A bright flash of white flooded my vision and as my eyes adjusted, I saw Velvet's siblings grinning and taking pictures of myself and Velvet laying in bed together, her arms still wrapped around my stomach.

The flashes stopped and Kay and Chris fled the room, scrolls in hand. I made to get up and chase them down when I felt Velvet clutch the back of my shirt.

"And just where do you think you're going?" She asked in a calm voice.

I turned around to see her still holding onto my shirt and a neutral expression on her face as she looked into my eyes. I gestured to the door. "Chris and Kay got a whole bunch of photos of us, probably going to do the same thing Yang was going to do!" I declared, making another move to get up.

Apparently, my girlfriend had other plans as she dragged me back onto the bed and wrapped her whole body around mine, arms around my neck and legs on either side of my stomach in a piggyback fashion.

"Let 'em." She said with a small yawn.

"But…" I started to object, but she shut me up with a kiss on the cheek and a thought came to mind.

You know what? She's right. The most damage they can do is show the pictures of us together to their friends in Vacuo and neither of us comes here very often so it's really not that big of a deal. Besides, spending a few more minutes cuddling is probably a lot better than trying to retrieve the photos.

"But that can probably wait." I admitted, turning over and sharing my body heat with Velvet's.

"Glad you saw reason." She said with a smile. After a few more minutes of laying in bed, my stomach grumbled from lack of sustenance and with her on my back, Velvet suggested that we get some breakfast.

Seeing us approach the table, Kay immediately pulled out her scroll and snapped a few more photos of us. "That's more for the slideshow." She said with a smirk.

Chris did the same and I flipped him off, but he still took a few pictures of Velvet on my back, smiles on both our faces. "Still good ones." He stated, returning to his morning meal.

I let Velvet take control of her own legs as I let her down before taking one of the waiting plates and piling on bacon, two fried eggs, a hash brown and a sausage. "Yeah, and a Merry Dustmas to you guys as well." I replied sarcastically.

Velvet laughed and followed my lead before taking a seat and looking at the two other empty chairs. "Where're mom and dad?"

"Still sleeping." Chris replied. "Although I imagine that won't be the case for long once they get a whiff of the coffee." He said, taking a drink from his own mug.

Sure enough, about five minutes later, Sepia and Fallow descended the stairs and immediately poured themselves a cup of the hot liquid.

Fallow let loose a satisfied "Ahh" after taking a sip and began to grab his own breakfast plate. "Everyone sleep well?" He asked.

Kay shot a sly smirk at Velvet and me. "Yeah. Pretty good. Joe and Velv spent the night together." She added quickly as she took a bite of toast.

Fallow's eyebrows shot up and nearly choked on his coffee, pounding on his chest after he swallowed. My face went beet red whereas Velvet appeared completely calm.

A really awkward silence formed and the patriarch broke it by asking probably the most embarrassing question he could've. "So… you used protection?"

"Fallow!" His wife shouted at him.

It was at that point that I wished I had a self-destruct button. Just press it and BOOM! No more Joe.

"We're not there yet, dad, just cuddling, nothing more." Velvet replied.

Both Velvet's dad and myself heaved a sigh of relief at her response. "Good. 'Cause I'm actually starting to like this guy and it would've been a shame if I had to beat the crap outta him on Dustmas Day." He said with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

I unconsciously laughed back at his response and found myself grinning as I dug into the meal. The feeling's mutual, my friend.

Everyone had finished breakfast and was now seated in the living room, Sepia and Fallow on the couch, Chris on a chair that he had moved close to the tree, Kay on the rolling footstool and Velvet and myself sitting side by side on the carpet.

The first to unwrap a present was Fallow, and it was my gift to him. He gawked at the sight of the shiny new tools and I could swear I saw a tear of joy well up in his right eye before he blinked it away and thanked me. I nodded back at him with a smile as Chris unwrapped the knife I had purchased for him and as he unsheathed the blade and gave it a few test swings, decided that he liked it very much. Kay and Sepia unwrapped their gifts from me and both thanked me profusely. Kay attempted to hug me but Velvet wrapped her arms around my shoulders and shot a glare that lacked any true hatred towards her sister before uttering, "He's mine."

