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Chapter Text

“Look at all the snow outside, mipo!” Mipple squeaked as she watched out the window. “It’s gotta be at least the height of me, mipo!” 

“Can we go outside and play, popo?” Pollun asked. “It looks so fluffy, popo!”

“Of course.” Hikari coaxed the fairies over to put little wooly caps and mittens on them. “But you’ll have to bundle up first.” She had a blue set for Mepple, a pink set for Mipple, a green set for Pollun, and a magenta set for Lulun.

“Hurry up, lulu!” Lulun squealed. “Don’t dawdle, or we’ll waste our play time, lulu!”

In the backyard, Mepple dug out a hole to hide in, and used the extra snow to build a barrier around it. When Pollun wasn’t looking, Mepple threw a snowball his way. Pollun yelped and looked all around. “What was that, popo?!”

Lulun laughed, until she got a snowball right to the face. “Oh, you will pay for that, lulu! Attack!!” She vaulted over the barrier to fight Mepple.

Hikari laughed as she watched over the commotion. “Fairies are so funny.”

Chapter Text

“Come on, come on!” Saki dragged Mai and Michiru by the wrists out onto the frozen pond. “We have to get there fast, before these skates make us all fall down!”

“I don’t get why we need all this stuff,” mused Kaoru, carrying a big pink duffle bag. “What good do all these sticks do on the ice?”

“They’re mini hockey stuff!” Saki explained. “We use them to play!” She came over and pulled a small goal and puck out of the bag. “You take the stick and hit the puck into the net with it!”

Kaoru took a hockey stick out of the bag, and handed a second one to Michiru. Together, they passed the puck in between each other before pushing it towards the goal. However, because the goal wasn’t held down by anything, the impact of the puck just made it slide away. “Hey, come back!” The sisters began to chase after it, and Michiru slipped and fell, sliding towards the goal as if she was the puck.

While the Kiryuu twins played Goal Chase, Saki and Mai took hands and skated in circles, creating swirly patterns in the ice. Every so often, Michiru and Kaoru would glide through, slicing lines through the curls. By the time they had all finished up for cocoa, the pond looked like a modern art piece.

Chapter Text

“Come on, Karen!” Urara called from the top of the ladder. “Move the tinsel up here!”

“Oh, alright, I’m coming!” Karen lifted up a box to Urara’s level, filled with silver tinsel. Urara plucked up the beginning of the tinsel trail and hung it up where the wall met the ceiling. 

“I’m telling you, the red goes better with the tree,” said Rin as she and Nozomi hung baubles on the Christmas tree.

“Yeah, but the pink makes it look more like a peppermint candy.” Nozomi protested.

“Let’s get those stockings on the hearth, miru!” Milk hopped from peg to peg, hanging the stockings in a rainbow order.

“Perfect,” cooed Komachi. “Now all of you, cover your eyes so I can hide your sweets in the stockings.” Once she was sure that no one in the room was watching, Komachi tucked a small packet of sweets from her family’s shop into each of her friends’ stockings.

“Oh, boy, I can’t wait to see what they are, miru!” Milk chirped, bouncing with excitement. However, in her joy, she stumbled off the edge of the hearth, and poofing into her human form, knocked herself and Komachi down into a heap. The entire room was silent for a moment, before all six girls burst into merry, hysterical laughter.

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After a long day of work, school, and trying to keep the doorways and cars free of snow, the Momozono family gathered around the fireplace to warm up. “Let me tell you,” mused Keitarou, “if there’s one thing that goes well with a fireplace, it’s a woolly blanket.” He gestured to the blanket he had wrapped around himself and his wife. 

“Oh, you’re such a sentimental soul,” chuckled Ayumi. 

Next to them, Love had a bamboo skewer she had saved from the chocolate tasting she had attended at KIRAKIRA Patisserie earlier in the day, and with it, she plucked a marshmallow out of the bag they were keeping nearby for their cocoa and stuck it over the fire to roast. “What are you doing?” Setsuna asked.

“What does it look like? I’m roasting a marshmallow,” said Love. “They get all sweet and gooey when you heat them up.”

