LOOK AT THIS THING! LOOK AT THIS FREAKING THING! LOOK AT- Ahem, sorry. I'm just a little excited. You see, the lovely Darkkseid decided to commission the biggest monster fluff oneshot I have ever written. Seriously, this is the fluffiest fluff I have ever fluffed. Don't bother checking your blood sugar. This will give you diabeetus.

This is a holiday-themed fic taking place in that lovely AU where Volume 3 never happened. (I swear, this is becoming the equivalent of Harry Potter's "Epilogue? What Epilogue?" AU.) There will be a Lime scene in here, so consider this a T+ story.

So, without further ado, I present "Merry Dustmas," or as I've been calling it: "Fluffzilla, the Arkos Behemoth." Enjoy!

"Omigosh! I can see it! Ooh, it's covered with snow! Look, Ren!" Nora shook Ren back and forth while squealing in excitement at her first sight of Jaune's village.

"I'm. Looking. Nora," he replied calmly, each word punctuated with a shake.

Pyrrha looked eagerly out the window. Stretched out below was a scene that evoked thoughts of a children's storybook: snow-coated buildings, lampposts wrapped with pine branches and holly berries, and several large evergreens, the biggest of which could be spotted in what looked like the village square.

"It'll be even better when the lights are lit." Jaune's voice was strained as he, unlike his teammates, looked anywhere but at the window.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked for the tenth time during their journey. "Do you need some water?"

Jaune shook his head as he clutched his aching stomach. "No… No, I'm good." He managed a smile. "I think I'll be okay this time. Man, I hate airships."

Pyrrha rubbed his shoulder as the ship started to descend. As she felt the lurch, her heart jumped in her chest. Though she was less obvious about it, she was every bit as excited about this upcoming Dustmas break as Nora.

This would be the first Dustmas season Pyrrha could remember when she wouldn't be spending the entire time making public appearances or promoting products. Her parents had admittedly not been happy when she had cancelled her appointments for the season and chose to accept Jaune's invitation.

In a way, this would be Pyrrha's first real Dustmas since her early childhood. For Ren and Nora, that was even more true.

When the airship landed, Jaune was the first to get off, breathing deep lungfuls of frigid air. He was then promptly tackled to the ground just as his teammates stepped off. In a blur, three figures rushed from the station, barreling him over with ease.

"Jaune!"

"Big bwother!"

"You're back, you're back, you're back!"

"Did you miss me?"

Pyrrha chuckled at the scene before her: Three girls, ages ranging from four to twelve, were piled on top of Jaune, all talking at once.

"Urk…" Jaune groaned. "Guys, I'm happy to see you too, but please get off. You're crushing my ribs."

Two of the girls reluctantly obeyed. The youngest continued to stubbornly cling to the front of Jaune's coat. She blinked up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Is that Silvia?" Jaune kissed the toddler's forehead. "I almost didn't recognize you. Look at how tall you are!"

Silvia giggled and looped her arms around Jaune's neck. "Cawwy me!"

"Carry you? Aren't you too old for that?" Jaune asked, even as he stood up and wrapped his arms securely around his sister.

"Nope!" Silvia replied, popping the p at the end.

Pyrrha's heart warmed as she watched Jaune holding his sister. He had always spoken highly of his family, and it was easy to see the love between them just during those first few seconds of him seeing them again. Her gaze shifted to the station, where six figures were walking toward them.

The first was a tall man who looked just like an older version of Jaune. Some scruff covered his chin, and his dark blue eyes had a cheery shine to them. His arm was around a shorter, sandy-haired, hazel-eyed woman who had one hand over a swollen abdomen. She met Pyrrha's gaze and smiled gently, immediately making the young Huntress feel welcome. The other four were clearly Jaune's older sisters. Their eyes and hair were various shades of blue, hazel, blonde, and sandy. Pyrrha could tell that they wanted to hug their brother, but were content to wait for their younger siblings to have their turn.

In the meantime, the two other younger sisters, seeing that Jaune's attention was momentarily devoted to Silvia, immediately ran over to where Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were.

"Hi, I'm Jenny!" the younger one, who looked to be around six, said while bouncing up and down. "Are you Jaune's teammates? You're cool! Do you have awesome weapons?" She stared at their bags, as if she expected Dust-laced explosives to leap out.

The twelve year old looked like she was about to say something. Then, she looked at Ren. Her face flushed and she stared hurriedly at her boots.

"Hello," Pyrrha said, smiling at both of them. "I'm Pyrrha. It's nice to finally meet you."

Jenny tilted her head up, eyes shining as she stared at Pyrrha. "Wow, you're tall!" she gasped. "Did you really pin Jaune to a tree with your spear?"

"She sure did," Nora chirped. "And I've kicked his butt on a few occasions as well."

"They don't want to hear that, Nora!" Jaune called over.

"Yes, we do! That's Katie, by the way." Jenny elbowed the quiet twelve year old. "Could I pin Jaune to a tree when I'm older?"

Jaune approached, rolling his eyes. "Leave it to you guys to focus on that part of the initiation story."

"It's the best part!" Jenny declared. "Right, Katie?" She elbowed her silent sister again.

Silvia, meanwhile, smiled at Nora and Ren over Jaune's shoulder and waved. "Hi!"

"Hey there," Nora replied. "Omigosh, you're adorable." She lightly booped Silvia's nose, causing the toddler to giggle.

"Hello," Ren murmured, speaking for the first time while glancing at each of Jaune's family members in turn.

Silvia turned from Ren and Nora to look at Pyrrha. Her eyes widened. "That's the pwetty giwl fwom the ceweal!" she gasped.

Well, it was official: This kid was so adorable, she was probably illegal in some parts of Remnant. Pyrrha could feel her heart melting as she looked at those bright blue eyes. "Hello," she said, smiling at Silvia. "I'm your brother's partner."

"I know that!" Silvia said proudly before loudly whispering: "Did you weally pin big bwother to a twee?"

Jaune groaned and rolled his eyes while Pyrrha laughed.

Jaune's parents and older sisters, finally deciding they had waited long enough, walked over. Jaune carefully put Silvia down before hugging his mom. His dad patted his shoulder, then proceeded over to the others.

"Johann Arc. Nice to finally meet you." He gave each of their hands a firm shake. "I hope you all make yourselves at home. Teammates are like family, so think of yourselves as our kids while you're here, okay?"

Pyrrha graciously thanked him. She glanced toward Nora and Ren just in time to notice the former quickly wiping her eyes.

Jaune's mother, meanwhile, finished hugging her son and immediately came over to hug each of his teammates. "It's so good to see you all. I'm Joan. No 'Mrs. Arc,' understand?"

Jaune's four older sisters finally got their turn and promptly hugged their brother and did their best to mess up his hair. They introduced themselves, oldest to youngest, as Mary, Sapphire, June, and Autumn.

"So, I was thinking," Mary said once introductions were finally over. "Dad's gonna drive Mom back to the house. Why don't we load your bags into the car, and walk around town a bit?"

"That sounds grand!" Pyrrha said. "The village looked beautiful from the airship."

"Just wait till the lights are lit," Jenny said. "The parade and lighting are tomorrow night!"

Joan nodded. "You kids have fun." She looked at Silvia. "Silvia, do you want to come home with us?"

Silvia shook her head. "No. I wanna stay with big bwother!"

"Think you can keep up?" Jaune asked.

"Uh huh. I'm weally fast now," Silvia insisted.

After loading the bags and waving to Jaune's parents, the group set off down the sidewalk leading into town. The members of the Arc family were determined to show their guests everything, often talking over each other in the process.

"That's the coffee shop where June fell on her face in front of that one guy-"

"I did not!"

"Yeah, you did. You got coffee all over your sweater."

"They make pretty good hazelnut lattes."

"It was Autumn who fell!"

"No, it wasn't!"

Pyrrha, Ren, and even Nora were silent as they allowed themselves to be led through the village by the playfully-bickering family. Glancing at each other, it was easy to tell that they were thinking similar thoughts: "This is the kind of family I've always wanted."

At one point, they passed a supermarket with a display of Pumpkin Pete's Cereal. Silvia frowned. "Pywwa's not on the box!"

Pyrrha chuckled at the pouting toddler. "They put different people on the box, Silvia. I already had my turn."

"You were the pwettiest," Silvia insisted. "Big bwother said so."

Jaune coughed loudly, pulling Silvia over and ruffling her hair. "You're, uh, thinking of something else, kiddo."

Silvia blinked. "No, you said you thought the giwl was pwetty, and you wanted her to be your giwlfwiend.""

"You're thinking of the time Ozpin was on the box," Jaune said hurriedly, his face turning bright red as he carefully avoided looking at Pyrrha. "And Saph had a thing for him. Don't you remember?"

Before Silvia could say anything else, Sapphire put her hands on her hips. "I did not!"

Relieved that his plan had worked, Jaune smirked. "Yeah, you did! You thought his silvery hair was soooo hot."

"You did!" Jenny added, giggling loudly.

