Disclaimer: Still just writing fanfic for Animal Parade; not associated with the parent companies. I can't escape these characters; someone send help.

I'm trying something very different this year. I'm not going to be a Grinch! Well, not a total Grinch anyways. Just mixing it up and trying to do something for the season. I'm still grumpy, aha.

This fic is just me fooling around with the bachelors up for grabs on Castanet in various, Christmas-themed one-shots. So it's a twelve-shot? Hrm. Well, whatever it is, it alternates between Angela and Molly as the heroine for every other story, and I included Kevin and Kasey as dateable guys just for kicks. Also, I needed them to make it twelve. Twelve Days of Christmas. BECAUSE REFERENCES, DARN IT.

Oh, and this has absolutely no update schedule. My goal is to just write like a fiend and finish all twelve dates before Christmas. I hope these cheesy drabbles make your heart grow three sizes this day~

To start us off, it's Angela and Kevin's Christmas date! Thanks for reading!

First Christmas

Ripping open a new bag, Angela shoved her hand in and came out with a fistful of gumdrops. She popped a pink-hued gummy in her mouth with a little hum and juggled the others in her palm with a contemplative look. She finally decided on a green one and carefully stretched across the table to mount it on top of the roof with a dab of white frosting.

Her boyfriend's house was decked gable to tile flooring in tinsel and bows and evergreen garland. Lights were strung atop shelves, across the mantle of the fireplace, and around a modest little tree in the corner. The atmosphere was crowded but warm, and a TV special was playing in the background to complete the holiday aesthetic.

"Ah, pass the frosting, Ange! The wall's caving in!" Kevin called to her from across the table. His sleeves were rolled back past his elbows, and both of his hands were holding their gingerbread house up while she spaced out taking in the decorations.

"S-sorry! Here!" She dropped the gumdrops and they scattered across the kitchen table as she ran out of her chair, bringing the pastry bag with her to help.

At first, Angela was a bit nervous about spending the holiday with him. It was her favorite time of the year, and she was afraid she'd scare him off with her over-the-top Christmas spirit. But the second she saw the cheesy colored lights lining every frame of his house, barn, and coop, she knew she didn't have to worry. Kevin loved Christmas as much as she did – maybe even more.

And so, here they were. Reliving their childhood traditions on that special day. The first official holiday she was spending as somebody's girlfriend.

"More at the base!" Kevin instructed, unable to help as he now held the roof in place as the whole candy structure wobbled. "By me, see?"

"Right!" Angela nodded in agreement, blushing a little as she inched closer to him to attend to the gingerbread house's weak spot.

They had only been dating for a week. It showed.

She ducked under his arm and leaned, propping her elbows up on the table and piping the frosting as best as she could without making it look like a total mess. Her tongue protruded from her lips as she concentrated on the culinary craft. Satisfied with her work, she smiled. "Okay, does that look good?"

"Y…yeah! I think so…" Kevin said, still holding the house just in case. He didn't want to let it go and have all of their hard work come crashing down. Someone on the television began singing 'Deck the Halls.' He reflexively turned to see the assembled choir singing on the little television set across the room.

"Phew… I think we saved it!" Angela backed up and ran into Kevin who hadn't been paying attention. She squeaked and tried to get out of his way by spinning around, but it only made things worse. She stepped on his foot and nearly lost her balance, and Kevin pressed the roof of their gingerbread house for support and made a dent. When she was finally untangled, Angela's face was beet red, and there was frosting all over her forearm. "S-sorry! Again! Are you okay?!"

"F-fine! I'm fine! The house is fine! I think…?" Kevin went to run a nervous hand through his cropped brown hair and found there was sugar and red candy cane stain all over his fingers. He repressed the action and noticed the crack he made in the roof. "Aw…! I'm sorry, Angela – I didn't mean to…"

Angela inspected the roof, grateful for the distraction to let her face fade back to normal. She smirked and held up the pastry bag. "No worries! Nothing a few DIY shingles can't cover up! Besides, it was… totally my fault…"

"Nah… uh, let's forget it, ahaha," he chuckled in embarrassment. He folded his arms and nodded to their house as she put on the finishing touches. "You know… I think it looks really great! My family never made a two-story gingerbread house before. I think we really pulled it off!"

