It was Christmastime at Nevaeh University and everybody was going home for the holiday. Well, almost everybody. Cora Stein was one of the few staying and June Freeman, when she found out about this, decided to stay too.

"You really don't have to do this," Cora reassured June when June said she'd stay with Cora.

"I know, that's what makes me so nice!" the blond joked. Cora rolled her eyes but she laughed too. They had come a long way over the past month. Once upon a time, June had been one of Cora's biggest tormentors and now, the two were impossibly close and where June had once relished in bullying Cora, the blond couldn't even fathom leaving the girl lonely now. Cora, herself, was quite changed too, having come to love June dearly and she even made peace with all the other people who used to bully her. The four girls who shared a dorm with June and Cora were among those reformed bullies, all four of them considering Cora a friend now. It was great!

"In all seriousness, though, none of my family will mind," June continued. "I have so many sisters already that, if anything, it will be a relief to them all that I'm staying here!" she said and Cora laughed again. It was true, though, June's family was massive. Heck, even if June hadn't bothered to tell them in advance that she was going to stay with Cora back at Nevaeh University, they still probably wouldn't have noticed her absence.

Cora had met the Freeman family once over Thanksgiving. June's father was a wiry man but he was still very strong and he loved hugs. June's mother was, contrary to her spouse's figure, large and round. She was very authoritative but she was also incredibly kind and she knew that she was spoiling all 10 of her daughters like mad but she could never bring herself to stop. And yes. There were 10 girls. The Freeman family was predominately made up of those 10, green-eyed, blond-haired girls. June was closer to the older end of the clan, but that meant nothing as all 10 of them had an immense capacity for rebellion and trouble. It didn't matter how young or old, every single one of them was mad. June was just as bad as all of them. Clearly, it was genetic. But despite every last Freeman child being so hotheaded and free-spirited, they were all very friendly and kind and Cora got to experience this love right away. She was even dubbed as an honorary Freeman despite technically not having any ties with the Freemans. Mostly, though, June's family had just found it funny calling Cora an honorary Freeman because of how different she looked when compared to the rest of the clan. Once again, all of the daughters had blond hair and green eyes. The matriarch had black hair and brown eyes and the patriarch had very light brown hair and brown eyes. Cora had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Despite the physical differences, though, the Freemans all loved Cora and she was actually a little sad they hadn't invited her to stay for Christmas, but all of June's other sisters were already bringing friends over so it was just that there was literally no room for Cora. It was nothing personal. But that left Cora back here at the university because Heaven knew her own parents didn't want her back. They had disowned her ever since finding out one of her secrets. She had been living in a ramshackle apartment ever since. She was immensely thankful for the scholarship that had been offered to her because now she was able to pay for both the university and that apartment. But nobody knew about Cora's struggles, not even June. June did have her suspicions that Cora's home life was not the best, but the brunette refused to spill and June knew not to press her. Cora was grateful for this. She knew how naturally inquisitive June was and she was certain that her secrecy was torture for the blond, but she just couldn't bring herself to confess. She was just happy that June was so respectful of that, choosing to be a shoulder to cry on even if she didn't know why Cora was crying.

But enough of all that sadness! Even though Cora wasn't going home, she still had a really nice place to stay and, best of all, June was going to be right there with her! It was Christmastime! It was time to get into the holiday spirit! And with June around, this wasn't hard to do at all. On the contrary, if anything, June had too much Christmas spirit. In just a few short days, June had gotten stuck in a snowdrift, built an ugly snowmen outside the dean's office to annoy him, tracked snow all over the entry hall to the university, spilled a large pot of coca all over a priceless decorative rug, stolen several stockings, and run through the halls throwing holly and mistletoe while singing lewd carols at full blast. Through every prank, Cora stood by June with that same sense of awe, admonishment, and amusement.

Then at last, Christmas Eve rolled around and that night, a large feast was held for anyone else who had stayed behind this winter season. Of course, there were traditional dishes, but there were also variations upon the dishes and different plates from around the world. Cora was amazed they were able to eat it all. Where on earth had all the ingredients come from, anyway? Because some of the foods were ones Cora was certain that she'd never seen before. Yet here they were, surrounded by literal mountains of other exotic and delicious dishes. The term "Christmas Feast" almost didn't seem to do this massive amount of food justice, but there was no other word out there to describe all of it, so…

"I'll never eat again!" June groaned as she started on her fourth plate, still having only tasted a fraction of what the entire meal had to offer. Cora and everyone else around her understood the feeling perfectly.

But then at last, came desserts. They were even more amazing and exotic and beautiful and numerous than the dinner itself. Somehow, June, Cora, and the few others managed to get down several of those desserts before almost passing out. The whole meal lasted around six hours, starting at six and ending at midnight. The reason it ended at midnight was special. It was not an arbitrary time, rather, it was when one final, little dessert was brought in. This time, it was a cake, cut such that every person got exactly one slice. The reason this cake was considered more special than all the other ones was because, inside one of those slices, was a gold coin. Whoever got the gold coin would receive one Christmas Wish from the dean, so long as it was within his power, but being the dean, he had his ways. The limit upon the Christmas Wish was small. Rumors even said that if someone wished for the murder of someone else, that wish would be granted too, though nobody ever wanted to test it to find out.

