I was in an impossible position but it was my own damn fault.

But who, in their right mind, would give up on an opportunity to be part of the first Mars colony?!

ALOM had made their selection process without bias, except for one. For the foreseeable future, only those who could ensure new generations of colonists would be sent to the Red Planet.

Extensive medical examinations had concluded that I was very fertile and that my genes were considered "favorable". That word always creeped me out for some reason.

My problem was that I was not even remotely interested in the opposite sex and just the thought of having to father children made me very nervous.

I had been hand-picked for my expertise in industrial robotics. It was my responsibility to maintain the automated crawlers and mining smart bots. Luckily, I was able to perform most of my duties in relative isolation.

Despite trying to stay away from the rest of the colonists, Maria Escobar was continuously making advances. I didn't want to lead her on but I also didn't want her to give up just yet.

Wasn't it absurd that we were sophisticated enough to colonize another planet, yet I had to hide who I really was? I knew this situation was my own fault but it felt like the early 2020's all over again.

Things got infinitely more complicated when the second round of colonists arrived. Artem Kalinko caught my eye from the moment he stepped through the airlock.

He was ruggedly handsome and had a tendency to walk around in the gym pod bare-chested. One of his arms was covered in intricate tattoos; a rare art form that few still dabbled in. Sometimes, I risked sneaking a peak to try and figure out what they meant.

Every time, I crossed paths with Artem, he smiled at me politely. I tried to avoid contact as much as possible, despite the confinement of our new world. I couldn't afford to feel anything towards him or I'd be done for.

***

Even though we based the passage of time on Martian sols, we still celebrated all of Earth's traditional holidays according to the terrestrial calendar.

It was almost Christmas and we had used the Secret Santa system to select a person for whom to make a gift. Much to my chagrin, I had picked the most impossible person out of the total twenty-four.

Valerie was all work and no play. I had spoken to five different people to discover what she liked and came up completely empty-handed.

I felt sorry for whoever had picked her last year because their hard work was still decorating the mess hall.

My epiphany came when I was replacing one of the bot's arms. The biggest gift anyone could receive was TerraTime.

We all had family back on Earth and communicating with them was a major event. The question was, how could I gift a portion of my personal TerraTime anonymously?

***

When Valerie opened her gift, she seemed confused at first. As she read the accompanying note, however, her expression went from neutral to overjoyed.

I was completely caught off guard when my own Christmas gift turned out to be what looked like an old-fashioned lockbox key! There was no note, nothing!

"Thank you, Secret Santa!" I said out loud, hoping to see someone in the small crowd react.

***

Funny how people always overlook the things right under their noses. Three days back in the repair pod and I never once noticed the box on my workbench.

I had given up on finding a lock for my key but now that I had discovered its use, I felt like a little kid. Very carefully, I tilted open the box's lid and found a...

Holoprojector?!

I pressed the button and watched in wonder as translucent snowflakes slowly drifted all around me! I hadn't seen the real thing since I left Toronto six years ago and I spontaneously began to cry.

We had given up so much when we came to this desolate planet. Strangely, it was the things that I had never considered things that I ended up missing the most.

I desperately wished that I could tell my Secret Santa how much I cherished their gift.

***

I made a point of being early in the gym pod nowadays. I liked following my routine without having to wait for someone to finish with the equipment I needed. The entire complex was eerily quiet as I made my way there from the residential quarters.

Usually, I could complete my exercises within 50 minutes. Today, I started with some light cardio and then did my arm and chest reps without wasting too much time in between.

The personal hygiene pod was luckily attached to the gym directly. I stripped and jumped under the shower whilst my body was still warm. Water for the showers was recycled but heating it up, required precious energy.

We were all given a hot water quota for the day and I liked to use some of it to wash my hands, face, and feet before I went to sleep.

My ten minutes were up and I got out of the cubicle. To my utter shock, I found Artem wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Morning," he said, kindly.

I nodded back at him and was about to open my personal locker, when he asked, "Did you enjoy the snow?"

"That was you?" I asked in surprise.

"Do you think anyone else here understands the meaning of true cold?"

He was walking towards me, instead of the shower.

"I always had a way to warm myself up, though. Would you like me to show you?"

He was standing very close to me now and I was getting uncomfortable.

I didn't give him an answer which he must have taken as a "yes". He took my hand and carefully brought me back towards the shower stall.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I desperately wanted to run but I couldn't. My body refused to give me permission to flee without knowing if this was going where I thought it was.

Artem pressed his hand to the panel and activated his water timer. He removed his towel and hung it on a peg before doing the same with mine.

He gently nudged me inside and joined me, locking the door behind us. He looked into my eyes as if for permission to continue.

"Why?" I whispered.

"I have been trying to get your attention for weeks. I got tired of being subtle," he said, seconds before pressing the button.

The water sprayed on our faces as he kissed me with an urgency that I had equally been feeling. His hands explored my back, as I carefully put mine on his hips. We did things that I hadn't felt for a very long time.

"I want this every morning," he whispered in my ear.

I didn't even bother answering. For someone that understood cold, I hadn't felt it once in his presence.

Mars finally felt a little bit more like home.