Cold Snap

Summary: Xiaoyu and Hwoarang have a fight in the snow. The loser gets a treat.

The wind was cold and biting, blowing with a soft howl across the frigid place. Flurries of snow whirled chaotically in the air.

Ling Xiaoyu wrapped a scarf around her face, just below her eyes, to keep the sting of the wind from her skin. She had dressed up as warmly as she could, choosing layers of clothing that would still allow her the ease of movement she needed to win the fight, but the cold still seeped through her thermals and challenged her composure. A day earlier when she saw where her next match was scheduled to take place, she just groaned resignedly in annoyance and complained to Panda about her luck.

She stretched her arms above her head, hands wrapped in mittens, and did a few warm-up moves, wanting to be distracted from the chill as she longed for the battle to start. Standing with her in the middle of a silvery white field under the bleak night sky was Hwoarang, her opponent. The two of them were airlifted into a drab military facility that had an outdoor arena next to a train track and was lit by bright fluorescent lights. Judging from the way he was lazily stomping his boots on the the snow and stretching his neck from side to side, he was just as affected by the climate of the place as she was. It had been her hope that she did not have to fight him, but here they were.

"Shit, it's cold!" Hwoarang grumbled, a puff of mist visible with his breath. He was wearing a thick aviator-style jacket with a black turtleneck underneath and armored motorcycle pants. As if that will help stave off chill, he made a motion of zipping his top further closed.

"Let's end this quickly so that we can go," Xiaoyu said as she adjusted her furry bonnet to properly cover her ears. Hwoarang only had goggles holding his hair back and nothing else protecting his head from the icy breeze.

"You know I have to win this right? It's darned unfortunate that I'll have to beat you," he stated coolly, squaring his shoulders while lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Hah, that is if you can!" Xiaoyu answered. Her gaze turned to the piece of cloth covering Hwoarang's right eye, taking into account his blind spot. Although she was pretty sure he trained himself to overcome this small handicap, she felt a little guilty trying to think of a strategy to take advantage of this. She sincerely hoped, and he told him as much, that he can get his eye back. In one of the animated shows she'd seen with Miharu, people transplanted eyeballs as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The new one was immediately functional and the recipient always brimmed with new found power when it was done. Certainly Mishima Labs or Mishima Med has the tech. If the corporation can create bio weapons, clone and engineer living things, breath "life" into Alisa, repairing body parts shouldn't be difficult. She was pretty sure Jin would not be opposed to the idea if she brought it up when things become more normal - it was for his sake that Hwoarang lost his eye afterall.

"Well if you win this tournament, maybe you can ask Heihachi or Jin to do something about your eye," Xiaoyu added.

Hwoarang laughed and shook his head. "Didn't I tell you not to worry about it Xiaoyu? I'll show you that maybe I don't need that old man's nor that bastard's charity at all," he smirked, meeting her gaze. Although confidence was written all over his face, his stare was not so intense and burning as usual before a fight. Xiaoyu blinked for she detected a gleam of a soft, almost tender expression in his eye and that his smirk had slowly turned into an easy smile. Warmth swirled in her chest, sudden and unexpected. She did not have time to formulate a response for the bell rang, signalling the start of battle.

Xiaoyu sprang into action and aimed a palm swipe at Hwoarang's shins, causing him to stumble having not reacted fast enough. She followed up with a backward elbow strike after she pivoted from her attack but Hwoarang blocked it in time and so she had to roll on the ground in an attempt to push him away with her feet. That connected and he skidded with a grunt. Glad that her opening worked, Xiaoyu turned forward and held her ground as Hwoarang abruptly recovered. He slapped away the clump of snow that got on his jacket and grinned widely as though being knocked back delighted him enormously. She narrowed her eyes, wary of the feral energy radiating from him.

Hwoarang advanced and delivered two sharp kicks, left leg alternating with the right in powerful thrusts. Xiaoyu parried with effort then countered with a swift high kick that arced towards his head, the blow making him fall again. She dropped into her phoenix crouch in a flash, chancing on that brief moment he took to get up and go back to stance to then roll towards his blind side in an attempt to catch him in a throw. She succeeded in grabbing his shoulders, striking his head from behind so that he bent forwards then slammed him back to the ground. When he was down, she extended one low kick for good measure and rolled away before he can land any counter-hit. During that short pause she brushed away the stray snowflakes that landed on her eyelashes.