"What was it you said?" Jaune continued. "Wasn't it something like: 'I can't wait to go to Beacon. I'd love to see what he could teach me!'"

"That's it!" Sapphire lunged toward her brother, who yelped and dodged to the side. He quickly hid behind Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, save me!"

Pyrrha, still trying to dissipate her blush from Silvia's earlier comment, shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't get involved with family disputes." She couldn't help but laugh at her partner's stricken expression.

"What?! We're supposed to be partners! Eep!" Jaune bolted as Sapphire ran toward him.

"Get back here, you scrawny jerk!" Sapphire shouted.

Nora burst out laughing as she watched. "I've never seen Jaune run so fast!"

Mary shook her head, watching her younger siblings fondly. "Well, Saph is much scarier than any Grimm." She glanced at the others, then leaned toward Pyrrha. "He totally did think you were hot, though. We all thought it was freaking perfect when you ended up as his partner." When Pyrrha's face turned an even deeper shade of red, Mary's grin widened. "I guess you agree." She winked, then moved away.

Nora sidled up to Pyrrha, smirking up at her. "I think you have a better chance than you thought."

"Oh, hush," Pyrrha murmured, glancing at Jaune's sisters to make sure they weren't listening. Thankfully, they were all focused on watching Sapphire chase their brother around town.

When they arrived at the house, Pyrrha was dismayed to see that the bags had already been unloaded from the car. "We could've taken care of that," she said, thinking of Jaune's heavily-pregnant mother. "They didn't have to."

June laughed. "You don't know our mom. She'll be exercising, cooking, baking, and everything else until she goes into labor. She'd probably be training right now if Dad would let her."

Sure enough, the group was immediately greeted with the smell of cookies baking when they stepped inside. Joan peeked her head out of the kitchen and smiled. "I've got some chocolate chip cookies in the oven. The gingerbread ones are still cooling. Come down in a half hour if you want to decorate them."

Jaune smiled at his teammates. "Family tradition," he muttered. "There's no getting out of it."

"That's perfectly fine," Pyrrha assured him, unable to resist peeking into the kitchen. Her mouth fell open at the sheer amount of gingerbread men, trees, and Grimm there were. Some were piled on plates while a few were still cooling on racks.

Jaune's mother laughed. "I tend to get carried away during the holidays. Strangely enough, the leftovers rarely last for more than a week."

"That's our way of showing our appreciation, Mom," Sapphire said, putting a hand over her heart and mustering the most sincere face she could.

"Uh huh. Why don't you show your appreciation by taking our guests to their rooms? And make sure the halls are dusted while you're at it," Joan smacked Jaune with a towel as he tried to discreetly reach for one of the cookies. "Out! You can eat when they're decorated. Shoo!"

Jaune held up his hands as he backed away. "I'm going, I'm going!" Nudging Ren, he led his friend toward the stairs. "Come on. You'll be rooming with me." The two went upstairs, down the hall, and into the last room at the end. Opening the door brought forth a familiar smell of comic books and clean sheets that caused Jaune to sigh wistfully.

Everything was just as he had left it. His bed was made and his bookshelves were overflowing with comics and strategy guides for various games. The door leading to his balcony sat next to a large window, which currently had a blue curtain over it. The worn, dark blue carpet greeted Jaune's bare feet like an old friend.

Ren peered in, impressed. "You have your own balcony?' he asked, noticing the door.

"Yep!" Jaune replied proudly. "Five of the rooms have them. Cool, huh?" He peered through the window. "I'll have to get rid of the snow before we can use it."

Ren put his bag down on a cot that had been set up near one of the book cases. He stared at the posters, books, and old toys, marveling at how much space there was. "Did you grow up in this room?"

"Sure did." Jaune noticed Ren's thoughtful expression. Of course. He probably never had anything like this. "Listen, make yourself at home, okay? Any comics that aren't in plastic are fair game."

Ren smiled at Jaune. "Thank you."

Pyrrha and Nora, meanwhile, were taken to a room on the ground floor by Mary. "We used to have two," Mary explained. "But one is being converted into the new baby's room."

"What's her name gonna be?" Nora asked.

"They're still thinking about it," Mary said. "Not sure if it'll be a color-themed one or not."

Pyrrha paused as they walked by a set of mounted shelves, which held a multitude of framed photographs. Most of them showed the Arc family all together at different times, though there were several individual shots. One in particular, which showed a young Jaune trying to lift Crocea Mors, caused her to smile fondly.

Mary joined Pyrrha, grinning when she saw the picture. "Yeah, little Jauney called dibs on that old piece of junk when he was five. We never thought he'd actually go to Beacon with it." She glanced at Pyrrha. "Thank Dust for those papers, huh?"

Both Nora and Pyrrha gasped, staring at Mary, who made a shushing gesture before leading them into the guest room and closing the door. "Jaune said he told you."

"Y-You know?" Pyrrha sputtered.

"Of course. Mom, Dad, and the younger three don't though." Mary leaned against the wall. "We used Autumn's papers as a reference. Jaune and I did the actual forging, and Saph snagged a printer for us to use from someone who owed her a favor. June was in charge of convincing our parents that everything was legit."

Pyrrha sat down on the bed that had her bag next to it. "Why did you forge them in the first place? Why didn't he enroll in a primary school?" She had always wondered this, but had never wanted to bring the subject up with Jaune.

"He was needed here," Mary said simply. "Our family had a little bit of a financial blip, and it happened soon after Jenny was born. Mom and Dad had to work, and we were either hunting or at school, so taking care of Katie and Jenny fell to Jaune." She smiled. "He never resented them for it, either. He just grinned and bore it. We tried training him when we were home, which wasn't often. Finally, the year before he reached his enrollment age, we came up with our plan. Jaune had natural talent, and we figured he'd learn on the fly at Beacon."

Nora snorted. "He definitely did that during initiation."

Pyrrha was shaking her head slowly as she listened to this new information. On one hand, she was touched that Jaune's family cared so much about him, and that he had sacrificed his early education in order to care for his younger siblings. That honestly explained a lot.

However, hearing about how easily his older sisters had gone about forging illegal documents together…they were starting to seem capable of anything.

Mary laughed when she saw Pyrrha's expression. "Don't worry, hun. We only come together like that when it's really necessary." She winked as she walked out. "Feel free to walk around the house or outside as much as you want, and don't forget to come down to decorate cookies. Mom will come up and find you."

Nora stared at the door after it closed. "She's kinda scary…" A grin spread across her face. "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Everyone gathered a few minutes later in the dining room, where the gingerbread cookies were sitting on a giant plate in the center of the enormous table. Small bowls of sprinkles, chocolate chips, candies, and various tubes of colored frosting were scattered around. A medium-sized plate sat in front of each chair.

Joan sat at the head of the table, smiling brightly. "Okay, everyone. Feel free to do whatever you want. Nothing inappropriate, though," she added, glancing toward Jaune and his team. "I know how you students can get."

Jaune laughed, holding up his hands. "Not us, Mom. If Yang was here, that'd be a different story."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "It would not. I'd be more worried about her killing your sisters with her puns."

The four sat down on one side of the table. Silvia immediately ran over to the seat next to Jaune. She climbed up, smiling at him. "I get to sit next to big bwother!"

"You gonna make the cookies look extra pretty for Santa?" Jaune asked.

"Uh huh!" Silvia nodded. "I'm way better at decowating than last year."

"I get Nora!" Jenny declared, running to the other end of the table and sitting down in the empty seat next to Nora. "Hi!"

"Hey there," Nora giggled. When the other sisters sat down and started reaching for items, she immediately grabbed a tube of pink frosting.

"No eating the frosting out of the tube, Nora," Ren said without even looking at her.

Nora pouted. "You're no fun."

Jenny leaned close. "You should totally do it!" she whispered loudly.

"Jenny, don't be a bad influence!" Jaune called over. "Nora doesn't need that kind of sugar." Something occurred to him. "That reminds me: Mom, do not give her coffee. No matter how much she asks."

"Reeeeen, Jaune's being mean!"

"Good." Ren used a green icing tube to make an outline along the edge of a gingerbread tree.

Joan laughed. "Don't worry, sweetie. Jaune told me you like pancakes. While you're here, you can have as many as you want."

Nora perked up while the rest of the team exchanged horrified looks. Her turquoise eyes glittered excitedly. "As many as I want?"

Jaune groaned. "We will all regret this. All of us." He looked over at Pyrrha, who was carefully drawing a face on a gingerbread man. "Looking good."

Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you. This is the first time I've really done something like this."

"Yeah?" Jaune tilted his head. Pyrrha rarely talked about her family, or what they did during the holidays. He had honestly been surprised at how quickly she had agreed to spending the entire holiday season with him. "What do you and your family usually do?"

"Advertising tours at the mall, public appearances, things like that." Pyrrha shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. "There was never really time for much else." She noticed the worried look Jaune was giving her and touched his arm. "It's fine, Jaune. My parents love me. They just…have always been more encouraging of my growing fame than they were of other things. That's one reason why I'm so happy you invited me. I needed a break from all that."

