Christmas Spirit

Story by Leo_Todrius on SoFurry

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Christmas Spirit Written by Leo_Todrius Commissioned by Beardbear

After several down seasons, things were finally starting to look brighter for the first Christmas season in several years. Black Friday had been a blazing success, the weather was the perfect balance of seasonably cold but not treacherous and spirits were high. The mall was getting more into the season than it had since the economy tanked. Windows were glittering with lights and glittery snowflakes. Transparent plastic snowflakes and packages hung beneath the skylights in the high ceilings, scattering the light around. The ice skating rink on the lowest level of the mall was constantly busy with children gliding along and the air was rich with the warm and festive tones of holiday music. It seemed that the mall had spared no expense... with one exception.

While 'Christmas Village' was more developed than ever with snow mounds, imported trees and a very realistic looking holiday cabin nestled in the midst of everything, the Santa and Elf on staff left a little something to be desired. The holiday staff that had been hired for the occasion had gotten a far better deal elsewhere and had left the mall in the lurch. Sitting on the large red velvet chair, dressed up in the satin robes that were several too sizes was a thirty year old member of the accounting team. A pillow rested against his stomach and a rather unconvincing beard was strapped to his face. Thankfully his Santa had was big and fluffy enough to cover up his short dishwater blond hair. Walter was doing his best, but he had never been a big fan of Christmas. As far as marketing went, it meant cliché and tired methods that came back every single year. As far as he was concerned, it would have been just as much of an insult to have to use 1960's advertisements again as to fill in for Santa, though it was a close competition.

Standing by Walter's side was another emergency fill in. Zade was a twenty year old from the Mall's I.T. department. He stood at six foot two and barely a hundred and twenty pounds. His tall, skinny body was clad in green tights and a shirt, a long floppy green hat hanging over feathered brown hair. He'd been given rather expensive prosthetic elf ears, high quality enough to leave his earrings and Bluetooth in. He stood to one side of the chair, his arms crossed, his face conveying a rather hearty case of disdain for being put in the position he was. Both kept glancing at the clock. While the Mall would be open for several more hours, Christmas village thankfully closed earlier than the rest. They were already past closing time, but their contract had covered up to a half hour of overflow time. Thankfully the line was thinning out.

While both men were rather miserable, they were still trying to do their best... at least until replacements could be found and brought in. Walter turned looking at what was left of the line. There were several people left, though the false Santa could only see one more kid... A young six year old blow with shaggy black hair trotted up to the front of the line, nearly bouncing out of his shoes. His parents smiled to each other and then up at the Santa. Walter smiled, though mainly because this was likely the last child he had to see. Zade ushered the child forward before carefully hoisting him up, setting him down onto Walter's lap. Walter had to give Zade credit. The techie was gentle with the kids and managed to set them on his lap in a way that wasn't uncomfortable every time... and he was incredibly fast when it came to the criers. They were making the best of a very bad situation.

"Well, hello there... You've been such a patient young man, waiting all this time... past closing..." Walter said, trying not to sound too jaded. He just prayed that the kid didn't want too much.

"Thank you for waiting Santa... I know you're busy and have to go all over the place." The boy said. Walter blushed a bit beneath his fake beard. He hadn't gotten too many thank you's during the day and it felt rather good.

"So, what would you like this year? I know you've been pretty good, and the few times you haven't been, well... You've been so polite that I'm sure it's all forgiven." Walter said. It was half an excuse for the child to feel entitled to many presents that could be purchased at the mall, but also a way for Walter to thank the boy for his kindness.

"Oh! Thank you." The boy smiled warmly, closing his eyes to consider, "I'd like a Lego Millenium Falcon... and a Hotwheels wall set... and a Ghostbusters movie re-release figure set..." The boy considered. Zade had to chuckle, he liked the kid's tastes and well spoken nature. He also had to appreciate his ingenuity. Standing as close as he was, Zade's Bluetooth recorded the child's list, interpreted the words and sent them wirelessly to a printer hidden in a giant candy cane. The printer presented a list printed on peppermint green paper, the font set to one that appeared to be handwriting. The parents saw the list and accepted it, getting to know exactly what the boy had asked for Christmas.

