A/N: Oh, hell yeah, I just finished an entire improvised oneshot in two and a half hours! I'm getting faster, which is always good for my sleeping habits. XD

This is my third NezuShi fic, which makes them my most often repeated pairing. Which makes sense, seeing as I absolutely adore them together and there's so much oppurtunity for fanfiction! At first, I hated the ending of the anime, because it wasn't all fluffy and cute (fluff addict), but after a while, I realised that this way, the story can live on in so many people's minds for so long, just the way we want it to be. In a way, that's better than having the ending all spelt out for us, I think.

I only read a small part of the novels, but I tried to emulate the way, at the beginning of the books, Asano-san refers to Nezumi as 'the rat'. Just so you guys know...I'm not copying, I'm emulating. (That's what they all say.)

Please review, but more importantly, enjoy the fic and write your own! Let NezuShi live forever! (I'm sounding like I belong in a cheesy fantasy movie...)

Welcome Home

It was a dark, drizzly night. Clouds concealed the waning moon from sight, and all was silent.

A rat crept through the shadowed streets, making not a sound to break the stifling quiet of the town. It stopped at a corner, pressed against a wall to remain hidden. After searching the surroundings for observers, and finding none, the rat continued with its scampering journey, weaving nimbly from shadow to shadow.

Finally, it reached its destination. It looked up at the darkened windows of the small house before it and sighed. It knew the house's owner wouldn't be back for quite some time, though the night was already well into the hours deemed 'late'.

Yes, Shion always had worked too hard, Nezumi thought, staring glumly at the empty building. Now more than ever.

It had been many years since Nezumi had last seen the one who had plagued his thoughts almost constantly ever since he was twelve. Too many. Nezumi didn't know for sure why he'd kept away for so long, but he knew for certain that Shion was too good for him; he shouldn't force his presence on the other boy. Of course, he knew Shion wanted his company as much as Nezumi himself did, but the boy was passionate about and easily attached to anything and everything; it didn't necessarily mean it was healthy for him.

Not a boy anymore, Nezumi reminded himself morosely. The dark-haired actor himself was nearing twenty. No, definitely not a boy.

He didn't know whether Shion's affection towards him had survived the transition to adulthood; he didn't know whether Shion would welcome him back with open arms or slam the door in his face after kicking him out.

He didn't know why he cared so much.

Heaving a deep, steeling breath to ready himself, Nezumi grasped the vines climbing the front wall of Shion's house, and after checking around for passers-by again, hoisted himself up by them. He clambered up the wall, taking care only to put his weight onto the stronger parts of the plant, and to test them first.

Eventually, though, he made it to the window that he knew led to Shion's bedroom. It was ajar, the curtains open, and Nezumi rolled his eyes and tutted at the carelessness of his long-ago companion. It was practically inviting burglars.

Pulling gently on the window, Nezumi found it opened smoothly and silently, granting him easy access to the interior of the house. He slipped through the opening and paused for a couple of seconds on the windowsill inside before hopping lightly down onto the floor.

Nezumi himself made almost no noise whatsoever, but something else did. There was a muted thud as a plain, white envelope landed face down next to the one who had dislodged it from its place on the windowsill.

Nezumi blinked in surprise. What was Shion doing, keeping a letter next to an open window? A fierce enough storm, and the thing would be an illegible pile of mush.

As he picked it up to put it back where it came from, though, Nezumi saw something that made his breath hitch.

The envelope was a fancy new waterproof one, which explained its survival of the weather, but that was not what caught Nezumi's eye.

On the front of the letter, exactly in the middle, was one word written in small, neat handwriting.

Nezumi.

The man stared at the letter in his hand in shock, unable to move, breathe, do anything. Shion had written him a letter? How had he known Nezumi was coming? Had he seen him while Nezumi was spying on him at his workplace?

With uncharacteristically shaking hands, Nezumi slowly opened the envelope and took out the single piece of paper in it. He unfolded it and started to read.

Nezumi, it said, it's been almost six months since you went away, and I'm not sure exactly when you're coming back, so I wrote this to be prepared. I'm going to leave it on the sill of my bedroom window, taking into account there's no way you'll ever come in through the door, and what with my new job, I doubt I'll be there to greet you.