Jaune grinned. "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to give you the full Dustmas experience to make up for lost time!"

Pyrrha's cheeks flushed. "You don't have to go to any trouble."

"Nope. Too late. Let's see, we got the cookies, we'll be decorating the tree later this week, the parade is tomorrow…" Jaune sat back, thinking for a moment. "What else?"

Silvia tugged on Jaune's sleeve. "What about mistletoe, bwother? That's part of Dustmas!"

Jaune blushed and hurriedly ruffled his sister's hair, laughing nervously. "We won't be needing that, silly."

Nora glanced up from her cookie just in time to see an evil look pass between Jaune's four older sisters. When Autumn looked in her direction, she winked, then went back to decorating without a word.

Pyrrha, trying to will away her own blush, reached for a bowl of chocolate chips and started gluing them to her gingerbread man with frosting. "So, you make cookies every year, Mrs- I mean Joan?"

Joan nodded. "That's right. I haven't even started the candies yet. I hope you like caramels."

"And chocolate pretzels!" Jaune added. "You can't forget those!"

"I won't, Jaune. I won't," Joan assured him.

"Hey, Ren!" Nora chirped. "Ren!"

Ren turned to look at her. "Yes, Nora?"

Nora grinned, dabbing a frosting-coated finger on his nose. "Boop!"

Ren wiped his nose, though he was unable to hide a fond smile. "Don't waste the icing, Nora." He messed up her hair before reaching for a bowl of gumdrops.

Nora giggled, then went back to outlining a gingerbread star. She noticed Mary shifting in her seat, and saw a second look passing between her and Sapphire. Her stomach dropped. Uh oh.

Jaune, meanwhile, had turned to Silvia. "What are you drawing on the tree?"

"Tinsel," Silvia replied, using a silver frosting tube to make squiggles on a gingerbread tree. "It's shiny!"

"It is! Santa will love that one. It'll make his teeth all sparkly."

Silvia giggled. "He's fat because he eats so many cookies. Did you know that?"

"Don't forget the hot chocolate. And the Dustmas candy at the North Pole," Jaune reminded her.

Silvia drew a few more squiggles on the tree. "Big bwother, how does Santa hide fwom Gwimm when he's delivewing pwesents?"

Jaune smiled. "Well, Santa's a Huntsman. Didn't you know that?"

Silvia stared at him with wide eyes. "He is?!"

"Sure. And his reindeer are also trained to fight Grimm, like hunting dogs," Jaune explained. "He keeps a huge bazooka in his sack, which he uses to snipe Nevermores while flying." He mimed holding a giant gun. "Bam! He never misses! And the reindeer run over anything that tries to attack from below."

"Wow!" Silvia gasped. "Did he go to Beacon, like you?"

Jaune laughed. "Nah. He's so old, he was around before Beacon even existed. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he taught Ozpin." He glanced toward Sapphire and stuck out his tongue. "Since Ozpin is so old!"

Sapphire threw a gumdrop at him. "He isn't that old!"

Pyrrha quietly observed the family interactions. Her heart warmed especially at how sweet Jaune was with his youngest sister. Honestly, the more she found out about him, the more amazing he seemed to be. He was kindhearted, funny, a quick learner, a true leader, and now she knew that he was probably the best and most dedicated older brother anyone could have asked for.

Jaune caught Pyrrha's gaze, and his face flushed. "Heh. Sorry. She always has a billion questions."

"I think it's sweet," Pyrrha replied honestly.

An hour later, the cookies were all frosted, covered with candy, and set aside to dry. Everyone got up. A blushing Katie nervously walked up to Ren, holding a pink and green tree. She held it out to him, biting her lip.

Ren smiled kindly as he took it. "Thank you."

Katie shyly returned his smile, then hurried after Jenny into the next room.

Nora covered her mouth to muffle an adoring squeak. "Omigosh, that's so cute!"

"Watch yourself, Ren. That is my sister, you know," Jaune said jokingly while giving Ren's arm a light punch.

Ren just rolled his eyes as he started nibbling on the cookie.

The evening was dedicated to sipping hot chocolate and watching Dustmas specials on the Arc family's flatscreen. Nearby, a giant fire had been built up in the fireplace, and the merry crackling added even more to the cozy mood of the house.

One thing that the team immediately noticed was that everyone in the family, with the exception of Joan, was wearing a snug onesie. The colors and designs varied, but they all had the same style. Jaune wore his favorite blue bunny one.

"What? You thought this was just a weird thing that I did?" he asked when he saw his teammates' surprised faces. "Mom makes them for all of us. I keep telling you: They're crazy-warm!"

Team JNPR sat on the largest couch, with Jaune sitting on the far end near Pyrrha. Ren was next to her, and Nora was at the other end, chatting with June and Autumn, who also shared the sofa. Silvia, after finishing her cocoa, crawled into Jaune's lap and promptly fell asleep.

Pyrrha watched as Jaune brought his arms up to gently embrace his little sister, feeling a touch of envy. Too bad it isn't so easy for me, she mused, smiling at the child's peaceful, sleeping face. She's probably so warm right now… She glanced around. The room was dark, and most of the family was focused on the television.

I could always blame being tired from the flight… Deciding to be brave, she scooted a little closer to Jaune, resting her cheek against his shoulder. He shifted, and her heart sank. Had that been too bold?

But, no. He just moved so that Pyrrha was nestled more comfortably against him, and rested his head on top of hers. Pyrrha sighed contentedly, closing her eyes.

Jaune, meanwhile, was smiling drowsily as he felt his partner sleepily cuddling against his side. Between her welcome warmth, and that of Silvia in his lap, he could feel himself drifting off more and more. He yawned, nuzzling his cheek against Pyrrha's soft hair, noting the smell of her cinnamon shampoo as his eyelids slowly shut.

When he woke up, the living room was dark and silent. It took a moment to remember where he was. He started to sit up, but realized that something was clinging to him. Looking down, he felt his face growing hot. Pyrrha was snuggled against his chest, breathing soft puffs of air against his neck.

He looked around. As opposed to before, when they had been sitting up, they were now lying down fully on the couch. Someone had even placed a blanket over them. Even as he mentally lamented the fact that his sisters would never let him hear the end of this, he couldn't help but be totally okay with this arrangement.

It wasn't like they hadn't slept together before. They had gone on a few hunting missions that had required the whole team to huddle together for warmth. This was obviously different though, in the best possible way.

Jaune had realized during the second semester of their freshman year that he was in love with his partner. Over the summer, when he had been limited to talking to her on his Scroll, those feelings had only deepened. When they reunited at the beginning of the fall, he had actually picked her up while hugging her, because he had been so happy to see her again. Of course, he had missed Ren and Nora, but not with the same weird ache he had felt whenever he thought of Pyrrha.

We're going to be together, without classes or missions to worry about, for an entire month, he realized as he thought about the long break stretched out ahead of them. He smiled, resting his head against the pillow. When Pyrrha muttered something in her sleep and shifted closer, his heart stuttered happily. He definitely had a very, very good feeling about the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Nora was just walking out of the guest room and heading toward the nearest bathroom at the end of the hall. The sound of movement around a corner caused her to pause, and she turned to see four figures and a step ladder. She blinked, moving closer.

The figures froze, then one of them walked over. Some moonlight from the window highlighted Mary's face. "Hey, hun. Why are you up so late?"

"Uh, just going to the bathroom." Nora tried to peek around Mary. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, us? Nothing?" Mary had her hands behind her back.

"Okay." Nora yawned, turning away. She took a few steps before spinning around suddenly and lunging toward Mary, snatching something from her hands. She squinted at it, groaning when she recognized a familiar sprig of green leaves and white berries. "Really?"

Mary folded her arms. "Hey, we're just helping our brother out. Don't tell me you haven't been dying to see those two get together."

"And besides," Sapphire said, coming down from the ladder and leaning toward Nora with a grin. "This also gives you every excuse to kiss that adorable partner you're totally not pining after."

Nora's face turned bright red. "I- You- No! We're not- I mean- No!"

Sapphire smirked. "I rest my case."

Mary patted Nora's head gently. "Just go back to bed, sweetie. This will all work out for the best. You'll see."

Nora, realizing that protesting was futile, breathed a sigh and continued toward the bathroom. They really are scary, she thought, shaking her head slowly. But… She thought of Ren and how easy it would be to get a few kisses in during the break. They're not wrong.

Despite the fact that this was obvious manipulation, she couldn't help but smile a little in anticipation for whatever was bound to happen next.

…

The next day began with a pancake breakfast of epic proportions. Nora ate a full twenty-five flapjacks and almost an entire bottle of maple syrup before Ren physically removed her from the table. Even then, Joan insisted that she could have made more. Jaune begged her not to.

The afternoon before the parade was taken up with a snowball fight between Team JNPR and Jaune's sisters. It was a free-for-all, which meant that there was no loyalty. Of course, this led to all four older sisters pummeling their poor brother into a snow bank.

