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For the first time in what seemed like months, Kanda was sleeping in; he would take any excuse he could get to ignore the telltale signs of winter that were drifting slowly down from the sky. The cold morning was calm and quiet, the sun’s muted white light reflecting off of the freshly fallen snow, making the entire world outside the tiny rental house sparkle. He rolled over with a sleepy sigh, one arm stretching out across the mattress, waking up a little more when he found the spot next to him cold and empty, with Alma nowhere to be found.
Kanda sat up on his forearms, his vision blurred by sleep and renegade strands of hair that had fallen across his face. He debated getting up and looking for his partner; with the house as quiet as it was, it meant that Alma either wasn’t home or was up to something—they were never up before Kanda without some kind of reason, and even more rare was Alma getting out of bed without waking him, intentionally or otherwise. Nevertheless, Kanda found himself sinking back down into the mattress, content to lie there for a least a few minutes more.
He was just beginning to relax again when the door to the bedroom flew open, bouncing back against the adjacent wall as the hyper blur that was Alma flung themself onto the bed and, unfortunately, right on top of an unsuspecting Kanda, who would later vehemently deny the undignified screech of anger and surprise that he let out as his exposed back came into contact with the damp, icy chill of Alma’s clothing. Kanda hated being cold. Alma, however, was completely undeterred by his impersonation of an angry cat, rolling him over onto his back and practically bouncing beside him on the bed in excitement.
“Yuu, Yuu!! Wake up!! It’s snowing!!” Kanda was not awake enough for this yet, expressing his disinterest by unbalancing the other with a gentle shove and pulling the comforter over his head with a grumble.
“Wake me up when it’s spring again.” He heard Alma sigh mournfully as their weight shifted off of the bed, the mattress creaking. Suspicion filled him instantly. That was too easy.
Not a second after the thought had crossed his mind, the covers were yanked sharply off the bed and out of his reach, instantly raising goosebumps across his skin as it came in contact with the colder air of the room. Alma darted out the door in a heartbeat, taking the bedding with them as they laughed gleefully. Kanda was half way down the hall in pursuit before his mind caught up to him that clothing was necessary for this particular game of chase, the sound of the front door opening and closing with a slam sending him skidding to a stop.
He heard Alma calling his name from outside in a sing-song voice as he quickly threw on clothes, already plotting his revenge. Properly attired, Kanda slipped out the back door of the house and snuck around to the front, hoping over the wooden fence so that the squeaky hinge on the gate wouldn’t alert Alma to his presence. Peeking around the corner of the house he saw Alma standing by the front door, hands on hips and foot tapping impatiently as they continued to call out his name.
Kanda crouched down to the ground, scooping up snow into his gloved hands; there wasn’t much snow, but what was there hadn’t yet begun to melt in earnest, which meant there would be enough for what he wanted to do. He shaped it into a vaguely ball-shaped pile and took aim from behind the short bush that was planted by the corner of the house. He flung it at Alma in a perfect arch but didn’t stick around to watch it meet its target, already back over the fence and running towards the back door by the time he heard Alma’s surprised shriek.
He cut quickly through the house and came back out through the front door, waiting on the front porch with an exasperated expression as if he had been there all along. When Alma reappeared from around the other corner of the house huffing and puffing, Kanda raised a bored and questioning eyebrow at his partner, who stared at him in disbelief, sputtering as they looked back over their shoulder as if expecting to see him standing there. Kanda’s façade of disinterest cracked into a smirk, not even bothering to look the least bit apologetic as he watched Alma looking like they were trying to decide whether they wanted to pout or declare war.
Deciding that he had filled his quota of cold and snow for the season, Kanda turned to go back into the house. But as soon as he took his eyes off his partner, Alma dropped to the ground, quickly scooping up snow and flung it in Kanda’s direction with reckless abandon; the snowball met its mark, hitting the side of Kanda’s head with a resounding Splat! before sliding down the side of his face to the ground.
The world stood still for a moment until the silence was broken by Alma’s unadulterated, joyful laughter as they tipped over and fell onto their back, holding their stomach as they rolled on the ground with tears in their eyes. Their laughter was infectious, warming Kanda despite the chill in the air. He went back and helped Alma to their feet in the midst of their giggle fit, pulling them close with a gentle fondness that Kanda reserved only for them.
Maybe a snow day wasn’t that bad after all.