Chapter Text
“What…is this?”
Vyn looked up at Artem in consternation. Artem returned the look with a blank face before his blue eyes raised to above their heads. There hovered a few sprigs of pine with three snowballs nestled like berries. At his sight it seemed to cheekily sway, letting out tiny, sparkling snowflakes.
“It seems,” the attorney’s voice slowly sounded, “that we have been chosen for Winter’s Wish.”
Vyn hummed neutrally. He had heard about this while living in Stellis. The Winterwish festival was a big deal here, with many visitors coming in the hopes of joining in the fun and being chosen for Winter’s Wish. Winter, people described here, was kind but could also be at times mischievous. She would grant the wishes of a number of people during the height of the season and people had formed a festival around it which had become the Winterwish Festival.
Her wish granting could take on a few different forms. Some people, especially kids, would find a glowing snowball nearby that they would have to hug and keep around until it melted for a wish to be granted. A group or family may find glowing snowballs of different sizes, one for each person in the group, and they would have to create a snowman or snow creature and then find their own accessories to add until Winter was satisfied with their creation.
There were a few others, but they seemed to have fallen victim to what people thought of as Winter’s mischievously romantic or lonely nature.
Two people stuck from moving away from each other under the halo of wish berries and pine, until they had achieved Winter’s desired level of intimacy to have a wish granted. Great for couples. Inconvenient for rivals. Hilarious among friends. Winter never selected those with hatred in their hearts.
The two men had been caught as they entered a cafe behind the rest of their group. Artem was holding the glass door for everyone to enter. Vyn had been last and just as he crossed the threshold, he became stuck. Artem, not realising the other had stopped, had naturally moved to follow him and bring up the rear, only to crash into the smaller man. The taller had managed to save Vyn from falling over with an arm around his waist but then had to use his other arm to brace them both when the door whacked into him as it swung shut.
So the situation now was that just inside the entrance of the cafe door, the two were trapped under the halo of the floating pine and snowballs to not be able to move beyond a small metre wide circle.
They collected themselves and tacitly turned to glare or raised a stoic eyebrow at their companions who had returned to them at the commotion.
Marius was finding the whole thing hilarious. “Haha, who’d have thought you two would be caught together under the couple’s Winter wish? Is there something you need to share with the gang?” His purple eyes were alight with mirth and mischief.
Luke curiously caught a sparkle. “I didn’t think I would ever see this version of Winter’s wish up close.” He looked at the two with a smile. “Should we take a picture to commemorate this event?”
Marius slung an arm around the detective at his question with a sly grin. “Oh, for sure! Even better, we should take a video! What do you say, Miss?” He turned to the only girl of the group.
Their rose had wide green eyes and a slight blush on her face along with a small smile. “Haha, that seems like too much. Although,” she looked around the cafe where there were already some people, especially young girls, who had taken out their phones to record the event. “It seems too late to stop videos from being taken and spreading.”
They were, after all, in a public place. And people loved nothing more than to witness wishes being fulfilled so pictures and videos of various Winter wishes being carried out always circulated.
Marius already had his phone out. “I’ll upload it to my account. ‘My two friend’s got caught under Winter’s Wish together and I got to witness the fun first hand!’”
“‘Friend’s’?” Luke questioned sardonically. He elbowed the taller boy to escape his arm. Marius pouted in put upon hurt and retaliated with messing up his hair before letting him escape. Luke sniffed disdainfully at him before trying to fix it and then turning puppy dog eyes on their Rosa for help in the final touches. She grinned as she combed her fingers through the chocolate locks.
Amidst the chaos, Vyn’s eyebrow twitched at Marius holding his phone up at them and Artem’s slight frown made his face stern as he noted the many devices pointed their way. Sighing, he turned towards the psychologist who had also decided to ignore their surroundings to face him.
“It would be best if we made this quick,” the Svart man stated, dryly. He wore a slightly loose cream sweater over soft acid washed dark jeans and a thick camel overcoat. Gold rimmed glasses glinted in the light.
Artem gave a crooked, awkward smile in response but nodded in agreement. He was wearing a white, open collared, button up beneath a dark maroon red sweater and navy slacks. On top he wore a dark blue coat with pale cream lining. A sleek and stylish watch peeked from his sleeve as he needlessly straightened his clothes and calmed himself. “Then perhaps something simple. A handshake or a hug?”
“Mm, then let us first try an embrace.” Going straight to a hug would be more efficient then testing the handshake first. He held out his arms to see what the other would do. He found that since he had no choice in the matter, he might as well find his fun in seeing the other man’s reactions.
