A Doggone Merry Christmas!

by UglyTurnip

Calvin's expectations of a lonely and uneventful Christmas are dashed when he meets a homeless kobold during his lunch break. After showing her a few small kindnesses, she instantly falls for him. Unfortunately, Calvin's inferiority complex leaves him hesitant to even consider the idea of a relationship. As Christmas approaches, can she help him learn to love her? (Long) oneshot.

"Calvin!" a voice called out, shaking the young office worker out of his daze. "Calvin, lunch break started five minutes ago."

Calvin turned from his seat to find his boss, Eddie, standing over him, flashing a bemused expression. His boss was not an unreasonable man, and he knew that the sudden callout was for his own good. Nevertheless, he momentarily found it hard to tear himself away from his work. "Yes sir," he managed. Rising to his feet, he stretched his arms out.

"You've really been going hard at it, ain't ya?" his boss noted aloud upon seeing the stack of completed paperwork on his desk. "If you ask me, you're ahead of schedule."

"Yes sir," Calvin repeated. He was too nervous and mentally exhausted to provide an actual answer. After a moment, he managed to add something else. "I'm hoping to get all this done before Friday. I'd like to be able to take Christmas Eve off, if possible."

Eddie, a pudgy, middle-aged man several inches short of 6 feet, took a long sip on a water bottle. Calvin, who was himself just a bit less than 6 feet, had to tilt his head slightly downward in order to make eye contact. "It's possible," he admitted. "Although I am not in a position to make any promises. That depends on how many customers Sales manages to pull tomorrow."

"Oh, absolutely!" Calvin replied with a swift nod. "Which is why, deep down, I'm praying for a slow day."

"Ain't we all?" Eddie laughed, which made Calvin smile. His boss was one of the handful of reasons why he hadn't quit his incredibly dull job for something more exciting, for he was an understanding and gregarious supervisor. "I wouldn't hold my breath, I'm afraid. That new hire. . . Samantha, I think is her name, or was it Sarah?"

"The blue oni?" Calvin inquired curiously. "I think her name was Sharon."

"Damn," Eddie grunted, lightly slapping his hand against his forehead. "Why am I so bad at remembering new hire names? Anyway, she's already managed to close a dozen deals in only a month. Watch out for that one: She's gonna go far."

"I wonder why?" Calvin questioned rhetorically. "Is it her demeanor, or is it something else about her?"

"Now don't be insinuating bad things about her just because she's a monster. She's proven herself to be as polite and reasonable as any human can be, and we should know better than to judge her for behavior that she has never exhibited."

"I know, sir," Calvin stated, and he meant it. It had been just under a year since they first started appearing all over the world. Strange women, half-monster, half-beauty, appearing by the thousands every day from mysterious violet portals. As quickly as they came, they had acclimated themselves into whatever societies they had found themselves in. There had been a period of resistance to it, as would be expected. Strange races of creatures don't just pop into your world by the millions willy-nilly without drawing some controversy to themselves, especially once the female-on-male rape rate skyrockets to cataclysmic levels. However, political resistance had declined sharply within the sixth week or so of their arrival, and while Calvin knew about plenty of holdouts, they were now firmly in the minority. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that almost all of the races were generally considered incredibly hot, but even now, he found the whole situation absolutely strange. In any case, there had never been a better time for the marriage industry in all of history. All that sex appeal and the supposed willingness to commit to any man with a pulse had to count for something. He was sure of that. Ultimately, however, what his boss said about Sharon was likely true enough. "I spoke out of place. It's just that I haven't, er, I haven't exactly gotten used to them being here yet."

"That makes two of us," Eddie chuckled, taking the whole thing in relatively high spirits. The two of them now made their way downstairs, as the office was only on the third floor. "I need the exercise," was Eddie's trademark self-deprecating response to questions regarding his refusal to take the elevator. He truly had a knack for treating his subordinates as if they were good friends, which made him a popular figure in the office. Liking hard workers, however, he seemed to be particularly chummy with Calvin. He wasn't about to complain.

"I'll tell you one thing, though," he said to Calvin as the pair reached the first floor. "If I wasn't already married to a wonderful woman, I'd be on the prowl for one myself. The things I hear from some of the men dating them? Well, I shouldn't get into the nitty-gritty, but let's just say I envy them."

Calvin's face scrunched up at that, but he managed to conceal his disgust before Eddie could take notice. "I'd prefer it if we changed the subject."

At once, Eddie seemed to realize his own folly. A small blush crept across his face. "You're right. Well, no matter what, they've made this past year strange. Have you started dating one yet, Calvin?"

"No sir," Calvin replied simply, but the answer nearly tread on the heels of Eddie's question. Eddie shot Calvin an inquisitive glance as they reached the front office. It suddenly seemed to dawn on him that Calvin had tensed up a bit at what he had assumed was an innocent question. That was because he had done exactly that. Then, all at once, he remembered why this was a sore subject for the employee.

"I'm sorry, Cal," Eddie said, putting his hand on the shoulder. "That was an insensitive thing to say, I admit, but I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"It's OK," Calvin lied through his teeth. He found it hard to look Eddie in the eye, although he knew deep down that his sympathies were very likely genuine. "Really. They are good people, sir, at least the ones that follow our laws and respect our dignity. Personally, my position on dating one hasn't changed."

With that, Calvin started to break away and head toward the front door on his own. He only got a half-step in before he felt Eddie's hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he stopped and shot Eddie a frustrated look.

Despite the mild disrespect, Eddie did not appear to be angered. Instead, he sighed. "I worry about you," he confessed. "I know your mother was dear to you, son. I know the pain you went through at her passing was tremendous, absolutely soul-crushing. Believe me, I've been there. At some point, though, you need to move on, or at least come to terms with it. What happened to the cheerful college graduate I hired a year ago?"

"With all due respect, sir-"

"Don't call me sir," Eddie gently rebuked. He allowed the ghost of a smile to cross his face. "Call me Ed, please. I'd like to think we're friends, after all."

"And we are," Calvin admitted after a moment. "Still, I know that you mean well. You've done a lot more for me than you ever needed to, and I appreciate it. I'm just not over it yet."

"I can tell you still harbor a lot of blame for yourself," Eddie refuted. "And I know you're self-aware enough to know that it's unhealthy. I respect you for it. As I've said before, many monsters would be proud to call someone like you their husband. But even if you don't want to date a monster, you need to get back out there and find someone that would make your mother proud. I don't even want to know when the last time you hung out with one of your friends was."

Had this been anyone else in the office, whether co-worker or supervisor, Calvin would've found this personal discussion highly inappropriate. By now, it would've warranted a visit to human resources after lunch, or at least a stern talking-to to stay away from this subject. But this was Eddie, and Eddie gave a damn about the problems his employees faced, personal or otherwise. "I'll be fine, Eddie. I'll move on, I promise."

Though the look on his face suggested that he was far from convinced, Eddie let go of his grasp on Calvin's shoulder. "I can give you the number of a good therapist I know, if you'd like. Hell, I'll even float you some cash if she's too expensive, Cal."

"I'll be fine," Calvin repeated firmly. "You're right; I'm not over it, and I know you're trying to help me out, but I come to work to forget about my personal problems for a while."

Eddie hesitated at that, but his grip remained on Calvin's shoulder nonetheless. "Just let me ask one more thing: Would you like to spend Christmas with my family? It pains me to think that you'd be cooped up in your apartment all by yourself the whole day."

The generosity in the offer was enough to relax Calvin, even to make him smile. With that same smile on his face, he shook his head slowly. "Nah, I don't think I'd be much company. I think I'd like to spend this Christmas by myself, anyway. It would be a good day to relax, if nothing else."

Judging by Eddie's expression, that was definitely not the answer he was looking for. Regardless, he retracted his hand and shrugged. "Has anyone ever told you, and I mean this with all due respect, that you're kinda stubborn?"

That actually made Calvin laugh. "You're only like the thousandth person to say so!" When he finally recovered, he remained grinning. "Thank you, Eddie. Not every boss would kill 10 minutes of their own break just to chat with someone like me."

"Anytime, my boy, anytime!" Eddie returned. He smiled again, and if the smile was just a little bit strained, Calvin did not notice. "But now I think I should go eat before I kill any more time. I'll see you in a bit, Cal!"

"See you then!" Calvin called as he headed toward the front door. As soon as he exited the building, he crossed his arms and shivered. "Brrrrr," he moaned, completely caught off by the cold. Alvaton was a small city situated in the upper south, and like most cities in the region, the temperature could be wildly unpredictable in the winter months. Today, the weather erred on the side of 'fucking hell, it's cold today'.

Though he shivered, he persisted. He was stubborn, after all. It was a good thing that he parked relatively close to the entrance, for when he finally reached his car, his fingers were already half-numb from the frigid weather. He practically threw himself in, gave a sigh of relief, and began driving. After that exchange with Eddie, he knew exactly what he was in the mood for.

A short drive later, and he was at Crown Burger, one of many fast-food restaurants just a stone's throw away from downtown corporate offices. As was to be expected, the drive-thru looped nearly around the parking lot. That didn't particularly bother him, however, for he liked eating inside. After parking his car, he began quickly making his way to the front door, but didn't quite make it there before something caught his eye. In spite of the chill, he came to a complete stop and stared.

Lying up against the wall was a woman. No, not just any woman: A mamono. Though they were half-concealed beneath her crossed arms and the green hoodie she wore, paws covered in jet black fur hugged the sides of her body.. Below her waist she was only wearing a pair of athletic shorts perhaps a size too big for her, exposing her equally-furry lower legs to the world. No shoes covered her feet, er, back paws? Calvin wasn't exactly sure what you would refer to them as. Desperately, she wrapped herself in the furry warmth of her tail, but even then he could tell by her shivering that it wasn't enough. Her ears, black as the rest of her body, were folded low, and she did not seem to acknowledge his presence.

She's got it bad, poor thing , Calvin thought to himself. The pity welling up within him meant that he couldn't quite let it go at that. Approaching her, he reached for his wallet, drew out a few bills, and was prepared to slide them into her hands. Suddenly, she glanced up at him with eyes as dark green as a shady tree's leaves. Tears spilled from their edges, but she was not sobbing or even whining. Her face, the one part of her body seemingly not covered in some type of fur, was a deep tan, but he barely seemed to notice that. Those eyes captivated him, and he found his sense of pity for her growing with each tense second that passed. Ultimately, he knew that a few bills wouldn't cut it with her.

"What are you doing out here?" he inquired, taking a seat on the ground next to her. The cold no longer seemed to bother him much. He wondered to himself why that was. This was not the first homeless monster he had encountered on the street, nor would it likely be the last. Many that came through the portal remained displaced, lacking the resources and education to make the cut in any industry. This was, however, the first time he felt compelled enough to actually spend any significant time with one. He blamed those eyes, those sad, lonely eyes.

"What does it l-look like?" she answered quietly. Her voice lacked malice or sarcasm, and he was not certain if that was due to her own nature or if she was just too tired to manifest those emotions. Still, Calvin assumed the question was rhetorical. In any case, it did not diminish his own sympathy for her.

"Freezing," he answered anyway. He continued probing. "How long have you been here?"

"R-right here?" she questioned through a shiver. "All morning, s-sir," was all she said. For whatever reason, she did not face him.

"How long have you been on the streets?" Calvin rephrased his prior question.

"Y-you're asking me a lot of questions, m-mister," she stated. In spite of that, she did finally turn to face him. A weak smile crossed her face. "T-that's more than a lot of people have done."