It was funny, though, to see that little cake after gorging on ones the size of a human child. This cake was so plain, too, it was just vanilla with chocolate icing whereas all the rest had been all kinds of flavors with fancy artwork done in icing and candy and candle. But despite its simple outward appearance, everyone knew that this cake was the biggest event of the night and people could hardly wait as the pieces were passed around. The dean, who sat at the head of this whole giant event, watched serenely as the clock struck 12:00 and everyone began searching their cake. It was really funny to see all of these distinguished scholars scarfing down a warm pastry or just crushing the whole thing under a fork in attempt to find the coin. Cora almost wanted to take a picture, but she was just as eager in her search for the coin. Alas, she had no luck.

"Oh well," she sighed. At least the cake was good. "But June, did you find it?" the brunette asked her friend.

"No," June replied, showing an empty plate.

"Oh well," Cora repeated, then she turned around to face the rest of the hall. "Who got it, do you think? Does anyone look impossibly happy?" she asked. While she was looking, though, a sudden smirk flickered across June's face as she slowly removed a gold circle from under her tongue.

10 minutes after the first slice of cake was handed out, the dean finally called out for the winner of the game.

"Will the one who has the gold coin please step forth for their Christmas Wish?" he asked, voice filling the whole hall. For a moment, there was silence, then June elbowed Cora.

"Go up there Cora," she whispered, but before Cora could protest, reminding the other girl that she didn't have the coin, she felt June press something into her hand. It was small and round and when she looked at it, she saw a flash of gold.

"Really?" the brunette whispered almost inaudibly. Was June really sacrificing her Christmas Wish for Cora? June nodded slightly and Cora couldn't think of the words to express her gratitude.

"Just go," June whispered playfully and Cora realized she had to move now. She jumped up and walked over to the dean, mind whirring with ideas for a good Christmas Wish. Among the standard ones of fame, fortune, or a passing grade, there was one thing in life that she really wanted. She wanted June's love. And Cora didn't mean platonically. That was Cora's secret, the reason her parents disowned her, she was lesbian. She wanted to wish for June's romantic love in return for several reasons. First and foremost was that Cora was quite possessive of June and she wanted to know that June loved her back. Then secondly, she wanted to know that such feelings would be received well in the first place. She knew the dangers of trying to come out, even to the people who knew her best. But sadly, Cora already knew that this wish would be impossible to make. Nevaeh University took a similarly anti-gay stance that her parents had. If Cora wished for June's love, or even a change in the outlook regarding same-sex romance, it would out her. Even if the dean actually did go with it, any dissenters would know exactly who did it. Cora was not about to out herself again. The wish would either fail or backfire. But then, another idea for a Christmas Wish came along…

"What is your Christmas Wish?" the dean rumbled as Cora gave him the coin. If there was any bad blood between the two from earlier that year, it had dissipated for this one night and, for once, the dean looked truly happy.

"I wish for June to be allowed to join the Nevaeh University Performing Arts Troupe," Cora replied simply, voice echoing the hall. A soft intake of breath was the response she received from the onlookers. Never before had someone used their Christmas Wish to grant someone else's. But if the dean was surprised by Cora's choice, he didn't show it. He didn't even question it! Instead, he only gave Cora one word in reply.

"Granted," he said. Cora bowed her thanks before sliding back to her seat.

"Cora?" June whispered the moment Cora sat back down. Her voice was choked with emotion. She had wanted to join the PAT ever since her first day here at NU but had been denied due to her free-spirited nature and her alternative taste in music and art. But now, she was free to join by order of the dean himself. And it was all thanks to Cora.

"It was nothing," the brunette replied and June felt her heart melt in affection.

Soon after the whole Christmas Wish game ended, though, everyone went to bed. It was late and they were all tired from the six hour feast. But there was still one last thing June had to do before she could call it a day.

"You can't break tradition," she said suddenly, right as she and Cora climbed into bed.

"What?" Cora replied in confusion. Where had that come from? The two had scarcely said a word since the little wish thing happened.

"You can't break tradition," June repeated, then she pointed up over Cora's bed. Cora looked up. There tied to a rafter above her head, was a sprig of mistletoe. When Cora looked back down again and met June's eyes, they were sparkling with hope. Cora felt her heart pound. She knew she wanted the kiss, but she wanted it romantically and she was sure June wanted it platonically. It would be wrong of Cora to kiss-

Before she could even finish the train of thought, June had pressed her lips to Cora's. Cora was frozen in fear, but the warmth emanating from June's lips thawed her out again. Cora really had expected a platonic kiss, but when June deepened it, Cora indulged herself and let it happen and realized that maybe her romantic inclinations weren't as one-sided as she had feared… When June finally broke the kiss, she grinned playfully at Cora before returning to her bed with a seductive wink. Cora, through the hazy joy she felt, could think only one thing: My Christmas Wish came true.

AN: Just some cute Cora and June romance because I'm a sucker for them as a ship. And yes, I actually did write this story around Christmas, I just didn't have the bravery to post it until now. And double yes, I kept my headcanons regarding June and Cora's families from my other stories in this story. Hope you liked this happier chapter of the NU series.