Yaten shivered as she sunk down further in her seat, trying her hardest to stay warm. She was wearing the largest sweater she owned, Taiki's bulky jacket, a warm wool toque, woolen mittens and a large fuzzy scarf and yet she was still freezing cold. "I hate this weather." she whined. "Why are we even here anyways?"

Seiya chuckled at her from the driver's seat. "Usagi invited us to come spend Christmas with them, remember?"

That much was true, it had been over 2 years since the starlights had fled to earth to find their princess and Usagi had invited them back to Earth to spend Christmas with them and Seiya had happily jumped at the offer. They still had their old apartment from their days as the Three Lights and so they were staying there for the holiday season.

Yaten buried herself further down in her seat trying to keep herself warm. "I hate this planet." she muttered.

"I know, I know. After we finish shopping I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate when we get back to the apartment."

The empath rolled her eyes as she turned to look out the window. "That stuff is disgusting and it's so full of sugar! I'll stick to coffee, thank you very much."

Now it was Seiya's turn to roll her eyes at her complaining friend. She was going to respond when the sight ahead of her caught her attention. "Look Yaten! That's the mall ahead of us!"

The two had been sent out on a mission by Taiki since Seiya had decided to host a Christmas Party at their place that evening but they had come to the realization that they didn't have any presents for them or themselves. So they had been put in charge of buying presents for all of the sailor scouts, and each other while Taiki stayed behind to bake Christmas treats for their guests. The two had protested and demanded to know why Taiki wouldn't come with them. The brunette had simply responded by saying she'd already bought her presents for the two starlights and besides she was the only one who knew how to bake since Seiya and Yaten would probably burn the apartment down if they tried to use the oven. The two women had bitterly stormed out of the apartment, grumbling the whole way.

Now they had arrived at the mall which had been built a year after they returned to Kinmoku. Just looking at it made it look ginormous! They hardly had any stores back on Kinmoku except tiny little shopping outlets which contained only essential items, they had nothing this size or with this many different types of stores.

Yaten looked up and gasped when she saw the mall. "It's huge! We're going to get lost in there!" she exclaimed, as she watched all the shoppers running in and out of the mall, and through the parking lot.

"Guess we just have to stick together." Seiya replied as she finally managed to find an empty parking spot.

The older girl sighed as she grabbed her purse off the floor, adjusting her hat so that it was firmly seated on her head. "I guess." she muttered, swinging her door open as she stepped foot into the harsh winter outdoors.

Seiya climbed out of her side of the car, slamming the door behind her before walking over to Yaten. "Let's head in." she said, gently nudging her friend in the shoulder.

The silver haired empath rolled her eyes at her again as the two began their walk to the mall, dozens of shoppers passing by them, a couple of them bumping into them along the way. Once they stepped foot inside the mall they both stopped in awe of everything around them.

Christmas music was blaring, there were dozens of shops as far as the eye can see, there were Christmas decorations on every wall, and everywhere you looked there were shoppers racing here and there.

"Wow, this place is huge! Where do we even begin?" Yaten asked.

Seiya rubbed her chin with her thumb as she pondered. "Hmmmm..." she muttered. "How about... oooh is that Santa Claus?" she shrieked, grabbing Yaten tightly by the arm as she started running.

The other girl barely had a chance to catch her breath as her leader dragged her through the mall. "Santa who?" she yelled over top of all the noise, Seiya's hand still clinging to her arm, threatening to cut off her blood circulation at any given moment.

The raven haired girl didn't respond until they had stopped. Yaten took a moment to catch her breath before looking up. In front of her was a large display made to look like a winter wonderland, with fake snow covered trees and presents scattered around. There was a long line up going through the winter wonderland and at the end was a plump old man with a long white beard, dressed in a red suit and hat, who was seated in a large chair as he held a young infant on his lap. "What is this?" she asked, as Seiya grabbed her hand, dragging her to the back of the line.

"That," Seiya started, pointing to the jolly old man in the distance. "is Santa Claus."

"Who?"

The raven haired girl gasped so loudly that several people in line turned around to stare at them. "You don't know who Santa Claus is?" she shrieked, causing a young child in front of them to start wailing loudly.

Yaten groaned as she covered her ears, shaking her head as she glared at her leader. "No, please explain."

