I watch Monroe's back as he walks several paces in front of me. He had thought it would be the perfect time for us to go out and look for new training grounds, something where the terrain was a little rougher and would be harder to track through. I give his broad shoulders a glare as I sniff, shoving my mitten clad hands into my coat pockets. Even all decked out in winter gear, boots, scarf and all I'm freezing. I see him glance back at me, throwing me a brilliant grin.

"Ass." I mutter, shivering as my breath collects on my scarf and cools rapidly against my nose and lips. "Ah!" I sink up to my thighs in a snow drift. I grumble to myself, wiggling my boots until they come free of the snow and pull my legs out, stepping more carefully as I try and catch up to Monroe. I look up and Monroe has slowed down, looking around. I lean down to scoop up a handful of snow, forming it into a ball, I keep walking until I'm close enough to lob the snowball. I watch it fly, busting up laughing as it connects with the back of the Blutbad's head and explodes, Monroe letting out a startled shout.

"Hey!" He yells, spinning around, "Is that how you want to play?"

I turn and run back the way we came.

"Get back here!" He yells, surely coming after me, I laugh and continue to run.

Monroe catches up to me with little effort and I end up face down in a drift with him on top of me. I'm in an uncontrollable fit of laughter as he gets off of me and turns me over.

"Want to fight? You'll lose."

"Oh yeah." I hold out a hand for him to help me up, "I'll take that challenge. Ten minutes to build forts?"

"You're on." He brushes himself off before walking a few yards down the service road.

I kneel down, hurriedly piling snow up into a barrier between the two of us until I have a solid wall about as tall as my hip and just as wide. I look over to where Monroe is still working and decide to add on to my wall. He calls time just as I'm finished.

"Seriously?" Monroe gestures to the turrets that flank either side of my wall.

"What?" I shrug, "You were taking forever."

He throws the first snow ball which I duck out of the way of.

"No fair!" I shout from behind my wall.

"Who said anything about fair?" Monroe laughs, as there's an explosion of snow right next to my feet.

I pack a pile of snowballs as fast as I can, throwing them hard at his wall, hoping to take it down. One of his own grazes the top of the turret to my left, showering me with snow. We bombard each other for the longest time before there's a lull and he's not throwing as many snowballs. I look over my wall to see him hunched over behind his own, stockpiling. I leave the protection of my fort and silently make my way over tho Monroe's. I crouch down on my side of his fort, making myself as small as possible. I watch him throw several snowballs but with no response from my fort, he peeks over the top of his wall.

"Nick? You dead?"

I jump up with a shout, tackling him to the ground and crushing his fort in the process.

"Hey!"

I laugh, "I win!"

"You cheated!" He rolls us over, "Not fair."

I roll us once more, "Who said anything about fair?" I ask, trying to catch my breath.

When I look down at him, he's staring up at me.

"What?"

"You're beautiful."

"Wh-what?"

Monroe clears his throat, "And you have snow all in your hair." He says with a grin, reaching up, ruffling my hair with his gloved hands.

"You're pretty cute yourself." I lean down and kiss him, he responds almost imediately but then I hop up, brushing snow off of my coat, walking down the service road back towards my car, "Let's go get hot chocolate." I smile back at him.

He catches up, walking silently beside me. After a minute I feel him wrap his hand around my own and I smile, glancing up at him to see him looking straight forward with a grin on his face.

T-H-I-S-I-S-A-L-I-N-E-B-R-E-A-K-T-H-I-S-I-S-A-L-I-N-E-B-R-E-A-K-T-H-I-S-I-S-A-L-I-N-E-B-R-E-A-K

Ah, two short stories in one night but you see I was writing "Tools Of The Trade" and I got inspiration for this! Even though I have so many other things to be working on!