As October turned into November, and November turned into the first week of December things were getting back to normal in Lazy Town. Stephanie was once again the cheerful energetic girl she was before her parents died. The children continued to play and work hard in school. Robbie continued to cook up schemes to get rid of the two menaces but they were half hearted and didn't do much other than make the children laugh. Sportacus continued being the hero and saving people when they needed it. Less frequently was he called to the Meanswell residence for a nightmare and he carried on seeing Robbie each evening in his lair. However as much as things went back to normal other things had changed.

The nights had gotten colder, everybody was starting to put Christmas decorations up and sing Christmas Carols. Gingerbread could be smelt wafting through windows and everybody was getting excited.

The other thing that changed, this time more dramatically was the relationship between Robbie and Sportacus. They were becoming closer, alot closer. Sometimes Sportacus would perch himself on the arm of Robbies chair and casually place his arm round Robbies shoulders. And although he didn't eat it himself, Robbie always made sure to have bottled water and sportscandy ( not tainted ones either!) in his fridge. He maintained it was because he couldnt be bothered to deal with a hungry Sportakook in the evenings, but that wasn't quite true. As He continued to spend time with him, butterflies increased in his stomach. He knew he was falling for the blue elf. And he also knew It was a very dangerous slope to slip down but the longer he was there, in his house, the less he cared. Little did he know, Sportacus was feeling the same way.

Sportacus was confused, he had begun to love the times he spent with Robbie. He enjoyed teasing and laughing with him. Even if he was still snarky and grumpy most of the time. He looked forward to the evenings, once the Town was asleep and he could make his way to Robbies Lair and spend a few hours. The butterflies were getting stronger. He wanted to tell him, Tell him he was falling for him. He just didnt know how, and he was scared of rejection. Robbie had never made it a secret of his dislike of the superhero, but he hoped, even a little, that the last couple of months had changed that.

Little did he know, the oportuntity to tell Robbie was coming closer. And not in the way they expected.

When Stephanie woke up on the 3rd December it was silent. Not even hearing the birds singing as she usually did in the mornings. She slowly looked outside her window and squealed in delight. Rushing to get ready for school and after eating her breakfast she ran outside and looked around in wonder. White fluffy snow covered the entirety of Lazy Town. The basketball hoops, the soccer goals, even Robbies billboard had a layer of snow on it. It was still snowing lightly and she spun in a circle, arms outstretched and her tongue out wide to catch it. Laughing she flopped down and spread her arms and legs. She jumped as somebody appeared suddenly above her and a hand flashed in her face. She looked up at a smiling Sportacus, grinned and took his outstretched hand. Pulling her up he spun her round loving listening to her giggles and laugh.

'Good morning Stephanie, enjoying the snow?'

'Hi Sportacus! It's amazing isn't it? so peaceful and calm!' They stood for a moment, enjoying the tranquility.

' Hey Pinkie! Come have a snowball fight before school starts!'

'Coming! See you later Sportacus!'And she ran off to join her friends.

Sportacus chuckled, he loved seeing her like this.

' Don't get too wet kids or you'll be cold all day!'He called to their retreating backs.

'We won't!' Came back towards him.

Sportacus loved the snow He enjoyed playing in it, He enjoyed the peace and he also just loved the way it looked. He saw Stephanie playing and flipped over to her just as she finished doing a snow angel. Pulling her up and enjoying the view he was swept up in her joy. She's getting better, nothing can bring her back down. she's strong. And she's got me.

Waving her off he made his way back to his airship and got ready for the day.

A few hours later, just before 4pm, he made his way towards Robbies Lair. The path there now second nature as he had been making the trip twice daily for two months now. Sportacus felt nervous, he had a present for Robbie. Nothing special, just a big new fluffy coat that would keep him warm. He'd noticed just how cold it got in the lair and be didnt like the thought of Robbie being cold. The butterflies still fluttering in his belly.

Not even bothering to knock on the hatch anymore, he slid down the tunnel and landed next to the chair. Robbie was sleeping soundly, obviously having an afternoon nap while the kids were in school.

Shaking his head and smiling he reached down and shook Robbies shoulder. It took a few attempts but he finally awoke.

'wha.. what where's the cannon?'Robbie mumbled stupidly. Getting his barings, and seeing the blue elf stood in front of him he huffed and moved slightly so that he could sit down.

