<3
Title: Best of Winter
Author: Kai Kai
Genre: Fluff, some romance
Ratings: PG for kissing
Parings/Characters: KaoruxToshiya
Resume: Kaoru really loved winter. It was just, sometimes, he really forgot why.
Comments: Kai Kai will love you if you comment. -says Kao Kao
Kaoru really loved winter. It was just, sometimes, he really forgot why.
It wasn’t because he was he was a sensitive guy and took pleasure in the solitude and silence that seemed to accompany the season... and it certainly wasn’t because he enjoyed the loud obnoxious family get-togethers. They only served to give him migraines as he was forced into amusing the youngsters or smiling politely when repetitively asked if he was still a part of “that band”.
It wasn’t because of the fact that the days were shorter and the nights were longer; that sure as hell didn’t cut the workload. Regardless to if the sun were out or not, they were still in the recording studio for five hours. It just meant that he had to walk home in the dark every evening and hope he didn’t get mugged along the way.
And it definitely wasn’t because it was cold; fuck, he would sooner wish it to be a hundred degrees out than for it to be thirty-two. He distinctly remembered when he was younger being “that kid” who stayed locked up in his room playing video games and really loud music instead of going outside to have fun in the snow during a snow day. He used to cringe just thinking about running around in the freezing temperature; lungs burning, eyes stinging, body parts about ready to fall off due to numbness... he just couldn’t understand why any child would want to suffer through all that all just to throw fluffy white powder at each other or make snowmen that would eventually turn into muddy soup by the end of the month. Nope, he was perfectly happy sipping his cup of hot chocolate inside, watching as his neighbors slid around on the ice outside only to fall on to their bums and start wailing for their parents. No, the cold was not for him.
“It feels really nice out, doesn’t it Kao Kao? The air is all nice and crisp, ahhhh, I feel so refreshed!”
Kaoru stiffly felt his head turn to gaze at the person walking so carefree beside him as he shivered miserably in his heavy wool overcoat. The guitarist shoved his hands further in his pockets, as if that would help them find a better source of warmth, and merely grunted his reply. He sorely wished his scarf would stop sliding down off his shoulder... and that his boots weren’t soaked through because of the snow. He wiggled his toes just to make sure they were still there. Unbelievable. They hadn’t fallen off yet. Even more unbelievable, Toshiya was prancing around in front of him with his arms swinging around cheerfully... as if he liked being cold. Kaoru shook his head, or tried too in any case. The numbness had finally reached his neck. Cursing quietly under his breath, he reached an arm out and grabbed Toshiya by the hood of his jacket to yank the bassist back beside him.
“Don’t get too far ahead,” he grumbled, voice muffled by his scarf, “I don’t know where you are leading me, remember that.”
Toshiya smiled, flashing his less than perfect teeth. The dark haired man leaned towards him and yanked his scarf down to his chin. Kaoru cursed again and quickly yanked it back up over his nose as Toshiya laughed.
“I can’t hear you, Kao Kao. You’ll have to stop pretending to be a ninja so I can figure out what you’re saying,” he chided, earning a warning glare from his companion.
Kaoru simply closed his eyes and shivered, trying to visualize a bright sunny day on the coastline somewhere... where it was warm and the water was clear and inviting. There would be no annoying children begging him for piggyback rides or naggy relatives who wished he would finally grow up and get a real job. No, there would only be the sand, which would be hot to the touch, and the perfectly cloudless sky allowing the rays of sunlight warm every inhabitant of the small beach. He could almost feel his body internally begin to heat up in response to his daydreaming when he was yanked back down to earth by a snow plop being dropped on his head. His eyes shot open and narrowed accusingly at Toshiya who was trying, obviously, too hard to look innocent. He sighed, feeling too drained of his energy to raise hell and reprimand the bassist for being an absolute asshole when he had reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged out of his home to go see ‘the special surprise’. Toshiya laughed and reached out to clutch one of Kaoru’s arms in his.
“Oh boo, Kaoru, stop being an old man and live a little,” he said lightly, looking much too excited about their current situation/setting/everything else, “The snow is beautiful and there’s not a person in sight! Just us with nature, isn’t that awesome!?”
Yeah, totally epic.
“Are we at your ‘special surprise’ yet? I’m freezing,” Kaoru felt himself whine, much to his dismay, “My legs are cold. My hands are cold. My ears are cold...”
Toshiya pouted momentarily but almost in an instance, that bright smile was back in full effect on his face. He quickly dragged one of Kaoru’s hands out of his coat pockets and laced their fingers together before sticking it into one of his pockets. Kaoru watched, vaguely surprised, as Toshiya then took off his hat and plopped it over the guitarist’s head.
“There. Now your ears won’t be cold and I have your hand being warmed up in my pocket by my hand. Don’t worry, I will walk on your other side in a minute so both hands get the same treatment,” he said, quite pleased with his work.
Kaoru snorted.
“My legs are still frozen, Dummy,” he retorted coolly though noticing a significant change in his body temperature thanks to Toshiya’s ingenious ideas.
The bassist smiled slyly and Kaoru had to groan and roll his eyes as his friend raised his eyebrows at him.
“I could always give you my pants,” he suggested in a teasing tone, laughing in his quirky sort of way as the older man made a face at him.
“No thanks,” Kaoru said in a pleasant voice, eventually finding himself grinning for the first time that day.
Toshiya really knew how to tweak his emotions. Sometimes in a good way.
