Sorry this is late; my beta had a two-day migraine and couldn't get back to me until now. I figured this story was particularly fitting, since we just got the first snowfall of the season! It happened for about half an hour... over the past three days... Hey, I'll take what I can get.
xx
Yuzu sighed as she looked out the living-room window. Christmas was just a few days away, but the weatherman was predicting a mild winter this year, with snow unlikely to fall. Especially not in time for Christmas.
Morosely, she glanced over at the brightly-lit tree standing in the corner. This year, she had carefully researched the way people in the West celebrated Christmas, hoping to give her new "sister" Rukia-chan a treat. The tree was artificial, but she and Rukia-chan had decorated it with colourful strings of lights, chains made of sparkly paper glued together, popcorn strung on red yarn, and red-and-green-striped peppermint "candy canes". They had even enlisted Ichigo's help in placing a large gold star on top of the tree.
Presents were piled beneath the lower branches, decorated with shiny ribbons, and five large stockings were hung on the wall behind the sofa. Although they hung empty now, Yuzu had gone shopping the previous week for small toys and candy to fill them with when the big day came.
But what Yuzu had envisioned had not involved blue skies and green lawns. She had heard about snowmen and snowball fights, and coming inside with red noses and cold fingers to drink hot chocolate afterward. She knew that Rukia-chan wouldn't care if there wasn't snow-in fact, she probably wouldn't know about the omission-but she still wanted this holiday to be perfect.
Yuzu turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind her, but it was just Karin walking into the room. Looking back out the window, she felt her twin sister settle down on the couch next to her. After a moment, she heard Karin sigh.
"Give it up, Yuzu," said Karin, always the realist. "If it doesn't snow, it doesn't snow. No amount of staring at the sky is gonna change that."
"I know," whispered Yuzu unhappily. "But I wanted Rukia-chan's first Christmas with us to be great, and without snow..."
"Without snow," said Karin, "It's going to be Christmas. A Christmas that you worked really hard on, and I know that Rukia-chan will appreciate the effort you made." She grinned at her sister. "And speaking of which, don't you still have some baking to do? I heard something about sugar cookies and gingerbread..."
Yuzu smiled back at Karin, feeling slightly better now. Of course Rukia-chan would love the holiday.
Even without snow.
xx
Two days later, Rukia came down into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing her eyes, to find that Yuzu was already in full swing. Two trays of cookies in odd shapes lay cooling on the table; a batch of dark brown, person-shaped cookies was still in the oven; and Yuzu herself was standing at the counter, stirring a bowl of something bright green. Two similar bowls, one filled with red stuff and the other with white, sat on the counter beside her next to several small bottles, each one containing brightly-coloured... something. Rukia couldn't help but stop and stare.
"Yuzu-chan... What is all of this?" she asked, greatly confused.
Yuzu turned toward her, a big smile across her face. "Christmas cookies!" she said happily, gesturing Rukia into the room. "You're going to help me decorate them, and then we get to eat them!"
Rukia smiled; the girl's enthusiasm was contagious. "Well then, what do I have to do?" she asked, looking around at all of the odd ingredients scattered about the room.
Yuzu grabbed a few large plates from the cupboard and set them next to the cookie sheets. "First, you need to grab a few cookies. There are stars and trees and bells, and some plain circles too if you just want to decorate those." She picked out one of each, set them gently on her plate, and carried it over to the counter. "Then you get a knife, scoop up some frosting..." She proceeded to do so, making sure that Rukia was watching, "And then spread it on the cookies like this. Then," and she reached for one of the bottles, "You take the sprinkles and put them on the frosting. You can make patterns and designs and even pictures with them. Go on, try it, Rukia-chan!"
Rukia stared at the cookies for a moment, then made up her mind. Choosing two of the circles, one of the stars, and one of the trees, she took them over to the counter and grabbed a knife. Scooping up a bit of the white frosting, she scraped it onto her plate, then scooped up some red as well and added it. Stirring them with her knife, she turned the frosting pink.
Next, she picked up the tree and broke off two of the branches, setting them above a round cookie like ears, then covered all three pieces with pink icing. Carefully picking out two little red candies and a handful of long brown ones, she pressed them into the frosting to make a rabbit face, then stepped back to admire her handiwork. There, a perfect Chappy the Bunny in edible form!
Yuzu laughed and clapped her hands. "That's the spirit, Rukia-chan!"
Working faster now, Rukia mixed some red and a bit of green to get an odd brown colour. Frowning at it, she added some white, and decided that was as good as she was going to get. She broke off two of the star points and placed them next to the other round cookie, then covered them all with brown frosting. Using the same brown sprinkles as before, as well as a pair of flat, circular white ones, she shaped her other cookie into a bear.
Yuzu leaned in to look closer, still giggling. "Those are perfect! I can't wait to show them to Daddy and Ichigo!"
"Hey, what about me?" came a voice from the doorway; the two girls turned to see Karin, leaning against the doorframe and smirking at them. "It looks like the two of you are having fun." She glanced significantly at Yuzu, who blushed and nodded; Rukia noted the exchange, but, having no idea how to interpret it, decided to let it drop.
"Yeah," said Yuzu happily, glancing at Rukia. "It's going to be a great Christmas, isn't it!" But as Karin left the room, her face fell slightly, and Rukia faintly heard her whisper under her breath, "Even if it doesn't snow."
Rukia stared at the younger girl for a moment, startled, then headed back toward the table to get the components for her next masterpiece, Yuzu's words echoing in her head.
xx
Yuzu was looking out the window again; she knew it wasn't useful, but she couldn't help herself. After all, it was Christmas Eve, and all of her preparations were complete. The only thing that had gone wrong was the weather.
On the news, they were still predicting a mild forecast; no storm systems would be moving through Karakura for at least another week, which meant that Yuzu's dreams of a white Christmas just weren't to be.
Hearing a slight creak from behind her, she glanced over her shoulder to see Rukia-chan standing in the room, admiring the beautiful decorations. "You really went all-out here, Yuzu," said the older girl. "This place looks wonderful!"
Yuzu smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "I just wish that it had snowed; that's one of the best things about Christmas, waking up to find everything all covered in white. It's like you're in a whole different world for the holiday."
Rukia sat down next to her, smiling mysteriously. "I wouldn't give up just yet," she said. "After all, it isn't quite Christmas yet."
Yuzu looked longingly out the window, imagining snowflakes drifting out of the sky. "Thanks, Rukia-chan," she said softly, standing up and making her way over to the stairs. "I hope you're right."
She made her way up to her room, brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed. She glanced out the window one last time, then slipped into her bed and closed her eyes.
As she drifted off, she realised idly that Rukia-chan still hadn't come to bed.
xx
Rukia awoke the next morning to the sound of a high-pitched scream coming from somewhere in her room. Bolting upright, it took her a moment to notice her surroundings; once she realised she was still in the twins' room, it didn't take her long to figure out that the scream had been from Yuzu, who was standing by the window, looking delighted.
Whirling around to face Rukia, she squeaked, "It SNOWED, Rukia-chan! It really snowed!" She grabbed a coat and boots from the closet, threw them on, dashed to the door, opened it, and ran downstairs; Rukia heard the front door open, and decided that Yuzu had likely been too excited to wait for the others before going out to play in the snow.
She grinned, immensely pleased with the girl's reaction. After all, Yuzu had been working her hardest to make sure Rukia enjoyed Christmas to the fullest.
Rukia thought it was only fair that she had returned the favour.