Author's Note: If you're reading this, then I actually posted my spontaneous 2:30 AM brain-vomit! Yay! Hugs and rainbows! Anyway, I just wanted to warn you guys again that this story contains femslash of the MariAli variety. I gotta make sure you're okay with that, okay? :D My friend who introduced me to Touhou told me about these two as a pairing, and I'm starting to love them together. Okay, since I have a tendency to ramble, I'm gonna try and shut up and get to the story now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Touhou or any of its characters. They belong to ZUN!

Alice stared out her window. Snow had fallen the previous day, turning all of Gensokyo bright white. The half-melted snow glistened in the moonlight. Now hail was falling. Luckily, the pieces were small, but they were coming down pretty hard. Alice poured herself a cup of hot tea and sat down with Shanghai. The only sounds that could be heard were from nature. She sipped her tea, enjoying the solitude. That is, until...

"HEY, ALICE! HEY! CAN YOU OPEN THE DOOR? It's like, negative a million degrees out here!"

The puppeteer sighed in exasperation and set down her cup. Marisa could be so irritating, but strangely, she always really looked forward to seeing her. Alice worried about her sometimes, especially when she did things like this. Couldn't she get sick from being out in the cold night air?

"Shanghai, go get me a blanket," she ordered as she rose from her chair. The little doll rushed off and came back with a thick blue one, which Alice took with her as she went to open the door.

"Alice!" Marisa shouted happily. "Hello, ze~!"

"Marisa, you... you stupid idiot. Come here!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing the witch by the arm and closing the door behind the two of them.

She wrapped her friend in the blanket and hugged her tightly. Marisa seemed slightly surprised by this, especially after being called a stupid idiot, but she didn't resist. Alice brought her a cup of tea, and the two sat down at the table.

"So, what brings you here?" inquired Alice. "You'll be lucky if you aren't sick when you wake up tomorrow!"

"I just wanted to say hi."

"And that couldn't wait until the morning?"

"Well, uh, I missed ya, ze~! I just... really wanted to see you."

Alice felt her cheeks grow hot. The witch was being so cute. She halfway listened as Marisa began to ramble on about getting caught stealing from Patchouli's massive library earlier that day. Marisa's penchant for thievery was another thing Alice worried about occasionally. She feared that one day Marisa would steal from the wrong person and get herself into some serious trouble.

"So, then she was being all stupid, telling me that stealing is bad and stuff, and I was like-"

"Marisa," Alice said suddenly, interrupting her.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want you to go back out in all that weather. Would you like to stay tonight?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Marisa.

"Okay, good."

They continued to talk for a while longer. Alice really did enjoy Marisa's company, even if she was a bit of a pest at times. She studied the witch for a moment, taking special note of her eyes. They were a deep gold color, kind of like autumn leaves. Alice liked them.

It was probably about midnight when they finally decided to go to bed. Marisa began walking to the guest bedroom when Alice stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going? I can't leave you alone, you kleptomaniac... Stay with me, okay?"

Marisa didn't object. Alice gave her one of her nightgowns, and the pretty blonde witch shamelessly stripped off her clothes to change. This surprised Alice, who wasn't exactly sure where to look. She blushed and stared down at the floor. Marisa jumped into bed and waited for Alice, who shyly changed clothes, turned off the lights, and joined her under the covers.

The two lay in silence. Alice felt Marisa cuddle up to her. The puppeteer couldn't help but smile. Moonlight shone through the window, dimly illuminating the two of them. Alice marveled at how calm and serene someone so loud and energetic could look while sleeping. She tentatively reached out and touched her friend's cheek as lightly as possible.

When she thought she was sure the other girl was asleep, she whispered, "I love you, Marisa."

"I love you too, ze~!"

"Wait, what? You... you're awake?"

They sat up and looked at each other for a moment. Neither girl knew what to say. Suddenly, it dawned on Alice that Marisa had said she loved her too. She froze, staring at her friend's lips and wondering if she should kiss her. She didn't have much time to think, though, because before she knew it, the witch's lips were on hers, kissing her softly yet passionately. Alice didn't even know how to react. She had wanted this ever since she met Marisa, and it was finally happening. Although she was still stunned, she managed to kiss back. When they finally pulled away from each other, she could've sworn she saw stars.

"Goodnight, ze~!"

END!