Hey,

So basically this is an attempt to write a Christmas fic.Pairing R/M.

Part one is T-rated, part 2 is pure smut/smuff and thus M-rated.

Enjoy.

COME WINTER TIME

Part 1: A wolf's tale

Come cruel winter time
There will be diamonds in the snow
Divine in pallid silence
Deadly pale the moon will glow

Come precious Christmastide
Where there are hearts there will be heat
Divine in flaming silence
Beat by beat where lovers meet

In the blistering winter night there was a wolf stalking through Sherwood Forest. His back was hunched and bony like a mountain range and the fur a matted rug of gray, ragged turfs randomly broken by pallid scars. For every battle ever won in his life there was a white line cut into his flesh, and in his youth he had worn them like golden trophies on a shelf. This wolf had lived a good life, lengthy and prosperous in the eyes of a predator. The big paws that sunk down into the deep white snow had once been the first of many, leaving behind them a trail of dozens of menacing footprints as sure as the tail follows the head. When he howled there had been an echo of howls like a choir to the lead singer, and he had been the first to eat and the last to sleep. That was the life of the alpha-male; the undefeated leader of the pack who lived to rule, who ruled to mate and defend his turf when his off-spring came of age and challenged him. His crown had been the yellow teeth in his jaw and until this autumn they had never failed him. Until this autumn every white scar cutting trough his fur like a gorge had been a trophy. Until this autumn he had been on top of the world as he knew it.

But there comes a time when age defeats even the unbeatable, and for the ragged wolf this autumn had been his downfall. There was a gash on his thigh that was too fresh to have blanched, still blushing and slightly irritated, and he walked through the winter landscape with a limp. Once an alpha-male falls from grace he has to leave with his tail between his legs, cast out from the flock and left to die in loneliness and shame. Indeed the world of a wolf holds no mercy for the weak, but rather praises strength, youth and vigour as the very essence of life.

There was a veil of tiny snow flakes in the crisp air this night, not falling but dancing around the wolf in the chilled breeze. The dark blue sky was freckled by shimmering stars and the velvety light from a yellow moon beamed softly and made bluish shades appear in the snow. The trees stood naked and mute, dressed only in ice crystals and sparse greyish bark, forming sombre pillars for a roofless palace. A winter night is always hushed and slightly drowsy and the deadly thick quilt covering the forest soil was striped by motionless shadows like the bars of a prison. In this white death the lone wolf stalked and searched for food, his every sense heightened by the sheer strength of his hunger and desperation. There was a whiff in the breeze of something moving trough the forest, the scent fleshy and raw in a way that cast a spell over the starving animal.

The wolf moved faster towards the scent, painting a picture with his nose long before the source came into plain view. It was a group of animals, a strange little flock with smells that were easy to track but hard to place. Deer perhaps? He quickened his pace, a gray figure bobbing up and down as he moved through the deep snow with hobbling leaps. Not deer. Horse? The wolf stopped and raised his nose to the scent, inhaled sharply and felt his stomach growl. Yes. Horse. Then there was a moment of overwhelming disappointment in the animal as it became clear exactly what it was he smelled. Horse. Humans. Two humans. His jaws watered and he gave out a self-pitying whimper. They smelled so good and he was so immensely hungry, yet as food went humans and horses wasn't suitable for a lone wolf.

The wolf took a few more hobbling leaps towards the group, vainly hoping his nose had been deceived by the numbing cold. Finally the retinue came into view between the trees and the wolf hesitated. He hadn't eaten for days and it didn't seem plausible that such an old worn-out animal would live trough the cruel winter, but the sight and smell of flesh gave him a courage born out of despair. It was only one horse, and on his back two humans entwined to a single shadow, their voices raising and sinking like courting birds in the spring. The wolf felt his heart fasten and his bony body trembled in anticipation. In this cold winter night the white death was everywhere, food scarce in the unfriendly environment, yet the will to live is the most primal of all emotions. He growled in a wolf's version of a deep sigh, stretched the menacing claws and arched his spine towards the endless sky.