"Santa is a jolly old man who lives in the north pole with all his reindeers and elves. Every year at Christmas time, he gets letters from young boys and girls telling them what they want for Christmas. The kids on the nice list get the presents they want which are made by the elves in Santa's workshop. The kids on the naughty list get a lump of coal in their stocking. Then on Christmas eve Santa flies all around the world in his sleigh which is led by his reindeer, and he delivers all the presents to the good boys and girls."

The empath cocked her head at the girl. "And you believe all this?"

The look on Seiya's face gave Yaten the answer she had already been expecting. "Of course! Odango told me about it!" she exclaimed.

Once again it was Yaten's turn to roll her eyes at her. "Figures." she muttered under her breath. "So what is everyone doing here?"

"Oh you get to take a picture with Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas!"

"What exactly are you planning on doing with a picture like that?"

"Oh I was thinking I'd frame it and give it to Taiki!"

The empath face palmed, rubbing her forehead, taking in the words the other girl had said before choosing to respond. "Do you really think Taiki would want that?"

"Of course! Taiki loves us!"

Yaten couldn't help but snort at that comment. Seiya cocked her head at her in confusion but neither of them said anything in response.

The line moved slowly and after about a half an hour they were nearing the front of the line with only a couple people in front of them. Santa had a little 5 year old boy on his lap who he was talking to, while Yaten watched them from her spot. "Why is he on his lap?" she questioned.

"Oh when you go to see Santa you sit on his lap!"

"Nani?" the older girl exclaimed, spinning around to face Seiya. "You want me to sit on his lap?"

The raven haired girl shrugged. "That's what everyone does."

"You want me to sit on a stranger's lap?"

"Don't complain, I won't make you do it ever again after this."

The empath didn't believe her at all but knew that arguing would only get her no where so she gave up. Soon enough it was their turn to go up.

The man in the suit patted his knee as he let out a hearty chuckle. "Ho Ho Ho!"

Yaten raised an eyebrow nervously as she turned to look over at Seiya. "Are you sure this is safe?" She asked in a whisper, just as her leader grabbed her by the wrist.

The younger girl said nothing as she dragged the two of them towards the old man who again patted his knee for them to sit down. Seiya sat down eagerly on his left knee while Yaten stood in front of then, staring at them blankly. "Come on little girl. Come sit!" Santa called, an overly cheery smile on his face.

"I'm not a little girl." Yaten grumbled as she uncomfortably sat down on his other knee.

Santa wrapped his arms around then as a young woman dressed an elf set up her camera in front of them. "Say cheese!" She yelled, as a blinding flash went off.

Thankfully the two women were used to it thanks to their days as idols, so the light merely rendered them speechless for a moment.

"So," Santa began as he looked over at Seiya. "What would you like for Christmas?"

The raven haired girls face lit up like a Christmas tree as she began listing off her requests. "Well I'd love a new car, ooh or maybe a new dress, oh are that new video game that's coming out, what's it called again?"

After about a minute she ran out of ideas and Santa simply passed her a candy cane which made her squeal with glee as she tightly hugged him, almost choking him in the process. Then the white haired man turned to Yaten, extending a candy cane towards her. "And what would you like for Christmas?"

Yaten simply shook her head as she raised her hands in the air, getting off of his lap as quickly as possible. "I'm done!" She exclamed as she started to walk off.

Her leader frantically grabbed the other girls candy cane for her and ran after her. "You forgot your candy cane!" She yelled, as the silver haired girl made her way to the counter to pay for their picture.

"I forgot my what?" she responded as she stared blankly at her leader who was waving the candy in her face.

"Your candy cane!"

"What's a candy cane?"

Once again Seiya let out another loud gasp, causing several people around to turn and stare at them. Yaten shot her a glare but it didn't faze her friend at all. "A candy cane is a treat you only get it Christmas! It's um... like hard and shaped like a cane and um... it has red and white stripes... oh and it tastes like mint!"

The younger girl shoved the cane in Yaten's face again, causing the empath to smack it away. "You can have it." she said, just as they reached the front of the line.

Beside the counter was a large display of picture frames one could buy to put their picture in and Seiya's eyes lit up when she saw it. "Oh Yaten can I pick the frame?" she asked excitedly.

