Watching the delicate snow fall from the dark winter sky, Yao sighed, remembering that although the snow was pretty nice, it was pretty deadly to the crops. Her gaze landed upon her spinach and carrots, which were now completely wilted and frozen over. Getting used to being a farmer was hard, as Yao was the new girl on the block.

Yao lived on a small island populated only by a few people, but everybody was close to each other; everybody except Yao. She had moved to the island to start a new life in the autumn, and farming was what she had a passion for. There was something about waking up in the morning to provide food for other people and to care for the animals of the Earth that appealed to her. Besides, Bao and Chun were her friends! The cows loved being petted and fed everyday by Yao.

Yao turned around and surveyed the interior of her humble abode. It wasn't big, but it was cosy for Yao. There were two rooms sandwiched together; the kitchen and main living area where Yao's warm bed also was, and a separate room for the bathroom. The walls were bright like flowers and the floor was a neat wood planking, which suited Yao's colourful tastes. A wooden table with a pink gingham cloth on it dominated the centre of the room, and the bed stood neatly in the far right corner of the room, seeming a better option than the cold morning to Yao right then. Beside the bed was a table, with a diary on it, where she recorded her day's events, if there were any. In the far left corner was her cooking area. It was just a long table with not much to it; a lone pot sat upon the stove like it paid rent. Yao's face crumpled. She had ideas for meals, but she was not used to the foreign ingredients that everyone was so interested in. Why couldn't they appreciate the beansprouts, leek and bamboo shoots the Asian lady had grown up loving? The Western islanders were more interested in staple and whole foods, like potato, pasta and other less-exotic vegetables. This thought made Yao feel a twist in the pit of her stomach, which was set off whenever she felt homesick. Shaking her head, Yao knew she couldn't feel like this all the time, because after all, she had left home for a better life in the West. But it was slow-going for Yao. She turned to her dresser and put on her long-sleeved red jacket. She then pulled on her denim skinny jeans, finished off with her leather brown boots and white farmer's gloves. That was pretty much all the warm clothes she had, and without an extra though she set off into the first day of winter to carry on with the farm.

Outside the door, she felt the chilly morning air slap her cheeks. A shiver went down her spine also. She turned to notice the pole on her mailbox was up, indicating mail. Opening the freezing metal box and pulling out an envelope, she peeled it open; it was an advertisement for the local bar, and the goods it had recently shipped in. Yao pondered for a bit as she read the letter. This could be a chance to socialise? At the bottom of the letter was a welcoming message: "drop by after work sometime!" This made Yao smile, as it seems it was hand-written in the most beautiful joint up writing. Yao had an eye for small detail. However, the more time she spent admiring it, the more she was turning into a human ice-lolly, so she decided that she would visit the bar after work. After all, why not take the opportunity to socialise?

After finishing some fishing, Yao began to feel a little tired out, as she noticed it was nearing six o' clock. She decided to cruise along the stone bridge towards the city centre. From the bridge she could see the sun just poking out from the shoreline, as the last part of the day began to grow dark. The sky was red and beautiful; indicating that tomorrow would be a finally clear day. Yao pondered about why she had still never got to take a full look at the whole town- after all; she had been here only a season. As she neared the town, she walked down to the row of shops near the shore, but they were still situated on a stone platform, separate to the soft sand. Looking around for a bar, she finally recognised someone. It was Antonio, who had previously come to offer her a present- tomato risotto- upon her first successful ship of crops. That was almost three weeks ago, and she had made a good friend in him since because of their love for cooking. He was on break, just outside for a quick gasp of cold air, in contrast to the warm air which was cushioned inside the bar's walls.
"Yao!" He smiled, his soft brown hair rustling in the winter wind. "Good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too Antonio! Say, do you know where the bar is?" Yao asked.
He looked up to a sign that was above the two of them; it read 'The Stock Market'.
"This is it. I work here, you know! I'm employed as chef! Hey, it's your first time, so come inside for a drink and a bite to eat! I know you're going to love the menu today. We just got a whole boatload of fresh ingredients to last the winter!"
He took her wrist and dragged her inside, without much protest from the young lady.

