23:30. That's what it read on his watch.

Kaito crossed his arms, rubbing his hands over the sleeves of his hoodie to warm himself a little. Christmas Eve in the city of Heartland was a spectacle, with fireworks of green and red hearts flying about and young couples going out on the town to see what fun could be had with the scene below. He breathed out, looking down from the railing to the streets below; a cloud of vapor formed from his lips before disappearing into the air. Even though it was so late at night, on such an important holiday, there were still vehicles buzzing around, the monorail going along on its track.

Snow was falling, but the hanging roof blocked the white flakes from making it to the nineteen year-old. A peaceful expression came over his features and he turned to the small plate on the railing beside him, a delicious treat resting on the white plastic surface. Taking the plate into his hands, he speared the strawberry cheesecake with the fork and took a chunk off. The sweet taste was something he was absolutely addicted to, and it was only on Christmas Eve that it tasted better than ever.

The chilling wind brushed aside his fringe, which was no longer formed with hair gel and had simply grown out into a shaggy set of bangs, like how the rest of his blonde hair was. He had changed in the last seven months, just like everyone else had. It was peaceful now, a time where, even with busy lives filled with experimenting on new dueling gear that didn't require Augmented Reality, he could simply sit down on a chair and relax without having to worry if Haruto was in danger or if Numbers were on the loose again.

And that's what he was planning on doing. Leaving the railing, he grabbed a chair from the table sitting on the balcony and planted himself on it, relaxing into the padded seat. He watched the snowflakes continue to fall quietly, finishing off his favorite treat and setting the plate aside in the meantime. He checked the time; it was now 23:57. Three minutes away from the holiday he held dear in his heart.

Nobody would interrupt this temporary calm he had, right here, by himself. His father and brother had gone to sleep earlier, and their visitors had decided to retire early as well (although one still wanted to stay up with Kaito; but he denied her the right, teasing her about how she acted while sleep-deprived). The presents were already taken care of; he smirked, thinking of the gift he had gotten for the girl he constantly teased, or how her male companion would react to that sort of thing. Haruto would love the gifts, since he still believed that Santa Claus was real. Faker would think the idea of Kaito wrapping any and all gifts touching.

His watch beeped, breaking the silence he was enjoying. Kaito reset the alarm on it, seeing that it was no longer Wednesday, the day before Christmas. It was Thursday now, and he could enjoy the holiday that his mother had always enjoyed and decorated to eleven for. Closing his eyes, Kaito stretched out his legs and sighed.

Drowsiness made it hard for him to get up, but he managed to get out of his comfy chair and go inside. The living room was dark, only the lights of the Christmas tree lighting up the room. Kaito listened to the silence of the penthouse, too tired to really want to drag himself to his bed. Splaying out on the couch, he plopped his head on a pillow and passed out.

He didn't notice until the morning that a certain someone had come and put a blanket over him during the night.


Happy Holidays, everyone!