POV — Tiffany

"What are you going to bake, Ms. Kim?" I asked as I followed the woman into the kitchen. 

"A chocolate cake for tonight's supper," she nodded, opening a cabinet. "I know we're still in the middle of the afternoon, but I have to cook so many things until then that I think it's better to provide the dessert already and let it cool. Do you like it?"

"I do. But it's funny... I've never had chocolate cake on Christmas."

Ms. Kim chuckled. "Is it even a traditional Christmas dish? I only make it because the girls love it, it's become a tradition in our family. Even Taeyeon's father likes it, although he doesn't usually like sweets." She made a small pause. "Can you cook, Tippany?"

"No..." I let out a slightly embarrassed giggle as I sat down, after noticing Ms. Kim beckoning me to do so. "No, I can't. I tried to make scrambled eggs in front of Taeyeon once, but I failed miserably and she had to help me out. I'm a terrible cook."

"You are indeed," I heard Taeyeon's voice coming from behind me. I turned around and saw her entering the kitchen, smiling teasingly as she looked at me. 

"Who invited you?" I taunted her. 

"My, my. So rude, Hwang," she croaked. "This is my parents' house and I bought it for them, so it is partially mine. I don't need to be invited to anything. Besides, I heard someone say chocolate cake," she looked over to her mother and grinned mischievously. Soon after, I felt her hands rest on my shoulders, giving them a light and affectionate squeeze. "I'm here for the frosting's leftovers."

"Kim Taengoo, I haven't even started making the batter yet!" Ms. Kim sighed and shook her head, flailing her hand in a way of telling Taeyeon to leave the kitchen. "You know these things take time. Go do something else, will you? I'll call you when it's done. Just don't pester me, you know I need to be entirely focused when I cook."

I looked up and eyed Taeyeon looking at Ms. Kim with a displeased frown on her face. "Why can't I stay here so that we can have a talk or something? Since I woke up this morning all you've been doing is pick on me as if I were a foolish child."

"That's what mothers do. They pick on their children," the woman eyed Taeyeon before she started to gather different utensils around the kitchen. "It's fun because they can't retort. You should see your face or your sister's when I pick on you. It's priceless," she laughed.

I smiled at Ms. Kim playfulness, but my smile instantly started to fade away when my brain threatened to start to mull over her words.

"Don't grumble, Taeyeon," I crooned and smiled again, forcefully and rather weakly this time. "If she weren't here with you, you would wish she were to pick on you."

Taeyeon looked down at me for a few seconds before she opened to speak and shook her head rapidly in denial. "Fany... I'm sorry, I really, really didn't want you to--"

"No," I interrupted her before slightly biting my lower lip in an attempt to calm my raging hurtful feelings down, "it's okay. You didn't do nothing wrong. I'm, uh... I'm going to see Hayeon. I want to play with Ginger, I miss my pet already and maybe Ginger can make up for Prince's absence," I said as I got up, looking over to Taeyeon's mother, who was listening to us attentively. "May we finish our conversation later, Ms. Kim?" 

The woman simply nodded at me and showed me what I judged to be an understanding smile before I left the kitchen.

POV — Taeyeon

I couldn't help feeling guilty as I watched Tiffany making her way out of the kitchen, leaving me and my mother alone. I looked at the latter and sighed. 

"She's right. I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to be rude or ungrateful."

"You weren't, dear. I'm just confused, what happened? Why did Tippany say that and then looked so sad?"

"Tiffany's mother is no longer with her. She passed away when Fany was only seven. I think... What I said made her think about how does it feel to grow up without a mother. Ugh, I didn't want to see her upset, I know how much that pains her," I inhaled sharply and then hissed against the palm of my hands, that were now covering my buried face, "I feel like trash now."

My mom looked at me for a few seconds as if she were digesting what I had just said. She sighed and smiled apologetically. "Go after her. Comfort her. And I don't think she's mad at you, Taengoo, but do apologize. Maybe it will make her feel better."

I looked up, uncertain. "Should I? What if I made her cry? She wouldn't like to have me see her crying, she doesn't like to cry in front of anyone. She's such a strong woman, mom. She keeps it all to herself, you know? Her burdens, her worries, her sadness... Everything. She's not like me, she doesn't simply explode when she feels overloaded. She... I don't know how she does that. But her mothers death... I think she can never hide how much broaching that subject hurts her. And this is the first time I see her upset because of this since the day she told me about it, I'm so unsure about how to soothe her, what if I mess up and make everything worse?"

My mother shook her head in disagreement. "You won't. You said this is the first time this happens, didn't you? Right, so it's time for you to start learning how to deal with it. You seem to truly like Tippany, Taengoo... So if you do, you must always be by her side, even when she feels sad or when you two have a misunderstanding. Not only as her... Girlfriend, but most importantly as her friend."

