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For Emily, today was the perfect day off.
It was cold outside, frost spreading across the windows and ensuring her car doors would stick closed. The sky was grey, which Emily remedied with a fire in the fireplace and warm socks on her feet.
She was curled on the couch, a book open in her lap, while Elle was in the middle of making them lunch. Once Elle was done, she would climb close to Emily and they’d stay like that for the better part of the evening. Relaxed, and warm.
But as Elle walked into the room, two plates of food in her hands and eyes lighting up, Emily knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“Don’t tell me.” She sighed, easing her book closed anyway.
“It’s snowing!” Elle set their plates down, making her way over to the window to watch the flakes fall.
Emily would never understand her girlfriend's affinity for unpleasant weather. If it was raining, Elle would at the very least get caught up in watching the droplets fall; if not end up dragging Emily out into it. Snow was much the same. When cold weather made its yearly arrival, Elle would smile at the sight of her breath fanning out in front of her; even though she would be shivering.
Emily had never liked the cold. She was perfectly content to spend her days under the sun, and not have to carry around a too bulky coat everywhere she went. Emily could even tolerate a good breeze, one that carried the promise of something warmer.
But never the cold.
“Would you look at that?” Emily said, coming to stand next to Elle, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “The first of many.”
Elle grabbed hold of Emily’s hand, pulling her towards the door of their apartment.
“Can’t we eat first, Chérie? Our food will get cold.” Emily reasoned, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle.
Once Elle had her mind set on something, it was hard to talk her out of it. Not that Emily was much different on warm days, when a walk in the park was an option, if she were being honest.
“We can heat it back up.” Elle argued as she pulled on her boots. She reached for the door handle, only to feel Emily’s hand close around her wrist.
“You’re going to catch a cold!” Emily scolded, taking in Elle’s thin sweater and leggings. The snow was coming down faster now, blanketing the ground in front of their apartment in a sparkling softness.
“No I won’t.”
“At least put a proper coat on”
“It’s not the same,” Elle whined. Her mother had never been one to enforce coats or gloves. Unsurprisingly, it ensured Elle was never much of a fan of them.
“If you want to go out in the snow so badly, you can at least make sure you don’t freeze.”
Emily reached to grab a scarf from the hall closet, looping it around Elle’s neck. Elle sighed as the fabric settled, and Emily’s gentle hands looped it around again, just to be safe.
“Fine. Go grab our coats.”
They had left their coats in the bedroom, too tired after the last case to put them away in the hall closet. As soon as Emily was out of her coat, she was falling into bed, and Elle was following her.
Emily should have known better. As she came back to the door, it was slightly ajar, and Elle was gone; the scarf Emily had so carefully wrapped looped around the door handle.
“Elle,” Emily huffed as she pulled on her coat, zipping it up as high as it went. Emily grabbed the abandoned scarf, looping it around her own neck. She then grabbed a pair of gloves, trying to force them onto her fingers and keep Elle’s coat draped over her arm.
Emily sighed as she stepped into the hallway of their complex, shutting the door behind her and walking down the stairs to find Elle. She walked out the front door, and easily found Elle, standing out brightly against the snow.
Elle’s gaze was turned towards the sky as snowflakes fell and caught in her hair, weaving their way into the dark strands; a breathtaking contrast. The snow kept falling, sticking to the thin fabric of Elle’s sleeves and the top of her boots. She held her arms close, shivering, but too mesmerized to care.
“Hey!” Emily called. “Where’s your coat?”
Elle turned to face Emily, stray snowflakes catching in her eyelashes as she tilted her gaze forward. Her cheeks had flushed a gentle pink, though the tip of her nose was verging on red.
“Silly me, I must have left it inside.”
Emily stepped closer, gently wrapping Elle’s coat around her shoulders. She brushed her nose against Elle’s, feeling the chill of her face.
“You can enjoy the snow and be warm, you know.” Emily fussed as she pulled Elle’s coat tighter around her.
“I know.” Elle replied as she brushed her lips against Emily’s. The one part of her that wasn’t freezing, Emily noticed. “But I’ve got you to warm me up after.”
