Snow fell slowly to the ground as the cold nipped at your exposed face. You shivered as you walked with Natsuki on the street. You volunteered to help her gather supplies for baking cookies for the Christmas party that your literature club will have.

Rather than stop at one shop and pick up everything, you were walking all over town, picking up eggs from one shop, flour from another, icing from another… It was hectic to say the least. But there was method to the madness. Natsuki insisted on the different shops since all of them have different prices. Soon, you noticed that five dollar eggs here, two dollars icing there, and one dollar per fifty kilograms of flour at the bulk shop were doing wonders on the budget.

Though… You still had to wonder why you’re still doing the long treks long after you got the last item on the list. Your feet were beginning to hurt, and your face began to feel numb. You stopped outside of a toy store where Natsuki stood, looking at the window. She frowned as you noticed a large cat plushie.

“Would you want that for Christmas?” You asked her. She instantly blushed and turned her head away.

“N-no! At least not from you, dummy!” She closed her eyes as she blushed. Seeing the cute reaction from the tiny girl was more than worth the price of having to carry around the heavy bag in the freezing weather.

“Well… What do you want for Christmas?” You asked her. She paused for a bit before speaking up.

“… Why do you care so much?” She asked.

“Hmm?” You asked back.

“Why do you care so much about what to get me for Christmas?” She looked at you.

“Because…” It was hard to say it. You had a crush on Natsuki ever since you met her. She was petit, cute, and even shared in interest in manga. What made you realize you liked her was when she ended up having an emotional breakdown one day. After you went home, you thought about the way she got so stressed that she broke into tears and began to softly weep for her.

Of course, you can’t just say it to her. Natsuki was the kind to get easily flustered, kind of like Yuri. However, unlike Yuri, she responds in a rather rude way, giving you snippy remarks and berating you. It was almost like walking on egg shells. But… the way she reacts, it’s just so adorable. You sometimes just make her flustered on purpose, just so that she may yell at you while her face was redder than a beet.

Just looking at her face now just put you in a nice mood, warming that cold face of yours.

“You gonna answer me?” She looked at you, hand held out. You knew exactly what to say to her.

“Because you’re just so cute!” You then held her tiny hand, whose warmth seeped through your wool gloves. She just blushed and screeched.

“I’m not cute!” This made you giggle.

“Alright, alright…” You chuckled. As you were about to let go of her hand, she tightened her grip.

“Though… Can we just walk a little bit more? Please?” Her nervous face soon shifted to a frowning one. You just nodded and tightened your grip as well.

You continued walking with her through the street, you noticed the skies have grown a lot darker and the snow picked up much harder.

“Natsuki… Maybe we should go home…” You looked at the time. Nine o’clock PM. You went out with her around noon.

“N-no…” Natsuki’s voice was stifled. “J-just o-o-o-o-one more walk, o-o-o-okay?” You could see the poor girl shiver. You then began to realize something.

The wild goose chase for the cheapest items on the list? The walks across the street? Even stopping by every shop to look at the window even though they were long closed? She was delaying having to go home.

And you knew why.

“My dad would beat the shit out of me if he found this.”

It was no secret that Natsuki had a troubled life at home. Everyone at the club clued in on that. Hell, even Sayori’s depression or Yuri’s love for knives were more well-kept secrets than Natsuki’s abusive father.

It became noticeable when Natsuki refused to leave the club hours after the meeting had been adjourned and obvious when she accepted Sayori’s invitation for a sleepover in a heartbeat. Monika, the smart and wise leader that she was, figured it out the day after the sleepover, though you knew because she had personally told you one time when you were reading manga with her.

Confronting her on the issue would only make her want to stay out longer. You looked at her skin. It was completely pale. Had it not been for her constant shivering, you’d mistake her for a corpse at best and a White Walker at worst.

“… Okay.” You hesitated to answer. You’ve been out in the cold so long that you no longer knew what the feeling of warmth was like. Even holding Natsuki’s hand doesn’t emit that same feeling, as her hand was just as frozen as your face. You knew you had to get to warmth. Your home was just a few blocks away.

But what would Natsuki think? She’d definitely balk at the idea of sleeping over at your place. Maybe you could call up Sayori and ask her to have Natsuki over her place?