"Yeah, and now I get why my mom always said it was a bad idea," Angela giggled as she piped the last curly-q on the roof. She added a few dots to glue the bottom corner for good measure and took a wary step backwards – even though Kevin wouldn't be an obstacle this time standing off to the side. She smiled at the end result. "But yeah… I think you're right. We did a good job!"

"Nice work, partner!" Kevin held up his hand, and Angela gave him a high-five in good sport. She absent-mindedly licked some of the hardening frosting from her wrist, and Kevin watched her for a second before he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and stuttered again. "Er, ya w-wanna watch the rest of the movie? I can make us some hot chocolate!"

"Okay!" She sang, setting down the pastry bag on the table. Angela gathered together the candies they didn't use and stole a few chocolate kisses for a taste. She spent a few moments admiring the tall dessert house, from the gumdrops lining the tip of the triangular roof to the marshmallow snowman in the front yard. Pretzel sticks lined the doors and windows, and licorice was strung around the house for siding. It was pretty darn impressive. It was one of her favorite Christmas traditions, and she was proud to call this newest house the best yet.

Angela started sorting the candy into their bags, and she collected the mixing bowl and different tips for the frosting. Kevin called for her to not bother cleaning up right away, so she gave up and went to wash her arms clean in the bathroom sink. When she returned, he was carefully balancing the hot liquid in two mugs and heading for the sofa.

She tugged her purposefully homely pullover down around her hips and hurried to take a seat, tucking her socked feet beneath her as she chose the corner cushion.

"Careful, it's hot," Kevin needless warned, passing the mug off to her waiting hands.

"Yow, you're right. Thanks!" Angela held the ceramic close in her palms and blew at the steam. She was delighted to see a mess of marshmallows floating on the surface, just the way she liked it.

Kevin took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, and they silently took tentative sips of hot cocoa and watched a slew of commercials. Angela's eyes soon focused on the toy train going around the base of the Christmas tree, staring as it shuffled around and around in dizzying circles. The typically cheery atmosphere was made intensely awkward by their lack of conversation, but neither knew what to say.

Angela had always been kind of a mess around Kevin. She was sort of new to town, and he was the local farmer, but he had been the new kid just before her. He showed her the ropes, and they were fast friends, but their conversations were always a bit stilted if they were left alone. They jumped away at every touch, couldn't speak without stuttering, and they never made eye contact. They had always been nervous around one another, but for some reason, Angela thought that would be cured now that they were giving dating a try.

No way! I can't take the initiative, and I know he won't – he's too much of a cinnamon roll for daring acts of romance, she thought as her gaze met the television screen again, her face burning again at just the thought of him making any kind of move. Maybe she was rather grateful for their hilariously elementary school distance away from each other on the sofa…

A commercial for a jewelry store was on, and the couple in the advertisement had a whole backstory. It was one of those extensive, holiday ads that went on forever and was supposed to be heart-warming, and was hardly related to the product they were selling. Kevin and Angela squirmed as they watched the couple on the screen share the best winter day ever. The fictional pair laughed and held hands and snuggled and gave Eskimo kisses with zero shame in the most picturesque places. It made Kevin sick with tension, and Angela stared at the ceiling to pretend she wasn't bothered by the lovebirds.

That wasn't her and Kevin. They had a lot in common, and if they were with a group of friends, they could talk all night long. But on their own, they were like middle schoolers. It was almost silly to think of them in the same situations as the photogenic couple from the commercial – she was sure they'd both be injured trying to be so grand and adorable. Besides, they'd sooner run in opposite directions; look how they were sitting! They could barely look at each other! It was pathetic. But Angela couldn't help it – her words just fumbled around him. She was stiff, and her mind didn't match up with her mouth. If she let herself think about it for too long, she was unsettled with how much she liked Kevin and wanted him to like her in return. Rejection would be fatal.

This was their first big date together, and Angela felt like she had already blown it. She had spent too much time perfecting that gingerbread house; she barely even noticed Kevin was there half of the time as they worked on it and stress eating the ingredients for it. First dates were supposed to be about getting to know one another. Slow and steady… but she was full of fear for the task at hand. What if she said something weird? Did something gross? What if she freaked him out? Made him mad? There was so much that could go wrong when one was so desperate to know a stranger.

