[ONESHOT] Thumbs-Up. Part 2.
Title: Thumbs-Up. Part 2.
Group: U-Kiss
Pairing: Elixander because I'm obviously the biggest loser on the face of Earth.
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Bad English, huge, rushed, lame. (like, really, really lame.) UNBETAED! UNBETAED! UNBETAED! ilu brandnewwind ♥♥♥
Summary: Fic for the epic Bokura no Uta's 24 hour Christmas Fic Challenge. My tale was: Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
N/A: 1. This has nothing to do with Rudolph. Sorry Rudolph.
2. This is lame. There are some parts that just make me CRINGE. I'll probably edit them later, because I do cheat.
3. Merry Christmas! *3*
Thanks to Alexander, the new journey went by without many happenings, apart from the snow - would it ever stop snowing? - and the horrible tiredness that had possessed Eli’s body. If only he had never ran away… he could be home at that exact moment, probably having breakfast, eating one of his mother’s pies and drinking a mug of hot chocolate.
“You have an earthquake going on in your stomach, don’t you?” Alexander mocked, laughing. His stomach hadn’t grumbled too loudly, but something that Eli learnt quick: Alexander’s hearing could be horrifyingly keen sometimes.
Well, if he had never run away, he’d never met Alexander. The fox would most probably still be in his cave, alone, eating herbs soups and probably losing weight that he shouldn’t lose at all during the winter. Eli cringed at the thought.
“If you know where your den is, why don’t you go back to them?” Eli asked, breaking the silence. “Living alone must be pretty hard for you.”
Alexander’s ears immediately came down. Shit. Eli should learn to keep his mouth shut sometimes.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Alexander answered, not half as mad as Eli thought he’d be. “I’m a burden for my family, and a laughingstock for the other foxes from other dens. Have you ever felt this way?” Alexander stopped unexpectedly and faced Eli. “About your town and all.”
Eli nodded bitterly. He hated how he could relate to that feeling: the feeling of being unnecessary and unwanted, of being a nuisance. Yet, he missed the town. He missed his home, his family, Kevin and Dongho… did Alexander miss his family too?
“Wait,” Alexander stopped suddenly again, but now with his ears and tail raised up in alarm. “I can hear it. It’s Soohyun. God, he’s still so loud when he eats.”
Eli’s stomach grumbled lightly.
“Keep your stomach quiet and follow me,” Alexander instructed, striding quickly toward a random direction. Eli was startled, but immediately ran after him, unable to catch fully with the fox’s speed. His legs were stinging, holy Christ, couldn’t he have a break already?
Alexander stopped too suddenly again, catching Eli by surprise - he ended up colliding against the fox’s back and bringing them down to the snowy floor again.
“Eli! What the hell are you doing!” Alexander hissed, wiggling under Eli’s heavy figure. “Get off me! I’m suffocating!”
“Sorry, I wasn’t looking,” Eli apologized, getting off him as requested and doing his best to stand up again on his wobbly knees. “Argh, I’m so tired…”
“Just try to focus. This is important, remember?” Alexander managed to get up before Eli and also help him up. “If we don’t solve this until sunset, the Christmas night or whatever will be ruined.”
“Alexander?”
They hastily turned their heads at the same time, searching for the source of the calling. Standing two meters or so away from them was a man - no, it was not a man. The white skin, white hair, white furry ears, white furry tail…
An awkward silence ensued.
Eli slowly turned to Alexander.
“Your relative?” he pointed to the other fox. Alexander shot him a sarcastic look.
“Alexander?? Alexander, is that really you?” the other snow fox walked toward them, positively invading Alexander’s personal space; the brown fox didn’t even flinch. After a quick look and touches, the white fox hugged Alexander tightly, much to Eli’s shock. “Say it’s really you. Say it’s not a dream.”
“Hi, Soohyun,” Alexander said weakly. “How’s everyone doing?”
“ALEXANDER!!” the white fox simply shouted - and began crying, sobbing loudly like a child. “Y-you’re still alive!! Oh God, Alexander, NEVER do this again to me, okay? NEVER!”
“S-soohyun,” Alexander called out unsurely. “Soohyun, there are people watching. And, um, I have an urgent matter to discuss with dad. Can we… just…”
“BOY! I WAS SO WORRIED! I cried at night imagining you starving to death in some cave or something,” Soohyun’s sobs were wearing off quickly, giving place to shaky shouts. Eli found it weird how accurate the white fox’s guess actually was. “God, Alexander, I could have died! WE BOTH COULD HAVE DIED!!”
“… Soohyun,” Alexander tried again, but this time with a small smile that he hadn’t been able to hold back. “We’re both alive. And I have a serious problem. So, maybe, could you please…”
“Oh, okay! Let’s go,” Soohyun finally let go from the hug, drying his face on his shirt - now that Eli noticed, Soohyun was dressing regular pants and a T-shirt, as if it was summer or something. The power of winter fat… “You freaked everyone out, you know. Dad was completely restless, saying that you could die living all alone like that, etcetera etcetera.”
“Well, it turns out I’m not completely useless,” Alexander retorted. Eli felt the urge to pat his head again, and he didn’t even know why. “I’ve survived. How are things going back at the den?”
“Shady,” Soohyun made a face, still sniffing. “Some foxes from near the river attacked my father two days ago. There’s animosity in the air, almost as heavy as the storm. You feel the storm coming, don’t you?”
“It’s here already,” Alexander nodded. “Coming from the valley. Which is why we’re here.”
“Oh yeah! Who’s your friend?” Soohyun faced Eli for the first time, analyzing him with his vulpine eyes. For some reason, his eyes weren’t as sharp as Alexander’s. “An elf?”
“He’s Eli, the living Christmas ornament. A very lame elf that decided to take a walk in the woods yesterday and ended up lost,” Alexander turned his head to face Eli too, smiling, but it wasn’t a cruel smile; it was mocking, but in a tender way. The tip of Eli’s elfish ears grew pink. “He’s a hair thread away from death.”
“The blue lips say something like that, indeed,” Soohyun glanced at him again. “Don’t worry, Eli! We have a lot of food at the den today. I guess you sort of need it.”
Eli promised to the heavens that he’d be eternally grateful for the existence of foxes.
-x-
Alexander asked Eli to let him talk to his father alone, so Eli stayed behind, enjoying the warmth of the den - which was clean, bright and organized, in contrast to the horrid weather outside and Alexander’s weird cave - and the delicious food Soohyun gave him. A bunch of younger foxes were sat around him, making all sorts of questions, wiggling their little tails happily.
“How’s Santa’s workshop? Is it big?”
“Have you seen The Sleigh? Like, have you touched it?”
“Do elves store winter fat?”
“Why elves don’t have a tail?”
Eli answered all of those happily, mood considerably brighter now that his stomach was full. Soohyun watched it all from across the table, laughing amusedly at the wittier questions or when Eli answered with something particularly funny.
“You know, Eli, you may not know,” Soohyun casually said after the cubs went away, excited by the arrival of one of the male adults. “But you achieved something hard. You gained Alexander’s sympathy really fast, I had never seen him so close of someone else before. Someone else that’s not me nor the cubs, in this case.”
Eli looked down embarrassedly, his ears getting pink again.
“I guess we’re really alike,” he said sincerely, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I also ran away from my town.”
“You too,” Soohyun sighed, leaning his face on his raised hand. “I don’t know what was Alexander thinking when he ran away, seriously. Everyone got worried sick when we noticed he was missing.”
“Really?” Eli frowned. Didn’t Alexander say he was a burden to his family?
“Of course! We’re his family,” Soohyun said matter-of-factly. “He may have his flaws, but we love him. I love him, his father loves him, my father loves him. Who cares if he can’t hunt during the winter? The cubs absolutely loved to have someone to play with while we were hunting,” the fox sighed again. “We missed him so much.”
Eli stared at his own nails, immersed in thoughts about what Soohyun had just said. If that was true, why would Alexander feel like a burden? His family loved and that was the only important part, right?
The elf looked at his own case. Did his family love him? Well, yes. Did his friends love him? He was pretty sure they did. How’d they be without him?
“Better.”
Soohyun looked up, puzzled. Eli also looked up, looking into the fox’s eyes firmly.
“It’s not that he doesn’t know you love him. And it’s not that he doesn’t love you all, either,” Eli said, feeling somewhat confident. “It’s just that he feels that you all would be better without him,” a pause. “I guess.”
Soohyun just stared without even blinking, apparently trying to absorb the information; before he could react, though, Alexander came down the nearest hallway and Eli instinctively got up.
“So?” he anxiously asked.
“The answer I expected,” Alexander stated, apparently unmotivated. “He can’t leave the den. Foxes from the other regions are trying to ambush one another and such. It’s too risky, they can kill all the cubs.”
Eli’s face fell.
“Oh,” he mumbled. “What’s causing all that? Is there a conspiracy going on or something?”
