Disclaimer: Still don't own, boo.

Note: ...um. So yeah, it's been just under a month since I last updated, and I am very, very sorry. All I can say is that I feel spectacularly un-Christmasy and have been very busy with school and four new fics, but other than that, I have nothing, sigh. But thanks for your patience, it's much appreciated. :) As always, any dates mentioned are based on the movie occurring in June of 1957. Finally, before you read this, I would ask that you watch my preferred version of this song here:

http://vodpod. com/watch/2701999-drew-holcomb-and-the-neighbors-official-music-video-baby-its-cold-outside

Don't forget to take out the space in the address. :) Anyway, it's ridiculously adorable (the singers are married), and I would not have been able to write this without it.

For: HedgehogQuill, SheWhoDreamsByDarkness-x, xXc0okieSsNcrEamXx, and Megfly, as always, with love. :)

—viennacantabile

merry christmas with love

eight : baby, it's cold outside

…in which Ice turns faintly blue.

.

I wish I knew how
—Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell
—Well, I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir!
—Well, mind if I move in closer?
At least I'm gonna say that I tried
—What's the sense in hurtin' my pride?
I really can't stay
—Baby, don't hold out

Oh, but it's cold outside
Baby, it's cold outside
Baby, it's cold out
It's really cold out
Baby, it's cold outside

.

Two weeks before Christmas, 1956

.

"So, whatcha doin' for Christmas this year, buddy-boy?" asked Riff conversationally, draping his arm around his third-in-command. "Got any special plans for your girl?"

Ice blinked. The other Jets had just left Doc's Candy Store to go make some mischief for Krupke and Schrank, but he and Riff had stayed, and were lounging in the back. "Nah, just gettin' together an' givin' her her present, is all."

Riff let out a low whistle and shook his head. "Man. Well. I guess it's your neck, kid."

Ice frowned, instantly on edge. "What?"

Riff shrugged innocently. "Nothin'. I mean…well."

Ice gave him a wary look. "What, Riff?"

"It's prob'ly nothin'," Riff allowed, tipping his chair back to balance precariously. "Maybe I shouldna even said anythin'."

Ice eyed him suspiciously. "Okay."

Five minutes passed, in which Ice observed out of the corner of his eye as Riff yawned, stretched, sighed, fidgeted, scratched his head, cast meaningful looks in his direction, and generally behaved like a five year-old with a Very Important Secret. Finally, Ice couldn't stand it anymore.

"What?" he demanded. "Just tell me!"

Riff's chair came back down to the floor with a crash. "It's like this," he explained very seriously, leaning forward. "Girls get kinda crazy about certain occasionalities that no one in their right mind can remember like birthdays, an' anniversaries, an' holidays. Me," he said with a snort, "I think it's all some plot to get as many presents as they can outta us poor saps. But we gotta go along with it, 'else there's hell to pay, an' who wants to deal with that?"

An unsettled Ice nodded. He hadn't thought Velma was like that, but he figured that Riff, who'd had about a million girlfriends, had to know more about them than he did. "Right."

"So listen," Riff went on, "this is you an' Velma's first Christmas together, right? An' ya really like this dame; least, I can't ever remember ya talkin' to any girl before her, so I figure ya gotta. Well, anyway, she's gonna be expectin' some big to-do over it bein' Christmas an' you an' her bein' together, an' it bein' so romantic, an'—" Riff shook his head and gave another whistle. "All I'm sayin', Ice, is if you go in there with just some dinky little present? You're gonna be outta there quicker'n Mouthpiece was outta tenth grade."

Ice didn't even hear this last part. He'd never quite thought about it before, but Riff actually had a point. He stared at his friend, unsettled. "Damn. Well, what do I do?" He paused. The Jet lieutenant had a girl who was a damn sight more demanding than Velma was, Ice thought uneasily, so if anyone knew how to handle this, it had to be him. "What're you doin'?"