That did it. Calvin rose from his feet and offered his impromptu companion a hand. She was in no shape for an interrogation right now. "C'mon, let's get you inside. You need something to eat, surely."

What are you, anyway? He thought to himself as she took his hand. With a distinctly weak pull, she barely managed to force herself on her feet. It was then that Calvin realized just how small she was. Not only was she considerably short, probably just under five feet, but she was also tremendously skinny. Calvin's knowledge of monster races was rudimentary at best. Her black fur and dog-like features reminded him of hellhounds, the thought of which caused his face to flash briefly with anger, but her skin was too light and her temperament too passive to serve. A hellhound would've snapped at him harshly if he so much as suggested the idea that she was in a pitiful state. Then, suddenly, it clicked.

"Kobold!" he exclaimed aloud, causing said monster to give him a bemused look. "That's what you are, isn't it?"

She nodded, still teary-eyed. "A-are you sure about this, sir?" she questioned, instinctively leaning into him for warmth. "I c-c-can't pay you b-back for anything."

"Don't even think about it," he returned, heading to the entrance. "And shame on those that didn't help you out sooner!" Reluctantly, she followed him inside. As soon as they entered, both parties were simultaneously blasted by a pleasant warmth and the fragrant odors of grilled hamburgers.

The line inside was not terribly long, but the wait time for the food was nevertheless considerable. So was the sheer amount of food that the little Kobold had ordered for herself. In all fairness, Calvin had told her to order as much as she wanted, and so while he may have sighed to himself, he said nothing to her regarding excessive consumption. She doubtlessly needed the orders anyway.

Once they found a seat, it also became abundantly clear that her spirit had considerably lightened as well. She practically skipped her way over to her table. Calvin even caught a glimpse of her tail wagging behind her. It made him smile, knowing that he had done just a little bit of good for the world.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed giddily as she sat down next to him. She slid up until she was uncomfortably close.

"You haven't even taken a bite yet, Miss. . ."

"Oh! Yeah! My name!" she realized excitedly. "I'm Jane!"

"Calvin," was all he could manage while squished between the wall and the excitable little kobold. "C-could you scoot back just a bit?"

"Right!" Jane realized, and she did as requested. "It's just. . ."

"Just what?"

Jane looked like she swallowed whatever it was she originally planned to say. Along with it went her excitement, as if she had suddenly sobered up to the reality of the situation. "It means a lot to me."

"It's not a problem at all," he assured, awkwardly patting his newfound companion on the back.

"But I appreciate it all the same," Jane promised. The smile she flashed him was sweet, and all at once Calvin found he didn't care one bit about the lightening of his bank account. Monster charm can work wonders. That was something he had heard before from a few other people. If Jane had not already proven it true outright, she was doing a damn fine job.

When the food came out, they ate. It was largely a silent affair, for not only did Jane devour her portions wolfishly, Calvin found that he did not have much to say. Well, that wasn't true. He had quite a handful of questions: Where had she come from? What had happened to leave her homeless in the middle of downtown Alvaton? Where was her master? Did she even have a master? Judging by the lack of a collar around her neck, the answer to that last question was likely no. Those inquiries and other intrusive ones swam around in his brain, but considering how she had already suffered enough for the day, he thought it best not to unearth painful memories.

I've always been bad at talking to girls anyway, he thought, eliciting a self-deprecating chuckle from him. He dug into his own, much more reasonable portion.

To Jane's credit, she had utterly demolished everything she ordered, which only exacerbated Calvin's concerns regarding her last meal. When she finished the last of her portions, she couldn't prevent an obnoxious belch from escaping.

"Oh, I needed that," she groaned to herself. She leaned up against Calvin again, repeated herself once more, and then added a simple "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he stated once more, then wiped her sauce-covered face with a napkin. As he did so, he luckily caught a glimpse of his watch. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Oh shit!"

"What!?" Jane jumped up, as if suddenly on the prowl for some physical threat. "What's the problem!?"

Calvin quickly snatched up all the wrappers, containers, and other fast food paraphernalia strewn about the place, did his best to stuff them all into a single sack, slid under the table so as to avoid pushing Jane out forcefully, and emerged on the other side with a surprising level of dexterity. "My lunch break ended 10 minutes ago, and I still need to get back to work!" he reached over, took Jane's paw, and gave it a firm handshake. The kobold could only cock an eyebrow at his sudden rush. "It's been great to meet you, Jane, really. I hope things get better for you."

With that, he took off at an awkward middle ground between a fast-walk and a full-blown run, slid the trash into the bin, and bolted for the outside. Jane's eyes never left his figure, while her face cycled through a number of emotions: bewilderment, shock, heartbreak, and finally desperation. She wasn't about to let this kind human walk out of her life forever, not if she had anything to say about it.

"Wait!" she called after him as she sprang from her seat. Unlike Calvin, she had absolutely no qualms about breaking into a genuine sprint and making a scene in the Crown Burger. "Calvin! Mr. Calvin, wait!"

She shoved open the front door, caught a glimpse of him jogging towards his car, and dashed after him. As far as humans went, he was decently fast, but by no means fast enough. In a moment, she was on him, grabbing him by the arm. "Wait!"

"What!?" Calvin responded stressfully. "Something wrong?"

Think of something, think of something! Jane's mind screamed at her. But all she could do was stare up at him with her deep green eyes. Sensing that time was running out, a desperate plea finally wedged its way into her mind. "Please be my master!"

All was quiet for a moment. Well, except for the sounds of traffic, the blowing wind, the chatter of nearby strangers, and, well. . . It wasn't actually quiet at all. But Calvin and Jane were themselves quiet.

"Jane. . ."

"Please!" she exclaimed, taking his hand in her paw. "I know it's sudden, but I don't have anywhere to go, and you're the first person who's shown any kindness to me since I came here!"

Came here. That answered at least one question in Calvin's mind. She couldn't have been on Earth for too long, then. Still, he moved to shake his head. "I can't offer you a good life," he refuted gently. "I live in an apartment so tiny that I barely have room for just myself, and I don't make much money at my job."

"I have nothing!" Jane continued, unsure of how to persuade the man that she had placed all her hope on. "I'll make myself useful, one way or another!"

As if on cue, a particularly cold gust of wind blew from behind her. She let out a very real shiver before instinctively clinging to him for warmth. But if Jane was cold in a hoodie and shorts, Calvin wasn't much warmer. He hadn't brought his jacket with him from the office, and had spent this entire time dressed only in the basic business casual outfit: a pink button-up long-sleeve shirt, khaki pants, and dress shoes. He shivered along with her, which was probably the main reason why he didn't immediately shove her off of him.

"Jane, I-" Calvin started to say, but then he looked down. She gazed up at him, and what did he see? Those damn eyes. She looked as though she was about to cry. All the stress, frustration, and even fear about being late became secondary to the pity that returned to his heart. Synthesized with that pity, however, was a sense of sadness. He truly believed that he could not give her a good life, and in his eyes, that made him unworthy of her. Besides, they had just met. He thought even the horniest of monsters would have enough sense to familiarize themselves with the man they desired before moving in for the kill.

But Jane wasn't horny, or at least she didn't appear to be. She was a lost, cold, and frightened monster with no hope if he turned her away. What kind of human being would turn a helpless kobold away like this, when Christmas was right around the corner, no less? In the end, that was how his kindness beat out his stubbornness.

"Jane, I can't be your master," he began, and for a moment, it appeared to her that every hope and dream she ever had was just shattered right in front of her. Then, he caressed the thick hair on her head. "But I can't let you freeze to death, either. Get in the car."

When Jane heard that, she couldn't help but burst into a smile. There was still a chance! She buried her face in Calvin's chest, squealed out so many 'thank yous' and 'I'll prove I'm worth its' that it just became ridiculous, and dashed towards the other side of the sedan. She hopped in, and Calvin followed.

"But first, I gotta finish my shift," Calvin muttered. As he turned on the car, he eyed the digital clock. 1:17.

I hope Eddie's still in a good mood, Calvin thought as he stepped on the gas.

As it turned out, Eddie was still in a good mood. When Calvin finally came rushing into the office a few minutes later, Eddie was performing the totally productive and definitely important task of discussing Monday night's football game with another coworker. By the time Calvin rocked up to his workstation, however, Eddie's gaze flickered towards him.

"Ah, there's the glutton!" Eddie teased. "Got carried away with your lunch break, eh? Did you know you left your jacket in here?"

"Yep!" Calvin replied, not even facing his direction. He took said jacket and jogged back the way he came, leaving as quickly as he had entered.

"What's up with him?" the co-worker he had been talking to asked.

Eddie simply shrugged.

Braving the afternoon chill, Calvin returned to his car and opened the driver's side back door. Lying on her side in the back seats was, of course, Jane. She was doing her best to remain warm wrapped up in a spare pair of office clothes Calvin carried in case of emergencies. Her best wasn't quite good enough.

Calvin slid her the jacket. "Here, take this. I have to finish my shift today, and I'm already late enough getting back as is. You'll just have to hang out here until I get back, then I'll take you home."

"OK, master!" Jane replied. She had perked up at his return, in spite of her chills. Wrapping herself up in his jacket, she lied back down and did her best to get comfortable.

"I'm not your master," Calvin corrected, and then he was off again.

Work was as eventful as work could be, which was to say that Calvin spent his afternoon drafting the most boring, bureaucratic paperwork to ever touch God's green Earth. Despite the tedium, he went at it pretty hard, performing at a rate that any reasonable supervisor would have found perfectly satisfactory. He wasn't quite as quick as he had been in the morning hours, however, for his mind kept wandering to the fact that there was a Kobold lying in the backseat of his car.

I can't believe I'm taking a complete stranger home, Calvin muttered to himself as he completed yet another draft. I don't know anything about her, and she's already calling me master!

That concerned Calvin greatly. Having very little experience with any monster, he wondered if all of them were this quick to claim a man as their own. Maybe it was just a kobold thing. It really didn't matter; it just made him nervous. At 24, he had never experienced a meaningful relationship of any kind before. He had always had things that stood out as more important in his mind: His classwork, his career, his hobbies. At least that was what he often told himself. He had a very strong feeling that the excuse wasn't the whole story, but every time that nagging feeling emerged, he did his best to suppress it. That included now.

When 5 rolled around, Calvin wasted no time punching out. Night fell early in the evening now, and with night came the probability of even lower temperatures. Besides, Jane had spent the past 4 hours cooped up in a cramped sedan with no entertainment to speak of. If she wasn't cold, she was definitely bored out of her skull. God help him if she had to use the bathroom while he was gone; he hadn't exactly provided her with a way into the building, much less any directions. Thankfully, when he arrived at his car, he found her lying still in the backseat, cuddled up in his jacket and snoring to her heart's content. It was only when the engine roared to life that she woke up.

"Huh?" she mumbled to herself, confused as to where she was. Then, it all came back to her. "Work's over?"

"Sure is," Calvin hummed contentedly. While it was true that work offered an escape of sorts from his personal troubles, that didn't make the job any less boring.

As Calvin pulled out from his parking space and began the drive home, Jane sat up and gazed out the window. The heat was cranked on max for the sake of them both, and it actually became rather stifling with Calvin's jacket still wrapped around her like a makeshift blanket. Nevertheless, she found that she couldn't let go of it so easily. Her nose, perhaps the greatest asset of any kobold, could easily pick up on Calvin's scent from the jacket. It filled her with a pleasant sensation, the idea that she had a master now. Taking a deep whiff, her tail thumped against the seat with delight.

Calvin caught a glimpse of the act through the rearview mirror, and the shock of it all nearly caused him to swerve. The next few minutes of driving were awkward, for he did not know for certain what to say in response to that. Eventually, he cleared his throat. "So, Jane. . . What brought you to the human world?"