Soohyun and Alexander shrugged at the same time.
“My father can’t help us, Eli,” Alexander repeated, ears curved down sadly again. “I don’t know what to do, I’m sorry.”
“Oh-oh, it’s okay,” Eli brushed it off with a hand gesture. “You did so much for me already… I’m sure we can find a way. Maybe we can build a cabin for The Sleigh or something,” he was happy to see Alexander chuckle at that. It was weird, but it made him feel accomplished. “Anyway, I need to go back to town. I need to warn them about the storm, maybe the other elves can think of a solution.”
“I’m going with you,” Alexander promptly said, making Soohyun glance anxiously at him.
“Xander…” the white fox said weakly, his eyes meeting with Eli’s for a fleeting second.
“Soohyun,” Alexander turned to Soohyun firmly, strength shining in his brown eyes. “I can’t stay here. I love you all, and I missed you, but-I just can’t stay. It’s complicated, but-“
“It’s okay, Xander,” Soohyun interrupted, his ears down but a weak smile on his lips. “I know what’s up, and I understand. I can only wish you good luck.”
To Eli’s surprise - and to Soohyun’s amusement, judging by the way his ears stood up and his smile got wider and brighter - Alexander’s face slowly gained a rich shade of red while the brown fox gaped.
“H-h-how did you know it??” Alexander stuttered out, looking from Eli to Soohyun and then back to Eli with a lost look. Soohyun let out a loud laugh, while Eli only watched the scene, more confused than ever.
“What, that you needs to spend sometime alone to develop your true skills and such?” Soohyun said pointly, effectively freezing Alexander on his spot. “Why, Alexander, I didn’t know you were shy about it…”
“Oh! Oh that-erm, I guess I am?” Alexander scratched the back of his head, even redder. “So, um, we have to go. Right?” he looked to Eli pleadingly, which encouraged the elf to just nod and do nothing else. “I’ll pay you a visit, Hyunnie. Keep an eye on my father for me, okay?”
“Only if your friend promise to keep an eye on you,” Soohyun winked to Eli, who ended up just giving an awkward smile back. “I miss you, baby.”
“I miss you too,” Alexander went to the other male’s side and hugged him tight. “Bye bye. Till next time.”
“Till next time,” Soohyun agreed, smiling tenderly.
With this, Alexander and Eli left the den, Eli no longer hungry but now feeling a bit confused. Foxes were certainly a bit tricky… why was all that hostility going on among them anyway? He just decided to shrug it off, it wasn’t all that important at the time.
“Hey, your relative,” Eli purposely broke the silence. “Soohyun. He called you Xander.”
“… yeah,” Alexander frowned lightly. “Most of my relatives call me Xander. My father calls me Xander too. Why?”
“Can I call you Xander? It’s shorter,” the elf asked, not having an especial reason to do so, but doing it anyway. “And we’re kind of close now, right?”
Short moment of silence…
“… you’re so lame,” the words weren’t very effective, since Eli was able to read his body language and could just tell, by the way his tail waved, that he was happy again. “Call me whatever you want. I don’t care.”
“You don’t care.”
“I don’t care,” Alexander repeated. Eli chuckled and began patting his head again. “STOP PATTING MY HEAD!”
“Girls,” a third voice came from somewhere near, making them turn their heads hastily. “Look who’s finally back to his home sweet home.”
Eli almost jumped back when he saw someone come out from absolutely nowhere - a girl, a snow female fox that looked at them with a jesting glint in her eyes. Before Eli could blink, two other girls came out from God knows where too, closing the duo in a circle and looking everything but friendly.
“… your relatives too?” Eli took the risk to ask.
“Never saw them in my life,” Alexander whispered back, and Eli felt like laughing, but felt it wasn’t appropriate.
“That’s what I thought,” the first female made an annoyed face. “After all, on top of looking completely ridiculous, you also must have some mental problems. This kind of thing comes in packages.”
“You know, Alexander, I love how you tried to dress yourself in white,” one of the other girls said. “Sad to say, but it’s kind of useless. You look even more pitiful with all that brown sticking out.”
“And also, are you wearing a muffler?” the third girl remarked with a scoff. “You’re definitely the shame of our people, Alexander. What kind of fox wears a freaking muffler?”
“The fashionable type?” Eli intervened.
“Eli, shut up,” Alexander shouted angrily. “Haven’t you learnt not to mess with snow foxes in your town??”
“Sorry, it slipped,” actually, it was only half true. Eli didn’t like how the vixen had said ‘the shame of our people’ to Alexander.
“Well, I see you got a suitable companion for you today,” the first girl slowly walked toward them, the jesting, cruel light in her eyes never vanishing. “A poorly taught little elf that never met a real snow fox.”
A series of slashing sounds cut through the thick snow; when Eli looked again, the girls nails had turned into claws, fifteen-centimeters-long claws.
“… how the hell did she do that?” Eli mumbled.
“Hell if I knew,” Alexander whispered back, terrified. “Also, just shut up.”
“How’d you like him, Yuri?” the second girl asked, dragging the tip of her index claw on the snow in circles.
“Small pieces. Sunyoung can have the head,” the first girl, who was apparently named Yuri, said it so casually that a chill of panic went up Eli’s spine. Okay, shit got serious. “Make your move, Alexander. It’s not fun without a little chase.”
“Alexander,” Eli called urgently, face paling.
“Hold my hand,” Alexander mumbled weakly, nude fingers quickly finding Eli’s mitten-covered ones. “Hold it firmly. Make sure it isn’t slipping.”
Eli simply took his mitten off and threw it on the ground, lacing his warm fingers with Alexander’s.
“Now what?” Eli felt a bit stupid.
“Now nothing,” Alexander said simply.
Awkward moment of no sound or movement.
Then, next thing Eli knew, the three girls were jumping on them, claws extended forward, and Alexander was running away madly, pulling him by their connected hands. The elf just let himself be dragged, kind of frozen in panic, kind of frozen in shock. After a short moment, however, he got a grip of himself and stood up, trying to release his hand from Alexander’s grip.
“What are you doing??” the brown fox shrieked, almost squeezing Eli’s right hand with his long, callous fingers.
“Trust me! Just let it go for a moment!” Eli shouted back, fear boiling him as the three vixens approached them slowly, claws extended beside their bodies like sharp wings.
Just when Alexander finally let Eli’s mitten-less hand go - then, the elf did something smart, something smart that crossed his mind in the speed of light and just sounded ingenious to him.
He made a thumbs-up sign.
The red light shone blindingly. Eli was amazed by how intense it ended up being; not even the time in the workshop had been so shiny. After a whole second holding it up, he dropped the sign, the red light vanishing as if it had never existed. They all had to take a moment to adapt their eyes to the normal scarce lighting of the forest.
“Eli,” the elf felt Alexander get up behind him, quickly resuming their previous hand-holding. “You’re a genius.”
“How the hell did you do that?” one of the vixens exclaimed, blinking repeatedly. “Holy Mother! I’m seeing everything in monochrome now!”
“I was born with it,” Eli shrugged, looking at his thumb with different eyes. That thing had finally been useful! “I’d like you to stop attacking us or I’ll have to use it again.”
“Why are you even protecting this-this abnormality?” Yuri pointed at Alexander scornfully, also blinking furiously, the enormous yellow claw making her look twice as menacing. “What do you even have to do with us foxes, elf?”
“It’s because,” Eli had never thought of an excuse faster in his whole life. At the end, he raised his and Alexander’s entwined hands. “You see this? He’s the source of my power. The reason why Alexander has no winter fur is because he’s more magical than other foxes, so he’d become fragile if he had to change his fur,” the most unbelievable part of the whole thing was that the three vixens seemed to be buying it. “I’d advise you to stop messing with him. He was merciful this time, but next time you may not have the same luck.”
A tense moment of silence ensued. Eli almost thought that the three would jump on them again, but no; instead, they retreated their claws silently, one by one.
“I apologize,” Yuri said sternly, brushing the snow off her shoulder in an automatic gesture. “We committed a mistake.”
“We shall never bother you again,” the third vixen bowed solemnly, being mimicked by the other two. “We didn’t know that you could be the one, Alexander. We all apologize.”
“The one?” Alexander timidly asked, not feeling safe enough to release Eli’s hand yet. “The one what?”
“The one who can stop today’s storm,” Sunyoung said as if it was obvious. “Haven’t you heard? All the dens of the forest are searching for you.”
Eli and Alexander faced each other, equally confused.
“The storm is coming from the valley right now,” Yuri stated in an ominous voice. “This storm is different. It’s made of mist and ice, and nothing else. The Eldests spent months trying to stop it, but it’s too heavy. Only the most magical fox of all can send it back to the valley before it’s too late.”
“Then there was this huge fight because one of the eldest-“
“Jihyun!” Yuri and Sonyoung exclaimed, outraged. Yuri just kept on talking, “that was the major cause of this hostile atmosphere among the foxes. If you stop today’s storm, everything will be okay again.”