"Well, those are some very good wishes and I'll see what I can do... But no matter what happens, I want you to have a Merry Christmas and remember that your kindness is a gift to others after very long days." Walter said. The boy smiled brightly, showing a gap toothed grin.

"And I hope you get something very good for Christmas Santa." The boy said, moving to hug Walter tight. Zade moved around the two, snapping several photos that printed out of the front of the camera. He handed the pictures to the parents, set the camera down and lifted the boy off Walter's lap, setting the boy down. He walked over to his parents and took their hands, walking off together. Walter let out a deep sigh of relief, slumping in the chair. Zade moved down the fake cobblestone path to close the gate behind the three and turned the plastic clock to signal their return the next day. He turned off some of the lights but left the lit up village the way it looked.

"It'll be so good to get out of these damn curly shoes..." Zade muttered, moving back to gather up their gear.

"The kids weren't too bad, but this chair is terrible, and that pillow has to have feathers in it, poking me through the shirt... I'll be glad to get back to my office when we get replacements." Walter said.

"If I never wear tights again, it'll be too soon." Zade added.

"I don't know, I think you two did really well considering the circumstances." Came a warm, rich voice. Both men turned, looking to where the voice had come from. Standing at the gates of the village was quite the man. He appeared to be in his sixties with flowing white hair and a short white beard. His cheeks were rosy and the red Northface jacket that hugged his broad shoulders seemed all the more bright where he stood beneath the bows of a lit up Christmas tree. There was no denying, he looked a lot more like Santa than Walter did.

"Oh, you must be the replacement Santa?" Walter asked, springing up, moving over to the fence, offering his hand. The older man accepted it and gave a good shake.

"I heard about your predicament... Its terrible that someone could just abandon Christmas Village for money... It's really a testament to the spirit of the season that you two would step in and fill the gap, even though some may not want to." The man smiled. Zade shrugged as he moved over.

"Well, someone's gotta do it." Zade said. The man chuckled even more.

"I didn't see a single disappointed child either... And that list system? I rather like it." The man chuckled.

"Well, I can show you how it works tomorrow; make sure you aren't in the lurch." Zade offered. The man grinned wider.

"That's so kind young man. You both have been so good to everyone. I hope you get a just reward this season, a true gift worthy of your generosity." The man said, glancing around before he pulled out some gold dollar coins, "Why don't you two get some hot peppermint hot chocolates on me before you head home... It's pretty nippy outside." He said.

"I can't accept that, it's too generous." Walter said.

"Nonsense, 'tis the season as they say." The man said, seeming so jolly it was almost infectious. Walter glanced to Zade and Zade gave an eager smile. Walter felt a bit bad for his elf associate, he had to be cold in those tights...

"Well thank you very much, you're very kind. I'll try to pass it on." Walter said, accepting the coins. The man chuckled brightly.

"I'm sure you will. Have a good evening you two." The man said before he moved off to get familiar with the mall. Zade grinned brightly, moving to let Walter out of the gated village before locking it up behind them both. By contract they couldn't remove their costumes on Mall property in the event that it would dispel the myth to the children, but having hot cocoa in costume wasn't going to be too much of a problem. Walter waited for Zade before the two moved off, heading down the mall toward the food court.

****

While both Walter and Zade had started the day rather glum, both moved to the back of the food court with smiles on their faces, though Walter's was hidden behind his fake beard. The spirit of the season had caught them by surprise and they'd been recognized for their good deeds by both the children and their replacement Santa. Walter moved up to the seasonal shop, smelling cinnamon and peppermint and gingerbread in the air. They even had slices of fruit cake for sale, it really was impressive.

"What can I get you fine gentlemen?" came the warm voice of the server behind the counter. Zade turned to look at the man, realizing that he too had dressed up as an elf. The server had broad shoulders, his green tunic tight. Black dreads hung out of his elf hat and his ears were matched perfectly to his skin. Zade couldn't make out a seam line anywhere on or around his pointed ears.

"Two peppermint hot chocolates please." Walter said, putting the coins down. The man glanced down at the coins, his eyebrows rising up for a moment before a grin crossed his lips.

