Strifehartwinterweek2k16. A Collab piece with Chocobobutt- see her Tumblr and her account on Ao3 to give her praise too, she deserves it. It was a pleasure and so much fun to work with her.

Themes: Blizzard Or Winter Sun.

Summer and Winter were bitter 'friends'.

Great Gods who held dominion over portions of the world and entire seasons of change. Shiva the Goddess of Ice and Winter, and Ifrit the God of Summer and Fire. Their cooperation was the hinge the world relied on for balance, and many could recall their devastating wars: the ice-ages and eras of drought that had turned the world into barren wastelands void of life.

Finally, the world called out for balance!

The Deities heard the cries of their followers, their animals and the creatures throughout the land who begged for these wars to end, and they came to a decision:

In favour of a better future, and to keep such disasters from ever happening again, the two Deities, after centuries of war, decided to put their differences aside for the benefit of the world. They would meet once a year to debate and decide the boundaries for Summer and Winter, their seasonal dominions, and renew them annually.

This method held for centuries ...

However, they did not get along.

Shiva stood on the peak of the world, a small astral plain of existence above the heavens where the two seasons could meet without one having power above the other. Behind her was a mountain that contained a cave, their meeting hall for all decisions, before her was a tiny forest, a little lake and even the illusion of a beach shore. It was all temporary, of course. Powerful magic made to make the inhabitants comfortable.

She sighed, her cool breath making the air mist before her and she impatiently took another walk of the grounds. As she walked the lands around her turned to winter, icicles and frost appearing around her and behind her like a cape and escort.

Ifrit was late.

"Late as always," she muttered, feeling the usual annoyance rise up into her chest and chill the air another few degrees. That man, that beast! He lived to irk her. The trees around her creaked with the sudden drop in temperature, a few branches fell sadly, frozen to their cores.

"Mother?"

Shiva looked down at the small voice and forced herself to smile and relax, nothing good would come of losing her temper. Nothing but scaring her son. "Yes, Squall?" she asked, her hand reaching out to run through his hair, smiling adoringly at the small crown of ice he'd made for himself.

Squall glanced at her range of ice and asked: "Are you alright?"

Shiva cursed in her mind, damn Ifrit for making her son worried too!

She patted his head, taking his hand in hers when he offered. "I am fine, my darling. Our guests are late, that's all."

"Oh," the young god said, kicking his feet into the banks of snow they were making just by walking. He had dark hair, silvery-blue eyes like ice, frost patches across his skin and clothes and a crown of spikes upon his head- copying his Mother's crown and flattering her with the inspiration he took. She adored the little nod to her elegant crown just as she adored him with everything she had. He had only existed for eight years, Shiva had guarded his presence closely until he was old enough to defend himself.

He was a shy boy constantly hiding behind his powerful Mother and not talking, he was young and uncertain with the world, but curious and observant. His powers were very strong, and though his control was lacking he was already showing signs of great promise.

Shiva was pleased to say he took after her in that respect.

Squall raised a hand and, with a quiet smile, amused himself by casting a flurry of snowflakes into the air and across the frosted grass. Each one made different shapes and new patterns. He laughed softly at the way the wind caught the flakes, and Shiva smiled, joining him when his throws of snow got more adventurous.

"Look, look!" Squall laughed, making a blanket of snow fall over their heads. Shiva covered her mouth in a laugh.

"It's wonderful darling, can you throw it even higher?" He tried his very best to follow her encouragement.

Ah, he had brightened her world and brightened her heart with his existence. It now felt twice as big with her darling son there to fill it with joy. He would be a fine God of Winter one day, powerful and proud just like she was. Maybe he'd finally put that no-good Ifrit in his place.

So caught up in reminiscing about her newfound Motherhood, she nearly missed how the edges of her winter presence were beginning to thaw. When she did notice, her mood dipped again. She crossed her arms and sighed another breath of frosty air.

"Finally."

Far across the world, another side to be exact, resided the two Gods of summer. One was the current God and the other his son, a young spirit of only seven years. As usual, the Deity was late to the annual meeting with Shiva, but this time it was not that he didn't wish to be there. His young son; a fine-looking boy if he did say so himself, had been causing problems.

The boy's name was Cloud, and he was his Father's pride and joy. Nothing he did could ever be wrong, even the little, tired, tantrum he had been throwing. His son had been sleepy, still a young enough age for naps. To be honest, Ifrit had forgotten all about the meeting and, when he remembered, had to rush Cloud to get ready. His son hadn't taken kindly to being woken up. Cloud had pouted and stomped his tiny feet, even going so far as to try to use his sad big blue eyes on his father. All that had accomplished was to get the great Ifrit to chuckle a deep laugh and carry his son to the mountain above the clouds.

Even if Cloud had been upset at the sleeping intrusion, he had found his Father's arms comfortable. It helped that being a God of summer, Ifrit was soothingly warm to the touch and Cloud loved the heat. His little wings nestled him into his Father's arms and blocked the intrusive wind from their travelling. The boys blond tufts of hair billowing in the wind.

