The whirl of wind caused the window to rattle in its frame. Florina stared out of it, half in annoyance, half in persistent worry. Snow was piling up outside, and the blizzard was the worst they had seen this winter.

So where was he? Sain, her husband, was missing this evening, when he was supposed to have been home hours ago. She hoped he was simply held up by the storm in some neighbor's house until the squall passed, but a part of her knew that he was braving the cold to get home before she noticed.

Well, she had noticed. She paced nervously around their kitchen, hands wringing. A silent prayer was offered to Elimine that he would make it. While she fretted, she was also irritated. This behavior had to stop.

The door swung open, and a flurry of flakes swirled in with a bitter breeze. Florina pulled her robe tighter around her.

"Where were you?" she questioned Sain. He shut the door behind them and gave Florina a weak smile.

"On my way home," he excused himself. Florina pressed her lips together, and her hands made their ways to her hips. Sain waltzed over to her and cupped her face in his hand.

"Don't give me that look, Flor," he murmured. "Come on, you're never like this."

"Sain, it's almost midnight; you were supposed to be home hours ago," Florina said in a serious voice. "I don't know where you went, and what you did. It's stormy out there, and I didn't even know if you were alive or not. Excuse me if I'm a little upset."

"But I turned out ok," he said. "I was just having a bit fun with—"

"With the girls," Florina finished for him. "I know. That's what's making me so concerned."

"We were just— come on, Flor." Sain's eyes softened. "You want me to be more responsible; fine, I'll be more responsible in the future. No more late night outings with the girls." Florina appeared unconvinced.

"Sain—"

He cut her off with a protest. "It was just a little harmless fun."

"Harmless fun?" There was a petite sneeze from the entry where their two daughters stood, watching their parents with wide eyes. Florina walked over and kneeled down next to the younger one, aged four. "Sain, they're going to catch hypothermia." She helped the little girl shrug out of her wet coat.

"Daddy took us to see the ice drwagon," she explained. Florina shot a look towards Sain, but her gaze had relaxed.

"Like you when you were little," he mumbled, bending down to undress the older daughter. She almost grinned, but her two daughters were still in sopping clothing, and it did not change the situation anymore. "We live at the base of the mountain, and I thought it would be a harmless little hike up," he went on to describe. "But we got caught in the storm."

"You spoil them sometimes." Florina took the littlest girl in her arms, and the child almost fell asleep in the embrace. "I told you it would snow."

Sain leaned closer and placed a small kiss on her lips, prompting a disgusted bleah from the older girl. Sain grinned.

"Love you, Flor."

Florina rolled her eyes, but a smile was present on her face. "Love you too, Sain."

----

Author's Note: -dies from pointless fluffishness- Really, I just wrote this to ward off all the plot bunnies. Thanks to JSB for helping me out with some revisions.