"Shinra, are you serious?" I inquired, a bit of idiotic wonder in my voice. "That has got to be the most idiotic thing I ever-"

"Hush, hush!" he said. "I'm only establishing the rule because I wanna see my darling Celty in a Santa-san dres!" That earned him a punch in the arm from his lover, but she sighed and turned to me.

[I told Izaya about the idea] she typed. [He said you'd look really cute as a present.]

My face went blood red and I lifted a hand to cover my blush. "Shut up. Why would you tell me something like that? S'not like I care what he thinks."

Celty's shoulders lifted and fell in a sigh. [I know you love him, Sira. Shinra could figure it out, too, it's so obvious. But right now I am the only one who knows, I swear.] She put a hand to my shoulder. [You have to confess.]

My lips trembled in a glare. "Baka." I stood. "Fine. I'll wear the damn dress."

"Oh, yay!" my brother said happily, injecting himself into the girlish conversation. He hugged me and clapped his hands together. "This'll be a great Christmas!" He sat down and looked at the woman. "Hurry! Izaya will be here soon!"

My eyes widened and I trembled a bit. "I-Izaya...is coming...HERE?!"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah, of course!" He stood quickly and began walking to the kitchen. "I'm gonna get dinner ready; you guys go change!"

I sighed. Awesome. I was dragged by the hand to my room by a certain pesky Dullahan and forced to undress. At the sight of the lace-covered, nearly scandalous dresss, I was completely appalled. "How the HELL do you expect me to wear that?"

[Calm down] Celty said. [Just do it for tonight. Tomorrow morning we can punch Shinra for picking out these awful things, but right now it'll make him happy. Please.]

I frowned at her ever-perfect logic and gave in. "Fine. But don't be surprised if I break his nose tomorrow." I smiled a bit in reverence and hugged her. "My idiot brother's really lucky to have someone like you, Celty." I pat her back. "Thanks for taking care of him."

She squeezed me and let me to go type. [Of course. I do love him, after all.]

I went over to grab the dress and carefully slid it on, silently enjoying its tightness. Beside it came a headband adorned with a shiny Christmas bow. I frowned and slid it over my hair, feeling absolutely ridiculous. I growled at Celty; of course she was stunning. As always.

[You look cute!]

I shrugged. "I feel weird. The dress is tight and the material's awkward."

[Hush. Let's just get this over with.] She lightly pushed me out of the room and I froze in my tracks.

There was Izaya.

Smirking at me.

In this god-awful thing.

He sat on the couch comfortably and, of course, elegantly. His hair fell gorgeously around his face and his lips were curled in the sexiest smirk. I watched as his eyes raked over me and his smile faltered for half a second.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Hey, guys!" Shinra said, coming out of the kitchen with a frilly blue apron over his labcoat. His eyes brightened upon the sight of his lover and he quickly made his way over to her. "Celty, you look so cute! Maybe I shouldn't have let you wear this in front of Izaya, only I can-"

Celty gave him a quick jab to silence his yammerings, followed by a few more as he mustered enough air to ask her to go to the kitchen with him for some help.

Leaving me alone with Izaya.

In this dress.

The raven smirked at me and stood, his arms opening towards me in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome back," he said, smiling at me. "You look splendid!"

I felt my face heat but ignored it, eyes widening as he walked toward me and wrapped me in a hug, allowing me to absorb his wonderfully intoxicating scent. "Really," he said, "you look adorable."

I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. "I look like an idiot."

He chuckled, his chest rumbling amazingly against mine. "Well, I love it." He pulled back and gave me another once-over. "Really love it."

I blushed but nodded, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover myself as much as I could, suddenly feeling really self-conscious.

Izaya winked at me and leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "Wanna get out of here?"

I resisted the urge to shudder at his huskier tone and let my eyes widened. "What are you talk-"

"Think about it," he said, interrupting me. "Your brother and Celty-chan are going to be busy being all over each other, and I for one don't want to be a witness. Do you really wanna sit through that?" His eyebrow raised in question and I sighed; the informant had a point.

"Sure, then...just let me go change-"

"No!" he exclaimed, grabbing my hand and shaking his head. "Stay in the dress! Please?"

I deadpanned. "You want me to go outside looking like this?!"

He nodded quickly. "Just for tonight. I'll give you a special present if you do~" He took off his furry jacket and handed it to me, revealing a tight black sweater underneath, which I totally didn't check out! "I'll even lend you my beloved coat. Just wear it!"

