Tales Untold

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

"Are you sure you're not cold?" Kai asked for the third time. His own nose and cheeks were rosy, but that only seemed to make him more beautiful. "Because you can borrow my jacket. Or my gloves. Or my hat. Or-"

"I'm fine," Cinder repeated for the third time, trying to act annoyed but failing. She had waited so long for him to be hers, and there was nothing in the world that could make him unlovable in her eyes. "I'm not cold."

Kai rolled his eyes but cut the argument. They were on holiday in the city for break, and light snow was falling around them like a sprinkling of powdered sugar. The couple had met at the NYU when they were Freshmen due to some mutual friends; both had liked each other from the very beginning, but had only recently had gotten together due to some friend scheming. 

It was their six-month anniversary as a couple, and they were madly in love. They were Seniors now, and set to graduate in June— Cinder, with a degree in Auto-mechanics and Political Science for Kai.

"What do you want to see first?" Kai asked, map in hand. He knew the city well enough not to need it, but he had proclaimed "better safe than sorry" so many times that Cinder had let him carry it. 

Kai dragged his finger across the map as he pointed out different destinations and directions. "We can go see Lady Liberty, or the Empire State Building, or the Met— or anything, really." Kai finished sheepishly, seeming to notice his rambling.

Cinder giggled, and Kai's cheeks flushed red, only increasing her laughter. Kai covered his face with both hands. "Stop laughing at me!" He murmured, though it did nothing but help Cinder's fit.

"I'm... sorry..." Cinder wheezed, trying to control herself. She reached her hands up to cover Kai's gloved ones and brought them to her own cheeks. Her laughter was gone, but a sweet smile remained on her face as she stepped on tiptoes to kiss Kai. He gladly reciprocated.

There was something magical about a kiss in a crowded city with snow falling like frozen tears from heaven. Cinder moved her hands around Kai's neck, breaking the kiss. Her lips felt cold without Kai's on them, but she smiled.

She had always imagined moments like these: her and Kai together—in love. Years of being "just friends" had sucked when all she wanted to do was pull him in and kiss him like she just had. And now she could.

"What?" Kai grinned, her smile infecting him like a plague.

Cinder shook her head and pecked Kai's lips before drawing herself away from him. He looked like an angel: dark hair, fiery eyes, and snow lacing his long lashes and hair with white. Cinder couldn't get enough of looking at him, so she turned away. "Let's pay a visit to the big green lady."

***

The sun had set, and the snow had gone from soft dustings to flakes large enough to see patterns on. Soft italian lights hung on thick strands; Christmas lights of every color wrapped through every tree; music sang around every corner.

The busy city life was calming down as the air dropped in degrees, but Kai was warm just standing beside Cinder.

"Hey, Cinder," Kai turned his face to look at his beloved. She smiled, eyes twinkling with joy. Her cheeks were red from cold, and Kai worried that she wasn't warm enough. "Do you want to go back home, or..."

"Can we just walk around a bit more?" Cinder asked, dozens of colors reflecting off her dark eyes. "Everything is just so pretty. And..." Cinder glanced down, placing her hands on Kai's chest. "I'm with you."

Kai couldn't resist kissing her. His arms went around her, and his lips to her mouth. Cinder placed her bare hands on the back of Kai's neck, and he flinched away from her.

"Aces and spaces!" Kai grabbed Cinder's hands, pulling them together and up to his mouth. He cupped them together and blew on them, hoping that they weren't frozen solid as they had felt on his neck.

"What?" Cinder asked, trying to pull her hands away. Kai held on strong. He continued to blow on them, before hugging them tight against his chest.

"Your hands are freezing, Cinder." Kai said, eyes and voice gentle. "Why didn't you tell me that you were cold?"

Cinder scoffed, "I'm not cold! My hands are never warm."

"Wear my gloves."

"No."

"You're just being stubborn, come on."

"Nope."

"Cinder," Kai whined.

"Kai," Cinder imitated.

Rolling his eyes, Kai dropped Cinder's hands. "Fine, but at least compromise with me?" Kai asked, pulling off his left glove.

"I'm not wearing them. You will probably die from cold. You're not used to it." Cinder crossed her arms over her chest. "I at least grew up in freezing weather. Why my mother wanted to live in Juneau will forever confuse me." Cinder smirked, "And you know what they say: cold hands, warm heart." Kai held out his glove to her.

"Kai-"

"You wear the left one-" Kai grabbed her hand and stuffed it inside the glove, not ungently, "-and I'll wear the right one."

Cinder twisted the glove so that her fingers slid in the right way. "And what about your hand that is about to freeze?"

A mischievous smile lit up Kai's face as he held his left hand out to her. "That hand is left for my beloved." Kai intertwined his fingers with hers. "And there's no way it could freeze with your ice fingers touching it."

Cinder whacked his arm, and he laughed. The couple continued their walking through the tired city streets, talking and laughing as they went.

Kai's chest filled with warmth as the couple strolled lazily through the city. Sometimes they would pause under street lamps and Kai would dip Cinder back and kiss her. He always earned a giggle back.

It was crazy to Kai that someone like Cinder could love him as much as he did her— but she did. Three years of pining after her and having Thorne and Iko tell him that his feelings weren't one-sided may have only made Kai love her more. She was his best friend, his love, and he was never going to waste a single second with her.

Lights glittered like stars in the city without any. Snow fell, wet and icy. Lullabies played by the King of Rock echoed on every street corner. People rushed to and fro, hurried with their holiday shopping.

And through it all, Cinder and Kai continued through the lights and snow— and never, not once, did their hands grow cold.