Your Ray of Snowshine

Disclaimer: Do not own Lux Pain. Hanako Miyamase, Mars Shidou, Kotoro Hino, Sano Etou, Richie Alberd and Sora Hihara are mine though.

Summary: Sequel to Snow Kiss. A year after the Kisaragi students graduated, the group is supposed to meet up again at Sweet Ring for a happy reunion. Of course Ryo doesn't show up again and Akira thinks that Ryo is skipping out.

Pairing: Akira/Ryo friendship

Genre: Friendship, Humor and Hurt/Comfort

Rated: T (for teen)

Warning: Unintentional OOC, shonen ai and swearing

I'm a terrible person basically not being able to keep the Secret Santa date on time and the only thing I can think of with this pairing is a friendship story that takes place after a one-shot I wrote a long time ago (but its one of my favorites). This is post game though and it's written for dopetoast on Tumblr. I apologize in advance if the quality isn't as high as my Lux Pain stories usually are. It's been a while since I've been in this fandom after all.

It's been a year since the Kisaragi kids graduated from Kisagrai high school and went their separate ways. Before they did, they all made a promise to see each other again in the near future when the holiday season was near.

Atsuki Saijo, the young man that worked at FORT managed to do the one thing he wanted to do. Graduate with his friends, and now that he was out of high school like a normal high school student, he had no choice but to go back to his organization and fight off Silent again. He was fine with this though because with the promise made, no one will ask about his whereabouts. Yes he might end up in another country to deal with the deadly Silent infections and even though he said he was just going to "travel" after high school, no one would say he disappeared even if it was just like him since he was just like a cat.

Akira Mido would continue to work with his father at Sweet Ring and eventually take over for his dad when he could no longer make sweets. To the green haired teen, making sweets meant making others happy. There wasn't much he could do with his level of intelligence or grades anyway. This was a guarantee success (plus it meant that Atsuki would stop by a lot). Whenever someone was down, his place would be open to him or her.

Mika Nozaki finally got her dream job when graduation was near. After helping that one story during the riot, it caught a lot of people's attention oversees. With how brave Mika was, she was asked to go to one of three locations of reporting immediately (no college required apparently. Either that or it was oversees). She could go to America where there's always something starting up, she could go to England where less than eventful things occurred or even take the dangerous tour to the Middle East and report on the news. Despite everyone's protest, of course she chose the Middle East. They all wished that she wouldn't end up dead occurring to the news within a couple of days. Shinji Naruse would mock her for how she would be an easy target with her blue hair and her obnoxious attitude (and that got him beat).

Speaking of Shinji, he decided to go to college at Tokyo University (using the money he made by stocks of course) and try to get into the medical field. Atsuki's encouraging words that fateful day made him consider going back and attempting to be a surgeon instead of running away. And he wanted to grow up. Those close to him thought he was wasting his talent at hacking away but if Shinji grew bored, something was waiting for him.

Yayoi Kamishiro was another girl that got lucky. After she snapped out of her depression, her art started to stand out especially at the end of the year. Her parents were impressed enough that they allowed her to go to any art school she wanted. Apparently Yayoi wanted to go to the art school in Paris because France was the nation of beauty. She got a lot of support in comparison and with her artwork, it wouldn't be long until she became famous (as Mika would joke).

Rui Yamase really didn't have much going for her in comparison. When she and Atsuki went on that one date, she commented on how everyone already has their goals in mind. Rui felt left behind as a result when her female friends were going out of Kisaragi to fulfill their dreams. She still considered the flower arrangement idea but for now, she would keep being a fortuneteller and support her elder sister Yui if things got to stressful in the work force.

Ryo Unami stuck with his plan from the very beginning with taking over his grandfather's bookstore and continues to fill it up with books from all over the world. That's once he made the money from his customers. There was such a limit to what he could do though because his friend Hibiki Kiryu wanted him to have a more variety of genres. That was shot down again as usual and resulted in Ryo asking that when Hibiki left oversees again that he would get him some books from other countries.

That left Hibiki who went aboard to study in America again this time with no creepy old man approaching him to join PHALANX and make him lose control. He was going to continue his obsession with math oversees without interference. He would keep in contact with Ryo of course by sending him new books he would pay with his own money. Hibiki would also use this time to get information on Atsuki who tried to disappear without a trace but with someone like the cyan haired teen on his back, it was difficult to not destroy his mind at times.

