Archive of Our Own

The snowy Sneznhayan wastes weren't the most forgiving. If it weren't for the people in the cities and villages shoveling snow away so often, you were sure all the buildings would've been submerged in snow. Rarely was there a day the sun came out, it was usually cloudy if not snowing. With that said, it was heavily discouraged to travel alone. Blizzards were commonplace no matter how severe. Many people have gone missing and are presumed dead while traveling from village to village. You never thought you'd get caught in such a situation, yet here you were pushing against the snowy wind that scratched your face.

You had come on this journey underprepared. In an attempt to relieve yourself from the stinging snowflakes, you put your arms in front of your face. You left a small opening to look through but it was futile, the snow was too thick and it was too dark to see more than two feet ahead of you. Panic rose in your chest when you realized how dire of a situation you had gotten yourself into. All you had wanted to do was make it to the neighboring village to visit your mother. Now you had no idea if you were going the right way.

The boots you were wearing had helped you through the first part of your trip, but now the snow had gained a few inches. It was much harder to trek through it with the added harsh wind, but the crunch under your feet reassured you in some way. You just hoped that frostbite wouldn't get to you before you arrived at your mother's.

Your arms were faintly sore from being held up for so long, but the cold numbed the pain. You could also feel your legs begin to shake from fatigue and it didn't take long for you to fall over. Catching yourself, you grunted as you struggled to stand back up. With shaky knees, you eventually stood, ankles sunk in the snow. Squinting against the wind, you noticed a warm light in the distance. There was no doubt that you were stranded and that light was the best chance at survival you had. So, in complete desperation, you yelled out for help.

The light seem to grow bigger as you continued to yell, and you didn't stop until you saw the obvious outline of a lantern. Your throat stung from yelling but it was worth it when you realized that the lantern was attached to a sled, and not just any sled, a dog sled.

"Whoa!" A man's voice rang through the air and the sled came to a stop. The dogs obediently stayed put in the snow.

You were so focused on the dogs that you almost missed the man behind the reins stepping down to you. He brought the lantern with him and held it out towards you. All of his features were covered with a loose cloth to protect him from the wind. Even his eyes were covered with goggles you knew you'd seen in a Fontaine imports shop.

"And what in Teyvat are you doing way out here?" He questioned you sternly, almost demanding.

Hugging yourself, you got defensive. "Just out for a stroll."

He laughed. "This is one hell of a stroll. Come on, you aren't going to last much longer out here." Gesturing to the sled, he turned around and expected you to follow him.

It took you a second but you soon understood and climbed onto the sled.

"Mush!"

You were almost thrown off by the sudden movement. Luckily you only fell on your behind and decided to stay there for the remainder of the ride. With how many times you were thrown from one side of the sled to the other every time it turned, you were sure to find bruises in the morning.

It was a relief to duck away from the wind for once, but when the sled halted you were flung to the very front of it. Right next to you were the boots of the man that saved you. You heard his chuckle as he motioned for you to hurry.

"The storm's only going to get worse, we better get inside."

He practically dragged you out of the sled and pushed you to the cabin in front of you. You expected him to come in with you but were surprised to not find him behind you when the door closed. You looked around for him but were only met with the cozy interior of the living room. You spotted a fire about to go out in the fireplace and blankets folded and draped on the seat cushions. Humming with a shrug, you kicked off your boots and let your coat fall off your shoulders before you knelt in front of the fire. The palms of your hands were outstretched to the small flames as you watched the embers glow.

You sat there for a while, warming up and letting yourself relax. Honestly, you almost forgot about the man that had brought you here until he barged through the door. Your head whipped around to the sound of the door slamming open. The man stepped in and struggled to close the door against the wind. When he got it, you could hear his exhausted huffs of air from behind the cloth on his face. He turned around to kick his boots off like you had done but paused at the sight of your coat on the floor. He sighed, picked it up, and placed it on a coat rack you didn't see.

You continued to watch as he peeled off his layers, taking his goggles off in the process. It was hard to tell from how far away you were, but you were sure his eyes were a shade of blue. Finally, he took off the hat he wore and the cloth of a mask to reveal his ginger hair and good looks. You sucked in a breath out of shock when you saw his face.

"Sorry, I had to ensure the dogs would be safe for the night." He walked over and scrunched his eyebrows at the sight of you in front of the fireplace, a confused smile tugged at his lips. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Uhh..." You chuckled to yourself, "Warming up."

