Author's Note: To anyone reading this, Merry Christmas~! This would have been up on Christmas day, if I had finished it on Christmas day...

I have an explanation as to what I'm doing in this fandom (No I don't; don't listen to me. If you're aware at all of what I've been up to on Twitter lately, you know I'm a dirty, dirty liar). This was just a little Christmas ditty I slopped together; it doesn't really follow either the anime or the game. I used Laito a lot more than I meant to, but I'm the most familiar with his character, so that's what you get.

White Christmas

"Christmas? Of course we don't celebrate it. Now, if you're quite through asking pointless questions, I have work to do."

Reiji's clipped response made Yui Komori's heart sink. She had expected this kind of response, but some stupid part of her went and got her hopes up anyway. Of course the Sakamakis didn't celebrate Christmas. They weren't a religious family by any stretch of the imagination, and Yui just couldn't imagine any of them buying gifts for the others.

Perhaps I could...

Yui shook her head. That was ridiculous. She was nothing but food to them; what could she possibly hope to achieve by giving them gifts? She might as well walk around wearing a sign that said "I enjoy everything you do to me," and that was already something they thought.

Sighing heavily, Yui made her way back up to her room.

She missed her father.

She missed the concept of family.

The Sakamakis took sibling rivalry to a whole new level. Yui lived in fear that they would snap and kill her, or kill each other and then her. Perhaps if Shu were to take more of an authoritative approach to his status as the first son, there would be less dissension in the ranks, but as it was, each brother had his own intentions. Reiji and Ayato would fight it out for Karlheinz's position, Subaru would either try to kill them all or himself, Shu would sleep through it all, and who knew what Kanato or Laito wanted.

Yui tiredly rubbed her eyes. "All I want is a Merry Christmas," she muttered.

"Are you talking to yourself, Bitch-chan?"

Yui wheeled around, hitting her back against the door and accidentally knocking the breath out of her lungs. "L-Laito-kun!"

"You know..." Laito slammed his hand beside her head and leaned close. "That's usually one of the first signs of insanity. Are we driving you crazy, Bitch-chan?"

She hoped not, but lately, it was getting harder and harder to tell. "I-I was just talking with Reiji..."

"Were you having riveting discussions about tableware? Is that the kind of thing that turns you on?"

Yui tried to scoot away when Laito stepped up to her and ducked his head into the juncture of her neck. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt his breath against her neck, which made him chuckle. It was more than a pity that the body exhibited fear and pleasure with the exact same symptoms.

"I was asking him about Christmas," she said hurriedly.

"Christmas?"

"He said you don't celebrate it."

"We could celebrate it, just the two of us." Laito moaned, and Yui let out a surprised squeak when she felt his teeth graze her neck. "Your smell is intoxicating, Bitch-chan. Every time I get near you, I... just... ahhh..."

"L-Laito, st—" Begging never worked. Not on Laito, not on any of them. Her only real hope was to distract him. "Wh-why don't you celebrate it?"

"You're unusually curious today. Could it be that you're finally interested in us?"

"I-It's not that... Christmas Eve is tomorrow!" she blurted.

"Is it?" Laito lifted his head and leaned his elbow against the door, tracing his thumb over her lips. "I don't pay much attention to calendars."

"You really don't do anything for Christmas?"

"Do we have a reason to? It's a religious holiday. What is a vampire supposed to do with that?"

Yui fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "You can still celebrate it in other ways... Plenty of people who don't believe in God do..."

"To what end?"

"They celebrate family and togetherness, and give each other gifts to express their love, and—"

She broke off when Laito burst out laughing. "You really don't understand, do you, Bitch-chan? Vampires and humans just aren't the same." His hands tightened around her upper arms with a bruising force. "If you want to give me your love, then, by all means, do—just don't expect me to return the feelings."

Yui whimpered in pain when Laito crushed his lips into hers, knocking her head back against the door. His kisses were always greedy, always giving more than she could handle. It was like being forced to drink water when you weren't thirsty.

"Ah... Bitch-chan... I'll celebrate togetherness with you today," he mewled, seeming unable to keep his hands from wandering. "If that's what you really want..."

It wasn't.

Laito was always telling her she didn't understand. You don't understand, Bitch-chan. A lot of times he was right, but this time he was wrong. He was the one who didn't understand. He'd never taken trips into town to admire the Christmas lights, never struggled through an afternoon of cutting down a fresh pine tree and dragging it inside to set it up, never hung hung stockings over the fireplace, never felt the joy and warmth of eating together with family, never been unable to sleep in anticipation for Christmas morning.

His teeth sank deep into her neck, but she barely felt it.

