- Season's greetings to all of you, my friends...it has been a while since I last updated and as it has a habit of doing, time passes by fast. I hope all of you are doing well and looking forward to the holiday season as I am. Granted it'd be the first time in many years for me to celebrate Christmas without snow but I'll manage...I think.

- Part of why I've been gone so long is because I'm still trying to adjust to my new life in the Orient and let me tell you, it hasn't been easy. With that in mind, my writing yet again has taken a dive and I'm very much uncertain about how this turned out. I realize I've said this many times before and my apologies if it grates your nerves...I just want to write my stories to the best of my ability and it doesn't help when one doubts their own skills or lack of too often.

- Which is why I decided to base this chapter on a simple but classic concept. Did I do alright? I don't know but nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy it.

...

When it came to the simple things in life, Peter has long since learned to truly appreciate them in his long career as Spider-Man.

Amongst such a long list were the rare moments when he was able to get a decent amount of sleep. With his nightly patrols, duties as an Avenger, and balancing a civilian job as well as life, he usually found himself resting only because of three reasons.

Two of the reasons were closely related: it was either due to him being too wounded to get out of his couch or bed...or it was because of complete exhaustion after a hard-won battle that he would literally drop to the ground unconscious.

And almost always he would wake up in a hospital bed of sorts, whether it be at the Avenger's infirmary or otherwise.

Fortunately, such wasn't the case this time as Peter slowly shifted underneath the blankets from a good night's worth of sleep. He moved his head albeit groggily and that's when his heavy eyes noticed the rough weather outside.

He'd completely forgotten about the hint of snow that fell during his patrol last night and now the winter was marking it's arrival with a steady but gentle snowfall.

His stomach grumbled a little in hunger but as much as he would've like to fix himself some breakfast, Peter didn't want to leave the comfortable bed just yet and that was solely because of the beautiful Queen sleeping beside him.

Peter couldn't help but smile as he felt Sable instinctively snuggle a bit more into his chest. She was wearing nothing but his Spider-Man shirt and Peter had to admit Sable looked better in it than he himself did.

Though their feelings for each other grew stronger everyday, Peter still found it somewhat difficult to believe that Sable had fallen in love with him of all people. His personal flaws were many and yet despite that, she accepted his character and loved him wholeheartedly.

Such a person was hard to find in one lifetime and Peter felt very blessed to be able to wake up beside Sable everyday and see her angelic face.

The Goddess Queen of Symkaria's beauty was always striking to him no matter what time of day it was and if it hadn't been for her...his recent streak of pleasant restful nights wouldn't have been possible.

There was a certain train of thought that ran through his heart everyday and it was no different now as Peter whispered said feeling into words.

"You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in my life, Sable...I love you so much."

As if her ears heard his loving words, Sable began to stir and slowly open her eyes, revealing the deep sapphire hue that Peter always loved to look into.

Sable's lips curled into a smile when she saw Peter's hazel orbs studying her with an adorable gaze.

"Good morning." She whispered, her hand caressing his cheek.

He leaned down and placed his forehead against hers. "Morning, did you sleep well?"

"Only when you're by my side, Peter..." Sable said with a sleepy smirk, "Of course, you did render me unable to walk straight for a while again."

"As I recall, you were the one who stripped off my costume the minute I swung into your room from the window." Peter playfully retorted.

"Is it my fault you're such an amazing lover?" She pouted with mirth.

Peter simply smiled and leaned down to kiss Sable, a smile that was returned in kind as she savoured the heavenly sensation of Peter's lips pressed gently against her own.

About a minute passed before she reluctantly broke the kiss and snuggled back into his arms. "Hope and Anya will be arriving here today."

"I remember." His hand ran through her soft silver hair. "When do you want to get up?"

"In an hour's time...for now, let's just stay like this." Sable replied, not wanting to leave the comfort of Peter's embrace just yet.

Peter pecked a kiss on Sable's forehead and held her closer. "Okay."

"And I love you too, Peter." She affectionately breathed out, "With everything that I am."

...

- A tad bit shorter than I normally write but my imagination is a bit slow these days...that and I've caught a small cold so concentrating on top of that is not fun. Not many people are the kind who enjoy rising at the earliest of mornings but I'd think an individual can learn to appreciate it when they wake up next to the person they love.

- Now obviously, I really hope you guys liked it. Given that the holiday season is a time for giving, I may be able to squeeze out one more chapter for this month if time permits...and if I really pull out all the stops. Here's to a Merry Christmas for all of us!