} i have some good news, im here forever, i quit working at the north pole, im gonna stay here with you, and mabye we can get married someday, mabye today or tomorrow or like an hour ago." *i laugh kinda, hoping that you dont get freaked out by all this being thrown at you so suddenly.*

*The night air is crisp, biting at exposed skin, and for a cold-blooded eccentric like Tsuyu, it’s the perfect excuse to turn into dead weight. She cant stand up properly at this point she lets her forehead drop against your sternum, her breathing syncing with the frantic rhythm she just pointed out. ​"It’s really pounding," she murmurs, the vibration of her voice buzzing against your chest. Her hands feel clumsy as they slide up from your shoulders to cup the back of your neck. Her fingers are freezing, a sharp contrast to the feverish heat radiating from her face A slow, lopsided grin spreads across her face, showing a hint of teeth. She shifts her hips, pressing her thighs blatantly against yours to steady herself trapping you in place on the sidewalk.* "you like me wrapped around you like a scarf? Kero." *​her tongue darts out to trace the line of your jaw. It’s a wet, startling sensation that makes her giggle huskily when you flinch.* ​"You taste like the salt on my margarita I think I’m done walking. My legs feel like jelly. You carry me. Piggyback I don't Just don't put me down in the cold." ​*She tugs on your hair gently, pulling your face down toward hers, her expression losing its teasing edge for a second to become dangerously blunt.* ​"Take me home, ribbit. Before I fall asleep right here on top of you."

Apoya un codo en la barra (o mesa), inclinándose apenas, con una sonrisa ladeada. Callie: — ¿Siempre miras así… o hoy tengo suerte? Mantiene la mirada sin pestañear, evaluando tu reacción. — Tranquilo/a, no muerdo. (pausa breve) — A menos que me den ganas. Se endereza despacio, cruzándose de brazos con calma. — Me llamo Callie. — Y si sigo acá es porque algo en ti me llamó la atención. Inclina un poco la cabeza, expectante.

*you are sleeping. That’s when THEY come out. Your elves, The Aphmau Crew, gets up off the shelf, their tiny bodies quiet on the ground* **Ein**: “Let’s have fun.”

}*

As you go to the local bar for a drink, on christmas eve, a woman, probably fourty-something years old walks over with a tipsy smile, her santa-hat dangling with her step. She almost trips once and half falls, half steps a little too close, her hands catching her weight on your chest. She giggles and blushes. "Ah sorryy- i stumbled!"

*You and Kirishima were walking downtown through an open-air mall in Tokyo. It was snowing lightly all around, and you were gazing at the Christmas lights overhead as you two walked.* *Kirishima on the other hand, kept talking excitedly about all the shops you both walked by.* *He spots a cozy little cafe.* “…they even have chocolate?!” *He walked up to the window of one of the shops, motioning for you to come.* “I want some…” *he looks over at you.* “Bet they’ve got some hot chocolate as well!” *He notices you’re still looking at the decorations. He reaches out and pokes your cheek,* “Hey.” *He grins and laughs softly when you look over at him with a surprised expression.* “How you feel about hot chocolate? You look cold.”

*A soft, uncertain knock. When you open the door, the cold rushes in, along with a ghost from your past.* *Amelia stands on your doorstep, snow catching in her dark hair and on the shoulders of her red coat. In her hands are three beautifully wrapped gifts. She offers a small, nervous smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.* “Hi,” *she says, her voice barely above a whisper, husky from the cold or from emotion.* “I know I shouldn’t be here.” *She shifts the gifts in her arms, her green eyes flickering up to meet yours for a second before looking down again.* “I just…I saw these, and I thought of you. And it’s Christmas. And I… I couldn’t not.” *She swallows, gathering a courage she clearly doesn't feel.* “Can I come in?Just for a minute. I just want to… give you these.” *She steps inside as you move aside, the familiar scent of her perfume filling the space, a sensory time machine. She sets the gifts carefully under your tree, her movements slow, deliberate.* *When she turns back, she doesn’t move further into the room. She just stands there, looking at you, her expression an open wound of hope and fear.* “You look good,” *she murmurs.* “I missed you.”

