They walked out into the courtyard together, the bright, white glare of the snow hitting them instantly. Julian squinted, his breath turning to a plume of white mist in the air.

Lucius was there, bundled in so many layers of wool and fur that he looked like a small, round bear.

He was already patting down a mound of snow, trying to shape it into something that looked vaguely like a horse. When he saw Julian and Alaric, his eyes lit up. He couldn’t speak, but he waved his gloved hands wildly, pointing at his creation.

Julian laughed and ran over, sinking into the knee-deep snow. "Is that a horse, Lucius? Or is it a mountain goat?"

Lucius scowled playfully, shaking his head. He held up his slate, which he had been keeping dry under his cloak. [It’s a Jaguar,]he had written in a messy, hurried script. [Like Father.]

Alaric let out a booming laugh and knelt beside the boy, his large hands easily scooping up a massive pile of snow to help reinforce the base.

"If it’s me, it needs a bigger tail, Lucius. Here, give me that."

Julian watched them—the Duke of the North and his heir, covered in snow, their tanned faces red from the cold and bright with genuine joy. He felt a lump in his throat. He just had to think of the book he had yet to decode.

Such thoughts ruined peaceful moments like this, as if he were in a rush. As if... he was on a timer.

He watched as Alaric accidentally knocked the head off the snow-jaguar and Lucius stomped his feet in mock-outrage, and Julian laughed.

Maybe he didn’t need to rush. He was just a bit paranoid, but it was all fine in the end.

He picked up a handful of snow, packed it into a loose ball, and threw it at the back of Alaric’s head.

The Duke froze. He slowly turned around, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face as Lucius began to giggle silently, covering his mouth with his mittens.

"So," Alaric said, standing up and shaking the snow from his hair. "The scholar wants to play, does he?"

"Run, Lucius!" Julian shouted as he scrambled backward, his boots slipping on the slick pack of the courtyard, but Alaric was already moving.

The Duke was quite fast even when stepping on such thick snow.

​"Traitor!" Alaric roared, though his eyes were bright with a predatory glee as he watched Julian and Lucius scrambling away, white and fruitlessly.

​Julian didn’t even get five feet away before a pair of strong arms caught him around the waist, lifting him clean off the ground.

He shrieked with laughter, kicking his legs as Alaric spun him around. Lucius was hopping in place, his silent giggles vibrating through his small frame as he watched the ’all-powerful’ Duke tackle the scholar into a particularly soft drift of fresh powder.

​They hit the snow with a muffled thump. Julian was breathless, his back pressed into the cold white fluff of the snow, but he didn’t feel the chill—not with Alaric hovering over him, pinning his shoulders down.

​"I believe that constitutes an assault on a high-ranking official, Master Astrea," Alaric murmured, his face inches from Julian’s, a stray snowflake melting on his eyelash.

​"It was a tactical maneuver," Julian wheezed, his chest heaving with laughter.

​Before Alaric could respond, a small, heavy weight landed squarely on Julian’s stomach. Lucius had launched himself into the pile, sprawling across Julian’s chest and belly.

The boy looked up at his father with a defiant, playful glint in his eyes, as if to say, If you take him, you take me too.

​Alaric’s expression melted instantly. He let out a soft huff of a laugh and flopped onto his back beside them, spreading his arms wide.

"Fine. If the teacher and the student are in league, I surrender."

​For a few minutes, the three of them just lay there in the snow. They moved their arms and legs in synchronized arcs, carving three distinct snow angels into the courtyard—two large and one small. Ah, it was one large, one medium, and one small, more accurately.

Julian looked over to see Alaric staring up at the pale blue sky, a look of absolute, unburdened peace on his face as the grey clouds drifted away.

This peace...

​Suddenly, Alaric reached out, snagging Julian’s hand and pulling him sideways until Julian was sprawled half-on-top of his broad chest.

Julian froze, his breath catching as he looked down into Alaric’s eyes. For a moment, the world felt perfectly still.

​"I noticed you’ve been stressing yourself over a book," Alaric whispered, his voice barely audible over the wind. "You shouldn’t rush if you want to get things done. So, don’t go back to that book today," he added. "Just stay here. In the snow, have fun."

​Julian felt that familiar lump in his throat. He couldn’t think of a comeback.

Of course, Alaric would notice him spending his time in the library, trying to decode words he had never seen before.

And even then, not once did he interrupt him.

Now, he was telling him to rest.

How could he not?

Julian nodded, resting his chin on Alaric’s shoulder, while Lucius scrambled up and plopped himself down right on Julian’s back, ’effectively’ sandwiching him. The boy’s silent, shaking shoulders told Julian he was having the time of his life.

Yes, this was quite the experience.

"I guess we’ll be having hot tea after this," he chuckled. "Who’s up for hot cocoa?!"

"Me!" Alaric immediately answered, and Lucius pouted. No fair.

"It’s fine," Julian said over a hearty laugh. "We’ll all have hot cocoa."

And so, they began to scramble up, dusting the snow away from their bodies, and just when Lucius wasn’t looking, Alaric tucked his hand behind Julian’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Their lips met and melted the snow and cold instantly. It was as if Alaric was transferring a bit of his aura warmth through his lips and into Julian’s very own vessels.

"Don’t get sick," he whispered as he pulled away from the kiss. "I like you healthy."

Julian’s face flushed, and he turned his face away, nodding. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yeah, I... I like myself to be healthy as well." His heart was thumping.

He could feel it. Feel the familiarity in a simple kiss and feel the intent.

After a thousand kisses, he had finally come to understand it and was sure of his feelings.

He... loved the Duke.