Snowflakes slowly fell, one by one, while trees were kissed by a winter frost. A sparkling white blanket covered the ground. It was December 25, Christmas day, everyone was busy, except for a certain female flame warrior. She was sitting outside on a bench that had been cloaked in a thin layer of shimmering frost.
"Aren't you cold?" She heard a chuckle, turning to see the Hero of Agni, who stood behind her.
"No, are you?" Lava answered, with a small smile. The armored clad male standing behind her merely laughed.
"No, not really," he grinned, "Anyways, what are you going to do today? Since it's Christmas and all..." he asked, albeit with a noticeably softer voice.
"Um... I'm not quite sure, I-is there something wrong Vargas?" She replied with a puzzled look plastered over her face,
"I-It's nothing! Well, do you want to hang out for the day?" he inquired assuredly with a cheeky grin.
"Sure, " she replied, getting up and brushing the small remnants of snow off her clothes. Her piercing red eyes and flowing jet black hair stood out against the fluffy white snow around her. Vargas quickly turned away after realizing that he had been staring at her for the past few minutes, entranced by her smoldering beauty.
"So, where do you want to go first?" Vargas asked quickly, searching for a way out of the awkward situation they had found themselves in.
"A small stroll around Agni will do," she suggested, staring at the distant evergreen trees that had been coated in snow.
As Vargas agreed with a nod, the two began walking through the streets of Agni, chatting while admiring the scenery around them. Christmas lights adorned the buildings and fire fueled lamps around them and the sky was filled with clouds that left a trail of snowflakes in their wake. The beige stone walls that surrounded Agni were painted white by snow and frost, while icicles hung from the roofs of houses. Most of the birds had flown to a warmer region, yet a few remained, their chirps between one another echoing through the cold air.
A cool breeze blew a few snowflakes toward the couple.
"Wow, everything is covered in snow..." mumbled Vargas, watching a miniature crystal of ice fall onto his hand.
"Indeed," Lava replied blankly, glancing at nearby stores that had been closed for the holidays. Both shared a moment of silence before Vargas spoke up,
"Well, where to now?" he asked, his blazing red hair sprinkled with snowflakes. Since his hair greatly resembled fire, it was strange to see the pure white snowflakes perched upon his head. Lava let out an uncharacteristically soft giggle.
"What?" Vargas quickly questioned, striking one as a clueless idiot.
"Your hair, it's covered in snowflakes," she softly whispered, leading Vargas to quickly search for the nearest reflective object.
Finding the window of a closed shop nearby, he stared into the glass, his eyes met by his own reflection. Rapidly turning red from the fact that it did indeed look a bit odd, he shook his head in attempt to shake the snowflakes off.
"Wait, let me help," interrupted Lava.
Vargas froze, allowing the lean girl to help. She ruffled his spiky hair and brushed the snowflakes out.
"Thanks," he grinned, to which Lava merely replied with a small smile. All of a sudden they heard a rumble escape from Vargas' stomach, breaking the serene silence.
"Hungry?" Lava inquired, smiling.
"Heh, you can tell right away," he laughed, looking for a possible place for them to get a meal.
"Wait! I'm sure we could go to Lancia's place!" he exclaimed before grabbing Lava's hand and pulling her toward 'LandLand', Lancia's restaurant.
"B-But wouldn't it be closed for the holiday?" stammered Lava, her face tinted a light shade of pink from Vargas' sudden move, though the slight blush could've easily been mistaken as being caused by the chilling air.
"It's worth a try!" he yelped, grinning all the while.
Soon the duo had arrived at LandLand, grabbing the door handle and Vargas swung the door open.
"I'm sorry, we're closed for the d— Oh Vargas! Merry Christmas!" Lancia smiled, standing behind the counter, calculating the profits she made the last week.
"Hey Lancia! Merry Christmas! Mind serving two guests today?" Vargas grinned.
"Sorry for all the trouble" Lava apologized and Lancia chuckled.
"It's alright, It's an honor to serve you two on such an occasion," she joked, pulling out her cooking utensils.
"But aren't you closed?" Lava inquired. She did not want to bother a close friend of Vargas on Christmas Day.
"It's alright! Don't worry!" Lancia assured, passing them the menu.
The duo looked through the menu, studying the possible food choices. Lancia soon arrived with their meals, which Vargas quickly scarfed down like there was no tomorrow.
With a noticeable small grin, Lava watched the male in front of her gobble down his food.
"Calm down, you're going to choke on your food at that rate, " she teased.
Vargas then took the time to actually chew his food before swallowing. After the two finished their meal they thanked Lancia and bid her farewell before walking out of her restaurant.
"Man, Lancia's cooking is as good as ever!" Vargas beamed, smiling like an idiot. Lava couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" he asked,dumbfounded about what was so funny.
"You're such an idiot sometimes..." Lava smiled, something that she would probably not have done back when she was still part of the Agni Empire's Secret Project.
Vargas was still confused, though he never failed to make a remark,"I can't be that much of an idiot compared to Eze, right?" he chuckled.
Lava's smile remained on her face. 'To think I would see her smiling like this...' Vargas thought with a smile. "Well, where should we go next?" Lava asked, actually looking slightly excited for once.
Vargas' grin only grew wider when he thought of a place he wanted to show Lava for the longest time and he abruptly grabbed her hand again before running off, dragging her along with him.
"I want to show you something!" he exclaimed as he pulled Lava with him.
Lava, who was taken back by Vargas' sudden idea, once again could only follow him as they ran through the streets of Agni. Due to many detours along the way, by the time they had reached their destination, the sun had already began to set.
The sun's orange rays were slowly merging with the lilac purple sky. The stars glimmered above their heads, shining bright although they were light years away. The untouched snow rested on the ground, like a blanket for a bed. The trees around the area had been sprinkled with light snow, sparkling as the few rays of light that remained hit the white crystals. Overall, the sight was stunning. Lava stared at the landscape, taken back by it beauty,
"So, how does it look?" asked Vargas, a nervous grin on his face, hoping that the sight would meet her standards .
"S-Stunning..." stuttered Lava, eyes still glued on the scenery in front of her.
"I'm glad you like it. I d-didn't know what to get you for Christmas... So w-would you accept this...?" he mumbled, but Lava heard him.
She smiled, "This whole day has been a gift Vargas, thank you, I must admit... Today was probably the best Christmas I've ever had," a genuine grin of happiness was on her face, and one could make out the small tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
For the first time today, Vargas was taken back. He did not expect such an emotional reaction from Lava, and he was at a loss for words.
"Hehe," she giggled, wiping away her tears before embracing Vargas, "I love you, Vargas."
Vargas smiled, and held her close, "I love you too, Lava."
The two shared a moment of silence as they stared into each other's crimson eyes. Vargas slowly pulled her into a kiss, which Lava gladly returned. As the sun set behind them, identical red rings were placed on their left hands and glimmered in the twilight...
Yes. I'm still alive, I was just having some major writing block! BUT MERRY CHRISTMAS! I drew the cover picture myself, using a basic drawing software XD. Thanks to my friend who edited this story. I hope you like it!
AND IF YOU NEVER NOTICED! Look at Vargas' and Lava's omni evo art
and look at their left hands,
They are wearing identical rings XD
THEY GOT MARRIED!
Ships Sailed.
