Hanako woke up early and padded over to window, taking great care not to wake up her boyfriend, Hisao. She peeked out, hoping today was the day, and smiled widely as she saw snow covering everything. It was early December and Hanako had been waiting for the first snow of the year all term. Excitedly, she shook Hisao awake. "Hisao! W-Wake up! I wanna…I wanna sh-show you s-something!"
"Hanako…? What's up?" he groaned sleepily. He hated getting up early on Sundays for no particular reason, even if Hanako was the reason. Admittedly, he was a little intrigued; he never saw Hanako so excited for anything before. He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, taking a quick glance at his alarm clock. 5:30AM. He hoped whatever she wanted to show him was worthwhile.
"It's o-outside…You sh-should…get d-dressed…" Hanako was already pulling on her heavy winter clothes when he looked over at her. She adored the winter, especially the snow, and always made it a point to watch the sunrise when the first snow of the winter covered the ground. Usually she did this alone as she didn't want to inconvenience Lilly, who wouldn't be able to see the snow anyway. This was the first year she had someone else to share her joy with.
Hisao stared at her in confusion. Hanako rarely showed interest in the great outdoors and he wondered briefly if he was dreaming. Nonetheless, he got up and slowly began to pull on his warm winter clothes as he tried to guess what this special surprise was. She had drawn the curtains, so he wasn't able to peek outside. As far as he could tell, it was still dark. He speculated the possibility of some astronomical wonder he had forgotten while he pulled on his snow boots. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed Hanako slip out of the room until she returned with a thermos of hot tea.
"R-Ready to g-go?" she asked softly, holding out her mittened hand to him to help him off the bed. He nodded wordlessly and took her hand in his as he hefted himself up. She smiled and pecked his cheek, amazed she had managed to actually get him out of bed before eight on a Sunday. She began to lead him out of the dorm. "Th-Thanks…f-for playing along…It'll b-be…worth it…"
"I'm sure it is, Hana," he yawned behind his free hand, still a little groggy. "Though I don't get why we have to be up so early for this surprise." His theory of a starry phenomenon seemed to strengthen and he cursed himself for not paying much attention in class the day before.
"I…I want t-to show you…before…o-other people…wake up…" Hanako peered up at him anxiously through her fringe, hoping he wasn't very angry with her for waking him up so early. They were nearing the dormitory door to the courtyard by now and she could feel her heartbeat speed up as she imagined his reaction to the winter wonderland that appeared overnight. She pushed the door open and winced slightly as they were hit with a snowy breeze. Pushing onwards, she pulled Hisao along to the bench in the middle of the courtyard.
Hisao's eyes still weren't accustomed to the dark, but he could sense a difference in the courtyard. The crisp crunching under their footsteps seemed to confirm it. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he could tell everything was covered in snow. Was this all she wanted to show him? It wasn't like this much snow would melt away quickly. "Hanako…?"
Previously occupied with knocking the snow off the bench, she turned her gaze on him. "Every…Every year…I…I like t-to watch th-the sunrise…when we g-get the first…the first real snowfall of the year…I usually…do this alone…but….I…I wanted to sh-share this…w-with you…" She fell silent after her explanation and sat down on the bench, wishing she was able to read his mind to gauge his reaction. All of a sudden, this ritual seemed very childish.
To her amazement, he smiled broadly and sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "That's really sweet, Hana. Thank you for doing this with me this year." He leaned in and pecked her cheek.
She grinned fractionally and rested her head on his shoulder. "You r-really don't m-mind being woken up…so early…f-for this…?"
"Not at all," he hastened to reassure her. "This is very nice." After that, they both fell silent, watching the sun slowly creep up over the horizon. They remained snuggled up like this while the fresh snow sparkled under the sunlight, occasionally taking sips of the vanilla tea Hanako had made.
Soon enough, the other students began to wake up and notice the snow. The once empty and almost magically quiet courtyard was filled with jubilant teenagers who were making snowmen and having snowball fights. Hisao smiled at the frivolity of it all and looked down to see Hanako had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He pulled her closer to him, deciding he'd let her sleep for a little bit more before proposing they return to bed for more sleep. He really liked this tradition of hers and he wouldn't mind doing this every year, if it meant waking up to Hanako's childlike excitement every time.