This one gets kinda heavy, guys. Which is hilarious for a chapter taking place on Christmas. Hope it rips your heart out like it did mine!

Thank you for reading!

Christmas morning started with Brain waking up to Anora in his arms. Which, by the way, was already the best and only present he could have wanted this year. It was an outright shame that he had to share her with the rest of her family.

"You awake?" he softly murmured to her, moving his hand to gently graze her hip.

"No..." the young woman slurred back. Brain chuckled a little at her. She was either just waking up or had been working on going back to sleep.

"My present for you is on the bedside table." he sweetly mumbled into her ear. "One of two, but this one can't be seen in front of your aunt."

Anora hummed in response.

"Aren't you going to get up?" Brain then asked her, giving the back of her neck a gentle kiss. "It's Christmas morning- don't you have traditions about opening gifts up?"

At this, Anora carefully shook her head. "We fast." she explained with a voice still groggy, "Big dinner at 4. Presents at 5."

"Well, if that's the case..." Brain started to shift from his spot as he got up. "I'm taking a shower and maybe going to shake a few presents. I'll be back."

The only answer he got was another short hum. In a way, he wasn't really expecting any other answers. Brain quietly left her bedroom, making sure that Dawn was nowhere around before going to the bathroom. The farmhouse was so old that it didn't have the proper fixtures for a shower, so instead the Ravishtas had a claw bathtub instead. Brain found it to look very beautiful and wondered how long it had been in their family.

When Brain had finished his bath, changing into a new set of clothes while still in the bathroom, he was surprised to see that Anora was waiting outside. In her arms were Brain's gift- a new set of clothes that he wasn't quite sure would fit her. Not quite to his surprise, Anora's cheeks were flushed.

"You'll look great in them." he told her, giving her a little kiss. "Show me what they look like after you get dressed- I'll be waiting in my room. Sound fair?"

Anora nodded. Brain allowed her into the bathroom, and did as he promised. He worked to make the rest of his body presentable for the small family that had taken him in; which meant brushing out his hair, a little cologne for good measure, and any small adjustments to how his clothes looked. His back was turned from the door when he heard it open back up again.

"Well," Brain mused as he looked over, "How does it fi-"

There stood Anora, still glowing from her bath, dressed in a light blue silk nightgown that just barely reached the end of her butt. With it was a sheer kimono style bathrobe that almost reached down to the floor. She looked back at him with a shy, gentle smile as she walked over to him. It took every force in Brain to not stumble backwards onto the bed and let whatever happen, happen.

"That looks..." Brain started to say, his voice cracking slightly, "That looks really good on you. You- you'd never know that I guessed at the size."

"It's a bit snug..." Anora carefully objected as she placed a hand over her stomach.

The young man looked her over. His eyes held a certain fondness in them as a soft smile crossed his lips. He stepped a bit closer to her, calmly placing his hands on her hips before whispering in her ear, "Then maybe I can help you take it off?"

Anora blushed before bringing her lips closer to his. "I'd like that." she quietly admitted. "But later."

Brain let out a small laugh. "Of course." he agreed, bringing his arms around her for a small hug. "Your aunt would get suspicious if I kept you up here all the time. Especially today of all days."

Anora bashfully looked away from him. She took a few steps away from him just so they could both have some breathing room. With a shy smile, Anora's attention was brought to something else in the room. Her face immediately fell.

"What's wrong?" Brain asked. But Anora didn't answer him. Instead, she started to walk over to where they had put their suitcases when they first arrived. She carefully bent down to pick up something that Brain had honestly forgotten about until now. His anger flared for a moment when he saw it. Anora had noticed, and was now holding, Ephemer's present to her. Her face started to pale as she stared at it. Brain walked over to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Are you going to open it?" Brain curiously asked her. Anora bit her lip.

"I'm scared." she admitted in a tiny voice. "He bought it before..."

"You don't have to open it if you don't want to." Brain reminded her. "He said to wait until Christmas to open it; it didn't have to be on Christmas day itself."

"But then I'd never open it." Anora softly argued with a shake of her head. "I… I need to."

Brain nodded before he took a few steps back. Carefully, cautiously, Anora started to peel back to wrapping paper. Underneath of it was a velvet ring box. Anora's hand shook as she opened it up. Inside was a white gold band with five blue diamonds arranged into the shape of a star. The duo gawked at the ring in shock. Brain ran a hand through his hair- trying to disguise some of his disgust. He only had one phrase to say, and it was one they were all thinking.

"That fucking coward."

Anora flinched at his curse, but didn't oppose it either. Instead, with her hands visibly shaking, she started to take the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. It looked nice. It looked really, really nice. Anora's line of sight shortened as she focused on the ring; her eyes blurring with tears that she didn't bother to stop. Of course Brain noticed, and of course he was worried.

"You are okay?" he softly asked, even placing a hand on her shoulder. Anora took a step back- an awful time to realize that her balance was slightly skewed now as well.

"I… I want to be alone."

Brain's face twisted into one of conflict as he considered calling her out and insisting that they talk about it. Instead, he mumbled a small, "As you wish." before carefully making his leave. He made his way downstairs where Kieran was stoking the fire in the living room fireplace.

"Morning!" Kieran greeted. But when he noticed how angered Brain looked, his grin became a frown. "Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Brain wasn't sure what to say.

"I know Anora said that you guys usually fast in the morning," he sighed, placing a hand behind his neck, "Then have a big dinner at 4, but I think she's going to need some hot chocolate."

Kieran looked even more distressed at this. "Why? What happened?"

"She opened a gift from the ex." Brain explained. There was a darkness in his voice that he barely recognized. "He bought it before they broke up. Suffice to say, he's a dead man walking for thinking he can give it to her now."

"Ah." came the affirmation. Kieran stood up, brushing the soot off his hands, then turned to Brain with a worried glance. "If you don't mind me asking, who is this Ephemer guy, anyway? Razzie's mentioned him a lot but I never actually got the chance to see him."

"Well," Brain started, "He's hard to ignore, I'll give him that. He was adopted by one of the headmasters when he was five, and he's grown up on campus since then. Everyone's heard of him, but I didn't get to know him personally until there was an accident during one of the house activities..."

. . .

Everything about the world felt wrong now. Her vision swam in darkness as she stared at the ring on her finger. She didn't know how it got there- she couldn't remember putting it on at all. A good part of her wanted to take it off and toss it out the window. The other part of her realized just how much she really missed him.

'Can I keep you?'

'Always. Forever and ever.'

"Forever..." Anora mumbled, her voice cracking as if it was one wrong move away from crying. She loved Brain, really. She loved him so much that he let her take something precious. She loved Ephemer too. Oh sweet Ub Iwerks did she love Ephemer, and all this time away from him -not trying to think about him- was just a ruse. It felt like one, anyway. Her heart was in conflict. Brain was good to her. Brain actually talked to her if something was worrying him. And Ephemer… Ephemer just let her walk away. But she loved him. If she didn't, she wouldn't feel like she was about to throw up, right?

The first tear fell with her even being aware of it. The second dropped right on top of the ring itself. So many other tears fell after that that Anora couldn't see properly. Whatever joy she would have felt for Christmas was ruined now. The happiness of being with her family was squashed. Ephemer had ruined everything again, and he wasn't even here. If she didn't love him, then this wouldn't have been such a big deal. But it was. It was a very big deal.

Ephemer might have been a coward, but she still loved him. This ring was proof that he loved her too. Anora curled her body into a ball as she wept even harder.

"Fuck you, Ephemer. Just… just fuck you."