Mizore and Nathan were sitting at the bus stop, Mizore resting her head against Nathan's shoulder as they waited.
"Are you nervous?" Mizore asked Nathan. He shook his head, "Nah, your mother seemed really nice with her letter, and by the sounds of it, already accepts our relationship with each other." Nathand wrapped his arm around her waist. Mizore smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, she is already planning everything out, she seems super excited to meet you." Nathan grinned, "Yeah, I can't wait to meet my mother-in-law." He chuckled while Mizore stared at him, with a hint of curiosity, confusion, and happiness. "Mother-in-law?" Mizore asked, but Nathan ignored her as the bus had arrived.
The bus doors opened, and the white eyed, mysterious bus driver greeted the two. Nathan had picked up his suitcase, and allowed Mizore to hop on first, following her right after. The doors shut behind him, and the two sat in the back row seats. As they seated themselves, the bus driver pulled out of the school, made a turn around, and drove through the pitchblack tunnel. As the drive started, Mizore glanced at the suitcase and backpack Nathan had brought with him.
"What did you all bring exactly?" Mizore asked, indicating the belongings of his. Nathan peeked over at them as well. "Not much, just some clothes, a few personal belongings, and a surprise." Mizore looked up at him. "A surprise?" Nathan nodded. "What kind of surprise?" Nathan chuckled, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?" Mizore gave him a dirty look, and in return all she got was a grin.
The ride took about an hour. In that time, Mizore had taken a small nap on Nathan's lap, as he gently stroked her sleeping form. The bus driver looked back at the two, smiling to himself. "Young love.." He muttered to himself, as he approached a snowy village.
"Okay, we are here, everyone out." He said to the couple sitting in the back. Nathan shook Mizore awake, and grabbed their possessions. They exited the bus, and stepped forth into the snow. As they did, the bus doors immediately shut, and the bus driver took off, disappearing from view quickly.
"Ready to show me around?" Nathan asked. Mizore took his hand, and guided him through the snow, and into her village. Upon entering the village, Mizore and Nathan were greeted on the outskirts by Tsurara. She waved eagerly at the two, walking towards and giving Mizore a large hug.
"Mizore, it's so good to see you! How have you been?" Mizore smiled at her mother, "I've been great mom, Nathan, here, has made my life so much better." Mizore showcased Nathan, who waved at Tsurara, throwing his arms out for Tsurara to hug him, "Come here, Tsurara." Tsurara looked over at Mizore, who was feeling very embarrassed. "I really like this one." Tsurara laughed and hugged Nathan tight. Mizore's face flushed as she saw how comfortable they already were with each other.
"Okay, mom, that's enough." Mizore pulled her mom away from Nathan. Tsurara beamed at her daughter. "You made a great catch, sweetie. I just met him and I already love him." Mizore smiled. She looked at Nathan, and rubbed herself against him. "Can you take us home now, mom?" Tsurara nodded her head, and began walking in the direction of the home. Mizore and Nathan were following close behind her, Mizore holding Nathan as they passed by the homes of the other inhabitants. They walked out and waved at the young couple, blessing them and their love.
"The village is a small community, so we all know of each other here." Mizore told Nathan as they walked past other snow people. Nathan waved at them all, giving them his signature grin. The trio had finally reached the home of Mizore. The building in particular was a cozy looking log cabin, similar to the one from Nathan's childhood. Tsurara was the first to enter, followed up by Nathan and Mizore. The inside was what any modern home seemed to look like. The walls were covered with wooden panels, the furniture was absolutely astounding, and the ground was carpeted with a glacier shade of blue, almost making it appear to be made of ice. Thankfully, it wasn't though. Nathan didn't need any more ice to slip on. Tsurara directed the two to the living room. It consisted of a large, 75" flatscreen TV; two couches, each a shade of white; a glass coffee table; and TV stand, with picture frames of Mizore and her family.
"You two can sit here for now, while I finish up dinner." Tsurara left them alone, winking to Mizore before exiting. Nathan placed his luggage down, and relaxed into the couch, staring up at Mizore, looking like he was staring at the face of God.
"This is single handedly the most comfortable couch I have ever sat in." Nathan said, leaning back and being absorbed by the couch. "I can feel the couch eating, and I can't help but feel heavenly." Nathan said, closing his eyes and accepting his fate. Mizore rolled her eyes, and sat down next to him, pulling him out of his sancitionary. He gave her a look of disappointment when she did, but she ignored it and turned on the TV.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Mizore asked Nathan, flicking through the different channels. "I want to be engulfed by your couch again." He replied, slowly sinking back into the couch again. Mizore rolled her eyes, as she moved over, and sat on top of his lap. "Well, while you do that, I'm going to sit here and watch my movie." She stopped on a channel premiering Frozen. Nathan was moaning out of delight from sinking further into the couch, not listening to anything other than the couch consuming him. Mizore leaned back, laying at an angle so she wouldn't be where Nathan was. Nathan wrapped his arms around Mizore, pulling her closer towards him and holding her firmly there. Nathan then said something, but his face was so deep in the couch, it only came out as mumbles. Mizore smiled, and turned to face him. She got out of his arms, put her legs on either side of him, and yanked Nathan out of the couch. It took a full minute of yanking and pulling, and of him resisting it. But, she kept doing it until she finally managed to get him out.
