DM, Nerd, Gamer, Cat Lady, the list goes on really

From somewhere deeper in the dorm came a horrifying sound.

“NYAAAAAAAGH — !”

A loud crash followed.

Then silence.

The entire room paused their agenda.

Ace slowly lowered his pen, casting a look down the hall. “...Do we think he survived that one?”

Another miserable wail echoed from the bathroom.

“MY TAIL’S ON FIRE!”

Epel winced. “Okay, naw, ah’m startin’ ta feel kinda bad for him.”

“You weren’t saying that twenty minutes ago,” Deuce pointed out without looking up from his notes.

“Twenty minutes ago Ah didn’ know the smoke was gonna start comin’ out under the bathroom door!”

As if summoned by the statement, a faint curl of dark brown smoke drifted down the hallway.

Yuu let out a long, exhausted sigh and dropped their forehead directly onto the open pages of their textbook.

“I just want one normal evening,” they groaned into the paper.

Jack’s ears twitched. For the first time, he looked up from his notes packet. 

Ace snorted immediately. “You took pity on him on the first day. That was your mistake.”

“I’m serious,” Yuu mumbled, finally lifting their head enough to look around at the group. Their expression was worn down in the particular way only Grim-related disasters could accomplish. “One. Just one normal study night. No ghosts. No explosions. No weird curses.”

Another shriek erupted from the bathroom.

“IT BURNS WHEN I FART!”

Yuu closed their eyes. “And no explosive diarrhea.”

Deuce physically recoiled at the phrase. “You really didn’t have to say it like that.”

“How else am I supposed to say it?!” Yuu threw both hands into the air. “He keeps farting fire! Actual fire, Deuce!”

Right on cue, there was a muffled fwump from the hallway followed by Grim hacking up a hairball. A faint orange glow flickered beneath the bathroom door.

Ace burst into laughter so suddenly he nearly slid off the couch.

“Oh my god, he really is shooting flames out of his ass! I thought you were kidding earlier!”

“Ace!” Deuce snapped, horrified.

“What? He is!”

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, silently sliding Yuu’s textbook out before they could give themselves a welt.

Epel looked deeply conflicted between concern and amusement. His upper lip twitched in the space between  “What did he even eat?”

“That raspberry-looking plant from alchemy,” Yuu answered miserably.

Jack immediately looked up from his pilfering. “The red one with the spotted leaves?”

“Yeah.”

“That wasn’t a raspberry.” Jack clicked his tongue. 

Yuu sighed, their wrinkles beginning to form wrinkles. “I know that now.”

Ace barked another laugh, close to a strangled garble.

Yuu pointed accusingly toward him and every other mage in the room. “Why does a plant that looks exactly like a raspberry make someone fart fire?! Who invented that?! What sicko in this world thought cultivating that sort of thing would help society?!”

“This is why Professor Crewel says not to ingest random ingredients,” Jack said flatly.

“Okay, in Grim’s defense,” Ace cut in, grinning, “he probably thought eating the magic ingredient would make him stronger or something.”

Another agonized cry rang through the dorm.

“YUUUU! MY TAIL’S GONNA FALL OFF—!” 

Deuce looked increasingly alarmed. “Should we maybe take him to the infirmary?”

“He already went,” Yuu replied tiredly. “They said he just has to ‘let the effects pass naturally.’”

“THERE’S NO NATURAL ABOUT THIS!”

“You’ll live!” Yuu called back automatically.

“IT AIN’T LIVIN’ IF I CAN’T SIT DOWN!”

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose while his tail thumped once against the couch cushion in poorly concealed amusement.

“I don’t like how you’re used to this, but I’m not surprised either.”

Yuu looked him dead in the eye.

“Jack. Three weeks ago he swallowed an entire bottle of shrinking potion because he thought it was grape soda.”

“…Right.”

“And one time he set the foyer curtains on fire while trying to roast chestnuts indoors.”

Ace perked up. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that one! Do you still have them?” 

Without further comment, Yuu juts their thumb towards the nearest hallway. Ace stretched his neck to see the mangled curtain covering only half of the archway window. 

“How do you forget about that one?” Deuce snorted a laugh,”he was missing a patch of fur on his scalp for months.”

“Well now I’ll be shocked if he comes out with anything but a singed ass,” Ace rolled his eyes, “maybe he’ll wear pants now.” 

Another distant explosion echoed through Ramshackle.

Silence settled over the room afterward.

