December had been a long and trying month, but somehow the girls managed to get through it. Nights that had once been spent crying silently in the cold dark were gradually turning into slumber parties where they would spend half the night giggling about the silliest things. They'd make shadow puppets in the candlelight. Nina would tell stories. Alison would draw pictures for her. It was becoming somewhat normal that they lived on a tight budget and without electricity, and as miserable as it could be at times, they began to make the best of it.

Of course there would be slip-ups. Nina would come home from work, completely drained from a long day, only to find Alison holding herself in a corner, wondering why she hadn't gotten any phone calls from Mr. Gold about sold paintings. She hadn't completely broken down again, but she came close, and it was all Nina could do to try and talk her out of her self-deprecating thoughts. When she wasn't in a bout of anxiety, Alison remained calm and level-headed, a strong pillar for Nina to lean on when she felt completely exhausted.

Christmas went by like it was nothing and almost went unnoticed by either of them if it wasn't for Nina opening the door to a group of carolers outside of their apartment. Their neighbor above them stomped down the steps and chased them away, muttering a "bah humbug" as he trekked back to his home, leaving the two friends in a fit of giggles. They didn't exchange presents; they promised each other not to, anyway, in order to preserve what little money they had.

New Year's happened in much the same way, only no carolers, but the same neighbor yelled at them to tone down their rendition of "Auld Lang Syne." Nina responded by showering the outside of his door with confetti she got from a New Year's party at Granny's Diner.

But now a week after the turn of the year, things had calmed down around town. The holidays were over, people had nothing to look forward to but work and a winter festival in early February, and the festive cheer disappeared as though it had been washed away by some invisible wave.

On one particular day in early January, however, two residents of Storybrooke found reasons to continue the festive spirit.

"Nothing good ever happens today…" the blonde mumbled, glaring at the calendar.

…It would just take Alison a while to find a reason to celebrate.

She sat on a folding chair in the kitchen, knees drawn to her chest as she grumpily chewed a raw toaster pastry. Her eyes bored into the calendar, glaring at the number nine circled in red as if it stole all her chocolate and left her the empty box to find.

A thin finger tapped the table impatiently as she ate and her brows drew together, one of them twitching slightly in a show of irritation. Blue eyes danced from the clock, to the silent phone, and to the dark ceiling light before she refocused on the calendar just to start the dance all over again.

Finally, she finished eating and just gave up, nearly slamming her head on the table in defeat.

"Something's got to give…" she groaned into the cheap metal.

She wouldn't admit it out loud, but the impossible had happened: Alison was bored.

Right after New Year's, she ran out of canvases to use for her paintings. Nina offered to buy her more, but Alison insisted they save the money to pay for the apartment and their other basic needs. Her sketchpad was getting full and she wanted to spare the last pages for whatever visions she could dump into it, rather than sketching recklessly like she had been doing all December.

Nina was working at the diner all day and wouldn't be home until later that evening, and while usually Alison could stay occupied on any given day with her artwork, she missed her little bubbly friend. She missed how she would come home and marvel over her paintings before retreating to the bedroom or the fire escape. She missed the fun atmosphere she brought with her wherever she went. Lately, whenever Nina came home she'd bundle up and go straight to sleep, sometimes even skipping dinner if it meant she'd get a few extra minutes of rest before her paper run in the morning.

Alison could have gone outside to wander around town, maybe even visit Nina at work for a little bit… but that required possibly having to socialize with people she didn't really like and, well, as much as she tried to act calm and poise in front of strangers, sometimes her anxiety got the best of her and she'd end up being honestly blunt and just a little insulting.

Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. Not today. Any day but today.

She picked her head up, looked at the little desk calendar on the table and smacked it down with a flick of her wrist. Turning her head, she stared lazily through the kitchen to the open door of the bedroom where her art supplies sat in waiting, eagerly anticipating her return just as much as she was. Her eyes caught sight of something subtle outside the window, but it was enough to bring a smile to her downtrodden face.

It was snowing again. White flakes drifted lazily in the breeze, each individual crystal floating and turning freely without a care or worry, spiraling to the ground at whatever mundane speed they managed.

She lost herself in the flakes, visualizing in her mind what they might look like under a microscope before they melted into droplets of water. She closed her eyes, picturing a bright blue crystalline structure in her mind's canvas. The core of it was curved and flowed with grace, but the six points of ice that jutted out from the center were beautiful, powerful, strikingly dangerous even, and perhaps…

Her train of thought was completely thrown off track by the shrill ring of the telephone. She jumped and knocked over her chair, startled from the noise and hastily scrambled across the kitchen as her heart tried to play catch up with her nerves.

