I woke up slowly; it was New Year's Day, I recalled. Instead of going home, I had been invited in at Andrea-slash-Rachel's house, and the two of us had fallen asleep together in a chair while watching a movie with Andrea and Thomas, who was also still here. Somewhere.

Rachel was fast asleep next to me, but this time she wasn't obstructing me if I wanted to get up. Which I didn't quite feel up to yet, but there was an aroma that was starting to encourage my doing so. Well, a couple, actually. There was the rich aroma of a flavored coffee, probably caramel; the enticing aroma and sizzling sound of bacon and eggs being made; and the warm and somehow fluffy aroma of pancakes cooking.

Come to think of it, where's Andrea's parents? Or her cousins? I wondered as I yawned. The voice of my red-haired hostess then came to my ears.

“Ah! Sean, you're awake?” Andrea called over.

“I guess so,” I returned unconvincingly, to which she giggled.

“I'm glad we stopped you going home before it got super-snowy!”

“Eh? Ehh??” I started, becoming more alert as I gently wriggled out of Rachel's embrace to look out of a window. “Ugh...” I grimaced as I saw the snow that had piled up.

“Don't worry, the plows are already going by. And the others are gonna stop over today as well; it's a New Year's Party at our house today!” she announced happily.

“Oh, nice, that'll be fun!” I said in reply, heading over to Rachel, who was stirring awake herself.

“Mm... no'yet, Andi, just a bit more...” my girlfriend said in a groggy voice.

“It's not Andi--ahh, Andrea; it's me.” I whispered to her.

“Oh you can call me that too.” Andrea remarked from the kitchen.

“Phew!” Thomas remarked as he came inside. I heard the sound of a car taking off, and Rachel's eyelids opened; she smiled as she caught sight of me, and I smiled back at her.

“Hey there.” I said.

“Hey.” she returned, slowly getting out of the chair with my help.

“Your cousins are a talky bunch!” Thomas said to Andrea, who laughed at him in reply.

“True! It's still cold and windy out, I guess?” she returned to him.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“And how!” the older boy remarked, sitting at a stool and pouring himself a coffee. “Oh good morning! Come on over, eh?” he said as he caught sight of us. Rachel and I headed over to the counter to sit down with him, and Andrea put a few things away before setting breakfast down on the counter.

“'Morning.” I said in reply.

“We should get an apartment or something together once you two graduate high school.” Andrea remarked as she sat down with us, and we began divvying out the food.

“Oh definitely!” Rachel agreed.

“Why do I feel like that got rehearsed before either of us got here?” I said to Thomas, who laughed heartily.

“Best to go along with it, buddy-boy!” he quipped.

“Hmm... it'll have to be near Mandy and Chrissy's place...” Rachel mused thoughtfully, and Andrea nodded.

“Of course!” the older girl said. “And then we'll have to start planning out the rest of our two families.” she added, and Rachel nodded enthusiastically.

“Definitely!” she smiled.

“Eh? Uhh, the rest?” Thomas wondered bemusedly.

“I'm not helping you figure that one out.” I remarked, feeling my cheeks color. His eyes suddenly widened.

“Ah--ahhh, I getcha... yes, we will.” he said to Andrea, who smiled at him.

It's only been a couple months and you're already thinking -that- far ahead?!

“And Ellie will definitely be the crazy aunt; Anhe and Mary will be the level-headed ones, and Mandy and Chrissy will be the doting ones.” Rachel smiled brightly.

“Pffft! Poor Ellie! Ha-ha-ha-ha-hahh!” Andrea laughed.

“I dunno; I wouldn't put 'crazy' past any of them, to be honest.” I said. Then I realized what I had said and the implications of it, my cheeks coloring again as I paused mid-bite.

“So adorkable.” Andrea said to Rachel, who smiled.

“Hahh...”

“Looks like it's already shaping up to be a fun year.” Thomas remarked.

“The lovebirds are the stars of the musical, and we have exciting adventures in Panarena waiting for us; it'll definitely be fun!” Andrea agreed.

“The guild competition, huh? That'll be a new kind of challenge!” I said, quickly recovering myself.

“Don't forget the seasonal events!” Rachel smiled at me.

“In either life.” Thomas cautioned.

“That should be my advice to you, all things considered.” I quipped back.

“I'm older.” he shrugged.

“Ehh, whatever.” I sighed. The two girls laughed.

“It's definitely going to be a fun year!” Rachel smiled. I looked over at her, and a smile came to my face as well as I watched the look of joy on her face.

I'll never get tired of that smile. Not even once.