"It's cold," Daniel muttered, "It's freezing!"

He stood outside the Daily Days door. It was dangerous around this part of town, so a kid of his age probably shouldn't have been wondering on his own. Yet, here he was, waiting for something.

"You should have put on a jacket." a cute voice sounded from above him. Standing right outside the Daily Days' front door was Carol. "In this cold, it would have made sense to put on a coat or something."

"Don't say that like it's so easy, Carol." Daniel replied coolly. "Where's the Vice President?"

Carol stepped down from the small steps that led to the Daily Days' door and stood by Daniel in the cold. "He's finishing up some business. He promised to take us to see that movie, though!"

Daniel breathed on his hands in an attempt to keep the warm. "It doesn't have to be so cold this early, does it?"

"It's winter, after all." Carol told him bluntly.

"Oh, that reminds me. I read a story the other day..." Daniel began, "And it was a mystery novel in which using snow to cover up one's tracks was necessary. It apparently started snowing a few hours before the crime was committed. It got me to thinkin' about how my sense of reality would have to be suspended for that."

Carol watched Daniel's face morph into one of deep thought. It was normal for Carol to have these moments when trying to answer the Vice President's questions, but Daniel went deep into thought about these types of things of his own volition. He was certainly not normal. "And why is that?" she asked him.

"Think about it, it's not snowing today, and we can't be sure whether or not it will. And it wasn't described as heavy snow, so how did enough to cover a crime scene accumulate in that time?"

"That will sometimes happen in fiction, though."

The door behind them made the sound of opening and closing. When Daniel and Carol looked up, they saw the Vice President, Gustav St. Germain.

"Hello, Sir." Carol immediately responded.

"Carol, are you aware of what today is?" Gustav asked, obviously referring to the fact that today was Christmas Eve.

"It's obvious, Vice President," Daniel responded instead, "After all, your Christmas gift to us was to bring us to this movie, right?"

Gustav St. Germain started walking in the general direction of the theater to which they were going to. Daniel and Carol exchanged quick glances before falling in right behind him. "So, what was this movie about, again?" Daniel asked.

"I don't remember." Carol responded.

They suddenly came to a halt as Gustav stopped. "Huh? Isn't the theater a little further away?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but wait here a moment." Gustav responded, looking back briefly at the two children before stepping down a little further and entering a store.

"What's he up to?"

Carol looked on in confusion. "Sometimes, I don't understand what Mr. Vice President is thinking."

"Would it be normal to know?"

Carol laughed lightly. "No, I suppose not. But this is all in the trade, don't you think?"

"You mean working for the Daily Days, right? I guess it takes someone like Gustav to be praised so highly in the business. He's a pretty knowledgeable man." Daniel started rubbing his hands together. "Man, it's really cold out here."

"Oh, I told you it would only make sense to put on a coat or something. It's winter, you know." Carol told him, taking his hands in hers. Her winter mittens were warm from her body heat. Daniel couldn't help but blush.

"Ah, look here! I smell young love blooming in the air!" a man suddenly shouted, taking a closer look at Carol and Daniel. He was dressed like Santa Clause.

There was a woman beside him, dressed in a similar get-up. She laughed a little before asking, "But does young love really have a scent?"

"Some people can smell feelings. It's a special trait certain people have!" the man said with an unneeded sense of confidence.

"Incredible!" the woman applauded him.

"It's like a flower during the later months of winter. You know when Spring comes around, the flower will bloom beautifully! Young love happens to work the same way, you see? These two will blossom like the flowers!"

"Beautiful flowers!"

The bravado of the man's words was impressive, considering the strange things coming out of his mouth. "Yes, just for the young lovebirds here, we have something special! The job of Santa is to bring presents to the good little kids of the world, after all."

"Wow! You two must be on the Nice List, then!"

Daniel's face had turned beet red, yet Carol was only slightly blushing at the words. The man dressed like Santa Clause opened a sack that he had been carrying over his shoulder and handed the two children about ten dollars.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!"

The two strange people, both dressed like Santa, took their leave.

"What an odd duo..." Daniel commented, the ten dollars in his hand. There were two five-dollar bills. He handed one to Carol, but she declined.

"You keep it." she said. Daniel stuffed the money in his pocket. "Anyway, those two seem perfect for each other, don't they?"

"I guess so." Daniel said, thinking about what to do with his recently acquired money.

The two children stood there for another few minutes before Gustav St. Germain returned to them. "Here you go," he said, holding out two Baccano! candy bars.

"Wow!" Daniel remarked, snatching one and immediately unwrapping the candy. "Thank you, Mr. Vice President!"

Carol took the other candy bar into her hands and smiled. "Thank you, Sir."

Even Gustav St. Germain smiled during this scene. "Merry Christmas, you two." he said gently. "Now then, let's go watch the movie, shall we?"

Daniel nodded, munching down on the chocolate. Carol placed hers in her coat pocket.

It seems the strange people of New York were in the Holiday spirit this year.