And then you got everyone else who graduated with them. Saiyuri Makino was accepted into Tokyo University along with Richie Alberd who got in mainly because of money and wanted to keep an eye on Shinji. Takuya Inoue ended up working at the animal shelter along with Nami Kamishiro. Hanako Miyamase got into Hitotsubashi University by her grandfather's request. Trying for ballet would be difficult so maybe if she continued to be an athlete she would succeed in life instead of being held back. This left Mars Shidou as the last person of the group to be left behind at the high school given he was their underclassmen. He would lead by being the president of the school, but his life was laid out in front of him.

The upper classmen of the group that included Hibiki's older sister Kotoru Hino (and the younger sister of Honoka Hino) and Sora Hihara were on their second year at Tokyo University. Sora's music career was looking bright while Kotoru was still deciding to be a fencer or go with the music career with the La Corda Band friends she had. Sano Etou in comparison continued to work at Club Royal in area four while heading to America to go meet a certain attorney who won't be named in this story.

To sum it up, everyone was living their life with what they wanted to do, but once the holiday season came with no problems in Kisaragi, it was time to return home and meet up at Sweet Ring. Akira made sure to call everyone to meet up on the 24th of December. Akira didn't have the money to buy anyone presents but he did have time to put up a Christmas Tree and bake many sweets in return ranging from gingerbread cookies and Christmas Cakes that needed to be eaten immediately. The martial artist was excited anticipating how much his friends have grown and being able to talk as a group again. He was most excited with seeing Atsuki though given he was the most mysterious of the group. He wondered what look Atsuki would have upon seeing the food. He would probably eat the entire cake before Mika got here and they might bicker. That would be a sight to behold.

So here Akira was making the deserts for everyone leaving the door open to special guests on the 24th. His father Kenichi Mido would be happy to see everyone again but Akira prayed his dad wouldn't embarrass him.

The first batch of friends to arrive at the same time was the group that went to Tokyo University, Shinji, Richie, Kotoru and Sora.

"What, I'm first?" Shinji asked out loud. Normally he was the last one to arrive because he was usually finishing something up on the computer.

"Is that a bad thing Shinji?" Richie hummed. "It means that you'll get some sweets before Mika gets here."

"You have a point."

"Hey guys!" Akira called out. "Glad to see you could make it."

"Hey, we were in the area so we decided to stop by." Kotoru grunted. "I-Its not like I was interested in your food or anything."

"Koto-chan is a great tsundere." Sora hummed poking her cheeks.

"Stop it Sora or you'll find yourself with one less hand!"

"Oh no! Kotoru is being mean again!" The green haired college student hummed as he was the first to take a seat at the big table near the Christmas tree meant for them.

Akira just chuckled at the sight. It seemed like this group hasn't changed.

The next people to arrive were Mars and Hanako. The cross dressing president was still picking on the tall ballet girl insulting her with names about being as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

"Wahhh! Even when it's a year you're still mean to me!"

"Oh, just because you're away doesn't mean I'm done with you." Mars said with an innocent smile. "Now sit down and shut up you stupid cow."

"Wahhh! You're the worse person ever!"

Rui came shortly afterward after helping out her older sister. She looked dead tired but at least she brought the presents (which says a lot when Sora said his father would end up coming later with the presents…and knowing Sora's father being one of the richest guys in Japan, it was presents were going to cover the whole shop preventing anyone from leaving). This left everyone who oversees, Sano and Ryo. Ryo should have been here by now…

An hour later after catching up, Kotoru's boyfriend came in dragging a familiar face.

"Koto-chan, I got your brother!" He hummed.

"Please let go…" The cyan haired teen mumbled.

"You're late. I hope you brought something to make me happy."

"Umm…"

"Sis, he was waiting for me at the airport…he didn't think of anything else."

"WHAT?!"

Speaking of airport, Akira could hear familiar voices coming outside after the fiery redhead forced the two males in. His eyes glowed seeing a familiar silver haired teen, but his blue haired childhood friend who was with him along with the artist interrupted that.

"Isn't it funny Saijo? We got here at the same time!" She hummed. "I thought you wouldn't come back."

"I'm not supposed to…" He huffed. "I'm kind of sneaking off now…just for today."