"Pyrrha!" he sputtered. "They're killing me!"

Pyrrha tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. This looks like a family affair to me."

"Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha laughed. "Okay, okay." Using her Semblance, she lifted three nearby shovels, and caused them to slingshot snow at the sisters.

Mary yelped as she was thrown back. "Okay, new plan: Gang up on cereal girl!"

"I got your back, Pyrrha!" Nora called, picking up a large branch and whacking a snow pile, sending slush spraying all over everyone.

Ren, in true ninja style, managed to sneak up behind Sapphire and shove a handful of snow down the back of her coat. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite so quick to get away, and ended up taking a snowball to the face for his troubles.

Katie popped out from behind Nora, throwing a snowball that hit Sapphire square in the chest, then ducked down again. She grinned when Nora flashed her a thumbs-up.

Jenny tackled Autumn. "WAR!" she shouted, locking her arms around her older sister's shoulders and bringing her down face-first into the snow.

Pyrrha cleared the snow from her eyes and started toward Jaune. Silvia had already reached him and was throwing tiny snowballs at anyone who came near. "I don't know, Jaune," Pyrrha called over. "I'm starting to wonder if we should make Silvia our new team leader."

Jaune faked a pout. "Aw, that hurts. How many times is my heart doomed to be broken by my own partner?"

Silvia looked up at Jaune as he stood. "Can we make a snowman?"

"Sure thing, kiddo." Jaune glanced at Pyrrha. "Think you can beat them without me?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "I think we'll manage. It seems that your younger sisters have all sided with us."

"That's because big bwother's team is the coolest!" Silvia said enthusiastically.

Pyrrha watched Jaune walk to a different part of the yard with Silvia, then threw herself back into the snowball fight, lifting the shovels once again.

"Our honor is at stake!" Nora shouted. "LET THERE BE NO SURVIVORS!"

"WAAAAR!" Jenny pumped her fist in the air.

Finally, an hour or so later, Joan came out to call everyone inside. "Get dry clothes on before the parade, or you'll freeze to death," she reminded them. "Johann will take you all down. I'm making stew for dinner, and a big pot of cocoa."

Johann walked by the kids as they came in. "I'll go chop some firewood before we leave."

"Need help?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope. You don't do any chores while you're here." Johann shook a finger at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. No more asking, now. Get some dry clothes on and bundle up, okay?"

Just as Jaune and Nora stepped through the doorway, Mary shouted "Mistletoe!"

Jaune looked up and groaned. "Seriously, guys? How many of those did you put up? It's gonna get old real quick."

"We're just trying to be festive," Autumn said, her face the picture of innocence.

"Yeah," Mary added. "It really adds something to the house, don't you think?"

"Come on, you know the rules," Sapphire urged.

Jaune rolled his eyes and quickly pecked Nora's forehead. "Sorry about the crazy sisters," he muttered.

Nora shrugged. "It's fine." Secretly, she was kicking herself for not remembering where that sprig of mistletoe had been. She could have easily hung back with Ren.

The rest of the group came in single-file. Katie hesitated as Ren walked by, but thought better of walking through the doorway with him.

They left the house for the parade just as Johann was splitting the last log. "You sure you don't want to come, Mom?" Jaune asked.

Joan shook her head. "Your newest sister has been acting up today. It's probably better if I stay home."

Jaune placed a hand on his mother's abdomen. "Hey, sis. Stop messing around with Mom, would you? We don't need another Jenny."

"Hey!" Jenny stomped a foot, folding her arms. "I'm perfect, and you know it."

"Yeah, a perfect jerk," Jaune replied, sticking out his tongue.

"You're the jerk!"

"No, you!"

"Jerk!"

"Mega-Jerk!"

"Okay, children." Pyrrha walked over, messing up Jaune's hair playfully. "That's enough."

"Mom, Pyrrha's telling me what to do," Jaune said in an exaggerated, nasally voice.

"Good." Joan flicked his forehead. "Listen to her. Now, get going."

When the family drove into town, there was already a large number of people walking around. Silvia was eagerly pointing out every dog she saw. When they got out, she immediately ran over to a nearby couple, who was walking an excitable beagle puppy.

"Hold on, kiddo," Jaune called. "Make sure to ask before you pet it!"

They slowly made their way to the road, which had been closed off for the parade. The mayor made a few announcements before greenlighting the start. Several handmade floats came by, along with the different boy and girl scout troops. Several people threw candy, which Jenny and Silvia, as well as several other kids, scrambled for.

Pyrrha watched the parade with a calm smile on her face, appreciating the fact that this was the first time in years that she had gotten to watch such an event without being a part of it. Because of the size of the crowd, she had to stand close to Jaune, so that their arms were touching, not that she was complaining. She still held a lingering warmth in her chest from waking up next to him on the couch that morning.

The parade ended, of course, with a sleigh-like float carrying Santa Claus. Jenny and Silvia talked excitedly as it came by, waving frantically.

"That's not really Santa," some kid nearby said. "It's a fake."

"He's not a fake!" Jenny immediately shot back, putting her hands on her hips. "Right, Jaune?"

Jaune nodded. "His beard looked pretty real to me."

"I saw Santa at the mall, though!" the kid retorted. "He looked different than this one."

"Well, Santa sometimes sends larger elves to different places dressed as him. That's why you see different Santas at malls and parades," Jaune replied quickly.

Jenny frowned. "So…that Santa might not be the real one."

"It's either him, or an elf. Either way, everything gets told to the big guy himself, so you'd better keep behaving." Jaune winked.

Silvia stared up at Jaune, mouth open. "Wow. You know evewything!"

"That's right, Silv," Jaune replied, grinning proudly.

"Come on, everyone," Johann urged. "Let's get to the town center, so we'll get a good spot for the tree lighting."

As they walked, Pyrrha smiled at Jaune. "You really are sweet with them."

Jaune blushed, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, the mean older brother thing is kinda overused, don't you think?"

"Definitely." Pyrrha watched Silvia and Jenny run ahead. "They really look up to you. I think it's nice that your family is so close."

"Well, you guys are basically part of the family too," Jaune pointed out. "Mom and Dad adopted you before they even met you."

Pyrrha felt her own cheeks flushing. "I really appreciate everything you've all done so far."

Jaune, feeling bold, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We still have a whole month. You'll probably be sick of us by the time break ends," he said with a joking grin.

Pyrrha nestled readily against his side. "I highly doubt that."

Autumn watched the two, grumbling under her breath. "Of course there's no mistletoe here…"

"They might not need it," Sapphire muttered. "Really, a small push might be all we need."

"I'm on it!" June grinned.

"Not yet. We have time." Mary smiled soothingly at the others. "Be patient. Those two will be together by the end of break."

"Ren and Nora too?" Sapphire asked. "Seriously, they're so freaking cute."

"Ren and Nora too," Mary assured her, eying her brother's team with an easygoing smirk. "What are older sisters for, after all?"

The tree lighting began with the singing of several Dustmas carols. A few people lit some white candles. After a prayer for all the Huntsmen who were off fighting Grimm during the holiday season, the mayor announced that it was time for the actual lighting. Everyone counted down from ten, voices ringing through the chilly air.

Then, there was color and light everywhere. The giant tree at the center of town glistened with lights of pure white, rose-red, leaf-green, and bright LED-blue. The golden star at the top twinkled alongside the paler ones in the distant sky.

The big tree wasn't the only thing to get lit up. Every tree in the center of town was coated with lights, along with every pine-wrapped lamppost. The whole town was lit up with tiny, rainbow-colored sparkles.

Nora was bouncing up and down, her eyes wide. There had been nothing like this in the village she and Ren had grown up in. "Ren! Ren! Look! It's so pretty! Look!"

Ren nodded, though he wasn't looking at the lights. He was looking at the reflection of color off of his best friend's ecstatic face. He hugged her close with one arm, smiling softly before turning his gaze toward the tree.

Pyrrha stared up at the tree, her smile almost outshining the lights. Jaune's arm had left her shoulders, but she had readily grabbed his hand when the lights came on, and he wasn't showing any sign of letting go.

Jaune held Pyrrha's warm hand in his while watching his teammates and family. Everyone was so happy. He wished that he could somehow take a mental snapshot of that moment and keep it at the front of his mind forever.

….

A few days later, during which time Nora increased her pancake record to thirty seven, the Arc family decorated their Dustmas tree. Technically, there was more than one tree, since there were so many ornaments: one giant one in the living room, a smaller one in the dining room, and Silvia's pink kid-sized tree, which she insisted on putting in the upstairs hallway.

Jaune, of course, was helping Silvia decide where to put her tiny ornaments on that tree. Pyrrha was nearby, admiring a small glass bulb that had two glittery handprints on it. "Did you make this one, Silvia?"

"Uh huh." Silvia smiled. "My hands are bigger now, see?" She held her hands up.

