Ten Feet Below
(A Christmas Story)
After meeting each other by chance, Shun and Hyoga only have one wish for Santa this year.
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Snowflakes fell softly on the pavement, dressing the streets in white and filling them with the beauty of winter. Happiness could be felt all along the city, as well as the buzz and fuss from the holiday shopping that came with the season. People were coming and going with bags filled with the most beautiful presents, and some more with all the required ingredients to make delicious dishes that were only made once a year. Traffic, of course, couldn't be left out; cars were abundant as they usually were, especially at that time of the day when everyone was commuting back home from work; except this traffic was a bit more festive, since it not only included all the tired people eager to get home and rest, but also a bunch of loving relatives trying to get back to their hometowns for such a special time.
All that winter wonderland in Athens could be seen from Shun's apartment window, as he enjoyed the view with a cup of hot chocolate and a Christmas film in the background. He really enjoyed that time of the year and the way the celebrations were carried out in Greece. It was more grandiose than in his homeland Japan, and the environment that filled every corner of the Hellenic metropolis during that time was indescribable. Perhaps the only downside of that magical celebration was that he didn't have anyone to share it with.
After taking a long sip of chocolate and giving a last look at the Christmasy picture outside, he left his comfortable spot by the window; that tree wasn't going to decorate itself.
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Hyoga plumped down on the couch, exhausted; he had had a rough night at the bar. When he said he wanted a bar of his own, he never thought it was going to be that hard, especially during the Christmas season. Company's New Year gatherings, catch-up meetings of longtime friends and distant relatives, not to mention blue people who wanted to forget everything about that time of the year.
He stared at the ceiling for a couple of hours, trying to relax himself from the weight of the holidays. Even if that was one of the busiest times of the year, he still enjoyed the overall enthusiasm of the season, though he was more of a New Year guy.
In the middle of his relaxation session, he overheard what sounded like a Christmas carol or a scene from It's a Wondeful Life, from his upstairs neighbor, most likely. Hyoga grinned; the soft sound, besides bringing some joy to his night, reminded him that his apartment was still not ready for Christmas; he needed to look for a tree right away if he wanted to receive the holidays properly.
He'll deal with that tomorrow; he had some time in the morning; he'll use it to buy a New Year tree.
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Hyoga got up earlier than expected; he skipped his regular breakfast, and after half a toast and a sip of coffee, he was out to get his New Year tree, but first he needed to make some errands.
He took the subway, the fastest and easiest way to get anywhere. Busy as usual, and much more since Christmas was getting closer. He sighed. Too many people for him, but it was better than being stuck in traffic for an hour or two.
He arrived at the crowded station, and the train did not take long to show up. Full, naturally. He thought of letting it pass; the wagon was stuck, and he didn't think it was possible for another person to fit in there. But when it comes to commuting, people somehow always manage to get inside their respective transportation. He was practically pushed into the wagon and squashed against the people already inside. He ended up standing in front of a young man.
Green hair styled in a low ponytail, thin complexion, pale face, and nicely dressed: suit, tie, and a heavy coat over all. In contrast to his shabby morning style: old jeans, a blue shirt, and his handy dandy jacket. They were standing face to face; Hyoga swallowed nervously; he didn't intend to bother the young dude, but he was unable to move inside the crowded wagon. The green-haired was visibly surprised—although not uncomfortable—by that sudden invasion of personal space, though there wasn't much he could do about it.
The train continued its way, and both men proceeded to ignore each other as best as they could. Hyoga was doing his best not to stare at the young man in front of him, but he was such a delightful sight. His outfit fitted him like a glove, an air of elegance amid the dirty, chaotic subway, plus he smelled really good too, a mix of soap and flowers. Shun, on the other hand, took advantage of his short stature—in comparison to the blond—and admired his clothes; a bit tacky, alright, but it suited him well enough. Relaxed garments for a relaxed dude, perhaps an excess of lotion, but that didn't bother him at all.
He was lost in his daydreams when the train made a sudden stop, which made the passengers lose their balance.
Hyoga clenched the handrail as tight as he could; one could think that all those people would be enough to hold him still, but that wasn't the case. Shun tried the same but failed miserably, holding onto the first thing he could grab: a shoulder. Hyoga's shoulder, to be precise, with the rest of his body leaned on Hyoga's chest.
Hyoga was left open-mouthed, while Shun widened his gaze and turned bright red. Their eyes made instant contact, and both got lost in them.
"Sumimasen," Shun mumbled, still looking deep into Hyoga's blue eyes.
