A shiver ran up Palette's spine as he descended the stairs leading into the garage. His teeth chattered as he wrapped his arms around himself, "How is it colder in here than it is outside?"

"The walls aren't insulated and there's no direct sunlight," Raven's shoes scratched across the dusty cement floor as he skirted around the lone silver car taking up one of the two available spots, passing by a large freezer and opening a wooden box in the far left corner, "C'mon; the faster we get the logs, the faster we can go back inside."

Watching the younger skeleton pull out three pieces of wood cut into quarter rounds, Palette reached for a matching trio once Raven stepped back. Resting the wood in the crook of his elbows, they both quickly backtracked up the creaky stairs and shuffled inside. The blast of warm air was like a blessing to him as they returned to the living room... only now there was a large tent-like structure where the couch used to be, and the coffee table had been moved to accommodate the new addition.

"I don't see any hot chocolate...," Raven grumbled under his breath, heading toward the fireplace.

"I'm sure Mister Geno will have it ready soon," Palette tried to placate them, though it didn't look like the action did much. Spotting Goth and Shino along the back of the couch, he put aside Raven's sour mood and moved closer to observe. There was a faint glint of metal in his companion's hand that he quickly discerned as safety pins, which were being used to secure a series of blankets in place; movement along the inside of the blankets revealed where Sorell had gone. Unable to quell his curiosity any longer, he questioned them, "What are you all doing?"

Shino beamed as she secured another pin in place, "We're making a blanket fort!"

Palette looked at the blankets in a new light as excitement rose up in him, "Cool, can I help?" It felt like forever since he had gotten to make a fort without getting in trouble with his mom... then again, he probably could have made it without painting the outside of the sheets...

"You might want to finish what you're doing first," Goth gently reminded him, returning his attention to the logs still resting in his arms.

"Unless you want to freeze your tailbone off," Raven quipped with his back turned to them, setting his logs down and moving a wire screen out of the way.

"Oh yeah, that would be bad," Palette hurried over to the fireplace, setting down his pile and crouching next to Goth's brother, "So... how does this work?"

Raven gave him a strange look before huffing, "The hearth's already clean, so we'll need to put the logs inside, get a piece of paper from the tinderbox, and a lighter to start the fire."

"Don't forget to open the flue damper so the smoke doesn't accumulate in here," Geno interjected, walking into the living room with a tray full of mugs and setting it down on the pushed-aside table.

A strangled noise managed to escape the younger monster as he chuckled sheepishly, "I was gonna say that..."

"You totally forgot," Palette turned to see Goth holding a mug up to their mouth, but the edges of their smirk were still visible from where they were leaning against the arm of the couch.

"Need I remind you of your own little misadventure with the fireplace, young man?" Geno retorted, causing Goth to choke on his hot chocolate as Raven cackled.

Palette was immediately on his feet, rushing over to pat Goth's back; once their coughing subsided, he was given a froggy, "thank you."

"Of course," Palette smiled, then remembered the previous conversation and asked, "So... what happened with the fireplace?"

Instead of getting the answer from Goth, Geno spoke up, "Goth forgot to put the fire screen up one year and nearly burned himself saving a toy glider from ending up in the fireplace."

"Yeah, he's lucky mom has quick reflexes," Raven added, his expression at odds with the nature of the topic, "mom used blue magic to pull Goth back at the last second."

"He nearly gave me a soul attack...," Geno mumbled. Shino giggled from where she and Sorell were still pinning the blankets.

Goth's face scrunched up as he grumbled, "It wasn't that bad..."

"Well, at least you didn't get hurt," Palette set his mug down, giving Goth a hug in hopes of comforting them; it seemed to do the trick as the smaller skeleton leaned into him. "You feel wet," he commented, feeling the cold seep into his clothing.

"Oh, I probably didn't get all the snow off earlier and it melted," Goth reasoned, breaking off the hug and picking at his jacket.

Looking around for their tote bag, he spotted it in the corner, "Should we change into our pajamas?"

"Go ahead; we'll handle the fireplace from here," Geno set down their mug and approached the fireplace.

Approaching the bag, he pulled out a long-sleeve white shirt and fuzzy bottoms with soft blue clouds; he couldn't help but chuckle at the skull-patterned button-down top and pants Goth had brought.

Making his way down the hall toward the bathroom, he and Goth both winced at the jarring screech of metal behind them.

"It's too loud!" Shino whined.

"Sounds like it needs some oil...," Goth mumbled; Palette hummed in agreement, glad they had been out of the room when it happened.

Ducking into the bathroom as Goth continued down the hall, likely to his old room, Palette switched out his shirt... only to have to readjust it when he felt the tag brush against his sternum. Feeling around for the tag on the pants to prevent the same problem, they went on without issue and he exited the bathroom. Not seeing his companion, he returned down the hall toward an orange glow of light. A bright fire crackled on the far side of the room as the group sat on the floor in front of the raised hearth, conversing among themselves. Grabbing the mug remaining on the tray beside a half-empty one, his eye lights widened at the sight of rainbow-colored marshmallows floating within; even if they were a little melted, he had only ever seen white ones! Taking a sip, they tasted about the same as the plain version, but he still enjoy the splash of color nonetheless.

Goth reached past him for their mug, approached the fireplace, sat down with the rest of their family, and patted an open spot next to them in invitation. As Palette plopped down on the carpet beside them, his friend took a sip from their mug and smiled, "It feels better in here already."

Watching the contours of the flames dance across Goth's face and body, Palette couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, it's really cozy now."

***

Word Count: 1,155