Yuki

Disclaimer: Whoops, I don't think I did one for my first chapter. I don't own TMM or, let's face it, I would be selling these fics for a bunch of money, love fanfiction though I do.

A/N: This chapter title means 'snow.' It is named after snow. Geddit? My first oneshot was called Arashi, which means storm, the first chapter of this fic was Fuwatto, or floating, and this one is snow! Each one is a Japanese word relating to the theme of the chapter!

OK, I'm done being clever now.

'Mu...um?' Lettuce called timidly, peeping into the kitchen. She'd been feigning normalcy for a quarter of an hour since she'd got in, flopped on the sofa with a good book, but now she'd procrastinated long enough. Besides, what with memories involving Pai and that sofa bobbing to the surface every few minutes, she didn't know how normal she was coming across.

Her mother was standing at the kitchen counter, kneading dough, but at Lettuce's call she turned and smiled over her shoulder, squashing it into a ball and dusting off her hands.

'Yes, Lettuce-chan?' she asked, moving to the sink and beginning to rinse off the flour properly. Lettuce gulped. Despite her attempts to appear calm, her mother had realised instantly that it was something important enough to make her break off from getting the dinner. But what, reflected Lettuce, had she really expected? She was extremely close to her mother. They giggled together over the fictitious males in their favourite books, worked together in the kitchen nearly every night and discussed whatever problems Lettuce might be having in deep, unflinching detail. Mrs Midorikawa had been through most of it herself. So really there was no point in Lettuce trying to hide her feelings. In a way she was glad. She felt a little comforted as she took in her mother's warm smile, set in a face that was a more relaxed and better-weathered version of her own, her familiar stripy apron and her loose green hair. Looking at her made her feel safer, as though she could maybe be a child again, for just a little bit longer. As though everything, bullies and love and the fate of the world, didn't rest entirely on her shoulders.

'Well, Lettuce? Is anything wrong?'

Lettuce realised she had yet to speak.

'N-no,' she said. 'I was just wondering if it would be OK for me to...go out...after school...tomorrow?'

'Of course,' her mother said, but Lettuce could see the questioning light in her eyes. And then it came. 'Who with? One of those girls from the café?'

'Ah, um, no, you don't know him...'

Her mother's eyes sparkled with a mixture of triumph, sympathy and parental concern. Lettuce realised her blunder and clapped her hands over her mouth, but the damage was done.

'Oh no!' she wailed. 'Gomen nasai!'

'Lettuce, are you going out with a boy after school?'

Lettuce ducked her head, twisted her hands, shifted from foot to foot and blushed deeply, wishing the ground would swallow her up. But it didn't, and so she had to whisper:

'H-hai.'

'Hmmm.' Her mother finished drying her hands and walked over to Lettuce. 'Who is this boy?' She took Lettuce by the arm and steered her carefully into the living room as she spoke. Oh, no! Lettuce thought frantically as her mother took a seat. Not the couch...Pai's lips, simultaneously demanding and tender as they moulded round hers...

'Y-you don't know him!' she blurted. 'He...I...I mean, we've seen each other round and today he said would I meet him after school so that we could go somewhere...and I said...I said I would have to ask you. Gomen nasai!' She flapped her hands frantically, then hid her face in an agony of nerves.

'Lettuce-chan, calm down.'

Lettuce stopped hopping up and down and peeped between her fingers.

'So is this boy in your year then? It's not anybody I know, is it?'

'No, he's...not in my year...he's kind of sixth-form age...' Lettuce replied, stretching the truth. Come to think of it, how old was Pai? Too old for her, most definitely. But by the same token she was too young to be saving the world. She supposed circumstances were a little different for them. 'And you don't know him...'

'And where's he taking you?'

'I don't know, we thought we'd just go from school and amuse ourselves any way that presented itself...I thought I might just...' Lettuce turned absolutely beetroot red, '...take – him – to – the – library?'

'He likes reading?' her mother asked, and Lettuce thought she heard a change in her tone that meant a decision had been reached.

'I...I think so...he seems like that sort of person.'

'I see. Well, Lettuce, be careful.'

Lettuce unstuck her hands from her face.

'Nani?'

'Be careful.'

'Yes, but I mean...you're letting me go?'

'Sit down, Lettuce.'

Lettuce gulped, closed her eyes and lowered herself slowly onto the sofa beside her mother. However, nothing came of it. A lightning bolt did not strike from the sky, Pai did not appear and the events of the previous day did not come suddenly to light. She took a shaky breath and felt calmer.

'Obviously there have to be a few rules, Lettuce-chan. I want you to stay in public places with plenty of people, I don't want you to accept any invitations back to his house, absolutely no alcohol and I want you back home by seven at the latest. Four hours is ample time to spend out with your boyfriend.'

