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/Sleighbells Ring, are you listening?/ - Me and Seven-

Living in the North Pole surrounded by tiny hyper people had given Bernard several lifetime's worth of experience when it came to winter activities, and despite his tendency to be something of a social wallflower lately, he was no stranger to snowball fights - though, as Winter lobbed one at him, Bernard found himself considering that perhaps he'd gotten careless lately and forgotten how to have fun.

For humans it was a pretty commonplace mistake to make; they got caught up in their work, caught up in stress and anger and the hustle and bustle of general human life and they forgot about the little things - but elves were little things, and they thrived on all of the positivity that came with their work. An unhappy elf, as a general rule, was a very ill elf.

He had just packed a particularly impressive-looking snowball to return fire when he saw Winter dart out from behind the tree she had taken shelter behind; he aimed but never completed the throw when Winter began to scramble on the sidewalk and tipped over, hitting the ground with a thump that Bernard could hear from ten feet away.

Dropping the snowball, he half-ran over to her, settling his hands on his knees as he looked Winter over, observing where she had decided to simply lay in the snow; after a moment of considering this, Bernard laid down beside her on the ice.

"We're cool." he said simply.
 
Winter stared at the sky, blue eyes considering the tones of the clouds that rolled overhead. A soft and gentle sigh left her lips - as she smiled faintly. She had fallen - and yes she was hurting - but there were things to smile about. She felt the shadow - if you could really say that - pass over her as Bernard laid down next to her. Winter put her hands over her head for a moment, as she realized the cold and wet were soaking through her clothes. She sat up - scooping up some snow rather stealthily as she did. She turned to look at Bernard, smiling as she did.

Then she dropped the ball of snow, right on top of where his head should be. If he didn't decide to do some weird Ninja-Elf flippy shit and end up standing up before her snow even could reach him. She herself decided it was best to stand up. She did this slowly - dusting off her tights and skirt as she did. She felt the chill of the snow and the wintry scene around them. It was a gentler scene - one that made her smile even more. Things were getting better.

These thoughts were odd things for the young woman, but she found them more and more entertaining as they happened. She wondered why Santa had sent Bernard - of all the elves. She wondered if it was just random happenstance, or if the old man was planning something.
 
Bernard was a lot of things; first and foremost, he was an elf. He was also a supervisor, a babysitter, an assistant, a secretary, and a dedicated friend - but one thing that he most definitely was not, was a ninja.

So needless to say, when Winter picked up an armful of snow and soundly dropped it, Bernard ended up with a faceful of it as he lay on the ground; for a long moment he decided to just lay there with it on his forehead, pursing his lips at the literal snow blindness before he finally sat up, shaking it off, the ends of his curly hair a little shiny with the dampness.

"I will eventually get you back for that." Bernard pointed out casually, getting back to his feet and brushing the snow off, a lopsided smile on his face.
 
Winter smiled at him as she watched him shaking off the snow. It took him a few moments - but soon he was standing. She couldn't remember the original reason they left the house now. She found that the only thing that was on her mind - was spending as much time with Bernard - as she possibly could. A giggle left her as she fiddled with her skirt and then grinned at him.

"Hey Bernard, how about we go out for something to eat?" She asked as she grinned ear to ear. She had the money for it - and some small tiny part of her, wanted to spoil the hell out of the elf before her. She wanted to see him smile and laugh - just as much as she was. This could even - in some small way, be considered a date.

That made her giggle even harder.
 
Bernard had long ago learned to just go along with it whenever the Boss got an idea in his head; most of the time it turned out for the best - except, again, the whole Jack Frost incident, though Frost was never really Santa, just a cheap imitation - but ultimately, the head elf had found himself going blindly into a number of plans.

This had been one of them - though Bernard found that it wasn't exactly the worst scenario he had been in. After all, spending Christmas Eve with a pretty girl wasn't much of an assignment; he supposed it was just part of the big guy's attempts to force him to relax for a while.

Even though the concept made Bernard's work ethics twitch, and especially knowing Curtis was back at the shop, mostly unattended. Granted, Bernard was all for having fun - it was Santa's toy shop after all, it was made for enjoyment - but he had always worked under some strict personal codes to keep the shop functioning.