The trip would be a distant one and to pass the time Ifrit would gaze at his sleeping bundle of sunshine. Cloud was so very tiny in his big muscled arms, but he knew one day he'd be a fine God just like him. Even if Cloud never reached his own gargantuan height, the addition of those dark wings would be enough intimidation. Not to mention, the tiny horns would one day grow to be long and thick just as his own were. Though Cloud from afar didn't look much like his Father, Ifrit loved him all the same. Cloud was his little ball of sunshine and Ifrit couldn't wait to see him take his place as the God of Summer. Yes, Cloud would grow up to be a force that could scare even the Ice Queen, and that was what Ifrit wanted the most.

It was well past the appointed time of meeting when Ifrit started to sense a slight drop in temperature. They were close, and the coolness was bothering Cloud. The boy in his arms was sensing the approaching chill and even if he could not feel it, he stirred. Ifrit held him closer, not wanting to wake him since a sleeping Cloud was an adorable one. It was no surprise that Ifrit did spoil his son when he could.

In the distance, Ifrit began to see not one but two figures! He knew one figure was Shiva, but he didn't recognise the other entirely. It didn't matter who the other was since, at that moment, snow seemed to be starting to fall. It would try to land on them, but all it did was turn to water in their bubble of natural summer heat.

A few drops landed on Cloud and were the last piece to wake him.

"Mhmm ... Papa, I don't wanna get up ..." Cloud grumbled in his sweet tiny voice. His big sapphire eyes opened, and he looked up at his father, the tiredness evident on his freckled face.

It took everything in Ifrit not to melt at how adorable his son was. The boy was truly his greatest weakness and he was not afraid to admit that. "I'm sorry, my little sunshine. We're here, and the Ice Queen is waiting for us. She looks as pleasant as always ... a frozen forest of joy that one." His own voice although a deep baritone was gentle and smooth like velvet for his son. It was only for him that he kept the sharpness out of his voice.

Cloud pouted and hid his face in his Father's bare chest. The heat given off made his cheeks pink and his freckles darker. "I don't wanna!"

While Ifrit would normally indulge in Cloud's wishes, this was a time he could not. He sighed at what he had to do but pried his son off of him. He held Cloud from under his arms and away from him, already seeing little tears starting to form in those blue eyes and evaporate just as quickly.

"Now don't give me that look. I don't want to be here either, but it's our duty." When Cloud just shook his head, another sigh left his lips, and he tried to compromise. "After this, if you are good, we will go fishing and have a campfire."

That got Cloud to perk up a bit. Campfires were his most favourite thing to do with his Dad. They'd get to stay up late and watch the stars and cook the fish they'd get from fishing. It was a temptation that he couldn't refuse and so he nodded, reaching to his cheeks and pushing them in to try and wake up. "Okay, Papa."

Ifrit let out a loud and boisterous laugh at his son. He'd looked like he was trying to be a fish with the way he was pushing his cheeks in and Ifrit couldn't help it. Cloud was too cute for him. That was how the two came up to Shiva, with Cloud making faces at his Father and Ifrit laughing at them.

Shiva glared, unamused with the carefree way her opposition was treating this meeting, "What time do you call this?" new ice forming behind her as she demanded answers, Ifrit's heat preventing more than a few inches of ground icing between them.

Ifrit's laughter stopped, and he lowered Cloud to the ground, able to see Shiva in all her icy glory. "Hm? Sorry, I forgot you were there." A finger went to his pointer ear as he rubbed at it. "I didn't hear you, snow's too quiet for me. Can you repeat it?" He had heard just fine.

Cloud once on the ground went to stand behind his Father's leg, his head peeking out to gaze at the two Deities before him. One was tall like his Father and scary. He didn't really like her. The other, though, he was small too, and once he met those icy eyes he couldn't look away. A shy smile came over his rosy, freckled face for the other little boy.

Squall looked up at his Mother when she made a noise of anger, he stood behind her, looking through her transparent cape to watch the newcomers. The man was tall, with animalistic parts, and all the snow around him retreated alarmingly fast. He put down someone, a little boy about his height. He had blond hair like the sun and blue eyes, the boy gave him a slight smile and Squall tilted his head in curiosity at the new face. Squall thought he looked like a little sunbeam, all bright and pretty.

Then his Mother's ice power doubled. His brows pinched together in concern, stepping further behind his Mother as she raised a hand to point at the man opposite her.

"You! You irresponsible animalistic clod!"

"Hey now, no need for insults in front of the children, Frosty." His arms crossed over his chest, and he leant to the side, a grin on his face. Oh, how he enjoyed seeing her steaming.

"Have you no respect for the importance of this meeting? The world depends on us to cooperate, and it's bloody difficult when one of us refuses to turn up!" all around Shiva icicles and frozen solid branches fell to the floor with little cracks, her breath misting in the air and ice growing on her bare skin.

Ifrit didn't flinch, he'd seen worse and even experienced worse before. The same couldn't be said for his son. Cloud's breath hitched, and he hid further behind his Father, his tiny hands holding tighter to Ifrit's legs.

