Wheew~ An early Xmas gift for you! :D Santa has heard your wishes! Though, this is the first time I've ever written for XXXholic, and also a oneshot! That's why this is ultra long haha! (Didn't want to make it 2-shot) Anyway, enjoy, all those who are bored before xmas! Be warned: there's a lot of philosophy and symbolism here... I'm in that mood again, huh...

Disclaimer: Not even Santa can give me the rights, even if I wrote them on the list!

XXXmas Carols:

A XXXholic fic

"Why am I always the one stuck with cooking?" an annoyed voice made it through a little japanese-styled house amidst Tokyo's metropolis. Watanuki stomped through the corridor leading to the living room of the house he had inherited. Had he looked into the mirror in his hurry, he would have noticed the deep lying bags beneath his eyes and the accompanying navy shadows, evidence of continuously strenuous and sleepless nights.

It seemed like the whole of Tokyo was suddenly having wishes of supernatural nature. Not all of the spirits were friendly either. He sighed for the nth time that evening.

He slid the paper door open with his foot. Instantly, the clamour representative of the Mokona-Maru-Moro trio became evident. Among them sat a large man in his 20s.

"Doumeki! I can't believe you decide to freeload even during Christmas! Shouldn't the temple be busy around this time? It's almost New Year!" the glasses wearing boy shouted as soon as he laid eyes on his long-term rival/enemy/companion/friend?

The other simply shrugged in negligence. He had been sitting in the same position for nearly half an hour, surprisingly not yet numb. Watanuki carefully placed the tray of food for 5 people on the little table in front of the other. Then, he took his place opposite.

"Couldn't you have made something more impressive? Like turkey? It's Christmas you know." Doumeki raised one eyebrow questioningly while scrutinizing the bowl of plain rice and the chopsticks in front of him. He frowned slightly, yet his voice remained calm.

At that moment Mokona readied itself for the oncoming outburst. It was always like this. Luckily its ears could be folded down.

"Why? So that I can cut it into little bits and pieces that you can scoop up with one hand?"

The older boy froze midway adding sauce to his rice. Silence entered the room when he noticed the magician's cold stare that seemed to pierce his soul. The clatter when he sat down the soy sauce echoed through the room. One hand unconsciously moved to hold his left arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked dumbstruck. Damn, he really had tried hard to look unbothered.

"What's wrong you ask? Again? Do you think I'm stupid or something?" the expected yell finally crashed through. "You're injured again! I can see that you're whole left arm is numb! Why do you think I asked you to eat a bowl of rice with chopsticks?"

There was something different with the explosion this time. It was much more severe and carried a cold undertone. It almost seemed unnatural.

He watched as Watanuki dug into his sleeves to retrieve a small lilac bottle. Then the younger man kneeled next to him and pulled up his left sleeve. How did he know? This thought crossed through his mind, but the answer was so obvious he should slap his wrist for just thinking he could deceive the other's increasing spiritual power.

Cold fingertips grazing his skin caused his entire body to shiver, but wasn't his left arm entirely numb? So much for trying to do some Christmas shopping. In the end it really was his fault, he guessed. Only now did he notice that the immobility slowly melted away as the violet liquid spread on his skin. It was so warm.

"What's that?"

"You don't want to know"

He really didn't want to. It was a present from Karasu Tengu. Mind you, NOT Zashiki Warashi. Karasu Tengu. And it looked suspiciously like all-healing ointment made from their saliva. He didn't have to know that.

Doumeki shrugged his shoulders. The usually talkative Watanuki had strangely turned taciturn tonight. It must be a side effect of the endless sleepless nights he had suffered. To be honest, those were probably worse than the measly wound they were arguing over now.

"It's nothing big. Some spirits came after me; it's my own fau-" he couldn't finish his sentence.

"OF COURSE IT'S YOUR OWN FREAKING FAULT! DON'T COME TO ME EVERY TIME YOU'RE HURT, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR INJURIES!"

He hadn't expected the last sentence. It seemed like his whole body had frozen over, and his heart was somehow aching as much as a sore throat. The only thing he could do, was stare into his partner's fervent eyes in confusion.

Abruptly the high school boy stood up, turned around and loudly slid the door shut, as if to say: "Don't dare to follow me, I don't want to see you right now!" Unbeknownst to him, he had left the entire room in awe at his questionable behaviour.

