I decided to insert the Christmas OVA here because chronologically it just makes sense and also it's a good way of showing off Ame. I didn't want Yuusuke to be the first person this happened to but heck.

Ice Queen

Ame liked her job for the most part. The manager was fair enough, her co-workers were nice, and the pay was pretty good, and while yes they got the occasional pervert or high-maintenance customer, it was never too bad and the situation was usually resolved quickly either by a free coupon or the police.

So yes, Ame was happy she was working at the café, but she did wish the manager wasn't so foreign and so full of Christmas cheer, because it meant that the shop had to be decked to the nines with every bit of Christmas paraphernalia that could fit inside it. Stepping into the shop come December 5th was like walking into Santa's grotto. Tinsel and lights were draped across every conceivable surface, a huge tree stood in the corner saturated with bright baubles and a flashing star on the top. The bell that chimed to announce when someone stepped into the establishment now had the tasteful little addition of a sprig of fake mistletoe tied to it.

In addition to that, all the waitresses were required to wear either singing Santa hats, or reindeer antlers on headbands. Ame had gone with the less noisy choice.

Still because the manager was so traditional and so chock full of Christmas cheer, on the week of Christmas everyone was given time off to spend time with their own families. This would be their first Christmas together as a part of the Hinata, and either this would go well for Ema's sake, or heads would roll.

Ame stared down the snowy trail, her arms folded almost defensively across her chest. To her side, Ema was smiling and nodding seriously at whatever Yuusuke was saying while he tightened the straps on her snowboard. Something about raising her heels or whatever, Ame had stopped paying attention the third time he fumbled with the plastic clips just so he could kneel at Ema's feet a little longer.

It was Christmas Eve, and they would be spending the next few days at the expensive and expansive Naebi Ski Resort Hotel, which was a fairly split-second decision that had been made during last night's generous dinner.

During the feast Ame and Ema had cooked for dinner, Kaname had commented that it was a shame that Fuuto couldn't be around to celebrate the holidays with them because he would be performing live at a concert hall that was a part of the hotel. Between compliments about the roast beef, Masaomi had expressed his wish that Fuuto be with them that year, which had then led to several hurried phone calls and rushed reservations. Wataru wasn't allowed to come with them because he was too young, and Subaru was busy with basketball things. Ame really didn't care.

Finally Ame heard muffled click of Ema's straps finally sliding into place. "How's that feel? Is it too tight?"

"Well, it feels a little loose…" Ema knelt over to watch him closer. She looked especially sweet in her bright pink and white snow-jacket and matching pants. Her hair had been pulled into a low ponytail to accommodate the pink knitted hat. Ame's outfit was very similar, but blue instead of pink, and her hair had been tied into a long braid to keep it out of her face.

Ame eyed her own snowboard with veiled apprehension, and then stared wistfully in the direction of the warm café that was at the bottom of the mountain. Other than track, she didn't particularly enjoy sports, especially sports that took place on snowy inclines. Still, if Ema was up here, then so was she. Besides, they were still on the beginner's slope, and as long as no one tried to drag either of them any higher than the intermediate then she figured everything would be fine.

Suddenly a wave of snow came crashing against her legs, completely covering Yuusuke's face in white powder. Natsume slid to a smooth stop and lifted his goggles with a smirk. "Natsume-san!" Ema beamed at him. "That was so cool!"

"You three aren't sliding down yet?" He asked curiously.

"We're still preparing!" Yuusuke snapped.

"You're very good at snowboarding, Natsume-san," Ame observed with some admiration.

"You think so?" He glanced down at his feet as though surprised. "What I did just now was some basic gliding, and it's mostly self-taught."

"It's still really cool!" Ema insisted, oblivious to the way Yuusuke stiffened ever so slightly and began to pout at his older brother. Ame rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the other people on the slope. It was mostly little kids in colourful snow-clothes, their parents, and a few teenagers.

Natsume glanced down at their snowboards, and his brow furrowed into a frown. "Isn't this the first time either of you have gone snowboarding?" He asked. "I've heard that shorter boards are better for beginners."

"There's nothing like that," Yuusuke huffed, clipping his own board to his feet. "Besides, the shop was crowded, so I picked the best ones I could see."

Ame looked down at the board attached to Ema's feet with new worry just as someone glided to a stop behind her and wrapped their arms around her shoulders. "Is it alright to just go along with something Yuu-chan chose?" Kaname teased over the top of her head.

