"Haru?"

He looked up. Yuki was watching him with a look of concern. "You haven't said anything all night… Are you okay? You seem sad…"

Haru looked down at his plate, then back to Yuki. "I didn't get anything for you two… No money…"

Of course. He should have realized it. Had Yuki known that it would have stressed Haru out so much, not being able to get the perfect gift, then he wouldn't have even mentioned Christmas. But, considering how much strain it puts on humans, it's no wonder that Haru was feeling the same thing. Little things like this were what reminded him that they were more same than different…

"That's fine, Haru. It's not about the gifts. Just being able to spend time with you is a gift. I'm sure all four of us will have a wonderful time tomorrow, even without any presents." Kate's words soothed the boy a bit. He liked the thought of his existence making everyone happy. But, he still wasn't completely at ease. He smiled, pretending to be fine. He didn't want either of them to worry. That definitely wouldn't make them happy.

It was only after Haru turned around and saw the backyard that he returned to his normal self. There was lots of snow! It completely covered the ground, making everything look sparkly and dreamlike. That caused an idea to hit him, and he nearly went through with it until he remembered. Presents were supposed to be a surprise. It took every bit of effort to avoid going outside, but the blond alien succeeded. He waited until bedtime when all was quiet through-out the house. He pretended to settle down and sleep, getting giddy just by thinking about his idea. Finally, after a decent amount of time passed, he rose from his chair and padded out of his room. He took a peek into Yuki's room; the boy was facing his wall, but judging from the rise and fall of his breath, it would be safe to assume that he was asleep. He felt no need to check on Kate, as she seemed to fall asleep quickly.

He got to the door, which let out a small squeak when he opened it. He cringed and turned around. No one came. It surprised him, how nervous he was. It wasn't a feeling he experienced often.

The backyard seemed completely different. Unlike other times of the year, no flowers blossomed. The moon had been set free from the clouds, lending the alien its light. He needed it, for what he was about to do.

He sat down a mimicked what Yuki had taught him earlier. Rolling the snow in his hands, he made them into snowballs of three different sizes. He felt like throwing them again, because that was fun, but without someone with him, he knew it wouldn't be the same.

The balls were put into groups of three, small, medium and large. Then, he began to put them together. Four teeny, expressionless snowmen emerged. He took the smallest snowman and began to work on it. It had smooth hair with one weird tuft sticking up and a huge smile. He had this snowman raising its arms in the air, as though it were overjoyed with its life.

The next turned into a representation of Kate, with a wizened smile and short hair. Then, he made his sister, with giving her longer hair and a skirt. Once he finished making her, he began what he knew would be the toughest one: Yuki.

Rather than making Yuki into what he was, Haru made Yuki into what Haru wanted him to be. His physical features remained the same. Medium length hair that was kinda messy, small eyes, and arms that were to his side. But, rather than making the Yuki look quiet or reserved, he gave the snowman a smile that rivaled the Haru's. A beaming smile, because whenever Yuki smiled, Haru felt really, really happy!

But, something felt wrong. Something was missing. The four of them looked a little lonely, like they need more friends… Another idea struck him, something that seemed obvious. He should have realized it before!

He made six more snowballs, enough to make two more snowmen. One with a turban, another with glasses. Akira and Natsuki, and a teeny Tapioca for Akira to hold! Haru set them by his snow family and grinned. It was complete!

"They're amaaazing!" He said to himself happily, wiggling a little. But, a thought made him stop everything, including his breath. A memory came back to him.

"…the snow doesn't last too long. It always melts, eventually." Yuki told him that this morning, yet he had already forgotten. No matter what, the family wouldn't last. He remembered seeing ice melt before, and that thought upset him. Haru wanted the snowmen to last a lot more Christmas's!

His mind raced. He needed to figure out some way to save them, at least until the morning. Leaving them out might work, but without the clouds, the sun might melt them. Maybe. He just felt like something bad would happen if he left them out. He wanted them to be inside. Safe.

Haru sat there, feeling hopeless and inept. Just like before, no ideas would come. He wished he could ask Yuki or Kate for advice. This world was so confusing sometimes. Even little things gave him trouble…

Thoughts of cold things drifted into his mind. Of ice cream and soda and winter and snow. He remembered the water being too cold for him when he tried to take his first bath on Earth. Or how surprised he had been when he opened the fridge for the first time and found out that it was cold. He sat there with it open, as it was nice in the summer time. Until Yuki caught him, that was.

His thoughts dwindled and nothing else came. He sighed. It would seem that leaving them out would be his only option. He got up and went to the door, when he found the solution to his troubles sitting right in front of him. He had forgotten; the fridge had a freezer next to it.

Starting with Yuki, he picked up the snowmen one by one and bought them in. He left them on the counter until he retrieved the last one, and then after rearranging the contents of the freezer, he had enough room for all of them. He placed them at the top of the freezer, which had the only flat part that wasn't a grate.

He smiled. It felt like the freezer was the family's house! Now, they could all be together again!