"There, now I can see my sexy boyfriend." She kissed him passionately on the lips, then pulled away. Nathan smiled as he put his hand on her face. "I love you.." Nathan kissed her lips, then whispered into her ear, "My little snow angel." Her face blushed a crimson red, then she shoved her face deep into the crook of his neck. He lovingly stroked her head, kissing her neck a bit. Before they could continue, Tsurara walked into the living room.
"Dinner is ready!" She eagerly said to them. Nathan gave her a thumbs up, and smiled a thank you to her. She walked out, and Mizore removed her head from Nathan's neck, her face still blushing a tiny bit.
"Come on.." She whispered to Nathan, her voice shy and embarrassed. Nathan grinned at her reaction, happy with the results he got from her. Mizore and Nathan then got up, and went into the kitchen. Laying on the table, there were two bowls of blue salad, and two plates each containing mashed potatoes and meatloaf. Mizore sat down on the left side of the table, and Nathan sat on the end next to her. Tsurara sat in the seat next to Nathan as well, smiling dearly at him as he ate her food. His eyes lit up as he took his first bite, looking at Tsurara, and swallowing it down.
"This food is delicious, Tsurara, it's taste is just like the feeling of your couch, it's divine!" He said, taking another bite. Tsurara put her hand to her mouth as she laughed. "Thank you, I appreciate the compliment." Nathan devoured the remaining portion of his food, licking the plate clean with his tongue. Mizore smiled as she saw her mother laugh, and Nathan grin.
"So Nathan.." Tsurara rested her hands on her head as she smiled at Nathan. "What kind of monster are you? Mizore never told me." Nathan's smile fell, as he turned it into a slight frown. He rubbed his head, and looked at the table. Mizore noticed this and answered for him.
"Mom, he doesn't really like to talk about it." Mizore told her mother, causing Tsurara to frown a bit. "Oh, alright." She turned back to Nathan, "Well, then, Nathan, how much do you love my daughter?" Nathan perked up at this, and his frown turned back to a grin.
"Tsurara, I love Mizore more than words could express. I would gladly put my life on the line if it means her safety is guaranteed." Nathan grabbed Mizore's hand, and kissed it gently. Tsurara gave Mizore an approving look, nodding her head, and turning back to Nathan. "How far are you willing to go with my daughter?" Nathan's eyes turned up, as he started to think.
"I'm willing to go as far as I'm able too," Nathan said. Tsurara nodded her head, and
placed her hand on Nathan's hand. "You're perfect for Mizore." Nathan smiled and nodded his head. "So, when do you plan on proposing to Mizore?" Mizore's face grew red as she screamed at her mother.
"Mom! Don't say that!" Mizore yelled at her, Tsurara looking at her with a confused look. "Why not? You're almost seventeen, you need to get married soon." Mizore glared at her, and looked at Nathan, who's face had remained calm this whole time. "I'm sorry Nathan, I didn't expect my mom to bring that up." Nathan turned towards Mizore, his face not once changing from a calm, smiling expression.
"Why are you apologizing?" He asked Mizore, taking her off guard. "We-well u-uhh.. y-you know.. m-marriage p-p-pros-sal.." She stuttered out. "Mizore, my mother and sister were snow women, I understand how your species work." He placed his hand on Mizore's hand. She looked at him with a confused expression.
"But.. I'm almost seventeen.. And we've only known each other for two months.. Aren't you concerned at all..?" Mizore asked Nathan. Nathan stood up, walked over to Tsurara, and whispered into her ear. Tsurara smiled widely, clapping her hands.
"Of course! Of course! Got right ahead!" She cheered. Nathan smiled, and moved over to Mizore. "Follow me," He extended out his hand, offering it to her. Mizore took it, and he directed her outside into the cold. Mizore was immune to the cold, so she wasn't that surprised. But what surprised her, was that Nathan wasn't being affected by the cold. He looked at her, taking in regard her confusion. He knew right away what she was confused by.
"My mother was a snow woman, so some of her blood is within me. While I may not be a snow boy, I still inherited some of my mother's traits, including resistance against the cold." He explained to Mizore. Mizore nodded her head, remaining silent as he guided her out of the village. They continued walking, the village obscuring from their view.