I heeded my mother's words as if she were telling me a magical spell and nodded my head when she finished talking. "You're right." I smiled gratefully.

I found Tiffany sitting on one of the stair's first steps. Her face was slightly tilted down as her head rested on the handrail and her fingers fidgeted. 

"Hey," I purred as I approached her, self-consciously. Though I was expecting her to ignore me, she simply straightened her position and beamed me a faint smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything to upset you." I sat down next to her and let my hand hold her own, intertwining our fingers togethr.

"I know. I mean, it's okay, it definitely wasn't your fault. My mind is the one to blame." She sighed and then muttered, "I'm just... Overly sensitive over any thing that regards mothers, I guess."

As she finished speaking, I gently let go of her hand and softly threw my arm around her shoulders, slowly pulling her to myself in a delicate embrace. She placed her head on my shoulder and leisurely snuggled closer, making herself comfortable by my side. "There's nothing wrong with that," I whispered against her cheek before placing a chaste kiss on it. "I'll be more careful, I promise."

"You don't need to. I'll learn how to retain my feelings when it comes to this."

"But you already retain your feelings way too much." I held her chin up so that her eyes would meet mine. "You think I don't know it, mm?" I cooed. "But I do. I can see that there are a lot of things that go through that stubborn mind of yours that I don't get to know about and I know you also usually hide your feelings. And not only from me. But do you remember that day we took a drive, ate junk food in the middle of nowhere and literally talked for hours?"

Another faint smile and a quick nod. "Of course."

"That night I told you I was sure I would never stop getting to know you, but that I really wanted to. And I meant it, I want to know all about you, and that includes your feelings and your thoughts. You're not a robot and you don't need to prove yourself strong in front of me. I want to know what you feel and what you think, I want to see all the sides of you. And I want you to know me like that too, you know? Not only because we're a couple, but because we've always had this amazing friendship and complicity since day one that I intend to keep and strengthen. Don't you?" I murmured, cupping her face with my free hand.

"Of course I do," she said, and I felt her hand rest on my wrist before I noticed a playful little grin on her lips, "but how am I going to entirely unfold Ms. Mysterious?"

I giggled and wrapped my arms around her waist, carefully so that my move wouldn't make her now serene face leave my shoulder, before I tightened the embrace. "I'm not mysterious. I might be quiet and shy at first or around people I don't know... But, see, as you spend more and more days tolerating my boring self, you'll notice I'm very forthright, explosive and short-tempered. I often need to let things out."

The rust-haired beauty in front of me finally broke into a genuine smile, making me feel triumphant. An eyebrow was raised. "Quite tetchy, are we?"

I smiled back at her and nodded. "A bit. Nobody's perfect."

"What else do I need to know about you?"

I pondered for a moment. "I really like to talk about things I'm passionate about. See? It's easy to get to know me. I'm used to letting it out whenever it befits me and I bore the heck out of people by babbling about things I love. There's no mystery," I finished, sniggering.

Tiffany smiled at me once again and leaned in, closing the gap between us, pressing our lips together a few times in delicious, yet chaste kisses. 

"Tae," she breathed out, pulling away a tad and eyeing me again, "do you know any nearby florist shop?"

I looked at her, puzzled. "Perhaps. But it's easier to ask that to Hayeon. Why?"

She smirked. "Why, I don't know. If I need a florist shop, it's probably because I want to buy uh, let's see, undergarments?"

I squinted and tried to suppress a smile. "Now are you sassing me, missy?"

Tiffany laughed. "Alright. I want to buy some flowers for your parents. I know you're going to say I don't need to worry about that, but they welcomed me so well and I didn't have the time to buy anything for them. I arrived here empty-handed and I didn't mention, but I felt very uncomfortable because of that. Now I can't not to give them a present on Christmas eve."

"Oh... Okay, then. I'll ask Hayeon and I can take you there," I said as I slowly let go of Tiffany and started to get up. Before I could walk away from her, I felt her hand hold my wrist in a tender, yet firm way.

"Wait. I need something else," she said.

"That would be?"

Tiffany smirked, blatantly holding in her her laugh. She gracefully got up and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer and then painfully slowly moving her face towards mine as if she were expecting me to take a step further and initiate the kiss.

Well, so I did. 

POV — Tiffany

"I don't understand why you insist on staying here when now we can freely sleep together in the same room. And mine is bigger, you wouldn't have any problem staying there," I heard Taeyeon say as she made her way into the room. I had just finished fixing my hair and my clothes after a warm bath. I changed my outfit to light black tights with a long-sleeve, pencil dark grey dress, and black ankle boots. Some may say that dark colors aren't appropriate for Christmas Eve as it is supposed to be a joyful and bright night, but except for my pastel pink clothes and a few summer dresses, all my clothes were dark in color. I didn't have many options. Either way, I didn't believe the Kims would mind it.