"A portal," she answered earnestly. "Same as any other monster, I guess."

"Well, yeah. . . But I meant for what reason did you come here?"

Jane nodded. "Ooooooh, silly me!" she chuckled nervously. Then, she went quiet for a little while, thinking how exactly she should word it. "Uhm, well, I needed a new start."

"A new start? You were freezing to death in a Crown Burger parking lot! What could be worse than that?"

Jane's ears folded in shame. "Well. . . I didn't think this world would be so harsh ," she finally admitted. "Can we not talk about this right now, master? I wanna look at the pretty lights!"

They were currently riding past a series of storefronts and strip malls, all of which were decorated spectacularly for the holiday seasons. Glowing blues, greens, pinks, oranges, and several other colors illuminated the twilight air. True to her word, Jane was enthralled by them, staring out the window with eyes full of wonder. Even Calvin, focused as he was on driving, couldn't help but sneak a glance at them when traffic permitted. However, while he inwardly agreed that it was a beautiful sight, he did not smile. That word, 'master', was on his mind. Twice now she had called him that, despite the fact that he explicitly rejected the label. All this was meant to be a temporary thing, a gesture of generosity and hospitality during the holiday season. However, it was clear to Calvin that Jane had yet to acknowledge such truth. He had half a mind to correct her, to remind her that he was not her master anymore than she was his girlfriend. Ultimately, though, he kept his mouth shut. She was in her own little world right now, and there would be more appropriate times to have this sort of chat.

"Woah," Jane said in awe. "There's so many colors! I've never seen anything like this before!"

"The holidays are in full swing," Calvin explained. "Christmas will be upon us before we know it."

"Christmas," Jane repeated, as if allowing her tongue to explore the word. "Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. I've been hearing that word a lot. What's the holiday about?"

Calvin thought about it for a moment from both a religious and secular standpoint, thinking of how to explain a centuries-long religious tradition to a complete foreigner. He decided to keep it simple. "It's a holiday all about giving," he explained. "A time to celebrate with your family, to help those in need, and of course, to buy things to give," he chuckled at that last cynical remark. "Businesses love the money it brings in, but if you're looking at Christmas as a means for getting stuff, I'd say you're looking at it for the wrong reasons."

He couldn't help but think of his mother when he said that. For the past 24 years of his life, he had spent every Christmas with her. She was never a woman with much in the way of means, but she had the heart to make up for it. The festivities had always been lively at home, and while Calvin rarely got what he truly wanted, in retrospect, he had never before had a bad Christmas. But this year, and all years for the rest of his life, would be different. His shoulders sagged at the thought of memories that he could never get to relive. No tears came; he had already mourned enough to not be crippled by despair, but it still hurt.

"Well, I think that's a great holiday," Jane remarked happily. "I wish we had something like it back in my world."

Calvin did not answer, as he was still lost in thought. After the seconds passed by in relative silence, Jane turned her head to see why. She was not able to see his face from her angle, but she could read his body language well enough. She wondered why he looked so sad. After all, Christmas sounded like such a wonderful time. As much as she wanted to ask, she stayed silent. She felt like such a burden already, and maybe she shouldn't probe too much. Instead, she turned her attention back to the window, watching as the bright lights passed her by.

It didn't take much longer for them to arrive at Calvin's apartment complex, a brownish 3-story building located in a transitional area between the metropolis and suburbs. Calvin led her out, through the lobby, and up the stairs. He noticed the receptionist, a slightly older man, glance at him with a sly grin, as if to say 'score!' Calvin shot him a scowl that could freeze lava. It wasn't like that. The very idea of taking advantage of someone like Jane left him sick to his stomach.

"Apartment 205!" Calvin announced as they reached a door inscribed with the same number. He fumbled for his keys, and in an instant, they were in. They were greeted to the sight of a simply-furnished living room, consisting of a cheap checkered loveseat, a small TV with a game console hooked up to it, an oval-shaped fuzzy rug the color of burgundy, and a coffee table. Off to the side, there was a desk with a laptop plugged into the outlet. The walls, painted a pale green, had little in the way of decoration, except for a few photos that hung in various spots around the room. The far side of the room had a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony. They were only on the second floor, however, and the balcony faced north. Any chance of a half-decent view was blocked out by another multiple-story complex just across the street. All-in-all, it was pretty small. The kitchen, which was only separated by a meager countertop, was even tinier, but together they granted the illusion of a moderately-sized room.

As Calvin quietly examined the contents of his own home, Jane was darting back and forth from one area to the next, as if she was carefully learning every nook and cranny that there was to explore. He barely seemed to notice her, as he was too lost in his own ruminations. This was the cost of living alone with a reasonable commute from work, and his unsatisfactory opinion had not lessened. Still, there was no viable alternative, so home it would remain.

"I like it!" Jane declared once she had finished her self-appointed tour. "It's cozy."

"Aw, c'mon," Calvin chuckled. "You don't have to lie to me; I won't kick you out for your honest opinion."

"No, I mean it!" Jane promised. She ran over to the couch and threw herself onto it, rolling around and giggling to herself. The activity tousled her hair quite a bit, but she blew the obstructing strands from her eyes with minimal effort. "It's cozy!"

Not much of note occurred during their first night together in that apartment. Calvin cooked a very basic dinner of grilled cheese for himself and Jane (who devoured the meal just as readily as she had the Crown Burger order), and then they spent the next couple of hours watching TV together.

They sat on opposite sides of the couch as holiday special after holiday special played out. Jane, of course, had very limited experience with technology of this caliber, and so she found herself extremely attentive. She still didn't understand all the traditions and meanings behind Christmas, but it didn't take much for her to like the holiday immensely. The sensation that it filled her with was beyond her relatively simple vocabulary, but it was a very pleasant feeling.

"Hey, Master?" she eventually spoke after a period of considerable silence.

"Hmmm?" Calvin answered. "You know I'm not your master, right?"

Jane's ears folded downward at that, but it did not completely distract her from her original question. "Who's that Santa guy that keeps showing up in all these specials?"

Calvin glanced up from his phone. He had been lazily scrolling on and off for much of the evening. "Santa Claus? Well, he's sort of the personification of the spirit of Christmas."

"Personiwha?"

"He represents it in a way," Calvin clarified, remembering that kobolds were not particularly known for their intelligence. "Every year, children write letters to Santa about what they want for Christmas, and on Christmas Eve, Santa travels across the whole world to deliver presents to all the good ones."

"The whole world? In one night!?" Jane gasped. Her tail began to wag, and her gaze flickered to the window. "He must be a god!"

That got a hard laugh out of Calvin. Jane, who was a fully-grown adult judging by her size, was acting so enthralled at something remarkably childish. It was absolutely adorable. He didn't have the heart to tell her that Santa didn't actually exist. He figured she was better off believing in him for just one go-around. Of course, that meant he might have to sneak something into the house to pretend it was from Santa, but. . . The idea seemed nice.

"When is Christmas, Mas-. . . Calvin?"

"Three days from now," he answered. Today was Tuesday, the 22nd. It was amazing how the holiday seemed to sneak up on him so easily this year, but without mom around, he had forgotten to prepare for the festivities in a proper time frame. He figured that there was no point in doing any decorating right now, even for Jane's sake.

"I hope we get to see him," Jane thought aloud. Still fixated at the window, she did her best to catch a view of the stars. Light pollution left her endeavor fruitless, but she did not avert her gaze from the night sky. "I wanna hear more stories."

Calvin frowned at her sympathetically. "I don't think that's possible, Jane. Santa is a busy man, after all. He's a good guy, but not the kind of person who can stick around for a chat."

"Then how will I be able to tell him 'thank you'?" Jane whined, turning back to Calvin. She ran over to him and grabbed him by the arm. The energy from her tug was almost enough to pull him on top of her. "I don't wanna seem ungrateful."

Calvin's countenance reddened at the close contact. So did Jane's. After a moment, she let go of him. It took both of them a moment to emerge from their mutual fluster. "He knows," he finally stammered. "His Christmas magic allows him to watch over the naughty and the nice, and Mrs. Claus is hard at work double-checking the list whenever he's not around."

"Awww," Jane frowned. "It's a shame, but I guess that's fair."

Seeing her slightly dejected state, Calvin decided he had to clarify one additional thing. "However, there is a way you can directly show him gratitude."

"Which is?"

"Milk and cookies," Calvin stated with a sly grin. He'd happily buy a present for Jane if it meant a midnight snack. "Many households leave him his favorite snack so he can stay focused all night. Maybe that's why he gives out presents: It must be hard to get good milk and cookies locally at the North Pole."

Jane's smile returned. "All those wonderful toys and other gifts, and all he asks for in return are cookies and milk?"

"And good behavior," Calvin added. "Naughty humans only get a lump of coal, and I would guess that the same is true for monsters."

Jane shrieked and glanced around, as if searching for any nearby indicator that she had been naughty. "I'm a good girl!" she exclaimed nervously. "I promise!"

Calvin only laughed. Without so much as realizing he was doing it, he patted her gently on the head. Standing up, she was taller than him sitting down, but not by a whole lot. "You have. Of course, you've kinda cheated a little bit."

"I didn't!" she promised. ". . . did I?"

"Santa can't see how monsters behaved prior to coming here," Calvin teased. "For all he knows, you might've been a big scary high orc chieftain!"

Jane shrieked wordlessly and jumped onto the couch, doing her best to hide behind one of the throw pillows. "N-not orcs!" she whimpered. "T-they're s-so mean!"

And now I've taken it too far, Calvin thought with a wince, for she was genuinely scared at what was meant to be playful teasing. As Jane quivered behind the pillow, he scooted over to her.

"It's OK," he gently murmured. "I was only joking, Jane. I know a sweet little kobold like you would never associate with those mean old orcs. Or any other race for that matter."

At the mention of 'any other race', the image of an angry, vicious hellhound flashed again in his mind. He shook his head and inhaled deeply, doing his best to forget about it.

Jane stopped. After a moment, she peeked her head around the pillow. "R-really?" There were tears in her eyes.

"I promise. You've been nothing but thankful to me ever since I picked you up. You've been honest, but kind, and I appreciate that. You have all the hallmarks of a good girl."

Jane hesitated. "Can, er, can you pet my head again? It felt so good last time."

Reluctantly, and this time consciously , he reached out and ran a hand through her hair. It was thick, comfortable, and inviting. In fact, as the seconds stretched on and the petting became more and more awkward, he found it harder to pull away. Eventually, however, the feeling became too uncomfortable for him. When he finally removed his hand, Jane nevertheless seemed satisfied.

She's too good for someone like me , he reminded himself. His inferiority complex regarding women was strong, although he was by no means ugly. It was, in all likelihood, an aspect of his stubborn personality. Consequently, he was too stubborn to realize that he was being stubborn. He did not think to ask himself why she was supposedly too good for him, but he believed it deep in his heart. As if he was looking for some sort of distraction from his gloomy (and baseless) thoughts, he glanced at his phone and read the time aloud. "Nine forty-eight. Well, Jane, I think I need to get ready for bed. I have work tomorrow.

Jane leapt off the couch excitedly. "OK!" was all she said before she quickly pulled off her hoodie. She wasn't wearing any top underneath.

"Woah, shit!" Calvin shouted, totally caught off guard. "What are you doing!?"

He heard Jane mutter, in an utterly bemused tone: "Getting ready for bed?"

"Would you like some privacy?" Calvin questioned rhetorically.

Jane thought about it for a second. "No, not really. You're my mast- husband. I don't mind if you look."