"Meeeeh, Watanuki is angryyy." Mokona whined. "Angry!" Maru & Moro copied.

"Urgh! Why does it always have to be like that? Why is he always stupidly coming to visit, asking me for favours? I'm not his toy, for God's sake!" grumbled to himself. At times like this, the only thing that could calm his enraged mind was a solid cup of sake and his pipe.

Since he couldn't leave the house anyway, he made satisfied himself by sitting furthest away from the room with that bastard inside as possible, thus ending up sitting on the outside corridor staring at his own backyard.

How he could remember all those tedious days working on that stupid field to grow the strawberries Yuuko-san wanted so badly? Under the hot summer-sun no less! Now he was looking at thick snowflakes dancing onto the already solid white blanket covering his hard work.

That's right. Yuki-onna be damned! Snow faeries dancing through the sky? Who came up with that poetic nonsense? Christmas didn't seem like sharing and giving at all. It seemed more like giving and taking. The snow just made everything worse, covering his hard work, covering everything he had so meticulously worked on for what? A trap suffocating everything beneath its opulence?

Why was he trapped in this little world, unable to move about freely like a caged exotic bird? And why is it that his wings have to be leaden and burdened with the weights of responsibility?

Of course he didn't mean anything when he yelled earlier. It was just better, more convenient to do so. If Doumeki wasn't involved, he would've never gotten the injuries he got, maybe even have normal eyes.

The boy reached to cover the eye that wasn't his. Then, maybe half would all he be able to see. He sighed again. The cold winter air did nothing to lift the invisible force dragging him down, but it was all he could do to prevent himself from breaking down. He was such a weak creature!

A sudden draft of wind caused him to perk up. What an unexpected surprise! A small smile grew on his lips. It was always a pleasant event to meet her. It instantly cheered him up. A favour to her, would never be a problem. After all, it was their duty to take care of Syaoran. Nothing would please him more.

As if on cue, a small whirlwind of snowflakes announced the manifestation of Clow country's princess. Not even the heaviness clawing at the long sleeves of Watanuki's robes could stop him from rising and greeting a dazzling Sakura-chan.

From seemingly nowhere, he conjured a navy golden-rimmed mantel and put it on her shivering shoulders.

"It's cold. You should have checked the weather before you decided to hop over." He gently chided.

She pouted in return: "Meh! I just learned how to travel dimensions on my own! How could I know how to check the weather as well?"

Watanuki noticed the slightly more mature glister in his friend's eyes as she stared at the cup of green tea in front of her. It had been so long since they last saw each other!

"Watanuki-kun, I have a wish." The princess confessed with glowing cheeks. What she was asking for was so obvious, the magician could have guessed without having his powers at all. He grinned in return. All her wishes centred around the same person anyway.

"So you want me to send him to Clow country next?"

Knowing the answer, he tried to think of something suitable as price. That was after all always the hardest and riskiest part of his job.

"It's almost Christmas after all! Even though we don't have snow faeries, and no snow, we love to celebrate Christmas together! It's a national holiday! We dance and sing together, you should come over sometime Watanuki-kun!" She suggested goofily.

"I'm glad you are enjoying your time, then. To be honest, I'm surprised the holiday falls on the same day. I would love to come, but I think it would be hard to leave this place." At these words his eyes grew unbelievably hard, but Sakura could only see loneliness reflect in them.

"Watanuki-kun, you are so lucky! The snow here dances so beautifully, it must be serene and beautiful just watching. We are in times of peace, so let's just share and join the merriment?" She reached out to touch one of his long sleeves.

The teen couldn't stand the expectation floating through the air. Instead, he lifted his sleeve to scratch the back of his head: "Saaa, your price will be…" Before he could finish the thought, the girl had produced a large object covered with a simple linen cloth.

"I know. Here is the price. You see, I was worried about you." She smiled mysteriously. A whirl of Sakura petals started to move around her. "It's of equal value, so don't worry. Yukito has already taught me about hitsuzen. The rest is just a Christmas gift!" Her voice sounded across the room even after she had gone back to her own world.

Watanuki wondered whether the thick white falling from the sky would be mini-sized clouds announcing the end of the world, when he pulled the string of the light and carried the newly acquired item into his bedroom.

A soft fluttering came from the beneath the cloth. It must be alive. Indeed, when he uncovered what turned out to be a cage he was faced with the most fantastic creature he had seen. (In his line of work that means quite something!) It seemed as if two large ruby eyes were staring at him.

