As Winter trudged on Southern Island had grown colder, a week had passed the first snow and now much of populace were spending their days inside rather than out. The snow was falling thicker by the day; now layered higher than Silver's poorly tied boots and, if it continued, no more than two days from his knee. Despite the difficulties the weather posed, the chill beginning to bite through his clothes while ice coated the town's stone paths, the young man had been enjoying the season unhampered. Well, he had been, until during a day that the princess was away tending duties, A thought had crept into his mind.

Blaze was pyrokinetic, so did she feel the cold more or less? Most of their time together had been spent in crisis city, a place where feeling cold was a fantasy beyond understanding, in near their last moments together they'd been in the cold for less than an evening. He had no frame of reference, how well did Blaze handle the cold? Were her flames like a layer of shielding against or, because they were part of her, did the cold eat away at them and hurt her? Did it take a conscious effort to keep herself warm, was it tiring her out? Was her winter garb less a change of style and more a practical choice, her common clothes too thin for the winter months?

Silver's train of thought had concrete tracks; Blaze might have felt the cold far worse than any other yet she was making an active effort not only to go out but to keep him warm while they were out, taking his hand and sharing her body heat. He'd been such an idiot, how could he have been such an idiot? Throwing himself into the snow, making snow angels and going on long walks with her; was she bearing this burden because it was his first winter? Was she enduring it because he'd been having so much fun? He thought they'd both been enjoying it, while she'd heated him her smile had just about warmed him on its own, but there was every possibility that this was difficult for her. Intuiting her struggles had become a skill of his and this seemed like the kind of thing she'd try to hide; what she saw as a small struggle for a greater good.

With this small panic overcoming him, refusing to leave his thoughts, he'd asked Marine if Blaze could or did feel cold only to be met with a shrug and the words "Oh, I dunno mate, never really thought about it. I guess she might." That was all it had taken to push him from worrying into planning; the verbal equivalent of a shrug.


The sky was grey and the wind stung like needles, salted by drifting snow, but Silver was prepared. The hedgehog was awaiting his partner; clad in the clothes she'd gifted him but armed with the addition of a backpack, overlarge and threatening to burst. Southern Island wasn't particularly big and, having spent a good few days wandering it, they'd almost run out of places to see seasoned with winter aesthetics. This was the last real sight of note, a forest trail that encircled an (undoubtedly frozen) lake; both sides of the path flanked by thick conifers. Normally Silver would have lost himself in the sight, perhaps making a snow-angel or a snowman, but he was steeling himself as best he could. If he got cold then Blaze would try to warm him, potentially getting cold herself. This time he'd be keeping her warm, or, well, keeping her from getting cold. She'd put in so much work so that he could enjoy this first winter, it was really rare for her to get so much free time, and atop that, she might have been suffering? He hadn't even noticed, he'd been too caught up in her kind-hearted efforts, how could he have been so stupi-

"Silver?" The touch of a warm hand pulled him from his thoughts, Blaze; dressed in her winter garb, looking more than a touch confused. "I called out but you didn't seem to hear, is everything alright?"

"S-Sorry, I was just…" No, she was looking out for him again while she might've been suffering. He quickly turned to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Everything's fine, are you alright?"

The feline's confusion only seemed to grow, her brows furrowing, but coupled with it her cheeks had reddened; she was giving off far more heat. Were his hands that cold? Could she feel it even through two layers of clothes? Regardless she answered, "Yes? I'm fine Silver, though yesterday was tedious the work was important, nothing worth worrying over. They had me defrost some impacted areas, approved further funding to help manage the snow." Her hand shifted from his shoulder to the strap of his rucksack, "What's all this?"

"Well, you've done so much for me these past few days, and I've been enjoying myself so much, I felt like I should make it up to you. It's just picnic stuff; I did a little bit of cooking and got a couple of blankets. Seeing as this is the last spot on the island I figured we should make it special, that I'd do a more than normal." He was sure she wouldn't tell him, that she'd endure no matter what, even if he asked directly she'd probably shrug it away.

"Silver, I want to spend this season with you because I know it'll be fun for both of us. There's nothing to make up for, I've been thoroughly enjoying myself, but thank you." Blaze's confusion had melted away and, in its place, a gentle smile had formed; a look that spread gentle heat to his face. "This may be the last new sight but it's far from the last thing I've planned. When I said I wanted to spend the season with you I meant it."

Blaze gently removed her hand from his shoulder, reaching to her own and taking hold of his right hand. As their fingers interlocked Silver felt her warmth again, he knew she wasn't lying about enjoying herself but… if it meant she'd enjoy herself even just a little more he would do whatever it took.

He managed to smile back, gently squeezing her hand, "A-Alright. Shall we?"