Christmastime was a season for setting aside personal differences and doing your best to appreciate the people in your life for who they were.

The people in her life now were monsters. And yet... And yet...

"So that's how it is then..." she whispered, sliding a hand up into Laito's hair.

When Yui woke, it was Christmas Eve.

Or rather, it was still Christmas Eve, since it had technically been Christmas Eve morning when she went to sleep. Now it was nighttime, with precious few hours until Christmas Day. Normally, she would have had dinner with family and gone to an evening church service. She wondered what the people who used to be in her life were doing now.

As she struggled to sit up, she realized there was something slung across her chest. It was Laito's arm. Laito. He'd fallen asleep on her bed without much preamble, and Yui had been reluctant to move him for fear of waking him again. Wiggling out of his grip, Yui slid off the bed and pulled on her bathrobe as she went over to the window.

She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the balcony.

Snow.

It was covered in snow.

Letting out a squeal of delight, Yui ran to her closet and pulled on the first pair of shoes she could find, then bolted for the door.

"...Bitch-chan...? Where are you—"

Yui didn't wait around to answer him. She was out the door and through the hallway in seconds, nearly tripping down the stairs in the dark. When she finally made in to the front entrance, she threw open the double doors and ran outside.

Nearly a foot of snow blanketed the Sakamaki estate, and it was still slowly fluttering down. Yui's harsh breaths from her run puffed out in thick clouds of smoke. A wide smile spread across her face.

"Bitch-chan?" The outside lights flickered on. Laito hovered in the doorway, dubiously eying the snow. "What are you doing out here?"

Yui spun around and threw her arms up. "It's snowing, Laito! It's snowing!"

"I can see that."

"Don't you know what this means? It will really be a white Christmas!" She let out another squeal of excitement, unable to hold it in any longer. "I'm so happy!"

Laito did not seem to share her enthusiasm. "Ah... But it's so cold and wet... Can't you come back in, where it's warm?"

"No! I want to make snow angels and build snowmen and play in the snow until I'm chilled to the bone. Don't tell me a vampire can't handle that!" Bending down, Yui scooped up a handful of snow. It stung her skin, but she didn't care. Sloppily packing it together, she lobbed it at Laito.

It smacked him in the side of the face.

He sputtered, surprised, and shook his head. Snow dusted his hair and eyelashes. For a moment, he just stared at her. Then his eyes narrowed and he stepped out into the snow in his bare feet.

Yui instinctively backed away, blood running cold as she feared the worst. Not only had she woken Laito up, but she'd thrown a snowball at him. She wasn't his friend, she was just his food. What was she thinking, provoking someone like—

Suddenly, Laito ducked down and swept a handful of snow at her, then grabbed another one and stuffed it down the front of her nightgown.

Yui screamed. Laito laughed.

"Cold, isn't it, Bitch-chan?"

Yui flailed her arms and wiggled until the snow dropped out, leaving a wet spot on the front of her nightgown. Giggling, she reached for more snow to throw back at him. Laito shook it off and lunged for her, but she darted away. Her hands were frozen, there was snow in her bra, and her teeth were chattering, but she couldn't stop laughing. When Laito's arms finally tightened around her waist, she shrieked and struggled like she wanted to get away, but, really, it was all too much fun.

"Got you," he purred in her ear, making like he was going to bite the lobe, but never quite pressing down hard enough.

Yui twisted in his grip, shoving the small lump of snow she'd hidden in her hand up against his skin underneath his jaw. He swore, jerking away from her.

"It's cold, isn't it?" she teased.

"Ahhh... Bitch-chan is cruel."

"What the hell is going on out—"

Yui ducked the next snowball Laito threw, barely registering the voice from the doorway until there was a surprised grunt. She turned around to see Reiji slowly pulling off his snow-covered glasses with a decidedly unamused expression on his face.

"R-Reiji-san," she stammered. "I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't know you were standing there!"

Reiji wiped his glasses using the hem of his shirt, then replaced them on the bridge of his nose. They fogged up immediately. "What the hell are you two doing, screaming so early in the night?"

Laito laughed. "Don't make it sound so dirty, Reiji. Otherwise someone might think you came here because you were curious and wanted to see."

"Your incessant noise has interrupted my research."

"It's Christmas Eve, Reiji!" Laito bent down to scoop up more snow. "Where's your sense of love and family?"

When Laito lobbed the next snowball at him, Reiji was ready for it. He stuck the snowball mid-flight with his first, spraying snow everywhere. "I'm going to choke you with it," he growled.

"Ahah! It looks like I've made you angry. We'd better run, Bitch-chan."