The sound of laughter like wind chimes snapped Bernard out of his work-related thoughts and back to the reality where Winter was standing in front of him, smoothing out her skirt and smiling her pink and white smile.

Bernard realized he was smiling rather stupidly back at her and that, right then, she was asking him a question:

"Uh?" Bernard replied unintelligently, then shook it off, "Yeah, sure. Anything you'd like to do, Winter."
 
Winter's head tilted back - pale eyes watching the sky above her. The snowfall was light and gentle. Like fluffy crisps of ice - all falling at a slow and languid pace. The snow was falling a lot like how she felt. Slow and relaxed. But something was bursting within her - thoughts and patterns. Feelings and emotions she hadn't previously experienced or even though about experiencing. She waited for Bernard to come to - and realize that she had spoken to him. He seemed distracted so much lately. But that was alright - that mere thought made her smile. According to him, and from what she was realizing - he was usually a very focused person.

Which meant he was relaxing - and having fun. Exactly why he had been sent here, right? At least that's what she was figuring. Why couldn't Santa help out two people - while answering a Christmas wish. "Well there is a couple of places." She said as she looked back at him, a grin just barely hidden behind her hand. " We could go have Pizza, or Chinese, or Italian. Anything you want - I can pay." She said as she tapped her purse lightly. He was giving her company for the holidays, of course she would happily cover any fees he would incur in that time. She never spent her money anyways - so there was plenty to give.

She laced her fingers together - in the small of her back. Then she began to gently rock back and forth on her feet. She didn't care where she was going - so long as it was with him. Odd thought, that was indeed an odd thought.
 
Bernard moved forward, falling in step with Winter as they moved down the sidewalk; around them, enormous snowflakes fell silently from an evening sky, and the astounding quiet of it was almost strange to the Head Elf, who had long ago become used to the deafening noise of the shop - now he could hear himself think. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

She's certainly something. It makes no sense for anyone to be alone on Christmas eve, but especially not her.

"How about we just stop at the first place we see?" Bernard offered, speaking just a little louder than neccessary, trying to talk over his own inner monologue without realizing he was doing it, "Could be interesting, right?"
 
Winter found herself lost in her own mind as she walked beside Bernard. She hadn't known what it was like to be happy on Christmas, till he had come along. And that made other thoughts to come around in her mind. She hadn't known true happiness, or true peace. All of that would be gone as soon as he left after Christmas morning. She found that it was a painful thought that ran through her mind. Losing his presence. She wasn't sure how she would survive it. She bit her lip a little as she sighed faintly and tucked her head down.

Why was she getting so - he was talking! Her attention was riveted on him as she smiled. "Alright, there's a few outside food vendors, we can get something from one of them." She said as she reached out, her hand finding his of it's own accord. It was Christmas Eve, and it felt right to be holding hands with someone. It's what everyone else was doing. Right? Of course she didn't usually do those things, didn't have the ability to.

She looked over at him and smiled - her head tilted to the side. She was so drawn to him - and she didn't even know why.
 
Humans were complicated; this was something Bernard had learned through observation over many, many years of dealing with various versions of Santa Claus; though Santa was technically a magical being, he was still a human at heart - so he came with all of the complexities of one. Above anything else, though, Bernard had been fascinated by the little rituals that came with romance - two humans could dance around eachother for years, sharing feelings for eachother but never mentioning it, never doing anything about it.

They practically tortured themselves with it.

But elves - they were pretty straight-forward.

Well. Usually.

Bernard had to admit, it was an aspect of his life he had otherwise ignored - Santa had tried to nudge him in the direction of a few pretty elves in the shop, but he'd been too distracted to really pay attention - even when one of them was blatantly showing interest in him. He supposed it had just never been a priority, even though it was kind of backwards for an elf not to look for a mate.

He supposed they had just never really been - right - for him; the big guy, during some of his more intrusive moments, had even tried to dig for information from him, trying to figure out what his type was, and Bernard hadn't even been able to come up with an answer. At the time, the questions had caught him so off-guard that he had just blurted out the first thing that had come to mind,

"Find me a girl who looks like a candy cane or a snowfall, then we'll talk."