“No!” Alexander exclaimed, stepping forward. “No, it’s not really-“
Alexander simply interrupted himself as all the four foxes raised their ears and tails at the same time, as if hearing a silent alarm.
“The storm,” Yuri whispered, sounding terrified. “We can’t stay any longer. Good luck, Alexander.”
And just like that, the three of them vanished, as sudden as they had appeared. Eli felt anxious. The storm was already going to hit the town, and he had no idea of what to do to stop it. Christmas was going to be ruined. Everything was going to be ruined.
“This is all your fault,” Alexander accused, angrily letting Eli’s hand go. The elf blinked incredulously.
“Excuse me?”
“This! This is all your fault!” Alexander flailed his hands, raising his voice. “Why did you have to make all that shit up? Now, the whole responsibility is on me!”
“Well, sorry,” Eli stuttered out, not sure of what to say. Why was Alexander so angry out of nowhere? “I was just trying to help-“
“Yeah, but you ended up screwing everything up!” Alexander accused again. “How the hell am I supposed to stop a storm?? Me, by myself?? I’m a defective fox, Eli! Do you see the problem here?” Alexander pointed to himself, his eyes flaming. “I CAN’T stop the storm!!”
“Why are you so angry??” Eli threw back, annoyed. “Why do you keep repeating ‘I can’t, I can’t, I can’t’? What if you CAN?”
“Why on Earth would I be able to do this by myself??” retorted the fox, exasperated. “Don’t understand?? Can’t you see I’m different??”
“Exactly!!” Eli shouted. “You’re different, Alexander. You don’t have the stupid white fur nor the stupid extra weight, you eat mushroom soups that clean your kidneys or whatever, you survived on your own for years despite not being able to hunt during winter, which is like seventy-percent of the year-You’re special, Alexander. Can’t you see that??”
When Eli finished talking, he was even out of breath.
Alexander didn’t answer immediately. At first, it looked like he was ready to jump on Eli’s throat and kill the elf with his bare hands - however, his ears and tail slowly came down, and Eli was terrified to notice that the fox’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Oh, Xander, I’m sorry,” Eli fumbled with his own limbs for a moment, not knowing what to do, until he settled for walking to the brown fox and embrace him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, I was just… I don’t know. I'm really sorry.”
“D-D-“ Alexander was obviously trying to hold back sobs. “D-do you-Do you really think I’m sp-pecial?”
Eli would have chuckled if he wasn't so surprised. Out of all the questions in the world… he patted the fox's head affectionately, even knowing that he didn't like it.
“Just a tiny bit,” Eli joked. “I don’t think any of your relatives would have saved my life, no matter how nice they seem to be.”
“ELISON!”
Unfortunately, a voice just had to ruin the moment - actually, Eli felt strange for putting it that way. Ruin the moment? The moment? Ruin? - by shouting Eli’s name like a goddamn megaphone, startling the both of them and breaking the hug harshly. When the elf turned his head and saw who had called him, though, he had an unsettling surprise. “God bless the land, I finally found you. I’ve been searching for you forever, I swear.”
“Kibum??” Eli said, not believing it could be true. Kibum? Kim Kibum? Kim Kibum searching for him that far in the woods?
“For God’s sake, Elison, you made everyone worried sick about you. Your sisters knew for sure you were dead. Erin cried so much that she fainted,” It was indeed Kim Kibum, breathing in harsh pants and with the left half of his face red and swollen. "Actually, a lot of the elderly women cried. Are you friend of all of them??"
“What happened to your cheek?” Eli decided to ask that question first.
“Oh this. This is your friend Dongho’s doing,” Kibum joked, touched the injury and making a face. “He has a really heavy hand for a small kid”
“Eli, who is this?” Alexander asked in a sharp, icy voice.
“A colleague from the town, Kim Kibum,” Eli introduced him with a weak smile. “He’s really good with puns.”
“Oh,” was the only thing Alexander said, but that sarcastic and judgmental ‘oh’ was enough for Eli to like the fox more than anyone else at that moment.
“Why are you searching for me, Kibum?” Eli shot the most important and confusing question, crossing his arms defensively. “Why you, out of the people?”
Kibum didn’t answer immediately; he was apparently still trying to even his breathing, coughing dryly from time to time. Eventually, he stood up straight again, looking kind of ridiculous with that hematoma on his cheek.
“I never realized I was hurting your feelings with my jokes,” Eli was completely shocked to hear that, specially in that shy voice. “I didn’t have bad intentions. I never thought the lighting thumb was a reason for mockery or anything, I was just trying to talk to you,” he shrugged, looking down. “because you always looked kind of gloomy.”
Eli just kept staring, mute, appalled.
“And yesterday at the workshop, I wasn’t paying attention at what was happening. I didn’t do it on purpose,” Kibum carried on, facing him again. “I don’t hate you or anything. Nor Kiseop, by the way, he thinks your hairstyle is really cool. And, um... I was actually worried when we noticed you had disappeared.”
Silence.
“Wow,” Eli finally said, a bit lost, a whole much touched. “T-thanks-I…”
“Erm, by the way, who is this?” Kibum pointed to Alexander.
“I’m Alexander, the special fox,” Alexander smiled charmingly and waved. “Nice to meet you, Kim Kibum, the nice elf.”
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Alexander," Kibum waved back, a bit confused. "I guess I'm only nice when I walk miles and miles into a forest right in the middle of a bloody storm."
“Oh crap! Guys, we have no time for this,” Eli suddenly snapped out from his happy mood, panic invading him again. “The storm! The storm is coming!”
“Um, that reminds me… bad news for you,” Kibum interrupted, apprehensive. “For all of us, actually. Back at the town? Well, you can’t see shit because of the mist. One can cut a slice of it with a knife.”
Eli and Alexander groaned in frustration. Great. Just excellent.
“Just excellent,” Eli echoed his own thoughts. “We’re screwed. We’re all screwed.”
“We’re going to be screwed if we don’t come back. It’s snowing by pounds here, isn’t it?” Kibum commented grumpily. “We’re all expecting the mist to wear off in--erm, in some minutes, so it’s all good, they say. Let’s come back, I left my sleigh five meters from here or so.”
He just began walking, expecting Eli and Alexander to follow him, and they did so; Eli’s brows frowned in an involuntary worried expression and Alexander apparently in an awful mood.
“Just so you know,” Alexander whispered to Eli. “I’d have come to search for you too.”
“You saved my life twice already,” Eli whispered back, an amused smile on his lips. “I understood already that you like me, don’t worry.”
“YOU!!” Alexander shrieked. “LAME ELF! LAME!”
Eli just laughed at him, feeling strangely giddy and light for that moment, despite the whole storm thing. Alexander had that effect on him; making him laugh when he should feel nervous, making he feel brave when he was actually afraid… making he feel wanted when he wished to die alone.
-x-
“Holy Christ.”
When Kibum said that the mist was so thick that one could cut it with a knife, he had not been exaggerating. Eli couldn’t tell they had arrived the town until Kibum parked the sleigh, leaning it against his house’s external wall.
“I told you,” Kibum sighed. “Let’s search for your family, they must be laying eggs out of worry by now.”
“But-what time is it?” Eli stopped Kibum, holding his shoulders. “We have a problem, The sun is going to set soon, isn’t it?”
“The Sleigh is probably ready already,” Kibum looked at his watch. “It’s not only misty. Can you feel it? Snow is pouring down in blocks.”
"No wind, but snow and mist by the dozen," Eli groaned, feeling overwhelmed with negative feelings. Sadness, frustration, fear, anxiety...
“Here too…” Alexander mumbled to himself, interrupting Eli's little brainstorm of doom. “What if…”
Eli turned to him, curiosity taking control.
“What if what?” he asked.
“Let me test this…” Alexander just mumbled again, closing his eyes in which seemed to be a heavy brainstorm. Soon, Alexander’s ears were up and his tail was slowly swinging-
The snow around him simply disappeared.
Eli’s and Kibum’s chins fell.
“Wow!” Kibum mumbled, mesmerized. “Can-Can you do it again?”
“If I could intensify it,” Alexander mumbled again, but louder. “I can conjure the summer weather, because I have my summer fur constantly on. It’s like my body is stuck forever in summer, so I can only create this kind of thing. And during summer it doesn’t snow, right? So maybe I can make the snow stop,” the fox paused, facing the elves unsurely. “Is it helpful?”
“You can bet it is!” Eli exclaimed, smiling widely. “What do you need to intensify it?”
Alexander’s cheeks blushed and his tail wiggled slightly.
“Emotional incentive,” he answered in a half-mocking voice.
“The ‘Alexander, you’re the most awesome fox on the face of the Earth’ kind on incentive?” Eli answered in the same half-mocking voice, making the brown fox giggle in a girly fashion.