"Knock yourself out." she replied dryly as she pulled her wallet out to pay.

Seiya scanned over the frames for a moment before she settled on a silver one with the words "Our First Christmas" engraved on the bottom. "We'll take this one." she said to the cashier, as she pointed to the frame, failing to notice the engraving of wedding bands on the side.

The lady took the frame out of the display and quickly put their picture inside of it, before slipping it into a bag and handing it to Yaten. "Have a merry Christmas!"

The two girls quickly thanked her before quickly walking away so they could get a look at their picture. They pulled it out of the bag and Yaten groaned when she saw it. Seiya looked very happy to be there, a large grin on her face as she sat happily on Santa's knee. Yaten on the other hand looked very... miserable, with her toque almost covering her eyes, and her lips centered in a full on frown as she hadn't even bothered to try and smile.

"Seiya this picture is terrible."

"Well it's not my fault you chose not to smile." she replied, causing Yaten's frown to grow even larger. She shrank back in fear a little as she was scared the empath might try and punch her out. "Anyways I like it and I think Taiki will too." she added, as she slipped the picture back into the bag. "Come on, let's start the rest of our shopping."

The two began wandering into different stores and slowly started checking names off of their list as they purchased presents for their guests. For Ami they had a found a book about life on mercury and while Yaten figured she already knew that information since she was a genius, Seiya insisted it was the perfect gift. For Rei, Yaten had spotted a pair of earrings with little crow charms on them, since she'd heard that Rei had a pair of crows named Phobos and Deimos. For Hotaru they'd found a nice leather journal and a pen with her name on it, since they figured perhaps the 12 year old would enjoy journaling about her days. For Sestuna they'd bought her a gift card for a manicure at the mall's salon since they figured she could use it after having to chase around two grown women and a 12 year old everyday. With 4 names crossed off the list that left Usagi, Mamoru, Makoto, Minako, Haruka and Michiru to find gifts for. Plus Yaten still had to buy something for Taiki, and the two starlights had to find a gift for one another.

They had been stuck in a dead end as far as gifts went for a little while until they stumbled across a large clothing store. Not even one foot into the store, Seiya spotted something and ran off. "Yaten this is perfect for Makoto!"

The empath sighed as she walked over to where her friend was to check out what she'd found. In her hands was a dark green apron with the words "My cooking skills are out of this world" printed on the front in large white lettering. "That's really nice."

Seiya smirked proudly as she held the apron high up in the air. "See? I'm not totally clueless!" she exclaimed loudly.

Yaten groaned as she quickly scribbled the brunette's name off of their list.

They continued walking through the store and stumbled across a couple other things that they wound up purchasing such as a bow tie with moon symbols printed on it for Mamoru, two cat toys for Luna and Artemis (because Yaten insisted they do something for the felines) and a small violin shaped brooch for Michiru.

Just as they were about to head into the check out line Seiya let out a loud gasp. "That's perfect!" she yelled, before running off again.

The older woman sighed as she followed her, obviously used to the other woman's outbursts and bursts of energy. She found Seiya holding a large red sweater which was covered in wintery patterns and Christmas tree designs, reindeers, santa heads, fake tinsel, little prancing gingerbread and more.

"We should get this for Haruka." Seiya suggested with a smug grin on her face.

"As if she'd wear that, Seiya."

"That's the point." her leader replied, and that's when Yaten realized what she was suggesting.

It was perfect for Haruka because she'd never actually wear something as ridiculous as the sweater so it was a perfect gag gift. The raven haired girl was still staring at her with that same old smug grin. "So what do you say?" she asked, winking at the other girl which sent chills down her spine.

Trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling she was getting from Seiya, she simply nodded her head as she snatched the sweater from her hands. "Let's do it."

After they paid and exited the store they were left with only two other scouts to shop for: Minako and Usagi.

Minako was fairly easy as Seiya spotted a book on the modelling industry and scooped it up, since she remembered how much the quirky blonde wanted to be an idol.

Usagi's gift was more of a challenge since Seiya wanted to make sure they found the "perfect gift". After Yaten threatening Seiya with a star sensitive inferno and about a half hour of shopping (for Usagi alone) the raven haired girl finally found the perfect gift.

