what was taking the boy so long to go looking for him. =3= It was really, really cold out here. >A<

.......... Wait. Did he leave a clue for Tsuna to tell him where he was? oAo;

he didn't. >_<

........ =w=

started looking around for a rock or a pebble to throw up at Tsuna's window when he suddenly sneezed. Loudly. >A<

had been spazzing about going to look for Mukuro right nao and making things right between them when he heard the sneeze from outside.

stuck his head out the window, above the garden and found Mukuro standing outside under the tree and in the cold. DDD:

heard a window open and looked up. "... Ah. .-."

gave Tsuna a sheepish smile and waved at him from below.

pulled his head back in and scrambled to get out of his room and downstairs--ah! The scarf!

really quickly stopped by Mukuro's room and snatched the scarf from the pile of groceries and pounded down the stairs.

got out to the garden just in time to see the first white snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

too busy staring at the snowflakes melting as they landed on the grass to have noticed Tsuna.

......... Wait. Snow? oAo

took a step out from under the tree and looked up at the sky.

he probably shouldn't, but... ............

couldn't resist the temptation to stick his tongue out and try to catch a snowflake on his tongue.

... suddenly sneezed, accidentally biting down on his tongue.

yelped in pain, clapping his hands over his mouth. >A<

DDD: What are you doing?!

hurried over to where Mukuro was standing and reached up to cradle the other boy's face with both of his hands.

in a panic, "W-what happened? Where are you hurt??"

shook his head, waiting for the pain to subside a little before he spoke. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

frowned and lowered his hands. "That didn't sound 'fine'..."

just shook his head again and smiled at Tsuna. "I'm fine, really."

mumbled, "You idiot. You were sticking your tongue out. I saw you."

, frowning, threw one end of the scarf he was holding over Mukuro's shoulder and reached up to wrap it around his neck more securely.

..... There. You've probably been standing out here for a while. That should keep you warm.

Thank you, but... I'll feel warm as long as I have you by my side, Tsunayoshi. <3

..... >////>

C-can you come back inside? We shouldn't stay out here in the snow.

chuckled. "Mm, but before that..."

stepped away from Tsuna and made his way behind the tree.

returned a second later and handed Tsuna a bouquet of flowers. img211.imageshack.us/img...

then leaned down and gave the smaller boy a soft peck on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

>////< A-aa. Merry Christmas. Thank you. F-for the messages, I mean. I--

received the bouquet of flowers and miserably thought that his gift *paled* in comparison to all the preparation Mukuro must have done...

looked down at the flowers. For some reason, he wasn't angry that Mukuro was treating him like a girl again.

Ah... you've read them?

nodded, and mumbled, "... I'm sorry. I'm not mad anymore."

blinks. "... Why are you apologizing?"

... You went around for almost two weeks thinking I was mad at you. I'm not. I should have told you sooner.

smiled and kissed Tsuna's forehead before pulling him into a hug. "You don't have to apologize for that. ...I'm sorry for being an idiot."

A-aa...

sighed in relief and leaned into the hug. He wasn't stupid enough to deny that he'd missed this.

....... Ah. |D

By the way...... guess what are we standing under..? <D

._. Standing under...?

looked up and saw nothing but tree branches. And twigs and leaves.

..... A tree branch?

... frowned and looked up. "No, that. .3."

pointed up at the mistletoe he tied onto the branch directly above them.

squinted and blinked. It was dark, and he couldn't see clearly, but now that he was looking more closely he could see something tied...

.... A mistletoe? .-.

nodded. <3

..... Oh.

.....

Uh.

... You're not going to break the tradition, are you? ;3;

I'm n-not, but. Why are you waiting for me to kiss you? It works both ways, doesn't it?

, with a small pout, "But I'm always kissing you. -3-"

adds, "... And my tongue is hurt. ;3;"

>_> Your tongue doesn't have anything to do with this.

added, "... Anyway, I never said that I wasn't going to do it..."

tugged Mukuro's head lower and slowly kissed him, drawing it out as long as he could so the other boy wouldn't have any complaints.

smiled against the kiss and pulled Tsuna closer.

... isn't going to let him go just yet. |3

had really, really missed Tsuna. ...Even though he has been spying on the boy pretty much every night. =w=

broke away from the kiss after a while and looked to the side, blushing to the roots of his hair. "... Now can we go inside?"

... Do I get to cuddle you when we're inside?

..... >///> I'm not going to stop you.

smiled and scooped Tsuna up into his arms. "Well then, let's go inside before either of us catches a cold. ^___^"

o___o

started humming a random Christmas carol as he made his way into the house with Tsuna. ^_______^

A-ah, wait, I need to--

Hmm? ^__^

... Feed Hayato and make sure he's set up for the night. ._.

blinks. "Feed... what. =w= I know I refer to him as your puppy, but that doesn't mean you have to treat him like one. .___."

Ah, no, I meant the rabbit he gave me. o.o

......... Rabbit? ._.

Un. Put me down? I won't be long.

shrugged and set Tsuna down. ._.

padded back out to the garden, and to the hutch he'd set up under the shaded corner just yesterday.

spotted Hayato sticking his nose out of the spaces between the cage bars, sniffing at the falling snow and drawing back the moment a

--snowflake landed on his head.

grinned and murmured a quiet greeting, and then carefully opened the cage door and checked for anything amiss.

quickly swept the floor clean of rabbit droppings while he was at it, and refilled the food bowl, the water bottle, and the hay rack.

had followed Tsuna out to the garden and is now peering over the boy's shoulder, watching curiously.

... I wasn't expecting it to be this small. .-.

happily, "It's a dwarf rabbit." He took hold of Hayato in both hands and held him up beside his face. "Isn't he cute? "

stared at the rabbit for a moment before reaching out to poke its nose. .-.

watched as it shrunk away from his finger a little before sniffing at it curiously.

............ .-.

, pulling his hand back, "Cute, but not as adorable as you are. .w."

Maybe he's just shy...

returned Hayato back to his cage and fondly rubbed the tiny head with his fingertips.

he closed the cage door after a moment and pulled the tarp cover that loosely covered the cage, to protect it against snow and rain.

turned back to Mukuro and said, "Done~"

nodded and grabbed the boys hand, making his way up to Tsuna's room. <3