Laito snatched her wrist, and off they went.

A few circuits around the house and through the gardens later, they appeared to have lost Reiji. Yui slumped against the side of the house, fighting to catch her breath. Laito observed her with an amused expression.

"You're very wet now, aren't you?" Laito fingered the material of her nightgown. "That turns me on, you know."

Yui tried to pull together some sort of a response, but was saved by someone calling from an upstairs window.

"Oi! Chichinashi!"

Yui craned her neck to see Ayato leaning over the balcony.

"You're not letting that freak freeze you to death out there, are you? Remember, your blood belongs to Ayato-sama!"

"No, we're having a snowball fight!"

Ayato's eyebrows drew together. "Snowball... fight?"

Yui nodded. "Except Reiji-san is after us because Laito-kun got snow on his glasses."

"Of course Laito did something stupid like that," Ayato huffed, puffing out his chest. "Too bad you don't have someone like me to protect you. Perhaps if you get on your knees and beg, Ayato-sama will show you mercy."

Much to Yui's surprised, Laito dropped to his knees in the snow. "Ayato," he moaned, loud enough for anyone else in the house to hear. "Ayato, aaah, Ayato, please..."

"OI! Cut that out!" Ayato gripped the railing with one hand swung himself over the balcony. He landed nearly on top of Laito, kicking snow at his older brother. "I wasn't talking to you, riffraff!"

"But now that you're here..." Yui stepped forward to grab Ayato's arm. "Will you play with us?"

Ayato looked startled for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Huh? What sort of childish request is that?"

"Laito and I were having fun. When was the last time you played in the snow, Ayato?"

"That is..." Ayato's gaze dropped to the ground. Yui felt the tendons in his wrist strain as he clenched his fists. "I suppose Ayato-sama will amuse you... if only to make sure that freak doesn't take what doesn't belong to him!"

"Oh... So this is where you all got to. Teddy, don't they all look silly standing out here in their pajamas?"

The three of them turned to see Kanato strolling around the corner of the house, wearing his winter coat and clutching Teddy to his chest.

"Kanato-kun!" Yui called. "We're having a snowball fight! Would you like to join?"

"It's disgusting that you think I would subject myself to such a thing," Kanato snarled.

Laito sighed, standing back up. "Hahhh... There's nothing for it then, I suppose."

Kanato shrieked louder than Yui had when Teddy was knocked from his grip by Laito's snowball. "Teddy!" Teary-eyed, he turned a murderous glare on his older brother. "Why did you do that? Why would you do something like that? I'll have to kill you, Laito."

Kanato, it turned out, was much more difficult to evade than Reiji. It wouldn't surprise Yui if Reiji was no longer even pursuing them and Laito had dragged her in circles for his own amusement.

"Cowards!" Kanato shrieked as he tromped through the snow after them. "Get back here!"

"M-Maybe y-you should apologize, Laito," Yui panted.

Ayato snorted. "I have a better idea." He skidded to a halt, grabbed Laito's arm, and flung his older brother at Kanato, who was swiftly approaching behind them. The two crashed into each other, collapsing in a tangled heap on the ground.

Before Yui could help Kanato or Laito, or chastise Ayato, Ayato's fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her away.

"A-Ayato, wait!" Yui's feet slipped in the snow; one of her shoes was falling off. "What if one of them is hurt?"

"Huh? You care more about them?"

Ayato's sudden stop caused Yui to stumble. Luckily, he caught her, but once she was steadied, he did not let her go. "Ayato-kun—"

His eyes smouldered, bright green and livid. He was always so passionate, Yui reflected. Always reaching for something in a frenzied panic. To have that passion directed at her was utterly terrifying. "You shouldn't bother caring about them because you belong to me," he said, his voice a soft growl. "Only me. Do you understand?"

Yui lowered her eyes. "Just deciding something like that..."

One of Ayato's hands ran down her neck, stopping over the still-healing fang marks at the base. "Tch. Is Laito trying to lay claim to you, Chichinashi?"

"I... couldn't say..."

"Then I will erase it."

Yui squeezed her eyes shut as Ayato jerked her closer. His sharp breaths blew over her skin and she could already feel the phantom pain of teeth before they bit down. They drew closer and closer... until...

"Haahh... haaahh... There you are!"

The two broke apart, and Yui twisted around to see Reiji staggering around the side of the house.

"Laito! Get back here!"

"Ahh~! Kanato-kun is so angry!"

"Oi, Laito!" Ayato bellowed. "You've been marking Chichinashi, and I won't have it!"

"I'll be happy to share her with you, Ayato-kun, as long as you let me watch!"

