[Gift] snowed in

Being as small as he was, Cygnus didn’t exactly cope well with the cold. He had always been small–probably always would be compared to his siblings–and despite his relatively thick fur he couldn’t hold body heat for the life of him. So, during the winter, he preferred to either bundle up almost excessively or stay indoors. Today was shaping up to be an indoors day–the biting wind proving to intimidate the little cat more than he wanted to admit.

Cygnus sat by the window in his room, staring out at the sheet of white that blanketed his estate’s property. Classical music played softly from the record player in the corner of his room, quiet enough that he barely noticed it was there. The young spacecat sighed softly, his mouth downturned into a small pout. He was bored. 

Standing up and stretching his limbs, Cygnus yawned big before walking out of his room, making sure to stop the record player before leaving. As he descended downstairs into the foyer, he noticed his oldest sibling, Nebula, getting ready to head out. He tilted his head and approached. “Where are you off to…?” He asked, though his mouth spoke no words–he preferred to communicate via telepathy.

Nebula jumped a bit before turning to face him. “Ah, Cygnus! I’ve got to go fetch some supplies for dinner tonight, I seem to have forgotten some things when I went shopping yesterday.” They pulled their scarf over their mouth, muffling their words a bit. “You’re free to come with me, if you’d like. I know you don’t like the cold, but you’d do well to get some fresh air.”

Cygnus paused for a moment, going over his options. Either stay inside, bored out of his mind but warm, or go outside, colder than ice, but possibly a bit entertained. After a few seconds of deliberation, he settled on going with Nebula–as long as he bundled up properly, he should be fine, right?

“Give me a second to fetch my winter gear!” Cygnus leaped off in the direction of his room once more. After quickly grabbing his scarf and boots (yes, boots for his little paws) and putting them on, he bounded downstairs to meet Nebula.

The older cat smiled warmly at their younger brother. “Glad you’re coming. I’d have asked Nezu, but he’s a bit busy writing a song… I’d hate to ruin his creative spark.” They were about to turn and open the door before they realized something. “You don’t have a hat! Your ears are going to get so cold, Cyg..”

The aforementioned ears flattened against their owner’s head. “But you know I don’t like hats… they make my halo all weird.”

Nebula heaved a quick sigh. “Fine… Don’t blame me if your ears get cold, though!” With that said, they opened the door and began their trek out into the snow, Cygnus following alongside them.

It took the pair of siblings quite a bit longer to reach their destination than they had expected. Their estate wasn’t too far out of reach from a small city, and on normal days it would take them five to ten minutes to travel there on foot. Today, however, there were chilling winds and the snow was several inches thick, which did not lend itself to their trek to the grocery store.  The walk was mostly silence between the two, the pair focused on making sure to take each step carefully so as not to slip and fall face first into the snow. For fifteen minutes.

Cygnus shivered, his ears flat against his head as he walked. Sure enough, the little cat was not built for the cold. He held his head down as a defense from the biting wind, holding his wings close and his ears back as he tried his best to conserve as much body heat as possible. Luckily, the city was within sight, and the tall buildings would serve as at least a bit of protection from the wind as they made their way to the store. Once Cygnus made that observation, he picked up the pace, the eventual promise of warmth inside the store invigorating him. Nebula picked up on this and did the same, and soon the two had made it to their destination.

“Phew,” Nebula heaved a sigh as the door shut behind them, the tail end of that sigh shaking a bit due to Nebula’s shivers. They looked down at Cygnus, who was scrunched up next to them. “You okay there, bud?”

“Y-yeah….Just..c-cold…”

“Well, we’re inside now. Let’s take our time getting what we need so we can warm up some.” Nebula nudged Cygnus gently. “C’mon, kiddo.”

“O-okay…” Cygnus nodded, and the two began walking through the store, taking their time to look at things and absorb some heat before grabbing what they needed and checking out. 

As he was walking, Cygnus spotted a familiar face among the customers at the store. He bounded up to the other cat, his eyes bright. One wouldn’t be able to tell how downtrodden and cold he had been just a few moments prior.

“Leo!”

The aforementioned spacecat practically jumped out of his skin, surprised at the sudden approach, before quickly calming down upon realizing who it was. “Cyg!” He exclaimed happily, nuzzling the smaller cat’s cheek affectionately. “Oh, it’s great to see you.”

Cygnus giggled softly, nuzzling Leo back. He couldn’t help but let out a small purr, happy to see his partner unexpectedly. 

Leo, however, flinched slightly at the feeling of Cygnus’s ears. “Your ears are so cold…!”

“Yes, yes, I know, I didn’t bring my hat. Can you blame me?” Cygnus frowned.

“Well, I don’t have a halo, so…” Leo sighed. “I guess your hat messing it up isn’t something I would understand.”

Cygnus puffed his chest out, shooting a playful glance Nebula’s way. “Exactly!”

Nebula huffed through their nose, though a smile was plastered on their face. “How about this? I’ll let you two hang out for a while, and I'll grab everything else we need and head home. Since Leo lives in town, you can stay at his place for a bit to stay warm, just be sure to be home in time for dinner!” Nebula turned to Leo as well, “You’re free to invite yourself over for dinner too, Leo.”

Leo nodded. “Okay! Thank you, Nebula.” He turned back to Cygnus as Nebula walked off, grinning wide. “I just need to check out real quick, then we can hang?”

