GUYSSSSS WE REACHED 4K I KNOW COMPARATIVELY THATS NOT A LOT BUT AHHH
Mi'inan and Cole stayed in the greenhouse until the sun was high in the sky, shining down through the glass and making the snow on the roof crack and slide off in huge sheets, snowmelt dripping down the panes of glass and leaving dewey trails in the fog.
There were no clocks in the greenhouse, so neither of the boys noticed that lunchtime had come and gone until their stomachs started to grumble. Mi'inan would have been content working straight through to dinner- he insisted that hunger made you work better- but when he began eyeing Aunt Jo's pear tree, Cole insisted they go back for lunch.
"We can come back though, right?" Mi'inan asked, dusting his hands off on his trousers, leaving misshapen handprints on the dark fabric. This greenhouse was one of the most magnificent things he had ever seen, and he intended to spend as much time as he could here before he went back to barren Toronto.
"I don't see why not," Cole responded. "As long as Jo doesn't have a problem with it, and Anne doesn't recruit us to some for forced Holiday preparation."
Mi'inan raised his eyebrows as he shrugged on his coat. "Sounds ominous."
Cole laughed as he put on his cap. "Unless you fancy endless pie making and probably acting in some sort of Thanksgiving skit, I'd steer clear of Anne until tomorrow."
Mi'inan chuckled, and opened the door for Cole before walking through behind him. Although Mi'inan wasn't very short, when Cole passed by him on the way out the door, his head barely reached Cole's shoulders.
This annoyed Mi'inan.
They walked out of the clearing and back towards the mansion in the distance, Cole's scarf blowing slightly in the gentle wind. Neither boy said anything for a few meters, but the silence wasn't unpleasant, filled with melting snow and wind.
"So, how long have you lived with Ms. Jo?" Asked Mi'inan. Normally, he would have been happy to walk in silence, but he had found over the morning that he didn't actually mind pleasant chatter when it was coming from Cole.
"A little over a year and a half now," responded Cole. "Moving here was one of the best decisions I've ever made. For the first time ever, I feel like I'm free to be who I was supposed to be being all along."
"That sounds..." trailed off Mi'inan. It sounded like everything he had ever wanted, but could never have. It sounded like some sort of unattainable fantasy life. It sounded...
"Absolutely wonderful." He finished. Cole smiled, a real, true, big smile, and nodded.
"It is."
For a split second, jealousy overwhelmed Mi'inan. He wanted to jump up and down and scream out that it wasn't fair, that he deserved to have somewhere he could be himself, too, even though he knew that that would be impossible. He wanted to sit down right where he was on the snow and just start sobbing and never, ever stop.
But then, how could he begrudge Cole of something that obviously made him so happy? Cole really did deserve this life he had, and all the friends that he seemed to be surrounded by. Mi'inan never would, and he had to come to terms with that.
He cleared his throat. "So, er... how did you come to know Mrs Jo? Is she a relative of yours?"
Cole laughed. "No, but I wish. She is actually Diana's great aunt. I met her when we- we being me, Anne, Ruby, Diana, and Moody- stayed at her house for a night. Before I lived here, I lived on a farm in Avonlea. Not much to say about that life, it was sad and small and very, very boring."
Mi'inan laughed. "I can relate to that." As he walked by Cole back towards the house, the afternoon sun filtered through the naked tree branches, melting the small piles of snow that balanced on top into small water drops that fell on Mi'inan's nose and slid down his hair and down the back of his neck, tracing icy fingers down his spine.
"I grew up in a tiny village, just outside of town. There were barely forty people living there. Once I was old enough to leave, I just couldn't stay. Everyone who lived there, it seemed like they were living the same day over and over again, season after season, generation after generation. I just... couldn't. So, I understand the feeling."
Cole sighed and nodded. "Well, at least we got out."
Mi'inan squinted into the sun peeking through the trees. "Yeah."
Just then, an unnaturally strong breeze picked up from the west, brushing over the snowy landscape and making the tree branches shiver. Cole's candy-cane striped scarf was tugged over his shoulder, and swirled away in undulating waves to drape itself over a tree branch, where it stuck, swaying in the wind.
The wind stopped just as soon and as suddenly as it started, leaving the landscape just as it was before. It was a curious situation, but one of providence.
"What on Earth was that?" Said Cole, more than mildly annoyed. He waded through the snow to the tree, and tried to reach his scarf, but his fingers didn't quite reach the tassels on the bottom, skimming the air underneath.
Mi'inan sniggered, then quickly covered his mouth, and looked down as Cole stared at him.
Welcome to short-person world.
"You think this is funny?" Said Cole, trying to jump but with little luck as snow dragged his feet down.
"No, no, not at all-" Mi'inan's sentence was cut off by another laugh at the look on Cole's face as he hopped towards the scarf with no luck.
Mi'inan's face turned red, as Cole turned towards him.
"I can get this scarf down! Just watch."
"I'm sure you can."
Cole froze.
"Was that... sarcasm?"
Mi'inan rolled his eyes. "Just because I happen to be a little reserved doesn't mean I'm completely devoid of humor and spirit."
