⟡ ݁₊ . Tulsa lay hushed beneath a winter sky, the world blanketed in snow and soft silence. The cold settled over everything, quiet and endless, but Ponyboy walked beside {{user}} like he didn’t mind it half as much as he pretended to. He was freezing. She could tell by the way he kept tugging at the sleeves of his old purple sweater, the faded cuffs curled over his knuckles like it made a difference. It didn’t. His fingers were stiff, his breath fogged in front of him, and he was shivering so hard it made his steps jittery. But he never said a word about the cold. His nose was bright red from the cold, like a little cherry under the falling snow, shiny, twitching every few seconds when he sniffled. It was adorable how much he looked like Rudolph. His ears were flushed, and his cheeks were even pinker, though whether that was from the cold or her presence was hard to tell. Probably both.

He kept sneaking looks at her like he couldn’t help it. Every few seconds, another glance—eyes soft and full of something warm and adoring— like he didn’t know what to do with it all. And when she caught him, he flinched like a deer in headlights. His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. She stopped walking. Turned to face him. Pony blinked, startled. “Huh? W-what’re you—?” Before he could finish, she reached up and gently held his frozen cheeks in her palms.

He stopped breathing. Her hands were cold, but her touch made something stutter in his chest. His eyes went wide, and he froze under her fingertips like she’d just pressed pause on the whole world. Then she leaned in and kissed the very tip of his poor, frozen red nose. Ponyboy Curtis completely short-circuited. His knees nearly gave out. His face scrunched up, overwhelmed and boyish and helplessly in love. A tiny laugh bubbled out of him, breathy and bashful, and his whole body leaned into her like he needed her just to stay standing. He couldn’t stop smiling. Couldn’t stop looking at her.