Author's Note: As per usual, thanks to LizHaze for editing.



****



It was kind of strange how the snow affected us differently. As we walked home I spent most of my time watching where my feet were going and trying not to slip on a hidden icy patch. My sister, on the other hand, preferred to skip along cheerfully while occasionally trying to catch stray snowflakes in her hands and watch them melt.



The way Chrissy acted sometimes it was hard to believe she was a twenty year old adult, rather than an abnormally tall kid ten years younger. Granted, other times she feigned being a grown-up so well that she could pass for being the older sibling between the two of us. It was a bit of an odd dichotomy.



"How come you look grumpy?" Chrissy asked.



I didn't look up.



"M'not grumpy," I said. "Just watching where I'm going."



"But you're missing all the scenery."



"It's snow. Everywhere. I've seen snow before."



"What about the Christmas lights. And there's snowflakes. And icicles. And snowmen sometimes."



I raised my head and gave her a long eye-rolling stare. She ignored me completely and continued waving her arms around to point out all the things we were passing. I let her go on for another minute or two until I realized she wasn't going to stop on her own.



As we passed a decent sized snow bank I put my hand on Chrissy's shoulder and shoved hard. She almost went head-first into the snow, but managed to twist herself around enough before impact that her face stayed clear.



"You jerk!" she yelled.



I laughed to myself and kept walking. I looked back a couple times as she struggled to her feet, but didn't go back to help. Watching her flounder in the snow helped my mood more than admiring any of her 'scenery' did. Apparently the snow wouldn't support her arms as she tried to push herself up, which meant she eventually had to give in and roll her way back to sturdier ground. If she had been anyone other than my sister I might have felt bad for taking such enjoyment from her misfortune.



Once free, Chrissy hurried to catch up with me. I prepared myself for a verbal tirade of reasons why I was a horrible brother, realizing too late that the footsteps I heard behind me weren't slowing down. I started to turn just in time for her to run into me at full speed. She might have been smaller than me, but she still managed to hit me with enough force to knock me off my feet. Since I'd been turning I landed on my back looking up at the sky, as well as my little sister's smug face.



"Not as fun when you're the one getting knocked down, is it?" she said.



She brushed snow off of herself while I carefully tested the snow around me to see if there was any way to escape with some dignity. My options didn't look good.



"And here I thought you'd be trying to get a head start before I get back up," I said.



"Well maybe some of us aren't mean enough to leave other people behind in the snow."



Chrissy extended a hand to me to help pull me up. It was a nice gesture, considering I'd been the one to start hostilities. I probably should have just taken the peace offering, but I didn't.



I took my sister's hand and gripped it tightly. Her eyes widened a split second before I pulled and brought her tumbling down. In hindsight I probably should have tried to force her to the side a bit so she didn't land on top of me, but the effect was still satisfying.



"Ugh, I don't know why I trusted you," Chrissy said.



"Me neither. Wasn't very clever."



She tried to push herself up off of my chest, so I angled my body a little and let her hand slip off the front of my jacket. She made a second attempt, and again I deliberately caused her to fail.



"Okay, dummy. You realize that if you don't let me up, you're just gonna have to sit there and get a cold butt, right?"



"Be interesting to see how long I keep it up then, won't it?"



Chrissy put both of her hands on my shoulders and tried to quickly lever herself into a kneeling position. I grabbed her wrists and yanked them away so she fell back down on me. She struggled against my grip, but wasn't strong enough to break free. All she really managed to do was wiggle around a little and force us slightly deeper into the snow.



Unfortunately, my sister's attempts to get away from me led to her more or less grinding on my lap. I didn't pay much attention at first until it began to have an effect on me. I needed to get her away from my cock before I got hard. That would be far too embarrassing to even contemplate.



I let go of Chrissy's wrists and made no further effort to stop her from getting up. She pushed herself to her knees, still straddling me, and grinned mischievously.



"Letting me go, huh?" she said. "I knew it, you want to get out of the snow 'cause your butt's frozen. Told ya so."



"Whatever. You gonna get off or what?"



"Maybe."