“…Ah can smell smoke,” Epel whispered.

Yuu sighed the sigh of someone aged beyond their years. “Yeah. Me too.”

Jack glanced toward the hall again, brows furrowed. For all his usual bluntness, there was genuine concern beneath it now. “…Should somebody check on him?”

Before Yuu could answer, Grim came tearing around the corner at full speed.

His fur was puffed out twice its normal size, eyes wild with panic, and smoke curled faintly behind him like a cartoon fuse.

“I THINK IT’S GETTIN’ WORSE. CALL SOMEONE PLEASE —”

FWOOF.

A burst of flame shot from behind him.

Ace snickered so hard he had to fold over the arm of the chair. Deuce made a helpless noise that was half groan and half laugh. Epel buried his face in his sleeve, shoulders shaking. Even Jack looked like he was fighting the impulse. 

Yuu simply closed their textbook with the exhausted calm of someone who had already accepted their fate hours ago.

“Come on. Let’s go see if Crewel isn’t upset with you anymore.”

—

Crowley’s announcement about an extended weekend was barely up an hour before the entire campus lit with excitement.

Students flooded the halls making plans, arguing over reservations, scrambling to book train tickets home before everything filled up. Even Ramshackle wasn’t immune to it. Grim spent the last twenty minutes dramatically lamenting that nobody ever took him on luxurious vacations despite the fact he is practically a “campus celebrity”. 

Yuu tuned him out, for the most part.

They were currently crouched beside the old couch in Ramshackle’s living room trying to untangle a charging cord that had somehow wrapped itself around one of the table legs. The late afternoon light filtering through the dusty windows painted the room gold, and outside they could hear the distant chatter of students heading back from classes.

The front door creaked open.

“Yuu?”

Jack’s voice carried easily through the dorm, deep and familiar.

“In here!” they called back.

Heavy footsteps crossed the floorboards before he appeared in the doorway of the living room. He had his gym bag slung over one shoulder, ashen hair slightly damp around the edges like he’d showered recently after practice. His ears twitched once when he spotted them half underneath the coffee table.

“…What are you doing?”

Yuu looked up blandly, holding up the tangled mess of cord. “Fighting for my life.”

Jack snorted through his nose.

It was brief, but Yuu had learned by now that Jack’s quieter reactions usually meant he found something genuinely funny.

They finally tugged the cord free with a victorious little “Ha!” before standing up and dusting off their knees.

“So,” they said, “what’s up?”

Jack shifted his weight.

Immediately, Yuu noticed something slightly…off.

Jack was normally straightforward to the point of bluntness. If he had something to say, he usually just said it. But now his gaze flicked away for half a second, one hand adjusting unnecessarily on the strap of his bag.

His ears angled back faintly.

“There’s a long weekend coming up,” he said. “My family usually heads to a ski lodge in the Shaftlands around this time. We’ve got a membership there.”

Yuu leaned back against the arm of the couch, watching him curiously. The explanation sounded rehearsed somehow, like he’d been thinking about how to bring this up for a while.

Jack continued before the silence could stretch too long.

“My siblings like going every year. There’s good snow this season, apparently.” His ears flicked once. “So I was thinking…”

He hesitated, took his cheek between his teeth. Amber eyes dodged Yuu carefully in a game of stalling. 

Then he finally looked at them properly.

“Do you…want to come with me?”

Yuu blinked.

For a second, they genuinely thought they’d misheard him.

“…Wait,” they said slowly. “Really?”

A faint flush crept onto Jack’s face almost immediately, visible even beneath the darker tone of his skin. He looked away first, shoulders stiffening just slightly as though he already regretted phrasing it so bluntly.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

Yuu stared at him another second before narrowing their eyes suspiciously.

“What’s the catch?”

“There isn’t one.”

“You’re inviting me on a vacation trip. There is absolutely a catch. A fee?”

Jack exhaled through his nose, somewhere between amused and exasperated. “No catch. I just…” He adjusted the strap of his gym bag unnecessarily. “Thought you could use a break.”

The last part came as a flustered mutter, his ears flattened down.

And before Yuu could brush it off or joke again, he quickly added, “Besides, I never really repaid you for helping with the mess in Savanaclaw when we first met.”

“The magift incident?” Yuu asked, the first thing on their mind. 

Jack nodded once, not eager to discuss the details of his dorm’s shame. 

Yuu couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped them. “Jack, you’ve repaid me like ten times over since then.”