She yanked the receiver off the wall and held it to her ear, trying to take a steady breath but failing as her voice came out just as shaky as she felt. "H-Hello?"

"Alison Vinter?"

"Speaking," she said, this time a little calmer. She recognized the voice on the phone and would have rolled her eyes if she hadn't been waiting for this phone call for the last month.

"It's Mr. Gold." Of course it was. "I am pleased to tell you that I've sold your holiday stock and I have your payment ready and waiting at my shop for you to pick up."

She was speechless. Her holiday stock was basically every painting she had dropped off since the blackout started through last week when she ran out of canvases. She had spent the last month believing that her paintings weren't good enough for the market anymore, and here was the dapper man with a golden hilted cane calling her up and telling her that every last one of them sold.

If she were capable of fainting, she would have likely swooned just then.

Her apparent silence on the phone forced the caller to clear his throat. "Or just send Ms. Hummel to pick up the payment if you prefer."

"Uh, no… no, sorry, I didn't mean to…" she stopped herself, mentally kicking herself for nearly stumbling into an awkward ramble that was becoming signature to Nina. She breathed in calmly and answered him more diligently this time. "I'll stop by the store within the hour to pick up the payment myself," she said, thankful that she had managed to put together a coherent sentence against her racing heart.

"Very well. I'll be expecting your arrival, then."

He hung up first, typical of him, and Alison returned the receiver to its place on the wall.

She didn't know how to feel. Relief washed over her from the news that her paintings sold… they sold. She was getting paid today, and that was great. That was fantastic, actually.

But that didn't change the fact that she had to deal with Mr. Gold and his conniving tricks and clauses. She hadn't seen or talked with him in over a month; Nina had taken all of her paintings to him in that time, all but two that she would bring with her to put out to market today. Nerves fluttered in her stomach as she got ready to leave the apartment, but she reminded herself all the while that she had dealt with him before and beaten him at his own game once.

"God, I hate today," she mumbled as she locked the door behind her with paintings in hand. Clearly, she was not looking forward to the business trip.

When she stepped outside the building she felt rejuvenated, having been stuck inside for the past several weeks painting like a madwoman. The fresh, cold air played at her senses but she refused to let it bother her. As she held her wrapped paintings under her right arm, she held up her left hand, catching snowflakes on the tips of her fingers as she made her way down the main street of town to the shop she loathed. The flakes lingered long on her skin before they eventually melted away to nothing. Nina always told her that her skin was cold, but apparently it wasn't cold enough to keep a snowflake intact.

She stepped into the store with her head down, wanting to avoid Mr. Gold's gaze right away as she stomped the snow off her boots at the entrance mat. "Good day, Ms. Vinter," the shop owner greeted as she walked towards his counter. "I didn't expect you to drop off another set of paintings until after the winter festival."

"Yeah, well, I need a little bit extra to sell right now," she admitted, placing the wrapped canvases on the counter. She looked up at him and glared, calm blue eyes quickly deepening to a rich cobalt. "Considering I haven't had a payment in over a month, I believe I'm a bit overdue for a modest cut on these ones. I want a 40% share on these two."

Mr. Gold smiled richly and handed over a white envelope, turning it over to her with a flick of the wrist. "Nice try, Dearie, but you'll have to make a serious offer to get what you want."

She snatched the envelope from his hand and clenched her teeth. She simply was not in the mood for this today. "I wasn't joking. And you're kidding me with this," she said, motioning to the envelope she just took. "Why did you hold on to this all month long? I thought we agreed that you'd call me as soon as something sold!"

"We agreed that I'd call you as soon as I received payment for the paintings," Mr. Gold harshly reminded. "What with the holidays, people shop last minute and you know this store is closed between Christmas and New Year's."

Alison frowned deeply, heat rising to her cheeks. He was making an excuse and a poor one at that. "Look, I appreciate you selling my paintings for me, and yes, you deserve a profit split, but I can't keep painting on such a low income! If I keep painting at 30% then I'm going to run out of supplies and neither one of us is going to benefit from this."

Her points were valid; she knew they were, and it was the truth. But it seemed no matter what tactics she tried lately against Mr. Gold, it always ended with the pawn broker coming out on top. He seemed irritated as he stood behind the counter, gripping his cane with white knuckles.

"Ms. Vinter, need I remind you of what happens when you cross me?"

