[Edward POV]
The heavy snow, which had fallen nonstop since last night, kept piling up. After I finished taking care of the livestock, I went back to the ranch.
"Luke!" I called.
Luke was playing with his game console inside the house. Without turning to me, he said, "What?"
"Let's go play outside," I said, putting on a winter jacket.
"No. I'm playing games—"
Before he could finish, I picked him up by wrapping my hand around his waist and kicked the door open.
Claire was startled when she saw it and quickly rushed toward me, Phil following right behind her.
"Edward—Luke didn't wear a jacket yet—" Claire picked up a winter coat for Luke. However, her eyes widened as she saw me holding Luke by his leg and spinning him around.
"Eddy—" My grandma saw it and went aghast.
Luke's cheek rippled from the fast speed. Then I let him go. His body flew into the air!
His eyes went blank as he didn't expect it. Claire's jaw dropped as she saw her kid fly five meters into the air in an arc.
Alex snapped a picture quickly. She managed to take the picture when Luke was at the top of the arc.
Luke yelled in horror, and then fell into the thick snow. His figure was unseen. Only a human-shaped hole remained.
"LUKE!" Claire called out in a panic, trenching through the snow without a jacket to check on her son.
Suddenly, Luke's head popped out of the snow. He laughed and said, "That was amazing."
Phil turned to me and said, "Edward! Me next!"
"Sure! Edward's trebuchet launch is open for business," I replied simply.
Then I spun Phil next and released him too.
"Oh my God, what kind of winter fun is this?" Haley's eyes flickered in confusion as she watched.
"Lu—Luke! Wear a jacket!" Claire said as she threw a jacket at Luke, who was just wearing a shirt.
She sighed and said, "Edward. Be careful—"
"Get her!" Phil caught Claire, and I grabbed her feet.
Her face fell as she mumbled, "Oh no."
Then I spun her around.
Claire's eyes rolled back from the speed, and then I threw her up into the air.
Everyone was shocked again.
"Alex is next!" Luke shouted as he pointed at Alex.
"Touch me and I'll cut you!" Alex warned him, trying to run, but Phil had already stood behind her.
With his hair full of snow, Phil said to Alex, "Give it up. It's too late for you to run."
Alex's expression fell, and she called out to my grandmother.
"Grandma Jules, please help me stop Edward!"
However, my grandma just smiled and said, "Edward is having some fun. It's a good thing. Just give up, Alex."
Alex's jaw dropped slightly. Then I picked her up and brought her outside.
Poof
She fell gently into the snow. Then she laughed, molded a snowball with her hand, and threw it at my face.
"It's on!" I wiped the snow off and molded a snowball myself. A second snowball hit the back of my head.
Haley grinned as she saw the ball hit me.
Then I threw my snowball straight at her face. She couldn't even avoid it, even though she wanted to.
"Hey Alex, how long do you think it will take to build an ice fortress?" I asked.
Alex paused after throwing a ball at Luke's head and said, "I don't know? A couple of months?"
"Hmm… That's too long. What about we make an ice igloo instead?" Phil said excitedly.
Luke added, "With secret pathways in the snow."
I gasped in excitement and said, "We definitely should build that."
[Claire's commentary]
"As I watched them play around in the snow, I thought to myself, 'Wow. They are so insensitive.'"
She had an annoyed face, then her expression softened. "But then, I saw Jules' face."
Cut to the ranch, where Claire brushed the snow off her clothes as she entered the living room and saw Jules laughing as she watched Edward throw Luke in the air for the third time.
Then it cut back to Claire in the living room again.
"I guess Edward realized what Jules needed wasn't sympathy. She just needed some noise to drown her sorrows in."
Claire watched again as Edward continuously bothered his aunt and grandma, making them play with him as they built the igloo.
Even Edward's cousins joined in.
Claire smiled softly, then suddenly became slightly irritated and said, "Although, since all of them were just playing around without any regard for the time, I had to be the bad guy to stop them when it was dark outside."
[Commentary ends]
"Luke! Alex! Haley! PHIL! It's time for dinner!" Claire shouted from inside the ranch.
"Aww. Five more minutes," Phil whined.
"Now!" Claire said firmly.
"I think we should go and eat dinner too, before Claire yells at us next," Edward said as he buried Max inside a snowman, only her head visible.
Max laughed and said, "I should get inside." She only kicked the snow on her legs and was trying to go inside with the snowman body, which made me cackle madly.
…
The igloos were built at the pasture. We made four of them.
"I'm going to sleep in here tonight." I told Alex as I laid down a sleeping bag. She stood by the Igloo entrance, which was just a huge hole and threw some wood at the fire I got going.
She looked at me with disbelief and said, "Don't be crazy. It's negative 10 degrees out here!"
"That's why it's so exciting." I told her. "Of course, if you're so worried, you can stay with me. We can share our body heat if the night gets too cold."
Alex was taken aback. Then, she giggled and said, "I'm not an idiot. I'm going to sleep in a room with a proper mattress, and a heater."
"Suit yourself, L.A soft child."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She raised an eyebrow, slightly angry.