She found a small plush bunny with a light pink ribbon around it's neck which was decorated with little moon symbols. "It's perfect." she whispered, picking it up and cradling it close to her chest as if it were a newborn baby.

Even though Seiya was over the moon princess as a romantic interest, it was still a very creepy sight for Yaten and the other shoppers who were watching.

After a couple minutes of the starlight hugging the bunny she finally paid and walked off with her teammate.

"So," she began, glancing down quickly at her watch. "It's 5:30 right now, so if we meet in the food court at 6:00 does that give you enough time to shop for me and Taiki?"

The silver haired girl nodded. "I think so, although then again you're not always the easiest person to shop for." she muttered.

"Oi!"

/

Back at the apartment Taiki was busy finishing up the rest of the baking for the party that evening. While the apartment had already been decorated for the holiday season a while back, she had added a couple of "special touches" since her friends had left.

You see it was completely obvious to her and everyone else around them, that Seiya and Yaten had feelings for each other but the two were too stubborn and proud to admit it to one another.

So in an attempt to bring the two of them together and end some of the constant bickering between them, she'd hung a piece of mistletoe in the corner of their living room which was part of her plan to get the two of them together.

She chuckled quietly to herself as she finished frosting her last batch of gingerbread men. Soon there would be peace and harmony amongst the three starlights and that was the best gift she could ask for.

But then again we're talking about Seiya and Yaten, how calm can things really be with them around?

/

Seiya snickered mischievously as she held the red garment in her hand. She knew Yaten would kill her when she saw her gift but that was part of the fun. She brought the piece of clothing up to the cash register and paid for it, sealing her fate as well as the fate of the empath.

/

While Seiya had deliberately been shopping for a funny gift, Yaten had been looking for a nice gift for each of her friends which to some would seem out of character for her since she generally laughed at other people's expenses. And while that may have been true, and while she fought with her teammates a lot and was a pain in their side all the time, she still cared about them and wanted to make their Christmas one to remember.

She'd bought a large book of poetry for Taiki and for Seiya she'd settled on a nice black bomber jacket, since Seiya had always been a fan of that particular style.

Finally finished with her shopping she made her way over to the food court where her leader was already seated at a table.

"Oi! Are you ready to go?" Yaten called out, as she smacked her hand down on the table, catching Seiya's attention.

The raven haired starlight looked up at her and snickered. "I'm ready." she responded, as she winked at her.

Yaten wasn't quite sure why but she had a bad feeling about Seiya's present for her.

/

A couple hours later, the presents were wrapped and under the tree and all the sailor scouts had shown up. They were busy munching away on some of Taiki's baking while they chatted before Seiya announced it was time to open presents.

Usagi opened hers first and she loved the stuffed animal. She squealed loudly when she saw it and she even began to tear up but she quickly wiped the tears away before thanking the starlights. After that she quickly opened the gifts for Luna and Artemis and put them in her purse for later that evening, thanking the starlights again.

Mamoru went next and he loved the tie. He even put it on his shirt to add to his ensemble.

It was Ami's turn next and she was very happy with her gift. She said she'd been looking for that particular book for a while now but every store she checked it was already sold out!

Next was Rei who immediately fell in love with the little pair of earrings, in fact pretty much all of the girls were admiring them although the fiery girl was quick to hide them so nobody would take them.

Makoto loved her apron and laughed at the pun. She even jokingly put it on for everyone to see and began joking around that she was going to cook them a five course meal.

After that Minako opened her gift and she loved the book! She immediately opened it and proceeded to read passages out of it and squeal over the pictures of models.

Following the inner scouts gifts it was time for the outer scouts to open theirs. Haruka went first and everyone laughed at her gift. Seiya insisted she put it on and while the blonde refused at first, everyone started protesting and chanting including Michiru, and soon the woman was wearing the sweater much to her disapproval.

Michiru opened hers after and let out a soft gasp when she saw the brooch. She attached it to her dress so that it was visible all evening, and she thanked them for such a beautiful gift (while Haruka continued to quietly complain about hers).

The youngest girl was next and she loved her gift. She thought the pen was beautiful and she loved the idea of journaling, since she'd considered it before but had never tried it.