She stayed where she was, practically daring me to make her hurry up. Normally I would have carefully considered whether or not I wanted to give her the satisfaction, but in this case I just needed to get her away from any potential contact with my partial erection. I moved to grab her again, and this time she hopped to her feet before I could get her. I struggled my way out of the snow bank after her, no longer concerned with anything other than making sure my pants didn't appear tented.



"Ha! You didn't just get a cold butt, you got a wet butt too," Chrissy said.



She examined the back of my pants while I brushed snow off of myself. I was perfectly okay with her taunting me about that. It was better than some of the alternatives. I was pretty sure it annoyed her slightly when I didn't respond the way she hoped.



"Alright, let's just get going," I said. "It's getting dark."



"S'okay. The streetlights should be coming on soon."



"They almost should be on already." I looked up, trying to figure out if it was dark enough that lights should on. "Anyway, let's just go."



"Why? You need to change clothes and warm up or something? Wouldn't want to get frostbite on your ass after all. Then you'd feel silly for not listening to me."



I faked a lunge at her and she danced away. I trudged onward and did my best to ignore any further attempts she made to bug me. She was right; my pants were damp and uncomfortable from the snow, but I wouldn't admit that to her.



"Hey, where'd all the Christmas lights go?" Chrissy asked.



I glanced at my sister and found her craning her neck around in various directions. Once I started looking, I also noted that the Christmas lights we'd been walking past seemed to have vanished.



"Maybe some people don't have lights up right now," I suggested.



"That doesn't seem right. I know some of these houses should have some on, and it makes no sense that none of them would."



"Guess you'll just have to live with no holiday cheer for a few minutes. Think you'll make it?"



Chrissy punched me lightly on the shoulder. It wasn't enough of a physical assault to warrant retaliation.



Shortly after that we arrived home. There were no lights on there either, not even inside. I thought that was a little strange until we got inside and I saw a note by the door. Probably from our parents telling us they'd gone out for a bit or something. I went to flick on a light switch so I could read more easily and nothing happened.



"Shit."



I flicked the switch up and down a couple times, then tried another one. Suddenly the lack of light around began to make more sense.



"Are you gonna turn a light on or what?" Chrissy asked from behind me as she pulled off her boots.



"Can't."



"What do you mean you can't?"



"No power, dipshit."



"Hey! Don't be like that. How was I supposed to know?"



I shook my head instead of escalating the argument. We shed our jackets and footwear, then moved further into the house. I located a flashlight that had functioning batteries and took it upstairs with me. It wasn't quite dark enough to need it yet, but it soon would be. I swore under my breath as I made my way to my room to change out of my damp pants. I wasn't in the mood for a power outage of indeterminate length.



Chrissy tracked me to my room a few minutes later, just as I had finished changing and was headed back downstairs. She snatched my flashlight from me and marched back the way she came without so much as asking if I minded.



"What, you couldn't get your own?" I called after her as I followed several steps behind her.



"I couldn't find another one. If you can, I'll trade this one back to you."



"Hey, now you sound grumpy. How come you're allowed to be but I'm not?"



She paused and turned back toward me.



"I'm not grumpy, just slightly annoyed. Did you read that note mom and dad left us?"



"No. Why?"



"'Cause they're gonna be gone for the night. In the middle of a power outage."



"Oh."



"Yeah. And it's, like, minus ten outside already and we have no heat. How long do you think before we freeze to death?"



"Aw, come on, it's not that bad. We just gotta, like, light a fire or something. And the power probably won't be off that long anyway."



Chrissy sighed and kept walking.



"Right, of course. It's all so simple."



****



My sister and I were perhaps not quite as independent and self-sufficient as we should have been. We'd been through power outages before, but never without someone older around to take care of things. That may have been kind of sad for two people in their early twenties, but fortunately we both had enough on our minds that we didn't have to reflect on that.



Finding matches was a fair challenge for us. It turned out our parents kept them in a drawer in the kitchen. I had no idea what was wrong with keeping them next to the fireplace. Wood was simpler to locate since it was all stacked in the basement where it had always been. There was some newspaper in the recycling bin to help get a fire started.



