December 25th. Christmas Day, a day where everyone was supposed to be celebrating the holiday back at home with friends, family, and other loved ones. Where the lights shined through the darkest and coldest of nights, and where the cheer was spread all over the Planet. The clock had struck midnight minutes ago, and most of the children were snuggled up in their beds with dreams of what the morning would bring – presents, warm smiles, tight embraces, and snow. Everyone looked forward to the holiday season, whether they were old or young. In Midgar, everything was decked out – whether it was simple or complex was entirely up to the townspeople. But everyone was thankful for what they had, and so they plowed away the snow and set up lights, trees, and decorations.

That's what everyone usually did for the holiday season.

But not everyone wanted to. Not everyone had the time to. Some people were locked up inside offices, or perhaps the rooms in their houses, scribbling away on resumes and papers beside candlelight. Loved ones would always knock on the doors, opening them to ask if they wanted anything or if they were alright. The answers were always a simple 'yes, I'm fine' and then a soft, warming smile to reassure and back-up their statement. That loved one would then smile back in return and shut the door, leaving the person to their work. Usually, they wouldn't finish until late hours – one, two, perhaps three or four on a bad and busy night. They would miss out on the time with their family, friends, lovers – whoever they had around.

That wasn't what usually happened in the holiday season. Most people were happy, taking a break from their job to spend the time with the ones they loved – buying presents, having snowball fights, setting up decorations…

But sometimes, different people had different things they wanted to do. Some people weren't into the entire holiday cheer. Some people preferred to work and get it all done so they could relax, rest, and get back to work the next day.

A certain black-haired President happened to be that type of person.

A light snore surpassed her lips, forehead touching the cold surface of the desk in front of her. Dark strands of hair fell into her face here and there, tickling her nose and her cheeks. From the view of the window above her, the snowfall was heavy and the wind was howling. It was a wonder that she didn't wake up from both the cold and the sounds – she was a rather heavy sleeper and she had grown accustomed to blizzard weather from living in Midgar for years.

She was much more used to the warm underground setting rather than her home, but she had promised someone that she would stay at home for the holidays. As much as she protested, he always won – he normally won every argument they had, whether it was silly or reasonable. She gave up almost instantly whenever controversy sparked up, just because she knew he had the better use of words.

In this case, he had won her over by forcing her to stay home for at least two weeks. He didn't care if she brought her work home or if she decided not to work at all. She had to have something to do, however, or she started to get more insane than she already was. Blood wasn't an issue – she had taught herself to hold back despite the intense burning in her throat. The issue was that if she didn't have something to do, whether it was work or otherwise, she would start getting irritating. Perhaps even angry. And usually, people didn't like her very much when she was either of those things.

She had been overworking herself in the past week that she had stayed home. Assassinations were put aside until after the holiday season. But paperwork could not wait. She figured it was better to get it done rather than to have it all pile up once she returned. It was something to do, so that was even better. He was constantly worried about her and not getting enough rest, or break time. But that came with the perks of being the President – you could never stop working, no matter what was going on.

The front door closed with a soft click, and then another click for the lock. Ocean blue eyes skimmed around the main room before footsteps echoed down the hallway until the figure reached the living room, the tree still brightly lit with lights. Whenever the tree was still lit after midnight, it meant that she was still awake. She was the one to turn it off right before she went to sleep, and apparently, she was either still awake or she had fallen asleep working. Again.

Slipping off his snow-frosted jacket, he inhaled sharply and let it out slowly. The all-too familiar smell of cinnamon arrived at his senses and registered first, and he could immediately tell where it was coming from. The scent was never that strong if the door to her office was closed, and so he was sure it was open. It only meant that she was surely awake – whether she was wandering around the house or if she was busy at work.

Before departing for the hallway, he noticed three presents neatly wrapped that were underneath the tree. One of them he had wrapped himself, but the other two looked unfamiliar. He cocked his head to the side in contemplation, but the thought of her getting him anything seemed a little ridiculous. He didn't need anything, what was there to get?