"You don't have the right to say that," Yuusuke scowled at his older brother. "We only decided to do this yesterday so we weren't able to prepare well. Talk about short notice."

Kaname's chuckles vibrated against Ame's back. She appreciated the extra bit of heat he provided, and dreamed once again of hot chocolate and whipped cream. "True, but I like to think that this is all fate," the older brother said, cuddling his little sister in a vaguely non-platonic manner. "We're all here, which is a sign of good luck."

"So is the quality of the snow also a sign of good luck?" Natsume mocked good-naturedly.

"Of course," Kaname replied with all the beatific certainty of the monk he was but rarely acted like. "We are currently enjoying good luck on these slopes. So, little sister," he squeezed Ame gently, dislodging her from her daydream – which had evolved into include freshly baked croissants and pumpkin-spiced lattes. "Let's go so I can teach you."

"What about Ema?" She asked.

"Natsume can teach her," he replied airily. "He's not easily distracted, and he's quite Spartan with his training."

Somehow that didn't reassure her, but she graciously allowed Kaname to lead her off. However she kept one eye on Ame at all times and was pleased to note that, while she did see her sister wipe out a few times, it was nothing severe and Natsume was always close by to make sure she was alright.

And then she saw Yuusuke march over to the two of them and decided that there had been enough arguing and pining over Ema's attentions for the day. She slid down the hill carefully, calling out to get her sister's attention. "Ema, where are you going?"

"Ame!" Ema's smile grew wider as she and Kaname got closer. "Yuusuke and I were going to the café! Do you want to come?"

"Yes!" Ame pretended not to see the disappointed expression on Yuusuke's face and laced their gloved fingers together. "It's so cold! I think there's snow in my jacket from all the times I fell over!"

"You didn't fall over that many times, Ame-chan," Kaname argued cheerfully, finding Yuusuke's disgruntled appearance amusing. "Why I'd even say you were a natural."

"That's sweet of you to say Kaname-san," she smiled at him, appreciating the compliment as best she could while standing in subzero temperatures. "Let's go get warm for a little while. Ema I'll buy you some soup."

Half an hour later the three of them were sitting around a small table, knees bumping together as they ate. Kaname had been called away by a phone call, leaving a half-empty plate of syrupy pancakes that the sisters happily shared between themselves in addition to their soups and sandwiches, all washed down with steaming cups of tea.

Yuusuke slurped his ramen, unable to keep up his bad mood when it was so good and warmed him from the inside. "It's so good!" He couldn't help exclaiming.

"Really?" Ema asked, smiling at his enthusiasm.

He nodded earnestly. "Do you want some? To warm you up?"

Ema shook her head. "I already have tea so I'm fine. It does look delicious though. Ame I'm surprised you didn't pick ramen."

"Ramen is comfort food you eat when you're at home in your comfy clothes with something on TV," Ame said with affected huffiness. "You know this Ema. That way if it splashes on you, you don't have to care."

"You only say that because you're a messy noodle eater."

"How dare you! I will not be called out like this by my own sister!" She smeared a streak of golden syrup on Ema's cheek and laughed when her younger sister attempted to lick it off. "You're going to hurt yourself. Here, use a napkin."

Yuusuke watched them interact quietly from across the table. "You guys are really close," he commented while Ema was wiping her face.

The girl blinked at him bemusedly. "Of course. Ame's my sister and she's always taken really good care of me. She and papa were the only family I had for a very long time. Until now of course!"

"Now we're all one big happy family," Ame remarked dryly while thinking, with pseudo-incestuous feelings. She got to her feet, hooking her back over her shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Yuusuke watched Ame walk away and as soon as she was out of sight he seized his opportunity. "Hey," he said, catching Ema's attention. "Since you can slide for a little bit how about trying the more advanced course?"

Ema's brow furrowed slightly. "Oh, I'd like to but…"

He hurried to assuage her worries, wanting her to agree before Ame appeared and put a cork in his plans to get Ema alone and show her what a capable and dependable man he was. "It's okay! I'll be there to make sure you don't fall or get hurt!"

Nervousness and excitement flashed back and forth in her eyes before she finally shrugged and nodded. "Well, in that case…okay. Oh, we should ask Ame too!"

Damn! "Uh, how about we let Ame-chan rest?" Yuusuke said, trying to sound casual. "You saw her earlier, all cold and tired. In fact, let's keep it a secret! Won't it be cool to come back and tell her you completed an advanced level course? I bet she'd be really impressive."

