The kids were gathered at the top of the slope waiting for Soonkyu, Sooyoung, Sally and Hannah who were just disembarking the chairlift. When they were all assembled together, Soonkyu organised them into a line. "Okay, this is our last run for today, we're gonna slither down like a sssslippery sssslimey ssssnake!". "Ewwww" the girls squealed, everyone giggling. Jake was at the front of the row, he had become a good skier, and Sooyoung was at the back behind Sally. "Everyone we're gonna go real slow, from side to side, follow the person in front of you. I'll be watching you all and ready to help if you need it. Okay, are we ready?" Soonkyu asked. "Yeeesssss" the kids plus Sooyoung replied. And away they went.

Tiffany and Taeyeon raced to the bottom of yet another run. They'd had such a good time getting out in the fresh air and reconnecting during their morning. Out of breathe, Tiffany bent over slightly, her hands on her knees inhaling deeply. "Not as young as you used to be huh" Taeyeon teased, rubbing Tiffany's back gently. Tiffany giggled standing up "Tae you've been playing catch up with me all morning" she retorted. "Hang on a minute there Fanyah, I've caught you a few times" Taeyeon boasted. "Okay, how about we have one more run, it's almost time to meet the others at Blizzard anyway, c'mon, are you up for it?" Tiffany challenged. "Care to make it interesting?" Taeyeon boldly asked, causing Tiffany's mouth to drop open slightly as she pondered the consequences of such a challenge.

Jessica headed down the slope at a reasonable speed, making turns carefully, giggling at each change in direction she successfully negotiated. Yoona was smiling as she skied slowly behind her, giving her encouragement. "That's it baby, you're doing great, my little skiing champion" she proudly declared as Jessica reached the bottom of the slope. Jessica was sooo excited at her progress, she hugged Yoona and planted soft sweet kisses on her face, giggling all the while. "I couldn't have done it without you Yoon, you're my hero, I mean it" she gushed as Yoona blushed. "It was my pleasure darlin ... oh hey there's Tiffany and Taeyeon, why don't we ski on over and show them how much you've learned".

Jessica was on her way before Yoona could even get an answer, following behind her as Jessica was shouting toward her friends. "Tiff ... Tae ... look at meeeee!". "Wow Jessica you've got it, way to go!" Taeyeon praised her, "Looks like you had a good teacher huh" Tiffany commented, giving Yoona a smile. Jessica came to a stop, wrapping her arm around Yoona's shoulder when she'd caught up "She's the best! But I think I'm gonna take an early break, my feet need a rest" Jessica commented as she took her skis off. "Well Yoona ... Taeyeon and I were gonna go for one last run, you wanna come with?" Tiffany asked. "Sure, I'd love to, will you be okay baby?" Yoona asked her honey who nodded and waved her away as she started to wearily head to the cafe. "We won't be long Jess, just one run okay? Sooyoung should be here soon" Tiffany shouted after Jessica. "Sure, no problem, I just need a rest" Jessica replied giving them a smile "have fun!".

The three shared a chair lift and chatted on their way up to the top.

"Wonder what Sooyoung is up to" Tiffany commented, "or who she's up to" Yoona chimed in. "Now come on Yoon, one of these days Sooyoung is going to settle down, it’s inevitable. Right now she's young, she's allowed to have her fun" Taeyeon answered in her motherly tone. She continued "I think Victoria really messed her up, and to mask her hurt, she's thrown herself back in the game". "I care about that girl a whole lot, don't get me wrong ..." Yoona spoke, "I just wish she'd take a little time to get to know people rather than just mackin' on them". "Taeyeon's right, she's young. Who knows what is really going on in her head. Maybe moving from one woman to another is her way of moving on with her life. Standing still might pull her back into a place she'd rather forget" Tiffany reasoned.