"Coming right up." He replied. Walter and Zade waited before they were presented with two large mugs of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, a few baby marshmallows and shavings of dark chocolate on top of the frothy white. It really was an extravagant treat, especially for a dollar each. "Happy Holidays." The man said. Zade grinned, feeling a lot less uncomfortable in his elf outfit. He and Walter took their cups, moving to sit down at one of the more remote tables. Zade sat down easily, though Walter had to adjust a bit to the pillow hugging his torso. Once they were down, Walter sipped at his drink, a bit of the foam clinging to the tips of his fake mustache.

"Zade, I really wanted to thank you for all your help this season, you've made a bad situation quite... well, wonderful actually." Walter said. He hadn't thought of the day that way, but looking back it really was memorable. Zade lifted his mug to his lips and tipped it back, savoring the heat and cool all at the same time.

"Well it wasn't any sweat really. I mean, I was amazed to hear that you took the job. It really made me realize we aren't that different... When it comes down to it, you were there to make the holidays happen." Zade grinned.

"Well, what else is Santa supposed to do?" Walter chuckled, feeling rather warm and tingly all over... Though no where more than his face. The underside of the fake beard was hugging his flesh, conforming to his face before the tiny strands began to glimmer and sink into his face, hair follicles growing to meet them. As the hairs connected, the meshing disappeared and a sort of vitality stretched out, each strand becoming almost satiny white as they became real from root to tip. The beard settled into Walter's face, becoming as real as anything. He shuddered gently, sipping more cocoa, his tongue moving to collect the foam from his mustache... and somehow it felt quite natural indeed. Walter looked up at Zade, eyeing him in a brand new light... There was something about him that was just... all around perfect. The way he filled out his tights, his earrings, his layered hair, his pointy ears... it was like he was naughty and nice all at the same time... "And you make a fantastic elf. You pull it off, all of it... Which is just what elves are supposed to do."

"Well, thanks... That means a lot coming from Santa." Zade chuckled. While Zade had meant it as a general compliment, when he looked up at Walter, he was struck by how profoundly handsome the man looked. He seemed to evoke images of power, position, good will and kindness... The tip of one of Zade's pointed ears suddenly itched and he reached up to scratch it, not realizing that his own ears had ended almost an inch and a half lower when he woke up that morning. As Zade sat there, his tights were growing a bit tighter, hugging the lithe muscles in his legs, contouring around his curvy ass and his supple package. Even his shirt hugged a bit tighter, revealing that he was in fact the proud owner of nipple rings.

"Maybe this doesn't have to be the end of our working together... I mean, we hit it off so well." Walter suggested. Zade nodded eagerly.

"Oh I know, completely." Zade said, sipping more of his cocoa. He certainly wanted to see more of Walter.

"I mean, maybe I could try to upgrade marketing to use more technology, try to catch the younger generations... Maybe I can even get you to work for me, in my own little workshop." Walter chuckled.

"That sounds great... We should discuss more over drinks." Zade whispered.

"We're having drinks..." Walter said in surprise. Zade licked his lips.

"Adult drinks..." Zade said, reaching over to rest his hand on Walter's hand. Walter's eyebrows rose as he looked to the lithe, young elf before him. It was shocking, but it was also irresistible.

"I have some at my place..." Walter whispered. Zade grinned.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Let's go." Zade replied, tipping back his cocoa. The warm chocolaty drink flowed down his throat and into his stomach. Walter drank the rest of his before moving to stand up, rubbing his hand over his warm, round belly. He knew the extra flesh wasn't exactly healthy, but it felt so good... as if there was more to love, and it certainly seemed to be working on Zade. The two linked hands once they were standing, moving for the nearest exit with glee.

****

The door to Walter's apartment opened suddenly as Walter and Zade spilled through it, Zade's arms locked around the white haired man's head as they exchanged kisses. Zade managed to kick the door shut as they weaved through the apartment, heading back toward the dark bedroom that beckoned beyond. Walter swatted at the stereo as they passed, managing to kick it on. An all men a capella of Carrol of the Bells filled the air around them. Zade broke the kiss to nuzzle Walter's soft white beard before returning to the warm lips, their tongues tangling once more. From what little of the apartment Zade could see in his peripheral vision, he was impressed. Walter had decorated a bit. It was modest, just a few strings of light and a few candles, but it showed that even in a season neither of them had originally liked, they fostered a bit of the spirit.

