A/N: I've had this idea for this fic for quite a few weeks, but I was so swamped with finals and classes wrapping up for the semester that I'd been too busy to write it. Now that I'm done until mid-January, I can write it! The next chapter may not be up in a timely manner, but I'll sure as hell try to get it up when I can.

The original idea was inspired by my lovely boyfriend, who never tells me what in the hell he wants for Christmas. (Damn you! …but I love you anyway.)

I tried a slightly different style for the writing, so I apologize if it's a little awkward at times.

This fic is RikuxSora. Flames will be used to light the fireplace I don't have. c: (But I'll make one to light it with!)

Enjoy!

The Mystery Girlfriend
Part 1 - Christmas

Riku is possibly the worst person to ever shop for.

And not in a, "he's so damn picky, he won't like anything I get him," way. No, not at all. The problem is actually the opposite: Riku has never expressed any desire for anything that would make a suitable gift, even before we left the islands when I was fourteen-years-old. And back before then, Christmas shopping was easy and light. As kids we never expected to get each other much outside what it would cost for a book or a CD.

But now we're pretty much adults, and I want to get something really special for Riku. Maybe aside from the fact he's my best friend…

Lately, I feel as if I care about Riku more than what a best friend should. Never more in my life do I seek his acceptance; just his smiles make me happy enough to dance. Best friends shouldn't feel that strongly for each other, should they? And I wonder how long I've had these feelings… was it when I looked for him across the worlds? Before we left the islands? After we came back safely?

Whether or not these feelings are really what I think they are (which I still refuse to admit to myself), the chance that I'd ever share them with him is highly unlikely. It would just complicate our already somewhat complicated friendship, and I'm happy as things are now. All I care about right now is his gift this year…

But how can I get him anything special if I have no idea what he wants?

Riku, why do you have to be so difficult without even trying to be?

It's only the beginning of December, but until I figure out what to get Riku, it may take me until Christmas to find it.

Damn it, Riku!

In my quest to find Riku's Christmas gift, I wander around Destiny Island's mini-mall aimlessly. There aren't many stores here to offer me much, but it's a good starting point. Maybe a Riku-esque present will just jump out at me.

Yeah, it's a long shot… but I've got nothing else to work on.

After searching the east wing, I start to make my way to the north wing. There's some trinket shops and candy down that way. Then again, a box of candy seems kind of lame, especially thinking of Riku…

Caught up in my thoughts, it almost escapes my eye. In partial disbelief, I turn my head towards the jewelry store where I see a bob of silver hair. I can see Riku's profile around where his bangs frame his face.

What's he doing in the jewelry store? Maybe browsing for fun?

But I see his lips move (I can't catch what he's saying over the bustling people and blaring Christmas music), and the jeweler reaches under the counter to grab whatever he may asked for.

Huh. Maybe he's buying something for his mom?

But this is an expensive store. I can't see Riku spending that much on jewelry, even on his mom. It's not possible that he's buying something for a girl he likes, would it be?

I see him being handed a small case, its cover lined with a sleek maroon fabric. He's being rung up for the piece, and before he can catch me spying I book it for the north wing and enter the first store I find.

The gift shop is cliché in its own right: cards hog multiples of shelves and all assortments of gifts line the other cases. Small doll-like figurines look at me with sweet smiles. But Riku wouldn't like something like that. Other silly gifts like talking mugs or bizarre stuffed animals disinterest me as well. I knew this shop would be a dead end….

I pick up what's called a girasheep (a fluffy white sheep with a long neck and brown nose—slightly creepy), and let my thoughts drift elsewhere.

I know that if Riku's going to get a girlfriend I should be happy for him. Riku should have a special girl in his life—he more than anyone I know deserves a girlfriend.

I set the girasheep down and glance over at the decorative clocks. But I don't really pay them much mind—Riku isn't really into clocks as far as I know.

But… if he was planning to date a girl, wouldn't he tell me about it? As his best friend, aren't these the kind of details I should be filled on? Not that I could offer much advice as I've never dated anyone, but I could offer support!...

And as my eyes numbly stare into the intricate design of the twelve on one of the clocks, an awful thought comes to mind.

If there was a girl, wouldn't she replace me as Riku's number one?

