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Dark sky illuminated by the haze of the street-lights that continue all the way to the lines of stores, all showering the atmosphere with a warm coloring, painting the world with unexplainable comfort.
And there she stood, next to a dark green bush decorated by bits of white. To keep her body at a comfortable temperature, she meticulously picked each piece of clothing to add to her outfit, resulting in the current fabrics that hugged her body. A dark red scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, concealing her mouth; a long-sleeved dark-gray shirt, with a beige sweater on top; an ash blue coat long enough to count as a dress, along with a belt over it on the waist to keep the soft cloth close to her. For her lower half, she stuck to simple tights covered by a pair of light gray sweatpants with loose ends. To finish everything up, a pair of dark beige boots that reached above her ankles and dark, ashe-blue gloves.
She looked up, slightly blinded by the light radiating from the street lights, catching a glimpse of the bits of snow falling down from heaven all the way to the ground and the strands of her hair. Like a gift from god, each snowflake that invaded her sight reminded her of the undeniable beauty of this world.
And there he stood, parallel to Flower. Blonde, disheveled hair with bits of snow lurking in between different threads, a black coat matched with black jeans, hopefully with another pair of pants underneath. Under the coat was a dark, ashe red shirt with slightly-redder thin stripes. With his clothes covered by snow, Flower could clearly spot the trembling of his shoulders and the hands that shakily yet tightly gripped his upper arms as he rubbed them, clearly with the intention of heating himself up.
With concern came annoyance, and Flower quickly huffed as she stepped closer to the shivering man.
“Are you serious, Hio…?” She mumbled, not actually intending to scold this guy, but rather to question him. “Where is your scarf…Hell– where is your sweater? You went outside knowing the severity of this weather with two layers covering your chest? Sheesh…”
Yohio frowned, giving the expression of a kicked puppy while his body continued to tremble, “I kno~w… I just, uhm…” he paused, contemplating whether he should speak the truth or brush it off as being stupid. However, he knew the keen eye of the girl in front of him, and parted his lips to whine before speaking, “I just…saw street cats together. I got really sad since there were two big cats and multiple kittens so I couldn't just…walk away! I gave them my jacket as a cloth to sit on and positioned my scarf into a circle shape so they can get in it any time…”
Whether it was by pity from Yohio’s sad expression, trembling body and depressed tone or by the image of cats curled up inside a scarf, Flower’s anger couldn't last before the corners of her lips pointed upwards, giggles escaping her lips. “Wha… pff-haha! You're an absolute idiot. I should've expected that much from you.”
With Yohio’s lack of response, she regained her composure and spoke again, her usual bored-like expression on her face. “You're horrible in the cold, why didn't you at least give up your scarf only? I’m not giving you any of my clothes.”
“You know! Because the ground is covered in snow, it's cold! They needed more than just a scarf…!” Yohio whined, his voice shaky. Closing his mouth was useless, as the cold caused his teeth to start clacking against each other. Freezing, his hands gripped his own arms tighter with the hope of heating up.
Flower sighed, looking unamused at her partner as snowflakes continued to paint dots of white on their dark clothes. Followed by an incoherent mumble, she took off her coat and wrapped it around Yohio’s shoulders, pulling on it so it was placed over his arms and covered his torso.
Yohio’s eyes widened slightly as he looked up from the ground to meet Flower’s gaze, “huh?? But… won't you be cold?” He asked, yet still wearing the coat as intended by placing his arms in each sleeve. “Plus, you said you're not giving me your clothe-”
“Well I changed my mind, okay? Now come here, idiot,” said Flower, with a groan escaping her throat.
Once Yohio stepped closer, she took her scarf off and wrapped it around his neck, but as she did he brushed her hands off, “no! You can't give up your coat and your scarf! I know you have a good tolerance to the cold but still!”
“What…” Flower paused, “it's fine, really. I would rather be a little cold than walk around with a trembling leaf,” she said as she continued trying to wrap the red cloth around Yohio’s neck, much to his dismay.
“I have a different idea!” He said, waiting for the change in Flower’s expression to indicate that she heard him, but not waiting for her verbal response before taking the scarf and pulling her closer to wrap it around both of their necks together.
Yohio's actions caught Flower off guard, and soon enough the tips of her ears and her cheeks had grown into a light pink tone. Fortunately, her face was already somewhat pink due to the cold, so it went unnoticed. “You are an idiot, you know? We're gonna go to a café anyway.”
“Well then let's go! I’ve wanted to take you here for a while!” Completely yet unintentionally ignoring most of Flower’s sentence, he held her hand and they both began walking towards a café.
The warmth of the café washed off lingering cold that stuck to their bodies, the noises from outside now muffled by the glass door, replaced by the sounds of conversation, glasses clacking against each other, utensils slightly scraping plates or one another and the songs that were playing in the background. The café was quite empty, and it took no time finding an empty table for two.
“Uhh, wait,” Yohio mumbled, his tone lingering with developing turmoil, “remind me how cafés work? Are they any different from restaurants?” He asked.