When the marshmallow turned golden brown, Love let her sister pick it off the skewer to taste. “Oh, wow, that’s really good,” mumbled Setsuna with her mouth full. Noticing how sticky her hands were now, she got up to fetch a napkin.

Ayumi smiled. “You girls are both so sweet.”

Chapter Text

“Here’s my sweater,” said Tsubomi, showing off her stitchwork to her girlies. “I made it red with leaves, to represent mistletoe and holly.”

“I went with a star theme for mine,” said Itsuki, hanging a fuzzy sweater on a coat hanger. “We always put a star on top of our tree. I used yellow for me, and white for Satsuki. He did one just like it, but with the colours inverted.”

“Yours are both so gorgeous,” praised Yuri. “Mine is a deep indigo with a white dot pattern, to represent the night sky when it snows.” She had the sweater sat in her lap, folded neatly.

“Oh, you girls are so stylish,” cooed Tsubomi. “Now, where’s Erika?”

“I’m here!” As soon as her name was spoken, Erika burst into the room, wearing a red woolly sweater with white accents, a green pine tree on the front with real baubles attached to it, in all different colours that did not match at all, lights strung around the collar, silver tinsel attached to the cuffs, on which the sleeves were far too long. To top it off, she had on a skirt whose pleats alternated between red and green, and tall red boots with white fluff. “What do you think?”

All three girls blinked. “You are definitely winning the ugly Christmas sweater contest this year.”

Chapter Text

The Minamino house was very quiet in the afternoon; Kanade had gone out carolling with her friends. Misora was quietly rolling out some dough for cookies when she heard a knock at her door.

To her surprise, it was her own Kanade, with Hibiki, Ellen, and Ako by her side, waiting outside with a songbook. Kanade vocalised a bit to start them all up. “Gentle snowflakes falling from the sky~”

Hibiki continued after her. “The perfect time to remember you and I…”

“...are a part of a beautiful family, who all gather when Christmastime is near.” Ellen smiled.

“Twinkling lights are lighting up the streets, they shine so bright and glow so sweet.” Ako’s voice was soft, but clear.

All four girls then sang together. “And so we give the world the brightest smile as we wish you a Christmas most dear.”

Hummy hopped onto Ako’s head. “And to many more, nya!”

“Did you write that song yourselves?” Misora asked.

“I wrote it,” said Kanade eagerly. “Do you like it?”

“Darling, I love it,” praised Misora, giving her daughter a peck on the forehead. “Why don’t you girls all come inside for a break, and have some hot cocoa?”

Chapter Text

“Twas the night before Christmas,” said Miyuki from a red cloth book, homemade by her grandmother many years ago, “and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

“So this story takes place at Hikaru’s house, then, kuru?” Candy asked, holding a tiny teddy bear. “Because Fuwa is a mouse, kuru?”

“Huh.” Miyuki thought for a moment. “Maybe it does.”

“Let me see the book,” said Akane, “or we’ll be here all night.” She took the book. “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

“Except that we put our stockings around the bottom of the tree,” snarked Nao in a joking tone. “We don’t even have a chimney.”

“Oh, quiet,” said Akane, playfully elbowing her friend as she passed the book to Yayoi. 

Yayoi read the next passage. “The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.”

“Which we’re never going to be if we keep reading the book this slowly,” mused Reika, glancing at the clock and noting that all of the girls were still awake with the lights on, even though it was nearly midnight.

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“Baked goods for sale!” Mana called out from a stand outside the general store, while Rikka rang a little bell beside her. “All proceeds go to the local orphanage!”

“These gingerbread men were freshly baked today,” explained Regina, with a poinsettia wreath around her head, to a customer. She winked playfully. “I like to bite the heads off first.”

Beside them, Alice and Makoto had some boxes set down beside their table; one to carry smaller boxes of baked goods, and one to carry donations to the clothing drive they were hosting for the orphanage. Each of the girls had already brought in some of their old clothes that didn’t fit them anymore.

“Thank you for your purchase!” Rikka thanked a customer, who had bought a box of cupcakes. “Your kindness knows no bounds!”