Inside the bar, Yao firstly noticed the stone floor and walls, and how lovely the wooden furniture complimented the interior design. Then the lovely aroma of baked potatoes wafted up to her, and as she inhaled the smell filled her with delight… oh- what was that sound? Her stomach hastily grumbled, loud enough for Antonio to hear and turn around. She blushed and told herself off in her thoughts. After all, she didn't want to lose her only friend on the island!

"I like the sound of a hungry stomach!" Antonio reassured her. He placed her into a seat near the cooking area in the bar.
"Wait here, I'll just be finishing up this meal!" He said, and rushed off into the kitchen.
This left Yao time to survey the bar once again. From the entrance door, it was a large square room, filled with tables with two, four and six places- each one a different size. At the back of the room was the kitchen, where Antonio was stationed. Yao gawped at the huge range of cooking utensils her friend had to work with, and a huge refrigerator stocked full with fresh ingredients caught her eye. Slightly in front of the cooking area was a large and long brown table that stretched all the way to the right side of the wall; it served as a counter, and it had a till and some dried drink glasses next to it. As Yao was taking all of this in, that twist in the pit of her stomach was set off. Strangely, she was happy but this new atmosphere gave her a slight culture shock that she really needed to stop getting worked up by.
"Have you been served yet?" A deep and regimental voice from behind Yao asked.

She swiftly turned around to face forward and left slightly, where an unfamiliar gentleman was standing. He had deep, green eyes that sparked in the light. They stared straight into Yao's own brown eyes, giving her a tingling feeling in the back of her neck. His hand lifted up to wipe a stray strand of shiny blond hair, slightly wet at the tips indicating hard work, behind his ear.

"Well?" The gentleman grew slightly impatient.

"O-oh, yes. I-I'm waiting, f-for, err, Antonio. He's c-cooking me something…" She nervously replied.

"Alrighty then, call me if you need me." He said, dashing off to another table.
Yao just realised she had probably been staring at the gentleman for a good ten seconds, dumbfounded. As she came to realise this, she rubbed her forehead and moved her hand down her face, stroking the now pink-tinted skin. She slumped back in her chair and heaved a sigh. At this point Antonio returned, dish in hand.
"It's cold outside, so I wanted you to try this stew. I've been experimenting with herbs! What do you think?" Antonio gleamed. To stop any further embarrassing tummy-rumbling moments, Yao picked up a spoon that was on the table and scooped up the stew, promptly encasing the spoon in her lips.
"Mmmm!" She exclaimed. "Potato stew- very fresh ingredients. And is that a subtle hint of red herbs in there? Very adventurous. But it works!" Yao gleefully replied. "You certainly have a very refined palate, I'll give you that!" Antonio grinned, walking back to the kitchen. Yao continued to delicately eat the stew as it was still piping hot.
Antonio returned with a beverage, a grape cocktail. Yao was happy to see that!
"It's all on me, since it's your first time." Antonio said. Yao's eyes widened, clearly touched by the gesture.
"A-are you sure?" She enquired, looking for her purse in her pockets. Antonio placed his hand on her shoulder and reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. While he went to fetch the waiter, Yao looked in her purse anyway. It was bare, and she imagined a moth could fly out from it any day. It didn't look good.
Antonio came back over with the waiter. Yao looked up and saw those familiar green eyes again, but before she could do anything, Antonio introduced Yao to him.
"Arthur, this is Yao. She's the new girl everyone's talking about. You know, the farmer!" Antonio smiled.
"Ah, yes, I see, I was wondering who you were. I didn't recognise the new face. My name's Arthur and I'm a waiter here. You should drop down after work more often. This bar is the perfect place to relax. Anyway, I need to continue working." He spoke, and then flashed her a humble smile. As he walked off, Yao's eyes were glued to him, until Antonio spoke again. He wrapped his arm around her back and held tight to the other shoulder hand heaved her up from her seat.
"Hey guys!" he shouted to the rest of the bar's customers.
"This is the new farmer, Yao!" He smiled.