“Yeah, that kind,” he answered shyly and closed his eyes again, this time smiling. With a very quiet poof, the snow around the three of them simply disappeared - instead, a warm wind blew, a very welcome warm wind that caressed Eli’s face softly.
“Jesus Christ, you are the most awesome fox in the world,” Kibum seemed to be developing deep admiration towards Alexander, and, as much as Eli couldn’t help but agree, he also couldn’t help the annoying, selfish little feeling of discomfort about that. “Do you think you can do it with all the town? Just so The Sleigh can fly?”
“Well I can, but,” Alexander scratched his nape. “I don’t think I can do anything about the mist. It'll stop snowing, but the reindeers won’t be able to see a thing.”
The truth fell on them like a weight bell made of steel, making Kibum curse silently and Eli sigh, desperate.
“Suggestions for next year’s Sleigh: to install a goddamn headlight!” Eli rambled, frustrated. They were so close - yet, that single problem damping everything! “Or better, a spotlight! An enormous bright red spotlight shaped like a cookie or something.”
Kibum’s and Alexander’s heads hastily turned toward Eli at the same time, freaking him out. The widening eyes full of comprehension just made him more confused.
“Headlight!” Kibum exclaimed, as if it was the most brilliant thing said to him in centuries. “Elison! A headlight!”
“Yeah, a headlight,” Eli mumbled, a bit scared.
“A bright-red headlight!” Alexander echoed. “Doesn’t that ring a bell, Mr. Thumbs-up??”
“… OH!!”
-x-
Running through thick mist was more fun than anyone can ever imagine, but also more dangerous than a normal person would think. In their way to the flight tracks - covered by intense running - the three of them collided on many individuals, all of them equally relieved to see Eli back. Except for Kevin.
“YOU IDIOT!!” Kevin had shouted in a shrill, shaky voice while suffocating Eli with a bear hug. “I HATE YOU!! I REALLY HATE YOU!! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW WORRIED I WAS??”
“I love you too, Kevin, but we don’t have time for this right now,” Eli hurriedly pried the skinny boy off his shoulders. “You can scold me and etcetera later. Right now, we have the Christmas night to save.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Alexander cut in a cold voice, harshly grabbing Eli’s arm and dragging him away from Kevin. Eli had shouted an annoyed ‘yah!’ and Alexander refused to look at him, but a light caress behind Alexander’s right ear was enough to make him laugh and the mood to be eased again. It was amazing how attached you can grow to someone in a day… with the amount of things that had happened to them, though, it was kind of impossible for Eli not to grow attached to the silly snow fox.
“The Sleigh is already set to fly,” Kibum commented when they arrived at the tracks, squinting his already small eyes to spot the vehicle. “There! Santa Claus is there already! Come with me.”
Alexander and Eli immediately complied, following Kibum as he blindly found the way among many worried elves making last-minute checks on the vehicle. Alexander seemed to be feeling a bit timid, the only snow fox among all those elves and all, so he unconsciously - unconsciously? - pressed his body against Eli’s side, as if searching for cover. A feverish idea crossed his mind for a second, the impulse to let his arm sneak around the fox’s waist, but he stopped himself just in time to realize that he was being delusional. What the hell was he thinking? His face got awfully warm.
“Mr. Santa Claus!” Eli heard Kibum calling Santa Claus and snapped back to reality. “Mr. Santa Claus! Please listen to me!”
It wasn’t the first time Eli saw Santa Claus in flesh, but it was always an impressing view; he had a calm, mature aura that made you feel small and childish in comparison. He felt the pressure on the side of his body increase. Oh, that was probably the first time Alexander saw him…
“Oh, you are Kim Kibum and Kim Elison, right? And you…” Santa lay his eyes on Alexander and smiled kindly. “You’re a new friend.”
Eli could practically feel Alexander’s nails digging into his shoulder, which almost made him snicker.
“Mr. Santa Claus, the mist is too thick, and it’s snowing too much,” Kibum said. Everybody expected him to add something, but he simply ended his sentence there and stared at Santa Claus with a slightly cheeky expression.
“Well, indeed,” Santa Clause sighed. “Being sincere, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I was supposed to go now, but it’s too dangerous. I don’t think I’ll be able to do it in time.”
“Mr. Santa Claus, I’ll go with you,” Eli bravely announced, making nearby elves stare at him in outrage, and Santa himself widen his eyes in surprise. “I have a talent that can help you right now. I can produce intense light, so I’ll be able to show the path.”
The elves’ outraged expression dissolved into an understanding one - but, this time, Eli wasn’t bothered by it. This time, his thumb was going to save the day. Santa Claus himself seemed to have reached comprehension, but something else shone in the small, light blue-colored eyes - doubt.
“Elison, I agree that this would be useful,” Santa began, using that soothing voice that made you feel foolish. “But there’s too much snow. It’s dangerous for you to fly for the first time under such weather.”
“Don’t worry,” to Eli’s surprise, Alexander bravely spoke out. He had a sly, foxy smile that made his brown fur shine, even through the thick mist. “I’m going to take care of this. I’m a summer snow fox, so I’ll stop the snowing and it’ll be safe to fly.”
Now, all the eyes were directly aimed at Alexander. A smile invaded Eli’s face against he will - was Alexander really that same grumpy, pessimistic fox he had met inside the cave in the woods? He looked so confident now… it gave him a majestic glow, a smart touch characteristic of his specie. All the elves looked at him with fascinated eyes, obviously aware that they were facing someone different - someone special, Eli corrected himself.
“Well, you do seem like you know what you’re doing,” Santa winked at him playfully, like a grandpa who had a secret with his frisky grandson. “So, Elison. Hop in and we’re good to go.”
“Okay, just a second,” Eli asked while the elves exited the tracks, as well as Alexander. The boy was obviously preparing himself for the big act, a proud smile shining on his face. He looked so…
Beautiful.
“Go, Eli, climb on the sleigh already,” he encouraged, his tail softly swinging in excitement. “Children are waiting for your thumbs-up sign!”
“I know, but I thought you needed some emotional incentive,” Eli said playfully, making a face. Alexander smiled back.
“Yeah, well, I could use some right now,” his smile turned cheeky. “So~?”
And he turned the side of his face toward Eli, leaning down, as if indicating that he’d be listening. The elf, however, had a better idea. A better, more mischievous, more fun idea.
Instead of saying anything, he gently cupped Alexander’s chin with his left hand and kissed his cheek. And not just that; after letting his lips linger for a few seconds, he immediately pulled Alexander into a tight, warm hug.
“You’re the best, Alexander,” he whispered, hoping to having said it loud enough to be heard. His courage faltered just then, though, and he wasn’t able to just walk away - he literally ran towards The Sleigh without looking back and jumped onto the front bench, right beside Santa Claus. The old man smiled at him in a knowing way.
“Ready now, Elison?” the man asked. “But, if it’s possible, can you tune the light down a bit? I saw what your miraculous thumb is able to do and my eyesight is not one of the best, so I won’t be able to drive if it’s too bright.”
“I can try,” Eli said, the smile never leaving his face. When he stuck his thumb up, though, the light was so bright that he immediately dropped his hand. “Oops, sorry.”
“It’s okay, son,” Santa laughed affectionately. “Let’s try it again, shall we? I don’t want to waste the emotional incentive you gave to your friend right there.”
Eli stared at Santa Claus’ smiley face with the dumbest expression ever.
“Oh,” the elf felt really, really, absurdly embarrassed by that, more embarrassed than after the happening in the workshop. This time, when he stuck his thumb up, the light was still bright, but considerably softer now - perfect for the headlight function. Santa Claus let out his characteristic delighted laugh, beginning to incite the reindeers to move, making Eli even more exciting about all that-
And when he looked again, people were applauding.
All the elves, all those who never got close to him, all those he thought he was judged by - they now looked up to him, eyes gleaming with admiration as the reindeers became agitated. He could spot his family, each one of them crying (even his father), and Kevin beside them, crying too; Dongho was also there, not crying, but smiling in an amazed daze that Eli had never seen before on the boy’s face; Kibum and Kiseop were nearer to the tracks, both of them making thumbs-up signs and shouting ‘Keep shining!’, and, for once, Eli answered them with the same thumbs-up sign, laughing, his eyes wet. And also, standing beside Kibum, there was that person who wasn’t applauding, wasn’t smiling, wasn’t moving - the one who was frozen, hand on his cheek, shocked expression adorning his beautiful face.
Their eyes met.
Eli didn’t know what to do when his eyes met Alexander’s. He wanted to say something, to shout something meaningful, but the words got stuck in his throat. He just smiled, then; a sheepish, sincere tender smile, given just for him.
And Alexander smiled back.
In a minute, all the snow was gone - the warm gust of wind practically pushed The Sleigh up, setting it into flight, leaving the elves’ town behind with increasing speed. Eli had to look away and concentrate on his job of illuminating the mist, but he swore - he was really sure that he saw Alexander’s tail wiggling behind his back, faster than he had ever seen.
