And now one of my very very rare pairs that I don't think anyone has ever written for before (please tell me I'm wrong T-T)...Distantshipping (Luka x Rally Dawson)!

Snow was not something to celebrate – at least it never had been for Rally. In the slums of Satellite, snow meant cold. Cold meant scrounging around for moldy blankets and extra clothes in garbage bins. It meant spending freezing nights in the tunnels, snuggling into whatever could be found to keep warm. It meant hiding in cardboard boxes to avoid waking up with snow all over his face and fingers so cold that it was a wonder that he hadn't lost them.

"A what fight?" he asked, blinking with surprise.

"A snowball fight!" Luka said, her cheeks red from the cold. "Lua and I are going to the park with some other kids from class! Do you want to come?"

"I..."

Luka had shown up at the door of Blitz, Nerve, and Taka's new mechanic shop, where Rally had been staying while he was attending Duel Academia with Luka and Lua and everyone.

"I mean, you don't have to," Luka said quickly, shifting with sudden awkwardness. She rocked on her heels and wrung her pink-gloved hands.

She looked like a marshmallow in her fluffy white coat. A super cute marshmallow...his cheeks warmed a bit at the thought.

"I'm sorry, I guess you must be sick since you didn't come in to school today, I didn't meant to bother you..."

"Oh, no, you're not bothering me at all," Rally said quickly. "I didn't go to school today because...well..."

They had made a new life here in the newly connected City and Satellite, but Rally's coat still wasn't really up to par with the cold. Besides, he didn't like to go out in the snow...even though he knew he was going to get to a heated building at the end, he still shivered to think about those cold, terrible nights when he wasn't sure he was going to wake up in the morning...

"I...I've just never had a snowball fight before..." he said awkwardly. "I'm sorry...I just didn't realize snow was...I don't know...I don't really like it..."

Luka ducked her head slightly, looking embarrassed.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't push you or anything..."

Then she jumped, the motion paired with the sound of something thumping against her coat.

"LUA!" she shouted, whirling.

Across the street, Lua was grinning broadly, clad in a big, dark blue coat and a black hat and gloves. He was rolling snow between his hands into a sphere shape.

"Come on, Luka! Or I'll pelt ya again!"

"You'll hit Rally and he's not in his snow stuff!" Luka shouted back. "Be more aware of what you're doing –"

The next snowball pelted her in the chest, just shy of hitting her in the face.

"Why you –"

Lua squealed with a delighted laugh and took off. Luka jumped forward, scooping up snow and hurling it. It missed by a few inches since Lua was running.

"I'll get you back for that, you jerk!" Luka shouted. "What if you had hit Rally?"

Lua just laughed as he scurried off to join the group of kids from school who were also running towards the park.

"Geez," Luka said, putting her hands on her hips. "Am I even related to him?"

Rally stared out after Lua and the others. He did want to spend time with everyone. He glanced down at the snow with some distaste. There was just so much of it. Like almost half a foot or something.

Luka turned back towards Rally.

"Anyway...um...yeah, I'm sorry to bother you...it's okay if you want to stay home."

"Luka-chan, is it fun to play in the snow?" Rally asked.

Luka paused, blinking.

"Uh...well, yes. I mean, at least, I've always thought so. Snow is really pretty, too, right? Look at how it sparkles and stuff!"

Rally stared out at the drifts of white, but couldn't quite see what she was talking about. He shivered.

"It's like the whole world is different in the snow. Outlined with white, something that sparkles like lots of little diamonds," Luka continued. Her eyes went a bit unfocused, her sight elsewhere. "It's just like...a winter wonderland...like that song!"

Rally didn't know what song she was talking about. But she looked so happy...

Well...maybe...it wasn't like he was living in the slums anymore. Things were different...maybe he could see snow the way she did someday.

"Um, okay, I'll come," Rally said. "But probably not for too long...I'll get cold..."

Luka's whole face lit up, and Rally felt his cheeks grow warm. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them. The soft feeling of her gloves felt warm in his hands.

"Oh, I'm so happy! Thank you, Rally-kun!"

Rally blushed harder.

"Um, I have to get my coat, I'll meet you at the park," he said quickly.

"Oh, it's no trouble, I'll just wait outside!"

"R-right," Rally said, ducking back in and closing the door.

He hurried down to the closet. Blitz leaned his head through the door at the sound of his footsteps.

"What's up, Rally?"

"I'm, uh, going to the park with some friends."

Blitz's eyes brightened.

"About time you got out of the house! You feeling better from this morning?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, Taka just brought home some new winter stuff for everyone, so check to make sure the stuff in the closet fits you, okay?"

Rally felt something in him lift a bit at the thought of new winter clothes.

"Oh, tell him thank you, please!"

"No problem. Have fun."

With slightly higher spirits, Rally opened the closet and pulled out the smallest coat. It was a deep burnt orange color, and had a nice firm weight in his hands. Pulling it on he could already tell that it was warmer than his old coat. He jammed on a hat, gloves, and boots, and then hurried back to the door.

Luka was in fact still waiting outside, kicking at the snow with her boots. She looked up with a smile at his approach.

"Okay, I'm ready," Rally said. "But how do you do a snowball fight anyway?"

Luka giggled, and they started walking towards the park.

"It's really just a messy free-for-all," Luka said. "Watch out for my brother, his throws tend to get people in the face whether he means to or not."

"So you just scoop snow and throw it back and forth?"

"Yeah...it sounds kind of silly, doesn't it?"

She laughed again, a little bit nervously this time. Rally glanced down at the snow they were passing. As they walked, he ducked down quickly and scooped up some snow. He could kind of feel the cold through his gloves, but these were at least warmer than his old ones. He rolled the snow into a vague sphere shape. Then he considered it for a minute. Was this really fun?

He glanced sidelong at Luka, who was humming to herself.

He couldn't hide his grin.

Luka jumped and spluttered a bit when Rally tossed the snow at her stomach.

"R-Rally!" Luka said, with surprise.

Rally clapped a hand over his mouth to still his giggles. Luka looked so surprised! Her face was priceless! Luka's face went completely red. She ducked down, scooped some snow, and flung it at Rally. Rally squealed and ran away. The snow still caught him in the arm, and Luka was already bending down to get more snow to throw at him.

"I hope you know I always get back people twice over in snowball fights, Rally Dawson!" Luka said, her voice almost obscured by the laugh that was bouncing out of her.

Rally ran through the snow, as Luka continued to fling snowballs at him. He laughed aloud, the release of the sound feeling like a weight coming off his chest. He turned over his shoulder to grin at Luka.

Perhaps this was a winter wonderland after all.