It had only taken a brief trip to Lieutenant Smokey Iron before the deed was done. The Lieutenant was surprisingly sympathetic to the human’s plight and agreed to let Moonlight exchange shifts with one of the other house guards.

“Hello, sir.” Blade Grace nodded her head in a gesture of acknowledgment and respect.

Thomas smiled insincerely as he regarded the mare. He was uncertain what to make of her. She had been deliberately aloof from the few times they’d spoken, which had always been in the company of Moonlight. Come to think of it, this was probably the first time Thomas had gone anywhere without his unicorn’s company in months.

“I understand I am to accompany you on a shopping trip, Sir?” Grace asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Thomas stammered. “I’ve got some ideas regarding gifts for everyone, but I want them to be a surprise, ya know?”

“Understood,” Grace said as her eyes drifted down his clothed body. “I see that you are suitably dressed, given your lack of fur.” She stepped aside and motioned for him to lead. “Shall we begin, Sir?”

Thomas grimaced, but did as he was bid. The first half of the carriage ride to the shopping district was painfully quiet as the bat mare kept staring at him with an uncomfortable intensity.

“You know I’m not gonna disappear if you blink, right?” Thomas asked, hoping to break the ice.

“As you say, sir.”

Thomas’ shoulders slumped. “Okay. Can we put a stop to the ‘sir’ thing? I’m not real comfortable with all this formality stuff.”

“Sir, with all due respect-”

“Ya wana know something?” Thomas interrupted. “My dad liked to say that whenever someone began a line with ‘with all due respect’, nine times out of ten it was just a sneaky way to say ‘kiss my ass.’”

Grace visibly tensed. “Sir! I can assure you that I meant no such disrespect.” The tension was clear in her voice. “I only meant to say that-”

“Thomas,” he cut her off again. “My name is Thomas, not sir. That is, if you truly care about being respectful towards me,” he leaned forward and offered his hand, “then let’s shake hands and agree to say each other’s names.”

Grace did not budge from her seat, eyeing the human’s hand as if she expected it to start shooting fire any minute. “I… do not believe that would be very appropriate, sir.”

Thomas frowned. “Why not?”

“You are Senior Concubine to-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Thomas waved his hand dismissively. “I’m aware of what I am.”

“But do you understand it?” Grace asked, only to blink as she realized what she’d said. “I… I didn’t mean to…”

“Educate me, then,” Thomas said not unkindly. “I get that there’s still a lot that I don’t understand. So, since you obviously care about Princess Luna and helping her in any way, by all means, please tell me.”

Grace gave an audible gulp and licked her lips. “The station of concubine is considered near sacred in status. The Princesses have many servants to tend to them, but few who are trusted enough to satisfy their more carnal needs,” she said with an odd inflection, sounding vaguely like a growl or purr. “You perform a duty to the realm that cannot be matched by any manner of training. Yours is a gift you were born with, you and those few lucky enough to share your station. As a devoted follower of Luna, it would be nothing short of a disgrace to show you less than the respect you are owed.”

Thomas narrowed his eyes on the mare. Alright. Time to bring out the big guns. “Either we shake hands,” his lips parted in a sinister grin, “or I’ll tell Luna you think she’s got skinny flanks.”

There was an inferno in the mare’s eyes as she glared back at the human, nostrils flaring. “You wouldn’t dare.” Her lips curled back to display her fangs.

Thomas hadn’t expected such an intense reaction, but managed to keep his cool as he stared the mare down and continued to offer his hand. “You mean that’s not what you think of her flanks?”

“Of course not!” Grace cried angrily. “There is no part of the Night Princess’ body that isn’t perfect, but her flanks are, without question, her best feature.”

It took a fair amount of restraint for Thomas not to smirk as he let his hand fall. Predictable bat mare. “Oh really?” He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. “Clearly the views of someone who’s never had a good look at her breasts,” he said with a confident smirk.

“You…” Grace shook in anger. “How dare you imply… I already said that the Night Princess’ body was perfect, and I’ll thank you kindly to not try and slander me. Besides, even hidden from eye as her features are, Luna’s flanks are the flanks of legend. Bards used to spend decades comprising sonnets worthy of her plot’s glory. The phrase ‘mooning’ didn’t spring from the ether, after all,” she boasted confidently.