I had started fires before, though not often, and never when my only source of light to work by was my sister holding a flashlight. It was a unique sort of challenge. It took a couple tries lighting crumpled up newspapers before I could get the wood to start burning. I was eventually successful, and we obtained a source of both heat and light in an otherwise darkened room.



Chrissy and I sat down on the couch and watched the fire burn for a couple minutes. It was somehow much more satisfying an experience when the flames represented a small triumph over adversity.



"Well, now what?" Chrissy asked eventually.



"I dunno," I said. "I kinda hadn't thought this far ahead. Guess we could sit here and wait for the power to come back on."



"Yeah, I guess."



We lasted another five minutes or so before she started getting antsy again. She kept flicking glances at me, and I could tell she was hoping I'd suggest some course of action before she had to admit she was bored.



"You know what I could go for?" she said, finally giving in.



"No, what?"



"Hot chocolate."



"Uh huh. And why would you bring that up when you can't actually make any?"



Chrissy grinned in that ever-so-slightly smug way she did when she thought she was being clever. Obviously I'd said exactly what she wanted me to say.



"I can totally make some," she said. "If you ask nicely, maybe I'll make some for you too."



She hopped off the couch and disappeared into the kitchen, flashlight in hand. I shrugged and went back to letting the fire hypnotize me. I heard the sound of cupboards being opened and rummaged through, but had no intention of going to investigate. I was sure I'd find out soon enough what she was up to.



When she returned she had a pot full of water with her. She carefully placed it on the small metal ledge over the fireplace door, then went back to the kitchen. She came back the second time with hot chocolate mix, a bag of marshmallows, and a pair of mugs. She looked even more pleased with herself than before as she retook her seat next to me.



"See?" she said. "All I have to do is heat up some water over the fire, then I'm all set."



"Aren't you a clever little girl," I said, patting her on the head.



"Don't be an ass. You still have to ask nice if you want me to share. You know that's only gonna be worse for you if you pick on me too much before hand."



I rolled my eyes. "And what if I don't want any?"



"Then I'll have to assume you're being grumpy again and I'll be forced to cheer you up. Who refuses hot chocolate? No one, that's who."



"I think you may be making far too broad a generalization."



"And I think you may be a party pooper, so nyeh."



Chrissy stuck her tongue out at me and I rolled my eyes again. I hated when she made arguments like that. If I played along I'd only encourage her, and if I didn't she'd accuse me of pouting and I still wouldn't win.



Luckily, she was too busy keeping on eye on her pot of water to focus her attention on annoying me. She grew more impatient by the minute and kept getting up to take a closer look before sitting back down. The process began to amuse me after the second or third time.



"Ugh, why is it taking so long to boil?" she asked.



"Maybe 'cause the fireplace isn't really designed to heat pots?"



"Well it's hot enough that it should at least heat up a little water." She peered into the pot once more. "Maybe it'd be okay even if it's not boiling. It should still be hot by now, right?"



I couldn't see what she was doing since her body blocked my view, but a couple seconds later she yelped and jerked back. She stuck her finger in her mouth as she turned to me.



"What did you do, burn yourself?" I asked.



"Yes," she said, taking her finger out of her mouth long enough to speak. "Go get me something cold."



"Uh, like what?" I said, suddenly having to kick my brain back into gear. It was usually easier not to take anything too seriously around Chrissy, but this was an exception. "I mean, I think we have some ice cubes in the freezer. Or maybe--"



"Oh for fuck's sake."



She took off out of the room and I followed several steps behind her after grabbing the flashlight. She went out the front door and I found her standing there holding a handful of snow to her injured finger.



"Sorry," I said.



It was cold outside, but it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't stand it for a minute or two without a jacket. I slipped my feet into my shoes before I stepped out and closed the door behind me so the house would stay a little warmer. We only had the fire for heating the place up, after all.



It was almost fully dark out now. A few snowflakes were still falling to the ground, meaning it was almost certainly cloudy enough that there would be no moonlight. It was kind of surreal seeing my sister standing in the snow with only socks on her feet and illuminated solely by the flashlight I held.



"It's okay," Chrissy said. "I think my finger'll be fine. It's already pretty much stopped hurting. No thanks to you."



