A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! :D
Special Chapter I : Traditional Holiday
"Wow, it looks like everyone's decked out for Christmas."
Merrick blinked in awe, glancing about in all directions as the two of them traversed through the bustling shopping mall. Eve nodded, sighing deeply as she headed toward the food court,
"It is the 1st of December. The stores are getting ready for the holiday rush."
"Oh, well excuse me for not noticing. We have been on the road a lot lately, you know."
The boy groaned, shoving his hands in his pockets. He sighed,
"So, what are you used to doing on Christmas?"
"Used to doing? What do you mean?"
Merrick stopped, his eyebrow beginning to twitch,
"Please tell me you're joking."
The blonde turned to him, raising an eyebrow,
"Joking? What would I be joking about?"
"Surely you and that 'Sven' guy had to've done something for Christmas!! Decorate a tree, visit with Santa, make a snow man...something!"
Eve lowered her head, sighing as she turned away from him,
"We...we never got a chance to."
The muddy-haired boy straightened, his heart sinking a little in guilt,
"Wh-What?"
"We only had a few Christmases together and most of the time we were too busy tracking targets. We never had the chance to make a tradition. There was really on one time..."
He swallowed hard. Her voice sounded so sad. Taking a deep breath, he placed both hands behind his head as they began walking again,
"Well...what did you do on that Christmas?"
She bowed her head, her voice soft,
"I..."
'"Sven..."'
"I..."
'"Did you make this, Eve?"'
"I made a cake."
--Twenty Four Days Later--
"OW! That's hot!!"
Eve frowned as she woke from her sleep, sitting up in bed. She glanced over at the clock beside the bed. It was only 4AM. Raising an eyebrow as she heard another curse, she climbed out of bed, where nothing but a white, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pink-and-white boyshorts. She slipped on a pair of pink, fuzzy slippers that she'd bought at the store the other day, and cautiously stepped out of her bedroom.
Her eyes widened in surprise. Merrick was in the kitchen, hovering around the oven. She smiled a little, noticing the Santa Claus hat on his head. He cursed again and jumped back from the stove; Eve laughing a little. Hearing her laughing behind him made him jump again and he spun around; his visible eye wide,
"E-Eve! What're you doing up?"
"You're loud cursing somehow wafted it's way into my room. What're you doing?"
He straightened, stepping in front of the oven to block her view,
"N-Nothing!!"
The blonde raised an eyebrow at him, frowning,
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure! It's nothing! Everything's fine out here! You just go back to bed, okay?"
She sighed deeply, folding her arms,
"I don't know...what if you're planning to burn the house down?"
"I'm not," he began, bounding over to her quickly.
He turned her around, pushing her back towards her room,
"So, you just go rest your pretty little head, okay? Everything's fine! Don't you worry!"
Eve glanced back at the kitchen as he pushed her, straightening when she spotted what was resting in the oven,
"Is that...?"
The muddy-haired boy sighed, slumping slightly as he stepped away from her,
"Yeah..."
She stepped around him, slowly heading over to the oven.
"You made a cake?"
He sighed, yanking off his hat and scratching his head,
"I...uh...I thought you might like it. You have no idea how hard it was to find a cook book with a simple cake in it! I looked in every store, but they all wanted me to add nuts, or fruit...but since we're on such a tight budget right now, I knew I couldn't get the nuts or the fruit or the book itself, for that matter! So, I kinda went to the library and one thing lead to another and I kinda ripped a page out of the one at the library--"
She spun on her heel, her hair whipping her shoulder,
"You made a cake...for me?"
The boy turned beet red; shoving his hands into his pockets,
"W-Well....yeah. You said you made a cake for Sven on Christmas...so I thought...I thought I'd make you a cake for Christmas. Kinda...make it like a tradition."
He swallowed hard, shrugging as he sighed,
"But if you hate the idea, then we can always throw the cake out the window! I'm sure the birds wouldn't mind it, and hell, the hobos would love the free meal--"
His train of thought ended abruptly as the girl crashed into his chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, and he could feel her shaking. The sound of her soft sobbing soon met his ears, and he let out a puff of air, the heaviness of guilt on his shoulders,
"H-Hey now...don't cry! I...I didn't do it to upset you...if you hate it so much you can just dump it on my head--"
"No..."
He glanced down at her, blinking in surprise as she looked up at him with a smile,
"It....it's very sweet."
The blinked in surprise as she buried her face in his chest, her grip on him seeming to tighten,
"Thank you."
With that, he smiled.
-.ð.-
"Merry Christmas, Eve."