Finally the last of the outer scouts, Setsuna, opened hers, and smiled at the gift certificate before sliding it into her purse, telling them she planned on going soon to get a break from her house mates.

After all of the sailor scouts opened theirs it was time for the starlights to open theirs. There were two gifts for each of them from the sailor scouts, one from the inner senshi and one from the outer senshi.

Taiki opened her present from the inner senshi first which turned out to be a nice big book on science.

Yaten grabbed one of her's next, the one from the outer senshi, and opened it, revealing a nice sketchbook and some pencil crayons.

Usagi passed Seiya her present from the inner senshi next and the raven haired girl eagerly tore into it. In it was a little charm bracelet with each of the planets of the solar system on it. Seiya began to tear up a little and Yaten had to smack her to shake her out of it.

After Seiya slid the bracelet on her wrist, Yaten opened up her present from the inner senshi which was a nice woolen sweater.

Taiki went after her and opened up her other present which was a book on astronomy from the outer senshi.

Finally Seiya opened up her last present from the sailor scouts which was a book titled "How to make friends (for dummies)". Seiya glared at Haruka while everyone laughed. "Oi," the blonde began. "It's not like you really won us over two years ago."

The younger girl stuck her tongue out at her before the starlights started opening their presents from one another.

The first gift that was opened was from Yaten to Taiki. The brunette opened it and smiled at the book. "Arigatou Yaten, I've been looking for some more poetry to read." she said as she passed Seiya her gift.

Seiya let out a tiny squeal before excitedly unwrapping her gift from the brunette. Inside the packaging was a fleece blanket with The Three Lights printed on it. Much to everyone's surprise the raven haired light actually loved her gift and immediately wrapped it around her.

Next Yaten opened her gift from Taiki which was a small disposable camera. "Wow Taiki, this is amazing!"

Taiki smiled at her and gently patted her on the head. "I figured you'd like it considering how much you love taking pictures."

Seiya's final gift was passed to her and she wasted no time tearing into the wrapping paper. "Oh, arigatou Yaten! I love this jacket!" she exclaimed before tightly locking the older girl a hug.

The empath's cheeks flushed as she was enwrapped in the hug. "Baka." she huffed as she tried to squirm away from her leader. "I just thought you'd like the jacket that's all."

Once Seiya pulled away, she passed Taiki her last gift which she insisted the tall genius would LOVE. The taller light cocked an eyebrow at her, knowing how much of a prankster her leader could be, before she started unwrapping the present.

"Seiya..." she began, once the picture was revealed and she was busy studying it.

"Hai Taiki?"

"Why are there engagement rings on this picture frame?"

"Nani?" Seiya shrieked as she tore the framed picture out of her friend's hand. That's when she spotted the little detail she'd missed earlier. The faded engraving of two wedding bands beside the words "Our First Christmas". She flushed dark red as everyone laughed. "I didn't realize that was on the frame, honest!" she protested.

Taiki chuckled at her as she took her gift back. "Oh Seiya, it's ok. It's an odd present but it's perfect coming from you."

Now there was only one present left under the tree and that was the present from Seiya to Yaten. "Go on, open it." Seiya said, nudging the present towards it.

Yaten hesitantly took it from her, slightly worried about what her leader might have bought her. She slowly tore off the gold wrapping paper revealing some kind of red garment. She picked it up and unfolding it revealing a generic santa hat, and a red mini dress with long sleeves and white trim on the ends of the sleeves and the hem of the dress. Everyone burst out into laughter and she glared at Seiya who was giggling away. "Seiya..." she hissed.

The younger girl simply patted her on the head and gave her a big toothy smile. "Aw cheer up Yaten! You should go try on your outfit."

"No."

At that point all of the other scouts started protesting like they'd done to Haruka and Yaten eventually gave in. "Ok fine, I'll put it on but only for this one night!"

Around 10 minutes later Yaten exited from the bathroom wearing the tight santa dress and hat. Seiya bounced over to her and was about to hug her when the empath hissed at her. "Don't touch me." she growled, before walking away, leaving a semi-dazed starlight in her wake.