“Oh, I think there's a menu to order things, but you can go up to the guy behind the counter and that…fridge looking thing and ask for whatever food they have there,” she paused, thinking to herself, “I think I’ll go up to him and order a piece of that cheesecake. Do you wanna order something from there?”
Yohio hummed, seemingly in his thoughts as to answer Flower’s question. He looked at the desserts displayed on each row in the showcase. Well, he sure is taking his time.
“Yo-hi-o…? I didn’t know you were capable of thinking so hard,” Flower said, waving a hand in front of Yohio’s face, catching his attention.
“Hey, I can think!” He said with a slight pout. He continued, “I think I’ll just order coffee,” he said.
Flower huffed, “and not fall asleep later? Like hell you are,” she said.
“I’ll fall asleep later! Coffee doesn't affect me!” He said with that stupid outgoing smile of his.
“Sure you will…okay then. Order your coffee.”
Soon after that, they both got their orders. Flower started eating her cheesecake while Yohio drank his coffee. By ‘drank,’ he just took two sips before ‘tasting’ Flowers cake.
“I’m taking a little,” Yohio said, reaching out for the cake with his fork for approximately the sixth time.
“How about we just order you a cake of your own?”
“Nooo, no need, I’m not that hungry!” he said, the corners of his lips pointing up.
“Okay then…”
Their date continued. Flower would be lying if she said she didn't find the whole scene endearing. Flower found Yohio a little bit dense, but to be truthful, she adored that trait. She adored that trait a lot.
Eventually, when they got out of the café, it was supposed to be the time they parted.
“Got you!” Yohio yelled.
Flower, with snow all over her clothes, irritatedly crouched, gathered snow together, formed it into a ball and threw it, aiming for his face. “You have some nerve, don't you?” She said with a smile, nearly a grin.
Yohio, with his peak survival skills, couldn't dodge it at all. He yelped, “wah! That's cold!” Yohio said as he wiped the remaining snow off his face.
“You started it,”Flower said, gathering more snow.
With that, a snowball fight broke out. Flower threw a snowball. Yohio dodged while forming a snowball of his own. Flower hid behind a bench, crouching. Yet when Yohio got close so he could catch her, she blocked the attack with her scarf before releasing it with one hand to gather her own snowball. Once Yohio realized her actions, he hid from her attack range behind the same bench. To catch him, Flower stood up, stepped on the bench and leaned forward, enough so she could see Yohio and throw the snowball at him.
“I won,” she said, suppressing a chuckle.
“Wah…you're so quick, how do you do that??” He asked, a disappointed look on his face.
Flower could no longer resist a chuckle after that. She kissed his cheek, “I think you're just an idiot,” she said as she wiped snow off him.
Just then, Yohio’s eyes wandered somewhere and widened. Before Flower could follow his gaze, he yelled, “let's build a snowman!” Followed by a laugh.
“Haven't done that in a while. But sure, let's do that,” she said, her usual composed expression back.
They gathered snow to make one big snowball, then another ball that was a little smaller, then a ball even smaller for the head. Its height reached their waists.
“Do we even have anything to form its face?” Flower asked.
“I have six rocks,” Yohio replied, “as for the limbs, I see sticks over there,” he continued.
Flower nodded, “alright then, I’ll go get them. Form the face,” she said before turning away. By the time she was back, she only had to place the hands and the snowman was complete.
“It’s so cute!” Yohio said.
“It’s highkey deformed but yeah, I agree!” Flower said. “Though, it's getting late. Don't name it because we should probably leave now and I don't want you getting attached,” she said.
“Uhm. I already named it.”
“Are you serious- okay…what did you name it?” She asked, trying to mask the slight annoyance.
“Sealvester. Like the seal,” he said with a sheepish grin.
“Of course…get up now. We can hold hands while we walk. Or I’ll leave you here and you won’t get to cuddle with me while we sleep.”
With such a threat and an offer, he quickly stood up and walked towards Flower, taking her hand. “I’m here!” He said, grinning at the contact.
“Good job, let's go,” Flower said as the two of them started walking towards their home.
Once they were at Yohio’s home, he gave her some clothes for the night, brushed his teeth alongside Flower who used a spare toothbrush, and went to bed.
About 30 minutes into being in bed, Flower was shaken awake. She opened her eyes to see Yohio above her, “Flower…I can't sleep.”
“The fuck did I tell you about the coffee,” she mumbled, half asleep.
“Sorry…can we watch a movie? I don't mind if you fall asleep during it,” he asked, looking embarrassed, as if he could weep any second.
She huffed, “sure, just pick whatever you like,” she said as she sat up, turned on the lamp and handed Yohio the remote to the TV in front of the bed.
Once Yohio picked a movie, they both watched it in silence, as Flower was still groggy and most likely won’t respond. Her eyelids felt heavy, and soon enough, she dropped her head onto Yohio’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
Yohio looked away from the movie to gaze upon his sleeping partner, his chest filling with affection. He found himself staring at her peaceful expression without even realizing it. Maybe drinking coffee was a good thing, since it let him admire her beauty for as long as he liked.
He truly did adore her.