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The gloomy sky made Oz embrace his warm blanket even more. He sighed, closed his eyes, and listened to his surroundings. No carollers outside his window. Not yet. The memory of last year’s Christmas sneaked up inside his mind and he began humming one of the carols Alice and him had sang together. That was their first Christmas since his return from the Abyss.
A warmth he had thought he never deserved.
Footsteps echoed from the dining room to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the dining room. His smile grew wide, his heart at ease. This time Gil forgot to be his cautious self. But the noise caused by his best friend was a precious gift.
“Where’s my meat?” Alice’s voice resounded in the dining room. “Why aren’t ya done yet?”
He smiled at the second gift: Alice’s loud but earnest presence.
“Just shut up, you stupid rabbit! It’s still frying!” Gil answered, pacing quickly inside the kitchen.
Oz yawned, lifted his head and with the blanket wrapped around himself, exited his room. Alice was standing on the couch with a pout and folded arms. As soon as she noticed him, her face brightened up.
“It was about time you joined me!” She jumped to her feet and hurried toward him, pulling at one side of the blanket. “I’m also cold!”
Oz laughed a little.
“Here.” He said, letting Alice under his blanket.
She smiled in spite of her growling stomach, and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Tell him to hurry!”
“Gil~ Alice is starving!”
His best friend moved out of the kitchen with a frown. When he left the door open, the smell of meat, oranges, fried apples, and chocolate cookies reached Oz. He already imagined himself stealing all those cookies behind Gilbert’s back.
“The meat is not ready yet- What do you think you’re doing? Stupid rabbit, you have your own blanket!” Gilbert motioned toward the bedroom to bring it to her. Oz laughed again.
“It’s ‘kay. Come and join us!” He grinned and Gilbert’s eyes widened with Alice’s blanket in his left hand.
“Oh, are you a coward?” Alice asked with a smirk.
Gilbert gritted his teeth. “Fine! But only for-”
The smell of burnt meat reached all of them. Paling and cursing, Gilbert rushed inside the kitchen to salvage the food.
“Seaweed Head! Don’t spoil my meat!” Alice ran after him, abandoning Oz’ side of the blanket. He slowly stepped inside the kitchen as well.
“No, no, no! Look what you made me do!” Gilbert’s eyebrows furrowed as he showed Alice the frying pan containing the burnt piece of meat.
“It’s not my fault! The meat was your responsibility!” Her stomach growled again. “Fetch me another!”
“Fine!” Gilbert clenched his hand around the frying pan, and moved closer to Oz. “Take her out of the kitchen and let me focus.”
“Oh? But I like the distressed face you’ve just made!” Oz grinned mischievously.
Gilbert sighed.
“It’s Christmas, Oz. I have to finish our breakfast, and…”
“No, I get it.”
Gilbert lifted his eyebrows. “You do?”
“Teasing is no fun with an empty stomach.”
His best friend groaned as he returned to his cooking. Of course Oz would not give up on his fun so easily. Who did he take him for?
Glancing back at the window of the dining room, his heart beat faster.
“Alice, come here! I gotta show you something.” He pulled her hand and guided her back into the dining room.
“What is it?”
Oz leaned forward and opened the window, a gust of cold air blowing in his face. Though the warmth in his heart remained.
“It’s snowing!” With a huge smile and reddened cheeks, he extended his hand outside the window to catch snowflakes in his palm. Alice watched the scene with bright eyes. She also shoved both her arms outside the window and waited for the snowflakes to rest on her hands. Then she opened her mouth and started swallowing the next ones.
At first, he only stared at her silliness, but then he followed suit with her action and soon he found himself joining her heartfelt laughter.
But Gil was not amused.
“You’ll catch a cold on Christmas Eve!” He came rushing from the kitchen just to admonish them.
Oz stopped to ruffle Gil’s hair and watch the confused expression on his face.
A cold won’t catch him, not with two warm souls by his side.
Not as long as this was a warmth he deserved.