A/N: Hope you like this. I felt like writing a cute little story, but I'm not saying it's going to be a oneshot. Depending on whether or not you review telling me what you thought, I may or may not write another chapter. It's up to you guys to decide that. Review, and we'll see if the story continues!
Disclaimer: Blinks Really? Hold on, I think I may have some lint here somewhere...
Christmas
Rosette groaned and buried her head in her hands. Things weren't supposed to end up like this. Christmas was supposed to be a time where friends exchanged gifts, discussed the oncoming year, gathered around a warm fire, sang carols. It was not supposed to be spent trudging through knee-deep snow in a forest of pine trees far away from civilization.
Rosette had been at the monastery preparing for the annual Christmas party when the alarm had come. The Magdalene Order had told Sister Kate about a demon loose in the woods close to a village on the outskirts of New York. Kate had tracked the exorcist and her partner down quickly and quietly, telling them that they had to leave immediately. Rosette had thrown a fit, but in the end Chrono had convinced her to go.
They had driven to the village, parked their car, and waited until nightfall to hunt the demon, said to be unable to withstand sunlight. Finally, after hours of looking, the pair had found and battled the demon. It was tough, but with the help of a Gospel, Rosette had managed to kill it, sending it back to the depths of Hell. Unfortunatly, by this time, both devil and nun were hopelessly lost in the large forest.
It didn't help that it had started snowing just before they found the demon. Now, about three hours after the demon had been exorcized, the snow was up to their knees, and Rosette and Chrono were tiring from the effort it took just to wade through the frosty fluff.
What a way to spend our Christmas Eve… Rosette thought darkly, blowing her hot breath onto her hands in a desperate attempt to keep them from going numb. She glanced at Chrono, who looked a bit better than she felt, but not by much. He turned to her and smiled reassuringly.
"I'm sure the town's around here somewhere," he said softly, his energy spent.
Rosette laughed, but it came out as a tired chuckle instead, "Don't joke, Chrono. We may as well call it a night and give up. The town's no where around here."
Chrono shrugged, looking around, "There's no where to stop. If we keep moving, at least we'll avoid getting buried in snow."
"True," Rosette sighed in defeat, "What a Christmas Eve, huh?"
"It certainly is set apart from others," he smiled at her again, "But at least we're not alone."
Rosette nodded slowly, pushing through the snow like a burnt out plow, "Yeah. Still, I wish we could stop moving and rest, just for a little bit."
"We can't do that. We'll never get back up again," Chrono pointed out. He continued to survey the area. To the right, trees littered his vision, blocking anything but the snow and trunks from view. The black sky wasn't visible anymore, as the tall trees covered it from human's eyes. A white blanket of the soft substance covered the ground, like whip cream on top of hot chocolate. It rose and fell in various places, but for the most part it was flat. On the left, the base of a huge mountain blocked his view.
"Rosette, I think we're farther away from the town than we thought," he shifted the wooden case on his back. Rosette stopped and turned to face him.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He jerked a thumb towards the mountain.
"There was no mountain beside it," he remarked. Rosette threw up her arms in frustration and anger.
"No!" she sank into the snow, fatigue finally getting the better of her, "How could we not realize it before?"
"It was hidden by the trees until just a few minutes ago, and we're exhausted. Don't beat yourself up about it," he gently grabbed her arm, helping her stand. She shivered as the snow she had been sitting in began to soak through her clothes.
"I'm tired, Chrono," she said, looking up at the mountain, "I can't keep going on like this. I'm not as durable as you."
Chrono's eyes softened, and he sighed, "How about you stay here, and I'll go find somewhere for you to rest?"
She shook her head, "You're just as tired as I am, Chrono. We both need to rest," she continued to stare at the mountain.
"Well, we can't just stop—"
"What does that look like to you?" she pointed up the mountain some, at a dark spot.
Chrono stared at it, blinking to focus his tired eyes, "A cave, maybe?"
Rosette grinned, newly energized, "That's what I thought. Wait here, I'm going to climb up and see."
"No!" Chrono objected, "It's the middle of winter. Chances are a bear is hibernating up there or something!"
Rosette shrugged, "It's either I die a quick death from a bear wound, or I'll freeze to death slowly down here. I don't like either, but I'd pick the first one if I had to. Wait here."
Ignoring his protests, the nun grabbed a hold of the rocks and began scaling the mountain, her fatigue forgotten on the sudden rush of adrenaline. She climbed for a few minutes, until the cave entrance came into view. Warily, she peeked her head up just high enough to see inside.