“I haven’t.” he argued. 

“You helped me deal with Azul, dummy.”

“That’s different.”

Crowley made the request, and he couldn’t in good conscience leave you to suffer when the other three idiots fell to Ashengrotto’s mercy. 

“You also fix things around Ramshackle constantly.” Yuu gestured vaguely around the room. “The window latch. The porch steps. My hair dryer last week—”

“True,” Jack interrupted, ears twitching faintly. “But I broke that first.”

He’d stopped by for a shower after his morning run, and they’d leant it to him before class. The clogged fan was more-so their own fault yet he still replaced it. 

Jack’s mouth twitched faintly at the corners, the closest thing he usually got to a grin when he had full control. Which he tried to maintain with their eyes scrutinizing every subtle shuffle on his feet. 

Jack finally looked back at Yuu, more serious this time.

“So,” he dragged out, cutting clean through the moment before either of them could dance around it any longer. “Do you want to come?

There was something earnest in the way he asked it now. Not awkward exactly, Jack was too proud for that, but careful in a way Yuu wasn’t used to seeing from him. You opened their mouth to answer, but paused. 

Their nose scrunched up with an afterthought. “What about Grim?”  

The question was practical.. Leaving Ramshackle unattended overnight was one thing.

Leaving Grim unattended was another entirely.

“I already asked Ruggie senpai to watch him.” Jack assured, setting his shoulder back a bit. 

Yuu blinked, shocked. 

“You asked him before asking me?”

Jack looked faintly defensive at that. “Well, yeah. I wasn’t gonna invite you if you couldn’t actually go.”

Jack shifted slightly where he stood near the doorway, one hand still hooked around the strap of his gym bag. There was a quiet confidence to the answer, like this had been settled before he’d even stepped foot inside Ramshackle today.

The thought stirred something in Yuu’s chest. He really meant to give them a break. 

Jack shifted his weight, one hand still hooked around the strap of his gym bag. “Besides, Grim knows Ruggie senpai already. It’s not like he’d be stuck with a stranger.”

“True,” Yuu admitted slowly, though their eyes narrowed a second later. “How much did Ruggie charge you?”

Jack looked away.

That deflection was answer enough.

“…Jack.”

“It wasn’t that bad, believe me.”

“Jack.”

Said man heaved a sigh from his chest. “How much he charged is between him and me, but it’s not unreasonable. So quit looking at me that, alright?” 

He wouldn’t so much as think of the number. Ruggie’s resourcefulness would truly remain a mystery from them and anyone else who wanted to stick their nose in it. 

Rather than drag the painful silence out, Jack jut his chin in their direction. Amber eyes locked pointedly on the drapes behind them rather than see that pitying expression. 

The silent question sat between them for a third time, along with the travel pass in his back pocket. 

A ski trip with Jack.

Cold mountain air. Snow. A few days away from NRC chaos.

Yuu’s eyes crinkled at the corners at the very thought.

“…Yeah,” they said. “I do. Pick me up on Friday? ”

Jack gave them a curt nod before shuffling to tug a small brochure from the lodge out of his duffle bag. It was kept pristine, likely safe in a pocket rather than smooshed with his gym belongings. He handed it over to them with formal courtesy, yet the gentle sway of his tail gave away exactly how glad he was for their decision. 

---

The Shaftland mountaintops are more breathtaking than any hill on the Island of Sages. 

That was Yuu’s first coherent thought, stepping out of the shuttle and into the crisp mountain air.

Snow blanketed everything in soft white layers, thick over the rooftops and piled high along the paths winding between cabins. The surrounding pines glittered with frost beneath the late afternoon sun, and somewhere in the distance Yuu could hear the muffled sounds of people laughing near the slopes.

Their breath fogged in front of them immediately.

“Oh, wow,” they murmured in awe.

Beside them, Jack adjusted the duffel bag over one shoulder, looking considerably more at home in the cold than Yuu did. His ears twitched slightly in the mountain wind.

“Told you it was nice.”

“Nice?” Yuu repeated, looking around in disbelief. “Jack, this place is gorgeous.”

Something pleased flickered briefly across his face at their reaction before he looked away again.

The lodge itself sat further up the mountain, all warm golden lights and dark wood beams against the snow. Smaller family cabins dotted the surrounding area, smoke curling lazily from chimneys.

As they started up the path, Jack cleared his throat.

“So… there’s something I should probably mention first.”