She blinked. Was he threatening her? He's never done that before, or at least not in such a direct way. "Mr. Gold," she started, losing the grip on her anger with a trembling voice, "I'm sorry, I don't…"

The man with the cane raised a brow in amusement, smiling all the while when he noticed that Alison was completely oblivious to the current situation. "Oh… she didn't tell you, did she?"

Is he talking about Nina? What would Nina have to do with this?

She shook her head slowly, fear creeping into her heart as it began to pound within her chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mr. Gold said nothing. He just stepped to the side to reveal the painting he had on the primary display in his shop.

Alison took it in with sad, wide eyes and her mouth dropped into a deep frown. She hadn't noticed it when she first walked in; she'd just assumed that the painting on the primary display was the tundra piece she painted months ago.

But here it was, a ghost from her past risen from the grave to haunt her. A fjord, so graceful and beautiful in the midst of winter, and a small kingdom nestled against its waters, completely undisturbed.

"It would be a shame to see it ruined twice," Mr. Gold mused, looking at it with his hands firmly balanced on the hilt of his cane. "Don't you agree?"

It was a threat. Play the game or the painting would be ruined. She didn't need it to be explained to her; she understood the implications from his tone of voice alone.

But she remembered everything Nina had told her that cold day one month ago, the day she came home with only fifty-eight dollars in her pocket. She told her of the mistake she made, and Alison vowed never to make it again, not if she could help it.

For now, she refused to let her emotions get the best of her and let her rational mind take over. "I'm not going to argue anymore," she said evenly, striking out any fear or anger that could have slipped into her voice. "I just want to make this work out for the both of us.

Mr. Gold's shoulders seemed to relax a little, though his jaw was still locked as he held the upper hand and glared down at Alison. "I'm listening."

"I'll take the thirty percent on these paintings," she said, motioning to the canvases she brought in that day. "But I'll only release these to you if our new contract states that any damage done to these paintings is the responsibility of the owner, not the provider."

She knew he had taken the money from her previous profits to repair the fjord painting just to torture her with it. As of now, she didn't have a plan to free it from his grasp other than to buy it from him, and even if she did that, she knew he'd raise the price just to watch her fidget.

She'd play his game for now, and it seemed as though he was enjoying it. He seriously considered her proposal before nodding and holding out his hand. "We're at an agreement, then?"

Earnestly, she took his hand and shook it, relieved that he wouldn't be able to take any more of her hard-earned money from destroying her paintings whenever he felt like it. From the weight of the cash inside the envelope he gave her, she was honestly surprised that he didn't follow through on such an idea.

He smiled, glanced back at the painting on the wall, and then motioned to the hallway to the back room of his shop. "I'll prepare the paperwork, then, if you'll just wait here."

She watched him limp to the hallway and disappear around the corner, and when she could no longer hear the thump of his cane against the floor, she sighed.

God did she hate coming here. She liked money, oh yes, but did she ever hate having to deal with that man. It used to be a fun challenge to work with him and point out his scams, but now it was turning into ruthless deal-making and she was being threatened to agree to terms that she didn't feel confident in. She was trapped.

With the hard part of the visit taken care of, she allowed herself to wander the store for a bit, never having done so seriously before. Any time she came here, it was strictly for business, never to browse the wares for her own enjoyment. Mostly, she just wanted to get her mind off of the fjord painting on the primary display.

One small section of the shop was dedicated solely to jewelry. Some was displayed in a locked case, while other pieces were left out on display, too big to effectively be stolen by a petty thief. One such piece caught Alison's eye and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't turn away from it. She seemed to almost be attracted to it.

It was a golden piece of metal, cut precisely into a hollow triangle at either end with a bigger flower shape in the middle. The flower was hollow as well, but only so to fit a shining blue jewel in its center. The bottom of the designed piece was curved ever so slightly to suggest that it could be worn as a tiara. Either that, or it was just an extremely elegant wall decoration.

She picked it up with delicate fingers, feeling unworthy of the craftsmanship but drawn to it regardless. The jewel glinted in the light of the store and the metal was so shiny she could clearly see her reflection in it.

"I do believe that is a little out of your price range, Dearie."

Startled, Alison fumbled the piece and caught it in shaking hands before setting it back down on the display case. Wow, nice going there. Nearly dropped the damn thing and owed him money again.

She returned to the main counter and noticed Mr. Gold had returned with a familiar stack of documents. "Now, if you'll just give these a once over and sign in the usual spots, our deal will be final and you'll be free to go."

