As a special Christmas present to a special friend, I present a fanfiction that will probably be the closest thing to shounen-ai that I will ever write. I hope it will be convincing enough. Aerialkight, Happy Loreleimas to you, and I wish you health throughout the new year.

Oh, and for clarification, this is a "Keterburg Kids" fic, meaning it takes place when Jade, Nephry, Peony, and Dist are kids. This does not happen during the storyline of the game.

Why do things like this always happen to me? wondered Saphir as he sat at his bedroom window, gloomily watching the snow. It was the first day of the Festival of Lorelei, and he was confined to his room with a cold and a high fever. It had taken all of his persuading powers to convince his parents not to confine him to bed as well. However, they were firm that he would not set foot out of the house until his fever was gone.

With a sigh, he leaned his hot forehead against the cold glass windowpane. There was no school that day, but Professor Nebilim was holding a party for her students there in about two hours. The other kids were helping decorate for it right now, he knew.

"I just bet Jade went to help, if only because he knows how much his sister wanted to," Saphir whined, even though no one could hear him. "Especially if he knows I'm not there. I don't get it! No matter what I do, he's never nice to me."

On impulse, he got up and walked over to his bed, reaching over to his nightstand, where a school notebook labeled "Revenge Journal" was lying. Opening it, Saphir flipped a few pages forward, where he read aloud:

"Luna Redecan, 5th day: Today Jade 'accidentally' tripped me when I was taking my lunch to the dining room! He said it was an accident, but I saw him move his foot! He wouldn't even say why he did it, just said it was 'an unfortunate accident' and walked away! He didn't help me up either! He's such a jerk!"

Just reading it again made Saphir fume, and he slammed the book shut. "This is just great! It's the beginning of the holiday season, but I'm stuck in the house while the other kids are at the party, and Jade is still a jerk!" He tossed the notebook to the floor and flopped back on the bed. "I bet I don't even get what I wanted for the Festival of Lorelei…"

What Saphir wanted most, however, wasn't something that could be left under the tree.

Or was it?

"Jade, should this go here?" asked Nephry, holding up the chain of red and gold paper links she had just finished making. When her brother looked up, she pointed to the wall above the row of windows.

"That looks fine," Jade answered quietly, going back to cutting stars out of foil. He hadn't really wanted to help; in fact, he was only here because Nephry wanted to go, and she had dragged him along. Once there, he'd planned to read a book he brought along, but Professor Nebilim said that if he was there, he had to work. Not wanting to argue, he'd settled for cutting out shapes to hang from the ceiling. It was more dignified than gluing the paper chains.

Or, Lorelei forbid, decorating the tree. Which was what Peony was doing. Granted, he technically wasn't even one of the professor's students, but who was going to tell the future emperor of Malkuth that he couldn't come to a party? Looking over at the corner of the schoolroom where the tree was set up, Jade couldn't help thinking that Peony looked rather undignified, half-tangled in tinsel garland.

"…Jade?"

"I'm sorry, what is it?" Jade mentally shook himself and looked back at his sister, standing on a chair while tacking the chain over the windows.

"How come Saphir isn't here? He was really excited about the party when the professor announced it last week and started making presents," Nephry pointed out.

"Why should I care where that runny-nosed runt is?" Jade shrugged.

"Because he's your classmate too!" Nephry hopped down from her chair and marched over to the table where her brother was sitting.

"That doesn't mean he's my friend," he frowned, holding up a finished star and mentally measuring the points.

"Still, I wonder where he is, too," Peony commented, pulling a strand of garland only to have it tighten around his waist.

"You don't have to wonder; I know where he is," cut in Professor Nebilim, who had just walked into the room. Seeing Peony practically tied up in the garlands, she sighed and went to disentangle him. "I just saw Saphir's father a few moments ago. It seems Saphir has a fever and needs to stay at home for a while."

"You mean… he'll have to miss the party?" asked Nephry, looking sad.

"I'm afraid so," the professor replied. "We wouldn't want him to get worse."

"That's too bad," said Peony, pulling another strand of garland from around his neck. "It's going to be so much fun!"

