Dawn was right around the corner. Snow was falling lightly outside the house and the quiet was but a whisper. Though it was a typical cold winter morning, inside the Leonhart house it was toasty warm. That's because the missus of the house insisted on the furnace being on all night despite her husband's protests that it wasn't that cold.

He let her win when she pouted, caving into her demands like he usually did.

But even with that victory, Rinoa remained slightly chilled when she woke up that morning. Huddled under the blankets up to her chin she looked like she was wrapped in them. Her husband had some of the covers on his chest but he let his wife have the blankets through the night. Not that he had a choice in the matter to begin with.

Scooting closer to her husband Rinoa wrapped her arm around his waist, which was bare.

'Crap he IS hot!' thought Rinoa as she brought herself closer to him. He hadn't worn a shirt through the night because he had said he was too hot. She hadn't believed him at the time but now she didn't doubt him. She rested her head on his chest.

"Told you," he mumbled. He was referring to how he had told her that she'd still be cold no matter if the furnace was on or not she'd still be shivering by morning.

Rinoa wasn't surprised to learn he was actually awake. "Oh hush you. I'm cold." She didn't exactly hide her movements from a professional soldier.

Squall sighed and put his arm around his wife. She felt warm to his touch but the fact that she wore lycra shorts and a short sleeved shirt made little sense in the dead of winter. Then again she had expected the furnace to be on and make her warm. Not a one hundred percent delivered promise.

"Besides you seem to have stolen all the warmth soldier boy. You can share," she said.

"My intention as always..." said Squall as he finally opened his eyes. From where he lay he could see the snow falling outside the balcony window and he groaned. He didn't really like snow. At all. Usually meant people were doing reckless things and not making the best decisions. "How long has it been snowing?"

"Since before I woke up I assume. I went to the bathroom a few hours ago and there was a pretty good layer outside."

Again he groaned, that meant he'd have to shovel it. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Luckily for him Rinoa was looking out for him, "Don't worry. The Garden team is going to handle it today. For their Commander, they said."

He almost laughed. "Good to know."

But she wasn't finished. She added the juiciest detail, "And they also said they gave you the day off."

Raising his head Squall knew the real deal. Balamb Garden never just 'gave their commander the day off'. "And when did you negotiate this?"

Rinoa raised her head and tried to feign ignorance. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Rinoa."

She wasn't going to cave into him, no matter what. "Just be glad I didn't have to go all Mrs. Commander on them to give you one day off."

The thought of her being serious in the face of all those cadets made Squall smile. It certainly would have been a humorous sight to see his wife, a woman who had never been truly serious in her entire life, trying to sound like she had power.

She didn't like his laugh, "I'm serious! I would have lowered my voice to make them listen if I had to!"

He rolled his eyes, "Look, I love you, but you could never be a commander if you tried."

She balled up her fist and dropped it on his chest, "Fine! I'll show you I can be serious."

Squall closed his eyes, ready to feel his wife get out of the bed and stomp away. Instead he felt the bed shift and felt her weight added to his. She threw the blankets back and got on top of him, straddling his lap. Squall raised an eyebrow as he saw his wife in a domineering position on top of him.

"What are you doing..."

Rinoa crossed her arms over her chest, "Whose the commander now, Mr. Leonhart?"

Though she laughed, thinking she was victorious, Squall laid in place and let her salivate for but a few more seconds. Then he made his move. He placed his hands on her thighs. She became distracted by that and left her open to what he did next. He forced her to roll over and she yelped in response before finding herself on her back and her husband hovering over her while sitting between her legs. Such a sight made her squeal.

"I am in charge, Rinoa," said the husband before lowering himself to his wife.

She brought her arms up and around his neck and pulled him into a waiting kiss. His hands had been on her hips and thus he had been unprepared. Most of the time Rinoa would try and sugar coat what she had planned but occasionally she pulled off a surprise like she did now. Squall appreciated it though, her rare unpredictability made their married life less than trivial.

Their lips parted long enough for Rinoa to speak. "As you usually are, Squall." But then she added a little spice to the situation, "Except when you proposed to me."

Squall grunted and pulled himself away. "You're never gonna forgive me for that, are you."

"Of course not! You panicked at the very last second and I had to help you do it."

That memory was something Squall would rather forget about. so much so that whenever people brought it up he gave them his death glare and they would shut up about it. Except Rinoa that is. True, he had planned to propose to her for a long time but when the time came he wanted to do it, he froze. Luckily for him she had seen it coming and helped him along, and that entire event turned out to be more humorous than he had intended it to be. It was a popular story among their circle of friends.

Squall sat up on his knees, though his hands remained on his wife's legs, "I still feel ashamed of myself. Thanks for reminding me."

Rinoa reached out to him so he could pick her up but he shook his head in the negative. His mood had gone sour. Propping herself up on her elbows Rinoa sighed, "You're no fun."

"You started it," said Squall. Then he noticed a detail about her. "That's my shirt Rinoa."

She playfully blinked in feigning surprise. "Oh is it? I just so happened to find it this morning."

Squall motioned with his hand to hand it over, but Rinoa shook her head.

"This is helping me stay warm. Hands away," she said, putting emphasis on it by bringing her arms to her chest. "It's mine now."

Taking a deep breath Squall reached down and grabbed his wife by the wrists and pulled her up to him. She made a squeak but quickly accommodated herself by wrapping her legs around his hips. She also put her hands on his shoulders to support herself. All the while with a smile on her lovely face.

Her husband had an answer to her attempt at playing a game with him. "Not for long."

Rinoa gulped, but at the same time couldn't wait for what was coming next.