It was worth a try.

---

There were puffs of smoke for every breath they drew, a trembling fog that dispersed into the night. Robin had insisted that Marian sat in front of him on the horse and used the situation to savour her closeness, his thighs to her thighs, his chest to her back, his chin resting against her shoulder as he cradled her. He had his arms tucked in under hers, and her breasts pressed against them with that alluring female softness that keeps young men in such a state of blissful charm. Even the hands that held the reins were covered with his bigger ones, calloused thumbs sticking out from the mittens and gently grazing her wrists under the riding gloves.

Robin grinned and blew a puff of hot air over Marian's ear to watch her squirm and smile, and she responded by tugging out one of her hands to pull him closer until his lips rested on the crook of her neck. It left him slightly dazed, her skin cool against his lips and the brown hair smelling strongly of smoke from a warm fire place. There was no reason to rush this trip through the serene winter night, since the destination was an abandoned forest lodge where nothing awaited them but sleep. Robin tilted his head and watched Marian's chest heave in hastening breaths and even though the hour was late sleep was very far from his mind.

"How far?" Marian's mumbled voice forced Robin's brain to reluctantly return from its temporary leisure.

"Hm?" he responded dumbly.

"You do know where we are going don't you?"

"Yes!"

"Robin…"

"I do! Marian, trust me…" Robin scanned the surroundings. This was the right way but they still had quite a bit left to travel, and it annoyed him that Marian seemed so eager to end this precious moment. She could be such a hopeless spoilsport at times, yet that never changed the fact that she was his favourite playmate. He grinned mischievously and painted a trail of light kisses along her jaw line, feeling his heart fasten considerably as he felt her body respond to the touch. "One might think you did not like this," he mumbled and she stifled a laugher.

"Well," she smiled, "perhaps I would just prefer to…" Then Marian's voice was cut off by a surprised yelp and in one swift blow the world was turned upside down.

When a disaster hits instantly and unexpectedly it shatters reality into a chaotic mosaic of random impressions. Robin could see a flash of the endless, star-freckled heaven, the horse neighed in wild panic and then it was disrupted by a thud as he hit the ground and a mass of twirling cold snow instantly enveloped him. He felt woozy and confused, reached out to feel the warm, struggling body he knew must be Marian in his arms and instinctively pulled her closer.

"Robin," she gasped. "Let me go, the wolf there is a wolf…" She squirmed in his arms, a chaotic mess of limbs and cloth that got stuck as they gestured wildly to find balance. The notion of a wolf had made its way into Robin's head and he had fought himself up to his knees while reaching for a big bough hidden under the snow. He grabbed Marian's arm and pulled her up in the same moment that he saw a flash ragged grey fur and menacing yellow teeth making a leap towards them. It moved too fast for him to swing the heavy branch so instead he twisted his body and lifted his arm to shield himself and Marian against the crazed animal. The wolf hit down hard over him, the teeth sinking into his shoulder as he disappeared down into the snow and felt Marian crawl away and rip the bough from beneath him. With his shoulder throbbing in pain he curled up, grabbed around the wound and awaited the next attack. But instead there was a thud and the pitiful whining yelps of a wounded dog, the weight shifted over him and someone reached down to pull him up.

"Robin!" Marian gasped, brushing the snow from his dishevelled clothes in violent, panicking stokes.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Robin moaned a little when Marian accidentally bumped into his shoulder. "You?" he asked and lifted his head to look at her. Her eyes were wide open in shock and she trembled but it looked more like worry than pain. The branch was still clutched tightly in her palm and Robin reached out his hand to graze her rosy cheek.

"Yes," Marian panted and looked around. "Will it come back?"

"It shouldn't have attacked in the first place…" Robin mumbled and pulled Marian closer with his undamaged arm. "A lone wolf? It must be desperate to lash out on a prey that is so much bigger... Where did the horse go?"

