Author's Note: Yaaay! Merry Christmas Eve everybody! Hope everyone is having the best time ever! Now onward to the chapter!

"Ugh, we're finally done." Penny groaned as soon as they left the store. The city air had never felt so refreshing, "I thought that would never end! I've never tried on so many shoes in my life!"

Neither girl noticed that Esperanza had a playful smile on her face.

Juliana was tired, but nonetheless happy, "That was fun. Thank you so much for bringing us here, Esperanza!"

"It was of no bother to me." Esperanza replied kindly, "Oh, and you don't have to worry about paying me back. Consider it a 'nice to meet you' present from me." She winked.

Juliana clutched her shopping bag just a little tighter, "Whaa? Esperanza, you're so generous!"

Penny was shocked too, "I'll say…"

"Now, as much as I enjoyed spending time with you girls, I must excuse myself. I need to hurry home and attend to some important business. I suggest you take those dresses home, wouldn't want them to get ruined, yes?" She gave an assuring smile.
It was a reminder that despite the holiday season, there was still some work to be done for the future heiress of the rotom phone company. Juliana and Penny both said bye to her as she hopped on a taxi and flew off. Once she was gone, Juliana turned to Penny, "Wow, she's so nice, isn't she?"

Penny nodded, "Yeah, I still can't believe she's Nemona's sister. They're so different."

"Now, I'm really excited for this party!" Juliana enthused, "I can't wait!"

Penny allowed a small smile, "Yeah, I am too. Kind of. Heh heh… I normally don't go to parties, but I can deal."

"Don't worry Penny, it'll be okay! Really!" Juliana assured.

Penny asked, "Juliana, could I keep my clothes at your house? I'd rather not keep it in my dorm room. I already have too many things in there, and I don't want it to get lost."

"Sure!" Juliana readily agreed, "It's no problem!"

"Thanks, I'm gonna go de-stress somewhere… That was getting to be too much."

"Okay, Penny!" An understanding Juliana replied, "I'll see you later!"

Juliana waved watching Penny run off to be by herself somewhere. Instead of leaving right away, she took a moment to admire the decorations of the city, they weren't as pretty now considering it was the middle of the day, but she knew it had to be gorgeous at night. Eventually, the bags started to strain her arms a little, so she had to call a taxi to take her home. She boarded the taxi with her bags and watched out the window as she was lifted away, reflecting on how fun this winter break was turning out to be.

Meanwhile in Kitakami,

Kieran was startled awake that morning by Carmine banging on his door, "Hey Kiki! It's snowing outside, come look!"

"O-Okay!" He called back, stretching his arms out. Only after pushing the covers off could he feel the chilled air in his room. He searched for Tinkatink and found her bundled up in blankets in a tiny bed that he had built a long time ago. No one except his sister knew that he had originally built that for Ogrepon. He didn't mind, rather he was thankful.

"Hey, at least that bed won't go to waste now." He whispered to himself while stifling a chuckle. At the same time, he was wondering how the little one was still sleeping through Carmine shouting and banging on the door. He pushed the curtain to the side to see a cloudy sky and delicate little flakes falling from the sky.

"Wowzers!" Kieran enthused before rushing to get dressed in black sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt. He tied his hair up as he left his room.

"Good morning Kieran!" Grandma Hideko greeted him from the kitchen, "Did you see the snow outside?"

"Yeah, Carmine almost broke my door over it." He chuckled, "Where is she?"

"She's outside with your grandfather. Go right ahead, I'll call you all when breakfast is ready."

"Thanks Grandma." Kieran smiled before putting on shoes and going outside to join them. There was only a thin layer of snow on the ground, indicating that it had started not too long ago. Carmine and Grandpa Yukito were standing together, looking up at the sky. They turned around when they heard Kieran approach.

"Geez, there you are! Took you long enough." Carmine stated, "Check it out! We finally got some snow!"

"Wowzers, so pretty." Kieran watched the snowflakes in wonder.

Yukito spoke, "I was worried we wouldn't get any this year. But looks like it was just late. Ohoho… Haruka would have loved this."