A spark of jealousy flared in his chest at the way Ema's eyes brightened at the thought of impressing her big sister. God what was he doing trying to date someone who was essentially his sister? Sometimes he considered trying to get over whatever complicated feelings he had for her but then he'd see the way his brothers interacted with her and anger would flare up in his gut. He'd had a crush on her first dammit!

Ame's blue bag dropped onto the table as the girl sat down in her chair and arched an eyebrow at him. "Yuusuke you're making a strange face and now I'm curious about the conversation you were both having."

"Nothing! It was nothing!" He lied, badly.

She didn't look convinced. "Uh huh. Nothing. Right. Well I'm going to pretend I believe you and hope that my soup didn't get too cold while I was gone."

"Ame," Ema scolded playfully. Then she turned and winked at Yuusuke just as playfully and he had to duck his head to hide his reaction to how cute she was. To be able to snowboard with her, all alone, did that mean that God was truly with him? "Ah, Hikaru-san!"

The man smirked at them, a glass of red wine in one hand. "Hi~!" He chirped.

Ame stared at the glass, unimpressed. "It's 3 in the afternoon," she pointed out.

"And somewhere in the world it's happy hour," he replied breezily and then he kicked Yuusuke's shin under the table. "Oi, are you imagining something strange again?"

His face flushed and he scowled at his older brother, hating his perceptiveness and casually manipulative nature. "Just shut up and leave us alone. Why are you here anyway?"

"As it turned out, I had no interest in snowboarding. My interests are…" he trailed off deliberately and smiled at the two girls who stared back at him, one in confusion and one with no expression at all. Hikaru's smile widened. "So, Ame-chan, Kaname tells me you're quite talented at this!"

Ugh, whatever, Yuusuke huffed as the conversation buzzed around him. No matter what the future held, he would strive to be the kind of man Ema deserved and loved, and clearly this ski lesson was the perfect way to do it. Nothing could possible go wrong.

oOo

The thing about claiming that nothing can possibly go wrong is that by saying that you're essentially inviting every demon from all four corners of the earth to come and ruin literally everything.

What had started off as a gorgeous day skiing on a sunlit and snowy mountain had very quickly morphed into a grey hellscape as a heretofore unknown blizzard swept the snow into a mad frenzy. The roar of the wind drowned out his voice and Ema's and soon they lost sight of each other in the swirling snow.

Yuusuke cursed under his breath, trying to spot the pink windbreaker amidst all the grey and white. Then a scream rose up, high enough that he could hear it faintly over the howling. "Ema-chan!"

It couldn't be helped; he had to call for help, though he wasn't even sure there would be any signal. He groaned when his phone lit up to show a tiny x where the signal bars should have been. He couldn't carry Ema back, not all the way; the only thing he could do was snowboard back to the lodge and fetch one of his brothers. As well as, he gulped, as well as Ame.

He found her and Kaname cooing at an incredibly round squirrel in a tree. Ame's face didn't change at all while he spoke. In fact it almost seemed that the more he talked the less emotion she showed until he finally finished the three sentence explanation and her expression was so empty that he almost wanted to turn around to take his chances with the blizzard.

Kaname instructed the two to wait behind in the lodge where it was safe. Yuusuke braced himself, expecting her anger. When it didn't come immediately he felt himself relax just a bit. Maybe Ame wasn't the angry sort. After all she was Ema's older sister, and Ema was the sweetest person he knew. She had to get that from somewhere.

And that was when she punched him in the face.

Before he could even fall or move backwards more than a few steps Ame had grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close, staring him down with such cold rage that he definitely wanted to take his chances with the blizzard. "You don't put my sister in harm's way ever again," she told him. "She was a beginner and you took her to the advanced course. Did you think you were going to be her knight in shining armour? You got my sister hurt and if she gets ill or worse because of this, I will end you."

He could only nod and she dropped him just as Kaname's form broke through the trees, Ema in his arms and barely cognizant. "I found her! I think she may be suffering mild hypothermia though, and her ankle might be sprained."

"Ema!" Her hands fussed over his sister, eyes wide and distressed and no trace of that cold-blooded demon from before. "We have to get her inside!"

Kaname nodded seriously. "My thoughts exactly. Yuusuke, go ask if there's a doctor nearby and-" Kaname frowned at his younger brother. "What happened to your face?"

Even though she wasn't looking at him, Yuusuke could feel Ame's icy glare and it chilled him to his bones. He swallowed, hard, and shrugged. "Nothing. I fell."