Around one year ago

Akira doesn't have the time to protest as Seonghwa puts his hands on her waist before heaving her up, placing her onto the saddle. As he helps her to sit comfortably on her horse, Golden, he stretches out his hands to pull down her knitted cap so that it will properly cover her ears and tighten the scarf around her neck. He then helps to straighten her heavy cloak, making sure that it's properly covering her body and places her hands underneath it so that they're protected from the cold weather.

"Stop fussing over me and look over yourself," Akira breathes, heat rising to her cheeks as Seonghwa places his palms on them.

"I don't want you to get cold and freeze your limbs," Seonghwa says casually. "We're going on a long journey in winter, so you need to keep yourself warm."

"I keep asking you where we're going," she complains. "But you won't tell me."

"It's a surprise," he utters with a smile before he heaves himself up behind her, snaking his arms on either side of her waist before he pulls the reins. He scoots over to her, leaving no space between them as he puts his chin on her shoulder, smiling as he feels her relaxing against his body.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" she utters. "When you could have sat in front while I'm at the back. How are you going to control Golden if you're busy hugging me?"

Golden neighs, and Seonghwa blushes because he knows that the horse is judging him and laughing at him silently for trying to make a move on its owner. Sometimes he hates the fact that he can understand what the animals are saying, because he simply gets embarrassed on his own.

"I'm cold," he whispers near her covered ears, which makes her shiver and it's not from the cold.

"If you're cold we could just spend our time inside the palace," she rebutts. "You know, with proper heating and we can spend all the time we want without freezing to death. The temperature has dipped under 0 degrees."

He pouts as he says, "But it's not private because everyone else is there, and Wooyoung would always keep disturbing us. I want to spend time just with you, away from the others."

She chuckles as she looks over her shoulder, seeing that even his pouting lips look dry and cracked. "You're really risking our lives out in the cold just because you want some private time."

"It's going to be fun, I promise." Then he pauses, "Well, guaranteed that no one else will be there too, or else it won't be that private. And I cooked something for us to eat while we're there, so we don't have to worry about starving."

"I have no idea what you have in store for me, but lead the way. I'm looking forward to freezing to death," she chuckles, "but at least it's with you."

He does a satisfied hum as he snuggles up to her, controlling the reins and Golden starts moving, bringing them to wherever Seonghwa had planned for them to spend their day at.

She has completely no idea where they're going since all he told her was that they'll be spending the whole day together alone, and that he had prepared everything so she won't be needing to bring anything. She had simply waited at the library, Golden with her before he arrived, hopping off a public carriage bringing bags with contents that he tried so hard to keep as a secret from her. She only followed his every move, from helping her to get onto the horse, to tying all the bags securely so they wouldn't fall off until he had sidled up to her from behind.

Luckily, winter with a possibility of snow falling any time meant that not a lot of people were out and about, so she isn't that embarrassed to be on a horse while Seonghwa is too close to her in public. It's quite amusing to her how in general Seonghwa seems to be shy but he's not embarrassed to show affection in public; something that she has to slowly get used to even though she's perverse to it. It's not that she doesn't like it - she just needs time to be comfortable with it since no one has ever shown her this much affection since she was little.

He hums a song as the horse gallops slowly through town, passing the tightly shut doors and windows as the people prefer to keep warm inside. The people don't go out without any purpose, so they barely meet anyone as they keep with their journey, Seonghwa being excited that they're finally out on a date in a private time.

Even through the journey she can't guess where they're going; everything is blanketed in white, the snow falling softly to dust their clothes as she feels him hugging her tighter, as if looking for warmth from her. When he pulls the reins to stop Golden from moving, she looks around, seeing that they are at the bottom of a flight of stairs, but she can't see where the stairs are leading to.

He gets off first, before again, he grabs her waist to put her on the ground carefully, tucking her hands under her cloak before unloading the bags he had brought together. Then he whispers something to Golden before asking Akira to wait for him while he goes off to temporarily place Golden at a warm area. After he has left the horse at a public stable that he has rented, he happily walks over to her, taking up all the bags in one hand while his other hand finds Akira's.

"Where are we heading?" she tries her luck in asking, but he only shakes his head while smiling.

"You'll see." He glances at her. "Did you take a peek at what I packed?"

She shakes her head as she rubs her thumb over his hand. "I was busy trying not to freeze my limbs off, so I didn't even think about taking a peek."

He chuckles, tightening his grip around her hand before they walk up the stairs, and only then she admires the view along the way.