“Fair enough,” Thomas nodded, stone-faced. “However, there are two things you’re missing here.”

“Oh? And what might they be?” Grace asked incredulously.

“Firstly, you’re speaking as an outsider looking in. Like you said, I’m one of the chosen few lucky enough to have actually touched both.” He smirked, enjoying the way the mare reacted. “Oh the stories I could tell you. Frankly, I doubt you’d believe half of them.” he chuckled.

Grace’s eye had begun to twitch. “And the second?”

Thomas gave his most sinister smirk as he readied to spring his trap. “You haven’t called me sir in a while.”

All color flushed from Grace’s face at the human’s words. However, that look of fear soon morphed into a faint yet approving smile. “Playing off my devotion to the Night Princess to lure me into a trap, aye?” She gave a relenting sigh. “Well done.”

“Eh. I have my moments,” Thomas said with a shrug. “So, does this mean you can start calling me Thomas?”

Grace cracked her first smile since they’d met. “To the victor goes the spoils, Sir Thomas.”

**********

“You weren’t kidding,” Thomas said as he flipped through the vinyl covers. “I thought you were embellishing with that stuff about the bards, but damn!” There was no hiding how impressed he was. The music store had devoted entire sections of shelves to records about each of the Princesses, the same as they did for any other genre of music. Luna’s section was admittedly smaller than Celestia’s, and Cadence’s smaller still, but the volume and variety each section had to offer was still commendable.

“And see here,” Grace pointed eagerly at the racks. “It’s divided into subsections. We’ve got songs devoted to Luna’s night, the stars, moon, and this big section here is devoted to love for her wonderful plot.”

A thought occurred and Thomas couldn’t help but ask. “If the Princesses were actually guys, would there be songs dedicated to their dicks?”

Grace looked at him as if he’d just grown a second head.

Thomas turned his attention back to the records, smiling to himself. If she only knew. “So, I take it you’ve been to this place before,” he said, trying to change the subject. “I can only guess what your preferred genre is.”

Grace continued to glare, but eventually answered. “Yes. This is one of the few places in town that sells some of these antique records. In fact, some are in such high demand that the store only rents them, and the fines are ridiculous. It’s like the manager is some sort of disgruntled librarian or something,” she whispered.

Thomas laughed softly. They were making good progress, though she still kept a respectful distance. “Speaking from experience?”

Grace averted her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Thomas laughed again as he thumbed through the records until he found one he liked. “There a place we can try these out?”

“There’s a player over there to try out potential buys,” Grace directed and they gave the music a listen. “What do you think?” But in her head, what she meant to ask was Is this good enough for the Princess?

Thomas was bobbing his head to the beat as he read the lyrics and smiled. “Yeah. It’s a good rhythm, and Silver’s always a sucker for the romantic stuff.” The human was still mulling over his feeling regarding the mare. A part of him even wanted to take this opportunity to get back at her with an intentionally insulting present, but that thought was short lived. He knew such an act would just make things harder in the long run, so he focused on shopping with utmost sincerity.

“Silver?” Grace asked. So, not the Princess? She thought despondently before catching herself. “I understand her to be a mare of refined tastes. I’m sure she’ll love it.” You coward. Stop blithering and ask what the Princess likes!

“Oh yeah. This one’s a keeper,” Thomas nodded and, upon retrieving the record, slipped it into his shopping bag. “One down, three to go.”

Three! Grace’s mind hissed at her. You know he’s shopping for four. Excluding Silver Bell, that just leaves Moonlight, Talon, and the Princess. Mare the buck up and ask him! “So, who do you want to shop for next?”

“You wouldn’t believe it, but Moonlight’s really into techno.”

Buck!

“Unfortunately, that’s not really my thing. Have any suggestions?”

Snap out of it you wannabe bloodsucker! [Bloodsucker is a racial slur dating back to the days when superstitious Equestrians assumed that all bat ponies were vampires] Just help him through his list and you’ll get there eventually. Grace quickly called over one of the store’s workers who guided them through some of the more popular songs, most of which were made by the self-styled artist DJ-Pon 3.

“Got anything on the comedy side?” Thomas asked. The beats were nice, but there was nothing he really liked for Moonlight. “I asked around and apparently Talon likes joke songs.”

Double buck!

Alas, there really weren’t that many comedy songs. It just wasn’t a popular genre. And of those they listened to, neither Thomas nor Grace laughed.