He began introducing Yao to all the bar's people, and as he did they gave her a nod or greeting in response. She could feel her cheeks getting redder and redder, as she was introduced to Ludwig, to Gilbert, Roderich, to Basch… so many names she wouldn't be able to remember. One he was finished, the crowd resumed their noisy chatting. Yao stayed a little while to finish her meal and beverage. Once she noticed time was getting on, she bid Antonio farewell and left.

Outside the bar, she stretched upwards, finally happy to be released from the bar's humidity. Yao decided not to hang around on the winter night and made her way over the bridge to her farmland.

As the days went by with less and less farm work to do, Yao found herself going to the town to chat to all the people. She was really getting to know the townsfolk well. More importantly, she was going more and more to the bar around four o' clock, to practice some cooking and taste testing with Antonio before the bar opened at six, which she loved. Often Arthur would watch what they did for a bit, but restrained from doing anything else. It puzzled Yao once or twice, but she just carried on. She had great fun learning about all the western foods and flavours. It was one particular day when Antonio quizzed Yao about making something completely different for once. Yao knew almost every Spanish recipe in the book by now, so he decided to ask her about dishes from her homeland. Arthur perked up when Antonio asked this, eager for Yao's response. Yao was waiting for this opportunity, since she rarely had a chance to express her own culture in this western world. She decided to teach Antonio how to make a simple noodle and vegetable stir fry, of which neither of the two young men had ever seen before and Yao couldn't believe it! Although, she was happy to how off her culture. She sat the two of them down and placed a plate each of the cooking. As Antonio tasted it, he could really appreciate all the fresh flavours of the vegetables working together collectively. The rice had absorbed some sweet-kind of sauce, but he couldn't identify what it was. It was unlike anything he had every tasted.
"What's the sweet sauce, Yao?" Arthur asked. His face was a mixture of emotions, which was quite funny to watch for Yao.
"It's special from China, it's called soy sauce! It's really sweet and it packs a punch into a vegetable's flavour." Yao replied, smiling.

"Wow, I could sure use that in some of my dishes!" Antonio giggled.
After finishing the small meal, Arthur had to courage to stand up and exclaim that he was going to show the two of them some British style cooking!
"Ahahahaha! Aha! Ha! Haaa hahahaha!" Antonio rocked back in his seat, roaring with laughter. Arthur stared at him. Yao froze.

"You couldn't cook GRUEL if you tried!" Antonio laughed.
"You'd burn a salad! Ahahaha!" He went on. Yao could see Arthur was getting more and more frustrated. Antonio carried on through his now tears of laughter.
"British people don't know good cuisine if it slapped them in the face!"
Arthur resembled a tomato at this point. Yao swore she could see smoke coming from his ears. Arthur flipped his chair over, grabbed his coat and scarf, and ran out of the bar, swearing loudly. Antonio's laughing ground to a halt, tears streaming down his face. Yao didn't know what to do. She just looked at Antonio, who had got up and cleared the plates away like nothing had happened! Yao thought this was uncharacteristic of Antonio, but was too afraid to say anything, for fear of upsetting someone else, so she just took it on the chin. It was nearing seven o' clock, and customers would start to show up soon, so Yao decided she'd be on her way home.

The next morning brought bitter grey clouds, most likely filled with snow. As Yao went about tending to her animals, she thought about the previous night, and how her week of happiness had been spoiled. She kept thinking of the anguish in Arthur's eyes and the pleasure in Antonio's. Were these really the people she had come to enjoy being in the company with? Yao was full of questions until she realised she was just standing in the middle of her farming plot holding her rusty watering can and staring into space, when she came to her senses. Shaking off these thoughts, she decided to go see Antonio and Arthur at the bar before it opened at six.

