Harriet held Zoey's hand and tucked it inside her coat pocket, their fingers still intertwined. She smiled as Zoey glanced over and chuckled. They had all decided on a skiing trip to Praz de Lys, just an hour drive from Geneva. Along with Nyx, Vera, Riley, and Sienna, they planned to spend the night before heading back the next day.
"Ah, it's freezing," Harriet shivered, giving a playful shake.
Zoey laughed, cupping Harriet's face with her free hand. Each breath they took formed little clouds of vapor between them. "You're layered in all that gear, and you're still cold?" Zoey teased, eyeing Harriet's thick, bundled ski outfit.
"Maybe I need your body heat more than these layers," Harriet smirked, leaning closer and winking.
"Your mouth! Really," Zoey said, tapping Harriet's cheek and shaking her head, amused.
"Think we could try it out here in the snow?" Harriet waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "What do you say?"
Zoey rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and try; see if you don't freeze at this temperature," she laughed, stepping closer to hug her. "Here, maybe this'll warm you up."
"Much better," Harriet murmured, wrapping her arms tighter around Zoey and resting her head on her shoulder.
"Wow," Nyx chimed in sarcastically. "Look at these two, all cozy in front of us. Just go back to your room already!" She smacked Harriet's head playfully.
Zoey and Harriet both laughed. "Vera, didn't you give Nyx enough attention today?" Harriet called out to Vera, who was watching the whole scene with a smirk.
Vera turned from Harriet to Nyx, lifting an eyebrow with a playful grimace. "Let her be dry for all seasons," she said, laughing.
"See? How bad of a wife is this person?" Nyx said, shaking her head dramatically.
"Wow, coming from you?" Vera quipped, giving Nyx a playful jab with her ski poles.
Harriet just laughed as Zoey wrapped her arms around her again. "These two," she said with a shrug.
"They're always like this, aren't they?" Riley chimed in, her arms around Sienna's waist. "One second, they're all lovey-dovey; the next, they're bickering like crazy," she laughed, glancing at Nyx and Vera, who continued teasing each other.
Harriet glanced at Zoey, leaning in close. "Well, if we ever end up like Nyx and Vera, I hope we won't break upâno matter how much of a handful one of us might be," she whispered.
Zoey looked back at her, smirking. "Aren't you already a handful?" she teased, laughing softly.
"Me?" Harriet asked, pointing to herself with a mock look of innocence. "I highly doubt it," she said, shaking her head with a grin.
Zoey sat on the snow to rest, smiling as she watched Harriet expertly carve down the slope on her snowboard. Pulling out her phone, she started recording Harriet's stunts. Cute, she thought, stopping the recording and glancing back at her.
Breathing into her gloves, she rubbed them together quickly before cupping her cheeks. "Ah, it's so cold," she muttered, shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Taking a break already?" Zoey looked up to see Sienna leaning forward with a grin.
"Yeah, the cold's hitting me hard," Zoey chuckled, knowing it was partly due to the lasting effects of her surgery. "I get cold-sensitive sometimes."
Sienna nodded and sat beside her. "Then I'll sit here too," she said with a smile.
Zoey smiled, glancing back at Harriet as she tried to regulate her breathing. She'd made sure to get a medical clearance to ski, necessary because of her heart transplant. Once more, she blew warm air into her gloves and pressed them to her cheeks.
"Are you that cold?" Sienna asked, giggling at her efforts to stay warm.
Zoey laughed softly and shrugged. "Just trying to keep warm," she said, pausing as she looked at Sienna before taking a deep breath. "I actually had a heart transplant as a teen, so... I have to take extra precautions in the cold."
"Oh," Sienna said softly, her expression shifting. She took off one of her coats. "Here, layer this over yours; it'll help keep your body temperature up."
"Wait, really?" Zoey leaned back, surprised by the offer. "Won't you get cold?"
Sienna shrugged, grinning. "I'm fine. You need it more than I do."
Zoey murmured her thanks, pulling the coat around herself just as Harriet started walking back toward them, a wide grin on her face.
Harriet plopped down in front of Zoey, chuckling. "Are you two tired already?"
Sienna shrugged, her laughter following. "We don't have the same metabolism as you three siblings."
Harriet turned her attention to Zoey, her expression softening. "And how about you? How's your body holding up?" she asked, aware of Zoey's medical history.
"Fine, I guess. Sienna let me borrow her coat," Zoey replied, gesturing to Sienna's coat draped over her shoulders.
Harriet clicked her tongue playfully and cleared her throat. "And where are the other three?" She glanced at her wristwatch, then pulled out her phone to check the temperature. "You know, it's still dropping. Maybe we shouldâ" She abruptly paused, hastily covering her mouth and nose as she leaned forward.
Sienna and Zoey exchanged worried glances before turning back to Harriet. "Harriet," Zoey called out, reaching for her.
"I'm fine," Harriet insisted, waving her free hand dismissively, though she continued to cover her mouth and nose. "Just a little nosebleed," she mumbled.
Sienna gasped, pulling out her phone. "I'll call Riley," she said, dialing immediately.
Zoey moved closer to Harriet, concern etched on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, tilting her head to get a better look at Harriet.
Harriet nodded, lowering her hand from her mouth and nose. "It's just the dry air, you know," she said, using her gloves to dab away the blood.
A minute later, Riley, Nyx, and Vera rushed over, eyes wide with concern. "What happened?" Nyx asked, checking Harriet's face closely. "You're still bleeding."
"I'm fine; can you all just calm down?" Harriet laughed lightly, trying to ease their worry. "It's not unusual for me to get nosebleeds when we ski."
Nyx flicked Harriet's forehead. "Stubborn as always. You get yourself overwhelmed with snowboarding again," she said, squinting at her sister with a mix of irritation and affection.
Zoey looked at Harriet with concern as she sprayed saline nasal spray into her nose after the nosebleed as they went back into their room. She sighed, reaching out to cup Harriet's cheeks gently. "And here you are, getting all worried about me, but look who's the one with the nosebleed now?"
Harriet grinned, holding Zoey's hands against her cheeks. "Did I make you worry? Sorry," she said, her smile sweet and reassuring.
"Of course, you did make me worry! I thought I'd be the one losing my breath from the cold, but it turns out it's you," Zoey replied, shrugging with a playful smile.
"I'm fine," Harriet insisted, raising her hands in mock surrender. "It's just my body's normal responseânothing serious, I swear." She flashed a wink, trying to lighten the mood even further.
Zoey leaned in to kiss Harriet's forehead softly. "Just please don't overdo it next time," she said gently, resting her forehead against Harriet's. "You really need to know your body limits." Her voice was filled with concern, but there was also a warmth in their connection that made the moment feel intimate and tender.