'MUM!' Lettuce cried. 'It's not like that!' She gritted her teeth, trying to blot out the memory of exactly how 'like that' it was. But was it like that? He definitely liked her but what did you call it when two people in their situation fell in love? It all felt so much more serious than that...or was it less serious...in a way she would feel so much more secure if he could carry her backpack and walk her to the canteen...

'SHUT UP BRAIN!' she shrieked.

'Lettuce?'

'Aha, er, nothing. Yes, of course I'll be back by seven and I won't do anything stupid, but honestly he...he's not like that. He wouldn't...I mean...he's...' Lettuce faltered. '...nice.'

'Oh, Lettuce.' Her mother suddenly gave a very girlish giggle. 'I know you'll be sensible, love.' She reached out and put her arms around Lettuce, pulling her into a tight hug. It made her feel like a little girl again, but it was nice. Nice to feel like she could go back to being the innocent girl she had been before the fate of the world and Pai's intense, adult love came to rest on her shoulders. Nice to pretend for a little while that there was someone who could still make all her problems go away, take them into stronger and more capable hands, as they had done when she was small.

'Oh, Mum,' she sighed. 'I don't know, I feel all...squiggly.'

'I know.' Her mother's arms tightened around her.

'Hehe, it feel weird.'

'It does. But tell me about this boy, Lettuce-chan. What's he like?'

'O-oooh, Mum, he...he's just...'

'Is he handsome?' her mother prompted with a slight smile.

'Oh, he's gorgeous!' Lettuce flopped backwards over the arm of the sofa with a dreamy sigh, her cheeks flushing rosy pink. 'He's really tall and pale and...and...beautiful, and he's got these indigo eyes and he looks all brooding and serious and scary but then suddenly he smiles at me and I just melt...' Lettuce leant back and closed her eyes, then suddenly bounced upright again. 'Mummy, I can't believe he likes meeeeeeeeeee! He's so so so amazing! Him! I...I just...squee!'

'I remember the first time I saw your father, when we were in college.' This was the sort of talk that no child, not even Lettuce, would normally have allowed, but right now she was feeling generous enough to listen with real interest. 'All my friends thought he was an absolute geek, but he looked so handsome to me...he was the first boy who didn't terrify me. He had very unobtrusive good looks, but they were there, and they were real once you noticed them...I remember he had the kindest eyes I'd ever seen.'

'He isn't not scary...' Lettuce replied slowly. 'Drats, double negative. He has muscles?' she volunteered.

Her mother's eyebrows went up. 'Lettuce, I'm impressed. I never would have dared to speak to a boy like that when I was your age.'

'Well, I didn't exactly speak to him, he spoke to me...' and you kind of get used to one another after fifty-odd battles, though to be honest he still terrifies me... 'and I was too shy to say anything much, but he kept on anyway, and eventually I just had to say something...' She figured that was the way it would have happened, if theirs had been a normal romance. And it was a rough interpretation of what had happened between them. He'd kissed her until her longing had overcome her fear. 'I really like him, Mum,' she whispered softly.

'I can see that.' Her mum smiled and reached out to smooth her hair. 'Well, alright, I say you can go. I trust you to be sensible; you're fifteen years old after all.'

'Arigato,' Lettuce blurted, and then disappeared off the sofa and up the stairs as fast as humanly possible. In her room she instantly began to rummage through her wardrobe and the debris on her dressing table in search of inspiration. She desisted after a short time, however, deciding that there wasn't much one could do to improve a school uniform whilst still avoiding detention. It was probably just as well that she didn't have to choose, or else she might never have made it out of the house in the morning.

* * *

Pai hurried along the street towards Lettuce's school, moving with a brisk, swinging stride. He was more used to travelling by flight or teleportation, but he could get about equally well on foot if he had to. All the same it felt strange, as did the human clothes – dark jeans, a white shirt, long black coat and a beanie hat to hide his ears – which he had adopted for the occasion. He pushed his swinging hands into his pockets, and immediately his shoulders took on an adolescent slump. Pai grinned to himself. He was blending in more by the minute.

He rounded a corner and found himself opposite the school. It was very quiet, with a few minutes still to go till the end of the day, and if he strained his eyes towards the ground floor windows he could make out dozens of hunched-over figures, working. There were only a few people around: a scruffy-looking boy bounced a football idly across the yard, and a small cluster of girls stood in the shadow of the gates. At one time the sight of all these human children marshalled and herded like animals would have filled him with self-righteous disgust, but now all he could think about was that somewhere in that building was Lettuce. And that thought reminded him that beneath the uniform veneer of school were individuals with minds and rivalries and friendships that had not been crushed out of them. He stood quietly, savouring the anticipation of the meeting to come.