“Excuse me,” a soft voice said to Makoto, “is this the clothing drive?”

Makoto jumped. “O-Ootari-sama!!”

Tamaki smiled. “I’ve brought over some older clothing from when I was a child.” She packed some folded shirts and dresses into the clothing drive box. “I hope they will find new use. You’re doing a great thing.”

Alice smiled gently. “The world needs more generosity in it, especially this time of year.”

Chapter Text

It was a very exciting day for Hime; she had agreed to host the Wonderful Net Pretty Cure for Christmas this year, and was enthusiastically explaining every sort of tradition they performed. “This is the mistletoe!” She squealed. “When a couple stands underneath it, they have to kiss!”

“Why?” Samiha cocked her head.

“Uh…” Hime forgot that part. “It’s good luck?”

“It’s because Celtic Druids valued it for its healing properties.” Iona corrected her, not looking up from the dinner table.

“We don’t hang mistletoe for Diwali,” said Jahnavi. “We clean our houses, light lamps and little candles, and gather our families for a feast.”

“This year, I counted that our families and friends lit about eighty-seven candles and forty lamps altogether,” added Samiha. 

“Oh, that’s right,” remembered Iona, “you brought the Merci Cures over for Diwali this year, didn’t you?”

“Indeed.” Jahnavi nodded. “And next year, it will be your turn.”

“Here!” Hime offered a vanilla scented candle. “In the meantime, you can light this candle!”

Samiha and Jahnavi looked at each other, puzzled, for a moment, but decided to accept the offer. Bringing the candle to the dinner table, Samiha flicked a bit of fire to light it.

Chapter Text

“Just give it a minute to mix all together…”

After the kettle had finished boiling, Minami had poured out four mugs for cocoa, and given the girls each a package of cocoa mix. Haruka passed the rainbow mini marshmallows around the table, and each of the girls took a handful.

Towa brought her red mug with little gold swirls to her mouth for a taste. “Delectable,” she mused. “A bit of tang to the cocoa, and soft sweetness with the marshmallows.” 

Haruka instead chose to overload her pink floral mug with marshmallows. She used her spoon to scoop them out again, and ate up her cocoa like a chocolate marshmallow soup. “Haruka, that’s not how you drink cocoa,” said Kirara with an eyebrow cocked.

“Who cares? It’s going in my mouth and into my stomach either way,” said Haruka. “Sugar is sugar, and there’s no adults around to tell me not to eat it like this.”

Minami raised her blue mug with little green kelps on it to her mouth, and then yelped. “Whoo, that’s hot!” She wiped her lips, which were tingling from being burnt.

“Nice work,” chuckled Haruka. “And you got on my case for not drinking it properly.”

Chapter Text

After coming home from picking up bread and meat for dinner, Riko noticed Kotoha watching the sky from the window. “Whatcha looking at there, Kotoha?” 

“I’m trying to spot a flying reindeer,” said Kotoha. “I wonder if you can see them before Christmas Eve.”

“Hmm…” Riko knelt down to sit beside Kotoha. “I think they have some sort of magic spell that makes them invisible before Christmas.”

“Really?” Kotoha cocked her head. “Why?”

“Well…” Riko thought of a reason. “Santa Claus wants to keep them safe.”

“But who would want to hurt a reindeer?” Kotoha looked genuinely distressed.

“Uh…” Riko realized what kind of depressing rabbit hole she’d just fallen into.

“Look outside, mofu!” Mofurun toddled towards the window.

Outside, a gentle pink light carried a string of brightly coloured lights to a tree, and weaved itself around the empty branches. “Haa!” Kotoha squeaked. “It’s real Christmas magic!”

Riko smiled; she knew exactly where that magic was coming from. From just before the edge of the house, she could make out the tip of Mirai’s wand, swirling in circles and decorating the bare tree branches with lights that twinkled under the sunlight. If anyone could keep Kotoha believing in the magic of Christmas, it was her.

Chapter Text

“Flour!” Ichika scooped flour into a glass bowl.

“Baking soda!” Himari sprinkled baking soda into the bowl.

“Salt!” Aoi dumped a teaspoon of salt into the mixture.