Yuu glanced at him. “That sounds ominous.”

“It’s not.” He paused. “It’s just that my siblings aren’t here.”

“Oh?”

“My sister got grounded for sneaking out.”

Yuu snorted, watching as an elder-brother 's worries drag Jack’s expression to something miserable.

“And my brother ditched the trip for a date.”

That made them fully stop walking, raising a brow with an impish glint.

“…Your little brother?”

Jack looked deeply unimpressed. “Yeah.”

Yuu stared at him for one long second before their shoulders shook.

“No way.”

“Don’t start.”Jack flicked their forehead, “We can still go back to school.”

“Jack Howl got abandoned for a date by his baby brother?”

“He’s not a baby. He’s a rebellious tween who thinks he knows everything.”

“Yet he has better game than you.”

Jack groaned while Yuu skipped beside him, boots crunching through the snow again as they continued up the path.

“It’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny.” They pinched their fingers together with just a millimeter from touching.

His tail flicked behind him in annoyance, though Yuu caught the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Still, after a moment, Jack glanced sideways at them again.

“…You don’t mind, right?” The question was casual on the surface, but Yuu noticed the subtle hesitation underneath it. Without his siblings, they’d be alone overnight. He was trying to gauge whether this suddenly becoming a trip with just the two of them changed anything. The last thing Jack wanted to be was inconsiderate. 

Yuu schooled the nerves bundling deep down. 

“Jack,” they said, “I agreed to come because I wanted to spend time with you. We can pester your siblings next time.”

Jack nearly missed a step up the pathway, just as his cheeks finally took that tinted color. Although unlike the people surrounding them, his flush wasn't from the cold.

“…Right,” he muttered.

Yuu hid their smile behind the collar of their coat.

—

By the time they reached the cabin area, snow had already started dusting lightly from the sky again.

Jack stopped in front of a large cabin tucked near the edge of the woods. Warm light glowed through the windows, and the entire place looked cozy enough to belong in a postcard.

“This is yours?” Yuu asked.

“My family’s,” Jack corrected as he unlocked the door.

The inside was even nicer.

Warm wooden walls, thick rugs, a massive stone fireplace already crackling with heat. The air smelled faintly like cedar and smoke, and Yuu immediately felt their frozen fingers start thawing.

“This is huge,” they took it in as Jack carried both their bags inside before they could protest.

“It’s easier when everybody comes up together.” He set the luggage down near the small kitchen archway. “My grandparents stay here sometimes too.”

Yuu wandered a little further into the living area, still taking everything in, before turning back toward him.

“So where am I sleeping?”

Jack answered so quickly it almost sounded rehearsed.

“You can take my room.”

Yuu blinked. “Jack, I can just use a guest room.”

“There isn’t really one,” he admitted. “And I figured you’d probably be more comfortable in mine than sleeping around a bunch of my family’s stuff.”

“Oh.”

The sudden thoughtfulness of that hit harder than expected, but this was Jack. They should have expected him to think ten steps ahead.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’ll stay in my parents’ room. They’re not using it this weekend anyway.”

“You don’t have to give up your room for me.”

“It’s fine.”

And judging by the firm look on his face, arguing about it would go nowhere.

Yuu smiled a little instead.

“…Thanks, Jack.”

His ears flicked upward slightly at the sound of his name spoken so softly.

Then, before the moment could linger too long, he grabbed one of the bags again and jerked his head toward the hallway.

“C’mon,” he said. “I’ll show you where everything is.”

—-

By the time they were ready to leave the cabin, the afternoon properly settled in around the mountain, turning the snow outside bright and almost blinding beneath a pale winter sky.

Yuu stood near the front door in a bundle of borrowed layers, blinking down at themselves as they adjusted the cuffs of the cream puffer coat Jack had handed over from his mother’s closet. It was warmer than anything they’d brought, thick and soft-lined, with a pale, almost feminine cut to it that made it look a little too cute on them in a way they were not entirely prepared for. The matching gloves were a little oversized, and the fluffy ushanka hat kept slipping low over their ears.

Jack, who had apparently decided this was normal and not at all worth commenting on, was tightening the strap on his own gear nearby.

“This is your mom’s?” Yuu asked, tugging the sleeve down over their wrist.

“Yes,” Jack said, glancing over. His gaze traveled briefly over the fit before he nodded once, apparently satisfied. “It suits you.”

Yuu paused.

