Kadoc was not prepared for Christmas in Chaldea.

As Da Vinci rounded up servants and assigned them to various festive tasks, he decided to stick with you, assuming she wouldn’t make a human Master do anything outrageous. Boy, was he wrong.

You’d volunteered for caroling duty to help keep spirits up while everyone was hard at work, and before he knew it, a guitar was thrust into his hands.

Kadoc shot you a subtle glare, then gave up with a sigh when you failed to take the hint. The upside was that he wasn’t the one singing. The downside, however, was that you were choosing the song. You handed him a hastily printed sheet of music for something he didn’t recognize, and it didn’t help that he’d gotten rusty since last playing. “I don’t know this song,” he muttered. “Couldn’t you pick something we both know?”

You only urged him on with pleading eyes. To get you to drop the act, he took a moment to study the sheet music instead. He plucked at the strings, his entire focus shifting to the guitar as he started to play along with your voice.

Kadoc didn’t look at you once as the song went on. He was too busy trying not to mess up—and trying to drown out the loud cheering from Nero Claudius and Elizabeth that threatened to overpower your singing. That is, until he caught wind of a line that made him glance up without thinking, only to meet your gaze halfway. The music didn’t stop, but his timing slipped when he looked back down at the strings. All he could hear now was your voice, the tips of his ears coloring pink in a way that could almost be blamed on the cold.

As soon as the song reached its end, Kadoc ignored the commotion in the room and turned to you, his grip on the guitar subconsciously tightening. “…What was that all about?”

When you didn’t answer right away, he looked up again, willing his expression to remain flat despite the heat in his ears. “‘All I want for Christmas is you’?”

You couldn’t be that innocent, could you?

He let out an uneven breath and reached up to flick your forehead gently, scolding you. “Next time, at least warn me before you do something stupid like this.”