Velvet looked around the tree for my gift to her and after finding nothing, turned to me. "You hid it, didn't you?" She stated rather than asked.

I shrugged. "Guilty. Just give me a sec." I said, getting up from my sitting position and retrieving the jewellery box from the room they provided for me. After handing it to Velvet, she looked at the box, then to me, then back to the box before opening it.

She gasped and a hand flew over her mouth as she gazed at the two custom-made necklaces.

"What? What is…" Chris asked before leaning over in his seat and seeing the pieces of silver jewellery in the case. His eyebrows shot up and looked over at me with an approving smile. "Wow."

"Yeah, they cost me a fair bit, but she's absolutely worth it." I replied, looking at Velvet who was still stunned.

She removed the hand from her mouth and clasped the box with both hands. "J-Joe, this-this is…this is the most thoughtful gift anyone's ever gotten me." She said.

"Like I said, you're worth it." I stated. Velvet bowed her head in a vain attempt to conceal the blush forming on her face. "I figured that if you'd let me, I'd wear your symbol and you'd wear mine. Just another way we can keep each other close." I declared.

She nodded back and handed the necklace with my symbol on it to me before asking that I put it around her neck. I fastened the clip and she put the other chain around my throat. She glanced down at my symbol at her chest and smiled. "I love it."

We shared a quick kiss and then proceeded to let the rest of the family open their presents. From Fallow, I received a protective case for my scroll.

"Velvet really didn't explain what you were like, so that was really the only thing I could think to get ya." He explained with a sheepish smile.

I shook my head. "No, don't worry about it. This is perfect. I've dropped my scroll more times than I can count." I said with a chuckle.

Chris had decided to give me a whetstone to sharpen my blades with, Kay had given me a set of high-quality headphones and Sepia gifted me a recipe book of her own including the list of ingredients required for the hangover medicine.

"Now I know that you're not much of a cook, but Velvet told me that one of your teammates is so I figured that at least someone will get some use out of it." The matriarch stated.

I nodded. "Thank you so much, Sepia. I'm sure Ren'll make good use of this."

Chris was next to open a present and as he looked at the two remaining gifts, appeared to notice something. "Hey uh… hey Velv?" He asked.

"Hmm?"

"Where's your present for Joe? The only two left are my gift to Kay and mom's to dad." He stated.

Velvet's eyebrows shot up and she covered her mouth with both hands. "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe it." She whispered.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "What? What is it?"

She removed her hands from her mouth, her rabbit ears almost dropped to the floor and she avoided my gaze. "Joe, I-I'm so sorry, I must've been so focused on shopping for everyone else that I just…. forgot about you…" She trailed off. I heard her sniffle and saw her wipe away a tear.

A stunned and awkward silence fell over the family of five as they all digested what my girlfriend had just admitted.

"Velvet," I started, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Don't think for a second that just because you forgot to get me a present means that I care about you any less. I didn't ask you out on a date that day in Vale because I wanted someone to get me shiny things on the holidays or my birthday. I asked you if you would go out with me because I wanted to be closer to you, wanted to spend time with you. You've given me exactly that and honestly, I feel that my gift to you kind of pales in comparison to the times that you've helped calm my nerves after a nightmare." I pressed my forehead to hers and lowered my voice. "I love you. Not the things you buy for me. You and you only."

She looked up at me and smiled before wiping away another tear. "I love you too, Joe." I smiled, leaned in for a kiss and she reciprocated, our lips meeting in the middle, flooding my mind with the joys of having Velvet as my girlfriend and having someone to lean on when times were tough.

I pulled away from the blissful connection and half smiled. "Don't feel bad." I begged. "Please? Because if you feel bad and start crying, I'm going to start crying and I don't think anyone wants to see that."

