Just a random idea that led to a story that is longer and more intricate than I expected. But hey, that's not new. Enjoy!
The gleam of sunlight through ice woke Snow Miser as the sun rose on the western horizon. His silver eyes flickered open, and he winced at the concentrated light. After a moment, the sun shifted enough so that he could see the flare of the sunrise splashing across the sky. He watched the colors with a small smile on his face then his smile faded.
At first he wasn't sure why he didn't want to get up, and he reached up to scrub at his tousled hair. Then his eyes landed on the calendar above his bed. Oh, that was why. It was the three-month family reunion again. That meant a whole day with his perfect siblings. He wondered if Father Time would be there before he scoffed. Of course he wouldn't be, he thought as he glared at the ceiling. Despite his name, he never had enough time for his family. Growing up, there had been a lot of missed opportunities because Father Time could just peer down the passage of time and see what he'd missed. That didn't heal the gaping hole where his father should have been during Snow's difficult times.
There was a surge beneath him, and he groaned. Heat was awake. He really didn't want to deal with that hothead today. But he couldn't just ignore his brother. That would be admitting something was wrong, and he couldn't admit that. Mother dearest wouldn't like that.
'Temper, temper, Snow,' echoed in his head, heard a hundred thousand times. It was never in front of his siblings, but that didn't stop the sting. They could all do just as much damage as him if they lost control. Tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, and even volcanic eruptions were fine, but not an ice age. 'Where's my happy boy, Snow?'
Snow rolled out of bed and went to take a cold shower. Sometimes he wished for some hot water, but he wouldn't give Heat the satisfaction. He fondly recalled taking hot showers and baths when he and Heat were growing up. They were actually pleasant memories. There were some. But there was also a lot of fighting, a lot of too-far jokes that turned violent, a lot of never-good-enough when it came to his brother. He wanted what Mrs. Claus had suggested a few years before. He wanted his brother to be his confidant, the one he confided in and who gave the same right to him.
'Brothers should be friends,' he thought bitterly. 'But Heat and I… we just can't get along.'
Snow knew Heat didn't understand him, and the same was true of the reverse. Though they had reached an odd civility around each other, it was still forced to a degree. Mother had been very glad to see they were fighting less. But because of that, Snow was getting more and more frustrated. Used to, their fights had kept the blizzard from stirring in his heart, but now…
The castle shook as Heat launched something at it. Snow sighed, and he stepped out of the cold water and froze the droplets off his body before dressing. He carefully styled his hair and froze it so that it stayed in place. As he plodded out into his bedroom, one of his ice minion servants came in with a fruit smoothie. Snow smiled a little. "Mother sent us baskets again, didn't she?"
The servant nodded. "Your favorite."
Snow grinned and picked up the smoothie. "Thanks, Flurry." He gestured toward his brother's castle. "What's old sulfur breath up to?"
Flurry shrugged. "He seems irritated."
"What's new?" Snow asked dismissively.
"More so than usual."
Snow took in a mouthful of smoothie and closed his eyes, savoring the flavor. He answered after swallowing. "It's a reunion day. Of course he's more irritated than usual."
"So that's why you're lingering?"
Snow grunted, sipping from the cold glass. "Don't, Flurry."
Flurry bowed slightly. "Sorry, sir."
Snow shook his head. It wasn't Flurry's place to dig into that part of his sire's life. Flurry knew it, but he also knew that Snow was not acting like himself. It wasn't just the family reunion for him. It was something far deeper, and it was beginning to concern all of his servants. They didn't dare to probe simply because they knew that if he snapped, none of them would be able to handle it. There was only one person in the world who was able to, and Snow just happened to fight with him every single day. They wanted so badly to help Snow, who was usually so kind and fun, but they didn't dare to breathe a word to anybody about Snow's struggles and feelings, especially to his twin.
Snow finished off the smoothie and handed the glass back to Flurry. "Better go make sure fire head doesn't disrupt the barrier."
"Have fun at the family reunion," Flurry said.
Snow sneered before he could stop himself. Then he looked in the mirror and straightened up. "I have to. Mother would be so disappointed otherwise."
Flurry pressed his lips together but said nothing. His eyes trailed Snow's tall form as he strode to the front door. He grabbed his scarf and wrapped it around his neck then took a deep, steadying breath before he straightened and pushed open his palace doors. Immediately, he saw Heat steaming along across one of his stone walkways. His poor brother never did like the family reunions. Snow didn't either, but he had to pretend for Mother's sake. Sometimes he was jealous of Heat's freedom in expressing his negative emotions.
