Winter Weather: Danny stood outside in the gentle snowfall. His face was cold and his cheeks a bright red. He shrugged his shoulders trying to get any warmth yet untapped out of his jacket. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of the rather light jacket. They remained freezing. Soft blue eyes looked up to the gray sky above. All he saw was snow and clouds. The trees around him tapered off very quickly, as if they were all fairly new. He could see why though. The side of the mountain he stood on was scorched as if a fire had burned there a few years back. It wasn't as apparent, but the proof was certainly there.
"Well, you almost found the right place." A strong voice sounded behind the young adult. "You're a bit too north. It's a good thing I'm smart enough to look around for you." A handsome, tall man emerged from the tree line and sauntered up the hill to where Danny stood.
"You weren't very specific." Danny shot. He tried to make a better come back, but it was far too cold out for him to focus on much else. Maybe it was time to get rid of his worn high school jacket and get a more grown up one? He was attached to the worn leather though. "Why are we here?" He asked in a voice as cold as the sea of ice and snow among them.
"Patience." Vlad replied. He gently laid a hand on the boy's arm and coxed him out from under a pine tree, bringing him into the opening of the budding forest. The sophisticated gray haired man looked up and let the sea of grey sweep over his vision. A small smile crossed the man's thin lips. "Just a bit longer."
The two stood in silence in the snowy mountain wilderness. Only the softest of sounds could be heard. The brush moved ever so slightly and the snow absorbed all sounds except for that of hearts beating and each other's breathing. The world around the two men grew dark rather quickly as what little of the sun's rays that penetrated the clouds disappeared behind the mountain tops.
Danny shivered and shoved his hands as far into his pockets as was possible and comfortable. His fingers were already crammed in and curled up. He bit his numb lips and shivered once more. Masters noticed the antics. His dark eyes swept over the poorly dressed man next to him. "Honestly, Daniel, I would have thought by now you'd know how to take care of yourself." He sighed as if he were a mother talking to her young child. Long slender fingers picked off expensive looking gloves off of his hands. He then guided the other's hands out of the cramped pockets and placed the gloves on them. They were fancy and warm from Vlad's hands. A small blush crossed the nearly frost-bitten face of the younger man. He couldn't help but smile to himself. "Look up. It's the surprise I told you about."
As evening turned to night, the clouds departed. They sauntered onward as if summoned to lands unseen. The sky above the men started to light up. The moon was rather bright, not yet full, but close. Surrounding it was an ocean of stars. Each as brilliant as a cut diamond. They were so clear the two men could see the bright blues, the dull yellows, and the mighty reds that shown around the stars. The milky way wrapped around the sky above them as if a halo of light and beauty worn by the very mountains themselves. The stars twinkled and danced in the night sky. The cold seemed to slip away as the beauty above them entranced Danny. This moment existed for them and them alone.
A strong yet gentle hand wrapped around a gloved one. They stood like that, hand in hand, for what felt like hours. A young man's excited and lit up face next to a grey haired man's thin smile fixated not on the stars above, but the face of the man he'd come to love next to him.