I must've fallen asleep at some time during the night, as I found myself being awoken by someone knocking on my door. I glanced to my left and the time on the clock read 10:30.

"Come in." I called lazily as I sat up on the mattress. A guy who looked to be around my age with rabbit ears similar to Velvet's, very short, straight auburn hair and light green eyes opened the door. He was wearing a light red t-shirt which displayed a set of massive biceps and a pair of black pajama pants with red vertical stripes.

"Joseph, right?" He asked.

I nodded back and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "And you must be Chris."

"That's right. Breakfast is ready if you want some."

"Thanks. Velvet up yet?"

Chris shook his head. "Not yet." He then left and closed the door behind him.

"Wow. A man of few words." I mumbled and changed into my more comfortable pajamas. I put on a pair of pants and someone else knocked on the door. "Come in."

Velvet opened the door wearing a dark orange pajama t-shirt with the Shade academy insignia on the front and brown sweatpants, leaning up against the open door. "Chris come and say hi?" She asked.

I pulled my pajama shirt over my head and nodded. "Yeah, he seems nice. Quiet, but nice."

She chuckled. "The military life seems to have toned down how talkative he is."

I exhaled and sat back down on the bed. Velvet must've noticed how nervous I was as she sat down next to me and began to rub circles on my back. "Hey, let's go get something to eat."

I gave her a small smile before I noticed something. "Aren't you cold?" I asked, noticing her light clothing giving how cold it was outside.

"No, I'm fine." Her words attempted to deceive, but her body betrayed her as she shivered. I smirked and draped my hoodie over her shoulders. She smiled back and slipped her arms into the sleeves, her hands reaching just short of the wrist cuffs, creating one of the cutest sights of my life, one I would treasure forever.

She tugged me to my feet and followed her as she walked down the hall to the dining room where her sister, brother and dad were sitting at the table while her mom was in the kitchen cooking up tater tots, hash browns, eggs and bacon.

Velvet's father reached for the plate of bacon on the table, but a hand slapped it away. "What about that diet you were on, dad?" Kayla, Velvet's older sister, asked as she pulled the plate towards her. Her black hair was done up in a short ponytail and had bright orange eyes while she wore black sweatpants with a dark grey long-sleeved shirt with a black housecoat overtop.

"You know he never sticks to them." Chris stated as he bit into a piece of bacon.

"Sorry Hun, but he's right." Velvet's mom said with a shrug, her short brown hair waving slightly as she did so. She wore a dark blue housecoat overtop of a black long-sleeved shirt with black sweatpants.

"Sepia!" Fallow said with mock frustration.

Velvet bowed her head to suppress a laugh and cleared her throat. "Hey uh… mom, Kay, this is Joe. My…boyfriend." She said nervously.

I smiled at the ladies and waved at them. "Joseph Taren. But uh… just-just call me Joe."

Kayla waved back. "Hi Joe. In case little sis didn't tell you already, I'm Kayla, but everybody just calls me Kay. I really don't care which." She replied nonchalantly as she took a sip of coffee, her attitude slightly reminding me of Yang.

"Morning Joe, I'm Sepia, but just call me either Mrs. Scarlatina or by my first name. No formal stuff like 'ma'am.'" She kindly ordered with a smile.

"Okay, Sepia." I said with a nervous smile.

"Anyway, come and grab a plate as well as how much of whatever you like."

"Thanks." I said, getting a platter of tater tots, an egg and two pieces of bacon. I sat in an empty seat next to Chris while Velvet followed close behind and took the chair on my left.

"So Velvet's texted us about what you're like, but she's never bothered to tell us how you two first met." Kayla stated from the seat across from me.

I immediately got nervous as there was two ways I could answer that question. I leaned in next to Velvet and covered my mouth before whispering to her. "Should I tell her about when we first spoke or when I first saw you?" I asked, referring to 'The Cardin Incident.'

Velvet held a similar nervous expression on her face and leaned in. "When we first spoke." She whispered back.

I nodded and turned to the rest of her family, all of them bearing confused expressions. "I was coming back from talking with Professor Ozpin and I literally ran into her." I smiled to myself and chuckled as I recalled the memory. "We kept on blaming ourselves, but we eventually decided to both say we're sorry. Couple days later, same thing happened, she introduced me to her team and a few days after that, I asked her out." I summarized as Velvet held my hand and smiled.

