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Noe woke up gradually, ensconced in strong arms, with the rhythmic rise and fall of a man’s chest against his back. Even in his half-awake state, he immediately realized who it was and smiled.

This was the stuff of dreams, right here. Lying in bed with his fiancé on a cold morning, the warmth of the bed fighting off the chill. He indulged in the sheer luxury of cuddling without the immediate need to get up.

Truthfully, when Luca had proposed yesterday, it had all felt surreal for a while. Luca had been honest enough about why he’d proposed, and Noe knew it wasn’t because he was madly in love, but the practical side of him appreciated Luca’s honesty on the matter. Also, he took a certain pride in being what Luca wanted in a spouse. No, their relationship wasn’t the stuff of epic romances, but it was all right with him. He had a man who liked him, trusted him, and sought out blistering-hot sex. Really, Noe couldn’t ask for more than this. He was immensely happy with their engagement.

He’d only asked for a six-month engagement because he felt like they needed more time to get to know each other better. If Luca entertained any doubts, Noe wanted time for those to arise and for them to both find a way to address them. Now that Noe had him, he wasn’t going to lose him.

Luca lay fast asleep. Then again, they’d been very active most of the night. For a man who hadn’t been sure if he’d like gay sex, he sure didn’t have a problem with it now. Noe’s ass was beyond sore—he wasn’t used to this much sex—but he wasn’t complaining. His body would adjust. It damn well better. He wasn’t interested in saying no to Luca. Ever.

As much as Noe enjoyed lying here, though, he was antsy. He wanted something to do. Sneaking out of the futon, he grabbed a sketchbook and pencil, then hastily retreated back. It had taken only a peek through the window to see the world covered in ice. No wonder it was chilly in the room. The underfloor heating did its best, but the weather outside was a lot to contend with.

Noe slipped back into the futon and covered up to his shoulders with the thick comforter, letting Luca’s heat warm him. He idly sketched what he wanted his wedding ring to look like, then, on a whim, Luca’s as well. Nothing too fancy, but with a touch of bling.

His mind slipped off into a daydream as he sketched. What would it be like to finally have children of his own? Noe hadn’t ever let himself dream so far ahead because just finding a husband had felt like pushing what little luck he had. Now, though, he had to think about it. This would be a reality, probably in the next five years. Assuming they could find children they liked enough to adopt.

He and Luca would have so much to teach them. Like the Brahmses did now for Sakura, they’d have to teach the children a whole other language, history, mathmatics, martial arts... It felt like a lot just thinking about it. Noe hadn’t the faintest idea how they’d go about it with both of them having full schedules. He was confident they’d figure it out, though.

Luca stirred at his back and dropped a kiss on Noe’s shoulder. “Good morning.”

Noe’s pencil paused on the page and he smiled as he greeted, “Good morning.”

“Does your busy mind ever stop?”

“Eh. Not really?”

Luca chuckled a little, the sound more felt than heard. “I should have expected nothing else. Our wedding rings? I like the look of them.”

“Do you? I’m glad. Which do you like better?”

Luca paused and looked at both for a long moment before pointing to the one on the right. “That one, I think. Although I like both.”

“That’s the one I designed for you.”

“Ah-ha. Then you did well. I do prefer it.”

“We’ll have to find a goldsmith to get them started.” Noe set the sketchbook beside the futon and turned so he could see Luca better.

“How’s the outside world?”

Noe made a face. “Absolutely covered in ice. It will be dreadful even trying to leave the ryokan.”

“Good thing they have a kitchen here; otherwise, we’d be in a fine pickle.”

“Truly. But that leaves the question, what do you want to do today?”

“Mmm, breakfast first. Then, I say we sit down and solidly plan.” Luca’s eyes searched his as he spoke. “I want us to come up with a backup plan—and a backup to our backup, in case things don’t go well.”

“Do you have thoughts for a first backup plan?”

