Hello Readers! Welcome to my first multi-chapter fic! Please feel free to leave reviews and suggestions.
This is set at similar ages to my 'A Night in the Forest' story.

All characters belong to Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

The early morning sunrise lit up against the dull streets of Two Rivers. On a cold morning like this, the townsfolk were reluctant to move from their beds. Rand could feel a cold breeze whisper through his shirt. He shivered, pulling the woolen cloak closer as he jauntily walked on.

Rand quickly stopped into the inn, and was greeted by an overly-cheerful Marin al'Vere. He managed to avoid most conversation on his part, as he collected one of her renowned pies. Egwene came down the stairs as he was about to leave. He stopped and she beckoned him over.
"Hello, Egwene," He said tiredly.
She giggled. "Where are you going?"
"To Mat's. I wanted to surprise him." He held up his gift.
She giggled again.
"What's so funny?" He asked suspiciously
"No- Nothing at all." She held a straight face for a few moments, but then burst out laughing.
"I-I'll see you later today, Egwene?"
She nodded and he quickly took the opportunity to leave.

The pie was slowly getting cold. He bundled it in the longer ends of his cloak and moved faster. Mat's house was only a short way from the inn. He spotted his destination and quickly walked around the back of the house.

Rand stared up at the second story window of his best friend's room. With the pie under one arm, he reached up and grabbed onto the bottom of the window. Rand scrambled up onto the sill and carefully placed the pie on the floor. The growth spurt he'd had recently certainly helped. He swung his legs into the room and scooped back up his gift.

Mat's sleeping figure was sprawled out across the bed. The redhead crept across the floor. He was fairly certain the other boy would stay asleep, as he was practically able to sleep through a horde of blacksmiths working beside him.

Rand gingerly stepped around piles of mess in Mat's room, that looked as though they hadn't been touched for years. He cleared a space on the drawer and set down the gift. Out the window, the sun climbed higher in the sky, red streaks across the sky that Rand had learnt to dread for a day of farm work. The patches of sunlight shifted, and the redhead jumped as his sleeping friend curled up into the spot of warmth trailing across his bed.

Rand crossed to the window but paused as he heard a soft noise from the brunet's side of the room. The blanket lay on the floor, and Mat was shivering as he slept. Rand sighed and moved from the window to help. He laid the heavy woolen blanket back over his smaller friend, and glanced over Mat, checking that the blanket was covering him. The redhead turned to take off out of his original entry point but paused again.

A faint sound, almost a whisper, from beside him drew his eyes to his sleeping friend. Mat's hair shone with golden highlights under the morning light and hung over his eyes. His face was softened from its hard mischievous mask to a soft blissful look. Rand held his breathe as he traced the angles of Mat's face. He leaned closer, memorizing every single freckle that littered his cheeks like stars across a cloudless mid night sky.

He stared at the way long dark eyelashes framed Mat's closed eyes, and jumped as one of the eyes opened. He only had a precious moment to study the color and depth of them, like the wood of an antiqued apple tree. Mat held still as Rand abruptly stood.

"I-I'll s-see you soon!" Rand said loudly, flailing and tumbling over words and feet as he ran to the window. He dropped to the ground, rolling on a hurt ankle, and all but ran to find Egwene.

Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!