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It's the peak of winter: fluttering snowfall, white streets, foggy breaths. It's not difficult to capture a scenic view, with bare trees and busy roads buried underneath the snow. Dozens of people are strewn out across the neighbourhood, excitedly embracing what winter was all said to be about.
Not everyone is so captivated, though.
In the early morning, Nene slumps lazily against a sofa, the curtains tightly drawn together and all lights switched off with the exception of a bright screen that she brings right up to her face. The skin around her eyes are layered with morning crust and her hair is sloppily tied into a ponytail — a usual kind of day.
Large text flickers across the screen. The words "Full Combo" glimmer in shining colours. Nene's stiff eyes tell that she's seen it a million times before.
"Don’t you get tired of that sometimes?"
The voice startles her, but she doesn't bother to turn around. She already knows it's Rui by the time her curtains are swung open and she reacts to the sunlight like a kitten stepping into water. "Oh, come on, you're not a vampire," Rui teases, picking up a playful tone. "It's not healthy to stay in your room all day in total darkness."
Nene sighs and hones in on her tablet with an uninterested look. "Bold of you to say. Don't you spend all your time in your workshop inventing god knows what?"
"Yes, well, I was going to make a suggestion based on just that." Rui's expression broadens into a suspiciously friendly smile. "Have you looked outside today yet, Nene?"
She's too tired to respond with a sarcastic comment. "It's snowing."
"Indeed." A pause. Just from the corner of her eye she catches Rui quickly brush through his hair with his hand. "How about we go out somewhere together? It's not every day we get such heavy snowfall."
She swipes on the screen to reveal a gallery of her favourite characters, feigning disinterest. "What, and build snowmen like when we were younger?"
A casual tone fades into his signature mischievous whisper. "Now that you mention it, why not?"
An uncontrolled small smile creeps onto her face. Reflecting on memories from when she was a child and when everything was so simple makes her feel at ease. She looks up at Rui and he looks like a kid again with a crooked grin and sharp glint in his eyes. "Okay, I give in. As long as you promise not to bring along any of your crazy ideas-"
"Don't worry, there’ll be none of that here."
Nene raises her eyebrows.
—
Feathered snowflakes flutter as they enter the park. Rui had insisted on coming here, and Nene could see why now — the fields are completely stained by snow, the trees coated head-to-toe in pure white. Plus, the amount of layers she's wearing are agonisingly uncomfortable, a puffy coat piled on top of two thick sweaters and whatever else, but it still feels so cold.
Despite everything, Nene's glad she agreed to go out with Rui. Although she was reluctant to leave the house at first, embracing something that was nostalgic for both of them felt really refreshing. The cool wind, crunchy footsteps, everything in this moment right now brought her back to-
"Hey, Nene." Rui's behind her.
She's zoned out again. Before she can turn around, something heavy hits her in the back. She almost topples over from the impact.
"A-ah!" She yells, her sour mood quickly returning. "What the hell...?"
Rui's gloves already look like they've been stored in a freezer for weeks. "Hey, what's the point of snow if you're not gonna throw it at your loved ones?"
"Loved ones...?" Nene unexpectedly feels heat rising up her cheeks. She shakes her head in defiance. "I'm gonna slaughter you, Kamishiro Rui."
She digs a hand into the snow and throws it at Rui with as much force she can put into it. It hits him square in the chest, but he doesn't react at all, and immediately fires one back. It doesn't take more than two minutes for both of their clothes to become completely soaked.
Soon enough, Rui lifts his hands up in surrender and stiffly waddles back to Nene. She greets him with an scowl.
"I'm completely drenched... Ugh. This is why I'm not so fond of snowball fights nowadays."
"You're ruthless, Nene," Rui responds. "I feel like I've been pushed into an Antarctic lake... Let's stop for now." A last snowball is dropped on top of her head.
Nene flinches, dusting off her coat with sodden-looking gloves. "God, you can be such a pain in the ass sometimes."
"I suppose I could say the same about you."
The retort stings, even though she's been used to Rui’s occasional bluntness for years. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Rui glances towards her direction in a muse. Nene finds it hard to look directly at his eyes. She can't help but compare the time they had together as children to now. Now that she thinks about it, Rui had grown so much since then, both physically and mentally. There was a time when Nene was taller than Rui by three or four inches, but now as teenagers, he practically towers over her. And not to mention personality; ever since the start of high school, it felt like he was becoming more and more closed-off. Now that she thinks about it, it makes her so intensely upset — and angry — that he put up this guard around himself, even with her. After all, weren't they supposed to be close childhood friends?
"Look at that huge field over there," Rui suddenly remarks, pointing. "Want to build the snowman in that area?"
Rui's voice is gentle enough to not disturb Nene's train of thought. She musters a quiet "Sure", but before she can look back up, Rui's already sprinting across the snow, yelling for her to join. She sighs like this has happened hundreds of times before.
They race recklessly through the park, and Nene has to squeeze onto her hat to stop it from flying away. The wind is so strong it's as if she's going to be blown away, but as she runs against it, she feels so free. Normally, being so open and at ease like this would be like a crime to herself, but now it just felt good.