A trail of churned snow led into the forest and they stared at it for a while. "What do we do?" Marian questioned. "Do we follow it?"

"We do not know how far we must go or where the tracks will lead us… It is better to continue to the lodge I think…" I think. But Robin wasn't sure. It would be far to the house, a long way to go with his injured arm and the deadly cold of Sherwood Forest around them. Losing the horse was a terrible blow, turning their cosy journey into a perilous trek through hostile settings, and even if the wolf gave up and chose not to follow them they might be in fatal danger. He knew that but he was not prepared to tell Marian about it. She was better in the blind. Marian looked at him then nodded in agreement.

"How is your arm?" she asked.

"Hardly more than a scratch," Robin grinned and tried not to cringe when Marian sceptically raised her eyebrow and touched his shoulder. "Maybe a bit sore..." he admitted reluctantly.

Marian took a grip around his waist and wiggled in under his healthy arm. "Lean on me," she said. It was a statement, not a suggestion, and Robin knew better than to argue with her. It was far too cold for a gentle forest stroll and they needed to get going.

The snow was knee deep and Robin and Marian threw up little fountains of ice crystals with every struggling step as they moved trough the unfriendly landscape. Side by side, hand in hand, the snow creaked below their shoes and the wool in their clothes rubbed together with rhythmic scratching sounds. There were puffs of smoke by their heavy, slightly laboured breaths and they walked in an air of deep concentration that left little room for conversation.

"Marian…" Robin staggered a bit, making himself free from the Marian's supporting grip.

"Robin, do not stop."

"I am tired… I need to rest. If we were followed then the wolf would have caught up with us by now."

Marian watched her love as he fell down on his knees in the snow, sat with his back curved against the infinite sky as his lungs heaved in panting breaths. She fell down beside him, put a hand on his back and rubbed it comforting as she watched the red spot on his shoulder.

"Remember when we used to make snow angels," Robin mumbled absently. "Yours were always horrible and you blamed it on the dress."

"Well, I remember when you used to put snow down my collar," Marian said and tugged the scarf she had around her neck.

"What are you doing?" He gave her a questioning look.

"We need to stop the bleeding."

"Do not take your scarf off you will be cold!"

"Robin, a scarf does little difference now. We will die if we don't find shelter soon and you are afraid I might catch a cold? Men…"

Robin smiled trough the dull pain. "I'm a nuisance," he joked.

"Yes," Marian agreed. "But one that I would not wish to live without. Now hold still."

He watched the determined look in her eyes, steady and forceful in a way that wouldn't be contradicted, and felt himself grin sheepishly by her words. In the end he was too much in love with those wilful eyes to deny them anything.

With a resigned sigh he shifted his weight to enable her to reach his arm more easily. The snow creaked and gave away as he moved. This biting cold glimmering powder that you couldn't form to snowballs or sculptures had always been Marian's favourite snow. Early in the morning there would be ice crystals clinging to every branch around Locksley decorating the trees in their pitiful nakedness. In the dawn of their love the young couple had walked in silence there, exchanging coy glances until he got bored and shovelled a fistful of snow down her dress. It wasn't easy to throw Marian off balance, rats or spiders didn't scare her, but the feeling of ice running down her spine never missed the spot. First there was her shrill scream piercing through the sound of his amused laughter, then her eyes got animated and her cheeks blushing with frustrated anger over the impossible boy by her side. In truth, while he had always been amused by teasing her, in time he started to find that fiery glare attractive beyond words. As sure as clockwork she would close the distance between them then in an attempt to retaliate by any means necessary. And so they tumbled around in the snow with her budding femininity hinted through the layers of cloth. Even though Robin cherished the bashful glances and gentle forest strolls, those wrestling games in the snow remained amongst the most erotic memories of his youth.