The cave was extremely dark, and the full moon's light didn't help any. She frowned and took one hand off the mountain to fish out a flashlight that hadn't been much use in the snowing weather. She turned it on, shining it inside and praying that there wasn't any wild animals inside the cave.
Rosette sighed in relief, and giddiness swept through her as the beam of light shone in every corner of the cave. It wasn't that deep, stopping about twenty feet inside the mountain. Still, it was enough to keep the snow out. The bear was MIA, as was any other wild animals. She laughed out loud, climbing inside the cave and flashing her flashlight down the mountainside to get Chrono's attention.
She didn't know if he had seen it at first, but after a few minutes scraping was heard, and Rosette peeked over the edge of the entrance to see the devil following her footsteps. She beamed and grabbed his hand, hauling him and the wooden case over the edge into the small cave.
"Look, Chrono!" she exclaimed happily. He looked warily around the hollowed rock.
"That's lucky…" he muttered. Rosette shrugged.
"Who cares? Now we don't have to walk anymore!" she took off her equipment and dumped them on the side of the cave. Then she sank beside the wall, leaning against the cool rock and sighing happily. Chrono shrugged and took off the case, setting it down beside Rosette's possessions. He glanced at the nun, who had closed her eyes. She was a bit pale from the cold, and he realized that the bottom part of her dress was soaked clean through, courtesy of the snow. She shivered slightly, and he frowned.
"I'm going to get some firewood," he remarked, turning to scale the mountain again, "I'll be back soon."
"Don't get lost," Rosette said sleepily. He nodded and continued down the side of the mountain.
After about a half hour, he entered the cave again, this time laden with firewood, "Rosette, I'm back," he said into the darkness. There was no response, and his eyes instantly directed themselves towards the pile of stuff. Rosette's things were still present and accounted for, so where was the girl?
He put the firewood down and continued to search the cave, panic steadily rising in his chest, "Rosette? Rosette?" he called softly, feeling around the floor of the rock shelter. He heard shifting in the corner, and instantly made his way towards the sound. His fingers froze as they touched soft hair, and relief swept through his veins like hot chocolate on a cold day. His contractor had fallen asleep while he was out collecting firewood, and she clearly had no intention of moving anytime soon.
That's all right, Chrono decided, moving to set up the fire, I don't feel like moving back into that snow either. He glanced outside to see the snow falling softly just outside the entrance. It fell slowly, mesmerizing him for several seconds. An unwilling shiver woke him up from his trance, reminding him of the cold that had caused them problems all night.
He got to work setting up the fireplace, and within minutes a merry fire was dancing in front of him, illuminating the cave. He walked over, scooped up Rosette, and laid her down on a blanket that he had retrieved from the wooden case. Then he put the second, and last, blanket on top of her and tucked her in gently. She stirred, but didn't wake. He watched her affectionately for a few moments before breaking his gaze away and lying down adjacent to her, so their heads were less than a foot apart. There, against the cold stone ground, beside the flickering fire, he drifted off into sleep.
Chrono awoke abruptly as he felt himself being pulled towards something. He groaned and groggily opened his crimson eyes, glancing around drowsily. A sweet, soft voice whispered into his ear, and he was dimly aware of something being wrapped around him. Something warm.
"It's Christmas, and you shouldn't have to sleep on the stone, silly," a female voice said quietly. He recognized Rosette, and turned around to face her. She smiled at him, pulling him closer to her.
"You gave me the blankets, and it's not fair for me to let you sleep on the cold rock floor, Chrono," she told him. Chrono's jumbled mind sorted out what she said as his hands felt the soft substance that had been thrown on top of him. A blanket. The one that Rosette was under as well.
"I… I'm okay there," he said softly, blushing unwillingly. Truth be told, he was much more comfortable here, beside the girl he loved and would give his life to protect, but he didn't know if she felt the same way, so he decided to play it safe. She shook her head.
"Go to sleep again, Chrono. I'm sorry I woke you," Rosette turned him around and pulled him close to her, so his back was against her chest and her chin was resting on top of his head, buried in his deep purple hair. Through the close contact, he got a whiff of her scent, and he inhaled it deeply. To him, it was like a drug, and the devil instantly felt drowsy all over again.
" 'Night… Rosette…" he murmured. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and his head rested on one of them.
"Good night, Chrono. Merry Christmas," she whispered into his ear as he drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Okay, now what did you think? Review, and tell me if you think I should write another chappie or not! I won't write one if I don't get at least ten reviews. (Or if you people think that it's okay to leave it at this. Share your two cents with me, and tell me what you liked, disliked, enjoyed, laughed at, or hated. Just tell me your opinion!) Thanks!
fornwalt