Author's Notes: Written for a challenge. My first CCS one-shot.

I know that I'm a little too late for Christmas, but still.

Something Different

Not many Japanese celebrated Christmas, in fact, it was only the young and curious who celebrated it. Well, I was young, and mom traveled enough to bring back cultures from the countries that did celebrate the holiday.

Besides, a little bit of cheer and giving and receiving wouldn't hurt anyone during the death season, would it?

Others believed that autumn was the death season, how the leaves crumbled and how dry it was. But I thought that winter was, mainly because of the whiteness of it. Even though the snow was barely abundant enough to form a thin layer of frost on the grass, It was just like the fake paper money burned at my dad's funeral, turning to ashes before they reached the cement floor.

White was pure. White still is pure. But white is death. Snow was a gift from nature, maybe death was too. It was a way to regenerate souls. Only I believed in that around here.

I was sixteen, in the year where every girl was supposed to blossom. I did, sort of, I don't know. Anyway, mom came back home, her hat sprinkled by some snowflakes that had not yet melted and a very graceful smile upon her face. Like I said, Christmas was the only life of winter. The double oak doors were closed behind her slowly. Her breath could be seen in the cold winter air. I ran downstairs to meet her, joyful, and pulled her hand towards the fireplace and the Christmas tree that my bodyguards took the time to set up.

Mom always stayed for less than one day; she came at night on Christmas Eve and left right after lunch on Christmas Day. That was the only reason that I enjoyed Christmas. It was a little bit of family time, cherished family time.

She looked at the Christmas tree and the number of gifts that piled near the trunk. I noticed her chuckle and untying the scarf around her neck slowly as she was warmed up by the crackling fire. She asked me if I wanted to invite Sakura-chan over, for she was the source of happiness and life. I refused. Sakura-chan was my best friend, and family, also, but it was my mother in front of me. I only got to see her five times per year.

Then she gave me a pitiful smile, and I knew that something was wrong. She closed her eyes and leaned against the soft couch, feeling the velvety material that had been draped over it. I heard those heartbreaking words coming out of her mouth. I nodded to herself, I had no choice. Mom had to work, again. Déjà vu.

She opened her purse, a tiny little purse, and pulled out a neatly wrapped box. My eyes shone a little, I think, but it wasn't like I was going to cry. Giving. Receiving. It was all normal. I thanked her, three times in a row, and took the small box in my hands. I shook a little but no jingling sound or anything came out. Quickly, she gave me a wink before getting up again. I knew that she was leaving so I escorted her.

Back to the double oak doors again, I opened them slowly, wanting her to stay just a second longer but seeing the nervousness and the impatience in her eyes, I used more strength. It was heartbreaking.

I looked through the stained glass that were beside the doors, looking outside and trying to find the silhouette of my mother walking alongside the naked trees. A pitch black limo parked outside welcomed her in so I sighed calmly.

Suddenly, there was a dong and another one after that. I gave a curious look to the grandfather clock hanging from the wall beside the shoe rack and smiled. It was midnight. I wondered why mom had a meeting at midnight but figured that it was her business anyway. Last Christmas, I opened my gifts with her beside me, but I guess that this Christmas, I'll have to open it alone. The bodyguards had their own Christmas party, and I was uninvited. I was their 'boss'.

With a thunk, I sat on the ice cold floor. My legs stretched out towards the fireplace. I wished that our floor was carpeted, but too bad. Mom thought that wooden floors were much more elegant. I agreed, sort of.

I reached for my first present, with a cute pink wrapping paper, and I immediately knew it was from Sakura. She never changed. She gave that rectangular box a week ago; her family and her went to Hawaii. I envied her, a lot.

I untied the ribbons around the box and carefully lifted the scotch tape. I was the kind of person who never destroyed wrapping paper even though I threw them away after Christmas. It was in the form of a flat rectangle, I wondered what it was so I finally opened it. I was in awe. There seemed to be so many things inside, seeing the bumps of the tissue paper above them. I got rid of the tissue paper.

There was a huge card, the exact size of the box, on the top of the things so I opened that first. There was a collage, I wouldn't say it was a poor collage, but it wasn't very original. Sakura-chan must have been tired. It consisted of some pine trees and some pictures that the girl had taken. I gave a wide grin. Sakura-chan had a picture of us several years back. On the other side was all the signatures, from our classmates. I read them one by one, grinning at the cheesiness but warm at heart at how so many people signed it. At the bottom was a sign: 'Flip', so I did, only to find glittery pink writing staring back at me. I gave a chuckle and read on. Her cute writing filled half of a page, which was a lot, so I thanked her, even though she couldn't hear me. The P.S. after her signature caught my view, I frowned. She told me to keep reading and hoped that I would enjoy what I read.

But I did enjoy the card! What else could there be?

The other half of the page was also filled with writing, one that I did not recognize before because of the faintness of the ink. It seemed that whoever wrote it had a dying pen.

'Daidoji-san,

I wish you a happy Christmas. I was first surprised that Sakura sent me this card (by magic, of course) but it was my pleasure to have signed it.'

I recognized the handwriting, the neat cursive, and the gentleman-like tone. It was Hiiragizawa-kun. In fact, we, Sakura-chan, Li-kun and I, have all been keeping in touch with him, via mail and email.

He wrote about England, it wasn't fascinating but it was something new, a change from what my classmates had said. He told us that Nakuru-san had found a job in a bakery. I chuckled. That must be odd for him.

It ended with his signature, a simple 'Eriol'.

It was time to look at the gifts, I couldn't have been more excited.

The first thing that caught my eye was a black plush, I took it in my hands and recognized the shape of the little Spinel Sun. I gave a sigh, I knew that it was from Nakuru-san, but I haven't given anything to her! Or Eriol. Not even a simple card. I felt horrible.

The next thing was a crystal ball, hanging from a silver chain. I stared at it in curiosity, no clue what it was. There was a post-it note underneath it, in the box. 'So that you'll always have light with you. –Eriol'. I owed him a gift, and a big one. I looked at the crystal ball again, recognizing that it was a necklace so I put it on.

As soon as the sphere touched my skin, I felt the warmth of it. I took it out from underneath my sweater and gawked. There was a fireball inside the crystal ball, and it did seem like it would never fade away. I turned the ball around with my thumb and index finger, very curious, feeling the flame against my cold fingers. But it felt so welcoming. 'Hope' was lightly engraved on the crystal exterior.

I believed that it was magic and I still do. Hiiragizawa-kun must have put some work into making it.

Maybe my family was bigger than I have imagined it to be.

Sakura-chan was family. Li-kun was family too. Now, Hiiragizawa-kun, no, Eriol-kun, was also another member.

Christmas meant bonding time, I just knew it.

Author's Notes: I wrote this as it went so I had no clue where I was going. The ending wasn't that bad, I thought. Drop a review if you want. :)