I try not to think about it, but my heart suddenly feels weighted by the idea. I leave the gift shop empty-handed and try for the next one. And the next one. I explore every store of the mall, but I can't find anything for Riku.

Completely devastated by the lack of anything Riku-like (and the gnawing thought of being replaced by someone else), I find myself on Kairi's doorstep. I ring the doorbell and to my pleasant surprise, my female best friend answers the door. She greets me with a full, warm smile and a huge hug. "Sora!" she says happily. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to go shopping."

"I tried," I reply a little sadly. "Can I come in? I need your help."

"If it's about Riku, I don't really know what to tell you…" But her hand is guiding me into the door from behind, the house smelling intensely of Christmas cookies. Before I can contain it, my stomach betrays me and lets out a loud gurgling sound.

She giggles in her Kairi-like way, and she leads me into the kitchen, already stacking a plate full of freshly baked snicker doodles in the middle of the table. "Milk?" she asks as she opens the fridge.

"You should know me well enough to know that I will never turn down milk with cookies."

"Of course," she laughs, pouring two glasses and setting them for her and myself. When we're settled down and eating cookies, it's down to business. "So you still have no idea what to get Riku for Christmas."

"No!..." I whine as I stuff half of a cookie into my mouth. The taste of cinnamon sugar eases my nerves a little bit. The next sentence to come is garbled from the amount of food in my mouth, so as I chew a little and swallow, I try again, "I looked in every store, and nothing looked like he would like it. What do I do?"

"Well…" She pauses to think, taking a delicate sip of milk from her glass. When she sets her glass down, I can already read the look on her face. "Honestly? You should know Riku better than me, even if only a little bit. I'm sure if you just get him something he'll like it."

I give a defeated sigh and jam another cookie in my mouth. I hear Kairi's quick gasp, as if she's realized something. "Why do you care so much, Sora?"

My defenses are suddenly on high, whether or not her message implies what I think she's implying. Maybe I'm misinterpreting her question. "I just want Riku to have something he likes. Is that so ridiculous?"

"Well, I mean…" She giggles a little at my expense, and I know that can't be good. "No, that's not ridiculous. But you're just so worked up about it! Riku's not really going to care about what he gets."

"But that's just it!" I fight back automatically. "I want to get him something he actually wants. Something important or special."

Kairi gives me this look. It's a knowing look: the kind she gives me when she knows I'm leaving out a detail, and she wants me to share. I try to deny that I see it there, and I reach for the milk. But as I'm taking a sip, she doesn't back down and repeats her question, a little more slowly this time. "Why do you care so much?"

The last swallow becomes a hard gulp, and the lump in my throat doesn't go away. Telling her why I do care would solidify the very thing I've been denying to myself. And I'm a horrible liar, but I try it anyway. "I want Riku to be happy."

"As his best friend?"

The unspoken, "or something more?" lingers in the air. I'm trapped. Kairi knows, and she knows I'm dodging it. So with no choice, I cave in a little. "Well, yes. And… because…" Her expression softens, and a hand touches mine. Her skin is soft, and a warm shiver crawls up my spine. It encourages me to speak. She wouldn't judge me… she never has before, and won't start now. "Maybe… I like him?"

Her smile lifts at the corners a little at the confession. The words I just spoke resound in my head like a mantra, I like him I like him I like him, and it sounds so damn weird that I'm struggling just to come with terms with it now.

"Is that weird?"

"No!" she says, her hand now wrapping around my own. Her warmth is comforting, and the feelings that flare up inside of me almost betray the feelings I just confessed to. "It's actually… kinda romantic." Her smile is dreamy, but unless I'm mistaken, it seems a bit… sad too.

"Well, it doesn't matter," I explain, "because I'm never I'm going to tell him."

"Why not?"

"He'll find it weird. And it'll just make everything weird, and… I'm just happy being best friends." Kairi looks deflated at the comment. "All I want is just to find him a good present. But… I have no idea."

"That you'll have to figure out on your own. I'm really just getting him something simple—and thinking about it, Riku's never mentioned anything he's really wanted as a gift." Her voice falls silent, and she asks nothing more.

A moment of silence makes me realize that she's not going to say anything else, so I reply. "Thanks anyway." I feel somewhat disappointed that the subject of my feelings for Riku dropped so soon… I wanted to tell her about what I saw a few hours ago at the mall and how it makes me nervous… but I can't really blame Kairi. She might have feelings for me. And if she does, it probably hurts to know I'd choose him over her...

