(Eri POV – Kata's House, Night)
'Everything smells amazing.' I think, sniffing the air. 'But these aren't for me.'
With determination, I make sure not to be tempted by the food… no matter how tasty it looks.
The sweet, buttery smell of baking patties assails my nose, and even though I'm already full from dinner my stomach can't help but rumble in yearning.
I stand on a little stool next to the counter, wearing my signature apron, a pastel coloured one with the image of a baby unicorn that Momo made for me. It's a bit big, but everyone says I'll grow into it, and I'm just happy to have one.
"These are for Santa." I remind myself very seriously while gripping the cookie cutter with both hands and pressing it into the dough as hard as I can.
"If they're good…" I whisper, concentrating hard. "Then Santa will bring everyone good presents."
I glance around the kitchen to make sure everyone's doing their job properly.
Momo is perfect, doing everything with easy grace. Her cookies all look exactly the same, lined up neatly like soldiers.
But Mina's cookies…
"I'm telling you, the best cookies are the ones with the weirdest shapes!" Mina grins, presenting cookies proudly.
"Wow!" I exclaim, my eyes sparkling. "This one looks like a cloud! And is this one a puddle?" I ask, commenting on each cookie. I'm amazed Mina could make so many different shapes, while I only made circles.
I stare at Mina with admiration in my eyes.
"Pfft—Hahaha!" Himiko laughs from where she's sitting on the counter. "If Santa doesn't like them, I'll eat them."
"That is not the point." Momo sighs, smiling faintly, while Mina glares at her playfully.
I watch them in confusion.
Rumi snorts from the corner, arms crossed. "They're cookies. So long as they taste good, nothing else matters."
And even though she says that, her cookies are burnt, and with everyone staring at them…
"…I like them crunchy." She adds, looking away with an annoyed huff, causing everyone to laugh.
"Don't worry!" I smile at Rumi, patting my chest reassuringly. "We'll eat them together."
Kata is standing next to me, making his own cookies while occasionally helping me with mine.
I look up at him. "Kata?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think Santa likes stars or hearts more?" I ask, holding up two cookie shapes.
He pauses for a bit, thinking hard. "Hmm. I think Santa would be happy that you made them for him. So choose what you like most, and he'll love them."
I nod, and after careful deliberation…
"I choose both!"
I decorate my cookies very carefully, adding extra chocolate chips, some sprinkles here and there, and even give one a little smile.
'I'll make some for everyone, not just Santa.' I think, and once I'm done, place them in the oven.
Minutes later, the oven timer dings, and everyone curiously looks at my cookies.
Rumi immediately reaches for one.
"Careful! They're hot!" Momo warns.
Rumi just rolls her eyes. "Like a little heat will hurt me."
She seems fine, but blows on it anyway before eating it.
I watch her nervously, hands clenching my apron, hoping she likes it…
"It's good." She says, a smile gracing her lips, before eating the rest of it in quick bites.
I smile warmly, my chest swelling with pride.
When everything's finally done, and everyone has eaten their fill, we put the rest of the cookies on a big plate and pour milk into cups.
I carry mine very carefully with both hands.
"Careful." Kata says softly.
"I am." I reply seriously.
We set the plate on a table near the indoor tree. The lights glow softly, and everything looks so pretty.
I sit on the couch, swinging my legs.
"Will it snow tomorrow?" Toru asks suddenly, peering out the window. "It doesn't look like it will."
"That's kind of sad." Mina says. "It can't be a perfect Christmas without snow."
"It will snow." Kata says simply, and everyone turns to him in alarm.
"…It will?" Momo asks slowly.
"Yeah." He replies matter-of-factly.
"How much snow?" Mina continues.
Kata tilts his head. "How much do we need?"
There's a pause.
"Define 'how much' you think we need…" Toru says carefully.
"Obviously, more is better." Kata nods, and everyone yells at once.
"NO—"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT—"
"Do not bury the city—"
"I don't want to be held responsible for that—"
I look between them, confused.
"Is snow bad?" I ask quietly.
Everyone freezes.
Momo immediately kneels in front of me. "No, no. Snow is wonderful. Just… too much snow can be troublesome."
"Oh." I nod in understanding, a bit nervous about snow now.
Kata thinks for a moment. "Then a metre (3 ft) high?"
"That's way too much!" Momo argues.
I watch as they eventually reach…
"Are you guys sure 30cm is enough?" Kata asks uncertainly, and everyone nods. He sighs. "Alright, just 30."
"…Promise?" Mina squints.
"I promise."
They relax.
And I yawn, which Kata focuses on right away.
"Alright." He says softly. "It's time for bed."
"But Santa—" I start.
"We've done everything." He reassures me. "Cookies, milk, decorations. Santa won't come if you're awake."
I think about it.
'We all worked very hard, and I wouldn't want to ruin it for everyone.'
"…Okay."
