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Grinning like a child, Meggy can hardly contain herself as she presses her forehead up against the icy glass of the castle window, her breath already fogging up the pane.
Still in her pajamas, squealing, she has to blink just a few times more- just so she can make triple sure she’s not just dreaming. “Guys- GUYS!!” She shouts out, her voice echoing off the walls and down the halls.
Tari comes clattering down the stairs, looking an absolute mess with her blue hair sticking to the side of her face, still shiny with drool. Confused, she tilts her head to the side as she asks “What- what is it?” her voice clearly still heavy with sleep.
Eyes wide with delight, Meggy whirls around and points towards the outside. “Look! Look!! It’s snowing!”
Tari frowns, eyes still straining to open in the morning light, “What do you mean? We haven’t snow since-” her words trail off as she reaches the window. The moment her gaze lifts towards the shining flurry of silver-white outside the window, her face lights up with shock and glee.
“Whoa…”
From the window, the view stretched far across the land, the early morning light glittering off perfectly untouched snow like a field of a thousand tiny stars.
Meggy’s grin spread so wide across her face it almost hurt. “Come on, come on!!” she cheered, already dashing for her bedroom door. She grabs Tari by the wrist on the way, dragging her along as she shouted over her shoulder. “We need coats! and gloves! Everything!!”
Their laughter echoes throughout the stone halls, fading into the sound of falling snow. Before long, the whole gang has been pulled out into the cold, their laughter spilling out across the snowy courtyard. The first snow since Christmas blanketing everything in a soft, dazzling white.
Boopkins and Tari huddle close together near the steps, their gloved hands fumbling through an adorable attempt at building a snowman. The lopsided creature leans dangerously to one side, its stick arms poking out unevenly and its pebble eyes much too far away from one another- but they still beam at it like a pair of proud parents all the same.
A few yards away, chaos reins.
Meggy and Bob are locked into the snowball fight of the century. Bob hurled piles and piles of snow with wild precision- or lack thereof- while Meggy dodges and counters with lightning speed as if her life depends on it, maniac laughter ringing through the frosty air as she grins. Snowflakes caught in her mane of ginger hair, glittering as she spun and nailed another perfect shot.
THWACK!
Bob froze mid-motion as a snowball smacked square into the back of his head.
“OUGH-”
Meggy doubled over laughing, unable to breathe. Standing a safe distance away from it all, SMG3 and SMG4 lean up against the cold outer walls of the castle. Looking up at the glistening snowflakes as they drift down to the ground, SMG3 mutters to himself without much thought.
"We haven't really been out in the snow together like this since…" he cuts himself off quickly, his already rosy cheeks flush into a deeper shade of crimson with the realization of the past memories.
SMG4 clears his throat. "Oh- yeah…" biting at his lower lip, he trails off. Not seeming to know what else to say, heat begins to creep up his neck. SMG3’s voice cracked the silence like throwing a rock through a window.
“I mean- it’s not like- I don’t even remember most of it!” He laughs, though it comes through strained and uneven, the sound too sharp and too broken to be genuine. His face was redder than Mario’s hat, he kept his gaze fixed absolutely anywhere but on SMG4.
“I mean… who would, right?” he added, forcing a crooked smile that didn't quite reach his eyes “it’s not… not like either of us even really cared…” The air between them feels thin.
Even SMG3 knows his lies aren’t enough to hide the truth.
SMG4 blinks, the smallest flinch tugging at his features before he turns away with a small sigh, the white cloud of his breath disappearing in a puff. The rose color in his cheeks deepens- not from the cold, but from something heavier.
And just like that, the moment slips away.
The day drifted on, snow melting off coats and boots in the warmth of the cafe. The others filled the space with chatter and clinking mugs, steam curling lazily in the air.
But off to the side, SMG3 sat by himself, stirring with his coffee and playing with the rim more so than drinking it.
As SMG4 slides into the seat next to SMG3, the sounds of the room seem to melt away, leaving only the faint hum of the heater and the idle chatter of their friends. He stopped beside SMG3 for a moment, not knowing what else to say for a long while. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally, SMG4 speaks.
“… Was it really that forgettable?” The question hit like a slap.
SMG3 chokes mid-sip, coughing and sputtering as his face turns a deeper shade of crimson. “Wh-what!? I- you-” He doesn’t waver.
His expression is unreadable, brows furrowed and eyes sharp, but not really… angry, more so… wounded. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, idiot.” He rolls his eyes, letting out another sigh. “Was it- was I- really that forgettable?”
