Snow's falling and I'm in the holiday mood. On top of that, I'm playing through Birth by Sleep, so here's my first Kingdom Hearts Christmas story: The Most Wonderful Time of Year. Enjoy.

I don't not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.

I awake to find the room positively freezing. I pull the covers closer to me, wrapping them around my bare shoulders. I roll over and look up at my window; something isn't right. I reach up and touch the frosted glass. It's cold to touch. I lift myself up and wipe away some of the fog covering the pane. Outside, white flecks slowly fall to the ground, covering it in a blanket of white.

I hear a door slam down the hall and the rushed sound of running footsteps. "Ven," a voice says, accompanied with a rapid knock, "did you see it?"

I wrap the blanket tighter around me and pull open the door. The smiling bluenette looks down at me. She's wearing a grey ¾ sleeve sweater, a light blue scarf, black pants, and fuzzy white, mid-calf boots. "See what?" I say, still trying to wake up.

"The snow, silly," she says. Aqua's really too much of a morning person; where does she find the energy this early. "Well, go on," she says, pushing me back into the room. "Put some warm clothes on. I'm going to see if Terra's up yet." I watch as she giddily skips down the hall. Whatever this snow stuff is, it must be a big deal.

I rummage through my closet until I finally find something that looks warm: long khaki pants, a light green shirt with my white/black one over it, and two layers of socks. Hope this is warm enough.

I walk down the hall and push open the door to find Aqua and Terra talking with Master Eraqus: all three are smiling. Terra's wearing a black turtleneck with dark brown pants while Master Eraqus just looks like his clothing is thicker than usual. The Master notices me first.

"Ah, Ventus," he says, motioning me forward, "good morning. I trust you will do your best to keep these two out of trouble today." I look back and forth between my friends slightly confused. "The three of you, have a good day." He walks off in the direction of his office.

"What was he talking about?"

"We have a tradition here," Terra explains. "On the day of the first real snow, the Master gives us the day off and let's us just go out and enjoy ourselves."

"It gets kind of crazy," Aqua laughs, exchanging knowing glances with Terra, "so prepare yourself. Terra, help him find some warm clothes he can go outside in; I'll look through some of the old stuff and see what I can find."

I follow Terra back to his room; clothes are strewn all over the bed and floor. "Did your dresser explode or something?" He playfully shoves me against the wall and looks through the piles to try and find something that would fit me. Eventually, we find a light grey coat, water resistant tan pants, and a pair of boots.

"What on earth happened in here?" As I pull on a pair of gloves, Terra smiles sheepishly at Aqua, who just shakes her head. "Here Ven, I found this for you." She puts a hat over my head and takes a step back to look at me. "Something isn't quite right," she says, thinking pose in full effect. It suddenly hits her and will a quick spell, the color of the hat changes to a muted green. "Perfect," she smiles. We all leave the room, dressed warmly, heading for the front door.

The cold blast hits like a ton of bricks, sending a quick shiver down my spine. I tilt my head upward and watch as this white stuff Aqua calls snow falls to the ground. Terra and Aqua run ahead, eager to go play, leaving me behind. The white flakes land on my face, catching on my eyelashes and melting shortly after impact, leaving little wet spots behind on my skin. The white flakes land on my coat sleeve and I briefly notice each unique pattern before they melt away. This all seems so familiar, like I've seen this stuff before, but I can't seem to remember. My head starts to hurt; best not to dwell on this right now. Some instinct within me kicks in and I tip my head back and stick out my tongue. The snow melts on contact, leaving cold pricks on my tongue. Wonder of this new world overtakes me as I stand there in the light shower. I glance at my friends; Aqua smiling as she looks up at me while Terra seems otherwise occupied. As I take a step towards them, I slip on the stair and begin to fall. I feel someone grab me and find myself looking into Aqua's frightened eyes.

"Are you alright, Ven?"

"The stairs are slippery."

She just smiles back at me, a small smile, like I've amuse her. "That's the ice's fault," she says, helping me to my feet. "You've got to be careful. Winter can be dangerous." Suddenly, a ball of white hits my friend in the face. She screams and off across the forecourt, Terra's in hysterics. "Terra," she screams, wiping snow from her face, "you are so going to pay for that."

We both run after him to the mountain path, avoiding the occasional snowball. Aqua casts Blizzard spells with a vengeance in his direction. We get to the open area and war breaks out between the two. I duck and cover to avoid getting hit. Aqua leaps up on to higher ground and forms an ice barricade between her and Terra's snowballs. Terra dives behind one of the benches to avoid her attacks. Snowball after snowball pelts the bench top, barely missing my friend. Stealthily, I crawl over and start to help him by making snowballs. He smiles at me, and slowly, we begin to chip away at Aqua's defenses.

Despite our best attempts, she still wins; having strong winter magic tends to do that. With what's left of her barricade, Terra shows me how to build a fort. Aqua creates great packing snow, which the two of us then form into bricks and add to the structure. After it's finished, we all crawl inside and goof off, telling jokes and just talking with one another.

The cold starts to get to me, sending shivers through my body. Terra notices and suggests we all go inside and warm up. We crawl out and Terra lifts me up on to his back and we head back to the forecourt.

"Wait," Aqua says when we get there. "There's one more thing we have to do." She falls backward, arms spread, and lands in the snow. Terra smiles and puts me down, following her lead. I watch as they move their arms and legs back and forth.

"Come on Ven," Terra says. I lay down in the snow and follow their example. Terra helps Aqua to her feet and then me. I look back and smile; three angels lie on the ground. Aqua brushes off some of the snow on my back and we head back inside to the warmth of the castle. "Aqua, would you mind starting a fire? I'll be in there soon."

I follow Aqua into the library and sit on the couch in front of the fireplace, pulling my legs up under my chin. She loads a few more logs onto the fire before lighting it with a spell. After a short while, with the fire crackling, Aqua comes and sits beside me. "How are you doing?" she says, putting her arm around me. "Are you getting any warmer?"

I nod, scooting closer to her. "That was really fun. I like the snow."

"Me too; winter is my favorite time of year."

"Why?" I say, looking up at her.

"Well, there's snow, and Christmas, and…"

"Hot chocolate," Terra says, walking in with three mugs topped with marshmallows. Aqua eagerly grabs one of them and takes a small sip. "Careful," he says, handing me one before sitting down next to me. "It's hot."

As I sip the warm drink, sitting in front of a lovely fire, I think about how lucky I am. I have the best friends in the world. I really don't deserve them. I whisper a silent prayer of thanks for these two wonderful people and pray that we will always be this close.