That fear in his son was something Ifrit couldn't stand for, and his own heat rose, the air around him and his son getting hotter and making more of the snow retreat. "Shiva ..." His voice held a tone of warning, that sharpness to it that Cloud never heard.

Squall saw the increasing destruction and worriedly touched her upper leg, it was all he could reach, "Mama?" he called to her. She had never been this angry in his presence before.

Shiva jumped at her son's voice and quickly pushed him behind her again, her hand cupping his cheek and rubbing at his bangs, "It will be alright, my darling. I just need to," she sneered, "chat with our late guest here."

She gave the small boy standing with Ifrit a look of curiosity, her anger reigned in at his wide-eyed fear. "Why have you brought a child, Fever-brain?" He was such a small and innocent thing, surely Ifrit had no ties to a boy as sweet looking as this blue eyed boy.

"I can ask the same thing for you, Snowflake." He barked back, another warning in his tone. His hand reached behind him laying protectively on Cloud's head.

Cloud felt the warmth on his skull, and he felt a bit better, looking up at his Father and breaking the eye contact with the other boy. He smiled at his Father and gave him a squeeze. His pink cheeks rubbed up against that leg, and Ifrit's face softened for a moment, but only one.

Shiva raised an eyebrow, "Watch your tongue, Scorch-Mark. Do I have to remind you who won our last battle?" Squall giggled behind her at the angry look on the man's face, this one less scary because he remembered the stories Shiva told him about the Ice Age. He saw the blond boy leaning into Ifrit's side and cautiously stepped out a little to see him properly, even the big scary man with horns wasn't so scary when the boy was smiling at him like that.

Ifrit was rightfully pissed. He'd lost the last war and not in an honourable way. He'd been completely destroyed, all he had worked for, and he didn't want to be reminded of that ever again. "Funny how you say that yet your blizzard wiped out all living creatures. I guess even an Ice Queen can't control her frost."

Seeing him angry for once, Shiva smiled, "Oh, I don't know. I think I controlled the entire world quite well for those centuries. It suited the ice finely." She turned her attention to the child "If the boy is with you, your child I presume? Then he should come with us. We need to get this over with."

Ignoring her words was the only way he'd be able to keep his inner inferno from escaping. He didn't want Cloud to see that. "Yes he is, and I assume that runt is yours? If mine is meant to come along then yours should as well."

Squall cringed at the man's words about him, taking those brave steps back to hide, head down, behind his Mother. His ice spread across his skin and clothes, a little self-defence he didn't realise he was doing.

Shiva gave him a reassuring look, whispering words of love to him as his shy nature came back full force at Ifrit's crass words. "Shh, be still, my darling." She waved towards the cave they had their yearly meeting at and glared at Ifrit, "I hardly thought the great God of Summer was low enough to bully a child. Keep that tongue of yours focused on the point of this meeting, or you'll quickly lose it."

"Let's just get this over with. I have an important date tonight." Ifrit kept his eyes on Cloud who looked up at him fondly, and Ifrit showed his weakness. He smiled at his son, a genuine and honest smile and picked him up once more which caused Cloud to giggle. That laughter was as sweet as a spring birds song.

Squall looked up at the boy's laughter, watching him with large, silent eyes, but not daring to speak or move closer with the horned man holding him. He took his Mother's hand instead and followed her to the cave. She stepped inside first, Ifrit mockingly waving her in with a muttered 'ladies first'. She snapped back 'beauty before age' and took a seat, frost growing out from her chair of ice all over the walls and floor on her half of the cave.

Squall sat on a small stool he conjured himself, and intended to himself small and quiet as always.

Ifrit took a seat at his end of the cave, a chair made of andesite. He could make another for his son, but Cloud didn't seem to be interested in it.

Instead of sitting, Cloud's wings flapped, and he hovered a bit by his Father. The hovering only lasted a few minutes before Cloud landed back on the ground and started to lose interest in what the adults were saying. It was boring to the seven-year-old.

The meeting began with its typical demands from either side, each one inconsiderate and asking too much of the other side. Shiva wanted to extend her snowy reach further south, which Ifrit was annoyed about. But he, equally stubbornly, insisted on melting more glaciers and ice-caps, Shiva was not pleased.

It went on and on, more arguing and threats until both children weren't even disturbed by their parent's attitudes and lashes of power.

Squall's eyes moved to outside, he sighed and wished he was there instead of listening to this adult talk. He hadn't been able to make any ice for ages. He glanced at his Mother, she was leafing through a report on the wellbeing of her ice spirits, her face was so focused … it wouldn't hurt to just stretch his legs, right?

