The cold winter wind forced Skylar to stop in her tracks - forcing her to zip up her coat as far as it would go. Her a brief stop made Glaz walk into her by accident, making both of them stumble in the snow.

"Sorry, I did not notice you have stopped." He walked in front of her, blocking the freezing cold wind with his body.

Skylar's tensed body slowly started to ease as the wind died off. Winter ops were never her favorite, to many things were unpredictable - making it a lot more dangerous.

"No, it's my fault. That wind is freezing." She bundled herself up some more, letting her M14 rifle hang in front of her. "And it makes it hard to walk."

"You're small, let me lead and maybe keep the wind off of you."

"You're a lifesaver." She would've given him a smile, but she couldn't feel her face. "Thank you!"

"It's my pleasure."

They began to move again, walking up the snowy mountain to their destination. It was only 12 hours ago where Six called them both in to his office for a new operation. 'Terrorists hunkered down in a cabin in the Caucasus Mountains with some senator' and that they were leaving almost immediately. The job was to stealthily kill the terrorists and rescue the hostage, then meet the helicopter 20 clicks north.

It didn't seem that hard of an operation, nothing they both haven't done time and time again. That soon changed. The sudden snow storm forced the chopper to land nearly 50 miles from their respected landing point - meaning they had more than 70 miles to work with and it was already a few hours till sundown. They were strapped between time and mother nature.

As the hours ticket by, the storm picked up, forcing them to take shelter in a nearby cave. It was deep and kept them away from the snow and freezing wind.

Skylar was trying to warm herself up and get in contact with Six while Glaz made them a fire. No luck. She set the radio down on their pile of stuff next to them and moved closer to the fire that had just started to spark.

"No luck, I'll try again later." She held her hands out against the flame, feeling the warmth flow through her body.

Glaz moved a few sticks around that were in the fire, making sure it didn't go out, then sat down next to her. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his arm brush against hers, he always seemed to brush their limbs together when they were alone or passing each other. She tried pushing those feelings aside, not wanting her little 'crush' to get out of hand, but here they were…..alone on a mission.

"We won't get a signal through until the storm passes, hopefully it'll be done in the morning." He looked over at her, his blue eyes gazing into her hazel ones. "How are you doing?"

"Better now that there's a fire." She chuckled, glancing outside the cave to see the blizzard unfolding before them. "Just our luck that we get tasked with a mission and a blizzard appears. I hope we can get to the hostage in time."

"We can predict mother nature, but never truly know what she has in store for us." His hand cupped hers, giving it a small squeeze. "Don't worry yourself with the hostage Skylar, they have to deal with the storm too. The hostage will be fine."

Skylar nodded, turning her attention to the fire. She watched the red and orange flames dancing, illuminating the cave with hues of orange. She hoped Glaz was right, that the terrorist wouldn't do anything until they knew they weren't getting the money they asked for but a bullet instead.

Glaz watched her, eyes scanning her delicate features in the dimness of the cave. How the glow from the flames made her look absolutely gorgeous in his eyes.

"When I was tasked with Kapkan a few months ago for another stealth hostage extraction, we past a cave similar to this and that's when he told me a story about the time he and his younger brothers' use to go camping and he would set up traps to catch rabbits." She glanced over to Glaz, seeing he had his full attention on her. "While they were waiting they went for a hike, spotting a cave just like or similar to this one, when they went in they found three bear cubs. Kapkan went into hunter mode while his brothers' want to stay. He nearly had to drag them out, before mama came back. Sitting in this cave reminded me of that story."

She chuckled and turned to him, seeing that his balaclava was pulled down exposing the bottom half of his face. And she could finally see that he does in fact only paint his whole face. Thinking he only did the part that were exposed, even if it made no sense in her mind.

"Maxim never told me that story."

"Maybe seeing the cave jogged his memory." She glanced back over to the fire, then back to him. "Can I confess something to you?" She scrubbed a hand down her face and sighed. "God this is going to be embarrassing."

This was the first time she heard Glaz let out a throaty laugh, and to put simply it was like music to her ears. She already thought he had a lovely voice, loving to hear him talk about anything and everything. As long as she heard his voice she was happy. But his laugh was the icing on the cake.

"Of course Skylar what is it." He gazed into her eyes, a small smile on his face.

