A/N

The moment you all have been waiting for!

Shout-outs

Rogue77: Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it!

ArtemisMoonshine: Thank you, I tried to make it as funny as possible. I figured it would have to be a horribly embarrassing situation for her.

Ravyn Nyte: Funny you should say that bit too old part…I don't know if you got that e-mail you sent, Dex's hair is very lightly spiked. Almost to the point where you don't notice it.

Laureate: Well, they won't be getting *serious* for quite awhile, but I did throw a little bone…

Chrissy: Yes, that's very true. The possibilities are endless!

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I gazed out the window, watching the snow fall like crystal white down. It was beautiful.

In the background, the deep romantic voice of Elvis was playing on the radio. I hummed along with the song as it played.

'White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

When the song ended I caught sight of a familiar figure in the reflection of the window.

"You feeling better?" I asked as he stood next to the window with me to watch the snow fall.

Christmas Day. Home is where the heart is, they say, but if that's right, my home is spread so far across this country that it just isn't funny.

Arcane gave me a curt nod. He looked at the snow in distaste. Obviously he still harbored ill will to it. He was back in his original clothes, clean and dry. He had stayed in a room that some nurses fixed up for him until his fever broke. It broke pretty quickly, but he still had a nagging cough to him that I couldn't help but notice. The product of taking care of younger siblings for so long.  Of course, I was trying not to baby him like my younger siblings. I know he would have hated that.

Some of the elderly people were up, opening presents from their families. I had packed Grandma's gift before I left, and now I was glad for it. I had given it to her last night, because it had been tradition for her to open one gift on New Year's Eve. A simple sweater, I'm awful at picking out gifts, but she thought it was great. Or didn't and was hiding it very well.

She wasn't up yet, and I had taken careful precaution to make sure she didn't see me with Arcane, I didn't really want another confrontation like the one several nights ago. That was beyond embaressing. I kept catching Arcane smirking and I wanted to murder him that night. It was all well and fun until your own Grandma starts making comments like that to you.

But it might run in the family. I'll probably end up like her when I'm seventy.

I keep hoping that she forgot.

"What do you like about snow?" Arcane asked me. I looked up at him, a little startled.

"What do I like? Well…you can hit people with it, doesn't make too much damage, you can make unpermanent things with it, and it's …white. And cold."

"What is endearing about cold?"

"It's an animal thing. Animals stick closer together when it's cold. It feels…safe." I shrugged. If a person hadn't experienced it, then it was hard to put it into a frame of reference. "And the world is less cluttered in the cold. Everything is hibernating or gone, and it's quiet, but that can also be unnerving. I don't know if I enjoy that yet."

Arcane nodded. I'm sure he was completely lost, but he was making an effort to follow me.

"I see you let that boy have his clothes back!" A voice I knew all too well called raucously from behind us.

"I'm beginning to regret my decisions." I told my reflection.  I looked back over my shoulder. "We were NOT doing anything, Grandma."

"I expect you to say that. And him too. But I can see it in your eyes, you have it bad for each other!"

I rubbed my temples with my fingers. She'd said the same thing for my crush in second grade. I told her so.

"What makes you think this time is any different, eh?"

Arcane watched the conversation, smirking. If looks could kill, I'd send one that would put him six feet under for sure.

"Grandma," I said dryly, "Is your new hobby going to be heckling me?"

"It's no fun heckling your older brother and sister anymore. They're my grandchildren, but they are so stiff. At least I know that you'll come back with a funny comment once in awhile!"

I stared at her. She grinned back at me. I threw my hands up in exasperation.

"I should've known there was more to this than met the eye."

"You know, Danny, if you don't want him…" Grandma got a highly mischevious look to her. "Me and some of the girls would love him to stay awhile."

"Grandma!" I burst out howling with laughter.

"What are you laughing at? I was serious!"

"Oh my…" I tried to get my uncontrolled sniggering controlled. Arcane looked less than amused.

She waited until I stopped laughing, then swept me up into a hug. I noticed she was wearing the sweater I got her.

"Merry Christmas, Danny. Thank you for taking time to spend it with an old woman."

"No problem, grandma." I hugged her back.

"Now about this boy…"  She said. I stopped her.

"He is not my boyfriend, he is a good friend of mine."

"I'm sure he is. Come over here dear, I want to see something."

She directed me to stand next to Arcane, who had moved away from the window. When I was in a spot that satisfied her, I looked at her bemusedly.

"What?"

Again, the mischevious grin.

She pointed up. Arcane and I both did so.

Mistletoe.

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Logan stomped up the steps of a retirement home. Her scent, barely noticeable on the way, was strong here. She was here.

Grunting, he knocked on the door.

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"I think your Grandmother isn't as senile as everyone thinks." Arcane said as he rose an eyebrow at the little plant above us.

"I knew she was up to something." I grumbled.

Just about everyone in the place was watching us with interest. I was suddenly feeling trapped. And I know I was blushing.

"You realize, Mrs. Nesmond, that your Grandaughter is jailbait. I'm twenty-one." He said to my grandmother, who looked like a cat that just ate the family bird.

"We won't tell anyone. In two years you won't have to worry anyway." She said smugly.

"I knew you were a spawn of evil Grandma." I said pointedly.

"Look at it this way darling, if you kiss now you can blame it on tradition, and we won't have to lock you two in a closet."

I turned to look at Arcane. "I think you're right. She isn't as eccentric as I thought she was. Maybe it comes in phases?"

"Kiss the girl already!" Somebody hooted in the back. I rolled my eyes.

Arcane cupped my face into his hands.

"I suppose we should do this quick." He was a little uncertain. My heart was hammering, even though I managed to come back with an even answer.

"I suppose so."

He leaned down, a good deal considering the difference in our heights, gently leaned in, pausing for a moment before pressing his lips against mine. I felt my heart leap right out of my chest and I gradually relaxed and enjoyed the kiss. His kiss was warm, and I leaned into it.

"WHAT IN ALL OF HELL IS GOING ON!?" Mr. Logan's voice roared into the room, and my eyes flew open in surprise(I hadn't realized they were closed), and Arcane broke the kiss fast.

I felt cheated.

Then I felt panicked when Mr. Logan ran past waving his claws at a quickly disappearing Arcane. They took off out of the room and I rushed towards the window with a lot of the citizens to see Arcane run outside barely three inches ahead of Mr. Logan, who was very intent on skewering him. They disappeared pretty fast down the road.

I blinked rapidly a few times. I wasn't really worried, Arcane had a gift for disappearing when he wanted too. Even animals had a hard time tracking him. I touched my lip with one finger. It still had a bit of that warmth. Lingering.

"That wasn't so bad, was it Danny?" Grandma whispered into my ear as the senior citizens gossiped loudly.

She left with a group of other women to tell everyone what had just transpired. I looked at my reflection in a clear pane of glass.

"No. It wasn't bad at all."

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Doggy will take the reviews! He is attired in Christmas garb just for the occasion!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME, DEX, DOGGY, DANNY, ARCANE AND ALL OF THE REST OF THE CREW!