"Much bigger," Pyrrha agreed. "Will you be holding a Huntress's weapon with those hands someday?"

"Yeah!" Silvia's blue eyes were wide and eager. "I want a shield, like big bwother's!"

Jaune laughed. "By the time you become a Huntress, they'll probably have shields that can turn into hoverboards."

Silvia's mouth dropped open. "I want that!"

"Keep your fingers crossed that they make one, then," Jaune said, taking a small wooden horse from a box. "Where do you want this one?"

"Hm…" Silvia thought for a moment before pointing to a branch in the middle of the tree. "There."

Jaune obediently put the ornament on the branch. "It's looking pretty good, kiddo. Got any more?"

"Just the star." Silvia took a tiny paper star out and held it out to Pyrrha. "You can put it on, Pywwa."

Pyrrha smiled. "Why, thank you." She carefully fastened the star to the top of the pink tree. "It looks grand."

Silvia smiled proudly, then grabbed Jaune's hand. "Come on. We gotta help with the big one now!"

They started toward the stairs, Silvia walking ahead. She stopped suddenly and turned around. "Look. Mistletoe!"

Jaune and Pyrrha both looked up. Sure enough, a sprig of white berries hung over their heads. Their faces simultaneously turned bright red.

Silvia giggled, covering her eyes. "I can't see!"

Pyrrha glanced hesitantly at Jaune out of the corner of her eye, saw him already looking, and hurriedly looked at the ground. Oh, don't be a coward, she scolded herself. Jaune was able to kiss Nora, wasn't he? Quickly, she turned back toward Jaune, touched her lips to his cheek, then started down the stairs. "We'd better hurry," she said, managing to smile and keep her voice light.

"Uh, yeah." Jaune blinked dumbly as he watched Pyrrha and Silvia go downstairs. He put a hand to his cheek, and realized that the beginning of a goofy grin was forming on his face. He quickly forced the expression away as he followed.

The large tree in the living room was already half-done. The lights were strung up, and the family was putting ornament after ornament on the many branches. Nora and Ren were trying to untangle a string of rainbow beads.

Joan smiled when Jaune, Pyrrha, and Silvia came in. "Perfect timing. Jaune, we were just unpacking your ornaments."

Jaune opened a box, revealing an assortment of older ornaments. Half of them resembled bunnies in some way. He took one out. "Mom always took us shopping and had us choose a new ornament each year."

"I see you had a theme," Pyrrha said, smiling as she withdrew an ornament of a white rabbit on a wreath.

Jaune shrugged. "Hey. When something works, why change?" He put a mini brown plush bunny on a lower branch.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Joan walked over to the coffee table, where a brand new box was sitting. She opened it, revealing four ornaments that resembled sprigs of juniper berries. Delicate glass leaves and individual blue berries glistened in the light of the lamps.

When Nora picked one up, she saw that the names of each member of Team JNPR was inscribed on the branch. "Oooh!" she gasped. "Pyrrha, this one is yours." She carefully handed Pyrrha hers before picking up the one that had her own name. Her eyes glistened as she stared at the intricate design. "They're so pretty! Thank you!"

Joan smiled. "I had them specially-commissioned. The person who does them has lots of holly and mistletoe ones, but these juniper sprigs are one-of-a-kind."

Ren picked up his, marveling at the way the light reflected off of the blue and green glass. He looked at Jaune's mother, feeling his eyes getting misty. "Nora and I…never had our own ornaments growing up. This is…" He shook his head slowly. "Thank you so much."

"Oh, stop." Joan hugged Ren, patting his back. "You're part of the family, now. You'd better get used to being spoiled during the holidays."

"Did you hear that, though?" Mary piped up. "They've never had their own ornaments. We'll have to make up for lost time."

"You don't have to do that!" Nora said quickly, wiping her eyes. "This is plenty." She meant it, too. If these ornaments ended up being the only gift she got during the holidays, she'd be totally satisfied. That wasn't going to happen, of course, but still.

Pyrrha stared at her own ornament. Even though her parents had ornaments at home, and she owned a few that she had bought over the years, none of them compared to this. Her parents had never put this much thought into, well, anything they had given her before. "Thank you, Joan," she said sincerely. "I'll always treasure this." She chose a spot on the tree near the top and carefully fastened the juniper sprig.

Jaune put his a little lower and to the right. "This is definitely the best one I've ever gotten." He smiled at his mom. "Thanks, Mom!" He grinned at Pyrrha. "I wonder what else she has planned for you guys. I didn't even know about this."

"Well, I am working on special onesies for each of you," Joan cut in. "Jaune told me you wore cold, swishy pajamas, or slept in your clothes." She gave Ren a stern look. "I'm almost done. Consider it another early Dustmas present."

"Oh, thank you."

"Yeah…cool."

"Thanks…"

As soon as Joan turned back toward the boxes, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora shot Jaune simultaneous glares. Jaune just shrugged. "I regret nothing," he muttered. "Once you have your own, you'll never to back to regular pajamas. I promise."

The rest of the tree decorating passed without incident, until the end. Ren and Pyrrha made the mistake of walking together through a doorway, the sisters cried mistletoe, and Pyrrha planted a very quick kiss on her friend's cheek.

Meanwhile, Nora was resisting the urge to facepalm. Seriously?! I missed another opportunity?!

The following day, the members of Team JNPR got their special onesies. Pyrrha's was a dark red color with several pink foxes running around the sleeves and collar. Nora's was light pink and had a single brown sloth on the front. Ren's was pine green and had a pattern of pink lotus flowers going around the middle.

At first, they wore the onesies because they didn't want to risk hurting Joan's feelings, thanking her profusely after they changed. Then, hours later, they realized that they had no wish to change back into their casual clothes. These new onesies were so soft, warm, and comfortable, Nora ended up falling asleep on the couch while still wearing hers.

Jaune just smirked at them. "Not gonna say I told you so, but…consider yourself converted."

….

In the next few days leading up to Dustmas, the Arc family continued doing everything they could to make Jaune's friends feel like they were as much a part of the family as Jaune was. They made candies, encouraged excessive taste-testing, had several more snowball fights, walked around town, had breakfast in the coffee shop June had fallen on her face in (I did not!" she continued to protest), and had many more mishaps with the mistletoe. None of them, unfortunately, involved Ren and Nora.

"Maybe you're just cursed," Autumn whispered to Nora. Katie had just gotten caught under the mistletoe with Ren, who had lightly pecked the top of her head, causing her to turn redder than the cherry candies her mom was currently making.

"Maybe," Nora sighed. "I thought your manipulating sister powers would help me out!"

"Hey." Autumn held up her hands. "Our evil magic only goes so far. I think you're gonna have to make a move."

"I don't know," Nora muttered. "I still don't know if he sees me as just a sister, you know?"

Autumn shrugged. "It seems like you're gonna be best friends no matter what, so what do you have to lose?"

"I guess…" Nora shrugged.

"Nora!" Joan called from the kitchen. "I need a taste-tester!"

Nora perked up. "Coming!"

Pyrrha spent her time in a strange, wonderful haze, wondering if it was really possible to feel so good on such an ongoing basis. Being with Jaune, sharing time with his family, seeing Ren and Nora having fun, and not having to worry about anything for once added up to this being the happiest time of her life.

Also, she could feel herself falling more and more in love with Jaune with each passing hour. Whether he was spending time with her, showing the team around town, or playing with his younger sisters, he just kept making her want to be with him more and more. At this point, whenever they were alone, Pyrrha would debate whether this was the right time to finally confess her feelings to him.

When Dustmas morning arrived, she told herself that this would be the day. She would wait for a time when they could be alone, and then she would tell him. She just couldn't put it off any longer. Besides, with the way his older sisters were scheming, it was probably only a matter of time before they ended up locked in a closet together, or in some other humiliating situation.

She entered the living room with Nora that morning, both of them wearing their new onesies. Everyone else was seated around the tree, also wearing theirs. Ren was slumped against Jaune, still half asleep.

"Ren, wake up!" Nora plopped down next to him, hugging him tightly. "It's Dustmas!"

"Urk… Nora, my lungs…" Ren groaned.

"Oops. Sorry," Nora giggled, loosening her grip.

Jenny was jumping up and down. "I'm Santa this year! It's my turn!"

Johann laughed. "Okay, sweetie. Why don't you start off with a present for Silvia? I think there's one right there."

The first present was to Silvia from her parents, and was a giant plush bunny. Silvia hugged it close. "She'll sleep in my bed!" she declared happily.

The next gift was a stack of envelopes on top of the pile, which Jenny quickly grabbed. "Oh, these are for Ren, Nora, and Jaune, from Pyrrha."

Pyrrha gave them apologetic looks as the envelopes were passed around. "I'm…not very experienced with gift-giving, so I thought it would be easiest for you to choose-"

She was cut off when Nora let out a loud, strangled squeak, her mouth dropping open and her eyes practically bugging out of her face. Ren and Jaune had similarly-stunned expressions

"Uh…uh…" Jaune blinked a few times. "Uh, Pyrrha? Did you know that mine is for a thousand Lien?"

