Rhea woke up and saw the snow falling outside. She already knew what she would do today.

"Harvey! Let's go outside!" she called out, her voice filled with enthusiasm.

Harvey, busy making stew for the day, looked up and smiled at her excitement. "Eat breakfast first," he urged gently.

Rhea pouted but obediently sat at the low table. Harvey dished up some rice and stew, placing it in front of her. She ate quickly, the idea of snowmen and snow angels fueling her eagerness.

After breakfast, Rhea bundled up in a thick fur-lined cloak that wrapped snugly around her shoulders, a tunic made of soft leather that provided warmth while allowing freedom of movement, and sturdy boots that reached up to her knees, perfect for trudging through the snow. Her hair was tied back, and she wore a knitted hat that covered her ears.

Harvey dressed similarly, though his concern for Rhea's health was evident in the extra layers she wore. He handed her a pair of gloves, which she put on with a smile.

"Ready?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Harvey nodded, though he couldn't hide his worry. "Just be careful not to catch a cold," he said as they stepped outside.

The world was a winter wonderland, the snow blanketing everything in sight. Rhea ran ahead, her laughter ringing out in the crisp air. Harvey followed, watching her like he would watch a wild cub.

"Harvey, do you know what a snowman is?" Rhea asked, scooping up a handful of snow.

Harvey shook his head. "No, what is it?"

Rhea grinned. "I'll show you! First, we need to make three big snowballs."

She demonstrated, rolling a ball of snow until it grew larger and larger. Harvey followed suit, together, they stacked the snowballs, forming the body of the snowman. Rhea found some twigs for arms and stones for the eyes and mouth.

"See? That's a snowman!" she said proudly.

Harvey looked at the creation with curiosity. "It's... interesting," he said, tilting his head. It didn't look much like a man, maybe a panda.

Rhea laughed. "It's just for fun, Harvey. Now, let's make snow angels! Lie down in the snow and move your arms and legs like this." She lay down and demonstrated, creating the shape of an angel in the snow.

Harvey hesitated but eventually joined her, mimicking her movements. "I don't see the point of this," he admitted.

"It's just to enjoy the snow," Rhea said, getting up and admiring their snow angels. "Look, aren't they pretty?"

Harvey stood up, brushing snow off his cloak. "They are," he agreed, as long as she was happy he'd go along with whatever weird idea she had. "But I still think you might catch a cold."

"Harvey, you worry too much," Rhea teased, throwing a playful handful of snow at him.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Winston, who approached with Bai Qingqing and Parker. Winston waved, a smile on his face.

Rhea beamed. "Winston! Come join us! We're making snowmen and snow angels."

Bai Qingqing looked intrigued. "Snowmen? That sounds fun. What do you think, Parker?"

Parker nodded eagerly. "Let's do it!"

The group worked together, building more snowmen.

Rhea got to work too building another snowman for Curtis, this time giving it a snake tail.

"Is that Curtis?" Winston asked looking at the weirdly formed snake thing.

"Yeah! It's good right?"

"It's great." Winston lied through his teeth. Harvey laughed but was making his own snowman.

"This is so fun! I haven't played in the snow like this in ages," Bai Qingqing said, her cheeks flushed with cold and excitement.

"I didn't know making snowmen could be so enjoyable," Parker added, carefully placing stones for the eyes on his snowman.

"It's fun right now! But just wait till we have a snow fight!"

"What's that?" Parker asked clueless.

"Well, we team up and then we build a snow base and throw snowballs at each other." Bai explained, "it works better if there's an equal number of us though."

Rhea looked up the sky, what were the chances Muir was watching them from afar?

"Muir!"

The chances wer pretty high. The eagle soon appeared joining them.

"See, now we have 6 people, lets split up, I'll take Winston! You can take Muir!"

Bai frowned for a moment, wanting to object.

"Fine with us! We'll win this thing!" Parker declared.

The teams were set, and everyone quickly got to work building their snow bases.

Rhea grinned as she formed snowballs, her fingers tingling from the cold. "Alright, team, let's show them what we've got!"

Winston nodded, his competitive spirit ignited. His tail wagging under his skirt.

Harvey was the only one who was dragged into this unwillingly. But he couldn't let Rhea lose.

On the other side, Bai Qingqing gave her team a pep talk. "We need to be quick and precise. Muir, use your aerial advantage to scout and give us updates. Drop snow bombs too!"

Muir nodded, already taking flight to get a better view of the battlefield. "Got it!"

Parker formed snowballs at a rapid pace, his hands moving in a blur. "We're ready! Let's do this!"

The snow battle began with a flurry of white projectiles. Rhea and Winston launched their snowballs with accuracy, aiming for their opponents' base. Bai Qingqing and Parker dodged and retaliated, their laughter echoing through the snowy landscape.

"Harvey! Shoot Muir out of the sky!" Rhea commanded her poor mate who had no choice but to aim at Muir.

"Incoming from the left!" Muir called out, dodging a snowball aimed at him.

Parker quickly countered with a well-aimed throw, hitting Winston squarely in the chest. "Gotcha!"

Winston laughed, brushing the snow off his chest. "Nice shot! But you won't get me twice."

Rhea threw a snowball at Bai Qingqing, who ducked just in time. "You have to do better than that, Rhea!"

"Watch this!" Rhea said, launching a rapid-fire series of snowballs. Bai Qingqing and Parker scrambled to avoid them, but a few found their mark.

"Direct hits!" Winston cheered.

Muir swooped down, catching Rhea off guard. He dropped a snowball on her head, making her laugh and shiver. "Nice move, Muir!"

The battle raged on, snow flying in all directions, only stopping after the girls were too tired to keep fighting.

"That was amazing!" Rhea said, collapsing into the snow, her cheeks frozen from the cold.