It was then that he realised he was not quite as inconspicuous as he had first thought.

The girls by the gate had stopped their noisy chatter, and their attention was now clearly fixed on him. He saw them turn to whisper among themselves, and put a hand surreptitiously to his head to check that his ears were fully covered. The girls were drawing closer together, still eyeing him covertly. Pai leaned forwards and peered at the closest one, trying to read her expression and find the source of their interest. Under his scrutiny the girl flushed cherry red.

Pai didn't notice that. He had just recognised these three as the girls whom he had seen tormenting Lettuce.

His first instinct was to whip out his fan and reduce them to cinders, but he felt that this would probably be counterproductive. There was absolutely no way Lettuce would approve. She was compassionate to a fault, even towards those she could have justly hated...Pai hauled his brain back on track before it could wander off on a gooey ramble about his love. Her enemies were standing in front of him. What was he going to do about it? At the same time he realised why they were staring at him. They were eyeing him up.

He nearly laughed as he interpreted the girl's blush – a false, affected reaction, quite unlike Lettuce's. At the same time a rather fun idea occurred to him. He would behave as though he were human, and oblivious to the situation. Be courteous and charming and then sweep Lettuce away right under their noses when she appeared. They might start being friendly to her if they thought she had an acceptable boyfriend, and even if they didn't the looks on their faces would do her good. Provided he could play his part well enough, of course.

'Excuse me,' he called, stepping forwards, 'could you tell me when school lets out, please?'

* * *

The bell rang. Lettuce, who had had her books stacked ready on her desk, snatched them up and leapt to her feet.

'Miridokawa Retasu!' her teacher shouted as her chair went crashing to the ground.

'Gomen, sensei!' Lettuce cried, trying to cram her books into her bag, clumsy in her haste. She slung the bag onto her shoulder, righted her desk and half-ran from the room. She felt sick with nerves, her heart was in her mouth, and every now and then her stomach flipped so sharply with anticipation that she had to give a little squeak to let out her feelings.

'Miridokawa-san? What's up with you?' one of her classmates asked as she bowled past him.

'Going to meet her boyfriend,' someone else remarked good-naturedly, and there was a ripple of laughter. Lettuce ducked her head, blushing, and hurried on down the stairs. She craned her neck to look out of every window she passed, seeing if she could catch a glimpse of Pai. Part of her was desperate to see him again, the other wanted to barricade itself in a toilet cubicle on the other side of the building until he was long gone. But she knew that that wasn't possible – simply not having to confront him would be good, but the very thought of him waiting fruitlessly by the gate made her ache inside – so she was combating that part by getting the waiting over as quickly as possible.

Outside the clouds were lowering and it was icy underfoot. Must not trip and break nose or other appendage, she thought urgently as she hurtled down the drive. No Pai to catch you yet...must not trip...

Half way down the drive she froze. She had just spotted Pai, standing a little way along the road. She tried to breathe, and found that most of her internal organs seemed to have vanished. He was looking absolutely breathtaking, dressed in sharply-cut jeans and a shirt with the sleeves unbuttoned and rolled carelessly up to the elbows, baring his muscled forearms. He carried a coat as well, but it was draped casually over one arm, as though he were daring the cold to do its worst. He blended in perfectly with the surrounding humans, and yet was far more eye-catching than any of them. Lettuce stood where she was, gazing at him. She couldn't seem to make herself move forward; she didn't go up to boys, and they certainly didn't meet her after school. She was used to admiring from a distance, and it was tempting to fall back into the same dreamy, melancholy pattern, But this time she must break the trend. He was there for her.

Then she realised that he was talking to Aya and her friends.

It felt as though the ground had vanished from beneath her feet. She gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. Blinking them away, she tried to get a hold on herself, but she couldn't stop the panic. She could hardly bear to walk past those girls on an ordinary day, but to go calmly up to them and demand the attention of a boy they were trying to chat up?

Impossible.

You are being ridiculous ,she told herself.

No result.

He came to see you. You have every right to take his attention. And you know he doesn't like those girls. He despises them. Stop being insecure.

Nothing.

She glanced around, shifted from foot to foot, stood on one leg and nearly fell over. She had a nasty feeling she'd been trying to kick herself. Lettuce realised that she was well and truly stuck. She didn't dare go forward, but there was a small part of her, white-hot and growing inside her chest, that refused to surrender Pai to the three girls. She shivered in fear at what that part might be about to make her do, and then Pai spotted her.

'Lettuce!' he called, and waved an arm over his head, suddenly looking much younger and very human. Beside him she saw the others turn, eyes wide, jaws dropping as if in slow motion. And because there was nothing else she could do, she tottered slowly forward.