Ren showed his to Jaune. "Mine too."

Nora was, for once, speechless. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

Pyrrha glanced to the side. "I hope it's enough."

"You hope it's-?! Pyrrha, this is- Wow!" Jaune was laughing with disbelief. "You really didn't have to spend this much on us. Thank you!"

Pyrrha smiled. "You're all worth much more than that." She took Nora's card and pointed to the name on the tag. "This is for the biggest mall in Vale. It's valid in any store."

Nora finally recovered, letting out an excited squeal. "Omigosh! Ren, I can get that mega pancake maker that-"

"No, Nora," Ren said firmly.

"I could get twenty things of maple syrup!"

"No, Nora!"

Nora stuck out her tongue. "She said any store, Ren." She grinned at Pyrrha. "Thank you, Pyrrha! Thank you so much! You're awesome! Have I told you lately how awesome you are?"

Ren nodded. "Yes. Thank you. We will have to all go out together with these." He glanced at Nora. "And help each other exercise some control!"

Pyrrha laughed. "I'll keep her away from the coffee, don't worry."

Joan was watching the exchange, shaking her head slowly. "Well, I doubt we can outdo that," she laughed. "Jenny, why don't you give out the sweaters?"

Jenny, who had been staring openmouthed at the cards, quickly recovered and scrambled for a stack of mushy bundles. She put one in front of everyone, and they all opened them at the same time.

Joan, of course, had knitted Dustmas sweaters for everyone. Jaune had a gold and brown one with a reindeer pattern. Pyrrha's was red with sprigs of holly on the sleeves. Ren's was a dark blue color and had a large Dustmas tree in the front. Nora's was pink and had silver jingle bells all over it.

"I know it's not considered 'cool' to walk around with onesies, so hopefully those will keep you warm," Joan said.

Of course, hand-knit Dustmas sweaters were only slightly 'cooler' than onesies, but no one was complaining. A single glance was enough to communicate that everyone in Team JNPR would shamelessly wear these sweaters around campus once they got back.

Several more presents were handed out. Jaune got some new comics, the team was given boxes of handmade chocolates to take back to school, Jenny got a new dollhouse, the older sisters got special upgrades for their weapons, and Silvia got a toy sword and shield that Jaune had special-ordered.

"It's just like Cwocea Mows!" she gasped, staring at the design on the shield. "I'm just like big bwother!" she declared, swinging the sword, barely missing her father's head.

Johann quickly took the sword. "Why don't you play with that outside when we're done, sweetie?" he asked.

Silvia pouted and sat down. "Okaaaaay…"

The next gift was for Jaune, and was from Silvia, who perked up immediately when he started opening it. It was a beaded, pink bracelet. Jaune smiled. "Thanks, kiddo." He started to put it on, only for Silvia to stop him.

"No, no. It's for Cwocea Mows! It's good luck." She wound it around her wooden sword hilt to demonstrate. "See?"

Jaune grinned. "I do! I'll go put it on right now." He took the beads and walked off. When he came back, he brandished his sword, which now bore the string of pink beads around the hilt. "I'll never take it off! Thanks, Silv."

Pyrrha looked at the expression of pure happiness on Silvia's face. She had no doubt that Jaune would stay true to his word.

Near the end of the pile, Jenny took out a small box, which she handed to Pyrrha. "This one's from Jaune!"

Pyrrha sat up straighter as she ripped at the wrapping paper. She couldn't imagine what Jaune had gotten for her, but nothing could have prepared her for what was inside. She let out a gasp when she saw it.

It was a music box, obviously hand-carved. Intricate designs of Grimm, animals, and trees covered it. When she opened it, a strangely-familiar tune started to play.

Nora was the first to realize what it was. "Ooh!" she gasped. "That's a slower version of that song we danced to last semester! At the dance, remember?"

Pyrrha listened, feeling a tear coming to her eye. "That's right… Jaune, this is wonderful. Thank you!" She carefully put the box down before throwing her arms around her partner, hugging him close.

Ren cleared his throat. "Aren't you gonna tell her what it's made from?"

"Uh…" Jaune glanced to the side with an embarrassed cough.

Pyrrha pulled back, tilting her head in confusion at Jaune's reaction. "Was a specific wood used?"

Nora snorted. "Oh yeah. Real specific."

"Guys…" Jaune muttered.

"No, Jaune!" Nora said. "You had us traipsing with you through the Emerald Forest to find that one stupid tree! She's gonna know about it, if only so she understands why Ren and I deserve freaking medals!"

Pyrrha looked from Nora to Jaune. "One tree? What does…?" She let out a gasp as it dawned on her. "Jaune, you didn't go looking for that tree I pinned you to during initiation, did you?"

Jaune's face flushed even darker, if possible, and he nodded, staring at the ground. "Heh… Pretty sappy, huh?"

"We. Deserve. Medals!" Nora declared yet again.

"I second that," Ren groaned. "We were in that forest for so many hours…"

Pyrrha felt new tears welling up as she pulled Jaune into another, tighter hug. "I love it, Jaune," she whispered, feeling her breath hitch a little. "Thank you."

Jaune returned the hug, resting his head on her shoulder. "No problem, Pyrrha." He would have gladly held her like that for the rest of the day, if it weren't for the fact that his family was still there.

Nora's gift to Ren was a new pan, as well as a cookbook of various recipes (not just for pancakes). He started flipping through it immediately, smiling when he saw a few recipes he had mentioned wanting to try in the past.

Ren gave Nora something that caused her jaw to drop: A large bottle of special maple syrup made at a farm in Vale, and stored in aged whiskey barrels before being bottled. She opened the lid, sniffed the syrup inside, and nearly fainted at how wonderful the smell was. "Oh Dust…" she gasped.

"You are not allowed to drink that right out of the bottle," Ren warned her.

Nora quickly capped the bottle to keep from spilling. "This is so awesome! Thanks, Ren!" She hugged him while trying to figure out just how she would sneak a few sips of that syrup without him finding out.

When the presents were all unwrapped, Johann stood up. "Well, I'm on paper duty this year. Everyone go enjoy your presents, but come down in an hour for breakfast."

While everyone else scrambled to obey, Pyrrha opened the music box once more. She sighed softly as the first few notes of that familiar song rang out, then closed it. She would have to find somewhere very safe to keep it. As she stood up, she caught Jaune's eye and smiled warmly, her heart thumping when she caught the bright blush that rose on his face in response.

…..

That night, Pyrrha caught Ren in the hallway. "Hey, Ren? I was wondering. Could you, um, stay with Nora tonight?"

Ren tilted his head, glanced toward Jaune's room, then looked back at Pyrrha with a knowing gleam in his eye. "Okay," he replied, and walked away without another word.

Pyrrha watched him go with a slight smile. That was one thing she had always liked about Ren: He was always so calm in response to anything. Nora probably would have been bouncing around the hallway while squeaking her head off and trying to give Pyrrha a thousand pieces of advice. And Jaune's sisters… Pyrrha shuddered, glad that none of them had been within earshot.

She found Jaune in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove. "Hello," she said. "Is that more cocoa?"

"Actually, it's mulled wine," Jaune replied. "The kids are in bed, so I thought I'd make some. Dad loves it. I'm leaving the last of the cocoa for Mom." He ladled some of the purplish mixture into a mug. "Want some?"

"Sure." Pyrrha watched him pour. "You know, you never showed me that balcony outside your room. It's not snowing that much right now."

Jaune grinned. "Good idea! Hot drinks on that balcony are the best." He finished pouring and handed Pyrrha her mug. "Let's go."

A few minutes later, they were sitting outside on the balcony, clad in sweat pants and their new knit sweaters. Their mugs of wine kept their hands warm as they watched the light snowfall.

Pyrrha sighed contentedly. "This was the best Dustmas I've ever had. Thank you, Jaune."

"Well, I should thank you for making this the best Dustmas I've ever had." Jaune sipped the spiced wine. "I mean, I love spending time with my family, but having you guys around made it even better."

"Well, you did say that we're basically part of the family now."

"Yeah, and don't you forget it." Jaune chuckled to himself as he thought back to earlier. "You know, I still can't believe those gift cards you got us. I wish someone could have taken a picture. Our faces were probably hilarious."

"They were," Pyrrha affirmed. "And I don't think Nora has ever been silent for so long. I was starting to worry."

"Maybe you should carry spare gift cards for when we need her to be quiet," Jaune suggested, letting out a laugh. "Just flash it in her face if she gets too rowdy, then boom!"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha gasped, though she couldn't help but start laughing as well. "That's terrible!"

"Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week." Jaune waggled his eyebrows, and took another swig of wine. "So…you really like the music box?"

Pyrrha nodded. "It's the greatest present I've ever received, and I'm not just saying that." She put her mug down. "Did you really go through the Emerald Forest looking for that exact tree?"