"Oh my God is that ..." Taeyeon exclaimed as she pointed down at a group of kids snaking along the slope. "At the end?" Yoona asked as she pulled her shades off to get a better look. Taeyeon nodded, "Sooyoung?" ... "skiing with kids?" Tiffany added. "Oh ... you guys look ... who is the instructor?" Yoona smirked, knowing full well who it was. Taeyeon was slightly confused "What does that have to do with anything?". Yoona tried to explain "C'mon Taeyeon, this is SOOYOUNG here, she's skiing for s sake, with children, you do the math ... she's obviously doing it for the sake of a woman". It bothered Taeyeon that Yoona thought so little of her so called friend. "Yoon, even if that were the case, it's a lot of trouble to go to just to meet a one night stand candidate, maybe she actually LIKES this woman, is that so hard to believe?". Yoona rolled her eyes, not wanting to start anything.

Sooyoung was doing remarkably well, following along behind the kids. "We got it Sooyoungy!" Sally shouted as they successfully turned and headed the other way. "Good job sweetie" Sooyoung gushed, extremely proud of herself and her new little friend. Soonkyu was watching them all, paying particular attention to Sooyoung, after all, she didn't want Sooyoung running them all down and creating a huge child-snowball, rolling down the slope. Of course there were other reasons why Soonkyu was watching Sooyoung, but she kept those thoughts to herself, for now. "Looking good up there Sooyoung" Soonkyu commented, giving her a wink, causing Sooyoung to smile and giggle as she concentrated on the next turn.

"Woohoo! Go Stud!" Yoona shrieked, wolf-whistling from the chair lift above them. Sooyoung looked up and glared at Yoona, almost losing her footing. Soonkyu looked up at the source of Sooyoung's distraction and recognised Sooyoung's friends from yesterday. "Hmmmm, she called Sooyoung "Stud" ... I wonder. Soonkyu thought to herself before she was woken from her mind's processing by Sooyoung who was apologising. "Sorry about that, she's supposed to be a friend", Soonkyu smiled "It's cool, no problems ... Stud" she giggled. Sooyoung was slightly embarrassed, giving a wry smile and focussing back on her descent. "You'll pay for that Yoon" Sooyoung muttered softly to herself, vowing revenge.

They'd all reached the base of the slope successfully. "No falls gang, way to go, that was awesome!" Soonkyu praised her troops as she applauded them, "That's all for today my little ski-bunnies, thanks for coming and I'll see you at the same time tomorrow". Soonkyu took her skis off and got some hugs from her little bunnies. Sally shuffled up to Sooyoung and grabbed her hand "Are you coming back tomorrow Sooyoung?" she asked innocently. "Ummm I'm not sure if I'll take a lesson, but I'll definitely come and say hello to you, okay?" Sooyoung told Sally, surprising herself at how her usually cold heart had melted being around these little ones. The smile that spread across Sally's face said it all, she wrapped her little arms around Sooyoung's legs and hugged her. Sooyoung ruffled Sally's hair playfully "seeya tomorrow angel" Sooyoung waved as Sally fluttered her little angel winged hands and tip-toed over to her mother and father who were waiting to pick her up.

Soonkyu had said her goodbyes to the kids and rejoined Sooyoung who had just farewelled Sally. "So, how was that?" Soonkyu asked, "I loved it, you're a great teacher" Sooyoung responded. "Why thank you ..." Soonkyu blushed, taking off her hat and smoothing down her hair. "You really look like you've got the hang of it now" she continued. Sooyoung didn't know how to respond, her mind was going a mile a minute. "Yeah, at least I wasn't falling over every five seconds" she joked, "Ok, should I ask for another lesson? Nah, she has a job to do and kids to teach, she doesn't need me butting in" Sooyoung reasoned to herself.

"You have a great rapport with children, have you ever done any teaching?" Soonkyu asked, waking Sooyoung from her internal thoughts. "No I haven't, and I don't really get a chance to mingle with kids at all, so I kinda surprised myself" she answered. Soonkyu smiled "Well you looked like you were in your element, little Sally really took a shining to you". "She was a sweetie, she liked me for me, and that doesn't happen much" Sooyoung shook her head a little as she cringed at that last comment. "I can't see why that would happen, personally" Soonkyu smiled reassuringly to Sooyoung.