Artem’s hands hovered for a moment before he cleared his throat and murmured a soft, “pardon me.” He reached one arm high around Vyn's shoulders and one looped low to the waist and he stepped close.
Vyn was startled to be pulled close, expecting a polite hug and release, but cooperatively followed the motion. It turned out to be… an incredibly warm embrace. His own arms curled up around the taller man’s shoulders and he wondered if the attorney could feel his suddenly loudly beating heart.
After what felt like an incredibly long moment, but was in actuality only a couple of seconds, they pulled back. Hands naturally falling to hold an elbow or waist they both glanced up to see that there was no change with the Winter snowballs.
Both eyes narrowed. Unexpectedly, Winter desired more than their polite interaction. The next step up from a hug would be a form of kiss. Looking at each other, they realised they were still holding one another in some fashion or other and let go. By now they were willfully ignoring their spectators who were giggling, gossiping and cheering in the background. There wasn’t anything they could do about them anyway.
“We shall take it step by step,” Vyn stated, with a hint of probing in his tone.
“Okay,” Artem nodded as he agreed, albeit a little stiffly. He wasn’t sure from what step Vyn would want to go from so he waited for the psychologist to set the starting point.
Vyn raised an eyebrow at the slight frozen deer look of the older man that others might not pick out from his stoic expression. They may be at odds with each other at times, but there was no need to be so put off by having to act closer to him. This probably wouldn’t need to go that far. Vyn huffed in dissatisfaction before holding out a hand between them, indicating for the older man to give him one of his.
Confused, Artem placed his opposite hand like a handshake. His hand seemed to instantly transfer some warmth to Vyn’s slightly cooler palm.
Vyn’s gold eyes flickered down to their clasped hands for a moment before meeting the attorney’s blue eyes. Deliberately keeping eye contact, his free hand went behind his back and he made an elegant bow as he turned their hands and placed a kiss on the back of Artem’s knuckles, lingering.
Artem was shocked and while his face didn’t change expression beyond a slight widening of his eyes, a hint of colour crept across his cheekbones and ears.
A smile curled the corner of Vyn’s lips as he noted the changes before he smoothed his face again and straightened up.
Their hands fell, fingers trailing and slightly catching, almost seeming reluctant to leave the hold. But they both moved on to check the floating snowballs again. The pine branches shook a little and wiggled, losing a few needles, but no change happened to the shining snowballs.
Artem huffed out a breath while Vyn shifted a hand, the one not quite curled around the phantom feeling of lingering heat, on his hip with a frown. Vyn turned his face to Artem.
“What next?”
Artem dropped his gaze to the shorter man again, examining the other’s face. The psychologist didn’t seem too put out anymore by the situation they found themselves in. If they were to escalate the kiss, then a safe place would be…
A broad palm came up and while Vyn tensed slightly, he allowed it to approach to see what the other would do. The hand came behind his head and, contrary to the thought the attorney might be acting uncharacteristically bold and tilt his head up, gentle but strong fingers threaded through the hair at the back of his head guided him to lower slightly. He then felt the slight rasp of dry but soft and warm lips pressed against his forehead.
The psychologist was barely aware of when he raised his own arm to grasp Artem’s or when the attorney’s other hand had come to his shoulder until he was gently pushed back.
This time, Artem was the one to meet slightly widened eyes behind their golden frame.
Vyn subconsciously raised his fingers to the spot that just received a kiss, lightly stroking.
Collecting himself, he let his hand drop as he gave the older man a teasing smile. “Your lips seem a little dry, Artem. You should drink more water and less coffee.”
Embarrassed, Artem raised a hand to his lips and subconsciously licked them behind his hand. “My apologies.” Seeing the humour in the younger man’s eyes he continued with a slight smile. “It seems my preparations for the day were not thorough enough. I had not considered that I would end up in a situation that would require my lips to be ready for intimate engagement.”
Vyn gave a slight exhalation of laughter. “You are forgiven. Besides drinking more water, you may also consider adding the application of lip balm to your daily routine.”
“Your advice is noted, doctor.” Artem spoke seriously though his azure eyes shone with good humour. His hands were now in his pockets as the atmosphere became relaxed between the two. They both gazed up again. “Still no?”
“Apparently not,” Vyn observed. The magical anomaly let out a few more sparkles as if to encourage or mock them. Flicking away a few of them, he faced his Winter wish counterpart again, contemplatively. Reaching out, he grasped the slope of the taller man’s shoulders and gave a light pressure towards him. “If you would oblige me by bending down a little, Artem?” He would not lower his dignity to go on his toes for this.
The older man willingly bent himself slightly, eyes a little guarded but curious.