"Everything I have is already well accommodated around here. Even in the bathroom," I said as I adjusted the dress on my body. "Bringing it all upstairs would give me much work and the cold weather kind of drains my strength. Also, I'm the guest, I should stay where it suits me," I finished, smirking and slightly eyeing Taeyeon, who was now sitting on the bed, through the mirror.

"You should stay where it suits you? Man, are we spoiling you. I'll have to have a talk with my mother and tell her to stop pampering you."

I giggled and walked over to the bed, placing myself beside Taeyeon and cupping her cheek with one of my hands, making her look at me. "I like being pampered. And I like your mother. She's doing a great job."

It was Taeyeon's turn to chuckle. She held my hand and intertwined our fingers together, placing it on her lap. "I'm serious, Fany. Why don't you want to sleep with me in my room? We've shared a room and a bed so many times."

"Taeyeon... We're going to spend a lot of days here. If I sleep with you every night, we're going to get used to it. You know, we're going to get used to having each other's company every night. How would that turn out when we go back to Los Angeles? It might sound nonsense, but people do deeply feel the absence of someone when they get used to sleeping with them."

Taeyeon opened to speak and was about to utter a response when we heard a knock on the door that made our faces instinctively turn to it.

"Tippany?" I heard Taeyeon's mother say from the outside.

I gazed at Taeyeon before turning my attention back to the still closed door. "Yes, Ms. Kim?" 

"Just wanted to let you know dinner is ready, dear. Oh, and please call Taengoo, I haven't seen her around the house for a while. We'll be waiting for the both of you," she finished, and soon after I heard faint footsteps walking away.

"Okay," I said as I was sure Ms. Kim was gone. I turned my back to Taeyeon and looked at her over my shoulder, holding my hair up. "Zip it up, please."

Taeyeon took a few seconds staring at me and then eyeing my back before she did as I asked. I smiled thankfully and kissed her cheek, getting up from the bed right after and holding one of her hands. "Thank you. Let's go, I don't want to leave your parents waiting."

"We didn't finish our conversation," Taeyeon protested. 

"But we shall. Later. Preferably when your stomach," I said as I pointed to her tummy and kissed her lips, giggling against them, "isn't audibly growling of hunger."

I was back in my room, and had just finished changing into my long, satin black pajamas. 

Overwhelmed with the best feelings I had felt in months, or maybe even in years, I sat down on the bed, trying to organize my thoughts and calm down my mind. The night couldn't had been any better. 

At that stage of the game, I already knew the great people the Kims were. Even if they hadn't accepted me, even if they had treated me awkwardly, I would still think they had ought to be the best people I would ever know in my life. They were everything a family was supposed to be: caring, united, loving and understanding. 

And I hadn't seen such thing in years. I almost thought I didn't even know Christmas anymore, or its premise. For almost a decade, I had seen everyone spend their Christmas Eve with their families, yet I didn't have who to spend it with because my family was, well... Nothing I could really call a real family. Christmas had become a lonely holiday for me, but after years passed, I learned how to deal with it. I had gone through dark times once, when I was younger and unruly and not mature enough to keep my head held high and tell myself as I do now, "You don't need them." Many were the times I had gone to the nearest bar and gotten wasted. 

Yet, there was I, in a lovely house, with a person who clearly cherished me like crazy and among these incredible people who willingly welcomed me into their family and treated me with the same care and gentleness they would treat their own children. You would expect your lover's family to be uneasy around you and judge you harshly before they got to know you, but no. It wasn't like that for me. I had hit the jackpot. 

Flashback

I was happily petting a hyperactively squirming Ginger when I felt eyes on me and tilted my face to take a look at the person that was now discreetly sitting by my side.

"Yes, Hayeon?" I smiled. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes! Um, I mean... Yes. It's just that... I... Don't exactly know how to call you," the girl said, shyly looking down.

"What do you mean? You've been calling me by my name all along."

"I know, but... It's a bit weird. I'm not used to calling people by their names only because we don't do that here in Korea unless we're the same age as the person we're referring to. I feel like I'm disrespecting you when I call you 'Tiffany.' Now that you are family, would you mind if I called you Tiffany unnie? Or Fany unnie?"

'Now that you are family,' it echoed in my mind.

I smiled widely and placed my hand on top of Hayeon's, nodding gently while looking at her.

"As you wish."

End Of Flashback

A few tears of joy mixed with some slightly gloomy emotion streamed down my cheeks as I recalled the recent memory, but were rapidly wiped away when I heard knocking on the door and saw it open slowly. 

"Ms. Kim," I cooed and smiled faintly as I watched the woman enter the room. "I thought you were already in bed, it's late."