Shaking his head playfully, the man started to walk out of the room. "Get on the couch and wrap a blanket around yourself, I don't want you hurting your knees."

As his voice grew distant you hesitated to get to the couch. Your knees wobbled and your shoulders ached, you had been through the rough and tough of it. When you wrapped your body in one of the blankets that decorated his seats, you heard his voice again.

"How well can you hold your alcohol?"

The question wasn't one you expected, but it didn't stop you from thinking about it. You reminded yourself that you could've died tonight, so you thought a drink wouldn't hurt. "I guess pretty well." You answered him and snuggled into the heavy blanket.

After a while, he had come back into the room with two cups. He gave one to you and placed the other on an end table. Before he sat down he went over to the fireplace and grabbed a log from the stack tucked away right next to the brick. Carefully he added it to the fire before turning to you, still on his knee.

"Now why exactly were you in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night." His tone almost felt like a father playfully lecturing his children.

Admittedly, you had lost track of time while preparing to leave for your mother's house, but you had complete faith that you would've made it before it got too late. The sudden blizzard ruined your plans though. So, with an embarrassed hug of the blanket, you explained the situation.

The man hummed before taking a seat in the armchair next to you. He grabbed his drink and started sipping on it, reminding you that you had a drink of your own. "Where were you trying to get to?"

"Oh uh, there's this small fishing village that was just west of where I was coming from."

He seemed to think for a moment, that was until he snapped out of whatever thought he was having. Leaning forward, he stuck his hand out to you. "I apologize for not introducing myself sooner, I'm Ajax."

Going to shake his hand, you giggled quietly. "And I'm [Name]."

When he let go of your hand, you took the first sip of your drink but winced when the liquid hit your palate. Begrudgingly, you swallowed and smacked your lips following your surprise.

Ajax laughed to himself at your discomfort. "Firewater."

"What?"

"It's Firewater, one of Snezhnaya's greatest delicacies." He continued to sip it. "It's tradition to drink it outside, but I don't think that can happen tonight."

It would be a very obvious lie to say that you've had this drink before, but you have heard of it, and any citizen has. You've had your fair share of liquor, but by far did this one take the cake. It was pretty intense and the burn caught you by surprise, but the taste wasn't unpleasant and you were sure you could handle it.

When you started to moderately sip at it, Ajax got talking about the stories he's had with past drinking buddies. He said that Firewater was just not something he could drink alone, and there always had to be someone to share a glass with for him to enjoy it. Eventually, his stories drifted from topic to topic as the two of you finished off your glasses. You didn't speak much, only to ask a question or two, but Ajax managed to make it enjoyable with his charisma alone.

Ajax stood up with his empty glass, reaching out to take yours as well. You handed it to him and let the blanket fall off your shoulders as you did. Even though the drink wasn't particularly warm, you could feel a ball of heat in your core from it. Watching as Ajax went back to the room he had disappeared to earlier, you took off a layer of clothing to get comfortable. You noticed that the fire had grown a little since you last looked over before he came back into the room.

"I think it'd be best for you to stay the night at least. Hopefully, the storm dies down in the morning." He stretched a little. "I can take you up to the guest bedroom if you'd like."

You nodded. "Yes that would be great, thank you."

He smiled before leading you up some stairs and to a room that was warmly decorated. What looked to be hand-sewed quilts laid on the bed, and a few paintings hung on the walls. You noticed a vanity made of dark wood to your left and a wardrobe on the opposite wall of the bed. Glancing out the dark window, you saw that the wind still blew violently and snow collected in the nooks of the window frame.

You walk inside and started pulling the blankets on the bed back.

"I'll be in front of the fire for a bit longer, but if I'm not there and you need me, I'll probably be in my room just down the hall."

You turned back to see him leaning against the doorframe. Smiling, you thanked him again before he nodded and closed the door for you. It was funny how easily you could relax in this stranger's presence, but you wondered if that had to do with the buzz from the Firewater.

The room had grown quite dark when he closed the door, so you felt around for the bed after stripping off more of your layers. The mattress creaked under your weight, and you could hear the wind blowing against the walls. The blankets were heavy on top of you as you sank into comfort. You wondered just how lucky you had to be to end up here.

