Maki yawned as she fumbled her way into the kitchen. The clock on the far wall said it was six am; it was far too early for her to be up while on a short break from work.

She shuffled to the refrigerator and yawned again as she pulled on the door. Despite the lieutenant's continued reassurances that there was going to be heat, she was still cold — her entire body was covered in goosebumps.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the inside of the fridge and shut the door. She turned and caught a glimpse of Hinawa as he walked by the open doorway to the kitchen.

"Morning," he called out.

Maki greeted him with another yawn as she laid her head on her arms. She watched him from her seat at the small table as he grabbed his own bottle of water. He twisted the lid off and lifted it to his mouth before speaking.

"I'm going for a run, do you want to join me?" he asked her.

"It's too cold," she complained.

"We brought jackets."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I run every morning."

Maki studied him as he sat down at the table with his water. He was wearing black running shorts and a gray shirt; a black exercise jacket was tossed over the couch in the living room. She glanced at his legs. He rarely ever showed them; they were lean and sculpted — the legs of a man who never missed leg day. She shifted in her chair at the table.

"I'd join you, but I don't like running in the sand."

"It's better for your body," Hinawa told her. "It burns more calories and it strengthens both the muscles and joints in your legs. Plus who can beat that view?"

"I can see the view just fine from my window."

"Come on, Maki. It's supposed to snow later. Just run with me up the beach and back. We can even go into town later if you want to."

Maki sat down across from him at the table. "I just want to sleep."

"Please, Maki," Hinawa begged.

Maki grumbled as she stood up. "I'll go get changed."

"I'll wait for you."

Maki shuffled back to her room and unzipped her bag. Her yoga pants were rolled up carefully beside her favorite purple workout t-shirt, and both called out to her. She grabbed a sports bra and dressed, putting a thin gray jacket back on over her shirt to keep warm.

She grabbed her own sneakers and a pair of socks and walked down the hall. She darted into the bathroom and brushed her teeth before heading back out to meet up with the lieutenant, who was waiting at the door for her, zipping up his jacket. He turned to look at her.

"Nice legs," he said.

"What?"

"Pants. Nice pants," he corrected himself.

Maki looked down at her yoga pants. They were ankle length and black in color, with laces at the ankles. They clung to her legs, showing off the hard work she put in on her exercises. She appreciated the compliment from the lieutenant since she tried hard to not skip leg day. But, as she stared at his legs, it was obvious that the work she put in could never match his.

"Have you stretched yet?" Hinawa asked her.

"No."

"Great, we can stretch together."

Maki gaped after him as he opened the door. He disappeared down the steps and onto the sand and gravel driveway.

She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and followed him, the cool air waking her up. She stood beside him as he stretched, her arms crossed over her chest to keep warm.

"Hey. Stretch." Hinawa sat down and bent one of his legs inward at the knee. He reached out to touch his toes on his straightened leg and felt his muscles loosen up.

"It's still so early, though," Maki moaned.

"And if you run without stretching you end up with a lot of muscle aches. Just do what I'm telling you and stretch."

"I'm not doubting you, I just don't want to run." She bent over and touched her toes.

Hinawa looked over at her. Her dark-colored jacket reflected both the gloomy gray morning and her mood. His eyes never left her legs, so unbelievably toned from her workouts that it was like watching gears roaring to life when she began stretching.

"'I don't want to run,'" he repeated under his breath with a chuckle.

Maki scoffed. Her mind was focused on getting this over with so she could go back to sleep. She hugged her arms to her chest as she waited for the lieutenant to finish his stretching.

"Ugh, can you please hurry up?" Maki begged.

Hinawa grinned at her. "Why? Is something bothering you?"

Maki groaned. Her jacket wasn't thick enough to protect her from the cold, and much to her embarrassment, her nipples were trying to make an unwanted appearance. She recrossed her arms over her chest

"Do you want to borrow my jacket? It's probably a lot thicker than that strip of fabric you're wearing," he said pointedly.

"This 'strip of fabric' I'm wearing is just fine."

He laughed quietly, an almost musical laugh that wrapped itself around Maki's brain. She gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists into her chest, ignoring how much her heart had fluttered when he laughed.

"Come on," Hinawa said, extending his hand.

Maki stared down at it. She knew it was a bad idea to let her hand touch his. But she still placed her hand in his and yelped as he dragged her to a running start.

