i say this like, every time, but i need to find better titles for these things sob--
anywaysss this is p u r e solinh fluff. like literally all fluff, no plot or anything lmho. its for solinh week day 3, on tumblr
warnings: none i think
word count: 1.2k
It's warm inside, with the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace and the heater running. Outside, a thick layer of snow is blanketing the world, but Sophie's perfectly content curled up on the couch, warm as can be. She burrows deeper into her thick blanket, tucking her toes in and looking at the movie she's watching with interest.
Keefe lets out a loud whoop from the other side of the room, startling her slightly. Keefe and Tam are having a heated game of Monopoly, and judging by the way Keefe is now dancing around while Tam scowls, she's guessing Keefe just had a victory.
Sophie resumes paying attention to the movie, fully immersed in the dramatic story of two star-crossed lovers. Only a few minutes later, she's startled by another shout.
"It's snowing!"
Linh comes into view, bundled in a thick coat, hat, and scarf that she hasn't bothered to take off yet. She's just come from outside and her cheeks and nose are pink from the cold. There's a faint dusting of snow all over her, peppering her pink coat and dark hair.
Tam glances up. "Linh, you're tracking snow inside."
Linh waves off his concerns. "It's snowing again guys! Let's go outside, it'll be fun."
"It just snowed a few hours ago," Keefe points out.
"Exactly. There's already enough snow on the ground so we don't need to wait or whatever for the snow to build up."
"'We'?" Tam repeats. "I'm not going outside in the snow with you."
"Me too," Keefe agrees.
Me three, Sophie thinks, wrapping her blanket tighter around her. She's never liked snow. It's always been too wet, too cold, and she's done everything she can to avoid it. Not that that took much energy, since where she lived it had snowed exactly once. When she was five years old and had decided to play outside, only to faceplant in snow over and over to the point where she was freezing to the core and drenched to the bone.
It was not a pleasant experience, and Sophie would rather not relive it. Especially not in what's supposed to be a relaxing and warm vacation with her friends.
Linh frowns, a pout resting on her lips. "Fine." She turns to Sophie and eagerly asks, "Will you come?"
Sophie's caught by surprise, conflicted by the question and unable to answer. On one hand, blankets, warmth, hot chocolate, movies, not having to freeze to death. On the other, Linh and her pleading face.
Sophie internally groans as she realizes there's not much of a competition here. "Fine, I'll come," she says, trying to sound excited, even though the last thing she wants to do right now is leave the comfort of her couch.
Linh smiles, leaning forward to give Sophie a quick hug. Sophie shivers as some stray snow brushes off Linh and onto her, but returns the hug, feeling a bit better. Linh pulls away and heads to the door. "Get dressed," she says with a wave of goodbye, and then disappears outside.
Sophie stands in the living room, already missing her blankets. Tam glances up at her and smirks slightly. "Have fun," he says before ducking his head back down and resuming the game.
Sophie grumbles in response before heading to the closet where she'd stashed her coat. It takes a while for her to pull everything on, gloves, hat, scarf and all, but eventually, she's ready.
One step outside and a frigid wind blasts into her face, carrying a smattering of snowflakes along with it. Sophie blinks, and quickly steps outside, shutting the door behind her before any more snow can get in.
The cold is surprisingly bearable and Sophie dares to think she might enjoy this. She steps forward, noticing she's left a pristine footprint behind in the snow. She takes another step and then crouches down, trailing her gloved fingers on the ground and tracing patterns into the snow.
She stands back up, looking around. The backyard was covered in snow, pure and white. The evergreen trees look as if someone had sifted a massive amount of sugar all over them, and tentatively, Sophie reaches out and shakes a branch to see what would happen. Snow showers down on her and she lets out a startled giggle.
It isn't that bad, she thinks, walking forward.
Of course, right then she steps on a patch of slick snow, practically ice. She screams as she skids forward, falling on her back and having the breath knocked out of her. She lays there for a while, struggling to regain her breath. Where the heck is Linh?
Her question is answered when a familiar face appears above her, holding out a hand. Sophie grips it and pulls herself up as Linh asks, "Why are you on your back? Are you making snow angels?"
"I tripped," Sophie mumbles, now trying to brush the snow off her hair.
Linh nods. "Yeah, it's pretty slippery over here. Let's move somewhere else." She takes Sophie's hand and leads her to another area of the backyard where the snow is fresh and softer. Leaning down, Linh scoops up a handful of snow, packing it into a small sphere.
Sophie's eyes widen as she realizes what Linh is making. Backing away she warns, "Oh no, I'm not doing a snowball fi—"
A clump of snow hits Sophie's coat and she gasps in surprise. "Linh!" she cries out.
Linh already has another snowball ready in her hand and a smirk spreads across her face as she asks, "What?"
Sophie sputters out, "No—No, I'm not having a snowball fight with—"
Another snowball smacks into her arm, splattering her coat with more snow, and Linh's suddenly laughing, doubling over with giggles.
Sophie scowls. Fine. Two could play at this game. Quickly Sophie leans down, getting a handful of snow and shaping it into a vaguely sphere shape. She hurls it at Linh, who was still bent over laughing, grinning when the snowball hits its mark.
Linh abruptly sobers when the snowball hits her. She straightens up, brushing the snow off her coat. She fixes Sophie with a glare, and the next thing Sophie knows, there's snow shoved down her coat and Linh is running away, stumbling over the snow and laughing as she gets away.
Sophie shifts around, trying to shake the snow off. She can feel it soaking into her shirt and her boots are already wet, her toes freezing. But Sophie's in no mood to get inside, despite the crackling fire that awaits her there. She's staying and she's determined to get revenge on Linh.
Quietly, Sophie runs after Linh, tossing a snowball back and forth in her hands. The moment she sees Linh, who's crouched down and making a mound of snow for whatever reason, Sophie attacks.
Linh shrieks in surprise, shaking her head widely to get the snow off. Clumps of it are sticking in her messed-up hair and there's snow down her back thanks to Sophie, but Linh's smiling. She bends down in one swift move and Sophie realizes with terror that the mound of snow was actually a mound of snowballs.
She runs.
Snowballs rain after her and Linh shouts in delight as she chases Sophie. The snow is soft under Sophie's feet and the wind blowing through her hair gives her a sense of thrill, of excitement. Sophie laughs loudly, her cheeks hurting from both the stinging wind and smiling too hard.
Half an hour later both Sophie and Linh are drenched with snow, their fingers and toes numb, hair a cold, tangled mess. Linh's the clear winner of the snowball fight but Sophie's laughing anyways, too happy to care.
Sometimes snow was a nightmare, but right now with Linh by her side, cheeks bright pink and eyes dancing, it felt more like a dream.