“Perhaps you should consider something other than music for her,” Grace suggested. Good. Now, just subtly ease into it. “I know this one song I’m certain the Princess would like.”

Thomas looked over to where Grace was pointing and frowned. “It’s not in the Luna section, is it?”

Grace blinked at Thomas’ hesitant tone. “Yes. Why?”

“Well… Luna likes shows of affection and all,” Thomas began.

Get on with it!

“But I’m not certain she’d like listening to a song about how great she is.” He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper, not noticing the small cabal of ponies who had their ears pointed in his direction. “She likes being admired, but she doesn’t want to just listen to stuff about herself all night and come off as a narcissist.”

A hurricane of incoherent slurs tore through Grace’s mind before she was able to pull off a full reboot, all while standing stoically still. “You don’t say,” she said with a grace befitting her name. “What sort of admiration would she like?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it.” Thomas touched his fingers to his chin in thought. “I know she gets a lot of expensive gifts from noble ponies, but that’s all trying to basically buy favors. It’s insincere and, I probably shouldn’t be saying this,” he softened his voice even more, “but I’ve seen her look at some of the stuff like it’s got a bad smell.”

“Naturally,” Grace said with a resolute nod. “A gift not given of the heart may as well be left in the wrapping, especially at this time of year.”

Thomas gave an affirming nod. “That’s all well and good in theory, but it doesn’t really answer the question of what to get her, or the rest of them.”

“The rest of-” Grace had to stop herself as she recalled once more that the Princess wasn’t the only one on Thomas’ mind. “Ah yes. There’s still Sir Moonlight and Lady Talon to consider.”

“Talon’s probably expecting some kind of joke gift, like a sex toy or something, so I guess that can be my fallback.”

Grace furrowed her brow. In what way can a sex toy be called a joke gift? As far as she could tell, given her lifetime of growing up with pony cultural norms, a sex toy was generally either a romantic gesture or something as practical as a new set of glasses. This human has very odd views of the world.

“What about Moonlight?” Thomas asked. “You knew her before I did. Got any thoughts?”

Grace didn’t have to think long. “Normally Moonlight’s a practically minded mare. Most of the time she’ll ask for some new horseshoes or maybe armor polish. But if you want to get in her good graces,” she explained as a smirk took her lips, “I have a few ideas.”

**********

“Chocolate,” Grace softly proclaimed as they entered the candy store and beheld the rainbow multitudes of teeth rotting wonder. “It doesn’t matter what it is. If it tastes like chocolate, it won’t last long in Moonlight’s company.”

Thomas beamed as he took in the delectable sights and muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” Grace asked.

“Just saying that women liking chocolate seems to be one of those universal things.”

Grace gave a half-smile at that. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’ve always hated chocolate.”

“Really? Even milk chocolate?”

Grace shrugged. “It just never appealed to me.”

“My deepest condolences,” Thomas said, trying to sound like he was apologizing for the passing of a loved one, which earned a sour smile from the mare.

Thomas bought a wide array of chocolate candies and had the appropriate preservation spell placed on them, though the stallion behind the counter recommended they still be refrigerated, just in case.

“Two down, two to go,” Thomas said contentedly as they exited the candy store. His purchases swung lazily by his sides.

“What about that Ornate place?” Grace asked. “As I understand it, Lady Talon is the sort who would savor buying their most expensive items at criminally high discounts.”

“That’s just it,” Thomas countered. “She’d want to be the one to make the purchase so she can watch them hurt, financially anyway. Likely she’s already bought their most expensive thing, either for herself or a Hearth’s Warming present. No.” He shook his head. “I want to get her something special, something she doesn’t expect.”

Grace pondered with her charge as they walked down the street with no particular destination. The sooner they finished with Talon, she reasoned, the sooner they could start on what mattered. The bat mare didn’t know when exactly she had concocted this plan, but the more she thought about it, the more she had her heart set. Whatever options they discussed for the Princess, Thomas would no doubt pick the best, which left her free to get the second best. She’d buy it, wrap it up nice and pretty, and gift it anonymously to her beloved Princess.