Eli felt like he didn’t need any Christmas present that year.
Group: U-Kiss
Pairing: Elixander because I'm obviously the biggest loser on the face of Earth.
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Bad English, huge, rushed, lame. (like, really, really lame.) UNBETAED! UNBETAED! UNBETAED! ilu brandnewwind ♥♥♥
Summary: Fic for the epic Bokura no Uta's 24 hour Christmas Fic Challenge. My tale was: Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
N/A: 1. This has nothing to do with Rudolph. Sorry Rudolph.
2. This is lame. There are some parts that just make me CRINGE. I'll probably edit them later, because I do cheat.
3. Merry Christmas! *3*
Thanks to Alexander, the new journey went by without many happenings, apart from the snow - would it ever stop snowing? - and the horrible tiredness that had possessed Eli’s body. If only he had never ran away… he could be home at that exact moment, probably having breakfast, eating one of his mother’s pies and drinking a mug of hot chocolate.
“You have an earthquake going on in your stomach, don’t you?” Alexander mocked, laughing. His stomach hadn’t grumbled too loudly, but something that Eli learnt quick: Alexander’s hearing could be horrifyingly keen sometimes.
Well, if he had never run away, he’d never met Alexander. The fox would most probably still be in his cave, alone, eating herbs soups and probably losing weight that he shouldn’t lose at all during the winter. Eli cringed at the thought.
“If you know where your den is, why don’t you go back to them?” Eli asked, breaking the silence. “Living alone must be pretty hard for you.”
Alexander’s ears immediately came down. Shit. Eli should learn to keep his mouth shut sometimes.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Alexander answered, not half as mad as Eli thought he’d be. “I’m a burden for my family, and a laughingstock for the other foxes from other dens. Have you ever felt this way?” Alexander stopped unexpectedly and faced Eli. “About your town and all.”
Eli nodded bitterly. He hated how he could relate to that feeling: the feeling of being unnecessary and unwanted, of being a nuisance. Yet, he missed the town. He missed his home, his family, Kevin and Dongho… did Alexander miss his family too?
“Wait,” Alexander stopped suddenly again, but now with his ears and tail raised up in alarm. “I can hear it. It’s Soohyun. God, he’s still so loud when he eats.”
Eli’s stomach grumbled lightly.
“Keep your stomach quiet and follow me,” Alexander instructed, striding quickly toward a random direction. Eli was startled, but immediately ran after him, unable to catch fully with the fox’s speed. His legs were stinging, holy Christ, couldn’t he have a break already?
Alexander stopped too suddenly again, catching Eli by surprise - he ended up colliding against the fox’s back and bringing them down to the snowy floor again.
“Eli! What the hell are you doing!” Alexander hissed, wiggling under Eli’s heavy figure. “Get off me! I’m suffocating!”
“Sorry, I wasn’t looking,” Eli apologized, getting off him as requested and doing his best to stand up again on his wobbly knees. “Argh, I’m so tired…”
“Just try to focus. This is important, remember?” Alexander managed to get up before Eli and also help him up. “If we don’t solve this until sunset, the Christmas night or whatever will be ruined.”
“Alexander?”
They hastily turned their heads at the same time, searching for the source of the calling. Standing two meters or so away from them was a man - no, it was not a man. The white skin, white hair, white furry ears, white furry tail…
An awkward silence ensued.
Eli slowly turned to Alexander.
“Your relative?” he pointed to the other fox. Alexander shot him a sarcastic look.
“Alexander?? Alexander, is that really you?” the other snow fox walked toward them, positively invading Alexander’s personal space; the brown fox didn’t even flinch. After a quick look and touches, the white fox hugged Alexander tightly, much to Eli’s shock. “Say it’s really you. Say it’s not a dream.”
“Hi, Soohyun,” Alexander said weakly. “How’s everyone doing?”
“ALEXANDER!!” the white fox simply shouted - and began crying, sobbing loudly like a child. “Y-you’re still alive!! Oh God, Alexander, NEVER do this again to me, okay? NEVER!”
“S-soohyun,” Alexander called out unsurely. “Soohyun, there are people watching. And, um, I have an urgent matter to discuss with dad. Can we… just…”
“BOY! I WAS SO WORRIED! I cried at night imagining you starving to death in some cave or something,” Soohyun’s sobs were wearing off quickly, giving place to shaky shouts. Eli found it weird how accurate the white fox’s guess actually was. “God, Alexander, I could have died! WE BOTH COULD HAVE DIED!!”
“… Soohyun,” Alexander tried again, but this time with a small smile that he hadn’t been able to hold back. “We’re both alive. And I have a serious problem. So, maybe, could you please…”
“Oh, okay! Let’s go,” Soohyun finally let go from the hug, drying his face on his shirt - now that Eli noticed, Soohyun was dressing regular pants and a T-shirt, as if it was summer or something. The power of winter fat… “You freaked everyone out, you know. Dad was completely restless, saying that you could die living all alone like that, etcetera etcetera.”
“Well, it turns out I’m not completely useless,” Alexander retorted. Eli felt the urge to pat his head again, and he didn’t even know why. “I’ve survived. How are things going back at the den?”
“Shady,” Soohyun made a face, still sniffing. “Some foxes from near the river attacked my father two days ago. There’s animosity in the air, almost as heavy as the storm. You feel the storm coming, don’t you?”
“It’s here already,” Alexander nodded. “Coming from the valley. Which is why we’re here.”
“Oh yeah! Who’s your friend?” Soohyun faced Eli for the first time, analyzing him with his vulpine eyes. For some reason, his eyes weren’t as sharp as Alexander’s. “An elf?”
“He’s Eli, the living Christmas ornament. A very lame elf that decided to take a walk in the woods yesterday and ended up lost,” Alexander turned his head to face Eli too, smiling, but it wasn’t a cruel smile; it was mocking, but in a tender way. The tip of Eli’s elfish ears grew pink. “He’s a hair thread away from death.”
“The blue lips say something like that, indeed,” Soohyun glanced at him again. “Don’t worry, Eli! We have a lot of food at the den today. I guess you sort of need it.”
Eli promised to the heavens that he’d be eternally grateful for the existence of foxes.
-x-
Alexander asked Eli to let him talk to his father alone, so Eli stayed behind, enjoying the warmth of the den - which was clean, bright and organized, in contrast to the horrid weather outside and Alexander’s weird cave - and the delicious food Soohyun gave him. A bunch of younger foxes were sat around him, making all sorts of questions, wiggling their little tails happily.
“How’s Santa’s workshop? Is it big?”
“Have you seen The Sleigh? Like, have you touched it?”
“Do elves store winter fat?”
“Why elves don’t have a tail?”
Eli answered all of those happily, mood considerably brighter now that his stomach was full. Soohyun watched it all from across the table, laughing amusedly at the wittier questions or when Eli answered with something particularly funny.
“You know, Eli, you may not know,” Soohyun casually said after the cubs went away, excited by the arrival of one of the male adults. “But you achieved something hard. You gained Alexander’s sympathy really fast, I had never seen him so close of someone else before. Someone else that’s not me nor the cubs, in this case.”
Eli looked down embarrassedly, his ears getting pink again.
“I guess we’re really alike,” he said sincerely, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I also ran away from my town.”
“You too,” Soohyun sighed, leaning his face on his raised hand. “I don’t know what was Alexander thinking when he ran away, seriously. Everyone got worried sick when we noticed he was missing.”
“Really?” Eli frowned. Didn’t Alexander say he was a burden to his family?
“Of course! We’re his family,” Soohyun said matter-of-factly. “He may have his flaws, but we love him. I love him, his father loves him, my father loves him. Who cares if he can’t hunt during the winter? The cubs absolutely loved to have someone to play with while we were hunting,” the fox sighed again. “We missed him so much.”
Eli stared at his own nails, immersed in thoughts about what Soohyun had just said. If that was true, why would Alexander feel like a burden? His family loved and that was the only important part, right?
The elf looked at his own case. Did his family love him? Well, yes. Did his friends love him? He was pretty sure they did. How’d they be without him?
“Better.”
Soohyun looked up, puzzled. Eli also looked up, looking into the fox’s eyes firmly.
“It’s not that he doesn’t know you love him. And it’s not that he doesn’t love you all, either,” Eli said, feeling somewhat confident. “It’s just that he feels that you all would be better without him,” a pause. “I guess.”
Soohyun just stared without even blinking, apparently trying to absorb the information; before he could react, though, Alexander came down the nearest hallway and Eli instinctively got up.
“So?” he anxiously asked.
“The answer I expected,” Alexander stated, apparently unmotivated. “He can’t leave the den. Foxes from the other regions are trying to ambush one another and such. It’s too risky, they can kill all the cubs.”
Eli’s face fell.
“Oh,” he mumbled. “What’s causing all that? Is there a conspiracy going on or something?”
Soohyun and Alexander shrugged at the same time.
