Here's a holiday chapter that doesn't relate to the story plot. :) This one takes place somewhere within His Experiment after Arcelia and Varian are outside. I hope y'all enjoy!!!

"I do not understand."

I was looking towards Varian who was trying to explain the concept of Christmas to me. Holidays had long ago been lost and considered a waste of time in the world of science, where bigger things were losing time to be discovered.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Angel, what don't you get? They would eat big dinners and decorate their trees and put presents underneath them for the kids and family. It was just a way of bringing everyone closer together," he explained once again, not getting that it was pointless.

"What is the point? Trees are not real anymore. Why would you decorate a fake tree? What would you decorate it with?" I asked, trying to grasp why this holiday he didn't celebrate meant so much to him.

"Angel, forget it, okay? Clearly they screwed with your brain too much," he muttered, picking up our bags. I got up along with him, grabbing my own bag, and he led the way as we left the alley.

We had started walking when an idea began forming in my mind. I then started searching our path for small items, anything that I could find before placing them in my bag. I could see Varian's questioning look every time he turned around, but he never once said anything.

We finally sat down again, and he pulled out what was left of our food. I frowned. Although he had tried to do so subtly, I had noticed that my portion was larger than his. I started to break my half down to even things, but he placed his hand on mine.

"Angel, I'm fine, really. I'm used to eating worse than this on a normal day, but you're not. Think of it this way: I'm trying to make things normal for us," he tried, knowing how much I missed not experiencing change within my life.

"Thank you," I murmured, eating my food. He smiled at me before he began eating his own and making small talk.

Once we were finished, Varian decided it was too dark for us to travel further. So we laid down for the night; the only sounds were us breathing.

"Goodnight, Angel," he said quietly.

Several moments later, I responded, "Goodnight, Ducky," before falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I woke up before Varian and quietly grabbed my bag before peeking out of the alley. I went out reluctantly and started searching the path for more things, placing them in my bag.

It wasn't long before I could hear someone screaming my name, scaring me. When I turned, I saw Varian there with our bag, running towards me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped, throwing our bags on the floor before he shook me. My eyes snapped shut, afraid of what was to come next.

"Do you realize what could've happened to you if I didn't find you?" He asked, his hands lightly skimming me. Only later I would realize that he was checking for wounds of any sort.

"I wanted to surprise you," I whispered, not willing to make eye contact with him. He was angry with me and it was likely I would be punished. This just proved my theory that surprises were bad.

I pushed the bag towards him, still not looking at him as I hugged myself. He looked confused and surprised, his anger gone for the moment. I watched as he opened it, his confusion growing.

"Angel, what is all this? Is this just junk from the streets?" he asked, shuffling through all the items I had picked up.

I didn't respond, still too afraid to. He closed the bag and lifted my cheek so that my eyes met his blue ones.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Angel. I promised you I never would and I meant that. I'm not going to break that promise, ever," he said, sincerity running through his voice. I was quiet for a moment more before I finally spoke.

"You did not tell me what they decorated trees with, so I picked up everything in hopes that I would pick it up," I whispered, waiting for the rage to return. But instead, his eyes did the opposite and softened, a strange emotion drifting through them.

"Angel, why didn't you just tell me?" He asked, and I briefly looked away.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," I said, still unsure of whether I was going to be punished or not.

I could see him smile before he unexpectedly pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, Angel. I think this may be the best Christmas present I could ask for," he whispered, his lips grazing against my hair.

I finally relaxed as I realized nothing was going to happen to me and slowly wrapped my arms around him.

Later that day, we found one of the man-made trees and placed the items on it. I still did not see the point and it only looked funny, but Varian smiled the whole time.