It was late into the night, everyone in the nagaya snuggled up under their covers and sleeping peacefully. Everyone but Melan, who was sitting just outside the front entrance, watching with curious red eyes as cold, white flakes fell from the sky.
The moon was hidden behind a thick, heavy viel of dark clouds, cold wind blowing hard against his frame as snow flakes immediately melted upon touching his hot skin. Taking a deep breath of the cold air, he exhaled slowly, a vapor cloud drifting from his lips as he did so. Though the blistering cold winds didn't seem to bother the Monomakia, his mind too deeply buried within his thoughts to notice.
More often than not, those thoughts were centered around Marin. The young female always seemed to be on his mind. He knew his feelings for her had grown far past just needing to protect her to fulfill his duty. He wanted to protect her, wanted to make sure she was always safe and happy.
It made his chest ache to see Marin hurt or sad... Though, it seemed unavoidable lately. She was so young, and yet so much had happened to her. She had seen more than her share of hardships, and he wished he could make her happy. But he didn't seem to be very good at it.
He shifted slightly, lowering his gaze from the sky as his lids fell softly, hiding sad, red eyes beneath long lashes. The snow was beginning to stick to the wooden steps he sat upon, starting to cover the ground in a blanket of white. They were supposed to get several inches, and from the heavy snowflakes, it looked as though they would get it.
Marin loved snow. He was sure she would be very happy to see so much of it in the morning. He knew it was pointless, but he couldn't help but be envious of the white substance. Why could it bring Marin such joy when he couldn't?
He gave a soft sigh, a puff of mist swirling from his lips once more before being swept away by the harsh wind. It saddened him that he couldn't bring happiness to Marin when simply being near her made him feel complete, content... safe. Loneliness wasn't a feeling he was used to, but he was coming to expect the feeling when Marin was gone or upset. Especially when she was upset with him.
He didn't always understand why she was upset with him, but he always hated the feeling it gave him. Normally, he would retreat into his ampoule until he was needed, so as not to further upset the young girl. Though, now, he was unable to go into his ampoule, and had to find new ways of dealing with the emotions. He was thankfull she had not been upset with him recently.
The sound of the wood floor creaking behind him pulled him from his thoughts, glancing back to see Marin pulling the door open. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, though they still lit up at the sight of snowflakes falling softly to the white ground.
"Oh, look! It's so pretty." she said with a smile, stepping out to close the door behind her. "Were you watching the snow?" asked Marin softly as she shifted to sit beside the monomakia, hooking an arm around his sword arm without hesitation.
He gave a soft nod, watching her. "Yes." he replied simply, extending a 'paw' to gently take her hand. His eyes didn't look back to the falling snow, though, instead watching as the young girl's fingers stroked at the soft pads of his paw. The feeling was soothing, and he found himself leaning slightly closer to the young girl.
Marin watched the snow with a smile, scooting closer to the gun-swordsman to lean against his warm frame. "Mmm, so warm... You're really lucky that you can change your body temperature like that." she mused before shifting and bringing his arm around her back so that she could scoot closer to him, nuzzling at his chest with a content sound.
"It is... helpful." Melan agreed as he brought his arm tighter around her, being very careful of the sharp blade that started at the bend of his elbow, not wanting to cut her. Though he perked slightly when he heard her giggle, cocking his head with a curious twitch of his wings as he watched her.
She looked up into his eyes with a smile. "This reminds of Submaton Color. There was so much snow, and you kept tripping in it." Marin laughed softly, remembering the confused look on Melan's face the first time he fell.
His cheeks flushed slightly, giving a little smile as he replied. "It is harder to walk in than it looks." he mused softly, getting another laugh from the young girl. He smiled warmly, seeing that, perhaps, he did make Marin as happy as she made him.
Marin paused slightly, cheeks heating at the warm smile he gave. It was rare to see him smile so openly. He was so handsome... Her own smile turned bashful, having to lower her gaze as she held the paw to her chest.
Melan watched her quietly, feeling her heart beating quickly from where his paw was held to her chest. He smiled, finally understanding what made Marin happy. It wasn't the snow alone that made her happy. It was being together in it.
Shifting, he let his other paw slip out to gently scoop Marin up off of the cold steps, getting a squeak from her as he brought her to his chest when he started to stand. "Lets go inside." he suggested softly as he placed a kiss to her chilled forehead.
As he started to step inside the nagaya, he cast one last glance over his shoulder at the snow, heavy flakes still falling and covering the ground.
Maybe snow wasn't so bad.