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"Would you ever?"

"I would never."

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They never had time for you. You were always a "second choice" in their eyes. But it wasn't really a choice for them, it was easy. They always chose the first choice, the easier one. 

"We'll spend Christmas with you next year. It's not like Christmas will be gone forever."

They were wrong. For almost every year of your life, you had never spent a proper Christmas with your family. It was always because of their first choice. "I'm sorry honey I have work." 

"It's fine."  you'd reply. 

No, it wasn't.

For you, Christmas was gone forever. Maybe not in time, but in your heart. The abandonment of your family left you alone for most of your life. It wasn't just Christmas, it was all year round. They never had time. They never had time for you. 

It wasn't until you were accepted into Hope's Peak Academy that you changed. 

No, it wasn't the school, it was someone. 

"Hi, my name's Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. You are...?"

It was her. 

The Ultimate Pianist; Kaede Akamatsu, was the one that made you feel warm whenever it was cold. She was the one who made you smile. She was the one who made you laugh. She was the one who made you fall hard. 

And you definitely fell hard. 

It wasn't until Kaede planned a Christmas party that you realized...

Christmas isn't so bad...

So now here you were. At a Christmas party with the rest of your classmates, waiting for Kaede to finish hanging the last decoration. 

It was a mistletoe.   

"Nishishi~ Shumai let's go!" Kokichi exclaimed, grabbing Shuichi's hand and hurrying towards the leafy Christmas decoration. A blushing hat wearing detective stammered a weak excuse as he was being dragged off to his doom.  Everyone else chuckled at their antics, whispering things in each other's ears. 

"H-Himiko-Chan, c-can we...?" Tenko nervously stammered, fiddling with the end of her hair. Himiko yawned and nodded tiredly, a light blush on her face. "S-Sure..." Tenko's face brightened as she grabbed Himiko's hand and dragged her off. "Move over degenerate!"

You simply watched with a small smile, chuckling lightly at the couples wanting to have their turns. Your smile faltered however, as you glanced at the time on your phone. You were waiting for your parents' call for picking you up. Even if they never really did have a proper Christmas with you, you would always wait and see, a small glimmer of hope for when they actually would call. 

Sometimes your hopes would go too high though, and when you fell, it hurt. 

Nervously playing with the ends of your skirt, you watched the window outside. It's getting awfully snowy, and I bet traffic is bad. Will they be okay? Thoughts flurried in your mind, clouding your head with worries and anxieties. They'll be okay, I'm sure of it. 

Buried deep in your thoughts, you didn't notice a certain pianist sitting next to you. 

"Enjoying the party S/O?"

Your eyes widened as you snapped out of your thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah. This party was an amazing idea Kaede-San!" you exclaimed, smiling as you sipped your hot cocoa. 

Kaede grinned, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, a very light blush on her cheeks. "Ah, I'm glad you like it S/O. By any chance, are you spending the holidays with anyone? Friends, family, maybe even a secret lover...?" Kaede leaned in, teasing you as she got close to your face. Your face flushed as you awkwardly laughed. 

"Erm, hopefully my family. Besides, I want my lover to be you..." you muttered the last part quietly, glancing away to try and hide your red face. 

Kaede's head tilted in curiosity, "Eh? Hopefully?"

You giggled nervously. "Yeah, every year my parents can't make it because of either work or bad weather. They live pretty far from Hope's Peak." 

Kaede sighed. "I see, that seems to be the case for most of us here. Hm, well, I hope you'll be able to see them this time. If not then don't forget, your classmates are right here S/O! Your second family!"

You laughed at how cheesy that sounded. "That sounds like something from the back of a cereal box, Kaede." 

Kaede shrugged and smiled cheekily at you, her lavender eyes locking with your E/C ones. 

You stared back at her with the same goofy smile (though a tad bit more awkward). 

Your mini staring contest was sadly interrupted when your phone rang. Your eyes widened as you picked it up, getting up from your seat. Waving at Kaede with a small 'goodbye' you hurried out of the classroom and stepped into the empty hallway. 

"H-Hello?"

"S/O? Is that you? I'm so sorry baby but we can't make it. The roads are just caked in ice and snow, and the traffic, oh dear god the traffic, it's just terrible. I'm so sorry sweetie."

"I'm so sorry."

You don't know how many times you heard those words. 

"I-It's fine."

Your voice cracked, your eyes suddenly getting warmer. 

"I'm glad you understand dear, maybe next year."

It's always the same. 

"Y-Yeah, m-maybe (hic) n-next year." 

Why can't it be different?

"Bye sweetie, we love you."

It's not their fault but...

"I..."

I can't seem to forgive them. 

"I love you too."

And with that, you hung up and crouched into a little ball, tears rolling down your face like rain on a window pane. You could hear everyone from your classroom talking, laughing, having a good time. Why couldn't it be the same for you? 

You tried wiping tears away from your face but it was no use. They kept coming and coming, never stopping to catch a break. Your eyes burned as your knees quaked, sadness seeming to drown you in, deeper than what you wanted. 

"S/O...?"

Oh great, now your crush was going to see you like this. 

A mess. 

Kaede gasped and ran over to you pulling you into her warm embrace. "Hey hey hey, what's wrong? Can you tell me? If not it's alright, I can just stay here. I'll just stay here with you..." 

You sobbed into her shoulder as she hugged you close to her. You clung onto her like a baby koala as you whispered your situation to Kaede. Kaede nodded in understanding at every word, rocking you slowly back and forth in order to comfort you. 

"It's okay S/O. We're here, I'm here."

You felt your heart race at those words as Kaede helped you stand up. 

"You're...You're not gonna leave me...?"

Kaede held you close to her as a small blush found it's way on her face. 

"Of course not. A-After all I...I..."

You looked up at Kaede through your teary eyes.

"I love you S/O." 

Your heartbeat quickened as your eyes widened. 

You glanced up for a second, which caused Kaede to glance up as well. 

A conveniently placed mistletoe hung just above you and Kaede, making the both of you blush. 

Nervously, you wrapped your arms around Kaede's neck while she wrapped her's around your waist. 

"You can spend Christmas with me, S/O. I love you just as much as family does. Maybe even more than that. I would never leave you."

You sniffed and chuckled lightly, a very small smile on your face. 

"Would you ever?"

"I would never."

As you finished your last words, the two of you leaned in for a gentle kiss, your lips locking perfectly like hearts. 

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