She spares a glance to her left. Rui's unsurprisingly way ahead of her, his arms outstretched with a grin on his face. Something about the moment makes her heart skip a beat.
Just as she can feel her body begin to ache, Rui slows down, dropping his backpack to the ground, turning around and waving mockingly. Nene eventually catches up, breathless.
"You look exhausted."
Nene ignores the remark, her chest toppling up and down as she gasps for air. Her legs feel like they're two steps from collapsing into the snow. She drowsily points a finger towards Rui's backpack. "W-what's in... there?"
Rui kneels down, unzipping the bag. Nene doesn't know how he manages to sit on the snow so nonchalantly when it's so cold. "It's materials for the snowman."
She lifts a hand to her forehead and wipes away sweat. "What did you bring, then?"
Rui sticks a hand into his backpack and holds out a huge grocery bag of newly-bought carrots.
Nene stares in shock, her mouth agape. "H-how many are there in that? We're only building one snowman, right? It doesn't need so many noses."
"Ah, unless the snowman in question has some sort of mutation that allows him to have multiple." Nene rolls her eyes.
He next pulls out two large rocks for the eyes.
"Eh? Why and how the hell are you carrying two massive rocks in your bag like that? We could probably just find some around here, you know..."
"I wanted to make preparations," he replies simply. He doesn't look up, but there's a comforting smile on his face that he makes a lazy attempt at hiding. Somehow, it makes Nene smile too.
Finally, he lifts up a thick grey scarf. "And this-"
"Hey!" Rui's head snaps up.
"What's up?"
"Isn't that mine?"
He looks back down at the scarf. A vague memory of Nene wearing it a few months back wafts into his mind. "...Is it?"
"I've been looking for that for forever," she snaps. "Where did you get it from?"
"It was just laying around in the house." His tone turns apologetic. "Well, I guess the snowman doesn't really need a scarf."
"It certainly doesn't!" Nene sighs. "...I probably accidentally left it at yours at some point. Whatever, it doesn't matter."
"You do want it back, right?"
Her scowl is automatic. "Of course I want it back! I didn't wait two months to let you have i-"
Rui lifts himself up briskly. Before she can continue, he's wrapping the scarf around her neck. Not once do his eyes flicker up to meet with her own. She can feel the colour spread throughout her cheeks. She mentally chides herself for even slightly reacting this way.
The last length of wool is enveloped underneath another. Rui stands fully back up again as if to admire his own handiwork.
Nene wants to instantly respond with something demeaning, but the pure joy on Rui's face makes it difficult for her to say anything. Although he always appeared to be smiling, this was one of the first times she'd seen him so complete. It was simply refreshing to see that sort of expression on him.
"...Thank you, Rui," she mumbles, adjusting the scarf with fumbling fingers.
He doesn't appear to hear her. "Now, let's get started on this snowman, shall we?"
—
As Rui's mood becomes more and more genuine, Nene's feelings follow, becoming just as joyful as he is. It makes her heart pound whenever he offers a clear smile or a pure gaze; his usual cool-headedness is melting away like ice. Nene makes a hopeful guess that he's letting himself become a little more vulnerable. She doesn't want to lose him to the façade he once put up before.
Just like when they were younger, Rui does most of the snowball rolling, while he allows Nene to decorate the body and face. It's not a difficult task — in fact, she feels bad for leaving all the work to him — but she thinks she's done a good job of it.
"Are we done, then?" Rui hasn't broken a sweat.
"Yeah, I guess so." She steps back. "It'd be nice to show Emu and Tsukasa our snowman."
"Maybe they can make one of their own. Then we can host our very own snowman contest."
Nene looks up at him. "...With just two entries? That just seems pointless."
"Well, ours would definitely win."
A corny smile, crinkled eyes, slurred words.
She really just wants to kiss him.
"What do you want to name the snowman, Nene?" He glances down at her. There are little pellets of snow daintily gathered on the top of her head.
Nene's cheeks are pink, glowing under the light of the sky. "Hm... The snowman looks big and prideful. There's a wide grin, so he's probably up to nothing good. Also, his expression is too eccentric. I want to call him Rui."
She's not sure what Rui will say in response, but she doesn't expect a gentle chuckle. "Not a bad choice."
The warmth brewing in Nene’s heart is so close to breaking loose. She's never felt so safe. Even standing outside in the sheer cold like this, it all felt so much warmer when she was next to Rui. From introducing her to Wandasho, to extinguishing her deeply-carved fears... She has so many things to thank him for. A wide involuntary smile stretches across her face, and she dives into Rui's arms.
Shock instantly crosses his face. "A-ah?"
"Thank you for taking me here today, Rui," she mumbles into his chest. She doesn't want to lie to herself anymore.
"No, thank you..." His words are slow and awkward — not like him at all — but his arms curl around Nene's body too.
It's a childish hope, just wishful thinking, but she hopes that the snowman won't ever melt away.
Just looking at it makes her heart race, because Rui was there.