Now my heart feels even heavier with added guilt, and suddenly the snicker doodles that lost their warmth some time ago don't seem appetizing anymore.

A few days later, I ended up going to a movie with Riku. As a pair of best friends, this shouldn't be awkward at all. It's just a generic action movie (though it paled in comparison to what we actually went through in our teenage years). But I'm on edge through-out the movie, and it's two and half hours long, and I've spent the first half trying to smother all feelings that are bothering me.

Perhaps it's because I've said it out loud now, but I never noticed before why I'm on edge when I'm with Riku like this. My nerves are extra sensitive, and I can just feel the distance between us. I'm going absolutely crazy; my hand is mere inches away from his and I just want to feel the warmth of his fingers…

But they never touch. I never expected them to.

The energy burns into the back of my neck and blurs my vision at times. I can't focus on the movie. I don't even know what's going on anymore when I do try to watch it.

What a waste of eight bucks…

Following the lobby, neither of us talk about the movie (and I'm grateful, because I really don't remember most of it) but Riku offers to take me to one of the local diners for lunch. Wanting to spend as much time with him as I can (as if we don't spend almost every day together already), of course I accept. So we jump into his Honda Civic and we're on our way.

Riku's always been good at driving, but he's still learning how to drive the manual car he bought a month ago. I can feel when he changes gears—sometimes it's a small bucking of the car, other times he gets a lucky, smooth transition. One time, he stalls the car at the changing of a stop-light, and with an irritable goddammit he has to turn the car off and on again, earning a few blows of the car horns behind us.

And despite this shoddy driving, I'm fascinated. I watch the way his lips move in concentration, the way his left leg shifts to hold in the clutch, the way his arm fiddles with the shift stick to find his way through the gears. I know he's embarrassed, but he tries to hide it.

He finally gets us to the diner and yanks on the emergency brake. "We made it alive," I tease. He smiles with a fantastically sarcastic smile, still trying to cover up his embarrassment. And for most people it would work: he looks totally unfazed. But I know that twitch of an eyebrow that I can see means he's embarrassed.

I can't help feeling proud of myself for knowing my best friend so well.

We walk into the diner, me following him, and we're seated, soon to put in orders. As we're waiting for the entrees to come, I decide to tackle my problem head on.

"So, Riku," I say, trying to sound as casual as possible, "Anything new with your plans to move out?"

"No," he says, frustration evident in his voice. Riku has to leave his parent's house by the end of his sophomore semester—next May. He's mentioned needing to find a place for the last couple of weeks, but not with any hint of actually starting to look.

"Well, anything you need that you're missing?" The question is somewhat misplaced and strange, but I needed to stick it in the conversation somewhere. Just a hint of what the hell to get Riku for a present…

He shrugs silently. Not even a word? Riku, you are so infuriating right now.

And yet…

His phone buzzes, and as he fidgets with his tight-fitted jeans to fish his phone out his leg accidently bumps mine. The sensation travels like wildfire from my calf to my ears, and suddenly sound becomes muffled by the rushing of blood. I barely miss when he apologizes curtly as he yanks the phone and rushes to text back.

I knew that coming here with him would end up making me tense. Being Riku made me constantly on edge—it's intoxicating in its own right. But that's what infatuation is, isn't it? Craving more of someone you want, and making your mind fuzzy just from the excitement?

I notice that as he's texting, he's blushing, but so little it's difficult to notice. Why is he blushing? Is he texting his secret girlfriend? The stabbing feeling in my gut returns, and I feel torn between excitement and sadness.

But before I can tease him about it, the burgers come to the table. They smell absolutely amazing, and although all my high-running emotions are making me feel a little nauseated, I'm still definitely hungry.

I could lie to myself forever that this friendship where it stands is enough for me. But I'll always want more, and this love will probably be unrequited forever.

After a day at the beach, I follow Riku back to his house. Today there's no sand stuck to my body despite that there should be. Riku shuts the door behind me, and we walk down to the kitchen.

As he begins to pull cups down from the cupboard, he turns to me and says, "Sora, could you get me the orange juice?" And without question I do, even though we both know that Riku hates orange juice. He rounds the island table, trailing his hand around the edge of the top as he does so. "Hey, I have something to tell you."