That earned them an immediate, suspiciously casual look from Jack as he finished fastening his boots.

“It’s just winter gear. Don’t make a big deal about it,” he added, though the faint rise of color on his cheeks suggested he’d been thinking something else entirely.

Yuu smiled to themselves and turned toward the mirror near the entryway just long enough to catch their reflection. Between the soft coat, the scarf wrapped high around their neck, and the fluffy earflap hat Jack’s mother had lent them, they looked warmer than they ever had in their life.

Also, annoyingly adorable.

“I can’t believe you let me wear something this cute,” they said, turning back to him.

Jack huffed softly through his nose. “You act like that’s a bad thing.”

A few minutes later, they were outside, heading toward the slopes with the cold air crisp against their cheeks and the snow crunching under their boots. Jack carried most of the gear without complaint, snowboard tucked under one arm and an extra tube under the other. The beginner slope was already busy with other guests in the distance, though not so crowded that it felt overwhelming. Everything around them shimmered with winter light and movement — people socializing, ski poles flashing, the distant whoosh of snow underboards.

Yuu looked around with wide eyes. “I didn’t expect there to be so many people this time of year.”

Jack glanced at them and gave a small nod. “Told you.It’s a popular spot for tourism. If we went an hour south, you’d be near where Epel’s from.”

“I know, but still.”

He seemed pleased by that in the quiet way he usually was, and for a moment he looked almost at peace here, as if the mountain had been built specifically for him.

Yuu’s gaze dropped to the snowboard in his hand, then to the tube, and they made a face.

“I should warn you,” they said, “I have never skied or snowboarded in my life.”

Jack stopped walking.

“…Never?”

“Nope.”

He studied them for a moment, then said, carefully, “If you want, I can teach you. But maybe not today.”

Yuu blinked. “Why not today?”

Jack gave them a look that was somehow both patient and practical. “Because it’s your first time, and I’d rather not send you down a slope headfirst when you’ve got only one day here.”

Yuu made a soft, offended sound. “I’m not that fragile.”

“Maybe next time,” Jack continued, tone easing a little. “When we have more than one day.”

The wording did something unhelpful and warm to Yuu’s chest, but before they could poke at it, Jack adjusted his grip on the tube and nodded toward the beginner slope.

“There are sled tubes,” he said. “You can start with the bunny run.”

He almost wanted to say it suited them, given how those ear covers knocked their intimidation factor from neutral to docile. Yet thought better of it. 

At the lift, Jack stood behind them when they boarded, one steady hand settling at their waist for balance as the seat swung slightly under their weight. Yuu startled a little at first, then relaxed when they realized he was just making sure they didn’t slip.

The cold air brushed their face as the lift began to rise, carrying them over the white slope below. From up here, the mountain looked even prettier — wide stretches of untouched snow, the sharp line of the trees, and tiny skiers moving like dots below them.

Jack kept one hand lightly at their side, careful and grounding.

“You okay?” he asked.

Yuu leaned back a little, watching the slope grow farther below them. “I think I’m too busy being impressed to be nervous.”

“That’s good.”

He looked ahead again, posture easy but alert in the way it always was. The quiet between them felt comfortable rather than awkward, broken only by the creak of the lift and the distant rush of wind.

By the time they reached the beginner run, Jack dismounted smoothly and then turned back to help Yuu down. He took the tube next, setting it on the snow and patting the inner edge.

“Sit.”

Yuu obeyed, then immediately looked uncertain once they were settled into the tube. “This feels suspiciously like the prelude to disaster and I don’t have health insurance.”

“It isn’t, I promise.” He bit his lip not to laugh. 

Jack knelt slightly in front of them, checking the tube’s position, then adjusted their gloves where they held the handles. “Hold on tight.”

Yuu’s fingers tightened obediently.

Jack’s gaze sharpened just a little. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

Yuu looked up at him. “Yes.”

He didn’t ask again. 

“You want me to send you down?”

That made them hesitate for half a second, but only half. “Yes.”

He held their gaze one second longer, clearly making sure they meant it, before his expression eased. Satisfied, he nodded once.

“Okay.”

Then, with one quick shove of his foot against the side of the tube, he sent them careening down the slope.

Yuu’s scream split the air almost immediately. His ears flicked back on recoil.

Jack followed on his snowboard right after, pushing off with easy control, and for one brief moment he heard nothing but wind —

Then Yuu’s screams broke into laughter.