“Brown sugar.” Yukari, proud that she remembered the recipe required brown sugar and not white sugar, poured some into the cookie dough.

“Spices!” Akira mixed in ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

“Eggs and butter!” Ciel was put in charge of the wet ingredients, and she cracked an egg and stuck in some slices of butter.

“And all the other stuff!” Ichika added the molasses and vanilla extract, and began to stir the batter.

“Who brought the cookie cutter?” Aoi asked. 

“I did!” Himari showed the girls a few cookie cutters; one shaped like a man, one shaped like a woman in a skirt, and one shaped like a cat’s face.

“And I made the icing!” Ciel showed three different bottles of icing; one was cherry red, one forest green, and one snow white.

“This gingerbread baking party was such a good idea,” said Akira. “We have enough ingredients to make cookies for everyone in town.”

“Well, isn’t that the goal?” Yukari asked. “We’re a patisserie. Anyone can come by for some delicious Christmas cookies.”

Chapter Text

“We’re here!” Hana led her girls into HugMan Home Centre early in the afternoon.

“So, your dad’s doing the Santa thing this year?” Homare asked.

“Of course,” chirped Hana. “He loves Christmas.”

“And we’re early enough that we won’t have to wait very long,” added Saaya.

Turning around the play corner, the girls spotted the little cottage setup, surrounded by play snow and with candy canes adorning the doorway. No one seemed to be around, likely because it was one o’clock on a Wednesday, so Hana, carrying Hugtan, entered the photo area. “Hagyu!” Hugtan squeaked when she saw Shintarou, dressed up as Santa Claus.

“Ho ho ho!” Shintarou laughed. “How are you today, little girl?” 

“What would she like for Christmas this year?” The assistant asked.

“She loves to play with my fairy plush when she visits our house,” said Emiru. “We want to get her one of her own…I have Jasmine, but I think she’d like Bella the best.”

“Smile!” Ruru held up the camera for Shintarou and Hugtan.

“Wait!” Saaya put a little Santa hat on Hugtan’s head. “Okay, now take the picture!”

“Hagyu!” Hugtan smiled as bright as the stars as Ruru and the assistant both took her picture.

Chapter Text

“What do you think?” Hikaru presented a homemade star ornament. “I baked the clay myself!”

“It’s beautiful,” said Elena, holding it in her hands. “Madoka and I made ornaments together.”

“Here are mine.” Madoka presented a box of six purple baubles, each with a lavender pattern painted on it. “I made a special pattern for each of us.”

Curious, Lala and Yuni looked at each of the ornaments. There was one bauble with a star pattern, one with a lightning pattern, one with a sun pattern, one with a moon pattern, one with a cat ear pattern, and one with a bubble pattern.

“I laminated some pictures of us and put sparkly borders around them.” Elena showed the girls some beautiful photos, each with a tinsel border.

“Fuwa!” Fuwa squeaked at her picture.

“So every year, you get out special sparkly things and decorate the house with them?” Yuni asked. “Why don’t you do this for every holiday?”

“I would love to make Valentine’s Day ornaments, lun,” said Lala. “Then I could invite everyone over for a decorating party instead of making cards, lun.”

“Don’t worry.” Elena petted Lala’s head. “After New Year’s, Valentine’s is the next big holiday.”

Chapter Text

“Is everyone here?” Yasuko asked, looking around the backyard for everyone. 

“We’re here!” Nodoka chirped, with Takeshi resting a hand on her shoulder.

“So are we.” Chiyu calmly answered, with both of her parents and her brother by her side. Touji turned his foot inwards to hide the mud splattered on his boot.

“It was so nice of you to invite me to this family gathering,” cooed Maemi, with her white gloved hand holding onto Asumi’s, covered with a woolly purple mitten.

“Now we’re just waiting on the Hiramitsus,” said Chiyu.

“We’re here! We’re here! Whoops!” While running across the snowy ground to reach the family photo session, Hinata slipped and fell face first into the white, wet mush. Mei and Youta, racing after her, tripped on Hinata’s sprawled legs and tumbled over as well.

