Author's Note

-Casually dumps 4 chapters in one go here-

Happy Holidays y'all

Eli loved winter.

Winter meant the return of cool air, a serene atmosphere that draped over the entire country, snow and best of all, Christmas. It was during this season where she would see the kindness in people more often; neighbours helped shovel snow off each others' paths, students shared umbrellas, adults carpooled to enjoy that small comfort in the car away from the cold. Winter gave her much reason to drink her favourite drinks: hot chocolate and vodka.

Winter reminded Eli of home.

Living alone with only her younger sister at the young age of 18 was definitely not an easy task. But she had chosen her previous high school on her own and Alisa did want so badly to study in their grandmother's hometown. So here they were in Japan, happy, excited, but ever so often, homesick. Which was why winter was always welcome for the Ayase siblings.

Living alone with only her younger sister also meant that during such special occasions, it felt significantly less festive. The house was no longer filled up with dozens of relatives, all with perfect genes. The tree, once lush, huge and elaborately decorated was now reduced to a tinier one barely the height of Eli herself, still beautifully decorated but with the same empty air as the house. The numerous presents which had been littered under the tree were now few.

It was inevitable - Christmas was different and would never be the same in Japan as Russia. But Eli had been determined to not let this get to both her and Alisa, and worked hard every year to ensure that Christmas was still a celebration.

So here she was, searching for the perfect gift for Alisa in the mall.

Never had she expected to run into the perfect gift for herself.

Nozomi had foreseen many different scenarios when she had signed up to be the mall Santa. Kids asking for the impossible, possibly whining, maybe even bawling, occasional weird requests, older kids surprisingly still believing in Santa, even elderly with dementia maybe. But she had definitely not expected her current predicament: a bunch of drunk university students hitting on her with one draped all over her lap and another with his arms around her shoulders.

"Come on Santa, won't you grant me my wish? I've been really good. In bed, that is," the girl on Nozomi's lap drawled clumsily.

"All I want for Christmas is youuuuuuuuuu!" The boy behind her shouted in her ear and she winced.

These all elicited excited catcalls from their few other friends by the side, all likely equally intoxicated. Now, on any other day, Nozomi could probably have pushed them aside seeing as they were drunk and would hardly be able to put up a decent fight. However, her contract as Santa had required her to act the part for the entire duration that she was in the costume. Which included now. The small crowd which had gathered at Santa's Workshop at the mall plaza - mainly kids watching in curiosity with their parents looking on with a mix of amusement and horror - would definitely not appreciate the figure of festivity getting all festive on these students. So instead, she patiently waited for Security to come, which she was sure they would seeing as some parents looked utterly offended. Meanwhile, she kept to her character.

"It appears as though you lot are all in the Naughty list! I'm afraid I can't grant your wishes; no presents for you all!" She announced loudly, with the kids in the crowd gasping.

"Naughty? Well Santa, I'm sure you'd like that a lot more," the student pressed himself closer to Nozomi and she almost gagged, both from the comeback and the smell of his breath.

The only warning she got next was the rustling of plastic bags and quick, furious footsteps. Then, the university students were angrily whacked by a Toys-R-Us bag.

"Stop being a public nuisance. You're harassing Santa and upsetting all the kids that come here to feel the Christmas spirit," a stern voice scolded.

"The hell, lady? We want to enjoy the Christmas spirit too! Who are you to do this to us?"

"Mrs Claus," came the reply unhesitatingly. "Please respect my family and leave."

Nozomi choked as she watched the exchange between her saviour and assailants. That was not a reply she had expected. Her saviour had her back faced towards Nozomi, as if acting as a human shield for her. But from her slim and tall figure, long blonde hair and poise, Nozomi had definitely not expected such a... creative response.

Surprisingly, the university students took it.

"Very sorry to disrupt your happy family, ma'am. We don't want any cheating this season," they bowed in apology.

"You picked a good one. Santa didn't budge at all," Lap Girl sloppily winked as she was dragged away by her other friends.

Nozomi watched the bunch of kids walk into the slightly late Security, literally, and get escorted out of the mall. She heaved a sigh of relief as they exited the automatic doors and turned towards her saviour, ready to thank her.

And then the words died in her throat.

The blonde, with her body now angled more towards Nozomi, was definitely a sight to behold. And that was coming from Santa. Said lady could probably light fireplaces just with her presence. She was probably on the wish list of almost anyone that had met her. All Nozomi could do was gape at her and after a few moments, the lady turned towards her and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright there?" Her voice was laced with concern and Nozomi felt reindeers pull at her heartstrings.

She opened and closed her mouth dumbly for a few moments, before blurting out the only words in her mind.

"I sure hope you've been good because I'd definitely want to visit your house."

Eli waited outside Santa's Workshop for Santa as per agreed on just an hour or so ago. Said girl had offered Eli a free lunch in thanks for saving her from the drunken bunch and despite the flattering but awkward first words Santa had spouted, Eli still could not say no to the offer. After all, rule number 1 of being an independent university student living with her younger sister was that there's no such thing as free lunches, but when it did present itself, never say no.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting!" A familiar voice rang out from behind her and Eli turned to face her.

There Santa stood, stripped of her hat and beard but still wearing the shirt, shorts and boots. Her purple hair was tousled, evidently tied into a careless low side ponytail. Green eyes reminding Eli of the most vibrant Christmas tree ever formed half moons as Santa smiled at her.

Eli didn't understand how someone could look so cute, hot and gorgeous at the same time. In a Santa outfit.

"Thanks so much for earlier. I'm Nozomi Toujou," San- Nozomi said as she stuck her hand out in greeting.

Eli stood there dumbly, still desperately controlling her ogling. Nozomi raised an eyebrow in amusement and smirked a little at the lack of reaction, which kick started Eli's brain.

Right, an introduction. Good, now I don't have to keep calling her Santa in my head. That was making things weird, because no one should be attracted to Santa, right? Only Mrs Claus would. Right. Oh god her name is as beautiful as her- no Eli stop, focus. What did she want again? An introduction, right. I'm taking too long, Sant- Nozomi's looking at me with a knowing look. Okay deep breath, calm down. Introduce yourself properly and don't show just how attracted you are to her and just be normal and-

"Hi, I'm Mrs Claus."

Somewhere at the back of her brain, a tiny portion of her mind that was still rational face palmed.