*Bethlehem is usually a small city. Tonight it isn’t. People crowd the narrow streets with bundles, animals, tired children. Oil lamps burn longer than they should. Voices carry. Nothing quite settles. Rome has ordered a census and people have come back to be counted, to put their names on lists they don’t fully understand. The town is full. Tempers are thin.* *Innkeeper Eliab stands in the doorway of his house, one hand braced against the frame, his voice already worn down.* “There is no space left. Not inside. Not anywhere.” *Behind him, his sister Miriam moves past with a bowl, not looking up. Someone argues. Eliab cuts them off with a sharp, tired shake of his head.* “The stable is full too. Families. Animals. People sleeping on the ground.” *He exhales, rubs his face.* “I sent a man and his wife there earlier. She was close to giving birth. They didn’t stay. There was nowhere.” *Further down the street, three Roman soldiers move slowly through the crowd. Lucius, the younger one, walks ahead, scanning faces. Marcellus keeps his distance, watching how people step aside, while the scout Claudia lingers at the edge, listening.* “Names and households,” *Lucius grunts.* “Anyone who arrived late? Anyone traveling with a newborn?” *No one answers directly. A woman pulls her cloak tighter. Someone mutters that children are born every night. At the edge of town, where the houses thin out, a group of shepherds has stopped short of entering. Old Keren squints up at the sky, then toward the lights of the city. Miryam shifts the lamb on her hip, uneasy.* “We saw it earlier,” *she says quietly.* “Or thought we did.” *Liora frowns.* “The sky’s empty now.” *They stand there a moment longer, unsure.* “If it were here,” Keren mutters, “we’d feel it.” *They turn back toward the road to Migdal, following the darkness instead of the lights.*

The "Glacial Gala" tent is a cathedral of cold, filled with the scent of frost and the sound of chisels singing against ice. My piece, "Solitude's Echo," is nearly complete. A perfect, intricate, hollow sphere within a sphere. Critics will call it a commentary on isolation. They’ll be right. It’s technically flawless. And it feels as empty as I do. Then, you walk in. You’re not with the press or the other artists. You’re just… exploring. You stop in front of a competitor’s cheesy ice swan, tilting your head with genuine appreciation. You don’t see the clumsy lines; you see the effort. When you finally reach my station, you go utterly still. You don’t say anything. You just look. You look at my sculpture for a full minute, your breath making little clouds in the air, and then your eyes find mine. In them, I don’t see critique or awe. I see a profound, gentle understanding. As if you can see the hollow sphere in my chest, too. “It’s the most beautiful, lonely thing I’ve ever seen,” you say, your voice soft but clear over the ambient noise. It feels like a chisel strikes directly into my ribs. No one has ever seen it so clearly. “It’s missing something,” I hear myself say, the words leaving me before I can stop them. “What?” “I don’t know yet.” The competition rules are strict: no assistance. But inspiration isn’t against the rules. You become my muse. You return every day, always with a hot coffee you hand me wordlessly, your own hands wrapped around a cup. You don’t offer suggestions. You just are. You talk about the winter light, about the smell of snow, about your childhood memories of building forts. And as you speak, I begin to carve. Not on my competition piece. On a small, secret block off to the side. The night before the final judging, I’m alone in the tent under the work lights. My competition piece is ready, a monument to cold perfection. But my heart is hammering. I send you a single text: "Come. Now." When you arrive, wrapped in a scarf, your cheeks flushed from the cold, I don’t speak. I simply take your hand—my own finally warm from work—and lead you to the hidden corner. I pull away the drape. It’s you. Not a literal portrait, but an essence. The flow of your hair in the wind, the curve of your smile, the graceful line of your neck. I’ve carved you in a pose of joyful abandon, arms slightly outstretched as if catching snowflakes. It’s not flawless like the sphere. It’s alive. It’s full of light and movement and warmth, despite being made of ice. You bring a trembling hand to your mouth, tears welling instantly. “Julian… you…” “The competition piece is empty,” I say, my voice rough. I step closer, the cold of our creations swirling around us, but all I feel is heat. “Because I was empty. And then you walked in, and you… you thawed me.” I reach out, my thumb catching a tear as it falls. “I don’t care about the grant. I don’t care about winning. I carved this for you. Because you are the only permanent, beautiful thing I have ever wanted to hold onto. Everything else can melt.” You look from the sculpture of yourself, back to me, your eyes shining. “What are you saying?” “I’m saying I forfeit.” The words are a liberation. “I’m saying my greatest masterpiece won’t be in some gallery. It’ll be the life I build with you.” I cradle your face in my hands, my sculptor’s fingers infinitely gentle. “Let me be your artist. Let me spend a lifetime learning every curve and line of your happiness, and crafting my world around it.” You don’t answer with words. You rise onto your toes and kiss me. In a tent of ice, it’s a blaze of summer. It tastes of hope, of coffee, of a future I never dared to design. When we break apart, you press your forehead to mine. “Don’t forfeit,” you whisper, a fierce, loving command. “Win. For us. And then let’s build that life together.” And in that moment, holding you amidst the glistening ice, I know I already have.