“Okay, that should be it!”

I looked him up and down, trying to read beyond his cold front. Oblivious, his eyes lasered the words on the thick packet of paper. He seemed to murmur and mumble as his finger ran around the words and symbols that were marked on the paper. He stood tall, every part of his body seemed to be placed exactly where he wanted, I straightened my back trying to look like I too had everything together.

“Uh”

Winters eyes glided up from the page, seeming to look at me with not as much intensity as the paper. I still tensed up, expecting a scolding for something that I messed up, but then his eyes almost seemed to stutter, flashing between the paper and me.

“This here, this should be under Christmas Spirit… Just- just for future reference. Don’t fuss Autumn, I just- needed to point it out-I ’ll fix it it’s fine. Christmas doesn’t need anything else on her plate.”

I stared at him confused, when was he so… timid? Now it seemed his voice and expressions betrayed his normal demeanor. I felt now I could loosen up, my sholders began to relax. My hand now hung on the back of my neck, as I gave a soft chuckle of embarrassment, a wide smile not leaving my face.

“It’s fine, don’t sweat it. You know me, no matter how many times we do this I can’t get a hang of it. I feel like you’re the only one around here that can keep up with all these regulations.” I chuckled. “Truly admirable, if I say so myself.”

He gave a tight lipped smile, as a response to that fact. I chuckled to myself, if he saw Summers reports he might actually finally melt. Still, I can’t shrug off how different he has been since last year.

“Christmas Spirit, does well despite everything she has on her plate.” His face then locked back in place as he continued to flip through the papers. He always used to look down on Christmas Spirit, saying she only gets a Holiday she should be able to have things in line.

“How is good old Chris anyway.” I chirped, slightly walking side to side.

“Fine” he deadpanned, his expressions now seeming more familiar.

He used to grumble about her presence, saying “I don’t need an assistant” “I have all of winter handled” and Autumn doesn’t need help with Halloween why do I need help with Christmas?” I wonder the change of heart.

“Warmed up to her yet?” I leaned forward slightly invading his space. A sly grin dancing on my mouth, the words came out slithering through my teeth as he knew exactly what I was getting at. As I planned my words seemed to trickle through his cold front.

He paused for a second, looking as if he were remembering his name for the first time after a stroke. After a second his eyebrows began to weave themselves together, as one would when a computer poses an error screen. If I were to guess, the page would be titled information overload, please reset. He then brought his head up, his face flashing with more emotions then I could comprehend. Going from confused, to angry, to disgusted, flustered all in the span of a second as he processed this overload of my coded words.

“Y-you’re always the one to make small talk, you should just be making sure I understand the reports. I don’t need anymore interruptions.”

He turned away, closing himself off from the world, as he tried to finish briefing over the papers. I looked around avoiding his form, as I waited to make sure he didn’t have any other questions or problems. I heard a thump of the papers as he closed the packet.

Then a movement brought my wondering eyes back to him. His head looking at me from over his shoulder with a piercing expression, but hidden beneath were pained eyes that were slowly being repaired by warm joy of another. Then an overlay of coldness clouded his eyes, his voice breaking the unsteady silence he had created.

“I rule the cold, I command deathly amounts of it. Snow might look pretty, but it still kills!” He got louder, as his words stabbed my smile into broken glass.

“I don’t just-just-“ he gritted his teeth his head still in its fixed position, but his shoulders becoming much more rigid and tense. He gritted through his teeth as loud as he could before it would become yelling. “I don’t just ‘warm up’.” He turned away, his words echoing through the room and in my brain I stumbled back too stunned to speak. Silence filled the room.

Suddenly, he broke the silence with a blood dipped lie.

“I don’t deserve her warmth.”