Taking a chance, Squall slowly got up from his seat, just as a new round of banging fists on the table and yelling began, and walked outside, sighing when the peaceful air surrounded him. He walked towards the woods without another thought, he didn't want to hear anymore shouting for a while …

The little summer God's attention was nearly at zero from the beginning of the discussion. He'd ended up leaning against his Father's chair as his bum was on the floor. Blue eyes began to get heavy again, and for a little while, he was pretty sure he'd fallen asleep. It had seemed liked it never happened, but it had. When he'd woken up, he had noticed the other boy was missing. Looking around the room of the cave there was no one else but him, his Father, and the icicle lady. He'd walked around a bit, sneaking off from his Dad and suddenly his shoes felt a bit wet. He looked down and saw a puddle, but the puddle turned into patches of snow, leading out of the cave. Curious he followed it.

Squall had finished icing trees a long time ago, he sat at the edge of the lake and admired the sun on the water, the water far away from where it wasn't frozen by his powers. He smiled at the beautiful light and blew small flurries of icy wind to make the water dance, just for something to do.

"Pretty," Cloud said in his soft voice, walking over to the other boy he had seen before and joined him by the lake. He took his shoes off and let his feet dip in, melting the ice around him and splashing about. "I'm Cloud. What's your name?"

Squall jumped at the voice, inching back a few feet before he realised that the new boy was more interested in the water than him. He straightened his shoulders and said: "I'm Squall … what are you doing?"

"I'm paddling!" Cloud giggled. "Do you like paddling too?"

Squall inched closer, intrigued by the water that wasn't freezing so close to him. "N-no … I freeze it when I get too close," he reached out a foot anyway, and the sole touched water for the first time. He pulled away, surprised and the water froze to his boot. "Oh!"

"Whoa! I wanna do that!" Cloud was amazed when the foot retreated, and ice followed. He'd never seen ice or snow like he did with this boy. They had snow by his home, and his Father had said it was because he had failed, but that snow never lasted long there. That snow didn't look like the kind Squall had made, and the ice didn't look as pretty either.

Squall tilted his head, "You don't freeze things?" he shook the ice from his shoe bashfully, eyeing the water with enduring fascination.

Cloud shook his head, his hair moving along with it. It looked like tiny rays of the sunshine that would frame his face, the same golden colour. "Nuh uh. I can melt it, though. Oh! I started to learn how to breathe fire too! Wanna see?"

"Yeah!" Squall remembered fires from camper's who were out in the cold, but never up close.

Cloud took in a deep breath, his cheeks puffing up in the process. He turned and looked at a bit of grass nearby, that would be his target. Getting out of the water he walked over to it and exhaled. A tiny flame left his mouth, singeing the grass. The fire wasn't hot or full enough to set it in flames. "Tada!" Despite how small the flame had been, Cloud was proud of it nonetheless.

Squall's eyes were wide. "Wow ..." the tiny bit of smoke tickled his nose as he crouched to see it properly, "That's cool, achoo!" he sneezed when the smoke got into his mouth, out came snowflakes, and Cloud laughed at their appearance as Squall blushed and looked away.

"Cute!" Cloud said moving in closer to watch as the snowflakes fell and touched the grass below. They were beautiful and looked like tiny pieces of lace. He wished he could make something that pretty. He bet his Dad would be so proud!

Squall blushed blue so badly his ice-crown melted. He shuffled his feet and covered his face.

"Oh no, your crown!" Cloud's blue eyes widened, and he went to try and touch it to stop it, but the closer his hands got, the more melted. He didn't even get close enough to actually touch Squall yet, not sure if his Dad would like that. He knew his Dad didn't like Squall's Mum, but maybe Squall was okay. A quick look at the blushing boy beside him made him sure that Squall was good!

"I-I can make another one ..." Squall mumbled, face still in his hands. "Mama taught me how …" This boy had called him cute, and now he had melted his own crown. He must look so silly!

"Can you make me one too? Yours was so pretty. I want a crown too. I bet Papa would love it and we can keep it forever and ever." Cloud's cheer was hard to ignore.

Raising his head a little, Squall eyed the boy's head and thought that a little bit of silvery ice would look nice on him. He raised his hands and smiled a little, "I'll try." He waved a hand over Cloud's head, and snowflakes gathered into ice, but the second they came close they began to melt, and Cloud got a head full of water.

Squall put his hands away and gasped. "Oh, you're too warm!"

Soft golden spikes wilted at the contact of the water, and some dripped a little onto his face. He wiped at it a bit, a pout on his face. He wasn't upset over the water but upset over the fact he'd get no crown now. "But I wanted a crown ... I wanted to be pretty too."

Looking down, Squall rubbed his hands together, "I'm sorry … my ice melts ..." he saw something on the ground, and his eyes lit up. "Wait a second," he reached down and plucked a flower from the soil. The second his fingers touched it the flower wilted and died. "Oh!"

Cloud looked at him curiously, "What's wrong?"

Squall looked between Cloud and the flower and said, "I thought you could have one made out of flowers … but I can't touch them, I'm too cold ..."

The wilted flower dropped to the ground, and Cloud went to grab it. It stayed dead, and Cloud knew he couldn't fix it either. That was one of the few things he knew about his own magic, he couldn't bring things to life. He could make things though and went to get a bunch of flowers. He tied their stems together in a makeshift crown and placed it on Squall's head. Though the flowers died, they didn't lose much of their flower petals. "Freeze it! If you freeze it, then they will stay like that forever and ever!"

