It was the day before Christmas eve, and the whole stark house was buzzing with Christmas spirit. Arya was notably excited, and this year she'd finally been old enough to buy her brothers and sisters presents by herself. She wanted to get something special for everyone, and her mother had successfully helped her pick out wonderful gifts for the entire family. For Rickon she'd picked a large stuffed bear, and for Bran she'd gotten a book full of scary short stories. She knew he liked the scary ones, and she thought he'd really enjoy Luwin reading from them. For Sansa she'd gotten a nice gown - a beautiful purple that would hang past her knees. It seemed perfect for her sister, and it was her favorite color. Robb would be receiving two thick books all about the world wars - because history and war was something her brother was always interested in, and she knew he was enlisting soon. She'd made Ned a an embroidered pillow for the den. She'd learned how thanks to her lessons from her mother, but she wasn't as happy with it as she'd like to be. Her mother she'd gotten knitting needles and a ball of yarn. She was excited about Catelyn's gift because it was the only one she'd gotten to pick out all by herself. She knew her mother would be pleased with her, and the thought made her smile.

The hardest of all to buy for had been her half brother Jon. He was her best friend, and she wanted to get him something he'd absolutely love. She'd spent almost an hour looking for something that Jon would love - and when she found it she'd been incredibly happy. It took a long, long time for her to convince her mom it'd be a good idea - but finally she'd been able to take home the small white puppy for her half brother.

The Kennel was taking care of the animal until Christmas Day, but until then Arya would have to busy herself wrapping all her gifts. She hadn't done it before, and her mother told her she'd help - but Arya wanted to do it all by herself. She was hunched over the kitchen table, across from the silver and white decorated tree - trying to make each gift perfect. She was done almost everything save Rickon's bear. They were awful looking packages stuck together with too much tape and too little paper, flaps of Santa covered gift wrap covered the places she'd missed.

She got up and stood over the large stuffed animal and began to unravel the rest of the role of paper, tongue hanging out of her mouth as she cut the very large square. She didn't even notice Jon arrive, and as he stepped behind her she began to drape the wrapping paper over the plush's head.

She dropped what she was doing as she felt the hand her hair, mussing it up as he always did - and she immediately knew who it was. She turned and smiled - jumping up and into his arms. "Jon!" She shouted, cheek pressing against his.

He caught her expertly and smiled, curly hair falling into his face as his sister wrapped her hands around his neck. She let her face lean back to look at him, and he laughed. "What are you up to, little sister?" he asked, dropping her down to the floor. She bounded back to the table and pointed at all the presents, smile on her face from ear to ear. "Wrapping presents." She said with a large smile, watching Jon's smiling eyes scan the gifts on the table. He counted them and frowned, tilting his head. "Six.. Well isn't somebody missing? Who doesn't get a present?" He asked, wondering if Arya had just gotten a bit forgetful - or if she just didn't think to buy for him.

Her eyes looked at Jon irritatingly and shook her head. "No Silly.." She said, angry that her brother thought she'd done a bad job. Of coarse she'd gotten a present for all of her family members. "Yours isn't here. It's a surprise and it can't be in the house." She said defiantly, and Jon raised his eyebrows. Somehow he didn't believe her, but he didn't mind. Catelyn must have told her not to worry about him. He knelt down and patted her head - nodding. "Well you did a great job wrapping. Would you like help with the bear?" he asked, and chuckled as Arya immediately shook her head. "I can do it." She said insistently, turning and running back to the bear. Jon sat in the chair beside the hastily wrapped gifts and leaned back - watching his sister struggle to wrap her scrawny arms around the bear to secure the two pieces of paper behind his head.

He let her wrap the entire bear by herself because if he tried to help he knew he'd just get punched and shoved away - the little smile on her face showing she appreciated the effort on his part. She was in the state of mind where she could do anything she put her mind to, and she really wanted to make this Christmas a good one. It took her about 20 minutes but when she finally stood back and admired her work she smiled. The paper was crinkled and ripped, but the bear was concealed and she was happy - turning and looking at Jon with a large toothy grin.

"See Jon! I did it." She said happily, hair still frizzed from when Jon had screwed it up. He stood to smooth it down and smiled warmly down at her. "I knew you could." He said, stepping back. "C'mon, let's put them under the tree." he said softly, taking the bear in his arms being careful not to rip the paper further.

She nodded and picked up the books, helping Jon take all her presents and add them to the pile under the towering tree, the angel looking down on them when they stood at the right angle. When all the presents were under and arranged properly Arya plopped down on Jon's lap, looking up at the tree as she reclined against his chest.

"I really did get you a present. I can tell when you're upset." She said gently after a few moments of silence.

He paused and looked at the side of her face, frowning. "I'm sure you did.." He said, believing her in that moment - but he wondered what the present would be.. especially since it couldn't be wrapped.

She swiveled around and faced him, face serious as Ned's would have been. "What did you get me?" she asked, her seriousness breaking at the sight of Jon's smile.

"It's a surprise." He said, tickling her underarms. He got a harsh punch for that and he rubbed his chest, laughing along with her. "Merry Christmas little sister." He said, and at that she settled back against him and watched the lights on the tree flicker.

"Merry Christmas Jon."