Riff smirked. "Well, yeah, I got somethin' up my sleeve, but if I toldja, who's to know ya wouldn't lift my idea? Nah, you're on your own, buddy-boy." He clapped Ice on the shoulder and sprang up. "Now, uh, if you'll excuse me, I gots business around other parts-a town today." He winked. "See ya around, Ice."

Ice watched him saunter out onto the street, his mind a million miles away. Riff had just thrown a very big wrench into his thought processes. Ice hadn't even thought much about the fact that Christmas was in just two weeks. Sure, he was working on a present, but as Riff had just said: what was some dinky little present? Velma had spent last Christmas on East Side, he knew, and whatever idiot, goody two-shoes, Richie-Rich boyfriend she'd had then had probably gone all out to give her Christmas with all the bells and whistles on. Whereas Ice, on the other hand, had just been doing the odd job for Doc behind the other Jets' backs to save up enough money to get her a present. He scowled. One stupid present. Riff, he thought with some relief, had said something just in time. Velma was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he had to make sure she didn't send him packing for some dumb amateur mistake like the one he'd been about to make.

But to make Christmas something really special…

Ice frowned. The only thing was, he'd never had a girlfriend before, so he wasn't exactly on familiar territory when it came to doing something like that. He'd been lucky that Velma had had her birthday just before she'd moved to West Side, so he hadn't had to deal with that yet. And he thought he'd basically been okay with all the other stuff he'd seen the other Jets doing with their girlfriends, like walking them home, taking them out, all of that. In any case, Velma hadn't seemed like she thought he was doing anything wrong. In fact, Ice would've said they were doing better than ever, especially considering he'd taken her to meet his mother just a few weeks ago and she hadn't bolted, like he'd been afraid she would. No, Velma had actually made it very clear that she didn't care about that, Ice thought, still a little amazed. Which was why he definitely didn't want to screw things up right after she'd just reminded him why he was so gone on her.

So, with that in mind, Ice set about gathering advice from the readiest sources available. Which, in this case, might not have been the best idea…

.

"Ya wanna be complimentin' her a lot," said Big Deal knowingly, busily working on his gum. "An' they go crazy over pickup lines, y'know. Or lines from songs. They think it's real romantic." He grinned hugely. "Trust me on this."

Ice raised a doubtful eyebrow at him. Out of all the girls, he would've said Clarice was the most like Velma, but he had a hard time believing any girl would go for something that was really kind of cheesy. Still, though, he figured Big Deal had to know. "Sure."

.

"Mistletoe," said Snowboy very sagely. "Yup. Ain't nothin' like mistletoe to warm up a dame's cold, cold heart."

Ice stiffened. "She ain't—"

"Lollipops," advised Joyboy unexpectedly. "Or sweet things. But mostly lollipops. No black cherry." Then he returned to nursing the lollipop that was in his own mouth.

Ice frowned. "But—"

"Alas, for our poor young lad," Snowboy went on mournfully. "Huddled freezin' an all alone on the mountain of his girl's affections—"

"Forget it," Ice cut in, his ears red. "Mistletoe. Lollipops. Got it."

"An' if that don't melt her—"

"Snowboy. Shut up."

.

"Who the fuck cares?" snorted Action, throwing darts at the board. "Just give her the present, bang her brains out, an' be done with it."

Action, Ice discovered then, made an excellent dartboard.

.

"The park?" volunteered Tiger.

Ice shook his head. "No."

"The river?"

"No."

"Under the—"

"Jesus, Tiger, ya sound like you're pickin' out places to rumble," Ice said disgustedly.

There was a silence, in which Tiger scratched his head sheepishly. Then:

"The zoo?"

Ice groaned. "No."

.

"Write her a love song an' sing it under her fire escape," suggested Gee-Tar.

Ice wrinkled his nose. "Love song?"

