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"Ah." Subaru stood near the entrance of the school, watching the way his breaths floated off into the cold air. He huddled deeper within his coat, adjusting his orange scarf so that it would keep more of his face warm.
It was snowing.
Puck's Magic Release Period had came again, and the result—as expected— was the thick layer of snow now covering the ground and the rooftops of buildings.
The others; his classmates and his friends seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was only natural, Winter time—although in this case it technically wasn't winter—allowed for a whole new set of activities to do, especially with those close to you. Things that they might not have the chance to do normally in their own worlds for a multitude of reasons.
'Tanya's world is at war, isn't it? I can't imagine snow being anything but a problem during a war.'
Subaru stared at the snow, an intense look upon his face. He shivered, clinging on to his coat tighter for a reason much worse than the cold itself.
By all means, he really should be focusing on calming down. The circumstances were different. Those types of things wouldn't happen now, especially here of all places. Everyone here was strong, sometimes even ridiculously so.
But were they? Were they really that different? The cold was consistent for horrible things happening after all. Maybe he'd have to face the same scene of blood and gore all over again-
Abruptly declaring to himself that he no longer liked the snow, Subaru prepared to head back inside. He couldn't run away from his problems, of course he knew that. But this wasn't running, was it? He just needed time to get his act together as usual before he headed out here again, hopefully without any bloody scratches on his arms this time.
"Why are you all the way over here, I suppose?" Beatrice—who had appeared out of seemingly nowhere—huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she stared up at her contractor. She wasn't wearing a coat or anything of the sort unlike the other students. As per being a Great Spirit, Beatrice didn't need such things, so the pink scarf around her neck, embroidered with patterns that clearly took a lot of effort, certainly would come as a surprise to most.
"Huh? Beako!" A wide grin found it's way onto Subaru's face, a delighted expression adorning it at the sight of the spirit. He picked Beatrice up with a sudden movement, eliciting a startled cry from her.
"Woah, is that the scarf I sewed? You look so cute with it!"
Beatrice flailed her arms around, "S-Subaru! Put me down!"
Subaru chuckled, holding onto Beatrice for a few more seconds before putting her back down onto the snowy ground, "Sorry Beako," He said, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.
Putting a feigned seriousness onto his face, he placed a hand onto his chin, "You just look especially adorable today! I just couldn't resist!"
"Hmph! Betty always looks adorable, in fact," She crossed her arms, "So Betty can't completely fault you for such mistreatment."
"Haa? Mistreatment..?"
"Yes, and don't think Betty can't recognize what you're trying to do, now answer Betty's question!"
"Okay, okay! I can't get anything past you, huh? I was about to go back inside. I'm just ah..." He paused, silently thinking for a few moments, "I just don't feel like being outside right now, yeah?"
"You don't need to come with me, I'll be back later. Since our classmates come from different worlds, I'm absolutely sure they have different winter activities than us, so I'm counting on you to show me those when I'm back!"
"Betty has no obligation to teach you, in fact!" Beatrice held her head high with a huff, her expression quickly turning somewhat smug all of a sudden, "But when you're involved it can't be helped, I suppose. I will be holding you to your word, so return here quickly!"
"That sounds more insulting than not, but I'm grateful either way!"
__________
"Ahh, I really don't like the cold..." Subaru slumped backwards, sitting on one of the chairs in the classroom with a deeply exasperated sigh. He shut his eyes, enjoying the silence of the usually loud room before he eventually looked outside to where his friends were.
"It's good that everyone seems to be having fun, though."
Everyone except Subaru apparently, because he couldn't help the inherent sense of wrongness that resonated within him at the mere sight of snow.
He let out a humorless laugh, keeping his gaze outside, "Pretty pathetic of me..."
He sat quietly after that, a bitter expression on his face, until the mostly quiet environment of the classroom was suddenly interrupted by the sound of labored breathing, snapping Subaru out of his trance.
"Ah...hah... I totally should've looked here first... It's the most obvious place for where you'd-hah...be..."
With a startled jolt, Subaru turned around in his chair, an ironically warm feeling gathering within his form at the familiar voice.
"Kazuma?" Subaru's eyes widened, his words filled with confusion as he stared at the abrupt visitor.
Leaning against the door frame, Kazuma swept back his hair, his chest heaving with deep, exhausted breaths. He took a moment to compose himself, inhaling a large amount of air through his mouth before he finally moved towards Subaru, pulling up another chair next to the raven-haired boy.
"Yep," he said, plopping himself down into the chair and immediately pushing himself back on it, "I'm Kazuma."
"...Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have a problem with it, but what are you doing here?"
"Haah? I could ask you the exact same thing, you know!"
"Ah, right. Good point..." Subaru sweat-dropped, an awkward smile twisting onto his face, "I guess I just wasn't in the mood to stay outside."