Maki couldn't think straight. His hand was warm around hers, but it had to be her imagination. It was still cold outside, and she was positive her hands were cold too.

It all just felt so… right.

No, Maki, it's wrong. So very wrong, she had to remind herself.

Hinawa let go of her hand and slowed to walk beside her. "Ready whenever you are."

She looked away from him. Her thumb rubbed the inside of her hand, her skin still reeling from where he had touched it.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "You go on ahead."

"It's okay. Let's just walk."

He gave her a small smile before leaving. Maki sighed and hurried to catch up to him.

"So, about that hot springs," Maki started. Her ponytail brushed against the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine; she crossed her arms over her chest and huddled into her jacket for warmth.

"What about it?"

"When do we go?"

"New Year's Day, of course."

"But, like, aren't we going to miss the festival or whatever goes on here for New Year's?"

Hinawa pulled her closer to him. "Yeah, but I thought you were more interested in the hot springs."

"I'm interested in both," Maki said. She felt herself blush as Hinawa's body heat warmed her up.

"Then we'll do both."

Maki sighed and sat down in the sand. The sky was gray as steel on the far horizon, and what little sunlight there was turned the lower levels of clouds silver. The sea was choppy and uninviting, its waves crashing along the shoreline.

Maki watched as the clouds slowly rolled in before speaking. "When do you think that storm is going to get here?"

Hinawa looked out at the brewing storm. It looked to be more rain than snow, but that was just a load of guesswork. "Probably in a few hours. We'll be back way before then, though."

He held his hand out to help her stand up. She stared at it and laid back in the sand, ignoring him. He sighed and sat down beside her.

Maki closed her eyes and rested in the cool sand, her fingers lacing together on top of her stomach. She sighed and turned her head to look at the lieutenant, who was sitting beside her with his arms crossed on his knees, staring out at the angry sea. She studied his profile: he had a slight frown on his face, and his face was deep in concentration.

"We should hurry and leave," Hinawa said suddenly.

"Why? That storm isn't going to be here for a while."

"Well, uh…"

Maki watched as his face turned red before he spoke again: "Your nipples are very hard and very distracting."

"W-What?"

Maki leaned up, feeling her chest as she did so. Her face burned as she realized he was right — her nipples were hard and poking through her jacket. She crossed her arms in embarrassment.

"Here," Hinawa said.

He shrugged out of his fleecy jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Maki put her arms through the too-long sleeves and pulled it close under her chin, her body quickly warming up. His scent filled her nose, making her heart pound.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem."

"Aren't you cold, though?"

"No, I'm fine."

Hinawa looked over at her as she covered her face with the sleeves. He grinned inwardly before returning his gaze to the choppy waters of the sea. The angry storm clouds had rolled closer to where they were sitting, huddled together in the middle of the sand.

"I think we need to head back soon," he said, standing up.

"What? Why?"

Hinawa had no sooner opened his mouth to explain when it began pouring down rain. Within a few minutes, both he and Maki were drenched.

"Shit!" he yelled.

Hinawa pulled Maki to her feet. Ignoring his hair plastered to his face, his shirt sticking to his chest, and the fact that he couldn't see out of his glasses, he tried to make his way back to the closest shelter.

"Ow!" Maki cried out.

Hinawa turned around and looked down. Maki was sitting in the wet sand, rubbing her ankle.

"Here, I got you," he said, scooping her up.

Maki blushed. "You didn't have to — I could have — "

"No. You hurt your ankle. There's no way I'm going to let you walk on it."

He carried her to the underside of the deck that led off of the kitchen. He set her down into the sand before sinking into it beside her.

"How's your ankle?"

"It hurts. I think I sprained it."

"Let me look at it."

Maki lifted her left foot and gently laid it in his lap. She watched as he removed her wet shoe and sock.

Maki hissed. "Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry." He gently pushed her legging up and inspected her swollen ankle.

"So?"

"It looks like a small sprain, nothing some ice can't help."

"That's good."

"But more importantly," he continued, "is that we get inside and get into dry clothes before we both catch a cold."

"Ugh."

Hinawa crawled out from under the deck and was immediately soaked. He leaned down and motioned to Maki.

She stuffed her sock inside her shoe and followed him. She groaned as her hair became plastered to her head by the rain.

"You're not expecting me to walk are you?" she asked him.

"No," Hinawa said, scooping her up. "I'm hoping you'll run all the way to the door."

"Oh, shut up."

He cackled. "I'll take care of you, don't worry."