He carries me to bed, tucking me in gently. I can still see the glow of the tree from the window.
"Good night." Everyone whispers from the doorway.
"Good night." I whisper back.
And as my eyes get heavy, I smile.
Christmas is fun.
I hope Santa likes the cookies.
And I hope everyone gets good presents.
I close my eyes, happy.
(Eri POV – Kata's House, Christmas Morning)
I wake up slowly.
My eyelids feel heavy, and I rub them with my fists as I sit up, yawning and stretching until my arms shake a little. For a few sleepy seconds, my mind is empty.
Then…
My eyes widen.
"It's Christmas!" I gasp.
I scramble out of bed so quickly, I almost trip over my blanket, and I hurry down the hallway, my heart beating really, really fast. I don't even stop to put on my slippers.
The moment I reach the living room—
"Santa came!" I squeal, throwing my hands up without even thinking about it.
I drop to my knees in front of the tree, staring in wide-eyed amazement at the huge pile of wrapped presents underneath it. They're wrapped beautifully, and way more than I imagined. Some are big. Some are small. But they all look wonderful.
I feel excitement, energy buzzing through me.
Then I look up and see the plate that once housed a mountain of cookies, is empty.
Not a single one left. And even the 6 glasses of milk are empty too.
"He ate them all…" I whisper in awe. "Even though there were so many cookies."
My chest fills with happiness, and I grab the plate carefully, holding it with both hands as I run… well, fast-walk… down the hallway to Kata's room.
I knock on the door, bouncing on my toes.
And after a few seconds, the door opens.
"Kata! Kata!" I beam, holding the plate up like a sacred treasure. "Look! Santa ate all the cookies and drank the milk! He must've really liked them since he left so many presents for everyone!"
I talk really fast, leaving me breathless.
Kata looks down at the plate, then at me, and he smiles.
"That's wonderful." He says warmly. "I'd be surprised if he didn't like them, when you make such delicious cookies."
I tilt my head. I'm not sure why he chuckled, but I'm happy he thinks so too.
"And…" He adds gently. "…Isn't there something you forgot to say?"
I freeze, thinking really hard. My eyebrows scrunch together as I rack my brain to figure out what.
Then—
"Oh!"
"M-Merry Christmas?" I say, a little unsure, looking at Kata to see if I'm correct.
"Merry Christmas!" Kata replies immediately, and before I can react, he lifts me up and tosses me into the air.
I laugh loudly, excited I got it right.
"Merry Christmas!" More voices echo from behind him.
Momo, Mina, Rumi, Toru, and Himiko come out of the room, all stretching and yawning, their hair messy and eyes sleepy, but they're smiling widely.
"Merry Christmas!" I laugh back. "Look! Santa ate all the cookies and left presents!"
I show them the plate again, then point excitedly at the tree.
"Wow…" Mina says softly. "He really cleaned that plate."
"Must've been some amazing cookies." Toru adds.
For some reason, they're looking at Kata with faint smiles.
Himiko's eyes sparkle as she grins. "Presents, huh~? I wonder which ones are mine!"
She immediately takes a step forward…
"Not so fast." Kata says, catching her easily.
"What?" Himiko pouts. "Why not?"
"We check the stockings first." Kata says calmly. "Then breakfast… Presents come after."
"Does it even matter?" Himiko whines.
Kata looks toward Momo.
"Well…" Momo hesitates politely. "It's not exactly a hard rule—"
"See?" Himiko brightens, trying to slip towards the tree again.
"We're waiting for a few more people." Kata adds smoothly, stopping her once more. "Presents come when everyone's here."
Himiko sighs dramatically. "You're so mean."
"Is it Nejire and Mei?" I ask, curious.
Kata nods. "Yeah. And they're already at the door."
And as soon as he finished speaking…
Knock knock!
There's a knock at the front door.
My heart starts beating quickly again.
Christmas is really happening.
And everyone's here.
'It's even better than I imagined.' I think joyously.
************
A/N: Hello Everyone! How are you all?
So, this is the second part of the Omake Christmas chapter. I planned for it to be longer, but I lost quite a bit when my power cut out. To be honest, I was planning to end it here, and decided I wanted to flesh out the activities a bit more and focus on developing those, rather than just quickly brushing over what happens.
And yeah, this kinda cements the harem. I'm glad Nejire is making a comeback😭, and I plan to have her appear quite a bit soon. Also, I'm determined this week! Between this fic and Danmachi, and maybe even the JJK one, I plan to upload daily for the rest of the week.
And, please call me out of I miss a day🤣. For Patreon, in the discussion chat, and for anywhere else, preferably on discord💀. We're approaching chapter 100 for this fic, and I want this to be the event. Just constant uploads, and I'll do my best to achieve it! (Without jeopardizing quality, ofcourse.)
But yeah, that's all from me. I hope you all enjoyed😁 and have a wonderful rest of your day/night!