Winter's When You Know 1/1
Title: Winter's When You Know
Author:
00smut
Characters/Pairing: Matt/Mohinder, Molly
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,757
Present For:
hiddenfantasy
Prompt: “First kiss between Matt and Mohinder after a snow fight between Molly, Matt and Mohinder.”
Summary: A family romp in the snow is a learning experience.
Spoilers/Warnings: None, sillyness and extreme fluffy-bunny family time.
Author's Note: Huge apologies for not beta-ing this thing, I know the tenses are weird and I am leaving for Vegas in mere hours and realized I had to get this out. I will make it up to you!
***
It was the day after New Years when the city got its first real snow, something that acted like pure sugar in the Walker-Parkman-Suresh household. Molly and Mohinder were decked out in scarves, hats and mittens waiting by the door before Matt had even considered rising from the couch where he had intended to enjoy the snow via coverage on the weather channel. When Molly begged and Mohinder gave him a pleading look that made his eyes unnaturally huge and impossible to say no to, he knew he was out voted.
In short order he was bundled into his winter jacket, pressed with the rather sexy leather gloves that Mohinder had bought him, forced into a scarf, into one of Mohinder's scarves, and pulled into a cab. He started complaining at home and wasn't finished by the time they reached the park.
As they got out of the cab Matt looks mutinously at Molly and Mohinder. “This has got to be the ugliest scarf I have ever seen, I might even go so far as saying it is the ugliest thing ever knitted.”
“Ma-att.” Molly stretched out his name with a pleading look, “you have to wear it for us all to have pink scarves on!”
Matt scowled and very maturely straightened his jacket in a way to minimize the scarf exposure. “It's not the pink that's the problem here, well it's part of the problem but I mean it's fluffy and and the fluff keeps getting in my mouth and...”
“Ma-att!”
Mohinder grinned, looking confident in his dark peacoat and matching pink scarf. “I think it looks quite dashing on you, actually. Though you do have some of the fluff in your hair...”
Matt rumpled his hair in an attempt to de-fluff, which caused Molly to collapse into giggles, and he has to accept that he is the butt of their jokes. “I know when I'm out smarted, which is all the time with you two. Smarty pants.”
It was late afternoon and the park wasn't busy but there are a fair amount of families enjoying the snow. It had been a picturesque storm, not the kind of storm that forces you to stay inside with hot chocolate and bad movies on television, but the kind where you have to bundle up more than usual but it's worth going out and enjoying.
To Matt it looks like a Christmas card with the yards of trampled snow and dazzling array of sleds and malformed snow creatures that have been erected. Trotting through a patch of untouched white to get a better look at what appears to be a Snow-Tyrannosaurs Rex, Molly dances around in glee. All she can do is stare up into it's gaping jaws and say, “Wow.”
“Amazing,” Mohinder, stepping carefully through the snow and giving the creation a considering look as though it were a painting in an art museum. “I'm impressed that it is nearly constructed to scale.”
Matt gives Mohinder a pained look. “Mohinder .. you are suck a dork.”
They crest a small hill into virgin snow with no other families around. Molly gleefully tears through the snow in sloppy figure eights, while Matt makes half hearted snowballs and Mohinder keeps still and takes in the crisp air.
“Snow is the best thing ever created,” Molly kicks up a small storm of snow as she jumps to a stop between them. “We are learning about it in school and it's way cooler like this.”
Mohinder looks thoughtful. “I think that counts as my first, hands on snow experience outside of the classroom. ”
“As it happens, I'm kind of a snow expert.” Matt delivers this statement with a funny wiggle of his eyebrows that makes Molly smile and Mohinder roll his eyes. Both have the effect of encouraging Matt. “They've asked me to do a lecture tour, with way more cities than your last one Mohinder.”
“I don't doubt it was better attended than my last tour,” Mohinder quips. “Please explain to me, how does a native Californian become a snow expert?”
Matt makes a vague hand gesture. “I had mono in the 9th grade and I watched a lot of PBS, Nova, that kind of thing.”
“Ah. I had heard that extensive public broadcasting viewing could be counted as doctorate hours in California.”
“This is Ivy League stuff, here, so if you'd let me continue?”
Mohinder looks at Molly conspiratorially, considers and then nods his ascent. Matt clear his throat and pretends to examine the snow at his feet. “ You see it's a small abnormality in the snowflake... DNA that really masks the... uh... potential for all kinds of snowflake abilities...”