"Hey, I had to focus on not panicking," I said, completely deadpan.



She stared at me for a moment, then giggled.



"Yeah, it was a pretty tense situation all right."



"There were life or death decisions to be made, you know. Those aren't easy."



"Well, I'm glad you didn't become a doctor then."



"Likewise, miss 'can't boil water without injuring herself.' That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."



"Shut up."



Our exchange was more a formality than anything. Neither of us really had our heart set on getting under the other's skin.



I noticed Chrissy shiver and I glanced back inside. I was beginning to miss the comforting heat of the fire too. I didn't want to be the first to give in though.



"Okay, I think I've had enough cold," Chrissy finally said.



She dropped the last of the unmelted snow from her hands and pushed past me to get back inside the house. I went in close behind her, and by the time I'd closed the door behind us and kicked off my shoes she'd already made a dash for the fireplace. She huddled in front of it on the floor and pulled off her socks, now damp from the snow she'd been standing in. She looked up at me pitifully.



"Can you get me some blankets or something?" she asked. "I'm all frozen now."



"Who would've thought standing outside with no winter clothes on would be a bad idea, huh?"



"Could you stop being an ass for a second and just get me something to warm me up?"



"Fine."



I wandered off with the flashlight, only to realize I wasn't sure where mom kept the spare blankets. I knew they existed, I just didn't know where to find them. There weren't any in the linen closet, mostly just sheets and towels and things. Eventually I settled for the easy solution and grabbed the blanket off of my bed and the one off of Chrissy's. I decided against raiding our parents' room.



When I returned, my sister was right where I left her, except that she was sipping from a mug of hot chocolate. She must have had more success with it this time around. She turned her head toward me when she heard me approaching.



"Is that my blanket?" she asked.



"Yeah, and mine too. If you want something different you're gonna have to get it yourself."



"No, that's good. Thank you."



She set her mug down and took the blankets from me. She spread mine out on the floor underneath her and wrapped hers around herself.



"I made you some too," she said as she sat back down and picked her mug back up.



I hesitated, trying to decide whether to go back to the couch or not. After a moment I shrugged and sat down next to Chrissy and accepted the mug she handed me. The marshmallows on top were just starting to melt.



We drank in near silence for a few minutes. My sister had actually made some pretty good hot chocolate, though it was too hot at first to do anything other than sip at it. I was a little surprised when she leaned on me, but since we were both holding hot drinks it seemed like a bad time to start a fight over it. Besides, with nothing else to lean on, supporting some of our wait against each other wasn't a terrible idea.



"You'd think the power'd be back on by now," I said. "It's not like there's a storm out there or anything."



"Yeah, but there's no way to know. Maybe someone ran into a pole and knocked it over."



"That'd take some doing. I don't think I've ever seen one come down."



"Me either. Not much we can do about it anyway."



"I know. All we can do is sit and wait."



****



The power didn't come back on. Chrissy and I sat in the dark room talking and watching the fire, all the while growing increasingly bored. We had very limited means with which to entertain one another. Our only real activity was to go to the kitchen and make sandwiches when we got hungry. We had very limited options for feeding ourselves, what with not having a funtional stove, microwave, or oven. It was one of the few times in my life when cooking something would have been a welcome distraction, and we didn't even have the option.



Chrissy eventually lay down facing the fire, covering herself with her blanket. I didn't think she was tired so much as seeking a more comfortable position. The floor wasn't particularly soft, even with a blanket to pad it slightly.



"You planning on sleeping here or something?" I asked.



"Hopefully not," she said. "But at this rate I might have to. You probably should too, seeing as how your room has no heat or blankets."



"I... how's that going to work exactly?"



Chrissy smiled in amusement. "You aren't scared of sleeping next to your baby sis, are you?"



I actually was kind of worried about sleeping too close to her. I'd nearly poked her with my erection once already, I didn't want to chance it again. Especially when I'd be asleep and unable to do anything about it.



"No, just concerned you're gonna steal all the covers," I lied.



"Well then I guess you'll have to steal them back if I do."



"Right. Or we could sleep separately."