Haru started to run a few steps, then stopped himself with a giggle. Being so happy about the gift, he nearly forgot that he had to be quiet. He went up the stairs as quietly as he could and returned to his bedroom. It took him hours to get to sleep, as he couldn't stop thinking about how the two of them would react to his surprise.

Rustling, like an earthquake, woke him. Haru groaned. He normally had little trouble waking up, but it really did take him a long time to fall asleep last night…

"Hey, wake up. It's already noon!"

His violet gaze met Yuki's, who was standing over him, nudging his side. Haru rubbed his eyes. They felt itchy.

"We've been waiting for you… There's food downstairs." He paused. "Are you feeling okay?"

Haru nodded, then said "Yes!" to reassure him. And, to make the point that he was feeling fine further, he jumped out of the chair without warning, nearly ramming into Yuki.

"H-hey! Watch it!"

The alien laughed, finding Yuki's surprise to be amusing. He then bounded down the stairs, determined to make it before his friend.

Breakfast was normal. It seemed like any other day, which confused Haru. He expected at least something to feel different. Something almost magical. A few times, Yuki and Kate went into the fridge to get something out. Haru's heart pounded fast, as he hoped they wouldn't open the freezer. What if they already had? He smiled all the same, but kept looking for hints to show if they knew about his surprise or not. He found none.

After they ate, they gathered into the living room. Or, they mainly followed each other. Kate headed into there first, Haru close behind, and Yuki went in, as he didn't seem to know what to do with himself.

Yuki didn't really know why he followed them inside. It just felt like he should spend time with them, as he had a bad tendency to push people away. The safety of his bedroom compelled him to spend more time alone than he wanted. Now, he had a chance to be with them. He just didn't know what to do with that time.

"It's Christmassss!" Haru announced, arms spread wide.

Yuki smiled, feeling his negativity drift away. He supposed that it didn't really matter what they did. As long as they were together.

"Guess what?" The alien asked the two of them with a wide grin.

Yuki kept silent, knowing his grandmother would speak. "What?" She asked, a smile that equaled his.

"I have a surprise! Wait here!" And he dashed out of the room with no further explanation. Yuki and Kate exchanged glances and laughed. It was always nice to see Haru so excited, as long as he wasn't getting into trouble.

That being said, the boy did find some trouble. He didn't think about how he would present the gift to Yuki and Kate… He could bring them out, one by one, but that would take away from the effect. A tray. He needed one. But, the closest he could find was a baking pan. After making an enormous amount of noise and mess, he finally got a pan. He turned around, expecting someone to be watching him, but no one was.

He carefully balanced the snow family on the pan, hoping he could make it. Luckily, he was able to, and with an exaggerated kick to the door, he strode back into the living area.

"Surprisssse!"

"Oh, Haru, how wonderful! Did you make those?" Kate asked, leaning forward from her seat to take a look. There was a kind of shine in her eyes which made her entire face light up.

"Mmmhm!"

Yuki was quiet, and his expression was blank. He had no idea how to react to this; he wasn't expecting anything to happen this morning. Past Christmas's have always been quiet, so even something as small as this surprised him.

He set the tray down onto the table so they all could see. They were perfect. The alien even gave some of the snowmen clothing! Both the Haru and Yuki wore what appeared to be snow boots. Kate had her red jacket and earrings. Coco had her glasses, and almost an exact representation of what she usually wore. The Natsuki also wore glasses, and held a stick with fishing string and a hook attached to it, and wore a crown. Haru recently learned that crowns were for royalty, and since Natsuki was the fishing prince, he had to have a crown! The Akira had a suit jacket and a tie, wearing a turban on his head. Tapioca was in his twig arms.

The Yuki, though, wasn't quite as detailed as the others. He had messy hair and wore the sweater jacket he had on the day before. But, the smile stood out. Haru did a good job on his facial expression.

"It's your Christmas gift!" Haru told them. Kate pointed out all of the details, quite happy with the results. But, Yuki remained silent. His snow-self bothered him, for some reason.

"Hey… Um, Haru?"

"Yes?"

"W-what's with the smile?" It was obvious that it was done on purpose. Yuki never smiled like that. He certainly hoped he didn't. It looked kinda… silly.

"I made you smile big, because when you smile big, I smile big, too! I want to see you smile more, Yuki! So, I made your snowman smile big!"

And now he knew why it bothered him. His initial reaction was guilt. But, then he was touched by the thought. Very few people had ever said anything remotely close to that in his entire life.

"Ah… thanks. I… don't know what to say." He paused, shifting his weight. "I'll try to fix that. But, I'll need your help… Okay?"

"Promise!"

And for the first time that day, Yuki smiled widely. And somehow, it turned out to be contagious, just like Haru's. Yuki took a picture of the "snow family" with his cell phone to reassure Haru that even after they melted, they could still make the real family happy. Haru liked that idea, and for many months afterward, he would occasionally ask to see the picture again. It made the two of them smile wide, every single time.