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It was snowing.
More heavily than expected, the flurries coming down in waves, coating the ground in a steady stream of white. Mortefi was huddled underneath the awning outside Huaxu Academy, wondering if he should just pull an all nighter instead. He was hardly dressed for this weather, the first snow of the season sneaking up unexpectedly.
From behind, he heard the automatic doors open then shut, the gentle clunk of boots halting next to him. “Would you look at that,” came the murmured wonderment. Jiyan leant forward, sticking his upper half out into the elements. As he looked up into the sky, eyes crinkling in childish delight, Mortefi couldn’t help the warmth that spread through him. He was captivated when Jiyan was like this. With a laugh the general stepped back under cover, angling his body so it tucked snugly against Mortefi’s side, flashing a wide grin. “I don’t remember Yao warning us of snow,” he whispered, conspicuously.
“Yao is always purposely obtuse. You should know this by now,” Mortefi huffed. His breath was already coming out in puffs of smoke, the dropping temperature making him feel more draconic then he already was. He got a deep chuckle in return, Jiyan huddling closer as he shook some snow from his hair, dusting both their shoulders with white.
“Well, it almost feels like it’s fate then.” With a wide gesture at the scenery, Jiyan turned his body fully toward Mortefi. At the researcher’s questioning stare, Jiyan couldn’t help but beam cheekily. “Look,” he muttered, his hand gesturing upward. Tilting his head back Mortefi cursed.
Above them was the bane of his existence. All through the winter season Xiangli Yao had snuck a plethora of the twigs around the Academy, claiming it was for morale as more and more Yule decorations went up. Mortefi knew though it was so Yao had an excuse to catch him unawares. To sneak in a kiss when he least expected it. The fusion user had tore down any near his office, refusing to give into Yao’s mistletoe mischief.
“I refuse,” he grunted, turning his face away. He could feel himself flushing as he stared resolutely into the distance. He vaguely clocked that the snow was slowing, coming down in a lazy curve instead of the waves from before.
Gentle hands slipped onto either side of his face, angling him back. “Mortefi,” Jiyan murmured softly, leaning closer. “It’s tradition.”
“Maybe in Jinzhou,” came the rebuttal.
“Did the aristocrats in the New Federation not keep up with traditions?” Mortefi knew Jiyan was teasing him. He knew very well what kind of nonsense the upper pantheon got up to around the holiday season. How much Mortefi despised the ridiculous outfits, long parties, and fake cheer.
“If you call hanging mistletoe in abundance to harass your coworkers as traditi-“ Warm lips sealed over his, stuttering his bluster to a stop. It was a quick press, filled with the assurance that it wouldn’t be denied. As Jiyan pulled back, eyes scrunched in satisfaction, Mortefi couldn’t help but retaliate.
“That was pathetic,” he tutted. “Do it properly or not at all.” Slipping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, Mortefi pulled him flushed against his side. He sealed their mouths together again, covering Jiyan’s protest. It wasn’t the most elegant start to a kiss, his glasses skewing as their noses bumped uncomfortably. Mortefi reangled though after the first peck, Jiyan’s arms settling around his neck, body tipping more solidly into his hold.
It smoothed out in the end. Jiyan always inevitably took control, commanding Mortefi’s full attention onto the push and pull and bite as he deepened the kiss. It left them gasping once they separated, faces rosy from more than just the cold surroundings.
If Mortefi allowed himself to dwell on it, even he could admit kissing underneath some mistletoe while it snowed felt festive. He would never tell that Xiangli Yao though.
“You know Yao was setting them up to help Carter,” Jiyan muttered, tucking his face into the warm curve of Mortefi’s neck.
“And I’m just an unexpected casualty to our boyfriend’s antics,” he mocked in response. All he got was a soothing hum in return, a kiss left gently against his nape.
“I can’t tell you what goes on in Yao’s head. Other than the fact that he’ll keep teasing you as long as you keep reacting to him.”
“Ridiculous. The both of you.”
“Why are you lumping me in with him,” Jiyan guffawed.
“Because you never take my side.” Eyes glinting, Mortefi shoved the general back, getting another bark of laughter as Jiyan stumbled into the snow. “Let’s head back to yours,” he sniffed, angling away from reaching hands. “It’s closer. I don’t want to make the trek to mines in this weather.”
In the end Mortefi lost. With his hand entwined with another, cradled warm in his coat pocket, they ended up walking to the far reaches of the city where his residence resided. He couldn’t say no to gleaming golds, pleading to see the Yule decor the city put up for the season. Perhaps he could admit, just a little, that winter wasn’t too bad in the end, as long as he had his fellow dragon by his side.