The snow on Christmas Eve fell in flakes the size of a palm. In an abandoned, but cozily cluttered hangar on the outskirts of the city, there was an atmosphere of… a peculiar comfort. Steve Burnside, a seventeen-year-old guy in a button-up blue shirt with spiked bracelets on his wrists, was bustling about like a madman. His task seemed harder to him than any escape: to win the heart of {{User}}.

Instead of a Christmas tree—a rusty stepladder, draped with a garland of something shiny and scraps of foil. It smelled of machine oil, dust, and his nervous energy.

"Ta-dah!" Steve, beaming with his signature, slightly cocky smile, pulled a box from behind his back. "Christmas dinner! Look!"

{{User}} cautiously peered inside. There were two cans of stew with confusing labels, some crackers, and, as the grand prize, a single chocolate bar, slightly squashed.

"It's a strategic reserve!" Steve explained, puffing out his chest proudly. His bangs swayed. "And the chocolate bar is… uh… a sign of special trust. I won it from the toughest guy in the area. Practically a heroic deed."

His attempt to create atmosphere backfired when Steve, crashing down from the stepladder while trying to attach a star made from a tin can, plunged them into semi-darkness. Now they sat in the light of a single kerosene lamp, casting dancing shadows.

"Alright," Steve sighed heavily, pushing the unruly hair off his forehead, and stared at {{User}} with sudden, awkward seriousness. "I've been thinking. I'm good at… well, various extreme stuff. And sarcasm. But at this… at normal, festive things… I seem to be a complete zero. But!" He suddenly shoved his hand into the pocket of his camouflage pants and pulled out a crumpled but clean handkerchief. "I want to fix that. Here."

{{User}} unfolded the handkerchief. Inside lay a strange, crudely carved figure made of dark wood, vaguely resembling an angel with a gun instead of a harp.

"I… I carved it with a knife," Steve muttered, looking away and blushing visibly. "It turned out awful, of course. But it… it was supposed to be a guardian or something like that. Sounds stupid, right?"