G'day everyone! As you all know, Christmas is almost upon us! So I decided to write a little collection of Rozen Maiden Christmas fics. The chapters are much shorter than I usually write, and are all connected together but probably have time skips in between them. Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone~! :D Disclaimer: I do not own Rozen Maiden or any of its characters. Mistletoe Memories 1 - A Christmas You Won't Forget
It was that time of year again.
Every December, the Sakurada house, by tradition, would be decked out in a multitude of shining lights both inside and outside the house, and tinsel festooned along the doorways and cupboards until the rooms shimmered with Christmas cheer. Most important, as in all homes, was the family Christmas tree, which stood in its time-honoured place in the corner of the living room, garlanded with yet more tinsel and bejewelled with ornamental baubles and other similar decorations.
When he was younger, Jun's parents would have been at home with him and his sister, gathered around the kitchen table with crackers, singing carols and enjoying a Christmas feast. Now, however, both his parents worked overseas and practically never returned home to visit their children. Albeit for the occasional phone call, in fact, it was as if his parents no longer existed. They had become an absence in Jun's life that he was long used to.
Even so, Jun couldn't help but feel a little depressed every time Christmas came around. Since his parents were never home, it was usually left solely up to Nori to organise Christmas in the Sakurada household. This year was the first Jun was actually helping Nori set up the decorations, as every year before he'd been in his socially withdrawn state and preferred instead to stay shut up in his room, ordering cursed Santa hats or something of the sort online.
This year too, was the first Christmas he would be spending with the Rozen Maiden dolls.
Perhaps it was better that his parents weren't home.
"Is something wrong?" Shinku snapped her book shut and fixed Jun with her usual sky blue, deadpan gaze. "You have been staring at me for the last fifteen minutes. It is most unsettling."
"Ah, well...I was just wondering...do you celebrate Christmas much, Shinku?" asked Jun curiously.
"No."
"R-really?" he was a little taken aback by her bluntness.
"I can only do so if I am awake at the time," replied Shinku, sounding mildly disinterested.
"But you've celebrated it before?"
"I cannot remember the last time I celebrated Christmas, even if I have before. Do you think the Alice Game makes room for such things? It is the same with all the Rozen Maiden. That is probably why Suiseiseki and Hinaichigo have been exhibiting such rowdy excitement these past few weeks..."
Jun was silent for a few moments. When he spoke again, it was with the voice she rarely heard him use.
"Shinku?"
"What is it?"
"I want to promise you something."
The blonde straightened and raised an eyebrow, curious.
"And what is it you promise me?"
"A Christmas you won't forget."