The gentle rustling of weight shuffling on top of the blankets stirred Katsuyuki out of his light slumber. Squinting through the darkness, he could make out the silhouette of Yuanfei peering past the curtains with hands pressed against the window.

“... What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Yuanfei whipped around. “Oh-- it's--” He stammered, gesturing towards the window. “It's snowing.”

“So?”

Yuanfei paused. He cast his gaze behind him briefly, then back to Katsuyuki. “Uhm...” He wavered under scrutiny, shrinking down with a self-consciousness. “I was just... looking at it. Sorry if I woke you up. I was just kind of excited.”

Katsuyuki softened. He hadn't meant to come across so curtly, but it hadn't occurred to him why a moderate flurry like that would be of any interest. Moscow saw far heavier snows most winters - but perhaps the same couldn't be said of Guangdong, or even of the more temperate climate back in the city. “You haven't seen snow before?”

“Not like this.” Yuanfei turned back to the window. “Only a little bit, sometimes. And it doesn't stay on the ground like this.” He spoke with a wonder in his voice, enraptured by the fluttering snowflakes that danced past the window and settled in a lush blanket on the grass below. “There's so much. Do you think it's still there tomorrow?”

“Don't know. It could've melted by then.” Katsuyuki shrugged.

“Oh.” Yuanfei frowned and turned back to the window. Katsuyuki pushed himself upright with his elbows.

“Alright,” He sighed with a put-on tone of resignation. “Get dressed then.”

“Huh?”

“You want to see it, don't you?”

“Well... Yeah.”

“So let's go.”

Yuanfei perked up a little. “You sure?”

“I can't say I'm too excited to walk in the snow at-...” Katsuyuki checked his phone. “Three in the morning. But sure, if it's it's what you want.” Yuanfei smiled warmly, barely able to contain his excitement.

“It's cold.”

“No shit.”

Yuanfei looked back over his shoulder with a facetious incredulity. Where Katsuyuki's matter-of-fact brusqueness was off-putting to most of his peers, it somehow had no effect on Yuanfei; he somehow saw straight through it, parsing the true intent that Katsuyuki often had trouble expressing. If anything, he seemed a little endeared by it by now. He playfully rolled his eyes and gave Katsuyuki a light nudge.

In an instant, Yuanfei was already distracted again by the flurry of snowflakes that swirled around him. He extended a hand, catching some of the fleeting drops in his palm before they melted away. He looked back at Katsuyuki with a small smile. It was quite charming, seeing the subtle but sincere enthralment such a simple experience brought him. Like Katsuyuki, Yuanfei wasn't one to overindulge in excessive displays of emotions; instead, he experienced them with a gentle grace, or perhaps even a slight detachment. But that didn't make them any less genuine. It was one of the ways they had bonded: hard for others to read, but between the two of them, the mutual understanding had just clicked. And gradually, as trust had grown, the detachment had shrunk away a little more.

Yuanfei knelt down, perched on his toes, and pressed his fingers into the light powder. His face lit up with fascination. “It's so... fluffy.” He rubbed it between his fingers, letting it sprinkle softly back down. He looked up at Katsuyuki with a glimmer of joy in his eyes. Katsuyuki crouched down next to him.

“Hmh. But the really interesting thing about it is the smell.”

Yuanfei raised his eyebrows, intrigued. “Really?”

Katsuyuki maintained a careful stoicism. “Yeah. It's faint, but up close...” Yuanfei scooped up a generous pile of snow into cupped hands and brought it close to his face.

Katsuyuki was a little surprised. He actually bought it. He watched carefully, waiting for the perfect moment when Yuanfei's focus was squarely on the snow and his guard was at its lowest, hands just inches from his face. With lightning-fast reflexes, he went in for the kill - all those years of Yaobudo training making it all too easy - and in one quick motion, slapped Yuanfei's hands up towards his unsuspecting face, planting it straight into the thick heap of snow.

It took a moment for him to register what, exactly, had just transpired. Yuanfei sat in stunned silence, face now cold and wet, before slowly turning to look at Katsuyuki.

“Did you just...”

He couldn't hold it in, and let out a stifled laugh. “I'm sorry,” Katsuyuki tilted his head to the side and smiled apologetically. "I didn't think you'd believe me." He wasn't sure what was more surprising for Yuanfei: the shock of taking that pile of of snow to the face, or the disbelief that Katsuyuki had been the one to do it. He wasn't even sure himself what had possessed him to do it. Something about teasing him was strangely addictive - not the cruelty of it, but the way he reacted; the pouting, the blushing, the whine in his voice. It was... kind of cute.

Once the shock had worn off, Yuanfei narrowed his eyes. He pushed Katsuyuki forcefully, strong enough to send him toppling backwards into the thick snow.

“You're a bastard, Yuki.” That reluctant, coy grin breaking through his pouting facade belied his performative sulking.

“I know.”

As Katsuyuki lay in the thick blanket of snow, he found the light softness, coupled with the biting chill, an unfamiliar sensation. For all those times he'd seen it, he'd never actually played in it. Even as a young child, it had never really been occurred to him to do so. But now, watching Yuanfei delight in curiosity and wonder brought a newfound joy to it. A tiny little piece of his otherwise jaded soul felt a twinge of that childlike wonder, kindled by the excitement of sharing the experience with Yuanfei.

“So... does it smell of anything?”

“Of course it doesn't!!” Katsuyuki smiled with a huff of incredulous laughter and sat upright again. “It's just water, why would it?” Yuanfei puffed out his cheeks.

“I don't know,” He sulked. “I didn't think you'd lie about it.”

“'Lie'.” Katsuyuki scoffed. Yuanfei was laying it on a little thick, but he decided to take the bait regardless. “Come on. I'm sorry, okay?”He reached up and gently swept his thumb over Yuanfei's cheek, dusting off a little of the melting snow. Yuanfei's expression rapidly softened; he evidently didn't have much of a poker face, and that sulking pout was gone in an instant. Katsuyuki cupped his chin, tilting his head up just a little. In the dead of night, when the world was theirs alone to enjoy, it felt safe enough to chance a quick moment of intimacy. Yuanfei's bright eyes shone in faint glow of light from inside the cabin. Katsuyuki leant forward, lips just gently glancing across Yuanfei's, and his eyes fluttered closed...

The dull thud of cold, wet handful of snow slapped him squarely in the side of the head. He stiffened, wide-eyed, bewildered and uncomfortably damp, before catching sight of Yuanfei's sly, smug grin.

Sneaky little bastard.

“Hmh. So funny. ”

Yuanfei's bright laugh rang out. “Your face,”He sighed. “I didn't think I'd get you that good.”

“Tch.”

“I'm sorry. We're even now, right?”

“Whatever you say.” Katsuyuki got to his feet, dusting the snow out of his hair. “I'm going back to bed. It's too cold for this shit.” He extended an arm to Yuanfei, pulling him up in one swift, strong motion.

“Then I'll make it up to you and help warm you up.”

Whatever he meant by that, even by the mildest interpretation, it was an offer that was hard to resist - not that he'd admit that. “Hmh. Fine.” Now Katsuyuki was the one struggling to keep a straight face, unable to fight back a small smile. He roughly grabbed Yuanfei's hand and led him back inside, enveloped by the welcoming heat of the cabin. They wasted no time getting back into the bedroom, back undressed, back under the covers and tangled in each other's arms. Even at his coldest, his defenses were no match for Yuanfei's comforting warmth.