"Hey there hosers! Good to see ya again!" Billy Rex called as the storm hawks arrived in the village on Terra Blizzaris.

"It's nice to see you too Billy." Aerrow said as he shook hands with the blizzarien and the other members of his team greeted the other absolute zeroes.

"Are you boys gonna do some back-country training while you're here?" Suzy Lu asked.

"You betcha!" Finn said grinning.

"Why wait?" Billy replied enthusiastically.

The blizzariens and storm hawks raced to get the ice grinders. Aerrow was about to join them, when he noticed Piper looking a little left out. He remembered that the last time they were here, she had wanted to come along, but since Billy and the other zeroes thought she was a sky knight, they didn't let her tag along. This time, he wasn't gonna let that happen.

"Hey Piper, wanna come?" he asked his navigator.

Piper looked a little confused.

"But, there are only 6 ice grinders, and if I come along, then we'll need 7, won't we?"

"Well, you could ride with me."

Piper's eyes lit up and she hopped behind Aerrow. She also had the good sense to wrap her arms tightly around him, because when they took off, it was fast, furious and out of control, just the way ice grinders and blizzariens are. But they all enjoyed themselves, shrieking with the excitement and thrill of the ride. Aerrow and Piper probably enjoyed themselves the most. With Piper so close to him, Aerrow couldn't stop smiling and his heart felt like it was going a mile a minute. The feeling was mutual for Piper. At one point, all 6 grinders took a small stop on a hill to take a rest stop, looking out over the snow-covered hills that glittered as though covered with piles of diamonds. There was a gentle snowfall, and Aerrow and Piper just happened to be sitting not too far from each other at the time. Billy noticed this, and he also noticed 2 other facts: 1. Aerrow had invited Piper to sit with him on his ice grinder, and looked rather pleased the whole time they'd been together and 2. Aerrow was now taking quite a lot of sideways glances at Piper.

"Hey chief." Billy whispered, nudging Aerrow to get his attention.

"What?" Aerrow asked, also whispering, having a feeling Billy had a good reason to be speaking quietly.

"Do ya have something for ya right-hand woman over there?" he asked, pointing his head in Piper's direction.

Aerrow started.

"What...! No…Well…you see…I…might…" he stuttered, but words failed him ultimately in the end.

"I knew it!" Billy whispered joyously. "We's all been having a feeling ya had something for 'er. And this here's the proof!"

Aerrow almost cringed as heat rose to his cheeks in a very red blush. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, literally. A huge rumble resounded all over the mountain.

"Avalanche!" Junko cried.

They all bolted for the ice grinders and took off at maximum speed. But the giant wave of snow got closer, and closer, and closer! In barely a few minutes, the avalanche had caught up to Aerrow and Piper (who were the closest to the avalanche), and swept them up in its wake. The others, who had by now gotten to a part of the mountain where the avalanche didn't reach, cried out as the pair disappeared under the snow.

…

Aerrow woke up, freezing as though he'd turned into an ice-cube.

"Aerrow, are you all right?" a voice said.

Groaning, Aerrow opened his eyes to find Piper looking down at him with anxious amber eyes.

"I'm fine Piper. But where are we?" he asked as he slowly got up.

"I guess some kind of ice cave formed by the avalanche." Piper said. "It's a bit of a miracle we survived. But we might freeze to death if the others don't find us."

"They'll find us." Aerrow said. "I know they will."

For a few minutes, they sat there in silence, hugging themselves and trying to keep warm. But it was getting colder and colder in the cave, and their own heat was running out. In 5 minutes, Piper began shivering violently and uncontrollably.

"Piper!" Aerrow said worried.

"I-I'm j-j-j-just…f-f-freezing." the girl shuddered.

"Come here." Aerrow said, wrapping his arms around the navigator. "I'll keep you warm."

Piper didn't stop her commanding officer. Besides, she was too cold to even try to resist. Aerrow brought Piper close to him, determined to keep her from freezing. Piper relished the feel of being in his arms, the warmth of his breath, the steady thump of his heart. It was a sensation unlike any she'd ever felt before, being so close to Aerrow, her small weakly cold form pressed to his. Their closeness warmed her as though she were next to a fire, and sent her heart racing with a passionate rhythm that she couldn't control. And she savored it. Aerrow too was savoring their embrace. As he cradled Piper so gently and yet so fiercely, he wanted nothing more than to be able to do this forever. But Piper's warmth was still depleting. She was so cold that the corners of her mouth were turning blue.

"I th-th-think I-I'm g-g-g-gonna p-pass out from the c-c-cold." Piper whispered, not having the strength to speak any louder.

"I'll be right here." Aerrow said.

Sighing deeply, Piper let her eyes close as she went completely limp in Aerrow's arms. But the sky knight also felt exhaustion creeping to his mind. He tried to fight off his fatigue, but to no avail. He gently lay down, still holding Piper tightly, and let unconsciousness claim him.

…

Only a few feet above them, Billy Rex, Finn, Junko, Stork, Suzy Lu and the other absolute zeroes were all digging in the snow trying to find Aerrow and Piper. Radarr was running around, sniffing to catch even the tiniest whiff of his best friend and navigator. Just then, he picked up a scent and began screeching at the others, pointing to the spot where he had located them.

"Look! Radarr's got something!" Junko cried out in excitement.

"All right!" Billy cheered.

Junko dug quickly and fiercely. In a minute or two; he and Billy Rex were looking into the ice cave occupied by their two now sleeping friends.

"We found 'em!" Junko called to the others who quickly ran over to haul the red head and blue-haired girl out of the hole.

"They're not dead are they?" Finn asked seeing that they were unconscious.

"No, they've just passed out. Extreme cold can have that affect sometimes." Stork said as they got the two onto a snow grinder.

"Let's get them back to the village." Suzy Lu said as they sped off.

…

The first thing Aerrow felt when he woke up was warmth. As he stretched out his arms luxuriously, he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was lying in a warm bed with a thick blanket in a room made of ice, clearly in the blizzarien village. Across the room, lying in a bed similar to his, was Piper. Aerrow smiled with admiration and love in his green eyes. Just then, Piper yawned and stretched, then her eyes opened.

"Hey Piper." Aerrow said, still smiling.

"Hey yourself." she answered. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Aerrow said, stretching. "Not cold anymore."

"Me neither." Piper said. "Well, maybe just a little bit."

"I can take care of that, if you want." the redhead said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Piper grinned back at him and got out of bed to join Aerrow in his bed. The two snuggled together under the blanket, glad to be in each other's arms once again. After a few minutes of silence, Aerrow decided to speak.

"Piper…" he said.

"Hmm?" she mumbled as she raised her head to look at him.

Aerrow looked at her with a loving gaze and he combed through Piper's blue locks with his fingers.

"Did I ever tell you…" he began, leaning closer to her and making his voice only a whisper. "…how much I love you?"

As Piper's eyes widened, Aerrow closed what little there was between them in a kiss. The crystal mage let out a soft moan of bliss. Their hearts racing at the speed of the avalanche that brought them together, Aerrow and Piper slowly pulled apart.

"I love you too Aerrow." Piper said in barely a whisper.

"I know." Aerrow replied, also whispering, before kissing her again.