Cygnus nodded excitedly, and Leo picked up the basket he had his groceries in and trotted over to checkout. After paying for his items–a couple fast meals, snacks, and soda–the two set out into the harsh cold once more. 

It seemed the wind had picked up while they were inside. Cygnus winced at the bitter cold, but Leo stayed close, wrapping his tail around Cygnus’s body to help keep him warm. It didn’t help a ton, but Cygnus appreciated it nonetheless. As they walked, the wind and snow only seemed to get worse, but they were able to make it to Leo’s apartment just in time.

Leo shut the door behind him and heaved a sigh before carrying his bag over to the kitchen and setting it down. He glanced back at Cygnus, a concerned look on his face upon realizing that the smaller spacecat was still shivering at the door.

“Cyg, go curl up on the couch. I’ll make some hot cocoa for us!” Leo called, beckoning his partner over. “It shouldn’t take long. You’re free to turn the TV on and watch something.”

Cygnus briskly nodded and practically made a break for the couch, pulling the plush throw blanket off the back and curling up inside it. It took him a few minutes, but eventually his shivering stopped, and he was warm again. Not a minute too soon, either, as when he poked his head up from the blankets, Leo was approaching him with a pair of mugs floating alongside him using his magic. They were set down on the table and Leo jumped up onto the couch with Cygnus, nuzzling close to him. Cygnus brushed his cheek against Leo’s before bristling slightly at a sudden whistling noise coming from outside–the wind, predictably. 

“We really got inside at just the right time.” Cygnus mused, glancing out the window. He was right, the snow had picked up immensely and the wind was extremely strong. He felt his relief slip away quickly, however, when he realized Nebula would have to walk home in this. He only hoped that they had made it home already, or were staking it out inside the grocery store…

Leo noticed the anxious expression on his partner’s face and leaned in closer, concerned. “You alright?”

Cygnus leaned his weight into Leo. “Nervous…”

“Worried about Nebula, right?”

“Mhm.” 

Leo pulled Cygnus close, allowing the smaller cat to lean his full weight into him. “They’ll be okay. They’re strong, right? And smart. They probably saw the wind picking up when we left and decided to hole up in the store.”

 “I guess so…” Cygnus closed his eyes and began to purr. “You always know what to say.”

“Hehe, of course I do,” Leo grinned. “I don’t want my beautiful swan to get his feathers ruffled worrying about his sibling.”

“You’re silly.” Cygnus chuckled softly. He opened his eyes and looked up at Leo once more. “Can we check for Nebula when the storm dies down?” 

“Of course, Cyg.”

Closing his eyes once more, Cygnus nuzzled into Leo’s chest, his heartbeat soothing his nerves even more. The two cats spent a good few hours together, holed up in Leo’s apartment, eventually turning the TV on to watch a televised ballet that Cygnus wanted to catch. They sipped their cocoa and nuzzled close, the howling wind and fierce snowstorm in the back of their heads while they waited for it to stop. 

Eventually, the two dozed off together. It was getting dark out by then, and the cold had sucked the energy right out of them. They were soon awoken with a start by the sound of knocking on Leo’s door. Leo jolted awake, Cygnus waking up right after.

 “Wuh!” Leo exclaimed, his mane bristling slightly. He forced himself to relax before getting up off the couch. “Stay here, Cyg, I’ll go see who it is.”

Cygnus nodded, watching his partner trot over to the door and open it. He couldn’t quite see who was there, but his curiosity was satiated when Leo called him over. He hurried to the door to see Nebula standing there. He was relieved to see them in one piece, and doubly relieved to see the storm had died down.

“Nebula!” Cygnus pressed his nose to theirs, an affectionate greeting for his sibling. “I was so worried when the storm hit. Did you stay in the store?”

Nebula nodded. “Sure did. Staked it out there with a bunch of other customers and the staff, actually…managed to make a few friends along the way!” They grinned toothily, a happy sight. “And I take it you two didn’t get into any trouble?”

“No, we never do! We just watched a ballet on TV.” Cygnus pouted a bit at his sibling’s insinuating he and Leo would do something illegal or troublesome. “Are we still having dinner?”

Nebula sucked in air through their teeth before speaking. “Weeellll…It’s a bit late for me to cook the dinner I had planned… We can head home, but I’m probably just gonna make some pasta or something.” 

“Sounds fine to me! I like pasta.” Cygnus turned to Leo, looking at him inquisitively. “Are you still coming?”

“Of course I am! You think I’m gonna pass up a good dinner with my partner and his family?” Leo smiled wide. He seemed to notice something, and his smile faltered a bit as he turned to Nebula. “Ah, if you’ll still have me, of course.”

“You’re always welcome, Leo.” Nebula smiled softly down at him. “Since it’s so late, you can stay the night, too, if you’d like.”

“Great!” Leo turned around to get his scarf, hat, and boots on.

 Soon the trio were ready to head out, Cygnus bundled up in his scarf and boots and Leo right beside him. Nebula took the lead, occasionally looking back to check that the younger cats were still behind them. It took a bit of time, having to trudge through so much snow, but it wasn’t a bad thing, Cygnus thought. As long as he got to spend time with the ones he loved, maybe the cold wasn’t so bad.

Of course, when the three got home, they were greeted with a worried-yet-frustrated mouthful from Nezu, who hadn’t been aware they had left in the first place. He forgave them quickly, though, and the group of cats settled down for dinner together before falling asleep in their beds, warm and cozy and safe from the cold outside