Title: Winter Wonderland

Author: Miss Peg

Rating: T

Characters: Naomi/Emily

Disclaimer: Jamie Brittain is welcome to give me Skins as a Christmas present, but for now it belongs to him and his dad.

Notes: This one-shot is also for JM, you know why, you big oldie! ;-) xxxxxxx

Winter Wonderland

Snow. Naomi hated snow, loathed it with a passion she couldn't quite explain. Whenever she spoke of her dislike she got back curiosity that couldn't fathom just why she could hate something as "innocent and beautiful" as snow.

She always wondered, what exactly was there to love? It was cold, it was wet. Cars skidded down icy roads, children fell as they raced along pavements, A & E departments groaned the second the hot weather girl on the local news announced "finally we're expecting snow in the region over the next couple of weeks, so wrap up warm".

Wrap up warm? That was her only piece of advice. What she didn't tell everyone was that schools would close, businesses would suffer and people like Naomi would be left without toast in the morning thanks to some fucking twat who associates snow with the world ending, buying every piece of bread he can get his hands on.

No. There was no reason at all to like the icy, white stuff sitting on her front lawn, blanketing the world as far as her eyes could see.

The dislike of snow hadn't always been there. At the age of three Naomi could just about remember sledging down a "big" hill on a tray. Gina stood at the bottom, beaming at her. They kept sledging until the tray was bent out of shape and Naomi's trousers were soaked at her rear end. She couldn't remember a day with her mother when she hadn't laughed so much.

The year she turned twelve was when her liking of snow changed considerably. The tray had progressed to a sledge, the snow was thicker than it had been in years and Naomi grinned back as she travelled down the bigger hill towards her mother. They took it in turns, kept going for nearly an hour. She laughed and smiled so much that her face nearly got stuck in that same position.

Then she got on the sledge one final time. The hill wasn't very popular; but the park they were in was stunning. Snow covered the trees, the lake was iced over and everywhere she looked it was white. She got herself ready, set off down the slope and got up to a great speed. Then a large dog came bounding across the grass, she pulled tightly on the rope, steered in the wrong direction and travelled off course. The hill got steeper, she travelled faster, Gina shouted after her. Then she rolled to a stop.

"Don't move Naomi," Gina warned, shouting to her from a distance. She tried to turn around but her mother begged her not to.

"I'm cold," she announced, as though that would make it better. But Gina wouldn't let her get up.

"You're on the lake Naomi love; I don't know how safe it is."

Turned out, not very. Gina was never a very up to date person; she still had a car from the 1980s. No mobile phone. So she ran off towards the main road and a couple of shops to get help. Naomi, being as stubborn as she always had been, decided she knew better. She hadn't even stepped on the ice itself, only stood up in the sledge, before a whole sheet of very thin ice gave way. The thing that hit her was just how cold the water was underneath. She'd been cold, yet somehow grew considerably colder. Her body felt like a block of ice. Her arms stiffened up, she could barely keep herself afloat, let alone away from the sheet of ice still covering most of the lake. When it went over her head she began to panic.

"Naomi," Gina screamed, her voice echoing into the water, muffled but loud enough to be audible. Naomi wanted to scream, but couldn't find the energy.

Luckily help wasn't far away; somehow she was pulled from the frozen water, her body struggling to stay still. All she could remember was feeling warmer, burning hot as her clothes were removed and new clothes were wrapped around her. Flashing blue lights and finally being lifted onto a bed. That was when she allowed her weary body to sleep.

It took a few days for her to recover from her near-death experience and another week before she dared leave the house again.

That was when her relationship with snow depleted.

"Where are you going?" Naomi asked, staring in horror as Emily zipped up her cost and pulled a hat over her head.

"Sledging, we go every year, wanna come?"

"I don't have a sledge," she mumbled, as though that would be a sufficient answer.

"I'm stopping by the garage on the way, spotted some yesterday and asked them to hold one for me. For us now."

"No, I should probably stay home, you know, in case mum tries calling."

Emily frowned, "She has your mobile number Naomi and besides, she's not due to call you for another four hours."

"But," Naomi tried, knowing there was no point trying to argue.