'Temper, temper, Snow.'
Shaking his mother's warning out of his thoughts, he skated over along his ice walkway and called out.
"Chill out, inferno face. It's just family," Snow said casually, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, that's easy for you to say," Heat muttered. "Mother always did like you best."
Those words hurt far worse than Heat knew. Normally he'd laugh it off, but today Snow stopped skating, his face flushing as he looked down at his feet. It took Heat a moment to notice his brother was no longer following him, but he finally turned to glare at him. He was rather startled by the dark look on Snow's face as he gazed at nothing.
Heat frowned. "What's wrong with you, blizzard brain?" he demanded.
There was a moment of hesitation, a moment where Snow looked unsure and frightened. Then he snorted.
"Your sulfur breath, of course," Snow teased.
Heat flushed with anger and he stomped his foot. The ground shook and lava erupted out of the chasm between their homes. It splashed up the barrier then settled back down. Snow stared at the lava as it bubbled and boiled, wishing for a moment his own anger was hot instead of cold. He was surprised when a magma ball struck him in the shoulder.
"Hey!" Snow yelped, turning to glare at Heat. "What did you do that for, Heat?"
"Because, icicle nose, you…"
Heat Miser stopped mid-retort when he realized his brother had called him by his name. That was as far from normal as anything Snow could have done. He peered at his brother, scanning his thin, pale face. Was there a shadow cast across his cheerful brother's face, or was it actually something more?
"Are you okay?" Heat asked slowly.
Snow smirked. "Always," he laughed breezily. "I gotta be, bro."
Before Heat could reply, there was a call.
"It's time, boys. Come on."
Both of the brothers looked to where the portal was opening. Heat sighed. "Here we go again," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Snow growled.
Before Heat could respond, Snow stepped into the portal. Heat stood very still, staring at the place where his brother had stood just moments before, and he wondered if he was imagining things. Then his mother called again.
"Coming, Heat?"
"Yes, Mother," Heat said, and he stepped forward.
As he passed through the silvery sheet, Mother Nature's personal garden appeared in front of him. The lush fields spread out to the border between the four sections of the island, representing the four seasons. Mother Nature always loved having the reunion in the summer heat, and Heat relaxed and basked in the warmth. Mother Nature stood in front of him, smiling. She reached out to them, and Heat hurried to be greeted before his twin, but Snow didn't even try to knock him out of the way. Instantly, Heat was filled with worry. Something had to be wrong.
Mother Nature kissed him and pressed her hands on his cheeks. "Did you like your gift basket?" she asked tenderly.
"Delicious fruits, as always, Mother," Heat said, softening a little at her loving gaze.
"Good." She turned and reached for Snow. "And you, dear?"
"Fantastic, of course," Snow said, flipping his scarf. But Heat noticed an unusual lack of energy from his brother, and that shadow was still across his face. The worry grew as he watched Mother Nature kiss Snow, and he saw his brother flinch a little.
"Now, I've got to get the four winds together. We'll begin in an hour. Enjoy yourselves until then."
"Yes, Mother dear," the twins intoned. Mother Nature turned away and Snow relaxed. Heat noticed the stress around his eyes, and then he saw how tired his brother was. Had he not been sleeping? Before Heat could ask, Snow glanced at him then smiled tightly.
"See you later, magma brain."
Heat watched him walk off, puzzled and a bit frightened. Was everything okay with Snow? He meandered over to some blackberry bushes and grabbed a few as he considered his brother. Now that he thought about it, he had noticed that Snow was a little more solemn than usual. He'd never actually seen his brother so somber before. Usually he was peppy and annoying, but that question, intoned with a wounded, shaky voice—"What did you do that for, Heat?"—bothered him.
"Heya, sulfur brains," North Wind said, sauntering over. He plucked a blackberry out of Heat's hand and ate it. "Where's Mr. Icicle?"
"Ah, he went off toward the Winterlands." Heat glanced that way again. "He's acting funny."
"Funny how?" North asked.
"I don't know…"
"Angry?" North asked, a sly edge in his voice.
"Angry? Snow?" Heat scoffed then turned to face the Winterlands as his brows came together. "Maybe," he muttered.
"Mm, I'd better go and see what he's up to."