Seeing as you're reading this now, I'm probably not at home, so feel free to help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, but don't eat anything with an orange label on the lid. That's bacterial cultures we're testing at the Health Facility that need to be kept cold so they don't reproduce and start a pandemic.

Nezumi snorted at that. So like Shion, to keep deadly diseases in his refrigerator, for work.

Also, before you snap at me for leaving the window open, there aren't any burglars here, and even if there were, I don't think they'd bother with this house anyway. And how else would you get in?

Nezumi swallowed hard. He could practically hear Shion's voice in his mind. It would be frank, innocent. Like it was obvious Shion would leave a window open in all weathers for him, of all people.

On that note, the letter continued, I'm glad you're back. I was so sad when you left, even though I knew you'd come back. And so, welcome home, Nezumi. I missed you.

Tears filled Nezumi's eyes at those last few sentences. He wiped them away angrily. He didn't cry; he didn't cry for anyone.

Not for anyone except Shion.

It pained him so much to read Shion's letter now, to hear the hope and the confidence in his words that Nezumi would soon return.

The words he'd written over three years ago.

His barely-there control over his tear ducts snapped, and Nezumi curled in on himself, a choked sob escaping his clenched teeth.

He'd hurt Shion so much over these past few years. Nezumi knew exactly how the white-haired youth would have woken up every morning filled to the brim with hope of his return, and then go to bed every night with crippling disappointment, possibly even crying himself to sleep.

Nezumi was less than worthless for making Shion so grieved. Shion, who had never wronged him in any way at all apart from the fact that he'd stolen the older one's heart. Yes, he didn't deserve Shion. But Shion didn't didn't deserve to be alone.

Making up his mind, Nezumi brushed away his escaped tears and make his way over to the far wall of the room, against which Shion's bed was. He sat down heavily on the mattress and turned to face the door, clutching the note in his hands and waiting tirelessly for Shion to come home.

Shion walked home with his hands in the pockets of his thick coat. It was cold, and his breath was forming white puffs in the frigid air. Shion couldn't wait to get home and warm himself up with a large mug of steaming hot tea.

Reaching his front door, Shion rummaged for the key, which he found eventually, and inserted it into the lock. Turning it with only a small struggle (it had always been stiff), he opened the door and stepped inside, smiling with relief at the warm air that greeted him at the threshold.

He shrugged off his coat and hung it on the stand in the hallway. He then took off his shoes and placed them next to the doormat. All as usual, nothing out of place. Everything today had gone exactly as normal; his everyday routine hadn't been disrupted once. And yet, Shion still felt as if something was different. There was a tension in the air, something like electricity, but not so active. It was more like potential energy, something waiting to be unleashed.

Shion didn't dare hope for what he wished for most in the universe; he'd been disappointed too many times. And yet he couldn't help it.

With his breath loud in his ears, Shion made his way up the stairs, forgoing his tea. If his feeling had been right...

He opened his bedroom door.

Then he stopped, suddenly motionless in the doorway as he stared into the silver eyes he'd missed so badly for so long.

Nezumi had come back. Just as Shion had always known he would.

Tears brimmed in his eyes, making the figure in front of him shimmer and waver. As he smiled, they overflowed and trickled down his cheeks, sliding over the scar that reminded him so of Nezumi whenever he looked in the mirror.

"Welcome home, Nezumi," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, "I knew you'd come back."

Nezumi got up slowly and walked away from the bed, towards Shion. When he reached the other boy, he raised a gloved hand and tenderly cupped his cheek, wiping away the tears with his free hand.

"Why are you crying?" he asked gently, though there was no hint of a smile in his eyes. They looked almost...sad.

Shion bit his lip, trying to stop himself from replenishing the teardrops Nezumi had so painstakingly removed. He failed.

"I—I'm just so...happy..." he stuttered, his voice failing him in his emotion, not for the first time.

Nezumi's face crumpled then, and for a split second, he almost looked as if he was about to cry as well. Before Shion could be sure of this, though, the taller male embraced him so warmly and so lovingly that all Shion could do was hold on for dear life and concentrate on remembering how to breathe.

