Rayfrog Fanfic

Bloom In Anger, Wither In Regret

TW: Mentions of suicide (This one's a doozy, much longer than the others)

The winter had come. Ramon and Bullfrog knew their home lacked the craftsmanship to keep out the cold. They had the fire burning, they had pulled out the warming packets they had accumulated in advance, but it still wasn't enough to be comfortable.

However cold they may have been, Ramon loved the winter. He adored watching snow fall on rooftops across the city, the slow build of a white sheet covering everything. He had loved it since he was a kid. The winter's brought back fond memories of his family and friends, all together on the holiday's. 

Bullfrog, however, was not as big of a fan. He hated the cold because his small stature made him easily prone to it. It didn't take long for the frog to freeze over. Not only that, but the snow made his job very difficult. He left footprints where ever he went, snow would fall of rooves and alert targets, snow storms made tracking difficult. But he still honored the assassin's code, even in his worst of seasons. 

Ramon was up early that day. He gave some more fuel to the fire, for Bullfrog's sake, and stepped out. White flakes fell from the sky into his palm, bringing a smile to his face. He scooped up some snow from the thick layer below him and balled it up. Choosing his target, a Cobra Juice billboard about a dozen feet away from him, he moved back slightly and pitched the snowball with all his might. "Bullseye!" He shouted, as he nailed the shot right onto the can on display in the ad. He balled up more snow and threw another shot, and another. As one ball made a nice TWANG sound when it hit the cooled metal, the door behind Ramon opened. Bullfrog came waddling out like a penguin, trying to make the least amount of contact with the snow below him, wearing one of Ramon's sweaters. "Good shot. I hate that drink." Ramon stifled a laugh when seeing his partner dressed so casually. "You do not mind if I borrow this, non?" "No, no, it looks good on you." Ramon responded, half jokingly.

Bullfrog took his turn taking a shot at the board. Though his snowballs were smaller, he had more accuracy. Both of his shots managed to land directly in the eyes of the man holding the can, giving his eyes a beady look. "I thought you would stay in bed today. We don't have anything planned." Ramon began throwing snow off the buildings edge, giving them space to sit. "I planned on it too, but I did not think it would be so boring." Bullfrog continued to take shots. "Plus, this is good training."

An idea crept up the back of Ramon's mind. "How about... a competition?" Bullfrog paused mid wind up. "Go on." "Well, we'll each take turns calling targets and throwing snowballs, whoever hits the most targets wins." The assassin, ever the competitor, approached Ramon as he spoke. "What does the winner receive?" Ramon thought about it for a moment. What would either of them want? "How about... whoever wins gets the extra blanket for 3 nights?" Warmth. Comfort. Bragging rights. It was the total package. "Hmm, accord. Let's play." 

Ramon went first. "First target, that street sign down there, the one on the left." He took his snowball and visualized the throw. Wham! Perfect shot. Bullfrog smirked. Throwing his snowball hard and fast, the impact caused the sign to wobble a bit. "Un to Un." Ramon gave him a sly look. "Looks like someone came to play. I won't hold back then."

Bullfrog surveyed the surroundings for good targets. "Well well well." He pointed across the street to a new store that had recently been set up. "The O on that sign. Get it in the middle for extra points." Ramon gazed over the edge. "Hmm, alright, one second." He molded some more snow and took a long angled shot, landing it on top of the O. "That counts, your turn!" Ramon did a small celebratory jump. Bullfrog stayed silent, focusing on his target. In an instant, snow made contact with wall, right in the center of the target. "Deux to trois." He flashed a smug smile towards Ramon.

The game continued. Mailbox down the street, bam, broken camera on the streetlamp, bam, they could do this all day. Ramon was ecstatic to see Bullfrog so happy. That had been his whole goal from the beginning, not to win, just to make sure Bullfrog had a good time. He'd been watching the frog since winter had started. He had rarely gotten out of bed when he didn't have to. The once bubbly frog had become closed off, shivering most of the time he was up and about. But the shivering wasn't present now and his bubbly attitude had returned, perhaps just because he had been winning.