I hope this gets everyone into the Christmas spirit now that Christmas is over T-T

This Is Christmas

Riku meets Santa for the first time.

The first time Sora told him that Santa Claus was real, Riku was skeptical. He wouldn't put it past Sora to think some random crazy guy he met during his travels was the real Santa Claus, but Sora insisted that Santa was 100% real. Riku shrugged, said okay and went back to being an awesome Keyblade Master, something he never failed to mention to Sora at every opportunity.

At the time, he never really entertained the thought that Santa could possibly be real. Sure, it would be nice to believe there was someone out there in the worlds whose job it was to give endlessly, but Riku highly doubted it. Sora had to be joking. There was no such thing as Santa Claus.

Santa's workshop smells like fresh-baked cookies, and there's a cup of candy canes on every table. The elves are smaller than Riku imagined, smaller than even Mickey. Sora is smiling like...well, Riku doesn't think he's ever seen Sora smile so big, not since they were kids.

"Santaaaa!" Sora runs at Santa with his arms spread wide. Despite being an old man with spindly arms, Santa catches him easily and laughs with his signature, "Ho ho ho."

Sora talks Santa's ear off while Riku stands in the back trying not to look awkward. He can't believe he's standing in the same room as Santa Claus. He's not starstruck or anything, just a little surprised.

Okay, a lot surprised. Who knew there was such thing as a magical old man who brought presents to kids on Christmas? Come to think of it, Riku is positive Santa never came to his house when he was a kid. Or maybe he did and he used his magic to stay hidden. Riku doesn't have very much time to think about it as Sora turns around and waves him over.

Here we go, Riku thinks.

He walks over to Santa and bows deeply like he's talking to Yen Sid. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Likewise," Santa says, smiling warmly. "Sora has told me a lot about you."

"Has he?" Riku glances at Sora, who gives him his best innocent look.

"All good things, of course," Santa assures him. "Since its tradition, I have to ask. Riku, would you like to know if you've made it onto the Nice List this year?"

Riku isn't so sure he wants to know. He's done plenty that would get him on the Naughty List, and he doesn't really want personal verification from Santa that he's been bad.

Sora nudges him with his elbow. "Go on, Riku. I'm sure it won't be so bad."

Riku sighs. It's probably best to get it over with. "Sure. Why not?"

Santa nods and pulls out a ridiculously long list. "Until very recently, you were on the Naughty List."

Riku tries not to feel too bad about that. He's made peace with all of the terrible things he did while under the control of darkness. He knows he did wrong. He would probably put himself on the Naughty List too if he were Santa.

"…because you told Sora I didn't exist."

Riku blinks. "Oh." Santa sure knows how to hold a grudge.

"However," Santa continues, "due to recent heroic actions, I had to reconsider. Without you, Sora would be lost. Congratulations, Riku. You're on the Nice List."

Sora sputters. "What?" His voice is several octaves higher than usual. "Riku gets to be on the Nice List but I don't? Why?"

Santa chuckles. "You may recall a certain Mark of Mastery Exam in which you almost became Xehanort's newest puppet."

Sora goes real quiet. "Oh yeah."

Riku didn't forget, but he never thought one "heroic" moment would be enough to make up for all the bad. "If it makes you feel any better, Sora, I didn't do it because I wanted to get on the Nice List." He did it because Sora is his best friend and he wanted to protect him, but that would be too sappy to say out loud.

"And that's exactly why you're on the Nice List," Santa says. "Getting on the Nice List takes...well…" He smiles at Sora, who is totally pouting. "You'll have to figure that out for yourself. Now, what was that you were saying about candy cane ice cream?"

Sora perks up instantly.

On the way over to the North Pole Ice Cream Shop, Sora tells Riku all about candy cane ice cream. "It's the best!"

"Better than sea-salt ice cream?"

Sora visibly goes through an internal struggle before saying, "Maybe not better than sea-salt ice cream. But it's still really good! Um...By the way…" Riku looks down to find that Sora isn't meeting his eyes. "Thanks for saving me in the dream world, Riku."

Riku's heart gets warm. He claps Sora on the shoulder. "Anytime." And he means it. Besides, he's been through a lot worse for Sora's sake.

Sora grins. "Let's go."

The candy cane ice cream is divine, and they spend the rest of the day arguing about which ice cream flavor is the best.

Author's Note: I really want Halloween Town to come back as a world so that Riku can meet Santa. It would be so funny! XD Thanks for reading!