"Well, it's good to know that you didn't try any pickup lines on her." Kayla said.

"Agreed." Fallow said, glaring at me.

I let out a nervous laugh, but Velvet came to my rescue. "So what are everyone's plans for today?" She asked everyone.

"Me and Chris finished our Dustmas shopping yesterday, so we were just planning on hanging around the house all day, getting some gaming done." Kayla said while her brother grunted in agreement.

"And your father's going to help me with baking some Dustmas goodies." Sepia added.

"Okay, well me and Joe are going into town to get some shopping in." Velvet declared. Since when? I thought. Actually, probably a good idea giving that her family probably wants to interrogate me.

I quickly finished my breakfast and almost gave Velvet a kiss on the top of the head before remembering that her parents were there. Thinking that a display of affection in front of her parents would inevitably lead to a situation of extreme awkwardness, I decided against it and headed off to my room to grab some clean clothes for the trip into Vacuo.

"H-hey Joe?" I heard a quiet voice call from behind me. I turned and saw Velvet nervously rubbing her arm. "Th-thanks for asking me about when we first met. I'd... I'd rather my family not find out about Cardin. Otherwise, they'd take the same measures as my team. I want them to know that I can take care of my own problems."

I waved her off. "It's okay, I know how much it bothers you. If I was in a situation like yours, I'd prefer to keep it to myself as well." I said in understanding.

She smiled back and kissed me on the lips before backing out of my room. "Do you mind if I have the first shower?"

I shrugged. "Your house." Velvet smiled again and I heard the door to her room open then close as she made her way to the bathroom.

I lay my head on the pillow of my bed and went through a conversation I'd been having with my uncles. I'd told them about how I was visiting Velvet's family and would be spending Dustmas eve and day at her place and would be spending three days with my parents. I was about to send another message when Chris burst into my room with a stern expression and crossed arms, closing the door behind him.

"What were you and Velvet whispering about earlier?" He demanded.

I shrugged and put my scroll on the nightstand. "Nothin' important." I casually replied.

"If it wasn't important, then why were you whispering about it?" He pushed further.

"It was just something a little embarrassing for me, that's all."

He smirked, but the small amount of mirth did not reach his eyes. He picked me up by the collar of my shirt, dragged me off the bed and slammed me up against an empty wall.

"Now I'm going to ask again, Joe. What. Did. You. Whisper?" He said threateningly.

I grunted and tried to release his grip on my shirt, but to no avail; his grasp was stronger than mine. I also didn't want to hit him otherwise I'd have to explain it to Velvet and that was going to be very difficult to try and describe. He backed up and slammed me against the wall again. "I have no problems giving you a couple bruises." Chris added.

"Believe me when I say that nothing you do or say is going to make me talk." I deadpanned at him.

He then held me in place against the wall with a beefy forearm and produced a knife from the inside of his shirt, pressing it against my throat. "Even if I bled you dry?"

I was about to say 'yes' when something else crossed my mind. "You-you don't actually want to know, do you?" I stated rather than asked.

Chris sighed and put away the knife, letting me go. "You're right. I really don't care. Kayla sent me in here while I believe that what goes on between you and Velvet is purely between the two of you."

"So… is Kayla apprehensive about me?"

Chris nodded and leaned against the door. "She thinks that you'll break her heart like all the others."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "And you don't think I might?" I asked. Although hell will freeze over before that happens.

Chris smiled and shook his head. "No. I can tell by the way you look at her that you actually love her. That you'd die for her."

I scoffed at the remark. "Already have."

It was Chris' turn to look confused. "What?"

I chuckled at his response. "Yeah, I went up against an Omega Beowolf solo and it bit through my aura, causing me to bleed out, but not before I stabbed it through the back."

"When-when the fuck was this?!" He asked in disbelief.

I shrugged back. "Maybe a few weeks ago. Spent a couple days unconscious and broke one of my weapons, but hey, I survived." I said with a laugh.

Chris rubbed his chin as he digested what I had told him. "Well then, I'll tell Kayla she's got nothing to worry about." He replied. "Oh and by the way, I wouldn't mind having you as a brother-in-law." He said with a wink as he left.