'Retasu,' Pai said when she reached him. There was something almost like relief in his voice, as though he had been under some kind of tension that could only be released by her presence. Her heart skipped a beat. He pulled her to him and kissed her on both cheeks, holding her shoulders firmly. She could feel her enemies' stares boring into her back.

Then Pai looked into her eyes and smiled.

All her worries, all Zakuro's advice and all their old enmity drained out of her head. She could only gaze. Her knees felt as though they might give way. Something hot and sweet and overpowering was filling her up, something that rendered her powerless against Pai and invulnerable to everything else in the world. The force of it took her breath away. Pai tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears and pulled her into his side, wrapping his arm securely around her waist. Aya and her friends were gawping at her as she faced them, guarded and supported by Pai. He inclined his head and smiled at them, but not with that smile. That smile was just for her.

'This is Miridokawa Retasu,' he said, not bothering to add 'my girlfriend.' That would resonate better if left to sink in on its own. 'But I think you're already acquainted?' As he said that he let just a little of the warrior seep into his eyes, and the girls shrank closer together. Pai waited, but none of them would confirm or deny the connection.

'Thank you for your time,' he said finally, tightening his arm around her waist and beginning to draw her away. 'It was pleasant to talk to you.'

'H-hai,' Aya managed. Pai nodded to them once more and set off down the road, pulling Lettuce with him. She glanced over her shoulder and then huddled into his side, eager to get away. But worry over the bullies refused to stay uppermost in her mind for long. She was still feeling groggy from the smile, and with Pai's warm body so close to hers it wasn't going away. She focussed on keeping her footing, breathing deeply in and out until her head was spinning.

'Lettuce, are you alright?' Pai asked, when after several minutes' walking she still hadn't spoken.

'I think I need to sit down!' Lettuce gasped.

'What's wrong?' Pai steered her hastily to a bench and supported her while he brushed the snow off it so that they could sit down. 'Aren't you feeling well? You're not angry with me, are you?'

'A-angry with you?' Lettuce echoed. 'No, why would I be?'

'Well, you did look rather appalled when you saw who I was talking to,' he murmured.

'Oh. Hai.' Lettuce made to lean her head back against the wall, then changed her mind and laid it daringly on Pai's shoulder instead. She shook with a mix of cold and tension. At once Pai wrapped his arms around her and began to chafe her back and shoulders, trying to warm her up. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out, trying to calm down.

'Pai-kun...' she whispered.

'Lettuce? You're not upset?'

'No. They will probably kill me tomorrow, but never mind. It was worth it.'

Pai squeezed her close in his arms and tucked her hair behind her ear, his hand resting briefly on her cheek. Lettuce pressed her eyes shut and turned her face into the side of his neck, burrowing against his warmth. Pai-san, so close... she dared to put her arms around his neck, and hold him as he was holding her. He whispered her name very softly as she did it, and she felt his lips brush lightly over her hair.

'Don't talk like that,' he said. 'I think I taught them better than to kill you.'

'Pai, what did you do to them?' Lettuce said, looking up sharply.

'Nothing, nothing. I just glared at them a little as we left, that's all.'

'Oh.' Lettuce let her head fall back onto his shoulder, her eyes thoughtful. 'In that case I feel sorry for them.'

'I did my best to make a good impression. If I succeeded, you might not find yourself unpopular on Monday morning.'

'Nani? You think that they will all want to be my friends now that I have a handsome boyfriend?'

'Yes, if I impressed them sufficiently.'

'Now I am angry!' Lettuce exclaimed, but Pai could see that she was laughing. 'What do I do when they all come and drag me out of the library and force me to sit with them and talk about things? I shall never go back!' She flung herself back into Pai's arms and buried her face in his shoulder.

Pai placed his hands slowly on her shoulders, dazed. His whole body felt light, almost ready to float up off the bench, barely solid anymore. His heart was pounding, delicious tingles were stabbing across his skin, he could barely think. He looked down at Lettuce, who leaned, oblivious, into his chest, her arms around his waist. His heart was breaking. He could feel it, two sharp shards of joy in his chest. She was so beautiful. As soon as the thought came to him he felt peaceful, released. After so many months of murky uncertainty, here was one good and unshakable truth.

Lettuce was beautiful.

I'm in love with you, he thought, and then saw the rosy colour flooding up her cheeks and realised that he must have spoken aloud.

'Pai-san...' she breathed.

'Kun,' he said firmly, taking her hands. 'I like kun better.'

'Hai,' she whispered. 'Pai-kun...arigatou...'

'You're welcome,' he smiled. He felt her hands tremble. Her eyes were like stars.

'Lettuce, are you sure you're feeling alright?' he asked again. 'You still look very pale.'