"Yeah. Like this," Gee-Tar nodded, picking up his guitar and strumming a few chords. Clearing his throat, he launched into a horrendously off-key warble: "Christmas wouldn' be Christmas if I didn' have your sweet face, Clarice, oh, I think you're just fine, I wanna give you tinsel an' snow, just take my ornaments an'…anyway, you get the picture," he ended awkwardly.

Ice stared. "Yeah. I do." Poor Clarice, he thought. Whatever else he ended up doing, that was one piece of advice hewouldn't be taking.

.

Baby John shrugged helplessly. "Well, gee, I don' know, Ice," he admitted awkwardly. "I mean, she's a girl, so—somethin' girly?" He paused, then brightened. "You could make cookies with her!"

Ice sighed. He should have known better than to ask. Unlike every other Jet, Baby John actually meant making cookies when he said it. And while Ice was all for cookies, literally making cookies was no fun at all.

.

"What, girls?" snorted A-Rab, slamming his hands into the pinball machine with particular force. "Too much trouble just for the one thing. Don't want 'em, don't need 'em."

"Couldn't get 'em if ya did," cracked Anybodys, who was leaning on the nearby pole.

A-Rab glared at her. "Just 'cause I don't go for he-shes don't mean I can't get real girls."

Anybodys launched herself around the pole and began flailing at him. Ice groaned. Those two, he thought balefully, had far too much fun whaling on each other. "Never mind," he said to A-Rab, who wasn't even listening anymore, anyway.

.

"I bet she'd love ridin' a train with a buddy all day," Mouthpiece said eagerly, wide face stretching into his trademark grin. "An' I know just the—"

Ice glared. "No."

.

The only really useful piece of advice came from Tony.

"That's a doozy, Ice," the Jet leader said thoughtfully. "I ain't never had a serious girl, see." He paused. "But if I did, I'd wanna make her feel like she was the best thing in the whole universe. The only one for me."

Ice nodded glumly. Tony had it right, but… "Yeah. See, that's the problem. I do. 'Cause she is. An' I don't know how."

Tony shrugged. "I guess all you can do is think about what she wants, y'know? An' go with that. 'Cause you could pull off the greatest tricks in the world but if she don't like it, you're still just as sunk."

Ice absorbed this. Tony had a point. "Makes sense, I guess…"

Tony clapped a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Well, good luck to ya, buddy boy."

"Thanks," Ice sighed. "I'll need it."

.

Well, thought Ice determinedly after a week had gone by and he was still no closer to a solution, the Jets were no help. He'd thought about asking the girls for advice, but he wasn't sure he trusted them not to tell Velma, and in any case, Ice had never been good at talking to any girl except his girl. Which meant that Ice, third-in-command and unlikely romantic of the Jets, was going to have to figure this one out all by himself.

Ice sighed. This, he thought morosely, ought to be good.

.

Christmas Eve, 1956

.

There was nothing, Velma thought idly, staring out her window, that she liked in winter better than snow, and especially snow on Christmas. Unfortunately, though, it was starting to look like New York wouldn't be getting a white Christmas—the streets were bare and wet, and even though the weather forecast had predicted a slight chance of snow that night, Velma wasn't getting her hopes up.

"Vel—Vel, are ya listenin'?" crackled the phone.

Velma tore her eyes away from the alley outside and sighed again. "Yeah, Graz, I'm listenin'." Then she paused sheepishly. "What'd ya say again?"

"I said, ya gotta help me out!" Graziella half-shrieked. "Y'know how I was gonna give Riff that picture-a me? Well, he guessed it, an' now I gotta think-a somethin' else!"

Velma winced. She'd tried to talk her best friend out of the picture idea when Graziella had decided upon it, but it hadn't worked. "Gee, I don' know, Graz," she admitted. She glanced outside at the darkened sky again. "All the stores'd be closed by now."

"I know!" wailed the phone. "Whadda I do, Vel? Whaddaya get for boys, anyhow?"

Velma paused. "Well, I used to just bake for 'em. Y'know, cake, an' stuff like that."