If she trusted him she'd give the documents a simple once over, but she didn't and dissected each page, line for line, word for word until she was satisfied. For once, he opted not to use any complicated language and kept the document simple, stating the terms that they shook on in plain and simple English. She smirked when she made out her signature and handed the stack back to him.

"As always, it was a pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Vinter. I'll call as soon as I have a payment ready for you. Enjoy the rest of your day."

She rolled her eyes as she left the store. If their hostile deal-making was any indication of how the rest of her day would go, she wasn't looking forward to it.


As soon as Alison got home from her unpleasant visit, she plopped back into her seat at the kitchen table, lit a candle and counted out the money she received. Normally she would have counted it out at the shop, but she was just so thankful that she had money she decided not to push her luck by dissecting the payment in front of the man who gave it to her.

She separated the bills into three even stacks. Next month's water bill, next month's electric, and food. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the size of the last pile. Wow. Lots of food. We could make stew every week for the next month and buy chocolate on top of that. How many paintings did I sell again?

She'd honestly lost count. The only thing that mattered is that now that Nina was working, they were well taken care of and on an upswing. So long as her paintings continued to sell, the money issue wouldn't bother them again for a while.

Sighing, she rested her head on the table and smiled, glancing up at the blank ceiling light before turning her sights on the clock.

Before she could even think of her roommate, she heard the familiar tapping of feet rushing up the staircase and a key turning in the door handle.

"I'm hooooome!" Nina declared loudly as the door swung open. Alison turned around and grinned, happy that the little bundle of excitement was back to cure her boredom of this wretched day.

Nina all but bounced over to her, placing a bag she was carrying on the table before hugging her friend around the shoulders. "How was your day?" she asked, before noticing the stacks of money laying on the table. "Oh wow, okay, never mind. It was pretty good, huh?"

"I guess you could say that…" Alison lied, secretly thinking about her misdealing at the pawn shop and her general frustration with the day all together. "The trip to Mr. Gold's could have gone better, but-"

"You went to Mr. Gold's?"

"Well, yeah. How did you think I got the money?"

Just like that, the excitement Nina carried in with her vanished and she let go of the blonde's shoulders. "Alison, I told you I'd drop off the paintings and pick up the payments whenever he called. You didn't have to-"

"Stop." Alison calmly stood and faced her shorter friend, looking her evenly in the eye. "I know what you were trying to do, and I'm really thankful for it, but you can't protect me from that painting forever. I was going to find out about it eventually."

"I know… but you were just so sad last month and I didn't want you to feel worse. I know how you feel about that painting and I didn't want you to get hurt again."

Alison smirked and nodded her head over to the money laying on the table besides her. "I don't think I can be hurt for a little while. Between this, the money you're making and whatever I can get from the winter festival, we're not going to have many problems for a long time."

There was no stopping the wide smile from spreading across Nina's face, especially now that she knew her employment was making their lives a lot easier, even if she didn't really enjoy it. It was such a relief to know that the stress was finally being lifted and, realistically, this would be the last blackout they had to suffer through so long as they lived here.

Nina knew there was reason to celebrate today. She reached for the bag she brought in with her and pulled out a white box from it. "Here, I got you something."

"Nina, you didn't have to—"

"Oh, come on! Of course I did! I know how much you hate today, but I saw this and I couldn't help myself!" She opened the box, took out what was inside and set it on the table, moving the stacks of money so they wouldn't get in the way. As Alison stood there, face turning red in her usual flustered way, Nina took a small candle from one of the cabinets, stuck it in the middle of a mountain of bright blue frosting and lit it with the lighter.

"Happy Birthday, Alison!"

The older girl stood in front of the glow rigidly with one hand clasped in the other, and though she tried to stop it, an infectious smirk raised from the corner of her lips as she gazed upon the large chocolate cupcake decorated with a greater amount of frosting. She giggled, eyeing her friend. "Thank you Nina."

The redhead beamed, triumphant in "Operation: Don't Forget Your Best Friend's Birthday." She had it circled on the calendar to make sure they didn't forget, as Alison was prone to do because of her apparent disdain for the day. "So how old is the birthday girl?"

There came a silence where the air stood still and time seemed to stop. Every year, Nina had asked the same question, and the same silence occurred. Alison had to stop and think.

Each year for the past twenty-eight years, she had turned 21 years old. Like the other residents in Storybrooke, she didn't age. She was perpetually stuck at the legal drinking age and Nina was forever an 18 year old young adult. Time had stood still and each year in that long period repeated itself.