'No I don't, I'm blushing.'

'Underneath your blush. Are you feeling ill? Hungry?'

'Oh. No.' Lettuce shook her head as though trying to get water out of her ears. 'No, I was just feeling...' Pai watched bemusedly as she ducked her head, blushing furiously. '...groggy because... you...smiled...at...me.'

'...I think I'd better get you something to eat,' Pai said firmly, pulling her to her feet.

'No, honestly, I'm feeling fine...'

'...classic sign of blood-sugar deprivation,' Pai was saying. 'When did you last eat?'

'Uh...three hours ago?'

'I rest my case,' he said with a nod, halting outside a coffee shop which she often passed on the way home from school. He held the door open for her, an action which made her heart skip a beat, and then followed her in. 'Now, what can I get for you?'

Despite her insistence that she wasn't hungry, Lettuce's stomach growled as she caught the rich, sweet scent of the place. It was about as unlike café Mew Mew as a café could be, all sophisticated wooden fittings and low, subtle lighting.

'Uhhhm,' she considered, modesty seeping away as her love of good coffee took over, 'I'll have a mocha, I think...you're right, I do need sugar...do you like coffee?'

'I've never tried it. What do you recommend?'

'Hmmm.' Lettuce pondered. 'Cappuccino, I think. Yes, definitely a cappuccino. They're frothy on top; nice way to start. And let's get a couple of pastries as well...see, that one's my favourite. It's got nuts in. You'll like it.' Initiating someone into the Starbucks experience...it was turning out to be more fun than she'd anticipated.

Pai picked up a tray and joined the queue along the counter. Lettuce, standing at his elbow, marvelled at the way he negotiated the ordering process, courtesy and observance making up for his lack of practise.

'Uh, Pai?' she asked timidly, after watching him pay the server at the till.

'Yes?'

'If you don't mind my asking, how'd you get the money?'

'I thought you would prefer it if I earned it honestly.' Pai picked up their laden tray and began to carry it carefully towards a corner table. 'I worked for a couple of hours on the market this morning.'

'Pai –!'

'It wasn't hard; I could just teleport the things they wanted moved when nobody was looking.' Seeing that she still looked unhappy, he added: 'You can pay next time, I promise.' At that she laughed a little and relaxed.

'Okay then, that's fair.'

Pai smiled, and the world dissolved again. Lettuce wondered how many times it could stand being disassembled like this before it became permanently smudged. She was glad when they sat down and she was able to give her full attention to admiring his face. There was a window just beside their table, covered with a net curtain, and the grey afternoon light lit his pale features to perfection.

'Lettuce,' she said gently, pushing her mug towards her.

'Oh, thanks,' she said breathlessly, taking it from him. She watched as he leaned over the table, carefully bisecting their pastry with a knife, then took a hasty gulp of her mocha as he caught her staring. It was scaldingly hot beneath its insulating layer of cream, and she swallowed with a wince. She could feel it burning its way down her throat, but in her stomach it began to feel pleasantly warm and filling. She looked up and found Pai shaking with silent laughter.

'What is it?' she demanded, disgruntled and not a little astonished.

'Nothing.'

'Pai...'

'You have cream on your nose,' he chuckled. Lettuce gave a half-amused, half-scandalised gasp, wiped it off and lunged. Pai's hands rose to block her, but Lettuce was faster than she looked. She darted beneath his arm and next instant had succeeded in wiping most of the cream onto his nose instead.

'I – you – Lettuce!' he spluttered indignantly, warding her off with one hand and mopping at his nose with the other.

'It serves you right for laughing,' she said, sitting back smugly to observe his efforts. 'Besides, now it matches your foam moustache.'

'I do not have a foam moustache!'

'Look a little closer, Pai-kun,' Lettuce smirked, dangling the silver sugar bowl in front of his face. Pai scrutinised his reflection for a moment, then gave a loud 'tcha!' and began to wipe his upper lip with a paper napkin.

'I knew I shouldn't have trusted you when you recommended that cappuccino all innocently,' he grumbled. Lettuce laughed easily and Pai felt his theatrical scowl bend into a smile in response. She was absolutely irresistible in this mood, looking more openly cheerful than he had ever seen her before.

'Your smile is so lovely,' he murmured, stroking her hair off her face. She ducked her head and smiled again, bashfully, then giggled again at the suspicious look he gave her as he raised his cup to his lips. He gazed at her lovingly over its rim as he drank, and then leaned forward to kiss her tenderly on the cheek.