"Damn! that's the third time Xiao, no more," Hwoarang acknowledged with a mischievous note in his voice as he got up. He displayed no hint of aggravation, the confident smirk still plastered on his face. Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows, suspicious of this apparent good mood, and kept her guard up. She expected him to launch a barrage of rapid kicks at her when he raised a leg but was caught by surprise by his foot striking her ankle, causing her to lose balance. The same foot connected with her head as he hooked his leg back and it was her turn to meet the ground. Hwoarang spun with no delay and dropped an axe kick on her prone form. She winced in pain but strove to roll away. As she was rising she was hit with another force to her torso when Hwoarang charged forward with his leg, sending her flying backwards.

Xiaoyu tried to get up fast but was too late to realize that he was rushing towards her to serve a jumping axe kick, which she failed to dodge. She cursed, breathing harder, the cold air irritating her throat and lungs, as she fell down once more. Carefully, Xiaoyu lashed out with her foot while on the ground to halt more of his attacks and rolled away from his reach. But he was instantly bearing down on her again, this time sailing to land three consecutive aerial kicks. She managed to raise her arms to block and whirled to the side twice to get around him, the snow somehow aiding this maneuver.

Annoyed, she tried to do the same and leapt into the air to plant kicks and use his body as springboard for a backflip. Graceful and spry, she hit her mark and Hwoarang stumbled. He succeeded in rolling away though before she can keep him grounded, so she charged before he can make a move hoping to land him flat on his back.

With no resistance, she successfully tackled him and ended up straddling his abdomen. As she lifted her palms to rain down strikes on his head, he caught her hands with his in defense. Attack arrested, he started chuckling profusely, the sound lighthearted and rife with amusement. Xiaoyu thought he was in no position to look so carefree when she realized he could have easily prevented this - a well-timed kick could have stopped her in her tracks. He was teasing her. Her face heated up and she jumped away, but not before she pinched his cheek hard in irritation after she freed her hands when his grip slackened.

"You're crazy, Hwoarang, get serious will you?!" Xiaoyu admonished, glaring as she shifted to her phoenix stance.

Hwoarang got up, rubbing the side of his face, lopsided smile not fading. "It's not that I'm not serious. Just figured we can make this a little fun."

Xiaoyu huffed, not getting his point. Arms spread out like lethal wings, she moved forward and struck aiming to stagger him. Hwoarang deflected the force of her palms and threw a quick jab which lightly clipped her head. He then latched onto her shoulder and arm, briefly drawing her closer to him so that he can flash another ecstatic grin, his breath tickling her face, before flipping her over. Everything happened fast - Xiaoyu gritted her teeth upon finding herself on the floor again. Then of course she felt a kick to her side prompting her to hastily scramble away. The powdery snow got all over her wool and fleece; her scarf was disheveled but the numbness brought by the winter air was now gone from her skin.

Her thoughts in a bit of disarray, Xiaoyu crouched and waited for Hwoarang to approach. As he came nearer in a flamingo feint she evasively slid again to his weak side and sent an instant twirling strike upwards which disrupted his form. Back turned, she wasted no second to hit him with two reverse strikes. The next offense was a backward low kick intended to unsettle him right before rotating on her heels to aim a kick at his head.

Hwoarang blocked the high then pounced forward, hitting her shins with his boot. When Xiaoyu flinched, he executed a series of kicks of varying reach which all connected - the pain to her limbs, chest and head weakening her resolve. In an attempt to stop the onslaught during that fleeting moment when she managed to get upright, she brought her arms downward in a closing fan-like motion but was swiftly caught by one of his thunderous spinning kicks. She was propelled to the air by the force, the succeeding final kick to her belly knocking the breath out of her, the pressure temporarily numbing her senses.

Xiaoyu landed face down on the ground and lay there for a some moments. The snow was soft but it was cold, like her disappointment.

"Hwoarang wins," the announcement finally cut through the air. Thumping a hand on the ground, she summoned her remaining energy to get up.