"Antonio… Arthur?" Yao asked, poking her head around the door of The Stock Market. Antonio popped his head out from around the kitchen area.
"I'm hereee! Although Arthur's not." Antonio replied, being his cheery self.
"Oh, I see… you don't think you hurt him too much, right?" Yao said, finally bringing up the touchy subject.
"Of course not! It was all a bit of banter." Antonio said.
"Does Arthur know that? He doesn't strike me as a person who enjoys 'banter'…" Yao trailed off.
She saw Antonio flinch.
"Well, I'd better go check on him! He hasn't been to work since. I'm sure he's just being a bit sour, as always." Antonio said, trying to cover up his last reaction.
"No, I'll do that. You need to stay here, you've caused enough trouble!" Yao giggled, being a little bolder with her words, and she promptly left to the sound of Antonio's laughing.
"Antonio?" Yao asked, returning into the bar.
"Yes?" Antonio replied.
"W-where is Arthur's house?" Yao whispered.

Yao faced the cosy looking house and knocked on the cream door three times.
Waiting.
She knocked again, a little harder this time.
"Go away Antonio!" She heard a muffled voice say.
"I-It's not Antonio…" She whispered, lowly.
"What?!" The muffled voice demanded from her.
The door was pulled open.
There was Arthur, half dressed and not looking at all well. Yao's eyes were glued to Arthur's half-buttoned up shirt, looking at his well-toned chest, but she couldn't help it. She blushed.
"O-oh, it's only you…"
A moment went by with them just staring at each other. Yao felt a hand wrap around her wrist and she was instantly yanked into the house, and the door shut behind her. A flustered Arthur grabbed a jacket and wrapped it around himself. He looked tired and unwell.
"Did Antonio send you?" He demanded. He immediately regretted his tone of voice and looked at Yao more softly.
"N-no, he doesn't know I'm here…" Yao whispered, just loitering in the doorway.
"Well… take a seat." Arthur offered, as he did too. "But I don't want to know what Antonio said!"
"He didn't say anything. Well not much. W-what's wrong with you, anyway?" Yao asked.
"How can I go to work like this? I look like a zombie! I definitely wasn't upset over what he said in front of us last night. It was something else that bothered me!" Arthur quickly retorted, blushing heavily.
"Not the cooking insult, then?" Yao smiled.
"No, of c-course not!" Arthur bluffed.
Yao found herself thinking that he was cute when he was put on the spot like that.
"I see…" Yao said, acting as a filler in between a stiff silence.

"Why does he always have to insult my cooking like that? They all do it! I'll admit it, I don't exactly have a flair for cooking, but why can't I try?! I wanted to show you my cooking… MY culture, and he goes and ruins it. What's with these people, why can't they give me a chance for once? Oh bloody hell… here I am, pouring my life story out to you and I've only known you for about a week! Why do I get like this?!" Arthur burst out. Flustered, he was asking himself inaudible questions under his breath.
Yao was speechless at his sudden non-gentlemanlike stature, but could only sit there, looking at her hands in her lap. She so badly wanted to scoot over and hug him tightly, but Yao felt that was a little too close for comfort, for both of them. Instead, she got a tissue from the box on his kitchen table, and went over to him to bend down and wipe his eyes with her delicate fingers.
Arthur cooperated with this gesture, reddening at the closeness of the petite lady, as he could feel her breath on his shoulders and neck.
"Your hands are so small…" He whispered.
Yao giggled at his funny statement.
He thought she had such a nice smile; it warmed his heart that he had found someone he could trust. And he didn't know why he did, but he felt like he'd known this girl all his life.
Yao stood up straight, although she was still small looking to Arthur even when he was seated.
Then Yao had a bright idea! From her pocket, she took out her foundation case- perfect for covering up bags under eyes. She began to take some on her finger and leant down to rub it onto Arthur when he yelled in protest:
"Whaaaaaat is THAT? Makeup? No thanks!"
"See, now I've woken you up! Well, see you at work later!" Yao laughed, daringly.
Arthur sighed and slumped into his chair once she closed the door as she exited his house. He admired how she knew just how to control him, how to get a reaction from him. 'Gosh, she's really come out of her shell', he thought.