“Orrrr, I could simply get into yours,” the dark haired bassist offered with a small sly smile playing onto his lips.
...sometimes in a bad way. Kaoru quickly shoved Toshiya further away from him to the other side of the sidewalk, irritably muttering a quick ‘slut’ under his breath. Just loud enough to make the other Dir en Grey member laugh obnoxiously and push him back. He stumbled, eyes widening, as he did the very thing he used to watch his neighbors do when he was younger. He lost his footing and tittered back and forth dangerously for a few moments before slipping on a patch of ice... and crashing down to the ground. He landed painfully on is bum. He was about to scowl and actually release his pent in anger on the poor unsuspecting Toshiya when he realized he was not the only one now sitting, looking thoroughly pained, in a pile of white fluff. He realized in the heat of the moment, he had grabbed his friend to use him as a supporting device... which successfully caused both of them to collapse. Kaoru smirked as Toshiya rubbed his rear and whined.
“Oww! Kaoru! You didn’t have to drag me with you!” he gripped, becoming slightly huffy as he pouted his arms across his thin chest, “Now my butt hurts!”
Kaoru chuckled quietly.
“Bet that’s not the first time you’ve said that,” he muttered.
Toshiya leered at him as he shakily tried to find his feet, only managing to pick himself up halfway before he slipped again on his own accord and came tumbling back down. Kaoru sighed, making no effort to get up. Too much of a hassle. He could tell, even if he suddenly got swept up in a freak tornado, he was still going to be going home wet and icky feeling. He just pulled his knees up closer to his body in an attempt to find warmth. He watched silently as Toshiya gave up too and merely looked up at the sky, the faintest of smiles dawning on his face.
“It looks like it’s going to snow again,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper.
This caused the guitarist to turn his head upward as well. Not a cloud in the sky. Kaoru snorted then buried his head back between his knees.
“You must be stupid, it can’t snow without clouds and Totchi, I hate to break it to you but it’s sunny. Very sunny,” he commented blandly, cursing the sun for not being strong enough to provide a decent amount of warm.
It became quiet for a while. Kaoru watched Toshiya out of the corner of his eye as he fought to breath through the massive amounts of clothing he had formed around his mouth and nose. The man really did seem at an odd sort of peace. Kaoru guessed there was a certain nostalgia that accompanied this type of weather... and this type of tranquil atmosphere. Despite the fact that very nerve in his body was frozen stiff with the bitter, chilling cold, he was feeling rather comfortable sitting in a snowdrift, admiring nature and simply being with Toshiya.
He grimaced. Wow. Winter really did have a powerful affect. Never in all his years did he think his brain could mellow out after constantly thinking about what concert was next, what song had been recorded, which parts have to be fixed, which song could be turned into a PV, how much will the PV cost, food preparations, hotel preparations, bus preparations...
And here he was looking at trees and snow and the sun and thinking it was all kind of neat.
A shudder rippled through his body, reminding him that he shouldn’t get too cozy.
“Damn cold,” he muttered, finding it extremely hard to feel cross when he could barely feel anything at all, “Even my freaking mouth feels cold.”
Toshiya turned to look at him, a playful expression dancing in his eyes. He slowly inched closer to Kaoru, cocking his head to get a better view of the guitarist’s face hidden so expertly between his scarf and coat. He smiled gently.
“My mouth is warm,” was the only thing he said.
And that was all Kaoru needed to hear before shifting, which certainly was an endeavor in his stiff position, to press his lips softly against the bassist’s. He could feel Toshiya’s smile grow as he loosely wrapped his arms around Kaoru’s neck in contentment. As their lips moved slowly, the guitarist could feel his own arms shift to draw the other man closer. He nearly laughed when a pile of snow pushed up into his lap as a result. Figures, he couldn’t get warm without getting wet. He would have to keep that thought to himself though or Toshiya would rag on him for days what with that twisted little imagination of his. Moments dragged by and eventually, he felt Toshiya’s kisses become little more than feather soft peaks against his mouth. He watched carefully as the bassist’s eyes fluttered open, a playful twinkle residing there for a moment or two. Kaoru couldn’t resist the smile that came to his face.
“You’re right, it is warm,” he commented airily, earning a small laugh from the man sitting so comfortably beside him.
Toshiya nodded and rested his head against Kaoru’s shoulder as they huddle together, finding it much more warmer than it had been earlier when they were separate. The black haired man kicked his feet lightly, enjoying the way the wind seemed to pick up the small snow flurries and carry them off in different directions. Kaoru observed in amusement but said nothing about it. Toshiya surely was a kid a heart. Suddenly there was a vicious yank on his arm and Toshiya pouted out into the distance.
“Look!” he all but shouted, nearly causing Kaoru to leap in surprise.
He was about to scold Toshiya for ruining the silence when his vision followed the pointed finger and his mouth clamped shut. Sunset. It figured that this would be Toshiya’s ‘big surprise’. He almost laughed. How romantically cliché of him. But as he looked at the bassist’s face, which was somewhat proud (at being the one to discover the sun could be so beautiful at this time of day) and happy (because he was able to share his discovery with his beloved Kao Kao), the guitarist couldn’t help but feel a little cliché himself. The way the soft reddish yellow light hit Toshiya’s face made him all the more beautiful. Especially when the said bassist was smiling. Next to him, in the freezing cold, on a snowdrift, in the oddest part of town.
And suddenly Kaoru remembered why he loved winter.