Teruhiko stopped just in time to stop himself from falling on top of his children. “Well, isn’t this a regular sight to behold.”

Nodoka and Chiyu laughed and picked up their third wheel. “Come on, let’s all get together for the picture.”

“Now is everyone ready?” Yasuko asked again.

“Yes!” Everyone said in unison.

“Then smile!” Yasuko set down the tripod and joined her family to pose for the Christmas card photo.

Chapter Text

“Okay,” said Minori, “now here’s how you wrap a present properly.” She put a copy of Volume 1 of The Prince of Tennis down on top of the rolled out wrapping paper, and slid the scissors perfectly along the lines. 

“Wow,” mused Sango, watching the scissors glide.

“There we go.” Minori neatly folded the wrapping paper over the book, and strategically placed bits of tape over the flaps to secure the package.

“I’ll try now.” Sango laid down a snazzy white swimsuit with a blue seashell pattern and a matching waist wrap. She wasn’t quite as clean with her cuts, but still got exactly the right amount of paper. She folded the ends over top of her present to Laura, and taped down the open flaps to conceal the gift inside. “Perfect!”

“All done!” Manatsu held up her wrapped package, which was awkwardly shaped, lumpy, and had a bit too much tape sticking to it.

“Wow.” Laura looked down at the package from her pool. “Did you murder the paper before or after you finished?”

“Hey, it’s wrapped.” Asuka mused. “It’s better than nothing.”

Chapter Text

“Do we have all the ingredients?” Akiho asked. 

“We’ve got strawberries from Botan’s garden, Ran brought the bean paste and mochi, I brought the freshest chicken I could find, and I can see the vegetables sitting on your counter.” Kokone counted off her list of foods they needed. “I say we’re ready to begin.”

“Perfect!” Yui chirped. “Let’s get Christmas dinner ready!”

Each member of the family got to work preparing a dish. Amane sliced up strawberries for strawberry shortcake, Ran stirred up bean paste with mochi and sugar to make the perfect dough for wagashi, Akiho and Rosemary slathered the chicken in breadcrumb batter, and Yui and Kokone peeled potatoes and grated carrots for cream stew.

“Do we have enough flour?” Amane asked. “I can’t finish the cake without it.”

“Umai!” Umai-chan lugged a bag of flour over to the countertop.

“Oh, wonderful,” praised Amane. “Thank you, Chiho-chan.”

“So we’ve got all this going,” said Ran. “Is anyone else bringing food?”

“Ichika’s girls are making gingerbread cookies,” mused Yui. “And Mana is bringing over her peppermint cocoa.”

“Fantastic!” Rosemary plucked his daughter up off the floor and stuck her back in her carrier. “We’ll have a magnificent Christmas feast this year.”

Chapter Text

“Elle-chan. No. Elle-chan, look over here. Elle-chan.”

Mashiro tried to get Elle-chan to sit still for her Christmas pictures. However, Elle-chan did not like the itchy tulle on the dress she had been dressed up in, and had too much energy to play, so she did not want her picture taken.

“Elle-chan, look! Smile for Santa!” Ageha held up a little doll of Santa behind Sora’s shoulder.

Elle-chan looked up and spotted the doll. She knew that if she was good for Santa Claus, he would bring her presents to open under the tree! “Eru!” She smiled nice and pretty for the camera.

“Okay, she’s done.” Mashiro picked Elle-chan up off the couch and set her down to go play. “Sora, it’s your turn. Stand in front of the tree.”

Sora shuffled over to the Christmas tree, dressed up in a snowy dress. She wasn’t exactly a fan of the look; she thought the excessive cream-white fluff made her complexion look washed out. Still, wearing it made Mashiro happy, so she put up with it and cheesed next to the Christmas tree. 

“Get in there, Tsubasa!” Ageha plucked Tsubasa up off the floor and placed him down on Sora’s head. Tsubasa, wearing an oversized Santa hat, awkwardly smiled through his beak.

Chapter Text

“Okay, check this out.” Gaku held up a very gaudy scarf, striped in every colour of the rainbow in the wrong order. “I used every single colour of yarn I could find to make this sweet baby.”