'Pai, people are watching,' she fretted

'Let them watch,' he soothed, kissing her again. Lettuce fidgeted a little, but it was nice to be the one being kissed by a beautiful boy for a change, rather than the one sitting on the sidelines, not knowing whether to watch or look away. She could scarcely believe that this was Pai, her enemy, so cold and distant, teasing her and protecting her and buying her coffee. And kissing her, of course. He pressed his lips twice to the side of her neck and then pulled away with a sigh. 'I suppose you're right,' he agreed ruefully. 'It's discourteous to kiss too much in public. Besides, I'm distracting you from your food.' He looked pointedly at their untouched pastry.

Lettuce tutted mentally. How on Earth did he expect her to eat in this state? As he had predicted the first time they had kissed, she was burning for him. Suddenly she couldn't finish her mocha fast enough. She wanted them to be somewhere quiet and alone, with no table between them and no food to distract them, where he could hold her in his arms and she could ask him the million questions that were seething in her mind. Questions about him, about his life, about what he thought and the things he liked and the places he wanted to see. She thought about her travel guides in the library, the glowing pictures, the silence. Yes, that would be the perfect place.

They finished their drinks and stepped back out into the snow. It was falling more slowly now, in large, feathery flakes that skimmed erratically through the air before settling.

'So, where to now?' Pai asked, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He looked incredibly human, the breath rising from his mouth in white plumes exactly as it did for her.

'Ano...I thought I might...take you to the library,' she said, blushing deeply. The suggestion would seem odd to most people, she knew; she hoped he would prove different.

'The building where your analogue data is stored?' he clarified.

'Hai.'

'The building which I attacked with my data-storing chimeras?' He was definitely joking now; she could hear the laughter in his voice.

'Yes, Pai-kun, that building. Would you like to go there? I can show you how to use it properly.'

'Hmmm.' Pai turned to face her and held out his hand, grinning openly. 'Alright. Lead on!'

Lettuce paused to scoop up a handful of snow from a low wall as they turned the corner. 'It's very unusual,' she commented, 'to have snow in the city, especially before Christmas.' Lettuce had her own opinions on talking about the weather, and they were not all bad.

'I have observed that it causes considerable excitement among the younger humans. It makes me view the phenomenon in an entirely different light.'

'Oh yes.' Lettuce grew pensive; she had forgotten momentarily about the climate that Pai was used to.

'I would prefer sunshine, of course, but a little cold weather is fine. This soft snow is quite pleasant, in fact.'

'It makes it quiet...' Lettuce murmured. Pai didn't reply. He had been holding her hand loosely; now he lifted it and cupped it in both of his, tracing his fingers up her wrist.

'Pai-kun?'

'Your hands are cold,' he said, folding them together and wrapping them in his.

'Yes,' she nodded, 'a little.'

Pai gazed up into the sky, drawing her hands to his chest as he did so. The snow seemed to be easing, and a bright rift was showing in the sky above their heads. The storm would soon be over.

Her eyes turned back to Pai as he ran a hand along her jaw, curling it slowly around the back of her neck. Her heart began to pound. She felt as though she were melting despite the cold, and she gave a little gasp as her stomach clenched with nerves. At that Pai pulled her forwards, wrapping his arms securely around her and pressing his mouth against hers.

His mouth made a patch of scalding heat on her cold skin, and after so much anticipation the kiss screamed through every nerve in her body, setting her senses screaming for more. She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled herself up towards him, parting her lips. She had thought him a creature of snow and ice, but he was kind and loving and so very, very warm, kissing her, loving her...she gripped him with all her strength as a wave of protective love swelled inside her...Pai-kun, you're not what the others think you are...under it all you're a beautiful person. I won't let anything harm you...

She burrowed into the side of his neck and found that he smelt both alien and comfortingly familiar, that his skin was cooler than a human's but still warm-blooded, that his delicate ears twitched in reaction when she nuzzled against him. She caressed the side of his face as his lips moved in her hair, captivated with his balance of alien and familiar, and the touching and terrifying mortality that she found beneath his formidable exterior, when she pressed against him and felt his heartbeat. So many details: the lavender sheen on his hair, the texture of his skin, the shape of his hands. All so perfectly formed, and so easily destroyed. She vowed to herself that she wouldn't let anything take him away from her.

'Lettuce?' Pai said, and she realised that she'd stopped kissing back, too lost in her thoughts.

'I'm alright,' she said before he could begin to worry. 'I was just thinking...'

'Tell me what you were thinking?'

Lettuce sighed. 'Well...I was worrying. About what we're going to do about the others.'

'Well, that worries me too,' Pai answered, resting his cheek on the top of her head. 'But we'll find a way. Surely there must be some solution. But let's not think about that just yet; let's just have a little time together first. I have a plan that should dissuade Kisshu and Taruto from trying any more attacks for the time being, and that should make your leaders more kindly disposed to listen when we come to break the news.'