I could only stand there, stunned at the possible implication. So… does he… does he think I should marry Velvet? I thought as the beautiful girl in question walked into my room brushing her hair dressed in blue jeans, a light grey long-sleeved shirt and a hazy green hoodie overtop.

"Shower's all yours." She declared. "I left your hoodie in the bathroom."

I shrugged. "Meh, keep it. I've had that one for a while now and I'm starting to grow out of it." I said with a smile, remembering how her face lit up when she put it on. Velvet put down her hair brush and gave me a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Best. Gift. Ever." She said from over my shoulder. My smile faded slightly as I was suddenly remembered I had no idea what I supposed to get her for Dustmas.

I released her from the embrace and forced a smile. "Only the best for the best."

She blushed and punched my shoulder playfully. "Go have a shower, I'll be waiting in the living room." I grabbed a pair of black jeans, a t-shirt the same shade of blue as my hair, another black hoodie and headed into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower and as the hot water ran down my body, contemplated possible gift ideas for the rest of Velvet's family. Maybe a new knife for Chris or something, a book on psychology for Kayla and as for her parents… my mind drew a complete blank.

After shutting off the water, drying down and donning my clean clothes, I met Velvet in the living room, who was sitting on the couch, already wearing her winter jacket overtop of her hoodie. Upon hearing my footsteps, she looked up and grinned.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just gotta grab my coat." I said, putting on my shoes and jacket, Velvet putting on a pair of winter boots.

"So, do you have your driver's license with you?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, in my wallet." I patted my front right jeans pocket where I always kept it. "But it's probably not valid in Vacuo."

"So you don't mind if I drive?" She asked.

I shrugged and gave her a confused look. "No, why would I?"

Velvet shook her head. "No reason." She then produced a set of keys from her jacket and opened the door, gesturing for me to follow. I exited the house and closed the door behind me as Velvet was already driving a white sedan out of the garage. She honked the horn twice and I sprinted into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

"In a rush?" I asked with a laugh.

Velvet shrugged and smirked. "Nah, just wanted to see how fast you could move." The car then moved forward and we were en-route to the capital city of Vacuo.

"So how are you feeling?" Velvet asked.

I sighed. "I think Chris and your mom are okay with me, Kayla and your dad on the other hand…" I trailed off.

"Joe." I looked at her. "I meant physically. How are you doing? Are you able to move around alright?"

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly out of embarrassment. "Oh. Well, my stomach still hurts if I put pressure on it and my aura hasn't regenerated to a hundred percent yet, but otherwise yeah. I'm fine."

Velvet laughed as we drove. "You're worrying too much. Kay and dad will warm up to you eventually. Just give them time."

I decided to follow her advice and switched topics. "So what do you think would be a good gift for your family?"

"Well, if you're thinking about what to get for each of them, trust your judgement."

"Yeah… but that's just it. I trust my judgement, but in order to judge something, I have to have an idea of what it is I'm judging in the first place!" I said frustrated.

Velvet gave me a quizzical look before returning her gaze to the road. "What?"

"I don't know what to get your parents." I stated.

Velvet sighed. "Well, my mom's a baking fanatic. Just get her a cookbook. As for my dad, a new set of tools for the car or a pair of socks will do. He's not very complicated."

"Okay. What do you think about a new combat knife for Chris and a book on psychology for Kayla?"

Velvet nodded as we turned onto the highway that led straight to the city. "Both sound good. Just… make sure the book isn't titled 'Psychology for Dummies.'" Velvet said with a chuckle.

I laughed back and we pulled into the parking lot of the mall that featured everything from an arcade to an upscale jewelry store. We promptly exited the car and entered the massive building.

"So… do you want to split up and do our shopping separately or what?" I asked.

"Separately." Velvet said immediately. "Unless you want me dragging you from store to store all day."

I chuckled. "Okay, point taken."

"I'll meet you in the food court at noon!" She called as she made her way to the second floor of the mall. I nodded back and wandered towards a nearby bookstore.

After looking around for a decent cookbook, I decided to just go the counter and ask for help. Thankfully, the woman attending the store pointed out a decent-looking tome filled with a recipe for every baked good imaginable. It was kind of pricey at forty lien, but if it meant staying on Velvet's mom's good side, then no price was too high. I then asked the woman if there was a section of books dedicated to psychology and she showed me the 'education' section of novels. I picked one that I thought would be a good choice and paid for it as well.