He shook his head before stepping around the tree and into the hallway, quickly passing through numerous closed doors and random open ones. The scent of cinnamon got stronger as he sauntered on, finally pausing at the end of the hallway where it was the strongest. As he figured, the door was cracked open. He peeked inside only to find the light of the brightly lit candle and the moon to show him what was going on.

Shoving the door open all the way, he found her completely passed out on the desk, surrounded by bows, wrapping paper, pens, tape, and the receipts of the gifts she had bought. The candle was perfectly placed at the corner of her desk so as to not burn anything while she was working. Buried underneath all of the Christmas work, he found crumpled paperwork and uncompleted letters written in her elegant handwriting. He brushed away some of the trash from her desk and picked up one of the letters beside her head, so he wouldn't wake her.

'Brendon,

It's been a year now since your death. Things have changed drastically from one thing to another since that day, haven't they? You haven't been around as much as you used to be… The last time I really remember you being around was at the wedding of Rufus and I. That seemed to be forever ago. I can't believe it's really come to this.

I didn't want to kill you, but your inner motives and the turmoil that became apparent in your heart was what led to your downfall. You know that if I had a choice, I wouldn't have. You would've lived to celebrate your nineteenth birthday along with me, and we would've spent the time we wanted to spend together.

I miss you, brother. More than you'll ever realize…'

The letter ended there, and he was struck silent. His head lifted, brown locks of hair falling back into his eyes as he did. He almost dropped the paper into the flame of the candle, but caught himself and set it back down beside her. Quietly, he rounded the desk and set a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently as if to wake her up.

Despite being a heavy sleeper, she woke up nearly immediately, her head lifting and her eyes opening to reveal blurred, ripped wrapping paper and her elegant writing looking as if someone had spilled water all over it. Her voice was soft, dreamy, as if he had jolted her from a pleasant dream. "Mm?"

"You fell asleep," he said, grinning down at her as he did. "I wanted to wake you. You didn't seem all that comfortable there, anyway."

She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision before his words finally settled in. It was Christmas Day, officially. That meant it was the day of her brother's death, but it was also one of the happiest days of the entire year. She shot up to her feet quickly, but stopped herself, staring down at the mess that was on her desk. The letter to her brother was sitting clear as day atop all of it, and her heart sunk in her chest. That was not something she wanted to see. Nor was it something she wanted to complete.

She set her gloved fingers on the paper before lifting it up and crumpling it up into a ball, tossing it into the bin beside her desk. Her head lowered, her hand reaching to run through her hair as if she were frustrated. She didn't know what she felt like – too many emotions bubbled inside her to really count as one: anger, sorrow, slight happiness, irritation, exhaustion, and oddly enough, peace.

As if registering what just happened in his head, he reached for her hand and took it into his. He took a step forward so he was beside her, reaching over to plant a soft kiss to her cheek. "You were going to put that on your brother's grave, weren't you? What were you planning to do with that letter?"

Somber royal blue eyes lifted to meet his figure. She had figured he had returned home hours before, but she was wrong, seeing as he had been out late. She avoided his question completely, and instead, smiled faintly at the mere thought of him being there with her. Immediately, her eyes flickered to a soft sky blue. By her avoiding his question, he appeared to be puzzled, but he didn't say a word. He merely smiled back in a silent response.

Grasping his hand tightly, she dragged him along with her as she departed from her office and raced down the hallway. The mere thought of the letter had completely disappeared from her mind, and all of the overwhelming emotions had simmered down into peaceful ones: happiness, hope, joy, love… The list went on and on. She paused when she arrived back inside the living room, spotting his jacket sprawled out over the couch. Her head twisted over her shoulder to stare at him, her lips turning into a thin smirk.