Of course, Blade Grace entertained no delusions about this leading into anything. A guard being taken in as a lover by royalty was largely nothing more than a popular trope among readers and writers. Lucky ponies like Moonlight existed, but they were few and far between. Grace knew she would never be a concubine, would never share in her alicorn’s bed, that her affections weren’t dissimilar from a fan-filly meeting her idol, and that one day she’d meet her real special somepony. However, in the meantime, she was dead set on her plan.

Then it hit her. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve always seen Lady Talon as the tomboyish type.”

“That’s not inaccurate,” Thomas replied, his interest peaked. “What about it?”

Grace stopped and turned to face bodily toward a particular store. “Well, if you’re still thinking of getting a joke gift, I imagine they might have something.”

Thomas followed Grace’s line of sight until he spotted the most girly looking store he’d ever seen. It was so pink, so frilly, that just looking at it made him sicker than when they were at the candy store. “Perfect.”

The next hour was spent perusing through a myriad of scents in the perfume shop. Since it all smelled like aromatic garbage to Thomas, he relied on Grace’s expertise to pick out the most un-Talon scent the store had to offer. The salesmare said the scent was meant to conjure images befitting the most regal and proper of ponies with an added benefit of frightening off the riffraff. She’d said that last part while looking unkindly at Thomas, but he didn’t care. He found his gift for Talon.

The pair broke for lunch soon after at a local café.

“And we’re still not sure who did it,” Grace explained with barely contained laughter. “But the ropes sprung to life and tied the Sergeant in a way I’ve never seen outside of certain magazines,” she snickered. “The knots were so tight, they couldn’t get her down for almost an hour.”

Thomas had his face buried in his hand, laughing as he shook his head as tears ran down his cheek. “And no one thought to just cut her down or something?”

“Enchanted ropes,” Grace said with a resigned shrug. “The guard uses them all the time. They don’t break unless a special code is said by authorized personnel.”

“So wouldn’t that mean that it was an officer that set all that up, with the ducks and the,” Thomas stumbled over his own laughter as he recalled, “the… red wagon?”

“That’s what the rumors said.” Grace chortled. “But nothing was ever proven.”

Thomas slumped back in his seat as he eyed his beverage and what remained of his meal. Just tell her, dingus, Thomas thought in chastisement. Tell her you’re having a nice time. It was the polite thing to do, the thing most would regard as common courtesy, but the words never made it to the human’s lips. He’d never been comfortable about expressing affection to strangers, even if he did genuinely like them. Even back on Earth when he would talk to someone on a daily basis, he still had trouble calling them friend even in his own mind. So now, like all the times before, he rationalized that he’d just leave it up to the other person to figure it out their relationship through context.

“Are you from Canterlot?” Thomas eventually asked.

“No. Why do you ask?” she asked before taking a sip of her drink.

“Well, I was just wondering how you’re going to spend Hearth’s Warming and if you’ve done your own shopping yet.”

Grace gave an affectionate smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve got plans to visit my folks for the holidays. The guard has a schedule so too many of us don’t take off at once. Wouldn’t want threats trying to take advantage of the holiday rush. And I’ve already done my shopping.”

“Good to hear.” Thomas nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t being put out or anything.”

“Not at all.” Grace called for a waiter and they paid their bill.

Afterwards they continued in their aimless tour through Canterlot’s shopping district, making idle chitchat as they spit-balled ideas.

“Huh. I’m kind of surprised so few of the royal guard were actually born in Canterlot,” Thomas remarked. “You’d think they’d make a larger percentage.”

“Canterlot is mostly a unicorn city, so most of the guard’s unicorns are natives,” Grace explained. “Most every pony else had to come from outside.”

Thomas nodded as he scanned the immediate stores with a light frown. “Dresses, quills and sofas, music, candy, jewelry…” Thomas listed off discontentedly. “But nothing seems good.”

Grace smiled sympathetically at Thomas. She well understood his pain at being unable to find anything adequate for the Princess. “Maybe… maybe things aren’t the answer,” she offered, earning the human’s attention. “Perhaps what you need is… is a display of sorts.”

Thomas’ eyebrow rose. “Go on.”

“An immortal alicorn has probably already received every dress and gem of every shape conceivable to pony kind,” Grace began. “She’s also probably well acquainted with every manner of romantic gesture under her moon, but most of those were likely from, as you described, nobility trying to buy favors. Most of which I imagine involving the giving of lavish presents.”