I smirked and said, "It means what it means. I'm saying you're sheltered by the L.A lifestyle and have no real clue what an adventure really is."
She scoffed and said, "Like you have ever slept outdoors."
"I have." I replied.
"What– when?!" She was taken aback.
"When I was in Russia. That's how I fought that bear." I replied.
She narrowed her eyes at me and sighed, "Stop trying to make everyone believe you fought a bear. You never fought a bear. No man could fight a bear."
"I did. And I won." I replied to her, looking slightly offended that she would be suspicious of that.
"You know you will be the only one who's going to sleep out here tonight. My mom already caught dad and Luke trying to sneak outside with their sleeping bag." Alex said with a deadpan expression.
"As expected of Californians." I replied and unzipped my sleeping bag.
Alex asked with concern, "Are you really going to sleep outside?"
"Yup. Also, don't worry about me. If I get too cold, I will call Ace to join me."
Alex went silent for a while as I got myself comfortable in the sleeping bag.
"Is there any other reason you're sleeping outside?" She asked. "Is there something more to this?"
I sat up and smiled at her, "You're really slow to get that huh?"
"So there is something." Alex was intrigued.
I nodded and said, "Self quarantine."
"Self quarantine for what?" She asked with confusion.
"I'm sure if I sleep in my room, I will seduce your sister, or my ex-girlfriend to my bed." I replied casually. "Worse. Your mother."
Alex rolled her eyes and said, "What makes you so certain that they will fall for your seduction technique–" She suddenly realized something and became frazzled, "Wait– Why did you ask me to sleep outside with you!?"
I laughed slightly and said, "What do you think?"
A pink blush appeared on her cheek. She stammered slightly.
I burst out laughing and said, "Don't worry. I'm not putting any moves on you. Besides, it's not going to work on you anyway, so that's why I'm asking you to stay. You have the mental fortitude to actually say no to me."
"That's such an arrogant and condescending statement. It's like you're saying other women have no defense against you at all." Alex said with annoyance, crossing her arms together.
"Please don't cross your arms like that. It makes your chest pop. My line of sight kept moving there…" I covered my eyes with my hand slightly.
Alex was flabbergasted and her face became flushed. She covered her chest and said, "Agh! I hate you!"
Then, she stomped away.
I lay back down, trying to get settled, when she came back a few minutes later. She threw some more blankets at me and said, "Your grandma wants you to use these."
"Aww… Tell my grandma I said thanks." I replied casually.
"You know, I don't appreciate you objectifying me like that." Alex scolded, wanted to cross her arms again, but stopped mid way and was flustered slightly.
I shrugged and said, "I'm not objectifying you. I'm just telling you that's how my eyes work."
"Well– It never bothered you before!" She argued.
"Since my grandpa died, it's like I can see every beauty in life right now. And you are… especially… beautiful." I replied honestly.
Alex froze in shock. Her entire face turned red. Her mouth opened and shut a few times.
Then, she fumed and left again.
"Wait Alex." I called.
"What?!" She snapped angrily, face still blushing.
"Do you want to do something with me?" I asked.
Her face turned aghast and she couldn't reply for a while.
"I meant like, sing with me. Tomorrow." I clarified.
[Alex's commentary]
"Edward better be careful before I pick up a sledge hammer and destroy his igloo in the middle of the night."
[Commentary ends]
…
The next morning. At breakfast, we caught Grandma staring into space a couple of times.
Haley stabbed her pancake with a fork while staring daggers at me and Alex, who kept whispering while we ate.
Claire asked, "Alex. What time did you turn in last night? I woke up at 3 am and saw you weren't in your room."
Alex replied casually, "Oh. I'm with Edward at the igloo."
"You slept in the igloo?" Luke was astonished and turned to Claire, "You said we can't do that."
"We weren't sleeping." I replied. Claire, Haley and Ness's heart skipped a beat.
"W-W-What were you doing then?" Haley stammered slightly.
Max cackled and said, "You have finally put your moves to Alex now huh? I always knew you have something for smart brunette with big breast–"
Maggie covered Max's mouth before she could finish speaking. My grandma got intrigued and asked, "What did you do Edward?"
"We practiced a song together." I replied easily.
Alex added, "It's a Christmas song. Edward wants to make it a duet, so he asked me to sing with him."
Ness was a bit dissatisfied, "Why didn't you call me?"
I turned to Ness and said, "Cause we won't practice then."
She was taken aback and smirked slightly as she thought about it.
"I can't wait to listen to your Christmas song Eddy." Grandma clapped slightly, enthusiastic about the performance.
After breakfast, I walked to the kitchen to put my dishes away and saw Ness who's helping to wash the plates at the sink.
"Oh- You can just put it here. I'll wash it–" The bubble on the sink became bigger and it almost overflowed since she kept the tap on.
"Oh god–" She took a step back as she closed the tap, and accidentally bumped into me.
"You did that on purpose did you?" I smirked, putting my hand on her waist.
Ness was taken aback and said, "No-No. I did not."
My hands were kneading her back, which made her widen her eyes in surprise.
" Your grandma could see us!" Ness yelled using a whisper.
I kissed her neck from behind. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. Then, she turned and batted her eyes at me and kissed my lips a little.