Strangers… Angela wondered, sneaking a glance at Kevin sitting so far away from her with his eyes glued to the set. They were definitely friends… in public. But how were they going to move forward from that? Would she ever be comfortable around Kevin? Or was every Christmas doomed to be this nerve-wracking? Or worse – what if this was the only Christmas they'd ever spend together?

"Do you?" Kevin asked.

Her hot chocolate had barely been touched, and she had just taken a big gulp of it. Angela nearly choked on a sticky marshmallow glob as she forced herself to swallow in order to give a meager: "Huh?"

He questioned again, looking away from the TV to address her a second time. His eyes flicked between her and the screen for reference. "Y-you know…? Ice skate?"

Angela looked to see the end of the commercial where the couple dressed like Ralph Lauren models were standing in the center of a frozen lake. They leaned in for a kiss, and then some chocolate collection or whatever earrings were pictured as the scene faded to black. She turned back to Kevin. "Er, yeah! I used to ice skate all of the time… I'm out of practice though."

"Really? Do you have your skates here? At your house?" Kevin turned his body towards her, putting one foot on the floor.

She thought he looked like he was ready to pounce, and though the thought wasn't totally rejected by her, the fantasy quickly went in a million different directions both good and bad. Angela shook her head to focus on the here and now and shrugged with nonchalance. "Uh, yeah, I think so. They're in my closet by the door, I-I think…"

"Let's go get 'em!" Kevin jumped up from the couch in a hurry. He set his mug down on the coffee table and held up a hand before he dashed into his bedroom. "Wait right there! I'm going to go find mine!"

Left alone, Angela slowly set her mug down next to Kevin's and fidgeted, picking at the stray fuzzies on the cushion. The Christmas special was back on, and though the scene was one of her favorites, she only vacantly heard it. There was a crash and a slam from the room over, and Kevin reappeared with his skates hanging proudly in his grasp. "Ah, you found them!"

"Yeah! You wanna go? We've got that pond right outside – we can give it a try, huh? Though… it's kind of cold… If you d-don't want to, that's totally cool, too," he quickly sank behind his wall of anxiety as he thought his idea through. It would be dark soon, too, so they wouldn't have long on the ice if the lake was frozen enough to even stand on.

Angela was happy to see Kevin act like the person she fell for in their group of friends, all excitable and spontaneous and a little childish. She wanted to see that side of him again, not this tense, awkward phony she had created being alone with him all cooped up in his house. Time to be a little brave! She propelled herself to her feet and snugly pulled her cuffs around her wrists. "Yeah! Count me in!"

It wasn't long before Angela had returned from her home down the hill by the waterwheel, trekking back up the hill to his farm with her ice skates slung over her shoulder. Kevin ran to meet her halfway, clouds of breath puffing as he tousled the hair at the back of his head and fell into step with her. They walked together to the pond between their houses and found it covered in a very thin layer of pure white, untouched snow.

Kevin skipped a rock across the surface, and they watched it nick the ice and skip off into the snow along the bank. With a shrug, Angela squatted down on the wooden dock and tested the weight of her leg. When she didn't hear any suspicious cracks or creaks, she let herself stand on her own, but Kevin kept a tight hold on her shoulder. Once they had both stood on a few spots of the ice, the pond passed the test, and they excitedly strapped their skates to their feet.

Angela noted how Kevin's skates were the kind that he had to tie around his boots, and hers were figure skates with the full shoe. She commented on it as she laced the last tie on her white skate. "They look pretty old."

"They were my Granddad's," Kevin said with a shy smile. He slowly got to his feet and waited for Angela to finish to help her up. He held out his hands for her, and she took them, hoping he didn't feel her tremble as he picked her right up into a standing position with no effort on her part. "He taught me to skate when I was a kid. They were his pair when he was younger."

"That's really neat! I'm the only one in my family who skates," Angela admitted as they stepped further out towards the center of the pond, making strange, thin tracks in the snow with their blades. "No one likes it – my mother always hated falling down."

"Haha, it happens!" Kevin laughed. As if to prove it, his skate slipped, and he gripped Angela's arm tighter. He bit his lip in embarrassment, but he didn't let go or lessen his hold. She giggled. "See?"