"But I can't bake nothin' 'cept gingersnaps, an' the last time I tried that, Riff took one bite an' said he was allergic!" protested Graziella. "Look, forget other guys, what're ya gettin' for Ice?"

"Well," said Velma carefully, "I did bake him a cake—but I got him a scarf an' gloves, too, so he don't freeze. He don't have any." She frowned. "Though I don't guess he'll need it, seein' as there ain't no snow."

"That sure is romantic," said Graziella, her voice rising, "but that ain't gonna work for Riff; he's already got 'em!"

Velma blinked. "Don't worry," she said comfortingly. "You'll think-a somethin', I know ya will."

"Thanks," sighed Graziella. After a few seconds, she laughed darkly. "Watch me think-a the perfect present, an' him not even remember!"

"Don't worry," Velma patiently reassured her friend again. "He'll remember. Y'know, I bet he's thinkin' about ya right now."

Velma could practically hear her friend smile. "Really?"

Velma nodded, even though Graziella couldn't see her. "Yeah."

Graziella was quiet for a moment. "I really do love him, y'know."

"I know," said Velma softly. "An'—he loves ya too, I know he does."

"I hope so," sighed Graziella. "Look, I know you're spendin' all day with Ice tomorrow, so—'f I don't see ya, Merry Christmas, okay?"

Velma smiled. "Merry Christmas, Graz." Hanging up the phone, she lay back on her bed and hugged her pillow. Well, she thought, even if it wasn't a white Christmas, at least she was going to be spending it with Ice. Velma was lucky that he wasn't the kind of guy she had to worry about forgetting things like that. That was something, at least.

.

But on Christmas morning, Velma opened her eyes to see that a a truly enormous amount of snow had been dumped on New York City.

Velma leapt out of bed and stared, openmouthed. She didn't even have to go to her window to glimpse the brilliant white streets outside. Then she raced to her closet to get dressed. She had to see Ice.

.

When a very happy Velma rushed into Ice's room, it was to find her miserable boyfriend huddled up in six layers of blankets, clutching a hot-water bottle, and looking very much like an Eskimo.

"Hi, honey!" she greeted excitedly, setting her purse, a white bag, and coat down and coming to sit next to him on his bed. "Did ya look outside?"

"Yep," grunted Ice, casting a baleful glance at her with red-rimmed eyes.

"It snowed!" Velma informed him, snuggling happily into him.

"I hate snow," grumbled Ice from deep within his cocoon. "An' you're cold."

Velma giggled. "So warm me up. Oh, c'mon, honey," she cajoled winningly. "It ain't so bad."

"It's cold," insisted Ice stubbornly. And then he sniffled.

Velma wrinkled her forehead and took a closer look at her boyfriend. "Ice, are you—"

She was interrupted by a sneeze that rattled the windowpane.

"Oh, honey," sighed Velma sympathetically, reaching up to feel his forehead. It was definitely warm. "You're sick, aren't ya?"

"No, I ain't," objected Ice stuffily, dodging her hand. Then he sniffed again. "C'mon, let's go out."

Velma shook her head. "You're sick, an' you're stayin' in bed."

"Nope," Ice insisted obstinately, beginning to get up. "It's Christmas. We got places to go, Vee."

"No," Velma said firmly, putting her hands on his shoulders and sitting him back down. He had to be sick, she noted with some surprise. She never would have been able to do that normally. "What's got into ya? Ya said yourself, ya don't even like the cold. Why d'ya wanna go out?"

Ice avoided her eyes, looking very much like a pouting child. "'Cause." Then he sneezed.

Velma rolled her eyes. Men. "Well, ya ain't goin' out there an' makin' yourself worse." He offered little resistance as she pushed him back to lie on the bed. "You're gonna stay right here, okay?"

Ice huffed and stared up at the ceiling with another sniff.

"Right?" Velma repeated sternly.

"Oh, fine," he grumbled thickly, resettling his blankets around him. "But only if ya stay with me."

