Warnings: Shonen ai(3x4), Slight OOC , sap

~ . . . ~ means thoughts.

Please let me know what you think! Send questions and comments (No flames please, just constructive critisizm; I tend to react very badly. c.c;;;;;) to Akume@hotmail.com.

The five Gundam pilots were sitting outside onthe deck of one of Quatre's many estates drinking tea and talking. Suddenly a small, white spot landed on Quatre's nose. He frowned, looking at it cross-eyed.

Trowa surpressed a chuckle.

Another white spot landed on his hand and he stared at it, blinking. "What in the world...?"

Duo laughed. "Haven't you ever seen snow before, Quatre?"

Quatre looked confused. "Snow?" he repeated.

The other four looked surprised. "You're not kidding are you?" Duo asked, startled. "You really haven't seen snow before?"

Quatre shook his head, staring entranced at the white spots that were starting to coat his sleeve. "I've always lived in the desert until now."

"Here's your first lesson about snow," Wufei told him. "When it falls this fast, it's going to get vry cold. We'd better go inside."

The others nodded in agreement, though Quatre was still staring at his arm, fascinated. Trowa gently but firmly pulled him to his feet and pushed him inside the house. The others followed.

* * * * * * * * * *

Half an hour later, Quatre made sure the others were busy before slipping back outised unnoticed. He stared up in awe at the white spots landing rapidly on his face and arms. ~So this is snow. It's so pretty.~ He giggled as he noticed that a small pile had formed on his nose. ~It's like sand, only lighter.~ More slid now the collar of his shirt, making him shiver. ~And colder.~

He held out his hands and giggled more at the tingling feeling when the snow began to cover them. Looking at the ground, he discovered that the snow was now in a thick layer around his feet. He carefully scooped up a small pile in his hands, rolling it up. He was selighted when it formed itself into a ball. ~So this is a snowball~!

He tossed the snowball lightly, then scooped up an armful of snow and tossed it over his head with a giggle. Then he spun around in circles, laughing happile as it fell on him. With a happy grin, he ran through the snow and flopped into a large pile of it. He rolled down a himm, then tried making a snow angel at the bottom.

He'd been out for a while when he suddenly noticed that he couldn't feel his hands. He frowned. ~I must have been out longer than I'd thought. I'd better head back before the other's worried.~ He looked around, only to realize that he had no clue where he was.

~Okay, don't panic. I'll just climb a tree and look for the house.~ He found a nice, tall tree with low branches and tried to pull himself up. His numb hands lost their grip the instant he tried to use them, and he tumbled back into a snow drift, hitting his head in the process.

He struggled to his feet and found that the ground would not stay still. ~Great. Just what I need. A concussion.~ He sighed and tried again, but he couldn't get his hands to stay around the branch. Tears of frustration threatened to spill over as he looked up and saw that it was getting dark.

He shivered violently and rubbed his arms in a vain attemp to get warm. ~Wufei was right about it getting cold. I'm freezing!~ His clothes were wet from rolling in the snow. To his shock and horror, ice crystals had started to form on his sleeve and the tips of his bangs. He tried to feel his skin, but his hands were just too cold. He pa;ed at the sight of his whitening fingertips. ~Isn't white supposed to be one of the first signs of frostbite?~

He began to trudge vainly in the direction he hoped home was, stumbling every other step because he could hardly feel his feet and his head was still swimming. His toes had gone numb about the same time as his hands. ~I wish Trowa was here. Or even Wufei or Heero, for that matter!~

He blinked as a beam of light shone over the top of the hill in fron of him. Was it his imagination, or was that Trowa yelling at him? ~Do people see mirages in the snow, too?~ he wondered idly.

"Quatre!"

He blinked again. It *was* Trowa who was running towards him. "T...Trowa..." he croaked, struggling forward. He stumbled and was caught just before he hit the ground.

Warm arms pinned him close. "Baka," Trowa whispered, his voice filled with anger and fear. "Don't ever run off like that again~"

"G...g...gomen," he said hoarsely.

Trowa pulled back slightly, then paled at the sight of Quatre's blue lips and even paler than usual skin. He hurriedly pulled off his thick coat and wrapped it around the shivering Quatre. He rubbed his arms rapidly.

Quatre's teeth began to chatter. "T-T-Trowa...? I'm...so...cold..."

