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Winter may be a harsh season to live in, but one couldn’t deny its beauty when white overtook whole landscapes - cityscapes included. As Iris looked out of the window after she was done setting up the table with all kinds of festive dishes, she was in awe just how much it had snowed since last night. Naturally, this much snow caused all kinds of troubles if you were out and about, especially when it was dark outside already, but if you stayed inside, you could definitely appreciate its serene pulchritude. Iris couldn’t help but think that it was essentially perfect for today and the days following afterwards - a white Christmas always felt more special than one without snow, after all. It simply gave that certain kind of magic that every child could appreciate. The pink-haired girl may be a genius, but it didn’t change the fact that she also belonged to said younger generation.
However, celebrating Christmas Eve by herself didn’t sound appealing in any way, so she was eagerly awaiting Sherlock’s return. He had set out early afternoon, talking about how he still had something to take care of, but he promised her that he’d be back by 6 pm. As that agreement occured to her again, Iris automatically led her bright, green eyes to the clock - it was 5:58 pm as of now. Only two more minutes before her father was supposed to show up.
Iris smiled fondly to herself as she began to light up some candles, as well as rearranging some decoration, so they would sit better. It’s been only a month and a half since she started calling him that; since she finally realized that she didn’t need to know who her biological father was. Why chase after something when you ultimately already had what you were searching for all this time? It seemed foolish and Iris was anything but someone who refused to learn from her mistakes.
When she thought about that, her mind wandered to her friends from the Far East - after all, it was thanks to them that she realized the errors of her ways. Ryuunosuke and Susato had truly been a blessing and although they’ve only spend a year together, it would be a year that she would never forget for as long as she lived. Truth be told, Iris was still sad that she didn’t get to celebrate Christmas with the two of them, but there was nothing to be done about it - instead, she could only hope that there would be another Christmas in the future where they could celebrate together. If she thought about it like that, she already started to feel better about herself.
“Five minutes after 6 pm already, huh… I should’ve expected Holmsie to run a little bit late”, Iris murmured to herself when her irides caught the clock once again, displaying said number for all to see. It wasn’t unusual for him to come later than agreed upon, especially with the weather outside being as it was. Still, it would be a shame if all the food would grow cold if he didn’t come home soon, so she could only hope that he’d show up any minute now-
- And just as she thought about that, the door swung open, as if to answer her wish. The little girl spun around, a big smile already plastered on her face - only to turn into a slightly bemused look. There was most certainly an incredibly familiar figure standing at the doorsteps - however, said person was clad in red entirely and wearing a fake, white beard.
“Merry Christmas, little Iris~! Santa Claus is here to give you your presents in person this year!”, the blonde- pardon, white -haired man exclaimed with a booming voice, laughing as he held a big sack in one of his hands. Iris blinked, internally wondering to herself the following: ”Did he forget that it’s still Christmas Eve? Or maybe he forgot where he put his Santa suit from last year and couldn’t find a good way to smuggle it in without me noticing it?”
A soft chuckle escaped her lips shortly afterwards: “Oh Holmsie… We both know that this isn’t going to fool me, but alright~!” , as she thought that, Iris quickly put a smile back on her face as she clapped her hands and decided to play along for now:”My, what an honor, Santa Claus! Have I been such a good girl this year that you would go out of your way to personally greet me like this?”
“But of course!”, ‘Santa Claus’ began as he closed the door behind him and was starting to rummage through his bag,”When I’m doing my rounds every year to bring joy and happiness to children all around the world, I usually go to the ones that have been most kind first! It’s nice to talk with you younglings when time permits it, you see? So this year, you’re one of the lucky ones who get to meet me like this!”
The little girl couldn’t help but giggle at the other’s reasoning as to why he’s been changing things up a little. After all, it’s not like as if she hadn’t noticed his shenanigans the previous years - usually, he’d simply deliver the presents in the middle of the night. One time, he even went so far as to go through the chimney to make the experience more authentic - thank god that he hadn’t hurt himself too bad when he fell the last meter to the ground. That had given her quite the fright!
Iris bowed a bit and continued to grin:”Lucky me, then! Would you like some tea, then?”
“Oh, I would love to, but alas, I can’t spend too much time here! There are still many other children that I need to greet, after all. Here, your presents! Don’t open them now though, you hear me? Just be a little bit more patient! If you do, I’ll grant you one more wish!”, he answered as he gave Iris three gift boxes. She accepted them eagerly, suppressing her desire to open them right here and right now.
“Thank you so much, Santa Claus! You’re the best!”, she said as she placed them underneath the christmas tree that they’ve set up a week ago, before turning back to ‘Santa Claus’ once more. Her hands were tucked behind her back as she spoke up again:”I promise that I won’t open them until the time is right! That means that you’ll grant me one more wish, right? Is that why you’ve revealed yourself to me like that?”
“Haha, that is indeed correct! What a clever, young lady you are!”, the young- pardon, old man responded as he bowed graciously and looked her in the eyes. “What else do you desire, little Iris? Name it and I shall grant it! For that is Santa Claus’ role!”
Another chuckle escaped Iris, but her smile grew softer. Placing her hands in front of her, she looked at the man with warm eyes as she stated her wish:“I’d be most happy if my dad would come home soon, so we could celebrate Christmas Eve together. Could you bring my papa to me, Santa Claus?”
The man’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at her. A traiterous glimmer began to shine in his eyes, though he quickly pulled his santa hat down, not unlike a certain great detective would do with his detective hat.
“... But of course, young lady. I promise you that he’ll be here in five- nay, three minutes!”, he replied quietly, which was rather unlike him, but seeing how touched he felt, it made Iris smile all the wider. She nodded at him. “Thank you, Santa Claus. Then I’ll wait here for my papa to return. You should get going too, shouldn’t you?”
“My, you’re quite correct! How time flies by, doesn’t it?”, finding his groove back - at least somewhat -, Iris’ personal Santa Claus grinned brightly at her and bowed again,”Well then, excuse me, little Iris - I must get going. If you don’t mind, I’ll go out of the window this time, as my invincible spell must recover first before I can boldly go out of doors again. I know that I have wished you it before, but again; merry christmas to you!”
With that said, he shouldered his bag again and headed upstairs. Iris waved after him and shouted:”Sure thing! Until we meet again, Holmsie Claus~!” She snickered to herself when Sherlock flinched a bit, but he seemed to take it with a stride otherwise, disappearing behind the door.
Iris simply couldn’t stop smiling and sat down at the table, patiently waiting for her dad to return. Although the food was starting to grow cold, Iris was completely fine with that. After all, that whole exchange was just heartwarming and sweet. She was truly blessed, wasn’t she? To have a dad like this who would go for such lengths for her… What other feeling could she feel but joy?
As she stared out of the window again, with gentle snowflakes falling down from the skies, Iris felt content as she murmured the following:“I really have the best dad in the world, don’t I?”