A/N: *bows* Thank you for the review *heart* And here is part two

Honey Colored Christmas

Something thumps hard against the window and I jerk from sleep, throwing myself to the carpeted floor, blinking around the room, still half-asleep. A muffled voice comes from the window and I frown, crawling over and pushing it over, shivering at the winter chill. Robin stands outside, grinning from ear to ear, dressed warmly, a lumpy snowball waiting in his left hand, prepared to throw at the window again.

Folding my arms across the windowsill, I lean out slightly and he drops the snowball on the ground, taking a couple of steps back and cupping his hands around his mouth, "There's breakfast on the table, get dressed and eat. When you're done, come out here."

I shift, standing up and leaning out more, "What are we going to do?"

He waves his hand, smiling, "You'll find out when you get down here." I sigh, leaning back from the window and pulling it shut again. After washing up and dressing, I run down to the kitchen to find breakfast set out on the table, still warm.

I pull on my coat and boots after eating and putting away the dishes and I head out the door, coming around the back of the cottage, a snowball whizzing past my face as soon as I round the corner. I squeak, throwing up my arms and Robin laughs softly, coming over to me and smiling. "You didn't wear gloves?" I shake my head and blush as he pulls his gloves off, taking my hands and slipping them on carefully, "They'll be a little big but they'll keep your hands warm."

I blush, "What about your hands?"

He smiles, "I'll be okay. We just can't stay out too long." He leans down, scooping up a handful of snow and packing it together into a neat ball, "We're going to have a snowball fight." He grins and I squeak, dodging as he tosses it over my head. I hurriedly gather the snow, trying to make a ball and launching it at him. It falls apart before it hits him and small splotches of snow spackle the front of his tan coat.

He laughs again as I pout, flapping my arms and running around the small area as he gathers snow and throws it at me, catching me on the shoulder. "No fair, no fair!"

"You're wearing gloves!" He chuckles, already getting another snowball ready. I slip in the snow, puffing my cheeks and scooping the patches together, creating a massive deformed snowball and trying to lift it off the ground.

I manage to pick it up and look around for him, blinking, finding the clearing empty and his footsteps disappearing in the snow where he'd last been standing. "Robin? Where did you go?"

Suddenly, I feel warmth behind me and a gentle whisper in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine, "I'm right behind you." I squeak and spin around as he drops a snowball on my head. Grinning at him, I toss the monster snowball at him, knocking him down. He catches me by the wrist at the last minute, bringing me down on top of him. He smiles up at me, pulling my face close to his and I try to fight the blush back.

He's so warm, even after being out here longer than me his body is still so very warm, almost frighteningly so. I swallow nervously as my heart begins to pound, the sudden forcefulness making me lightheaded. Or maybe he's making me lightheaded. "While we're down here…we should…" My heart starts to pound more, I'm sure he can hear it…or at least feel it beating against his chest. I start to lean towards him, opening my mouth slight as he continues. "…make snow angels." I blink, the moment ruined and I laugh softly, dropping my head on his chest.

He smiles, wrapping his arms around my waist and slipping his arms into my coat to warm his hands. I blush, tilting my head back and looking up at him. He shifts, sitting up suddenly and helping me to my feet. He dusts off his clothes and smiles softly, grasping my hand, "There's a store I want to take you." We start to walk towards the cluster of cottages and I glance back at the battlefield, smiling softly.

He leads the way through the town, villagers hanging decorations around their homes and humming carols cheerfully. Their merriment is so infectious, Robin starts to sing. I've never heard him sing before but I never expected it to be like this. His voice is smooth, relaxing and surprisingly warm.

It's over before I have the chance to truly enjoy it and he smiles back at me, opening the door to a lovingly decorated shop, a strong scent of cinnamon rushing out to greet us. A bell chimes above the door and a bright old woman comes toddling over, smiling brightly, "Robin, I was wondering when you would come back to see us. Has it just been a couple of years, you look all grown up. You're looking more and more like your mother each day."

He laughs softly, "Thank you, Nadeshiko…" He turns back to me, pulling me to stand next to him, "This is Ivan, this is his first year with us and I thought it would be nice if he…"

She smiles, stepping closer and taking my hand, "Say no more. Come with me, hun." She starts to lead me towards the back and I blink, following her reluctantly, glancing back to Robin. He smiles, waving to me before glancing around the shop.