Thomas nodded along. “So, if I’m following, the trick is to give her something she’s not accustomed to getting.” At Grace’s affirming nod, Thomas felt a brief uplift of hope before encountering a wall. “But if I ask her, won’t it spoil the surprise?”

Grace just beamed back at him.

Thomas narrowed his eyes on the mare. “You’ve either got an idea,” he began suspiciously, “or you’ve farted and are waiting for me to notice.”

Grace’s grin only faltered slightly. “Princess Luna might be the loveliest alicorn in the city, but she isn’t the only one.”

**********

After a brief stop at a wrapping shop, the pair raced back to the castle. While initially worrying about where to stash the presents so they wouldn’t be found, Thomas was surprised to learn that the house guard had protocols for these very procedures. Apparently it was a joint procedure enacted by both harems thousands of years ago. Basically it came down to the house guard of each Princess agreeing to hide away concubine presents, regardless of who they were meant for, until they were ready to be laid out under the tree. Even then, the guards were under strict orders to keep any and all from snooping, even the Princesses. Once that was taken care of, the pair headed for their real destination.

“You’re lucky you caught me when you did,” Celestia said with a yawn. The princess was garbed in one of her less formal dresses and minus her regalia. Her eyes were droopy and even her hair seemed lethargic. Thomas and Grace had just met up with her, and her contingent of guards, right outside Celestia’s private chambers. “I was just heading off to bed for my weekly nap. What do you need, little human?”

Standing strong and unblinking before the intimidating majesty of the white alicorn, Thomas steeled himself and answered. “Present ideas for your sist-hmm,” he tried to finish, but found that his lips had been sealed shut with a conspicuous golden glow, the same currently emitting from Celestia’s horn.

“Shh!” she hushed, now looking fully awake as her eyes darted suspiciously around the hall. “Not in the open.”

That was Celestia’s only explanation as she set her hand on Thomas’ back and pushed him forcefully into the opening doors to her room. He gave his best muffled protests, but the alicorn was not listening. Incensed at her charge being stolen from under her nose, Grace tried to give chase, but was blocked off by Celestia’s guards.

“We’re sorry,” one said as the doors began to close. “But only authorized personnel are allowed in the Princess’ chambers.”

**********

“Uh oh,” Sun Dancer said unimpressed as she looked up from her book and witnessed Celestia march her prisoner inside. The doors closed with an ominous rumble rousing the attention of the other concubines in the room. “What did he do?” she asked, sounding as though this were all routine.

“He needs ideas for Luna’s present,” Celestia informed with a beaming smile.

“Ah,” was all Sun Dancer had to say before going back to her reading. “Try not to leave any stains.”

“Gah!” Thomas gasped after finally being able to open his mouth. “What’s all this for?”

Celestia knelt down the incredible distance until she was near eye-level with Thomas. “My sister’s spies are everywhere,” she whispered conspiratorially.

“Hear her talk, you’d think she wasn’t just as guilty,” Misty Glade chuckled.

At Thomas’ confusion, Steel Hoof stepped in with an amused snort. “You would not believe the lengths she’s gone to to make this year’s Hearth’s Warming special.”

“It’s her first since her return!” Celestia snapped back. “Why wouldn’t I want everything to be perfect?”

Sun Dancer cleared her throat. “Eyes on the prize, Princess,” she said indifferently as she turned a page in her book. “Eyes on the prize.”

“Right,” Celestia said with a resolute nod before turning back to Thomas. “We’re talking about the extra special gift given by the senior concubine.”

Thomas did not like the way Celestia was eyeing him up and took a step back.

“‘Tia,” Red Amber warned. “You’re scaring the little guy, and to a lesser extent me.”

“Right. Right.” Celestia breathed and calmed herself. Her hair went limp against her back as she folded her legs and sat on the carpeted floor. “Right. So, what exactly were you thinking, dearest Thomas?”

Thomas glanced from the alicorn to the surrounding concubines scattered around the room, noting that Talon was thankfully absent. They were all in various stages of undress and the smell in the air left little doubt as to what some had been doing just prior to his arrival. However, all seemed to keep a respectful distance as they watched the scene unfold. Thomas didn’t much care for being treated like a sideshow spectacle, but he pushed them out of his mind and looked up at the alicorn.

“I got a temporary guard to do shopping for the evening.”

Celestia easily resisted the urge to blurt the mare’s name, giving away that she was already informed. Normally she didn’t keep such close tabs on her sister and her harem, but these were special circumstances.