“I do. There’s an auxiliary fortress we can move into that’s entirely separate from the main fortress. Originally meant to be a watch tower, it was expanded, and now it’s mostly used for hunting. It’s got enough room to raise a family in, and it’s far enough away from the main fortress to give us a buffer from my parents.”

“Ahh. Yes, it sounds like a good plan.”

“If that fails—as in my parents won’t leave us alone—then I don’t know. You can find work anywhere. I’m well off enough I don’t need to work, necessarily, but I think I’ll go stir-crazy if I don’t have something to do.”

“Fair enough. I feel the same way about it.” Noe agreed on all points, too, that they had the perfect day to sit and talk and plan, so why waste it? Plus, it thrilled him right down to his toes, having this conversation. He found it hard to put into words just how happy even talking of the future made him.

“If my parents start arguing, don’t engage,” Luca warned. “Arguing with them will exhaust you.”

“I try not to argue with people who should have been swallowed.”

Luca busted up laughing. “I didn’t know you could be a little shit.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” He kissed Luca’s cheek. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a big boy. I can handle it when people don’t like me. Also, let’s not borrow worries in advance.”

“Truly, good counsel. Let’s rise. I’m antsy. First, breakfast. And clothes. I think we’ll both feel warmer in clothes.”

“Oh, now you want clothes,” Noe teased, even as he braved the cold air.

Luca chuckled again, not at all bothered. “You’re never going to let me live down my proposal, are you?”

“Never ever.”

“I’d like to point out that you did say yes.”

Noe threw him a wry look as he pulled on pants. “I’m not crazy, Luca. Of course I said yes.”

His fiancé laughed outright and leaned in to plant a kiss on his forehead. “I adore you.”

Noe blushed a little, but why? Seriously, why? He’d had sex with this man multiple times, but a kiss on the forehead made him shy? Maybe it was because those three words made his heart flutter. That was likely it.

They both got dressed quickly, the clothes somewhat warm from sitting on the floor due to the underfloor heaters doing their job. It did feel better to have a barrier against the room’s chill, for sure.

Noe volunteered, “Let me see if I can find someone and order breakfast brought in.”

“Sure.”

He got the door open and was halfway into the hallway when he spotted two women standing close by. They had aprons on, protective caps on their heads, and both wore worried expressions.

The elder woman with greying hair was the owner, and she spoke in a low voice with her employee. “—perhaps with two of you?”

“We tried with both of us, and still, it’s too locked in.”

This didn’t sound good. In his best Shiirein—which, granted, was barely enough—Noe asked, “Is everything all right?”

Okami-san turned, spotted him, and switched to Trader immediately. “Keller-san, good morning. We have a little trouble. We didn’t get enough firewood into the shed before the storm hit. We’ll run out before the end of day.”

Oh shit. That was definitely a problem. No firewood meant no food, for one thing. “Is it locked under the ice?”

“Yes, unfortunately, and I only have two workers here today. Neither of them are strong enough to get it out.”

Seemed his course was clear, then. “Let me help you.”

“Please, if you don’t mind,” she said, too thankful to protest.

Luca leaned into the hallway as well, asking, “What’s this about no firewood?”

“It’s locked under a layer of ice,” Noe explained. “They’ve tried to get some free but can’t. They won’t be able to cook tonight if we don’t rescue some for them.”

“Then we best be about it. We’ll bring it inside, let it thaw and dry out some.”

“Thank you so much. Please, follow me.”

Noe stopped Okami-san long enough to fetch their shoes from the front entrance, as they’d need them shortly. Luca handed him his coat, which he immediately shrugged on, then they followed her down the hall. The kitchen was located in the very back of the building, and it was interesting being in the room, as he never had before. They had a line of stone hearths on one side, with large pots sitting on them, the other side seemingly for prep and service, with two long wooden tables.