Heat watched his younger brother hurry away. He was uneasy about the way North said that. It sounded ominous. North hadn't forgiven either of them for ratting him out and delivering all the presents on Christmas a few years back. Heat was sorely tempted to just let the two of them talk, but then he recalled Snow's dark look.
'Wait, is Snow angry?'
North had asked that. Heat hadn't registered how odd that was when he'd said it. Snow was never angry, not in the usual sense of the word. Sure, there was animosity, but the last time Snow had been angry, there had been an ice age. Heat immediately knew there would be trouble. He turned and hurried toward the Winterlands, determined to stop North from whatever mischief he was planning. He hesitated at the barrier between sections of the garden then took a deep breath and stepped through.
The cold was a shock to Heat's system, and he shuddered as he adjusted his body temperature to be higher than normal to counteract the cold. He began to make his way into the evergreen forest. He had to admit that the ice glittering from every pine needle was absolutely gorgeous. He wished he didn't mind the cold so much, but it wasn't like Snow would ever let him live that wish down. He felt stupid for even thinking like that. His brother very clearly wanted as little to do with him as possible.
"I said leave me alone, North!"
Snow's voice cut through the cold, and Heat followed it and stood in the shadows of a rather large pine tree, staring at his two brothers. Now there was no doubt in Heat's mind that Snow was angry. The temperature had dropped and a shiver raced up Heat's spine at the painful tingle across his skin.
"Oh, come on, Snow," North said. "You know I'm just teasing."
"Not now, blusterball. Go away."
"Really, just let me help," North wheedled.
"You know how that turned out last time!" Snow spat.
Heat had never seen Snow look so frightening before. Though he'd been on the receiving end of venomous stares from Snow, never before had he witnessed this expression, an expression of absolute loathing. Usually it was frustration or playful irritation, but this, this was real anger.
"I was only trying to help," North argued.
"You did what you meant to, airhead! Now go away!"
North snorted and turned to leave then grinned when he saw Heat. "Come to be entertained?"
Snow looked up, and for a moment there was an odd look on his face, then he looked defiant. "What are you doing here, lava sucker?"
"I came to tell North that Mother was looking for him," Heat lied.
"Really?" North asked. He adjusted his pompous hairstyle then hopped into the air and breezed away. "Later, losers."
Snow watched him go, his expression blank. Heat sneered. "Mama's pet," he spat.
His twin actually smiled grimly. "He sure is."
Heat studied his pale brother, and he noticed again the shadow across his face. "Hey, frostbite… I mean, Snow?" the name felt foreign on his tongue.
Snow looked startled by the name and glanced over. "What?"
"Is everything… cool?"
Snow hesitated and actually looked conflicted and frightened again. The hesitation cinched it. Something was definitely wrong. Heat Miser ignored the bitter cold of the Winterlands, and he stared earnestly at his brother.
"Snow?" he prompted.
"It's… it's nothing, sulfur breath," Snow said, but he wouldn't look at him.
"Snow, I mean it," Heat said. "Is something wrong?"
"What do you care?" Snow asked, sounding defensive.
"Because I'm your brother," Heat said. "You can trust me."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Snow sneered and straightened up. "Yeah? I've heard all that before. I can't trust anybody, Heat. You never listen anyway."
Before Heat could say anything, Mother Nature's voice called across the garden. "Alright, dears, come on. It's time to eat."
Snow wilted and shook his head. "Let's just get this over with Heat. I want to get back home."
Heat watched Snow walk to a tree and pluck a shining silver apple that he slipped into his pocket. Then he turned and trudged back toward the center of the Summersland. Heat stood there in the cold and watched him go. He was now officially concerned for his twin.
While it was true they had trouble getting along, he did love his icy counterpart. He just didn't understand why he was so touchy-feely all the time. He would poke and prod and touch him quite often, and it was rather unpleasant to have such a violent chill go through him. He imagined it would be the same for Snow, except for too hot instead of too cold. What exactly too hot meant he wasn't sure. He didn't even know what hot was because he was Heat itself. But cold? He knew what cold was. It was pain.
As Heat began to follow his brother, he wondered what cold felt like to Snow. He had no answer. But somehow, he sensed a coldness from his brother that was turning into something bitter. Could Snow feel it? Was he aware? And what did he mean by he couldn't trust anybody? Most of their siblings had a good relationship with Snow, or at least he'd thought so. Perhaps, he thought as he stared at Snow's hunched, cowed form, there was a coldness in Snow that wasn't pleasant. But what could it be?