I set the carton on the table as he grabs my arm gently. "Sora, you know…" With his free hand he scratches the back of his neck nervously. "I care for you, a lot."

And he's implying what I think he's implying, and we appear in his bedroom. He kisses me suddenly—his lips are wet as they work against mine. His strong arms hold me as he guides me to the bed, and my back gently hits the mattress. He moves against me, his body soft and warm, and surprisingly not at all heavy.

His hands trail down my chest, down my sides, and reach as far as they can on my thighs. He presses soft kisses on my neck, and he takes hold of my hipbones with his palms as he works his way down to my navel. He pauses, and looks up at me. His bangs are nearly perfect around his face, and he says, "Your present was awful."

I wake up with a jolt, suddenly realizing that it was all a dream. However, my body hasn't come to this realization yet, so I roll over with an exhausted sigh and try to ignore my problem.

The clock is only flashing 5:42.

I smash my head under the pillow, trying to reclaim another hour of sleep before I have to go back to work. However, I'm trying to hold on to little pieces of the dream, like how Riku touched me and how he looked at me. If I could just return to that, it would be great…

In a few minutes time I do drift back to sleep, but it comes without any dreams at all.

As I walk away from the coffee shop at mid-afternoon, I hear a familiar voice call after me. "Sora!"

I turn on my heel, and there's Selphie waving to me. I give her a bright smile. "Hey, what's up?"

"So I hear you're having a dilemma," she says cheerfully. "I came to find you to help you out! Come with me to the beach!" Wait, did Kairi tell her? She grabs my hand and carts me all the way down to the beach. She finds a secluded spot in a small alcove along the rock wall, and grabs my shoulders with a thoughtful look on her face.

"So, Sora~" she whispers, "You can't find a Christmas gift for Ri-ku, huh?"

So she does know. "Did Kairi tell you about this?"

"She did…" she replies, "but I also saw you spying on Riku at the mall. And don't lie to me about that dreamy look I saw in your eyes! You're so easy to read, you know." Damn it. Okay, so maybe I'm too obvious at times.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" I cower at the thought of Selphie approaching Riku and spilling the beans.

"Me? How dare you accuse me of such awful things, Sora!" She feigns hurt before returning her gaze back on me. "Anyway, back to our mission. You want to find him a gift, right?"

I nod silently, before adding, "But not just anything. Something he'll like…" I must admit, this is kind of weird, getting Riku-related advice from Selphie. But if she's going to give it, why not?

"Well… think about what things are meaningful to Riku. Or something that's important—something useful."

I contemplate on that. I mean, Riku doesn't need any more weapons or equipment. And… he doesn't really collect anything that I can think of. There's nothing he needs that I can think of either. I mean, wouldn't I have already thought of a present if there was something like that?

I shake my head no. Selphie gives a small, "hmph," before crossing her arms. "Riku can't have everything in the world, Sora. Maybe you just need to draw it out of him."

"I already tried!" I shout, thinking of the diner. "He doesn't even know what he needs or wants!"

"Well, then perhaps you need to think of it for him," Selphie says. "I knew this wouldn't be easy. Hmm…" She closes her eyes to ponder a bit. "Think about it for a little bit. If I come up with anything, I'll text you."

She's giving up, just like that? "Standing here won't change anything. These kinds of ideas just sort of come to you, you know?" Am I really that easy to read? "See you around, Sora!" As she turns to leave, she quickly comments, "And by the way, you look ky-uuuuute in your uniform!" And she scurries off, leaving dust clouds in her path.

Blushing, I practically tear the black apron off and bundle it up in my arms. I can almost feel the stares of the beach visitors on me now. Selphie sure knows how to embarrass me…

I walk home by myself, apron still crumpled in my hand. I amble inside and throw the apron into the laundry, but I don't bother to change out of my black attire. Instead, out of exhaustion, I heave myself onto the living room couch and turn on the television. I begin to watch, but game show re-runs lull me to sleep.

Riku and I are watching television together on my couch. He curls his hand around mine, and I look at him; giving him a look that only meant one thing. So he smiles and kisses me, first gently. But it quickly turns into passion as we smother each other with hungry, wet kisses.