But this year was different. This year, the clock above the library moved.

Blue eyes enveloped the warm glow of the candle as she leaned closer to it. "22," she said simply.

Somewhere deep in her heart, she sensed the irony of her words, of how she only managed to grow a year older after living through twenty-eight years of poverty in this tiny apartment.

But with today's events, she was ready to move on. Things were changing, and despite being as timid as she usually was, she was ready to meet the change head on. Drawing in a breath, she made to blow out the candle before Nina clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Wait! You gotta make a wish first!"

Alison took hold of the redhead's wrist and moved it away with a little annoyance. She stared at the candle again, then closed her eyes for a few moments, thinking of something she wanted for a long time.

When she blew out the candle, Nina nearly pounced on her. "What did you wish for?"

"It's a secret!" Alison said, giggling when she saw Nina's pout.

"Oh come on! You know it's not fair to keep secrets from your best friend!"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!"

The only answer Nina got was a dab of blue frosting on the freckles of her nose. "I'm still not telling."

Alison didn't realize at the time that the little bit of frosting was a bomb to start the war. She was going to tease the younger girl further, maybe make her guess at what her wish was, when she got a score of blue smeared across her cheek. She blinked, clearly not expecting the move… then again, it was Nina. She should know by now to expect the unexpected that came with living with her.

There were no more words, just handfuls of frosting flinging across the kitchen and a rowdy fit of giggles erupting from the small apartment. The war ended with both of them on the floor, Nina having captured the birthday girl in a headlock and shoving frosted fingers back through the blonde's fringe. Alison was stuck, laughing so hard that her sides hurt and she just didn't care.

She hit the floor with an open palm, signaling her defeat. "Okay, okay! You win!" Just like that, she was freed from the headlock and rolled away, desperately trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard. She took in the sights of the kitchen as she calmed herself, becoming amused by the confectionary explosions of blue from what the candlelight allowed her to see.

"Sorry about your birthday present," Nina laughed sheepishly as she took in the number they did on the kitchen, then laughing harder when she gave Alison another look. Alison didn't see it as she busied herself by licking the frosting off of her fingers.

"The cake is my favorite part, anyway."

"Pfft… you look like a Smurf."

"Oh, like you should talk! Want some frosting in your ear?"

"No!" Nina rolled away from the threat, unknowingly dropping onto another glob of frosting on the floor and coating her work uniform even more. "I gotta admit though, I made your hair look cooler. Your bangs look good pushed back like that."

Alison reached up to touch her fringe, feeling the strands frozen in place in that swooped back, spiked look she always wanted to achieve. Where the average hair-care product had failed, blue sugar had succeeded. The irony of it didn't escape her. "Nina, I think you just permanently dyed my hair blue."

"Nah, it's just sugar! It'll wash out. Eventually." She sat up and smiled when the blonde… well, the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl shot her a disapproving glare. She just ignored it and went back to the question that started the frosting war in the first place. "Seriously though, what did you wish for?"

It took a little before the girl in question would respond. She bit her thumb, licking off the frosting before she declared her answer.

"I wished that someday we'll move out of here and live in a bigger apartment, where we don't have to sleep on the floor and the heat keeps us warm all winter long."

Nina stared at her wide-eyed. "That's a really nice wish."

"Well, actually…" Alison started, unsure of how to proceed. She brought her braid over her shoulder and absentmindedly ran her fingers through the end, forgetting that she still had frosting on them. "Depending on how well the winter festival goes, we could make that wish come true."

"Really?!"

Alison nodded, a sincere smile on her face. It made all kinds of dreams pop up inside Nina's head. She imagined an extravagant living area with a balcony, not a fire escape, to walk out onto at night. She imagined a long hallway with polished wooden floors that she could slide on to get from her room to Alison's separate bedroom. She pictured a kitchen large enough to host a party and a hot tub in the living room.

Sure, not all of her fantasies were realistic, but a girl was allowed to dream. "I know the first thing I'm getting when we move in."

"What's that?"

"A toaster."

The Smurf blinked in the candlelit room and just shook her head. "Of all the… I'm afraid to ask. Why a toaster?"

"Because of those little pastry things that you keep buying, you know, the ones that come in the silver packets? Those would taste so much better if you put them in the toaster."

"They taste fine to me."

"Ali, they taste like…" A sudden flash of brightness cut Nina off and she squinted against the sudden light.