The woman leads me to a crowded back room, unmarked cardboard boxes stacked high, pressing against the ceiling—probably the only thing keeping the boxes from toppling over. She smiles back at me, "How long have you known Robin?"

I blink, blushing slightly, "It's barely been a couple of months since I joined them…" I smiles softly, running a finger along the spine of a leather-bound book. "He's very gentle, though…and it always feels as if he knows everything about me…"

I pause and blink at her, feeling my cheeks warm again and I look away quickly, rubbing my neck sheepishly. She smiles softly, turning away, pulling a large wooden box down from a shelf, "The look in Robin's eyes when you two first came in…and the way he looks at you, I can tell you are very special to him. I've never seen that look in his eyes before. I can see the same look in your eyes when you talk about him."

She shakes her head, opening the box, "Here, each person living in Faolan that has come to stay in Xiu for Christmas at least once, and the first year they come they pick out an ornament from my handmade collection. No two are the same…and they each hold special meaning. Take your time choosing one."

I step over to the box and look through the ornaments gingerly. The detail on each is intricate and you can see the care that went into them but at the same time, not a single one seems to cry out to me until…

I spot a golden musical note at the bottom of the box and smile softly, leaning up and taking it out, holding it up to the dim light. Sheet music is engraved along the note, displaying the first half of a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little.

I smile softly, "This one..."

She blinks, smiling, "How curious…" She smiles softly, turning away and returning the box to the shelf without explaining. "Let's check on Robin."

We step out of the back room and Robin glances over, smiling at us, "How did it go?"

She laughs, "You can't see it until you get back to the cottage." She smiles, stepping behind the counter and wrapping the ornament, handing it to me when she finishes, winking. "Don't let Robin talk you into opening it before you get back."

I smile, nodding and taking the box, "Thank you…"

Robin shakes his head, "You two are conspiring against me, aren't you?" He smiles, "We'll see about that." He leans down, throwing me over his shoulder again, grinning, "No one can save you now, Ivan." I press my hands to my mouth, trying to keep from laughing as he carries me towards the entrance, pausing and waving back to the woman, "Take care."

She smiles brightly, shaking her head, "Don't be too rough with him, Robin, he's so adorable. I want to see you both in here soon." I wave, holding the box close to my chest as Robin steps out into the chilled winter air.

It's starting to snow again, children playing in the street and building snowman near the sides of the houses. Robin carries me all the way back to the cottage, despite my protests and he finally sets me down once we're inside, brushing some snow from my hair. "Why don't you put your ornament on the tree?" He smiles, "This is the real proof that you're one of us, the people who've joined Musical Underground. They've been hurt pretty badly by the government; most of them lost their families because of them. So…we started our own with an unspoken promise to look after each other."

"I…wish I could help more…"

He shakes his head, "That's not why I wanted you with us…I wanted you to have a place you could come home to when you didn't know where else to go, that's all. You don't have to do anything for us." He reaches out, brushing my bangs away from my face, his fingers brushing across my cheek. The movement seems slow, almost deliberate but I try to push it from my mind, ignoring my heart as it starts to pound harder in my chest.

I smile, turning away and opening the box, picking the delicate golden note up and looking for an empty spot on the tree, blinking as I spot a second golden note already hanging near the top of the tree. I glance back at him, puzzled, "I thought you said they were all different but there's already one like this on the tree."

He blinks and something flickers in the corner of his eyes but it leaves as quickly as it comes. He smiles softly, reaching up and taking the note off the tree, hanging it in front of my eyes, "This…I picked out when I first came here…it's true that none of her ornaments are the same and these are different…but they go together. They're the only pair that she's ever made. The music engraved on it was written by my father when he was young. I always thought that its pair would stay at the bottom of the box where I hid it…"

"I-I can take it back…"

He laughs, "I don't want you to. This is the one that called out to you so you were meant to have it. When Nadeshiko told me about the pair, she said that they do something special when brought together on the same tree. Do you want to try it out?"

I smile softly, nodding and standing on tiptoe, hanging the note on an empty spot as he hangs his back in place. For a moment, nothing happens and I try to hide the disappointment as I start to sigh but then the music on the notes glint, starting to twinkle like little diamonds set in the gold. Once both notes are shimmering with the prismatic gleaming stones, a note of music sounds softly in the air, barely audible over the crackling fire but a second note follows, louder this time.

-TBC-

The last part is almost done and will be released early on Christmas Eve.