“I can tell.” Sasana cocked an eyebrow as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. 

“Here’s mine.” Maito showed off a woolly hat, made from azure blue yarn with a little cerulean pom pom attached to the top. “My Secret Santa is Karen this year, and I know these are her best colours.”

“I might continue knitting after Christmas,” mused Kouga. “It’s very therapeutic.”

“Once you get the hang of it, it’s like being a fashion designer,” said Hayato. “And all I have to pay for it is 1,000 yen every few weeks to restock my yarn stash.” 

“Where are you shopping where you can get several spools of yarn for just 1,000 yen?” Sasana asked. “Everywhere I looked, it cost way more than that. I had to raid my sister’s closet of abandoned crafts just to make these mittens for Yayoi.”

“...the awesome store,” shrugged Hayato.

Chapter Text

“Do you remember that year when Kurumi fell off the hearth while we were decorating the house?” Nozomi stirred her virgin margarita with a little cherry on a toothpick.

“Oh, yeah, that was funny.” Rin took a sip. 

Nozomi shook her head. “Christmas just hasn’t felt the same for me for years.”

“Same here.” Rin looked up. “Maybe that’s just a part of being an adult and having so many responsibilities. Christmas was about building snowmen and opening presents when we were kids. Now, we have to shop for everyone, cook a big meal, decorate the house…it’s a lot.”

“I know…” Nozomi sighed. “I am not looking forward to driving home in the snow. It’s so greasy out there.”

The door to the bar opened up. “You girls are already here?” Mai asked. “I’m just getting off work right now.”

“I needed to get away and just think for a bit,” said Nozomi. “I was hoping a drink would lift my spirits a bit, because I just have not felt like Christmas yet.”

“I understand that…” Mai’s eyes looked tired. “If I have to hear Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree one more time, I’m going to strangle something.”

Chapter Text

“Ai! Watch the ice!” Kazuya called after her daughter as the kids played in the snow.

“Oh, she’s fine,” said Moe. “The snow will cushion the fall. I remember once when Haruka slipped and fell in some snow, she came out without a scratch on her.”

“What are they doing over there?” Tomoko, sitting the furthest away on the deck, asked. “I can’t see the kids over the railing.”

“They’re building a snowman,” said Kazuya, peering over the railing at the children.

“It’s a woman!!” Hina hollered up at the moms.

“Oh, my bad,” said Kazuya, turning back to Moe and Tomoko. “It’s a snow woman.”

“What’s going on out here?” Mizuki came out onto the deck with Futaba balanced on her hip. “I just heard one of the kids screaming about a woman.”

“Oh, they’re building a snow woman,” said Moe, pulling out a chair for Mizuki. “Hina felt the need to correct us when we called her a snowman.”

“And she heard you from all the way down there?” Mizuki asked. “What are that girl’s ears made of?”

“Titanium, I presume,” joked Tomoko. “She can hear her father and I from the complete opposite side of the house, I swear.”

“Is that what the earmuffs are for?” Moe asked. “To protect the magic?” All four moms laughed.

Chapter Text

“Pass me the nails.” Takashi asked Hiroshi.

“This was the perfect idea,” mused Takeo. “The girls always meet at the library, so what better gift to make for them than a bookshelf?” 

“Oh, I just know my Haruka will adore this,” swooned Ibuki. “I picked out her favourite shade of pink to paint with. I just know when we show it to her, she’ll be over the moon.”

“Okay, slow down,” said Daisuke. “We need to actually assemble the thing first.”

“Okay, one more board on top and it’ll be fully constructed.” Takashi turned around. “Is that last board ready?”

“Of course!” Daikichi answered. “The paint just finished drying.”

Takashi, with help from Genichirou, lifted the wood plank onto the top of their bookshelf, and nailed it together with the rest of it. 

“Alright,” said Carlos, “let’s find out how well this thing holds weight.” He and some of the other dads placed some books borrowed from their houses onto each shelf. After waiting for a moment, the shelves all remained static, not breaking from the weight of the books.

“Perfect!” Taiyo clapped the sawdust off his hands. “All ready for the Christmas party!”