Once inside Walter's room, Zade reached into the big man's red shirt, moving to caress the round belly. He shivered in delight, though he found it a bit fuzzier than he thought... and just as warm as he hoped. It seemed the hot chocolates were still keeping them both delightfully warm. Zade eagerly unbuttoned Walter's jacket and tossed it aside, reaching up to run his hands through Walter's thick, soft white chest hair. It was so soft and luxurious that it was almost like fur... Walter, meanwhile, wanted his own Christmas package in the form of Zade's groin. He reached down into Zade's pants to grope and fondle the elf, finding the boy's bush so soft and delightful that he nearly got distracted petting it.

Zade moved to unfasten Walter's pants, letting them fall around his thick, strong legs... Each was stronger than he thought before... like trunks of muscle. Zade crouched before Walter, reaching to bring the older man's underwear down slowly, revealing a thick, soft white bush beneath. Zade buried his face in it, nuzzling and moaning, inhaling the musky scent before he dropped down lower. Walter's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he felt hot lips at his rock hard shaft. Zade's lips parted, pressing around the mushroom shaped head. Walter reached down to tangle his fingers in the elf's hair, though the hat was in the way. He tossed the green felt aside, feeling his shaggy brown hair.

The elf eased forward, his cheeks going wide as the cock made it deeper and deeper into his mouth. He worshipped the cock of his superior, drawing his head back and forth, thrusting his maw around it. Walter moaned wide and tipped his head back, but as his lips parted, the cool air rushed into his mouth, passing over his teeth as they began to stretch into sharp fangs. His lips darkened from pink to black and his tongue widened a bit. It would have been clear something profound was happening if the two men were not so lost in their physical pleasure. Walter continued to caress Zade's head, though his fingers were throbbing.

Zade kept sucking hard, so encouraged by the feeling of the fingers on his scalp. Walter's fingernails began darkening, turning from white to a deep, dark brown that was nearly black... and they were growing. The fingernails pushed out longer, curving and thickening into true claws. Even Walter's palms were swelling, developing balloons of black flesh that seemed to be paw pads. The hair on his arms had long since turned from blond to white and was growing thicker and softer than ever. It slipped down past his wrists and across his hands, covering the fingers and every part of the palm but the paw pads.

As Walter massaged Zade's scalp, he found something strange. There were bumps on the techie's skull. Zade shuddered as the bumps were massaged. Sensing the reaction, Walter honed in on them. His fingers toyed with the bumps before the skin suddenly stretched, developing a fine layer of velvet like fuzz. What had spread beneath the flesh was a bone like protrusion... a protrusion that was growing quickly, spreading both upwards and downwards. Zade murmured, pulling his head back before thrusting it forward again... but every time he tugged on his face, his lips seemed to stay buried in Walter's bush. His nose, lips and jaw stretched forward, narrowing. It looked rather strange on Zade, but rather fitting at the same time. Zade's nose tilted up, the skin becoming rubbery before it turned a rich, dark brown. His cheeks grew dark as well, but they were dark with stubble.

Walter snorted and grunted in pure bliss, though each contortion of his face left it far different than it had been. The white fuzz from his beard was spreading up around his eyes and across his forehead, meeting up with his hairline. His nostrils had turned black and rubbery as well, tilting up to face forward. White fur was even spreading over his ears, ears that were becoming even rounder than before. With one long roar of pleasure, Walter's face extended, bones creaking and teeth widening as he gained a muzzle. The fur across his body continued to spread, filling in every gap. Above Walter's furry white ass cheeks, his tailbone suddenly pushed out, gaining a few more bones as it developed a little nub of a tail. White fur quickly spread over it, complimenting the rest of his body.

As Walter's feet swelled larger and were covered by white fur and tipped with claws, it was becoming rather apparent that he had nearly completed his transformation into a white furry bearded polar bear. Zade's body, however, seemed to be struggling to catch up. Zade had been trying to curl and uncurl his toes in lust, but it hadn't been going exactly to plan. The flesh of some of his toes had seemed to fuse together and the toenails had darkened to a deep brown color before they began spreading out across his toes. On each foot it seemed his toes and nails had fused to form two portions that were soon capped by hooves, cloven hooves. Behind the exposed rim of the hoof, his feet swelled foot pads as well, more than enough to distribute the weight of his lithe body.