After buying the books and placing them in a plastic bag, I decided to grab Chris' combat knife next. On my way to the military-surplus store however, I passed the high-end jewellery store called 'Shine Brightly' advertised on a billboard outside the mall and stopped in front of the window. Inside was every type of gem imaginable: diamond, jade, ruby, sapphire, quartz, the list went on. Of course, they were expensive, but an idea crossed my mind. I walked up to the counter where a balding, grey haired old man wearing a green shirt, red apron and grey pants stood.

"Hi. I was just wondering; do you make custom jewellery?" The man nodded back at me and I pulled out my scroll. "Do you think that you'd be able to replicate these symbols on stones?" I asked, showing him a zoomed-in view of mine and Velvet's emblems.

"It will take a while, but yes." He said.

Now to the tough question. "How much?"

"Depends on how you want it. On a necklace, wristband, embedded with silver, gold or copper and the type of gemstones involved."

"I was actually thinking of more along the lines of a necklace, one with each symbol and a piece of smoky quartz for the crossed blades symbol and an emerald for the stitched heart. How much would silver cost?" I asked.

"Eight hundred lien for both." The old man replied.

Fuck. I thought. That won't leave anything for my other gifts.

"And copper?"

"Five hundred."

I sighed. She's worth it. I reached into my wallet and slid five notes of one hundred lien over the counter. "Okay then, copper it is.

"If you don't mind my asking, who's this for? Mother, sister?"

"Girlfriend."

"Huh." The man said. "Okay then, I just need your name." He said, sliding a piece of paper that contained every detail of the piece of jewellery on it. I wrote down my name on the line that said 'Client's name' and slid it back to him. "Taren huh? Alright, give me three hours and your two silver necklaces will be ready."

"Wh-what? No, we agreed on copper." I objected.

He nodded as he put the money in the register. "I know, but it's a little hard to see colors in black and white."

"What?" I said, utterly confused. The old man's eyes then flicked upwards at a security camera installed in the corner of the shop.

"Anything for love, right?" He said with a smile.

"Why?" I asked.

"You saved my son and grandson's lives, Joseph. The people of Hishan owe you a massive debt."

"But-" I started.

"A person's life is worth more than any amount of money in the world." He interrupted me. "You're a hero, whether you recognize it or not."

I smiled and nodded to the man. "Thank you!" I called as I left to get the knife.

My trip to the military-surplus store took less than five minutes. I asked the man at the counter what knife he recommended for someone who was training in the military and he gave me a large, serrated knife with a sheath that could only be described as lethal. I paid for the gift and placed it in the same plastic bag as the books. My scroll buzzed and I realized that I had completely lost track of time. It was 12:15 and had received a message from Velvet asking where I was. I couldn't have moved faster as I sprinted towards the food court with the bag containing the gifts and looked among the mob of people.

After scanning the tables, I found a pair of rabbit ears sticking out among the crowd and headed in that direction.

Sure enough, Velvet was sitting at a table by herself with a few shopping bags beside her, munching on some fries as she gazed at her scroll.

"So, keeping track of time is not one of my strong suits." I said with a chuckle, taking the empty seat next to her.

She smiled back. "It's okay, you've made me wait longer."

I got confused. "When and how long?"

"How about when you died?" She said humorously, easing my tension.

I sighed. "You're never going to let go of that, are you?" I asked with a smirk.

Velvet shook her head and smiled. "Nope. And I'm going to use it to my advantage whenever I can." She said, leaning in for a kiss, which I was all too happy to oblige. We ignored the odd looks from a few bystanders and just focused on each other, enjoying the moment of pure bliss as I cupped her cheek and she leaned further in, deepening the connection.

Unfortunately, our lungs cried out from the lack of oxygen and we had to break away, breathing faster than normal. "You know, I feel like I don't say it enough, but… I love you, Velvet." I said with a grin.

She grinned back. "I love you too, Joe."

We then got our separate lunches from the nearby stores and ate, conversation being kept to a relative low. "So did you get all your shopping done?" I asked.

She nodded back after taking a bite of her burger. "Yeah, how 'bout you?"

I shook my head. "Still gotta get your dad something."