"Perverted freak!"

"Noisy..." Smack! "Noisy..." Smack! "Noisy..." Smack! "Why are you all so damn noisy when I'm still trying to sleep?" Smack!

Yui brushed the residual snow that had landed on her when Ayato was hit with a snowball. Subaru was standing near the front door, packing together another snowball with a severely disgruntled expression on his face.

"Subaru should learn his place..." Ayato bent down to scoop up snow. "And not throw snow at Ayato-sama!"

Kanato hugged Teddy to his chest, gritting his teeth. His coat had slipped down to expose one of his shaking shoulders. "Why..." he choked out. "Why do you all keep getting snow on Teddy? He doesn't like it... I'll kill you all!"

"I've had just about enough of this," Reiji growled, taking off his glasses and stuffing them in his pocket.

Laito sighed. "Oh dear, oh dear..."

Yui ducked out of the way with a squeal when Subaru lunged for Ayato. Ayato narrowly escaped getting clobbered, but collided with Kanato, who had been making a beeline for Subaru. Kanato wobbled, but was caught by Laito accidentally bumping into him during his attempted escape from Reiji. Ayato flailed for a few comical moments, then fell face-first into the snow. Subaru dove on top of him, grinding snow into his hair and shoving it down the back of his shirt.

"AHH! Shit, that's cold! S-Subaru, you bastard!"

Subaru finally stopped when Kanato's hands wrapped around his throat.

"Hey, Teddy? Doesn't he look funny like this?" Kanato laughed as Subaru scrabbled at his neck, trying to rip his brother's hands away. "Fighting for his life like some sort of pathetic animal?"

Ayato used Subaru's distraction to knock his younger brother off his back. Unfortunately, the action caused Kanato to fall as well, and the two tumbled down into the snow.

"This will teach you to mess with Ayato-sama!" Ayato shouted, mashing a handful of snow into Subaru's face.

Kanato swept snow on top of Subaru like he was trying to bury him. "You've made Teddy cold, so I'll make you freeze!"

"Reijiiiiii!" Laito shrieked, laughing and kicking his feet, as Reiji tossed him over his shoulder. "Are you taking me inside to punish me? Reiji-san is so naughty... Ahh, I'm getting excited just thinking about iiiiiiiiit—"

Reiji flung Laito into the snow covered bushes against the side of the house.

"Geez... This early in the morning..."

Yui turned to see Shu stumbling out of the house, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry... I was just excited that it snowed for the first time..."

"So this is your fault, then?"

Yui gasped when Shu pushed her down in the snow without fanfare and hovered over her on all fours. Shu's expression was impassive as usual, and Yui's closed her eyes and tensed he brushed her hair away from her shoulder. She waited, and waited, and...

Snow was dropped on her face.

"Gah!" she sputtered, violently shaking her head.

"What a silly thing to get excited over," he muttered into her ear. He pulled away, clambering to his feet. "I'm going back inside."

Kanato was the next to retreat, even though he was the only one wearing a coat. "I'm done with this nonsense," he declared, scooping up Teddy.

Reiji was hot on his heels, pulling his glasses out to make sure they weren't broken. Ayato finally managed to shove Subaru off of him and bolted for the door. He was covered head to toe in snow, and was immediately shouted at by Reiji for tracking it in the house. Subaru, muttering to himself under his breath, dusted himself off and turned to head towards the gardens.

"Are you cold, Bitch-chan?"

Laito wasn't particularly warm either when he wrapped his arms around her waist. Teeth chattering too hard for her to speak, Yui just nodded. Laito chuckled, nudging her towards the door.

Yui discarded her soaked clothes and stepped into the shower, hissing as the hot water burned against her freezing skin. She stayed until she'd warmed up enough, then wrapped herself in a towel and sat by one of the heat vents. The world slipped into a soupy haze until a knock on the door jolted her awake.

"Hey. Can I come in?"

Yui swallowed thickly. Laito. She didn't really want to let him in when she was only in a towel. "Wh-What do you want?"

"I have something for you."

Clambering to her feet, Yui cautiously edged toward the door. "What is it?"

"You're already coming closer, aren't you? Subconsciously, I know you want to let me in. So, I'll just tell you it's a surprise. Then you'll open the door, won't you?"

Yui rested her hand on the knob. "Can't you give it to me later?"

"Ah, but later won't do much good, will it? ...Please, Bitch-chan?"

Whether it was the softness in his voice or the fact that he was continuing to ask instead of demanding, Yui clicked off the lock and cracked the door open. Laito stuck his hand through, handing her a mass of fluffy, dark gray fabric. Yui took it from him and held it up.