"...I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're not a big fan of the cold?" Despite his seemingly uncaring attitude, Kazuma had a feeling he knew what this was about. Maybe it was because he'd experienced dying in the snow before, or maybe it was the barely hidden pain lingering behind those mean eyes of Subaru's that made everything perfectly fit together.
Though, he'd had a hunch something was wrong when he wasn't able to find Subaru outside. After all, Kazuma could usually find Subaru easily simply due to how hard he was to miss; especially amidst people who were quite literally otherworldly.
"Ah..." Subaru glanced back outside, a hollow look on his face, "Well, something like that."
Kazuma sighed, frowning as he looked outside as well, subconsciously rubbing his neck with a wince, "Ehh, yeah, me neither."
The previous silence of the room settled between the two, something akin to anticipation refusing to leave the air. Kazuma narrowed his eyes, glancing at the other boy in the room. He scowled, though the expression was meant to convey no more than a mild irritation. With another—largely exaggerated— sigh, Kazuma crossed his arms, catching Subaru's attention again.
"If you're that curious about it, just ask directly, idiot."
Subaru paid no mind to the insult, chuckling nervously, "That obvious huh? I can't deny that I'm curious, but I'm pretty well-versed in bad experiences I don't like talking about, so I can't ask you to do something like that."
"Huh." Kazuma's face relaxed into a more blank state, "Maybe I'll tell you about it when it's not snowing." He paused, "But you better not forget, okay?!"
"What a switch of attitude! I'll make sure to remember that, don't worry." Subaru gave Kazuma a reassuring smile, one that made the adventurer look away with a red tint on his face.
"...Anyway, to answer your first question: I realized you weren't anywhere outside, so I figured that drill loli might know where you were. She was all like 'Why should I tell someone like you where Betty's contractor is, I suppose!', buuut I got her spill that you went back inside, so it worked out in the end."
"Wow," Subaru laughed, "You sound really smug about that.
...Hey, hold on, you were looking for me? That's so unbelievably adorable!" Despite his teasing tone, there was a hint of sincerity and genuine happiness hidden within the raven-haired boy's voice.
'I'm acting like this, but it's nice that Kazuma cares enough to do that for me of all people. Especially today...My heart seriously feels warm...!'
Kazuma let out a startled shout at the words, glaring at Subaru with a look that seemed to contrast the way his face was heating up, "HAAH?! Don't make me regret it, you bastard! You can't just say stuff like that, you know?! And for the record you're the one that's cute-! Eh-?"
He froze—staring at Subaru's equally stunned face— as the words that had come out of his mouth finally began to catch up to him. But before he could even cover his face or screech with embarrassment-
"Waaaahh!! My poor heart can't take such words of affection! I'm so happy I feel like I could die from it!!" Subaru clutched at his chest with a grin, throwing his head back dramatically.
"Oi! Don't joke about that, you idiot..." Kazuma grumbled, poking at Subaru's cheek, "And I can totally see what you're trying to do, so cut it out."
"Eeh, that's almost exactly what Beako said earlier..."
He shrugged, sighing with exasperation, "Can't say I'm surprised. What was the phrase, you wear your heart on your sleeve? It's out for display for everyone to see. I'd be more concerned if someone didn't realize it."
Subaru blinked with a slightly surprised look, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, "...Oh. Well now that just makes me feel way too embarrassed..." His voice was strained, the chuckle he forced through barely doing anything to mask his turmoil.
Looking out the window again—his eyes unfocused on the sight before him, as if he was seeing something else entirely—Subaru continued to speak once he realized that Kazuma wasn't going to say anything.
"Um, t-the stuff that happened in the snow wasn't really..."
Holding Rem's mangled corpse, unable to do anything except watch as he was quite literally frozen in terror, the distant feeling of his neck splitting away—
"Ghrk-! S-sorry, I guess I'm really just feeling off right now, hah. It was..."
The laughter of a madman, Emilia's dead body—
"Ah..."
Hundreds of rabbits, chewing, eating, burrowing into his skin, into his throat, under the flesh—
"...Pretty bad, h-huh?"
Uttering those words in an uncharacteristically meek voice, Subaru finally snapped back to focus, startled out of it by the feeling of fingers grabbing his wrist.
He looked down, seeing Kazuma's hand holding his wrist. The reason why wasn't hard to realize, once he noticed the red marks on his other arm. At least it hadn't gotten to a point of breaking skin and drawing blood. Shame welled up almost instantaneously at the sight, at the notion that the other boy had seen it.
"Dude, if you can't talk about it, you don't have to. Seriously, it's fine." Kazuma scooched his chair closer to Subaru's,—still holding onto the raven-haired boy—his voice softer than usual with concern, despite his disregarding front.
