"𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝-ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝-ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙."

𝒩.

"𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒!"

"Merry Christmas, Klaus," Natalia laughed as she stepped aside for him to come in.

Klaus looked around the room as he entered, and, clearly not seeing what he was looking for, he turned to Natalia and questioned, "Where's Diego?"

"Still sleeping," she answered with a wave of the hand. "He always comes back home super early in the morning, so I let him have his beauty sleep."

Klaus eyed the small Christmas tree that was sitting in the corner of the living room, and he raised his eyebrows. "Really went all out on the decorations, huh?"

"Yeah, there's not enough room in here for a real Christmas tree," she sighed as she returned to the kitchen island, where she had been mixing batter for pancakes. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to wish my best friend and lovely brother a Merry Christmas!" Klaus said, though his tone was a little too cheery to be believable. He came to Natalia's side as she oiled a frypan and grinned. "And . . ."

"I have no money for you," she said sternly as she began to pour the batter into the pan. When Klaus pouted and folded his arms, she added, "But I do have a present."

"A present?" he gasped. "For me?"

"Yes, for you," she laughed.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he pushed, his grin widening as he outstretched an arm. "Give it!"

"After breakfast."

"Fine," he huffed as he sat down at the kitchen island. He began to pluck at the blueberries that she had put in a bowl. "So, any plans for Christmas?"

"Um . . . Not really," Natalia answered as she flipped the pancakes. "I'm wrapping Vanya's present up, I'll call Allison, and Luther's on the Moon, so . . . can't do much for him."

"I wouldn't want to do anything for him, even if he was here," Klaus sniggered, causing her to roll her eyes in amusement.

"He's still your brother." It was worrying the number of times Natalia had to chide someone with this sentence.

"And dear ol' dad is still my father," he pointed out with a wrinkled nose. "Don't care much for him."

Natalia leaned against the counter, crossing her arms as she glanced at the pancakes, which seemed to be nearly finished cooking. "I guess."

Klaus gave a small hum before popping a few more blueberries in his mouth. "Anything else today?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "Maybe watch a couple of movies, make cookies, drink hot chocolate? You know, classic Christmas stuff. Do you have fun plans?"

He shrugged. "Meh."

Natalia chuckled as she grabbed a plate and transferred the three fully-cooked pancakes from the pan to the dish.

While she poured more batter into the pan, she asked, "Would you like to join us for the day, then?"

"Gosh, I thought you'd never ask," he gushed as he clasped his hands together. His face soon became grim, and he released a rather dramatic sigh. "Unfortunately for you, I'll have to decline."

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned to him, a small scoff escaping her. "I thought you said you weren't busy?"

"I didn't say that, you just asked if I have fun plans," he quickly corrected with a raised finger. "I have a date tonight. He's kinda meh, though, so . . ."

"A date?" Natalia repeated with interest as she began to flip the pancakes. "With who?"

"Guy named Gavin," he answered. "Kinda cute I guess, but a little too tall for me. Not a fan of the name either. Gavin. Yuck."

"Must be special enough for a date on Christmas, though," she pointed out, resting the spatula on the counter as she waited for the pancakes to cook. "This isn't your first date with him, is it?"

"We've gone out a few times before." Klaus shrugged. "Not the best guy, but, hey, place to sleep, right?"

"Klaus." She sighed. "You know you're more than welcome to sleep here."

"Thanks for the offer, Nutella, but I'd rather not hear you and Diego every night," Klaus said with a wrinkled nose, prompting Natalia to roll her eyes in amusement and focus her attention back on the pancakes, which were now cooked.

She grabbed the spatula and dug them off the pan, and then added them to the dish of ready pancakes.

As she poured three more circles of pancake batter into the pan—the last of the batter—she heard the bedroom door open.

"Hey, Na—Klaus? What are you doing here?"

"Spending a very merry Christmas with my favourite people in the world," Klaus answered.

"Stop tryin' to butter us up," Diego grumbled as he walked towards them. "We're not giving you money."

"Don't worry," Natalia chuckled as she placed the empty bowl into the sink, "I've already established that."

That didn't stop Diego's grumbling, though it was under his breath so Natalia couldn't make out a single word.

As she waited for the bubbles to pop up in the pancakes, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and a chin rested on her shoulder.

Diego placed a kiss on her neck, causing her to giggle and for Klaus to make a very loud retching noise. "Smells good."

"Yeah, well, you better hope Klaus doesn't eat them all," Natalia murmured, glancing back at Klaus, who was now absentmindedly popping blueberries into his mouth.

Diego let out a small scoff. "I wouldn't worry too much."

Noticing that the batter had begun to bubble, Natalia moved quickly and flipped them all to a fresh side.

"Oh," Diego murmured suddenly, placing a kiss on her lower neck, "forgot to say: Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas to you, too, handsome," she chuckled.

"Ugh, you guys are so annoying," complained Klaus. "Do pancake recipes call for love and affection now?"

"Just 'cause you're incapable of keeping someone for more than two weeks doesn't mean you can ruin our fun," called Diego with a roll of the eyes.

"Diego," Natalia chided, "that's not nice."

"No, no, he's right, he's right." Klaus sighed, waving a hand. "I just wish . . . my dear brother would understand me more. But it's all right."

Diego threw a glare at Klaus, and his brother only grinned in return.

"Done," Natalia announced as she put the last of the cooked pancakes onto the plate. "Diego, darling, can you grab some plates and forks and—"

Diego kissed her cheek. "Got it."

As Natalia turned off the stove and grabbed a jug of maple syrup, Diego handed out plates and cutlery, though Klaus didn't bother using a fork as he grabbed a pancake and began to tear it apart.