"Husband?" Calvin inquired. He glanced back at her. She was still half-naked, making no effort to cover her breasts. They were small. Calvin knew next to nothing about breast size, but he could hazard a guess that they were likely B-cups. He only felt more lecherous by even thinking about them. "Could you please cover up?"

"W-why?" Jane moaned. "A-am I not attractive?"

"No!" Calvin exclaimed suddenly, feeling more ashamed. "I mean, Yes! I mean. . . Jane, you're going to make someone a fine wife one day, but I'm not your husband."

For a long time, Jane was silent. The air was painfully still. Calvin eventually peaked his head out to find Jane, staring down at the floor. He had the feeling he just made a grave mistake. Still, she did not speak or even look in his direction. Her tail drooped lower than he had ever seen it before.

". . . T-then w-why did you take home?" she sniffled. It shattered Calvin's heart.

"Jane," he stated, moving closer to her. "Jane, look at me."

With some hesitation, she did. It was just as he suspected: Tears spilled from her eyes.

Those fucking eyes , he thought sadly.

"Jane, you were freezing out there," Calvin explained gently. He no longer seemed to care that she was topless. "I couldn't let you starve, or die, or anything else like that. It would've weighed too heavily on my soul. It would've been even worse knowing that I allowed it to happen during Christmas."

"And that's why I want you!" Jane cried. The sobs finally came afterwards, bitter and loud. When she tried to follow up on that statement, she only blubbered incomprehensibly. Not knowing what else to do, nor what to say, he pulled her into a deep hug. Minutes passed, and Jane kept sobbing. She never wanted to let him go, but when she at last managed to compose herself, Calvin pulled away. She sniffled once more, wiped her face with her paw, and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to find you a home," Calvin promised, and he truly meant it. "I will find you a husband that will give you everything you want, Jane, but he's not me."

"Why not?" Jane asked. She looked too tired to cry again, but her gaze was nevertheless forlorn.

Calvin stayed silent. "I'm not good enough for someone as sweet as you," he finally admitted. That did not stop her tears. As he let go of her, buried her face in her hands and continued to sob. Calvin could do nothing, say nothing, that would calm her down without giving in. It hurt, but he turned away and headed for the bathroom. With every step he took, he continued to labor under the ludicrous delusion that he was somehow not good enough for her.

After brushing his teeth, washing his face, and shaving the day's stubble away, he returned to find Jane naked and curled up in a fetal position on the couch. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was soft. All those tears had apparently left her too tired to do anything else but sleep. He sat next to her form for a moment, then, carefully, he ran his hand through her thick black locks.

"You're a girl girl," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

With that, he stood up, returned a moment later with a comfy wool blanket that he retrieved from the closet, and draped it over her. She stirred for a moment, but did not awake. After retiring to his room, he stripped down to his underwear, turned off the light, and climbed into bed. The emotional turmoil running through his mind made the fight for sleep difficult, but not insurmountable. Ultimately, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

When his alarm went off that morning, he heard a shriek so ear-piercing that he nearly threw himself out of bed. Glancing around, he quickly found the source of the noise. Sitting up in bed, still completely naked, was Jane. There was a terrified look in her eye, but she was fixated on his screeching phone. When she finally realized that she was being stared at, the fear in her eyes seemed to morph into sheer terror, as if she expected him to throw her out right then and there.

"Calvin, I-"

He reached over and turned off the alarm. Once the shrill beeping was taken care of, he shot Jane a look that was indeed quite angry. He felt oddly stressed without knowing why. "What are you doing in here?"

"I-I. . ."

"Well?"

Even though the expression on his face was likely softer than she anticipated, she still dove under the covers in a futile effort to make him disappear. "Master, I'm sorry! I-"

"I'm not your master," Calvin reminded in a tone harsher than he meant to. His animalistic side was screaming at him to tear off his underwear and raw dog the dog girl right there, but his inhibitions remained far too strong for that to actually play out. "I'm just a friend. Now, you're not in trouble, but. . . Please go into the living room."

Jane, defeated and ashamed, marched her way out of the bedroom without another word. She closed the door behind her, leaving him alone. There was little in the way of time to reflect on what just happened, for Calvin needed to get ready for work. He hopped in the shower, quickly cleaned himself, and did his best to ignore the erection. For the most part, it was able to die down pretty quickly. However, if any thought of Jane so much as flickered through his mind, his member was soon standing at attention again. If Calvin wasn't so stubborn, maybe that would have been the final key to realizing that things were meant to be. Alas, his inferiority complex continued to labor under the delusion that it was not.

After cleaning, grooming, and dressing himself in a blue button-up today (he was feeling adventurous), Calvin entered the living room to find Jane back in her hoodie and shorts. She was watching the TV, and while his presence was acknowledged with a nod, she seemed to pay him as little attention as she possibly could afterward. Still stiff at the thought of her, he poured himself some cereal and ate alone at the tiny kitchen table he had for himself. Occasionally, he shot brief looks at Jane, and once or twice he caught her looking back, but the two were unable to say anything further. Once he was finished, he stretched, grabbed his jacket, and was all but ready to go to work.

"I'm heading out," he told her as he strode past the couch. "You can use the shower if you need to clean up, and there's some lunch meat in the fridge if you get hungry. Be good, alright?"

"I will," Jane said meekly.

With that, Calvin finally headed out the door. In terms of his load, work that day was more or less the same as it was on any other day, and he took care of it with the same speedy precision that Eddie renowned him for. However, to Calvin's mind, the day seemed to tarry on unbearably slowly. Even worse was the fact that it remained terribly hard to focus on his work. Once Calvin was in the groove of things, he could usually run on autopilot quite well. Today, Jane was not only living rent-free in his apartment, but in his head as well. Without fail, every single time he thought about her, his hard-on returned with a vengeance. He did his best to swallow his feelings and focus on work, but Jane had awakened the lecherous man within him. That was the thing about monsters; they had that effect on men that got too close to them for too long.

To him, the most shameful part of the ordeal was that he was no longer even thinking of Jane as a person. When he imagined her in his mind, he thought of squeezing her petite breasts with his firm hands, or running his fingers through the black bush between her legs, or even forcibly bending her over without warning and taking her virginity as soon as he got home. It drove him mad, and it certainly did nothing except reinforce his own belief that he didn't deserve her.

"Calvin, are you alright?" Eddie said suddenly, causing Calvin to actually jump out of his chair. He shot Eddie a stressful look, clutched his head, and sat back down.

"I'm fine," he moaned unconvincingly. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Are you sure that's the problem?" Eddie prodded. Calvin got the feeling that he knew more than he was letting on. In the next instant, he confirmed it: "You seem sorta. . . pent up?"

"I'm fine," Calvin repeated, frustration in his tone. It was around the middle of the afternoon, and he was just about done with his assigned tasks for the day. That was a little later than usual, but he was still expecting to get out on time.

"Alright, alright," Eddie surrendered, putting his hands up for emphasis. "Well, I'm just here to tell you the good news: Sharon says she won't be able to close the sales deal today," he proclaimed happily, clapping Calvin on the back. "You got Christmas Eve off, bud. Provided that you finish your work on time, of course."

"What!?" Calvin exclaimed suddenly, although this time triumphantly. He turned to Eddie with a grin and offered him a high-five, which Eddie happily accepted. "Let's fucking go!"

"There's that fiery spirit!" Eddie roared gleefully. Then, he looked down. His eyes widened in shock.

Calvin frowned. "Uh, sir? What's wrong?"

"Well, uh. . . This is awkward," Eddie muttered after a moment. He kept his voice quiet. "When I said you seemed pent-up, I didn't mean it literally."

Glancing down, Calvin noticed the tent pitched around his groin. It still hadn't gone away. "Oh, shit!" he whispered shrilly. "I'm so sorry, boss."

"Let's never speak of this again," Eddie stated as he backed away from Calvin's cubicle.

After that atrocious experience, the day petered out about as anyone expected. Calvin finished his work about 15 minutes before five, punched out, and headed home. When he arrived at his apartment, he was greeted by the shrill call of a smoke alarm. His eyes widened in shock as he quickly opened the door. There stood Jane, panicking as she removed a heavily-smoking pot away from the oven. The odor of burnt food smothered the air, but aside from the pot, there was little in the way of smoke. Without knowing what to do, Jane dumped the pot in the sink. A loud sizzling sound punctuated the chaos that had briefly overtaken things.

Jane looked at Calvin nervously, then tried to play the whole thing off with a chuckle. "You came back at an awful time."

Calvin's eyes widened in shock at the mess within his kitchen. Whatever food was in the pot was not the only meal Jane had tried to cook. Behind her was a clearly-burnt casserole, a charcoal-colored set of hamburgers, and a blackened meat that might have once been fish. That wasn't even counting all the various stains and unwashed cutlery that seemed to be recklessly strewn about. All-in-all, it was as if a fierce battle had been pitched while Calvin was away, and Jane only barely escaped from it alive. Her clothes, which were already fairly dirty from her time on the street, were now positively filthy.

He should have been angry, or at the very least annoyed by the wanton waste she had left in her wake, but as he looked into her beautiful eyes, he found that he could only chuckle. He supposed that he was simply happy to find her alright. However, he could feel the stiffness in his pants rear its ugly head once more. He winced at that, praying that Jane wouldn't notice, or at least not make the situation more awkward in the process.

"I tried really hard to make you some dinner," Jane confessed, although Calvin had already guessed as much. "I just. . . I didn't think my actions through," she uttered defeatedly. Her tail drooped low again, and she looked almost as sad as she did last night.

She probably still thinks I'm going to kick her out, Calvin thought to himself. How bad did she really have it before I came along? "Hey, hey, it's alright," he muttered. He slightly bent his legs so that their faces were on level ground. She found it hard to look at him, but when he moved his face even closer, she realized she was left with no other choice. But when she looked up, she found that he was smiling. When he chuckled, she finally got the message that she was no longer in trouble. "Mistakes happen. I appreciate the sentiment."

"Thank you," Jane muttered. Her countenance was rapidly reddening. She closed her eyes and leaned forward for a kiss she so desperately wanted. However, unbeknownst to her, Calvin was coincidentally rising to his normal height again. It was not even a deliberate attempt to avoid the kiss, but rather due to the fact that he was still struggling to suppress the raging hard-on in his pants. Even looking at Jane was proving difficult. He looked away, lost in his own sense of shame, until Jane lost balance and tumbled onto the floor. The notice startled Calvin, and he turned to find her groaning.

"What do you say we order a pizza?" he offered as he helped her up. Even the brief physical contact caused his cock to twitch in his pants. In spite of his guilty horniness, he did his best to remain smiling. "Much less stress involved, eh?"

"Pizza?" Jane inquired curiously, suddenly forgetting about her pain. "Is it tasty?"

"You'll like it," Calvin assured.

When the pizza came, Calvin's assumption quickly proved correct. By the time he had finished cleaning up the disaster zone formally known as his kitchen, Jane was making inroads on her third slice. Nearly every bite was followed by a pleasant hum or 'hmmm'. He plopped down next to her and procured a slice.

"So good!" Jane exclaimed excitedly. "I should've come to this world when the portals first opened! They didn't have anything like this back in my home village."

"It is a fan-favorite here on Earth," Calvin added, savoring his first bite. The last time he had indulged in a pizza had been quite a while, so it made for a nice treat to finally have one again. The alluring smell and taste was thankfully enough to distract his hormonal urges, and so his cock gradually became limp. The pair put away a few more bites in relative silence, save for Jane's continual moans of innocent pleasure. Eventually, however, those moans stopped. She stopped. Hesitating only briefly, she managed to break the silence. "Uh, Calvin?"