' Couldn't you see I was sleeping elf? What are you doing here anyway, its hours until you usually grace Little old me with your presence. ' Despite his sparky tone, he felt giddy knowing Sportacus had come to see him.

Sportacus chuckled and he could feel the blush rising up his cheeks.

' er, um, I um, I brought you a gift.' Robbie stared, he hadn't expected that.

'a gift? for me? really?'

'yes, here you are.' He dropped a package onto Robbies lap. Robbie felt a lump in his throat, he hadn't been given a gift in a very long time. Not since his daughter... no! don't think about that. Open the gift and see what he's got you.Tentatively unwrapping the present, he was suprised to find a coat. Holding it up and inspecting it, he was amazed. It was lovely. Deep purple with brown fur on the inside. He was excited to put it on, it sure did get cold down here. But he was humbled that the elf had thought about his welfare. Feeling a little awkward as he had never initiated contact before. He stepped towards the elf and put his arms round him.

'Thank you very much,'

'Your welcome.' Sportacus grinned, slowly pulling away he looked into Robbies eyes. His gaze flickered to his lips and Robbie started to move closer. Just as their lips were about to touch there was a BANG BANG BANG!

Jumping apart and shifting awkwardly, both mens cheeks flaming, Robbie made his way up the tunnel to see who was making that infernal racket. Opening up the hatch he saw Pix? Pixie? Pickle? Wait,what the hell did he care what the little girls name was, what's she doing here?'

' Robbie! have you seen Sportacus?!' Feeling a little nervous he said..

'Now why would I have seen that flippy elf.'

'Pixel said he's seen Sportacus coming here every night on his cameras, he isn't answering any letter and we need him, it's an emergency!' Feeling the Blue man walk up behind him, and really not wanting to see the girl cry he stepped to the side and let his elf kneel down in front of her.

'Trixie? What's going on? Are you alright?' Concerned Sportacus looked at Robbie who just shrugged. Turning back to the distraught girl he waited for her to answer.

'Its Stephanie Sportacus!' Both men froze, what had she got up to now?

'What about Stephanie Trixie? is she hurt?'

' No, I mean I don't know, I don't think so, at least not physically, but she might be and I don't know!'

' Trixie, calm down and tell me what happened.' She took a deep breathe.

'Well we were just leaving school and these other kids started to build a snowman so we asked if we could join, you know make some together.'Sportacus nodded, everybody loved to play in the snow.'

' But, But one of the boys said no and Stephanie asked why, and he, he spat in her face and said 'Because we don't play with orphans freak!' Sportacus and Robbie sucked in a breath, how on earth could children be so cruel? Even Robbie wasn't that cruel, especially to children.

'And.. And she ran off through the woods. Ziggy ran after her but by the time the rest of us got to the trees they were gone. We tried sending you a message but you didn't get it. And then Pixel said he's seen you on his camera coming to Robbies house and I knew I needed to check! please she was so upset!' Twixie had started to cry, which in itself shocked the two men more than anything. This was the self proclaimed tomboy boy of the group of friends. She never cried. Pulling the small girl into a hug Sportacus said.

'Don't worry Trixie, we'll find them okay? You go and find the others, go to Pixels, get some hot cocoa and a snack. It's too cold for you guys to be outside today.' Standing up he turned to Robbie to see he'd already put his new coat on and had two flashlights in his hand.

'er'

'I'm coming with you, nobody should be going out in this snow alone and if both of those kids are hurt you can't carry them both back yourself.' Closing his hatch, he ushered the little girl away to her friends house and they both rushed off towards the woods.

Stephanie had had a great day so far, at playtime they had had another snowball fight and she was starting to feel like her old self again. As the group of children were leaving Stingy piped up and said.

'What do they think they are doing building snowmen with MY snow! That's MINE!'

Looking over to where he was pointing she saw a group of boys playing. Walking up to them she asked if they could play, she loved building snowmen.

'No!' A little taken aback she had asked why.

