I once again apologize for the rushed-ness of the 'Autumn' chapter. xP But there is no moth this time. I can concentrate. :P

The snowball hit Tesla square in the face. He wiped it away, blinking his eyes free of the cold. Orihime giggled, clapping both hands over her mouth. Tesla glanced down at the snow, then scooped over and made his own snowball.

It felt weird to avoid rocks when making snowballs, but he was pretty sure he'd lose his girlfriend if he threw a rocky snowball at her.

What ensued was a snowfight, Tesla eventually having to dodge Orihime's flurries of snow. She was good at making snowballs, but she wasn't as fast as Tesla, so she'd taken to filling her arms with the fluffy stuff and dumping it on his head when he least expected it.

They were both cold, but they stayed outside, sitting on top of a giant snowpile. School had been canceled, and would probably be for next few days, considering the fact that it was still snowing.

Orihime nudged him. He nudged her back. Eventually they were rolling down the hill, locked in each other's arms. He landed on the bottom, her beautiful face just above him. They were both breathless, red-faced, and happy. It was probably the most fun Tesla had had in ages.

She kissed him, just a light peck on the lips, but it warmed them both through their bones. "Wanna go inside and have hot chocolate? I have a fireplace?" Tesla offered. Orihime beamed, getting off of him. Tesla stood up, attempting to get the snow off of his body. "We may have to change clothes."

Orihime giggled. "We may."

The two walked inside. Orihime grabbed one of Tesla's t-shirts and boxers for her to wear while her clothes went through the wash, one for Tesla.

After changing and wrapping up in a blanket together, the two sipped their hot chocolate and stared into the fire. She leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in the dancing flames.

"I love you," she said, a little sleepily. Tesla swallowed. Oh. Here it came. The big 'I love you.' But he loved her, so it shouldn't be a big deal, right? He did love her, right?

"I… I love you too," he replied. She snuggled further into his shoulder, and he took the hot chocolate from her hands, setting it on the floor.

It was simply lovely.

"Open yours first," Orihime said, beaming and setting a large box down before him. It was moving. This could either turn out really good or really bad.

Just before he lifted the lid of the box, it let out a small meow. Tesla smiled and opened the box. It revealed a small, orange kitten. It looked up at him through giant blue eyes. "Is it a boy or a girl?" he asked. The kitten leaped at the side of the box and succeeded in toppling it over.

"A boy."

"Verruga," Tesla decided. The kitten bit his toe. Orihime giggled. "Your turn."

The box he gave her was much smaller than the one she'd given him. She opened it and gasped. Laying inside was a delicate silver locket inlaid with tiny diamonds.

"Open it," Tesla said, already blushing. She glanced at him and carefully opened the tiny heart. On the inside was a picture of him and a picture of her – and written in tiny letters around the edges were the words Tesla x Orihime in carefully crafted script.

"I love it…" she breathed. "I'm sorry, mine's so horrible compared to this…"

"No, the one you gave me is better. You gave me a small animal, and I gave you metal."

"But it's beautiful! I love it so much, and I love you so much, too!" she said. Her eyes still hadn't left that inscription. "It- it's just…"

He cut her off with a kiss.

And it's done. :P It's sad, this site needs more Tesla x Orihime stories, because they're so. Frikking. Adorable.

I'm going to stop now before the rant gets out of hand. X3

AurorA