Calvin's jaw was practically unhinged for his next bite. However, he froze. "Hmmm?"

"I wanna apologize for what I did this morning," Jane stated. She set her half-eaten pizza in the box for the time being, then swung her body around so that she was directly facing him. This time, with no small amount of bravery, she looked him firmly in the eye. Calvin returned her look, and respectfully swung around in a similar manner. "What I did to you was very wrong, so wrong that I don't really have the words to describe it, but I invaded your privacy without your permission, and. . . I admit it. I used a very dishonest and selfish method to get you to have sex with me. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that what I did was done out of desperation. Still, that doesn't make it OK, so I understand if you are angry at me forever. I'm sorry."

She ended her speech frowning, as if she was completely unable to predict his reaction. In all likelihood, that was probably true. However, to Calvin's own surprise, he found that he couldn't be angry about it at all, not even if he went out of the way to try. Maybe it was because she was a monster, and therefore had some trouble with her urges, or maybe it was just the fact that she was so darn cute. Whatever the case, he laughed it off. "It's alright, Jane. I forgive you."

"Just like that?" Jane murmured. She lowered her head, although with a smile this time. "You really would make a good master. You're so forgiving."

Calvin awkwardly cleared his throat. He needed some sort of distraction from the twitching in his pants. Due to the very deliberate positioning of his right arm, he believed Jane likely unable to notice the bulge. Then again, maybe her guilt was merely enough to keep her from bringing it up. Whatever the case, he felt the strain tighten at the word 'master'.

If my urges keep building up like this, I'd turn you into a sex slave, he thought dejectedly. "I don't mean to change the subject," he began, which was a complete lie. "But you never did tell me why you came here. To Earth, I mean."

"It's not a very exciting story," Jane admitted hesitantly. "I'm not a very special case."

"I don't care," Calvin assured. "I'm not a very special case, either, am I? There's plenty of random office workers like me."

"OK," Jane sighed. She took one last bite of her pizza. Chewing slowly and deliberately gave her enough time to collect her thoughts. "I'm from a village," she began at last. "A little village on the edge of a forest. It was a peaceful place; I liked growing up there very much. Most of the people living there were kobolds and their masters, but we allowed some of the more friendly mamono a place to live as well. I grew up in a five-room farmhouse on the hill, a little to the south of the village square. It was basic, but peaceful. Eh, maybe a little overcrowded in the second half; I had a lotta sisters."

"How many did you have?" Calvin inquired. Realizing he interrupted her story, he added: "Sorry. I just thought you might be an only child. Any chance that you have family here on Earth?"

"It's a fair question," Jane remarked with a sad smile. She realized that she hadn't thought about her family in quite a bit. "I miss them, mas- Calvin. I have five sisters that I know of. I'm the fourth child. Might have a sixth on the way by now. You know how mamono are," she chuckled nervously. Even with Calvin's full acceptance of her apology, her guilt was still a mighty force. "Dad was a good master to mom. He never said anything bad about her to us, and he raised us right, I'd say. Taught us all to read and write, encouraged us to pursue our passions," she blushed. "Not those passions, I mean. Just the things that interested us. I know many kobolds in the village weren't so lucky, but Dad enjoyed teaching us about things."

"Sounds like a wonderful life," Calvin stated. "Why leave?" He had a strong feeling that he knew the answer, but still wanted Jane to confirm his suspicions. The story was serving as a perfectly adequate distraction.

"Calvin, do you know what the biggest problem is being a mamono?"

"Mothers have no sons," Calvin answered. It had been a significant topic on Earth since the first days monsters came through the portals.

Jane nodded. "Yes. My village would die out without men visiting us and becoming our husbands. Not just my village, but all mamono. The thing is, Calvin, well. . . my Dad said that men who marry mamono tend to have a lot of daughters. It was becoming a crisis all over my world: Too many mamono, not enough men."

"But don't mamono have a hard time getting pregnant?" Calvin asked.

Jane stroked her chin in thought. "I think so. Even still, I remember my mother and father having a lot of sex," she chuckled as if she were unearthing a fond memory. "Me and my sisters were always told to play outside during the afternoon just so Mom and Dad could. . . play with each other. I bet the other families were like that, too, but it wasn't something they talked about."

Calvin swallowed. "I bet that was a pretty awkward thing to hear," he said sympathetically.

Jane raised an eyebrow at that. "Is it awkward to know your parents love each other so much?"

"Well, no. It's just that we treat sex as a. . . private thing. For adults."

"Well, so did my parents," Jane explained, looking at him as if there should be absolutely nothing unusual about the arrangement. "We weren't allowed to watch or anything!" she exclaimed with sudden disgust. "It's. . . Things must be different here, I guess. I'm getting distracted. My parents had a rule: Once we turned eighteen, we would need to find ourselves husbands. When my oldest sister turned 18, she was married within a week. Three years later, my second-oldest took 3 months to find someone who wasn't already taken. Then, my third sister took a whole year before she finally found a master!" Jane exclaimed, gesturing wildly for emphasis. For the first time since he met her, Calvin saw Jane scowl. It wasn't at him, of course, but at the unfair circumstances of her situation. "A year is a long time for a kobold to find her master, Calvin," she grumbled. Calming down, she gazed forlornly at him. "When my turn came, there were three single kobolds coming of age for every man that settled the village."

Calvin placed a hand on her shoulder. It was obvious just how upset it made her. "Jane, you don't have to talk about this anymo-"

"I will finish my story," Jane interrupted. She managed a smile. "You asked me to tell you, and it makes me happy that you care enough to know," she took a deep breath, which managed to calm her emotions enough to move on. "Well, I didn't have much hope of ever finding a husband, and it hurt. All my childhood, my parents promised us that we'd find wonderful husbands who would take care of us, who would love us in a way that nobody else would. It felt like it was all a mean lie, even though it wasn't really their fault. I blamed them so much," she began to sniffle, but she wiped away the first tears and soldiered on. "Calvin. . . When I heard that the portal opened, I wanted to run away so bad. But they were my parents, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, they would help me out, help me find my master. B-but then, a few months ago, they told me I needed to leave the nest. J-just like that, Calvin. So, with no place to go, I came here. It was a long journey just to make it to the nearest portal, but I carried on. I was told that there were so many lonely human men here that would do anything for wives like us. But then I arrived here, and i-it wasn't the welcome I thought I would get."

"Jane, I-"

"I'm almost done," Jane assured. She gently rested a paw on his hand. Her other paw traced the fabric of her heavily-stained hoodie. Her expression was still dour, although she was composed enough to be strong in spite of her sadness. "I had to dig through the trash for these clothes. They're the only things I have that are mine. I did my best to look cute, to be nice, but everyone that showed any interest in me was already taken. Everyone else just ignored me, but not you! You were the first person that ever even offered to feed me anything! Not only that, but when you took me home, I thought that I had finally found a master even though you told me I hadn't! I thought I had finally found a man who wanted me!"

"And you will," Calvin assured. His mind had been made up about one thing. "I wasn't sure what I would do with you after Christmas, but you need a home. Until you find a husband, you can stay he-"

"I don't want anyone else as my husband," Jane interrupted yet again. She gazed into his eyes with a mixture of desire and desperation. She leaned in closer, and when Calvin found himself unable to reject her or pull away, she closed the gap between the lips. The kiss that followed was deep and affectionate, which surprised Calvin considerably. Whenever he thought of kissing a monster, he always expected it to be a product of sloppy, sexy passion. When Jane kissed him, however, there was no effort on her part to tear off his clothes, unzip his pants, or even explore the rest of his body. She simply embraced him, and he found said embrace comforting, as though he had slipped into a dream where there were no more heartaches, no more troubles, even no more people. Just her, him, and the desire to be happy.

Unfortunately, all too soon, he awoke from that dream. Suddenly, gasping, he pulled away from her. "This isn't right," he spoke anxiously. "No, I can't do this. Jane, even if you could fall for some idiot like me, we're doing this too soon."

Surprisingly, Jane obeyed his request to stop. Slowly, sadly, she pulled away. As the realization set in. Her eyes once again filled with tears. She did not protest the decision in any way, shape, or form. Only a single sentence, uttered as a barely audible whisper, escaped her lips.

"I don't understand."

Calvin put a hand on her shoulder. "What if the feelings you have for me are all just a product of your lust? What if you're making the biggest mistake of your life, Jane? What if it turns out that I'm not as good for you as you think I am?"

Jane caressed his face with a paw, an action that, even consciously, he did not stop her from doing. "I don't know what I have to do to tell you that I already think you're more than enough. You gave me a home when you barely knew me. That's more than my own parents did! That's what I don't understand about you, Calvin. Are you scared that I'd ever betray you? You don't need to be!" Her expression morphed into a reassuring grin. "We're loyal to those we call our masters. Honest!"

Calvin did not doubt her claim. If anything, her ability to put up with his rejections for so long proved that she would give him everything she could if he demanded, up to and including her very soul. Several seconds passed by in pensive thought. She did have a point: It would be good to at least know why he thought he was so worthless in the first place. He didn't always feel this way about himself. In fact, from what he recalled, the feeling of worthlessness didn't really start to set in until after his mother passed. This was not in itself any great revelation, for he knew he'd been in a funk since she died. Nevertheless, once the issue was pondered in earnest, the idea that they were connected didn't sound too far-fetched at all.

"I don't really know what's the reason," Calvin admitted with a sigh. "To be honest, I haven't really reflected on it too much."

Jane had told him a story very personal to her, and regardless of his feelings, he believed he owed her the same courtesy. If nothing else, she was a friend, one that seemed to care. She deserved to know. So, breathing in, he began. "One thing's for certain: I wasn't always like this."

Jane cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Calvin stretched out on the couch before elaborating, as if getting more comfortable would somehow make telling the story easier. "I lost my mother 4 months ago, more or less. Car accident."

Jane audibly gasped. Even though she had never even heard about his mother before, much less met her, her eyes quickly teared up. "Oh, Calvin!" she exclaimed with genuine pity. "I'm so sorry! That's so sad!"

"Jane. . . I hate hellhounds," Calvin randomly confessed. He fidgeted, not knowing how to elaborate on that thought. "I used to hate all monsters. I don't anymore, but I still hate hellhounds."

"D-did something happen? Between one and your mom?"

"Yes," Calvin sighed. His lip trembled. He fought the tears as best as he could. Thankfully, they did not spill. He had already cried about it enough times; he wanted, for once, to be strong. "She didn't even have a license. What the hell was she doing driving a car!?" he questioned grimly. Fighting the despair led him to wrath. "She got pissed at something my mom did on the road, and then, she just. . ."

Calvin found himself unable to finish the sentence. He buried his head in his trembling hands, saying nothing. He cried silently, as if Jane somehow wouldn't notice if he hid it from her. She, however, could smell the heartache emanating from him. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged him tightly. He, at any rate, was not ready to acknowledge her. With patience that surprised even herself, she waited, and when at last he rose, Jane saw puffy eyelids, wet cheeks, and furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm sorry," he muttered weakly. "I shouldn't've broken down like that."

"It's OK," Jane whispered. She was crying, too. The person who she still thought of as her master was sad, and so she couldn't help but commiserate. "It's OK. You don't need to act brave all the time for me."

Unprompted, Calvin continued. His voice, while still sad, remained stable. He found that the crying had done him some good, at least. "She didn't even apologize for what she did. She killed a woman through her own recklessness and didn't even apologize. That was my first real interaction with any monster, and I thought they were all like her, when they were not being whores."

