Author's note: I do not own W Juliet or its characters.
Silver Bells
Chris let out a soft sigh as she made her way down the busy street. The normally bubbly woman knew the reason for her melancholy. It was almost Christmas, and that meant it was one of the few times of the year where she got a little homesick. As much as she loved Japan, there was something about Christmas here that just wasn't the same. She snorted, amused with herself. Something? Try nearly everything. Christmas in Japan was clearly not the traditional Midwestern Christmas that Chris had been brought with.
Of course, to tell the truth, she felt more at home here in Japan than she had back in the States. Chris had always been something of a black sheep in her family. They had been rather happy to have her pack up and move to Japan for university. But still, Christmas and family were things that had always gone together in her mind. She couldn't help the smile that lit her face when thought about her new family.
The Muiras had been wonderful to her. It hadn't just been Ryuya but the whole family that had taken her in. The entire family had embraced her from Yuto teaching her how to cook to Ito's calm acceptance of another female in the house. Chris fit here in a way she had never fit in at home. And so while she was a little melancholy today, she was also determined to let it keep her down. She shifted the bags of groceries in her arms as she went to unlock the door to the Muira house.
It didn't look like anyone was home right now which wasn't too surprising given that it was the middle of the day. Chris set to work put away the groceries and figuring out what to make for dinner tonight. Settling on curry, Chris got to work chopping up vegetables. She was half way through with that when she stumbled across the little package tucked in the drawer where she kept the knives. Chris frowned. That hadn't been there this morning. However, her name was on the little origami box, she didn't have any trouble opening it.
When she got the lid off, Chris found a silver jingle bell on a black chord. There was also a little note that was actually written in English.
"You once told me that your favorite Christmas book had a jingle bell in it. Merry Christmas, Chris."
It wasn't signed, but Chris recognized the handwriting. It really was rather sweet of Ryuya. She returned to work, humming Jingle Bells to herself.