When you awoke from your dreamless sleep, you found that the room was draped in dim lighting. You thought it to be the early hours of the morning, but once you glanced at the clock on the nightstand, the hands read ten o'clock. Groaning, you got out of bed and stretched. Your shoulders and legs were still pretty sore, so you were careful.

Soon you walked out the door and were met with a lovely smell. You could feel the cold floor through your socks but you didn't mind for the most part. The living room downstairs was basked in the light from the new fire, slowly warming the house up. You smile lightly at the warmth, continuing to follow the pleasant smell.

Your nose led you to the room that Ajax had disappeared to the night before to serve you a drink. Unsurprisingly, this room was a kitchen. Looking around, the room was also decorated nicely. The rustic feel made your lips tug upwards, but your observations were cut short when you spotted the red-haired man over a wood-burning stove. He was humming a familiar Snezhnayan tune as he worked away.

You chuckled, "Good morning."

His head turned around with a surprised grin. "Oh, glad you're awake. I was just about done making our breakfast."

Humming with intrigue, you took a seat at the small table by the window. When you looked outside, your heart sunk at the sight. The snow had risen to the window seal, and the wind was blowing as bad as last night.

"I didn't want to deal with a blanket of snow falling into the house, so I used an upstairs window to get outside." Ajax took the pan off the stove and put what looked to be sausage on a plate. "I had to feed the dogs."

Blinking, you were relieved to know that you weren't entirely stuck inside. Now the funny image of him climbing down the roof played in your head.

Ajax grabbed two plates and turned to the table. "I could probably get you where you need to be today, but there's no telling if the storm will get worse."

You sighed as he served you eggs and sausage, thinking about the situation. "Well, it's not the worst if we can't leave today. No one is expecting me to show up anywhere, and I'm on a work holiday."

"But didn't you say you were visiting your mother?"

You nodded. "I was going to surprise her, so she had no idea I was coming."

Ajax made a noise of disapproval as he turned back to the stove. "Not the smartest move. If someone's expecting you at a certain time, then they would know something's wrong if you don't show up."

"I mean, my job would've come to that conclusion if I didn't come after my holiday."

"And how many more days of this holiday do you have left?"

His tone surprised you but when you were about to answer you realized what he meant. "...The rest of the week." You wanted to sink into your chair.

"So, if something did happen to you last night, no one would go looking until a minimum of four days from now."

"When you say it like that, I start to see your point." Defeated, you chuckled uncomfortably at your ignorance.

Ajax laughed a little from your compliance as he poured something from a kettle on the stove into two mugs. He turned back to you and placed one of them by your plate. The sweet scent of cinnamon and oranges wafted from the drink.

"I didn't know that this tea was still in season." You took a careful sip at it as you picked up your fork.

"I have some dried fruits from when they were in the market."

You hummed, acknowledging him before you started to eat your breakfast.

The two of you were quiet as you ate. There wasn't much you wanted to say to him at the moment, and you figured he was likewise. The silence was comfortable, and eventually, he took your plate when you were done. Ajax told you to wait for him in the living room as he cleaned the dishes.

The living room was unsurprisingly the living room was the warmest room in the house. With the fire roaring in the fireplace, you easily got comfortable as you waited. It didn't take long for Ajax to come back, but he had something in his hand.

"Come join me on the floor for a second." Ajax knelt on the floor, laying a large piece of paper out on the rug.

When you joined him, you found that the piece of paper was a map. It didn't cover the whole expanse of the nation, but it did have a good chunk documented on it. Just slightly off the center of the page, there was a forest with an X in the middle of it. Ajax pointed to it almost as soon as you noticed it.

"This is where my cabin is, and over here," He shifted his finger a good few inches northeast, "this is where I found you."

If you were going to assume that he was correct it meant that you had gone way off course last night. You figured that if you weren't found by Ajax, you still would've made it to his cabin with how far you had gone off the path.

Sighing, you pointed to a small village that was maybe a couple of miles away. "This is where I ought to be."

Ajax hummed as he took a pencil, that you didn't know he had, and marked your mother's village down. "Well I could take you there today, but there's no telling if the storm will get worse." He rolled the map up. "I wouldn't mind you staying for a little bit longer if it meant that I could be sure about your safety."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"Yeah, I've been needing some company anyway."

He stood up, telling you to get comfortable. Neither of you knew just how long you were going to stay here, but you figured you could help around to pay him back. You thought about what you could do and stopped him before he could walk too far.

