Fang had Iggy by the hand as they walked through the little down town. It was a cute little place, especially at Christmastime, with twinkling lights and little window displays. Smoke wisped from the chimneys of the antique houses lining the street, filling the spaces in between the storefronts. The smell of wood fires and peppermint wafted, and the scent of candied walnuts being sold on the corner was so thick you could taste it. Snow was falling lightly, sticking to Iggy's eyelashes. The taller of the two boys, Fang, released Iggy's hand only to put an arm over his shoulders, keeping him warm. Iggy was very fair and thin, and Fang could feel him shiver when the wind blew. Iggy rested his head against Fang, his knitted hat making his peachy hair into a flip. Fang smiled.

The two walked through the little town slowly, taking their time, Fang in his thick fleece and gloves, Iggy in a heavy sweater, preferring mittens. Iggy's fair, freckly cheeks and nose were red from the chill, and frosty snowflakes collected on his eyelashes, making his crystalline blue eyes even brighter, despite the fact that he was blind.

They walked like this for a while, both smiling at nothing but each other's company. It was a rare occasion that they could be alone like this, and they intended to use all of their time together in the best way possible.

"Fang what does it look like?" Iggy asked suddenly as the two came to a stop just outside of a little candy store, admiring the extravagant window display. Despite his blindness, Iggy didn't ask sadly. He loved it when Fang described his surroundings to him, and it brought a smile to Fang's face knowing he was making Iggy happy.

"It's very pretty…It's a big window with holly leaves all around and lots of little red holly berries. The entire thing is strung with Christmas tree lights. The window has lots of little hand prints. I guess lots of little kids touched it or something." Iggy laughed at this.

"Keep going. What's in the window?"

"It's a candy shop, so…There's lots of those little fancy chocolates. They're really beautiful, actually. They've all got little holly leaves on them and candy pearls and stuff…There are these big glass vases full of jellybeans, too. One of them has all red ones, and the next one has all green ones, and there's one with a ton of gold Sixlets, you know those little chocolate things?"

"sort of like M&Ms only little balls of chocolate?"

"Yah those. You like them, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?" he laughed, wrapping his arm around Fang's waist, Fang's arm still over his shoulders.

"Want to go in? I want one of those fancy chocolate things."

"I want one too." he agreed, letting Fang guide him inside by the hand. The heat of the little store was welcoming, and the smell of melting chocolate filled the air. Iggy smiled, enjoying the smells and sounds; candy being taken from jars by little hands, change being handed over the counter, Christmas songs chiming lightly in the background, hardly noticeable over all of the excitement. Fang lead Iggy to the counter where hundreds of little chocolates resided behind the glass in tiny paper cups.

"What can I get for you boys?" the man behind the counter asked. He was an older man, with graying hair, but he was in fairly good shape and wore a fleecy vest over a long sleeved tee shirt. He wore glasses, square ones, that framed big brown eyes. He was the sort of person Fang would have liked to have as a grandfather.

"hm…What do you want, Ig?" he asked, grabbing the other's hand through his mittens.

"is there a salted caramel? Those are the best." He smiled in the man's direction, and he smiled back.

"Sure thing." He said retrieving one of them and placing it on the counter just in front of Iggy, who stood patiently, his eyes flicking back and forth across the room. The man behind the counter looked at him, a bit puzzled, and picked up the little chocolate, then extended a hand to give it to Iggy, who, again, did not retrieve it. Iggy bit his lip, leaning on Fang when he sensed an awkward silence. Fang took the candy from the man behind the counter and placed it carefully in Iggy's hand.

"Got it?" he asked the red-head, whose cheeks grew hot in embarrassment.

"Yah…Sorry." He appologised to the shop owner, who was also visibly embarrassed.

"No no, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were- I mean-"

"It's okay." Iggy replied with a smile. "Happens all the time. Fang you get one too." he finished, changing the subject. It was true, though. This sort of thing happened to Iggy often, and he had learned to brush it off. It upset him when he was little, but now, he took it almost as a compliment. If someone couldn't tell he was blind, he must have been hiding his handicap well, which was a good thing, because it made him very self-conscious.

"I'll take the coconut one, please." He said, pointing to a tray of candies under the glass. The man retrieved it and handed it to him in another little paper cup. "How much?" Fang asked, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

"They're on me." He said with a grin. Iggy bowed his eyebrows.

"No we have to pay you…" he said. "We can't just take these."

"No. Have them. It's the least I can do for you." He said, patting Iggy on the shoulder, unsure of what else to do to make the blind boy understand. Iggy smiled.

"Thank you." He put his head on Fang's shoulder, smiling broadly.

"Merry Christmas!" Fang said as they walked out of the store, putting his arm around Iggy's waist, Iggy doing the same.

"Hey boys." The man called again from behind the counter, seeing their interaction. Iggy and Fang stopped in the doorway and turned around. The man said nothing, just motioned for Fang to look up. In the doorway hung a little sprig of mistletoe. Fang smiled, grabbing Iggy's hands.

"Mistletoe, Ig." He whispered facing the other, shorter boy. Iggy gave him a sort of crooked smile as Fang gave him a peck on the lips, which Iggy returned.

"Love you, Fang."

"I love you too, Ig."