Disclaimer: I don't own any of this characters and I don't wish to make a profit from this story.

Author's Note: I wrote this for the 31 Days Challenge on Livejournal.

"Cold"

"AH-CHOO!!" Ayano's sneeze rang through the air, startling a nearby squirrel into climbing up to the safety of his tree.

She sniffled as she took a seat on the park bench. "Someone must be talking about me," she said, wiping her nose.

"Or more likely, it's an early sign of you catching a cold," Kazuma remarked, leaning against a tree. "You should be wearing a jacket. It's freezing."

Ayano folded her arms as if she were a pouting child. "I'm not cold."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "It's winter, Ayano. Normal, sane people wear jackets. Even fire mages have their limits."

"It's not winter yet," she replied, ignoring the fact that she was shivering a little.

"There's been frost on the ground for a week."

Ayano spun around glaring, with her arms still folded. "It's not winter until the first snowfall. When that happens I'll accept that it's winter. Until then, I refuse to believe winter has started."

Kazuma leaned over the bench, smirking in amusement. "You hate winter that much do you?"

"I don't hate it," Ayano replied firmly. "I just don't like it."

"There's a difference?"

"There is." She turned her head away. "I can handle winter, but don't unless I absolutely have to."

"I see," Kazuma replied and said nothing more.

Ayano grinned smugly, proud that she had won the argument. She then heard Kazuma abruptly move and sit next to her. Silently, he opened his jacket, wrapped his arm around an astonished Ayano and pulled her towards him.

Ayano blushed madly, barely able to form words in her mouth. "Kazuma...what are you..."

"I can't make you wear a jacket, but I can prevent you from catching a cold." He winked at her. "We can't afford you getting sick now can we?"

Ayano fumed and tried to wiggle free, but Kazuma kept a firm hold. She sighed, and even though she felt awkward, the girl accepted her fate. As she laid her head against him, Ayano couldn't ignore how warm she felt in his arms.