Taeyeon's mother squinted at me before closing the door behind her, nodding. "I was just finishing putting away some things and decided to come check on you. It seems like I came in good time," she said, gently approaching me before sitting down by my side and placing one of her hands on my shoulder. "Why were you crying, child?"

I beamed her a polite smile, followed by a discreet sniff. "It's nothing, Ms. Kim. Don't worry, I'm okay."

"Oh, no," she shook her head, softly wiping away the remaining liquid on my cheeks, "people don't cry because they're okay, unless it's tears of happiness. But tears of happiness don't usually get hidden away."

"I'm happy. I swear I am. That's... That 's why I was crying. It's just that," I bit my lip and continued, almost as a whisper, "tonight was such a good night for me. Actually, a night that I thought I could never have... Again. I'm just too grateful."

"For what, my dear?"

"For being welcomed into your family," I looked up at her. "For being treated and cared for as if I were one of yours, even though you basically just met me. For that and for many other things I cannot seem to fathom into words right now. And..." my voice trailed off and I felt tears b in my eyes again, "I just never thought I could ever have the opportunity of feeling the presence of a motherly figure again." I let my tears fall down. "It's childish, I know, after so long... But this is the kind of pain that never goes away."

"Hush, child," the woman whispered as she took me in a embrace, which just made me cry more. "It's not childish." She hesitated a little. "Taengoo told me. Don't be mad at her."

I just shook my head in response. Of course I wouldn't be mad at Taeyeon because of that.

"It's just-- All of you have been doing so much for me. I've never been treated this nicely, not even by my own family since my mother was gone, Ms. Kim. We haven't been in good terms since then. I'm not used to this, I feel like I don't deserve it. I almost feel like I'm an intruder, and--"

"Hey," she called me, taking my most certainly red-nosed face in her hands and smiling tenderly. "Tippany, dear, let me explain you something, something you will only understand when you have a kid, if you have one. When you're a mother, your child's happiness becomes your happiness. If they find something that makes them happy and they are willing to share that with you, you embrace it, and you turn out to appreciate it as much as they do. There's nothing more important than my girls' happiness for me. And Taengoo... She lives so far away from her family and is always so busy. I can cater for Hayeon, I can keep an eye on her and guarantee everything's alright, because she is still mine, she's still here with me. But I can't cater for Taeyeon anymore. Yet, my heart feels lighter at the thought that she has you now. I know that she'll be happy and safe as long as she's with you."

I sniffed and broke into a trembling smile. "You think I make Taeyeon happy?"

"I know you do," she nodded. "I see it in her eyes. That's another thing you're bound to learn if you're a mother, Tippany. You can read your kid," she said, chuckling slightly. "And I can feel and see that that kid is the happiest when she is with you. By the way, I think you should go see her. If I know my daughter well, and I know I do, she's probably cursing at your stubborn decision to stay in this room when you could freely be with her."

I chuckled and sniffed once again before wiping again the tears that were still insisting on falling. "Quite rebellious, isn't she?" I murmured, looking down at my legs. I remained like that for a few seconds before I eyed the older woman in front of me again and whispered as I held her hand, "Thank you. Really."

"You don't need to thank me," she said as she got up and held both of my hands, slowly pulling me up with her. "But don't forget what I told you. We already like you dearly, all of us do, even Ginger does, and this good feeling just tends to grow, Tippany. I know I will never replace your mother... But do keep in mind that my heart is taking you for a daughter of my own, a new daughter. Just like I know that, after this night, you've started to grow as a daughter in Taengoo's father's heart too, and as a sister in Hayeon's. Just come to us. We're family now. A family you are supposed to claim as yours, too."

I pursed my lips before smiling containedly as I digested Ms. Kim's words. I thought about thanking her again, but no matter how many 'thank you's' I repeated, it would never cover my gratitude. So I just remained silent and hugged her tightly.

"Now, go," she said, fully smiling at me. "Go see Taengoo. Talk to her for a while, let her keep you company. You'll feel better."

A/N: So....... Hi. ^^ Will you please read this? This chapter was supposed to be longer. However, I couldn't continue it to the extent I wanted to, because it would be too long and it would take much more time to write. I haven't updated in almost a month (I think), so I just couldn't delay this chapter any longer. The next chapter will be the final part of "Family Is The Greatest Gift," that is, in fact, nothing but one huge chapter I unwillingly had to break in parts. I hope you are liking this "huge chapter," though; I know it tends to focus more on family issues (and Taeyeon's family) than on TaeNy, but that's the point. Through these chapters, I'm trying to unveil parts of Tiffany that have been kept hidden until now. So I hope you are enjoying getting to know more about her, about her feelings and about her thoughts. There are a lot more things to happen in this fic (believe me!), so please stay with me, be patient and please don't forget to comment! Comments encourage me and stimulate me to write better&faster. I hope you have enjoyed this~ :) Do antecipate the next chapter.