Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everyone!

For the holiday I decided to give all my readers, fellow MikuXLen fans, and that one random person who stalks me but won't admit it (you know who you are) a gift. It's not very good, nor anything special, but I do hope someone enjoys is.

-Ray

The fire in the chimney crackled as its flickery dance continued uninterrupted. The smell of smoke filled the cabin while the evening sun, creating colors of soft orange and lovely pink, slowly set in the horizon. The four Kagamine children sat in the middle of the room as the snow fell from the sky and gently landed on the ground.

Two of the Kagamine children were brother and sister Rinto and Lenka, ages fifteen and nine, respectively. Rinto was tall, nicely shaped, and looked older than his age. His dark blond hair was trimmed so that it was just above his gray eyes, and he wore glasses to help with his farsightedness. Lenka sat next to him, legs crisscrossed and elbows on her knees as she rested her chin on her hands. Her elbow length dirty blond hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her blue-gray eyes searched the wondrous outdoors. She then took her eyes away from the window in order to look at her cousins sitting across from her. It wasn't often Lenka got to see her cousins, and each time she did, it took a little getting used to how identical they looked.

Rin and Len Kagamine were twins twelve years of age. Both had torquise blue eyes and shoulder lenght blonde hair. Despite being a hardcore tomboy, Rin wore a large white bow on the top of her head and cute little clips to hold back her bangs. Lenka knew from experience to not tease Rin about this unless you had a death wish. Len, on the other hand, was a bit more connected to his feminine side. He liked flowers, cute things, and "girly" cartoons. Sometimes Lenka wondered if Rin was meant to be born a boy and Len a girl.

Len noticed his younger cousin staring at him. "You want to play in the snow, Lenka?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmmm," Lenka shyly answered. "Anything's better than waiting for Rinto to make up his mind about what card to put down."

"Yeah, Lenka's right," Rin backed the girl up. "It's Uno, not rocket science."

"Well my apologies for strategizing," Rinto replied.

"It's Uno!" Rin repeated as she threw her hands up in exaggeration.

Knowing that this conversation would lead to an argument, both Len and Lenka slipped away from their respective siblings and headed towards the door. "Do you think we will get into trouble if Mom and Auntey Ann find out that we went outside when we were told not to?" Lenka asked as she zippered up her banana yellow snow coat.

"Yep!" Len answered as he wrapped his red and white checkered scarf around his neck. "But that's what makes it fun." Len gave his cousin a pat on her head, causing the young girl to giggle. "Let's go," he said after both were dressed for the snow.

Both of the blonde's grins widened as they stepped out into the winter wonderland. Every week before Christmas, the Kagamine families would to visit the grandparents who lived in the mountains. It wasn't that they were strangers to snow, but the children had felt that snow on the mountains was something new entirely.

A snowball plowed into Len's face, snapping him from his daze. "Snowball fight!" Lenka declared as she threw another snowball at him.

"You asked for it!" Len replied as he scooped up snow to throw at her.

The fight didn't last long as Lenka, aware that she was losing, said "Let's build a snowman!"

Len mentally declared himself the winner before agreeing to the snowman. In only a few short minutes, the two finished building the snowman's body. "I'll go into the woods to get sticks we can use as the arms," Len told Lenka as he smoothed out rough spots on the snowman, "and you go inside and get some coal to decorate his face with."

"But it's almost dark," Lenka quietly said. "I don't think you should go into the woods at night."

"I'll be fine," Len waved her off. "I'm only going in to get two sticks. How bad can it be?"

Very bad, as Len soon realized. He had wandered too far into the woods and was now unsure which way would lead him back to the cabin. I'm an idiot! He mentally slapped himself. Only one solution came to the boy's mind: Climb a tree and see if he could find the direction of the cabin. Len began climbing a tree, but after he got onto one of the middle branches, a sound interrupted his course of action. Len was careful to be still and to not make a noise, for soon enough whatever was causing the sing-song sound would appear.

The noise maker finally emerged from between the trees. It was a girl. A beautiful girl. Her skin was as pale as the moonlight, and her full lips were the color of pink roses. Her hair was a mixture of turquoise and mint green, and her eyes matched her hair in color. The noise that Len had heard was her singing. The girl's voice was just as beautiful as her appearance.

Len couldn't believe what he was seeing before him. This girl must have been a goddess, or a snow spirit at the least. She was too beautiful to be human, and her voice was angelic. In his daze, Len fell out of the tree and into a pile of snow.