The islanders like to celebrate different festivals; this particular week a festival called the Culture Festival was going to happen. It's when the people of the town do some research and celebrate different culture's traditions in the hope of learning more about how to get along with people. Since Yao had a completely different culture, the people flocked to her to suggest she help out leading the festival this year.

"I'd… I'm not sure, Antonio…"
"Come on Yao! It's going to be awesome. Hey, you could do a cooking class! And what's that thingy thing that you thing around with?"
"How am I supposed to answer that, Antonio!?"
"No, the tie… The tie sheet?"
"…You mean, Ta'i Chi?"

"Yeah! That one. You should teach it to people, since not many people know about it. After all, the festival is about showing off cultures!"

"I-I don't know… I mean, who would go? I don't think anyone would go…"

"I'd go." A deep voice from the other side of the room answered.
Yao turned around to see Arthur, slouched in a chair holding a newspaper with his head turned towards hers, looking directly into her eyes. She could see the eagerness in his eyes, although he was desperately trying to hide it through his body language. He definitely wanted to get to know Yao better- he was almost jealous at the friendly relationship between her and Antonio. At a chance like this, Arthur would jump at- but he wasn't going to show it, being the stubborn person he is.

"You could do it on your farm land, which would attract people not only to see your culture but to your crops and animals too. It could get some well needed revenue in, you know?" Arthur reasoned.
Yao sighed in defeat. She could never win an argument with Antonio and Arthur always had such smart ideas…
"Okay then." Yao decided.
"Great! I'll help you spread the word!" Antonio ecstatically said.
Arthur then grinned with satisfaction.

It was Thursday, three o'clock. The winter sun was ready to disappear and sleep for the night on the clear and lightly breezy afternoon. Yao stood on her farmland, just outside her little house. Looking around the grounds, she gazed at Bao and Chun, her cows that were grazing in the fields. They seemed so content despite the cold. Looking up the pathway to the town and in the distance, Yao could see some people coming towards her. People! For her Tai Chi class! Success! The fact that people were interested in Yao gave her a warm fuzzy feeling. As they approached, Yao hopped up and down on the spot trying to keep warm while trying to see who the people were walking down the lane. Antonio and Arthur! Hooray! There was Francis and Gilbert, throwing snow at each other… it was always a love-hate relationship with those two! Feliks, Albert and Feliciano were dragging Toris along and a few others…

"Time to warm up!" Yao shouted to the crowd that were chatting amongst themselves. Yao led a quick warm-up routine of jumping and running on the spot. It wasn't too cold, so she decided to get into some demonstrations, and then give the class some self-defence to do and then a bit of a lecture.

Yao found herself coming out of her shell more as she chatted, laughed and joked with the group, while showing them vital defence techniques and cultural history behind the martial art. She did this for over two hours, with the entire group thoroughly enjoying the moderate exercise in the winter air. Once she had nothing rather basic to teach, she called the class to an end, and as the people dispersed. Thanking Yao for the good class, Antonio and Arthur stayed behind to talk.
"Yao that was awesome! I really enjoyed that!" Antonio exclaimed.
"Even Arthur liked it! You know he doesn't like much hahaha!"
Arthur glared at Antonio; Antonio continued:
"You've converted the stubborn man. I don't know how you've done it! Anyway, would love to hang about, but some bar isn't going to cook food for itself, is it?" And with that, Antonio jogged off down the pathway.
It had gone past five, and the moonlight was now shining on Arthur and Yao like a spotlight.
"You know, that was really interesting; the way the body flows, and how some parts are soft and flowing, however some parts are hard and fast…" Arthur explained, going off on a tangent while Yao blushed heavily and wondered what he was describing for a moment.