"Hey Ajax, is it possible I could meet the dogs?"

You don't think you've ever seen a man so delighted. As soon as you asked, his face lit up, and before you knew it you were being dragged around by an excited, very tall child. Ajax rushed you to get your outerwear on and brought you up the stairs. You questioned if it was safe to climb out the window, but he dismissed all your worries saying he keeps a ladder on the second floor for this reason.

When you made it to the ground, the snow was almost up to your knees and it was incredibly hard to walk through. If you hadn't lived in Snezhnaya your whole life, you were sure you would've frozen to death. Eventually, you made it to the barn-like structure and the snow in front of the entrance was shallower. Ajax must have shoveled some snow away when he was here earlier.

With the biggest smile on his face, Ajax opened the door to let you walk inside. You don't think you've seen so many dogs in one place. As the door closed behind you, the dogs started to swarm around your legs. A giggle instinctively sounded from your throat.

"Just how many are there?!" You bent down to start petting the dogs.

"Fourteen, and with more on the way."

You turned to him, his grin seemed to have gotten wider. "More on the way?"

"The one you're petting there, that's Kira, she's almost eight weeks pregnant."

You leaned your head to the side, looking at her stomach. She did, in fact, look that far along. You smiled as you continued to be smothered by curious canines, you could feel Ajax's gaze on you the entire time.

Ajax went through the trouble of telling you each of the dogs' names. He explained that only twelve of them were still fit for sledding. Besides Kira, the dog that was out of commission was Misha. He had grown old and struggled to keep up with the rest, as a result, Ajax retired him. When you saw Misha for yourself, you noticed the fur on his muzzle was duller than what the other dogs had.

Soon enough, you questioned Ajax what his daily tasks were. Most of them were caring for the dogs and regulating his resources. He said he had two different sleds, a smaller one to head to the market and a bigger one for his nightly trips. You didn't get time to ask what those trips entailed, unfortunately, Ajax had some firewood to chop. He excused himself and left the doghouse.

Luckily, the dogs were there to keep you entertained for the next hour or two. To be honest, you lost track of time as you played with the furry creatures. By the time Ajax came back, you were lying on the floor, surrounded by dogs and exhausted. He laughed at the sight of you and invited you back inside the cabin. You noticed how much the wind had picked up in the mere hours you had been inside. You were glad that you decided to wait before leaving.

When the two of you stripped yourself down a couple of layers, Ajax invited you to his study where you could keep yourself entertained with the small library he had. You accepted his offer and followed him to an almost hidden room. The door matched the pattern of the wall a bit too closely. If it weren't for the doorknob, you don't think you would have even seen it.

The room was a bit colder than the rest of the house, the large window on the other side of the room was probably the leading factor. When you looked around, you were surprised to find a handful of small built-in bookshelves on every wall. You wondered how long Ajax has been living here for him to have such a collection of books.

Ajax went to take a seat at his desk, reminding you to make yourself comfortable. You managed to spot the map from before sprawled onto his desk. You didn't know what he was doing, but you searched the shelves for something to read rather than questioning him.

When you found something you were satisfied with, you took a seat in a leather lounge chair. To your benefit, there was a blanket resting on it that you wrapped around yourself. From there you read the book for hours. Neither you nor Ajax spoke a word to each other, the two of you left in comfortable silence until he offered you lunch.

With the realization of it being mid-day, your stomach growled. Happily, you followed him to the kitchen but guilt soon filled you.

"Hey, why don't I help you make lunch?" You joined his side at the stove.

He blinked at you, confusion soon being replaced by a humble grin. "Sure, that could spark some fun."

You were glad that he had agreed, you had been wanting to help out with something since morning. You just hoped that there would've been a chance to help with something more significant.

The day only grew later as the two of you kept yourself entertained. It was late into the night, and you were sipping on drinks while playing a card game. You were confident that you were winning, but he could turn the tides at any moment. You heard the fire crackle as he placed down his next card.

As you continued to play, your mind wandered to the previous night. Ajax had found you by chance in the storm. You wanted to ask what he was doing there.

"So, last night. Why were you in the middle of nowhere during a storm?" You placed down your card.

He raised his brow at you. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I've already told you!"

Ajax chuckled as he played his card. Both of your guy's cheeks were slightly rosy from the drinks. The cheery atmosphere could also be blamed on what the two of you were drinking. "I tend to be out and about during storms. If I catch someone, let's say like you, lost and in need of help, I'll offer a hand or two."

