Disclaimer: Not mine~!

Author's Notes: This chapter was hard to write because it's been so hot lately; it was hard to imagine being cold again. Haha.

Thanks again for the favorites, alerts, and reviews...

SoulForAnime, Hiezen Uchiha, maple the wacky tree, Silver Stella, Midnight Ghost, and Enthusiastic Reader. Always appreciated and encouraging!

Warnings: None. Just extremely fluffy as usual. ^^

Winter hit Death City harder than any Shinigami-chop ever could, any kishin. Frost like broken glass glittered on the cobblestone at their feet, and icicles as brittle as bone hung dangerously from the roof of every building they shuffled reluctantly past. The bitter cold made their world seem far more fragile than before; each element of it appeared cracked in some way, swirling and shifting like the snow that daintily dusted it.

Even three layers couldn't completely thaw them after a great deal of exposure to the cold in their latest, and perhaps one of their longest, missions. Evident through their shivering, reddened noses and watering gazes, they stuck close together and sought any relief possible as they struggled back to their incredibly welcoming apartment.

"Ugh," Soul suddenly complained, his breath going up in smoke as it touched the dry, gelid air, "my hands are gonna fall off before we get back." His fingers appeared to be on the brink of turning blue; his words seemed not even the slightest bit exaggerated, and it took a lot of strength to contain her concern as she crudely reprimanded him.

"I told you to bring mittens, didn't I?"

"The only ones available were your pink fuzzy ones. No thanks. I don't wear girl gloves."

She sighed, and rolled her eyes. Sacrificing bits and pieces of himself to be fashionable seemed far more girly than wearing those gloves, but she kept that comment to herself for once. Reluctantly she slid one of her own white gloves off and handed it to him, to which he raised a brow.

"Why are you-"

Maka grabbed his right hand and pulled it on, then held his left to keep it contained and safe, and put her other gloved hand in her pocket. The body heat did wonders for them both at the touch, and even reached their cheeks, though that remained for another reason entirely.

"This is so uncool."

"It's supposed to be. It's warm."

To her cleverly-crafted response, he had no words. He just knew that the walk home after that wouldn't be quite as cold.