I looked surprised and took the jacket, slowly marveling at its soft texture, warm inside, and best of all, the ever-present, all-consuming scent of Izaya. It pleasantly filled my lungs and nostrils, making me intoxicated enough to accept his dumb request.

Before I knew it we were walking through 'Bukuro hand in hand, just like the many couples out on this romantic night.

My cheeks burned as I felt the texture of his palm rub against mine, our fingers laced together and occasionally rubbing one another. It was an intimate embrace that I wasn't sure I could handle from this man; just what was he planning? Izaya never did anything without some type of motive.

"Izaya..." I finally said, breaking the mostly-comfortable silence. "Just why are we out here, really? Where are we going?"

He smiled. "I really did wanna get out of there. Honest. Plus," he nudged me with his arm, "you looked absolutely miserable, Sira-chan. I wanted to have fun...more importantly, I wanted to be with you." He squeezed my hand and looked up into the starry sky. "As to where we're going? ...Well, it's a secret. But for now let's get some otoroo! I'm hungry!" He began walking a bit faster down the street.

My stomach rumbled in agreement and we laughed a bit before Izaya dragged me into Russia Sushi, ordering one extra-large portion of the tuna meal and sharing it, occasionally forcing me to let him put some sushi in my mouth, much to my own embarassment. Finally, though, we were done and he led me out and back into the streets.

Did I ever mention how hot he is when he speaks Russian with Simon?

'Cuz goddamn.

He took me eventually to our destination, a giant Christmas tree in the middle of town. It was ornately decorated, a cheery attempt at reflecting what Ikebukuro would never become: happy and cheery and clean.

Many people were scattered around the tree, obviously waiting for something. Izaya led me to a table labeled Check-In. At it sat an older lady, slightly plump and dressed as a cute little elf. She smiled at us as we approached her.

"Hello, and Merry Christmas! Name?" she asked, beginning to flip through a clipboard with at least thirty pages attatched to it.

"Orihara," Izaya answered, also smiling.

The elf-lady nodded and found Izaya's name, handing us a card. "Section D, Number 295. Best of luck!" She waved us off as we left.

Izaya said nothing, just looked around the area, seeming to be searching for something. He squeezed my hand reassuringly, so I decided against asking a million questions, choosing instead to simply enjoy his warmth.

He pulled me to a halt at a specific area, labeled with a big red D. A few other couples were around, but for the most part we were alone. It was calm, quiet, a nice relaxation from the crazy moments of the evening and hustle-and-bustle of the crowds. I found myself leaning into Izaya. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we looked up at the tree.

"It's time," he whispered in my ear, making me shudder and blush a bit.

"For?"

"295," he answered simply, pushing me forward towards the tree.

I stumbled a bit but mentally recorded the number. 295. I followed the others' examples, walking over through the small crowd to a pile of gifts. My eyes widened as I noticed each gift had a number.

Oh my god.

I rushed forward, sifting through the boxes to find 295. It took me a while, but I eventually escaped from the group, 295 in hand. It was a small box, wrapped in silver paper with a blood-red, thin bow tied neatly at the top. It's hypnotizing color reminded me of Izaya's eyes.

I brought it back to him and handed it over, but he refused, holding up a hand to the box.

"Open it," he said, petting the top of my head.

I frowned but complied, carefully pulling back the ribbon and wrapper, gasping when I felt velvet.

"Go ahead," the raven urged, cupping my face.

My fingers shook as I opened it up, my eyes watering as I saw my gift: a gorgeous silver necklace with rubies hanging like stars from it's chain. It was absolutley beautiful, and reminded me so much of the raven that I loved.

He carefully took the necklace from the box and placed it around my neck, securing it cleanly behind my head and letting it fall, smiling as he noted its perfect position on my chest.

"Izaya..." I whispered. "I...I don't know what to say."

He smiled. "You don't have to say anything. Merry Christmas," he said, cupping my face once more and pulling me in for a kiss.

My eyes exploded with color upont the contact, again watering a bit from happiness. My arms flew around his neck to pull him in tighter to me, pressing our bodies together. His lips were soft, warm, and tasted strangely of rice. I smiled; dinner. We stayed in the embrace until we felt our breath giving out, releasing and panting.

"I...I love you, Izaya," I said pantingly, leaning my head in the crook between his shoulder and his neck. I heard him chuckle and his arms tightened around me.

"I love you, Sira-chan," he whispered, low enough so that only I could hear. Little did I know, he also muttered something else, mostly to himself.

"We're keeping the dress."