Cole raised his eyebrows. "Alrighty, then."
He went back to his project. He had cleared out an area of snow next to his feet, going down to about where his feet rested. He seemed to be making a pile of snow, and stamping it down with his boots. He continued this until the pile went to about mid shin length, when he stepped onto it and grabbed onto the bottom of his scarf, wobbling precariously on the mound of snow. He tugged at the bottom of the scarf, but to no avail. It was stuck fast to the tree branch.
Cole groaned. He looked from his feet, to the tree branch, and back again, as if judging the distance. Then, he bent his legs and jumped, grabbing onto the tree with gloved hands. The branch bent with him, leaning down towards the ground in a taught curve. He freed his scarf from where it had been impaled on a twig, then let go of the branch.
It sprang upwards with a creaking noise, the snow shivering as it recoiled. The whole tree quaked, still for a few seconds, before a pile of snow directly above Mi'inan was knocked free by the sudden movement and dumped directly upon his unsuspecting head.
The snow buried him in a white blur, sending him to the floor in a heap. He was completely immersed except his head, which had a small pile of snow on his head like a cold, wet hat that soaked through his hair and onto his head.
Cole stood in blatant shock for a few seconds, his scarf clutched in his hand, his mouth open slightly at the unexpected backlash- literally- of his actions.
Then, he laughed. And laughed. And laughed, and laughed, and laughed, bent over at the waist, his face turning red as he struggled to breathe through his laughter. Tears sprang out from the corner of his eyes as a grin split his face. He laughed so hard, he knocked himself onto his back in the snow, not caring about his now-soaked jacket and trousers.
Mi'inan glared towards him. He looked rather ridiculous with so much fury in his eyes while buried in snow, which only made Cole laugh harder.
"Stop-laughing!" Said Mi'inan, his speech halting as he tried to stand up. Eventually he freed his legs, and brushed off his clothes. He shook his head, ridding the snow from his hair, ruffling it with his fingers to get out the last pieces of snow and pine needles.
"It's not funny, you know. I'm completely soaked!" he said, wringing out his coat in demonstration.
"Not... funny?" Cole wheezed. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, a few curls of laughter escaping from his mouth as he stood, trying to calm down. "This is karmic genius."
He dusted the snow off his trousers and his shoulders. "You laugh at me for my scarf getting stuck and me not being able to reach it, and the universe pays you back by dumping a pile of snow on your head, giving me no choice to laugh at you in return."
Mi'inan turned around. He bent towards the ground, miming picking up his bag from where it had fallen. In reality, his hand went to the snow next to it.
"No, no, you're right of course. I'm sure I was mistaken." He scooped up a handful of snow and shaped it into a ball. "Karmic justice must be served."
And with that, he threw the ball of snow at Cole, where it hit him directly in the face.
Mi'inan smirked as Cole stood there, snow dripping onto his shirt. "See? Karma."
Cole wiped the snow off his face. "Oh, you've no idea what you've gotten yourself into," he grinned. "I'm going to murder you with nothing but snowballs and pure rage." He bent down and began lobbing ball after ball of snow at Mi'inan.
Mi'inan laughed and danced away. "You've got to catch me first!"
Mi'inan took off through the forest, glancing behind himself and laughing at his pursuer. He dodged and weaved through the trees and towards the mansion. They reached the beaten path through the forrest leading back towards the grounds, where the snow was thin enough that they could run freely. They had ignored it on their way to the greenhouse, in favor of a shortcut. But now, speed was of the essence.
Mi'inan reached down and quickly made another snowball, turning around and jogging backwards to throw it in Cole's general direction. He turned back around before he could see if it hit it's mark, but judging by the thud and laugh behind him, he guessed that his bad. He turned around to stick his tongue out at Cole, maybe to gloat a little, only to see that he was much closer then he had anticipated, with a snowball in hand.
Cole grinned and threw it towards Mi'inan, who laughed and raised his arm to block it. The snowball shattered against his forearm, spraying bits of snowy shrapnel around his face.
He turned and ran towards the house, both him and Cole laughing, karma forgotten in favor of a (mostly) friendly snowball fight.
The forrest ended in just a few steps, the sunlight intensifying as the shade of the trees disappeared. He ran down the path, skimming a handful of snow out of the waist-high barrier next to him formed by the shallow path through the snow.
He had just turned to fire it when Cole leaped at him, knocking both boys in a heap in the snow off of the path.
They laughed and laughed, laid next to each other in the bed of snow, close enough that their elbows touched with every breath.
Little did they know, from a window on the top floor of the mansion, a red-headed girl watched the happy scene with a grin, a plan forming slowly but surely.
Destiny was almost upon them.
I know, I know, cheesy last line.
Sorry for not updating for (exactly) a month. In my defense, it was my birthday a week ago so I deserved a vacation!
Also, happy inauguration day! Not going to get political, but...
Yeah.
Best day ever.
As always, PLEEEEASE comment and/or vote. Also, I follow back so. Just puttin' that out there.
Have a great rest of your day, even though I know most of you are probably reading this at like. Midnight. (I can tell.)
-C