First Frost (ONC 2023 Novella, MxM Paranormal)

2: Snow Angels

Our hands are casually interlaced as we exit the club to look in amazement at the glittering layer of magic. The whole world is covered in a blanket of white. It's as if the mysterious snowfall that encased us on the dance floor has taken the entire city in its hold. Stockholm looks like a magical fairytale landscape has come to life. Every street sparkles under the beam of light posts.

"I want to make a snow angel!" Anton exclaims, pulling me with him down the stairs and onto the streets. With fog radiating from our lips, we rush by frost-covered buildings.

We stop in the middle of Medborgarplatsen. The whole square, usually filled with rushing pedestrians, lies empty before us, covered in the most magical substance of them all: untrodden snow. To take the first step onto a previously unclaimed sheet of cold downfall is aching to being the first man on the moon. Every Swede knows the special quality of such a moment.

In reverence of the powdery substance underneath our feet, we walk in silence toward the middle of the square, which is still eerily quiet and empty. At this time of night, people are usually pouring out from bars and clubs but somehow everyone must have taken another route on their homebound journey. Or the sudden snowfall scared everyone off from venturing outside at all.

Snow has found its way into my sneakers and my ears shiver in the cold air. This sudden cold downpour wasn't mentioned on the evening news weather report—which I watch religiously every night since I have a particular interest in such phenomena—so I'm not dressed for the conditions. But what do such things matter when Anton holds my hand, making warm tingles thaw my frozen limbs?

"Come on!" The enthusiasm in Anton's voice is infectious. I will follow that tone anywhere.

In a cloud of whirling snow, Anton plops down on the ground. A grin adorns his pretty lips—which I can't believe has recently pressed against my own—as he flaps his arms up and down to make angel wings. "Are you scared to get cold, Jocke?"

I shake my head. I've simply been too mesmerized by the sight of Anton against the glittering backdrop to move. How have I never noticed how stunningly handsome my friend is? Or perhaps I've always recognized Anton's beautiful features but have been too scared to admit my attraction.

"I'm not scared of anything," I holler, landing next to Anton on the cold ground. At that moment, the statement feels true. There's nothing to fear right now.

Glittering white snow swirls around us, making me feel a bit dizzy. Although perhaps that's on account of the blue drinks at the club.

In a frenzy of giggles and whirling whiteness, we spread our arms and legs to create angel-like figures while looking up at the black sky. Has it always been that deep and black? I get lost in the vastness for a moment while my vision blurs. The stars seem to call for me with their instant sheen from galaxies away. The mere thought of the massive distance causes a spinning sense of vertigo in my intoxicated mind.

I find myself back on planet Earth, Sweden, Stockholm, Söder, Medborgarplatsen when a face shades my view of the night sky. Anton presses me further into the snow as he shoves his whole body atop me, shrinking the world from endless to nothing but us. Snowflakes melt between our hot lips as they unite in an embrace as endless as the vast space above.

Fluffy jackets press together. Hands fumble across snow-covered limbs. Eager lips taste each other over and over.

A cloud of snow whirls around or entangled bodies, obscuring us from the view of anyone passing by. It's as if we're at the very center of the sudden cold front, or perhaps the cause of it. In confusion, I observe how my fingers make a trail of frost on the black canvas fabric of Anton's jacket. Am I... doing that? But even if that's the case, it's hardly the most mind-blowing development of the night. The rimfrost on my fingertips has nothing on the hot lips wrapping around my own. This is impossible. It can't be happening. But yet, it is.

Suddenly, a cold chill goes through my whole being. Reality strikes. Anton has a girlfriend. He has a life back home that doesn't include magical snowy kisses.

"Anton.." I mumble into enticing lips. "We shouldn't. We're ruining everything."

"Well, I'm having a marvelous time doing it." He smiles but there's a hint of something beneath the smile. Regret perhaps? Before I can decipher the expression, Anton catches my lips again to prove his point. Kissing really is marvelously fun.

"But what about... Sofia-"

A finger silences me before reality can be spoken into existence. "Just... be here with me," Anton whispers, his voice hoarse from the cold air. "Nothing else matters right now."

There and then, the statement sounds true. The world beyond the snow cloud seems unimportant and strange. So I lift my neck slightly to catch Anton in another kiss. We keep kissing and the snow keeps whirling, seemingly originating from our very entanglement.

Author's Note: And there was the prompt :) (Hopefully clear enough as I rephrased it a bit into their conversation).