After minutes of being submerged in the darkness, Len jumped when he saw turquoise eyes looking into his own. "Good," the girl said, "you're awake. I've been trying to wake you up for a while now. No matter how much I shook you, you just wouldn't open your eyes." The girl smiled brightly. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

Well, this girl was obviously not a goddess. Unless goddesses wore braces, this girl was all human. After observing her attire - black pants, gray sneakers, and a pink snow coat - it was easy to determine that she was just an ordinary girl. Still too beautiful to be human, in Len's quickly formed opinion.

"Th-th-thanks," Len stuttered, a blush crawling up his cheeks.

The girl held out her hand, a purple mitten covering her fingers. "I'm Miku," she introduced herself. "Miku Hatsune. And you are?"

Len carefully took the girl's, Miku's hand. "Len Kagamine," he replied.

Miku giggled. "Nice to meet you, Len!"

Len smiled. "Nice to meet you, too, Miku."

Miku helped Len to his feet. "I hate to say this, but I have to go. Mama's going to be home soon, and I should be there when she gets back." Leaning forward as if to share a secret, Miku whispered, "I'm not supposed to be out here."

Len's smile widened. "Neither am I."

Miku laughed. "Guess we're both a couple of trouble makers, huh?"

"Seems so," Len said. "Of course," Len's smiled dropped, "I don't know my way back."

Miku pointed at the sky. "Do you think it would be in that direction?"

Len followed Miku's hand and saw smoke rising in the sky. That's right, the fire in the chimney was lit, so of course the smoke would exit outside and continue high were others could see. Len felt like the biggest idiot alive for not thinking of that. "I think so," he said.

"Good," Miku smiled, "you can get home." Miku puckered her lips, as if trying to make a decision. She shrugged and said, "Well, goodbye." Miku began walking away, not once looking back.

"Goodbye, Miku," Len said, but he was certain he said it too quietly for her to hear.

Saying that Len got into trouble for going into the woods was an understatement. He thought his parents were going to kill him at any moment. Len believed that Christmas miracles truly existed because in the end of it all, he only got off with nothing save a warning. However, that didn't stop Len from wanting to see Miku again.

The next time the children were out playing, Len snuck away from his sister and cousins and went back into the woods in search of the girl. It was foolish, Len knew, but he just had to try. He wasn't even searching for ten minutes when he was tackled from behind.

"Len!" Miku's voice squealed. "Is that you?"

"Miku!" Len replied.

Miku hugged tighter. "I was hoping I would get to see you again!"

Through his blush Len said "I was, too."

Letting him go, Miku walked in front of Len, put her arms behind her back, and swayed while saying, "So what do you want to do?"

Len felt embarrassed. "I don't know. I didn't think I would make it this far."

Miku giggled. "Don't worry, you'll think of something." With a shocked expression, Miku pointed at the sky and exclaimed, "What's that?!"

"What's what?" Len asked as he turned away to look for what Miku saw. A giant snowball plowed the back of his head.

"Made ya look," Miku sang. "If you take your eyes off of your opponent, then you're vulnerable to their attacks."

Len, not wanting to lose to a girl no matter how beautiful, scooped up a pile of snow and threw it at her. When the snowball hit Miku, causing her to shriek, Len said, "And don't underestimate your opponent, either."

"You're on!" Miku growled as she scooped up more snow to throw at Len.

The snowball fight went on for what must have been hours but what only felt like minutes. Len and Miku were evenly matched, and it was hard to determine a winner.

"You won!" Miku argued. "You totally nailed me back there."

"Well you creamed me afterwards," Len argued back.

"Fine!" Miku snapped. "It was a tie. We both won. Does that sound good to you?" Len decided that it was fair and thus agreed. "Good," Miku smiled. "Now," she sang playfully, "we make snow angels!" Miku spread out her arms and allowed herself to fall backwards. "This is so fun," she said as she made her snow angel. "I just love snow angels," she sighed.

Len, not knowing what else to do, followed her example and made snow angels with her. After both had finished Miku said, "I should go now, but I had a lot of fun." Miku gave Len a playful wink. "See me tomorrow same time, okay?"

Len blushed. "Okay," he agreed.

Miku and Len meet the next day, and the day after that as well. Explaining to his family why he wasn't around took real effort, but each time he had managed to get them to believe his lies. Len had to see Miku, and if stooping down to lying was how he was going to do it, then so be it.

On their fifth meeting, Miku asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No. How can you tell?" Len asked.

"I've never seen you around in school," Miku answered as she used her boot to play with the snow beneath her. The way she was kicking the snow told Len she was upset about something.

"My family only comes up here for Christmas," Len said, "but we can still play and hang out next year."

"There won't be a next year," Miku said.

