There was more than one kiss. Each one longer and harder than the last, until it got to the point that they did mean it. Though neither one would ever dare admit it. Hinoshi didn't come by anymore, nor did he try to interfere in any other way. Everything was... okay. For at least a little while and it wasn't like it was real anyway. There was no real in this new relationship that Csdona and Cashein had forged. Yes, Cashein had gotten to know his daughter more, and find that Csdona had in fact changed herself. But it wasn't enough. Every time he kissed her, he thought of her and Hinoshi, and it made him so sick. He loved this woman more than anyone in his life and for her to betray him and his trust in such a way was virtually unforgivable.

That didn't mean that he wasn't trying.

"It's Christmas eve." Toya announced. His large hands wrapped around a broom that was brushing away fallen pine needles from the tree in the corner. Csdona smiled slightly. She'd bought a couple presents for Kimp that she thought the girl would like. She knew that Cashein had too. Csdona had never really been a fan of the holidays. They were never celebrated in her household when she was younger. But, Kimp seemed to enjoy them enough and she would always give her daughter a nice holiday for that reason. This was the first time, with Kimp, that she had celebrated with another family. It was always just the two of them before, when Kimp was a lot younger. She was living in the appartment, but it got so lonely there. And they wanted her here anyway, they'd told her so. It was alright to be here. She hoped.

The only other time that she'd celebrated here was with Cashein. Before everything. And it had been wonderful. He had smiled a lot and she had been so happy...

"Yep." Cashein said through the cigarette that he clenched between his teeth. Csdona looked over at him. "What?"

"You're killing yourself." She sighed.

"Hopefully." He drew smoke from the cigarette and she turned away from him. She looked over at Toya, who was looking much older lately. How old was he anyway. She'd never asked. And never would. She prayed for his health. He was the kindest man she knew now. She got up off the couch and walked through the double doors. The laundry was drying in an empty room now, seeing that it was too cold to dry it outside at this time of year. He followed her, and she wasn't sure why, but she didn't look back. She entered the room and he closed the door behind them.

"What do you want?" Her voice wasn't hateful, it was just timid. She wasn't even sure herself why.

There were blankets and sheets, and the room was very dim. It was like teenage sex. Though it seemed like that, he was okay with it. Even though he couldn't see anything he'd seen enough before to just leave it to his imagination. It felt right, even though he knew it was wrong. He didn't know if he meant it. Though he knew that he would say he didn't. She would reply the same. It was "fake." But neither was sure if they meant what they were saying. It felt "real" enough. Oh well.

"Are still so mad at me? I know what I did was wrong, but I want to make it up to you Cashein." What? Was this becoming something now?

"I'm not mad at you." He told her, getting out of bed and walking over to his pants. No, he still was, but it didn't seem so bad anymore. He supposed that was the deal. He doubted that he'd really forgiven her yet. One thing wrong and this would be nothing anymore.

"Come here." She told him. The room was still dim, but his eyes had adjusted now. He walked over to her. She placed a hand on his face and he moved towards her to receive a kiss. And he decided that it was truly one of the best he'd ever had. He felt it. It was "real." "I mean that." She told him. And got dressed the rest of the way. He looked over at her, puzzled, though it wasn't that confusing. He was going to make up with her, and it almost made him sick because he'd been dwelling on what she'd done for so long and now, all that anger had been sucked out of his body with one kiss.

"Any rooms available?" The young man asked. He had a cloak draped over his head,but was easily identified by Denneli.

"No. Not at the time, sorry." Denneli told him, hoping that he would leave. Because the man had a gun at his side, and Denneli had nothing.

"In that case, would Csdona Fayel happen to be around?" The man had an eerie tone to his voice. That of a man going in for the kill.

"She's out right now. I'm terribly sorry." Denneli was telling the truth, Csdona was picking Kimp up from school. But truth was, she would also be home soon.

"I'm home!" Ty came bursting through the door, kicking his shoes off and leaving a bag of books by the doorway. Kimp came through through the door next.

"Pushing down your opponent is considered cheating Ty." She glared at the boy.

"Hey Kimp? Where's your Mum?" The man asked her as he slowly approached the girl. Once he had his back turned to Denneli, it was an opening. Denneli pulled a wine bottle from under the counter, the only available weapon, and began to thrust it down upon the man's head. Denneli was quickly shot in the shoulder.

"Dad!" Ty went running over to his wounded father. But the man pushed him to the ground.

"I suggest you stay right there Ty." Hinoshi pointed the gun at the boy's head and then approached the girl.

