Morpheus kicked a little rock on his way back to the hotel.

He had checked the women's restroom as well as the men's restroom just to make sure. But Miss Denver apparently left without him noticing. And he could only hope she went back to the hotel. A sigh escaped his lips as his hands went deeper into his coat pockets.

He didn't know whether he should be upset by her leaving or if he should feel sorry that she felt as if she couldn't face him anymore. By no means did he ever want to hurt her. He just wanted to make sure they were on the same page. But apparently, they weren't. Well, if he was being completely honest with himself, they were on the exact same page. Apparently, she liked him as much as he liked her. That was what he wanted to avoid though. But instead of achieving that tonight, all he did was make their last actual night together horrible for the both of them.

"Watch out." He heard and before he knew it, something cold hit Morpheus in the face.
"What the-" What was that? It felt like snow. But Morpheus knew, last time he looked around- which was a few seconds ago- there was no snow on the streets. Or anywhere else for that matter.

When he heard mischievous laughter, Morpheus wiped his face and turned to the right. He could not believe it, he felt snow on his hands. As he looked at the person who laughed a second ago, he realized what was happening. For a short moment, Morpheus' mood was momentarily lifted as he looked at the Kri across the street. They locked eyes and the Kri winked at Morpheus. Within a second, the Kri climbed up the street lantern and blew on the palm of his hand, creating snow flakes that slowly fell down to the streets. His snow white hair flew around his face as he jumped to another lantern.

Another look around with the combination of joyful gasps from the humans around him, assured Morpheus that tonight was officially the start of winter in Ailavu. All the Kris were out, on top of buildings, lanterns and even cars. Their baby blue uniform made it easy for Morpheus to spot them. They practically invaded the streets, covering them with thick, white snow. Of course, to the human eye, Kris were invisible. Morpheus did know however, that Kris were very well trained. It takes a while for them to perfect their professionalism. One wrong move and a Kri would become visible to anyone.

"Wow." A Kri above Morpheus on the lantern formed a huge frosty snowflake and showed it to him.
"Why the long face, mate?" The Kri asked, immediately knowing that Morpheus was an Uvalion.
"What?" Morpheus asked.
"Before I threw the snowball at you, you looked sad. How come?" The Kri asked.

"I don't know. There's just a lot on my mind." Morpheus looked around, making sure no human would spot him talking to the Kri. They'd think he went nuts.
"Anything a little snowflake cannot fix?" He gave him another snowflake, making Morpheus smile.

"I've read about you. But I've never seen any of you before. Now I'm here. I've been here for less than a day. And I see more than I did the past twenty-six years of my life." Morpheus said, not exactly sure why he told the Kri.
"That is good, isn't it?" The Kri settled down on the car in front of Morpheus, sitting criss-cross-applesauce as he watched Morpheus with interest.
"I suppose." Morpheus shrugged.

"You are half human." That made him look at the icy blue eyes of the Kri in surprise.
"How did you know?" He asked.
"Uvalions don't get sad. Uvalions don't feel this deeply. I sometimes envy humans. How they seem in control of everything. I can only wonder how exciting life must be for a mixture of both. You get the best of both worlds." The Kri looked at Morpheus with adoration in his eyes as if looking at a puppy.

"Or- as demonstrated by current events- the worst of both worlds." He sighed.
"I guess that can be a problem. But no matter what, at least you know how to feel. You know what warmth feels like. Summer days and cocktails at the beach, eh? I have only heard stories about the earth. This is my first ever job." The Kri did look young, Morpheus noted.

"You're doing great." Morpheus felt his face turn cold. Being this close to a Kri had its difficulties. They radiate coldness like a heater usually radiates warmth.
"I see, our conversation has gotten to an end. Farewell, my friend. Until we meet again. And make sure your lips get their colour back." With another wink, the Kri stood up.

"Wait, what's your name?" Morpheus wanted to know. He had to write a story about Kris once he got home.
"Yaiku. And yours?" He smiled.
"Morpheus." With one last nod, the Kri climbed up the lantern and Morpheus watched as he jumped to the next lantern, all the while releasing snow.

"Crazy." Morpheus caught himself smiling about his experience and wanted to run to the hotel to tell Miss Denver immediately. But that only reminded him of their current dilemma. Ugh, he ran a shaky hand through his hair, but continued on his way. Once he arrived, immediate warmth engulfed him. Biting on his bottom lip in anticipation, Morpheus rid the elevator up to their room.

When his hands couldn't find the key card anywhere in his coat, he remembered that Miss Denver had it. He could only hope now that she was inside, because if she wasn't, he had no idea where to find her. And he also didn't want her to freeze outside, now that it was snowing and Kris still wandered the streets.

With closed eyes as he mentally crossed his fingers, Morpheus gently knocked on the door and waited.

And waited...

His heartbeat picked up its pace when after a solid minute, he heard footsteps approach the door on the other side. Thank Helios, she was okay.

"Hi." Morpheus softly greeted Miss Denver. She opened the door and had Morpheus' eyes first adjust to the dark, before he could make out her silhouette. Was she sleeping already? He stepped inside after hearing Miss Denver's small 'hi' back. He watched as she went back to bed, burying herself into the covers. With a sigh, Morpheus turned to close the door and take off his shoes and coat. He then turned back towards the bed, approaching the side of the bed that Miss Denver wasn't occupying. He thought about laying down with her as he took off his watch and undid the two top buttons of his shirt.

