Walking Timebomb *for RiRiishtar*

Ella nodded and went into the kitchen with a smile. She made herself some hot chocolate and then came back to side to set her mug down. She then went over to the fireplace and started a warm fire. The fire lit up the room with its orange flame. For a moment she stared at the blue flame hidden under the orange. She sighed and sat back down beside Nick again. She cuddled up to him happily and looked out the window too. She says, “At the rate the snow is falling, by tomorrow we won’t be able to open the front door.” She smiled at that idea. That meant she would not go to school tomorrow.

Nick watched the thickly falling snow as Ella made herself hot chocolate and came back. When the room was brightened by the fire he looked at it, the flames dancing brightly. He looked back out the window and he felt her sit down beside him. He wrapped his arms around her when she curled up to him and at a glance at her he saw that she was looking out the window too. He smiled slightly when Ella said that they wouldn't be able to open the front door. He liked the idea of having Ella to himself since she wouldn't go to school. The thought surprised him slightly and he blinked but then smiled again. "Well seeing as you're in no shape to go outside, I might have to shovel the door out so that your mother can come back in if it's too deep when she gats back" he said with a quiet laugh.

Ella smiled when Nick wrapped his arms around her. His body heat surrounded her again. She could get use to always being warmed up by him. She felt safe and wanted when she is kept warm. Ella smiled a moment and laughed as well. She says, “My mom will probably be able to get in if she is wearing her favorite pair. I call them her army boots. They allow her to pretty walk through anything nature throws at her.” She put her head on his shoulder with a smile. She says, “I hope it keeps snowing like this for a while. Then I won’t have to leave you here alone all day.”

Nick smiled slightly at her words. "Good. . . so I won't have to leave you to get cold while I shovel so your mom won't be stranded outside" he said as she put her head on his shoulder. He was still surprised by how much he had been talking and smiling in the past few days. . . it was probably more than he had in his entire life combined. He smiled again when she said she hoped it kept snowing. "I'm fine alone. . . I'm used to it. . . but that would be nice" he said and leaned his head against hers lightly. He wasn't sure if she would be uncomfortable with his face so close so he was prepared to move and he didn't mind if she didn't want him that close.

Ella smiled as his head rested against hers. She did not mind him being so close to her. Although she did blush a bit as she realized how close his face was to hers.” She was about to say something to him, when her mother bursts through the door with her arms full of bags. At first Ella hesitated to move and then she made her way to her mother. Her mother says to her by whispering in her ear as she hands her a bag, “I am sorry for interrupting your lovey dovey moment with Nick. I did not think you would be cuddling up to him so much after just a few days of knowing him.” Ella blushed deep red and put the bags in the kitchen.

Nick didn't move until Ella did when her mom came through the door. He had faint pink on his pale face at being caught like that by her mother. He got up to help with the bags, not wanting to be such a nuiscance in their house. He took a few bags from Ella's mother and carried them to the kitchen after Ella. He could see the bright blush on her cheeks and he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

Ella tried to hide her blush but it did not work. When Nick smirked at the sight of her blush, she was not sure what to think. She asks, “What are you smirking at Nick?” She was still bright red as she looked at him. People can easily tell what Ella was feeling by looking in her eyes. Nick could probably see the confusion, embarrassment, and the unsure of what she feels right now. She looked deep into his eyes as she waited for his answer.

Nick could see her emotions in her eyes and the smirk remained on his face at her question. "You're blushing" the smirk turned into a smile and he tilted his head to the side. "Why?" the smile vanished and his face had a puzzled expression. He was trying to figure out exactly what it was he saw in her bright eyes other than the confusion and embarrassment. He wasn't very good at reading other people, but he figured that he would be pretty soon, as he caught on to things like that pretty well. he remained motionless while he waited for her answer, still trying to figure out what he saw in her eyes.

Ella blushed even more as he asked her why she was blushing. She says, “I am blushing because of what my mother said and the way I feel around you.” She began to mess with her hair between two fingers as she began to get nervous. Her mother was about to enter the kitchen when she noticed the way those two were looking at each. Her daughter was love struck and she smiled at that. She was finally getting over her old lover’s death and making room in her heart for Nick. Her mother went to her room and waited for them to see where this would go.

Nick smiled even more when she said why she was blushing. He walked over to her and hugged her, pulling her close. "And how do you feel about me?" he asked softly. He wanted to know if she shared the feeling he had recently found out he had for her, and by her blush and answer to his first question he was guessing that she did. His face was almost emotionless with his mouth slightly open so that his warm breath was on Ella's face, though he didn't notice this, and his red eyes danced.

Ella blushes deep red as Nick came closer to her. His warm breaths going onto her face making her weak in the knees. She looked into his eyes and slowly moved closer to him. “It is hard for me to express how I feel towards other people. So I really don’t know how tell or show you how I feel.” She stood on her toes so she could be eye level with him and then pressed her lips gently against his. Instantly her chilled body was heated as her heart rate picked up causing blood to rush throughout her body.

Nick's face was content as Ella moved closer to him. He was about to say something to her words when his mouth was suddenly busy. He returned the kiss gently and ran his fingers through her hair lightly. This was the first person he had kissed, and he could feel her heart rate increase. He poured his emotions into the kiss, silently showing how he cared for her. He had a light blush on his face now as he held Ella tightly and kissed her.

Ella whimpered as Nick kissed her back. He felt the same way she did. She broke the kiss after a while knowing her mother had to start making dinner. She blushed as she looked in his eyes. They were slightly dancing. She hugged him gently and said, “I am glad you feel the same as I do. Although I think we should move to another room. My mother will probably need the whole kitchen for what she plans on making.” She kissed his forehead, took his hand, and led him back to the living room. She says as her mother comes out of her room, “You can have the kitchen now mom."