And then he'd stalked off with as much dignity as he could manage, leaving his boss staring after him, perplexed.

Something touched his hand and Bernard's eyes dropped immediately down, finding Winter's fingers curling against his palm before they threaded together; his eyes shifted up to her face, to the smile that was gracing it, and he smiled back, securing their grip and swinging their arms between them like a happy little boy would do.
 
Winter found herself nervous, until she found his fingers wrapping within her own. Her eyes closed as she held on to his hand tightly and swung them back and forth. This was perfect - this sensation in her chest. She sighed and cocked her head back, and giggled ever so softly. She looked towards him again and smiled even brighter. "I think there is a stand up ahead. They usually sell Hotdogs, that works right?" She said with a faint laugh. She found that there was a flush to her cheeks, and a skip to her step. Not something that would usually be there.

She found her mind reeling towards the sensations running through her. Her mother and father constantly tried to turn her into a prized mare. But she had never agreed to the pairings they had tried to push towards her. She hummed faintly and cocked her head towards Bernard. She had always told her parents, find her someone that loved Christmas as much as her. She had always tested the males as they came around. Asking them if they believed in Santa. But each of them had failed. She wouldn't have someone that would try and change her beliefs.

"Hey look! There it is." She said with a soft laugh as she raced ahead of them. Holding on to his hand.
 
Bernard's little smile transformed into a grin as Winter practically began to skip; dealing with tiny, hyperactive people his entire life had left Bernard without any real self-consciousness, so he joined her happily, unaware - and uncaring - of how ridiculous they looked right then, hand in hand, jumping through the snow.

He hadn't forseen the sudden mad dash for hot dogs, however, and was very briefly left behind before the need to keep his arm in the socket had him semi-tripping, then catching his balance and doing a half-bent run along side her before he caught up, a laugh escaping him,

"You must really like hot dogs." Bernard said, astounded.
 
"Well food is food." She said with a soft laugh, a grin passing across her features as she looked around at the stand. She was so focused on the menu - and making her order. Figuring out what to eat. "I'm not horribly picky - I find it ridiculous. But my favorite foods only come out around winter." She said with a flashing grin. She looked at the menu and nodded. Making her order to the vendor.

"Oi Miss, your Orders on the house. But you two young ones are about to break a Christmas Tradition." The vendor started.

Winter blinked in surprise and frowned. She knew all of the traditions, how could she have broken one. She stopped and then looked around, at Bernard for an answer. When she looked back at the vendor - the vendor pointed up towards the Mistletoe above her stand. The old woman smiled ear to ear, and almost there was a glint of magic in her eye. Bernard might recognize her - for it was Mother Nature, now WHAT was she doing here?
 
Bernard had been too focused on Winter to initially notice a familiar face, but when she began to order, he looked up at the vendor and did a double-take, falling completely still and gaping at the woman who was giving him a particularly cheeky smile - she looked different, but there was no mistaking her eyes.

Mother Nature was selling hot dogs. Bernard was certain he had lost it.

"You - ?" Bernard began, but anything he might have asked was cut off by Nature's sly nod towards the cluster of green and white hanging jauntily above their heads.

There was no mistaking that, either.

"You can't be a grinch." she happily pointed out.

"You." he repeated, but more poignantly; Mother Nature merely gave a shrug and Bernard looked away from her, to the mistletoe, and then to Winter, who was looking at it with the same expression he'd had moments ago.

"On the lips." she added.

"Hey, no peanut gallery." Bernard replied, and Mother Nature let out a small 'woo' as though impressed with his attitude; Bernard squeezed Winter's hand a little to pull her attention away from the mistletoe, waiting for her to look his way before he moved.
 
Winter looked at the mistletoe - lost in thought as she watched it. She never broke traditions, how had the woman known that. She looked towards her and frowned. Listening to the comments between her and Bernard. She felt her hand squeezed and looked back towards him. Gasping faintly as she felt the blush darken. "I hate breaking traditions. But it's ok... if you don't want to." She whispered as she found herself getting closer to him. He was moving as well. Was this all a plot? A complete plot for everything. She smiled weakly and cocked her head to the side.

A shiver raced through her as she stepped closer, tilting her head up to look up at him. "It's alright though. I won't be mad at you..." She whispered as she found her cheeks warming with a darker blush.
 
