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The frozen leaves crunched beneath his feet and every step he took brought him closer to his personal demise. The trees he passed stood tall and quiet, casting shadows that were just as dark as his mood. Winter loathed the gathering; he always tried to keep it as short as possible so he could return home early and leave the pain behind for another thousand years.

As a warm spring breeze playfully caressed his face and tousled his hair it turned into harsh winter wind, carrying small glittering snowflakes which vanished into nothingness as soon as they left his proximity. Not even the golden sunrays filtering through the emerald-coloured foliage of the trees could touch him fully. To him they felt weak and lukewarm at best, like a little tickle on his skin, but never as intense and comforting as he had heard others describe them before. Warmth couldn't reach him; it vanished as soon as it came close. He was used to it, it had never been any different for him. And it was also the reason why he despised meeting the other guardians - at least one in particular.

Winter knew that he was getting closer to the clearing; he could hear laughter and cheerful voices carried towards him by the wind. And even though he hated to admit it, a small bubble of anticipation built in his stomach, for even he got lonely sometimes without his friends.

After a few more steps, the trees seemed to grow less dense and the forest opened up to a glade, a meadow filled with wildflowers and sunlight. And there he was: his counterpart. Leisurely sitting across Spring and Autumn, basking in the sun and seemingly daydreaming, was the one guardian Winter tried to avoid at all cost.

The golden crown gleamed in the light, surrounding his flawless face with a shimmering halo. His naturally fair skin was sun-kissed, giving it a warm honey glow which complimented his expressive eyes and the innocent smile playing on his full, rosy lips. Silky blond hair, just a hint lighter than his crown, moved slightly in the gentle breeze, catching the rays of the sun. The clothing he wore was dyed in the bright colours of fire; yellow, orange and red.

He was breathtakingly beautiful.

Winter had to forcibly rip his gaze from the enchanting profile and shake his head to get his senses back before he stepped into the clearing.

The other spirits got up when he walked out from the woods; his face remained impassive at the smiles directed in his direction. He forced himself not to look towards the awaiting Summer. Autumn stepped in front of him and extended a hand, the stern expression on his face foiled by the mirth shimmering in his eyes. "Yoongi, you're late," he said in his deep, authoritative voice.

Winter couldn't hold back his sharp tongue; he sent the leader a smirk and shook the offered hand a little bit longer than necessary. "It's refreshing to see that you're still the same after all those years." Namjoon hastily pulled back and rolled his eyes at the other's childishness, rubbing his frostbitten hand against his maroon jacket to warm it up.

Now Spring stepped into his personal space to envelope him in a short embrace, smiling prettily as usual. Of course, Seokjin was good-looking and kind, but Yoongi just couldn't see the charm Autumn liked to praise whenever he got the chance. To Winter he seemed somewhat bland, a little bit too mellow and agreeable to be interesting. He was a great friend though, always ready to listen and give sound advice, therefore Yoongi didn't complain about the hug. Seokjin only laughed at his grumpy expression after letting him go. "You're still as cold as ever; I can't even touch you for more than a few seconds."

Winter shrugged and pretended to busy himself with looking around the meadow. "I don't like people touching me anyway." Finally he couldn't avoid Jimin's gaze any longer without it seeming suspicious, so he met his soulful eyes and forced out a short nod before he turned away again. Even these few seconds of contact made his heart throb in pain. He cursed himself for being so weak towards his counterpart. To distract himself, he walked up to his closest friend, who sent him a knowing look but was immediately threatened by Yoongi's glare. "Don't you dare say anything."

Namjoon sighed and crossed his arms while following him to the middle of the meadow. "I just don't understand why-"

"Of course you wouldn't; everything is great between you and Seokjin. You are different from me Autumn, that's what I've been telling Spring for years but he's just too stubborn to get it into his pretty little head," Winter retorted with a scowl. "It's better that way, trust me." He kicked at the grass in front of him, shattering the frozen blades.

"Jimin is suffering too, you know? Seokjin told me that he thinks you hate him," Autumn said gently, stopping him from walking by holding his arm.

Yoongi shook him off, pain spreading through his chest at the thought that his behaviour had saddened the usually cheerful spirit. He looked over to where Seokjin and Jimin were standing and saw Spring kiss the other's soft cheek. Jealousy flooded his heart - especially after witnessing Jimin carefully touching his face afterwards and smiling to himself. Although he knew that it was only a gesture of deep friendship between the spirits, he couldn't help but feel agitated.

Summer unexpectedly looked up and met his stare with wide eyes, causing his heart to race in an unusual rhythm, but the other soon looked away. While Spring called Summer over, Namjoon elbowed Yoongi's side. His dimpled grin had spread over his whole face. "If you keep staring like the lovesick fool you are, nobody will take you seriously anymore," he said with a snigger.

Despite his bad mood, Yoongi couldn't help but smirk. "So I'll end up just like you?" Autumn playfully hit the back of his head for this audacity.

Their banter came to a halt when Jimin joined the circle, his eyes downcast and still wet with unshed tears. Winter felt his heart shatter at that sight. Had it been his fault that the warmth and happiness Summer usually radiated were gone? Before he could open his mouth to ask, Namjoon spoke up. "Jimin, are you alright?"

The other spirit refused to look up and answered with a toneless "yes, let's begin".

The guardians shared worried glances before the leader cleared his throat and started his speech, fully aware that nobody was paying even the slightest bit of attention. Jimin seemed strangely focused on a yellow flower in front of him while the others watched him. After a few minutes, Seokjin interrupted his lover's speech by taking his hand. "I think we should leave. You and Jimin need to figure out your relationship, Yoongi. Or does anyone have anything important to contribute to the gathering right now?" he asked while staring straight at Yoongi who only shook his head.