SMG3 freezes. His heart caught in his throat. For once, his mouth failed him- no fun comebacks, no clever jokes, no more teasing- he looks away, desperate to hide behind his usual snarky smirk, but SMG4 reaches out- his touch gentle but his hold firm- grasping his chin and turning his face back towards him.
The contact burns, SMG3 feels the heat rising up his neck as his pulse thumps in his ears.
“I…” His voice falters “I don’t know. I mean- it was almost nine years ago now- and it’s not like it was… important.” He tries to sound casual. He tried to shrug it off, to chuckle, to smirk.But even as the words leave his mouth they rang hollow, like breath in the winter air, gone the second it appeared.
SMG3 sat rigid in his chair, every muscle caught between wanting to run away to hide and forget any of this ever happened… and wanting to reach out, desperately begging to just melt into him and let it all fall away. SMG4 leans into him, now close enough that SMG3 can feel the heat of his body radiating off of him. It’s all too close. Too dangerous. “You’re lying,” SMG4 whispered, his breath hot against SMG3’s lips.
SMG3 flinches, every part of his body completely stiff and frozen. “Wh-what makes you… what makes you think that?”
“Because if it wasn’t important,” SMG4 leans in further, every word brushing against his lips “you wouldn’t be shaking.” he chuckles, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watches SMG3 struggle to deny it all.
The words lodge themselves somewhere deep in SMG3’s chest. He opens his mouth to protest- to make some kind of snide remark, something sharp and deflecting- but nothing comes.
Instead, his voice betrays him, small and rough.“You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?” SMG4 doesn’t answer.
His gaze softens, just enough for SMG3 to completely forget how to breathe. “I-I’m still the villain here,” SMG3 mutters. “The bad guy. You don’t- you don’t get to look at me like that- you shouldn’t…” SMG4’s lips curl into a smile, his hand slips into SMG3’s hair.
It’s a hesitant touch- gentle, trembling- but it pulled the knot that’d been growing deep in SMG3’s stomach for years tight. His heart stumbles over itself, his words leave his throat. He thinks of just trying to shove him away, of just trying and keeping up the act, of laughing it all off- but he can’t.
Instead, SMG3 leans forwards, just enough for their foreheads to meet. The space between them was barely more than a breath, a fragile, shaking, thing ready to break.
When their lips meet, it’s not a desperate crash. It’s slow, uncertain- a touch that lingered with every beat of their hearts- a touch full of things that neither of them could bring them to say out loud.
SMG3’s hand gripped at the fabric of SMG4’s coat, as if he could hold onto this moment before the world snapped back into what it was before and keep it all together for just a little bit longer. When they finally parted, SMG3 kept his eyes closed for just a moment longer.
Then, in a voice just above a whisper as they fluttered open, he mutters, “S-still doesn’t mean I like you…” SMG4 laughs softly, brushing a thumb against his jaw, “Yeah, sure… bad guy…” And for once, SMG3 didn’t argue.
For a heartbeat, the world stood still.
The snow outside had slowed to a lazy drift, and the lights of the cafe windows had painted the room in gold. Neither of them moved for a long moment. SMG3’s hand still gripped at SMG4’s coat, SMG4’s hand still lingered at his jaw.
There was nothing left of their arguments, no words strong enough to lie away what they’d just done.
Then- of course- the silence finally breaks. A small click rips through the frozen silence.
The both of them turned as one, cheeks red and eyes wide. Across the room, just behind the counter, Meggy and Tari stood frozen mid-sneak, Meggy still holding her phone up, the flash of the camera that they’d forgotten to turn off leaving everyone with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
“Uh-” Meggy scrambles to find at least one half-way decent lie, Tari’s face turns pink. “We were just- uh- checking the lighting?”
Tari jabbed her sharply in the ribs, whispering far too loudly, “Come on! I told you not to interrupt! It’s like- nine years of buildup!”
SMG3’s face flushed crimson all over again. “You- You have got to be kidding me-”
But SMG4 couldn’t help himself, he just laughed.
Really laughed.
The kind of sound that cracked through the tension like sunlight through the clouds.
Tari tugs on Meggy’s sleeve, eyes wide as ever. “Should we, uh… say something?” Meggy smiles, tilting her head as she watches the two- SMG3 still sputtering, SMG4 looking happier than he has in years.
“Nah,” she answers softly. “Let’s let them be. I mean- it took them long enough.” As they slip out the door, the snow continues to fall- soft, endless, and gentle- as their giggles faded away into the day.