Everything looks pure with white covering them, and although she hates the cold because her body always feels like there's something wrong with it, she can't deny that falling snow is one of the little joys in her life. It's something that she appreciates a lot; something about everything being covered in white makes her heart feel at ease.

As they reach the top of the stairs, her mouth slightly parts as she sees that there's a huge icy surface in the middle of the platform, surrounded by a railing waist-level, with four gazebos scattered outside the icy surface. The roof of the gazebos are loaded with snow, while the seats allow them to overlook the flat icy surface and also the view just down the hill. They can see the residential area from above, the houses becoming small dots to them.

Seonghwa does a small cheer when he sees that the area is empty, and that there are only the two of them there. He turns to look at Akira who is still amazed by the setup of the place; sure, she has only lived in Nyla for more than a year, but she never knew a place like this existed.

"How is it?" he excitedly asks, shaking her hand as he slightly jumps up and down.

"It's beautiful," she breathes, but frowns as she sees him still bouncing. "Stop bouncing, or you're going to fall and break your neck."

He lightly gasps. "You're so violent."

"I'm just being realistic," she replies as she smiles. "But... are we doing what I think we're doing?"

There's a twinkle in his eyes as he lifts up one of the bags, showing it to her. "I brought ice skates for us."

"But," she mumbles, "I have never ice skated before."

He blinks. "Really? Not even once?"

"Well..." Her eyes travel elsewhere as she pushes her lower lip outwards. "Ice skates are expensive and I didn't have that much money to buy them." Then she plays with the snow near her feet, burying her boots in them. "Plus I had other priorities to spend my money on; it's not like I'll be baring my sword while prancing on ice. And we always have winter training," she adds. "So there's no time to like, you know, sit around and spend time like this."

He pouts, putting down all the bags on the snow before cupping her face, his eyes showing blue. "They're so mean to you."

She grins. "But I was the one conducting the winter training; I got to shout at men older and bigger than me so that they'll crawl or run faster."

He pretends to have a shiver running down his body. "Oooh, General Akira must have been really scary."

They break into laughter as clouds of smoke come out of their mouths, the weather too cold for them. But they like the fact that because the weather is too cold, they have the place all to themselves.

Trudging through the snow hand in hand, Seonghwa waits for her to sit under one of the gazebos before he finally unties a bag, and pulls out a pair of ice skates that he had bought especially for her. She swings her legs as she waits for him to untie the laces, but he holds her feet in place before helping to take off her boots. He puts on the ice skates for her, tying them up and smiles in satisfaction as he sees that they fit perfectly.

"It's no wonder you kept glancing at my shoes that one time," she says, swinging her legs as she feels the weight of the ice skates. "I almost called you a pervert in daylight because you couldn't stop staring at my feet."

"I wanted it to be a surprise and I didn't want anyone to know, so I couldn't even ask Yunho about it."

"They fit perfectly," she utters, already feeling excited. "But I don't know if I'll even be able to stand with them."

"I'll help you," he utters as he stands up before sitting down next to her, putting his head on her shoulder. "But I don't remember the last time I ice skated too, so," he chuckles, "maybe both of us will just land on our butts on the ice." He leans forward, fits the skates on his feet before he stands up, holding out a hand to her.

She takes his hand, her legs already almost buckling even before she can take the first step, and she only cringes as she looks at him. "Yeah... I don't think this will work."

He can't help but laugh looking at how concentrated she is just in trying to stabilize herself, that even as she manages to take one step forward she heaves a sigh of relief as if she had done a full performance on ice. He walks beside her as she holds onto him, managing to stay upright thanks to him as support, and they reach the edge of the flat icy surface before he opens the gate for them to enter.

He steps in first, and even in that short moment he lets go of her, her arms are already flailing around, face slightly panicked as she has nothing to hold onto. Before she can tumble forward, he grabs her, smoothly lifting her up before setting her down on the ice, and her hand automatically flies to grab the railing. He only has this smile on his face while she looks distressed, where the former is already starting to glide across the surface but she's only frozen in place, almost literally.

"Try it," he says as he does a slow spin. "It's fun."

"I can't-" she utters word by word, "-move." Her trembling hands are holding the railing as her legs are slightly spread apart, unable to even manage a proper stance. She glances over her shoulder to see Seonghwa making multiple rounds, looking like he's already an expert in ice skating before he slides over to her.

Without warning, he wraps one arm around her waist and pulls her together, and she only can manage to give out constant yelps as she feels her feet effortlessly sliding over ice. She feels the cold wind hitting her face, but all she can do is close her eyes as she still feels it's weird how it's like she's weightless and sliding on air. She only opens them when they stop moving, before he lets her stand near the railing, her back against it.