Nick smiled when Ella broke the kiss and he brushed a hand over her cheek lightly. She was beautiful, and she shared his feelings. He hugged her back and nodded at her words. He smiled again when she kissed his forehead and he followed out of the kitchen to the living room, his hair falling into his eyes the moment he started walking, as they always did. He looked at Ella's mom when she came out of her room and he couldn't help but wonder if she knew that they had just kissed. His lips twitched as he thought of this and he looked down at Ella happily.

Ella knew by looking at her mother that she knew what just happened. She sat down on the couch and smiled some. She patted the seat next to her and waited for Nick to sit down. When he did, she cuddled up to him happy. She looked at the collar calmly as she knew it was still keeping his demon in check. Her mother smiled as she saw them happy together. She then went to work on making a special dinner and dessert. It was for Ella finally being able to move on and find a new love. Although her mother would have preferred her to love someone that did not have a demon inside them.

Nick sat down beside Ella when she patted the couch beside her. He put his arms around her when she cuddled up to him and he glanced up to Ella's mom. Seeing her smile he smiled slightly as she walked into the kitchen. He kissed the top of Ella's head lightly and looked out at the snowy sky. He hadn't forgotten about the collar on his neck as he found it so strange to have his demon sleeping like this, but he had gotten used to the feeling of the collar on his neck. He sat in silence holding Ella, not able to really think of anything to say, but he didn't mind silence. . . he was used to it.

Ella looked at him and says after a few minutes, “Now get ready for a lot of swearing. My mom swears a lot when things don’t go the way she wants them to.” She lays her head on his shoulder and looks out at the snow. She groans as the snow taunts her again. Her mother sighed and said, “Don’t even think about it Ella. You get sick too easy to go outside.” Ella sighed and said, “I know mother, but it’s not fair for a girl like me who loves the snow to be kept locked up inside all the time.”

Nick laughed quietly when Ella told him to get ready for alot of swearing. He didn't mind at all. . . he tended to do that himself. He could tell that the snow was really taunting her like that and he wondered how someone like the snow that much. . . to him it was just cold, wet, and uncomfortable. He had always had to live outside with it drenching him and causing his whole body to shake with cold, but now he was inside a warm house and it didn't look that bad but he still didn't get it. He was tempted to take Ella outside in the snow, staying close to her so that she wouldn't get cold and sick, but he decided that it would probably be a bad idea. "What do you do in the snow that's so fun?" he asked curiously.

Ella sighed and said, “My brother and I use to build snowmen together when we were little. It seemed like winter was the only time he had any time to do anything with me. So whenever it would snow, we’d go outside for hours on end and spend time together. He died when I was eight so he was eleven. I like going outside in the snow to relive the memories of our time together and keep our tradition alive, but since I was nine I haven’t been able to go out in the cold. It’s like not having him around to play with made me weaker or something.”

Nick listened to the explination in silence. He had seen snowmen sitting on people's lawns, but he hadn't actually seen someone making one. "That does sound like fun" he said with a smile. "But it's weird that you can't go outside in the cold anymore. . . maybe you just needed someone there with you". He brushed a bit of hair back from her face and kissed her forehead lightly as he looked out at the snow, wondering how deep it would be by the next day.

Ella smiles some and says, “I don’t think the snow is going to stop any time soon.” After few minutes her mother started speaking swear combinations that kept making Ella laugh. She says while getting up to go to the kitchen, “I better go in there and help her before she gets mad and breaks the stove again.” She kissed his forehead and then went into the kitchen. Her mother’s face was beat red out of embarrassment as Ella laughed at her again. She and her mother made the food together without a problem. But the dessert on the other hand was going to be tough.

Nick looked down at Ella before back out the window. She was right. . . it probably wouldn't stop for a while yet. Snow always stops when you want it to continue, and continues when you want it to stop, but Nick had always wanted snow to stop. Hearing the swearing Nick glanced back at the kitchen and laughed. He let go of Ella as she got up to help and he raised an eyebrow. He smiled when she kissed his forehead and he watched them in the kitchen for a bit. He didn't even want to know how she would manage to break the stove, though Nick probably would since he had never used one before. After awhile he got up and walked into the kitchen, standing in the doorway akwardly. "Umm. . . do you need any help?" he asked in his hoarse voice.

Ella looked at him as her mother finally got the cake out of the oven when it was done. She says, “No mom’s got everything set now.” They both say in perfect union, “Thanks for the offer though.” After a while they had dinner and dessert. Then they all went to bed. In the middle of the night Ella got up, got dressed in warm clothes, and then slowly snuck outside to play in the snow. She smiled as the snow fell on her gently. She says, “I kept my promise big brother…” She started to make a snowman with a smile.

Nick nodded and sat down as they began to eat. He went to bed with everyone else but he couldn't sleep. He sat beside the window looking out at the scene outside, everything covered in snow and sparkelling with moonlight as the snow fell steadily. After awhile he heard movement in the house but passed it off as nothing, still looking out the window. He saw Ella outside in the snow and he smiled slightly. She looked so beautiful like that. He watched her starting to build the snowman as he decided to go outside as well. He looked through the bag of clothes he had been given until he found a warm sweater and put it on. It would be all he needed. He walked outside silently and stood beside Ella, looking up at the sky as snow fell on his face before back down to her, the snow nestling into his dark hair.

Ella smiled as she felt Nick next to her. She says, “I couldn’t take being inside anymore.” She turned and kissed his cheek. She was happy to be outside and it showed on her. Her body glowed a light blue color as her happiness beamed off her skin. She then decided to show Nick how to have fun in the snow. After they made snowmen she showed him how to make the perfect snow angel. Ella looked at the sky calmly. She says, “The temperature is going to drop again soon.”