"What?" he asked, raising a brow. She had taken a sudden change in emotion, and though it happened often enough for him to surpass it as nothing, he was still a bit startled. "Something bothering you?"

She let go of his hand and picked up his jacket, slipping it over her bare shoulders. She flopped down onto the couch and beckoned him with a finger to join her. He did as he was told, sitting down beside her with that clearly confused look on his face. She laughed and kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist as she set her cheek on his shoulder. She stared at the dim lights, watching them reflect off of the ornaments, which casted a glow onto both of their faces. It caused her eyes to light up to a solid, stark white, though they were mostly hidden by thick strands of ebony hair. The lights also caused his smile to seem warmer, and more welcoming. There wasn't any other way to put it.

It was unfortunate that she didn't take the time to see it. Her eyelids had fell shut as she inhaled sharply, taking in the distant cinnamon scent that had filled the small house. She almost dozed off right before he wrapped an arm around her, his shockingly cold skin brushing up against the back of her neck. It startled her and caused her eyes to shoot wide open once more, her head turning up toward him. He blinked a couple of times, eyes reflecting the clear confusion that was also apparent on his face.

"You just reminded me about the presents," she said and leaned up to set a kiss to his nose. She kept his jacket wrapped tightly around herself as she stood, causing his arm to drop back down to his side lazily. She slid and grabbed the two presents for him – one in a large rectangular shape while the other was a small box. He cocked his head to the side as she slipped back beside him, his eyes following her every movement. "Open this one first. Please?"

In her hands was the larger box, wrapped neatly in silver wrapping paper that was decorated with snowflakes, and a light blue ribbon. There was one tag on it, but it was blunt. 'To Squall, from Rax', with a heart beside his name. He chuckled softly at the thought and tugged at the end of the ribbon, pulling it off as he tore through the wrapping paper. It revealed to be a white box, but inside was more of the surprise. He lifted the cover off and stared down, ocean blue eyes growing wide.

"You didn't have to…"

He grabbed the jacket and tossed the box aside, and she found that the corners of his lips were pulled upward into the faintest of smiles. It caused her to smile as well. The jacket was made of white leather rather than black, and the fur was black. It was the exact same thing as she jacket she was wearing over her shoulders, except the colors were swapped. And on the back was his trademark lion's head in a deep crimson. Quickly, he rose to his feet and slipped it on, standing in front of her while twisting around and looking down at how it fit.

"Well?"

"I think it looks great on you," she said, trying to hide a ring of laughter that she knew was coming sooner or later. "Does this mean I get to keep this one? Despite the fact that it's a bit…" She paused, lifting her arms. The sleeves were covering her hands, and she had to slide them back to show gloved fingers. "…big."

His smile faded into a smirk and he resumed sitting, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "If you'd like. I think I'll be wearing this one often. It's… warmer. And much nicer." He paused for a moment, staring down the smaller gift that she was holding in between her sleeved hands. "Did you get it custom made?"

"Maybe…" She set the present down beside her and looked around as if she were hiding something. Her next words came out as hushed whispers, her head lowered and her lip poking out as if she knew what he was going to say in reply. "I kinda stole your necklace and had them put that exact same design on the back…"

He immediately narrowed his eyes, but also reached up and touched the silver pendant on the chain that was set around his neck. "Huh? Then how did you…" He trailed off and shook his head, but noticed that there was something else in the box that he had set beside himself. A matching pair of white leather gloves to replace his old ones. He lifted them into his hands and looked back at her. "You bought these for me too?"

She nodded and blinked, the pout from her lips disappearing. She knew what he was thinking, and by the look in his eyes, he was expecting an answer. Bypassing it completely, she offered up a thin smile and tugged the gloves off his hands, slipping the new ones on. "Well? What do you think?"

His hands balled into fists as his eyes dropped down to examine it. Perfect fit, as was the jacket. What confused him was how she got everything so… perfect. And that wasn't it. How much had she spent? Well over a thousand gil, he was certain… But he figured that it was fair. His present was much the same.