“My father can’t help us, Eli,” Alexander repeated, ears curved down sadly again. “I don’t know what to do, I’m sorry.”
“Oh-oh, it’s okay,” Eli brushed it off with a hand gesture. “You did so much for me already… I’m sure we can find a way. Maybe we can build a cabin for The Sleigh or something,” he was happy to see Alexander chuckle at that. It was weird, but it made him feel accomplished. “Anyway, I need to go back to town. I need to warn them about the storm, maybe the other elves can think of a solution.”
“I’m going with you,” Alexander promptly said, making Soohyun glance anxiously at him.
“Xander…” the white fox said weakly, his eyes meeting with Eli’s for a fleeting second.
“Soohyun,” Alexander turned to Soohyun firmly, strength shining in his brown eyes. “I can’t stay here. I love you all, and I missed you, but-I just can’t stay. It’s complicated, but-“
“It’s okay, Xander,” Soohyun interrupted, his ears down but a weak smile on his lips. “I know what’s up, and I understand. I can only wish you good luck.”
To Eli’s surprise - and to Soohyun’s amusement, judging by the way his ears stood up and his smile got wider and brighter - Alexander’s face slowly gained a rich shade of red while the brown fox gaped.
“H-h-how did you know it??” Alexander stuttered out, looking from Eli to Soohyun and then back to Eli with a lost look. Soohyun let out a loud laugh, while Eli only watched the scene, more confused than ever.
“What, that you needs to spend sometime alone to develop your true skills and such?” Soohyun said pointly, effectively freezing Alexander on his spot. “Why, Alexander, I didn’t know you were shy about it…”
“Oh! Oh that-erm, I guess I am?” Alexander scratched the back of his head, even redder. “So, um, we have to go. Right?” he looked to Eli pleadingly, which encouraged the elf to just nod and do nothing else. “I’ll pay you a visit, Hyunnie. Keep an eye on my father for me, okay?”
“Only if your friend promise to keep an eye on you,” Soohyun winked to Eli, who ended up just giving an awkward smile back. “I miss you, baby.”
“I miss you too,” Alexander went to the other male’s side and hugged him tight. “Bye bye. Till next time.”
“Till next time,” Soohyun agreed, smiling tenderly.
With this, Alexander and Eli left the den, Eli no longer hungry but now feeling a bit confused. Foxes were certainly a bit tricky… why was all that hostility going on among them anyway? He just decided to shrug it off, it wasn’t all that important at the time.
“Hey, your relative,” Eli purposely broke the silence. “Soohyun. He called you Xander.”
“… yeah,” Alexander frowned lightly. “Most of my relatives call me Xander. My father calls me Xander too. Why?”
“Can I call you Xander? It’s shorter,” the elf asked, not having an especial reason to do so, but doing it anyway. “And we’re kind of close now, right?”
Short moment of silence…
“… you’re so lame,” the words weren’t very effective, since Eli was able to read his body language and could just tell, by the way his tail waved, that he was happy again. “Call me whatever you want. I don’t care.”
“You don’t care.”
“I don’t care,” Alexander repeated. Eli chuckled and began patting his head again. “STOP PATTING MY HEAD!”
“Girls,” a third voice came from somewhere near, making them turn their heads hastily. “Look who’s finally back to his home sweet home.”
Eli almost jumped back when he saw someone come out from absolutely nowhere - a girl, a snow female fox that looked at them with a jesting glint in her eyes. Before Eli could blink, two other girls came out from God knows where too, closing the duo in a circle and looking everything but friendly.
“… your relatives too?” Eli took the risk to ask.
“Never saw them in my life,” Alexander whispered back, and Eli felt like laughing, but felt it wasn’t appropriate.
“That’s what I thought,” the first female made an annoyed face. “After all, on top of looking completely ridiculous, you also must have some mental problems. This kind of thing comes in packages.”
“You know, Alexander, I love how you tried to dress yourself in white,” one of the other girls said. “Sad to say, but it’s kind of useless. You look even more pitiful with all that brown sticking out.”
“And also, are you wearing a muffler?” the third girl remarked with a scoff. “You’re definitely the shame of our people, Alexander. What kind of fox wears a freaking muffler?”
“The fashionable type?” Eli intervened.
“Eli, shut up,” Alexander shouted angrily. “Haven’t you learnt not to mess with snow foxes in your town??”
“Sorry, it slipped,” actually, it was only half true. Eli didn’t like how the vixen had said ‘the shame of our people’ to Alexander.
“Well, I see you got a suitable companion for you today,” the first girl slowly walked toward them, the jesting, cruel light in her eyes never vanishing. “A poorly taught little elf that never met a real snow fox.”
A series of slashing sounds cut through the thick snow; when Eli looked again, the girls nails had turned into claws, fifteen-centimeters-long claws.
“… how the hell did she do that?” Eli mumbled.
“Hell if I knew,” Alexander whispered back, terrified. “Also, just shut up.”
“How’d you like him, Yuri?” the second girl asked, dragging the tip of her index claw on the snow in circles.
“Small pieces. Sunyoung can have the head,” the first girl, who was apparently named Yuri, said it so casually that a chill of panic went up Eli’s spine. Okay, shit got serious. “Make your move, Alexander. It’s not fun without a little chase.”
“Alexander,” Eli called urgently, face paling.
“Hold my hand,” Alexander mumbled weakly, nude fingers quickly finding Eli’s mitten-covered ones. “Hold it firmly. Make sure it isn’t slipping.”
Eli simply took his mitten off and threw it on the ground, lacing his warm fingers with Alexander’s.
“Now what?” Eli felt a bit stupid.
“Now nothing,” Alexander said simply.
Awkward moment of no sound or movement.
Then, next thing Eli knew, the three girls were jumping on them, claws extended forward, and Alexander was running away madly, pulling him by their connected hands. The elf just let himself be dragged, kind of frozen in panic, kind of frozen in shock. After a short moment, however, he got a grip of himself and stood up, trying to release his hand from Alexander’s grip.
“What are you doing??” the brown fox shrieked, almost squeezing Eli’s right hand with his long, callous fingers.
“Trust me! Just let it go for a moment!” Eli shouted back, fear boiling him as the three vixens approached them slowly, claws extended beside their bodies like sharp wings.
Just when Alexander finally let Eli’s mitten-less hand go - then, the elf did something smart, something smart that crossed his mind in the speed of light and just sounded ingenious to him.
He made a thumbs-up sign.
The red light shone blindingly. Eli was amazed by how intense it ended up being; not even the time in the workshop had been so shiny. After a whole second holding it up, he dropped the sign, the red light vanishing as if it had never existed. They all had to take a moment to adapt their eyes to the normal scarce lighting of the forest.
“Eli,” the elf felt Alexander get up behind him, quickly resuming their previous hand-holding. “You’re a genius.”
“How the hell did you do that?” one of the vixens exclaimed, blinking repeatedly. “Holy Mother! I’m seeing everything in monochrome now!”
“I was born with it,” Eli shrugged, looking at his thumb with different eyes. That thing had finally been useful! “I’d like you to stop attacking us or I’ll have to use it again.”
“Why are you even protecting this-this abnormality?” Yuri pointed at Alexander scornfully, also blinking furiously, the enormous yellow claw making her look twice as menacing. “What do you even have to do with us foxes, elf?”
“It’s because,” Eli had never thought of an excuse faster in his whole life. At the end, he raised his and Alexander’s entwined hands. “You see this? He’s the source of my power. The reason why Alexander has no winter fur is because he’s more magical than other foxes, so he’d become fragile if he had to change his fur,” the most unbelievable part of the whole thing was that the three vixens seemed to be buying it. “I’d advise you to stop messing with him. He was merciful this time, but next time you may not have the same luck.”
A tense moment of silence ensued. Eli almost thought that the three would jump on them again, but no; instead, they retreated their claws silently, one by one.
“I apologize,” Yuri said sternly, brushing the snow off her shoulder in an automatic gesture. “We committed a mistake.”
“We shall never bother you again,” the third vixen bowed solemnly, being mimicked by the other two. “We didn’t know that you could be the one, Alexander. We all apologize.”
“The one?” Alexander timidly asked, not feeling safe enough to release Eli’s hand yet. “The one what?”
“The one who can stop today’s storm,” Sunyoung said as if it was obvious. “Haven’t you heard? All the dens of the forest are searching for you.”
Eli and Alexander faced each other, equally confused.
“The storm is coming from the valley right now,” Yuri stated in an ominous voice. “This storm is different. It’s made of mist and ice, and nothing else. The Eldests spent months trying to stop it, but it’s too heavy. Only the most magical fox of all can send it back to the valley before it’s too late.”
“Then there was this huge fight because one of the eldest-“
“Jihyun!” Yuri and Sonyoung exclaimed, outraged. Yuri just kept on talking, “that was the major cause of this hostile atmosphere among the foxes. If you stop today’s storm, everything will be okay again.”
