AN: I should really be working on my Negitoro story, but then this sudden idea for a story came up. I had to get it out of my system before anything else, because if I didn't, it would bother me a lot. You people don't understand.

But now I have a bit more extra time to work on things like the other stories I should be working on. The struggles of writing multi-chapter stores. -cries-

I'll end my rant now.

Enjoy.

Ciao. c:

Puff after puff of cold air materialized in front of her. Krista wiggled her red-tipped nose, feeling the numbness of winter set in. She opened and closed her hands, flexing them to keep the blood running and keep her gloveless fingers warm as they could possibly be in the cold weather. A strand of blonde fell across her eyes, and she brushed it aside, cringing on how cold her hand was. As she waited patiently for Ymir to come along—with hopefully something warm in hand—Krista looked up and gazed at the sky littered with clouds.

It was the weekend, two days where Krista was able to spend her entire day with Ymir without any consequence of making up late work. It really gave her a mind of peace, really; being held down with the burden of schoolwork and the stereotypical rich family expectations is hard. Therefore, the blonde always made sure to leave some time to spend with her taller friend.

Smiling, she returned her gaze to the empty street in front of her. Even the thought of Ymir was enough to warm her up during the winter. Although many may find it obvious, it seemed that the brunette was unaware of the feelings that the blonde harbored for her. Krista let on little hints here and there: sitting a bit too close to her on the bus, reaching out for her hand during the day, prolonging a hug more than it should be, even pretending to kiss her. But with each of these advances, Ymir would raise her eyebrow and laugh, before calling Krista a shorty or midget while hooking her arm around her neck. It was such an ambiguous answer, it always made Krista wonder whether or not Ymir did return her feelings. Without an answer, everything seemed like wishful thinking.

A warm feeling on her hand startled Krista back to reality. Turning to the side, she saw Ymir with a cup of coffee in her hand while holding out another cup that was filled with hot chocolate. Krista grinned and gratefully took the cup in both hands, a familiar fuzzy feeling filling her chest. She heard Ymir chuckle, and the bench creaked a bit as the tan girl took a seat next to the blonde. Taking a tentative sip from her cup, her blue eyes traveled to Ymir, who did a similar action. Once they had eye contact of one another, they both smiled before going for another sip.

"What did you get?" Krista asked, the twinge of peppermint tickling her tongue.

"Peppermint mocha," Ymir bluntly answered, going for another sip. Krista giggled despite herself, which earned her an eyebrow raise and slight downturn of the other's lips. "What's so funny?"

"You really like mint-flavored things, don't you?"

Ymir scrunched her nose, which happened to be the same color of Krista's. "Only during the winter time is when I get things peppermint related. Mainly 'cause of the cold weather and stuff."

Krista blinked, mocking surprise. "Wow, I didn't know that you enjoyed the holiday season!"

The brunette bristled and sent a glare her way. "Shut up."

"You should watch your language, Ymir."

"I can do whatever the hell I want, Krista."

At this point, Krista simply smiled and leaned her head against the girl's shoulders. The other didn't mind, and relaxed her shoulders, making her posture droopy. Ymir exhaled through her mouth, and the blonde could smell the faint peppermint in the woman's breath.

Such a smell brought back distant memories, ones that started several years back. Krista had been waiting on the very bench she was sitting on, upset about a certain problem that she now can no longer recall. It was cold and snowing, and Krista had stubbornly decided to stay in the open, with no destination in mind. She didn't want to go back home, feeling that would contradict the very reason why she left home in the first place, nor did she had a friend that she could call, since she had left her cell back in her room. She had been lightly dressed when she left her house, and so the only source of warmth she had was the thin jacket she had. She didn't know how long she had been waiting on the bench, until she noticed a tan stranger sitting next to her, the scent of peppermint coming from the cup of coffee she held.

"Krista are you falling asleep on me again?" Ymir joked, a smug smirk curling her lips as she took another sip.

A lazy smile made its way to Krista's lips. "That was only one time, Ymir."

"It was one time too many."

"If it bothered you, you could have just thrown me off the bench."

With this, Ymir gave a dry chuckle. "I would have, but you're just too cute to throw out. I would feel bad afterwards."

Suddenly Krista's body warmed up considerably, especially her face. "I never knew you had a soft side to you."

The blonde felt the tall brunette shrug. "I always have a soft side when it comes to you."

At this point, Krista felt far too warm for her liking. But the gentle weight that draped across her shoulders was far too comforting to push away. They said nothing for a bit, and just listened to the drone of cars that passed by, and the quiet exhales and satisfied sighs they made after a mouthful of their lukewarm beverage. After a while, Ymir extracted her arm from the blonde. Missing the contact more than she should, Krista turned her head with a confused expression on her face.

"I like you." Ymir said completely out of the blue. It took a moment for Krista to completely process what her friend had said. Once she did, a deep burgundy colored her cheeks. She was shocked, partially because she had not expected such an audacious confession. The remainder was how flustered she felt. Krista sat there, mouth agape and face red.

Once she found her voice, she croaked out a simple, "What?"

Likewise, Ymir also had her cheeks flushed, but it was very subtle. "You heard me. I like you." Her brown eyes trailed over to Krista's blue ones. "Do you not feel the same way?"

Krista cleared her throat. "I-I do! It's just that," she tore her eyes away from the eye contact to stare at the road, "I never expected you to reciprocate."

Ymir nodded and did a quick 'o' expression. "Well, my responses to your advancements were a bit ambiguous, weren't they?"

Her face temperature rose even higher. "You noticed?"

"I'm no idiot, Krista. It was obvious you had a thing for me." Ymir raked out a laugh, her cheeks getting a bit redder all the while.

Krista rolled her eyes. "…So what are we now?"

"I think I have a good idea."

Confused with yet another double-meaning answer, Krista turned to Ymir with a question on her lips, only to have it die out once a chapped mouth covered her own. The blonde was caught off-guard with the gesture, and had no choice but to sit flaccidly. It was a short kiss—it was more of a peck, really—but it seemed to last for hours. Once Ymir pulled back, she quietly observed Krista's face.

Krista stared blankly back, cheeks burning. "I think I have a good idea too."

"Oh yeah, what is it then?"

She smiled the faint taste of peppermint not only tingling her mouth, but in every part of her body. Krista reached out with her numb fingers to stroke Ymir's equally cold cheek.

"You're my girlfriend."