Hestia watched Bell depart the room. She glanced at the Christmas tree, stood and stretched. Then she turned to Haruhime and Mikoto.

"I'm going to go to bed as well. You two enjoy yourselves, but don't be too late. After all…" She winked at Haruhime. "You don't want to make Santa wait, do you?"

"No, Lady Hestia." Haruhime spoke slowly, her face a little red. "And thank you very much for sharing your special "Goddess of the Hearth" eggnog with me."

"Good isn't it?" Hestia grinned. "It's quite delicious once you get used to it."

"Yes… I was quite surprised by the curious taste. I know you said it tastes of fire, but I still didn't expect it to feel so warm when I drank it."

"Well you certainly drank more of it than anyone else." The goddess winked.

"Yes, I am sorry." The renard hiccupped and bowed her head and ears. "I will exercise more restraint next year."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you enjoyed our hospitality. You ought to enjoy yourself and make up for lost time." The goddess winked again.

"Th… thank you, Lady Hestia." Haruhime hiccupped again. Her face was so red her blushing hardly made a difference.

"Good night." Hestia stepped out of the room with a wave.

"G…" Haruhime hiccupped again. "Good night, Lady Hestia." The renard slurred a little and almost fell back as she got up.

Mikoto grabbed her arm and steadied her. "Are you okay, Lady Haruhime?

"Yes… th…thank you Mikoto."

Mikoto lowered her friend back onto a couch. "Where are you going? I thought you were going to sleep here."

"I am, but I want to get a blanket. After all, it's a little chilly here, even with the socks." Haruhime raised one leg to allow the socks from her Santa girl outfit to peek out from beneath her kimono.

"They match your kimono well, but I'm a little surprised you didn't wear the whole outfit. Didn't Lady Aisha get it for you specifically for this occasion?"

"I've worn it quite a bit recently and Lady Hestia specifically requested I not wear it around Master Bell tonight."

"Did she give you a reason?"

"She said it might contribute to an atmosphere of naughtiness. I thought I would err on the side of caution since I wish to speak to Mr. Claus when he visits tonight."

"I see…" Mikoto wasn't sure what to make of Haruhime's statement. "I'll get you some pillows and a blanket, so you lie down and make yourself comfortable, okay?

"Thank you, Mikoto." The red faced renard yawned and swayed a little on the couch, before slowly falling to one side. "I don't know why I feel so tired all of a sudden."

"Hang in there, Lady Haruhime." Mikoto clasped her hands in a silent prayer before rushing around Hearth Manor to grab bedding for herself and Haruhime. When she returned, she tucked a pillow under Haruhime's head and laid a blanket over her, then turned to go lay out her own bedding on a nearby couch.

Before she could take a step, a hand reached out and grasped her skirt. "Where do you think you're going, Mikoto?"

"To set up my bedding?"

"Why would you need to do that?"

"Because-" Mikoto stopped as Haruhime tugged at her skirt again.

"This couch is big enough for two."

"Are you inviting me to… sleep with you?"

"Haven't you always wanted to?"

Mikoto swallowed. "Yes."

"You used to say it was a pity that we couldn't sleep together because of my father." The renard closed her eyes. "And whenever we had a cold winter's night like this one, I'd worry whether you were okay at the shrine and imagine how nice and warm it would be to cuddle with you in my futon."

Mikoto cautiously placed one knee on the couch. "Which side do you want me to take?"

"Whichever you like. I'd like to be able to see the fireplace though."

Mikoto looked at the renard and then slipped under the blanket with her, her back to the edge of the couch. She shuffled so that she was lying on the pillow.

In returned, Haruhime shuffled up a little to look Mikoto in the eye. Mikoto couldn't quite hide a wince as she realized how strongly the renard's breath smelled of booze.

"Is something wrong, Mikoto?"

"No…"

Haruhime's eyes narrowed, then her expression softened.

"Did you ever dream about doing something like this, Mikoto?"

Mikoto swallowed nervously. "I did, yes."

"Was there anything in particular you wanted to do?"

"Yes…" Mikoto trailed off.

Haruhime looked at her questioningly. "Are you going to tell me?"

"Well…"

"It's not something naughty is it?"

"I don't think so…"

"Then what is it, Mikoto?

"Ever since I was a child, I… have always wanted to cuddle your tail, Lady Haruhime." Mikoto blurted out, embarrassed.

The renard looked at her for a moment, closed her eyes and nodded. "You may."

"Eh?! Really?!"

"But you must do one thing in exchange."