"Some mamono are," Jane commented. "I promise I'm not one of them."

Calvin returned her hug. The two held each other close, their foreheads brushing up once again. In that moment, Calvin smelt his shampoo on her. In a strange way, it lightened his heart. "You're not like her, Jane," he promised. "You'll never be like her, and that's a wonderful thing."

Jane tried to kiss him again, but he leaned back and avoided it. Once she got the hint, her tears fell afresh. "If I'm not like them, why won't you even give me a chance?"

Calvin didn't miss a beat. "Because every time I think about myself being with a monster, I think about how much hatred and vitriol I used to speak about them. Then I wonder what she would think if she knew that side of me existed. I've called them every slur in the book. Then, one day, my boss overheard me. He's a good man. He knew what I had gone through, he knew that I was hurting, and I think he really gave enough of a shit to want what was best for me. So, one day, he took me out for drinks and just talked to me. He took the time to listen to my anger, and slowly, he helped me work my way through it. Not many bosses would do that sort of thing, but Eddie cares. Still, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I haven't gotten over myself," he chuckled, but his tone was heavily laden with the burden of self-deprecation. "I guess I sound like such an idiot to you, don't I?"

Jane surprised him with just how quickly she answered. "I don't think you are at all. I think you're just forgetful."

"Forgetful?"

"I'll keep saying it until you get the idea," Jane stated affectionately. "Who took me in when I had no place to go? Who fed me when he had no reason to, other than just being nice? And even if you were hateful, I don't think that's who you are now. I know I just met you, but I really do love you. I don't care if you never ever even want to have sex with me; you care about me, and that's all I want."

Taking the words to heart, Calvin beamed. He had dumped his darkest secret right onto her, and she had emerged from the truth unscathed. Perhaps he was worthy of her, after all. "Thank you, Jane, really. I think I'll need some time to think about what you've said, but whatever happens, you've helped me out a lot."

"I understand," she spoke, though this disappointment in her words was as clear as a cloudless day.

They spent the rest of the night watching more cheesy Christmas specials and finishing off the rest of their pizza. Although he promised Jane that he would give it some thought, Calvin did not do so immediately. For one thing, after such a heavy conversation, even he felt like he needed some silly distraction from all the melodrama. For another, he was still pent up. He had been able to keep his horny thoughts out of his mind when things went serious, and thank God he had. Now, however, even looking at Jane filled his mind with lascivious , she was too distracted by the feel-good holiday cartoons to really glance at cartoons. Her tail wagged with delight every time something magical happened, and her entire body seemed to droop at the sight of a good character suffering. Rather than chuckling at her childlike sense of wonder, he could only think of railing her on the couch right then and there. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, I think it's time for bed," he suddenly announced, clapping his hands as if he was drawing the attention of a small crowd. He rose from his seat and headed off towards the bedroom.

"It's only nine," Jane whined. "Already?"

"Uhhhh, tomorrow's gonna be a busy day," Calvin invented on the spot. "Gotta prepare for Santa's arrival and all."

Suddenly, Jane sprung off the couch and hopped up and down excitedly. "Oh, right! Santa's coming tomorrow night!" she exclaimed. She dashed around the apartment for a second, overcome by pure delight. "Oh, how am I gonna sleep now!? Santa's coming!"

Calvin didn't see the harm in letting her stay up a bit late. She was an adult, a childish adult, but nonetheless capable of making her own decisions. "You can go to sleep whenever you want. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Okay! Thank you, Calvin!" she exclaimed, still shaking with anticipation. With a smile, he entered his room and closed the door. After brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas, he climbed into bed and. . . jerked off as quietly as he reasonably could. Waiting this lust out was proving to be impossible, so why not? He attempted to picture himself having sex with anyone, any human or monster that was Jane, even hate-fucking a hellhound. However, he found his mind constantly coming back to her. Fighting it harder only seemed to make it stronger. What's more is that no woman he could construct in his head made his cock twitch like Jane did.

"I can't believe I'm jerking off to her," Calvin whispered to himself exasperatedly. But once he gave up any pretense that he wasn't, he surrendered himself to the greatest sense of pleasure that he had experienced in a long time. He blew his load on the sheets a couple of moments later, then lied back and sighed.

"I love her," he admitted to himself. "Or at least I'm obsessed with her, one of the two."

Of course, it was the former. He reflected on everything that they had been through together, good and bad, and couldn't help but grin wildly. Those deep green eyes of hers, now he could get lost in those for hours. They seemed to sparkle like emeralds in candlelight. That had been one of the first things he had noticed about her. Maybe, in the end, he would have never let her into his life without that first lovely glimpse of them. Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he remembered her words to him:

You care about me, and that's all I want, his head echoed. His face flushed. It was at that moment when he decided that he had to be good enough. For her.

And all at once, as he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him, months of doubt and self-hatred were washed away.

Meanwhile, even as the clock struck midnight, Jane was not asleep. Instead of lying on the couch, she sat at Calvin's desk. With a pencil gripped tightly in her paw, she furiously scratched away at a blank sheet of paper. She got about halfway down before her face scrunched up in dissatisfaction. She crumpled it up and tossed it into a wastebasket, watching as it landed at the top of a small pile of similarly-discarded sheets. She reached into a drawer, grabbed a fresh one, and began anew.

There was still time if she hurried; he wasn't leaving until tomorrow night. Surely they could get a letter to him if she hurried. It had to be perfect, though. What if she came off as too rude to Santa? It was too much of a gamble. Maybe his Christmas magic could watch over her, but could it know what she desired in her heart? She wasn't going to risk Santa making a guess. This time, she slowly gathered her thoughts. Her vocabulary was far from eloquent, but she did her best to make sure it was as polite and well-written as she could manage.

The draft managed to reach the bottom of the paper. After signing her name, she scanned the document she held in her paws. With a sigh, she realized that it did not satisfy her standards, so she threw away yet another sheet. Yawning, she shot a longing glance at the couch, but she sternly shook her head. As far as she was concerned, all of her hopes and dreams rested on this letter being perfect. She procured yet another sheet and continued writing.

When Calvin awoke the next morning, he found that he did not have a naked kobold cuddling next to him this time. While he was happy to find that she had learned her lesson about boundaries, it also came as a minor disappointment. He would've loved to spend the morning hours hugging her, kissing her, and definitely fucking her. He rose, stretched, and did his best to shake the feeling off. She was probably still asleep on the couch. There was no telling what time she ended up going to bed last night.

He wasn't the least bit concerned until he came into the living room to find it completely abandoned. The wool blanket lied haphazardly on the couch, along with the cushions, but there was no Jane in sight. His heart skipped a beat.

"Jane?" he called out, making his way around the room as he did so. His apartment was too small for her to have hidden from him sufficiently. Knocking on the bathroom door gave him no answer either. Eventually, desperately, he opened it to find it equally devoid of life. Worry morphed into panic.

"Jane!?" he yelled. "You here!?"

No answer came. He began to shake. Had something happened to her? Did she give up on him? No, she couldn't have! He was gonna tell her today! His mind raced with all the equally horrible and possible situations that could've caused her to vanish.

"Breathe, Cal, breathe," he mumbled to himself. Rationally, he knew that freaking out would get him nowhere. Nevertheless, freak out he did. "Maybe she left something behind, l-like a note or something," he glanced around the room. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Every counter, desk, table, and surface was meticulously searched for some kind of clue. With each failure, Calvin's nerves became more and more frayed. By the time he checked the end tables in his bedroom, the last place he expected any sort of hint to be, he felt as if he had to sit down. His heart was beating a thousand paces a second.

"I'm so stupid!" he shouted as loudly as he could, feeling as though all hope was lost. He made his way back to the living room before practically collapsing onto his desk chair. "I guess I let her pass me by."

He would've spent the rest of his day wallowing in despair, had the wastebasket not caught his eye. It was fuller than it had any right to be, much more than it was yesterday. He practically dove for it, scooped out the wadded ball of paper at the very top, and read it to himself.

Dear Santa,

My name is Jane, in case you didn't know who I am. I'm still new to this world, and I don't know how quick word gets around to the North Pole.

Can I ask you a favor? I don't want any Christmas presents this year, or I guess I wouldn't mind some things, but there's nothing I want more than your help. I've met the kindest, nicest, sweetest, most perfect man in the whole world- ANY world! He fed me! He took me home! He saved me from the cold! He's really cute! Oh! Sorry, I'm getting carried away! Anyway, if you know who I'm talking about, I guess you know he's been having a hard time this year. He told me all about it last night. He's a nice guy, but he doesn't love me like I love him. Santa, I don't know what you think about mamono, but I'm a good one! I'd never violate him! Ever! Honest! I want to believe he has feelings for me, but he keeps denying them.

I don't know what else to do. That's why I want your help. I want him to be my master so bad, Mr. Santa! I promise I'd be a good wife to him! I'd do whatever I could to let him know that he's just right for me! I know you're a busy man, but can you talk to him when you come over tonight? Or leave a note, or anything? I just want him to have a sign, and you know us all best with all that Christmas magic you have! If that means I am on the naughty list forever and ever after this year, then that's fine. If that means I don't get any presents this year, then that's also fine! Just please, help me out. Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!

Your Friend,

Jane :)

P.S. If you do help, please don't do anything to force him to love me. I want him to come to it on his own. Just give him a push in that direction if you can.

P.S. 2: Thank you for all you do for us. You make the world brighter.

His hands trembled as he finished reading. What an idiot he was to ever deny her love in the first place. In his frenzied state, it took a couple of minutes to understand what someone might try to do with a letter to Santa. Then, all at once, it clicked.

"The post office!" Calvin shouted. He scrambled to his feet, wasted no time bathing, changing clothes, or brushing his teeth, slipped on his jacket and some shoes, and dashed for the front door.

Meanwhile, Jane, wearing the only set of clothes she had, wrapped her arms around herself as she slowly trudged outside. In the grip of her right paw was a messily-folded piece of paper, perfectly mundane, perfectly normal. She clung onto it as if she'd die otherwise. Flurries of snow danced and glided in the windy air, although it was not quite cold enough for anything to stick. Other than the odd looks passerbys occasionally gave her, nobody seemed to pay her any mind. Road traffic was heavier than she recognized it being on other days, but the sidewalks were mostly empty. She did not know why, but she shrugged it off. It was not important.

The post office was a long walk, and the directions she got from random pedestrians were only vaguely helpful at best. The cold bit at her body, but with a determined frown, she persisted bravely into the unknown. This was for the man she loved enough to call master, and she would do anything she could to make him his. A tiny bit of bad weather was not going to stop her; she was sure of it.

Still, the walk was rough. She had been at it for about an hour and a half by now. Vaguely, she held the feeling that she should've at least made it there by this point, but perhaps the city was bigger than she thought. She had never known anything like this back in her home world, that was for sure.

A loud yawn escaped her, almost completely involuntarily. She hadn't exactly slept well last night as a result of her obsessive letter-writing. She couldn't wait to sleep on the couch when she got home. Then, she-

She stopped dead in her tracks. Got home. She hadn't told Calvin she was leaving! She cursed herself quietly for her foolish mistake, then broke into a sprint. She had to hurry! What if he woke up and found out she wasn't there!? He'd be so worried! Even if he wasn't, she considered the fact that what she did was far from considerate. Would that put her on the naughty list? Maybe it was too late to worry about that. Regardless, she decided that she couldn't turn back now; there was too much at stake.