You rolled your eyes playfully, placing down another card. "And you're not going out tonight because..."

"Because I wanted to get to know you better." He laid out his last card. "I think I succeeded in that and the game."

Your eyes widened at the sight of his empty hand, he had won.

He taunted you, asking if you wanted a rematch, but you declined. It was getting late and fatigue was getting to you. After finishing off your drink, you wished Ajax goodnight and excused yourself. You giggled as you got ready for sleep, you had fun that night.

The next day was a busy schedule for you. When you woke up, you took it upon yourself to help out around the cabin as much as you could. You started by making breakfast with Ajax, and when you both had your fill, you fed the dogs as he chopped up some more firewood. When you finished Ajax was still busy so you decided to shovel the snow away from the front door to the cabin. The storm had let up some that day, maybe even enough for you to head home.

You don't know how long you were shoveling snow away, but you had made some steady progress. You were sure that you could use the door instead of the ladder now. Although, you wondered if the door was locked.

"What have you been up to?"

You almost flinched at the sound of Ajax's voice. "Uh, nothing much."

He smiled. "Seems like you made yourself busy. I was wondering why you weren't in the doghouse."

"You were in the doghouse?"

Ajax nodded. "I wanted to play around with them for a little bit before I went back inside."

You turned your head to look at the barn-like structure. "They take a lot out of you, those dogs."

"Well, you get used to it."

When you turned back around, Ajax had thrown a snowball and it landed right between your eyes. You could hear his hysteric laugh as you wiped the snow from your face. The pissed expression went unnoticed as he was doubled over and clutching his stomach, laughing.

With no thought did you grab snow from your self-made arsenal (there was a big pile from shoveling the entryway), and you threw it at his head. The snow clung to his auburn hair as he lifted his head. The second your eyes met, you both ran off in opposite directions to get some distance. A snowball fight had begun.

As the wind blew, snowballs were thrown to and fro. He'd peak over from his hiding spot and deck you with snow, and you'd just barely manage to get a body shot. It was obvious who was better at this by the amount of snow clinging to your coat while Ajax seemed to be completely clean.

"Just give up now, [Name]!" This can all be over if you surrender!" Ajax's voice could be heard bouncing off the trees.

You were hiding from him, thinking you could get the upper hand if you ran off into the forest that surrounded the cabin. The crunching sound of footsteps in the snow grabbed your attention, he was close. You needed a plan and fast.

"[Name]? Where are you?" Ajax spoke in a sing-songy voice, trying to get you out of hiding.

The tree bark you were leaning against was cold, but it was the only thing keeping you hidden. You could hear the footsteps pass you, so you took this as your chance. Slowly, you came out from behind the tree and took long strides in time with his. You had to keep yourself from giggling as you got close.

You were maybe a few yards away from him when you whistled for his attention. He whipped around quickly, but not as fast as you charging straight for him. You went for the tackle, getting a good 'oomf' out of him when you made contact. The two of you tumbled to the ground where you pinned him against the snow.

"I think," you balled some snow into your hands and hovered it over him, "I win." Dropping the snowball onto his face, you laughed almost maniacally.

Ajax flailed underneath you, but he was unable to get up thanks to your knees on his arms. He gave up after a few measly seconds and whimpered. "You win you win! Please get the snow off my face. It's cold!"

You laughed as you wiped it off, giving the poor man relief. When he was completely cleaned off, you got a good look at his face. You noticed the freckles you didn't know he had, and the beautiful eyelashes he adorned. Heat grew in your cheeks as you continued to stare, luckily, they were already red thanks to the cold.

There was a moment of shared staring before Ajax cleared his throat. "We should probably go inside and have some lunch."

You blinked out of your trance. "It's already time?"

The cold outside was quickly replaced with the warmth from the fire. After lunch, you decided to organize his book collection by author. Ajax was surprised to find you climbing the rolling ladder with a stack of books in hand. He was quick to spot you in case you fell.

You cleaned around the cabin, bombarding the poor owner with questions of what stuff goes where. Ajax tried to stop you many times, but when you walked out with an apron on and duster in hand he gave in and joined with the cleaning.

It was more fun than you thought it would be. You both knew a notable amount of Snezhnayan folk songs, and you sang the hours away. All the while, you made the cabin cleaner than it probably has been in years.