"We need to do this more again," Bai Qingqing agreed, sitting down beside her.

Harvey approached with a warm smile. "You all looked like you were having so much fun. How about we head inside and warm up with some hot stew? You can't stay out here all day."

Winston helped Rhea to her feet. "You shouldn't be out long, come inside."

They made their way back, the scent of Harvey's stew filled the air. The warmth of the fire was a welcome contrast to the cold outside.

As they settled around the table, Parker offered to provide some roast meat for everyone. "It's the least I can do after such a great day."

"Thank you, Parker. That sounds wonderful," Rhea said, her eyes sparkling with gratitude.

As they ate, Shuu arrived, looking for Bai Qingqing. He seemed a bit nervous, his eyes darting around until he spotted her.

"Um, I brought you some fruit." He said shyly, Rhea wondered how he got some fruits in this whether.

"Thank you Shuu" Bai said accepting it, Parker was not as accepting, he attempted to attack Shuu but Shuu dodged easily as if he was used to it.

"Shuu! Come join us!" Rhea called out to him.

"Why this wolf! He's up to no good!" Parker protested.

"I'm sorry about Parker, just ignore him." Bai's words were like a shot to Parker's heart who whined and returned to her.

After the dinner the men set off to clean up and put things away leaving Rhea and Bai by the fire. "Are you considering mating with Shuu?" Rhea asked gently, she was in the mood for some gossip.

Bai Qingqing looked thoughtful. "I'm considering it, but Muir has been hanging around me a lot too. I'm not sure what to do."

Rhea nodded understandingly. "Muir is a good match. He can fly, you could go on rides with him."

One of Rhea's greatest dreams was to fly, so Muir made sense to her, Shuu reminded her of a young boy even though he was probably older than her. She couldn't help but treat him like a kid with his big bright eyes.

Bai Qingqing smiled. "I know. I just need to figure things out."

Rhea nodded and changed the topic, "I'm thinking of making a Christmas tree outside."

Bai Qingqing's eyes lit up. "Let's do it!" Anything to remind her of home was welcomed.

"What's a Christmas tree?" Harvey asked slipping in next to Rhea nuzzling into her neck, his hands on her waist.

Winston watched them, uncomfortable.

"It's just an evergreen tree you decorate with lights and ornaments in the winter, it looks really pretty."

"Wanna make one tomorrow?" Harvey asked.

"Yes let's! Bai, come back tomorrow evening, bring some ornaments with you and we can decorate a tree!"

Bai agreed and soon she left with the rest of the men leaving Harvey alone with Rhea.

He was still touchy feely and she didn't mind.

"Wanna have a bath?" He asked coyly. "The water is still hot."

She leaves up to kiss him, "yeah let's go."

.

The next day, Rhea and Harvey spent their time carving ornaments from wood.

Rhea struggled with the task, her fingers fumbling with the tools. "Why are you so good at this?" she whined as Harvey effortlessly carved intricate designs into his pieces of wood. Harvey laughed, his basket quickly filling with beautifully crafted ornaments.

"I've carved wood before," he said, showing her a mini Curtis ornament that looked remarkably detailed.

She pouted, looking at her own attempts. In the entire morning, she had managed to make a heart, a star, and a weird blob she claimed was a snowman. "This is harder than it looks," she muttered.

Harvey chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well, you shouldn't be doing something like this anyway. Your hands are too pretty for this."

Despite his comforting words, Rhea was determined to improve. She continued to carve, albeit with limited success, while Harvey's collection of ornaments grew. She couldn't help but wonder what Winston would make.

When Bai Qingqing and Parker arrived that night, Rhea eagerly awaited to see their creations.

Winston’s work did not disappoint. His ornaments were intricate animals, each one looking so lifelike that Rhea felt a pang of jealousy. "Why is this so good? Are you a carpenter?" she asked, examining a beautifully carved deer.

Winston blushed at her words, her praise like music to his ears. "If you want, I can make one for you later," he offered shyly.

She nodded avidly, her eyes shining. "Yes, please! These are too good not to have."

Bai Qingqing and Parker joined in, their own ornaments adding to the growing collection. Parker’s were carefully crafted, and Bai Qingqing complimented him on each one, making him smile with pride.

Shuu arrived later, struggling with his own attempts at ornament-making. His pieces were rough and unpolished, but Rhea reassured him with a warm smile. "You're doing great, Shuu. Just keep at it."

His heart moved at her kindness, but compared to Winston he really felt lacking.

"Here's mine." Muir handed her a basket of what seemed like birds, he was better than Shuu though so she was happy.

They spent the evening threading the ornaments and then they gathered around the evergreen tree outside and with Muir's help they hung all the ornaments.

Rhea looked at the tree with a sense of accomplishment. "I wish we had lights for the tree," she said wistfully.

Harvey placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Next year, the tree will be even better. I promise."

Next year, Rhea promised to make sure Curtis got to see the tree.

They had dinner outside in the snow, the tree glowing softly in the firelight.

As the night grew darker, they sat around the fire, enjoying the peace they could. The stars twinkled above, and for a moment, everything felt perfect.

Harvey looked at Rhea, she wrapped her arms around her knees as she listened passively to the conversations happening around her. Her eyelids were already closed so he could tell she was asleep.

He lifted her up in his arms and turned to the others, "sorry about this but I think Rhea fell asleep, she sleeps like a log so I better take her in."

"Good night Harvey!" Bai Qingqing said as she waved them in.

Winston watched them retreat, he felt a pang of pain but then he smiled seeing her so peaceful. He was happy she was able to sleep like this without a care in the world, being able to be this close to her was already enough for him.

A/N: I caught up to the manhwa recently, and I think I miss my husband. Curtis is so dreamy, maybe I'm going crazy. I think, this might be a sad fic.