He caught the sound immediately, sharp and bright over the snowbend.

Jack’s mouth twitched.

Apparently they were enjoying themselves  enough.

He kicked harder, carving down the slope after them while their laughter carried back up to him again and again, warm and delighted and entirely unlike the nervous sound they’d made only minutes before.

At the bottom, Yuu wobbled upright in the tube, cheeks flushed red from the cold and from laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Their hair had come loose from beneath the hat in a messy windblown halo, and they looked thoroughly thrilled.

The tube had half-swallowed them on landing, awkwardly stuck around their hips while they tried unsuccessfully to stand.

“It won’t let me out,” they wheezed.

Jack stepped off his board, amusement obvious now as he grabbed both their hands.

“One, two—”

With a firm tug, Jack pulled them free at last, and Yuu nearly stumbled straight into him before catching themselves. They were still laughing, breathless and bright-eyed, when Jack looked down at them and asked, feigning nonchalance, “Did you like it?” 

Yuu was still trying to recover enough to answer properly, but the smile on their face said everything.

Jack’s gaze softened by a fraction. “Your voice is usually easy to pick out of a crowd,” he huffed a laugh. “But all I heard going down was you.”

Yuu laughed again, breath fogging in the cold air.

Then suddenly they pointed straight up the mountainside.

“Again!”

“Okay,” Jack said easily, stepping back to grab their gear. “C’mon, let’s head ba—”

“No.” Yuu pointed further upward toward another slope entirely. He followed their goal to the advanced placement course. The black diamond. His teeth clenched.

“That one! I want to do that one!” 

—

By the time they reached the top of the black diamond course, Jack was beginning to understand exactly what his senpai meant when they called Yuu his weak spot.

He had told himself it was a bad idea almost the entire way up.

Not because he doubted Yuu’s courage. That was a reoccuring  problem, actually. They had far too much of it.

The second they flashed him that bright, reckless smile and pointed toward the advanced slope, every sensible thought he had about maybe this is too much for a first day had gone right out of his head.

He just couldn’t say ‘no’. 

So instead of refusing, he ended up hauling a two-person tube up the slope while Yuu practically bounced beside him, still buzzing from the first ride like they had just discovered the meaning of life.

At the top, Jack set the tube down in the snow and exhaled slowly, watching his breath fog in the cold air. The slope ahead dropped away sharply, fast and narrow, with hard-packed snow and enough natural bumps to send even a good rider airborne if they hit it right. It was the kind of course that looked fun only after you survived it.

Yuu, naturally, looked thrilled. He forgot how easily they adapted. 

Jack glanced at them, then pointed toward the front of the tube. “You sit there.”

Yuu blinked. “Why?”

“Because I’m heavier,” he said, already stepping around them, “and the back will stay steadier that way.”

Their expression shifted into open amusement. “You’re just worried I’ll fall out, there’s a chasm between your eyebrows that’s going to leave a mark.”

Jack did not answer immediately, mainly because they weren’t wrong and he wasn’t about to tell a boldfaced lie. 

Yuu grinned wider and climbed into the front of the tube with far too much enthusiasm, settling in and gripping the handles. Jack moved behind them, bracing one knee in the snow as he lowered himself into place. The tube dipped slightly beneath his weight, and he immediately adjusted, one arm coming around to steady the side.

His hands hovered for a second at Yuu’s waist, then settled on the handles once he was sure they were secure.

“Hold on,” he commanded, curt. “Don’t let go and keep your feet from skidding.” 

Yuu looked back over their shoulder, eyes shining with ice globs clinging to their hair. “If we hit a rock, do you think it’ll launch me?.”

“Yes. So let’s not.” Jack discouraged the thought, not finding their human slingshot funny. 

That earned him a laugh, soft and delighted, and Jack had the completely unhelpful thought that they looked especially pretty like this—cheeks pink from the cold, hair dusted with melting snow, eyes bright with anticipation.

He looked away before that thought could become anything more dangerous. They’re here for a break. Nothing more. 

Yuu, apparently not intending to give him a chance to recover, rocked eagerly in the tube. “You ready?”

Jack let out a quiet breath. “No.”

He gave one last look down the course, gauged the line ahead, then braced himself.

When he kicked off, the tube lurched forward hard enough to make Yuu yelp, and then they were flying.

The first straight down drop sent them both into screaming. Albeit Jack’s was far less pitched and more from a sink in his chest. 

