A warm hand traced figures slowly on your cheek as your eyes opened slowly. Yellow beams of warm sunlight glowed through spaces in the curtains to welcome you into the day. You turned to face your boyfriend, his hand cupping your cheek with unspoken affection. He smiled, his eyes half-open from a night of comfortable slumber.

“Good morning,” he whispered in the scruffy voice he always developed in the morning. You smiled, scooting closer to him under the covers and resting your head on his pillow. The sheets were silky and soft, still warm with sleep. He tightened his arms around your waist, closing his eyes with his chin on your head. “Guess what?” You shifted your head slightly, moving your head to his neck.

“Hm?” His voice vibrated in his throat against your cheek,

“I have no schedule today.” You shifted, sitting up with sudden excitement.

“Really? You never get days off!” He smiled at your anticipation, pushing the sheets off of the both of you and nodding happily.

“The whole day! What do you want to do? We can do anything.” You paused, contemplating.

“Hm…What do you want to do?” He smiled, picking up a pair of sweatpants from the floor and pulling them over his hips.

“Breakfast first?” You smiled and followed him into the kitchen, his oversize T-shirt the size of a dress on your smaller frame. He pulled pans and ingredients from the cupboards, practically dancing around the kitchen. “Pancakes?” You laughed, lifting a carton of bright strawberries from the refrigerator.

“Definitely!” Together you measured ingredients carefully, pouring the batter slowly onto the pan. Eventually the pancakes morphed from perfect circles into wild designs.

“Look, I made a heart.” You laughed, pouring batter of your own.

“That heart’s ugly! Look how much better I made this one.” He pouted, messing yours slightly with a spatula. “Hey!” You messed his equally, and it wasn’t long before the batter had spread over the entire surface. Your boyfriend flipped it onto the plate, staring with wide eyes.

“Oops. It’s gigantic.” You rolled your eyes playfully, trying with little success to fashion it into smaller pieces. He formed another pancake, this time the first letter of your name. “Look how pretty it is! I should do this for a living.” Smiling, you pointing to an empty space in the pan.

“Now do yours!” Even as he poured slowly, the batter spread slightly and stuck to the edge of your letter.

“Aw, they’re stuck together. It’s destiny.” You hit him gently on the arm, trying to stifle your loud laughter.

“So cheesy!” When the cooking was finished, you carefully sliced the ripe strawberries into small pieces, mixing them with sugar and mashing them slightly with the back of the knife. You added them to the pancakes, and your boyfriend covered them with whipped cream. “Gah! That’s too much!” you laughed. He smiled, poking his finger in the cream and tapping it to your nose. You scowled, trying to stare at it by crossing your eyes.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” He leaned forward, kissing the whipped cream from your nose. You squirmed away, faking disgust.

“Too cheesy for the early morning!” He laughed again, taking pleasure in your mock irritation. When you sat down to eat, you laughed at your plate. “How is this breakfast? It looks like dessert.” He smiled, his mouth already full.

“We’re adults, we can eat whatever we want.” You chuckled, eating your breakfast with hungry enthusiasm.

“So messy!” you joked, trying to help him clean the mess from his face. “Maybe it’s a good thing you aren’t wearing a shirt. You’d ruin it!” He raised his eyebrows and smiled playfully.

“You like it this way.” You sighed, tapping gently against his head.

“You rascal.” He grabbed you by the waist, earning a startled squeal from the depth of your throat.  “But, I’m your rascal!” You smiled, your hand running gently through his soft strands of hair. Leaning close, you hovered your lips gently over his. Your boyfriend shifted forward, his lips still sweet with the taste of strawberry.

“It’s true. My frustrating, adorable, favorite rascal.”