A Christmas fic for Dracobolt. D And since there are a fair amount of Garet/Jenna fics out there already, and you rarely see any Felix/Kay… here you are!

Of Flowers

It was Luna's Day in Vale, and Kay wasn't happy. She rested her head on her palms, leaning on the windowsill and sighing at the weather outside. As was typical to this time of year, it was snowing heavily, adding to the already-blanketing cover of snow over everything. She could see the snow blowing against the house next to theirs, piling up against the wall in great drifts.

With something that sounded suspiciously like 'humbug!' she spun around and glanced around her room – most importantly, at her little baby.

It was just over one foot tall, with a slender body and delicate limbs, and a bobbing and open head that usually radiated with sunshine. Not today, though: it was the shortest, coldest day of the year, and her baby was feeling sick, head bowed and wilted.

"Would you like some water, little one?" she cooed to the flower. "It looks like you need it." She reached over and grabbed her ever-present jug, and let a few drops of Venus-charged water fall into the soil, hopefully replenishing the plant's strength within a few hours. "Drink up."

"Kay, are you talking to your stupid plants again? The festival's starting soon." Garet's voice echoed down the hall, and her face immediately grimaced and her fists balled up with irritation.

"Yes, I am, thank you very much, Garet! It helps them grow faster and healthier!" she ignored his second bit. There were more important things than Luna's festival, like gardening.

"Sure, sis," Garet said, appearing in her bedroom door and leaning cockily on the frame. "Hey, call for me when they start talking. I want to be there for that special moment." His eyes gleamed. He liked to tease Kay about how she treated her flowers no differently from any baby.

Kay took a deep breath. "Garet, I want you out of my face, right now!"

Garet winced. "'Kay, you don't have to yell. I'm going, I'm going. Sheesh." He took a few steps backward, as if edging away from a dangerous beast. In the process, he knocked over a wildberry pot that had been standing in the hall, tipping it over and spilling dirt and leaves all over the hall. "Oops…" he said slowly, and turned to look at Kay.

Hands seeking to strangle him, Kay leapt off her bed and dove at him. With a comical shriek, Garet stepped to the side and took off running.

They pounded all around the house for a few minutes, and Kay said a silent word of thanks that her parents at the festival and not at home. And then Kay remembered her plant, and reluctantly broke off the chase, leaving Garet hiding behind a bookshelf.

She went back to the hall and raised the pot from the floor with hands that were shaking in anger. In hurried scoops, she salvaged what soil she could and put it back with the bush, and when she was done, she added a few drops of Venuswater to help it grow.

She was still fuming, though, and she couldn't face Garet again without losing her temper. So she grabbed her cloak off its hook, tied the hood over her head, and stepped out into the cold.

The wind immediately lashed at her face, and she pulled the edges of her cloak tighter around her. It was hard to see more than teen feet in front of her face, but she knew where she was going. Where she always went when she needed some time alone.

She went to her garden; the new one she had planted after old Vale was destroyed. It was actually larger than the old one, but the plants were still young, vulnerable to cold and storm such as this. As she approached her haven, she saw with dismay that it was entirely covered in snow. One could make out the indistinct humps that might have been flowers once, but there wasn't much else, except –

She breathed in sharply at the sight in front of her. There was a full rose bush, red with the full bloom of spring and filled out as if it had been that way for years. Its flowers left behind crimson petals on the snow and carried them on the wind.

It was beautiful, but she couldn't remember having planted it. It was as if it just sprung out of the ground.

Pensive, she plucked one of the roses, being careful not to prick herself on the thorns as she inhaled its scent. Yes, definitely a rose, she thought. But where did it come from?

The wind shifted in a sudden rush of warmer weather from the south, and with it carried the voices and delighted cries of the children and adults at the festival, no doubt dancing around the courtyard with merry glee. She frowned. She definitely wasn't in the mood for partying with those hooligans. She needed some time alone, and since her garden wasn't providing any comfort – only puzzlement – she headed to the river.

It was just a short walk from her house, but the wind was brutal, constantly blowing her hair to one side and practically freezing her ear off. She was a Mars Adept, but not a very good one. She could only conjure up a bit of warmth to keep her comfortable.

The curtain of snow parted, and then she saw the river. It had changed its course since the destruction of Vale a while back, but it had managed to retain most of its previous beauty. Right now, however, it was frozen solid in a glassy sheet of ice, and any snow that landed on it was immediately blown off the slippery surface. She stood there for a moment, watching the cool gleam of the river, and then noticed an indistinct shape in the storm creeping on her from the side.

It was taller then her and broader, moving with hesitant, careful steps. As it reached out with one hand towards her she gave a little shriek of surprise, and then just as suddenly was falling down the bank towards the river.