"I thought since your bathrobe was wet, you could borrow one of mine."

"Oh..." Yui felt her cheeks heat up. "Th-Thank you, Laito..."

"And if your hands are still too frozen, I can help you put it on, too."

Yui jerked back. "I-I can do it myself!"

There was a beat of silence, and then, "I'll wait out here, then."

The door was pulled shut.

Yui stared at the door in shock. Laito was...? No, it had to be some sort of trick. He was probably just lying in wait on the other side of the door, poised and ready to do something horrible to her. But...

She fingered the bathrobe in her hands. It was soft; either it was new, or Laito didn't wear it often.

Eying the door uneasily, Yui quickly shed her towel, pulled on her undergarments, and slipped the bathrobe over it. The sleeves were a little too long, but it was warm and comfortable and Yui couldn't find it in her to be upset. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, then opened the bathroom door.

Laito was sprawled across her bed, wearing a fresh sweater and a pair of plaid pajama pants. He cracked open an eye when she came in, then closed it again.

"Come over here, Bitch-chan," he said, patting the bed.

Yui hesitantly approached the bed, yelping when Laito suddenly lashed out and yanked her down on top of the duvet. He wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing her to his chest, and buried his face against her neck.

"L-Laito-kun?"

"Mm... Bitch-chan..." One of his hands crept down her leg until his fingers could tighten around the edge of the bathrobe. He yanked it back in place, covering her exposed skin.

Yui's eyes widened. "Wh-what...?"

"If you let yourself lounge about so seductively, anyone who comes in won't be able to resist," he purred. "You'd be nothing more than a sitting duck."

A blush dusted her cheeks and she did her best to hide her face, even though Laito wasn't looking at her. "Th-Thank you..."

"I know what you thought, out there in the snow. You thought, 'Look at all of them, playing together. Why can't they get along all the time?' That's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"

"...The thought did cross my mind..."

"It's the same reason that Ayato gets upset when anyone else is with you and that Kanato will kill anyone who touches that bear and that Reiji monopolizes the household. Vampires are not like humans. Strife doesn't bring us together, it pushes us apart. Besides..." Laito rolled on top of her, resting his elbows on either side of her. "Isn't it a bit selfish of you to want all of us?"

The color on Yui's face deepened. "I-I didn't mean it like that..."

"I'm just kidding."

When she looked up at him, his eyes were laughing. At her. "I miss my father," she whispered. "I miss having family and friends and people I could talk to. Everyone at school was talking about visiting family and holiday parties for Christmas, and here I am... alone..."

"Words are nothing but colored air, Bitch-chan. Once they leave your mouth, they lose their value. Truth is worthless to speak in a world where lies exist. That's why what you're saying as no meaning to me." Laito kissed her, sliding one of his hands up into her damp hair. "Your blood... pleasure... pain... Those things are real. I know, because I can see the blood drip from the places where my teeth have been, and I can see the way your face twists in sweet agony."

Yui knotted her hands in the front of his sweater, poised to push him away, when he pressed his lips against her ear.

"I'll take you to a place where we can feel the colors and let them wash across our skin while we drown in bliss," he whispered. "But for tonight..."

His lips met the spot where he'd bitten the previous night, and Yui flinched when he sucked hard on the skin. "L-Laito-kun..."

"Ahh... Hahhh..." He pulled back, resting his head against hers for a moment. "That will have to be good enough."

Yui was surprised when he rolled off of her, flopping onto his back.

"Tonight, Laito-kun will become Santa Claus and grant Bitch-chan's wish for a friend. Whatever you want to talk about, I'll listen."

Yui's eyes widened and she sat up. A... friend?

How long had it been, since she'd been able to look someone in the eye and speak with them?

It certainly hadn't been something she'd ever been able to do with the Sakamakis. They were the hunters, and she was the prey. A mouse didn't strike up a casual conversation with a cat because it was lonely without any other mice. It hid, and stayed hidden, if it wanted to live.

"You would... You would do that for me?"

"Until the stroke of midnight on the twenty-fifth, you can tell me whatever you please. You can even ask me questions if you want. I'm... all yours."

Yui couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face. She scooted forward and took one of Laito's hands between hers. "I want to tell you about my father."

"Tell me about him."

Midnight on the twenty-fifth...

...you'll be all mine.

Merry Christmas, Bitch-chan.

A/N: I have this really bizarre obsession with Laito Sakamaki. I made an unfortunately hasty decision to make him my favorite the moment I saw him in the anime, but... he didn't... turn out quite how I expected... And now I'm stuck with him.

Merry Christmas.

RegenesisX