The snow lay on the mountain tops and the roofs of the little houses, giving the setting the look of a Christmas card, or chocolate box. People walked through the narrow twisting streets of the small town, bundled up in thick coats, or huddled close to another. Two such visitors wandered through the main street of the town hand in hand, chatting to each other and gazing at the picturesque surroundings.

"It's so beautiful here.." one of them said, wide brown eyes taking everything in. Her companion nodded, squeezing her hand. The tip of his nose was bright red, a ruddy glow to tanned cheeks. The woman giggled. "You aren't cold?" She herself was wrapped up in a thick jacket, plus hat, scarf and mittens, and was still chilly.

He grinned cheerfully. "Nope. It used to be like this where I grew up. Every winter, it snowed. C'mon, Murrue, it got cold in California too, right?" His companion nodded. "But never this cold. And I've been living in Orb for two years...I'm used to warm weather.." Mwu just chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "Thin blood, huh?"

Murrue huffed, trying to pull away, but secretly enjoying his warmth. The two of them continued walking through the cobbled streets, pointing out various tiny shops, the window displays filled with all kinds of things, from children's toys to pastries and cakes. "Coming here was a good idea, huh?" Mwu asked, placing a soft kiss on his fiancee's rosy cheek. She nodded happily. "It's not the most conventional honeymoon...but it is nice. But.." she warned, poking his scarred nose, "next time it's my choice."

"Next time? You want another honeymoon?" he asked as they walked up a small hill. Murrue sighed. "I meant holiday. If we do take another trip somewhere, I get to choose."

"Whatever you say, honey," he teased, grinning as she rolled her eyes.

The hill was small, but fairly steep, and soon Murrue was lagging slightly behind Mwu, the muscles in her legs protesting. Yesterday they had spent the day on the slopes near their hotel, he teaching her how to ski. Granted, she hadn't managed to progress beyond the nursery slopes, and she had fallen more than she had actually skiied, but it had been a lot of fun. Until now, that is...

"You okay?" he asked, concerned. Forcing a smile on her face, she nodded, walking a little faster to catch up with him. "Fine!" she replied. He didn't look convinced, but carried on walking. At the top of the hill stood a small white-painted building, windows brightly patterned in myriad colours of glass. A church. Mwu smiled. "That's pretty, huh?" She smiled, hugging his arm. "Yeah.."

"Hey," he said suddenly, as a mischievous thought occured to him. "If we got married here, this really could be our honeymoon! What do ya think?"

Murrue raised an eyebrow. "Here? But we have everything all planned back home..."

"I know," he replied, looking thoughtful. "But I was just thinking..if we got married here, or somewhere else quiet, we could be together without all the fuss..."

"Is this because everyone's going to be there?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Mwu was still a little wary around large crowds of people. Sure, it had been almost six months since he'd recovered his memories, but the ingrained reactions of the last two years were going to take some erasing. She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's going to be just fine. There's no need to be nervous..." she reassured him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "It'll only last a little while. And you know how mad everyone will be if we come home already married, don't you? Even though it would be fun..." she added with an impish grin.

"I'd love to see the kid's face.." remarked Mwu. "If we came home married. He and the princess have been looking forward to the wedding almost as much as we have. And no, I'm not nervous. Even though all those people will be there..."

"I will be.." murmured Murrue. He grinned, wrapping her up in a hug. "Really? Why?" She looked away, embarrassed. "Being there in front of everyone like that..."

"That's the bit I'm most looking forward to," he said. "Seeing you there like that, in the dress, and veil, and knowing that we're going to get married.." His face wore a happy smile as he tried to imagine the event taking place in just a few weeks. His fiancee was still blushing, but she also smiled.

Hand in hand again, the couple walked back through the town to the resort, stopping at one of the tiny shops for a pastry thick with frosting, and a cup of mulled wine each. The alcohol warmed them both, causing Murrue's cheeks to become even more flushed. "What shall we do now?" she asked, swinging her arms.

"We could take a bath.." Mwu suggested, referring to the bathtub that stood in their chalet. She just smiled.

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"Does that feel better?" he asked as they sat in the hot bubbly water. Murrue looked confused. "Huh?" He grinned, pulling her close so she was leaning against him. "I meant," he said gently, fingers softly stroking her bare arms, "that does it help with the stiff muscles?" She flushed. "I.."

"You think I didn't notice?" he chuckled, rubbing her sore shoulders. "Skiing really takes it out of you if you've never done it before. And you did fall down a lot." The young woman looked embarrassed. "Well, I'm not a 'pro' like you, am I?" she mumbled.

"Tell you what," Mwu continued. "When we get out of here, I'll give you a nice massage. How's that sound?"

She blushed vivid crimson. "T-that sounds nice.." she murmured faintly.

"You're too good at this.." she complained, eyes closed as he carefully kneaded the stiff muscles of her back and shoulders. The feel of his strong fingers working the aches away caused her to sigh and stretch out on the bed happily. Distantly she heard her fiance laughing at her reaction as his hands moved down her back. "You're enjoying this too much. Not that I'm not, but still..." she mumbled, reaching down to adjust the fluffy towel wrapped around her.

Mwu shrugged. "Who wouldn't? I bet some of the other guys back on Archangel would like to be here right now..." At Murrue's sudden scarlet flush, he laughed. "Seriously! Lots of them had crushes on you. Too bad you were spoken for.."

"In those two years, I wasn't.." she replied mildly, not looking at him. "Wish I'd known.."

"That means you'd have let them do this?" Mwu asked, knowing she was teasing him, but still jealous. "Bet they wouldn't have been as good as it as I am.." She giggled at that. "How do you know?"

"Because they wouldn't have been allowed to do this..." was his answer, as his hands slipped underneath the towel that covered her. Murrue gasped, flushing red again. "Hey!"

He didn't reply, instead hopping onto the bed beside her. "Would they?" he asked.

She tried to scowl, but her expression melted into one of bliss as he kissed her, the towel falling to the ground beside the bed. And instead of pushing him away, her arms moved up to wind around his neck, pulling him down towards her.

"No," she replied quietly, as he reached down to pull the heavy comforter up around them. " But even if I had, would you have let them?" Her tone was gentle and teasing, laughter there as she saw his outraged expression. Her dark eyes danced with mischief and desire. "Well?"

He frowned, gazing down at her for several minutes. "What do you think?" he asked, running fingertips lightly across her chest. Murrue closed her eyes at his caress, a small smile to her lips.

"I think you're the jealous type.."

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( This is a sequel of sorts to my old story 'Yuki' or 'Snow', where the two of them took their honeymoon at a ski resort. The end of it...well, I promised Sis there might be some lime...

Please read and review! )