Robin realized that he was blushing wildly and let his gaze wander over Marian's focused figure. What had been a budding femininity was fully in bloom now, and he felt a sudden longing to close the distance between them and relive their youthful innocence with the maturity of age.

"There," Marian said. "It didn't hurt?"

Robin flinched and gave his shoulder a slightly puzzled look. Marian's green scarf had been tied tightly around the wound and he gave her a tender smile.

"I must have been distracted," he mumbled and gave her lips a soft kiss. "Come, we need to get going."

They raised with some effort from the crouched position, clinging to the branch still clutched in Marian's hand, and their stiff limbs screamed in agony when they started to wade through the deep snow once again. Robin's heart was pounding in his ears, a steady thud-thud-thud that made him feel nauseous, and he new it was beating like this more out of worry than love in this moment. The walk was slow and difficult and even though they hadn't come very far he felt tired from the blood loss and Marian trembled in a way that troubled him. She wasn't really dressed for this, none of them were, and from time to time the tiny trembles rippling trough her body were cut of by uncontrollable spastic twitches. Her body was freezing and tried desperately to keep itself warm and alive. Robin pulled his arm closer around Marian and fought the frown from his face. This would be a difficult journey under any circumstances and he did not want to worry her.

----

His head hurt.

The wolf had limped away in a panicking hobbling run when his attack failed. Something had hit him hard over his nose and eye - making him lose balance and feel dazed. Now he had stopped on a safe distance from the little group and yelped pathetically as he trampled around in a hesitant circle, not knowing where to go. He knew that he should leave this nasty food behind and find some easier prey. Yet he was so hungry… And he knew that he had slowed them down. The horse had disappeared into the night and one of the humans was hurt. He could smell the blood and it almost stripped him of every trace of sanity, his jaws watering and the hollow stomach growling.

If he just followed them and waited… Eventually they would be weakened and by then he could make another attack. One that succeeded. One that left him with a feast of fresh meat. Now that he had done half the work already he would be a fool to leave this food for someone else to munch on. Wouldn't he? The wolf stood and stared in the direction of the blood smell, then made a desperate decision.

Patience was indeed a virtue, the wolf would have mused had he been a cleverer animal. But as it was, he thought something wolf-like in the style of 'Food- Follow-Feast' instead.

He would simply have to stalk them and bide his time.

---

It was difficult to say exactly when they realized the wolf was still after them.

Robin had hoped that the animal would leave them alone but then there was a shadow in the corner of his eye and from time to time random snarling sounds broke through the serenity of the winter night. It was easy enough to explain it away in the beginning, thinking that it was his mind that played tricks on him. Yet bit by bit it became clear to Robin that it wasn't so, and that thought terrified him. His arm throbbed and hurt and he felt drained of his normal strength. It was a disaster to be followed by a desperate lone wolf when the surroundings alone threatened to kill them, and he was far too feeble to be able to protect Marian now. If anything he was a problem to her, a wounded man who had to share her strength, and even though his arm warmed her it also made her tired. His lack of strength drained hers.

Robin didn't say anything yet it was clear to him that Marian knew about the wolf as well. Whatever energy they had left in their stiff limbs they used to partly walk, partly tumble their way through the masses of white snow. It got impossible to deny the scruffy predator's existence as he made his way out from the shadows and watched them with starved anticipation. He got increasingly cocky in his desperation, flashed a ragged row of yellow teeth and snarled and growled, making small leaps at them to try the limits.

"The wolf is closing in on us," Robin mumbled between clenched teeth and threw a stick at the animal. It drew back for a moment but soon returned with the bony back hunched and tense.

"Yes I know."

"We are easy prey," Robin shook his head in worried frustration. "Eventually he will see that we are too tired to fight him and he will leap at the one that is weakest." He would leap at the one that seemed weakest, Robin silently added with a shock of panic bouncing through his body. It might be Robin, who was wounded, or it might be Marian who was smaller. It might be Marian.

"We can defend ourselves," Marian insisted.

