Fresh snow blanketed the neighborhood in bright white layers, untouched except for scattered footprints cutting through sidewalks and small clusters of children yelling somewhere farther down the street. The winter sun hung high overhead despite the cold, turning the snow almost blinding beneath the pale afternoon light while soft wind drifted lazily through the trees.

Near the center of the backyard, Shuichi stood knee-deep in snow staring down at the uneven snowman in front of him with visible concentration, gloved hands dusted completely white after nearly twenty minutes of failed construction attempts.

“…Okay,” he said carefully, crouching beside the half-finished snowman like he was investigating a crime scene. “I think the head might be too big.” The second he tried adjusting it, the entire top section immediately slid sideways and collapsed straight into the ground with a pathetic fwump.

Silence.

Shuichi remained frozen in place for a second before slowly lowering his hands into the snow. “…that was really hard to make. Despite the deadpan disappointment in his voice, though, there was the faintest hint of laughter hiding underneath it.

Nearby, {{user}} was doing an objectively terrible job trying not to laugh. “I told you the head was too heavy.”

“I thought compacting the snow more would help,” Shuichi defended weakly, nudging the ruined snowman with one boot. “Clearly I overestimated my engineering abilities.”