'I was also...worrying...' Lettuce's voice was barely a whisper now, and she pressed her face into his chest. '...about you. I don't want to lose you. I don't want anyone to harm you because of me. When Shirogane-san finds out...'

She was surprised by a low chuckle vibrating in his chest. 'Pai-kun?'

'I'm not quite as fragile as all that, Retasu-chan,' he grinned, leaning his forehead on hers.

'You don't think that Shirogane-san could take you?'

'No,' Pai said bluntly.

'What I meant,' Lettuce tried to explain, though Pai was making it difficult by nipping playfully at her lips, 'was that when he finds out, he's going to be angry, and he'll tell the other Mews – kyah!'

She doubled over with a squeal as Pai curled his fingers into her flanks, tickling her mercilessly. 'I think you're more than a match for them,' he purred, pulling her closer as she tried to fight away.

'N-nani?' Lettuce panted.

'I seem to remember you out-manoeuvring me very easily on several occasions,' he reminded her. 'Surely you remember?'

'Hmmm.' Shafts of sunlight crept through the clouds. Lettuce found herself smirking deviously as she looked up at Pai. 'I wouldn't be too self-assured if I were you...attack could be coming from ANYWHERE!' As she spoke the last word she scooped a fistful of snow from the wall behind them and thrust it down his neck.

It was his turn to scream. He ripped away from her with an indignant yell. Lettuce staggered with laughter as he tried to dislodge the snow before it melted, his wounded expression only sending her into further hysterics.

'Lettuce!' he protested for the second time that day.

'Hahahahahahaha!'

'You –' Pai seized another handful of snow and lobbed it at her. Lettuce ducked away, shrieking, as he dashed forward and rubbed it into her hair. She moulded herself a fresh snowball and hit him squarely in the chest with it, then turned around and ran for dear life.

When the crunching footsteps behind her stopped she knew she was in trouble. Then she felt him slam into her from behind, his arms closed around her and the ground fell away beneath them.

'No! Oh my God, are we flying? Stop, stop!' Her arms closed in a death grip around his neck.

'Lettuce, look down!' he cried as she tried vainly to hide her face in his shoulder.

'Look down? Shouldn't you be saying don't look down?'

'Just look, Lettuce!'

Lettuce gritted her teeth, opened her eyes and gasped.

They were flying away from the houses, heading for the park, and beneath them the ground was a blanket of untouched white. But that wasn't all. The sun had broken free of the clouds, and it turned the snow incandescent, a million sparkles glancing off it like some picture a child might paint, only real. Pai turned her in his arms so that her back was towards him and she had an uninterrupted view. With a laugh of wonder she tipped her head back to take in the blue rift in the sky where the wind was chasing the clouds away. The world looked limitless.

She felt her stomach swoop as Pai dipped into a dive. The ground looked so far away that she didn't worry about it at first, and then it was coming so close and so fast that she didn't have time to worry. They slammed into a thick drift of snow which sprayed up all around them, and before she could so much as draw breath Pai melded his mouth with hers. She thought she might pass out. The brightness of the sun, the cold of the snow, the sweet wet warmth of his mouth and the way it felt as it moved with hers...they were beyond description. At last he released her and she flopped back into the snow, panting for breath.

'Wow!' she gasped. 'Everything's gone all sprinkly!'

'Sprinkly?' Pai repeated doubtfully, but she saw that he was smiling.

'Yeah,' she said, sobering a little and sitting up. 'I think I was trying to say sparkly, but then I thought of those rainbow sprinkles you put on cupcakes and how they're all colourful and happy and sort of popping up here and there so...'

'I see,' Pai nodded gravely.

'Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to –' She choked off as Pai sprinkled a handful of snow over her face.

'You don't need to apologise for this.' He pulled her gently upright, cradling her in his arms. 'Lettuce...I haven't upset you, have I? I know you were really worried.'

'Not at all. Come on, the library is just on the other side of the park.'

They beat as much of the snow off their clothes as they could before entering the library. The librarian, who knew Lettuce well, gave her a friendly smile as she entered, and Pai seemed to meet with her approval as well.

'I don't think she recognised you,' Lettuce whispered once they were out of earshot, causing Pai to snigger.

They walked to a curved seat in a far corner of the room – the same place she had used to sit with the college student she had once liked, in fact – and Lettuce gathered a few of her favourite books.

'What now?' Pai asked.

'Um...' Lettuce faltered. What did one do in a public library, other than read? 'I don't know,' she admitted, beginning to blush. 'It's just a place where I like to be...'

But to her relief he didn't seem to be feeling awkward at all. He had pulled one of the books towards him and was flipping the pages, seeming equally intrigued by the information it contained and the structure of the book itself. She pulled one of her favourite photo albums towards her, and they read in comfortable silence for a while.