Csdona and Gabi were at the door as quickly as they could be after the gunshot was fired. Gabi brought her hand up to her mouth and Csdona just looked at the man. "Hinoshi...don't." She said through her tears. The man took a step closer to her daughter, his gun clearly visable. He made sure of it.

"Csdona. You're the only woman I have ever loved. You broke my heart..." He put the gun to his side, and she found breathing just a little bit easier. "Why don't you love me? You know I still love you."

"We're all unarmed this isn't fair!" Gabi yelled. A shot was fired at her foot. It didn't hit, it just startled her enough to make her shut up. Cashein had been asked to help Toya with supplies. They wouldn't be back for a while. Hinoshi had planned this well.

"What do you want Hinoshi?" Csdona asked him.

"I want you. That's all I want." The look on Hinoshi's face was love. This man was insane. Had she done this? "We-we'd be happy. You, me and Kimp. We'd be a good family." He cried.

"What do you want Hinoshi?"

"Are you deaf?"

"I can't give you what you are asking Hinoshi. What do you actually want me to do?" She approached him.

"It- It isn't that hard to understand Csdona. I love you. We could get married, and I have a great house in Campenberg. Kimp would love the school there. You wouldn't have to work in a bar... hell you could work wherever you want, you're the smartest woman I know." He laughed and she cringed at the thought. Only inside though, she couldn't risk him hurting her daughter. "You could learn to love me again couldn't you? I know you did before. You told Cashein you did when he left you. I know why you didn't stay with me. I would have stayed with you I mean." He kissed her. No closed lips, no hindrance. Just full on. He kissed her neck and back then pulled away, and looked at her like he was in pain.

"Who?" He asked.

"What?" She was the distraction, everyone knew that. If Csdona hadn't been planning it all along then she wouldn't have allowed that kiss.

"Who gave you these?!" He pulled away her shoulder-length blonde hair rather roughly revealing red marks all over her neck and back. She didn't say anything. "Answer me!" Of course she was single, but there was only one thought that reined supreme in his head.

"Cashein Gammon." She told him. Why? was the question on everybodies lips, but all of them were silenced. He grabbed her by the arm an jerked her in his direction, from there he pushed her outside. Gabi ran to fetch her father's gun, which she hoped she could do in time.

"YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME!!!" He kicked her in the gut. She tried to get up off the snow covered ground, panting and bleeding, but he would allow that. He kicked her again. And a third time. She gasped for breath and looked up at her attacker. "YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME CSDONA!!!" He screamed, his voice cracking at "loved." She kicked him in the face with the last bit of the excess strength that she had. He stepped back, coughing out blood as his nose bled. That minute Gabi burst through the door and two shots were fired. The man was dead.

"I'm so sorry." She breathed.

"Is there something about 'you're bleeding internally, rest and don't waste energy' that you didn't understand?" Gabi asked her. "Please rest. When Cashein gets here I'll send him in.

"Is Kimp alright? Denneli? Ty?" She asked. Her eyes closed.

"Kimp is fine. Denneli will heal up quick, and Ty's fine too. Don't worry. It's okay. And don't you blame yourself 'cause I know you're thinking about it. Get some sleep. Please." Gabi left the room.

The dead body didn't make them stop. Only that the ones inside might be in the same condition made them worry. Cashein dropped the heavy sacks on the front porch and entered the building. Gabi was sitting there, two scared children next to her. Kimp was crying, Ty was trying not to. Gabi looked shook up. She looked up slowly to face Cashein. "I killed a man Cashein. First ever." So it was Gabi's handywork. Cashein just stood there. There was a pool of blood on one side of the room that was left unattended to. The noise of Toya dragging the dead body through the snow came throught the half-opened front door. "He shot Denneli. And he beat her up pretty bad." Well, she's not dead. That was what he was waiting for.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I should have been. W-Where is she?" Cashein asked, he looked frightened. But angry at the same time. And happy, happy was there too. Truthfully, he couldn't be read. But Gabi like to make up things like that.

"She's in her room." Gabi told him, and he made his way through the hallway. He walked quickly, but he opened the door very slowly.

"Csdona..." He whispered, and while he expected her to be lying in bed, she actually sat up, against the back of the bed. She didn't look at him, nor did she say anything. But she did sigh, and she was crying.

"Merry Christmas." She finally said. He went over to the bed and held her. He held her forever and he didn't tire of it. She was his now. There was no one else. As far as he knew (or at least what he wanted to think) at this point, was that there had never been anyone else. The devil was dead and they were all alive. That's all that mattered.

"I love you Csdona. That's never changed. If you asked it of me, I would stay with you.