"I understand why you wear the face paint, it'll help you hidden from the enemy better." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I kind of wish you didn't because it darkens your eyes and truthfully I think you have gorgeous ones."

He felt his heart skip a beat and the small smile turned into a big one. "Thank you for the compliment, that was very sweet! Can I confess something too?"

She let out a breath, happy she didn't make a bumbling idiot out of herself. "You're welcome! Of course, it's only fair."

"I'm not the only one in this cave with gorgeous eyes, you do too! Your eyes are the color of milk chocolate edged with deep forest green. Sometimes the two colors seem to swirl together like moss creeping over rich soil. And when you smile both colors ignite with a glow, dazzling with the warmth of the deep brown and the seductive green dancing around its edges."

"Timur, I I I don't even know what to say. You describe something I've lived with for my whole life in amazing details and all I can muster up is a thank you!" She shook her head and smiled. "But seriously, thank you! I never had someone go into such details of my eyes before. I wish I could with yours."

"You're very welcome Skylar. I can teach you, about painting if you like? It wouldn't be a problem?"

"I would love that!"

Skylar has passed by his room numerous times to see him sitting by his easel with his acrylic paints all placed neatly on his palette. His paintings were always so colorful, so vibrant, the opposite of how his work life was. Sometimes she would lean against his doorway, watch him for a few minutes before going about her business, never really know if he knew she was there or not. But this was Glaz, the one who does details, he had to have known at least someone was by his doorway.

"I'm glad to hear. Once we get back to base we can head into town and get you some supplies."

"Sounds perfect." She went into one of her pockets, pulling out the small purple journal. "It'll be something to get used too. Painting with a brush isn't like drawing with a pencil."

She handed him the journal that was filled with countless sketches of her family and friends and a few other miscellaneous things as well. Drawing was an escape, something she could focus on instead of dealing with things around the base. For a base filled with adults in the military with outstanding backgrounds, some of them bickered and argued like teenagers.

On base she was acquaintances with many, but only a few she called friends.

Glaz took his flashlight off his belt, clicking it on. He set the small journal in his lap, flipping open the cover. The first drawing he saw was of a Phoenix soaring in the sky. The reds, oranges and yellows merged together perfectly. He flipped through more pages, seeing little busts of Ash, Thermite, Hibana and the time where Tachanka and Fuze were having an arm wrestling contest. He held the journal up, showing her the drawing.

"These are amazing Skylar, I've seen you doodling in your journal before but I never knew you were such a talented drawer." He gave her a big smile, that she mirrored. "I also think you should give this one to Alex, he'll really appreciate it."

He went back to looking at her drawings, seeing one of her mom and dad sitting on a porch swing, the front entrance to her father's brewery and then he stopped, looking down at the drawing of him and Kapkan in the rec-room on base. They were playing with the ping pong table they had in there.

Skylar glanced over seeing the drawing he stopped at. "You can have it after I'm done, if you want? I also think you and Kapkan should pick up a new hobby, ping pong isn't for you guys."

Glaz rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I know, but what else is there to do on base? I would love it!"

He handed her her journal back and she tucked it away in the same pocket she retrieved it from. "Okay, you should have it in at least a week. Ash and I usually go into town, it beats staying at the base. Hereford is small but it does have a lot of places to spend your time."

Glaz clicked the flash light off, clipping it back on his belt. "I don't really leave base that often, only when I really need too. Or when I go out drinking with Alex, Maxim and Shuhrat."

"Maybe you just need the right person to go with you."

"Is that an offer?"

"No, I was thinking you could go with Alex." His face faltered, making her laugh. "I'm kidding, of course it's an offer. It's up to you though and I won't be offended if you don't want too."

Glaz took a deep breath, looking over at the fire burning in front of them, contemplating her words. He always tried to find ways to spend time with her, alone. When he did end up finding her alone, he would struck up a conversation, only to have it ruined by Tachanka or Kapkan. Skylar was such an easy person to talk with, how she always seems to have her full attention on him as he spoke, eyes never darting away to the things happening around them.

"I think I would like that." He turned back to her, a small smile on his face. "It'll be a nice change and we can have an actual conversation without it being interrupted by Alex or Maxim."

"Like now?"

"Yeah."

They both laughed, gazing into each others eyes. He found himself leaning towards her, a little closer than he anticipated, like she was drawing him in. Eyes glancing from her mouth back to her eyes. He cleared his throat, pulling back a little and rubbing the back of his neck.