Kieran and Carmine felt sadness hearing the name of their late mother. It had been a long time, but it was still hard to believe that she and their father were gone.

"Yeah… she would have." Carmine muttered.

Yukito then brought up their father, "Now our son Kenji, he wasn't much of a fan of the cold. But he appreciated the beauty of snow. And what they both loved, was the spring that came after winter. When the flowers would bloom, and the true beauty of nature would emerge."

"I… didn't know that." Carmine quietly replied.

Kieran remained silent, deep down, he was worried about what his parents would think of him now after everything he had done. Sure, Juliana had forgiven him, and he was happy to not lose the first person he could call a friend. But now that his grandpa had brought his late parents up, he couldn't help but think about that.

Sighing, he turned around and went back into the house. He returned to his room and sat down on his bed. A single tear rolled down his face, "I miss you…" He whispered. Seconds later, there was a knock on the door, "Kiki? You there? Can I come in?"

Kieran wiped the tear and answered, "Yeah."

Carmine entered with a somber expression, "Hey, you all right?"

Kieran tried to stop himself from sniffing, but he couldn't help it, "I wish they were still here."

Carmine quickly sat next to him and hugged him, "I do too."

"Even though I know they'd be so ashamed of me…"

Carmine was shocked, "What? No, they wouldn't! Why would you say that?"

"Because of everything I've done." Kieran answered, his voice trembling.

Carmine sighed, "Kiki… it's okay." She didn't know what else to say. As usual, she wasn't good at handling situations like this. Thankfully for her, a concerned Yukito had poked his head in, "Children?"

Kieran flinched; he didn't want any of his family seeing him cry. Yukito immediately noticed, "Kieran… I'm so sorry. I should have realized that this is still a tough topic for you."

"It's okay, grandpa." Kieran replied, still being embraced by his sister.

"Grandpa, mom and dad would always be there for us. Wouldn't they?" Carmine blurted out.

Yukito was perplexed, "Of course they would. What on earth made you ask such a thing?"

"Not after how I'd been!" Kieran objected. When Yukito appeared shocked at his outburst, Kieran sighed and decided to tell the full story. About how he had acted at school after the whole Ogrepon incident, how he'd become the leader of the League Club and turned it into a prison where everyone was afraid. How he acted toward Juliana, the whole thing, choosing to leave out the Area Zero part. Yukito was absolutely stunned by the end of his explanation. Carmine nodded throughout it all, affirming everything he was saying.

But instead of being angry, Yukito was calm, "Kieran, you made some mistakes. We all do. But rest assured, I'm certain that despite everything. Your mother and father would always be there for you."

Kieran looked at his grandfather and saw the conviction in his eyes, "Your mother and father loved you both very much. Nothing would have changed that."

Not able to contain himself further, Kieran broke out into sobs. He was immediately embraced again by his sister; she had a few tears herself. Yukito smiled understandably, patting Kieran on the shoulder.

"Mom, dad… I miss them so much." Kieran choked out.

His sobbing was then interrupted by babbling noises next to his feet. Tinkatink had awoken and was now jumping with her arms up. This made Kieran smile, "Hey there." He patted her head, "Sorry for waking you up."

Tinkatink cooed with a smile, she didn't mind at all. Carmine and Yukito smiled at this.

A knock at the door, followed by Grandma poking her head in interrupted them, "Time for breakfast everyone!"

Carmine sprung to her feet, "All right! Enough of this sad talk, let's eat!" Running out the door.

Kieran laughed again and followed her out. Soon they were all at the table, the mood now warm and festive. Kieran knew that his grandpa and Carmine were right, their mom and dad would have always been there not matter what. Prehaps if they were still around, Kieran would have handled the situation better, but it was in the past now. Tinkatink was a testament to that. His friendship with Juilana was solid and would always be.

The best part about now? His heart would flutter with joy thinking about Nemona, and he couldn't help but smile. He almost couldn't believe it knowing she felt the same way about him.

This would be the most he had enjoyed Christmas in a long time.