Xander stood on his balcony and watched in wonderment as millions of tiny particles of frozen water drifted down from the sky. Sure, they weren't sticking to the ground or forming big fluffy drifts perfect for jumping in, but they were still snowflakes, and they were everywhere. They swirled around him in a gust of wind, and he smiled as they rested on his skin for a second before melting. For one perfect moment, the world was full of beauty and peace, and the magic around him for once wasn't caused by hell-raising demons or witches gone bad but by something entirely natural.

"Would you shut the bloody door?" Spike called from inside, shattering the silence and the mood.

"Come join me," Xander said, not turning his head.

"It's cold. I'm cold."

"You're always cold."

Spike appeared beside him, shoulders hunched and arms wrapped around himself.

"I'm always room temperature, and you're the one dropping that to below freezing. Come inside and warm me up."

"I'll warm you up here," said Xander, pulling Spike in front of him and enfolding him in his arms. The vampire was cooler to the touch than usual, and Xander rubbed his hands over Spike's bare skin.

"I'm going to turn into a sodding vampcicle," Spike grumbled, but he leaned back into the touch. "Why won't you just come inside?"

"It's snowing."

"I can see that."

"But this is Sunnydale, Spike. It never snows... well, except for that one Christmas a couple of years ago, but that was a whole supernatural keep-Angel-from-killing-himself thing."

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out. Bloody poof is still blundering about causing trouble. Do you know last week he tried to apologize to me for turning me? Like I'm unhappy being a vampire. Must be getting daft in his old age. I say we should -"

"Can we not talk about Angel?" Xander interrupted.

"You're the one who brought him up."

"I was actually talking about how it never snows, and you just fastened onto one minor point, as usual."

"Maybe my brain's slowing down from the temperature. Better take me inside and thaw me out."

"Computers work faster in the cold, you know," said Xander.

"I'm no computer."

"No, you're not. You're a vampire with thoughts and feelings, and you should be turning those away from some minor chilling in your limbs and toward the beauty of the scene around you," Xander snapped.

Spike turned halfway in his arms and frowned at the expression on Xander's face.

"Right, then," he said briskly, settling back against Xander's chest. "Look at all the pretty snowflakes."

They did.

"Did it snow when you were little?" Xander asked after a while, watching the glitter of snow falling through the glow of a streetlight below..

"Nah. Rained buckets, sure, but I don't remember snow. Wasn't 'til after I was turned that I got to see lots of it. Spent one winter in Canada with Dru. Fed off trappers and polar bears, maybe a caribou once. Saw enough snow then to last a lifetime."

"When I was five or so, my parents took me up north," Xander said. "I don't know where, but there were mountains. I think we were visiting family or something, but all I remember is that it snowed for one full day. We went sledding and built a really pitiful snowman, and I nearly got frostbite from standing outside trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue."

"Looks like things haven't changed much, have they?"

Xander sighed.

"Do you want to go inside?" He loosened his grip around Spike's waist and took a step back. "You can close the door and turn up the heat if you want."

"I'll be fine for another couple minutes." He tugged Xander's arms around him again. "But then you're going to have to make me some hot chocolate."

"Or just stick you in a warm shower. That might work better."

"Especially if you're with me," said Spike with a grin. "That'd warm me right up."

Xander laughed and rested his cheek against Spike's. It felt like ice.

"You really are cold," he said. "Come on, let's go in."

"Thought you'd never ask. Last one in the shower has to be on the outside."

"Just one second." Xander let him go and stepped up to the edge of the balcony. He opened his mouth and extended his tongue.

"Uh, Xan, you're pointing in the wrong direction with that. I'm over here."

"I want to catch a snowflake."

Spike rolled his eyes and then spluttered as a gust of wind covered them both in snow.

"Damn it," Xander said, shaking the snowflakes out of his hair. "I close my mouth for one second..."

"Bloody hell." Spike glared down at the shimmering dusting of snow covering his skin and clothes. "I look like I fell in a bucket of that glitter Dawn likes to wear."

Xander grinned.

"It's not that bad."

"Sure, you say that, but you're already all melted. I look like the inside of a sodding snow globe. Bugger that. I'm going inside. Come in when you've caught your snowflake."

"Wait a minute."

"What?" Spike snapped, turning around just outside the door.

Xander pulled Spike into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He trailed his lips over Spike's eyelids and along his jaw before sliding their mouths together and kissing him slowly and deeply.

Spike was pliant in his arms by the time Xander pulled away.

"There," Xander said. "Think I got at least one."

"Maybe you'd better do it again to be certain." Spike's voice was low and his eyes were warm and unfocused.

Smiling, Xander touched his lips to Spike's and felt the magic of the night swirl around him once more.

~end~