As Jane's pace quickened, Calvin's sedan sat still in the bumper-to-bumper traffic that plagued downtown Alvaton. His whole body remained tense as he scanned each sidewalk. She couldn't have gotten far, not without a ride, yet there was no sign of her anywhere. Humans and a handful of various monster races walked down the streets, sometimes together, sometimes alone. He even caught a glimpse of a few kobolds on walks with their masters. As if she was taunting him, one reached and enveloped her husband in a strong hug. Calvin looked away before he could feel too sorry for himself.

"C'mon, c'mon!" he growled at the traffic. "Move!"

His fingers jittered nearly unconsciously and rapidly. If he didn't find her soon, he was gonna break down. Eventually, a light in the distance turned green, and the cars were off. Things continued like this for roughly another hour before he was finally able to pull into the post office parking lot. He recklessly swerved into the nearest open space and burst out. Rushing into the office, he found that it was entirely devoid of any customers. He rushed to the counter, where an anubis in a dark grey sweater was busy shuffling through some papers. While the building itself was spectacularly decorated for the holiday season, the clerk looked altogether unfestive. She glanced up at him, and with her stern frown unchanging, she nodded. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah yeah yeah! Have you seen a kobold come in here?"

"You'll have to be more specific," she droned unsympathetically.

"She's a little less than 5 feet tall, black fur, green eyes, very cute, uh, probably wearing a very dirty hoodie."

The anubis shook her head. "I do not recall a customer matching that description. May I help you with anything else?"

"Gah, fuck!" Calvin screamed. The anubis glowered at him so fiercely that he would've been terrified even under normal circumstances. Before she could say anything else, he sprinted out of the building and hopped back in the car.

He tapped his fingers on the wheel in desperate thought. "What to do? What to do!?" It was late in the morning, and having not eaten any breakfast, his stomach conveniently growled at that moment. "Lunch! Maybe she's already delivered and gotten something to eat!"

He was so distraught by her unexplained disappearance that it never occurred to him that she had no money to pay for a meal. Pulling out of the parking lot with enough haste to nearly get himself into a wreck, he sped off. Traffic had died down a bit, but it was still a slog to get to Crown Burger. Unfortunately for him, she was nowhere to be seen. Even when he stepped inside just to make absolutely certain, no kobolds of any kind were in evidence.

The hope in him was running thin, along with the adrenaline. Once it became clear that Crown Burger was also a bust, he headed back outside. He intended to at least make it back to his car, but his energy seemed to be entirely drained. He took a seat against the wall around the same place where Jane had been just a couple of days ago. The cold was more than a nuisance, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, coming to the conclusion that all was lost, he wept bitterly.

Jane, meanwhile, was still on the road. Although she had been running for quite a while, fatigue had turned her gait into a slow trudge. She still had not reached the post office. Her legs trembled, not only from the temperature, but from the growing sense of terror. Even with her inexperience with cities, she knew in her heart that something had gone wrong. Whether or not she misinterpreted the directions of strangers, she knew she had been walking for well over the amount of time it should have taken to reach the office. The letter in her paw had become crumpled up, a result of the sheer anxiety welling within her. At this point, being out on the street for several hours, she was starting to rethink her priorities. Finding a warm place to duck into shouldn't take too long, right?

As she made her way down the sidewalk, however, she found strip malls filled with closed stores. Being Christmas Eve, the holiday season was at a fever pitch. Her tail drooped. All she could do was keep moving.

"I'm sorry, Calvin," she managed through her chattering teeth. He must've been worried sick at this point. "I'm so so so so sorry."

"Excuse me, Miss!" a voice suddenly called in her direction. She was too cold and lost in thought to really pay it any attention. Then, it got more specific. "You, in the hoodie!"

Jane stopped and turned around. A hellhound in a blue uniform that she did not recognize was staring directly at her. She froze. The trembling in her legs quickened to the point that she almost fell over. As much as she tried to run, her legs remained paralyzed with fear. With a calm, careful demeanor, the hellhound stepped forward slowly, like a hunter stalking prey.

"Miss, are you alright?" she inquired. As she got closer, it became readily apparent to Jane just how humongous she stood. Jane estimated her to be over 6 feet tall, definitely taller than Calvin. Unable to move, unable to answer, Jane could only stare back.

"Miss, I'm not going to hurt you," The hellhound clarified, doing her best to adopt a friendly smile. It came across to Jane like a ferocious grin. All at once, fight or flight finally kicked in. Jane screamed at the top of her lungs before taking off in a burst of speed that surprised even her.

"Miss? Miss!" the hellhound shouted. While running, Jane turned her head back to find her right on her heels. The height advantage granted her long strides, and she was quickly gaining on her. In another moment, she'd be within grabbing range. Not knowing what else to do, Jane dove to her left, towards the parking lot of some random storefront. She landed hard on her elbow and yelped in pain. She lied there, unable to gather the strength to move. Of course, that had done little to throw the hellhound off her. When Jane finally looked up, she found her standing directly above her. However, instead of attacking her, dragging her away, or even interrogating her, the hellhound simply offered her a helping paw. Within those dark sclerae were glints of sympathy.

Chatter came from a breast pocket. The hellhound reached into it and pulled out a small black device Jane did not recognize. "10-2. I have a 10-61. Subject has black fur, tan skin, green eyes, wearing a green hoodie. . . Uh-huh, 10-4. I'll bring her in."

"W-what?" Jane moaned weekly. She clutched at her elbow with a paw, then seemed shocked when she drew it away and found it stained with blood.

The hellhound, after putting away the strange device, bent down so that she and Jane were more or less on an even level. "You don't have to be scared of me, Miss. I'm here to help."

"Y-you're a h-h-hellhound," Jane sputtered.

"I am," the hellhound giggled. "And you're a kobold. We're practically like family!"

The attempt at friendly humor did not comfort Jane. After an awkward silence interrupted only by more chatter from her pocket, the hellhound continued. "I bet you're cold out here, ain'tcha."

"A little," Jane admitted.

"Do you mind telling me why you've been out here for so long? I've been following you for the past half-hour. I thought you were doing something suspicious, but you don't seem like a bad girl."

"I don't wanna talk about it," Jane managed. She looked into her eyes and glared. Calvin hated hellhounds, and she loved Calvin, so in her mind, hellhounds must be bad. "You're a mean old hellhound."

"Hey!" the hellhound exclaimed, real offense in her expression. "I'm not-" she stopped herself before she could get too worked up. With a sigh, she placed a paw on Jane's shoulder. "What do you say I bring you down to the station? We got hot cocoa and warm blankets."

Jane glanced at the wound on her elbow. Her cheeks were stained with streaks of tears. "Promise you won't hurt me? Or Calvin?"

"I promise," the hellhound assured.

With that, Jane finally allowed the hellhound to help her up.

In the early afternoon, Calvin finally returned to his apartment. He found it just as empty as when he had left it. The anxiety that had consumed him all morning was gone, leaving him little more than a sad, dull husk. He glanced out the balcony window with a sense of longing in his eyes. Jane was gone. Surely, she was out there somewhere, but there was no telling what happened to her. He pressed a hand to the glass and watched the flakes fall.

Not knowing what else to do, he sent a simple prayer that whatever deity might've been out there. "Wherever she is, whoever she's with, please just make sure she's alright. . ."

Much of the next hour was spent wallowing in a deep sense of loss. There was no doubt that it would've lasted much longer, none at all. Thankfully, a knock came from his door, an excited little tap-tap-tap! Curiously, Calvin rose from the couch and answered it. There, standing before him with tears in her eyes and a big smile on her face, was Jane!

"Master!" she cried joyously. "I'm- woah!"

He wrapped in a crushing hug and buried his face in her coat. Overcome by strong emotions, this time he was the blubbering one. He wasn't the only one for long, though. Soon after, Jane began crying just as harshly. They held each other tightly, warmly, just drinking in the fact that they were together once more.

"Y-you're okay!" Calvin finally managed with a sniffle. He delicately kissed her neck several times, eliciting a spree of giggles from her. "You're okay! I thought I lost you!"

"I'm so sorry!" Jane howled. "I-I didn't mean to s-scare you! I'm such a bad girl!"

"You're not a bad girl, Jane," came a voice that Calvin did not recognize. He looked over to find a sight that made his blood run cold. There, standing off to the side, was a hellhound in a police uniform. She eyed Jane with a kind smile, but when she noticed Calvin's stare, it briefly morphed into a cold frown.

In spite of his bad history with her race, as well as her frosty expression, he could only smile up at her. "You found her for me?" he questioned. When the officer nodded, Calvin reached out and vigorously shook her paw with both hands. "Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you!"

When she saw that he truly was happy to have her back, the hellhound's hatred seemed to vanish. She did not exactly seem happy with him, but her expression morphed into something that passed for politeness. "You're welcome. I'm just glad to see you two are back together."

"Do you wanna come in for a drink?" Calvin asked. "It's the least I can do for you getting her back to me."

The officer raised a paw and shook her head. "I don't think so," she stated calmly. "I have a shift to finish and a husband to get home too. Besides, from what I understand, you hate monsters like me. Quite frankly, judging by how much of a selfish asshole you seem to be, I hate you, too."

"Don't hate Calvin!" Jane scolded. "He's a good guy!"

"Not good enough to treat you right," the officer remarked with genuine disgust. "Can't even admit that he loves you."

"Actually, that's changed," he firmly stated. He grabbed Jane's paw and locked his fingers around her. She gasped, then looked up at him. He grinned down at her, then brought her in for a deep, sensual kiss. The officer's eyes widened in shock, and she suddenly found that she herself was a bit stimulated. She waited for them to part from the kiss, expecting some sort of comeback from him, but they only stopped for brief gulps of air. Eventually, not knowing what else to do, she left them to it before she got too hot and bothered.

By the time they finally pulled away from one another, Calvin realized that they had been left alone. That was a slight shame; he had a comeback prepared for her, an impromptu speech declaring his newfound love for Jane. Regardless, when she clung tightly to him and laughed softly, the feeling he had in that moment was better than any smug satisfaction could be.

With her this close, however, there was one noticeable drawback. "Jane. . . No offense, but you kinda stink."

Jane immediately sniffed herself. Her eyes widened, and she nodded in agreement. "I do! Sorry, mas- Calvin! Would you mind if I took a shower?"

"Not at all!" he laughed. They went in together, and Jane got halfway towards the bathroom door before a naughty idea sprouted in her head. She threw off her hoodie, then, feigning weakness, she gently caressed the bandage on her elbow. Nervously, she stared at him. He did not look away this time, instead taking a long look at her naked torso.

"C-could you help me?" she inquired. She gestured at the band-aid. "I fell in a parking lot and hurt my arm. I don't know if I can wash my back with it hurting like this."

She didn't fool him for a minute. Nevertheless, he approached her, brought a hand to her breast, and slowly caressed it. "I'd be happy to."

The simple gesture was enough to make Jane shake with anticipation. Even despite the long, tiring day they had both endured, she was still a monster. With Calvin's help, she slipped off shorts she was wearing, exposing her nethers once more. He eyed the black bush between her legs hungrily. She was radiating with demonic energy, and soon his cock stood stiff and ready. He was able to hold off the immense lust long enough to doff his own outfit. Then, holding each other close, they jumped into the shower together.

Soon, they were drenched with scalding hot water as the air became thick with steam. Not that they seemed to care, though, for Jane quickly kissed Calvin with a degree of passion that she had never exhibited before. They held each other tightly, and for a minute or so, they did nothing lewder than kiss. Occasionally, they would stop long enough for Jane to take a deep whiff of Calvin's scent. He hadn't bathed that day, either, so while he didn't smell fresh , he smelt like Calvin. She knew that smell from the moment he first let her use his jacket as a blanket. She moaned pleasantly. No other man in the world could possibly replicate that wonderful smell.

