It was snowing.

V could barely even remember the last time he had actually taken the time to stand still and watch the snow fall. He had been so busy the past few years, especially during the holiday seasons, that he had hardly had enough time to let himself think, much less enjoy the simple subtleties that mother nature drew out every once in a while.

But tonight was different. Yes, indeed it was. With his vendetta finally being carried out in full he now had a little more time to himself and was thus more able to fully enjoy the silent spectacle. It was one of the many benefits of running well planned schedule of events. Everything that he was to do was in order. Each event had an exact time and place to occur and was clear in intent and purpose.

So not he stood silently on the roof of some sort of business building, able to observe what seemed like the entirety of London. A gargoyle of sorts keeping watch over it's cursed city.

He chuckled to himself quietly. Though the curfew had been set even earlier for tonight he was sure that at least some of London's population would be able to witness what he had planned for them tonight. A little holiday joke that he thought he would play on Sutler to finish off the Christmas season. It would be a spectacular display. Lacking in music but certainly not in creative fervor.

Ah, but he had almost forgotten, he would have to be checking in on that curious little maiden that he had so valiantly offered his home too a little less that a month ago. She hadn't been acting herself lately, whether from being cooped up in his little abode or because of her reaction to finding out that he had stolen her ID he could not know. He was no fool, he suspected that she had been plotting something, probably an escape, but was neither sure of how nor when. There was even a risk of her trying to escape tonight, while he was out; but try as she might he would not ever let her get away, not unless it interrupted his tightly scheduled vendetta. She had no clue what was likely to happen to her if indeed she did escape. And where would she go? There was that address written on a scrap of paper she kept hidden, he had come across it when trying to find her ID. She must have viewed him as some sort of monster when she had found out about that. A man who claimed to uphold every code of chivalry but who did not hesitate to destroy her privacy and disobey her trust. He did not respect her as much then as he did now, even though a month had passed he had grown quite fond of the brilliant young woman and almost regretted the act. But it was his vendetta…nothing should come in the way of that, his first and only love

Or was it? He couldn't be sure.

V breathed slowly and steadily through the mask, trying to soothe his thoughts. His breath came through hot and heavy through the tiny slit in Faux's mouth, rebelling against the cold night air with wisps of crystalline fog.

He didn't know what this feeling was that he was beginning to have towards Evey but he could tell that it was dangerous. He loved the idea of having an extra guest in his home, reveled in the privilege of being her protector; but this feeling…oh the feeling, it did not bode very well, not very well at all.

"Hmm," he hummed out under the mask as a hurried individual ran in the streets below him, the footsteps tearing from his thoughts. The man had a few wrapped presents in hand, trying to scurry away and get home before any Fingermen saw it.

Presents…Why did that ring a bell? Oh yes, he had gotten something for Evey, a little token that he had found on one of the supply trains.

But would that be enough to entertain her for the night? No it wouldn't. He would need to go back out to execute his little prank, but that would leave the woman with absolutely nothing to do and no one to speak with. She would go absolutely mental tonight if he didn't leave her with something. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and what kind of host was he to leave her alone…

But did she even know it was Christmas? Probably not, he hadn't been informing her of the dates, figuring that it would make her stay seem only that much longer. And did she even celebrate the holiday at all? Oh lord, he hadn't thought of that.

He was sure that she must have celebrated Christmas, though, as a child. Everyone had before the revolution. Even though the holiday was still commemorated now it had never quite been restored to it's former glory, and the proposed curfew ran even earlier than before on the night of Christmas Eve, making the idea of venturing outside quite horrifying. No lights outside, no snowball fights at night, no anything that made up Christmas Eve. All just so that Sutler could have his peace of mind.

"Peace of mind indeed." V mumbled to himself, "Well Sutler, you shall not have that tonight. No, I shall make sure of that."

Evey… What to do with Evey. He could take her with him. That wasn't such a bad idea. After all, she had been there to witness his work on the Old Bailey, and her presence had made the event much more enjoyable than it would have been without her. Yes, it was a brilliant idea, and this time no one would be killed, so the occasion would probably be much more to her liking. Why, he fancied that she might even enjoy it.

He stepped to the side and started to walk briskly toward the stairway door; he needed to get back to Shadow gallery quickly if everything for this evening was to go as planned. It was time for him to inform Evey of his plans for her that night, and to show her just what Christmas Eve was supposed to look like.

***

"Good evening, Evey" V said charismatically, waltzing through the door with an air of gallantry and pride. His breathing was a bit heavy from his rush home but his voice was as smooth and brilliant as ever.