"Wait!" Len was surprised. "Are you saying-"

"I'm not dying!" Miku said as she punched Len. "It's just . . . It's just . . ." Miku hid her eyes behind her long bangs. "It's just that my mom travels with her work every year, and we move this spring after the school year ends." Miku bit her lip. "You see?" her voice was wavering. "Even if you're here next year, I won't be. I'll-I'll-" she broke into a sob. "I'll never see you again!" she cried.

Len felt as if he had been hit with a ton of bricks. He hadn't known Miku for long, but he didn't never want to see her again. Len wrapped his arms around Miku and pulled her into a hug. "Don't cry, Miku. It will be okay."

"How?" she sniffled. "Won't you miss me? Won't you care that I'm gone?"

"Of course I care," Len said as he brought her closer. "I've never had a friend like you, Miku."

"And I've never had a friend like you, Len," Miku whispered into his chest. "It's sucks that we have to keep moving. I have never been in a place long enough to call it home. I have never had any real friends." Miku looked at the snow. "My mom always requests to be transferred to tropical climates, so this is the first time in my life I've ever played in the snow, and who knows if I'll ever get to again."

"Is that why you like the snow so much?" Len asked. "And also why you love making snow angels?" Snow was something Len had often took for granted, but to Miku it was the most wondrous thing in all the world. She loved so angels best. She was a snow angel.

Miku nodded. "It absolutely is." Miku scooped up some snow, formed it into a ball, and smashed it on top of Len's head. "Let's think of happy things now, shall we?"

As they played together the rest of the day, Len couldn't help but be reminded that he may never see Miku again. Her hair, her smell, her smile - these are the things he will miss about her. However, what Len will miss most about Miku was how she made him feel. He couldn't explain how, but being around Miku made Len feel warm enough to not be bothered by the cold of the snow around him. Was he . . . No, it was impossible. There was no way he would be love with Miku.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Rin yelled into Len's ear. Before giving her brother time to respond, Rin took her pillow and whacked Len in the head with it. "Wake up, moron! You can't sleep in all day!"

Len looked at Rin's impatient face, at the digital clock at the side of their bed, and back again at Rin. "It's 4:30 in the morning," he said.

"Christmas morning," Rin emphasized. "Now get up!" With that Rin pushed Len off of their bed and onto the floor.

Len rolled off and landed on his nose. Sensing that his evil twin sister was snickering, he said, "I hate you."

To say that Christmas was a disappointment that year would be a lie. Len got the one thing he had wanted - a box set of his favorite book series - and both Rin and Rinto had gotten along famously. Lenka showed Len how to play Cat's Craddle, and in return he showed her the best way to bake cookies. "You're a really good cook, Len," Lenka complimented as she bit into one of Len's famous white chocolate chip cookies.

"I try not to brag about it," Len joked, as all honestly he was never open to others about his cooking abilities. He was aware of the few manly qualities he had, but that didn't mean he had to make it public.

Throughout the whole day, however, Len could not stop thinking about Miku. His family left that next morning, so would the day before be the last time he saw the young girl? Even if he went out to get in one last goodbye, would she be there? Would he ever again see her pale skin, pink lips, and turquoise and mint green hair and eyes again? Would she ever smile for him again? The last thought made Len's stomach twist. Despite all her beauties, what Len found most attractive was her sweet smile. She looked so innocent and cute when she was happy, and he wanted to see her smile for one last time. Even though he may never see her again, he will never, ever forget Miku Hatsune.

It was risky, but he had managed it. While everyone, children and adults alike, were playing in the snow, Len had sneaked away and ran into the woods in hopes of finding Miku. He ran until he had found their meeting place, where the two preteens had first met, and sat down on a boulder as he waited patiently for her. There was no garuntee that Miku would show, but Len wanted to say that at least he had tried.

Len sat as five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes had passed. When thirty was soon approaching, Len began to lose hope of Miku ever appearing. Maybe she had come out earlier and waited for Len, and when he didn't show she left. Or maybe Miku didn't care to say one last goodbye to Len so instead she chose to stay away. Both of these possibilities made Len feel uneasy, but so much of him still wanted to believe that Miku would make her appearance at any moment. Time continued to tick away, and to help with the boredom, Len began to sing. He had only been singing for two minutes before he paused to be sure of the next verse.

"That's beautiful," a voice interrupted Len from continuing on. "Merry Christmas, Len," Miku smiled, tears gleaming from the corners of her eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Miku," he said. Unknown to him how he did it so dauntlessly, Len approached Miku and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. "I was afraid you wouldn't show," he whispered into her shoulder.

Miku returned the hug. "I didn't want to miss saying one last goodbye," Miku said in her sweet voice.