"We should get some rest, I'll set my alarm for two hours."

Skylar looked out the cave entrance, seeing the storm hasn't tapered off. "Yeah, some rest sounds good."

She laid down on her side, head resting on her arm - closing her eyes and letting sleep take over.

Glaz moved his rifle aside, laying down across from her. He set the alarm on his watch for two hours, hoping the storm would be done by then, if not, then the hostage wouldn't be the only thing they needed to worry about.

He wasn't tired, not in the slightest, the sniper in him was still in control. The one to watch peoples backs from afar, it was instinctual. Besides Skylar needed more rest than he did, she wasn't trained to be up for ungodly hours like he was, to lay still in the snow, rain or mud for hours or days until your target pops up.

For now, he'll stay up and keep watch, making sure no unwanted visitors come creeping in.

xXx

Skylar awoke once she heard his alarm going off, sitting up -yawning and stretching her arms above her head. She saw Glaz poking at the fire, wondering how long he had been up or if he even slept at all.

"How long have you been awake?" She stood up, dusting the dirt off her white camouflage fatigues, then looked outside. "Damn the storm still hasn't ended?"

"About thirty minutes." He gave her a weak smile, throwing the stick he had in his hands into the fire. "Yeah, I'm still hopeful it'll stop by morning."

"If not, then at least it'll be easier to move when the sun has risen, if we stayed out there we would've frozen to death."

That thought sent a shiver down both their spines, not wanting to really think about what could have happened if they kept going in this weather.

"That is true and it was good you caught a glimpse of this cave. It kept us away from the cold, snow and wind."

"Yeah, once the sun started to set I kept a look out for any type of shelter and I know you were too even if you didn't say anything." She went into another pocket on her fatigues, pulling out a granola bar. "I wonder what the universe has against us? First, the weather. Second, the chopper setting us down miles away from where we originally were getting dropped off. And third, the weather."

"You're right about that, I was looking for some type of shelter too. As for the universe, I can't answer that."

"That was a rhetorical question." She shrugged her shoulders, opening her granola bar. "I'm hungry."

Glaz stood up, going into one of his pockets to pull out his, handing it to Skylar. "Here, you can have mine."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no you keep it. You might need it in the future. I'll be fine with just mine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He nodded and put the granola back in his pocket. They left with limited rations, only expecting to be gone a day or two tops, now it looked like it'll be longer. Skylar was nowhere near starving but she still wished she had a few MRE's on her, at least those were more filling than a granola bar.

She walked around the cave, stretching her legs from being in the same position for two hours straight. It was big enough to stand up and walk around for both of them, a small fire and their gear. And thankfully is wasn't home to another animal.

"So...how long have you been a part of Rainbow?"

It was still a few hours till dawn and she needed a way to pass the time. Thinking a nice conversation would be ideal.

"Three years." He walked to stand in front of her, eyes scanning her face. "It doesn't even seem that long. How'd you become a part of Rainbow?"

"I don't fully know. I remember just sitting at my desk back in L.A doing paperwork and I get a call from Six." She let her shoulders dropped and sighed. "I almost didn't come, but I'm really glad I did."

Glaz furrowed a brow, blinking a few times. "Why not? And I'm glad too, you've been a good addition to this team."

"Thank you, that means a lot." She gave him a quick smile. "It was my mom, she hated that I joined the military, which is kinda funny considering I needed a parent signature to join in the first place. Back when I was a marine and was deployed, I got shot in the abdomen, scared the hell out of her. So when I told her about the call she wasn't too keen on having me join, but told me it was my decision in the end."

"Yeah, my mom wasn't too keen on me joining the Cadet Corps, saying it was too dangerous and I should just focus on being an artist." He chuckled, making her raise a brow. "Mother's are always the ones that care the most."

"No argument there. Now you do both."

"I do wish we get more time off, I miss the tranquility of sitting down in front of a blank canvas, picturing what I'm gonna paint next."

A small smile started to spread across her face as she looked down to ground.

"I know that feeling. I miss sitting on my bed or at my desk, journal opened, a set of colored pencils...and a regular one thinking about what I wanted to draw. The peacefulness was always the best part."

"Speaking like a true artist."

The hours slowly ticked by, and the snow looked like it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Skylar and Glaz stayed near the fire talking about anything and everything that came to mind, both happy they weren't getting interrupted by anyone.