"Okay well, since I got him a new pair of socks, you should get him a new tool set."

I shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, that sounds good. I just hope that he'll stop giving me that stare."

Velvet shot me a confused look. "What 'stare'?"

"You know, the stare! The one where it looks like he'll punch me if I take a step towards you."

Velvet let out a frustrated sigh and put down her lunch. "Joe, for the last time: my dad does not hate you. He's just being a dad; cautious, protective and inquisitive."

"My dad's not like that." I replied.

"Probably because you're his son, not his daughter. Think about it, if you had a daughter, you'd be concerned about the kind of guy she was going out with, right?"

I was about to object but thought against it. Rational thought sank in and I began to understand why Fallow behaved the way he did. "Okay, yeah. I guess I can see where he's coming from." I admitted.

We finished our meals and Velvet guided me down to a hardware store where she designated a set of tools her dad has had his eyes on for a while now. We still had two and a half hours to burn until my gift for Velvet was ready, but I had trouble concealing my intentions.

"So, do you want to just hang around and maybe go to the arcade?" I asked with a bag in each hand as Velvet and myself exited the hardware store.

Velvet stifled a yawn. "I'm actually kind of tired. How about we just head home?"

"Aw come on. It'll be fun!" I insisted.

She looked at me, exasperated and I put on the best puppy-dog eyes I could, remembering how Ruby had done to Yang on many occasions. Thankfully, she eventually gave in and shook her head with a smile.

"Fine, but if I fall asleep standing up, I'm blaming you."

"No argument there." I replied as I tried to find my way around the large building, buying as much time as I could for the jeweler.

It probably cost me close to fifty lien, but I managed to keep myself and Velvet occupied until three. During the time at the arcade, I found out Velvet was a fantastic dancer. There were so many flashing arrows on the DDR machine, I thought for sure I was going to have a seizure if I gazed at the screen much longer, but my girlfriend did not miss a single beat. I tried my luck at the same machine, but my skills were far from perfect. My footsteps were heavy, slow and clumsy.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" I asked as we exited the arcade, myself now carrying a massive stuffed bear that Velvet had picked out for herself with the tickets she had won in addition to my gifts.

Velvet just shrugged. "Picked it up from Coco."

"She doesn't seem like the girl who likes to dance a whole lot." I stated.

"Well, believe it or not, she taught me how to dance during our first year at Beacon. Said it was a team building exercise but..." She trailed off.

"Let me guess. She never taught Fox or Yatsuhashi?" I asked with a smirk.

Velvet sighed and nodded. "I wanted to be mad, but I couldn't because she was only trying to help."

I chuckled before I realized that we had just passed the jewellery store. After rounding a corner where she wouldn't be able to see me, I feigned having to use the restroom and ran out of her field of view, towards the store.

"Hi, are the necklaces ready yet?" I asked the old man.

He nodded and produced the two chain silver necklaces, my symbol engraved on a piece of brown smoky quartz, while Velvet's symbol was etched into an emerald so that the color of our symbols were combined with the colors we associated the other person with.

"Two boxes or one?"

"One." I just hope that this isn't going to creep her out. I thought worriedly.

The shopkeeper gave me the box containing the chains and I placed it in the same pocket as my wallet, trying to conceal the extra gift as best I could.

"Enjoy your Dustmas, Mr. Taren." The old man said with a smile.

"And you as well." I replied, grinning.

I exited the store, regrouped with Velvet and we drove back to her parent's house, where I promptly took my purchases to my room before I realized two important things: I needed to wrap the gifts and I had no idea how. For previous Dustmases, I would always ask for another person's help in wrapping gifts.

And since this was the first time spending a Dustmas a family other my own, I wanted the gifts to not look like an amateur had wrapped them. So, I turned to the only one I trusted to not tease me about this matter.

"Velvet?" I asked, knocking the door adjacent to mine.

"DON'T COME IN!" She shouted quickly.

"Okay… I just need your help with something."

"I'm sure Chris will help you." She replied through the closed door.

Well, he certainly doesn't hate me. I thought as I turned around and knocked on the door to his room.

"Yeah?" I took it as an invitation to enter and saw the other guy cleaning the slide of a handgun, still in his pajamas. "Hey Joe, what's up?"