"You shouldn't be," Nezumi whispered, his voice broken in Shion's ear, "You should be furious with me."

Shion pulled away in surprise, staring with wide eyes at Nezumi's face. "What?" he gasped disbelievingly, "Why on Earth should I be furious with you?"

"I caused you so much pain...don't tell me you haven't been waiting in hope of me coming back every single day since I left."

"I did wait in hope," Shion told him, "and I was sad when those hopes came to nothing. But don't you see, Nezumi? All that sadness in those days before has just served to make this day so much better! I feel so much happier for it now that you really are back!" he declared earnestly.

Nezumi looked at him in incredulity for a long moment. Then his shoulders slumped in relief and his head sagged to rest on Shion's shoulder. "I'll never understand you, Shion. I'm glad, though. I was so worried you'd hate me," he told the other, hugging him tightly to his own chest.

Shion smiled. "I could never hate you, Nezumi. I don't know why you stayed away for so long, but I know that you'll tell me eventually, if you want to. Right now, I'm just so grateful you decided to come back."

"I'm grateful to you for welcoming me, even though it was well within your rights to do the opposite," Nezumi told him, face buried in the crook of Shion's neck, "Even that letter–" he broke off.

Shion held him closer. "I didn't want you to come into my house without an immediate welcome," he explained.

"No, it wasn't that part," Nezumi said, raising his head to look into Shion's eyes, "It was the way you wrote – and said, just now – 'Welcome home'."

"My home is your home, and my home is wherever you are. This house just became a home for me," Shion informed him, smiling brightly.

Nezumi grabbed his chin and kissed him with such ferocity that Shion's heart forgot to beat. He stood, frozen, as Nezumi's lips pressed against his with bruising force, did nothing as they forced Shion's lips open to grant access to a ravaging tongue plundering all he had to give.

Abruptly, Nezumi broke the one-sided kiss and staggered back, looking horrified with himself. "Shion?" he asked the now blank-faced youth, his voice shrill in panic. "Shion, oh God, I'm so sorry, I just couldn't–"

"Nezumi." Shion's voice halted his frantic apology.

The other male only stared at him with vulnerable, frightened eyes.

"Nezumi, I..." Shion trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "I don't understand why you did that," he admitted, staring at the floor.

"I just lost control, I'm so sorry, Shion, I couldn't help myself!"

"No, Nezumi, not that," Shion told him, "You lost control over what?" he questioned, face still blank.

"I–" Nezumi didn't know what to say. "I lost control over myself. You have..." He took a deep breath. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to kiss you like that."

Shion looked shocked, staring at him with impossibly wide, red eyes. "Huh?"

Nezumi couldn't stop himself now. The words just spilled over his lips, his usual command over them failing. "Ever since I helped you escape from No. 6, I've wanted to do that. I've wanted to do more! I've wanted...I've wanted to love you," his last words came out as a whisper.

Shion's face became so tender then he could barely look at him. "Nezumi..." he said softly, compassionately, "Why didn't you just say? You didn't have to put on a mask, you didn't have to hide behind angry statements saying we were destined to be enemies. All you had to do was say. And if you'd given me the slightest bit of warning before just now, I would have reciprocated much better."

Nezumi looked at him in disbelief. "You would have let me? If I said I wanted that, you would have let me have it?"

"Of course." The words were simple; the meaning behind them was not.

Hesitantly, carefully, Nezumi stepped forward again. He caught Shion's face between his hands and gently pressed his lips against the other male's.

The second kiss was nothing like the first. It was soft and sweet and loving. Shion moved with Nezumi this time, grasping lapis lazuli hair and pressing his mouth equally against the taller man's.

This kiss ended more gradually, short, chaste pecks bridging the gap between contact and separation.

When they finally broke apart, Shion smiled, resting his forehead against Nezumi's. "I feel like I'm home now," he told the other male blissfuly.

Nezumi pressed another kiss to Shion's soft lips. "Welcome home, Shion."

Finis.

A/N: Fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff... Sorry if I gave you toothache with all the sweetness. I tried for some angsty feelings...?