Winter was currently trapped in an igloo for all intents and purposes, until the storms broke long enough to let them fly back to the palace and wait it out.
Winter had come back to the Ice Kingdom in order to visit his older brother, Hailstorm. However much to his annoyance he found that Hailstorm had been visiting a nearby village for Snowfall, something about supply issues for the upcoming storms. Never in his life had Winter experienced the harsh storms during his namesake season anywhere else other than the palace.
However, on the other talon he had run into Lynx and she wanted to go with him to visit Hailstorm, it had been a rather long time since the two of them had really just been together. Not since all those years ago when he had been dragged into the Diamond Trial. She had really grown into a stunning dragoness and he was finding it more than a little hard to not stare.
She was just a little bit shorter than him still, he had to tilt his head just a small amount to meet her eyes. Those dark blue freckles that had once reminded him so much of Moon sparkled and stood out so much against her white and silver scales. He thought they were beautiful… and cute.
She was graceful, Winter had a few crushes while a dragonet and while some of them had grown into their own impressive dragons he found comparing them to Lynx a wasteful effort. Then his thoughts fell apart like a slow train wreck as he looked away hiding a bright blue flush in his cheeks.
They had flown to the small village and the three of them had talked and played a little like they had when they were younger. Hailstorm, Lynx, and he had gone off to hunt for their dinner and ended up in a snowball fight that Winter had to his credit actually won.
That the winning attack was him half slapping, half throwing the snowball into Lynx's face as he fell out of his hiding spot in a tree wasn't important. She had just laughed it off and elbowed him. It was the happiest he had felt in a long time, he wished Icicle and Snowfall could have been there.
"Winter? You're getting mopey," a voice spoke up nearby.
Winter jerked lightly as he turned to face Lynx, the igloo was rather large, enough so they could stand comfortably and fit two or three other dragons. Lynx sat a little ways across from Winter with a moon globe nearby and a scroll rolled out in front of her. He found himself staring at the blue freckles scattered across her face and cleared his throat.
"Sorry I was just thinking about when we were younger," he said, gently running a claw against the ground.
"Oh, and how you'd try to get on my team all the time? I remember." Lynx said as she rolled up her scroll and paused before adding on, "Or Hailstorm's. What else?"
"And how much Snowfall and Icicle would have enjoyed today," he admitted.
Winter looked back up at Lynx and she was grinning at him. He was about to say something when he stopped, "The storm has died down, come on we need to dig a hole for air again."
The two of them got up and moved to where the impression of a door would have been if not for the snow. They pressed together and began to work together to dig a hole out to the surface. Winter found it rather uncomfortable as they pressed shoulder to shoulder, claws scraping away ice and snow until one of them finally broke through.
It was barely brighter on the other side than their dim environment and by the end they had cleared a dragon sized tunnel to the outside. The storm had been raging for a while and had piled up against their igloo as tall as a dragon. Outside was much better with the snow being around a foot deep.
"It's going to get harder as it goes," Lynx said as she walked up behind him, their sides brushing as she pushed past him.
They could see the snow rolling in off in the distance. It spilled down the mountain and blanketed the forests, they didn't have much time left.
They returned to the shelter of the igloo and Winter found Lynx curled up with a scroll.
"Honestly Winter, the work you've done with humans these past few years," Lynx said as she looked from the scroll before continuing. "Who would have thought that there was a whole other civilization just sitting under our snouts this whole time."
The way she looked up at him, the soft light of the moon globe nearby washing her already dazzling white and silver scales into a beautiful glow. He could feel blood rushing to his face and his words briefly caught in his throat.
"Winter are you okay?" Lynx said.
"Sorry, it's just I'm so surprised someone actually used the right word for humans." Smooth. He continued. "How much of my work have you read?"
She paused for a moment, "Ever since you went public and every report I can get my claws on. Snowfall got annoyed and... well you know what she thinks of our friendship. "
Her face cracked into a smile as Winter settled next to her, and he soon found plenty to talk about with Lynx. She seemed to scoot closer and closer to him as time wore on, soon they fell asleep with their wings and tails just barely brushing together.
The second day was relatively similar but he found himself brushing up against Lynx more. The two of them sat closer together with Winter expanding on the papers and reports Lynx had read. She'd sit there and just smile at him as he talked the hours away.
There was one notable thing that happened to them, when they were digging out another hole the Ice had compacted to the sides of the doorframe and Lynx had pushed up under him to help him dig out.
The tunnel had partially collapsed in on itself and that reduced the width by almost half. The positioning was awkward and him being bigger let Lynx squeeze in under him and she refused to let him work alone. She had pressed up against him the entire time. By the time they had broken through the ice he was embarrassed and rather uncomfortable, walking away from her to stretch his wings.
Winter woke up the next morning and went to stretch out when he felt something laying across his body. A gentle minty smell filled his senses and when he cracked his eyes open he found a wing had been placed across his body.
He tried to carefully wriggle his way out from under her without waking Lynx up. Lynx's voice spoke out softly above him, "Morning Winter."
