On the afternoon before New Year's Eve, the streets of Tomoeda's downtown commercial district bustled with pedestrians braving the mid-winter chill for last minute shopping. A girl with straight long hair emerged from a department store with a tall young man, the latter's arms filled with bags containing decorations, confectionaries, and other party essentials. "Thank you for coming with me. I'm sorry it turned out to be more than just a few things."

Touya Kinomoto, in his fourth year at university and home for the holidays, shifted his balance of the load. "Not a problem; I can hardly blame you for all the things that Sakura forgets. If I did… well, let's just leave it at that. "

Tomoyo smiled as they waited for the signal at a crosswalk. "It's true she can be a bit forgetful at times, but that is part of what makes her cute, wouldn't you agree?"

"For the first couple of years maybe, but after fourteen it just becomes annoying."

She raised her hand to her mouth in mock dismay. "Surely you don't mean that."

He shrugged and grinned. "Who knows, but people often tell me that I'm the oldest twenty year old they've ever met; picking up after a kaijuu for so long might have some thing to do with that."

She looked as if to ponder the statement as they crossed the street and walked away from the crowded areas and into quieter neighborhoods. "Look on the bright side, lots of girls like mature men."

"Which would work out only if said men liked younger girls…" He caught the rising curve in the corner of her lips and understood what she was getting at, stifling a groan. "C'mon, my mom and dad were an exception."

"Who said I was referring to your parents?"

"Who were you referring to then?"

And for a second, he imagined that the girl's smile—which he considered her most charming feature amongst many others—dimmed barely perceptibly.

They took a small detour to Penguin Park, where they bought drinks from a cluster of vending machines; dark coffee for him and lemon tea for her. As they sipped from their cans, a breeze shook free small clumps of snow from the trees above. Reaching across the bench, he brushed off some that had landed on her shoulders.

"Thank you."

He rewound the caramel comforter around his neck and leaned back against his seat. "Our families are visiting the shrine together tomorrow. Decided on your altar requests yet?"

She weaved her fingers together the can. "I've given it some thought, but I don't know if I can commit to it."

Touya finished his drink and dropped his can into a dustbin nearby. "Sounds serious, what are you hoping for?"

She giggled. "If I tell you it won't come true."

"Surely after all these years you can trust me to keep a… look out!"

She heard the sound of wood snapping and a sudden rush as he pulled her into his arms just before a small avalanche descended on them; the weight of the accumulated snow had finally bent some branches past their breaking point. When she opened her eyes again, she found that they were covered in what seemed like two feet of snow, the bulk of which fell on him as he wrapped her in a secure embrace, his head resting above hers. It was clearly meant to be a protective gesture, and yet…

"Are you alright, Daidouji?"

A moment's daze later she nodded and he exhaled a sigh of relief. After checking that their purchases had been spared the brunt of the collapse, he noticed how pale her complexion had turned. "You're freezing."

Before she could comprehend what was happening, he had taken her hands between his own and began rubbing them; breathing warm air onto her fingers from time to time, a warm tickling sensation that made her stomach do all sorts of somersaults. After a while, the color returned to her digits—which appeared petite next to his—and Touya looked up to see that her cheeks had turned rosier as well. "Better now?"

He was surprised when she raised one hand towards him, the tips of her fingers stopping mere centimeters from his cheek before she touched him, the hesitancy of her gesture and the range of emotions in her amethyst eyes causing his own to widen more than usual.

"Tomoyo…?"

She was rarely ever at a loss for words; all her life, she was able to reason her way past her own emotions with her remarkable maturity and unselfishness, but there was no rationalizing—no euphemizing—the feelings that she felt for the man in front of her now as her hand caressed the warmth of his face.

"Touya, I…"

The End

Author's Notes: I wrote this for L-Chan some months ago after becoming frustrated by her lack of updates on a certain story (I'm still not over it seven years later). The half-assed ending had the desired effect, but she still won't update it seems.