Subaru let out an internal sigh of relief, grateful that Kazuma hadn't mentioned his whole scratching situation. Small victories, he supposed. However, the miniscule amount of relief he'd felt was soon overpowered.
"I really don't get it...When I couldn't talk about a damn thing all I wanted was to tell someone about everything! But now that I'm able to, I can't?! Just what kind of bullshit is this...?!"
"Haah? Weren't you the one that was just saying you couldn't ask me to talk about my bad experiences with snow?" Kazuma let out a 'tch', narrowing his eyes at Subaru, "Don't be a hypocrite! Talk about it when you're ready, or something like that!"
Subaru faltered, trying to stammer out a rebuttal. However, after trying and failing to put together a reason, an excuse, as to why he would be an exception, the raven-haired boy simply slumped in his seat and gave in.
A few moments of silence passed between them before Subaru finally let out a sigh, looking back up at Kazuma with a defeated look.
"Okay, fine! When you say it like that it makes a lot more sense. I guess I was being pretty dumb."
"Yep, you were."
"Wha—hey!" Subaru glared at the other boy, though there was no serious offense behind the look.
Kazuma stared at Subaru, waiting as if he wanted to say something. After a few moments of this awkward, almost misplaced silence, the adventurer exhaled through his mouth with exasperation.
"Hah...Come here."
Since Kazuma's chair was now right next to Subaru's, he easily managed to pull his fellow protagonist closer until he was laying his head on his lap. Subaru blinked, dumbfounded from the sudden nature of the action as a heavy blush settled onto his face, only able to let out a single sound.
"Eh?"
"Now don't get the wrong idea! This is a one-time only Kazuma Satou special! Emphasis on the one-time only!" Kazuma seemed to be completely ignoring the way his own cheeks were heating up, almost as flushed as Subaru's even though he himself was the one offering the lap pillow.
Sanpaku eyes glanced up at Kazuma's face skeptically, "Isn't this technically the second time you've done this though...?"
"That time doesn't count, you were totally passed out!"
"Shouldn't I be the one who's saying that instead of you?!"
Running a hand through his hair, Kazuma animatedly pointed down towards Subaru, gritting his teeth with exaggerated frustration, "Whatever! Look, this won't be awkward if you don't make it awkward okay?"
"Ah, fine." Subaru sighed, letting himself relax onto Kazuma's lap, "In that case, I'll just enjoy myself here!"
Kazuma let out an acknowledging hum in response. He leaned back in his seat, letting a comfortable silence settle within the classroom.
"...Huh. This sorta reminds me of those cheesy romance movies." He eventually mumbled out, distant-mindedly gazing outside.
Subaru turned his head slightly, towards the adventurer, "Weren't you the one who said not to make things awkward?!"
"Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation. It's not making anything awkward." Kazuma shrugged, brushing off Subaru's words with a smirk.
"Aah, whatever..." Subaru groaned in exasperation, "Anyway, I didn't think you were the type to watch those kinds of movies, Kazuma."
"I don't watch them! And saying it like that makes it sound kind of dirty, don't you think?!"
"Well, if you didn't know about that other stuff, it wouldn't sound that way to you." Subaru remarked, a smug look on his face as he shut his eyes, "Dont you think?"
"Ahhh!! Just shut up!!" Kazuma screeched, covering his face with his hands, "I just wanted to point out something I noticed! How the hell did we get to such a topic?!"
A chuckle came from the boy laying on Kazuma's lap, "Wow, I don't even need to look at you to know your face is probably as red as an appa..."
"...'The hell's an 'Appa'?"
"Hm?" Subaru opened his eyes again, "Ah, it's what they call an apple back in Lugunica. I guess I must've gotten used to calling it that."
"Huh. I don't think the names of things were different in Belzerg." Kazuma let out a thoughtful hum, mumbling, "But maybe the stuff themselves are different then, considering the cabbages..."
"Cabbages?"
"Ehh..." The adventurer sweat-dropped, "Don't worry about it."
"If you say so."
"...Hey, actually, Kazuma?" Subaru continued after pausing for a while. He glanced towards the window for a moment, looking at Kazuma again not long after.
"Yep, I'm Kazuma."
"Let's go on another date."
Nodding seriously, a satisfied glint appeared in Kazuma's eyes. Maybe he really was in his true popular phase this time around, "Absolutely. But that came out of the blue, huh?" He sighed.
"That reminds me. I wanted to ask you something."
"Hm?"
Kazuma leaned back in his chair, a regular expression on his face if not for the faint blush on his cheeks. His voice was casual as he asked, as if he was talking about daily matters, "...Wanna make out?"
It took a moment for what Kazuma had just said to register for Subaru.
"What?"
"What?"