Alexander is fast asleep, his arm around my neck and his face this time facing me. His hearing aids had been removed, and he was now left vulnerable; my thumb brushes against his cheeks as I examine every feature of his face whilst holding a bowl of his cereal in my hand.

I guess you could say I felt happy of some sort, Alexander brought something out of me. And yes, he may be a stubborn, prideful man but he is actually okay when you get to know him.

Alexander has beautiful eyes, and lips.

And his ears are nice to.

Thank god he's deaf, so he doesn't hear me snore at night. I am a loud snorer, I definitely got it from my dad or something. The birds rule the early morning, as they are enamoured with the sunrise with their beautiful, feathered plumes.

The drapes impart an orange hue to the early light, resulting in a magnificent sunrise every morning. It reminds me of sleeping in a beach cottage and watching the ocean appear behind the golden sheen.

For a brief while, my mind conjures the rhythmic waves lapping at the sandy shore, and my pulse beats at the same sluggish cadence. I take a long breath in. A new day has started.

Alexander slowly blinks awake; I continue to scroll down my Instagram feed with the bowl of cereal on my lap. I look down and smile, he turns his body to reach for his hearing aids before sliding them on. "Good morning you little shit, no boob grasping today?" I chuckle out, "they were there for you all night."

Alexander glances down at my cereal, before throwing the covers over his head. I set it to the side and lay onto his body, like a starfish on a rock. Alexander opens his eyes only a little to see me smiling, "Alexander."

"What?"

"You're really shit at this romantic thing; you know that right?"

"Says the one who said, 'good morning you little shit'" He mumbles, I let out a long laugh as he rests on his back. I tower over him, my legs straddling his stomach as I brush my fingers through his hair.

"Did you want me to say something else? Like good morning baby, I missed you..." My lips gently touch his own, I leave little pecks across his jaw. Alexanders nose brushes against mine, I feel him harden against my thighs.

"I think the first option was better." I smile against his neck; Alexanders hands slide under the covers before grasping my ass into his bare palms.

I rest my head onto his shoulder, my fingers playing along the strands of his hair as I straddled him. We hear the neighbours above us playing a great Gatsby themed song, I lift my head up in shock as my eyes lock with Alexanders.

I jump of the bed, grab Alexanders hand in mine before yanking him off the bed. I have forgotten this man's height, and weight. He groans and begs to stay in the bed, but I gain enough strength to pull him off. "Nova-"

"Dance with me, come on."

"I'm not fucking dancing with you Nova," I take his hand and slip it around my waist before resting one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hands.

He sighs as we begin dancing to the music above us, I could not stop the laughter coming out of my mouth as I press my head against his heart. It was beating fast, maybe because of the way I dragged him out of his bed, or I was making his heartbeat like this. I twirl around with his arms attached to mine and he pulls me back to him, surprisingly.

His forehead gently presses onto mine, our lips hover against one another and the tip of our noses touch. "Alexander."

"Nova."

"It's snowing, you know that right." I point out the absolute obvious.

"You better not be thinking anything Nova." He warns me, I smile to myself.

"It is five in the morning, which means no one has touched the snow. Please." I beg, holding two hands together.

"No." I give him the puppy dog eyes. "No Nova, don't do that." It seems to have some effect on him, I have no clue why but who cares.

"Do what?"

"You know what."

"One snowball fight."

"No, it's cold. You'll get a cold and die of hypothermia." He folds his arms; I roll my eyes.

"But would that not be a good thing? Then you won't have an annoying neighbour anymore."

"Okay, now you're talking."

◾◾◾

Snow from a strong blue-grey cloud formed the most joyful of flash mob scenes. Snow danced in the light; a ballet directed by the gentle wind.

They say we live in the present, that the past is always gone, and that each day is a fresh beginning, a steppingstone into a future we imagine even when it's chilly outside. That is snow, those wintry days of bluster and ice for me.

I see yesterday's ground as white as any new page, and the toddler in me rises, armed with a rainbow of crayons, eager to right that wrong.

The snowball slams right into my back, I immediately fall face flat onto the ground. The cold snow hugging my body, this man is not going easy on me at all. I sit up with a shocked look on my face as he rolls another snowball, I immediately grab some snow but before I could roll it- another snowball slams me into the stomach.

"Stop it!" I scream loudly, "let me at least fucking get up." Alexander stood a few metres away, he wore a black puffer jacket and lent me this huge coat, he shoved a scarf around my neck and wrapped it many times so I wouldn't get sick. He made sure I wore more than two layers of socks in case my feet get cold. And I would lie if I said I did not like this side of him; caring.

He chuckles.

Hang the fuck on. Hang on. No. Hang on. Is he-did this man just laugh? I just made him laugh! I made Alexander Solonik laugh! I felt like I completed a life goal, I stand up to tell him and then another snowball shoots at me.

"Alexander!"

"Alright, alright I'll stop! I'll give you a chance to stand." I gave him a death stare; he raised both hands in surrender to prove to me that he isn't holding another snowball in his hands. I sigh, lifting myself off the ground and before I know it.

I shoot right back down.

This time.

I stay on the fucking ground.

I do not make any attempt to get up again, "alright that was the last one."

"No. I didn't get to hit you once! It's not fair!" I told my arms and stare into the sky before his figure blocks me. He kicks me with his foot gently, and I glare at him.

"I won't hit you."

"Promise?" He sighs nodding his head, "pinkie promise it." I stick out my pinkie, and he gives me a disgusted face for a moment.

"I'm not doing that." He argues.

"Pinkie promise me right now or I'll stay on the floor all day."

"Stay on the floor then." He shakes his head with a smile and is about to walk on-

"I'll eat all your cereal in just two days!" I shout to catch his attention.

Alexanders jaw tenses and he looks down at my stuck-out pinkie, he sighs and accepts defeat before wrapping his pinkie around mine. He offers me a hand; I slip mine into his and he helps me on my feet.

I took the chance when I had it, I slammed him in the face with the snowball before attempting to run for my life only to not be running anywhere.

I look behind me to see Alexander grabbing the back of my coat hood at an arm's length.

"We're basically even, no?" I chuckle awkwardly.

He releases my hood; I raise a brow as I try to figure out his next move. "Let's go get warm now, enough playing about." I sigh, nodding my head.

We begin to walk towards the apartment entrance.

"Hey, that was fun-"

Suddenly, he pushes me right into the pile of snow with one hand and walks away, I lift my head up from it and wipe the snow away from my mouth. "Bitch."

"So fucking fun." I hear him from the entrance.