She giggled and hugged me before Kay broke the silence. "So he's definitely a keeper, right? When can we set the wedding date?"

Without breaking away from the hug, Velvet replied to her sister. "Soon."

I don't know why, but suddenly, the idea of having Velvet as my wife wasn't so scary. It wasn't a notion that I wanted to skirt around. No, it was something that I not only could envision happening, it was something I deeply wanted.

"Agreed." I stated with a wide smile.

The day was spent packing up for the upcoming flight that would leave at midnight tonight and resting so that we'd have enough energy to actually comprehend what would be happening at the airport.

Velvet's family saw us off as a taxicab waited at the end of the driveway, Velvet and myself dressed in our winter jackets and normal clothes, standing on the stone steps of the walkway as I gave Chris a brotherly hug and Velvet hugged the rest of her family.

"Keep her safe Joe." He said over my shoulder.

"Not a problem." I declared, releasing him from the embrace.

I moved onto Fallow, who breathed deeply and scratched the back of his neck. "So… sorry about getting you drunk and my earlier suspicions."

I held up a hand to stop him and smiled. "It's all right, Fallow. You were only doing what any other good father would've done. And as for the uh… incident, let's just bury that one and not dig it up again, okay?"

He nodded and smirked. "Yeah, that's probably for the best." He extended his hand and I gladly shook it. "Nice meeting you, Joe. Good luck at Beacon."

I nodded and moved onto Kay, who immediately threw her arms around me. "So happy that lil' sis finally met a keeper!" She gushed.

I chuckled at the compliment and returned the hug. "Thanks, Kay. Hopefully you'll meet someone who makes you as happy as Velvet makes me."

Velvet's sister pulled away from the hug and shrugged. "It'll happen. Just a matter of waiting."

I then looked over at a smiling Sepia, who extended her hand, which I promptly shook. "Nice meeting you, Joe. Take care of yourself and try not to get hurt during your time at Beacon, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "I'll try, Sepia, but I'll have to make sure Velvet's safe before I do anything."

She breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. "Well, it's nice to know that someone worries about Velvet as much as I do."

The rest of the family laughed along with myself and after saying our final goodbyes, we got into the cab and were on our way to the airport where we waited to board our nighttime flight.

I went to the nearby coffee shop and ordered a double double for Velvet and a hot chocolate for myself. With the drinks in hand, I walked back to the seats where Velvet was checking her phone for any new messages.

"Hey." I said tapping her on the shoulder with the cup. "Coffee?"

She nodded with a smile and took it. I sat in the vacant place next to her and tried to think of anything that I'd need to inform Velvet about my family before we were en-route. Before I could speak though, she pulled out a gift-wrapped box out of her carry-on backpack with a folded up note attached to and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked, setting down my beverage on the adjacent table.

She gestured to the note with a smile. "Just read it."

I looked at the box and unfolded the paper.

Joe:

My symbol is a stitched up heart. Before I met you, I used to think that I had it bad, dating multiple stupid guys who only wanted to hang out with me because of my team. Only now do I realize that your heart is the one that should be stitched. The amount of pain you've endured, both emotionally and physically makes you the strongest person I know and I'm proud to call you my boyfriend. I know this doesn't even come close to showing how much I really care about you, but it's a start.

Love, Velvet

Intrigued, I opened the box to see an eight by ten framed picture of Velvet and myself in the diner on our first date, the very same picture that was my background on my scroll.

It was my turn to cry as I felt tears of joy well up in my eyes and quickly wiped and blinked them away. "Velvet, this is… incredible. Thank you."

"You didn't really think I'd forget my boyfriend on Dustmas of all days, did you?" She asked with a smirk.

I chuckled. "You really had me going back there." She then put her arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek.

"Merry Dustmas, Joe."

I leaned my head against hers. "Merry Dustmas, Velvet."