The figure paused for a moment; hand outstretched stupidly, and then dove to the side after her. It caught her with strong arms around her shoulders and yelled at her to bend her knees. The warning pierced through her surprise and she did so, and a moment later they hit the ice of the river, spinning around and around as they slid to a stop. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Kay looked up.

"Felix! You scared the daylights out of me!"

The Venusian's brown hair was caught with specks of white snow, and his cheeks were reddened from the cold. Kay was on good terms with Felix and knew him quite well, if only for the fact that their siblings were always together. "Sorry. I was out here watching the river, and when I saw someone else doing the same, I thought I'd say hello." His gaze travelled from her face to her shoulder, and Kay realized his hand was still there. He removed it as if burnt, and she could have sworn his cheeks got a little bit redder.

There was a moment of awkward silence, and then she asked. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

He turned to the side and sat cross-legged, elbows resting on his knees as he breathed warmth onto his gloved hands, rubbing them together in an effort to warm them up. "I had to get away for a little bit. Jenna was pestering me about… something." He said after a short pause.

Kay nodded her understanding, and scooted over to sit beside him. "Same with me. Garet was bothering me, and knocked over one of my plants."

Felix glanced at her, his brown eyes twinkling. "That's always a mistake."

She laughed, but there was no humour behind it. "Tell that to him," she said darkly. "Why do younger siblings have to be such a pain? You should know what I mean, right Felix?"

He cleared his throat. "I know exactly what you mean. Garet's been giving me nothing but trouble lately, too."

She blinked, and then it clicked. "Oh, about Jenna?" she grinned. "Great, something to tease him about. What's he saying?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "He's obsessed with thinking he needs my approval to go with Jenna. It's a good sign that he considers my feelings on the matter, but really, it's none of my business. Jenna's a big girl, she can make her own decisions." He frowned. "Doesn't mean I like it, though."

Kay huffed. "What, is a Jerra boy not good enough for Jenna?"

"There's nothing wrong with the Jerra children, Kay," he said seriously, and she glanced up at him to find his eyes on her. Their gazes locked, and then they looked away.

There was another beat of silence, and then something occurred to Kay. "Felix, I found a rose bush blooming in my garden today." She drew the rose out from her hand, and showed it to him. "Do you know why that would be there?"

Felix grinned sheepishly. "I heard you fighting with Garet, and thought you could use a little cheering up."

She was touched, and her anger drained away. "Aww, Felix. That's sweet. How did you do it? For all my years of gardening, I can't make a bush spring up overnight."

He smiled, and extended his arm and opened his hand. A small Venus Djinni appeared there, and chirped cheerfully upon seeing Kay. "I had a little help from Flower; that's her area of speciality."

"She's cute," Kay ventured, looking at the little creature.

He slid closer to her, allowing Flower to jump from his hand into Kay's lap. "Here, you can keep her for a while. I'm sure you'll make better use of her abilities than I can. She's big on gardening, too. You okay with that, Flower?"
The Venus Djinni seemed to grin. Sure. No offence, Felix, but you're boring. I'd rather go with someone with good taste, like Kay here.

Felix had been putting up with jibes from his Djinn forever, and nodded. Kay was surrounded by a yellow aura for a moment as Flower bonded with her, and then put the Djinni aside for a moment. "Thanks, Felix. I appreciate it."

They sat in silence for while, just listening to the wind howling. Kay kept on stealing glances at Felix, who seemed absorbed in the landscape. "Hey, Felix. I think I have a way for Garet and Jenna to be a little more understanding of the way you feel."

He turned his head her way. "What?"

"Well," Kay went on, a trifle uncertainly. "What if their siblings became a couple? They would certainly know what it was like, then."

Felix snorted. "We don't have someone Aaron's age in our family."

"No… I meant us." Kay said softly. As Felix sat in silence, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "What do you think?"

He blinked, and smiled. "I think that's a positively devilish plan, Kay," he said, putting an arm around her.

"We'd make a good gardening couple, you and I," Kay said laughingly. "So, do you think we should get some practice to impress Garet and Jenna?" she asked, a little shyly.

Felix leaned forward this time, kissing her in turn. "It would be my pleasure." He wrapped his other arm around her as she leaned back against his chest, the rose still cradled in her hand. They sat there, heedless of the blowing cold.

Meanwhile, Flower stood awkwardly off to the side, forgotten and mumbling something about silly human habits. Then she grinned. Well, I guess it is kind of romantic. She hopped in a circle around the two, and where she went, flowers rose in her wake, creating a curtain to grant them some privacy for their own personal gardening, sowing the seeds of a relationship in the hopes that it would soon flower into full bloom, and never wilt.