No. You’d probably trouble her, even if she wouldn’t mind having Natsuki over. That said, she was right next door so if there were any complications…

That’s when you noticed Natsuki slumped over, falling right into your arms like a ragdoll.

“Natsuki!?” You asked her, but she was unresponsive, just droning…

Shit.

This isn’t good.

You lifted her small body over your shoulder and ran as hard as you can.

Your boots crashed through the five centimeters of snow that had yet to be shoveled on the sidewalk. Each step became more akin to an expedition than a stroll. You soon found yourself gasping for air, only to have your throat stabbed by icy daggers. You coughed. You never thought that you’d suffocate from cold air.

Your breath became short, your strides became slower, and eventually, you ran out of energy.

You collapsed, dropping Natsuki into a pile of snow. Her body smashed through, dispersing the snow and causing them to fall around her. You couldn’t move anything but your hand. You tried to touch Natsuki’s face, but your hand began to fall limp. Everything about her began to blur into a bright white light.

No…

No, this can’t be it!

You just can’t let Natsuki die!

You just need one more push…

One more…

You prayed for a miracle.

You begged for mercy.

You offered your suffering for her happiness.

You pleaded to not have Natsuki die and if need be, you’d die in her place.

You thought of whatever needed to be said to whoever was listening to save Natsuki.

Save Natsuki.

Save Natsuki…

Save… Natsu…ki…

Cut to black.

The first thing you’ve noticed was warmth. You were no longer in the cold. You wiggled your body, only to feel it be restrained. You noticed at least three layers of warm blankets wrapped over you. The only free wiggle room you had is to your right, but it is mostly blocked by a source of warmth…

A body.

You turned your head to see Natsuki. She’s breathing heavily, though her eyes were shut tight.

“N-no… Dad… P-please…” You could hear her murmur. On one hand, you were more than relieved that Natsuki was alive, but on the other hand, she nearly died tonight. If she did this stunt again,…

This had to stop.

Your hand wiggled around until you found her hand. You squeezed tightly. The breathing slowed and her eyes opened up. She looked to you, then blinked and blushed heavily.

“W-what the hell? What are you doing in my bed?” She asked.

“Y-your bed? I thought it was mine!” You fired back.

“No… It’s mine.” You turned your head to see Sayori holding a tray. The tray had two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a plateful of cookies.

“Sayori…” You muttered.

“I found you two outside my house and I had to take you in. You guys were freezing…” You could see tears in Sayori’s eyes despite doing her best to keep it together. She set the tray aside and went to the foot of the bed. “Please, stay a bit… Warm up.” Her voice was on the verge of cracking. Natsuki just looked away for a bit and frowned.

“T-thanks…” Her voice was slightly muted.

You couldn’t take it anymore.

You turned over and held Natsuki.

“W-what the!?” Natsuki’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped.

“Natsuki! I… I don’t want you to suffer anymore! You’re too cute to be throwing yourself into the cold like that!” You began to cry thinking about how you almost lost her.

“What are you trying to say?” Natsuki just raised an eyebrow.

“You nearly died tonight! I don’t want that to happen!” Your body trembled as you cried into her chest. Surprisingly, she wasn’t trying to force you off her.

“[y/n]… Do you…” Instead, she just blushed.

“I love you! I love you too much to see you throw your life away!” You bawled. You could hear Sayori utter out a small ‘oh’. As you trembled, Natsuki turned over and wrapped her arms around you.

“… I was wondering when you’d say that, dummy.” With that, she pecked you on the cheek. Her lips were still cold and you jolted up in surprise. “H-hey! Easy!” She giggled.

“Natsuki… If living with your dad is gonna result in more reckless stunts like this… Then I’d rather have you live at my house.” You said. She was silent for a bit, but you knew the question she’ll ask.

“What about my dad?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I’ll let Monika and Yuri know as well. I live mostly on my own, so you may have a lot of space.” You said.

“… Why do you care so much?” She asked.

“Because you’re my friend, Natsuki. And… I can think of no better Christmas present than a future.” With that said, Natsuki’s eyes widened as tears began to form up.

“[y/n]… T-t-t-t-thank you!” She then bawled and cried into your arms. You merely petted her head. That night, you and Natsuki had received the best Christmas present of all:

Each other.