Cold wind tore at Jack’s ears. The tube bounced hard over a ridge, jolting them up off the snow for a second before slamming back down. Instinctively, Jack’s legs squeezed in around Yuu’s sides to keep them from sliding too far forward. His arms tightened too, one hand braced at the side, the other catching the tube whenever it started to drift.

Yuu shrieked, then immediately burst into laughter so bright Jack almost laughed with them just from the sound of it.

The track was rougher than it looked from below. They hit one bump, then another, and the tube hopped sideways before Jack leaned hard to the left, steering them away from the edge of a cluster of exposed rocks. A few seconds later they hit a dip that lifted them so suddenly both of them left the ground for a breathless moment.

“Watch the turn!” he called, because apparently he was now the responsible one in a situation that involved being hurled downhill in a rubber tube at questionable speed.

“I’m trying!” Yuu shouted back, still laughing hard enough to make the words waver.

Another bump. Another sharp slide.

Jack leaned right this time, narrowly missing a patch of ice and a tree trunk that flashed past just close enough to earn a sharp, startled noise from both of them.

His pulse was beating fast now—not from fear exactly, though there was some of that too—but from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. The cold air, the speed, the rush of being with someone as the world blurred around them. It was different compared to doing it alone on a snowboard. At some point, Jack’s focus bent and it became less about leading the ride and more joining in for the fun 

He got it now.

He understood why people did this for enjoyment. Why his parents had always seemed so fond of the tubing runs when they came here together. With another person in the tube, the whole thing felt different—less like a solo test of balance and more like a shared rush, a sprint through cold air with someone else’s laughter in your ears.

It was more chaotic than snowboarding. Less controlled. 

Far more fun.

Especially when the wind steals your screams and no one is there to judge. 

By the time their tube shot toward the end of the course, both of them were breathless from shouting and clenching their stomachs every time it bounced. Jack barely had time to brace before the run flattened out and they slid to a stop in a spray of snow.

For a second, there was only silence as they caught their breath.

Then Jack leaned forwards, trying to catch the vibrancy back with his pulse in his ears. 

Yuu twisted around in the tube to face him, cheeks flushed, eyes shining so brightly they almost looked lit from within. 

“One more time!” 

Just like before, who was Jack to tell them ‘no’? 

—

By the time evening settled over the lodge, the windows had gone dark with winter night.

Dinner had been simple—salisbury steaks, baked potatoes, and warm rolls from the lodge restaurant—but after a full day out in the cold, it had tasted better than almost anything Jack could remember. Yuu had looked half asleep by the time they’d gotten back to the cabin, all bundled up again and flushed from a dip in the sauna. 

Inside their space, though, the cabin was alive in a different way than when they first settled in. The fireplace crackled softly across the room, casting amber light over the wood-paneled walls and the thick blanket draped around Yuu’s shoulders. They were curled into the corner of the sofa in front of the fire, looking small beneath one of Jack’s heavy blankets and very content about it.

Jack returned a moment later carrying two mugs carefully in his hands.

Hot cocoa steamed from both cups, the scent sweet and rich as he crossed the room and lowered himself onto the couch beside them. It was well past his usual bedtime—far past it, really—but he did not seem even slightly bothered by that fact. If anything, he looked like he had settled into the quiet of the evening as naturally as he did the snow.

Yuu peeked at him over the rim of the blanket. “You’re really staying up this late?”

Jack glanced at the clock, then back at them. “It’s not that late.”

“It is for you.”

He gave them a look that was almost dry enough to count as a joke. “I’m aware.”

That earned a soft laugh from Yuu, and Jack’s tail gave a lazy sweep behind the couch before settling again.

For a while, they simply sat there together, shoulders almost touching, heat from the fire warming their faces while the storm-soft hush of the mountain pressed gently against the windows. Yuu held the mug in both hands, letting the warmth seep into their fingers. Jack leaned back into the cushions with his own cocoa resting carefully in his palm, looking far too calm for someone who had spent the entire day hauling them around the slopes and pretending he was not absolutely charmed by every second of it.

After a little while, Yuu turned toward him.

They lifted their cup without a word, a silent request.

Jack understood immediately. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he raised his mug to meet theirs.

The ceramic made a soft, cozy clink.

Yuu smiled at him over the rim. “To Jack,” they said, voice warm with the firelight. “The best guy I’ll ever know. Thank you for bringing me here. I had a lot of fun.” 