"I have a gift for you," Len said as he broke the hug and returned to the boulder. Next to the boulder was a Christmas tin, and while handing her the tin Len said, "I made cookies, and I thought I would give you some."

"Thank you," Miku said as she accepted the cookies. "That is so sweet." Meeting Len in the eyes she said, "I also got you a gift." Miku took off her glove, allowing Len to see her bare hand for the first time, and stuck her hand into her pocket. When she pulled her hand out she was holding a small, carefully wrapped box. "Open it," Miku said as she placed the object in Len's hand.

Len took off his mittens and slowly unwrapped the paper and opened the box, and when he took off the lid, he saw a heart that said "Best Friends." Len then noticed that the heart was a part of two necklaces, one for him and another to give to a friend. "Thank you, Miku," he said.

"Do you really like it?" Miku asked, worried. "I know those kind of things are really lame, but I hoped that one day those necklaces will hold some meaning."

"They already hold a lot of meaning," Len said as he took them out of the box. "I received them from you." Was it his imagination, or did Miku just blush? "Now they will have even more meaning," Len said, earning a confused look from Miku. "Turn around," he ordered.

Not knowing what else to do, Miku turned around and had her back face Len. She lightly gasped as she saw Len bring one of the necklaces in front of her face, allowed the half heart to rest on her collarbone, and connected the chains together. By the way she was lightly shaking, Len could tell that she had not been expecting him to give her one of the necklaces.

"You're one of the coolest people I have ever met," Len said as he finally hooked the necklace together, "and I think we should always remember this Christmas together." Miku turned around and carefully looked into Len's eyes. "I don't ever want to forget you, Miku," he said, "and I want us to always have a reminder of the other." He held his hand out, the other necklace dangling about. "So what do you say? Will we always be friends, no matter how far apart we may be?"

Smiling, Miku took the other necklace out of Len's hands. "Of course," she replied. Len turned around and allowed Miku to put the other necklace on him. After she hooked the chain together, Miku said nervously, "I have another gift for you."

Len's eyes widened. Miku got him two gifts, and all he gave her were lousy cookies. "You do?" he asked while trying to keep his cool.

Miku slowly nodded. "Close your eyes," she instructed.

Len, not knowing what else to do, closed his eyes as he waited for Miku to get the other gift. He stood still for nearly twenty seconds before his eyes popped open at the feeling of something soft and warm against his lips. Miku was kissing Len.

Miku was kissing Len.

Miku was kissing Len!

Instead of jerking away in shock, as he half expected himself to do, Len returned the kiss. Being kissed by Miku . . . well, Len couldn't describe it. Her lips were softer than they looked, and he felt as if he could melt from the warmth Miku was giving him. Her scent of blackberry vanilla became the very air he breathed, and the calmness of her face told Len that she was feeling the same warm feelings he was.

Closing his own eyes, Len allowed himself to fall further under the spell of the kiss. It was merely lip-to-lip contact, as they were only twelve, but just the feeling of their lips mashed together was the most extraordinary feeling Len could imagine. Almost instinctively, Len wrapped his arms around Miku, which she returned. When they broke, Miku rested her forehead on Len's as she stared into his eyes. She was madly blushing, but so was he.

"I like you, Len," she admitted. "Like-like you."

"I like you, too, Miku," Len responded. "Like-like you."

Miku giggled. She let her hug on Len go as she took hold of his scarf, which was falling off, and not only rewrapped it around him but also herself. Miku had wrapped Len's scarf around both of their necks. She didn't say anything. Instead Miku looked into Len's eyes as she softly smiled. Len placed his hands on top of hers, which were placed on the edge of the scarf. The two preteens rested their foreheads against each other and continued not speaking. No words needed to be said in order for this moment to be enjoyed. They stood like this for an unknown amount of time. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours - neither would have known the difference.

"I should go," Miku sadly said. "But I don't want to go."

"Neither do I," Len said.

Miku unwrapped the scarf from the both of them before replacing it on only Len. "I'll always remember you, Len Kagamine," she whispered.

"I'll always remember you, Miku Hatsune," Len whispered back.

Miku held both of Len's hands before beginning to walk away. Her hands dragged against Len's; skin dragging against skin. She carried the tin containing the cookies Len had given her as she walked away. Looking back before slipping into the woods, Miku, with tears threatening to spill from her eyes, said, "Goodbye, Len."

"Goodbye, Miku," Len said as he tried to keep his own tears from spilling out. With that Miku turned away and disappeared into the forest.

That would be the last time Len ever saw Miku, the girl that had managed to steal his heart in only a week. In a matter of minutes, her absence tortured Len. Never again would Len see Miku, and never again would Miku see Len.

His snow angel was gone forever.