Chapter Text

Flipping through an old book near a castle window, Joker snarled at the outside world. Poisony, laying gracefully across the sofa, looked up from her gorgeous red manicure. “Whatever is the matter?”

“It’s December,” growled Joker. “This month always gives me the dreadful desire to be…” He shuddered. “Jolly.”

“Jolly?” Poisony kicked a leg out as she sat up. “We don’t do ‘jolly’ around here.”

“I know.” Joker drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “It’s a miserable feeling.”

From the gardens, Maimiko pattered quietly into the library with her hands full of haisy flowers; haisies were like daisies that looked like they had been dragged out of Hell. “What’s that?” Poisony turned her head when she heard her daughter’s footsteps. “Oh, have you been busy, my sweet?”

Maimiko presented her mother with a crown of haisies, which she placed upon her head. “Aren’t you such a thoughtful soul,” praised Poisony. “I can tell that when you have a daughter, you’ll be the most wonderful mother to her that you can be.”

“That’s because she already has the most wonderful mother.” Joker embraced his wife and daughter in his arms. “Is there anything you cannot do?”

Chapter Text

“How much longer do we have to ride?”

Four young girls, new entries to the Pretty Cure elite, were riding on a horse-drawn sleigh to make it to CureStar Manor for Christmas Eve.

“Don’t worry. We’re going so fast, there’s no way we won’t make it in time.” 

The horse, a pretty white mare whom the girls named Ayane, raced through the snow, the bells attached to her harness jingling all the way. 

“Not far now! I can see the manor!” 

The warm glow of CureStar manor stuck out like a campfire against the cold blues and whites of the surrounding area. Ayane galloped down the street and pulled in by the entrance. “We’re here!” The leader of this new Cure group unhooked Ayane’s harness to let her enter the nearby animal sanctuary, gathered up the gifts from the back of the sleigh, and rang the doorbell. “Let’s hope we aren’t the first ones there!”

Mirai opened the door to the manor. “Oh, Komugi! You and your team are finally here! Come on in!” She invited the girls inside. “Ooh, you came on a sleigh! How festive!”

Chapter Text

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas…”

Miyuki woke Hibiki up early in the morning, blasting Mariah Carey from her phone at full volume. Hibiki yawned as she fumbled for her phone. “Miyuki, it is seven o’clock in the morning. You are out of your ultra-happy mind if you think I’m getting out of bed at this hour.”

Miyuki did not respond to that. She waited until the long “Youuuuuu” and started bouncing along to the music. As if they had specifically planned ahead for this, Hana and Hikaru popped out of nowhere to bounce with her, and the three started dancing in the hallway. At seven a.m.

“They do this every year…” Yuri shook her head, while Nagisa silently filmed the ridiculous ritual.

After a breakfast of pancakes cut out into flower shapes, toast with blueberry jam, and iced coffee with chocolate milk, the Cures all gathered around the giant tree in the family room to open their Secret Santa presents. “Nodoka helped make breakfast,” said Kokone, sifting through the packages, “so she gets to open hers first.”

Kokone placed a small package wrapped in red paper with pastel pink flamingos on it in Nodoka’s lap. Nodoka carefully picked the tape away and pulled away the paper to reveal a four-pack of hairclips inside, each with a different flower. “Oh, thank you! These are lovely!”

Megumi picked up a red wrapped box with orange-and-white soccer balls on the paper. “This one is for Mai.”

Mai took the package and opened up the wrapping. Inside was a sketchbook with a black cover, big enough to do full body sketches, but small enough to easily fit in a purse. “This is the perfect size! Thank you!” 

“Which one is for me?!” Erika squeaked. “I’m so excited to see what it is!”

“This one.” Mana slid a soft package wrapped in pale blue paper with a diamond pattern over to Erika. 

Erika quickly tore into the wrapping paper to discover a Sprigatito plush toy inside. “Eeeee!” She squealed. “She’s so cute!” 

“Right; I’m going to make sure we’ve got everything for dinner,” said Yui, standing up. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She stepped out of the family room, just as Honoka handed Tsubasa a box wrapped in pink paper with little hip-hop silhouettes on it.