Ok, last chapter, which will in fact be broken into two parts. Web's Sue-ish self will probably come out towards the end of the chapter, you've been warned. Hope you like.

~*~

Winter was cold, that was just a dead on fact, and Web couldn't stand it as she trudged bravely through the two and a half foot layering of snow, not able to feel if her toes even existed anymore, let alone her nose and ears.

Meteorologists lie. A lot. "Just around forty degrees they said," she muttered, her words coming out in little misty puffs in front of her, freezing in the air, "no more snow, nice weather they said. Well where's the bloody weather now?" They said sun. It was a leaky gray overcast up above. They said no snow. Well then what in the hell were all those horrid little flakes of white shedding themselves from the congestion of grey puffy things that crowded across the whole damn sky? Not even a streak of blue or a splotch of sunshine. Just gray. Not that Web minded, of course, she actually loved overcast days in the winter such as this one, but she enjoyed from afar, tucked up nicely on the couch wrapped in a loosely knotted shall and some toe socks, clutching a children's fairytale book to her chest.

But today she was not a safe distance away, separated from it by the walls of the orphanage and the glass of her window, she was living in it. The white sheen of glittery snow that covered England reached up to her knees, forcing her shins and calves to grow terribly, terribly cold, just on the brink of resounding numbness. I'm gonna kill the git who predicted nice weather.

But you know whose fault this all really was? Near's. Of course it was Near, who else would be at fault in such an excruciating situation? Of course Web had tried to be a nice orphan and tried to get him a present, which is a feat she had recently accomplished, and she would have gone earlier too, if it were not that he was continuously popping up everywhere and scaring her chances of slipping of and purchasing it.

Web gritted her teeth as she trudged on; at least she had the present. She didn't know what she would do if she hadn't picked it up. Today was, in fact, Christmas Eve, and she had to creep into her room before Near came over, wrap up his present, and filch a bow and some ribbon from an unsuspecting orphan. That was done easily enough, of course, because Web had many skills. And one of them was indeed master lock-picking.

On and on she marched through the falling snow, set on making it home and making up Near's present before she caught pneumonia and died.

~*~

"Have a nice walk in the snow?" Rommy was in one of the common rooms when the half-frozen, snowflake dusted Web came hurrying in through the door, slamming it behind her and leaning against it, enjoying the sudden warmth that engulfed her at her entry. Then she opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Stuff it you twit, I'm in no mood for your mocking." He stood up and strolled casually towards her, watching her slip of her boots and hang her scarf and jacket one of the one hundred and three wrought iron clothing hooks that occupied one of the massive walls of the entry hall.

"Ah, but it's so fun to mock you, mon cherie." Again she glared, her gaze verging on smoldering.

"Je ne suis pas ton cherie." They often talked like this, in fluent French, even though Rommy was originally from Finland, and you could tell too.

Rommy had blinding blond hair, for one thing, and he was always pushing the flax-like strands out of his eyes, running his hand through the fair-colored mop. He had fair skin as well, pasty and white, and a slight dusting on light brown freckles on the bridge of his nose. Rommy was also a year older than her, and if you asked her if they were friends she was likely to shrug, not knowing the answer to that herself.

"Yeesh, a rossz hangulat?(in a bad mood?)" Hungarian now? Web grinned, eager to except his challenge; Two can play at that game.

"Ano, ted' bud' zticha. (Yes, now be quiet.)" Rommy looked at her with his exceptionally attractive features for a moment, then gave a defeated sigh.

"Alright, alright, you win. But that's only because you studied Czech and I didn't, big deal." Web walked with him down the hall, glancing occasionally at the many paintings and old pictures hung on the walls, ones that she had grown up gazing at.

"Oh!" she clapped her hands, making her companion give a short jump, "That reminds me. Would you mind if I borrowed some present wrapping materials?" Rommy glanced at her and gave her an evil grin.

"Only if you give me a kiss on the cheek." Web just glared.

"They should've renamed you Rotty not Rommy you shameless perv."

"What about you? You go the worst new name of all next to Near's. I mean, Web? What the hell kind of name is that?"

"I didn't pick it ok? Now let me use those materials or I'll knock out another tooth." The first one he'd lost really hadn't been her fault, they'd been playing tag and he'd tripped and fallen on the asphalt teeth-first. At his demand he'd gotten a glass tooth installed in his gum, the strongest glass ever made. He took it out for eating and sleeping though, and yet many children at the orphanage were still awed by it.

Rommy turned to her and grinned, showing his pearly whites.

"Alright, I'll take you." And off to his room they went.

~*~

Web had wrapped the present in Rommy's room just in case Near decided to bust in on hers and now she was leaving, spilling her thank you's to her only other friend there at the orphanage.

"Hey, no problem. Just helping out so I wouldn't have to get another glass one." She smiled at his joke, her cheeks no longer freakishly rosy from her earlier tromp through the snow.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Web stood up on her tippy-toes and kissed Rommy's warm cheek, knowing her lips must be awfully cold. The Finnish boy touched his face with his hand, pale green eyes growing wide.

"You…that…"

"That," Web said, grinning ear-to-ear at his surprise, "was my Christmas present from me to you." With that she walked away, skipped actually, happy at how shocked Rommy had been and how happy Near was going to be when he received her present tonight.

The giddy girl turned around one last time and blew the blonde a kiss, winking teasingly. Rommy pretended to catch it held it to his heart, making an exaggerated expression of love, teasing her back. He gave a slight wave as he watched her disappear to her separate hallway, different from his granite-floored one, lined with the biggest windows you'd ever see on the opposite wall that let in all the late-afternoon winter sunshine.

"All this Christmas cheer is going to her head." The Finnish seventeen-year-old mumbled to himself, leaning against the white-washed door frame, "She's almost like…Saint Nicholas. All jolly and skippy." He entered his room and closed the door behind him, deciding not to take that kiss the wrong way just yet. Besides, he thought, bringing his hand to his cheek once more, feeling where her cold lips had touched, isn't she in love with Near?

~*~

Alright, this is the end of part one of this chapter. Part two will be released shortly. Review mon copains! Review! Je vous en prie!