Her wing shifted and Winter lifted his head to stare eye to eye with her. He felt both a pleasant warmth and a rather sharp jab of shame. Their snouts were inches apart and to his surprise Lynx smelled like mint.
He made to get up but Lynx gently pushed down with her wing and he stopped. Something in him didn't want to move, not really and felt relieved she had stopped him.
"Winter, are you alright?" Lynx asked.
No. "Yeah, why would you ask?" Winter replied.
Lynx locked eyes with him, staring, judging before speaking, "You were whimpering in your sleep. I just.. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine Lynx." He needed to stand up, to stretch and move around, and her being so close made him nervous. Her wing pulled back and he pushed himself up and paced around the edge of the igloo.
Once he felt he had calmed down enough he looked at Lynx. "I don't hear the wind, should we dig out again?"
The two of them worked to dig their way out, today it was much more difficult as their tunnels had collapsed overnight. They had to fully redig and remake it. It went up at a decent angle and stretched out for longer than he had thought it'd go.
After a certain point the ice and snow had turned to a fine powder that they scooped out and packed against the wall, blasting it with their frostbreath to solidify it. The snow got everywhere and clung all over their bodies, and when they broke free it was even worse.
Thick powdery snow poured into the tunnel and they spent several minutes just stomping it down as best they could before resting in a tangle of limbs.
Winter let out a low groan before speaking. "Is this what the commoners have to deal with every year?"
"Right, your first storm outside the palace. I honestly think it's great weather for- this," said Lynx before flashing him a smile. "But yeah this is normal outside the Palace. Back home in Evergreens at least."
Winter flushed and would have pulled himself away if his arms weren't so tired. He lay slumped against the wall, his limbs wrapped up with her as they rested.
They sat quietly as they watched fat snowflakes pour from the sky. They came in such thick layers that they muffled all sound and they couldn't see more than a few feet out. The cloud cover had thickened to the point where it might as well have been night for all he could tell.
It was nice sitting there with Lynx, watching the snowflakes drifting through the air. He'd have stayed there as long as he could but Lynx stirred and mumbled softly. "We should be getting back inside."
Winter pried himself free and soon was sitting back down in their igloo. He had just gotten comfortable when Lynx rather unceremoniously flopped down next to him. "You know, you still haven't told me what was bothering you this morning."
"Sometimes I have.." he paused before continuing. He trusted Lynx enough to talk about this. "Sometimes I have nightmares or night terrors about what happened after I went to Jade Mountain."
Lynx sat there looking both confused and worried so he elaborated. "Nightmares are well nightmares while night terrors are… They are more intense and I'm more or less trapped and asleep. Nightmares I can wake up from, night terrors I'm stuck in till they're over."
"Have you told anyone about this, Winter?"
He just sat there for several moments before speaking up again.
"Did I ever really tell you what happened, with Icicle, when I rescued Hailstorm, and everything that happened afterwards?" Winter said as he felt talons grip his own and he gave them a slight squeeze. It was difficult but he wanted to share it with someone and he couldn't think of any better dragon to do so.
She shook her head. "Like you and your friends defeating Darkstalker? I know you showed up in the Palace with everyone else after the battle over Jade Mountain."
"I never really helped stop Darkstalker, but I'll tell you what happened." Winter said and began to tell Lynx everything that had happened.
He told about the bomb, tracking his sister, Moon's powers, his hopeless crush, his friends, the fight with Shapeshifter, and more. It was disjointed, told as the details came back to him and the entire time he spent talking he had curled up with Lynx, their talons gently clasped.
They occasionally stopped to dig their way out and get fresh air, eat, and drink. After they were done they'd return and curl up together not thinking twice about how they had pressed up against each other. Whenever his voice would start to weaken Lynx handed him a frozen chunk of ice and he gladly chewed on it.
When he was done his throat was sore and his voice hoarse. "Lynx are you... with anyone? A dragoness like you, I can't imagine how many males are throwing themselves at you."
She let out a soft laugh, "That's an understatement."
She lowered her head into her claws and groaned before rubbing her head.
Winter winced and asked, "It's that bad?"
"It's constant," the dragoness said. "Great Ice Dragon it's everyone. Dragons have been trying to bribe my father, nobles have been throwing themselves at me! Tundra, she's even directly asked me to marry Hailstorm, Snowfall mentioned it to me too!"
She took a deep breath and squeezed Winter's claws, hard. He slowly slide a wing over her back and felt she shift slightly closer to him.
"I'm surprised, Tundra asked you? Snowfall too? That's a lot of pressure," before he knew it he reached out and brought her face up to look into her eyes. "Are you okay? None of them have gotten forceful."
She looked so tired, so sad. He squeezed her talon back as he waited for her response.
"Hah, you know I'd put them in the snow. Just I don't want to be with a dragon who won't make me happy. All these dragons, they just feel the same. I've talked with a few, pushed a little further with others but..."
"And Hailstorm?" He asked.
Lynx shook her head slightly, "Maybe, we've talked and we agreed that if we can't find someone else we would test the waters."