It took a while before Hyoga could say anything; the sudden contact along with those green eyes had left him speechless.
"Are you okay?" Hyoga finally asked. Normally, he wouldn't be that polite or concerned with the wellbeing of a stranger; as reserved as he was, that much intrusion into his person would certainly have earned the dude one or two serious looks and a snort. Nevertheless, he found himself unable to react that way with the figure in front of him. His touch didn't feel awkward, and his proximity felt reassuring; his heart was skipping a beat, but that was more due to the outstanding beauty than the obvious invasion of his personal space.
Shun smiled. It was nice to find a kind human being every once in a while, especially during the Christmas season. That gesture made Hyoga blush, which only made Shun's smile wider.
"I'm okay, thanks to you," Shun grinned, "otherwise, I would've made a fool of myself."
Hyoga chuckled. "My pleasure."
It seemed odd to leave the conversation there, so Shun quickly looked for another topic.
"At least here is warmer than out there."
"Too much, I'm afraid," Hyoga replied with a bit of annoyance.
"Do you prefer the freezing weather?" Shun asked with a grin.
"A lot," Hyoga accepted with a proud smile on his face, "it's not that cold, though."
Shun blinked a few times, perplexed. What the hell? Did they live in the same city? Then he noticed he wasn't wearing a heavy coat or any proper winter garments, only a jacket, as opposed to him.
"Back home, it gets way colder. Now, that's a real winter!"
"Where are you from?" Shun dared to ask, fearing it might be too personal for the stranger. Unlike him, who clearly looked like a foreigner, the blond looked European enough, and his Greek was very good as well.
"Russia," Hyoga replied, adding a foolish smile at the end. "And you?"
Shun grinned. "Japan. But I've lived here long enough to be considered a real Greek."
Both of them laughed.
"This is me," Shun said once he saw the train was arriving at the station. "It was nice meeting you."
Hyoga's face changed visibly; he didn't want him to go, but he could hardly prevent him from reaching his destination. He could've gotten off the subway as well, but his brain didn't respond quickly enough.
"The pleasure is mine," he said, and he could swear he noticed a slight blush on Shun's cheeks.
It was until Shun moved towards the door that Hyoga noticed he was still holding onto his shoulder.
The blond followed him with his gaze, while Shun kept giving quick glances at the distance every now and then. They smiled awkwardly whenever their eyes met by chance. Once out of the train, Shun gave one more look to his random companion, and after a last grin, he got lost in the overpopulated station.
Hyoga sighed, then bit his lower lip.
What a way to start his morning!
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Shun arrived at the hospital completely enraptured by his earlier encounter. He couldn't get those enchanting blue eyes off of his head, the intoxicating lotion, the handsome smile, and, of course, the firm biceps.
He stared at the bottom of his locker in the doctor's room for a while. How could such a person exist? And that accent! So sexy, so perfect. The man itself was quite a catch, and the chemistry between them had been natural and beautiful.
He wanted to see him again! No. He needed to see him again!
There was just one little, tiny whiny problem.
Who knew who he was?!
He never asked for a name, an address, anything! The only thing he knew was his nationality.
Shun sighed hopelessly. The handsome Russian was apparently meant to become just a flawless memory, a gorgeous apparition he once saw on a winter morning.
"Doctor? There's an eight-year-old with a light fever waiting in curtain two..."
Shun was pulled from his thoughts back into reality.
"Huh? Oh! Yes!" he replied, putting on his white coat and stethoscope. "Coming."
"Is everything alright?" the nurse asked, a bit concerned by Shun's behavior.
"Sure. I just... lost something."
"Well, it's Christmas! You can ask Agios Vasilis to bring it for you on New Year's Day!"
Shun chuckled, imagining his handsome Russian wrapped in paper with a ribbon on top, under his Christmas tree.
"I doubt he can pull off something like that."
"It's Christmastime, doctor. Have a little faith."
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When Hyoga finished his errands and bought his Christmas tree, he headed back to his apartment. He still had a couple of hours before going to the bar; he could use them to decorate the fluffy tree.
This time, his upstairs neighbor didn't have any music or movies on. Of course not! They were probably at work at the time! So, he had to put on some Christmas carols himself.
All I Want for Christmas Is You began to play, a classic of the season and the perfect soundtrack for decorating. But the Christmas spirit was not the only thing Mariah evoked, but also the memory of the beautiful youth he had met earlier that day.