Alison snapped her head up and looked to the ceiling light. The bulb was aglow with electricity.

"The power's back on!" Nina exclaimed, jumping up from her spot on the floor. She ran into the bedroom and flipped the light switch on, then came back into the kitchen to make sure the fridge was working. She quickly moved from room to room, checking that all the electrical basics were back up and running. Finally, she stopped in front of the air vent to feel the warm breeze creeping in after a long month of absence.

Freaking finally, Alison thought, silently ecstatic that their small home was back on the grid. She had been waiting impatiently all day for this, having paid the electric bill for January as soon as Nina came up with the cash for it. For the first time that day, Alison was happily content with everything. She got paid today, the power was back on, and her best friend was here to ensure that a smile stayed on her face.

"Hey Ali?"

"Yeah?"

Nina looked down at her blue frosted shoes. She rocked back and forth on her feet, perhaps a little nervously. "You know, we haven't really gone outside this winter. I know it's your favorite season and everything, so…" Her teal eyes looked back up, a smile reflected in them as clear as the one shying on her face.

"Alison, do you wanna build a snowman?"

Something resonated within them at the question. Something familiar, important even, but they couldn't remember what it was. The words made Nina feel nervous and Alison almost felt like she could cry.

She didn't, but instead said words that felt like they had been on the tip of her tongue for years.

"Of course I do."

After the strangely nostalgic moment passed, Nina whizzed past her in a blur, taking hold of her wrist and dragging her to the closet. "Your boots, my jacket, let's go," she said, crossing off her mental checklist as she threw the items out and put on the one belonging to her. Alison barely had her boots laced up before Nina was dragging her out the door again.

"Come oooon! Come on, come on, come on!"

"W-Wait! We're still covered in frosting…"

Nina glanced back at her as she pulled her down the stairs. "You make a good Smurfette."

Alison rolled her eyes as they exited the building. They ran to their favorite park, just down the block from where they lived, and only halfway there did they run past somebody. An older, round looking gentleman couldn't see the blue frosting in the dark of night, but fatherly scolded Alison for not having a jacket on as they ran past him. In a fit of child-like rebellion and glee, she turned around and cupped her hands around her mouth to project her voice as she backpedaled with Nina watching her in admiration.

"I don't need one because the cold never bothered me anyway!"

They were in another fit of giggles by the time they made it to the park. No one in their right mind would be there that late, especially since it was snowing all day. All the benches and playground equipment was coated in white powder; there was nothing here for the average park goer to do.

But for Nina Hummel and Alison Vinter, there was always something to do when it snowed.

Alison rolled the base of the snowman while Nina pelted her with snowballs, more in an attempt to playfully annoy her than to wash the blue out of her hair, as she claimed she was doing. She'd helped Alison make the center of the body and worked on the head while the blue-blonde found rocks to use as buttons and eyes.

"Nina, what the heck is that?"

"It's his head, duh!"

"…Can't you just roll out a snowball like a regular person?"

"It's fine!"

"It's an oval…"

"It's cute!"

"I swear the snowballs you threw at me were ovals, too."

Alison got smacked in the face with another clump of snow. "So was that one."

"Okay, miss fancy-pants artist. Let's see you make something out of it."

Not one to ignore a challenge, Alison set to work, sculpting out a face in the lumpy snow while Nina gave the figure stick arms. Once they were finished, they sat back and gazed upon their work.

He was a little short for a snowman, but the eternal grin on his face was infectious. Nina bumped Alison in the elbow as they looked at him.

"Told you he was cute."

"Yeah, he's got a certain charm to him. He looks like he could be your kid!"

"No way! See that smirk he has? He's definitely yours."

"Nina!"

Thus ensued a snowball fight to end all snowball fights. Alison chased her younger friend, finding her hidden behind trees or benches in an attempt to escape her icy wrath, but the redhead was entirely unsuccessful. They both finally fell, exhausted, making blue-faced snow angels while they tried to catch their breath.

It was the first time in a long time that they both felt completely happy, and despite the rocky start to the day, Alison finally found a reason to celebrate today. She had her best friend at her side, here to make her laugh when things got bad and give her courage when she felt she couldn't be brave.

She smirked as she lay in the snow, watching quietly as more flakes drifted down to rest on her frigid skin.

"Best. Birthday. Ever."


AN: Just a reminder that this story won't be updated again until next Friday (Apr. 11th) because of some things in the real world that I need to take care of, but things should return to a normal weekly schedule after that.

Are you guys ready to see more Frozen characters in here...? ;)