Trowa wrapped an arm around his waist. "Come on. Let's get you back to the house and warm you up."

They started forward, only to have Quatre nearly face-plant in the snow again. "I...h-hit...my head," he mumbled. "G-got...a con-con-cush-"

"Concussion?"

He nodded as best as he could. His shivers had turned into violent shaking.

Trowa mumbled something under his breath and scooped the smaller boy up into his arms. He climbed up the hill with rapid strides, holding Quatre tightly. Quatre buried his face in Trowa's shoulder. He was so tired...

As if redaing his mind, Trowa spoke up. "Talk to me, Quatre. You have to stay awake. Tell me what you were doing here."

"I...wanted...to see the snow," he mumbled. "It ws...so pretty. Like sand...only lighter. I wanted to...see more. Didn't know how long I was gone 'till...'till..."

"Until what?" Trowa prompted.

"'Till I couldn't feel m'hands. Got real...cold. Didn't know where I was. Tried t' climb a tree n' fell. Hit m'head. Started walkin'. Wished you were here. Then you came. Like you read m'mind."

"You're lucky I did," Trowa replied, his voice hard. "You just had to go out in the middle of a blizzard."

"'Lizzr'd? Whaz tha'?"

"A blizzard is a big snow storm. It gets very cold quickly You could have frozen to death if you'd been out alone much longer. Not to mention that you weren't even dressed properly."

"Dressed prop'ly?"

"You're supposed to wear a warm coat when you go out in the snow. And boots and gloves if you have them. Not khakis and a long sleeved shirt," his voice shook with barely controlled anger.

"Gomen..." Quatre mumbled. "Didn't think you'd be... so upset."

"Upset?!" Trowa exploded. "I'm furious! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I couldn't find you?!"

"G-gomen..." Quatre said meekly. He turned his face away from Trowa's shoulder, ashamed.

Trowa sighed heavily and stopped, gently pulling Quatre's chin towards him. "Gomen. I shouldn't have yelled. I was worried that something horrible and happened. I couldn't bear it if I lost you."

"Honto?" Quatre asked, lookin up at him with wide eyes, despite the ice forming on his eyelashes.

"Of course," Trowa retorted. "I love you."

Quatre's eyes shimmered. "Trowa...ai-ai..." His eyelids fluttered and he slumped forward, unconscious.

* * * * * * * * * *

Quatre drifted back to consciousness with the sudden realization that he was warm. It was the most wonderful sensation he'd ever felt. He could feel his hands and feet! ~I never want to move again.~ he decided, snuggling contentedly into the warmth.

Someone chuckled. "So, you're awake at last?"

He tried to ignore the voice and snuggled closer to teh warmth, sighing happily.

"You have to wake up sooner or later."

He didn't move.

There was a sigh. "Have it your way then." The warmth moved away.

He cried out in protest, snatching blindly at where the warmth had been. Suddenly he found himslef falling. Strong arms caught him, and he was warm again. He smiled happily, snuggling back into the warmth.

"Oh, Quatre," the voice sighed. Suddenly. warm lips pressed against his, sending waves of heat through his body. He responded eagerly, and whimpered when the lips drew away.

"I'm not going to kiss you again until you open your eys," the voice told him.

He pouted. Finding that nothing happened, he cautiously cracked an eye open. Light flooded his senses, and he shut his eyes tight again.

There was another sigh and the warmth pulled away. He whimpreed again and slowly opened his eyes. This time there was no intruding light.

He blinked, slowly looking around himslef. He was in the bedroom he shared with Trowa at his estate, in his bed wearing his flannel nightclothes. Trowa stood in front of the now closed curtains, watching him with the faintest hints of a smile.

"Good morning," Trowa told him, looking amused. "I wondered how long it would take you to join the land of the living again." Quatre frowned, pulling his blankets up and wrapping them tightly around him. He shivered. "H...how long...have I been asleep?"

"About a day and a hald," Trowa replied, coming to sit beside him. He wrapped his arms around the blonde, holding him close.

Quatre immediately snuggled as deep as he could into Trowa's arms, "Warm!"

Trowa chuckled softly. "Still cold?"

Quatre buried his face into Trowa's shoulder. "I thought I'd never be warm again. But you're so warm!"