Snow began to crunch underfoot, a sound he'd grown more than familiar with, as she led the way. While worry lingered in his mind it was more than a little difficult to pry his focus from their surroundings. As they took to the path the cutting wind was blocked by the treeline but its echoes remained; it wasn't snowing but flakes would tumble from the trees as gusts cast over them, revealing more of the green pines underneath. Signs of life were sparse but made all the difference; animals had left their footprints in town but out here they were uncorrupted by those of people, a line of fox paw prints ran parallel to their route and every so often birds had made an impact.

"None of this is natural, conifers don't really grow on an island like this." Blaze began, "As new islands were explored plants were gathered for the royal gardens, taken as a testament to the adventure. During one venture the queen fell in love with pine trees but they were much too big to reside in her garden; thus she had this route created."

"I can see why, it's incredi-

A chill ran up Silver's spine, causing him to stumble; some grave coldness had snuck into his boots. Initially, he assumed his laces had come undone, as they so often seemed to, but looking down he found the snow was halfway up his calf. The snow was getting deeper as the path sloped, he'd let himself get distracted! Judging by the snow no one had come out here, were they the first since the snow had started? Silver assumed it would have been thinner, the trees protecting the path, but it was so untraveled that it hadn't made a difference. He glanced down at Blaze's legs; she was shorter than him, the snow was even higher. He had to do something. The hedgehog stopped, the feline turned to him; her confused look had returned.

"Um…" What could he do? What could he do? Oh! "If we keep walking you'll get soaked, right? So I should carry you." Maybe, just maybe, he should have thought about that for a little longer. His feet might have been freezing but now his face was boiling, his gaze dropped from her face to their feet and began to tug at his chest fur. "A-And you know, hover; that way you won't get cold."

She hesitated and, for a moment, Silver thought he might have messed up. A few days ago Blaze had made it a point that heating him was one of the few ways she got to gently use her powers, but wet feet alone weren't enough to justify it, right? Just as he'd been about to apologise he felt her hand drop from his, she'd shuffled a little closer.

"I suppose… if you want to." Once again Silver felt a touch on his shoulder, her arm had wrapped behind his next. She was looking to the treeline; her temperature had raised again, tail swishing rather peculiarly.

Leaning down slightly Silver returned her hold, right arm around her shoulders while the left wrapped behind her knees. While she was light Silver, not being the most muscular of people, quickly utilised his psychokinesis to neutralise the burden; as his feet left the ground her weight shifted from his physical grasp to his mental one. It'd been a long time since he'd carried her like this, back when they were kids in crisis city it hadn't felt this… intimate. The way he held her hadn't changed but who they were and where they stood certainly had; cold feet weren't a matter of life and death.

As they began to move, hovering at much the same speed as they'd walked, Silver tried to keep his focus on their surroundings… but couldn't keep his mind from drifting. The smell of burned lavender, a combination of her power and an attempt to hide it, was rather overpowering him. Her body was stiff, "I-Is this position okay? A-Are you uncomfortable?"

Her head was turned away, looking to the road ahead and assumedly their surroundings, as he should have been. "No, I'm fine. Thank you, Silver."

When she'd spoken her temperature had spiked, was she keeping him warm even now? He could certainly feel her body heat, even outside contact points; his exposed muzzle, in particular, wasn't spared this touch-less caress. How intentional was it? Could he ask, should he ask? Given their position would his tongue let him ask? Probably not, he could hardly ask if she was comfortable. Besides, if she couldn't feel the cold she wouldn't have let him lift her, right?

It'd been a week but he still wasn't used to seeing her dressed like this, he couldn't pry his eyes from her. Her lack of heels reminded him he was taller, without her ponytail her ears looked so much more expressive and just… well… he'd thought it impossible but she somehow looked even prettier than normal. Seeing her like this, holding her like this, reminded him of things he could scarcely admit to himself let alone her. Things Marine more than often teased them about.

"Silver, aren't we getting a little high?" The hedgehog blinked, finally pulling his eyes from the feline, only to discover that they'd ascended.

He flinched a little, quickly apologising. "O-Oh, sorry, I let my mind get away from me, I'll lower us."

Before he could her grasp on him tightened, she'd shifted so eye met eye. "No, this is fine, any higher and we might have issues." There was no fear in her gaze, a small smile to her lips; just a little more and he'd see those fangs. "I know you won't drop me so there's nothing to fear, any higher and the clouds might block us." As she turned back, her grip loosening, he couldn't help but maintain a slightly closer hold. She was still so warm, could she be cold even now? His barrier was fending off the wind, unless snow was already in her shoes there was no way she could be cold. "The view is rather wonderful."