It turned out they had a lot in common. Both were 17 when they joined the military, both don't like working in groups much and they both have some sort of artistic talent. The more they spent time together, the more they found their feeling for one another bubbling to the surface. Neither acting on them.

xXx

The sun was finally starting to rise, making both of them sigh in relief. And to make things even better it looked like the snow was tapering off as well

Glaz walked to the entrance of the cave, looking around outside. "We should get moving while the snow has stopped, make up for lost time."

"I agree."

They both gathered their stuff, Skylar clipped her rifle to her vest while Glaz but out the fire, then they headed back out.

The snow had gathered another six or so inches while they were in the cave, making it harder for Skylar to trudge through it at top speed. She kept telling Glaz to go ahead, that she'll catch up as fast as she can. But he always said the same thing, 'no we stick together'. It was heartwarming that he didn't want to 'leave' her, though deep down she felt she was holding up the mission even more.

Thankfully it looked like the storm was truly over and the sun even peeked behind from the clouds. Things looked to be finally going their way, but they still had a lot of ground to cover to make it to the cabin to extract the hostage.

They couldn't have walked more than 15 miles in the span of a day, meaning they still had 55 more to go. Even though the storm had finally ended, they were still trudging through the snow and anyone who has walked in 7 or more inches knows how difficult it could be.

Snow isn't always fluffy and easy to maneuver, sometimes it's heavy, covering the earth in a blanket of snow. What they were trudging through was a blanket, a big blanket. It made running a 10k look easy.

"Glaz, I need to stop." She stopped in her tracks, placing her hands on her hips - taking deep breaths. "Sorry."

He stopped a few feet ahead of her, letting his rifle fall to his chest. "No, it's fine. I know this isn't easy for you."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Skylar took a breather for a few minutes, letting her legs rest too. She didn't mind her height for the most part, now, now she hated it. Being 5'4 wasn't the shortest someone could be, but here, out in the deep Caucasus Mountains with a crap ton of snow she hated having short legs.

"Okay, we can keep moving."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Glaz nodded and began to walk.

They walked another few miles until she couldn't take it anymore. She stood hunched over taking long deep breaths, it felt like her lungs were on fire. Glaz stood beside her, gently rubbing up and down her back. It helped knowing he was trying to comfort her, but nothing was taking that burning sensation from her lungs.

She stood up, grabbing her canteen of water. Unscrewing the cap she chugged most of it down. The coolness of the water flowing through her body was helping, the burning sensation slowly going away. She screwed the cap back on, then clipped it back on her belt.

"I know I'm being a liability and I'm happy that Six tasked you with this mission instead of someone else. I would be having my ass chewed out right now if someone other than yourself was here with me right now."

Glaz gave her a small smile, walking in front of her. "You're not a liability. The only liability here is the weather Skylar. Not you!"

She began fiddling with her hands, giving him a small smile. "Glaz I…"

Skylar stopped talking when she heard crackling. Looking around her to see where it was coming from. There was nothing around them but snow and a few trees, then where the hell was the crackling coming from?

She kept her ears opened, listening distinctively for that sound, when she finally realized where it was coming from, it was too late. The wooden beams, unbeknownst to them came breaking apart right below Skylar, sending her plummeting down. With luck on her side Glaz caught her arm before she could fall any further.

"Holy shit." Skylar heart started to beat rapidly as she looked into the darkness below her. She didn't know how far it went down and wasn't keen on finding out. "Glaz!"

"Skylar, don't worry I got you."

He began pulling her up, trying to ignore the panic in his mind.

Skylar's eyes widened as she saw the boards that Glaz were lying on start bending forward. Slowly sending him down with her. If he didn't pull her up quicker, they'll both fall. But the more he pulled her up, the more the boards started to break.

"Glaz just let me go."

"I'm not doing that! Don't even ask me too."

"If you don't let me go we'll both fall."

"I don't care, I'm not dropping you."

And with a single pull, the boards under his weight broke apart, sending them cascading down into the dark abyss.

Her body slammed against something hard, sending a sharp pain into her shoulder. She clenched her arm as her body tumbled down the rocky hill. Glaz following right behind. When her body came to a halt she thought the worst was over, then Glaz came barreling down right into her, sending them falling another 10 feet onto their backs.

They stayed lying on the cold, hard ground, to injured to move an inch.