“That sounds awfully complex,” Mohinder deadpans, scrunching up his face in mock confusion. Molly tries to mimic the expression and says, “Please tell us more, Doctor Parkman.”
Matt's stern expression flickers into a grin, that he quickly hides it behind fluffing up the riotously pink scarf wrapped around his neck. Molly can't help but giggle, looking between her two Dad's who are trying to play each others roles. Sometimes they are just silly.
“Clearly you've heard of the Snowflake Genome Project?”
“Clearly.”
“It was discovered that no two snowflakes are completely the same. It's a fact.”
“Astounding.”
“Just ask my research assistant here.” Matt winks at her. “She has done extensive research on the subject.”
Molly grins because she's the one who told Matt how snowflakes are all different and because her research involved an entire Saturday of cutting snowflakes out of folded up paper. Taking Matt's lead she tries to put her serious face back on because Mohinder is looking at her with the funniest expression of amusement and she's had the Best Idea Ever.
“I've done lots and lots of extensive research,” Molly says, moving to stand in front of her two Dads, putting her hands on her hips “Tons of research.”
Mohinder's lip twitches, but he keeps his voice serious. Careful not to look at Matt, who looks ready to crack, he says, “I am eager to hear about your research, Molly.”
“It is really complicated,” Molly gives her best innocent smile. “I think it's better if I just show you.”
It's not the right kind of snow for snowballs, something Molly realized right away even though she was new at the snowy winter thing. Scooping up as much of the fluffy stuff that she can, she throws it up in the air between them. The deluge whites out the air, filling her vision with a sheet of sparkles that drift down to melt on her flushed cheeks.
Beside her Matt makes a surprised coughing sound. The top of his head is completely covered in snow, and so is the top of the scarf he wears. He doesn't say a word, just stares at the two of them in shock. Mohinder looks even more ridiculous, with snow clinging to his curls and caked in his eyelashes. His eyes look pitch black compared to all the white stuff. The dumbfounded expression on his face is so alien to his features that Molly has to press her mittens to her mouth to stop the laughter from escaping.
Crossing her arms across her chest, Molly puts on a comedic frown and says, “It's not nice to laugh at when someone gives a lecture, right Mohinder?”
For a second it feel like time has stopped they are all so still. If the snow hadn't been swirling around so frantically and her heart beating so fast in her chest she would have wondered... but then Mohinder snorts. It's so inelegant and so not how Mohinder behaves that Molly lets her giggles go, which prods Matt into a fit of muffled snickers which are even funnier since the snow in his hair has turned into little rivers of water, trickling down his face.
Matt tries to wipe the water away but his snow covered mittens only make matters worse, smearing the water and making his cold reddened cheeks even redder.
Mohinder sees this and laughs even harder, leaning over with the force of it. His laughter is the best sound in the world. Matt's laughter comes in as second best but just as good, being deeper and a great compliment to the unruly peals that Mohinder can't seem to control. They sort of lean into each other, hold onto each other until they are too weak to stay standing.
Slumped in the snow her Dads were laughing helplessly- the real kind of laughter when you can't catch your breath because it skips away from you in body shaking hiccups and tears pour down your face in hot streams. You laugh until you don't know why you are laughing but you know it is the best feeling in the world and deep down you don't want it to ever end.
Falling back into the snow pile beside them, Molly splays her arms and legs to create less of a snow angel and more a snow starfish. So close to the ground she can hear the hiss the flakes make as they touch down to the earth and she can't stop smiling. Without a doubt this is the most perfect moment in her life. Above her the stars above are sharp like diamonds in the endless dark sky and the air is a riot of white. The lamplights that line the parks trails have hazy halos in the corner of her vision and Molly thinks that the term light pollution is too dirty to apply to the magical glow.
Slowly the mirth starts to cease and the stillness creeps back into the air. Matt reaches over and grasps her hand, which feels funny in snow-caked mittens but that only means she has to hold on a little tighter. Glancing over she sees that Mohinder is leaning over Matt and that more snowflakes have gotten caught in his eyelashes. Her Dads are smiling, worn out from their laughter and the exertion of their night of winter fun.
When Mohinder leans down and brushes his lips across Matt's, their breath mingling in hazy puffs, Molly turns her eyes back to the sky. The sound of Mohinder settling into the snow, and the slide of Matt's other arm to link hands him, too, completes the chain. They are family.
Funny, crazy and very very cold but they are a real family.
It was in that moment that Molly decided that she wanted her first kiss to taste like fresh fallen snow, too.