"Where are you taking me?" Mizore asked. Nathan didn't say anything, only guiding her farther into the snow. After five minutes, Nathan stopped, and Mizore looked to where he had brought her. It was an ice made cabin, with small white flowers blooming along the outer edges. Mizore has never seen the building before, and looked up at Nathan.
"Nathan, where are we?" Mizore asked Nathan, slightly concerned about where they were. Nathan looked down at Mizore, tears building up in his eyes. He smiled softly, and closed his eyes.
"This is my mother's home, when she lived with the snow people." Nathan told her. Mizore was taken aback. "You're mother lived here?" Nathan nodded his head. "Yes, but she was never truly associated with the community. She lived on the outskirts of the village, staying in this house with her mother." Nathan brought Mizore closer to the cabin. He walked past the flowers, bending down and examining them.
"My mother would always plant flowers." Nathan touched one of the flowers, the flower then started frosting over. He smiled as he looked up at Mizore. "Yukiyo flowers, they sort of frost when they come into contact with something." Mizore touched one as well. She placed her finger on it, sending a cold touch through her finger. The flower frosted over after her touch, covering the petals and stem in frost.
Nathan then raised himself up, and made his way to the cabin's entrance. He dug into his
pocket and pulled out a key. Mizore looked at the key. It wasn't a normal key, it was made completely out of ice. Nathan put the key into the lock, and turned it, opening the door for him.
"Surprise." Nathan said, throwing the door open and leading Mizore into the cabin. The interior was stunning. The walls were made completely out of ice, not transparent enough to see outside, but instead, it resembled a glacier. The floor was not made out of ice though, it was made out of spruce wood instead. Mizore stepped further instead, staring into the living room. It had two white couches, similar to hers, resting on opposite sides of each other. In between the couches, there was a long, wooden table sitting there, a board game laid out on the table, already set up and was in the process of being played. Behind the farther couch, there was a mantle, with multiple picture frames scattered across it. Mizore walked over, and stared at all the pictures.
"This one here," Nathan stood next to her, gripping the first frame, "Was my mother and my grandma when they were younger." The picture frame was of a young girl, sitting on a beautiful woman's lap. They both had long, white hair, and blue pupiless eyes. They were smiling at each other, the young girl holding onto the woman's neck. Nathan placed the frame back where it was. "My mother, she lost my grandfather at a young age. It was heartbreaking for my grandmother and mother. The villagers tried helping them, but they didn't accept the help, instead they moved from the village, and made their new home here." Nathan moved over to the next picture, this one containing him and his little sister, sitting at the table and playing a game with their father and their grandmother. "We would always come here during the holidays, visiting my grandmother, and spending time with her. We would always have a great time. But, being young and immature, we would never clean up our messes." Nathan pointed over to the board game still left out. "Our grandma wouldn't mind though, she enjoyed the memories." Nathan smiled. "We would always send her photos of ourselves, whenever we couldn't make it, we'd send her photos of us." Nathan pulled down two pictures, each one of him and his family, holding up cards saying, 'We Miss You Grandma'. In the first picture, they were wearing bunny ears, and buck teeth, and in the second one, they were wearing santa hats, and Crystal was wearing an elf outfit, while his father wore a reindeer outfit. Mizore laughed a tiny bit, pointing to Nathan in his Santa outfit. "You look cute in that." Mizore said to him, Nathan kissed her nose, "Thank you. Our grandmother thought so too." Nathan put them back on the mantle, and picked off the last frame. "It was when I was around 8 years old, our grandma fell ill. We rushed over to see her, and she was being treated in the village's infirmary." The last photo was of Nathan and Crystal, holding onto their grandmother, as she laid in bed, looking deathly ill. "It wasn't too long after this photo was taken, maybe an hour or two, that she passed away." Nathan said, placing the photo back on the mantle.
"The reason I brought you here," Nathan turned back to Mizore, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small box, and examined it a bit. "Was because it was here that my father proposed to my mother." Nathan got down on one knee, and pulled open the box to Mizore. In it, there was a silver, diamond encrusted ring. But on the diamond, two symbols were sketched into the gem, a moon and a snowflake. "Mizore, in the time I got to know you, I've grown to care deeply for you. You have become the center of my life, the source of happiness I lost so long ago. I realize that you are important and a special part of me, and I don't want to end up losing you too. So, Mizore, my sweet little snow angel, will you marry me?"
Mizore teared up a bit, and enthusiastically nodded her head. She jumped onto Nathan, kissing him all over his face, she landed on his lips, and stayed there for a minute before letting him go. "I love you, Mizore." He took the ring out of the box, and placed it onto her ring finger. She looked at it, and beamed with happiness. "I love you too, Nathan," She jumped on him, and squeezed him tightly, shoving her face into his neck and remained there still. Nathan smiled softly, and sat down on the couch, not wanting to break the moment.