The morning sun crept through the shades and beckoned Tiffany to wake. She stretched and yawned, gathering her thoughts as she awoke in new surroundings. There was no presence in her bed, cold and empty, not as she remembered leaving it when she slipped into slumber. Taeyeon was already awake and making preparations for breakfast for her 'children'. She thrived at this time of morning, refreshed and ready to take on the new day. Tiffany shuffled into the bathroom before going out to greet Tae.

A chainsaw buzzed noisily outside the middle bedroom window, buzzards circling and calling with shrill screams. The music suddenly rang out, Megadeth, so soothing in the morning, and inconsiderate workers were drilling somewhere around the cabin and shouting at each other. Jessica sat up, face clenched in agony as she covered her ears. She looked around the room for the source of the deafening noise. Yoona was asleep beside her, snoring softly. Two sparrows sang a beautiful morning song on the window sill. The clock-radio was playing soothing classical music. In the kitchen Taeyeon was grinding coffee beans and stirring her cup as she quietly chatted to Sooyoung across the kitchen bench. Jessica suddenly remembered why she was feeling so lousy, slumping back into bed and covering her head with a pillow.

Tiffany entered the kitchen greeting Sooyoung and Taeyeon as she passed them. "G'morning ladies ... sleep well?" Tiffany asked, finding a bowl in the cupboard for her cereal. "Well good morning, I slept like a log, how about you?" Taeyeon replied, pouring Tiffany a cup. Tiffany stepped up behind Tae and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek then continued to the fridge as she spoke "Best night’s sleep I've had in a long time, I didn't wake you up or anything did I Tae?". Sooyoung smiled at seeing the interactions of the two, glad that things were going back to what she knew as normality. "Nope, and even if you did snore, I wouldn't have heard it over Jessica, that girl puts a grizzly bear to shame" Tae joked, laughing with the others.

"Sleeping beauty hasn't surfaced yet then?" Tiffany asked. "Not yet ..." Sooyoung said as she hit her hand on the kitchen bench for her caffeine dealer to give her another hit of espresso, "... neither has Princess Charming for that matter". Taeyeon slid Sooyoung her shot, bartender style, as Sooyoung continued. "And I use the term 'charming' loosely ... it was real windy in the grizzly bear's cave this morning ... no more nachos for Yoona". Tiffany and Taeyeon laughed out loud at this new piece of info they had over Yoona, who as if on cue, wandered out of the bedroom scratching her and yawning. "Morning guys" she mumbled, sitting down at the bench thumping the table like Sooyoung did. "Espresso, comin up" Tae called as she wiped down the 'bar'.

"So Yoon ..." Tae began, "... did you hear the wild winds this morning?". Sooyoung struggled to keep a straight face. "Nope, why? Was something blown away?" Yoona asked, a little confused. "Nooo thank goodness, but the winds were coming from your bedroom, we were a little concerned about losing Jessica" Sooyoung continued. "Oh I see, you're worried about Jessica, but not me?" Yoona grumbled. "Well no ... since YOU were the source of the wind!" Tiffany chuckled, soon joined by Taeyeon and Sooyoung. "Ohhh har har very funny ... but I beg to differ ... the NACHOS were the source, I was merely the vehicle" Yoona retorted, joining in the fun at her expense.

"Willlll yooou shuuuuuuuduuuuuuup!" came the war cry from the middle bedroom, stopping the ladies' laughter. They looked at each other, knowing full well what to do next. "Ooooooooooooooooh!" they squealed in unison sarcastically before bursting into laughter again. Yoona walked briskly toward the bedroom to soothe her poor hung over lil grizzly. "Are you okay honey?" she asked concernedly. "NO ... I feel like Yoon" Jessica grumpily replied. "Awww babycakes, why don't you have a nice hot shower and take a little something for the head throbbing" Doctor Yoon prescribed. She gave her little patient a kiss on the forehead and rubbed her back gently as Jessica shuffled slowly into the bathroom.

After around half an hour, Jessica finally surfaced from the bedroom. She was all dressed and ready to go, the shower reviving her somewhat. "Aww baby you look much better, how ya feeling?" Yoona questioned, "I'll manage ... I could be better, but come on ... there's SNOW out there ... and I'm gonna get right in it!" she enthusiastically responded. "Atta girl" Sooyoung encouraged, sliding Jessica a strong espresso. Yoona was a little less enthused, knowing that she had the task of teaching the goofball to stay upright on skis. How prophetic Jessica's words were, "I'm gonna get right in it", "You don't know how right you are" Yoona thought to herself.