"We won't be having any fun until we get this classroom decorated, so let's finish quickly, all right?" Professor Nebilim addressed the three of them, and they all answered more or less cheerfully and went back to work.

As soon as the professor was out of earshot, Jade sighed in relief and began cutting out stars a bit more energetically.

"What was that for?" wondered Peony, who heard him and came over, free of the constricting decorations.

"I'm just glad Saphir won't be here," Jade replied nonchalantly.

"Jade!" scolded Nephry. "That's horrible! How can you be so mean?"

"I don't have to like everyone, Nephry," Jade pointed out.

"But he's sick! He must be really sad if he can't come to the party…" Nephry looked as if she was about to cry. "We should do something…"

"Like what?" asked Peony. "Have another party when he's better?"

"Maybe…" Nephry grew thoughtful. "Or…"

"Whatever you're planning, I'm not a part of it," Jade said quickly, and went on with his cutting as if he no longer listened to anything they said.

Nephry glared at her brother for a moment, then turned her attention back to Peony. "We could bring a party to Saphir ourselves," she suggested. "We'll bring decorations, and snacks, and cheer him up, since he has to miss the real party."

"That's a great idea!" Peony nodded. "I'm sure Professor Nebilim will let us have some of the decorations when the party is over, since we have to take them down anyway."

"And if there's any leftover food, we can probably take that, too," Nephry thought aloud. "If not, I can get some more."

"Hey, maybe we can even find a little tree somewhere and decorate it at Saphir's house!" Clapping his hands together as if he'd just gotten a great idea, Peony gestured putting a small tree on the table and mimed putting decorations on it. "He can help too!"

"And we can bring his gift as well!" Nephry smiled happily. "Since he might still be sick tomorrow, and miss getting presents then."

"This will be great!" Peony scrambled back to the tree and began running around it, twisting the tinsel garland around as he went. "Let's hurry and finish, so we can have this party and then go to the next one!"

Giggling at Peony's enthusiasm, Nephry turned back to her brother, who had finished with stars for the moment and was now cutting out little trees. "What are you going to do, Jade?" she asked.

"Now or when the party is over?" he asked in turn without looking up.

"After the party, of course," she replied.

"Let's see… after the party, I'm going to go home, eat some supper, and sit in front of the fire to finish that book," was Jade's answer.

"No, you can't," insisted Nephry, "because I'm going to Saphir's house, and you know Mother said you have to stay with me when we're not at home."

"Nephry, I don't want to go to his house," Jade sighed. "I might catch whatever disease it is that affects him."

"He only has a cold…"

"No, the disease that makes him stupid."

Nephry pouted. "Why do you have to be so mean to him? You know as well as anyone that he's not stupid!"

"He's not a friend of mine, and I shouldn't have to go if I don't want to," Jade argued.

"Fine then, I'll tell Mother that you let me go there by myself, and she'll be so mad that you won't get any presents tomorrow!" huffed Nephry.

"You won't be by yourself if His Highness goes with you," Jade pointed out, jerking his chin toward Peony, who was now hanging some of the paper decorations on the branches of the tree.

"She said you, and you know it." Nephry crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "So you have to come, and you have to do something to help."

"I don't want to."

"You can at least bring the present we made for him, right?" she pleaded. "You did help make it, after all."

"Only because Professor Nebilim made me," said Jade. "I didn't want to help make Saphir's gift either. I just want nothing to do with him at all, Nephry."

Faced with such an obstacle, Nephry did the only thing she could- start crying.

Jade rolled his eyes and started cutting out another tree as the professor came over. "What's wrong, Nephry? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Jade… doesn't want… to help…" she sniffled.

"What's this about, Jade?" the professor inquired sternly of her student.

Jade sighed. "Nephry and Peony want to visit Saphir after the party to cheer him up, and I don't want to go."

"That's a nice idea, Nephry," said Professor Nebilim, smiling down at Nephry. "I think you should go with them, Jade."

"Do I have to?" pleaded Jade.

"It's a nice thing to do, and besides, you can go in my place," the professor suggested. "I have things to do after the party, so I can't some with you. I wish I could, though."

"So you're making Jade go?" asked Nephry.