Trowa looked down at the boy in his arms, a smile now clear on his face. The smile faded and he rested his chin on Quatre's head. "Quatre, onegai, promise me you'll never go off like that again without telling me first."

Quatre bit his lip. "Gomen nasai," he whispered. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to see the snow..."

"Promise me," Trowa insisted.

"I promise," he whispered.

"Good." Trowa's arms tightened around him. "Aishiteru, Quatre."

Quatre's head shot up and he stared at Trowa with wide eyes. He nkew that Trowa cared deeply for him, but the taller pilot had never been able to say it. Tears shone in his eyes. "I thought I'd imagined that," he said softly. "Aishiteru, Trowa."

Trowa smiled at him, a warm, genuinely happy smile. He bent down and kissed his love, holding him close.

* * * * * * * * * *

"I don't know about this," Quatre said nervously. He was wrapped in the thickest coat they had been able to find, skier's pants, snow boots, gloves, and earmuffs on top of three layers of clothing. He was so bundled up that his arms didn't fall flat at his sides anymore.

"Oh, com on," Duo said, looking annoyed. "You'll nevre be able to enjoy the snow again if you don't do this. And as your friend, I refuse to let you miss out on something as awesome as snow." Duo was also dressed warmly, though no where near as thick as Quatre.

"I'm not sure - "

"Oh, come on all ready!" Duo snapped, grabbing his arm and hauling him outside.

The blizzard had stopped while Quatre had been recovering from his hypothermia and now the yard was covered in a blanket of white. Duo immediately set about making a 'snow Gundam', insisting that Quatre help him. The result was something that looked like an odd, lopsided cross between Deathscythe and Sandrock. Afterwards, Duo had them make snow angels and a snowfort, which was used for a snowball fight.

It took a while, but eventually Quatre had begun to forget his fear of the cold and enjoy himslef. Snow was something he'd never truly had a chance to experience beofre, adn despite his terrible previous encounter, he was still fascinated by it. Duo meanwhile, was thrilled to have someone who could enjoy the snow for them to play, and getting Quatre to laugh and have fun.

They were in the middle of another snowball fight when Quatre turned to his stach of snowballs and hit something solid. He looked up to see a single narrowed green eye. "Trowa?"

"Quatre, what are you doing out here?" Trowa asked quietly. His voice was calm, but Quatre could easily feel the hidden anger in it.

"Playing in the snow?" he suggested tentatively.

"Quatre, you nearly froze to death two days ago. You should still be in bed."

But I feel fine!" he protested. "Besides, Duo said if I didn't get out here soon I never would."

Trowa's eyes narrowed further. "Duo."

Quatre's eyes widened in alarm. "Oi! It's all right! We haven't been out here that long, and we stayed close to the house, and I'm dresse rally warm and - " he was cut off in mid-sentence when a snowball hit him in the face.

"Did you know how kawaii you are when you bable?" Trowa asked, looking amused.

Quatre stared at him in disbelief. "Why you...!" he sputtered angrily.

Trowa smiled and pulled him close, chuckling softly. "You're also very kawaii when you're angry." He kissed Quatr tenderly.

He pulled away abruptly, his visible eye open wide. He csrambled to shake the snowball out of the back of his shirt, then turned to glare at Quatre.

Quatre looked smug. "That's what you get for trying to scare me like that."

Trowa growled, moving toward Quatre with a predatory look very similar to one of his beloved lions'.

Quatre shrieked and dove for cover behind the snow fort he and Duo had built. Duo was busy trying to ward off Heero and Wufei, who were trying to bean him in the head with a snowball. Within minutes, it was a three against two snowball war.

* * * * * * * * * *

Later that night, Quatre lay in Trowa's arms in their bedroom, his head resting on Trowa's chest as he listened to his heartbeat. Trowa stroked his hair gently, watching him.

"Aishiteru, Trowa." Quatre said suddenly.

"Aishiteru, Quatre." Trowa answered softly. "Forever and always."

"Forever and always." Quatre agreed, drifting off to sleep with a contented sigh. "Warm..." he murmured.

Trowa blinked, then glared down at him, about to demand if that was all he thought he was good for. The expression on Quatre's face stopped him.

The blond boy's face had relaxed, with a contented smile on his lips. He looked incredibly peaceful and happier than he'd ever been. Trowa smiled and kissed his forehead tenderly before settling down to sleep. ~Forever and always, aishiteru.~