"No, we cannot…" Robin drew a shivering breath. "Marian, listen to me now. Please do not be stubborn. You must leave me here. If you are alone," he trailed off as he took in a sharp breathe. " You have a chance to get away. Find the lodge, I will tell you how."

"No!"

"Marian, please!"

"Robin we walk together and if we fall then we fall together. Would you leave me behind?" She stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Tell me Robin," she insisted. "If you look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that you would leave me behind, then I will let you go."

"That is not fair."

"It is my terms."

"Then yes!" Robin exclaimed. "I would leave you!"

"You would leave me dying? In the snow?"

"Well," Robin squirmed. It was so difficult to lie to her! Yet he had to, if that was the only way he would have to. He could hear how fake the words sounded in his mouth, shallow noises like a very bad actor reciting lines he could not comprehend.

"Yes!" he burst out. "I-- I would leave you to die if it was the only chance for any of us to live. It is not more romantic to die together than it is to die alone!"

"But it is more romantic to live together than to live alone…" Marian tugged him forward, started to wade trough the deep snow again.

"Marian I said I would leave you!"

"I choose not to believe you. You lie very badly Robert of Locksley."

Robin felt a pang of bittersweet love as he gave in to her will. This was the one person who had to live, not for him or England or the King. She had to live because she had to live, because the light was brighter around her, because in this world of pain and horror she made the shadows shy away. He had to shield her and protect her - that feeling was so basic and primal that it defied all logic - and the thought of failing in that was unbearable. She made it difficult for him, difficult to love her but impossible to do anything else. He smiled in spite of the dire situation, pulled his arm tighter around her waist and savoured her closeness. The dull aching in his arm came in waves with every heartbeat, and he felt the pace fasten when she cocked her neck to meet his gaze. Smile. That warm, loving, trusting smile breaking all defences. To have a woman like that refusing to leave you behind was a rare bliss indeed, and one he had never dared to wish for in this life.

The house was a nothing but a shadow at first, merely a dark shape against the trees and the snow. Robin saw it when they came up on a height but wouldn't mention it as long as it might be nothing but the night playing a trick on them. They fell more than they walked now, struggled to rise as they waved the branch towards the wolf to keep him on a distance. It wasn't actually attacking, but it made little leaps at them like a cat playing with its food, and the mere cockiness of the animal made Robin furious. Still, the house might be merely a short trek away now and if it was then they would be saved.Saved. Marian would live if they could just reach that distant destination. He fought the fear still rippling trough him and took a firmer grip around her. She was shaking so uncontrollably, hardly able to move properly, and he knew that must be a bad sign. With his shoulder throbbing and his legs only fused with adrenaline and pure willpower he struggled his way out of another pile of snow, tugging Marian up with him.

They had to reach that house.

----

It was working. They walked slower and slower and the wolf felt a growing sense of triumph in his chest. He could afford to play a little, make a leap or two towards them and then shy away before the branch was swung at him. Humans were nasty animals, you never knew what to expect from them. As food goes they were too much fuss really. The surface was a nuisance to chew through in the first place - he knew that from gnawing on a frozen corpse some winters ago with his flock. But then again, beggars can't be choosers. That was another thing the wolf would have thought had he only been a cleverer animal. But as it was his mind was still rather stuck on the 'Food-Follow-Feast' line of thoughts.

----

Marian almost cried when she felt her leg disappear down into another heap of snow and bend helplessly under her. It was so difficult. She was not one to give in willingly but this cold was slowly defeating her spirit. She felt a chill run down her spine as she got a snapshot of a future that might be; two figures frozen in a final embrace, ice crystals like salt on their pallid skins, their lips still opened in the last whispering words. It might be 'I love you'. It might be 'I never loved you enough'. It might be 'farewell'. Their blood would be ice in their veins, no more smoke from their open mouths. Breathe no more. Throb no more. Love no more.