"Yes, I think it's a good idea that he go to Saphir's house with you," concluded Professor Nebilim. "Now let's finish up here, so we can have our little party and you can get to Saphir's house before dark."

Nephry clapped her hands in joy, and Jade just sighed mentally. He couldn't go against his teacher.

This would be a long day…

Saphir awoke with a start. He'd dozed off in his chair near the window while trying to see patterns in the snowflakes sticking to the panes. Now the sky was darker, and the snow was falling a little harder. He sighed and stood up, stretching. It was probably almost time for supper, but he didn't feel like eating.

"I wonder if everyone had a good time…" he said to himself.

Just then, he heard his mother go to answer the door, and he wondered briefly who would come to see them at this time of day. Presently his mother came and knocked on his door.

"Saphir, you have company," she told him. "Are you presentable?"

"Yes…" he answered. "Who's here?"

"Your friends from school," she replied. "I'll send them in, but make sure you don't get them sick, too."

"Um… okay…" Friends? You mean…

The door opened a moment later, and his classmates came in, shaking the snow off themselves. Nephry carried a basket in each hand, Peony held a tree so small it looked like a branch, and Jade had a box with a bow in his arms.

Wait… "Jade? What are you doing here?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Jade instantly replied, setting down the box and removing his coat.

Saphir turned to Nephry with raised eyebrows, and she smiled. "We're bringing you a party, since you couldn't come to the professor's party," she told him. "She made Jade go because she couldn't come and wish you a happy holiday."

"We brought food, and decorations, and we'll have a great time!" Peony grinned, throwing off his coat and taking the tree to a table. "This is so cool, two parties in one day!"

"Peony, is that the only reason you're here?" Saphir asked. He hadn't been too fond of the blonde-haired future emperor since they met.

"No, I thought it was a cool idea to come and cheer you up," Peony answered. "Even if it was Nephry's idea."

Nephry just beamed as she wriggled out of her coat. "Come on, help us decorate. We brought some of the stuff from the party, and we can put it up all around the room. Or you can help Peony with the tree if you want."

Saphir looked around for a moment. "What did Jade do to help at the party?" he asked quietly.

"He made those stars and things on strings," Nephry said, pulling some of them out of her basket.

"I'll put those up then!" he decided quickly, taking them and pulling his chair under one of the rafters so he could hang them up.

Jade rolled his eyes and sighed just so he could hear. "He's much too obvious…"

A little later, after they had decorated Saphir's room to Nephry's liking, and eaten some of the food they brought, Nephry told everyone to sit and be quiet. "It's time for your present!" she announced, nodding toward the box.

"Huh?" He blinked. "That's for me? But… you're not supposed to open presents until tomorrow morning."

"We figured you might not be able to come and get it tomorrow, so we brought it to you," said Peony. "And we want you to open it now, so we can see how you like it."

"Bring it over, Jade." Nephry waved her hand toward her brother, who sat at the table with his book.

"Must I?" he asked. "This book is terribly interesting."

"You'd better, or I'll tell the professor that you didn't help to cheer up Saphir," Nephry threatened him.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"But you didn't do anything since you got here! Now give Saphir his present!" Nephry glared at him, so he sighed, put down his book, and rose from the table, carrying the box with him.

Sitting on the floor with the others, Jade put the box down in front of Saphir. "Here. Happy Festival of Lorelei," he said under his breath.

Saphir stayed still a moment, looking at the box. It was a medium-sized box, wrapped in gold paper and topped with a silver bow. Attached was a tag with his name on it. "Should I really open it?" he finally asked.

"Yes, now open it!" cried Nephry, bouncing up and down a little.

Mystified, Saphir drew the box toward him and tore the paper from it, then lifted the lid. Inside was another box, and he slowly opened this one as well.

Here was the gift- a small piece of fonmachinery that looked somewhat like a lamp. There was an attachment on it that looked as if it was meant to clip to something, and the whole thing was compact enough to carry around easily. Confused, Saphir looked up at the others. Nephry and Peony were smiling, while Jade just shrugged and looked away indifferently.

"What's it for?" Saphir asked.