Squall looked up, he touched the tips of the flowers, eyes wide, and at his touch, thick ice spread over the crown. Crystals of ice and little icicles circled the thing and made the crown sparkle. Squall waved a hand at a puddle and used it as a mirror.

He gasped and started, his jaw dropping a little "Wow ..."

Cloud smiled at him, thinking that it looked good on his head. Even better frozen.

"Thank you," Squall said gratefully, shy all over again, blushing blue across his cheekbones and fiddling with his hands.

Cloud just nodded and want to make a matching one for himself. He didn't keep it frozen since it wouldn't work but he did manage to get the crown over the spikes of his hair. "We match!"

Squall smiled "Yeah." He looked at Cloud properly and shyly smiled, admiring the colours in the blond spikes, the boy's creativity and how it sat just a little lopsided against the spikes on his head, perching just behind the glossy horns. Cloud was so bright and happy, the nicest boy he'd ever laid eyes on, he couldn't stop looking and inching closer, "Yours is so colourful, like your hair, you look pretty."

"Do I look as pretty as you?" Cloud was hopeful in his question. He thought that Squall was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen, even more than his Father's flower garden. His eyes were big and blue, leaning in closer to Squall and wanting to reach his hand but again he didn't.

Blushing again, Squall nodded, "Y-yeah, prettier than me." He was so overwhelmed, Cloud was making his little heart beat fast, and all his sweet words were almost making him melt. He felt like he was sparkling ice under the sun when Cloud smiled at him. He was more than pretty, he was radiant.

Sapphire eyes sparkled at the compliment and Cloud couldn't help but invade Squall's personal space for a moment. Their faces got close, his smile nearly as big as his tiny rounded face. "I'm pretty! Papa is going to be so proud! I'm pretty like Squall!"

Squall beamed "Cloud is always prettier than me, you're colourful, and your wings are shiny."

"But you sparkle! Your ice looks so pretty in the sunlight. It's like you have stars on your hair and skin. I bet the night time is jealous of you." Cloud truly believed Squall was beautiful.

"Sunlight must be jealous too ..." Squall returned, unable to think that Cloud thought Squall was the prettier one. He must not look in a mirror very often, he reasoned. They trailed off into silence, each admiring the other's seasonal charms.

They sat on top of a small slope, Squall looked down and thought that it was perfect for sledging down. He wondered if Cloud had ever tried to go sledging before, it was his favourite thing to do on high slopes. The idea in place, he waved a hand across the ground and shrieked happily when the slippery ice made him slide down towards the shore of the lake. At the water's edge her rolled onto ice, the lake froze on contact, and he kept giggling from the rush. Sitting up and waving at Cloud, "Come on, you try!"

Cloud looked at the ice and took a hesitant step closer. The moment his bare toe hit the ice, it started to melt and make a puddle instead. "I can't," he protested.

Squall put his hand on the bottom of the slope and concentrated, ice formed thicker and colder, and it froze all the way up to Cloud's feet. "Try it now, I got this."

An audible gasp of amazement left him as he watched Squall freeze the path enough for even him to go on. Squall was so strong, and he was so impressed. "Squall you're amazing!" He bet Squall was just as strong as his Dad, and he was just as cool too.

He sat towards the ice, amazed it wasn't melting and pushed off, sliding down at such a speed he thought he'd fly off and instead landed in the water, going under for a moment. Squall had enough power to keep the slide frozen but not the lake. It was no problem since Cloud knew how to swim. As he breached the water's surface, his hair was flattened from being wet, and the flower crown was sticking to him now. He came up laughing and went to where the ice met the water and kept kicking his tiny legs to stay afloat. "That was so fun!"

Squall laughed at him, "You're all wet!" He reached a hand out to Cloud, "You're good at sledging, you flew so far!" Cloud stayed in the water, and Squall dropped his hand. "What are you doing?"

Cloud was going to reach out to that hand, but Squall dropped it. He did swim closer to the frozen part of the lake, their two elements meeting in perfect harmony. "Swimming. Don't you know how to swim?" He went on his back, floating in the water with the help of his wings, his tiny legs making little splashes. "Papa taught me it."

Squall kneeled at the edge of his ice, "I see seals swim in the north … under the ice." He reached down to touch the water, and it froze into another little iceberg, "My powers don't let me swim. What's it like?" he asked, watching Cloud floating with fascination and a gentle smile, Cloud looked so happy.

Cloud stopped in his floating, a hand pressed to his chin, deep in thought. "Well … it's wet?" He wasn't exactly sure how to describe water without saying it was watery. "And it's cool and sort of like when Papa takes me into the air … but not as light."

Squall pushed the small iceberg around like a toy boat and smiled as Cloud talked, "It sounds fun Cloud. You're so lucky, can you do any tricks in the water? Can you show me?" he leant forwards, nearly nose to nose with Cloud, their breath steaming where hot and cold met.