'Because we don't play with orphans FREAK!' Feeling her heart shatter and tears spring to her eyes she dropped her school bag in the snow, spun on her heel and took off for the nearby trees. She could hear her friends calling out behind her but she kept running.How could she be so stupid, of course things couldn't go back to normal. Sportacus had lied, the pain didn't ease at all! She kept running, running and running until she couldnt run anymore. She stopped in a clearing, It was dark now and the woods were scary at nighttime, especially in the winter. Feeling frightened she pulled her hat further down over her ears. She wished she hadn't left her gloves in her bag. Walking slowly in which she hoped was the right direction back home she heard the crunch of a twig. Her head snapped up and she froze, She could hear heavy breathing. Frightened, she stood as still as she could, hearing her own breath and feeling her heart trying to jump out of her ribcage. Suddenly there was a crash and she screamed, somebody else also screamed. Backing up quickly she fell backwards onto the frozen river. 'Stephanie!' She knew that voice,

' Ziggy!' CRACK!

Sportacus qnd Robbie had been walking for about 40 minutes, Both children had had a big headstart and they were worried. It had started to snow, and they knew any tracks they may have left would soon be covered. It was almost pitch black in the woods. Thankful for the flashlights they walked calling out the children's names.

'Stephanie! Ziggy! Can you hear me!'

'Ziggle! Pinky where are you!'

Both stopping quickly, Sportacus's crystal started to glow,

'Somebody's in trouble!'

Taking a few more steps Robbie suddenly threw out his hand.

'Robbie wha..'

' Shh!' Listening carefully they could hear somebody shouting. Making their way quickly towards the sound they could hear what was being said.

'Stephanie! Stephanie hold on I'm coming!' Worried about what had happened, Sportacus and Robbie sprinted towards the shouting. Just as they emerged in the clearing they saw Ziggy pulling a very wet and cold Stephanie out of the frozen river, a small hole where she had obviously fallen in.

'Ziggy!'

' Pinkie!'

'Sportacus, Robbie thank goodness you're here! She fell on the ice and it cracked! I only just managed to get her out!' Rushing to their side Sportacus turned the unconscious young girl onto her side and rubbed her back. Come on Stephanie breathe!'

She coughed, and spluttered up water. Shivering but opening her eyes.

'Dad?' Sportacus's heart clenched,

' No sweetheart it's Sportacus, Robbie and Ziggy. Are you okay? are You hurt anywhere?'

' co.. cold.' She stuttered, trying to wrap her arms round her shaking body. Two moments later she was wrapped up in the warmest coat she had ever felt, It felt as if she was wrapped in a cloud. Sportacus looked at Robbie in front of him. Faster than Sportacus had ever seen him move he'd removed his coat and wrapped the freezing girl inside. Picking her up into his arms he stood. Ziggy was standing back, scared and wondering what was going on.

Turning towards him Sportacus walked over slowly.

' Come on Ziggy, climb up onto my back, we need to get home before the snow covers our tracks.'

'Too late.' Looking up Sportacus gaped. He'd been so wrapped up on what was happening in the clearing he hadn't realised that the steady snow had now turned into a blizzard. Looking at Robbie and biting his lip.

'What do we do? theres no way we can walk in that, not with the children or Stephanie already freezing and wet.'

' Come on, I can see the silhouette of the mountain, there is bound to be a cave somewhere at the foot of it.'

After having Ziggy climb onto his back, making sure he had his bag, they trudged off in the direction of the mountain. Arriving at the foor 10 minutes later Ziggy jumped down and he and Sportacus began to search for a cave.

A few moment later they heard a shout.

'Sportacus, Robbie over here!'Walking swiftly over to Ziggy they could see him hovering near the foot of the mountain. Kneeling down to look into the small hole Sportacus shone his flashlight in.

'It has a small entrance but it does get alot bigger, it should keep it at least a bit warmer because its a smaller area for the wind to get through.' Nodding Robbie maneuvered Stephanie so that she had her legs round his waist, holding one hand over the back of her head so he didn't hit it on anything, Robbie scooted slowly through the cave entrance. It was awkward, especially as Stephanie had fallen asleep. Or at least he hoped she was asleep and not unconscious again. Once through he straightened up, put his Flashlight facing up on the floor and turned round to help Ziggy up who had just crawled through behind him.

'Thanks Robbie, is she going to be okay?' Noticing the little boy was close to tears Robbie placed his hand on top of his head and ruffled his blonde hair a little.

'She'll be fine as long as we keep her warm.Well done Ziggle, you saved her.'

' What no I didn't! it was my fault she fell in, I scared her and fell backwards!'