The planet Earth was the fifth largest within their solar system; its surface area was five-hundred-and-ten million kilometres, its circumference was forty thousand, and its current population was somewhere in the range of 6.9 billion; the world was vast, wide, noisy, and densely populated.

With that in mind, it was strange how it had managed to all dissappear like that when Winter looked at him.

"I hate breaking traditions too." Bernard replied quietly, as though speaking too loud might shatter the strange atmosphere that seemed to have suddenly surrounded them; he stepped even closer when Winter did the same; their toes were touching.

He reached up and brushed a bit of hair away from her face before his hand moved to press gently against her lower back, pulling her close to him,

"We'd better follow the customs, then. It could be bad luck if we don't." he added, "Wouldn't want bad luck during the holidays or anything."

He leaned in and captured her mouth with his, a kiss that was sweet, warm, and much more invested than most kisses beneath the mistletoe tended to be; he kissed her the way that snow moved together - two distinct, separate forms that fit perfectly, blended flawlessly. He kissed her with promise.
 
Winter stared up at him - pale eyes watching his darker and warmer ones. She felt something unfold within her - a frail bloom of hope. She shivered faintly as he pulled her closer, his hand on the small of her back, his words in her ears. She listened as he spoke- and found everything was falling into place around her. Everything felt right. She didn't even have a response for him as she felt that words would only shatter the moment around them.

She stared straight into his eyes, listening to his words as his lips came down on her own. It was like something in her broke - and then reformed. The kiss wrapped through her - and held something in it. It was a promise for something, but what she didn't know. The pleasure sparked through her as she grasped on to his arms. Her eyes closed as she found herself sighing against his lips. Wishing their moment beneath the mistletoe would never end.

"A Christmad Eve Kiss - beneath the Mistletoe, has a magic of it's own. Hopefully you realize that, Bernard." Mother Nature spoke - a twinkle in her eye as she did. She didn't want to see this moment get lost to them.
 
Though their time together had been brief, their connection was plain to see, something had drawn them inexplicably together - something beyond the big guy's insistence - and as the kiss drew itself out, split only by Winter's tiny sighs and shivers, Bernard found he could almost see some strange path unwinding in front of them, like something had just fallen into place and they were being pulled towards it.

He broke the kiss to pull away, knowing he had already let it linger for too long - but he came in for a second one, and though it was shorter than the first, it held a bizarre passion, as though he had hidden it from the first one. Beside them, Mother Nature rose her eyebrows and fanned herself with her hand and beside her, an annoyed-looking woman put her hands on her hips,

"Can I get some service?" she asked, a bit snarky in her impatience.

"Girl, you can get some service when the show's over." Nature replied.

And when Bernard finally drew back, the strange mist around them seem to linger for a moment longer before it parted and the world was suddenly back, and there was a little boy standing feet away, staring at them with his food held in the air inches from his open mouth, frozen in place watching them; the hot dog soundlessly fell from the bun and into the snow, but he didn't notice.

Bernard cleared his throat.
 
Winter felt the connection - drawing her down a path that made her heart ache. She almost wanted to cry - for part of her knew that all this magic would be over soon. Her eyes closed and stayed closed through the kiss. And when his lips left her own she released a soft sigh and stared up at him fully. Eyes half-open with a bit of a haze to them. She blushed darkly - and was about to speak, when his lips came upon her again. She gasped then as her arms went around his neck.

She felt her toes curl with this kiss, but it was done just as soon as it had started. Her head turned as she left the daze of the connection, looking around her and seeing the little boy. Seeing the woman that was being rather annoyed. She heard Bernard clear his throat, and she squeaked. Literally squeaked. She pulled back and blushed about as dark as her pale features possibly could, and hid her face in her hands.

"Sorry" She found herself whispering hoarsely.
 
Bernard raised his eyebrows at Winter's meek apology; though he was sure it was directed at their audience, he replied:

"I'm not."

He looked at the annoyed woman,

"I'm not!" he repeated happily, taking Winter's hand again, adding to the woman, "You should go kiss someone, you know. You'd feel much better."