"It's perfect," he said and took her hand, pulling her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him as to return the embrace and kissed his cheek. "I wouldn't have expected it even if you told me ahead of time."

He rose to his feet once more and walked until he knelt down, grabbing the wrapped box. He flopped back onto the couch beside her and she shoved her present into his hands before he could even begin to speak. His lips twisted into a faint smirk as his eyes scanned the present. This one was wrapped in green that had swirls painted in gold, red, and silver outstretched over it all. The ribbon was green, red, and gold with little snowflakes here and there. He tugged on it and then carefully ripped off the paper, tossing it aside. The box was simple and white just like the previous one, and so as she watched eagerly, he pulled the top off and stared down into it.

Within it was a silver ring, and engraved was one piece of a heart, shaded in with a crimson color that matched the lion on his jacket. He raised a brow and lifted his head to find that she was holding out her hand with her glove off, a similar ring on her finger – the other half of the heart, though it was shaded in midnight blue. He smiled gently and picked the ring up, sliding it onto his finger. Another perfect fit.

He pressed his lips to hers for a moment in a silent regard of thanks before settling his gift into her hands. She pulled back with a similar smile as she ripped off the wrapping paper and the small bow just like an overly-ecstatic child would, opening it quickly as soon as she had gotten all of the tape off her fingers.

Within the small, square-shaped box was a photograph. They both had small smiles on their faces, her cheek pressed against his chest while his chin was set atop her head. Tears brimmed within her eyes and she smiled, looking up at him. He tilted his head and took the photograph, gesturing to what else was within it. A necklace with a heart and then a smaller version of his signature pendant. She reached and noticed that the charm was a locket.

"Open it."

She pinched it between her fingers and it popped open to reveal the exact same picture of them in one of the frames, while the other was empty. It made sense to her – one for when they met, and another for when…

Her thoughts trailed off and another smile touched her lips as she wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. She set the picture down and handed him the necklace. "Put it on for me?" she asked, brushing her hair aside. He undid the clasp and slid it around her neck, watching it bounce into place once he clipped it back together. "It looks good on you."

"It's because you picked it out," she said and hugged him tightly, shoving all of the wrapping paper and ribbons aside. He returned the warm embrace and held her close, setting his head on top of hers while she snuggled into his chest like she had done the first time they had met. Her eyes closed, and a soft yawn surpassed her lips as she took in a deep breath. Cinnamon and new leather.

"I love you," she mumbled into his shirt. He ran his fingers through her hair slowly as his eyes fell shut as well, sighing contentedly. "I love you too," he whispered, listening to her breathing. It slowed, and soon enough, she was fast asleep again in his arms. He chuckled softly at the thought and leaned back against the cushions, sinking down into them. She usually fell asleep right around one in the morning if she were still awake after midnight, and it was usually by listening to his heartbeat draw her into a light slumber. This time, it didn't surprise him at all. He was expecting it sooner or later.

His arms wrapped tighter around her small frame, holding her protectively against him. He shifted so he was lying down with her resting on top of him, her hair tickling his face. He knew that she wouldn't stir, and he also knew what was incoming – another soft smile that graced her lips, as if she were having a pleasant dream.

Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and eventually started dozing off as well. Before he fell into a light state of sleep, he was wondering what they would do the next day. Probably stay home, sleep in, cuddle a little, have a snowball fight (or two, or three, or five), head out into the city and possibly even try their hands at baking. But one thing he was certain he wanted to do was take her out to the grave she had made for her twin brother. He would set the unfinished letter there, and he would let her say what she wanted. He figured he would say a couple of words too, if he wanted to – it depended upon if she was going to speak up, or just stare down and remember.

He could've sworn he heard a soft chuckle just brush past his ear, and feel a little rustle of wind before he fell asleep.

A brotherly affection of sorts…