“No!” Alexander exclaimed, stepping forward. “No, it’s not really-“
Alexander simply interrupted himself as all the four foxes raised their ears and tails at the same time, as if hearing a silent alarm.
“The storm,” Yuri whispered, sounding terrified. “We can’t stay any longer. Good luck, Alexander.”
And just like that, the three of them vanished, as sudden as they had appeared. Eli felt anxious. The storm was already going to hit the town, and he had no idea of what to do to stop it. Christmas was going to be ruined. Everything was going to be ruined.
“This is all your fault,” Alexander accused, angrily letting Eli’s hand go. The elf blinked incredulously.
“Excuse me?”
“This! This is all your fault!” Alexander flailed his hands, raising his voice. “Why did you have to make all that shit up? Now, the whole responsibility is on me!”
“Well, sorry,” Eli stuttered out, not sure of what to say. Why was Alexander so angry out of nowhere? “I was just trying to help-“
“Yeah, but you ended up screwing everything up!” Alexander accused again. “How the hell am I supposed to stop a storm?? Me, by myself?? I’m a defective fox, Eli! Do you see the problem here?” Alexander pointed to himself, his eyes flaming. “I CAN’T stop the storm!!”
“Why are you so angry??” Eli threw back, annoyed. “Why do you keep repeating ‘I can’t, I can’t, I can’t’? What if you CAN?”
“Why on Earth would I be able to do this by myself??” retorted the fox, exasperated. “Don’t understand?? Can’t you see I’m different??”
“Exactly!!” Eli shouted. “You’re different, Alexander. You don’t have the stupid white fur nor the stupid extra weight, you eat mushroom soups that clean your kidneys or whatever, you survived on your own for years despite not being able to hunt during winter, which is like seventy-percent of the year-You’re special, Alexander. Can’t you see that??”
When Eli finished talking, he was even out of breath.
Alexander didn’t answer immediately. At first, it looked like he was ready to jump on Eli’s throat and kill the elf with his bare hands - however, his ears and tail slowly came down, and Eli was terrified to notice that the fox’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Oh, Xander, I’m sorry,” Eli fumbled with his own limbs for a moment, not knowing what to do, until he settled for walking to the brown fox and embrace him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, I was just… I don’t know. I'm really sorry.”
“D-D-“ Alexander was obviously trying to hold back sobs. “D-do you-Do you really think I’m sp-pecial?”
Eli would have chuckled if he wasn't so surprised. Out of all the questions in the world… he patted the fox's head affectionately, even knowing that he didn't like it.
“Just a tiny bit,” Eli joked. “I don’t think any of your relatives would have saved my life, no matter how nice they seem to be.”
“ELISON!”
Unfortunately, a voice just had to ruin the moment - actually, Eli felt strange for putting it that way. Ruin the moment? The moment? Ruin? - by shouting Eli’s name like a goddamn megaphone, startling the both of them and breaking the hug harshly. When the elf turned his head and saw who had called him, though, he had an unsettling surprise. “God bless the land, I finally found you. I’ve been searching for you forever, I swear.”
“Kibum??” Eli said, not believing it could be true. Kibum? Kim Kibum? Kim Kibum searching for him that far in the woods?
“For God’s sake, Elison, you made everyone worried sick about you. Your sisters knew for sure you were dead. Erin cried so much that she fainted,” It was indeed Kim Kibum, breathing in harsh pants and with the left half of his face red and swollen. "Actually, a lot of the elderly women cried. Are you friend of all of them??"
“What happened to your cheek?” Eli decided to ask that question first.
“Oh this. This is your friend Dongho’s doing,” Kibum joked, touched the injury and making a face. “He has a really heavy hand for a small kid”
“Eli, who is this?” Alexander asked in a sharp, icy voice.
“A colleague from the town, Kim Kibum,” Eli introduced him with a weak smile. “He’s really good with puns.”
“Oh,” was the only thing Alexander said, but that sarcastic and judgmental ‘oh’ was enough for Eli to like the fox more than anyone else at that moment.
“Why are you searching for me, Kibum?” Eli shot the most important and confusing question, crossing his arms defensively. “Why you, out of the people?”
Kibum didn’t answer immediately; he was apparently still trying to even his breathing, coughing dryly from time to time. Eventually, he stood up straight again, looking kind of ridiculous with that hematoma on his cheek.
“I never realized I was hurting your feelings with my jokes,” Eli was completely shocked to hear that, specially in that shy voice. “I didn’t have bad intentions. I never thought the lighting thumb was a reason for mockery or anything, I was just trying to talk to you,” he shrugged, looking down. “because you always looked kind of gloomy.”
Eli just kept staring, mute, appalled.
“And yesterday at the workshop, I wasn’t paying attention at what was happening. I didn’t do it on purpose,” Kibum carried on, facing him again. “I don’t hate you or anything. Nor Kiseop, by the way, he thinks your hairstyle is really cool. And, um... I was actually worried when we noticed you had disappeared.”
Silence.
“Wow,” Eli finally said, a bit lost, a whole much touched. “T-thanks-I…”
“Erm, by the way, who is this?” Kibum pointed to Alexander.
“I’m Alexander, the special fox,” Alexander smiled charmingly and waved. “Nice to meet you, Kim Kibum, the nice elf.”
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Alexander," Kibum waved back, a bit confused. "I guess I'm only nice when I walk miles and miles into a forest right in the middle of a bloody storm."
“Oh crap! Guys, we have no time for this,” Eli suddenly snapped out from his happy mood, panic invading him again. “The storm! The storm is coming!”
“Um, that reminds me… bad news for you,” Kibum interrupted, apprehensive. “For all of us, actually. Back at the town? Well, you can’t see shit because of the mist. One can cut a slice of it with a knife.”
Eli and Alexander groaned in frustration. Great. Just excellent.
“Just excellent,” Eli echoed his own thoughts. “We’re screwed. We’re all screwed.”
“We’re going to be screwed if we don’t come back. It’s snowing by pounds here, isn’t it?” Kibum commented grumpily. “We’re all expecting the mist to wear off in--erm, in some minutes, so it’s all good, they say. Let’s come back, I left my sleigh five meters from here or so.”
He just began walking, expecting Eli and Alexander to follow him, and they did so; Eli’s brows frowned in an involuntary worried expression and Alexander apparently in an awful mood.
“Just so you know,” Alexander whispered to Eli. “I’d have come to search for you too.”
“You saved my life twice already,” Eli whispered back, an amused smile on his lips. “I understood already that you like me, don’t worry.”
“YOU!!” Alexander shrieked. “LAME ELF! LAME!”
Eli just laughed at him, feeling strangely giddy and light for that moment, despite the whole storm thing. Alexander had that effect on him; making him laugh when he should feel nervous, making he feel brave when he was actually afraid… making he feel wanted when he wished to die alone.
-x-
“Holy Christ.”
When Kibum said that the mist was so thick that one could cut it with a knife, he had not been exaggerating. Eli couldn’t tell they had arrived the town until Kibum parked the sleigh, leaning it against his house’s external wall.
“I told you,” Kibum sighed. “Let’s search for your family, they must be laying eggs out of worry by now.”
“But-what time is it?” Eli stopped Kibum, holding his shoulders. “We have a problem, The sun is going to set soon, isn’t it?”
“The Sleigh is probably ready already,” Kibum looked at his watch. “It’s not only misty. Can you feel it? Snow is pouring down in blocks.”
"No wind, but snow and mist by the dozen," Eli groaned, feeling overwhelmed with negative feelings. Sadness, frustration, fear, anxiety...
“Here too…” Alexander mumbled to himself, interrupting Eli's little brainstorm of doom. “What if…”
Eli turned to him, curiosity taking control.
“What if what?” he asked.
“Let me test this…” Alexander just mumbled again, closing his eyes in which seemed to be a heavy brainstorm. Soon, Alexander’s ears were up and his tail was slowly swinging-
The snow around him simply disappeared.
Eli’s and Kibum’s chins fell.
“Wow!” Kibum mumbled, mesmerized. “Can-Can you do it again?”
“If I could intensify it,” Alexander mumbled again, but louder. “I can conjure the summer weather, because I have my summer fur constantly on. It’s like my body is stuck forever in summer, so I can only create this kind of thing. And during summer it doesn’t snow, right? So maybe I can make the snow stop,” the fox paused, facing the elves unsurely. “Is it helpful?”
“You can bet it is!” Eli exclaimed, smiling widely. “What do you need to intensify it?”
Alexander’s cheeks blushed and his tail wiggled slightly.
“Emotional incentive,” he answered in a half-mocking voice.
“The ‘Alexander, you’re the most awesome fox on the face of the Earth’ kind on incentive?” Eli answered in the same half-mocking voice, making the brown fox giggle in a girly fashion.
“Yeah, that kind,” he answered shyly and closed his eyes again, this time smiling. With a very quiet poof, the snow around the three of them simply disappeared - instead, a warm wind blew, a very welcome warm wind that caressed Eli’s face softly.