"You don't wanna come do you?' Emily noticed, a weak smile accompanying the title of her head. 'Mum won't be there, if that's what you're worried about. She stays home and cooks a casserole to warm us up; we don't have to go back there."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm scared," she mumbled.

"You're what?"

"Scared, alright? Fuck's sake."

The whole event made little sense. Why Naomi stood at the bottom of the snow covered hill watching James scream his lungs out as Katie steered their journey towards her, was beyond her comprehension. She hated being there. The memories that crept up, the cold slowly taking control of each and every finger. She didn't want to go and yet she found herself accepting Emily's request to 'just go for a bit'.

'You enjoying yourself yet?' Emily whispered into her frozen ear and wrapped her arms around Naomi's middle.

'Now I am,' she smiled, turning in her girlfriend's arms in order to get a better hold on her.

She nuzzled her face against Emily's scarf, warming her nose and lips. Then she lifted them, pushed her lips against Emily's in an act of diversion. If she had to be there she would think only of Emily, she would kiss her and hold her and not much else.

'Our turn,' Emily announced, removing her body heat from Naomi's side. She groaned, tried to tell her she didn't want to go but like earlier, she'd always been powerless to Emily's requests.

'If I get hurt I'm holding you responsible,' she muttered, climbing on the back of the sledge and wrapping her arms tightly around Emily.

'I'll keep you safe,' Emily assured her, turning enough to kiss her lightly on the lips.

Then they started moving, sliding along the snow until the hill dropped considerably downwards. Naomi's stomach lurched; her breakfast threatening to retreat and she dug her nails painfully into the skin on her opposite hands.

At the bottom of the hill James was throwing snowballs at Katie, whilst Rob stood as her mother had done the times before, watching, waiting for something to go wrong. The sledge jumped, raised off the ground for a mere second, long enough to scare Naomi into closing her eyes. She squeezed them tightly shut until the sledge came to a standstill and Emily's voice was coaxing her out of her fearful trance.

'Well done love,' Rob grinned, holding a hand out which she accepted. 'Question is, did you enjoy it?'

'No it was fucking terrifying,' she gasped, honestly. 'Never going on a sledge again.'

'Okay,' Emily smiled. 'You did it once, you tried, that's enough for me.'

'Are you sure? I thought you'd want me to keep going.'

'And have you squeeze the life out of me?' Emily rolled her eyes. 'No thanks.'

'Sorry.'

'What was that?'

'What was what?' Naomi asked, confused.

'Did I just hear Naomi say sorry for something that doesn't even need an apology?' Emily laughed.

Naomi groaned and hit Emily playfully on the arm.

'I know what this means to you.'

Emily's attention moved away from the icy temperatures around them and the sledge being pulled up the hill by an excitable James. Naomi glanced up as he sat down in the plastic seating alone. How did a teenage boy become braver than her? She was supposed to be fearless.

'Want to build a snowlady?' Emily grinned, holding up two balls of snow.

'A snowlady? They're balls of snow,' Naomi rolled her eyes. 'What makes it a snowwoman?'

'The tits of course.'

'Of course.'

Why hadn't she thought of that? She'd built a snowman before, just once with a friend in primary school. Then her mum told her off for conforming to society's idea that snow beings could only be men. The following years she built forts and boats and drew pictures in the frosty flakes.

'We've made one every year since I came out. James likes it, so does dad. Katie pretends she's disgusted but I know she likes us doing something together, even if it involves snow tits.'

Emily dug her hands into the snow, began rolling up a small ball that appeared perfect in its freshness. Naomi watched for a moment as Emily finished rolling the bottom of the snowlady and pushed it into place.

'Won't it get knocked over if we build it here?'

'Yes,' Emily answered. 'We build it, then James and dad get on the sledge and smash it up.'

'Brutal!' Naomi raised an eyebrow, wondering just what her mother would think of that.

She slipped her phone from her pocket and checked her messages. She didn't expect any phone calls or texts. Gina, for all of her qualities, was hopelessly forgetful when it came to contact. Especially when she was spending a week in Ireland with Kieran.