One poor woman frantically chopped, no doubt overwhelmed with the amount of people to feed and not enough hands to do all the work. Noe would help if he had any clue on how to go about it. Well, he was helping, wasn’t he? By rescuing firewood.

Luca and he both paused in the kitchen to put their shoes on, then stepped out the back door.

Outside had a fairy-tale appearance. Everything was covered in pristine white and shimmering ice, the icicles hanging off the edges of the roof thick enough to impale a man. Pretty, but dangerous and incredibly inconvenient. Even the first step outside was dangerous, as the ground was slick and hard to stand on.

A woodpile covered in ice abutted the back of the kitchen wall, sitting under the eaves, supposedly to keep it dry during rainstorms and easy to use. A woodshed was some ten feet farther away, and Noe could tell from the footsteps, someone had fetched wood from there this morning.

Okami-san made a noise of frustration while pointing at the shed. “We used everything from the shed last night and this morning. It wasn’t fully stocked. It rarely is.”

“Where can we set the firewood inside?” Noe asked her. “I don’t think putting it in the shed would do much good. It’s too cold to thaw out here.”

“I fear you’re right. We’ll make room in the kitchen.”

Luca slid past him—literally—and fetched the axe leaning near the woodshed door. “I’ll chip the ice away if you’ll carry the wood in.”

“Deal.”

Noe got to see all Luca’s lovely strength in action as he attacked the ice covering the woodpile with fervor. He’d likely need a bath later after working up a sweat. Noe would like to volunteer to wash his fiancé’s back.

Purely in an altruistic way, of course.

Eh, who was he kidding.

Luca stepped back, and Noe moved forward, freeing a healthy armful of wood and immediately carting it inside. One of the corners near the tables had been cleared, and he promptly deposited the wood before going back out for more. Luca had freed another section by the time he made it out, enough to grab another armful, and so he did. It became a smooth system, and they were at it a good hour, freeing most of the pile outside before they ran out of space in the corner.

Stopping there, he asked Okami-san, “Is that enough?”

“Thank you so much. Yes, it is. Please, sit and eat with us. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“I won’t turn you down.” Noe was ravenous. He’d had sex most of the night and woken up to do hard labor this morning. It stood to reason.

Okami-san called Luca in as well, and he stamped the snow off his boots before stepping fully in, joining Noe at the table. Bowls of rice, miso soup, fried fish, and daikon radish were quickly set in front of them, and Noe inhaled it all before he even took a sip of the green tea.

“Marvelous breakfast, thank you.” Luca gave a smile to the harried middle-aged cook, who seemed exhausted with the day already.

She responded with hesitant Trader. “You welcome. Thank you for wood.”

“We’re happy to help. Do you need anything else?”

Okami-san rebutted this as she also sat down to eat. “No, thank you. We can manage the rest.”

“All right. Just let us know if you need more help.” Actually, now that he thought of it… “Okami-san, do you know of a goldsmith?”

She blinked at him. “A what?”

That word clearly did not translate. “Jeweler?”

“Oh! Yes, good one on Main Street. Kin-san’s.”

Unless Noe was mistaken, that literally meant Mr. Gold’s. Someone was being punny. “Thank you.”

Obviously, Noe wouldn’t be at work today—no one would venture out in this mess—but it did mean he had the rest of the day to finalize the details on their rings.

Luca caught his hand as soon as they left the kitchen, walking the short distance back to Noe’s room. “It occurs to me we’ll need him to make you a signet ring as well. You’ll need it once we’re married.”

Oh. Right, he’d become a lord upon marriage to Luca. Noe would need the ring for documents and such. Wow, there was a thought—he’d become nobility. Noe would definitely have to get used to it.

“Right. We’ll likely have to leave your signet ring with him for a few days so he can copy the design.”

“Likely so.”

Definitely couldn’t do it until the ice had melted, though. Which would take days.

Well, that just gave Noe more uninterrupted time to spend with Luca. He was quite happy to do that.