A nod was Cloud's answer, his face getting red by how close Squall was. The redness darkened his freckles, making them all the more prominent on his cheeks. "Yeah! I can um … I can do a handstand!" He dipped into the water, flipping over so he was facing the bottom and stuck his feet out of the water, wiggling them before coming back up. "Super cool right?!"

The look Squall gave him was one of amazement, and Cloud wondered if Squall could do it too. He had made a slide of ice, maybe Cloud could make more water for him. He was strong, his Papa had told him he was the strongest!

"Squall, come closer. I wanna do something." His smile was toothy as he went to the edge of the ice, hands waiting to touch and melt it, but not yet.

Squall tilted his head, Cloud's adorable smile had distracted him from what he was saying, he had freckles and dimples when he grinned. "Hmm?"

"I said come closer." The impatient Cloud said as his wings fluttered behind him in the water, lifting him up a little and splashing behind him.

"Oh, sorry," Squall obliged the request and stood at the edge of the ice.

When Cloud thought Squall looked ready, he touched the ice in front of him, concentrating as hard as he could, harder than he ever had before and melted it, keeping it warm enough to not freeze and consequently making Squall fall into the water.

"Ah! My ice," the tiny winter God gasped as the iceberg melted enough to sink and turn to mush. He was waist deep in water in seconds. "C-Cloud?" he held his arms up above the surface, looking a bit alarmed until his feet touched the ground, the surface of the water now just under his armpits. He shivered at the strange, new sensation of being wet.

"Do you like it? You should try to lay on your back. Your body should float on its own. That's what Papa told me." He demonstrated floating again, leaning back and letting his legs rise but he didn't go all the way, he was too focused on keeping the water warm.

Squall watched Cloud and timidly let his arms swish through the water, it felt … weird. When Cloud showed him what to do he tried to lean back, but panicked! "I don't think I can ..." he admitted, watching how relaxed Cloud was.

"Yes you can! You can do it! You made me slide on ice, you can float in water." He smiled, coming closer to Squall until they were right in front of each other. "You gotta be like an ice cube … or like one of those big floaty ice rocks."

"An iceberg?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, that thing."

Squall bit his lip, Cloud's earnest face convincing him to try again. He didn't want to let Cloud down, he wanted Cloud to be impressed. "O-okay," he squared his shoulders and took a deep breathe, slowly lowering his weight into the water, imagining he was an iceberg on the north sea … he moved onto his back, shivering when his hair got wet, and then hesitantly floated

Cloud watched with great attention, getting more and more excited with each passing moment. Squall was floating, he'd done it! "I knew you could do it!"

Squall opened his eyes and looked up at Cloud. "This is nice!" he said loudly, water in his ears for the first time.

"How does it feel?" Cloud had a hard time describing it himself, he wondered if Squall could do a better job.

Exhaling slowly, Squall pouted as he went into deep thought. "It's … wet." he giggled "It's like laying on a snowbank that's too deep- but it's all soft instead of tough snow." he clapped his hands "It's like a very squishy bed!"

Cloud's eyes widened at the description. He didn't really know what part of Squall's description would feel like, but it did sound nice. "I'm glad you like it! It is like a squishy bed!"

Laughing, Squall stood up in the water and pointed at the shore, "Let's get out and dry, thanks for melting the ice. I've never felt water before, you're so strong."

A deeper shade of pink came over Cloud's cheeks, and he nodded. "I know, Papa says I'm the strongest!" He said as he made way for the end of the lake. He didn't get out before Squall, not wanting him to get stuck in the ice.

"That scary man is your Dad?" Squall asked, eyebrows pinching worriedly. That man had called him a runt, his Mother said that was a rude word. He got out and instantly had frost all over him as the water froze to his clothes and skin, making him look like a snow angel for a second. He brushed it off of himself as Cloud answered him.

"Papa isn't scary, he is the bestest! He lets me stay up late sometimes, and he is so warm. I like it when he carries me with him around. His arms are so big, and he is so soft." Cloud got out of the water then and shook some of the water off like a dog would. He then heated himself off, the rest drying off him quickly. His gaze travelled to Squall, seeing the light dusting of snow over him and he just had to touch.

He moved over to him, a small hand going to touch at Squall's cheek. There was a shock when they touched, for the first time ever, Cloud felt cold, and he shivered, his wings even shaking. This was what ice felt like, this was what he was supposed to hate and yet he found he didn't hate it at all. "You're ... cold."

Squall's eyes widened at the hand on his cheek, heat touching his skin for the first time. It wasn't like the snow or the winter sun, it felt like it was glowing, it was nice. His cheeks went blue in a blush, and he noticed that Cloud hadn't pulled his hand away, he was glad. His skin tingled, and his free hand rose to hold Cloud's still, the other to Cloud's cheek- it was even warmer than his hand. "You're warm … like coco."

Cloud was mesmerised by this new sensation, his other hand joined him and held the other side of Leon's face, cupping his blue cheeks. "You're cold like ice cream! I like it." He said, watching as the places he was touching started to create something new. It was steam, a grey looking smoke that came from the both of them. It reminded him of clouds. "It's beautiful ... what is this?"