/

After all of the presents had been opened, the sailor scouts took to dancing and drinking (well except Hotaru who stuck to water and a non alcoholic Christmas punch) and laughing the night away, meaning Taiki could get her plan moving. She pulled Usagi over right away before the blonde got too tipsy.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked in a whisper, not wanting to draw any attention to them.

The moon princess nodded and gave her a friendly smile. "Of course, what do you need?"

Taiki then started telling her her plan of getting the two starlights together. She'd put the piece of mistletoe in the corner of the living room since often at parties Yaten would wander off to the side by herself and since the room was pretty full that was the only empty spot she could go. Then where Usagi came in was she'd grab Seiya's attention and walk with her over to that area of the room and she'd "accidentally trip" and knock her into Yaten, landing them both underneath the mistletoe.

Usagi eagerly agreed as she really wanted to see her friends get together. "Between you and me," she began in a whisper. "I always thought those two would make a cute couple."

Taiki chuckled at that. "They'd be even cuter if they stopped fighting all the time."

/

Taiki's prediction did come true, Yaten did wind up going in the corner since she was never a huge fan of crowds or parties. Surprisingly neither her or Seiya noticed the piece of mistletoe that hung above the empath's head.

The brunette would have been much happier that her plan was starting to work if she didn't have a drunk Haruka passed out on her shoulder. Haruka had had a little too much to drink and just so happened to be standing next to Taiki when she zoned it. The starlight was too nervous to touch her or move her in fear that that she might wake up and threaten her but at the same time she also was scared that the blonde would wake up and kill her anyways for touching her. She couldn't win.

She looked over at Michiru who was laughing at her and taking pictures on her phone of the sight in front of her.

"A little help over here?" a desperate Taiki called out quietly.

The bluenette chuckled at her but continued taking pictures. "I could rescue you... but I'm enjoying this way too much."

Taiki sighed as Haruka continued to snore in her ear.

Eventually Usagi managed to get Seiya to dance with her for a little while before the raven haired starlight tired out. "Oh that was fun but I'm exhausted." she exclaimed.

The petite blonde latched onto her arm and gave her a small smile. "Let's get you a drink." she said as she led the light towards the table of goodies that had been conveniently placed near the corner of the room.

Once they were close enough Usagi let go of her and grabbed a plastic cup. She could see Yaten in the corner and knew that this was her time to strike.

"Arigatou Usagi for coming tonight and for your present." Seiya said, as she reached for the pitcher. But before she could grab it Usagi pretended to fall into the table and stumbled forwards causing Seiya to stumble backwards into Yaten.

"Ow, baka! Watch where you're going!" Yaten shouted as her teammates arms quickly wrapped around her waist as she tried to stop her fall.

All of a sudden they heard a bunch of oos and applause behind them. "What is going on?" Seiya asked, her hands not moving from their position on Yaten's waist.

"Look what's above you." Taiki said from her spot across the room.

They both looked up and that's when they saw the mistletoe hanging above them. "Curse you Taiki." Yaten muttered under her breath.

"So we have to kiss?" Seiya asked, as she focused her gaze on Yaten.

"Well as much as I don't want to, yes we do have to kiss, but only this one time and then never again!"

The raven haired light's cheeks were flushed and she could feel everyone's eyes on them, waiting to see them kiss. Before either of them had a chance to back out, Seiya leaned in and planted her lips on top of Yatens.

She heard everyone cheering and clapping, but none of it registered when she felt Yaten kiss back. They pulled apart and both of their cheeks were flushed a dark red.

"So," Seiya began quietly so that only Yaten would hear her. "does this mean you're my santa baby?"

She groaned when she felt the shorter girl punch her in the arm. "Shut up, baka." she whispered, but it was evident that she was trying not to smile.

Taiki smiled as she watched them from her spot. Her plan had worked and she was happy to see that the two were beginning something beautiful. Even having Haruka sleeping on her shoulder wasn't running this moment.

The raven haired light couldn't help but smile at the empath and she was overwhelmed with all of these feelings that had suddenly risen to the surface. She hadn't expected this but both she and Yaten had to admit that it was an amazing present. "Merry Christmas Yaten." she said softly, before hesitantly pecking her on the forehead.

Yaten smiled back up at her, trying her hardest to fight the butterflies and the blush on her cheeks that kept growing more and more as the seconds passed by. "Merry Christmas Seiya."