A/N: Happy winter in June!
-CCM
006. Snow Day
A light breeze, full of wintry chill that had become all too familiar since the season had changed, whipped at Rio's flushed cheeks and sent a shiver down her spine as she and Sanjay made their way down the main road in Echo Village, back toward the mansion. Their boots crunched in the snow that covered the street and piled up on either side of them. Rio wrapped her arms tighter around her chest, cursing herself for not bringing a thicker jacket along on their stroll.
"Rio?" Sanjay glanced over at the farmer with a look of moderate concern, a gentle frown appearing on his face. "Are you cold?"
The blonde shrugged, though she could barely conceal another shiver as the wind blew again, even colder this time. Her companion sighed, though not unkindly. "Here..." he unbuttoned his green embroidered jacket, shrugging it off his shoulders and offering it to her. "Please, put this on. It should keep you warm at least until we reach the mansion."
Rio shook her head quickly. "Oh no, I couldn't! I'll be fine, you don't have to suffer through this just for me. It's my fault for not thinking to bring a coat."
It was the first time Rio had ever seen Sanjay look even mildly annoyed. "Please, don't be so stubborn, Rio. I insist you take it. I'm sure you're worn down from all your work on the farm in this weather, and I would hate for you to catch a cold if there was anything I could possibly do to prevent that."
Rolling her eyes, though she couldn't hide her genuine smile, Rio allowed the butler to drape his large jacket over her smaller frame. She stuck her arms through the sleeves, amused by how they bunched over her shoulders and fell quite a bit past her fingertips."Thank you."
She looked up at the thick white clouds that blanketed the sky, and her smile grew as she watched the first snowy flake fall toward the earth, carried along on the breeze. It was followed by another, and then another, and another. Soon, the air around the couple was thick with large ivory snowflakes that slowly floated down around them."Look - it's snowing again!"
Sanjay nodded, his eyes wide in wonder. He still wasn't quite used to the sort of snowfall common in Echo Village during the winter months.
"Rio, Sanjay! Come help us build a snowman!"
The pair turned at the same time to see the three children in town stumbling up to them through the snowdrifts, each bundled up in full winter gear and grinning excitedly, their cheeks pink from the cold.
Rio laughed as Toni pulled her forward by the arm, into the knee-deep snow. Immediately, they kneeled down and began piling snow up with their gloved hands, starting on the base for their snowman. Sanjay stood still for a moment, an expression of bemusement on his face, until Niko ran back to him and pulled him into the snow as well.