Chapter One

The sun was setting on a frigid mid-December evening, two onlookers standing there, admiring their view. The pure white, untouched snow, having been brightened by the sun's golden rays, made its final presence known until morning was to come. Smiling brightly, a young girl stood beside her mother, pointing out to the emanating light before them.

"Look, mommy! The sky is so bright over the snow!" bounced the little girl cheerfully.

"The sky is happy, dear." said the woman, kneeling down beside her daughter and grinning, tapping the child's tiny button nose, the pair's skin slightly reddened by the crisp air.

"Then it must be a very happy sky, mommy! It's glowing!" she grinned, catching her mother's hand playfully before she could retrieve it.

Laughing, the mother pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, swaying them back and forth freely, "My, my…I think my little girl has turned into an ice cube."

"I have not!" she giggled, pulling away and hiding her cheeks beneath her mittened hands.

Smiling warmly, the mother brought herself to her feet; her long auburn hair spreading out across her back as she moved her hand around the little girl's. Turning her head in the direction towards a warm, cozy looking, house, she smiled down at her daughter again, "Ready to go inside, dear? Before we both turn into human ice cubes?"

Closing the door behind them, the two step into a cozy hallway. Tugging off her gloves and shoving them into her coat pockets, a voice called from the nearest room down the hall, "Akako? Kohana? Is that you?"

"Daddy!" exclaimed the little girl, running down the hall and slamming into the legs of her father as he appeared in the doorway.

"Back so soon?" he asked, kneeling down to Kohana, the color of his deep violet eyes matching hers rather closely, though her hair matched that of her mother's only slightly paler.

"We've been gone nearly an hour, daddy!" Kohana giggled.

Hanging her coat, hat, and scarf on the rack by the door, Akako walked over to her husband and daughter in the doorway and kneeled down as well, trying to maneuver around Kohana's attempts to get away as her coat and hat were removed as well. Akako leaned over her daughter's head, being met halfway by Yuki, placing a warm, gentle, kiss upon one another's lips.

Blinking and ducking further beneath her parents joint faces, Kohana placed her hands out on either side of herself below their necks, trying to separate them, "Eewie! Not with me in the middle!" she whined.

Akako laughed as she and Yuki pulled away. A small smirk appeared across Yuki's pale face as he watched his wife take Kohana into a bear hug, knocking them both to the floor entirely as she began to tickle their daughter's sides. The living room was soon filled with laughter, shrieks, and giggles as Akako was soon overpowered by both Yuki and Kohana, being tickled and tickling back once she pinned down Kohana, tickling their daughter and trying to squirm around her while being tickled by Yuki.

The three of them laid sprawled and curled out across the living room floor, smiling brightly, their chests heaving from their bursts of laughter only minutes before, "Well…that was fun," Akako stated, ending their pleasant silence, ", but if the rumbling in my stomach is correct, it is time for dinner."

Leaning over Kohana while bringing the thick violet blanket up around her tiny form, Akako kissed her daughter's forehead gently, smiling down at her. Yuki appeared beside Akako, wrapping his strong arm across her back and resting it around her waist, gripping her hip firmly. She leaned her head against his shoulder, gazing down at their only child, sound asleep.

Yuki and Akako turned and left Kohana's room, closing the door gently behind them and heading down the hall to their room. Changing into her pajamas and plopping down onto the bed, Yuki turned over, still fully dressed in his daily clothes minus his socks and shoes, draping an arm over Akako's stomach.

"Did you two enjoy yourselves today?" he asked in a tired voice, glancing down at her.

"Of course, you know how little Hana loves visiting her Uncle Momiji. And now that it is winter, the walk home is much more exciting for her. She seems to love the snow more than spring flowers." She grinned, leaning up and kissing his cheek softly.

"I do hope he went easy on her in the snowball fight…"

"How did you know about the fight?"

"You cannot go to Momiji's home during winter and not end up leaving without at least one snowball fight." He smirked, "Especially with that army of children he and Yulii keep on adding to."

"They only have four, love." She chuckled.

"Five, if you count the one currently taking residence in her whom."

"Still, that is nothing in comparison to the number of cousins you have."

"Yes, but they are not all from the same parents. I believe they will be catching up to that number at the rate they are going." He added smoothly, leaning down and placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"You make it sound as if having a few children is a crime, love." She said, searching his eyes.

"I did not say that now did I?" he grinned down to her mischievously.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she reached up and laid her hand on his cheek, "Now what is that look for?"

He simply smiled and shook his head, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She brought her arms up around his neck and pulled him down a bit closer, locking their lips together, not wanting him to pull away.