• "I want to give you something." A low, warm voice whispered, watching the patch of darkhair that was peaking out from under the covers. The girl groaned, not wanting to wake up. It was so late; the sun hadn't even risen yet.
    "Can't it wait?" She complained, trying to pull the covers higher over her head. Thanks to the man sitting on the edge of the bed, that was impossible. A sweet, warm chuckle filled the air, and she stopped her struggles, listening.
    She loved that voice, but all winter, she'd been dodging his advances. There was an age difference between them -no matter how slight- and she didn't like how flustered he always made her just by being there. Like now.
    "Whatever you say; I'll just leave them on the desk." She froze, feeling the bed shift as he leaned over and kissed her hair just above her ear. Her heart pounded impossibly fast, and for an instant, she forgot how to breath.
    "Wait, what?!" She shot out of bed, finally regaining control of her body. The door was cracked open, a light shining in from the hall, but the room was empty. Her orange eyes looked to the desk, seeing the large bouquet of white flowers tied together by a simple blue ribbon.
    The panels on the floor creaked as she walked to the desk, fingers gingerly ghosting over the ribbon. Blue...for him. She looked into the hall, watching his shadow descend the stairs.
    "Wait!!" She called, grabbing the flowers and running for the door. She was delayed as she put on her slippers and grabbed her hat.
    She ran into the hall, catching herself on the banister. He was on the ground floor walking through the entry hall to the door. He was leaving.
    Hurriedly, she took the stairs two at a time, nearly losing her footing twice as she ran after him. During her descent, she woke the family's pet. It peaked from underneath the stairs, watching her run out the door into the winter snow. Silently, it followed her.
    "H-Hold on! Where are you!?" The girl panted, watching her frozen breath rise through the air. It was so cold outside. The trees were covered with snow. She hadn't dressed for this kind of cold.
    She paused, breathing heavily as she looked at the empty woods around her. They'd come here before, he and her. They'd walked this path so many times in the past months. She remembered of him speaking about the army and rejoining the military. He'd only just gotten out of his last mission...
    Just a few feet ahead, she saw something glittering on a branch. Moving through the snow, she reached for it and stared at the dogtag now resting in her hand. She stared at it with mystified eyes.
    On the wind, she could've sworn she heard the soft words, "I'll be back soon..." Silently, she looked up at the starfilled sky and watched with amazement as one of them fell.
    The little pet walked up behind her, gently holding onto the fabric of her brown pajama pants as it looked past her at the empty path.
    She bowed her head, whispering a prayer before staring down the forest path she knew he'd just walked on. With determination in her orange eyes, she vowed to wait for him.
    And in that wintery snow, one stubborn girl's icey heart began to beat for another, the heavens standing witness to her pledge.
    The man, hidden among the trees, smiled to himself as hope filled him. He would never forget this day for as long as he lived. And so he turned...

    And he left...