"So...full..."

Ichika Orimura plodded through the hallway ever so slowly, clutching his stomach and wiping his face. Despite his discomfort, he couldn't keep a smile off his face.

"But so worth it..."

It was Christmas Eve, and everyone was home away from the IS Academy for the holidays-everyone except those students with personal IS units. Due to the ever-present threat of Phantom Task, the government had ordered all personal IS operators to stand by for any emergency operation. Ichika's sister and head academy instructor Chifuyu took the mandate one step further and ordered those select students to stay at the academy just in case.

Surprisingly, this suited Ichika, Houki, Rin, Charl, Laura, Cecilia, and the Sarashiki sisters quite well, who spent all of their free time together. To them, staying alert for Phantom Task attacks meant hours of snowball fights, IS races, holiday movies, and so many Christmas cookie feasts. It seemed like every day the girls had some new recipe to try out, and Ichika would always end up taste testing most of them.

"Man, these are so good!" he remarked after their latest bake-off, a nighttime affair that lasted until a little after ten. "But I think I've had enough..."

He playfully staggered back from the table in the dining area where they were all hanging out. All of the girls we're giggling, and Chifuyu stood in a corner of the room with her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

The young man was now standing in the middle of the room when the female IS pilots surrounded him.

"Huh?" he uttered, raising his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"Oh Ichika," Rin said cheerfully, her cheeks becoming as red as her wooly holiday jumper. "What's that hanging above you?"

Ichika looked up and saw something was indeed hanging above him-mistletoe. Now he was glowing the same color as his Santa hat.

"Well would you look at that..." he muttered nervously, but it was too late. Each young lady came upon him simultaneously and gave him a big wet kiss somewhere on his face, ignoring his stifled scream.

As soon as the group backed off, and before Ichika could wipe off the smooches, Charl said, "Now you know what comes next!"

"What? Wait!" Ichika spoke, suddenly aware of what she was talking about.

"Oh, don't be a humbug, Ichika!" Cecilia cried in earnest, shoving her blonde-topped face right next to his. "Be of good holiday cheer now!"

"Houki..." the boy said, turning to his closest companion. His oldest childhood friend grinned and shrugged.

Ichika turned away from the expectant group to face his older sister, who shot him a fierce and cautionary look. So he turned back to his friends and puckered his lips. He knew what happened the last time they were all collectively disappointed with him.

"It's weird that they were all okay with that..." Ichika said to himself, turning a corner to go to his room. He remembered all of this after returning from the balcony, having caught his breath and his wits.

"But as long as everyone is happy..."

The door to his room opened, and his roommate Tatenashi came bounding out, a wide smile, across her face.

"Merry Christmas, Ichika!" she chirped, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You two have fun!"

"You too, wait what?" Ichika said, but the girl just kept going down the hall.

"Ichika?"

He followed the voice inside to find Houki standing next to Tatenashi's bed. She wore a powder blue nightgown with long sleeves, and her deep brown hair was free of its ribbon.

"Uh, hi Houki," Ichika said, waving lightly.

"Hi..." Houki replied. "Tatenashi's going to be sleeping over with her sister tonight, so..."

"I gotcha," the male IS pilot interrupted. "Want some hot chocolate?"

Houki smiled and chuckled. "You bet."

Ichika went over to the small kitchen area of his room. He filled a pot with some water and began to heat it on the stove. He went to see Houki sitting on the bed, looking out the window. Frozen solid droplets were steadily falling, creating a powdery frame and covering the academy.

"Looking for Santa?"

"Of course."

Ichika went over to his bed and quickly looked under it, spying upon the small package he had hidden under an extra blanket. He sure hoped she loved the new necklace he got her.

"Did you tell him everything you want for Christmas?" he asked.

"Always," Houki said back, turning and flashing that cute smile yet again. He loved it.

"Good." Ichika tossed his deep green fleece jacket to the side and went back to the burner. He had been rocking sweatpants all day, so he was all prepped for bed later.

As he prepared the wintery beverages and poured them into two mugs, he heard a loud rattling sound, like something scraping across the floor. Ichika whipped around to see that Houki had pushed her bed right next to his, effectively making one large bed. He just stared at Houki, who looked down and scratched her arm.

"I was wondering if you could help me with this wish, though," the girl nearly whispered.

Instead of acting bemused, Ichika nodded and came over, handing Houki some cocoa and sat on the bed with her. They both drank in silence, inching their hands together and eventually locking fingers. Ever since that last movie night, holding hands became standard procedure. Surprisingly, their friends didn't mind at all, unless they were teasing them much like earlier in the night, and even Houki played along.

After they finished their drinks, Ichika and Houki put their mugs in the sink and turned off the light, flipping the window blinds down only slightly so they could see the falling snow.

Ichika got under the covers first, lifting them up for Houki as she moved in. They may have been academy roommates before, but this was the first time they shared a bed.

Both teens snuggled tightly, pressing their noses together. Ichika looked down and noticed Houki's slender, maturing frame. He would always scold himself with mental calls of "Bad Ichika!" whenever he even thought about one of his female friends in an alluring manner, but it seemed more right now when he was aware of the girl's appearance and what pressed up against him.

Unlike past times, Houki didn't have a semi-freakout either as she felt Ichika's warmth and felt his taut muscles and the shared look of appraisal in his eyes. Both of them moved closer, fusing their lips together. Unlike that first kiss, this one was a little more leisurely, Houki cradling Ichika's head and Ichika stroking Houki's shoulder. The liplock got a little tighter and forceful, but only for a few seconds. The two broke apart and looked at each other, only to laugh and shake their heads as if to say, "Nah. Definitely not yet."

The two young pilots nuzzled each other one more time, and then Houki shifted over to face the window, still holding Ichika's arms close to her. The boy kissed her cheek once more before slumping back and yawning.

"Merry Christmas, Houki," Ichika said, ready for a long winter's nap to come to him.

"Merry Christmas, Ichika," Houki responded, closing her eyes and sighing. As the weary couple drifted off to a welcome sleep, they thought they could almost hear the faint jingling of sleigh bells outside...