For a second, the thought of Yuuko-san flashed through his mind, but then he noticed the gold lines around the rubies, and he realized they were only paintings on a butterfly's wings. It was no ordinary creature indeed. Butterflies were a symbol of change, moreover they characterized her so well! It was the largest of its kind he had encountered so far.

"Sakura-chan is really amazing!" He whispered to himself as he shook his head gently. Was this supposed to cheer him up? His smile was tinged with the pain of sadness as he recovered the gift and drifted into the world of dreams, for once, not with the purpose of work.

"Looks like you're doing great! I knew you were a good match!"

"WHO MAKES A GOOD MATCH?" he instinctively yelled back.

This voice…seemed so familiar! It's this voice that always has him raging, the same voice that was always there for him whenever he needed it. He would notice that nonchalance anywhere!

"Yuuko-san!" he noticed how his voice had become that of a child's, but he couldn't care less. Watanuki was much too relieved to confirm that the witch looked exactly like he remembered her. His efforts weren't in vain. He didn't forget her unlike he dreamt in many of his nightmares.

A characteristic menacing chuckled bubbled up her throat. " Stupid! I've always been there! Who do you think is watching you? You should see the audience you have for everything you do! By the way, you're not bad, as I would have expected, I was right in letting you take over."

Hearing these words was like guilt stabbing him in the gut. "I can't do this! I am always responsible for everyone I'm involving! Doumeki got hurt because of me again!" he disagreed so much, his chest was in pain, leaving him out of breath.

"You're wrong. He stays with you because he wants to. He is a free man. He doesn't have to pay for any powers with his freedom, like you. But with that freedom comes uncertainty. That is the risk that he is willing to bear. It has nothing to do with you. You have no right to decide that for him, foolish Watanuki!" She glared at him sternly to emphasize her point. Then she seemed to change her mind. "Have you heard of snow faeries? They are supposed to be the most beautiful creatures you can gaze on only about this time of the year." A disgruntled expression served instead of a reply. "Their dust is rumoured to be able to relieve stress and nourish sleep." She winked at my expression of incredulity.

"Then, did he try to catch one because of me?" My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it! "What an unnecessary, stupid thing to do!" I yelled in reponse. It's none of his business. It wasn't like a few sleepless nights would stop people from finding me.

"That may be so for you, but because of that, Sakura has asked me to come and set a fire on your stubbornness! Your only most important assignment is to keep balance. That is all you are entrusted to do. Both sides have to share the weight. That's how life is. You cannot decide and gather all the weight yourself! I can only leave this in your hands and thank you for your efforts."

A genuine smile and a cloud of red and black coloured butterflies swept away the tall figure of the witch into darkness.

Watanuki awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside the paper door. It was Christmas day at last. Finally the ridiculous force oppressing his body had been lifted and replaced by lightness of foot. He could almost dance. Today's feast just had to be turkey! He would have to tell Doumeki to get some later.

Shoot! Hitting his forehead, he remembered last night. Now he had to apologize to that idiot as well…just great. But at least now he had an idea of what he had to do, and a goal he could remind himself of. He gently stroke the cover of the cage whose fluttering equal his own around his stomach area.

After a few minutes of brainstorming he came to the conclusion that traditional mulled wine would probably serve to abate Doumeki's and probably Mokona's wrath. The kitchen would be the first place to go.

On throwing back his blanket he noticed the writing stitched into the white linen he had missed earlier.

"We are both gifted with the ability to see dreams, if we aren't the ones to grasp them, who is?"

Sakura

"Helping others isn't so bad after all." He mumbled while making a note to thank her later.

Dear readers,

yuuup my first one shot! This is a record for me! I'm the type that writes quickly and much, so I really had to cut it down, and tailor this to the story! I mean, usually the plotbunnies plant the storyline into my dreams, but to have to make one up on the spot, turns out to be quite a challenge! (this took me only 2h though, mind you. hehe^^)

Also this is my first DoumekixWatanuki thing... I sorta like them, but to be honest, I much prefer the TCR pairing Fay!3 xKurogane

I wish all my lovely readers a merry Xmas and a happy new year! May your resolutions come true!

I know that one of mine is to finally publish my finished Yuuram fic for KKM -_- I've been so lazy to just publish it, it's incredible!

Anyway, I hope I will see you in "Beautiful Nightmare" !

XXX Giureedi~