She winked at Emily with her snow covered lashes, causing one to slip away and rest on her cheekbone. Emily smiled fondly, brushing it away from Elle’s cheek and shaking her head.
“Put your coat on, or else we’re going inside right now.”
Elle slipped her arms into her coat, taking her time to button it up. She gave Emily a side eyed glare, before looking back towards the sky.
“Better?”
“Yes. Although, it doesn’t do much to help the fact that you’re starting to look like Rudolph.”
“Hey!” Elle cried as she placed a hand over her nose.
“Maybe if you had kept that scarf on…”
“Seriously?”
“Don’t worry. Rudolph was always my favorite Reindeer.”
“Of course you had a favorite Reindeer.” Elle mumbled as she wrapped her arms around Emily’s neck, pulling her in for another kiss.
“You didn’t?” Emily questioned, her breath filling the air between them. Elle wrinkled her nose.
“I did. It was Dancer.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Or Comet, depending on the day. I liked to keep my options open.”
Emily smiled, reaching to brush another snowflake from Elle’s cheek. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“Careful Emily, you’re going to give me quite the ego if you keep saying things like that.”
This time it was Elle who reached up, batting away snowflakes from the raven strads of Emily's hair. “These are kind of annoying, aren’t they?”
“You’re the one who loves the snow so much.”
Elle gave Emily a grin, before she turned and bent down. Emily cringed as Elle buried her bare hands in the snow, all the more grateful for her gloves.
Elle shaped the snow around her fingers, packing it tightly, and turned to face Emily. She released the snowball before Emily even caught onto what she was holding, Emily’s eyes widening as it careened into her coat.
“You did not just do that to me.”
“Darling, I would never.” Elle teased.
Emily bent down, fingers raking through the snow. If Elle wanted a snowball fight, she would have one.
The only issue was that Emily’s fingers were clumsy. She hadn’t played in the snow much when she was younger. Her mother always tried to be stationed somewhere warm every winter. She was still scrambling the snowball together when another hit her, breaking apart and cascading over her hair.
Elle let out a delighted laugh. Relishing the sound, Emily shook the snow from her hair and stood, throwing her snowball at Elle.
Elle slipped out of the way, and Emily gave a sigh. “You’re fast.”
“Quick as a cat. At least, that’s what the boys on the playground used to say.”
Emily arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think I like these playground boys.”
“I didn’t either.” Elle mused. “But someone had to teach me how to dodge a snowball.”
Emily nodded, giving a frustrated huff as Elle dodged another poorly thrown snowball. The next one Elle threw hit Emily squarely in her left leg. To Emily’s credit, she had almost dodged it.
After a few more minutes of laughter, and several more failed attempts, Emily finally hit Elle with a snowball. It hit Elle in her back, and she let out a groan while Emily beamed in excitement.
“I did it!”
Elle nodded at Emily’s excitement, walking back towards her as she shrugged the snow off her jacket.
“Yes you did, hermosa.” Elle said as she rested her hands on Emily’s cheeks; she leaned in to kiss her when Emily stopped her.
“You’re freezing.” Emily scolded, drawing Elle’s hands between her gloved ones. Elle’s fingers were bright red, and sure, she had lost feeling in them three snowballs ago, but that had hardly mattered.
“I’m fine Em.” Elle tried to reason, but it became a mute point with her pinkened cheeks and reddened nose. Emily’s cheeks had also flushed deeply with the cold, and Elle relented. “But we can go inside if you’re ready.”
Squeezing Elle’s hands, Emily gave a nod. “Let's get you warmed up.”
Despite all of her huffing as they went up the stairs, Elle didn’t fight Emily too hard.
Once they were inside, Elle shrugged off her coat and reached for the scarf wrapped around Emily’s neck. She grabbed the end of it, dancing around Emily in circles as she unraveled it. Emily gave a soft laugh, and turned an even softer gaze towards her girlfriend.
“I could have done that myself.”
“Sure you could have.” Elle teased as she slid Emily’s coat off her shoulders, leaving it in a pile on the floor by her own coat and the scarf.