Squall let their joined hands move between them and their fingers linked, palms facing each other, and he watched the rising vapour curiously. "I don't know ..."

Cloud pulled both of Squall's palms to his cheeks, giggling at how cool he was. Squall eagerly took advantage of the position and lightly traced his thumbs over the many, cute freckles on Cloud's face. Every slight touch sent tingles through his fingertips and across Cloud's skin. The steam continued to set off little vapours.

Cloud tilted his head curiously "Do you taste like ice cream too?" Wings fluttered behind him, his excitement showing in the extra appendages. He could lick Squall and see if he tasted like ice cream, but his Father had told him licking was rude, only animals licked each other. The only other way to taste would be a kiss, something he hadn't done before. His Father had given him kisses, and he loved how warm they'd make him get, would Squall be warm or cold?

With no warning, Cloud leaned in and pressed his rosy lips against pale. It was so much more powerful than the touches had been, a sensation he'd never felt before. It was like a tickle, but so much more joyful than that. His lips felt tingly, and Cloud believed that this was what snowflakes must taste like. The kiss was only a moment, and it was one he'd never forget.

"You're tingly!" He giggled, the aftereffects of their lips meeting still prominent. He had to touch his own to try and stop them, but it almost felt like that tingly joy travelled his whole body then. "Again!"

For Squall, their kiss was heat, from Cloud's lips pressed against his mouth the warmth ran through his body and made him feel oddly feverish. Like Cloud, his lips tingled, and his small form was wracked with delighted shivers, the ice in his hair sparkled with new crystals, and he felt like he was about to burst with joy! His smile nearly split his face when Cloud said he wanted to do it again, and didn't hesitate to hold Cloud's face this time, giggling slightly when their noses touched.

Cloud was a bit more prepared for the second kiss, but with Squall holding his cheeks, he didn't know what to do with his hands. He settled on putting them around Squall's waist, it felt natural to do that, and he liked how Squall felt so close to him. It was a comfort that he thought only his Father could ever give him. He felt safe and loved and home. Having Squall's hands on his cheeks as they kissed made his whole face tingle, and though he wanted to, he couldn't keep the kiss for long. His giggling was too much. The wings on his back even reacted to the heightened happiness Cloud was feeling, lifting him and thus Squall off the ground for as long as their lips met.

"Hey, come back," Squall laughed when Cloud's wings made him fly a few inches off of the ground and broke their kiss, he pulled Cloud's arms back to him and held him tight, happy that Cloud was back where he belonged: with him. He tucked his head into Cloud's hair and laughed with him.

Cloud's wings extended after the kiss, wrapping around his shoulders and covering not only him but as much as they could reach around Squall, they were still too small to conceal them both, but it wouldn't be long before they were. Cloud noticed the new crystals in Squall's hair then and touched one, happy that it didn't melt under his touch. "I wanna kiss Squall forever and ever." He mumbled, too happy at their present to think about what something like that could mean to their families and how opposite it was to their parents. All he cared about was Squall's answer, which sent him over the moon:

"I want that too, Cloud. Forever, forever."

Back at the cave, the two bickering Gods had finally come to some semblance of agreement. The Northern ice caps would lose a little more ice in Ifrit's record-breaking summer temperatures this year, but Shiva's winter would last longer although her snows weren't allowed to refreeze the ice in the north. Bitterly, she countered that the mountains throughout the world could use a little more frosting and Ifrit scowled too.

Neither were happy with their arrangements, and both loathed the compromises they were forced to do year after year.

Shiva stood up at last, "I think we're done here." The ice above her head on the cave ceiling had formed scary looking icicle points, some threatening to fall to the floor any moment. She wanted to leave before another argument, and another compromise could start. She felt she had lost enough with Ifrit's insistence on melting some of the ice caps where she lived.

"I'm sick of this as well. I think even I'm beginning to get a brain freeze with your whining about snow." Ifrit bit back at her, the cave around his side had dropped a little, molten rock had formed under his hooved feet and had affected the whole shape of his side of the cave. He was not happy at all with these 'compromises' if he could even call them that. Shiva had won the last war and so she could demand more but he hardly thought it fair.

Shiva rolled her eyes and looked down to her side where she expected Squall to be, and only saw an empty, half melted stool. Her eyes widened "Squall?" she gasped, looking about "Squall? Where are you?"

Ifrit scoffed, arms crossed over his nearly bare chest. "What kind of a Mother loses their child?" He stood then, getting up from his rocky throne and heading out, expecting to hear Cloud's tiny pitter patter of feet but didn't. He turned and didn't even see a trace of him. Fiery Amber eyes turned to Shiva, a flame igniting in his gaze. "What did you do to my son?"

Throwing him a dirty look, Shiva snapped "What would I want with your brat? Stop throwing blame you fool and go look for him," she moved to the entrance of the cave as she spoke, sweeping almost dramatically from the room, but her final step never landed as she saw the scene outside. She covered her mouth, surprised, all her anger knocked out of her, and she almost smiled. "Oh ..."