"You know what I mean?" Arthur finished.
"Y-yes, of course!" Yao stuttered, regaining concentration.
"I'd love to learn more sometime, you should do some classes. I mean, regular classes, like every week. So we learn more than just the basics. Especially the flowing routines, there's great!" Arthur explained.
Without thinking, Yao grabbed his arm and pulled Arthur to the centre of her farmland. She faced his body in the direction of beautiful scenery- the shore at the foot of the hill and looking at the curve of the island, in the distance seeing the town.
She then turned her back to his and as she was much smaller than him, she stood upon his feet, her back to his stomach. She put the back of her hands into the palm of his hands and proceeded to entwine her fingers with his, without much protest from the tall man. She then spread their feet to a shoulder width apart, and moved her hands out in front of them both, in a flowing motion. Bending her left knee, Arthur did the same, and they leant to her left; she placed their right hands upon her stomach and pushed their left hands forward into the cold air. Yao next brought both their hands together outwards and stomach level, while bending both knees and leaning forward slightly, bringing the hands down and almost stroking the snowy ground, before swiftly lifting their bodies up and stretching high into the moonlit sky. With Yao leading the routine, the two flowed together in time in the middle of her farmland- watched by the many stars in the night sky that seemed to twinkle in time with the pair. When Yao shivered and lost her balance, she fell forward slightly, only to be swiftly grabbed around the waist by Arthur. He let her forward off his feet and onto the ground. He then took off his long, red and yellow striped scarf and wrapped it around Yao's neck, without uttering a word. Yao would have protested but decided better after feeling the warmth and the smell of Arthur on the scarf. She wrapped it tight around her neck and chin, and then breathed in deeply.
Suddenly Arthur spun her around by grabbing her hips and pulled Yao close, all in a heartbeat that Yao must've skipped. She panicked slightly, pondering his intentions for a split second- however her mouth was covered by the scarf. He clasped her right hand in his left; used his right arm to grab her lower back and proceeded to waltz. He was a man who liked to be in control in more ways than one, and so he led her around the farmland, their feet adjusting to each other's time. Yao had never waltzed before, but she found her feet were following Arthur's feet every step of the way. She wrapped her left arm around his hips and let her face fall into his chest, feeling his warmth and his quickening heartbeat. No longer did she feel that homesick feeling in her stomach, but rather it was as if butterflies were flying around in there instead. It was new to her, but she liked it, for the feeling was a fresh experience.
The only thing that broke the dancing between the two was a sneeze from Yao, which promptly brought the two back to reality. Time was getting on and Arthur had to leave to wait tables at the bar. Yao, still dazed, awkwardly bid Arthur farewell after he thanked her again for the nice evening. She watched him walk off the land and down the lane towards the town, when Yao sneezed again and decided to call it a night. After all, it was seven o'clock and she had some weird feelings going on inside her.

The next morning, Yao rose bright and early at six o'clock like she usually did. She pulled on her blue denim skinny jeans and put on her red jacket over her shirt. As she laced her brown leather boots up, she heard a knock at the door. She politely called for the person to come in- perhaps it was the Mayor, coming to tell her about an upcoming festival. She looked down and continued lacing her boots, weaving the laces around the metal hooks. Just as she was finishing by pulling a tight bow on the laces, she looked up as she heard the door close. There stood Arthur, holding a bowl, of some kind of soup.

"I-it's cold today. I made you soup." Arthur stammered, cheeks flushing.
Yao stood up now that she was dressed. She went over to accept the soup and noticed it was tomato soup. She had heard what the other villagers thought of Arthur's cooking, but being the good natured girl she was, she didn't want to upset him, so she sipped it. It was piping hot still.