"You can continue washing the dishes. I'm just helping you with it." I flirted.
Then, I whispered to her ear, "And don't pretend this is not turning you on."
I nibbled on her ear, which made her moan a bit. She covered her mouth quickly as she realized we were in a public place.
"You're crazy." She whispered.
"Tell me to stop, and I will." I said to her with a low voice.
She went silent instead.
Luckily for us, everyone went outside after breakfast. The Dunphy family offered to go to town to pick up some groceries.
Grandma went to a book club with my aunt May and my other aunt– Uncle Aaron's wife.
Uncle Aaron and my dad were finalizing the estate transfer for grandpa's properties.
We were doing stuff in the kitchen when Maggie walked in.
"AHH! What the hell are you doing?!" Maggie yelled in horror.
…
That afternoon, Alex and I sat on a stool in front of the whole family at the open space behind the ranch.
I created a makeshift stage using some pellets and speakers as the living room was too small to fit everyone there.
There's Christmas decorations above the stage, a few small snowmen on the edges of the pellet floor, candy cane and a Christmas wreath behind us.
"Are you ready?" I asked Alex as I held a guitar.
Her face was slightly nervous, but she nodded and said, "Yeah. I'm ready."
Maggie was still staring at me with disgust. Ness has a guilty expression as she sat next to Maggie.
Maggie told Ness she wouldn't let her out of sight again.
I spoke into the microphone and said, "Last night before I went to bed, I had an idea for a song. I asked Alex to help me with it."
"I hope the song can cheer you up, especially you, Grandma." I singled her out.
[Snowman- Sia]
I picked the guitar string softly, putting everyone into a good mood.
Alex took a deep breath and sang, " ♫♪ Don't cry, snowman, not in front of me. Who'll catch your tears if you can't catch me, darling? ♫♪"
"♫♪ If you can't catch me, darling ♫♪"
I smiled in satisfaction, locking eyes with Alex. Then, I crooned, "♫♪ Don't cry, snowman, don't leave me this way. A puddle of water can't hold me close, baby ♫♪"
"♫♪Can't hold me close, baby ♫♪"
My grandma's face froze for a bit as she realized the hidden meaning inside the lyrics.
Alex sang with a sweet voice, "♫♪ I want you to know that I'm never leaving
'Cause I'm Mrs. Snow, 'til death we'll be freezing, yeah ♫♪"
I picked it up without missing a beat, "♫♪ You are my home, my home for all seasons. So come on, let's go ♫♪"
We harmonized together, "♫♪ Let's go below zero, and hide from the sun
I'll love you forever, where we'll have some fun ♫♪"
"♫♪ Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily
Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby ♫♪"
Alex sang alone, "♫♪ My snowman and me, eh
My snowman and me ♫♪"
"♫♪Baby ♫♪"
The song invoked some memories for my grandma. Frankie suddenly teared up and my dad hugged her slightly.
I looked at my grandma and said, "♫♪ Don't cry, snowman, don't you fear the sun. Who'll carry me without legs to run, honey? ♫♪"
"♫♪Without legs to run, honey ♫♪"
"♫♪ Don't cry, snowman, don't you shed a tear
Who'll hear my secrets if you don't have ears, baby? ♫♪"
My grandma finally broke down. She lowered her head and her tears started to fall. "Sam." She sobbed slightly.
Alex was taken aback. I continued without minding it, "♫♪ If you don't have ears, baby ♫♪"
Alex and I harmonized together, "♫♪ I want you to know that I'm never leaving. 'Cause I'm Mister Snow, 'til death we'll be freezing, yeah ♫♪
I crooned, "♫♪ You are my home, my home for all seasons
So come on, let's go ♫♪"
We harmonized again, "♫♪ Let's go below zero, and hide from the sun
I'll love you forever, where we'll have some fun ♫♪"
I looked at my family.
"♫♪ Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily
Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby♫♪"
They imagined Grandpa was saying that to them instead of me.
Alex looked at me and sang, "♫♪ My snowman and me, eh~♫♪"
I picked the guitar till the end of the song and finished the song alone. "My snowman and me… Baby ♫♪"
Everyone went silent for a while. Most of them realized my intention behind the song. Aunt May went to comfort grandma.
"Now, I'm going to sing, "Santa Hates Poor Kids'." I said abruptly, which made everyone chuckle.
My grandma wiped her eyes and looked at me with affection. She walked to the stage and hugged me. Then, she hugged Alex too, thanking us for the performance.
"I need something to let the grief out. You gave me that." Grandma said to me and kissed my cheek warmly.
I smiled in satisfaction and said, "Anything for you grandma."
A gentle breeze blew, which ruffled my hair. The wind felt warm instead of biting cold. My grandma and Alex also realized the same thing, and they widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Sam?" Grandma's eyes shook slightly. Then, the breeze stopped.
Grandma's tears fell again, but she had a smile on her face this time.
Maggie commented, face full of disbelief, "How can someone so perverted also be so sensitive and talented?"
Ness opened her mouth, but Maggie turned to her and exhaled sharply, "Don't you dare answer."
Maggie didn't want to hear anything positive about me until her anger was gone.