“I’d gotten stuff for just about everyone except the mare of the hour,” he explained. “That’s when Blade Grace suggested a romantic gesture that Luna wasn’t accustomed to, and who better to know what she’s gotten over the years than,” he gestured at Celestia, “her sister.”

“Naturally,” Celestia said with a pleased smile. “Your guard’s intuition is well honed, as such a gesture would be ideal.” The mare thoughtfully toughed her fingers to her chin. “Call it a hunch, but I’m guessing you don’t want this gesture to be sexual in nature, yes?”

Thomas nodded. “Call me crazy, but I kind of feel like that’d be too much of a work thing. Not to mention it kind of detracts from the sentiment to give something the other person gets on a daily basis.”

“While I might suggest offering to partake in one of her more exotic preferences, I respect your intent in this matter,” Celestia said as she assumed a ponderous expression. “Barring that, tell me what you have considered so far.”

Thomas smiled flatly. “I’ve never been much of a gift giver. Besides being terrible with remembering birthdays, I never seem to pay attention to what others want the way they seem to do for me,” he admitted. “Luna and the others have really helped me better myself in a lot of ways, but it all started with her and I want to show her how much I appreciate her.”

“Just throwing this out there,” an earth mare called. “What you said just now, about her making you better, keep that in mind for a card.” Her suggestion was met with soft murmurs of agreement.

“Thanks, um…” Thomas snapped his fingers.

“Wild Burst,” she finished. “No worries though. We never really talked before.”

“My sister has helped you grow as a person.” Celestia nodded sagely.

“Right,” Thomas affirmed. “And I don’t think expensive jewelry or a fancy dinner identical to the one we had a couple weeks ago really reflects that.”

“Be wary of setting the bar too high,” Celestia cautioned. “Lulu doesn’t want you to break the bank on a single present. I doubt your marefriend would be very appreciative of that, either. On a tangent, what did you get little Moony, anyway.”

“Grace suggested chocolate, so I got her a…” Thomas trailed off as the surrounding concubines shook their heads in disapproval. Oh crap! he thought in a panic. Was that not good enough!?

“You suck at secrets!” they began to jeer. “Don’t be surprised if she isn’t.” “Maybe she should keep the mute spell on indefinitely.”

“Really, now,” Sun Dancer scoffed. “All this worry about keeping the surprise and you go blabbing to the first mare who asks?” She tsked. “Shameful.”

Thomas’ shoulders slumped in disparagement as his eyes fell on Celestia. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Celestia agreed stoically. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to employ a long-term mute spell.”

Thomas lowered and shook his head before chuckling under his breath. “You guys suck.”

“Yeah?” one asked. “We blow and slurp too. What’s your point?”

Thomas chortled harder. “If I might borrow Sun Dancer’s words, can we keep our eyes on the prize?”

“Yes,” Sun Dancer replied, never tearing her eyes from her book. “You may borrow, but only if you agree to pay interest.”

“You’ve helped Luna, too,” Celestia interjected, getting them back on track. “She’s really come out of her shell since you came into her life.”

“Phrasing! Boom!” a mare called before exchanging high-fives with another.

Celestia paid them no mind. “The point is that neither of you are exactly the same as when you both met. Perhaps you should do something that emphasizes your mutual growth?”

Thomas crossed his arms as he thought. “I like it, but I was never much of an abstract thinker.”

Celestia nodded. “Few are, but I suspect the added effort will make this gift all the more delicious.”

Thomas blinked as his head snapped up. “Delicious…”

Celestia grinned. “I take it you’ve had a thought?”

“A few,” Thomas answered distractedly. “I, uh, have to go.” He rose from his seat and made his way to the door. Before leaving, he stopped himself and turned around. “Oh, and thanks a lot.”

“You know what to get my sister?”

Thomas smiled back. “I’ve got an idea.”

Some parts you’ll recognize as reader suggestions, others were of my own design. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m apparently so bad at gift giving that for the longest time I couldn’t think of what to get my own characters. In hindsight it was a little obvious, although I think I’ll refrain from going into such detail on gift-giving stories in the future.

I'd also like to thank ultrapoknee, Kamunari, Tenth, 3333, and especially AuthorGenesis. I didn't use all your suggestions, but I still appreciate your contributions.