Chapter 7
December-6 months to go
"Here's your purchase, Merry Christmas." Lillith smiled and handed a woman a plastic shopping bag of books. After the woman thanked her and left, Lillith turned to shelf some books, pausing to glance out the window at the early snowfall. It was a nice occasion to have snow Christmas Eve. As Lillith began sorting out books in the Sci-Fi section, she pondered what Near did for Christmas. Did he do anything? If so was it something American, like decorating a tree, or something different? She would have to ask her roommate so they could celebrate together. It was a nice thought to Lillith, to be able to celebrate the holidays with someone like she did as a kid and a teenager.
About an hour and a half later, Lillith was closing up shop when Near came along. "Oh hi, Near-kun. Do you need to buy something, or are you just dropping by to see me?" she chuckled. Near twirled his hair and replied "We're almost out of milk, I thought we could go together after you were finished with work."
"Dang, already?" Lillith sighed. "I thought I bought some recently."
"It didn't last long; you drink that stuff a lot."
Lillith shrugged, pulling on a coat and grabbing her things. "Oh well, it's your turn to pay. Let's go." As they headed out, Lillith turned back to Near.
"Near-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you celebrate Christmas the American way or the normal way?"
"Normal way. Why, do you hang socks up or something like Americans?"
Lillith laughed. "No, no. It looks like fun for little kids, but we never did that." Lillith did recall how she had bought something for Near and hid it in her room the other day. It had been kind of embarrassing walking into a toy shop to look for something, but it paid off and she found a good gift for Near.

They got to the store, the radio playing cheerful Christmas carols. Lillith rubbed her gloved hands together and against her cheeks, which had gotten red from the cold as they walked to the frozen section.

"So have you ever celebrated Christmas with a girl?" Lillith asked, scanning the aisle and stopping when she found the milk.

"No. Have you ever celebrated one with a boy?" Near curled his hair some, which had become even more white from the snow having fallen on it outside.

"Yeah, a year or two in high school. It wasn't really a big deal." Lillith pulled out a couple of jugs, handing one to Near. "This should last us a while. Anyway, this is my last Christmas, so I want to make it special."

Lillith talked about her limited time left now so often that she treated it very nonchalantly, even though it was obvious how much it upset her. As they paid and left the store, the snow was no longer falling, but it was still on the ground, crunching underneath their feet. As they passed the park a couple of children were giggling and throw snowballs at each other. Lillith gave a short laugh. "I remember me and my siblings having snowball fights." She recalled.

Once they got to the apartment, Lillith glanced at the time on her phone. "I'm tired. I think I'm going to sleep." She lied.

"Me too." Near said, walking off to his room. Once Lillith got to her own room she reached under the bed, pulling out the robot toy. "I hope he doesn't have this one already…" she mumbled, before pulling on her pajamas and jumping into bed to wait for Near to fall asleep.

In about twenty minutes, she could wait no longer. She flung off the covers and taped a small piece of paper on the toy box. It read "Merry Christmas! To Near, from Lillith" She then tiptoed out nearly tripping over a few dice. She nervously turned around, glaring at the white cubes under her feet. Then she walked into the living room. She was about to set the gift down on the couch when she stopped dead. She saw a figure across the room. She panicked for a split second before realizing it was Near, with a tiny box in his hands. The two stared blankly at each other for a few seconds until Near nervously, and uncharacteristically, began laughing. It took a few seconds before Lillith broke into peals of similar laughter. Lillith turned on the light, just barely missing the slight ting of pink on Near's face.

"So my surprise is ruined." Lillith crossed her arms in a disappointed manner, walking over to the gift and sitting down next to it. Near, who had calmed down to his normal state, sat down as well, in his usual fashion. Lillith picked up the box and dropped it in his lap. "There." She said, pouting slightly.

"Thanks. I actually don't have this one." Near said, observing it through the packaging. "Oh. Here." He handed her the small parcel he was holding. It was a small white box, barely bigger than Lillith's palm, with a small gold cord tied around it. "For me?" she asked with surprise. When he nodded, she slowly untied the cord and lifted the lid. Inside was a pretty silver chain with a blue stone attached. It was simple but beautiful. Lillith gasped in joy. "It's beautiful!" she squealed with excitement. "Well I'm glad you like it." Near rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm so glad you got me something! Thank you! I have to hug you!" she embraced him. After she realized she was just adding onto the awkwardness, she let go, set aside her gift gently, and headed to the kitchen. "We're both up, we should have something to eat or drink. How about hot chocolate?" Near nodded, and so Lillith, with some difficulty, managed to make hot chocolate. She poured it into a couple of mugs and handed one to Near. They began sipping on it together and chatting. Lillith started to get cold, so she grabbed a blanket and they shared it. Soon, the hot chocolate mugs were empty and their eyelids were starting to droop. "Merry Christmas…" Lillith said sleepily, dozing off against an already asleep Near's shoulder. This may be my last Christmas, but it was definitely the best. Lillith thought vaguely as she began to fall asleep.

END CHAPTER 7

Sorry for the long wait.

And note, I will no longer have captions. A very informational Fanfiction writing guide taught me how stupid they are. Mine weren't funny anyway. If I need to say something, I'll just say it right here at the end of the story like I am now.