Eventually Pai seemed to shake himself.

'Gomen, am I boring you?' he asked, and Lettuce jumped, because she'd asked that question so many times herself when she found herself drifting off into a book. Usually it was the cue for whoever she was with to lie: 'No, of course not' and the friendship to begin to deteriorate, but this time...

'Not at all,' she replied. 'What is it you're reading?'

Pai showed her the cover. It was a compilation of genetic research papers. 'This is wonderful,' he said. His voice sounded thick and fervent. 'I've been studying DNA for years, gathering the information we need for our chimeras, but everything I've been trying to find out is here, so much more clearly expressed, and it deals with Earth species that I've never had the opportunity to research...of course, with our situation, it's impossible to get the time or technology we need for thorough research, but there's a wealth of information that you humans have already discovered...' He tailed off, gazing along the aisles of books like a prospector admiring fabulous jewels. Lettuce looked over his shoulder and found that she understood a fair portion of what was being said in the text he was reading.

'What I wouldn't give to work with this man,' Pai muttered, turning a page.

'You can,' Lettuce smiled. 'When we're known for being the ones who first made peace between humans and Cyniclons, he'll be glad to research with you.'

'I look to the day,' Pai smiled, putting an arm around her.

'Are you done?' Lettuce asked, reaching forward to turn the page.

'I don't read very fast in traditional Japanese,' Pai confessed after a moment.

She had no idea where her next suggestion came from.

'I could read it aloud to you if you like.'

Pai's answering smile was the biggest she'd ever seen him give. He settled comfortably against her shoulder as she took the book and began to read, raising a hand to run her fingers through his hair, the words coming more and more easily as she went on...they must sound incredibly geeky to a listener, she thought, a couple whose idea of fun was to read science journals aloud in the library, but the thought was more one of pleasure than embarrassment –

'Would you take your feet off the chair, young man!'

Lettuce jumped violently as she came out of what could only have been described as a small trance. She found that she had let her voice to rise to normal volume, that Pai's head had somehow wound up in her lap and that an irate librarian was swiping at his feet with a sheaf of magazines.

'There are people trying to study right around the corner from you,' she hissed at Lettuce. 'Keep your voice down! And we can't have you trekking mud all over the cushions either. Other people need to use this facility and it's hard enough to keep it open without this kind of antisocial behaviour.'

'G-gomen!' Lettuce stammered, apologetic but also hardly able to keep back her laughter at the irony of the situation. They leapt to their feet, Pai wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulders, and fled, with the librarian tutting along behind them.

They ran hand in hand along the road towards her house, letting their laughter break out once they were sure they were out of earshot.

'Poor Pai-san,' Lettuce giggled. 'I forgot to warn you about the downside of public libraries...it's odd, when you're on your own you behave perfectly and look down on anyone who doesn't, but as soon as you have company...' Lettuce knew she was rambling, but it didn't seem to matter. Pai was nodding in agreement. 'Maybe disruptive people aren't doing it on purpose,' Lettuce mused. 'Maybe they're just having fun.'

'A bit of both?' Pai suggested as they reached her front door. He spun her round to face him. It was getting dark now; she could just make out his face in the light from the windows.

'Maybe,' she agreed. 'What time is it?'

'Nearly seven o'clock.'

'Phew, just in time!' Lettuce whistled. 'I wouldn't want to be late back on my first date.'

'No.' Pai leaned down and pecked her on the lips. 'That would be awkward. Goodnight, Retasu-chan. I'll come and see you again as soon as I can.'

'Goodnight, Pai-kun,' she whispered, standing on tip-toe to return his kiss. '...sweet dreams.'

'You too.' He brushed his lips across her cheek and then stood and waited while she let herself into the house. They exchanged a last wave and then she closed the door. Shutting it with him still standing there felt horrible, so Lettuce waited a moment and then opened it again. The street was empty.

'Lettuce-chan, is that you?' her mother called, walking out from the living room. That room had large windows looking out onto the street, and Lettuce was seized by a sudden suspicion which was confirmed when Mrs Midorikawa said:

'Did you have a good time, darling. My, he is very handsome, isn't he?'

'Oh, stop it,' Lettuce grumbled, blushing to the roots of her hair.

A/N: Yay for directionless fluff! And also for pathetic fallacy! (Use of weather to echo the mood of the characters. Thunderstorms for dramatic chases, etc.) Don't worry, the sappiness can stop any time you guys get sick of it, and plot can ensue. But first I have two more (better, because I really do feel sick to my stomach now) chapters of it which I MUST get down.

Ciao!

PS. This chappie is dedicated to the first pre-Christmas snow, and the first five-day period of snowy weather (in England, that is) that I have experienced in my short life.