"V!" Evey squealed, giving away a little more excitement over his return than she had originally intended. She couldn't really help it though, he looked absolutely delicious in that outfit of his that he donned every time he ventured outside, and though she didn't trust the man she couldn't deny holding a certain attraction for him. Ever since that day she had caught him fencing with that rusty old suit of armor of his she hadn't been able to keep her eyes off of his physicality. She had concluded that no other man could have pulled off that outfit looking as devilishly handsome as he had in his vest, poets shirt, and trousers. And his sword fighting! God he had made it look more like a dance than anything. Seeing him move about like that had caught her quite off guard and had left her with feeling that she imagined were quite inappropriate for the moment.

"You look as well as ever" he said calmly.

"Thank you," she smiled and put her book down, giving him her full attention. She had been on the couch for the past few hours, reading something with only half-interest.

"Do you happened know what day it is?" He was insistent upon cutting right to the chase, there wasn't much time and the night, although young, would pass quickly if he did not keep up with his plan.

"I know that it's December but I'm not sure of the exact date."

"It's December the twenty-fourth"

He watched carefully as her eyes lit up with a twinge of excitement. Which quickly faded when she realized that the man in front of her was not likely to celebrate the once popular holiday.

"Christmas eve?"

"Yes" So she was familiar with the holiday.

"Oh, well, happy Christmas then" She said, frowning as she picked something off of her sleeve. Why did he mention it anyways? He didn't seem to give any indication that he was planning anything special for the morning. V was very unpredictable, however, he could have had an entire festival of things planned out for all she knew.

"Indeed," he said, trying to stifle a chuckle at her internal frustration. "Though, I'm afraid that this little holiday will have to be spent outside."

"You mean are going back out already?" here she began to get angry. How dare he return and get her all riled up only to leave her alone once more.

"I am, but not alone."

Here she lifted a brow, looking up at him with what he could only interpret as the most adorable look of confusion he had ever come across.

"Evey, I'd like to show you something…" He look a step closer to her, "but in order to see it we must both leave the gallery"

"You mean that you are taking me with you?"

"Yes," he saw her face light up one more with excitement, "if you are willing"

"Of course!"

"There is one thing that I must ask of you, however … In order to join me you must consent to be blindfolded."

"Blindfolded? Why?"

He shifted uncomfortably, changing the balance of his weight from one leg to the other.

"I am sorry that this may seem distrustful of me but I still cannot risk you knowing where this gallery is located. Having you don a bit of cloth over your eyes in order to obstruct you vision was the only solution I saw possible"

"Oh" Evey turned her face to the ground.

"I am afraid that I can not be a gentleman towards you on this matter." He said, folding his hands neatly behind his back. His head dipped low; whether in shame or frustration she couldn't tell. "I simply can't risk it"

God, he would never trust her would he?

"No, it's ok" She moved her head back up to face him. "I…I understand"

There was a long pause between the two before V said anything again. Did she really understand? No, of course not, she was just eager to be outside.

"Thank you, Evey."

V left it at that, and from there guided her into the makeup room. He took a quick glance around the room before swiftly snatching up a thin strip of durable black cloth and holding it up to Evey. She nodded to him and, before she knew, it the cloth was gently secured around her eyes and tied snugly in place.

"So where are you taking me?"

"I'm afraid that I can't let you know that either, but only because it is a surprise."

"Oh a surprise?" her eyebrows raised in delight.

"Yes and one that I hope that you will enjoy"

V placed his hand on the small of her back and slowly guided her through many sets of doors, pausing only once to grab her a coat as it would be quite chilly outside.

After what seemed like forever Evey finally began to hear the distant sounds of a car or two passing on the streets, above and ahead. Whatever he had been guiding her through was reminiscent of a gigantic labyrinth in her minds eye and to be able to hear and smell the outside above…well it was just lovely.

He stopped her suddenly, and she could hear him shuffling about the area; she turned her head about, brows furrowed as she tried to decipher just what exactly he was doing. Then everything went silent save for the clink of metal against wood. Was that his mask? Was he listening for something?

"The coast is clear. This door," he paused to knock on something heavily, "is the last barrier that lies between us and London. Are you ready?" his voice was smooth and businesslike.

"Yes," she nodded eagerly.

She heard a series of clicks and dings, sounds which normally resulted from the reactions of metal scraping against metal. Her heart jumped at the groaning of what sounded like a very large and heavy door leading to the outside world, and before she knew it she was back in the vicinity of mainstream London.