by
- Internment
- Snow on Spirit Bridge
- Eternity in the Tides
- La neve sul ponte degli spiriti
Alone in Japan, Finni is struggling against the constant distrust, avoidance, and xenophobia he experiences every day. He misses home. He misses his family. Nightmares come all too frequently because of the stress, and well, Christmas is just not Christmas in Japan. Not how he understands it.
Distressed by how miserable Finni is, his roommate, Mamoru, offers to be Finni's family for Christmas. Little does he know how much one agreement would change everything between them, because both of them kept secrets neither ever dreamed were true.
2015 Rainbow Awards, Honorable Mention & Finalist - Best Gay Fantasy
- 3 To Be Read lists
- 1 Read list
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 3
Romantic Content: 3
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Bisexual, Demisexual, Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: Ageless/Immortal
Tropes: Cultural Differences, Fated Mates / Soul Mates, Friends to Lovers, Interracial Relationship, Opposites Attract
Word Count: 41861
Setting: Tokyo
Languages Available: English, Italian
There should be snow. Lots of it. Moreover, it should be below freezing with clouds, not this sunny and fifties crap. People should be huddled together and hurrying to get inside. It didn't feel like Christmas otherwise.
With a sigh, Finni glanced around the train platform.
If he'd been home in Chicago, snow would blanket the streets and salt would crunch under his feet. Shop windows with mannequins would line the Magnificent Mile with Christmas winter scenes. The tree would be up at his parents', decorated with bright lights and homemade ornaments he and his siblings made over the years. One or two presents would lie under the tree as a teaser for the younger cousins. Warm drinks would be waiting for him as he stepped through the door and brushed the snow off his coat. His family would smile at him and voices would call out to him.
If he'd been home in Chicago.
Tokyo wasn't home.
A big, bustling city, yes, but not home.
READ MOREAs people hurried from one shop to the next, got on and off the trains, and ran about in their jackets and sweaters, Tokyo couldn't have been farther from home. Yes, decorations were up at cake shops and at the department stores, but they weren't the same. The plastic Christmas trees seemed more likely to come alive and hunt people down than give off a relaxing pine scent. They didn't give off the same cozy family feeling Finni connected with. Everything was geared toward couples.
Since when was Christmas about couples?
A pang of loneliness ate at Finni's gut. All he wanted was his parents, his brothers and sisters, and his cousins, aunts, uncles, and some snow. He needed to see everyone was happy and okay. Was that too much to ask for?
A chilled wind blasted Finni, and he looked up, expecting the train, but nothing rattled down the tracks. Other people grabbed their coats and hunched. Some young girls squealed and huddled closer to each other. Finally, a shiver wracked Finni, clueing him in to the unusual temperature drop.
COLLAPSE
