Merry Christmas
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Hot Chocolate
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Sipping her hot chocolate with a small smile to her best friends, Kairi couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"I don't really like winter, much." Sora confessed, his arms wrapped around himself and his teeth chattering in an over dramatic fashion, "If it weren't for Christmas, I would say it needed to be taken off the calendar completely."
"What about the other holidays that other people celebrate; that isn't really fair to them, is it?" Riku pointed out, giving a sigh at Sora's ignorance.
Folding his arms across his chest and slightly sinking into the couch from embarrassment, the younger boy corrected, "Uh, well; yeah, those too."
I could only giggle, mentally commenting, 'Poor Sora.' Adding on to Sora's argument, I stated, "Winter would be a lot better if it actually snowed here."
"Just ask Santa for it to snow on Christmas." Sora gave a grin; my heart beginning to melt inside my chest.
Riku scoffed, causing my smile to fade and my stare to divert towards him as he stated, "Everyone knows Santa's not real, Sora. You're such a kid."
I had to agree with Riku on that. It was a very admirable trait of Sora that he was so optimistic, but Santa? That was over doing it.
Jumping up, Sora defended, "He is, too! I helped saved him from Oogie Boogie! See, Christmas town is connected to Halloween Town and--…Well, things just got out of hand with Jack trying be Santa for Halloween Town." Giving a pause, Sora pointed a finger in Riku's face and accused, "And it's your fault I've missed out on practically six years of presents!" Rolling his eyes, he added, "Telling me Santa isn't real. Psh. Shows how much you know."
The older boy left dumbfounded by the brunette's defense gave no reply. Smirking at Riku's reaction and leaving the slight gape upon my own face unnoticed, Sora gave a glance to both of us and promised, "I'll show you one day."
"Make sure you survive winter, first." Kairi replied jokingly, taking another sip of the hot drink in her hands before putting it back on the table.
Swiftly scooping it up and lifting it to his lips, he stated slyly, "If I have this, I can." Giving a mock pout, Kairi watched as her friend downed the majority of her drink; the only thing that had been keeping her warm in Riku's frigid house.
Tapping a finger against his lips in thought, Riku commented slowly, "You know…you technically just made-out with Kairi."
Kairi did not have enough time to blush in order to dive out of the way of Sora spurting her hot chocolate. Eyes watering and beginning to suffer from a coughing fit, Sora still managed to glare Riku down, inquiring, "What?"
"Realistically, you just swapped spit. See what I'm saying?" The silver haired teen couldn't have been more amused by the mortified expressions on his two best friends' faces.
"You're disgusting, Riku." Kairi concluded, saving herself and Sora from any more embarrassment. He simply gave a shrug in response before Kairi retreated into the kitchen.
Bringing her hand down on the roll of paper towels, she heard Sora hiss to the older teen, "Why'd you say that?"
"You need to get a hint around some time." Riku answered in an annoyed tone.
'A hint?' Kairi repeated in her head. Eagerly listening for Sora's reply but hearing none, she took that as her cue to return to the living room. Avoiding the eyes of either of them, she kneeled down and began to scrub rapidly against the fabric of the couch. So focused in her work, she didn't notice Sora had left until she found his hand next to hers, joining the effort.
Her sapphire eyes glanced upward to meet a sheepish grin, he muttering, "Sorry."
"It's okay," She answered as she stood up, glancing to the older teen with a glare as she walked to the trash can, stating, "It was Riku's fault, any way."
Rolling his eyes first, he replied, "I'm sorry."
"See. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kairi giggled as she patted him on the head as if he were a small child; Sora snickering in the background as well, receiving a glare from Riku in return.
"And you were worried about how much everything would change." Sora laughed as he took his place on the couch, in the middle, as he added, "It's just like old times."
"Mm…" He didn't open his lips to give a reply, just gave a noise of acknowledgement.
"It's a little different," Kairi interjected, both boys turning their heads to see her sit down, "We're all older, for instance." She didn't mean to be negative; she just knew that although it was similar to before, things were still terribly different.
"Nothing could stop that, though." Sora argued with a frown, his arms now crossed behind his head.
"True," The girl turned to him with a smirk, "but remember; I told you not to change."
The brunette squinted his eyes together as he tried to remember the occasion, "Huh?"
Laughing, she stated, "That's the same reply you gave me then, too."
Remembering the conversation, Sora exclaimed, "Oh! The dock, the afternoon before…" He paused; a twist in his expression as memories of the night when everything changed played in his head.
"You're home, now; that's all that matters." Kairi swiftly cut off the subject. It was not that their adventures had become taboo, but merely the fact of remembering how things changed so drastically in a small amount of time. Normally, it was fine to talk about. But at this moment in time, it just ruined the mood; it made Kairi feel the hole of something missing, again. The hot chocolate with it's warmth, helped ease her in the slightest. Now that that was down the drain and soaked into the couch's fabric, she wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to create warmth again.
"With Riku's annual Christmas party, of course." Sora added with a point to the decorations strewn across the house; every inch traced in colors of red, green, gold, and white.
With a groan, the teen stated, "I don't know why my parents let all of you trash the house every holiday."
Jumping up from the couch, Sora turned to give a lop-sided grin, stating, "Tradition." Stuffing his hands into his pockets and headed towards the door, he announced, "Well, guys; I gotta go. I told Mom I'd be home about…an hour ago." He laughed as he glanced toward a clock.
"Oh! Yeah; I probably need to head home, too." Kairi quickly gave the exclamation, though it was a lie. Time alone with Riku had always been awkward, though she usually got over the feeling within the first hour. Today, however, she would just rather avoid the situation completely; though she wasn't quite sure what the reason was. 'Maybe it has to do with that feeling of something missing, I have…' She trailed off in thought. Sora paused under the doorframe into the hallway, watching with an amused smile as she quickly made her way to his side.
"Speaking of tradition," Riku wore a wide smirk that distressed the other teenagers beyond words, lifting a finger to point, "Look above you."
Mistletoe.
'How did I miss that?' Both of the now blushing teens' minds screamed at them.
"I'll leave you two alone, if that makes you feel any better." The older teen shrugged as he stood, exiting the room with a last wink at the two.
"L-let's just get this over with, okay?" Sora stumbled over his words as he spoke. Though it wasn't exactly the kindest thing Kairi had ever heard, she felt the slightest jump of joy that he wasn't just going to drop the subject and leave.
"Um, o-okay." She glanced towards his eyes, giving a nervous laugh before diverting her stare and closing her eyes.
Staring at the girl before him, the brunette bit his lip and prayed, 'I hope I do this right…' Exhaling a large amount of air, Sora finally leaned forward; their lips only touching for split second before he pulled his head back. Kairi's eyes fluttering open, he found himself unable to control his actions as he leaned forward again; this time his arms weaving around her waist and pulling her closer as he made his move. His lips caressing hers, she melted against his chest as her legs ceased to function. Breaking apart slowly, they departed without another word to Riku; their hands clasped in each other's as they walked home. They hadn't even said a word to each other yet; but Kairi was content.
The hole in her being as well as the chill that came along with it had been completely cured. With a quick glance to the brunette, she smiled and concluded, 'Who needs hot chocolate anyway?'