SSD III: Silver

81. So Here It Is

Last year had been Eri's first Christmas. The girl had had no idea about what different festivals and celebrations were, her past caregivers— if they could even be called that— hadn't bothered teaching her much of anything. She was catching up with her agemates quickly in terms of academics, but when it came to the more social aspects of life, she was struggling to keep up even now.

So last year, for her first Christmas, her first Halloween, her first New Years, they'd gone big. They'd always celebrated those holidays, but they wanted to make them extra special for Eri, she certainly deserved it.

Now, after the birthday fiasco, Aizawa and Hizashi had realised that, in all likelihood, Silver had never celebrated a holiday in her life despite being free to do so for the last (verging on) three years. Naturally, this brought them to the decision to go big, yet again, for Christmas and New Years— especially since they'd already missed out on Halloween.

It had been incredibly key to them that they leave all preparation for Christmas until after Eri's birthday on the twenty-first, meaning they were on a tight schedule to get everything ready in time, but they'd manage.

Both her and Keenan were there on the morning of the twenty-second staring with either wariness or confusion at the brown boxes surrounding them.

After an explanation from a smiling Hizashi, Keenan all but threw himself into helping decorate the apartment like an excitable puppy, Silver though was still uncertain. She helped, of course, and she smiled bright as anything when either Hizashi or Eri was looking, but a big part of her simply didn't understand.

Christmas. A time meant to be spent receiving and giving gifts to friends and family as well as spending time around said family.

But people could spend time around each other whenever they liked, they were free to do whatever they wanted, so why did they require a set time? If Silver wanted to eat a home-cooked meal with the people she'd come to care for, she would ask and they would organise a time when that was possible.

Humans were weird.

Still, she continued to decorate, and otherwise enjoy her time with them, because spending time with Eri and Hizashi and Keenan was nice even if the reason was strange. They played games, they listened to Christmas songs from all around the world (including some songs Keenan had picked that definitely weren't Christmas-related that Silver had to keep a very straight face through lest someone ask her to translate any of the lyrics), they curled up on the sofa watching films with Christmas themes, steam curling up from the hot chocolates on the coffee table.

It was strange to see the reverence with which Silver drank a simple hot chocolate doused with whipped cream and marshmallows, but it was becoming something they were getting used to.

Through all of this though, Silver and Aizawa had remained notably separated. It was hard to miss, especially with Hizashi watching out for it. He still didn't have a straight answer for why the two were acting the way they were, but he was already planning on forcing the two of them to talk it out as soon as Christmas was over. They'd been near-silent with one another long enough.

Hizashi was the one to convince both Silver and her brother to stay the night of Christmas Eve. Keenan was going to use the floor mattress in a space they made in the living room, while Silver took the spot on the carpet beside him instead of her usual spot between the sofa and the table. That had been the plan. Presents had long since been bought and wrapped, cookie dough was in the fridge ready to be thrown into the oven and a strange smell Silver remembered from walking past stalls as she pickpocketed a year ago permeated the air.

Things didn't go to plan.

As much as Silver hated the idea currently, she and Aizawa had certain similarities in their personality. Both of them preferred to stay out of the spotlight, both of them liked a certain degree of silence, and both of them kept their phone on loud at night in case of emergency.