“But where’s the fun in that?” Elle’s breath was hot on Emily’s cheeks, nose still comically red as she leaned closer to her.
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to warm you up?” Emily asked, wrapping an arm around Elle’s waist to pull her close. Elle gave her a sly smile as she nodded.
“Of course I’ll help you get warmed up.” Emily grabbed a strand of Elle’s hair, winding it around her finger. “But you’re going to help me.”
Elle nodded, wide eyed and willing until Emily dropped her hair and let out a laugh.
“Go get the milk out.”
“Excuse me?” The wideness of Elle’s eyes shifted into confusion.
“You’re the one who always insists on having it when we make hot chocolate.”
Elle’s cheeks probably would have flushed if they weren’t already so pink from the cold. She stepped away from Emily with a little shake of her head. “You’re such a tease.”
“In due time,” Emily called over her shoulder as Elle disappeared into the kitchen.
It was true that Elle always made them use milk in the hot chocolate. When she first heard Emily say she had only made it with water before, the expression on her face was beyond shocked. She was quick to correct Emily that you never made it with just water, even though that was exactly what the package said to do.
Elle always had to heat milk on the stove, which was then mixed in with the cocoa powder. Then, she’d swirl whipped cream on the top, and dust them with cinnamon. Emily found the whole process to be a bit much, but she had to admit it did taste much better.
At least it was not so over the top as Garcia’s insistence of unicorn shaped marshmallows and candy canes to be present in every hot chocolate.
Emily rehung their coats, before heading into the kitchen. Elle was leaning over the stove, stirring a pot with a bored look on her face.
“Oh come on, princesa. You know I don’t like when you pout.” Emily teased as she bent forward to rest her head against Elle’s shoulder. “Though you are good at it.”
“I’m quite the sorry sight, aren’t I?” Elle mused as she stopped stirring.
Emily nodded against Elle’s neck, before moving to grab the hot chocolate packets. Elle hummed as she stirred the cocoa powder into the milk, while Emily searched their cabinets for proper mugs.
“You know, We still have lunch to eat. I should go ahead and reheat it.”
“Oh.” Elle groaned, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Of course you’d warm the food up before me.”
“You’re the one who refused to wear proper winter clothes.” Emily teased as she slid two mugs Elle’s way. Elle grabbed them, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.
“I’ll be waiting for you in the living room.” Emily said, sparing a moment to watch Elle as she stretched onto her tippy toes to reach the cinnamon in their spice cabinet.
Emily turned away, before settling onto the couch. She moved her long abandoned book to the coffee table, and was just about to curl up under a blanket when Elle appeared.
Setting down the mugs she was carrying, Elle draped herself across Emily's lap. She sighed and dramatically laid a hand against her forehead.
"How will I ever warm up?" She drawled, adjusting to wrap her arms around Emily's neck. Her hands were ice, and Emily bristled at the feeling.
“By wearing gloves next time you go out.” She teased, unlocking Elle’s hands from around her neck and pulling them between her own.
“It’s just so tedious.” Elle lamented, blowing the same stubborn strand away from her cheek. The one Emily had been so intent on playing with, that now couldn’t seem to stay still.
“So is having a girlfriend who thinks she’s immune to the cold.” Emily let go of Elle’s hands, pulling the blanket over both of them. “But I manage.”
Elle made a face, her legs still draped in Emily’s lap.
Begrudgingly, she accepted the mug of hot chocolate from Emily and took a few sips. Elle sighed contently, finally starting to warm up a bit as she rested her head in the dip of Emily’s collar bone.
Emily turned on the TV and settled on a random channel. She took another sip from the mug, resting her free hand on top of Elle’s head.
“Just so you know, you’re the one who's getting up to reheat the food.”
Elle looked up, pulling back from Emily, bewilderment on her face. “How could you do that to me?”
Emily gazed back at Elle intently, trying to fight back a smile in response to Elle’s whining. Elle shivered at the space between them, and leaned back into Emily, despite continuing her grumbling.
“I’m not even warm yet.”