By the time you knew it, you had decided to play the turntable instead of singing, and it quickly ended up with the two of you dancing with each other. With sleeves rolled up, you danced in front of the fire, and Ajax was great at it. You were worried about keeping up with him, but not for long. Eventually, you let yourself relax and have fun.

A polka was playing, and the end was close. Ajax was spinning you to the rhythm and you could hear the way your feet matched with the beat against the wooden floor. When the song reached its end, you were in front of each other, holding both of your hands. In the silence between songs, you chuckled together. You were both breathing heavily from the fast pace of the polka.

The next song started to play, a waltz. Your eyes went wide, and in turn, so did Ajax's. You both shifted awkwardly as it continued to play. It took Ajax to clear his throat to break the silence.

"We don't have to if you don't want to." He spoke quietly like he was bashful.

You rocked on your heels. "I mean, my mother taught me how to dance to this song."

Ajax perked up. "So did mine."

You had locked eyes with one another, "Shall we-" You spoke at the same time.

Nervously, the both of you laughed. Without any more words exchanged between the two of you, Ajax wrapped an arm around your waist. You took his hand and the two of you swayed to the music.

Your heartbeat was present in your ears, almost drowning out the song. Warmth grew in your face as you tried your best not to look him in the eyes. The intimacy the two of you shared while dancing had you flustered.

"Just try to relax," Ajax whispered. "I can feel how stiff you are."

You nodded your head as you tried your best.

Both you and Ajax awkwardly shuffled around the living room. It was like the two of you were beginner dancers all over again. After a few seconds, you gained the courage to look up. You didn't realize how close you were to him until your faces became centimeters apart. Immediately you pulled yourself away, face burning with embarrassment.

You laughed at yourself, pitiful. "I think that was too close..." You rubbed your arm, avoiding his gaze.

Ajax hummed, going to pluck the needle off the record. "It's getting late anyway." He peered out the window. "If the storm gradually dies down like it's doing now, I can probably take you home tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good." You sighed and started to walk up the stairs. "I think I'm just going to head to bed then."

You didn't wait for him to respond, you hurried to the guest room. You just needed some time to yourself to cool off, some sleep would help. Getting yourself ready for bed, you tried not to think about Ajax. The thought of him would make you too jittery to fall asleep.

It wasn't easy, but you managed to be asleep for a few hours. If it weren't the fact that the loud sound of glass shattering woke you up, you're sure that you would be still asleep. In a panic, you sat up too quickly. The room was spinning as you looked for the source of the sound. You shivered as a large gust of snowy wind blew against you, but where was the wind coming from?

The sound of someone running could be heard through the wall. Ajax burst through the door, letting some light into the room. From there you could see a large tree branch had pushed its way through the window.

"[Name], are you okay?!" Ajax rushed over to your bedside.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then get out of here!"

He hurried you out of the room, closing the door behind him. You were still a bit shaken up from what had just happened, and shivering from the cold.

Ajax sighed and turned to you. "There's no way that you can sleep in there, but the couch is too small for you to sleep on." He thought for a moment. "Would you be okay sleeping in my bed? It's big enough for us to stay on separate sides."

In all honesty, you were too tired and cold to decline his offer. You nodded, hugging yourself to try and keep warm.

You could feel his gaze soften as he guided you to his room. From there you got on one side of the bed while he got on the other. You were so tired that you couldn't process anything that had happened in the last five minutes. All you knew was that the bed was warm and sleep sounded great.

Well, the bed was warm. You don't know why it had gotten so cold. You shimmied around the bed for a moment, trying to curl yourself in, and that's when you found something warm and shaking. You remembered that you had fallen asleep with Ajax and that this slab of warmth was him, but why was he shaking? Was he cold too? In an act of total desperation, you fell asleep against him. You used his body heat to try and warm yourself up, and thankfully it worked.

When morning came along, you found it hard to move. You tried to sit up but you couldn't. After getting a look at what it might be you found that Ajax had his arms wrapped around you. As soon as you realized it, everything in your body was screaming at you to push him off, but you could only stare at the sleeping man. Your heart rate went up as your thoughts kept screaming at you.

Ajax might have noticed your staring. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze locked with yours and his eyes widened. With how close you two were, you could feel his breath hitch, but neither of you moved away.