Walter sniffed the air, smelling their combined musk. It smelled so very good that he felt his lust climb to new levels. Oral wasn't going to be enough. The polar bear surged, pushing Zade onto his back before flipping him over. Zade moaned in ecstasy as he felt the older man's claws tear into his elf suit, tearing it down the spine. Walter licked his lips as he revealed more and more flesh, though he spotted a bulge just above Zade's ass. When Walter got low enough, the spandex outfit split and a thick, fuzzy triangular flag of a tail emerged above fuzzy, pert ass cheeks parted just enough to reveal a tail hole. As walter watched, the brown fur spread up along Zade's spine before spreading across his perfect back and supple shoulders.

Sensing what was coming, Zade eagerly lifted his hips, presenting his ass to the polar bear. Walter growled in delight, guiding his achingly hard cock to Zade's ass. A gush of precum sprayed over the ring of muscle before the bear started pushing in. Zade's fingers dug into the sheets, though it felt rather different than before as Zade's fingernails had turned brown and boney, stretching to cover each individual fingertip with little hooflets. The fur that had started as stubble on his face had continued to spread out, though he had a lot more complicated fur pattern than Walter. Zade's cheeks and back were covered by dark brown fur, but the fur around his mouth and down his chest and stomach was a lot lighter, sort of a creamy tan in color.

Walter thrust in deep into Zade before pulling back and thrusting in with even more power. It was nearly enough to knock Zade over. The bear reached to grab onto Zade's hips with his powerful paws, keeping him in place as he fucked the former elf over and over. In fact, Zade's pointed elf ears were one of the few things that had yet to change, but even they were starting to morph. The points of the ears stretched out longer as the edges flared out wider. Soft, dark fur stretched up the backs of the ears before a lighter color filled the insides almost like felt. Before long Zade was covered from head to toe in soft fur. Even his swaying balls were fuzzy... but he was still quite distinctive in several ways. He still had his shaggy brown hair, his earrings and his nipple rings... But he was lither than ever, his entire body full of a powerful grace. It was quite the contrast to Walter's raw power and brute strength... strength that had been growing.

It seemed with every thrust, grind and pant that Walter was becoming stronger. His spine had stretched, his shoulders had widened, his pecs and abs had filled out. Beneath the layers of white fur was a muscled behemoth intent on sexing up his lovely reindeer. Walter was so turned on that he was nearly going wide. He had watched Zade's antlers grow in, spreading up and down from their mounting point, developing several points of maturity. Walter's only regret was that Zade hadn't had the antlers when sucking him off, they would have made fantastic handlebars. Walter hilted himself in Zade over and over, prodding the reindeer's prostate to send out more and more waves of pleasure.

In the midst of their fucking, the two hadn't been paying attention to how much time had been passing... but outside the sun had set, the sky had grown dark and snow had started to fall gently. The Christmas music had continued to play outside, and unseen beneath the bunched up curtains, a power bar with a timer had been ticking away. Reaching six o'clock, the timer clicked on and Christmas lights spread around the molding of the room snapped on. The growing darkness was chased away by a bright, warm rainbow of colors refracting off of the off-white walls. Zade moaned in both pleasure and cheer, loving everything that was happening.

The reindeer's moans drove Walter wild, but as much as Zade loved making his pleasure last, he couldn't hold back any longer. His tail twitched, his ass clenched around the bear's long cock and Zade's fuzzy corvine muzzle made the perfect o-face as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Beneath his fuzzy abs his hard, long cock spasmed before jets of sperm gushed out across the sheets and smeared into his fur. Feeling the clenching muscles around his cock, Walter couldn't help but let out a window rattling roar of pleasure himself before his balls seized, his cock pulsed and he began pumping hot cum deep into the ass of his mate. Still, he kept thrusting, churning it in deeper and deeper.

The two kept mating for several long moments until their orgasms subsided and they were too spent to continue. Walter collapsed onto the bed, draping his body over Zade. Zade cuddled up beneath the polar bear, feeling warmer and more content than he ever had before. It was like having the best electric fur blanket in existence. The two cuddled and adjusted a bit to maximize pleasure before they both passed out cold, deeply content.