His hand starts at my cheek and slowly descends down to my side and thigh. When it rests there, he puts weight on it to swing himself onto my lap. He continues to kiss me, sliding his tongue against mine as he grinds down on my hips. I hold him by his sides and push back. The hand resting on my side slides across my lap and—

"Honey, honey wake up…"

My mother shakes my shoulder gently. I snort and roll onto my stomach, tilting my head to look up at her. She looks at me with a soft smile. "It's already six o'clock. Don't you get off work at three?"

"Yeah…" But then I'd met with Selphie for a half an hour—so… until I'd gotten home, I guess I'd been sleeping for two hours. Huh. Two hours dreaming about Riku. If Riku knew I had dreams about him like this, I'm sure he'd be disgusted.

"Here, I made you some tea." She sets down the green-colored mug on the coffee table. It smells fruity. "Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour."

"Okay…" She walks back to the kitchen, leaving me with the tea. I sit up and blow away from of the steam, a little too hot to drink yet. I think it's peach…

I look down at what's laying on the table. The newspaper is still there from this morning—presumably from my dad. I pick it up while I wait for my tea to become a tolerable temperature and page through it. I don't usually read the paper, but sometimes there's something interesting if I'm bored enough. I'm glancing through the classified ads section as it hits me.

I pull my phone out from my pocket and text Selphie.

Riku brought his cookies to the Christmas Eve party. Riku makes the best chocolate chip cookies around. But don't tell my mom, or she might cry.

I'm on my third cookie in the last five minutes, and Kairi laughs at me. "Save some for everyone else, Sora!"

"Sorry—" I mutter with my mouth full. "But they're so good! Riku's so good at makin' 'em."

"I know; that's why you should leave some for someone else." Kairi gives a light giggle and takes one for herself. "Oh, speaking of which, there's Riku."

I glance over to where he's at, standing in the doorway. His eyes meet mine, and I feel a small blush form on my cheeks. "Hey, Sora…" He's about to ask about something, so without thinking I run over, half a cookie left in hand, and meet him under the doorway.

"What's up?" I chew on the cookie nervously, realizing the close space between Riku and myself.

"Have you seen Selphie?" he asks, unaware by the rising panic in my mind, "She told me to get marshmallows for the hot chocolate, but she didn't say where she wanted to set them…"

"Here I am!" She peeks her head around the corner from the kitchen. "Just set them next to the popcorn; I almost have the hot water ready." And then a contemplative look crosses her face before she comments, "Hey, I think you guys are under the mistletoe…"

I peer up, and as Selphie says, there's the familiar bundle of green leaves and white berries, tied up with a red bow tacked up on the doorframe. Did Selphie plant that there on purpose?...

Riku stares down at me, his expression unreadable. I think I can see the hint of a blush starting, but there's not enough light in the room to tell. Is… is he gonna kiss me?

I must look dumbfounded, looking back up at him there. Selphie shouts from the other room, "Now you guys have to kiss!" And for a moment, I think I see Riku's head tilt a little my way. Maybe…

"What, are you kidding me?" And with a cynical smile, he walks away from where we were standing. "As if. No offense, Sora."

The shock of what just might have happened washes off of me, and I try to brush it off as if I really did want that kiss. "Whatever, you know you wanted it." And I walk towards the couch as I finish the last of my cookie in my mouth. I could Riku's delicious cookies all night…

Riku puts the marshmallows where they belong on the table and grabs himself a small bowl of popcorn. Without second thought he crashes on the couch next to me, huddled closer than what's necessary. My stomach does a couple flips; I can just feel the warmth of his body against mine. I try to the hide the blush that's probably forming on my face. Man, good thing it's so dim in here!

Eventually I become almost numb to the buzzing hormones as neither of us move from our spot for most of the night. Two hours after we started, everyone's attending and swapping gifts. But Selphie's handing them out to everyone, so we still don't have to move. I'm afraid that if I do, someone will take my spot. I'm seriously content right here beside him…

Though, that dream I had a few days ago about Riku and myself on the couch plays on repeat in my head, and I have to block it out. I do become satisfactorily distracted when Selphie hands me a present from Kairi. It's about a medium-sized box—maybe a little smaller than my head. But it's a bit of an awkward shape, with bumps and curves around the top. I wonder what she could've gotten for me.

