I'm sorry for making L-Elf like this. He's supposed to be way cooler than this, but I hate cold, and have never experienced winter first hand…so. Anyway, this fic is for Kei-V3 senpai, thanks for the fun sleep over~!

Far from the image of powdery paradise promised by numerous picture books and Christmas carols, this year's winter was brutal. Mother Nature was back, and this time: it was personal. Or so, if it was the tagline for a Hollywood action movie.

Apparently, she was catching up with her late promises for the previous year, leaving the fandoms ample chances to argue which one of them had saved the world from its impending doom and postponed the apocalypse.

(His money was on the Doctor, not that he would tell anyone about it. Ever.)

Snow was falling heavily on the city. According to the news, it was the heaviest snow fall in the decade. The snow, accompanied by strong winds and ice, buried the city white. It cancelled flights, disrupted public transport, caused power failure, and accidental snow-related deaths across the whole nation. In the city, the visibility was poor and the road slippery. People had to actually walk like a penguin, lest they fell down and broke some calcium deficient bones.

On the other hand, if they had somehow managed to pass by unscathed, it was still prudent to pay attention to the roofs, in case the overhanging icicles had decided that they would make a good shish kebab – B-grade comedy/horror movie style. Bottom line was, winter sucked, big time, and for good reasons. Whoever still mentioned the phrase "winter wonderland" must be seriously deluded – or watched Frozen one too many times.

As much as Michael hated the winter, the season still had its own saving graces. Like a wonderful book shop in the city that you hated, or a shining pearl amid piles of mud, the one thing that made people not hate things that they well….hated.

Michael liked piping hot chocolate with lots of cream, thick woolen sweaters, and the ornamental lights. But most of all, he liked spending time with Haruto. It was said that even fire would feel cool if people could somehow manage to change their perspectives. In Michael's case, a big part of the change was all due thanks to Haruto. Haruto was his comfort blanket and good luck charm, all conveniently rolled up into one (admittedly) adorable package – increasing his resilience, defense, and luck by a wide margin.

The perfect situation, so to speak, would be to combine all of his favorite things. Namely, drinking hot chocolate while being dressed in his most comfortable (non-tacky) jumper, and watching the lights from the Christmas tree together with Haruto – ideally in their own apartment.

Or that was how the plan was supposed to go.

Walking home from the office and frantically trying to keep their umbrella upright and avoid a Marry Poppins-esque flight amidst the strong winds and heavy snow, his ideal seemed to be very far away. He could almost sympathize with the matches selling girl, almost. Except that he was going to make pretty damn sure to get out of the snow storm by the end of the day.

Just as they made their way to the left side of the station, a woman, followed by a tired-looking camera man, armed by a microphone and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, quickly approached.

A news reporter, as if that wasn't obvious enough from the company's logo on her jacket. Probably on a field duty to report the grand wedding of Elsa and Jack Frost. Oh, who was he kidding? The emergency news report for the heavy ass snow fall.

"Excuse me," she said, her face stuck in a state of permanent smile.

"We're from the JIOR TV, if we could ask your opinions regarding the current weather anomaly–"

Anomaly sounded like the biggest understatement of the century, he decided. But whatever floated their nice boat.

He wanted to avoid unnecessary detours, but Haruto seemed to have different ideas, talking happily with the reporter. Sometimes, all he ever wanted was just to pelt him with snow balls and left him to sulk in the corner, but he could hardly afford to do that in front of the national TV. He liked his peaceful life too much, to be the source of a new internet meme and fodder for office's gossips.

"–thank you for your comment, and how about you, Sir?"

Her question brought Michael back from his reverie.

Apparently, Haruto had finished giving the reporter his opinions while his mind went on a vacation on cloud nine. In Michael's defense, at least the place was warm, and had the decency to turn the heater on full blast.

Suddenly, all eyes were on him, and he felt like going back, to the third grade when his math teacher had caught him napping in the middle of the class all over again.

"Umm, I–"

It is so damn cold that I bet hell has frozen over and Satan went on a vacation to Fiji.

This is why pairing up two characters with winter-themed powers is not a good idea in the first place.

Power outages, disruption in the public transport….the snow is quite a problem, isn't it?

Thoughts clamored inside of Michael's mind, each one of them demanding his full attention.

Just when the reporter tried to repeat her question once again and Haruto had started giving him a worried look, Michael finally replied. Hands holding the umbrella and Haruto tight, giving the camera his best smile.

"…being with my lover in the snow like this immerses me in a special feeling…I like it."

It is cold.

It is slippery.

The train is not running.

It is a pain in the ass to navigate through all the snow and ice.

…but maybe, happiness was like this. Not feeling like he should be elsewhere, doing something else, and being somebody else.

Because Haruto was here, and the hand clasping against him was warm.

And Michael needed nothing else.

Somehow, Michael's saccharine comment – against his better judgment – made its way through the depths of the internet jungle. That, along with Haruto's reddening face, made the moment and instant hit with the bored netizens.

So much for his peaceful, and office's gossips-free life.

Summer couldn't come fast enough.