"Isn't it fun?" Seonghwa asks, tilting his head as he slides from left to right, looking like he's fully enjoying the activity. "Is it not?" His eyebrows knit as he sees the pale face Akira has on as her legs and hands are trembling slightly. "Are you alright?" Worried, he slides over to her, almost crashing into her as he miscalculates the distance.

"I'm fine." She chuckles, although there seems to be pain in her tone. "It's just that I feel like I'm using all my energy just to stay upright."

He lets out a sigh of relief before laughing. "I thought that it was too cold and that you're getting sick."

"I just-" She yelps as she lands on the ice, clearly having no chemistry with the ice skates at all. She merely sighs before adding, "I told you." She looks up at him, shrugging.

With a smile on his face, he purposely falls to the ground before scooting over to her to sit next to her.

They sit on the ground side by side, legs straightened as their plan to ice skate properly long forgotten.

"Ah," he says, putting up a finger. "I brought food. We can eat them now if you'd like."

She chuckles. "A picnic in winter, that's unique." She breathes, "But I'm still full."

He nods. "Honestly I am too." He heaves himself up, helping her to stand up too but making sure that this time he holds her firmly so that she won't fall down again.

They make their way to the gazebo before they untie their shoes, and they sit side by side on the bench, overlooking the residential area.

Akira sighs in contentment as she leans forward, chin on her palm as she looks at the scenery. Subconsciously, she picks at the skin near her lips before she reaches out for her bag, taking out one stick of lip balm, smearing it across her lips. She presses her lips together, slightly cringing as she feels how dry they are.

Seonghwa looks at her from the side, his eyes lowering down to her lips. His fingers slightly brush against her cheek and when she turns her head to look at him, he leans forward, placing his lips on hers. He tilts his head slightly to the side as he feels her reciprocating his kiss, then cups her face as she detaches herself from him.

She blinks. "You- need to-" She feels heat rising to her cheeks as she shoves the lip balm to him. "They're bleeding-"

Innocently, he puts up a finger to his lips and comes up with red on his fingers. He chuckles as he wipes the blood using the sleeve of his shirt, feeling awkward.

Good job Seonghwa. Well that was romantic; romantic to the point like I feel like I'll just bury myself six feet under.

"I'm glad," she utters as she watches him put on the lip balm. "That I get to spend winter with you."

He leans backwards, slightly cocking his eyebrows. "How did you spend your winter before this?"

She hums. "Well... like I told you, we had winter training. Then... it was just... lonely, gloomy," she shivers, "just downright sad. I may not be a big fan of the temperature, but I like snow, they make everything look so... pure. Plus it was a colour I could actually see, so I wasn't losing out and I could see the same colour everyone else were seeing."

He smiles as he rubs his hands together before enveloping hers in his, rubbing them to keep her warm.

"You know..." she suddenly says as her lips curve upwards seeing how intent he is in keeping her hands warm. "Whenever winter comes and snow falls, it keeps me thinking about how I actually lost my ability to see colours."

He stops rubbing her hands, before he pulls her closer to him and wraps his arms around her. He rests his chin on her head as he utters, "You don't have to think about something that hurts you."

"It doesn't hurt me," she mumbles. "I know everyone keeps saying that not being able to see colours was a weakness, but indirectly... I guess it did help me to be blind towards the blood colours everyone had; I could never judge anyone by their blood colours."

He smiles, ruffling her hair. "So you really fell in love with me not because I'm a nobleman, but it's because I'm handsome."

She pauses before she struggles to elbow him in the stomach, which makes him laugh before locking her hands in place. She wiggles out of his hold before pushing him back, grinning as she pins him down on the bench.

He gulps, his heart beat increasing with every rapid blink of his eyes, his eyes subconsciously travelling to her eyes then to her lips, watching them as she smirks.

"You're quite handsome," she traces a finger on his nose, "but I'm way more handsome than you," she says jokingly.

She leans forward and he closes his eyes, but the kiss on his lips never comes, only a laugh from her as she briefly brushes her lips against his nose. Then she gets off of him, and he releases a heavy breath as he feels like his heart is about to burst from the constant crazy beating. She leans against the railing of the gazebo, slightly chuckling as she realizes how flustered he was.

Clearing his throat, he then sits up straight. In their relationship, it's always them taking turns flustering each other; it is as if they're in a competition to show each other who manages to make the other's heart beat faster, or to make the other speechless by their actions alone. He gathers himself, willing his heart to return back to normal.