You stayed like that for what felt like hours, not a word was spoken. Eventually, he let go of you and sat up, holding his face in his hand. "I'm so sorry..." Ajax apologized quietly.

You could only nervously laugh as you sit up. "It's okay."

He sighed. "I think the broken window must have let a lot of heat out of the cabin. I saw that you were shivering in your sleep and..."

"You were shaking too," You blurted out, thinking it could make the situation less awkward.

Ajax perked up, hand leaving his face. "I thought that you were seeking out heat while in your sleep."

"What?"

"Did you make the conscious decision to sleep against me? I don't think there's any other way you could've known I was shaking."

You froze. He had found you out.

He waved his hands in a panic. "Hey hey, don't worry about it. Honestly, it makes me feel better about holding onto you." An embarrassed chuckle rumbled in his throat.

"Let's just..." Your cheeks only grew redder as you stayed in bed. "Let's just make breakfast."

After an awkward breakfast, you and Ajax went to tend to the dogs. While you were out there, you got a good look at the outside damage. Ajax said that he would have to try and lasso the tree off the house and replace the window. The storm raged the night before, the evidence being the fallen tree, but there wasn't a single snowflake falling from the sky that morning.

"I could take you back home today." He had spoken softly while sitting on the doghouse floor petting Misha.

You were watching the other dogs play around, now with their stomachs full of breakfast. When you turned to him, he had the remnants of a solemn expression. It was like there was something in the back of his mind. "Oh, that'd be great! Maybe you could get a replacement for the window while you're in town."

He nodded with a small smile. "I'm guessing it's probably a couple days too late for you to visit your mother?"

"I guess so too," You sighed. "but the New Year is coming up soon, I could properly visit her then."

Humming, Ajax got up and took you to the cabin. You showed him where your hometown was on the map when he presented it to you. After that, he somewhat cheerfully showed you how he got the dogs ready for a trip. Since the window he'll bring back may be heavy, he got all the dogs that were fit for the trip and hooked them up to the bigger sled. He was wearing the goggles and cloth around his head like the night you first met.

"Ready?" He asked.

Learning your mistake from last time, you grabbed onto something to stabilize yourself. After you were sure that you wouldn't fly off, you nodded.

Ajax got the dogs started, leading them and the sled out of the woods. With your face now against the wind this time, you understood why he wore the cloth and goggles. The cold wind bit at you fiercely as you held the map out for him.

It took a while to get there, but as you got closer to your town, more and more dread filled your stomach. During the ride, you realized that this may just be the last time you see Ajax and you didn't know why it bothered you so much. When you could see the town come into view, you could feel the frown on your face.

Despite how bad you were feeling to be back home, you gave him directions to your house when the dogs slowed down on the main road. Once you arrived at your front door, you put on a smile and hopped off the sled.

"Thank you so much, for everything." You looked at the man still on the sled, his expression hidden behind fabric.

He laughed a little. "Don't mention it, it was my pleasure to have you over as company."

There was a small moment of silence that was just long enough for you to form another frown on your face. "Will I ever see you again?"

Your reflection on his goggles stared back at you as you waited for his response. You could almost see how pathetic you looked. It was almost funny, but he took them off along with the scarf.

Ajax stepped down from the sled and walked up to you. "Do you want me to find you again? Because, frankly, I was hoping that I'd find you in a storm again."

His words were supposed to be comical, evident by the smirk on his face. He was trying to tease you for getting lost three nights ago, but something overcame you. In seconds you had enveloped him in a hug, shoving your face into his shoulder.

It took a second but he snorted in laughter and wrapped his arms around you too. "Alright, I'll be sure to visit time to time. Just don't be getting yourself lost anymore."

You giggled, clutching his coat with gloved hands. "Of course."

When the two of you separated, he hopped back onto his sled and stared at you for a second more before putting his goggles back on. You watched and waved as the dogs took him away, he was off to a glass shop and then back home while you needed a well-deserved shower.

Rarely was there a moment where Ajax wasn't on your mind. As the weeks went by you wondered if he would keep his promise and visit you like he said he would. Doubt continued to grow as you saw no sign of him returning. All of that melted away like ice to a fire when you saw a very familiar sled coming your way on your walk to work. Never have you run that fast in the snow to greet someone.

"[Name]-!" Ajax's cheerful call of your name was cut short as you launched yourself onto the sled once it stopped so you could embrace him again. After all that time, he had kept his promise.