3Malon crept down the stairs leading from her bedroom, down to the door. Carefully, quietly, she pulled the door open and stepped outside, pulling the shawl around her shoulders tighter against the bitter cold. Her face broke into a smile as she walked out to the coral. A light layer of snow covered the ground and the fence surrounding the coral, and a slender crescent moon shone bright in the Christmas Eve night sky, casting a silvery blue glow on the soft white substance. She paused, reaching down to touch the snow. It felt cold and wet, melting against her touch, but she loved it, as much as she loved Christmas, as much as her mother had loved both.
She closed her eyes as memories of her mother slipped into her mind. Her mother, beautiful, always smiling, always laughing. Her mother died when she was very young, but she could still remember spending Christmas with her mother. She remembered running with her mother through the snow covered ranching, laughing and throwing snowballs at each other, and laying down to make snow angels on the ground, then retreating back to the warm farm house to sit with her father, laughing and drinking cups of hot cocoa.
Malon smiled, opening her eyes to look out at the ranch once again. She gasped. Snow felt lightly from the sky, falling delicately to the earth below. She held out her hands to let snowflakes fall in them, and laughed softly to herself. Only one thing could make this night better.
She heard a soft crunching behind her, of footsteps walking through the snow. She turned around, and her arms fell to her sides.
Link smiled, his face illuminated by the moonlight. "Hey, Malon," he said, a little abashedly.
"Link," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He smiled again, and his face looked more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. "I hope I didn't come at a bad time. I just felt like seeing you," he said.
Malon's own face softened into a smile, and she shook her head. "You came at the perfect time."
"Okay," Link said. He walked over to her, standing beside her. His eyes traveled to the moon, and she followed.
Link drew his eyes away from the silver moon, to the beautiful girl standing next to him. She seemed to glow, as if absorbing the very moon itself, and he suddenly felt his heart rate growing stronger.
She turned to him, and her blue eyes met his. A smile spread across her face, and she bent down. Link tilted his head at her, watching her with curiosity as her hands moved along the ground, and she stood up again. She drew back her hand, and something hard and wet hit his chest. He jumped, staring down at the spot.
Malon giggled, and ran a few feet away from him, turning to face him again. "Try and beat that!" she said.
A grin spread across his own face, and he too knelt to the ground, scooping snow up in his hands and molding it into a ball. Standing up, he flung it at her, and she turned to try and run away. The snowball hit her squarely in the back, and she screamed a little, laughing. She bent down, and gathered more snow, her hands working fast.
Realizing what was coming, Link bent down as well, hurrying to make his own snowball, just as hers hit him in the shoulder. He stood up, throwing the snowball at her. She laughed, and ran to the side, dodging the snowball, and he chased after her.
Link caught up to her, and threw his arms around her chest, pulling her laughing up against. "I got you!" he said, laughing as well.
He paused as he noticed her warm body up against his, and her laughter quieted as well. His hands slid down to her waist, turning her around to face him. He raised his hand, brushing aside a strand of red hair that clung to her face, running his thumb over her cheek bone as he did so. Her face lifted up to his, and he lowered his own face, till their eyes stared into each other's, only inches apart.
She made the first move, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against Link's, hesitant with inexperience.
He returned the kiss, also hesitant from equal inexperience. She took encouragement from the return kiss, kissing him again, and deepening it this time. He pressed her closer to him as her lips parted and her tongue licked his lips, asking them to part as well. He parted them, and her tongue slid into his mouth. He moved his own tongue inside her mouth, tasting it, exploring it.
At last, they drew apart, a blush tingeing both of their cheeks as they turned away looking toward the moonlight. Their hands crept into each other's as they watched the snow fall across the moon.
"Merry Christmas, Malon," Link whispered.
Malon looked up at him and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Link."