ALWAYS, kotlc

snow

"Oh Keeeeeeeeffeeeee," Sophie hissed, leaning over his bed to whisper into his ear. "Wakeee uppppp. I have a surprise for you."

Keefe rolled over onto his side and mumbled, "You have to make me, Foster- what are we doing?"

"I want to take you somewhere."

"Tell me where it is and I'll get up," Keefe teased, burying his head deeper into the pillow.

"Fine- ever heard of skiing?"

______________

"F-Foster it's c-c-cold," Keefe shivered, waddling through the empty streets.

"Body temperature regulation," Sophie reminded him. "Remember when you taught me when I was stuck in the Healing Center with Fitz? Focus on warm thoughts- and snap."

"Okay.. I'm thinking of sitting by the fireplace with you," Keefe decided as he continued walking, making Sophie blush. He snapped his fingers under his cloak and sighed. "So much better."

"Isn't it?" Sophie teased, laughing. "Do you know what snow is?"

"Nope! Let me guess: Some sort of human machine?"

"Close- it's this;" Sophe squatted down and picked up a handful of snow in her gloves. "It's white and really cold and it only forms when it's freezing outside. Sometimes it's crumbly, or icy, or fluffy. It really depends."

"Cool- now what's skiing?"

"This might sound weird- basically, it's putting wooden planks on your feet and sliding down mountains full of snow." Sophie laughed at his expression and kissed him- was it just her, or did that make her feel a thousand times warmer?- Sophie shrugged to herself and continued;

"We're in France- they have really nice slopes and beautiful mountains, especially during the sunrise- which is right now," Sophie pointed out, gesturing to the beautiful golden sun rising through the snow peaked mountain tops and casting its dim aura across the snow.

"Ooooh- let's try it- and only because I want to count how many times you fall on your butt," Keefe added evilly, grinning at her through the dark.

"Ha ha," Sophie said sarcastically, using her telekinesis to pull two pairs of skis out of a nearby store, shattering the window. "Oops."

And as it turned out- Keefe was right. For someone who had never skied before in his life, he was good- and a fast learner. Meanwhile, Sophie had been skiing for years before she came to the lost cities and still fell on her butt triple the amount of times as Keefe did.

"That frustrated face you're making is seriously adorable," Keefe noted as she tripped down the slope, crashing into a mound of snow in front of him.

Sophie glared at him, blushing.

"If you're trying to impress me, it's working," Keefe added. "Come on- you look so wiped. I brought mallowmelt."

"You think of everything," Sophie sighed, tearing off her ski gear and collapsing into the snow.

The elvin dessert was still warm and unsurprisingly delicious. 

"Ever heard of a snowman?" Sophie asked, taking one last swig before setting down the container and using it to shape a sphere. She sculpted two more and stacked the three spheres on top of each other.

"It's missing the hair," Keefe stage-whispered, picking up a few leaves and carefully styling it on top of the top sphere. "There- it's like a mini me!"

Sophie grabbed two tiny pebbles and stuck them in as eyes, then gathered up two twigs and handed one to Keefe.

"He needs arms," Sophie whispered. "One, two, three!"

They jammed the sticks into the middle sphere at the same time and Sophie burst out laughing.

"It looks..."

"Beautiful?" Keefe guessed, teasingly. "Like you?"

Sophie turned redder than a spotlight and leaned over to kiss him to spare herself from having to respond.

And they fell asleep staring at their snowmans' hair.