Note; The long awaited ( or not? xD; ) chapter 11 is here! Do enjoy! And comment if you'd like. ;o;

The walk was long but enjoyable. They made small conversation here and there while on the snowy pathway toward Brownie Ranch. Another few flurries began to fall from the gray sky. No animals were out grazing the pastures there today. It made the whole district seem all the more eerie; seemingly desolate in a beautiful way. The wasteland that was the large meadow made Gil and Juli both feel all the more insignificant to nature's beauty. What a beauty it was too! Such fine white frost coating the cold leaves of Allen's tree. The bark seemed to be caught up in its own frost bite though it remained perfectly brown and full of aged lines. Juli's pretty eyes danced around the scene for a long few minutes and it seemed that Gil was also taken aback by the glory. There was silence between them.

Gently Juli gripped Gil's arm to lead him under the large tree at the very east of the district. "It's a beautiful place to sit and relax even if the cold is bothersome. I can always come here and feel relieved."

Gil nodded and took a seat after Juli patted some of the fresh snow away. The flurries were raining down a bit more heavily but nothing to bother either of them; the beauty of falling snow only added to the serenity that now encased them. Juli smiled as he patted some iced flakes from Gil's hair.

"Snowflakes are like little petals of a flower, aren't they?" the feminine man smiled. They're all designed differently and yet any quick glance would see nothing extraordinary about them. I find their beauty to be sublime..."

Gil leaned against Juli as a soft breeze passed by. He matched their lips together in a small kiss. That did the trick to subtract the chill factor. And when it ended, Juli nuzzled the side of Gil's cheek affectionately.

"You said you wished to talk. Of many things, if I'm not mistaken," Gil said with a notable grin on his face. "What is it, Juli? What is on your mind...?"

"You are, Gil. You have been for such a long time. And that is why I want to know where we will stand in the future. I know, the future isn't meant to be predicted," Juli spoke softly. "But once your cold subsides and the weeks of winter end, what will become of us?"

The blonde thought long and hard on the question. He sat there with a blank look on his face for quite some time before something clicked in his head. "Together," he answered quietly. "That is what will become of us. We will be together because I wish to be. I don't mind what others think if they ever know. I've never felt love before, not like this, Juli." Gil turned a bit. Staring into Juli's eyes at this moment would only cause a great blotch of red to spread over his face, so he saved himself the embarrassment and studied a tree far off to the side. "I've never been in love, Juli. I've never felt these things before. So I've been frightened until now. You've seen me change... I wish to understand these feelings I have for you. Won't you teach me how to manage them?"

Juli smiled a prize-winning smile and nodded. "I want you all to myself."

With that, he wrapped his arms around Gil and pulled him close. Together they sat like this; Gil happily nestled against Juli's chest and Juli with a happy glaze to his expression. The only thing Gil had on his mind was when this cold would clear, when would Juli take the initiative and basically seize control? It would be a wonder when he did! And the suspense would be so very frustrating.

"I sometimes wonder if you'll love me after we experience things together," Juli admitted quietly into Gil's cold ear. "I wonder if you ll like it... and I can only wish upon stars as childish as that may sound and pray that you'll never hate me."

Gil became serious but remained lazy in his relaxed pose, soaking up Juli's warmth like a glutton of heat. "I could never hate you. You mean too much to me."

"You're as precious as a gem, Gil," Juli stated softly. "You're as divine as a snowflake, and you're as intricate as one. I want to touch you but fear you'll melt in my grasp... If you catch my drift."

The flustered look appeared and he drained of color. Lightly, and in bad habit, he began twirling a strand of his blonde hair and biting his lower lip nervously. "T-touch me and I will melt..? M-maybe not as quickly as you'd think, Juli."