snow in your hair and a kiss on your lips

"I have never been this cold before," Sting moans dramatically, hunching his shoulders against the blowing snow. Rogue rolls his eyes, grabbing their boyfriend's mittened hand and pulling him closer. "I can't feel my feet."

"If you'd worn boots like I told you to, your feet would be fine," they reply, tipping their head up to the sky. Soft flakes of snow land on their cheeks and melt instantly, and they can see bits of white clinging to the tips of their dark hair. "And it's not even that cold, you baby."

Sting makes a disgruntled sound and tucks his face down into his scarf. Rogue giggles and leans over to kiss his nose, then kisses Sting's forehead and cheeks.

"It's freezing," Sting whines, huddling closer to Rogue. "Are we almost there?"

Rogue laughs, shaking the snowflakes out of their hair and tucking their entwined hands into Sting's jacket pocket. They're just off of main street and the sounds of shoppers and tourists have receded, muffled by the snow that's drifting down and around their feet. The sky is a soft gray, framing the range of mountains ahead of them that reach up into the sky.

"Almost," Rogue promises, tugging Sting along behind them. "It'll be worth it, I promise."

It hadn't taken much to convince Sting to come to the mountains for the weekend. Rogue hasn't been since they were little, but they remember every detail of this place by heart. The Christmas stores, the coffee shops, the gondola that will take them up the mountain to the hot springs.

By the time they reach the base of the tram, Sting is shivering under his thin jacket and Rogue has an arm wrapped around him, rubbing his back.

"Don't say 'I told you so'," Sting grumbles, rubbing his hands together as they step into the cable car. The operator closes the door and they sit down, looking out the back window as the car jerks forward and begins moving slowly up the mountain.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Rogue teases, pulling Sting close.

The view is spectacular. The higher they get, the more trees they can see – enormous pines that stretch up to the sky and are dusted with a fine layer of snow. The town is splayed out below them, like the miniature Christmas village that Sting's dad has in their living room.

"How high are we going?" Sting marvels, looking up to see that they're only halfway. Light, misty clouds block their way, and when the car breaks through them, the sun is shining, pale and dim.

When they reach the top, Rogue jumps out of the car, grabbing Sting's hand and pulling him out into the building at the top. They make their way to a counter where Rogue eagerly pays the fee, then they head to the changing rooms. Rogue hesitates for a moment, glancing between them and then heading into the family room, Sting close behind them.

"I can't believe you're making me go swimming in this weather," Sting says, shrugging off his jacket and shoving it into a locker. "We're gonna freeze!"

"Just trust me, love," Rogue says from behind the wall of the change room. "It'll be worth it, I promise."

Rogue is right. The hot springs are incredible. They step out the door into a beautiful pool of crystal-clear water, steam reaching up to curl around their legs. Sting sinks into it until just his head is above the water, then pushes himself over to the edge and gazes out at the view.

All he can see is mountains. They're surrounded by snowy pines, and through them he can see steep slopes of rock climbing even further into the air, jagged and overwhelming. The sky is soft and blue and everything smells clean and fresh.

Sting yelps in surprise as Rogue swims up behind him, grabbing him around the waist and running their hands over Sting's bare chest. There aren't many people in the pool – it's a Tuesday afternoon – so the public display of affection is largely ignored.