“Jesus Christ, you are the most awesome fox in the world,” Kibum seemed to be developing deep admiration towards Alexander, and, as much as Eli couldn’t help but agree, he also couldn’t help the annoying, selfish little feeling of discomfort about that. “Do you think you can do it with all the town? Just so The Sleigh can fly?”
“Well I can, but,” Alexander scratched his nape. “I don’t think I can do anything about the mist. It'll stop snowing, but the reindeers won’t be able to see a thing.”
The truth fell on them like a weight bell made of steel, making Kibum curse silently and Eli sigh, desperate.
“Suggestions for next year’s Sleigh: to install a goddamn headlight!” Eli rambled, frustrated. They were so close - yet, that single problem damping everything! “Or better, a spotlight! An enormous bright red spotlight shaped like a cookie or something.”
Kibum’s and Alexander’s heads hastily turned toward Eli at the same time, freaking him out. The widening eyes full of comprehension just made him more confused.
“Headlight!” Kibum exclaimed, as if it was the most brilliant thing said to him in centuries. “Elison! A headlight!”
“Yeah, a headlight,” Eli mumbled, a bit scared.
“A bright-red headlight!” Alexander echoed. “Doesn’t that ring a bell, Mr. Thumbs-up??”
“… OH!!”
-x-
Running through thick mist was more fun than anyone can ever imagine, but also more dangerous than a normal person would think. In their way to the flight tracks - covered by intense running - the three of them collided on many individuals, all of them equally relieved to see Eli back. Except for Kevin.
“YOU IDIOT!!” Kevin had shouted in a shrill, shaky voice while suffocating Eli with a bear hug. “I HATE YOU!! I REALLY HATE YOU!! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW WORRIED I WAS??”
“I love you too, Kevin, but we don’t have time for this right now,” Eli hurriedly pried the skinny boy off his shoulders. “You can scold me and etcetera later. Right now, we have the Christmas night to save.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Alexander cut in a cold voice, harshly grabbing Eli’s arm and dragging him away from Kevin. Eli had shouted an annoyed ‘yah!’ and Alexander refused to look at him, but a light caress behind Alexander’s right ear was enough to make him laugh and the mood to be eased again. It was amazing how attached you can grow to someone in a day… with the amount of things that had happened to them, though, it was kind of impossible for Eli not to grow attached to the silly snow fox.
“The Sleigh is already set to fly,” Kibum commented when they arrived at the tracks, squinting his already small eyes to spot the vehicle. “There! Santa Claus is there already! Come with me.”
Alexander and Eli immediately complied, following Kibum as he blindly found the way among many worried elves making last-minute checks on the vehicle. Alexander seemed to be feeling a bit timid, the only snow fox among all those elves and all, so he unconsciously - unconsciously? - pressed his body against Eli’s side, as if searching for cover. A feverish idea crossed his mind for a second, the impulse to let his arm sneak around the fox’s waist, but he stopped himself just in time to realize that he was being delusional. What the hell was he thinking? His face got awfully warm.
“Mr. Santa Claus!” Eli heard Kibum calling Santa Claus and snapped back to reality. “Mr. Santa Claus! Please listen to me!”
It wasn’t the first time Eli saw Santa Claus in flesh, but it was always an impressing view; he had a calm, mature aura that made you feel small and childish in comparison. He felt the pressure on the side of his body increase. Oh, that was probably the first time Alexander saw him…
“Oh, you are Kim Kibum and Kim Elison, right? And you…” Santa lay his eyes on Alexander and smiled kindly. “You’re a new friend.”
Eli could practically feel Alexander’s nails digging into his shoulder, which almost made him snicker.
“Mr. Santa Claus, the mist is too thick, and it’s snowing too much,” Kibum said. Everybody expected him to add something, but he simply ended his sentence there and stared at Santa Claus with a slightly cheeky expression.
“Well, indeed,” Santa Clause sighed. “Being sincere, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I was supposed to go now, but it’s too dangerous. I don’t think I’ll be able to do it in time.”
“Mr. Santa Claus, I’ll go with you,” Eli bravely announced, making nearby elves stare at him in outrage, and Santa himself widen his eyes in surprise. “I have a talent that can help you right now. I can produce intense light, so I’ll be able to show the path.”
The elves’ outraged expression dissolved into an understanding one - but, this time, Eli wasn’t bothered by it. This time, his thumb was going to save the day. Santa Claus himself seemed to have reached comprehension, but something else shone in the small, light blue-colored eyes - doubt.
“Elison, I agree that this would be useful,” Santa began, using that soothing voice that made you feel foolish. “But there’s too much snow. It’s dangerous for you to fly for the first time under such weather.”
“Don’t worry,” to Eli’s surprise, Alexander bravely spoke out. He had a sly, foxy smile that made his brown fur shine, even through the thick mist. “I’m going to take care of this. I’m a summer snow fox, so I’ll stop the snowing and it’ll be safe to fly.”
Now, all the eyes were directly aimed at Alexander. A smile invaded Eli’s face against he will - was Alexander really that same grumpy, pessimistic fox he had met inside the cave in the woods? He looked so confident now… it gave him a majestic glow, a smart touch characteristic of his specie. All the elves looked at him with fascinated eyes, obviously aware that they were facing someone different - someone special, Eli corrected himself.
“Well, you do seem like you know what you’re doing,” Santa winked at him playfully, like a grandpa who had a secret with his frisky grandson. “So, Elison. Hop in and we’re good to go.”
“Okay, just a second,” Eli asked while the elves exited the tracks, as well as Alexander. The boy was obviously preparing himself for the big act, a proud smile shining on his face. He looked so…
Beautiful.
“Go, Eli, climb on the sleigh already,” he encouraged, his tail softly swinging in excitement. “Children are waiting for your thumbs-up sign!”
“I know, but I thought you needed some emotional incentive,” Eli said playfully, making a face. Alexander smiled back.
“Yeah, well, I could use some right now,” his smile turned cheeky. “So~?”
And he turned the side of his face toward Eli, leaning down, as if indicating that he’d be listening. The elf, however, had a better idea. A better, more mischievous, more fun idea.
Instead of saying anything, he gently cupped Alexander’s chin with his left hand and kissed his cheek. And not just that; after letting his lips linger for a few seconds, he immediately pulled Alexander into a tight, warm hug.
“You’re the best, Alexander,” he whispered, hoping to having said it loud enough to be heard. His courage faltered just then, though, and he wasn’t able to just walk away - he literally ran towards The Sleigh without looking back and jumped onto the front bench, right beside Santa Claus. The old man smiled at him in a knowing way.
“Ready now, Elison?” the man asked. “But, if it’s possible, can you tune the light down a bit? I saw what your miraculous thumb is able to do and my eyesight is not one of the best, so I won’t be able to drive if it’s too bright.”
“I can try,” Eli said, the smile never leaving his face. When he stuck his thumb up, though, the light was so bright that he immediately dropped his hand. “Oops, sorry.”
“It’s okay, son,” Santa laughed affectionately. “Let’s try it again, shall we? I don’t want to waste the emotional incentive you gave to your friend right there.”
Eli stared at Santa Claus’ smiley face with the dumbest expression ever.
“Oh,” the elf felt really, really, absurdly embarrassed by that, more embarrassed than after the happening in the workshop. This time, when he stuck his thumb up, the light was still bright, but considerably softer now - perfect for the headlight function. Santa Claus let out his characteristic delighted laugh, beginning to incite the reindeers to move, making Eli even more exciting about all that-
And when he looked again, people were applauding.
All the elves, all those who never got close to him, all those he thought he was judged by - they now looked up to him, eyes gleaming with admiration as the reindeers became agitated. He could spot his family, each one of them crying (even his father), and Kevin beside them, crying too; Dongho was also there, not crying, but smiling in an amazed daze that Eli had never seen before on the boy’s face; Kibum and Kiseop were nearer to the tracks, both of them making thumbs-up signs and shouting ‘Keep shining!’, and, for once, Eli answered them with the same thumbs-up sign, laughing, his eyes wet. And also, standing beside Kibum, there was that person who wasn’t applauding, wasn’t smiling, wasn’t moving - the one who was frozen, hand on his cheek, shocked expression adorning his beautiful face.
Their eyes met.
Eli didn’t know what to do when his eyes met Alexander’s. He wanted to say something, to shout something meaningful, but the words got stuck in his throat. He just smiled, then; a sheepish, sincere tender smile, given just for him.
And Alexander smiled back.
In a minute, all the snow was gone - the warm gust of wind practically pushed The Sleigh up, setting it into flight, leaving the elves’ town behind with increasing speed. Eli had to look away and concentrate on his job of illuminating the mist, but he swore - he was really sure that he saw Alexander’s tail wiggling behind his back, faster than he had ever seen.
Eli felt like he didn’t need any Christmas present that year.