'But who was it who pulled her out again? If you had left her and waited for us to get to her she would have drowned Ziggy, we didn't get there in time to pull her out.' Sportacus had crawled In after Ziggy, He was proud of him. Even though he was scared he had still saved his best friend.

' I'm proud of you Ziggy, you were selfless and brave, Stephanie is very lucky to have you as a friend.' Tears silently falling down his cheeks, Ziggy wrapped his arms round Sportacus and hugged him. Returning the hug and looking up at Robbie to see him watching he gave a slight smile. One that he was suprised was returned.

' Right, Ziggle'

' Ziggy.'

'Yes whatever, do you have any spare clothes in your backpack? We need to get Pinkie out of these wet ones and into some dry.'

'oh um, let me see.. no that's not it, no that's my pencil. wait! here, I have my gym clothes, but they will be a bit small.'

'That doesn't matter, as long as it's dry it will keep her warmer than what she's wearing now. Turn away while I change her.' Not thinking about what he was doing and pretending as if it were his daughter he was getting dressed after a bath he efficiently changed the girl into the boys gym clothes. He was right, they were too small, but as long as they were dry he didn't care.

The men and little boy sat in a circle round the two flashlights. Ziggy slowly fell asleep, leaning against Sportacus. Robbie looked at his watch, it was getting late, 9.30 in fact and he knew that the boy needed to be at least semi comfortable to get a decent enough rest.

Sportacus seemed to have the same thought, maneuvering Ziggy so he was next to Stephanie, He laid his head down gently, removed his jacket and placed it round the children. tucking them in, he kissed both their foreheads, a little suprised at his own actions.

' Sweet dreams.' He whispered.

It had been a few hours since the children had fallen asleep, Sportacus was dozing lightly but Robbie was wide awake. He was thinking about his daughter. Wondering if she would be happy that he was helping others. She had always been a cheerful happy little thing. The kindest person he'd ever known just like her mother. Looking over at Pinkie and intently watching to see if her chest would rise and fall he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it. Good, she's still alive, though if morning doesn't come soon we may have a problem. We still need to find our way home.Looking at Sportacus he thought about the relationship between them. Things had changed gradually, and though he felt Guiting for falling for a man after he'd been happy with his wife he couldnt deny what he was feeling anymore. He had fallen in love with the elf.

Seeing him shivering slightly while he slept, Robbie made a decision.

'Elf.'He whispered,

' Elf? Sportacus?' Sportacus Jerked awake, he was cold and drowsy. He just wanted to sleep. Wondering what had woken him he looked around to see Robbie sitting opposite watching him. yawning he said.

'Robbie? are you alright?'

'Yes now get over here, you'll be no use tomorrow morning if you freeze yourself to death tonight' Opening his coat up and stretching his arm out, Sportacus hesitated for only a second before he crawled next to Robbie. Wrapping his new coat round the elf, grateful it was so big and warm, Robbie put his arms round Sportacus's waist.

Sportacus could feel the heat rise up his neck and along his cheeks. Thankful it was dark with only the flashlights in the middle he sunk into the warmth that was Robbie.

' Survival tip 1.0.1 didn't they teach you this at hero school?' Robbie smirked.

Chuckling Sportacus replied quietly,

'Yes but they actually taught us that having no clothes on is the best way to conserve warmth.' Robbie sat spluttering and Sportacus muffled his laughter by hiding his face in Robbies shoulder.

'Well um, obviously we can't do that, there are children here. And who would want to anyway.' Robbie was bright red, Sportacus tried to control his laughter, he now had confirmation that Robbie felt the same way he did. Slowly lifting his head to find Robbies face inches away from his he stared into his eyes again. Baby blue meeting warm chocolate brown. Slowly moving closer, noticing Robbie doing the same, they met half way, lips touching ever so softly. They parted. Both wide eyed. Gently and slowly, so not to startle the tranquility of the moment, Robbie put his hand to Sportacus face, He whispered.

'If you want me I'm yours. ' Sportacus breath hitched, this was it, he could say no or he could succumb to his true feelings.

'Yes, your mine.' And they kissed again, completely enjoying the moment despite how long a day it had been, despite how cold it was, and despite the fact there were children asleep not even 2 feet away from them. Pulling back Robbie gave him a breathtaking smile. Sportacus put his head back on Robbies shoulder and they both drifted off peacefully.