They practiced getting used to the ice, both a bit rusty since neither had gone skating in over a year. Yet soon, they began to glide in circles 'round and 'round the lake. Some patches were bumpy towards the shore, but they learned the spots they should avoid, and their momentum and comfort with both their skates and one another increased as the minutes ticked by.

It was just what they needed. The open atmosphere, the fast-paced activity – there wasn't room to brood on how they were going to embarrass themselves in front of one another. They were forced to let loose or else fall stiff onto the ice. They were given a clean slate as fresh as the sparkling snow blanketing the world around them.

"Here, I'll show you this thing I always did when I was younger…" Angela left Kevin's side and picked up speed. She rounded the pond once and passed him by, getting down impossibly close to the ice like a true trick skater. On one foot, she balanced and turned left and then right in a zig-zag, her turns getting sharper with each curve. She stopped and got to her feet, wobbling slightly for balance and waving her arms to regain it. With her toe, she drew a star in the thin layer of powdered snow at the pointed end of her line. "Ta-da! And a star at the top!"

"A Christmas tree! That's so cool!" Kevin praised. He was determined to try it, but when he tried to squat down like Angela had, he landed on his hip instead. She hurried to his side and helped him stand back up. "Ah… whoops. Guess it's harder than it looks!"

"Are you okay?" Angela fussed, patting the snow from his coat for him with a worried stitch in her brow.

"Yeah, of course! No fun if you don't get a few bruises," he joked, taking her gloved hands to stop her from fretting. He pulled her forward as he skated backward without issue, his face pink from the cold disguising his new flush. "Come on, let's see how fast we can go."

"I-I don't know…! Are you sure you're okay? Eek!" Angela gasped, more worried for herself as they picked up speed, and Kevin towed her along. She forced her legs to keep up, and they began to glide more smoothly.

Kevin spun around to help her calm down, moving to her side but not releasing her hands. It resulted in an almost waltz-ready position with his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah… Trust me!"

And just like dancers, they kept in time, their skates moving rhythmically alongside one another as they picked up speed. The wind started to whip Angela's hair around her neck despite her beanie, and she watched the fur lining of Kevin's hood on his back flutter every which way. The colors of the world around them blurred, and her smile grew as she focused on the path of the pond ahead of their feet. She laughed, loud and clear, and Kevin joined her.

They grew dizzy, but they continued to go around. Angela squealed as Kevin tugged her in the opposite direction, sending them in rapid circles. Their hands remained locked together, and they kicked up crystals. As they slowed, their movements were more calculated and fluid. Angela made a little twirl and returned, like they were truly dancing on the ice. And even though she was looking him in the eye now, she was smiling. She wasn't so scared.

Angela became too absorbed and slipped, her feet kicking in quick succession for balance. Kevin took her forearms and anchored himself with a slight slip of his own. He held her fast, and Angela took a deep breath once she was still. All of the exercise left them panting, their clouds of breath intermingling in the air over their heads. Kevin adjusted his earmuffs, and Angela closed her eyes in relief. "Ah… thanks."

"I won't let you fall," he assured. With a timid laugh, he amended his promise. "Unless you take me down with you!"

"I'll do my best…" Angela threatened with a chuckle of her own. She looked down at their mismatched feet, realizing how close they were. She looked up from under his chin and met his dark eyes looking back down at her. Her expression was more serene as she smiled up at him. "This is really fun. Good idea, Kev."

"H…hey, Ange?" Kevin asked, his teeth chattering. Even though it could've been attributed to the cold air, his increasingly red face said otherwise. "Um… wouldn't it be cool if… if this was a… our… new tradition?"

Gingerbread houses and TV specials and ugly sweaters… and ice skating together. Yeah… She wouldn't mind making that a regular thing. In fact, it might be her favorite new holiday ritual. Angela quickly nodded, blushing the same hue he was. "Yeah… I'd like that."

Unable to be any braver, they distanced themselves from their terrifyingly close proximity, Kevin finally letting her arms go and vice versa. But Angela reached for his glove and took up his hand, pulling him along as she started on another casual round about the pond. Kevin trailed after her until he matched her pace, kicking alongside her as the sun started to set.

Though they were amateur romantics, they were learning, slow and steady. Like learning to skate. It was the first Christmas they shared on that pond, with many more to come.