Vyn ignored the excited murmurs around them and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the other’s cheek. Faint notes of cedar and vanilla sweet aftershave entered his nose. It seemed to invite him to take a bite.
Vyn moved back, unconsciously inhaling as he went.
Artem also straightened, an absent minded look on his slightly flushed face. Artem cleared his throat and straightened the front of his clothes again. Ignoring the excited chatter and catcalls, they both looked up again to find more vigorous shaking with sparkles and pine needles, but no change to the snowballs.
Both hummed in contemplation, willfully overlooking the more excited murmuring around them and the heated discussion of their friends.
“They’re going to have to kiss now right? Think they’ll do it?”
“They have to do it. They’ll be stuck here forever if they don’t.”
“Surely not. They’ll just be stuck for winter.”
Artem met Vyn’s eyes uncertainly. At this point, the next step would have to be lip to lip contact, right?
Vyn read the hesitation in the other’s face. Guessing the older man would want a sign of his agreement to going ahead with closer intimacy, Vyn raised a challenging silver brow and lifted his chin, unspoken provocation and permission.
Artem still hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth as if to ask or say something before stopping, shaking his head and visibly steeling himself before approaching and bestowing a quick meeting of lips, a flash like the touch of a hummingbird, there and gone.
A few exclamations, far too many sounding disappointed, came from around.
Even Vyn was taken aback, having braced himself for something a little more solid. “Really, Artem? Was that the best you could do?” he mocked lightly. “Anyone would think that was your first kiss.”
Flustered but restraining his embarrassment with a hand on his hip, Artem shook his head with a slightly strangled response. “For a moment I was worried it might be yours. I’m sorry, I realised it probably didn’t matter since you gave me the go ahead but I got caught up in my head worrying about it and just....” His free hand flapped around to indicate the preceding actions.
Vyn snorted, before looking up to check Winter’s reaction. He frowned at the continued shaking and sparkles, but still unchanged snowballs. “Are we certain that this situation is legitimate? How is it that we have progressed this far and still found ourselves entrapped?” He tested his ability to move, but found he was yet unable to leave the set parametre. Vyn glared suspiciously at Marius before letting his gaze roam over the other two brunettes watching the excitement with wide eyes.
The von Hagen scion shook his free hand. “No way. As if I have the skills to pull this off.”
“I wouldn’t dare pull something like this on the both of you,” Luke also denied. “Not to mention people who try to make a fake Winter wish end up with a beating if not chilled by Winter herself.”
If not for the last sentence, Vyn would still think they might be pulling a prank since together the three would be able to pull something like this off, with Marius being an illusionist, Luke laying down the movement restriction and their dear rose orchestrating the whole situation.
A sigh came from beside Vyn, drawing him back from his frustrated thoughts.
“I guess there’s only one thing left to do.”
Artem’s low voice came from closer than Vyn expected. He turned just as fingers grasped his chin and lifted. He saw the senior attorney’s face approaching with a determined expression. Vyn's hands scrabbled slightly in startlement before gaining a firm hold on the taller man’s clothes.
A hair’s breadth from connecting, Artem paused again, blue eyes intent but questioning. Their breaths were held in that moment but their lips seem to faintly tingle from the heat of proximity to one another.
Vyn’s face became solemn and he stabilised his posture before pulling down and pressing forward with a tilt of his head, molten eyes unblinking, daring the older man into battle. Artem had the guts to raise his chin so boldly, would he still fall short at this point?
Seeing that naked provocation again, Artem’s eyes squinted and flashed with amusement before darkening and he no longer held back. Having abandoned Vyn's chin, his arms swept under the camel overcoat to wind around the shorter man’s waist and upper back. He lifted slightly as he pressed closer and at Vyn’s slight “ngh!” of surprise, took advantage of the open mouth to sweep his tongue in.
The silver haired man’s eyelashes flickered slightly, overwhelmed for a moment before he gasped and recovered to press back, raising his arms to tangle into brown hair and lightly gripping. His own tongue was not idle, licking and stroking, curling just as provokingly as his gaze was before.
Just as they pulled back for air and their spectators began awkwardly wondering if this was something they could watch for free, two of the snowballs glowed and exploded into a shower of ribbons and sparkles above them.
Startled out of the heated moment, both men looked up surprised as snowflakes and little ribbon bows fell to rest on their hair and shoulders.
“That seems to have satisfied Winter,” Artem commented wryly. He loosened his arms around the younger man.
“Indeed,” Vyn replied just as dryly, as he let his hands slip down from the other’s hair. “The question of what wish these snowballs have granted that it required that level of involvement occurs to me. I do not see or feel anything that would be a wish granting of note since their explosion besides these decorations. Do you suppose they mean something?”