Diego took a seat next to Natalia and leaned toward her. He kept his voice low as he questioned, "He ain't spendin' the whole day here, is he?"

"No," she murmured back as she poured some maple syrup onto the pancake on her plate. "He's staying for breakfast, getting his present, and then leaving."

"Thank God," Diego muttered, though he gave her an unconvincing smile when she playfully glared at him.

Once their plates were empty and their stomachs content, Natalia quickly stacked the dishes and placed them into the sink. She had no time to begin washing, however, as Klaus pestered for his present.

She told him to wait on the couch with an amused smile and quickly headed into the bedroom. She grabbed the present that had been hidden in the corner of the closet and brought it out to him.

Klaus's eyes narrowed as he examined the large gift bag and the red ribbon that tied the handles together. "What's inside?"

"You know," she giggled as she sat down next to him, "I have this crazy feeling that you'll find out when you open it."

Klaus grinned before pulling one strand of the ribbon, undoing the entire thing in result. He placed the silver bag on the ground and tossed out the green tissue paper before gasping.

He pulled out the fur-lined coat that Natalia had picked out and held it against his chest. He rubbed it against his cheek, and Natalia was happy to see that his grin couldn't be wider.

"Nutella!" he cried out as he flung towards her to embrace her. "It's perfect!"

"I thought of you as soon as I saw it displayed in the shop window," she chuckled, hugging him tightly and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Try it on."

Klaus had no trouble heeding as he got to his feet and slipped his arms through. He gave them a good look as he modelled it. The fur was a simple black, but the rest of the coat were patches of different shades of brown and black. It fit him perfectly; the sleeves went a little past his wrists, and the bottom ended just after his hips.

"It's beautiful," Klaus sighed happily as he collapsed back onto the couch. He stroked the fur around the collar. "I'm in love. I'll never take it off."

"I'm happy you like it." Natalia smiled.

"Diego?" Klaus looked towards Diego, who was leaning against the opposite wall with folded arms. "What do you think?"

Natalia was surprised to hear that Diego didn't answer snarkily. "Looks good."

"Why, thank you," Klaus gushed, getting up and planting a slobbery kiss on Diego's cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't get either of you anything."

"Oh, your presence is a present enough," Natalia reassured him, giggling while Diego wiped his cheek with a look of disgust.

𝒩.

Natalia peered out of the glass door to her balcony to see that the Sun was setting, a low pink ringing around the earth. She looked further towards the park that was across the street, and her eyes lit up; right about now would be a nice time for a walk.

"Honey?" she called.

Diego, who was occupying himself with one of his knives at the kitchen island, looked toward her. "Yeah?"

"Let's go for a walk in the park," she suggested as she walked over to him. "It should be dark enough for the lights to look nice."

"Won't it be too busy?" he pointed out. "It is Christmas."

"That's fine," she reassured him with a small wave of the hand. "Let's go!"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Diego got up and joined her in putting on winter apparel.

"All right," she sighed as she adjusted her grey touque and opened the door. "Ready?"

When Diego nodded, she left the apartment, locking the door just after he had stepped out.

There was a park just across the street from the apartment building, and though it was dark outside, it was easy to spot through the light snowfall.

Christmas lights of white, red, and green stood out against the deep blue of the night. Some were shaped in deers or bulbs while the rest were just wrapped around the tall trees. The different colours shone onto the white snow, lighting pathways.

The snowy park, as Diego had previously assumed, was quite busy with families, and distinct laughs of children rang out into the nippy air. She narrowed her eyes to see the faint outlines of snowmen that the children were building.

Scrunching her nose as a snowflake hit it, Natalia looped her arm around Diego's, and they made their short journey across the street, their boots crunching against the thick snower that was slowly increasing.

"Isn't it so nice?" she asked as they began to wander around, her eyes squinting from the brightness around them.

Diego gave a small shrug, though he still had a little smile on his face as he gazed at her. "They're just lights."

"Christmas lights."

"Lights that are coloured."

"They're still special." Natalia leaned her head onto his shoulder, using the exterior of his coat to warm the side of her face that was beginning to numb. "Why didn't we ever celebrate Christmas when we were younger?"

Diego raised his eyebrows. "Because of my shit father and his shit rules?"

She gave a curt nod as she conceded, "You make a good point."

"So," he began after a few minutes worth of walking, "who were you on the phone with before?"

"Alli," she answered. "Not a very happy Christmas for her."

"Yeah? Why?" Natalia could tell he didn't care in the least, but, judging by the tone of his voice, he was divided between humouring her and trying to care.

She glanced at him before saying, "Since Patrick got custody of Claire, and he's being a bitch about it, he didn't let her see Claire. She was really upset about it."

"I mean . . ." Diego shrugged. "She did rumour her. Multiple times. She kinda deserves it."

"Deserves to not see her kid? On Christmas?" she scoffed. "She deserves at least that. She's still her mother."

"Whatever, I don't care." He sighed. "Anything else?"

Natalia pursed her lips for a moment as the phone conversation ran through her mind. "Not really."

He shrugged before pulling his arm out of hers and instead wrapping it around her waist. She leaned closer to him, closing her eyes for a moment as she breathed in the fresh air.

"You aren't going out tonight, are you?" she asked. "I mean, I guess Christmas night might be prime time for crime, but—"

"I'm not," he answered, causing her to sigh in relief. "I'm spendin' time with my gorgeous girlfriend tonight."

"I'd hope so," she giggled while he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Her eyes roamed over to lights shaped like Santa, and smiled before asking, "Have any plans for tonight, then?"

A smirk came upon his face. "Oh, don't worry, baby, I have a couple in mind."

She smacked his arm as she chided, "Not what I meant."