Winter 212AC
"Here you go, love," Wufei said, setting a steaming mug of hot cocoa in front of the Japanese man.
"Mmmm, cocoa?" the dark haired man looked up, smiling as he pulled the Chinese man down into his lap, wrapping his arms around the thick coats.
"Marie, made it," he confessed, leaning back against Heero's chest, quiet comfortable. "What are they up too?"
Heero unburied his face from where it was hiding in Wufei's scarf and looked up over his koi's shoulder. "The girls are building a snow family, from what I can tell, and the boys are—"
"FIRE AWAY!"
Snowballs soared through the air, originating from the white wall of snow, raining down into the clearing where three-going-on-four very misshapen snowmen were situated. They crashed into the snowmen, toppling the head off one, the arms off another, and completely toppling the third. Shrieks filled the air.
"—building a fort," Heero continued, unfazed.
"THIS MEANS WAR!" a girl's voice screamed up to the white-walled 'fort'.
The door to the balcony opened behind them and the rest of the company filed out as screams and shouts and shrieks chorused from below.
"Here are the cookies Mom made," Mariemeia chimed, dropping a platter of—interesting-looking cookies down at the large patio table.
"Careful," Duo sing-sang. "They haven't been tested for poison yet." He shot a grin towards Lady Anne, shifting the wiggling three-year-old in his arms.
"Maxwell, if I was trying to kill you, you would have been dead already," the woman—who now had to look up at him to look him in the eye—retorted, a smirk teasing her own lips.
"Don't worry, guys," Jake said, shifting the year-old baby to his hips and tugging the baby cap lower over the dark strawberry blond head. "She's been practicing. She's not as bad as she used to be."
"Hey now!" Marie admonished her husband, punching his arm playfully before taking their son from him.
"So is this where you were hiding?" Zechs called as he placed a serving try of steaming mugs onto the table. "I knew you could be counted on to duck out on kitchen duty."
"Hiding? Me? Never," Heero smiled, filching the first cookie from the tray. "Someone had to brave the cold and watch the kids while you all fooled around inside."
"Oh? So you sacrificed yourself, is that it?" Noin couldn't hide the smile as she pushed her husband out of the way.
"MOM! KATARYNA'S NOT PLAYING FAIR!!!"
"**HE** STARTED IT!!!"
"KATARYNA! ADRIAN! KEEP IT UP AND I'LL HAUL YOUR REAR ENDS IN HERE IN NO TIME FLAT!"
Grumbled replies were drowned out by the shrieks of the other children, and Noin took her seat at the table.
"Where'd Quatre run off to?" Wufei asked, looking up at Sally and Trowa, the last ones to come out the door.
"Diaper," Trowa replied, pulling the door shut with one hand and holding a plate with jelly cookies with the other.
And then something strange happened. Silence rose from below. The adults above frowned, knowing that the sound could mean no good. After all, silence was a sound none of them was used to anymore, what with kids in and out of the house everyday…
A giggle rose, and looks were exchanged, lips curving with smiles, and—
<<PLUNK>>
As a whole, they stared at the white mush puddling on the patio table. And then a cry let out and a flurry of snowballs rained up and over the balcony wall, raining down upon the adults with childish delight.
Cries rose up from the table—along with the adults—as they rushed to the balcony, arms raised, blocking incoming snowballs, and looking down at the scene below.
Six children, ages five to twelve.
Three girls, three boys.
All dark haired except for the two blond boys.
Lined up in a row, hurtling snowballs fifteen feet into the air, onto the balcony.
Zechs and Heero were the first to action, jumping onto the balcony and then dropping fifteen feet to the ground below, before Noin or Wufei could stop them.
"Unbelievable! Fifteen years and he still acts like a kid!" Noin threw her hands up over her head in exasperation.
"You mean we're not?" Duo grinned, practically shoving Dylan into Wufei's arms before jumping over the side himself.
Delighted shrieks rose from the children as the three men began plummeting them with snowballs and chasing them around the clearing.
"Divide and conquer, girls!" Wufei called down to the two little girls who were running away from their fathers as fast as possible. In his arms, Dylan squirmed, trying to get down, crying. "Oh no you don't," Wufei growled, hitching him up higher. "You're too little to go down there."
"What's going on?" Quatre asked, finally joining the group, a wiggling pile of Winner in his arms.
Trowa reached over and took Calista from him, settling the toddler against him. "Snowball fight," he said calmly, hitching his daughter so she could see the scene below. She squealed delightedly.
"Dad! Help!"
Wufei jiggled Dylan, studying the scene below. Quatre sidled up beside him.
"Mara Jade! Watch out!"
"Eep!" The five-year-old in question ducked and darted to the left, effectively dodging Heero.
"Tri! Trist! Circle around to the left! No! You're *other* left!"
"That's my right, Dad!"
"Fine! Then *my* left!"
The twins took off to the left—err, right—err, whatever, circling around.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Duo called, grinning as he stole through the snow, following certain tracks.
"Duo! Behind you!" Wufei called out. The braided man whirled, ready to snatch up whatever munchkin had tried to sneak up on him.
But no one was there. Duo frowned, looking up over head at Wufei—who was smiling.
<<SLUMPT>>
A white pile of mush, white flecks sticking to his braid, nailed Duo over the head. He whirled in time to see Adrian Peacecraft dashing off between two bushes. He turned back to Wufei.
The Chinese man just shrugged. "I told you behind you," was all he said.
Zechs Merquise was creeping up on his daughter—who was too busy screaming at Trinity Chang to hurry up to look behind her. Just as he was ready to lunge, however, not one, not two, not even three snowballs hit him, but four did.
Stunned, Zechs looked left. Triton Winner.
Zechs looked right. Tristen Winner.
Zechs looked over his shoulder. Mara Jade Chang.
Okay, that was three… now where the hell did the fourth one come from?
He looked up towards the balcony, hoping to find some answers.
What he found was his wife, shrugging. "It was just too tempting," Noin smiled.
* * *