This fanfic was inspired by this picture:

(http:// i22. photobucket. com/ albums/ b301/ steshin/ ARUSHERI/ sa_deep embrace. jpg) To view the image, simply copy and paste to your URL thingy and delete spaces. The theme used in this story is The lights are on. This is also inspired by the song I'll be home for Christmas sung by Buble.

Contributed by steshin

***

Alto did not celebrate Christmas. His family never touched it and brushed it off as a folly holiday. Back then when he was younger and adored as a young girl, he would look at families pressing close as they walked along in their Christmas shopping while the artificial snow rained gently on them. They would glow a kind of joy that made Alto awe in wonder as his father dragged him away to pick out a yukata.

But even at a distance, Alto was still basking in their warmth.

***

Miyo would always try to ease Alto's childhood restlessness in her own little ways. On the porch of their home, they would make origami designs and demolish rice cakes with hums and laughter. She would ease his head on her lap and she would comb his hair with her fingers.
Alto would be lulled to sleep by her whispering lullabies and, even though his father didn't approve of it, Christmas carols about reindeers, snowmen and a little drummer boy… It was comforting and it gave Alto a sense of happiness. For in their own little way, they were celebrating their own holiday that was more intimate than Christmas. Unfortunately, when Miyo died, so did the celebrations.

Alto would feel empty sitting on the porch.

***

As the snow muffled the sound of his steps, Alto looked about the glowing surroundings in indifference. In less than half a year, the relocation was halfway done. When winter came upon them, the area became blanketed with natural snow. Today was the first Christmas of their new home. For those who preferred to avoid the cold, the former islands would serve their purpose of keeping warm. Alto exhaled and watched his visible breath. Amidst the cheers and smiles of the people, he felt hollow and he knew why. He would always miss his mother and the nostalgia of the holiday spirits rekindled the memories of long ago, making him feel like the little boy, sitting on the porch, watching the world celebrate an event that brought so much joy.

"Christmas casts such a beautiful light onto the world, don't you agree Alto?"

He shrugged his late mother's words from his mind; the memory of her smile pricked his heart. Feeling as though he was carrying the world on his shoulders, Alto sloshed through the snow for his destination.

December would bring bittersweet memories.

Sweet memories turned bitter.

***

It was a modest place with what he could afford. It had windows and doors, nothing leaked and it served its purpose well. It wasn't that big but it was his home. No—their home.

A smile touched his lips as he fished for his keys. A cold wind blew on his back, as if prodding him to get inside fast, which he did.

The moment he came inside, his eyes widened and his jaw slacked.
Small dots of golden light stringed in green blinked and glimmered in greeting to his arrival. Holly and glittering Christmas décor covered almost every inch of the small cramped area.
In the middle was a Christmas tree, decorated splendidly yet awkwardly. One side of the tree had more ornaments than the other, some were close to falling off from the boughs and the star on top was crooked. But the loving touch and rushed effort was in there. Alto could see it.

His gaze dropped down to a figure curled underneath the tree. She was balled up in bundles of blankets and faux fur that Alto had mistaken her as part of the tree's motif. Carefully, he knelt down and peered close. The lights danced on her face. The warm fire radiated on her ivory skin. Her sweeps of eyelashes shadowed her cheekbones. It made her look softer, so devastatingly beautiful that Alto felt his heart lurch. Unexplained emotions welled up in his throat. He sat there. Watching until she opened her eyes.

"You're back? Mou…I haven't put your present under the tree yet."

He reached out, slipping a lock of her tresses between his fingers. He twirled it.

"I'd say you did."

He gazed into Sheryl's blue eyes. Eyes that reminded him of blue skies and sparkling seas. He watched the smile on her face. It was like a crescent moon in the sky.

"Christmas casts such a beautiful light onto the world, don't you agree Alto?"

After a long time since his mother's death, Alto agreed. The joy from long ago on the porch returned...only better.

So much better.