They were mingling with the treetops; a land of green and white lay beneath them. From the ground snow had lain upon tree but from up here it more appeared tree had snuck beneath snow; small patches of green poking out from beneath a blanketed landscape. From up here, he could see the central lake; as expected it had frozen. If he hadn't known there was a lake he might have missed it, a layer of snow covered its entirety (albeit in a thinner measure than the surrounding land) thus making it appear as an overlarge clearing rather than an obscured body of water. She was right, between the flora and geography it was truly unlike the rest of the island.

But his eyes were drifting; one moment he'd been admiring the view but the next find his eyes were back upon her. As he caught himself his face grew redder and his hands grew clammier, gloves would only offer so much protection.

"Y-Yeah." He pried his eyes from her, this wasn't working; she was still generating heat. He had to do it; he had to force himself to ask. "Blaze?"

Her ears pricked again, "Yes?"

"Do you…" Before he could finish she'd turned in his grasp, her own golden orbs had met his again. He faltered, rather than ask in specifics he simply stuttered out, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Silver." Blaze said that but her brow had grown stern, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"N-No, I'm fine, I just need to know," A second opportunity! Heaving in an overlarge dose of icy air he found the will to ask; "Can you feel the cold?"

There was a pause, Blaze's eyes parted from his for just a moment before rolling. "You're so naïve, if you're cold you just have to tell me." Immediately her temperature rose, a dancing flame engulfed her forehead stone and she pulled herself tighter still against him. Blaze was once so uncomfortable with her power and (as she'd affirmed to him under a week ago) this was one of the few ways she could use it peacefully, one of the only ways she could use it kindly. How could he refuse this? He didn't want her to struggle but equally stopping this felt wrong, no matter how he tried he couldn't refuse her.

"Erm…uhh… Th-Thank you." He raised his legs to support her better, allowing her to heat his entire body but, as a result, essentially sitting her in his lap. If he couldn't ask properly then he had to do something else. With a thought his bag unbuckled, scrunching his nose as he focused and a flask managed to pull itself from the bag; coming to hover between them. "To return the favour, if you're going to keep me warm then I should do the same for you… r-right?"

He watched as she quickly plucked it from the air, sparing him the mental strain of unscrewing the cup-lid by releasing his shoulder and doing it herself. Immediately the scent of chicken and rosemary filled the air, steamy billows swirling free from the flask. He'd been cooking for a while now, living with Marine meant taking on a lot of new responsibilities and of them, it was probably his favourite. There weren't many hobbies one could have in a destroyed future so, gifted with somewhere safe to live, he'd rather enjoyed finding out what he found fun. So seeing the smile on her face as she poured herself a cup and took a sip warmed him in a way no fire but hers could.

"Thank you Silver, you've really improved since you arrived. It's wonderful." It was a blunt and genuine compliment.

He'd thought himself at the peak of being flustered, that there was no further height she could push him, but those simple words he could no longer maintain eye contact. Instead, his vision locked on the cup as he managed to mutter, "Th-Thank you, Blaze."

Her arm was back around her shoulders, "Do you want some?"

She must have followed his gaze, Silver stuttered out a response. "If that's okay, I did bring it for you after all."

"Nonsense, you made it; of course you can have some." He went to focus on the cup, to channel the soup directly from the mug to his mouth, only to feel her shift in his grasp.

Blaze had fully turned to him and, rather than let him take the mug or even the soup, she was holding the cup to his lips. She had to see his blush, had to feel the sweat on his palms, but he had to force himself through this. He opened his mouth and took a sip, he'd toiled and tinkered to get this right (subjecting Marine to far too many taste tests) and it'd paid off. It was creamy, the herbs neither overpowering nor too understated. Though he was more than warm the comfort food certainly helped. As his lips parted from the cup, still too embarrassed to meet her eye, he stuttered out a "Thank you."

It was only then, as she pulled the cup back towards herself, that a realisation dawned upon Silver. She hadn't wiped the cup before feeding him; they'd had an indirect ki-

Before the thought could properly process Blaze had taken a sip, her lips had landed the exact same place as his. They'd both had an indirect kiss, she hadn't even hesitated… but then he hadn't realised until afterwards. Maybe she would? But then what? Would they just awkwardly hang here in the air? Would they talk about it, could she stand to talk about it?

He felt his heart skip beat after beat as that cup lowered, eyes flickering between her and it. "You know Silver, I don't even feel the cold but this has thoroughly warmed me." Oh. So she didn't. So he'd got himself all worked up over nothing, as embarrassing as it was he couldn't help but feel relieved. He hadn't been obliviously hurting her; he'd simply been oblivious. Before he could thank her again she'd turned to him; releasing a fanged smile… but something was different. "Thank you so much."

Was…was that mischief in those amber orbs? Before he could question her expression she'd closed her eyes and taken another sip of her soup to mask whatever that expression was. Was there even any soup left in the cup?

Thoroughly overwhelmed Silver choked a response, "Y-Yeah, n-no problem."