o holy night

[Taeyeon Kai]

The snow fell in little flutters to the ground, already adding to the layer of crunchy snow and slippery ice underfoot. The gazebos that lined the lake were little white huts, housing the inhabitants beneath their snowy roofs and keeping them away from the worst of the chill while giving them the lovely view of the iced over lake with people gliding along its surface in skates.

The lone girl watched them with dark cobalt eyes, smiling as she gazed at toddlers learning for the first time. She sat cross-legged on the gazebo floor, clothed in warm jeans and her snowy-white parka as she began her process of meditation. In her years of travel and under the instruction of three different martial arts teachers, she had learned that meditation helped clear the mind, cleanse the soul, and keep your emotions in check when under a great deal of stress.

She was now seventeen as of yesterday, her job and home life was stable, and she was on Christmas break from the high school. Life was good for Taeyeon Kai, who anxiously awaited Christmas like any other child in the world. She smiled and closed her eyes and began her deep breathing exercises.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie wondered why he was always so drawn to the lake in town and wondered what was it about the lake that seemed to calm him down enough not to make a fool of himself. But there he was, with his cup of hot cocoa from Kali's Kafe, going to the place he had just been in not a few days ago with the blond weather manipulator. That hadn't been bad but Robbie wasn't going to repeat that again. At least now at the lake.

His eyes roamed the place until it set on a pretty dark haired girl he thought looked vaguely familiar. Squinting his eyes, he drew nearer and saw that it was none other than his childhood friend, Tae. "No way!" He exclaimed before skidding across the icy ground to slide to Tae in her meditative state.

He plopped down on the cold ground beside her and announced his presence as he always did with a friend. Very loudly.

"TAE!" he exclaimed and waved at her wildly.

[Taeyeon Kai]

The smell of water, the outdoors, and her slightly floral bodyspray filtered in and out of her nose as she took deep breaths to calm her body down. She imagined the outline of her sitting body filling with river rocks, fitting into every curve. With each deep inhalation and exhalation, she imagined cool water entering from the crown of her head and filling her up starting at the bottom of her feet.

Enough time passed that her body was filled with water, cool and calming against the smooth edges of the river rocks. Every muscle in her body was relaxed and she smiled...until...

"TAE!"

"Gah!" she gasped, startled enough to fly three inches in the air and land two feet behind her sitting position, looking at the blonde-haired boy with his coffee cup in hand. His face was familiar, the angles in all the right places, and she suddenly remembered who he was. "Robbie? What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes wide.

[Robbie Wilkes]

A bubble of laughter gurgled from his throat when Tae toppled over. Her recognition of him was met with another wave and a stupidly huge grin. "Hi Tae!" He exclaimed again, helping her up. "I was just walking and I saw you and I thought hey isn't that Tae? And I thought yes it is! So I came over!" Robbie explained before smiling again.

"I haven't seen you since forever!" he exclaimed before standing up and pulling Tae up as well. "Have you been here all this time?"

[Taeyeon Kai]

She watched him warily, regaining her senses as she remembered. Robbie was the son of a military man, the son of a man who had been enlisted under her grandfather on her mom's side. General Mayes had been one influential man, moving up the ranks fast and marrying as soon as he retired to a woman of South Korean descent. The General and Sergeant had shared stories of their families and eventually Tae and Robbie had met as toddlers.

"I've only been here for a couple months, Robbie," Tae replied. "I live with my aunt and uncle from my mom's side." Aunt Rei and Uncle Michael were wonderful people to live with, but they didn't replace her parents...whatever they were doing. "Why are you here? Last time Grandpa talked to me, you guys weren't living in Pilot Ridge. What happened?"

[Robbie Wilkes]

Had Robbie known he was going to meet his childhood friend here, he would have come sooner! There were loads to catch up with! Robbie and Tae had grown up with each other and had seen each other in their diapers and Tae had seen Robbie naked. Good times, good times.

Robbie nodded at the information given, tilting his head slightly when he was asked the questions. "I go to school here! How is the General anyway? Will he be in town soon?" Robbie asked. He had fond memories of the gruff General who always had a secretive grin about him whenever they came around for a visit.

[Taeyeon Kai]

"You go to school here?" Tae asked incredulously, looking at him with wide eyes. "But I haven't seen you at the high school." Of course! That only meant he went to the private academy at the top of the hill, the super-expensive school that the rich kids went to. But last time she checked, Robbie's family wasn't rich enough to go to that private school. "You must have a scholarship with the private school, right?" she asked softly, her hazel eyes looking over her lifelong friend.

He had filled out of his chubby toddler-hood, losing the baby fat and growing lean and fit. Frankly, he looked like she did, long and lean and toned with some muscle. Hers were hidden under clothes, but if she wore the proper workout gear, of course someone would see the six-pack of her abdomen, the lines of her calves and thighs, and the bump of her biceps that were not natural of a soft seventeen-year-old girl. This was a girl who had practiced three martial arts since she was six, every day even if she was sick so she wouldn't lose her form.

"Grandpa passed away a year ago, Robbie," she replied softly, giving him a half-smile as she remembered her gruff but affectionate grandfather. "He died in his sleep, Grandma told me in her letter around April of last year."

[Robbie Wilkes]

"I do!" Robbie replied with a nod but quickly shook his head when asked about the scholarship. Robbie didn't know that people viewed Hammel as a private school but at least he knew it was hush hush so he shrugged. "Well, okay so in a way yeah I spose." Robbie replied. Well he sure didn't have to pay for it so that was some form of scholarship wasn't it?