"It's a lamp, silly," Nephry giggled. "We know how much you like to read, so we thought maybe a small lamp would be a good idea, in case you ever wanted to read in the dark. So Jade figured out how to make a fonstone lamp, and we created a mini version of the original design."

"So… Jade mostly made it?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Peony admitted. "He knew the most about fontech, next to you. But we did help."

Jade… helped make this… for me…

A slow smile spread over Saphir's face. "Thanks, everyone. Really. You… you've made this the best Festival of Lorelei ever. I… I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Wherever you're concerned, the sweetest sound is silence."

"Jade!" Nephry yanked on her brother's arm. "Be nice!"

Shaking his head, Jade feigned apology. "I mean… you're welcome."

Saphir frowned. "You're so mean, Jade. But… thanks all the same." There was a moment of silence, then he brightened up. "Hey, I can give you guys your presents too, if you want."

"Are you sure?" asked Nephry.

"I have them here! I brought them home to work on by myself." Saphir got up and went to his closet, rummaged around a bit, then brought back three boxes in his arms. "Here you are! You can open them now, since you let me open mine."

"Great!" Peony reached for the box with his name right away and tore it open, revealing a length of strong strings that were woven together into a sort of homemade rope. One end was tied into a loop, and there was a metal clip on the other end. "…What's it for?"

"It's a leash, of course," Saphir explained. "You were always saying how much you wanted a rappig, so if you ever get one, that can be its leash." He didn't say how easy a gift it was to make, as long as he knew that Peony was happy with it.

"Wow! Thanks, it's awesome!" Peony beamed as he imagined holding the leash when there was an adorable rappig on the other end of it.

"Here Nephry, this one is for you," said Saphir, picking up the second box and holding it out to her.

"Thank you," she answered politely, slowly removing the paper. Her box contained a small doll's bed, complete with a mattress, blanket, and tiny pillow. She gasped as her face lit up with delight.

"I remember how you said there was a doll in a shop window you really wanted, so I figured if you got that doll someday, now you would have a place for it to sleep," Saphir told her, not mentioning how difficult it had been to get the bedclothes for the gift. In the end, he'd asked his mother to make them while he made the bed itself, but Nephry didn't need to know that.

"I love it," Nephry said, her eyes shining. "If I get that doll, this will definitely be her bed. Thank you so much, Saphir."

"Y-you're welcome," he stammered, turning to Jade and motioning toward the last box. "Jade… this one is for you."

"There's nothing in it that could kill me, is there?" Jade recoiled from the box as if there was a snake wrapped around it.

"Of course not!" Saphir glared at him. "Just open it already!"

Moving slowly and with great caution, Jade removed just enough of the paper to lift the lid of the box. Nestled in some tissue paper were two small objects, like smooth stones, about the size and shape of eggs, but dark gray instead of white or brown.

"What are they for, to throw at your window and run away laughing?" wondered Jade with a sly grin.

Saphir sighed in frustration. "No you idiot, they're hand warmers! Put them in your pockets, and when you hold them, they absorb the heat from your hands and strengthen it, the way a fonstone reacts to heat by giving off light."

"And you made them?" asked Jade skeptically.

"The professor said we were supposed to make the presents," Saphir reminded him. "Of course I made it! I always hear you complaining to Nephry how your hands are cold, so I thought these could be useful."

Jade said nothing for a moment, until Nephry elbowed him in the side and shot him a glare. "All right, fine," he muttered. "Thank you for the gift."

Nephry remembered afterwards that she could never recall a time when she had seen Saphir look happier than he did right at that moment.

"Hey, the fireworks are starting!" Peony pointed toward the window, where colored lights could be seen in the sky.

"Let's go see!" exclaimed Nephry, scrambling up and grabbing her brother's arm to drag him over as well.

"Nephry, don't pull my arm, it hurts…" Jade complained.

"Maybe I should pull your other arm, then!" said Saphir teasingly.

Jade looked over his shoulder to shoot Saphir a look. "Don't touch me if you value your life."

Saphir had to hold back a laugh as he followed the other kids to the window, where they watched and admired the annual firework display.

Jade came to my house, and helped make me a gift… I think I may have gotten what I wanted after all…