"It's not because of your looks, you idiot," she utters. "Even though you do look quite attractive in black and white. I don't know..." she trails off, her eyes following him as he sits closer to her, and they face each other. "I guess you make me feel safe." She chuckles, "Even though I was weirded out on why you were talking to a snake when we first met."

"I wanted to say it's destiny that we met," he pouts, "but the boys did particularly send me to look out for the ambassador from Lucida. So it's not really destiny that we met; it was just a coincidence that it was you."

She scoffs. "What, are love stories which only started as mere coincidence invalid?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"We met each other in the end, didn't we?"

The corner of his lip lifts up as he scoots to her again, enveloping her in a hug. They stay in silence, hearing the faint sound of the heavy snowfall piling up on the ground.

Against his chest, she utters, "What if one day... our relationship doesn't work out? You know that love doesn't last forever, as suckish as you are for romance. Things can always happen in the future, and we may never know what it'll bring you, until it comes."

He doesn't answer, but he merely looks into the distance as he caresses her hair slowly. He contemplates, knowing that whatever answer he'll give out will hurt no less. Instead he asks, "And how would that happen?"

She mumbles, "If our hearts decide to change somehow... that one day if we wake up and decide that we don't have feelings for that person anymore. Or I don't know..." She pulls herself away, "Maybe if we were forced to stay apart from each other. When we thought that we'd found true love... but the world just proves you wrong."

"Why are you thinking about this?" There's a slight change in his eyes as he sighs. "Did anyone say anything to you?"

She shakes her head. "Winters usually bring these thoughts together. It was as if I was conditioned to wallow myself in these hurtful thoughts whenever the season comes. It's just an association anyway," she laughs, "Because I don't have any happy memories during winter."

"I'm here now," he says. "And whether you like it or not, I'll drag you to watch the first snow together every year, and we'll stay outside until we freeze our limbs off. I'll make winter a happy memory for you, so that you don't have to associate it with anything sad anymore."

"So it's a deal?" She smiles. "That we'll always see the first snow together every year."

"It's a deal. Winter will be your favourite now that I'm here," he grins.

He stands up as he lowers his face down near hers, and her eyelids flutter as he places a soft kiss on her lips. His lips linger on hers; she feels his cold and steady breath against her skin. His eyelashes brush against her skin and as their eyes meet, he locks their lips together again. He feels her grabbing his arms and he places his left hand against the railing, supporting himself as his right hand finds her face, holding it.

She takes in a sharp breath as he unlatches his lips, but he doesn't distance his face from hers. Instead, he rests his forehead against hers, placing both of his hands on either side of her face.

"Like you said, we don't know what the future holds. But as long as both of us put in effort," he takes her hands, "then that's all that matters."

She smiles while she nods. "Of course."

He finally lets her go, a satisfied smile on his face as it seems that he has managed to make her blush, but when he points it out, she only pats her cheeks.

"It's because I'm cold, don't flatter yourself too much Mr. Park," she claims.

"Ah..." he trails off. "So it's the cold then."

"It's the cold," she repeats as she stands up, hugging her own body tight as she rubs her arms up and down, trying to prove her point.

"I see," he utters, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'll keep you warm then."

She blinks when he advances towards her again, cupping her face and kissing her again, before he finishes it off with a tight hug. He doesn't let her go, his chin resting on her shoulder as his arms are wrapped around her waist. He stays quiet, and when he doesn't let her go, she pokes his waist, saying that she's suffocating.

"I don't want to let you go," he says.

"We're going to die," she deadpans. "Of the cold."

"No," he shakes his head as he hugs her tighter. "I don't want to let you go." He emphasizes before he slowly lets her go, but a cloud of smoke comes out of his mouth as he lets out a heavy breath. "I'll cry if I have to let you go again."

She laughs. "So dramatic. Then don't let go of me, idiot. Keep holding on to me." She rolls her eyes.

"I will," he says, his eyes dropping to the snow. "I'll hold onto you, even when all the odds are against us one day. When everything feels bleak, I'll hold onto you so I'll remember why we're together in the first place. I'll never forget you."

At that time, his words just feel silly and overdramatic to her.

But she has no idea that a year later, she's desperately holding on to his words, hoping that she'll find the light in his eyes as he looks at her, or to hear his voice calling out her name again.

---

[A/N: Imagine someone alone just happily wanting to ice skate and they see Akira and Seonghwa being all sweet... if it were me I'll probably just yeet myself away. This chapter is obviously a filler since there were too many sad stuff happening I almost forgot how it was like for Seonghwa and Akira to be happy akjshdakjsh]