The fab five grabbed their gear and headed out to the slopes. Tiffany, Taeyeon and Yoona strutted onwards with their skis over their shoulders looking like utter professionals. Jessica on the other hand, clumsily struggled to keep up, awkwardly carrying her gear, skis and poles akimbo. They all decided to meet up at lunch time at "Blizzard", the popular little cafe at the base of the slopes. Tiffany and Taeyeon head up to the top on the next chairlift. Jessica and Yoona stayed on relatively flat ground for some practice. Sooyoung wandered over to the ski hire place to seek out Soonkyu.

Sooyoung looked in the window before entering, wanting to make sure that her entrance was cool and calm. There were an unusual amount of butterflies circling her stomach, an uncommon thing for Sooyoung. She walked up to the counter and asked the staff member (Janet) "Hi, is Soonkyu around?".

"I think she's out taking a lesson ... let me check" Janet went into the store room to see if Soonkyu was there. She came back and opened a black appointment book. "Here we go, yeah, she's conducting lessons from 9am till noon". Sooyoung thought for a moment, then decided to go for it "sooo, can I book in for a lesson?". Janet chuckled softly "Ummm well she teaches KIDS". Sooyoung was a little embarassed "oh ... well I've never skied before, so maybe a kids level class is just what I need" she raised an eyebrow and smiled at Janet who appeared to understand Sooyoung's intentions. "What was your name?" she asked with a friendly smile as she booked Sooyoung into the 10.30am to 12noon lesson.

On a small slope nearby, Yoona was helping Jessica put her skis on before clicking into her own. "OK baby let’s ..." Yoona stopped as she saw Jessica on the snow already. "I can't do this Yoon, it's too embarrassing" Jessica whined, struggling to get to her feet. "Look baby ..." Yoona began, "everyone falls down, it's not that big a deal. Most people give you a score out of ten then move on to the next poor er." Jessica was gobsmacked "Oh God ... ", the thought of that humiliation putting her off the whole idea. "Oh relax, you'll be yelling out scores yourself when you see someone go A over T" Yoona joked trying to comfort Jessica who gave her a puzzled look "A over T? over Tit, falling over ... come on, let's do this thang" Yoona ordered.

She went over some of the basics, bending your knees, using your poles for balance, snow plow. Jessica looked very stiff and awkward. "Geez Jessica how can someone so fit be such an unco?" Jessica went to slap Yoona's arm, instead she slapped air as she fell to the snow once more. "It's gonna be a long day" Yoona sighed to herself, "perhaps I should be teaching her how to fall with style" she joked, helping her honey up yet again.

Tiffany and Taeyeon enjoyed their time floating up in the chairlifts and racing down the slopes together. They chatted to other skiers as they rode the chairlift up to the top, and tried out most of the runs. They found themselves on a chairlift alone together, enjoying the tranquility of being so high up. The silence seemed even more silent at that height. "I'm really glad you're here" Tiffany blurted in order to ease the awkwardness somehow. "I'm glad I'm here with you" Taeyeon responded, surprising Tiffany a little. "You really mean that?" she asked, slowly taking her right glove off finger by finger. "Of course, and I'm also glad we survived that plane ride" Taeyeon joked. "Oh yeah me too, but ... had we not survived, I would have already been in heaven" Tiffany softly confessed.

She noticed Taeyeon look down at her hands in her lap, she was blushing and hesitating in her response. Tiffany realised she needed to lighten things up, "Oh God, is that sappy or what?" she giggled nervously, as did Tae. "No, actually ... I think it's sweet" she eased Tiffany's mind. "As a matter of fact ..." Tae continued, "being up here, so high, the breathtaking view, the fluffy white clouds and snow, with you, here, right now ... this could just be heaven to me". Taeyeon poured her heart into her words, touching Tiffany in a way she never thought would be possible again from this woman she loved so dearly. Tae laughed at herself "now who's being sappy?" she chuckled.

Tiffany smiled lovingly, raising her finger to press to Taeyeon's lips, shushing her gently. Their eyes were fixated on each other, Tiffany's hand slowly running down the sleeve of Tae's jacket. Tiffany took Tae's left hand and gently started to pull at her glove, removing it and holding it tightly in her gloved left hand with her own right glove. Their hands were bare, and starting to feel the cold until their fingers interlaced and held each other tight, a simple reconnection. Tiffany inched her face towards Taeyeon who was mirroring her movements. Their lips met and melted into a breathtaking kiss high up in the sky in their own private heaven.

***********

~tbc~