The moon shone brightly in the dark, star filled sky. The snow crunched underfoot as they walked slowly through the field. Clouds rose in the air as they breathed.
"Whoa, it's really cold tonight." Leigh breathed, rubbing her gloved hands together.
"Not as cold as Toontown." Scott laughed, his eyes twinkling.
"Ha! You're never cold are you, Prairie boy?" She rolled her eyes.
"You're complaining about being cold when it's only 5 below! This is nothing. You should try -51 on for size!"
"It doesn't get anywhere near that cold here and I've never been further than Calgary, and you know it!" She glared up at him from her slight 5'2" height.
"Okay, okay. I know when I'm done." He grinned down from his height of six feet.
"You're nuts, Scott. Absolutely nuts."
"Oh, am I?" He looked at her.
"Uh-oh!" Leigh caught the look in his eye and sprinted away, laughing.
"Oh, you're gonna get it, girl!" He ran after her, scooping snow up in his hands and pressing it into a ball. His long legs let him catch up to her quickly. He threw the snowball, which sailed over her head. She turned around, an indignant look on her face.
"I can't believe you threw a snowball at me!" She mock glared at him. "You brat!"
He grinned impishly, caught her around the waist and tumbled them both into a snowbank.
"Ugh, Scott. Now we're going to be soaking wet!" She turned to face him, still sitting in the snowbank. "You are such a brat."
"Yep, I am. You should be resigned to that fact by now, Leigh."
"Yeah, you're right." She agreed, sighing. "I should be."
"How long have we been friends, Leigh?" He wondered aloud.
"More than two years. It doesn't seem like it's been that long, does it?"
"We've been friends a long time." He reached over and brushed a lock of her hair out of her eyes. "Is that all we're ever going to be?" He whispered.
She looked up, surprised, her eyes wide. His blue-green-grey eyes met her blue ones, searching wordlessly. He leaned in slowly, unsure of himself. Gently he placed his lips on hers and kissed her softly, tenderly enfolding her in his arms. After her initial shock she let go of her nervousness and slipped her arms around his neck, her fingers catching in his light brown curls, the kiss intensifying. Slowly they pulled apart, breathing raggedly.
"God, you don't know how long I've wanted to kiss you." Scott breathed.
"How long have you wanted to do that?" Leigh asked, softly.
"Since I saw you in May. So, seven months." He admitted.
Leigh laughed out loud.
"Scott, that's nothing. I've wanted to kiss you for way longer than that."
"How long?"
"Since the night I met you... Two years and two months ago." She blushed and looked down at the snow.
"That long?!" He looked stunned. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"I was scared, I guess. I didn't know how you'd react. And I didn't know how to tell you..." She trailed off.
"Tell me what? That you wanted to kiss me?"
"No... that I..." Leigh paused, and took a deep breath. "That... I love you. That I've always loved you."
Scott sat there in stunned silence. Leigh felt a stab of pain grip her heart. She got to her feet and started walking away.
"Leigh! Wait!" Scott got to his feet and ran after her. She kept walking. "Leigh. Stop!" He caught up to her and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. He was startled to see tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Leigh. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm just... so surprised. I never thought that you felt that way."
"Don't worry about it. Forget I ever said anything." Tears pooled in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.
"No, I won't forget it... because I feel the same way."
She looked up, astonished. "What?"
"Leigh... I love you." He said softly. "I never thought that you could... would feel the same."
Her eyes searched his, incredulous. He held his arms out to her, and with a small cry, she fell into them, tears coursing down her cheeks.
He tilted her chin up until her eyes met his.
"I love you, Leigh." He whispered.
"I love you." She murmured as her brushed the tears from her cheeks. He bent his head and kissed her lightly, a simple gesture that meant so much.
"Under a lover's sky, gonna be with you, and no one's gonna be around. If you think that you won't fall, well just wait until till the sun goes down. All I need's the starlight, starlight, there's a magical feeling so right. It will steal you heart tonight. You can try to resist, try to hide from my kiss, don't you know, don't know that you can't fight the moonlight, no you can't fight it. The night is gonna get to your heart." Leigh sang, laughing softly.
"I guess we know now, don't we?" Scott wondered, grinning.
"That's a safe bet." She smiled and pulled him down for a gentle kiss.