Quickly, they found themselves unable to satisfy their desires by kissing alone. Without warning, Calvin grabbed her breasts and squeezed them tight, eliciting a gasping moan from Jane. She could feel the intense heat in her loins screaming at her. She desired nothing more than for him to thrust inside her right now, but he was her master, and that meant she would happily let him stay in charge.

"You can do anything you want to me," Jane moaned. Wordlessly, Calvin brushed her tousled hair from her face. Then, he brought his mouth to her nipple. A gasp escaped her, followed by a long, pleasured moan. One hand reached around, squeezed her ass, then smacked it. When Jane caught her breath again, she couldn't help but giggle. This was already better than anything she tried on her own, and he hadn't even entered her yet.

As if on cue, he broke away from her tit. They locked eyes with one another. A considerably long pause was spent drinking each other in. Then, Calvin lowered himself onto his knees. Jane glanced around to find herself backed up against the wall.

"What are you-" she began, but she was unable to finish her sentence before his tongue answered her question. "O-oh!~" she shrieked as it made contact with her vulva. When his tongue brushed past her clit for the first time, it was as if she'd died and gone to heaven; her whole body shuddered. Calvin's tongue eagerly explored the entirety of her cunt. Having never done so before, some of the eating out proved a little awkward, but it was far from a total wash. He could hear Jane's breaths quicken, and how she moaned when he made certain movements. He proved himself a quick learner. Jane could feel the pleasure building up within. However, before she could get the orgasm she was looking for, Calvin rose once more. He pinned her against the wall, lifting her legs off the ground in preparation for a standing missionary. The tip of his dick seemed to kiss her lower set of lips.

However, he didn't immediately thrust himself inside of her. Instead, he glanced back at her, as if wordlessly asking for permission. What a considerate master! Jane weakly nodded. With that, Calvin took the plunge, as well as her virginity.

Jane howled, almost quite literally due to her kobold heritage. The sensation of her first time was something that no description could do justice. After that first deep thrust, Calvin seemed to try for a gentle cycle. In. Out. In. Out. Jane squealed with pleasure every time his dick so much as moved. Without thinking, she gyrated her hips in time with his thrusts. Even once he began to quicken, which he signaled with his own involuntary moan, Jane kept up so that they were both working at the same speed.

"M-master," she moaned seductively. "M-master!" She no longer cared about calling him Calvin or anything else. He was too busy trying to find an optimal rhythm to be offended, if offended was what he would've been. He grunted as the walls of her pussy massaged his rod. She was so fucking tight! It was like her cunt was sucking him in deeper with every thrust. Even if he wanted to stop, he wasn't so sure if his body would obey. He was going to cum inside her, and judging by how she tried her damnedest to engulf his entire length, that was exactly what she wanted.

"Jane!" he whispered in her ear, sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine. "Oh God, Jane!"

"A-am I good girl, M-m-master!?" Jane cried loudly. "Call me a good girl! Please call me a good girl!"

In all likelihood, she was shouting loud enough to be heard in the next apartment over. Calvin didn't care; she was a good girl. When he told her just that, Jane's eyes rolled in the back of her head as she came all over his dick. Calvin found himself at his limit. Jane could feel his cock twitching inside. She screamed with delight as, a moment later, he filled her with his seed. They held each other close, breathing deeply. Then, as the lust began to subside, he kissed her one more time.

With their first time over, they actually used the shower for its intended purpose. They cleaned themselves (and each other) well enough, then dried off with the nearby towels. Still naked, they took a seat on Calvin's bed.

"I think you'll be sleeping in here from now on," Calvin commented. He lied down, and she followed, snuggling up against him.

"I'd like that very much," she hummed delightedly. She leaned in, breathed in his scent once more, and sighed. "I never told this before because I thought it was weird, but I love your smell."

"Coming from you, cutie, that's a compliment of the highest order."

Jane suddenly sat up, as if remembering something. "Aw, crud."

"What's the matter?"

"I should've asked Santa for some new clothes," she muttered weakly. "I have nothing to wear except that dirty old hoodie and those shorts."

Calvin rose to his feet. "Well, maybe I can have a chat with him."

Jane's eyes widened. "Calvin, but. . . But you said Santa's a busy man! What if you bothered him!? You don't have to risk the naughty list for me!"

Calvin grinned at her. "Well, let's just say I think I deserve the naughty list for being such a jerk to you over the past-"

Jane hugged him tightly, though her tail and ears drooped low. "Please don't put yourself down like that," she whispered sadly, but sweetly. "You're the best master I could ever hope for. If you don't think you are, well, then that's just too bad."

Calvin chuckled at that. "I suppose you're right. You're also right about needing some new clothes, though. I should probably go get you something before the shops close tonight."

Jane ran a paw along the side of his arm. "Aww, c'mon now. I'd rather you stay here and cuddle with me."

"A tempting offer, my dear, but you need clothes," he chuckled. Then, he adopted a more serious expression. "Promise me you'll still be here when I get back, OK? For your master?"

Jane inexplicably squealed with delight. "You said it!" she exclaimed excitedly. At first, Calvin was confused, but then Jane quickly clarified. "You said you were my master!"

She bounced off the bed, and with her tail wagging a mile a minute, leapt into his arms. She doubtlessly planned for him to catch her in a spinning hug. However, Calvin was so caught off guard that all she did was knock the both of them onto the floor. Nevertheless, by the time they caught their senses, all they could do was laugh at how ridiculous the whole stunt was.

Her boundless energy allowed her to rise first, then subsequently pull her up. "I love you," she murmured sweetly. "I know I probably said it before, but it can't hurt to say it again!"

With a chuckle, Calvin reckoned that it was true enough. "The feeling's mutual. Now, I'll be back in a minute-"

"You don't have to go tonight," Jane whispered. "Do you? Right now, I just want to be close to you."

"I'll only be gone for an hour or two," Calvin reassured. "I'll just get you a few things, that's all. Christmas presents. I can't risk you not getting any presents in case you're on the naughty list, after all."

"I'm not naughty!" Jane defended.

"You were a very naughty girl in that shower," Calvin teased. A heaving breath escaped her as he gave her ass a firm squeeze.

Jane caught the hint at once. With a smile and a deep blush, she relented. "OK, maybe I'm a little bit naughty. Just don't take too long, OK?"

"I won't."

True to his word, he was back just a little after dark. Carrying a sack filled with clothes in Jane's size, he set them down. The awe in Jane's expression as she examined her newfound outfits was contagious. There hadn't been much in the way of available clothes, considering all the last-minute Christmas sales going on, but he had managed to procure three made-for-kobold outfits just for her. She took them to the bathroom mirror and held them against her form. The first was a brown sweater, a pair of jeans, and athletic shoes specially designed for the dog-like feet of kobolds. The second was a brand new black hoodie, dark jeans, and boots. The last, which quickly stood out to Jane as her favorite, was a pink t-shirt with the text 'I'm just too doggone cute!', a bright yellow zip-up jacket appropriate enough for winter weather, a long pink skirt that matched her t-shirt, and another pair of specialty sneakers.

"Thank you, Master!" Jane exclaimed. She sniffed the clothes excitedly and discovered, to her pleasant surprise, that they already had just a tiny bit of his scent on them. It was doubtlessly the mere result of him handling them and checking them out, but she appreciated it all the same. She thought of all the mean things that hellhound told her about Calvin, about how he 'didn't appreciate how he treated his kobold', or how 'she really wished she could teach her a lesson'. She had, of course, told the hellhound the full story when she brought her to the station, including how Calvin had fed her, taken her in, and the reason why Calvin remained distant. Maybe it was simply the fact that the hellhound didn't appreciate Calvin's judgmental views, and there was some merit in that. She had, after all, been quite nice to her in spite of all the things Jane had heard. Then again, maybe Jane had given her the wrong idea about Calvin. In all fairness, Jane guessed that she would not have expected Calvin to prove the hellhound dreadfully wrong almost immediately thereafter, but he had. She loved him for that, and now he loved her. That mattered more than any Christmas present even Santa could provide.

However, Calvin seemed to hesitate after Jane went through her new clothes. He kept one hand behind his back, and whenever Jane tried to peer around to see what it was, he would adjust his stance so that she was left curious. He kept doing this, unintentionally fueling Jane's inquisitiveness further, until at last she could no longer keep quiet.

"What have you got, Master?" she stated. "Show me, please!"

Calvin relented; the cat was out of the bag. He thought to himself for a moment before answering, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse as to how the present 'from Santa' got here before Santa himself could have. Luckily, he was able to come up with something on the spot.

"Well, on my way home, I was stopped by someone I didn't expect to see at all," he explained. Keeping whatever he was holding hidden, he walked over and took a seat on the couch. Jane threw herself into the cushion beside him and wagged her tail in anticipation.

"Who'd you see, Master?"

Calvin adopted a sly smile. "Would you believe me if I told you it was Santa himself? Apparently, he's been watching what happened between us very closely."

Jane's eyes shimmered with wonder. "Santa visited you!? Santa visited you!? That's so cool! Did he say anything about me being naughty or nice!? C'mon, Master! Tell me, please!"

She was so excited that she nearly pounced on him. However, her obedience to her master superseded any attempts to swipe the present. Calvin patted her on the head, and feeling his touch, she managed to settle down enough. Her tail, however, kept wagging so hard that he wondered how it didn't fly right off her body.

"Well, there's some good news and bad news, I'm afraid," Calvin admitted. "The good news is that you made the nice list this year. You passed with flying colors!"

"Yes!" Jane cheered, nearly falling off the couch in celebration. "I'm a good girl! Master says so! Santa says so!" It took her another moment to realize that there was bad news. Suddenly, she sobered up completely. "And the bad news?"

Calvin faked a disappointed sigh. "I'm on the naughty list this year," he confessed.

"No!" Jane exclaimed with distress that equaled the intensity of her prior cheer. She threw herself in Calvin's arms and gave him a comforting hug. "Master, no! You're not naughty! We gotta tell Santa that there's been some kind of mistake!"

"Well, according to him, I was only barely naughty enough for the list. Santa was very understanding about the whole ordeal. He knows what happened to Mom, and all the good things I did this year, but it was still very naughty of me to treat other monsters, and myself, as if they had no value. All the good I did, while great, was just not enough to make up for my poor attitude. He cheered me up more than I would've thought possible. He told me 'there was always next year', and that he had faith that I'd be very nice. According to him, that was one of the reasons why he decided to give one gift that we'd both like."

With that, he pulled out the present. Wrapped in green and red paper, the box was small enough to fit in Calvin's hands from end to end. "You're the nice one, Jane. Would you like to do the honors?"

Jane's heartbeat quickened as he slid the box in her hands. After some hesitation, she very carefully tore through the wrapping paper. She was greeted to the sight of a black box, which she soon opened. Once she did, she gasped. Her paw ran along the edges of a green collar the same shade as her eyes. The design was simple; one would even be right to go so far as basic. Nevertheless, to Jane, it was as valuable as any material luxury the world could provide.

"Master," was all she managed, too consumed by wonder.

As her left paw drew the item from the box, Calvin held her other paw tightly. "Jane, I know we've already said it, but I think he'd like it if we made it official. Would you like me to be- Woah!"

"Yes!" she cried, pinning him down and burying her face in his chest! "Yes, yes, yes! You're my master! Forever and ever and ever!"

If her tail was wagging fast before, now it was as if it had broken the sound barrier. Calvin, unable to do anything else, simply laughed, snuggled her tight, and marveled at how bright the future looked.