Artem had released his hold. But as he listened to the other man’s carefully measured voice that was in contrast to his slightly heaving chest and the pale pink hue on his cheeks and reddened lips shiny with wetness, he raised a hand again, his thumb gently swiping the bottom lip as he licked his own. His eyes darted to the little ribbon bows resting amidst silver strands of hair and sparkles and a slight smile entered his eyes as he retrieved his hand. “If I look anything like you, then Winter may be fulfilling her own wish this time and trying to gift us both to each other.”
Vyn didn’t have time to do more than raise a brow before the last snowball glowed and burst with fanfare as if in agreement. Something large and round seemed to drop between them and both men reached out in surprise to catch it, revealing a large silvery egg with blue and gold snowflake patterns, the size to fit snugly in a large shoebox. It was faintly warm.
Both men looked at each other with wide eyes as applause and exclamations rose around them.
“What manner of gift is this?” Vyn asked, bewildered. He steadied the egg as he withdrew to let it rest fully in Artem’s arms. It had a bit of weight to it, seemingly full of something.
“It appears to be an egg,” Artem deadpanned.
Vyn scowled. “I can see that. What are we meant to do with this? Is it meant to hatch? What, exactly, is it hatching?”
“Ohh, I wonder if it will be a dragon!” Finally the others could approach and Marius darted forward eagerly to observe their prize.
Artem instinctively leaned away from the youngest’s grabby hands. He frowned sternly and looked a little scary despite his still disheveled hair. “Please be careful.”
Vyn reached out to take the egg. “Give it to me. Your hair is a mess.”
Artem handed it over to the shorter man easily, his cheeks slightly redder at the reminder of what they had just both engaged in, though his blue eyes then turned thoughtful as he combed his fingers down the back of his head.
Their female voice of reason spoke up at this time to direct them. “We should find a table and stop blocking the door. Then we can sit and discuss what we think the egg will hatch!” Their Rosa clapped her hands in excitement.
Everyone voiced their agreement, though Artem and Vyn both noticed the sly and intrigued eyes of the trio and knew they would be subject to the questions and teasing of the others.
As they made their way over to a vacant booth, Artem twirled a finger in the air, casting a wind spell that allowed for confidential conversations and then leaned towards Vyn’s ear who was walking before him. “Would you like to have dinner together later?”
Vyn’s molten eyes flicked to Artem's face from behind his gold frames. “Are you asking me for a date, Artem Wing?” he asked with a lilt to his voice.
Artem smiled at him, small but gentle. “I believe I am, Dr Richter. I think we have much to discuss,” he cast a glance to the egg in the other’s arms, “and I’m willing to give what Winter might have seen a try if she’s willing to go so far as to grant us an egg.”
The silver haired man made an intrigued sound. “Then I agree to your invitation. Though it sounds like you may have an idea of what may hatch from this egg.”
Artem straightened and gave an awkward chuckle. “Well, if what I have heard previously is accurate and applies to us, then the egg very well may hatch a baby.”
“What.”
Bonus scene:
Almost 2 years later:
Vyn looked at their Winter wish egg which nestled in a basket of blankets near the fireplace. It had stayed warm the whole time on its own but still showed no signs of hatching.
“Artem, are you certain this egg is meant to hatch a baby for us?” he raised his voice to the older man who was putting dishes away in the kitchen.
The two men had dated and were now engaged, having moved into a new home together. After the first year of the egg not hatching, they didn’t carry it around with them everywhere anymore and just focused on their relationship together, until they got to the current point of getting married soon.
Artem’s steady voice floated back. “Well, I think I did say that it was only something I heard. Maybe it didn’t apply to us at that time since we weren’t together yet.”
“So for all that we know, this could have been chocolate the whole time,” Vyn muttered. He lifted the egg up to turn it this way and that as he examined it more closely. For some reason he and Artem had been very resistant to letting others touch it and even they had been very careful when handling it. So this was the first time either of them had given it a comprehensive examination and looked at the very bottom of it.
The psychologist squinted through his glasses. There seemed to be some small print here…
‘Congratulations on getting a baby egg! I hope the two of you will get together! If you don’t get together then this will just be a normal egg and you can make some lovely eggnog. If you do then the stronger the relationship, the healthier the baby! Since I know you weren’t together yet when you granted my wish and got this egg, I’ll give you two years before the baby hatches. Make lots of ‘love’ so that the baby can be nourished with that magic and be born healthy, okay? 💙❄️’
Make…
lots of ‘love’...
to be born…
healthy…?
“ARTEM!!!”