"Oh Saijo, I don't know what you do but I'm glad you're back." Yayoi responded happily.

"Saijo!" Akira called out.

The silver haired teen looked up and gave a small smile seeing the martial artist. Akira blushed at said smile. It was only a year but he had gotten more beautiful from the last time he saw him. Not like he would say that out loud. Those thoughts were interrupted when Atsuki almost hissed when Hibiki glomped him.

"You're back. I missed you." He said happily nudging at his chest.

"Get off Kiryu."

"But it's been a year!"

"It was a year of happiness without seeing you."

"Uh…you're so cruel…"

As Rui was taking some of the gingerbread cookies she offhandedly stated that Ryo was the only one that hasn't shown up. Why was he late? He still lived in Kisaragi. Was he barricading himself because it was snowing again or did he forget everyone's presents that he had to do last minute shopping for more than eight people? Sighing in defeat, Akira went to the kitchen to search for the coat rack where his jacket was.

"I'll go get him. He probably locked himself out of his store again." The green haired teen said.

"But we just got here!" Mika exclaimed. "And you're the host! If you're gone who will make these delicious cookies?"

The fact that Mika was stuffing her face with food before even saying hi to her friend showed that even if she put her life on the line, she was still the same old hyperactive reporter. Atsuki ended up pushing her to the side as he took his share of cookies.

"Hey!"

Akira sighed. These two would be occupied for a while. "It won't be long. I'll just drag his ass here and then we can finally start the party."

"There won't be any food when you get back." Mars teased.

Rolling his eyes, Akira left when the snow started to fall harder.

Going from area 3 to area 7 would take twenty minutes to a half hour since Sweet Ring was on one end up Kisaragi and Ryo's shop was on the other side. Akira really was wondering what was taking him so long since he was one of the few friends that didn't even leave to go off the island. Now that he thought about it, Ryo hasn't been communicating with everyone for a while. Rui lived next to him so she could check up on him but Rui mentioned that he wasn't himself recently.

When Akira finally reached the bookstore, sure enough Ryo was outside sitting in front of the door. He locked himself out again. Some things never change.

"Hey Ryo!" Akira called out. "What are you doing out here? It's starting to snow real bad."

Ryo didn't seem to acknowledge him as he continued to look like he was in a slump. He didn't seem to have any presents on him and he honestly looked warn out. Wait, was that a cellphone right next to him? What happened?

"Hey Ryo!"

The blue haired teen finally looked up and only sighed. "Oh, its only you Akira…"

"Only me? Did you forget we're having a party? We can't start without you."

"You can. I won't be going…"

Ryo sounded depressed like the whole world fell on his head. Frowning, Akira ended up taking a seat next to his friend in the snow. Ryo didn't seem to care, as he did not push him away. The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Akira opened his big mouth.

"Did you lock yourself out again? Are you not going because your presents are in your store and you can't get to them? I can help you out ya know."

"No…it's not that. I made sure to get the key this time…"

"Then what is it?"

Ryo slowly slid against the store window as he looked up toward the sky. Examining his friend, the martial artist thought he saw tears in his eyes.

"…I got into a fight with my sister…she wanted me to come to Ikebukuro to celebrate with her. She was fine with me not coming along, but then I get a call from my parents…" His expression darkened. "They never cared. I already made my decision to stay here and continue my grandfather's legacy. This does not need to happen during the holidays…and because of them, my sister and I got into a fight."

Akira recalled that Ryo's older sister was a librarian herself in Ikebukuro. Her name was Nodoka Unami and she was a really beautiful girl. She didn't talk much at all and when she did, nothing but cruel worlds came out of her little mouth. She had few friends with that personality and ended up befriending the weirdoes of Ikebukuro. Because Ryo already made the decision to look after his grandfather's bookstore, his parents pressured Nodoka to follow in their footsteps with expected results making Nodoka a crueler woman. Only her friends and little brother mattered to her in the world now and if she fought with Ryo, then something bad must have really happened.

"She told me that I was selfish kid that only cared about myself. It was never about my grandfather's legacy. It was about defying my parents when she couldn't…"

"Ryo you know that's…"

"I've been here for an hour reflecting on what she said…" The bluenette admitted. "She's right. I am selfish. I would do anything to defy my parents. When grandfather died, I took the opportunity to betray their expectations and took over the shop. I threw away everything they planned out for me…and to be honest…I probably would lead a better life if I wasn't so foolish."

