Before We Begin: Here's my gratuitious Christmas present for 2014. Merry Christmas to all~!

"Will you be back before the twenty-fifth?"

"I honestly don't know. You know what these things are like."

"I'll save you some food anyway. Your presents are also wrapped and under the tree for when you get back."

"I love you."

"And I love you too. Come home soon."

"I promise."

~~

Eight pm on the twenty-fifth of December, and Tora was feeling full and content...though not of the right things. Sure, she'd gorged on the food that she and her grandmother had cooked the day before, and sure she'd had her fair share of alcohol and other drink, but something was missing. It wasn't the presents she'd accumulated - Chanyeol had instantly become her favourite sibling after appearing with a little black kitten - though having Inky (original name, really) playing with the torn paper on the floor made that part of the day all the more enjoyable. It wasn't the continual strem of carols that wafted through the speakers of her grandmother's stereo system, the music making both ladies ease further into their seats with a sigh of contentment. No, it was something else entirely, and while Tora knew exactly what it was she wasn't going to admit it to herself.

"Where is that boy?" Park Haneul tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, checking her watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, "He should've been back by now!"

"You know what Chanyeol's like, Gran. He probably saw something shiny on the road and decided to chase it." Tora responded lazily, easing herself into a more comfortable upright position. Haneul snorted an affirmative, slowly pushing herself to her feet so she could clear some of the dishes fro the table. There wasn't much the two ladies didn't have - an East-Meets-West banquet that included traditional Korean dishes as well as some Western meals that Tora had made. There was only the two of them at the table, though Chanyeol always seemed to sense when they had finished their fills and snuck around to pick at what was left.

"For his sake, I hope you're right." The elder woman moved herself like a pro, not showing a single sign of fatigue or overencumberment as she bustled plates and cutlery into their correct positions in the dishwasher. Tora watched Haneul move, years of nurse training and working in the emergency ward of the hospital coordinating her movements. It was times like this that Tora thanked her grandmother for being a medically trained person, mostly because it saved on hospital bills should anything of that nature occur.

DING DONG!

Both ladies jumped three feet into the air. "Get that please, Tora." Haneul called from being bent double in the dishwasher.

"Alright, Gran." Tora sighed, easing herself into a standing position and ambling through the house toward the front door. She peered through the peephole, spying Chanyeol and - for a reason she couldn't fathom - Sehun standing on the landing, both of them rubbing their clothed arms to try and stave off the chill.

Eventually she opened the door. "Get in here, you two. And tell the others they can come in as well." She flicked her head towar the house's interior, watching as nine other male shuffled out of the large van parked on the road and into Haneul's house. The elder woman herself was making the rounds of greetings, pausing briefly to pinch Luhan's cheeks ("I'm not cute!" "Keep telling yourself that, sonny.") As Tora closed the front door there was some more knocking, which made her pause.

"Chanyeol, how many people did you bring with you, exactly?" she called over everyone's cajoling and Luhan's shrieks of him being manly.

"Eleven." replied the giant smoothly, making Tora falter a little. Eleven? That could only mean...

The door swung open before she had time to turn around, and a pair of chilled arms grabbed her shoulders. "Merry Christmas." whispered a deep voice in her ear.

"Oh my God..." With English as the only language she knew how to speak, Tora slowly turned around and came face to face with a pair of familiar brown eyes and a crop of golden blonde hair, "Kris..." The tall male answered her gasp with a tight hug, her feet coming off the ground as he did so. Tora returned the hug with as much gusto, swallowing the urge to cry and bring up her dinner at the same time.

"You said you didn't know if you were going to be back." she breathed when he put her down.

"That's right, I didn't know. But what better present to receive than the love of your life?" Kris chuckled, making Tora roll her eyes.

"You're so cheesy." But she let herself be pulled into his embrace once again as Tao and Baekhyun started to argue over some ham they'd found in the fridge.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas to all AFF readers and authors, and may you all have safe, prosperous and amazing New Years!

-GuardianOfTheDawn :3