"Just wondering if you could help me with some gift wrapping."

"I don't think you could've come to a worse person with that request." He replied with a chuckle. "I always pay to have my presents wrapped."

"Well, Velvet apparently can't help me, and I don't really want to ask your parents or Kay, so what do I do?"

Chris sighed and re-assembled the weapon. "I'm afraid your only option is to ask Kay. She's a genius when it comes to that."

"But she doesn't like me!" I objected.

"Have you got a better idea?" The burly rabbit faunus asked me. I merely shook my head in response. "That's what I thought. She's outside right now, in the backyard."

I headed out the rear door of the house, which led to a small balcony with a set of steps that led downward into a small field with the forest forming a semi-circle, completely covered with about half a foot of snow aside from a person-shaped hole in the middle of the ground. Once I got closer, I realized that it was Kayla, just lying face up in the snow wearing a thick winter jacket, jeans and a hoodie with a long-sleeved shirt with her hands folded behind her head.

"Um… Kay?" I asked.

"Hey, what's up?" She replied, her eyes not leaving the sky.

"I-I was wondering if you'd help me with some gift wrapping? Chris said that…"

"Sure." Kayla cut me off.

"Ooookay, just meet me in my room when you're done doing… whatever this is." I said. Wordlessly, Velvet's sister got up from her position on the snow-covered land and made her way to the house. I followed close behind and made sure to get to my room before she did and hid the book I had purchased for her underneath a pillow.

She walked into the room carrying several rolls of wrapping paper, scotch tape and I closed the door behind her as to avoid any other members of the Scarlatina clan noticing what I had purchased for them.

Instead of wrapping up the gifts for me however, Kayla insisted that she would coach me. After having to throw away several square feet of the paper, I successfully encased Chris' knife and wrote on an accompanying tag: To Chris From Joe. Kayla silently observed as I moved onto the recipe book for her mother.

"So… do you have something against me or what?" I asked, tearing off a piece of tape.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her cock an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"Well it's just seems that you've been actively avoiding me. That, and Chris told me you think I'll break Velvet's heart like her previous boyfriends."

Kayla scoffed. "Joe, you're making Velvet happy and from what I can see, you don't even remotely behave like those other idiots."

I looked up from my work. "So you're alright with me dating your sister?" I asked for clarification.

She nodded back. "Chris likes to assume, so that's why he told you I don't like you. But personally, I think you two are great together!" She said with a grin. "You're happy, she's happy, you're both incredibly nervous around others, and that only makes you two cuter!" She gushed.

I let a shy smile grace my face and felt my cheeks heat up. "Thanks. That definitely makes me feel better, knowing that almost everyone in your family approves of me and Velvet."

"Almost?" She parroted me.

"Yeah. Your dad doesn't seem to like me too much." I stated. "Haven't you noticed it? The way he just glares at me?"

Kayla shook her head. "Not really. I'll go and talk to him." She said, getting up and walking out the door.

My eyebrows shot up. "Wait! What about the presents?!" I asked.

She waved me off. "You'll be fine, just keep doing what you're doing." With that, she left me to wrap the rest of the presents by myself, aside from the necklaces. I wanted to give those to Velvet myself.

It took two whole hours, but I finally managed to get the remaining three gifts wrapped up quite nicely. At least, they looked nice in my opinion. There was a little more paper than was required and an absurd amount of tape, but in my defence, that was because I didn't want them coming unwrapped. The necklaces for the moment I kept hidden in my duffle bag, where I could only hope Velvet wouldn't accidentally see them.

A few minutes after finishing, Sepia knocked on my door, asking if I was hungry.

"Yeah, sure. I could eat." I replied.

"Good, but you'd better hurry. Chris and Fallow tend to have quite an appetite on Sundays."

I closed my door behind me as I followed Velvet's mom down the hallway to the dining room where six empty seats with plates and cutlery awaited. "Why's that?"

"Every Sunday's pasta night at the Scarlatina house. Unless you want me to make you something else?" She offered.

I chuckled to myself. Almost the female equivalent of Jaune. I thought. "No thanks, pasta sounds good." I said, grabbing a plate and piling on spaghetti with meat sauce onto the dish as Chris and Fallow thudded down the stairs and quickly mirrored my actions. They both zipped by me and sat down at the table while I gave Sepia an astonished look and she laughed back.