'Is this where you start some rant about violence against women?' Emily giggled.

Rolling off her tongue, Naomi couldn't stop herself from spouting out her usual response to the issue of violence in the home.

'Domestic abuse isn't a rant Emily; approximately two women a week are killed by their partners.'

'It's a snowwoman Naomi,' Emily sighed, wrapping her freezing gloved hands around Naomi's cheeks. 'Snow is a natural occurrence. It's just a bit of wintry fun.'

'Except that with global warming,' Naomi began, only to be hit on the arm playfully.

'Shut up Naomi.'

'Fine,' Naomi moaned, patting snow into a ball and throwing it at Emily.

'Hey!' Emily called, throwing a ball back at her. 'I thought you hate snow.'

'I do,' Naomi laughed, continuing the fight. 'But some things you've got to do regardless.'

They threw snow back and forth until they grew tired and returned to working on the snowlady. Naomi watched Emily as she worked hard on creating perfect mounds on the front of the snowlady. The more time she spent with her girlfriend, the more in awe she was. Something about her, the comfort, the ease of spending a day in freezing cold conditions with most of her family around her made Naomi feel a little jealous.

'Now will you admit that snow is great?'

'No,' Naomi shook her head.

'Come on, it's great,' Emily attempted.

'I'm cold, I'm wet and I'd rather spend a day getting sand between my toes than frostbite.'

Emily raised an eyebrow at her, 'You hate sand.'

'Exactly.'

'Next you'll be telling me you hate Christmas,' Emily joked, putting the finishing touches to the snowlady.

'What's there to love?'

'Oh my god,' Emily stood up, staring at her in surprise. 'You hate Christmas?'

Naomi shrugged. 'I don't see what the big deal is.'

'The big deal is decorating a tree with everyone you love, or buying presents you know they'll enjoy using, eating Christmas dinner surrounded by relatives you only get to see once a year. How can you hate that?'

Naomi tried to remember a year when anything Emily described had happened. She usually came home from school to find a tiny plastic tree sat in the corner with a star on top and a couple of baubles hung from the fake pines. They stopped eating turkey before she turned ten, although they weren't vegetarians, they didn't bother buying a turkey to feed just the two of them for one meal. Naomi hated buying presents as much as she hated snow.

'Youve never celebrated Christmas?' Emily asked, once Naomi had explained her usual Christmas day.

'No.'

'Why not?'

'I don't know why, we just never did. I suppose 'cause mum's always been atheist she never thought to.'

'You didn't swap presents and get a tree?'

'We swapped presents and ate a meal together, but mum stopped bothering with the tree a few years ago.'

Emily stared at her, shocked. 'Why didn't I know this?'

'Why did you need to?' Naomi asked, shrugging. 'You always have a lovely day with your family and my day is just another day, it doesn't matter.'

She never thought it mattered and in many ways it never did. But Emily's shock bothered her in a way she couldn't quite describe.

'So you've never written a letter to Father Christmas?' Emily asked.

'Are you joking?' Naomi laughed. 'I wrote a couple of letters to my dad and never got a response, why would I write one to a fake fat bloke in a red suit?'

Emily's attention never faltered, her eyes almost burning holes in Naomi's face as she continued to stare at her.

'Time for the snowlady demolition,' Rob shouted. 'Move out of the way girls.'

Naomi rushed to the side, fearful of what would happen if she got in the way. Emily followed her silently. They stood side by side, with Katie stood next to them, watching, waiting for Rob and James to crash into the snowlady.

'So, still hate snow?'

Naomi rolled her eyes.

'Yes.'

'You sure?'

'Yes. I still hate it.'

'Guess I can't change years in a few hours. But I will make you get a tree this year.'

'You will, will you?' Naomi laughed, wrapped her arms around Emily's waist.

'You're missing out,' Emily assured her, breathing warm air onto her lips.

'If you say so,' Naomi sighed, leaning in for a kiss.

'How about you come to mine for Christmas dinner? You and your mum are both welcome.'

'Sure Jenna would agree?'

'Tough, she'll have to.'

'Okay then.'

'Great.'

'Won't stop me hating Christmas.'

'If you say so.'