****

The sun had risen and brought the town one day closer to Christmas, only serving to amp up the festivities in the mall. The spirit of the season had never been stronger. It seemed that every shop was handing out candy canes and mints, even more decorations were going up and the season shop was working at record pace handing out hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies to all sorts of people. Thankfully the mall was also full of various mascots, allowing Walter and Zade to enter without any scrutiny. Walter had put his fuzzy red and white jacket and pants back on, looking different enough with his polar bear face to not resemble Santa. Zade, meanwhile, had not been able to salvage any of his shredded uniform. He was wearing leather pants instead, and a harness covered with jingle bells. Beneath the shaggy fur covering his chest, even his nipple rings had two tiny bells hanging from them, though they were obscured a bit.

The two reached Christmas Village to see that the replacement Santa had been doing rather well, getting the children through at a good pace. The parents seemed happy and they all seemed loaded down by presents, which was certainly good for the businesses. Zade and Walter exchanged a glance at each other before they moved to take the staff entrance into the village. Sneaking between two large Christmas trees, they used a hidden gate to enter the back of the village. Zade smiled inadvertently as they walked through the fake snow. It felt so good beneath his hooves. He also loved how he jingled and jangled as he walked. He just had to make sure not to turn himself on, there were children around and this was work after all. As the reindeer and polar bear emerged from behind Santa's workshop, the children in line gasped in delight. Santa turned, spotting the two before a large grin crossed his face and he chuckled warmly.

"Ah, two of Santa's good friends have arrived! Aren't we fortunate... Now, Santa will be right back, but in the mean time don't you fret. My good friend here is going to read you a lovely Christmas tale and you'll all get some fresh cookies and cocoa!" Santa said. The kids cheered happily as the elf from the cocoa shop moved over, holding an old leather bound book with golden lettering. He sat down on a bench and children gathered at his feet as he began to read the timeless old words. Even the parents were captivated, none of them paying attention to Santa. The old man reached Zade and Walter and put his hands on their backs, guiding them over to the overhang of the house.

"I see you two got on rather well." Santa smiled.

"So you know about this, what happened?" Walter asked.

"What happened was that you two managed to preserve the season even when you had lost some of the spirit. You protected this amazing time of year for the children and you brought them smiles even when you didn't feel like smiling... I don't know what could be nicer than that, so of course you deserved a present." Santa chuckled. Zade's eyebrows shot up gently.

"Th... Then you're the real... Santa?" Zade asked softly. Walter looked stunned at the revelation. Seeing them both shocked, Santa couldn't help but give an even louder chuckle that rose up from his round belly.

"Of course I am... How else would I know what you would like for Christmas? And may I say, you two make a rather nice pair." Santa said, reaching up to scratch Zade's chin. Zade's eyes slipped shut and his lips parted, moaning as his chin was scratched. His tail flicked and twitched in pleasure before Santa drew his fingers back. Zade licked his lips, looking at Walter and Santa with an adorable smile.

"So... What happens to us now?" Walter asked gently.

"What do you want to have happen?" Santa asked, "Do you want to return your gift... Or, what is it the kids say these days? Re-gift it?" he chuckled.

"No-" Both said quickly in unison.

"What... What I think we mean is that we are so happy that... we found each other, but we're not sure how we'll blend in at all." Walter said softly.

"Well there are plenty of bears and reindeers back home... And lots of elves to play with and things to do..." Santa said.

"You mean we get to go home with you?" Zade asked.

"I should hope so. This is a perilous place to try and learn to fly..." Santa replied. Zade looked so shocked he was likely to collapse.

"I CAN FLY?!" Zade asked. Santa smiled and looked back to Walter.

"So, how about it? I could use a man with your skills, I want to get my name back out there a bit more, go on a bit of a marketing campaign. With luck, maybe I can get some more adults to believe in me again." Santa smiled.

"I... I'd be delighted." Walter whispered.

"And I do want to improve my techniques, include the technological. Do you think you'd enjoy that Zade?" Santa asked.

"Oh yes, yes..." Zade whispered.

"Good, good." Santa smiled, "How about you two help me finish out today and then we'll make sure everything is squared away."

"Of course, thank you... Santa." Walter said softly.

"Yes, thank you Santa." Zade replied. Santa smiled wide, patting them both on the head before he returned back to his chair. Zade and Walter looked at each other with love and wonder.

"Merry Christmas." Walter said softly, gazing into Zade's deep brown eyes.

"Merry Christmas." Zade replied, loving the sparkle in Walter's eyes.