To Zach, it seemed as if the snowflakes were all a part of an orchestra, each of them playing a united melody as they struck against the convenient store’s window. He stared out at the dimly lit street and watched the snowflakes blow in every direction, turning everything white.

     The cars parked by the curb were covered in a white coating, the roofs of nearby shops had snow piled up on them, and even the surfaces of the sidewalks were hidden under a thick layer of a cold powdery white. It was what Zach liked to call a “White December” as Christmas had not yet come around.

     He pulled up the collar of his turtleneck, shivering. Then he backed away from the window and walked to the cash register. In his hands were a pack of cookie dough and a box of Margaret's Hope Deejarling tea. It was the perfect weather for that, and he tightened his grip on it especially tight.

     “Next customer, please!” the young cashier shouted energetically. As Zach approached, she smiled and waved.

     Bleep!!

     Bleep!!

     “Thank you for paying!” the cashier bellowed once again with ecstasy. Then she put the items into a bag, gently handing it over to Zach. He only nodded at her.

     The doors made way for him, but a powerful gust of windy gale slammed right into him, and falling snowflakes landed on his coat as if hugging it with affection. Once again, he tugged the collar of his turtleneck as far up as it could go, zipping up his coat all the way too. He couldn’t help but smile, though. The cold, it gave him a warm feeling.

X X X

     “I’m back!” Zach shouted as he opened the front door to his apartment. He looked around, staring from the couch to the sparkly clean kitchen. He raised an eyebrow in perplexity, leaning against the kitchen counter decorated in snow-white tiles. “Where is she?” he murmured. 

     “Just a minute!” a silky voice squeaked down the hall. 

     Zach stared down the hall where the voice rang from, and chuckled. Nothing was funny, he just knew something was up. And he’d have to play along.

     “What is she up to now?”

     He glued his gaze down back onto the white tiles of the kitchen counter. Just like the snow that conquered every roof and every street outside. A pure, unembellished white. There was just something… something about the faultless color that drew his eyes towards it. Something that made his heart skip a beat, or made his cheeks warm. Or his hands occupied. Regardless, this clean white was special to him.

      Zach had forgotten that the grocery bag hung from the tips of his fingers, and so he hoisted it on top of the counter. The snow had damped it, but that was fine. If anything, the cold kept the cookie dough cool, and the Deejarling would go into water anyways.

     The second his hands dropped the bag onto the counter, the sound of a door swinging open made him jump. The door swung open with such power, such energy, that the noise of the door handle hitting the doorstopper boomed like fireworks going off. Then rapid footsteps followed.

     “Zach! Zach!” the silky voice yet again echoed throughout the apartment, this time calling to Zach.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

     “Yeah, yeah,” he rested his cheek against the palm of his hand. “What do you have planned for us this time, Yue?”

     In mere seconds, Yue walked into the kitchen, wearing a onesie of a penguin.

     “Look what I got off Amazon!” Yue stood right in front of Zach, staring right into his eyes. His soul.

     Zach stared at her, aghast. The onesie had a hoodie, which was the beak of the penguin. As of now, though, it was filled with her wavy black hair, which sprawled all over her shoulder. Most noticeable, though, was just how much the onesie hugged her body, accentuating her slim figure. After looking all around her, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

     “W-why’d you buy that?” Zach said in between laughters.

     “It’s warm and cozy, that's why.” But then her eyes suddenly flared up, brighter than any star in the galaxy. Without saying another word, she dashed back into the room she came from. Just as quickly, she returned, holding up an exact replica of the onesie but much larger.

     “I got one for you, so I hope you like how it looks,” she shoved the onesie into Zach’s arms, and he took it reluctantly. “That way, when we watch the movie together, we can both be comfy and look great!”

     “Right…” It seemed at every glance he took at the onesie, it made him smile. He expected her to force him into whatever shenanigans she came up with, so he conceded and began making his way to his room to change. 

     “Wait! Let me take your coat first. It’s soaked.” Yue stopped Zach in his tracks, then she helped him remove the coat. Her slender, soft fingers grazed down his arm as she led the sleeve off. Once they slid off, her gentle hands pulled the coat off and took their rightful place on his shoulders.

     Carefully considering his coat, Yue had set it down on the counter. Then she sauntered behind Zach, running her hands up and down his back. She intimately felt his back, leaning her body into him. Yue’s sigh blew up his neck, and the two of them closed their eyes, feeling only each other in the moment. 

     “I’m glad I brought you a onesie. Your body is so cold. Your clothes, they’re wet too.” Yue only hugged him tighter, transferring her warmth to him. “Poor thing.”

     “It was cold outside. Snowed like crazy too.” Zach still had his eyes closed, grasping the onesie very awkwardly as Yue embraced him from behind. 

     He sighed  as well. The white on the midsection of the penguin onesie enraptured him. So much so that he reached out and felt the texture. It was soft and furry, like a warm blanket right out of the dryer. Still, why? Why did such a mundane color catch his attention? What about it riled him up so much? 

     As his eyes were still closed, and a darkness enveloped his vision, all he thought about was a lightness. 

     “Clouds, polar bears, lilacs, marshmallows…snow flakes…” he thought of numerous things in the world, his brain was akin to a computer processing and relaying results. And everything he thought of, was white. White, white, white, white, white. Pure white. They didn’t stick out, nor they didn’t have any colorful beauty that, say, a peacock or a rainbow displayed. But still, Zach’s brain was twisted. To him, the colorless, the white, was the most beautiful thing in the world to him. 

     He opened his eyes, and stared right out the window, seeing a blizzard shoot out snowflakes at the glass like little cannonballs. Then he jeered his head towards Yue. She stared back, flittering her eyelashes at him. She pulled her hoodie over her head, continuing her glance at Zach. 

     Finally, just finally, he figured out why such a boring, monotonous hue piqued his interest. The key to his dilemma was right in front of him.

     No matter how many times he stared at the color, it reminded him of her, of moments like the one they were experiencing now. 

     “Heh. Hahaha!” Zach burst into laughter. 

     “What’s so funny?” Yue took her hand off of him as she raised an eyebrow.

     “Oh, it's nothing. I’ll go change.”

     “Great!” I’ll start brewing the tea now. We can bake the cookies once you’re done.”

     Zach waved a hand to her, then made the trek to his room.

     The water ran.

     The door slammed.

     The snow flew.

     The tea brewed.

     It was a White December indeed.