"Yeah, I wasn't joking." She said with a warm smile. I laughed with her, sat next to Chris and ate. A few moments later, Velvet and Kayla appeared from down the hall with two gifts underneath their arms, four in total. After placing them underneath the tree, I leaned back in my seat in an attempt to get a look at which present was addressed to who. I scanned the gifts, but found none with my name on it.

Meh, she probably still in the process of wrapping it up. I thought as Velvet sat next to me and Kay next to her mom.

"So… did you two have a good trip into town?" Fallow asked Velvet and me.

"Yeah, it was nice. We went shopping, hit the arcade and had lunch together." Velvet listed off the activities of the day.

"Good, good." The patriarch of the Scarlatina family nodded and returned to his meal. I instinctively grimaced at the possibility that he was making sure I didn't take Velvet somewhere he didn't like. Velvet must've noticed my unease and gave my hand a comforting squeeze. I gave her a weak smile and went back to eating as well before heading to bed early, the exhaustion of yesterday's late night flight still present.

I rested peacefully, dreams of Velvet and myself relaxing together on a beach filling my mind until a hand clamped itself over my mouth. I woke up and my fingers flicked downwards, thinking that I was still wearing my gauntlets. I then swung my hand as though a blade was attached to it and my attacker backed up and continued to hold their hand over my mouth. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized it was Fallow dressed in a winter jacket, jeans and a black t-shirt with an exhausted expression on his face.

"How old are you?" He whispered before removing his hand.

"Seventeen." I replied confused.

He looked at my face for a moment. "You can pass for eighteen. Come on, get dressed." I complied, but was still puzzled beyond all recognition. "Grab your jacket." He whispered as we tip-toed our way to the front door. "Put your shoes on." I did so and he opened the door, gestured for me to walk outside, followed behind me, and locked the door.

"Um… Mr. Scarlatina?"

"Fallow." He replied.

"Right, Fallow, um… where are we going?" He said nothing, but gestured to a waiting taxi at the end of the driveway. We both got in and he instructed the driver to go to someplace called 'The Bear's Den.'

The half-hour ride was spent in total silence and we finally arrived in front of what was easily recognizable as a bar, stools in front of a long wooden counter, booths along the walls and a pool table in the middle of the building.

Fallow paid the cab driver and gestured for me to follow him inside. He walked up to the bar, sat in an empty stool and ordered a beer for himself and me.

It wasn't my drink of choice, but I nursed the liquid slowly and waited for him to speak.

"You know, when Velvet told me she had a boyfriend, I thought for sure that you were going to be like the others. I never got the chance to meet them, and it's actually pretty fortunate for them otherwise I probably would've carved their eyes out with a rusty spoon." He said calmly. My eyebrows shot up and I returned to my drink. "But, from what I've been told and what I've seen, you make her happy so I guess I can tolerate you for now." He said, keeping his eyes glued to the TV set above the bar.

"Why couldn't you just tell me that back at the house? I asked.

He shrugged. "I needed a drink and I wanted to see if you were a lightweight or not."

I felt a little bit insulted, but reluctantly chugged the beer, the liquid burning my throat. "Then you ordered the wrong drink." I replied with a cough. I tapped on the wooden bar with my knuckles and looked at the bartender. "Mistrilian spiced rum." He nodded back and promptly filled a glass with the delicious alcohol.

Fallow gave me an estranged look and scoffed. "Spiced rum? What kind of bitch drink is that?"

"Hey, how about you finish that first beer then you can start talking shit." I replied. Fallow growled back, chugged his beer, ordered another one and glared at me.

"On three, we drink." He said. "One."

"Two." I interjected.

"Three!" He shouted and we both began drinking, the rum much more soothing to my stomach and throat than the crude beer. We finished our drinks at the same time and slammed the glasses down on the bar.

"Again?" I offered.

"Thinking about quitting already?" He quipped back. I tapped on the bar and the bartender came back to refill our glasses. We drank again and I shook my head to keep alert.

"One-one more?" I asked, the alcohol starting to affect my ability to form words.

"Why the hell not?" Fallow stated, tapping on the bar again.

The night went on and on, each of us going through I don't know how many drinks while my vision got fuzzier and fuzzier.