Jaune's face flushed. "I…well… I wanted it to be special." He shrugged, taking another sip and putting his own mug to the side. "I know it was pretty cheesy. Ren and Nora actually do deserve medals for going with me into the forest all those times. You should've seen the look the guy at the shop gave me when I told him I was having specific logs brought over for the box."

Pyrrha scooted her chair over so that she was right next to him. "Jaune, it is special. The fact that you went to so much effort to give me something so meaningful..." She glanced to the side, feeling her own cheeks warming. "This Dustmas break is probably the happiest I've ever felt. Just being here is the greatest gift I could ask for. Between you, Ren and Nora, and your family, I feel so accepted and…like I truly mean something to everyone."

Jaune shifted closer to her, his arm brushing hers. His heart was pounding so loudly, he was surprised it wasn't drowning out his words. "You do," he murmured. "You really do mean so much to all of us. And you deserve to be this happy all the time." He was aware of how corny he sounded, but he couldn't bring himself to stop talking. "I'm glad I was able to make you happy, because…well…you really mean a lot to me." He watched her carefully as he said this, and even felt his breath stop for a moment as he waited for her response.

Pyrrha tilted her head up and locked her eyes on his gentle, blue gaze. Her entire body tingled with anticipation. Her mind grew sharp, like how it did during a hunt. This was it. This was the moment. Every part of her body and soul knew that this was the moment. If she didn't act now, she never would.

Slowly, she reached up and cupped Jaune's cheek. She watched his eyes close and his smile widen. As she moved closer, she felt his hand come to a rest on her shoulder. His warm breaths caressed her lips as she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb. She paused for only a moment, gazing at her partner's face, firmly locking that blissful, trusting, eager smile into her memory forever. Then, she shut her eyes and finally, finally closed that last distance between them.

It was everything Pyrrha had ever hoped for. Jaune's lips were so, so soft. She kissed them as gently as she could, almost afraid that she would bruise him if she was too rough. She could feel the hand on her shoulder shaking a little, and his breaths against her lips became a little quicker.

Oh Jaune, she thought, her heart melting at his slow, timid response. Don't be nervous. Not with me. She moved her hand from his cheek to the back of his head, where she tangled her fingers through his hair and pressed him a little closer. She kept her grip loose, just in case he wanted to pull back.

Jaune gasped softly as Pyrrha pulled him closer. It felt like lines of electricity were running to his heart from where her fingers were weaving through his hair. His free hand fumbled, searching and finally finding her other hand and grasping it. He felt her fingers interlace with his, and sighed happily into the kiss.

He moved his other hand from Pyrrha's shoulder and to the small of her back, where he pushed her even closer, so that their chests were pressed against each other. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, and whimpered happily when he realized that it was racing every bit as much as his heart was. Part of him wanted to end the kiss, hold her close, and just listen to that heartbeat for as long as possible. The other part was determined to keep this kiss going for at least an eternity because oh Dust, she was starting to run her tongue over his bottom lip!

Pyrrha moaned blissfully as her unspoken question was answered by Jaune gladly parting his lips and eagerly twining his tongue with hers. The kiss became a little clumsy, as neither of them were particularly experienced with, well, any of this. Pyrrha tilted her head as she tried to figure out how to gain dominance over Jaune's tongue. At the same time, Jaune tried to move into a better position.

The two ended up bonking their foreheads against each other.

"Ow!"

"Jeez!"

They moved back, rubbing their heads. Then, they met each other's gazes and simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Well, that was a mood-killer," Jaune said, grinning ruefully.

"I think we were doing rather well until that last part," Pyrrha protested, her eyes shimmering. "I suppose we'll need a bit more practice." She lightly pecked Jaune's bruised forehead.

Jaune smiled, pulling her into a hug and resting his head on her shoulder. "I think I might grow to like these 'practice sessions' better than the ones we have on the roof."

"Likewise." Pyrrha returned the hug for a moment, then decided that they weren't nearly close enough for her liking. Carefully, she moved from her chair and into Jaune's lap, glancing at his face to make sure he didn't mind. When his smile widened and he looped his arms around her waist, she relaxed, nestling against his chest and closing her eyes. His heart was pounding like war drums, vibrating against her cheek and making her feel incredibly giddy.

Curious, she moved her head up just a little and tugged on Jaune's sweater so that she could touch a warm kiss to his collarbone. She felt his heart rate speed up, and smiled, brushing her lips against the hollow of his throat.

"Ah… P-Pyrrha?" Jaune gasped, partially relieved and partially disappointed when she pulled back. "I, uh, should probably ask this while I still can talk," he muttered. "Um, how…how far do you want to go? Like, right now, I mean?"

Pyrrha tilted her head for a moment before understanding what Jaune was asking. She felt her face growing hot yet again, though her smile grew. "Well, let me put it this way: I've been in love with you since initiation, which means that I have been waiting for over a year at this point."

Jaune blinked dumbly, his mouth dropping open. "Initiation?!"

"Mm hm." Pyrrha started slowly stroking his hair.

"You, uh, I mean…" Jaune could feel his threshold for coherent thought getting smaller and smaller by the moment. "That's a long time," he finally managed.

Pyrrha nodded, her smile becoming almost catlike. "It really is."

"So, I take it you- Oh Dust!" he gasped when she leaned down and began leaving a trail of hot, breathy kisses down his neck. "You…You want to make up for lost time, then?"

"You always were perceptive," she purred. She kissed his neck a few more times before drawing back once more, looking at him seriously. "Is that what you want?" she asked. Even though every part of her body was very clear on what it wanted, she was more than willing to wait if Jaune wasn't ready.

Jaune nodded quickly, even as his hands started trembling again. "Definitely! I just, well, I've never…"

Pyrrha relaxed, brushing her lips against his. "Don't worry. Neither have I."

Despite this new knowledge, the two didn't go inside right away. The night was still young, and they had all the time in the world. So, they contented themselves with more gentle explorations of each other, savoring the contrast between their warm bodies and the cold surrounding air.

Jaune peppered feather-light kisses over Pyrrha's neck, tickling her skin and causing her to giggle in the most adorable way. His lips brushed a spot just under her left ear that caused her to shiver. He shifted his focus to that spot, nuzzling and kissing it a few times. When this resulted in a pleased hum, he hugged her even closer.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and tilted her head back to allow Jaune better access. His warm arms tightened around her and she couldn't remember a time she had ever felt so safe and happy. Eventually, her wish to kiss him again overruled her current pleasure, and she drew back so that she could claim his lips. His fingertips brushed against her flushed cheek and she leaned into his palm while still keeping her lips firmly pressed against his.

Feeling a little mischievous, she allowed the cool air to touch one of her hands, then slipped it under Jaune's sweater, lightly stroking his abdomen with the very tips of her fingers. He responded with a shiver and a muffled squeak of surprise. Pyrrha smirked, then pressed her whole palm against his warm skin. Slowly, she moved upward, causing Jaune's sweater to hike up a little, until her hand was pressed firmly over his wildly-hammering heartbeat.

Despite the cold night air on his exposed skin, Jaune felt as if his body was on fire. Fumbling a bit, he moved his hand under Pyrrha's sweater, gently rubbing her back and pulling her closer, deepening their already-heated kiss.

After a few more minutes, Pyrrha pulled back just enough to speak. "It's getting a bit chilly out here, isn't it?" she muttered against his lips.

"Huh?" Jaune blinked a few times, staring into Pyrrha's eyes with a dazed smile on his face. Then, her words clicked and he quickly sat up. "Oh! Yeah, um, we should go inside. Right?"

Pyrrha bit her lip to keep from giggling at how ridiculously adorable Jaune was in that moment. "I think that would be best."

They stood and walked toward the door, only for Jaune to groan. "Ah, wait. Ren's probably in there right now."

"No, he isn't," Pyrrha replied calmly. "I asked him to stay with Nora."

Jaune gaped at her. "You…really?"

"Why are you still standing there?"

"Uh, right!" Quickly, he opened the door, allowing Pyrrha to go in first before hurriedly following.

Maybe an hour later, the two lay together under the covers, tired, a little sweaty, and happier than they could ever remember feeling. Pyrrha yawned and left a trail of sleepy kisses down Jaune's neck.

Jaune sighed contentedly. "Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Hm?" Pyrrha glanced up with a lazy smile.

"I love you. Not sure if I mentioned that." Jaune nuzzled the top of her head.

Pyrrha's heart warmed and she hugged him close. "I love you too, Jaune. Also, you did mention that quite a few times after we came in from the balcony," she giggled against his chest.

Jaune blushed. "Just wanted to make sure," he murmured, closing his eyes. "Merry Dustmas, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha rested her head against the pillows, feeling herself drifting closer and closer to sleep. "Merry Dustmas, Jaune."

…

On New Year's Eve, the Arc family house was alight with activity. The younger girls ran around outside while Johann lit up sparklers and firecrackers. Inside, Joan sat near the fire, watching the footage of the downtown Vale celebrations on the TV. Mary popped open some sparkling grape juice, pouring some for her mother in a fancy wine glass.