Suddenly, all came back to him. He was again inside that crowded wagon, surrounded by the embrace of that angel he had met by chance. His glowing emerald eyes lived rent-free in his mind, such as the beautiful smile and the sweet smell of flowers and soap.
He sighed. He was probably never going to see him ever again. Even though that was a discouraging perspective, it added a bit of romance and charm to the whole thing. Having met a human being so perfect in an ephemeral encounter only to never see him again would be a great anecdote to tell to his grandchildren or something. A little nostalgic secret that he would come up every once in a while whenever he felt cheesy—which happened more often than one could imagine.
Except that wasn't enough.
He didn't want one cute and romantic anecdote. He wanted the whole shebang! Courtship, dates, and more! He wanted that ephemeral encounter to be the first story of many, not the only one.
Finding him again was a hard task, especially when he didn't have any information about the man except from his face and homeland.
But there was a way.
Perhaps they could meet again if he happened to be at the subway the next day at the same time.
Now that was a plan. All he could do now was wish for it to work.
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Hyoga arrived at the station at the same time as the day before and took the first train that showed up, crowded as usual.
He looked everywhere and managed to move from one corner of the wagon to the opposite, despite all the people's complaints and pushes and snorts, hoping to catch the attractive young man again. But he didn't succeed. Needless to say, Shun tried the exact same thing, even if his shifts at the hospital were irregular.
One day passed by, and then another, and another. And still, they were unable to find each other in such circumstances.
With every passing day, hopes got lower and lower; Shun even began to consider everything had been an invention of his own. On the other hand, Hyoga explored the many corporate offices that were around the area of the subway station Shun had got off that day—based on his fancy attire—he even stalked a few employees but wasn't any lucky.
Finally, both of them gave up. For Shun, it was nonsensical to keep going to the subway station even if he didn't have any shifts. Hyoga just got lazy; he had other things to attend other than track the gorgeous angel. They will have to be content with the reminiscence of that encounter and treasure it in their hearts. Even Hyoga's upstairs neighbor seemed to feel his loss since the jolly carols turned into melancholic Christmas songs. At least he wasn't alone on that.
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On the morning of December 24th, Hyoga got up early; he was missing some items for his pantry, and on that day it was better to do any kind of shopping as soon as possible before the crazy last-minute buyers invaded the streets and stores. The sun was barley awake, and Hyoga was already on his way to the supermarket.
Shun was heading back from his night shift; luckily, his next shift was until the day after tomorrow, so he could arrive home and relax while he enjoyed Christmas at his best—alone, but at least free from duty. He walked from the subway station to his apartment building. The day was clear; the bunch of people on the streets were either heading shopping or to a loved one's place to enjoy this special day. Others were heading work, but the usual stress from morning commuting was nowhere to be found, only the jolly spirit and expectation that filled every Christmas Eve.
Shun smiled. It was a beautiful day; nothing could possibly go wrong on that white and exciting morning. It was perfect for a miracle to happen.
He took his keys out of his portfolio, but his gloved hand failed to grab them properly and dropped them on the snowy pavement. Just when he was leaning to pick them up, a friendly hand took the keys first, gently handing them to him.
"Thank y—" he began to say, but was unable to finish, for he couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him. "It's you."
Blue eyes, blond hair, and a shabby look, firmly holding his grocery bag. Hyoga was in front of him for real and just as flabbergasted as him.
They had looked for each other everywhere, except inside their own home.
"You live here?" Hyoga asked, eyes wide open, still unable to understand the situation.
Shun nodded slightly, staring at every detail of the man in front of him, as if he were going to disappear again in an instant. "502," he added once he could gain the strength to speak.
Hyoga grinned and giggled at his own luck and stupidity. Finally, his upstairs neighbor had a face.
"402," he replied.
Shun laughed as well. They had been living ten feet apart from each other all along, listening to the other's music and noises, accompanying each other during sleepless nights, and watching the same view from their windows. And still, it took a rushed encounter at the subway for them to meet and be aware of each other's presence in the world. A Christmas miracle, indeed.
"Wanna have some coffee?" Hyoga proposed; it wasn't going to get easier than that.
Shun smiled. "I'll love to," he answered, putting the key on the lock. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Hyoga. And yours?"
"Shun."
"A pleasure! You look just like my upstairs neighbor, you know?" Hyoga joked, and Shun rewarded him with a sincere and beautiful laugh.
There was no doubt; what you love the most is always nearer than you imagine. And what was better than realizing that during the Christmas season? The most wonderful time of the year, when wishes come true.
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✨ Happy Holidays! ✨