She heard crunching as Hwoarang padded towards her. "You alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shove your face in the snow," he said as he crouched to help her up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and arranging her bonnet with the other. "I'll make it up to you, what do you have in mind?"

Xiaoyu leaned on him, not hiding her pout. Although she was defeated, she felt fine. There were no broken bones, not even a gash - she was just sore and tired all over. Good that both of them did not aim to incapacitate. She knew she was faster and truly had a great chance against Hwoarang, but realized she had lost for her heart was not really in the fight. Not much motivation for winning the tournament either - she found it rather pointless at this juncture when the world was in disorder.

She sighed. She just wanted to get out of that frosty land. "A mug of decadent hot chocolate will make me feel better. Or vanilla latte. I wouldn't mind lounging in front of a fireplace either. I want to watch some fireworks while eating a platter of dumplings... Oh, I'm craving a steaming bowl of ramen. And I think..." While she was enumerating the things that will bring comfort on a cold winter's day, she felt a soft, pleasant warmth pressing on her cheek. It was a fleeting touch, a gentle brush that made her heart flutter at once and her face flush pink. Caught off guard, she swiveled to face Hwoarang who was retreating from the kiss he stole looking extremely gratified.

"Does that help?" he asked, a smile that was as warm as sunlight on his lips. He looked a little silly with the dust of white crystals clinging to his hair.

No it didn't help. Her face got tingly. Giddiness was swirling inside her, prompted by this unnecessary sweetness. The cold has left her system though, so maybe it did help.

"What was that for?!" she demanded, trying to appear affronted but can't help the smile forming at the corner of her mouth. A wave of fondness for him washed over her.

Hwoarang ignored the question and just patted her cheek, his chest puffed out like a hawk. "I think we can manage the hot cocoa and the fireplace today..."
He turned to one of the men in the vicinity who was spectating. Their battle had a few onlookers but Xiaoyu had somehow forgotten about the presence of an audience.

"Hey you there, excuse us. Where's the nearest cafe? Or pantry or whatever..." Better have some refreshments before they left for Tokyo. The man pointed to some general direction and told them to just keep walking. "Thanks!"

He turned back to Xiaoyu "...the rest can wait another time. We'll set a date okay, maybe add a visit to the amusement park?" he said casually, tapping her shoulder for emphasis.

Despite feeling warm fuzzies, some slight confusion was still lingering in her mind and so Xiaoyu doubted his seriousness. Scrunching her brows she replied "Yeah, whatever..."

"What I'm looking very much forward to, Xiao" he continued, pausing to look at her and making sure he had her full attention. "...what I'm very much interested in," triumphant humour flickered in his eye, his voice rife with playfulness. "...is having that steaming bowl of ramen," he placed a dramatic emphasis on the last phrase and remained staring at her face, waiting for a reaction.

Xiaoyu tilted her head wondering what's up. Ramen was delish. "Yeah I know of a place that serves a good one..." she said but a flash of thought brought her to her senses. She remembered another show she had seen with Miharu - that girl watches a lot of stuff and invites her to indulge sometimes - and suddenly a scandalized look crossed her face. She now had a vague notion of the implication of what she suggested. She did not mean it that way though.

Feeling a little furious but unable to stop her blush, she punched his arm lightly and stuttered, "Wha-what the hell were you thinking of?! I d-dunno what..."

Hwoarang watched her changing expressions and chuckled, cutting off her words, surprised but pleased with her bit of cultural understanding and awareness of the double meaning. "Relax, I'm joking..." He cleared his throat. "Well not really, I want to have ramyeon - i literally mean the food." He beamed at her, all innocent.

Xiaoyu pulled away from him to scoop up some snow from the ground, shaped it into a ball and hurled it at him, not caring where it hit as long as it got him, then sprinted away. Hwoarang did not dodge and let it collide with his chest.

"Hey wait up! I have to get you for that!" he called, all fired up. He did not fail to notice the bashful smile that lit her face as she turned away. Laughing mirthfully, he chased after her.

was playing practice mode in the arctic snowfall stage when i saw this scene in my head of my favourites being cute :p can't be helped, i shipped them since T3 ^^ shall i say this was one of my #formative otps? :D also, it's tough liking a #rarepair ? XD

(cross-posted on AO3)