“Are you… blushing?” Tedros asked incredulously.

Agatha and Tedros were sitting next to each other and cuddling in the gardens, outside of the castle, watching the snow fall around them. Agatha's head was resting on Tedros’s shoulder, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders.

“What? No! I’m not blushing,” Agatha denied, her face turning even more red than it was before.

“Are you sure? Because it really looks like you are blushing.” Tedros was smirking now. “Did I seriously get the ever-stoic, hardcore, total badass Agatha to blush?”

“N-no! It’s- It’s just the cold,” Agatha stuttered.

“Mmhmm. The cold, you say? It’s not that I told you, ‘your face is super adorable and I bet the rest of you is too?’”

Agatha blushed even harder. “N-No!” Her voice cracked a bit, making Tedros smile.

“Sureee. Whatever you say.”

Agatha huffed angrily, and buried her face in Tedros’s shoulder. “If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you. And I won’t regret it at all.” Her voice was slightly muffled, but Tedros could understand the sentiment quite well.

Tedros leaned his face down, so his lips were touching Agatha’s ear. “That just makes you even more adorable, you know.”

Agatha rolled her eyes, and stood up.

Tedros frowned. “What are you doing?”

Agatha glared at him. “Going inside. It’s cold and you're being annoying.” Then she turned and walked away.

Tedros pouted and jumped up, running after Agatha. He reached her side after a few seconds, and he said, “I know you're not really mad.”

Agatha ignored him.

"Oh, come on. You know you love me."

"I'd sell you to Satan for a single corn chip," Agatha replied, still not looking at him.

Tedros was silent for a second, until: “Come on, what’s the real reason you’re going inside?” Agatha looked over at Tedros, and saw him making puppy eyes at her, begging her to answer.

Her lips twitched and she answered, “I want some hot chocolate.”

Tedros blinked. “So.. you don’t hate me or anything?”

“Not at all. I’m actually quite in love with you. And if you ever tell anyone I said that, I will smother you in your sleep.”

“You’re really into death threats today, aren’t you?”

Agatha went back to ignoring him. They walked into the castle, the sudden warmth making them shiver.

“How about you go to your room and sit down or something, and I’ll go get you some hot chocolate?”

Agatha side-eyed him. “Fine.”

Tedros smiled at her grumpy tone of voice, and walked off. Presumably to the kitchens.

Agatha walked to her room, and sat down on an armchair that was placed in front of the fireplace. She held her hands out and warmed them up, waiting for Tedros to get back.

After a few minutes, she heard the door open, and glanced back. Tedros had just entered carrying some hot chocolate, and a giant bowl of marshmallows. Agatha raised her eyebrow.

“That was fast,” she commented.

Tedros snorted. “Chef Silkima had it prepared for you when she saw we were outside in the cold.”

Agatha cracked a smile. Tedros walked over to where she was sitting, and nudged her on the shoulder with the bowl of marshmallows. “Scooch over.”

Agatha frowned again, but complied. Tedros sat next to her, and handed her the hot chocolate. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Tedros hummed in response and stared into the fire, thinking. Agatha sipped on her hot chocolate, while Tedros just ate some marshmallows out of the giant bowl.

A few minutes after the marshmallows were all gone, Tedros said, “You know, it’s going to be Christmas soon.”

“So what?” Agatha asked. Tedros stared at her incredulously.

“So what? What do you mean, ‘so what?’”

Agatha shrugged. “I’ve never celebrated Christmas before, and I don’t ever plan on doing it anyways.”

“What?! Why not?” Tedros was staring at Agatha like he had never seen her before.

Agatha wrinkled her nose. “Because Christmas is for juvenile and greedy people who just like the idea of getting presents for free. And honestly, who even wants a fat man wearing all red to sneak into your house at night? That’s just stupid.”

Tedros groaned. “Agatha, it’s not just about presents and fat red men.” Agatha snickered at that. “It’s about tradition. And family .”

Agatha looked unconvinced. Tedros sighed. “You get free food, too?” he tried.

Agatha just looked at him, stone-faced. Tedros groaned again. “You’re impossible.”

Agatha pressed her face onto Tedros’s shoulder, trying to get out of the conversation. Tedros rolled his eyes, even though Agatha couldn’t see.

They stayed in that position for a while, each enjoying each other’s warmth, when suddenly: “Achooo!”

Tedros jumped at Agatha’s sneeze, and fell out of the chair, and onto the floor.

Agatha burst out laughing when she saw Tedros rubbing his head in pain.

“Hey, don’t laugh! That’s mean, Agatha. Seriously mean,” Tedros pouted.

“S-Sor-ry,” Agatha choked out, in between gasps for air. Tedros scowled, and got up to climb back on the chair. He poked Agatha in the side.

“Stop it.”

Agatha took a few breaths to calm herself, and slowly stopped laughing. She looked up at Tedros’s face, and remembered his face when he was on the floor. She burst out laughing again, and hid her face in his shoulder, her own shoulders shaking with laughter.

Tedros sighed. “You really seem to like hiding in my shoulder today, don’t you.” He waited for Agatha to calm down. After about a minute, she did.

She looked back up at Tedros. “Sorry, but it was funny.”

Tedros narrowed his eyes. “It seems you and I have a different understanding of the word ‘funny.’ Because I’m pretty sure that me falling out of the chair is not funny.”

“Yeah, but you got scared of my sneeze! ” And with that, she burst into laughter again.