Hullo again! Sorry I took so darn long to get back on track, just haven't been in the right mood to work on the story. Since non of your actually had questions, I don't have anything to reply to, although I have to say I loved your guys reactions to the thought of Trowa breaking out in song. Especially yours, Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers! XD On with the fanfic!

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The Beast sat by the fire in his favourite armchair, his eyes closed and his ears blocked to the pests that were his servants.

"Come on, master, go outside just for a bit?"

"The crisp, fresh air is good for you!"

"I know you don't like winter, just give it a chance."

"Hn. It's stupid and pointless to go outside in weather like this."

"But it's fun, too! You could dig out an old sled from the storerooms, or-"

"Why entrust my safety to a flimsey piece of wood?"

"Because it's exhilarating, that's why!"

"It's also stupid."

"Well then you could do something else! Make something in the snow, like, like…" It was at this moment that Duo entered the room, leaning on the doorframe and grinning.

"Like snowpies and snowsheep and snowplates, of course." He said with a laugh, earning Beast's attention and both his opened eyes.

"Stay out of this." He grunted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Aw, come on. I need someone to play with outside- it's lonely on my own."

"Take one of the servants with you, then."

"But," Duo interjected with a smirk appearing on his face, "none of them are big enough to toss a decent snowball." At this, the Beast raised an eyebrow. "Come on, please? I promise I won't beat you too badly."

"Beat me?" The Beast said with an amused tone. "What makes you think you could beat me?"

"I think the question is, what makes YOU think you can beat ME?" He stuck his tongue out impishly, and the Beast rose from his chair.

"I think you're confused. I'm the one that's going to be beating you." This earned a smirk from Duo.

"That's what you think, mister!" They exchanged remarks of the sort all the way to the kitchen and to the front door, where they both donned long coats and fuzzy scarves before racing outside to crown the king of snowball fights. Back in the den, Wufei shot a very confused look at Trowa.

"Did you just see that?"

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Outside, the Beast was chasing Duo with a very determined look in his eye and a snowball in each hand. His breath puffed out and floated around his head as he ran, disappearing quickly. Duo ducked and weaved, dodging behind a tree just in time to hear a snowball thud against the trunk. Thinking the Beast was out of ammo, he poked his head out and waggled his tongue at him, receiving a mouthful of snow. The Beast smirked as he staggered out from behind the tree, spluttering.

"Got you." He said simply, a wide, fanged grin upon his shaggy face. If he was expecting anger, annoyance or sadness from Duo at the defeat, he was wrong. As soon as there was no more snow in Duo's mouth, he began to laugh.

"Alright, alright, I give! I'm not going up against anyone with a throw that hard." He grinned. Suddenly, the Beast looked perplexed.

"But what are we going to do now?" He asked, almost sounding like he wanted an excuse to stay outside. Duo considered this for a while, running his fingers through his bangs with a thoughtful expression. After a while, his eyes lit up.

"Let's make a snowman!"

"How?"

"What do you mean, 'how?' Haven't you ever made a snowman before?"

"No."

"You've never made a snowman before? Never??" Duo exclaims in surprise, his eyes wide. The Beast shakes his head. "Well then this will be your first time! Okay, what you do, is make a snowball, right?" The Beast raised an eyebrow.

"I think I can handle that."

"Okay, then you roll it on the ground until it gets really big, so big that it's difficult to lift." He explained, bending over and making a snowball, rolling it through the snow to demonstrate. The Beast watched with vague interest, trying very hard to keep his eyes on the snowball and not on Duo's bent-over form. After a while, Duo stood up again. "You take over on this one, and I'll make the middle part and the head." A nod, and the two switched places. A few minutes of silence later, Duo finished making the body and glanced over at the Beast, stifling a chuckle. He was rolling it as slowly as was possible, using only two fingers, convinced anything more than that would crush something as delicate as snow. Duo grinned.

'There's something sweet… and almost kind… but he was mean and he was course and unrefined!' The Beast strained to roll it with two fingers, and Duo wandered over to him, putting a hand on top of his paw without thinking.

"It really works better if you use your whole hand." He said laughingly.

'But now he's dear… and so… unsure. I wonder why I didn't see it there before…' Heero felt a strange sensation thrumming in his chest even after Duo had gotten up to make the head, watching him curiously.

'He glanced this way… I thought I saw… and when we touched he didn't shudder at my paw!' The Beast turned back to his snowball stubbornly, rolling it with both his hands this time. 'No, it can't be… I'll just ignore.' He peeked over his shoulder at Duo, finding the boy to be doing the exact same thing. 'But then, he's never looked at me that way before…' Duo's gaze darted quickly back to the snowball, ducking down to roll it a bit more. He stole another glance at the Beast again, feeling the strange need to smile whenever catching sight of him.

'New… and a bit… alarming… who'd have ever though that this could be?' When next he glanced over, the Beast was straining to pick up the snowball, having decided he didn't really need to be gentle. He lifted it up and staggered over to where the body was, letting it fall with a "whump!" and smirking at it as though he'd just lifted the world on his shoulders. 'True… that he's no Prince Charming… but there's something in him that I simply didn't see…'

A pair of servants watched through a window as Duo helped the Beast lift the middle onto the bottom, talking about something and actually smiling a little. Trowa raised an eyebrow, mumbling,

"Well who'd have thought…" He whispered, and Quatre piped up,

"Well bless my soul." The little teacup smiled. "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?" Trowa grinned, moving a little closer to his angel in the absence of any others.

"We'll wait and see… a few days more." Trowa stated diplomatically, and Quatre sighed happily.

"There may be something there that wasn't there before."

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Duo sat at the long table, sipping idly at the warm broth that had been served for dinner. He glanced up at the staircase where the Beast normally descended from, biting his lower lip. 'Where is he? What's taking so long?' He shifted nervously, running his fingers through his bangs. 'And why do I care? Why do I miss him when he's gone for even a couple minutes?' The young man frowned, looking across at the untouched soup at the other set place. 'What is he doing that's taking so-"

"Duo?" A hesitant voice rumbled, and he looked from the soup to the staircase. The Beast stood there in a fresh outfit, rich red sleeves rolling down his furry arms and black trousers hiding his shaggy knees. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wondering what was taking so long." He stood up, completely forgetting his dinner. "Y'look nice." A grin appeared on his face, reaching up into his eyes and giving them an extra sparkle. The Beast lowered his eyes and grunted in response,

"You too." Momentarily, those shocking blue eyes darted up and risked a glance over Duo's features. The man wore a perplexed grin, and chuckled.

"But this is what I always wear." He said, taking a small couple steps towards the master of the castle.

"Well… you still look nice." Beast mumbled, allowing himself to look at the braided young bookworm. His gaze was met with a gentle blush and a small smile.

"Thanks." There was an awkward pause, and then they both sat down for dinner.

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Sorry it's been so long since I updated, guys. I've been lacking inspiration.