Andrea hummed lowly under her breath as listened to the music from the radio. They had come home to Minnesota, at her request, and she was feeling comfortable in her own kitchen, fuzzy socks on her feet, and an oversized sweater hanging down to her knees over her soft camel colored leggings. Staring out the window, she could see snowflakes just beginning to fall from the sky.

"Are you almost finished with the hot chocolate, Andrea?"

She looked toward the door, smiling at Sharon as she beckoned her inside. "I was just waiting for you to come see me. There's a few options that we could go with here."

"Oh?"

She nodded as the woman came up to her side, wrapping her arms around Andrea's waist as she hooked her chin over her shoulder as she looked into the pan on the stove. "Yeah. There's whipped cream in a can in the fridge, and we could do sprinkles or cinnamon or colored sugar. We could add a little red wine to it, or whiskey. There are so many ways we could dress it up, you know."

"I do so like the way you think, Andrea." Turning her head, Sharon pressed her lips against Andrea's cheek before pulling away from her slightly. "Where are the mugs?"

"In the cupboard next to the sink," she absently replied as she stirred the pot once more before moving over to the fridge and pulling out the whipped cream can and set it on the counter next to the mugs Sharon had gotten out. "If you want to see something pretty, pull on your boots, and we'll head out to the gazebo once we've doctored up our drinks."

"Okay." Sharon gave her a small wink before sashaying from the room once more, and Andrea watched the swaying of her hips for far too long. Shaking her head a little, she cleared the fog of desire from her mind and toed out of her slippers, glad she had worn socks with them. "I brought your boots, too, along with our coats. I'm assuming that we'll need those, too."

Andrea gave her a small nod as she pulled on her boots. "Yeah, and we should probably bring out a blanket or two as well. It all depends on how cold you think you'll be."

Sharon nodded as she poured the hot chocolate into the mugs. "I really wasn't expecting it to be quite like this."

"You forget just how truly cold it can get, when you're faced with a calm, clear, night. And once there's snow on the ground, it seems to hold the chill even more. I did warn you to pack layers."

"I know," Sharon responded as she picked up the whipped cream and topped her mug off with it before sprinkling cinnamon atop it. Leaning against the counter, she looked at Andrea, the corner of her mouth ticked up a little. "And I thought I had listened. Turns out I need a new sweater. Maybe I'll get one for Christmas?"

"We'll have to see."

Sharon nodded as she sipped at her drink. "Did I tell you? Provenza is going to be Santa for Patrice's grandchildren this year. Apparently, Buzz helped to sew up the coat, and he promised to send pictures of the finished product to me, and I'll let you see them, too."

"Good! I don't think that I could live without seeing that image." She chuckled a little as she pulled on her coat and reached into her pockets for her mittens. "All right, ready to head out?"

"No! I still have to get blankets rounded up for us, and put my coat on." Sharon stepped away from the counter and kissed her cheek softly. "Where are the extra blankets?"

"In the cedar chest in front of our bed. Do you want me to help you?"

She shook her head and brushed past Andrea. "I should be able to navigate everything. If I can't, I'll text you."

"Sounds good." Andrea put the whipped cream away before picking up her mug and draining it quickly. And then, she was heading outside, letting the cold seep into her bones as she crunched her way over to the gazebo. She was very glad that her father had enclosed it years ago, since it would provide a little more shelter from the biting wind. The windows were still clear, though she knew that might not last, if their breaths warmed up the small space too much.

Sinking down onto the bench at the back, Andrea leaned against the cold wood, trying to ignore the way that she was instantly chilled to the bone as she waited for Sharon to reappear. She must have become lost in thought because the next thing she knew was Sharon wrapping the warm down quilt from the chest around her shoulders. "Your mom said that she'd run the thermos of hot chocolate out to us in about ten minutes. She just has to finish some movie on the Hallmark channel."

"Why does that not surprise me?" she said wryly as Sharon took a seat next to her, snuggling in close. Andrea held out her arm, letting the wide blanket fall around her body as well. Her lover snuggled in closer, spreading her hand out on Andrea's chest as silence fell around them. The snow started to swirl harder as the wind picked up, and Sharon shivered at the sound.

"This is mild compared to some blizzards I've lived through in my life. I can remember one year where the winds kicked up a drift against our house so high that I could touch the snow from my bedroom window." She loved listening to Sharon's sound of disgust, having felt that way many times during her childhood. "Hi, Mama."

"Sorry this took a little longer. I divided the rest of the cocoa between two travel mugs, since I thought that would be easier for you both." She gave them a fond smile before leaving the gazebo and closing the door with a soft click. As Andrea looked at the small basket that her mother had left them, she gasped a little, seeing the ring box that her mother had casually left there. And she knew the moment that Sharon spotted it, too, since she stiffened a little before scooting a little closer to Andrea.

"Do you mind telling me what in that little box has discombobulated you so?" The dangerous purr in Sharon's voice made her shiver from desire, and she shrugged a little as she reached out to grab hold of the ring box, fumbling with it because of her mittens. Sharon giggled lightly as she brought one of the cups to her lips and took a small sip.

"It's totally not what you're thinking, Sharon. There hasn't been enough time since Andy passed for me to even think of asking you that. But I was hoping, perhaps, that we could make things a little more concrete." Finally giving up, she tugged off one mitten with her teeth and then pulled open the box, revealing a delicate filigree band. "This is a promise ring. You don't have to promise anything to me, but my promise to you that I'm committed to this relationship. That you have my heart, for as long as you want it."

Sharon reached out for the ring box, her hands already out of her gloves as she plucked the gold band from its bed of velvet and slid it onto her right ring finger. "And I should hope that you know that you have my heart, as well, Andrea." Leaning forward, Sharon gave her a soft kiss before snuggling in close once more, her arm closing around Andrea's waist as her head came to rest on her chest. "I love you."

"And I love you," she whispered as she stared out at the falling snow. This had gone so much better than she had expected, and a pleased smile spread across her lips as she shoved her bare hand deep into her pocket, wanting to warm it up as they continued to sit in the gazebo and just be together. "Just let me know if you get too cold."

"Somehow, I think a little bit of cold is worth it to have this time with you, watching the snow come down. And we'll have a good story to tell the kids when we get home. Though we'll leave out a few key details…"

Andrea pulled back to give her a quizzical look, only to have Sharon push her back against the bench and capture her lips in a torrid kiss as she pulled the warm quilt closer around them to try and keep out the bone chilling cold. Before she could react, her arms were closing around Sharon's waist, holding her close as they continued to kiss. And while all was calm outside, Andrea felt her heart explode in a maelstrom of love for the woman who had so effortlessly moved from friend to lover.