The beastly summer God stomped after her, his footsteps almost causing tremors as his rage started to leave him. He was going to push her aside and leave the cave to search for his most precious treasure when he stopped, seeing exactly what the Ice Queen had seen: His son had the Ice Prince in a tender embrace. "What in fiery infernos is going on?"

Shiva swatted at him, "Shh! Don't scare them." As they watched the little summer God flew a few inches from the ground, until Squall pulled him back to hold him securely in his arms, the blond's wings stretching to hold him back. Shiva breathed unevenly, feeling like a hand was squeezing her heart in her chest, "My sweet baby," she cooed.

The summer God didn't exactly see the same thing yet. He had been too confused by the whole scene in front of him. The way Cloud was looking at the Ice Prince, they way they were touching was too loving. How could anyone born of heat be tender to one born of cold? "I don't understand … Why?"

His confusion only grew when he overheard Cloud's wish "I want to kiss Squall forever and ever." His heart constricted at that confession, it was so innocent and pure and clearly came from the heart. He'd never heard Cloud be so sweet and sentimental before. "Is he … are they?"

Shiva shrugged, her hands pressed over her mouth to hide her smile and her almost tears of joy. A rare sob of joy escaping her as her son returned the endearing demand: "I want that too, Cloud. Forever, forever." Squall was running his hands through the boy's hair lovingly, the summer child holding Squall with both arms and wings protectively, and their matching crowns of flowers giving her an idea.

She turned to Ifrit with an unusual degree of friendliness, removing her emotional tears first, "I think our boys are in love."

"Are you crying? I think the world has officially gone mad." Ifrit was at a loss of what to do. His son seemed so happy, and that's all he could ever want and hope to have happened for him. He wanted that look to stay on Cloud's face forever. The fact that Shiva was crying over it and what she had just said, he thought maybe it might actually be true. If Cloud were in love, even with an enemy, he wouldn't want to stop it. "Out of all he could love, he chose your son. I suppose fate is strange sometimes." He chuckled, not trying to be mean but rather teasing Shiva.

The noise of his Father laughing caught Cloud's attention and though he didn't move or let go of Squall at all, he did give his Father attention. "Papa! Squall and I kissed! We made flower crowns too! Aren't they pretty?"

Kissed, the two had kissed and yet still stood together, they hadn't been turned off by the feeling of their elements clashing. "It's …" Ifrit paused and thought of his words carefully. "It's … nice." He said hesitantly, not wanting to upset his son but still not sure about all of this.

Shiva smirked, Squall blushing and waving at her, sending tiny snowflakes from his wrists whenever he moved. Oh, he was so happy, she could tell. She gave him a tender smile and waved them over, "Come on boys, we're almost done now."

They walked over hand in hand, Cloud skipping and floating with his wings and Squall leaving flurries of snowflakes whenever he moved.

Ifrit had never seen his son so happy or using his wings so much. The boy tended to be lazy with them and only used them when Ifrit had asked of him too. It was refreshing, to say the least, and he was beginning to see what Shiva had from the beginning.

She gave Ifrit a look, "I believe we have an opportunity here, Fever-brain." She accepted the hug her son gave her, only reluctantly letting Cloud's hand go to give his Mother affection. She ran her fingers through his hair, her heart filling with joy as he never took his eyes off the summer child. She had never seen a pair more sweetly in love. "Fate clearly intended this, what do you say to giving it a helping hand? Say … a betrothal?"

"Papa, what's a betrothal?" Cloud had asked when he had to let go of Squall. His wings fluttered more than they ever had so he could float high enough to see Squall's face more clearly. He was leaning against his Father's shoulder for support, wings already tired from too much use.

"A marriage," Ifrit stated, a bit too shocked to even really show emotion for the idea yet. It was something he never thought Shiva would ever say in the long existence they had known each other. He had no idea what to say to it. "I suppose they can try."

Squall's eyes lit up. "Mama?"

Cloud's gasp of joy cut off any more explanations: "I get to be with Squall forever?!" He shouted, wings flapping as he lunged at Squall, knocking the Ice Prince out of his Mother's arms and onto the ground. Squall had opened his arms to catch him, but Cloud had flown so fast they went rolling down the grassy bank. He'd held Squall close, neither boy being hurt by the fall by holding each other so closely.

Cloud was laughing, merrily laughing at the proposition and Ifrit finally succumbed to the idea. "A splendid marriage it will be." Ifrit smiled, affected by the contagious joy the youths were exhibiting.

For the first time in all of the existence, Summer and Winter agreed full heartedly on something. Shiva and Ifrit shook hands with almost friendly smirks, and their boys continued to hold tight. The adult's sealed the deal with a sharp hiss of steam as they shook hands, already knowing that next year's meeting would be focused on wedding arrangements and the meetings their children would have in the future would be much fairer to the world. The future of the world and its seasons, finally, seemed bright.

"Forever and ever," Cloud said, his nose pressing against Squall's.

"Always and always," came the reply of the Ice Prince to his newly betrothed.

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