"Well, the humans are messing with nature and they call the result 'global warming'. Maybe we should discuss-," Autumn dared to interject but a stern look from Spring immediately silenced him.

"We can talk about that in private," Seokjin dismissed, pulling him away by his arm.

"But Summer-," he tried again, stumbling after Seokjin and desperately looking back towards Winter who only shrugged his shoulders at him.

"See you next time, Yoongi. You better take good care of my baby!" Spring called, before he and his struggling partner vanished between the bushes.

Yoongi was mildly impressed by how resolute Spring had proven to be; he could see his charm a little bit clearer now. His thoughts moved back to the guardian in front of him, who still seemed to be entranced by the little flower. Maybe he wanted to pluck it but was too scared of it wilting in his hands? Winter could solve at least that problem easily and he encased the flower in a small glistening sphere of ice, immortalizing it.

Summer visibly flinched and looked up, obviously confused by his sudden action and the two missing spirits. "W-where are the others?" he asked with a slight stutter that made Yoongi want to pinch his cheeks.

To distract himself from his disturbing thoughts, he sat down - only to find that looking at the other from this perspective was just as captivating. "They left," he answered shortly, trying to ignore his urge to pull Summer next to him.

Jimin's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Already? Why? Did we finish?" He eyed the bright sky with furrowed brows as if he was trying to estimate the time and Winter had to suppress a grin at the spirit's obliviousness.

He carefully placed his usual scowl back on his face before he replied. "They wanted to spend some time by themselves. And there was nothing of importance to say anyway - there never is. It's a waste of time." - except for being able to see you. He deliberately swallowed the last part and plucked at a few blades of frozen grass. "Sit with me."

Had he sounded too harsh? His heart sped up once again when Jimin hesitated, but as soon as he sat down next to him, sweet relief flooded through Yoongi's chest.

Jimin was warm. Even with a gap between them, Winter could feel the caress of heat on his skin like he had never felt it before. He had always kept his distance from the cheerful summer spirit because he was frightened that his cold touch would scare him away or worse: harm him, like it harmed all the other living beings around him. He could conserve beauty by encasing it in ice but ultimately he was killing it. And there was no thought more terrible to Yoongi than the thought of accidentally killing the one he cared about the most: Jimin, the radiant guardian of the sun who brightened his life purely by existing. Even when Winter had met him for the first time, his innocence and laughter - just like little silver bells - had deeply touched his heart. Therefore he had decided to stay away from him as far as possible, regardless how much it hurt, in hopes that Summer's beautiful smile would never perish.

But now, after feeling real, actual warmth for the first time in his existence, his desire to touch the other had gotten even stronger. Inconspicuously he moved a bit closer and decided to ask the question that had bothered him ever since seeing Jimin's tears earlier. "Why were you crying?"

Summer's face reddened slightly. "I wasn't feeling very well," he mumbled, still not looking in his direction.

Yoongi's heart clenched once again. Had it really been his fault? "What made you feel unwell?"

Jimin looked uncomfortable and only answered after hesitating for a moment. "I've been feeling lonely lately... and inadequate." He busied himself with the grass growing in between them.

Yoongi had once again the strong urge to reach out and wipe away the sadness - but he restrained himself and looked around the meadow instead, following the flight of a colourful butterfly with his eyes. He couldn't think of a single reason why Summer - the most perfect being in existence - would ever feel inadequate. Though he could understand where his loneliness was coming from. In contrast to Winter himself, Summer had a very outgoing and friendly personality. He seemed to enjoy being surrounded by others. The centuries of solitude must have been especially hard on him. Yoongi directed his gaze back to Jimin's face, meeting his eyes. "There is no reason for you to feel inadequate in any way, Jimin," he said quietly after gathering his courage. But his heart plummeted into his toes when the other began to tear up at his words.

"You are all just so perfect and you get along so well. Namjoon is the strong leader and Seokjin his lovely partner and he supports him through and through. And you, Yoongi, you are always calm and collected. I'm the only one getting overemotional or unnecessarily worked up before the gatherings. A-and you are all so beautiful..."

Winter ignored the tingling sensation brought by Jimin's soft voice caressing his name and focused on the more pressing matter of consoling the spirit. Summer had turned his back towards him and was crying, apparent by his shaking shoulders and the quiet sobs that filled the clearing and ripped through Yoongi's soul. Tentatively, he reached out and touched the other's shoulder. The spirit felt warm even through his clothing, warmer than anything Winter had ever felt before - but Jimin quickly withdrew from his fingers. Refusing to leave him in his state of distress, Yoongi got up to kneel in front of the other guardian, who hid his face in his hands. The heat he emitted spread over Winter like a comforting blanket, transforming his biting coldness into shimmering vapor. With a wildly thumping heart, he stretched out his hands and gently held the other's slim wrists, slowly pulling them away from his face - all while waiting for screams of pain or at least signs of discomfort with bated breath. His heart felt like it was melting when all that happened was Summer hiccuping in surprise while trying to hide his tears.

Yoongi had wasted millennia on his own fears instead of actually trying to pursue Jimin and he wasn't sure whether to feel delighted or depressed at the newfound knowledge. "Is it sappy to say that you're the most beautiful to me?" he asked, still holding onto Summer's wrists, and he could feel the blush rapidly spreading on his face. But he was determined to finally convey the right message, therefore he stubbornly held eyecontact even though he wanted to jump off a cliff in embarrassment.

Jimin stared at him as if Yoongi had lost his mind, but then he turned just as pink and a wide, brilliant smile spread over his face. "A little bit. But I like it."

The love Winter felt at that moment for the beautiful being in front of him was indescribable. "Good," he whispered before he closed the gap between them, letting their lips meet. The gentle caress felt like golden sunrays finally warming Yoongi's icy skin.
 

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