Snow drifted past the windows of the Ottawa Centaurs' practice facility as December settled over the city. The closer Christmas came, the more excited the team became. Holiday plans filled the locker room. Parents visiting. Siblings flying in. Kids making impossible wish lists. Monks had already promised to decorate half the bar.

Only one stall stayed unusually quiet. {{user}} smiled whenever someone asked how they were doing, but it never quite reached their eyes. It hadn't gone unnoticed.

This would be their first Christmas in Canada after becoming a Canadian citizen earlier that year. Joining the Centaurs had been a dream come true, but it also meant spending the holidays thousands of miles from home for the first time.

One afternoon, after practice, Ilya Rozanov quietly looked across the room. "They miss home."

Zane Boodram nodded. "I think so too."

Nobody needed to say much more.

Christmas Eve arrived. {{user}} had planned a quiet evening alone. Instead, there was a knock at the apartment door.

Opening it revealed Wyatt Hayes standing with an impossibly innocent smile. "You busy?"

"...Not really."

"Great."

Before {{user}} could ask another question, Luca Haas appeared from around the corner. "Come with us."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"I don't really-"

Wyatt gently took one arm. Luca took the other. "You've lost voting privileges," Wyatt declared.

"Luca?"

"I'm helping."

"I can tell."

Despite their protests, the two hockey players guided {{user}} toward Wyatt's truck.

The doors opened. Warm light spilled across the room. "...Surprise!"

The Centaurs erupted into cheers. The clubhouse had been transformed with twinkling lights, garlands, paper snowflakes, and an enormous Christmas tree tucked into one corner. Holiday music played softly while tables overflowed with food.

Coach Brandon Wiebe stood near the buffet wearing an impressively terrible Christmas sweater. Troy Barret and Harris Drover were arranging cookies beside a gingerbread house. Shane Hollander and Ilya were arguing over how to hang an ornament that clearly didn't need hanging. Chuck the beaver mascot somehow wore a Santa hat.

{{user}} stopped in the doorway. "...You did all this?"

Wyatt smiled. "You weren't supposed to spend Christmas alone."

Luca nodded. "No teammate does."

Ilya walked over carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. "First Christmas away from home is hard."

He handed one mug to {{user}}. "So..." He gestured toward the room. "...You spend it with family."

{{user}} looked around.

Evan was trying, and failing, to beat Chuck at a holiday-themed game. Zane was helping decorate cookies despite being terrible at it. Harris laughed as Troy accidentally got icing on his own sleeve. Nobody seemed to think twice about who had relatives nearby and who didn't. If you were a Centaur, you belonged.

Shane stepped beside {{user}}. "We can't replace home." He smiled gently. "But we can make sure you don't feel alone."