Stupid Snow (Russia x Reader)

Stupid Snow

“Snow, snow, snow, and more snow,” _______ griped, glaring at the white fluff as it engulfed her boots. “I hate snow.”

Ivan chuckled but didn’t comment. It was common for most people to hate snow towards the end of winter, but _______ hated it before, during, and after, no matter the time or season. It was something she simply disdained.

_______ kicked at a thick chunk of ice. She sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets, feeling unusually grouchy. It was like she could never get warm during winter; there was always a breeze that squeezed its way through a window, always a chill that seeped through thick jackets, always a cursed cold that went deep into the marrow of its victim’s bones. Ivan never seemed to mind snow or winter or chills, and despite his being Russian, she didn’t understand it. Didn’t it bother him even a little?

“I don’t get you,” she grumbled, scowling at the Russian. “Winter sucks and yet you always look so cheerful.”

Ivan looked terrified at her sudden resentment for him, and his eyes became glassy. “W-what? Did I make you angry?”

“Yes,” she deadpanned.

“What did I do?!” Tears began leaking from his violet eyes. “Do you hate me now?!”

“I hate everything,” she angrily said, refusing to meet his gaze as she stared at the ground.

It was a misfortune, but unlike normal people, winter never made her depressed – it made her horribly waspish. She snapped at the smallest things and often locked herself in her room for days, refusing to speak to anyone but Ivan. The scary Russian was her closest friend and only person who managed to give her a ray of hope during these times, so it was extremely unusual for her to treat him badly.

Ivan began to cry. Fat, sloppy tears ran down his cheeks as he sobbed. She still didn’t look up even when she knew she had hurt his feelings. Really, he could be such a crybaby. Sometimes she wished he would nudge her and tell her stop being such a brat, but he never did and would only break down in a mass of waterworks when she acted rudely to him (which was not often). She wasn’t sure as to why she felt so mean – enough to treat Ivan nastily – but she had no gumption to fix what had been done. So she simply turned away and began to walk home alone, leaving the crying Ivan behind.

“He really needs to grow up,” she whispered furiously to herself, trying to shake the guilt that was telling her to turn back and soothe his pain. “I hate that he is invincible to this crappy white stuff and all this cold air. I wish I was as tough as him… then I wouldn’t freeze every second of every day–”

Her grumblings were cut off by arms wrapping around her abdomen, and soon she felt her body lift into the air. Snowflakes hit her in the face as she flew up, the arms sliding up to position her for carrying, and then her stomach was being squished into the shoulder of a broad man.

“Ivan!” she yelled, pounding his back with her fists. “Put me down!”

“You will regret saying those words to me, Лапочка,” he replied with a falsely cheerful voice, a threatening undertone reaching her ears and causing a shiver of fear to run up her spine. “Usually you are nice if I cry, but it seems I have to make you apologize by force.”

She swallowed thickly, stopping her fighting and allowing him to lug her away to who-knows-where in the rapidly falling snow. Just as she was about to frantically apologize for her rude words, the hold on her shifted and she found herself being dumped in a pile of cold. Blinking, she looked down to find herself covered in snow and her butt slowly becoming numb.

“What…” she trailed off quietly, not able to find the proper words to voice her horror. She had never touched snow… Ever. And now here she sat… drenched in it. “I…van…”

Smack!

“…”

“Woops,” Ivan giggled. “I guess my hands slipped…”

“IVAN!” she screamed, pushing herself up and chasing after him as she wiped the icy water from her face where the snowball had collided. He smiled and ran away with her slipping and sliding as she attempted to grab his scarf. “I,” she yelled, “will,” she screeched, “kill you!”

She jumped and tackled him to the ground, snow flying into both of their faces and coating Ivan’s head white. He was laughing joyously, the sound bouncing off the silent ground and ringing through the air like sweet bells. ______ paused in her angry scuffle and looked down at him. She had never heard him laugh so much…

Ivan returned her stare with a close-eyed smile, his cheeks tinted pink with cold and his nose rosy. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face as he continued with this childish look – a look that she had always been rather fond of. It never ceased to lift her spirits.

“_______, you are so light I can’t even feel your weight!” he said cheerfully.

She snorted and put a hand of snow into his cheek, making him splutter and snort as he attempted to wipe it off. He opened one eye to peer up at her and it was gleaming mischievously.

Cold seeped down her head and neck along with a vast amount of slush and ice. She squeaked and reached to brush it out of her hair where Ivan had returned her gift in his face with a large handful of snow atop her head.

“Ivan!” she chastised, glowering down at him. “You can’t do that back to me, you know! Your hand is much larger than mine and I’m not invulnerable to snow like you are!”

He giggled and reached to help brush it off, his gloved fingers brushing through her moist hair tenderly. She puffed out her cheeks.

“I am not invulnerable to snow, just so you’re aware,” Ivan said, retracting his hand and slipping off his glove. “It just doesn’t bother me as much because I’ve lived with it for so long. And…” His bare fingers softly danced against her cheek as he wiped snow off her frigid skin. “And because I have you to keep me warm… Now that you’re here, I can finally find heat… even within a frozen tundra.”

Her skin was pink by the time he pulled his hand back. Soft purple bore into her _____ eyes as he stared at her, gaze never wavering. It was then that she realized she wasn’t cold. Soaked to the bone in icy water, knee-deep in snow and cold wind cutting across her wet clothes, and yet she wasn’t the least bit chilly.

_______ smiled and slipped her gloves off to place her palms on Ivan’s face. She dropped her forehead to his, watching as his cheeks turned crimson and feeling her own heat up even further.

“Hmm… I never thought I would be able to find heat in winter, but…” she placed a lingering kiss on his nose as she whispered, “…it looks like I finally found my warmth.”