels soft lips curve into a smug smile against his neck; Shion’s gentle grip around him refuses to budge.
“I do know the rules for it, and I think you’ll find that you are the one who needs to study them again – as I understand it, the taller partner lays behind, right?”
In the years Nezumi had been away, it was not just political knowledge that Shion had gained: Hanging out with co-workers had done wonders for his previously stunted understanding of the dating scene, and it seemed that Mother Nature had not yet fulfilled her vision for him. Standing at 185cm [6ft], he was now slightly taller than Rikiga – and had a whole 5cm over Nezumi’s height.
Turning with some difficultly within the tight hold, Nezumi manages to angle his face to Shion’s and lowers his voice dangerously, staring into the red eyes which had shone so brightly during their earlier trek through the thick blizzard.
“Simply being slightly taller doesn’t guarantee you the dominant position, Your Majesty. .”
Moving closer as Shion’s breath hitches beside his ear, Nezumi kisses the winding scar gently where it adorns Shion’s neck, skimming his tongue and teeth over the sensitive skin. The sensations are apparently very consuming, as soon enough Shion begins to slacken his hold – the perfect opportunity.
Strong arms encircle Shion and his eyes widen in surprise as he is flipped on the bed, now facing the frosted window with a warm weight behind him.
A complete switch made before he could even blink – I shouldn’t have expected any less.
A cheeky tongue licks a warm line neatly along the ridges of Shion’s spine. “Ah, now see – this I like much better.”
With the feeling of Nezumi’s muscles flexing against Shion’s chest as the man makes himself comfortable holding his hard-won prize, Shion finds he doesn’t truly have any complaints either.
The blizzard howls outside their shelter, as rough and unforgiving as the land they had traversed, but Shion is content.
Nezumi mutters sleepily behind him - “You’d better not kick around in your sleep tonight – I’ll be holding on extra tightly. Not going to risk waking up to you singing against the gales as you so enjoy doing.”
Shion leans further back and moves his hands up to wrap gently around Nezumi’s, holding them against his chest. “I don’t really think I want to do it again. Unless I were to try it naked this time as I wanted to before, but it’s too cold for that right now.”
“What?!”
Shion laughs at the disbelief in Nezumi’s voice and turns his head quickly to press a kiss to his lips. Nezumi’s answering sigh is quiet and fond, and Shion loves the sound of it. Wants to hear it more, hopes sharing his thoughts can call it back again and again as they cross the lands together, even if it means revealing his every one.
He’s not ashamed of them anyway. It’s nice to know that Nezumi can understand him and his motivations. That they can finally begin to understand each other.
Tired and comfortable, sleep begins to haze in the air around them; Nezumi’s fingertips trace patterns calmly onto Shion’s stomach, and his breaths brush past the silky strands of white hair in a way that amplifies his reassuring proximity.
In the early hours of the morning, as the two lay close – Shion having turned long ago into the source of the warmth that held him, his face now pressed against Nezumi’s chest with the steady beat of his heart guiding his own in a symphony of sleep – the eye of the storm passes overhead. Blurry edged and less defined than one found within a more brutal weather, with the snow falling in a gently flurry rather than a sharp mess of jagged swoops and spins.
Nezumi drools into Shion’s hair and is kicked in the shin on reflex. Outside, the frost is fresh and beautiful where it carpets the ground in a layer of sparkling white, ready to record the shape of the travelers footprints when they set off on their journey once more.