"Kiss my -" she began, but fell silent when Mother Nature gave her the sort of look that could make tyrant break down into tears.

"Mm-hmm." Nature said, giving the woman a final warning look, and replacing the now fallen and frozen hot dog; Bernard tossed a lofted eyebrow at Mother Nature, who gave him what could only be interpreted as a cocky smile before he shook his head and led Winter away from the stand. Mother Nature peered over the edge of the vending station and observed the spot where the two had been standing - the snow had melted entirely in that section.
 
Winter smiled weakly as she listened to his words. Blushing darker as she stumbled to grab a few bills from her bag. To put them on the stand. Grabbing their food and looking at the woman that had been such a bitch. She stuck out her tongue, and found Bernard pulling her by her hand. She held out his hotdog to him - while juggling her own in the same hand. Giggling faintly as they walked away. "That was, I mean... really Bernard..." She said with a rather loud laugh.

"Here lets go this way!" She said as she headed towards the outdoor skaterink that was in her city. Easy walking distance, and she could easily pay for them to get their skates. It also gave them enough time to eat while they waited for the arrival of their location. She shivered a little and licked her lips. The taste of mint stuck on her lips. Was that from him? She was so happy about that kiss - about her first kiss.

She was still blushing even as she nibbled on her food.
 
Bernard could hear Winter giggling behind him and he couldn't help being a little proud of himself for what he'd just done; it seemed Winter couldn't even complete her sentance, an indication that he'd either done a terrible or exceptional job, but judging by the way she had responded, he felt he could safely believe it was the latter option.

Given that he was uncertain as to where they were headed, he wasn't about to protest when Winter redirected them,

"You know, this has already been an interesting evening." Bernard remarked happily, eating his food as they headed for the ice rink.
 
Winter finished off her food - nodding at his words. Giggling softly as she licked some mustard off her finger. She looked back at him - and of her own accord leaned up and pecked him on the lips. She pulled back and smiled brightly before darting over to the little stand. Forking out her money and coming back with some skates. "I got the kind that go on over your shoes, so that there is no way we can get sizes wrong." She said cheerfully as she held the pair out to him.

She knew she had probably left him speechless with her peck, but she couldn't stop herself. And she was finding it harder and harder to once again do so as she looked up at him. She wanted to kiss him again - be kissed by him. Like the first one, or like the second. It didn't matter but she wanted that kiss again.
 
The ice rink was sparsely populated at that time of night; there was a young mother with her child and an older couple, but beyond that, they seemed to be the only ones there. Bernard had been briefly distracted, watching the senior lovers holding hands as they very slowly moved across the ice and towards the exit, when Winter leaned in and stole a kiss that made his eyebrows jump up; before he could even respond, she was gone, leaving him standing there staring after her with a particularly stunned look.

He smiled to himself after a moment, watching her go; he would be sure to give her a proper response.

Finishing off his food, he took the skates as they were offered out to him,

"Thank you," he said, "I guess we've got free reign of the rink."
 
Winter leaned down, pale eyes watching him for a few moments as she smiled brightly and laced up her skates. She stretched out a little - allowing her body to loosen up before she looked out at the rink before her. Not too many people- which meant that they'd have an easy time of the skating. At least she hoped so - she wondered how well she skated, it'd be interesting if he lived in the North Pole and wasn't as good at it as one would imagine.

Winter twisted as she turned on the ice. Enjoying the sensation of her blades sliding on the ice. The art of ice skating. So few people really ever understood it or knew how to do it properly. It had always been something that calmed her - and made her feel at home. The cold, the ice, all of it was something she felt she fit into so well. Winter was the time she was happiest, funny since her name was Winter. She smiled softly as she watched him - waiting for him to join her.

"Indeed, should be interesting." She said with a small smile as she twisted on the ice.
 
Bernard laced his skates with the familiar movements of one who has done so time and time again; a lifetime in the North Pole had familiarized him with all of the hobbies that came with a cold climate, and even as the head elf - with all of his responsibilities and duties - he had occasion to enjoy those recreational activities. He slid onto the ice with that same familiarity, astoundingly graceful for a man who had tripped over a kitchen chair not long before. He glided up alongside Winter, reaching out and taking one of her hands in his own.
 
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