Velma giggled. "Look at all the snow," she reminded him, gesturing at the window and the glittering, silent city outside. "Where else could I go?"

.

By afternoon, Velma had tidied up the room, helped Mrs. Kelly make chicken soup, and fed it to a very morose Ice. Though he didn't seem quite as near death's doorstep as he had before, he was still laid pretty low.

"Thanks," Ice mumbled after gulping down his eighth glass of water.

Velma smiled as she rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's nothin'. What a day to get sick, huh? What happened? Ya looked fine yesterday."

Ice shrugged noncommittally. "Don' know."

Velma arched an eyebrow. Ice was notorious for his poker face, but he'd never been able to lie. Especially not to her. "Really."

"Really," Ice nodded emphatically. The effect was punctuated by another sneeze. Then he brightened. "But—Vee, I ain't even given ya your present, yet!"

Velma blinked as Ice dived back to rummage behind his bed. "Oh, right."

"Here," he said as he emerged, suddenly shy. He thrust a small blue box at her. "Merry Christmas."

Velma smirked as she took the gift from him. "This ain't a ring, is it?"

Ice turned faintly pale. "Well—not unless ya—did ya want one?"

"Down, boy," giggled Velma. "I'm just teasin'." She got up and retrieved the white bag from beside her purse. "I almost forgot, too. I brought ya cake, too, it's in the kitchen, but here ya go. You open first."

"Ladies first," sniffled Ice.

Velma laughed and handed him a tissue. "This one might actually come in handy right about now, silly. Go on, open it."

Ice sighed. "If ya say so." He gingerly undid the silver ribbon that tied the handles together and took out a shape wrapped in tissue paper. "What is it?"

Velma shrugged. "Open it an' see."

Ice unwrapped the paper to reveal black gloves and a black and gray-patterned scarf. "You're right," he said with a chuckle, followed by another sneeze. "I could use these. Thanks, Vee."

Velma smiled. "Maybe they'll help ya keep from catchin' cold again," she teased.

"Hope so," Ice said with a sigh as Velma picked the scarf up and wound it around his neck. "Now you."

When Velma opened Ice's gift, she actually gasped. Inside was a small, sparkling silver snowflake on a matching chain. "Oh, honey," she said sincerely, "it's beautiful."

Ice visibly relaxed. "Ya like it?"

Velma smiled. "I love it. Put it on for me?"

Ice nodded, picking the necklace up and fumbling with the chain as she moved her hair from her neck. Once it was on, she turned to face him expectantly again.

"It looks great, Vee," he said quietly. "Just like I knew it would."

Velma dimpled and leaned in to kiss him. But Ice stopped her with a grimace. "I can't believe I'm sayin' this," he said regretfully, "an' I hope I never have to again, but don't. You'll get sick."

Velma sat back with a groan. "You'd better get well soon."

.

By evening, Ice had made it very clear that he was feeling much better. He'd sneezed just eight times since dinner, and had only sniffled every five minutes or so. They'd been alternately talking and cuddling for the last hour when Velma finally decided to put her foot down.

"Honey," she said very seriously, struggling away, "I really need to get home."

Ice paid her no attention, instead pulling her back into his lap. Though he kept refusing to kiss her, he had absolutely no reservations about anything else. "What's the hurry?"

Velma couldn't help but smile. "Ice, I know you're feelin' better, an' all, but ya still gotta rest."

Ice put on his most innocent look. "Don' know what you're talkin' about. It was just a twelve-hour bug, I swear. I feel great."

Velma very deliberately leaned forward. And Ice clapped his hand over his mouth and jerked back.

"I guess not that great," he allowed grumpily with another sniff. "It ain't like I don't wanna."

"Right," Velma said firmly, "which is why I gotta go so you can get better an' we can again."

Ice ignored this. "Baby," he said, very seriously, "it's cold outside."

Velma couldn't resist a giggle. "Ice, honey, that don't work in the song, and it ain't gonna work on me."