Everyone else was in the dining room, eating snacks and playing a game of Graveyards and Grimm. Jaune sat at the head of the table, a gaming screen hiding his dice rolls from the others. "You creep through the crypt, hearing the drip-drip of filthy water down the moldy walls. Something is rattling in the room at the end of the hallway."

"Ooh! I'll sneak ahead to check it out." Sapphire rolled her twenty-sided die and glanced at her character sheet. "Okay, that's a twenty seven."

Jaune nodded. "Success. You get to the end of the hallway and peer into the room. The rattling stops."

"I look really carefully. Is anything moving, or breathing?"

"Roll Perception."

Another die roll. "Uh, nineteen?"

"You see the statue at the end of the room twitching ever so slightly."

"Oh Dust, it's a Geist!"

June gasped. "Nora, you still have that limb-cutting axe, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Nora grinned, cracking her knuckles. "This statue's going down!"

At that moment, Joan called from the living room. "Could you get the others from outside? It'll be midnight in fifteen minutes."

Jaune stood. "Okay, guys. We'll see if you can defeat the Geist when we get back." He went to the door. "It's gonna be midnight soon!" he called. "Hurry if you don't want to miss the ball dropping!"

After putting out her sparkler, Silvia rushed over. "Can I dwink champ…champ…"

"Champagne?" Jaune laughed. "No, kiddo. That's just for the grown-ups. We do have sparkling grape juice, though. I can put it in a fancy glass if you promise not to spill." When Silvia pouted up at him, he added: "I'll drink the grape juice, if it'll make you feel better. Between you and me, it tastes way better."

Silvia thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I guess that's fair."

Jaune picked her up. "Good. Hurry up, guys!" he called again to the others.

"We're coming, we're coming," Jenny shouted. "Dad says we need to make sure nothing catches fire when we put the crackers out! Jeez."

Five minutes before midnight, everyone was in the living room. Johann was pouring out glasses of champagne and grape juice. Jaune, true to his word, asked for the juice. He looped an arm around Pyrrha's waist and kissed her cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Autumn muttering something to Nora, who was blushing profusely at whatever was being said.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Johann declared, holding up his glass. "I'd like to toast my wonderful family, and our guests. I've always said that teammates are like an extended family, and will always treat my kids' team like my own kids." He smiled at his older daughters. "This toast is to your teams too, girls. Make sure you pass your Scrolls around when you call them at midnight."

"Will do, Dad," Mary said. "I'd also like to toast my brother, and the fact that he finally got a girlfriend!"

"Don't act like it's such a miracle!" Jaune stuck out his tongue. "I'm irresistible! Right, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha smirked. "Haven't I already told you I don't get involved in family disputes?"

Jaune pouted while the others laughed and clinked their glasses. "Seriously? That's cold…"

"It's the final countdown!" Joan said, putting her glass down.

Everyone counted down along with the people on TV. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, ONE!" The ball dropped in Vale, and the Arc family erupted into cheers.

Jaune grinned, dipping Pyrrha and kissing her deeply, eliciting several wolf whistles from his older sisters and a loud "EW!" from Jenny.

Nora, meanwhile, took a deep breath, downed her champagne in one go, then stood on her toes so she could press her lips to Ren's. Nearby, Mary let out a whoop.

Ren was thankful that he had put his glass down, because he probably would have dropped it in that moment. He froze and the sounds around him were momentarily drowned out as he tried to comprehend the sudden warmth on his lips. He continued to stare blankly as Nora backed away, grinning nervously.

Great! I ruined everything. That's what I get for listening to Jaune's stupid, evil sisters! "Uh, sorry Ren. I-Mmph!" Her words, and her ability to think in complete sentences, were abruptly cut short when Ren pulled her close and kissed her again.

Jaune and Pyrrha's kiss ended and they opened their eyes just in time to see Ren and Nora's second kiss. Jaune pumped his fist in the air. "YES! I knew it!"

June rolled her eyes. "I think everyone knew it, dummy."

Jaune noticed Katie watching nearby and patted her shoulder. "Better luck next time, kiddo."

Katie shrugged and said in a soft voice: "I mean…he is technically too old for me."

Jaune smiled. "He kinda is." He glanced toward Sapphire. "Though, age doesn't stop some people, am I right?"

Sappire's face turned bright red. "That's it! You're a dead man!"

Jaune bolted toward the door, and the group's game of G&G had to be further postponed while Sapphire chased the Game Master all over the yard.

Pyrrha watched with a fond smile. Ren and Nora stood nearby, Nora calling out to Jaune while Ren wrapped an arm around her and rolled his eyes at his teammates' antics. The other sisters laughed and Jaune's parents continued to sit and talk in the living room.

Dustmas break was nearly over, but Pyrrha knew that she would carry memories of it for years to come.

…..

Epilogue

The fire was crackling, the smell of gingerbread pancakes wafted from the kitchen, and the mechanical tinkle of music came from an old wooden music box on the mantel.

Pyrrha sat in one of the armchairs, her two year old son curled up on her lap, clutching the new teddy Ursa that his dad had given him. She stroked his hair, humming softly along with the music box.

"Mommy, Mommy!" little Juno called as she ran over, accompanied by her twin sister Joan. "Can we make a snow fort?"

"Not now," Pyrrha replied. "Uncle Ren is making pancakes. You can play after you eat breakfast."

Juno sighed. "Okaaay." She looked at her brother. "Did Hector fall asleep already? What a wimp."

"Well, he is only two," Pyrrha reminded her. "Be careful with that doll house. It belonged to Aunt Jenny when she was your age."

"I will, I will." Juno ran back to her presents while Joan reached for the bowl of Dustmas cookies on the coffee table.

Nora walked by, carrying her two year old daughter, Mei. "Looks like they've both had enough excitement, huh?" She placed the sleeping baby in one of the cribs. "Want me to put Hector to bed for you?"

"Thank you." Pyrrha held out Hector, and smiled as the red-haired child yawned and cuddled against Nora's chest.

At that moment, Jaune came in, leading the oldest Arc kid, Helena, by the hand. "So, you think it works pretty well!"

Helena nodded, holding a giant, working replica of Ruby Rose's scythe in her arms. "Mommy, I just shot all the targets outside!"

Pyrrha smiled. "That's great, sweetie. Just don't shoot any animals."

"But what if it's a Grimm?"

"If it's a Grimm, come get one of us, so we can kill it," Pyrrha said seriously. She noticed Jaune approaching the couch. "Could you reset the music box before you sit, Jaune?"

Jaune walked over to the mantel, closing the music box and waiting a moment before opening it again. The familiar song from so many years ago rang through the room. "I can't believe that thing still works," he said as he sat down next to his wife and pulled her close.

Pyrrha nestled against him with a smile. "I have a feeling that it will continue working for many more years." She watched their kids playing with their Dustmas gifts while Nora placed Hector in his crib. "I love you, Jaune," she sighed.

Jaune kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."

At that moment, Ren peeked his head in. "The pancakes are ready."

"Yay!" Nora zipped over, kissing her husband warmly, then made a beeline for the kitchen.

"Nora, stay away from that maple syrup!" Ren chased after her. "You'll set a bad example for the children!"

Jaune and Pyrrha both laughed as they stood up, letting the kids go ahead of them into the dining room. "Oh, remind me to have my Scroll nearby in the afternoon," Jaune said. "Silvia said she'd call today."

Pyrrha nodded. "We certainly can't have you missing a call from her!"

The family sat around the dining room table once Ren finally got the maple syrup bottle back. After moving the cribs into the room, they said a quick prayer before eagerly tackling the pancakes.

Snow fell outside, lightly coating the ground in a shimmering cloak of white. Inside, the house was warm with the crackling fire and filled with the sound of excited children, enthusiastic munching from Nora, and the gentle sound of Pyrrha's music box.

Pyrrha closed her eyes for a moment and simply listened, thinking back to another Dustmas several years ago, a Dustmas that had turned out to be the prelude to the happiest life that anyone in Team JNPR could have possibly hoped for.

Due to the length of this commission, and the fluffy nature of it, I got to have a bit of fun with it. Stuff like the music box, Jaune's youngest sister being too freaking cute for words, the onesies, and the epilogue that includes the kids from "Goddess of Victory," were part of the commission. Making the older sisters a group of devious schemers and the bits with the parade and tree decorations were drawn from personal experience. I found myself thinking of my mom and three aunts when I wrote Jaune's older sisters, because they're the types to quietly manipulate things behind the scenes. As for Katie, I'm convinced that one, if not all of Jaune's younger sisters will have a crush on Ren when they finally meet the team. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

Darkkseid wanted me to say that they wish a happy holiday season to all Arkos and Renora shippers out there, and that you can all consider this commission their gift to you.

The cavities, you can consider a gift from me.

If you're interested in supporting me on a monthly basis in exchange for extra rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun. If you're interested in filling one of the two commission slots I still have open, PM me for details.

Happy holidays, and peace out!