Tiffany, Taeyeon and Yoona reached the summit, preparing to race down the slope. "Okay so Taeyeon, what are the stakes?" Tiffany asked, refreshing Taeyeon's memories of her wager. "Oooh a bet, can I be in on it?" Yoona asked enthusiastically. "Umm okay, we can have two bets" Taeyeon reasoned, "how about ... the two losers have to be the winner's personal slave for a night". "Oooh me likey me likey ... deal!" Yoona agreed, Tiffany nodded, smiling at Taeyeon, wondering where her mind was going for their personal wager. "And for our wager, Tiffany ..." Taeyeon smirked, leaning in to whisper in Tiffany's ear. A smile tugged at the corners of Tiffany's lips as she heard Taeyeon begin to explain the benefits of being the winner in their battle. Tiffany slid her hand around Taeyeon's waist, holding her at her back gently

"Deal" Tiffany said, shaking Taeyeon's hand, gazing at each other and giggling softly. "Okay is anyone gonna fill me in?" Yoona asked inquisitively. "Nope" came Tiffany's reply as she lined up for the race she HAD to win.

"Okay, the rules are ... no foul play, no physical contact, this is about speed and skill. We don't want anyone getting hurt, so keep it under control, don't be reckless. The winner buys lunch, but the two losers are the winner's slave for tonight from 5pm till midnight. Got it?" Taeyeon instructed. "Yes ma'am!" Tiffany and Yoona answered, saluting. "On your marks ... get set ... GO!" Taeyeon shouted as the three rushed down the ski-run, negotiating trees and people, each taking their own route to get to the bottom first. It was a relatively even race with each person taking the lead at some point until their road to victory took a bump or deviation, allowing someone else to gain the advantage.

Sooyoung and Soonkyu started to walk back to the ski hire place, Soonkyu needed to sign out to say she'd finished her lessons. Sooyoung waited outside, looking up the slopes to see three mad women racing down at high speed. Yoona was leading the charge, wailing like a banshee as she had victory in her sights. Suddenly she hit a bump and started to stumble, turning into the slope and skidding to slow down, allowing Tiffany and Taeyeon to surpass her. Knowing their personal wager and what it entailed, Tiffany did her best to let Taeyeon win without being too obvious. Yoona desperately tried to catch up but it was no use, Taeyeon was the winner, in more ways than one.

When Soonkyu came back out, she noticed Sooyoung laughing at her friends. Yoona was stabbing at the snow with her ski poles, cursing herself and whining "I soooooo had that won, no fair!". Soonkyu slipped up behind Sooyoung quietly and put her hand on her shoulder "I think your friend is upset" she joked. Sooyoung laughed, feeling herself become flushed at Soonkyu being so close, "That's nothing new, and I've definitely seen her worse than that". Soonkyu smiled, moving around to stand in front of Sooyoung. "So ..." she started, "... do you think you'll need me again ... for another lesson?" Soonkyu smiled, hoping Sooyoung would catch her drift. "Ummm what do you think?" Sooyoung put the ball back in her court, sensing she may in fact be interested in her. "I think you did great today, and I'd be happy to help you out after lunch if you'd like. I have the afternoon off" she offered. "I'd like that" Sooyoung responded smiling, rubbing the back of her neck out of habit.

Tiffany, Taeyeon and Yoona approached carrying their skis, giggling at their race. They smiled at Sooyoung and her new lady friend. "Hey Sooyoung" Taeyeon beamed, giving her friend a wink. "Hey guys ... looked like you were having fun out there" Sooyoung commented, "Where's Jessica?" she questioned. "Oh she's resting her tired feet in there, aren't you gonna introduce us?" Yoona asked brazenly, looking from Sooyoung to Soonkyu and back again. "Oh sorry, yeah, this is ..." Sooyoung started, "Soonkyu, hi, but please, call me Sunny" she politely offered, shaking everyone's hand and learning their names. She was sure she'd be getting to know these ladies better as the days went by. "Nice to meet you Sunny, would you like to join us for lunch?" Tiffany asked, looking to Sooyoung who mouthed a "thankyou" and smiled. "I'd love to Tiffany, thankyou" Soonkyu accepted, smiling at Sooyoung as they walked into the cafe.

**********

~tbc~