Jack froze mid-sip, his grip tightened around the mug handle. He should have expected this, maybe. Yuu was always kind in a way that got under his skin before he had time to brace for it. Too sincere, too sweet, it’s no wonder their enrollment at Night Raven was a fluke. At least partially, since their mind could string sentences most guys there cringed to even think. 

Even him. Jack is not the type to extend an invite to another person. Their company had to be better than his own solitude. Yuu miscontrived his intentions. For that, he was guilty. 

That undeserved admiration settled heavily over his shoulders.

Jack looked at them quietly for a moment, his cocoa forgotten in his hands. The cabin had gone still around them—just the crackling fireplace, the soft hiss of wind outside the windows, and Yuu sitting curled beside him beneath his family’s roof like they belonged there.

Like they belonged with him.

“You’re special,” Jack sighed, resigning himself to honesty’s curse. His voice dipped to a low rumble, short of his usual blunt dictation. 

Yuu blinked at him, clearly caught off guard by the sudden seriousness in his voice.

Jack’s ears twitched once before flattening faintly with embarrassment, but he forced himself to continue instead of retreating from it.

“I meant what I said before,” he admitted. “About wanting to give you a break.” His gaze flicked briefly toward the fire before returning to them. “But that wasn’t the only reason I asked you to come.”

Jack swallowed a thick thought.

“I wanted…” He exhaled slow through his nose. “I wanted time with you. Just you.”

Something in Yuu’s expression softened immediately.

Jack could feel his pulse beating harder now, strangely aware of every inch between them on the couch. The warmth of them. The faint scent of cocoa and cedarwood lingering in the room. The way Yuu’s knee pressed against his when they shifted.

“I like being around you,” he continued, tucking his chin down. “More than anybody else.”

The confession sat between them in the firelight, raw in a way Jack usually hated being.

He waited, not that he could add more if he wanted to. His voice wouldn’t comply. 

“Jack.”

They called, and he turned to face their response with dignity… yet the look on Yuu’s face nearly unraveled him completely. Their eyes were warm and shining in the glow of the fire, their expression so unbearably fond that it made his chest ache.

Yuu moved before he could ask what they were doing, leaning in to press a soft kiss against his cheek. Their lips were warm and quick, and when they pulled back, they reached up with one finger and brushed a little whipped cream from the tip of his nose. He hadn’t realized it was there to begin with. 

“I like spending time with you too.”

That guilt in his stomach dispelled as quick as it made an appearance. 

Something inside him gave way.

He set his mug down quickly on the table beside the couch before it could spill from his suddenly clumsy grip. Then his hand came up to cradle Yuu’s cheek, large and warm against their skin, thumb brushing lightly beneath their eye as though he couldn’t help touching them now that he’d started.

Yuu leaned into his palm, their chest rising with one deep breath.

Before he could wonder what that meant, Jack took the plunge down a new, undiscovered slope. He pulled them in and stole that breath straight from their lungs. 

Yuu made a soft startled sound against his mouth before melting into him almost instantly, one hand catching lightly against the front of his sweater. The kiss tasted faintly of cocoa and whipped cream, sweet and warm from the drinks they’d abandoned moments earlier.

Jack’s fingers flexed gently along Yuu’s cheek as he tilted closer.

He’d imagined this before—more than once, if he was being honest with himself — but reality was somehow worse in the best possible way. Yuu was warm beneath his hand, lips soft against his, their breath mingling with his in little uneven puffs while the fire crackled beside them.

Yuu shifted closer on instinct, and the blanket slipped around both of them as they moved. Jack’s other arm immediately wrapped around their waist to steady them, pulling them into his lap like there was nowhere else they were supposed to be.

The couch cushions dipped beneath the added weight.

Neither of them cared.

Jack kissed them again, slower this time.

He lingered in it.

Savored it.

His thumb stroked softly along Yuu’s cheekbone while their fingers slid upward into the hair at the nape of his neck, gentle enough to make a shiver run down his spine despite the warmth of the room.

Outside, snow drifted quietly past the windows.

Inside, the fire painted a portrait of passion.

Yuu pulled back barely an inch, enough for Jack to feel their smile against his mouth before they leaned in again themselves this time, kissing him with a sweetness that made something deep in his chest tighten painfully.

Mercy.

He liked them so much.

More than he’d realized.

Jack’s forehead rested against theirs when they finally broke apart for air, both of them breathing a little unevenly after the leap they’d just taken together.