"Ryo…"

"But you know what? I love books. That was true then and its true now. I may have been reckless about taking over his beloved bookstore, but I don't regret it after reflecting on it." He chuckled sadly. "It might have taken some frost for me to realize that but I refuse to believe that I was not in the wrong."

Akira closed his eyes. How long was this going on? Didn't he vent to Hibiki about this? Oh wait…he went oversees achieving his dreams. Of course Ryo couldn't turn to Hibiki for help or the mathematician would feel bad and go back to take care of his friend. They had that sort of friendship and Ryo didn't want a repeat of what happened last year.

"Sorry Akira…I can't go right now…please go on without me."

"Ryo…I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't notice you were upset."

"Then that makes two of us." The bluenette sighed again as he looked up toward the sky. "The snow is pretty tonight."

"Yeah…it's almost like there's a ray of snowshine."

"Snowshine? That's not even a word."

"What? It isn't?!"

"No wonder you don't go to college. You would be laughed at with language like that."

"Cut me some slack! Here I am trying to cheer you up and you're making fun of me!"

The bookworm just laughed…an actual honest laugh this time. Akira just cracked him up with his stupidity. Even if he didn't communicate with the group for most of the year beside Hibiki when he sent him books to put his library. Maybe he should forget about the presents and get them tomorrow because tonight was supposed to be when they all saw each other again.

"…Kiryu is there Ryo." Akira continued. "He may be hugging Saijo now but he wants to see you more."

"…I know…maybe I'll go…for a couple of minutes."

"You need to go! You're going to freeze! I'll get you some hot coco and cookies! Come on! Let's go make fun of Mika like old times."

"If we do that, she might punch us. I heard she got stronger because of her occupation now…"

"Uh…don't remind me…"

Akira stood up and dusts the snow off his pants. He offered his hand toward his blue haired friend and smirked. Ryo only smiled back accepting the offer.

"Ryo…you're not alone…and you didn't make a mistake."

"Huh?"

"We're friends right? If you value your friendship, you made the right choice."

"Of course I do. Why would you ask that?"

"Heh…heh heh…just making sure."

"SAIJO! HOW DARE YOU TAKE THE LAST COOKIE! I WAS SAVING THAT FOR AKIRA!"

"…Yeah…you were just going to eat it in his face when he got back."

"LIES! YOU'RE SO SELFISH SAIJO! THIS IS CHRISTMAS! THE TIME OF GIVING!"

"You mean the time of eating."

Akira and Ryo felt a huge migraine coming on seeing how it didn't take long for Atsuki and Mika to start fighting over food. Well it was mainly Mika yelling at Atsuki who pretty much tuning her out and trying to push Hibiki off of him. The girls were happily chatting away about their lives while the guys were just egging the two on hoping they would start a food fight. Akira's dad was nowhere in sight when things were getting loud.

"And this is Christmas Eve right here?" Ryo had to ask.

Akira could only facepalm as a result. Why did he have friends like these again?

Me: Done with 3839 words.

I really sorry this is late! I was on holiday vacation and was playing Disgaea D2. I only need 5 more real trophies to get 100 percent (and the bullshit DLC trophies take forever and I'm still waiting for Gig). I haven't written in this fandom for a while so the reason why I don't list the appearance of the characters is simply because I wrote them so many times in my other Lux Pain stories that anyone who reads them should already know what they look like from the notes after this.

Sorry I couldn't really write Akira/Ryo as a couple. I can only see them as friends so when I wrote this all I can think of is Akira being a good friend to Ryo (plus as a lazy sequel to Snow Kiss I already established that Akira was crushing on Atsuki and Ryo and Hibiki were closer than friends). A few things I want to bring up. Nodoka Unami for those who don't know is basically a Durarara OC but since my headcanon is that Durarara and Lux Pain take place in the same universe along with Baccano, Ace Attorney and Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, then I can make a reference to that. I'm only implying Nodoka's issue but Magician's Spade does a better job characterizing what she does (from what I written of course). And on Ryo is not affected by Silent. No matter how depressed he is, he shrugs it off constantly with reflection thus making him stronger.

That's pretty much it. Reviews are appreciated and I hope dopetoast enjoyed the last Secret Santa. Happy New Years!