Then she heard the growling of the wolf so close by it must be simply biding its time, and realized that they wouldn't be left alone in their final sleep. For some reason that thought made her feel sick, the notion that a ragged wolf would gnaw on the strong arm that lay over her shoulders as if it was any random corpse. It was an irony in the fact that he had begged her to let him go. Without his body heat she would be frozen stiff by now, she merely walked because he walked and wouldn't let her go.

Clouds had started to gather in the sky, hiding the stars and the pallid moon, and big, fluffy flakes danced down around them. Perhaps Robin spoke to her still, she knew he was there because her numb body hurt when it bumbled into his, but the world seemed distant like a star. Finally she let her knees fold down into the snow, allowed her trembling muscles relax and cocked her head to the sky. The surroundings seemed breathtakingly beautiful to her dulled mind, twirling white flowers against an endless dark sky. Somewhere in the periphery Robin's voice called out to her, tugged on her attention, and then her vision became blurred and her head wobbled from side to side in a way that made her senses slowly return to see what was going on.

"..ian, Marian, Marian!!!" Robin was shaking her violently, his eyes big and terrified in the serene setting.

"Mmm," she said.

"Marian where were you?!" he exclaimed. "I tried to talk to you but you didn't answer! Don't even not answer me again Marian!"

Marian felt Robin's arms close around her, cradling her desperately, and she forced herself to return to the world. She planted a kiss on his cheek and realized that it tasted salty like the sea.

"Robin we are going to die here," she said.

"No! We won't! There is a house! Marian, there is a house!"

"What house?" Marian slurred puzzled.

"I should have let you keep that scarf," Robin complained. His voice sounded trembling and thick, breaking off as he talked. "I saw a house, trust me! You need to stand Marian. Please do it for me, just a bit longer," he pleaded. "If I can do it with my wound then you can too! You're strong."

"It's so cold."

"My Marian," Robin forced a smile and pulled her up. He staggered as he felt her weight on his chest; "always one to state the obvious."

"Only when it appears to pass you by."

Robin grinned and turned her head so that she faced east, resting his chin oh her head. "Look," he said and pointed to a dark shape hinting behind the snow flakes. "If that is not a house then I will eat my hood."

"If that is not a house then that wolf will eat your hood," Marian pointed out but it was impossible to hide the smile in her voice. She was frozen to the bone and he was tired by the blood loss but that was definitely a house. Then there was a snarl from the wolf and they started to move again. Marian had a feeling Robin must have fought the animal off somehow when she fell but it was too animated by the successful chase to stay away for long.

It was easier to raise when there was an end to their labour, and when even though they fell they rose with more vigour. Just a moment, then there would be heat and comfort. Finally there was wood beneath Marian's trembling hands and she reached for the handle. She felt Robin's breath against her neck, trembling and fast but there was a smile, a wild grin on his lips that she felt even though she couldn't see it. The hand around her waist clenched the cloth in her dress and then the door disappeared, swung open and let them tumble in. She caught a glimpse of the wolf leaping at them but threw the door shut before it reached them and then Robin's arms were around her without her really knowing how he got that close. He pulled her in and gave her a victory kiss, the kind of kiss that starts and breaks time and again in never-ending smiles and never really ends. She was still shaking wildly yet reality was returning around her. Safe. She was with Robin in a house and safe from the deadly cold winter night. The wolf would have to go hungry tonight.

---

The wolf stared at the door. He had been walking in circles around the house but there didn't seem to be a way in. The food was in there, he could still smell it, or perhaps that was just the faint remnants of their tracks in the snow. He should have known this was too god to be true.

With a dejected howl the lone wolf whined about his lot in life and paced a couple of final turns around the house just to make sure, before he gave up and left. He was starving still, buried his nose in the snow and searched for something, anything, to enable him to pull through another hungry night. He found a twig and shut the menacing jaws around it, then wandered on. And in the blistering winter night there was still a wolf stalking through Sherwood Forest.