If he had been aware of how those brown eyes were scanning him, Robbie would have actually blushed and reciprocated it but her next words jarred every bit of nerve he had. For awhile, he was sure thunder rumbled in the distance. He could control his emotions for the most part but when something this sudden happened, especially to someone he quite liked and respected and even loved, it wasn't easy to control.

He blinked a few times before lurching forward to hug the older girl tightly. "I'm sorry." He said softly, something quite rare when it came to the blond. He reigned his emotions in, causing him to have a slight headache but nothing serious.

When he let her go, he fiddled with his thumbs as he was wont to do in situations where his perkiness was not called for. "You holdin' up all right?"

[Taeyeon Kai]

She smiled at him, happy that he was on the right track to success and a future. She, on the other hand, was still working on it, with her grades in the small high school and her job at the small mall. Even though she came from money herself, she didn't want to resort to her parents to ask for it; she wanted to earn it, like everyone else.

As soon as the news of her grandfather flitted through the air, Tae blinked as Robbie embraced her tightly. Robbie had never been a real affectionate person; sure, he was hyper and friendly, but he never willingly hugged or touched another person. It just wasn't in his nature. Her arms came around him and squeezed briefly before he stepped back.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. At least he wasn't suffering," she replied, giving him a half-smile. "And I think I'll be all right."

[Robbie Wilkes]

When Tae reciprocated the hug, Robbie actually leaned in but caught himself quickly and pulled back.

It was true, Robbie had never been an affectionate person. Sure he was handsy and wouldn't hesitate to invade your personal space but when it came down to full on hugs or kisses or hand holding, anything that could imply anything personal, Robbie shirked away from. But this time, it felt right.

"That's true...is he buried here?" Robbie asked. He had to pay his respects anyway.

[Taeyeon Kai]

She shook her head, the wind whipping her hair into her dark hazel eyes. She took her fingers out of her gloves and tucked strands of her mahogany hair back behind her ears, brushing the earrings she wore. They were little crystal flowers, earrings her grandmother had sent her along with the letter telling her of grandfather's death. They were her last birthday present from him.

"No, he's buried in Seoul, South Korea," she told him, smiling. "But I know he would have wanted to ruffle your hair at least one last time. He told Grandma when he was in the hospital recovering from his heart attack. They told us that he had an aneurysm, a relapse in his brain from the medicines, and that's why he died in his sleep." She looked up at the sky, pulling her glove back on.

She looked back down at him and gave him a wink before leaning in and kissing his cheek softly. "Thanks for caring, Robbie. I appreciate it."

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie's face fell when Tae basically said there was no chance of him seeing his beloved surrogate grandfather. He gulped and kept his emotions in check. Well, tried to anyway. The kiss on the cheek, however innocent it seemed, brought forth emotions he did not think would resurface for a really long time.

There was no blush but he could feel his cheeks heating up at the kiss. If Tae was as observant as Robbie remembered, she would notice how the snow around them was melting gradually under the warming sun.

"Um, yeah. Of course. He was like a grandfather to me too." It didn't take too long before any previous emotions were wiped off his face and replaced with a big grin. "Anyway! Um, okay let's push those thoughts out of our head. I hardly think harabeoji would appreciate us being like this in his memory."

He jumped up and turned to Tae. "Okay! I'm ready to get something to eat and since you're older than me, you can buy me lunch!"

[Taeyeon Kai]

It was suddenly too warm for Tae and she took off her parka, revealing the camisole-like tank top she wore over her faded bootcut jeans. She looked up, noticing the sun getting brighter. Smiling, she looked down at Robbie, noticing he looked a lot warmer than he did a few minutes ago. She removed her gloves and hat, revealing her ponytail of chocolate hair.

"Uh, who said anything about buying you lunch, munchkin?" she replied back, reaching up and ruffling his golden hair. A grin lit the corner of her dimpled mouth and sparkled in her blue-green eyes. "I'm broke and I haven't gotten my paycheck yet, so no food for you."

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie shouldn't be looking at his childhood friend the way he was right then. He really shouldn't. But she was a girl. She was an attractive girl. She was an attractive older girl who had just taken off her jacket. No way could he look away right then.

That was until she revealed that he wouldn't be getting any food. All thoughts of her being exposed went out the window and the weather became colder again. "What? Now see that's just rude." He frowned, though he knew Tae knew him well enough to know when he was playing or not. "After practically six years of not seeing each other, you tell me you won't commemorate this event by stuffing my face silly? You evil."

Then he laughed and shrugged. "Well, I suppose if I have to starve myself, might as well do it with someone who entertains me."

[Taeyeon Kai]

Just as soon as she had taken off her coat, it went from warm to freezing and she bit off a curse as she put her coat right back on. She slipped on her gloves and hat as Robbie ranted about starving and she rolled her eyes, knowing he was only joking with her. She started walking towards her house, mentally going through her kitchen cabinets and satisfied that she had snacks.

"If you're quiet enough, I would tell you that I have snacks at my house," she told him over her shoulder, grinning with that crooked grin she had gotten from her father. "And if you want, my aunt and uncle aren't home, so you can come over and snack to your heart's content...maybe if you're nice, I'll cook something for you."

At her words, she could hear Robbie scrambling to follow her down the path towards her house, grinning and laughing at the eager expression on his face. Good thing she had enough food!

[Disclaimer: Nuisme gave me permission to god-mode Robbie to end the thread.]