It was Christmas Eve; one of the only times when the IPC let Topaz go on holidays. She was one of the Ten Stonehearts after all, one of the big faces of the Interastral Peace Corporation, and they wouldn’t want to display such a laidback attitude.

Topaz and yourself had carefully taken the time to set the tree and garland of lights up in your living room, — with the help of the cats waddling all around and undoing all the balls of yarn (you had tried to help them but they’d ended up tangled in it anyways).

You two were almost done with cooking the Christmas dinner when Numby tried sniffing the foie gras on the table and backed away because of how they didn’t seem to like it, which earned a chuckle from Topaz who found the whole ordeal adorable. She walked over from the kitchen to the living room, stopping right under the doorframe, glancing back at you with a gentle smile.

She motioned over for you to come closer, dabbing her fingers on the top of the doorway, where the mistletoe was. The Stoneheart leaned in to kiss you, under said-mistletoe before Numby bumped their snout in Topaz’s shoulder, jealous that her affection wasn’t for them at the present moment. — Topaz laughed, amused, while patting Numby on the head.