Hi guys! Here's an additional one-shot for BiddyAuthor! Biddy, I'm your Secret Santa!

This was for the forum The Writer's Block. We had a Secret Santa too. Join next year! :D

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Sledding With Shea

by Lollipopdiego

On Christmas morning, I did not expect my door to ring. I did not expect to the door and become face to face with my mate and crush, Shea. I did not expect him to invite me to go sledding or for me to agree.

Most of all, I did not expect to get my first kiss.

But all about my first kiss later.

Let's start from the beginning, which is always the most important.

I was already dressed in warm, festive attire: a fuzzy, cherry red scarf that matched my bandanna, a white woolen pullover sweater with a reindeer design sewed on it, and forest green sweat pants. I figured it was pretty cute. But then again, I normally dressed like this.

When the doorbell rang, I was sitting at the table, sipping a cup of green tea. It was straight out of the boiler. Steam was rising in the air, the little puffs of translucent clouds dissolving in the heated circulation. In my hands was the morning's newspaper that had been slid under my doorstep earlier.

The featured story was about the Starry Night's success the previous night. Denny Valdez commented on the quantities of fish he and his girlfriend managed to catch and share with their mates. He explained in the article how not much fish usually wound up this time of year, and the amount that he acquired was amazing.

He also noted on the happy couples of the roads, blankets spread across the dirt. As they stared and admired the sky, the "stars dazzled and glimmered, and the clear skies were as radiant as ever."

I was surprised, because the stars honestly seemed like so, and Denny was able to incorporate that through his words. I had no idea Denny had a touch for journalism.

However as I stared at the stars through my window, I failed to spend it with anyone.

Because the man I had taken a fancy to was raised in the jungle, I was uncertain if he knew of the Starry Night Festival or not. I mentioned it to him a couple of times and he simply lightened up and told me how he and his father liked to have a festival of fish that night. He even invited me to join them.

That simple question: "Would you like to spend fish night with us?" was enough to make me ecstatic. I found myself jumping around in glee and prancing across my ranch. Starry Night was definitely something I was looking forward to.

"A night with Shea!" I told Selena, my chicken. I giggled for the umpteenth time, wishing Starry Night was already here. "Wouldn't that be romantic?"

Selena didn't give much of a response, but that was okay. All she really did was hop and click, like she usually did.

A couple of days before Starry Night, however, something horrible came up. We were supposed to celebrate the evening together. The plan was the roast fresh fish over a popping, cooking fire. It was going to be the highlight of my year.

But it happened like this.

I was on the road towards the jungle, visiting him like I did every day. I thought nothing was wrong until I spotted him kneeling on the snow. He was desperately digging for something. In his chocolate brown eyes was a look of franticness.

"Shea." I halted and carefully tapped his warm shoulder. Good Goddess, I wondered how the man could not feel winter's chill. I often told him to wear a shirt, so he wouldn't catch hypothermia or even a terrible cold, but he shrugged it off.

"I do not feel anything," he would say, giving me a look of astonishment. "Do you not feel warm?" He would gesture to my heavy layers of clothing.

Shea turned when he saw it was me. Then he quickly stood and grabbed my shoulders. His hands were bright red for the cold. His orange war paint normally streaked across his tanned face was faded. "Chelsea!" he exclaimed. In his eyes was fright. "Do you have any herbs? Shea can only find white ones!"

He was so cute when he talked about himself like that.

Bewildered, I nodded. "Of course." Hastily I dug into my bulky rucksack, searching for herbs. "Why do you need it?"

"Wada is sick," Shea said sadly. As I handed the delicacies to him, his expression did not change like I thought it would. He looked at me. "Very sick." Regret seemed to wash over him as he averted his gaze to the ground.

"What is it, Shea?" I asked, concerned. Even with Wada's strangeness, he was an excellent mentor and father to Shea. I found myself laughing at his ministrations whether waving hello or catching fish.

Shea sounded miserable as he told me, "Wada is sick: Chelsea cannot come on the Starry Night Festival." I swore I saw the tiniest tear slide down his cheek. It was heart breaking, but I understood. Wada was his family; he would always be more important than me.

He tucked the herbs in a leather pouch at his hips. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Thank you for the herbs."

I hadn't seen him since then.

Until Christmas day.

So I opened the door. When I saw who was standing there, I jumped in surprise. There were those gigantic adorable eyes, staring at me. "S-Shea," I said, startled. He was bashfully smiling, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Uh." I began to blush as well. "How are you doing?"

"I feel great!" Shea exclaimed, enthusiastically bobbing his head. His smile was so cute and almost blinding in the clear sunlight.

I giggled, but the question lingered on my lips: How was Wada doing?

As if he read my mind, Shea grabbed my hands, shouting, "Chelsea!" The tips of his fingers were cool, and I nearly jolted away in surprise. But I held my gaze against his. He looked happy and like he couldn't wait to share some news with me. Leaning in closely, Shea grinned. I thought he was about to kiss me, but he said, "Wada told me to leave him so I could see you. Thanks to you, Chelsea, he is feeling much better!"

I was slightly disappointed, but it didn't matter.

I stayed silent, but also stayed smiling there like an idiot. Shea came to see me on Christmas morning! That was really something special. There was nobody else I would spend this day with – and I was grateful to Wada for allowing his son to come visit.

It was then that I noticed Shea dragging something heavy along behind him. It was attached to a thick, sturdy rope, and he seemed to have no problem dragging it along with him.

