One-Shot Collection (Karma Akabane x OC)

Christmas Time

Whew, it's been a while since I was writing these one-shots. I know, I know, it's not even December yet. But Christmas, right? Enjoy, and an early Merry Christmas to ya'll!
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Autumn was starting to make way for winter. The first snowflakes of the year were the most obvious of the transitions between seasons. The yellow, brown, gold and red leaves of autumn gave way to the snow, and Christmas decorations. Excitement was in the air, with the bustling Christmas shoppers and enthusiastic children pointing out the first snow to their mothers. Christmas songs, from carols to singles by famous artists, played from stores. Hayoung's breath came out in a puff of steam as she breathed. The both of them had agreed to go Christmas shopping together, but in reality, she just couldn't be bothered. So much money spent, buying superficial gifts that would ultimately mean nothing. Hayoung let out a small chuckle-- if Karma was here, he'd laugh and call her a grinch.

Christmas had never meant much to her. As a child, she was just as naive as any other, believing in Christmas miracles and Santa Claus. However, unlike the other children, she'd grown out of those beliefs quite fast. It was her first time properly celebrating Christmas in years, and that was only because Karma had insisted on it. You need to loosen up a bit, you know. Christmas is actually really nice when you stop being such a grinch about it. Hayoung supposed he was right, but it would be some time before she got used to preparing for the holiday every year. Before, she just got a little Christmas tree from the top shelf of her dresser and put it by her desk. And maybe a few treats for herself. Not exactly a big celebration.

"We should be just about done with the tree. You wanna come in?" Karma asked from behind.

Hayoung nodded and followed him into the shop. All their Christmas decorations were already at home; now they just needed a tree to put them on. Yesterday, they'd come in to look through tree options and a large one with dark green needles were just what they needed. Today was the day of the delivery. Hayoung sat down on a stool while Karma negotiated transport of the tree with the man in charge. Honestly, she would've done with just one miniature tree like the ones by her feet, but Karma had different ideas. After a lot of arguing, and maybe some blackmail on Karma's part, they finally decided that they had more than enough space to accommodate the thing.

Done with the negotiations, Karma tapped her on the shoulder. Hayoung got up and the both of them made their way out of the store.

"You really needed that big of a tree?"

"Hayoung, I thought we agreed..."

"When you said big, I didn't think it was going to be that massive."

"Well, go big or go home, right?"

"It might just be cheaper to fly to Finland and chop a tree down."

"Don't worry! Since this is gonna be your first Christmas in forever, we're just gonna make it as good as we can. They'll be delivering the tree this afternoon, so get the decorations ready."

True to his word, the tree was delivered during the afternoon. Even with the help of several burly helpers from the store, it still took nearly an hour to set up the gigantic Christmas tree. It was half the size of those trees set up in malls, and Hayoung was even surprised that it even left a few inches between it and the ceiling. If setting it up took this long, decorating was going to take forever. This Christmas, Karma really went all out. While they were still celebrating at home, the decorations were still much more extravagant than those at an average Christmas party. They'd decorated most of their house with tinsel and holly boughs, sparkling baubles and other fancy decorations, including a holly wreath with a reindeer's head painted in gold hanging at the door.