"What is that?"

"Call me Haruhime tonight. Not Lady Haruhime. Just Haruhime."

"Eh?"

"I'm not your Lady anymore. And even as a child I only liked it when you were pretending to be my knight. So just Haruhime."

"Yes… L… Haru…Haruhime."

Haruhime nodded. "Would you prefer I roll over?

"Y…Yes."

The renard slowly turned her back, so that her tail faced Mikoto.

Mikoto watched the end of the renard's tail swish. She hesitantly reached out and touched the tip. It flicked away in response.

"Lady… I mean, Haruhime…"

"Yes, Mikoto?"

"Is this really okay?"

The renard glanced over her shoulder at Mikoto. "I wouldn't say this to anyone else, but it's okay if it's you, Mikoto."

Mikoto nodded and Haruhime looked away again. Mikoto hesitated for a moment as she reached for the lush fur of Haruhime's tail . Then, she began to stroke it. A few moments later, she wrapped her arms around it, drew it to her chest and began to run her fingers through it.

"This feels incredible, Lady Haruhime."

"Just Haruhime."

"Y…Yes. Haruhime.

After a few moment, Mikoto stopped moving her hands. She hugged Haruhime's tail even tighter, closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against it. Then, she stopped moving completely, enjoying the moment.

The only sounds were the occasional crackle from what was left of that night's fire and the sound of wind outside.

After a few minutes, Haruhime squirmed. Mikoto released Haruhime's tail.

"What's wrong?"

The renard turned over to face her friend, a contented smile on her flush face.

"I'm so happy I was able to reunite with you, Mikoto."

"Eh?"

"Would you like to touch it more?

"O- Of course."

Mikoto reached around and began to stroke Haruhime's tail. The renard closed her eyes.

As she blissfully continued, Mikoto eventually ran out of tail to stroke and gently gripped the next object at hand.

Haruhime squirmed and her eyes shot open. "Mikoto?"

"Yes, Lady Haruhime?"

This time, the renard didn't even bother to correct her. Her eyes narrowed and she looked directly at Mikoto. "That's not my tail."

Mikoto hastily removed her hand. "Sorry."

Haruhime seemed tense for a moment, then relaxed and closed her eyes again. "It's okay, Mikoto. We're both girls."

Mikoto felt a lump forming in her throat. "Yes, but… I didn't want to remind you of… of…"

The renard opened her eyes and blinked.. "You are referring to my former profession?"

"Y-yes." Mikoto couldn't help but stutter from the tension.

The renard closed her eyes and sighed. "It's okay, Mikoto. It feels very different when it's you." She shuffled down a little, then tucked her head under Mikoto's chin, such that Mikoto could whisper directly in her ear.

"Are you really alright, Lady Haruhime?" Mikoto's voice quivered, barely a whisper.

The drunk renard twitched, accidentally head-butting Mikoto in the process. She sounded a little annoyed. "Yes. Like I said, Mikoto, it's okay when it's you." Then, she nuzzled up against Mikoto's chest, and yawned. "We should sleep. Santa will be here soon."

"Y-yes."

The two of them lay there for a couple minutes as drowsiness began to overtake them both, and the woozy renard in particular. Then a question crossed Mikoto's mind.

"Haruhime?"

The renard yawned again. "Yes, Mikoto?"

"Why are you so intent on meeting Santa Claus?"

The renard hesitated. "I want to see if I was good enough for him to bring me a present this year, since I don't think he did before. Then I want to ask him some questions."

"Why don't you think he brought you anything before?"

"In the past, he never gave me what I really wanted, so I wondered if maybe my gifts were really from Lady Aisha."

Mikoto opened her eyes.

"What did you ask for, Lady Haruhime?"

"You."

"U? U… I don't understand." Mikoto furled her brow.

"Yes, you..." The renard yawned again as she trailed off. She gently embraced Mikoto and buried her face in Mikoto's cleavage.

"Eh…"

Moments later, the renard was asleep.

Mikoto absentmindedly reached up and touched her friend's ear. "What did she mean. U?"

It was no use. She didn't get it. After a moment, she turned her head and glanced at a nearby window. She saw Bell peering in. He gestured to her.

Mikoto turned back to Haruhime. She gently kissed the renard's ear. It twitched and Haruhime, still pressed up against her friend's chest, made a contented noise. Otherwise, she remained blissfully unaware.

Mikoto twisted back to Bell and gave him a thumbs up. He disappeared into the snowy night.

It was time to set their plan in motion.