Without any lick of grace I tear the paper right off. What I'm looking at are a brand new pair of headphones—the big clunky kind. I read the packaging, "Timweisser 324SHS Supra-aural Headphones – Funky Rock style." And man do they look funky. The designs on the back of the phones are a multitude of bright rainbow colors and stars. I look up down where Kairi is sitting on the floor, and I grin at her. And she returns the smile—she must know she picked the right gift.

"I love them, Kairi!" I sputter, excited to try them out once I had my mp3 player on me.

"I knew your old pair was getting bad, and I thought those were totally you."

"Wow, can I see?" But without waiting for my consent, Riku grabs them from my hands and inspects them. He gives a curt nod and hands them back. "Yep. Exactly your style, Sora." But his voice sounds a little depressed and tired. Why does he seem upset by Kairi's gift? He's not… jealous, is he?

As I think it, Selphie speaks it, "I think someone's jealous that Kairi picked out something Sora really likes!" Riku looks a little panic-stricken for a split-second, but then composes his face into a stoic expression. I saw that, you know! "But it's not too late, he hasn't seen yours yet!"

"Selphie, I'm not jealous," he says calmly, "I was just wondering what they looked like."

"Uh huh, suuuuure." Selphie seems convinced of her theory. And, looking at him, I'd almost agree. But then again, I think it's my imagination making it up because I want him to be jealous…

Selphie hands a gift to Tidus, next Wakka, and then hops over to the couch with two small boxes, one of them being mine to Riku. My heart gives a great leap, knowing what was inside of it. I get worried—was it a mistake? Would he reject my gift?

He seems a little taken aback by what I've handed him, unsure of what it possibly could be. The box easily fits the inside of his palm. The box I'm given by Selphie is a little larger, but flat. On the label is marked from being from Riku. Oh. So then, it's not a ring… then again, why would I expect to get that, anyway?

Trying to ignore him as he carefully peels the wrapping paper off, I pop the lid of the box and slide the rest of the box inside. The only thing inside is an envelope—so I pick that up and pry my fingers underneath, sliding out the contents.

I hear him give a surprised gasp at his own present as I'm reading the two pieces of paper in my hand. It's two tickets for Eddy's RollerWorld—a rollercoaster park that's on one of the main islands not too far away. I've wanted to go for years, but being gone for so long never really allowed for a trip there. That, and I was never able to go there myself…

"Thanks Riku! It's great!" With tickets still in hand, I attack him with a hug that nearly sends him off the couch. He looks a little bewildered, and I retract back to my place. But then I see he's looking at the key, and I realize it calls for an explanation.

"Well, you see…" I pause to wring my hands, nervous as all hell, and continue, "I know that you've been having a hard time finding a place to go, and I realized that part of the problem is that you weren't able to afford the rent yourself. So I pulled some strings and… that's the key to the apartment."

His expression is nearly blank to the point where I can't even read it. Maybe… maybe he doesn't like it? Crap… "I mean, the catch is that you'd be sharing it with me because you can't afford it alone, b-but if you don't want to move in with me that's okay—"

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay Sora," he says, holding my shoulder with a hand. The ghost of a smile pulls at the corner of his lips, and I feel relieved. "No, I'm just… stunned. I can't believe you…" He trails off just smiles that little bit. So, then he likes it? He's… he's moving in with me?

The great wave of adrenaline moves through my body like electric. Riku and I are going to be living together!...

I don't even notice when everyone else is watching until Tidus clears his throat. I look up and see the faces of my friends staring us down. Are we that interesting to watch?

But my attention goes back to Riku, who is admiring the key, twirling it between his fingers. He must really like it then. My plan to get the best-present-ever was a success!

There's only one problem…

My eyes graze across the room, but all gifts have been opened, and no sign of Riku's ring is found. I mean, I guess I would have heard someone open a super-expensive ring if they had. So then, who was it for? Was Mystery Girlfriend off somewhere else, waiting for him tomorrow? Or was the ring maybe just for his mom after all?

I try not to worry about it, but now that it's come to mind, I can't erase it. Despite that, I still enjoy the night with my friends, carrying on and eating until my sides are about to burst.

If there is a girl out there, I'll just have to wait until he tells me about her. At the moment, I'm just excited to move in with my best friend.

Part 2 – New Year's coming soon…