"Do you want me to sleep in the chair?" He looked down at her, now that his eyes had fully adjusted to the lack of light. He didn't receive an answer, so he walked towards the chair and sat down. He was now closer to Miss Denver, but her face was under the blanket. He thought he heard her mumble something, but couldn't understand.
"Pardon?" Morpheus leaned closer towards her as Charlie pulled the blanket away from her face.

"I'm not going to do anything if you're concerned about that. We can even put a pillow wall between us, if that makes you feel more comfortable." She couldn't make out his face. He couldn't either, but he heard it in her voice.
"It's not that. I just didn't know if you felt comfortable." Morpheus stood up, wanting to make sure he was right with his suspicion. Before Charlie had the chance to react, Morpheus turned on the lamp beside her side of the bed. He immediately received a groan from Charlie, watching as she went back under the covers.

It was too late though, Morpheus had already seen her wet face. Was she crying because of him? She couldn't. Could she? Morpheus kneeled down, so they were on eye level. Even though, Charlie's were under the covers.
"I never meant to hurt you, Miss Denver." He started with a sigh.

"I know you probably hate me right now. But it's not easy for me either. Not at all. I think it's unfair that we cannot just be happy together. I would love to get to know you better, trust me. Even if you just wanted to be my friend, I would be happy. But I just know that whenever this is over, you will not remember me anymore. You'll just live your life like nothing ever happened. And I- well, that depends on my punishment, but I know that we are not allowed to interact at all."

"It's unfair, I know. I can only imagine how my life would be with you in it. And I actually think I will not be able to forget you ever. This is already difficult for me. I just- I don't know what to do." He let his head hang as he looked at his shoes in shame. He never wanted to hurt her. He felt awful for making her cry.

Slowly, the cover was pulled off and a sulking Charlie looked down at Morpheus. She felt really bad for him. Even though she was hurt, if she was in his shoes, she'd be just as confused as him. And she actually did see sense in what he told her.

"I don't hate you." Charlie whispered, her hand itching to just stroke his face that was now in front of her. She did not care that her own face probably looked like a truck drove over it, she just wanted to see his.
"You're trying to protect yourself and that's okay. For once, you're doing something for yourself instead of others. I understand, Morpheus. I am not upset at you for that at all." She continued, softening his facial expression with her kind words.

"You're not?" He gulped, his hand itching closer to her face.
"No. I want you to be happy. You deserve it so much. I have never met anyone as loyal and determined as you. You do everything for what you believe in and that's very admirable." Charlie looked down at the mattress.
"I'm sorry I left. I was just so embarrassed and not hungry anymore." She told him, biting her bottom lip.

"Oh, it's okay. I understand. I just think we should stick together. Especially outside. I don't want anyone snatching you from me." He told her honestly.
"Do you think that could happen?" Her eyes met his again. Morpheus had a crooked smile on his face, one that once again took Charlie's breath away.
"You never know in Ailavu. Would you like to see what happened on my way here?" Morpheus now bit his lip, retaining his excitement as he straightened up and held out his hand.

Charlie glanced at it and then she smiled and took his hand, letting Morpheus help her up from the bed. Before he opened the curtains, Morpheus turned around again to turn the light off. And then he glanced at Charlie.
"Ready?" Another charming smile. Charlie nodded.

"It snowed?" Charlie gasped, her hand squeezing Morpheus' as she took a step closer to the window and watched as the snow still fell on top of objects below her.

To Morpheus, the spectacle was over. Now instead of looking outside of the window, his eyes were fixated on Charlie's face. He watched as her red cheeks were lifted by her big smile. She reminded him of a child, really. Her excitement was so pure and honest. It made him feel so good. He just wanted to embrace her again, just like when they went to the restaurant. Before he ruined everything. Before he made her cry.

"Should we open the window, Morpheus? I want to touch it." Charlie asked, her hand on the window.
"Morpheus?" She repeated when he didn't answer and looked up at him. Morpheus was looking at her with a facial expression, Charlie couldn't describe. It was almost like a mixture of insecurity and realization. It kind of scared her.

"Morpheus?" Having her call out his name the second time now, made him blink twice.
"Yes?" He asked her.
"Is everything okay?" Charlie was frowning and Morpheus gulped.

Her frown only deepened when he shook his head.
"What's wrong?" She now completely turned towards him, her hand still intertwined with his. Morpheus glanced down at their holding hands, his finger twitching.

"I made a big mistake." He admitted, his eyes slowly reaching Charlie's again.
"You did?" An audible gulp escaped her.
"Mhm." Morpheus' other hand came to wrap around her waist, gently pulling her body closer to him.

"You see- I think whatever I said in the restaurant was stupid. It doesn't matter what we do, it won't stop. The damage is already done-" Morpheus shook his head slightly, his eyes now holding her captured, daring her to look away. But Charlie didn't even think about that. She was stunned as his warm arm embraced her and enlightened everything it touched. She was still, so she could listen to every word he said.

"I believe the tables have turned and you have now cursed me, Miss Denver. You have ruined me for the rest of my life."