Ice gave a comical sigh that was somewhat undermined by a sneeze. "But it is," he protested, keeping hold of her hand. "An' it's all nice an' warm in here. Why would ya wanna go out there?"

Velma glanced at the window and sighed. It did look pretty cold outside, and it was definitely snowing again.

Ice, clearly sensing her resolve weakening, pressed his advantage. "C'mon, Vee," he murmured, touching his lips to her shoulder, "you'd freeze out there."

Velma smiled in spite of herself at the line, but held firm. "I really gotta go home, Ice, I swear."

Ice huffed. "Well, fine," he grumbled. "But I'm comin' with ya."

Velma blinked. "You are?"

"Well, yeah," nodded Ice, blowing his streaming nose. "Ya didn't think I was gonna let ya walk all the way back alone, did ya?"

Velma frowned. "But you're still sick," she pointed out.

Ice shrugged. "Look, either I walk ya home, or ya stay here," he announced. "I ain't lettin' ya go out there all by yourself in the dark." He grinned. "I mean, personally, I'd rather ya stayed here, but that's just me."

Velma rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine," she sighed unwillingly. "But make sure you keep warm. I don't want you to freeze."

Ice stifled a very small sneeze and shrugged innocently. "Anythin' ya say, Doctor."

.

When they reached her apartment, Velma's mouth dropped open. "Ice—ya didn't—"

It was like a fairyland. The fire escape outside of her window was covered in small white Christmas tree lights. Strands of them had been delicately looped and twisted through the railings and ironwork to create a a path of softly glowing light reflecting off the snow and leading from the ground to the landing outside her window. To top it all off, there was even a tiny Christmas tree underneath her window, half-buried under the snow.

Ice shrugged sheepishly. "Merry Christmas?"

"I didn't know you could do that," breathed Velma, awed. She'd never seen Christmas tree lights not on a Christmas tree before. "When did ya do it, honey?"

Ice ducked his head. "Last night. I figured if you could put 'em on trees, you could put 'em outside, too."

Velma, ignoring this last part, glanced quickly at him, putting two and two together. "Last night, when it wassnowing?" she asked, horrified.

Ice kept his gaze firmly away from her. "Maybe?" As if to distract her, he added, "I was gonna put fake snow there, too, if it didn't snow, but, well…" He gestured around at the snow-covered alley. "You know."

Velma sighed. "Ice, honey, y'know I love it, but that don't mean ya shoulda made yourself sick for me."

Ice shrugged uncomfortably.

Glancing up at him, Velma put her arms around her boyfriend and squeezed. "Ya didn't need to do this," she said quietly. "But it's beautiful, an' I love it. I really do. Thanks." She touched her lips to his cheek and smiled. "Now let's go up before we freeze."

As they began the ascent, Velma marveled at how pretty the lights were, haloed against the snow. "Ya really outdid yourself, honey," she remarked as they reached the landing outside her window. "I don't know how ya—"

Velma stopped, blinking. Hanging right above her window was—

"Oh," Ice said in a very bad attempt at surprise. "Look. Mistletoe."

Velma's lips twitched. He really had gone all out. "Uh-huh."

Ice sniffled a little too convincingly. "Look, I wasn't countin' on me bein' sick, so I still don't think ya'd better—"

Velma rolled her eyes. She'd held back all day, but at this point, she just didn't care anymore. "Oh, so when it comes to kissin' me, you're sick? I get it."

"I just don't want ya to catch anythin' I might have," protested Ice. "I—"

Velma, ignoring him, reached up and pulled his head down so that their lips met. "Merry Christmas," she whispered.

Ice resisted at first, but finally gave in and tentatively kissed her back. "You'll get sick," he warned ruefully after she let go of him.

Velma laughed. "Then you'll just have to take care-a me, won't ya?" she teased.