Lynx suddenly flushed and pulled her head away from him and changed to topic. "I'm sorry. Well, what about you Winter? Have you found that special dragon?"
Winter shook his head. "I've simply been working. I help Riptide with running Sanctuary, or I'm working on the Scavenger Outreach Project. I've simply not had the time."
Lynx cocked her head. "No passing interests? You're not just hiding in your work are you?"
Winter let out an undignified cry. "Why would you think that! I've simply been too invested with my work, not like someone would be interested."
"In your work or you?" She asked.
"I'd like it to be both really," he said with a pause. "I hope I haven't been too much of a bother to you for the last few days."
"Bother me? No Winter, this so far has been one of the nicest weeks in... a long time. I'll be honest, I missed you. I missed you a lot."
She looked up at him and smiled gently. She smiled so much but each and every one seemed to glow, he was glad she felt that way. It had been a long time if ever anyone had told him how much his presence cheered them up.
He had always been too passive with the dragons he had grown to have feelings for, and watching them slip out of his claws because he couldn't confront himself. He had nowhere to run and he risked a lot with this. All this time spent so close to Lynx, he wasn't sure if his feelings were just platonic anymore. He took a few moments to steel himself before he took the plunge. If he failed, he'd just not think about that now.
"Lynx, we've known each other for a long time now. Ever since we were barely on the wall really, and we've always been such close friends." He had to stop, get his bearings. Lynx had stopped smiling and looked at him, her eyes full of.. anticipation, curiosity, he wasn't sure but he was about to find out. One way or another.
"This time spent with you. I've admittedly looked for someone and once or twice I thought I found them. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place and..."
Lynx broke into his confession and her voice was warm and gentle. "Winter you're rambling."
"Well...sorry. I wanted to ask if you wanted to be more than just friends, partners, mates, a couple, a... a..." He trailed off and only now realized as Lynx gently clasped his other talon with hers.
"By the northern light, yes. I.. I've thought about you and me a few times. After the Diamond Trial, I cried myself to sleep at night thinking you were.." Her voice caught in her throat and Winter's heart ached.
"Then at the mountain, I thought I was going to die, that nightwing. He was just too strong for me, and then you just showed up and saved me. We beat him back, and I was so happy that you were alive." She paused and collected herself. "Snowfall banishing you caused a rift between us, but over time I saw how isolated she was, how much she was suffering. Then well the Pantalians showed and she put on that ring. It was so nice to see you even if we were so busy."
They had slowly pressed closer and closer together, their muzzles gently bumping and nuzzling against each other. Winter felt her claws gently digging into his scales. He had never seen Lynx so worked up before, the normally calm and collected dragon seemed to be falling apart in his claws, she was so worked up now that she was just rambling about life in the palace after she had come back from Pantala.
Winter lifted her snout up to look at her again, a blush forming across her face as he pushed forward and they locked muzzles. She pushed back slightly and groaned softly as she returned the kiss. When they broke apart she seemed more focused. Winter had no clue why he did that but the small thank you she gave him settled his heart.
After they had simply cuddled, Winter allowed himself to enjoy the intimacy. It was admittedly a little difficult and he found he had to get up and simply move his body around to try and relax, he simply wasn't used to such intimacy with her. Lynx was thankfully very patient with him as soon as he settled back down she'd curl up under his wing and lay with him.
That ended up being the last day they spent down in that hole. When they had dug back out the sky was crystal clear and the sun was down. The wide breath of the stars laid out before him and they had never been so pretty before.
Then a snowball promptly slapped him in the face and he sputtered loudly. Lynx was cackling off to his side. He scooped a talonful up and flung it back, splashing it right into her mouth. The snow fight was on from there, and they played and played until Winter found himself pinned under Lynx.
She laid down on him, smiling softly as her muzzle drew closer to his. He relaxed and leaned forward, feeling rather awkward when she smooshed another ball of snow in his face. "That's for falling on me last time."
"I had that coming," He grumbled.
They rolled in the snow, enjoying the soft powder and laid out relaxing under the stars.
Lynx looked over at him. "Well, we don't have to go back tonight."
"The storms could roll back in trapping us for longer," he replied.
"To the Ice Palace? I bet you'd like to see Hailstorm some more, " Lynx said her claws digging into the snow. "How long are you going to stay?"
Winter calmly looked at her before walking close and pressing against her side. Her tail twined with his as he spoke,"I was thinking about testing Snowfall. She says I'm her favorite cousin but I was thinking... another week. More if I can push it. I'd hate to have to leave so soon."
Her eyes light up at his words. "A week, maybe more? Will your Outreach Project be alright?"
"Well, Riptide has been telling me I really need to take a break.. I can send a letter and let him know, I have dragons I trust working there." As he spoke Winter nervously scratched at his neck.
"You know, I always wondered how far Snowfall could be driven up the wall. She's the same way, digs herself into her work until she drowns and I have to drag her back out," her face turned serious. "I will do it to you too, even if I have to fly all the way out to Sanctuary."
Winter just smiled. "Thank you, Lynx."
With that they lept into the air and flew off together. Nothing was set in stone but the two dragons were more than eager to try.