I craned my head to take a peek, and thick brown bangs fell into my eyes. Shea laughed, and tucked them behind my ear. My face turned a deeper cherry and I stood straight, adjusting my pullover that had hiked up slightly over my belly button. "So," I casually said. "What do you have there, Shea?"

"Oh, this?" Shea gestured to behind him, and I finally saw what it was. The sled was created out of rich cedar, good quality and carefully made. It was perfect and in proportion, the metal blades gliding the many layers of snow. "Chelsea and Shea are going sledding!"

Sledding? I haven't gone sledding since I was about eight. Mum and I would always grab the toboggan on a wintery morning and drag it outside to enjoy the fresh weather. But after that, Mum died and Pops became crippled, so there wasn't anyone to play with.

To sled with Shea...Wow, that would be another dream come true.

Then Shea looked at me uncertainly. "You want to go sledding, right, Chelsea?" he nervously asked, and I realized I hadn't made a movement to respond. "It is fine, right?"

Firmly, I ran to the coat hanger and pulled off a black overcoat. Inside the pockets jangled my keys. I grabbed a pair of snow boots from the shoe rack and tugged them on. As I pulled the keys out, meeting him outside, I raised an eyebrow. "Definitely," I agreed, twisting the key in the hole. "Don't even ask twice."

We were on top of a hill in the meadow. Out of all places, the meadow! I only visited the meadow during ongoing festivals, so without the hanging streamers and decorations, everything was so...white. I couldn't see trees or wildlife anywhere. The white stretched beyond Shea and me, ending at the edge of the island.

Also, it was all thick. With each step it slightly sagged under our weight. I felt like a stick being dragged against semi hardened glue. The roads in the village were neatly paved by the strongest men on Sunny Island, so nobody really had to worry about that.

It was difficult, as I was not used to walking in conditions like this. I tried trudging through it, but my laces frequently came undone in the icy chucks. A couple of times along the way up the hill I slipped and face planted in the snow. Each time Shea laughed, I was even more determined to not trip. He had obviously done this many times.

The fourth time I fell, however, Shea said, "Come here, Chelsea."

When I did, he told me to get on his back. I willingly did. I leaned my cheek against his skin, feeling the heat emitting off it. I smelled the fresh scent of pine and roasted fish. I was thinking about how amazing he was to be carrying me and drag the sled at the same time. I felt terrible, but content.

Shea didn't seem to mind either. He gave me a dazzling smile and said, "Do not worry, I'm fine."

At last, we reached the top. As I stared down, I realized how high up we were. Shea carried me that far? I figured I had to pay him back some way or another. We would probably be only going down once as well, considering how long this slope was.

"So, this is going to fit the both of us?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I knew very well that it would fit the two of us perfectly. We could have even fitted Wada into the back.

Shea hauled the sled so it was pointing downwards. He nodded. "Yes, do not worry." I noticed his usual spiky light brown hair was raising more in the air with the cool temperature. I bit back laughter as he bent down to adjust it a little more. Satisfied, he patted the seat. "Sit, Chelsea! It'll be fun."

I obliged, taking a seat at the front of the sled, gazing up at Shea to follow. He grinned in that melting way. If he was sitting behind me at that moment, I would have fallen back into his embrace. "Have you sledded before?" he asked, taking the rope in his hands and swinging his legs over the sled.

"Yeah, around twelve years ago," I simply replied, grabbing hold of the rope. I was confident in sliding down without crashing into anything. The rope would become putty in my hands, and all the memories would be flooding back into my mind.

I sensed Shea's lips against my hair as he wrapped his arms around my waist and clasped around my hands. "That is good," he said in that deep, firm tone. "We'll do fine, then. Are you ready?"

Already I could feel the snow rushing under our weight, whipping past our bodies. As we glided on the snow, towards the ground, the wind would be harshly blowing in our faces, tiny particles of ice pricking our skin.

"Definitely."

With that said, he pushed, and everything was like I expected. We zoomed down the hill and I felt myself returning to my childhood winter realities. Sledding had never felt so good in my entire life. With Shea behind me, his warm breath tingling my ear and his arms holding me close to him, this gave me the thrill of my whole year.

It totally beat roasting fish over a fire.

The wind whipped my hair back, into Shea's face, and he chuckled. "I knew you would love it, Chelsea!" he remarked as we reached the bottom, slowing to a stop. My face was flushed. When I glanced back, Shea's was too. He was so adorable.

"That was amazing," I breathed, exhilarated from the previous occurring event.

Shea was already on his bare feet. If we ever got married, I swore I was going to make him dress properly. Gallantly he extended a hand while beaming.

"Of course you would think so," he told me as I grasped his hands and hauled myself up. "Chelsea loves fun." The confident way he talked about how he knew me made me sigh in admiration. He might have been the only one who knew the real me at that time. As he gazed at me, our hands were twined together. Then he said, "I like you, Chelsea."

Without giving me time to react, he leaned in and gave me my first kiss. His velvety lips moved against mine, the feeling was captivating. All I could think was, Oh my goddess, he's kissing me. My first kiss, folks, was absolutely wondering, and I would never forget it. The feeling of his mouth on mine and the intense warmth radiating off his skin...

He hands snaked around to gently cup my cheeks. It caused my fringed cheeks to tenderly flare up. When we pulled away to inhale sharply, he goofily smiled. "I like you," he boldly repeated with a firm nod.

Then I said, "I like you too."

Shea roared of laughter. As he joyfully picked me up and swing me around, tears were springing to my eyes. Golly, the guy I liked turned out to have mutual feelings for me, and I got my first kiss. How astonishing was that?

That made up for missing yesterday's Starry Night any day.

Another cookie for you, Biddy. With icing on top!