Ice winced. "Yeah, about that—look, Vee, I'm real sorry this happened," he said in a rush. "I know it ain't exactly the most fun thing to do, takin' care-a me, an'—"

Velma put her finger on his mouth and smiled at him. "Ice, honey," she murmured. "Shh. It's been the best Christmas ever."

Ice goggled. "But—we didn't even do anythin', 'cept stay in my room! An' not in the fun way, neither," he added with a regretful sigh. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be, that's for sure."

"Well, yeah," Velma shrugged, looking curiously at him, "but really, honey, I don't care what we do, long's I'm with you."

Ice stared at her for a full minute, then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "kill Riff" as he yanked her window open with unnecessary force.

Velma eyed him. "Why, were we gonna do somethin'?"

Ice sighed. "I had this whole day planned out," he admitted reluctantly. "We were gonna go do all the stuff ya like; ice skatin' an' alla that. An' I was gonna make ya a real nice dinner, but…" He shrugged glumly. "Didn't happen, obviously."

Velma stared at him, touched. "Oh, honey, ya don't even like ice skatin'. Or cookin'. 'S matter-a fact—" she glanced around pointedly— "ya don't even like snow."

Ice shrugged matter-of-factly. "Well, no. But you do."

It was the way he said it that got to her. "Oh, Ice," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you, y'know that?"

She felt his gloved hand settle over her hair as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Yeah. I love you, too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Velma finally pulled back and gazed up at him with a sigh. "It's gettin' late," she said reluctantly, "an' like it or not, you're still sick, an' you should be in bed."

"Bed, yeah," agreed Ice vaguely as he helped her inside. He was very determinedly not staring at her window.

Velma's lips twitched. "Oh, fine," she sighed, shaking her head amusedly, "you can come in."

Ice's grin switched on immediately. "Good," he chuckled, "'cause baby, it sure is cold outside."

Velma stared. "Honey. You can stop now."

Ice shrugged, the tips of his ears turning red. "Big Deal said girls like that kinda stuff."

Velma furrowed her brow. "An' you're takin' Big Deal's advice 'cause…?"

There was a silence.

"Oh, right," Ice said sheepishly, scratching his head. "Sometimes I forget you ain't just any other girl like Clarice or Graz or one-a them."

Velma arched an eyebrow. "Really." Reaching out, she seized Ice's collar and drew him in for a very long, very intense kiss.

"Yeah," panted Ice when she finally let him go five minutes later. He gestured helplessly with his hands. "An' then ya go an' do things like that an' I get to rememberin' again."

"Oh," smirked Velma, pleased. "Good." Then she frowned. "You really should go home an' sleep, though. Y'know I want ya to stay, but…"

"Vee," said Ice very seriously, gesturing toward her window with a theatrical sniff, "there ain't no better way to get me well again."

Velma thought about this for a minute. "There is that," she admitted. Then she giggled and pulled him in through her window. "C'mon in, then. Doctor's orders."

Ice grinned. "Well, if the doctor says so…"

And Velma smirked. "She does."

.

Seriously, I have to go now.
—B-but, what'd I just pour these drinks for?
No. No.
—Oh, come on, girl!
No, no, no!
—Wha—where you goin', girl? Hey, why you runnin'?!
[laughs] Seriously, dude.

.

.end.

Music: I have about ten different versions of this song (because it is my very favorite Christmas song), but three go-tos, which are by:

1. Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. See above video. Adorably sweet and just raunchy enough for a married couple. :)

2. Emilie-Claire Barlow ft. Marc Jordan. Very relaxed and pretty.

3. Danger Radio ft. Kathryn Claus. Because despite its date rape-y-ness, it makes me laugh like crazy, especially the ending conversation, as transcribed above. Seriously, it's hilarious and worth a listen just for that. :)

Also listened to: Meaghan Smith's "It Snowed" and Michael Buble's "Let It Snow."

Hint: One last chapter, and only one couple I haven't covered. I have no idea when it'll be up (since I have maybe three sentences), but I promise you. It will be.

love, viennacantabile