"Do you like it? I worked hard to get it just right." Arthur asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's perfect." Yao replied with a warm smile.

"Excellent!" Arthur smiled, like a cat with cream. "Yao, are you busy later? W-would you like to have lunch with me?" He then shyly asked.
Yao was taken aback; not by the request from Arthur, but by how this tall and towering strong man had suddenly crawled into a shell and was speaking like a shy child. However Yao really wanted to say yes. She didn't know why, but she liked the idea.
"Of course!" Yao replied.
"Great. Right-o then, I'd best be off. Meet me on the town beach at one o'clock, yes?"
"Alright." Yao smiled, and saw Arthur out the door. She felt elated, and without further thought, she rushed outside to tend to her farm, desperate to make the time go by quicker.

Squish, squash, squish… Yao stopped walking. The sound of her boots on the sand was refreshing. She looked around; nobody. She glanced at her watch- five minutes to one. Well, she couldn't complain. She decided to walk closer to the shore to watch the waves. She strolled down the shore slowly, just thinking. These feelings she had inside her… they were like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She was happy to spend time with Arthur, but when he was gone, she started missing him after only a few minutes. What should she do?
Just as she was pondering, she heard some footsteps. Looking at her watch and then turning around to see Arthur walking towards her with a rucksack, she remarked "one o'clock sharp, yes?"
"Always!" Arthur replied, lifting his hands into the air and back down again.

He came up beside her and unpacked the rucksack. He laid down a blanket on the sand and sat on top of it, inviting Yao to sit next to him, which she did.
"I'm really glad you showed up, Yao." Arthur said, with serious gratitude.
"I'm glad you asked me." Yao agreed.

Arthur, clearly chuffed to bits, invited the two to start eating to food he had in his rucksack.
"I got Antonio to prepare it, so don't worry!" Arthur laughed.
"No, don't worry. Your cooking's fine. I don't know why people get so worked up about it!" Yao said.
"R-really? I'm happy you think that! Although I don't know either. My cooking seems alright to me. It's just that Francis is always criticising it, saying it's 'not to his standards'!" Arthur said, wobbling his voice jokingly to sound like a Frenchman. Yao laughed at this and comforted Arthur by explaining that Francis is always criticising things!
"He'd have a go at his own reflection, hahaha!" Arthur joked.
As time passed, the two laughed and joked like they'd known each other for years. The afternoon winter air was no match for the pair who kept warm from each other.
As evening came and it was around five o'clock, and Yao cosied up to Arthur, without objection from the gentleman. He sighed and leaned his head on her shoulder. They'd talked together for nigh onto four hours, yet he didn't want it to end.

"Yao. You're so kind to everyone. I bet you talk to all sorts of guys. It makes me feel blue. But I feel happy everyday, but sometimes I feel nervous for no reason. I'm afraid of what would happen to me... If you were gone, Yao… I wouldn't be able to sleep at night." Arthur softly spoke.
"I feel like I can smile forever when I'm with you, and I don't know why. I think that I feel the same way. Sometimes I'm anxious for no reason too when I think about you, but then I'm happy when I picture your smile. But that's all I do nowadays. I just picture your smile…" Yao replied, almost whispering. Arthur felt at ease even though they were discussing delicate, heartfelt things.
"I always feel at ease with you. Even though I don't like talking about these things, I could talk forever with you." Arthur confessed.
"Then we shall talk forever." Yao boldly declared, but not loudly.
"I'm not going anywhere. But when I think about you being with someone else, I fidget around. I can't keep still- I'm more childish than I thought." Yao continued.
"I won't be." Arthur reassured her, and then leant in towards Yao's face. Their lips connected and both Yao and Arthur felt a kind of rush go through their bodies. The warmth between their lips was shared for a few seconds, before they parted again, but neither party spoke. They knew each other well enough to know that what they'd done was right and true. Both looked up and gazed at the stars in the night sky.
"Yao?"
"Yes?"
"Be mine."
"Always."