While the merry bells keep ringing, may your every wish come true…

Ayumi sighed and observed her wrapping job. It was horrible. The tape was everywhere it shouldn't have been; the paper was twisted and folded to fit around the gift. It was an okay job for an American Football.

It was Mitsuhiko's gift and it was a book.

She heard Haibara stifle her laughter next to her. It was that silent chuckle you'd only hear come from her. "Ai-chan! How do you wrap this stuff?"

"Ayumi you're twenty years old and you don't know how to wrap a gift?"

Ayumi blushed and began pouting, her cheeks lighting up to be as red as the Christmas lights. "Maybe…"

Ai let out a hearty chortle and faced her friend once more, setting her current present on the coffee table in front of them. "Well it's not all that bad. If anything it keeps the people guessing."

"So does yours!" Ayumi exclaimed. "But it doesn't look like it's horribly done!" It was true. Haibara's gift was wrapped so that there was just enough mystery to the gift, but not so much as to convince them it was a completely different object. Haibara glanced at the horribly wrapped gift, raising an eyebrow. "How did you get it to stay that shape?" Ayumi shrugged and leaned over; poking what looked to be the side of the football (book), only to feel it deflate at her touch.

Ayumi grimaced and threw her arms in the air. "I GIVE UP!"

Haibara picked up her unfinished job and began to work on it again, waiting for Ayumi to come out of the slung-over-the-couch position she had thrown herself into. A few minutes passed and she had moved onto the next gift by the time Ayumi finally slid down the couch to slump in it.

"Are you done brooding, now?"

"Help me."

Ai looked over at Ayumi for the third time that night, fully expecting to see her with a full gloomy expression, completed with a scowl. She was mildly surprised to see Ayumi holding an unwrapped present, staring down at it solemnly. "Ai-chan… I don't want to wrap this one. I'll screw it up."

"And?" Haibara motioned to the other ones. "You knew how bad you were at wrapping with the other ones and that didn't stop you?"

"This one is different!" Ayumi exclaimed, twisting her entire body on the light grey couch towards her best friend. The outburst echoed on the light tan walls of the home that were illuminated by the lights on the Christmas tree. Haibara let her hands drop the present into her lap. "How so?"

Ayumi's grimace turned into an indignant stare as she looked away.

That was when it clicked to Haibara.

"Ah…" She smiled. "That's Edogawa's gift, is it not? Fine choice, I have to say." Ayumi mumbled a quiet 'thank you' before she looked at her object of agony. "I just don't want to mess it up. It's important to me this year."

"You want to show up all the other girls?"

"And fans." Ayumi nodded. "So this is the year, hm?" Haibara leaned back into the couch. "You're going to tell him you like him this time?"

Ayumi shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Possibly."

Haibara exhaled and sat back up. "What do you want me to do?"

….

"Merry Christmas!" Sonoko popped out from behind the Christmas tree, using all of her spare air on a blow-horn that scared the newcomers- specifically, a brunette man looking to be in his late twenties. His hazel eyes widened as he jumped away from the other end of Sonoko's noise-maker. Ran took a bite of the cake and hummed in content, watching as her shaken boyfriend walked up to her and sat down beside her. "Is she always like this at parties?" Ran nodded. "Yeah. If there's a party, Sonoko must have something loud and obnoxious in her mouth or a cake to jump out of." He groaned and rubbed his neck. "Geez, makes me wonder how you practiced karate with her around."

"A great karate master can fight anyplace, anytime, anywhere no matter the surroundings."

He laughed out loud and wrapped an arm around her. "And that is why I am the student and you are the teacher."

"Oh stop it!" Ran giggled, playfully smacking him on the chest.

"You two really know how to throw a good party!" Genta snickered and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist. Her blue eyes lit up behind her red hair and she giggled, taking another sip of her wine. Ayumi blushed at the compliment and turned her head away bashfully. Haibara nodded and accepted the comment, looking at Mitsuhiko who, in turn, laughed nervously and chugged half of his drink down. Conan grunted in agreement. "So where is your restroom again?" Ayumi stopped fiddling with the green rim of her sparkly red mini-dress (it was knee-length with a V-neck) and pointed in the direction of a white door that had an evil snowman on it that sported the words "Are you naughty or nice?" on his hat. Conan smiled in response and turned to relieve himself. Ayumi shakily released a breath, grasping her chest just above her heart. What am I going to do? What am I going to do?

Ayumi jumped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Relax, Ayumi-chan. Everything will be just fine." Haibara smiled warmly and she could see Genta and Mitsuhiko shake their heads in agreement. "R-right." She took a few deep breaths, trying to keep herself from losing control of her emotions.

She wanted to jump for joy.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to run in two directions.

She was thrilled.

She was horrified.

Ayumi shook her head. No, it has to be tonight.

Conan stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing sanitizer into his hands as he closed the door with his arm. "Go get him, Yoshida-san!" Genta's girlfriend cheered on. Ayumi looked back at them and gave them a weak grin, silently thanking them for their encouragement.

She then set her eyes back on the prize and began to take a few steps toward him. He turned to walk back to the group and noticed her walking toward him by herself. He quirked an eyebrow but began walking toward her anyways.

This is it… this is it!

Dong… Dong… Dong…

The grandfather clock let the group know the time was 8:00.

"GIFT TIME!" Yukiko squealed, throwing a few of the couch pillows up in the air. Her husband snickered quietly under his breath as the party began to gather round and exchange presents. Ayumi's shoulders slumped for a few seconds before Conan started to walk over. She coughed and stood up straight, fixing her hair. You can do this… right after presents.

The entire living room was flooded with grateful words and faked enthusiasm. Haibara had gifted Mitsuhiko with a new gaming console. He was the most excitable man in the world until she laid her lips upon his cheek. He just became quiet and shy, then. Genta's girlfriend had placed a gingerbread house in his arms and smiled up at him, telling him he had been good about his diet all year and he deserved a little treat. She had been bent over and smooched. Ran had given her boyfriend a romance novel- the same one he had just given her. The two of them looked at each-other and laughed. Sonoko had given Makoto a gag gift, one from a XXX store. His face burnt up. Ayumi had received a watch (not all that expensive- not particularly cheap, either), her favorite movie on a blue-ray DVD, a globe (oh, Mitsuhiko…), and a brand new skirt. All she was waiting on now was Conan to stop receiving gifts so she could give hers to him. Finally, after the last present, Conan retired to the kitchen (which was only separated by a bar from the living room) to get eggnog.

After getting the 'go' from her friends again, Ayumi followed him in.

"Conan-kun?"

"Ah, Ayumi-chan!" He greeted her with a grin and a raise of his glass. Ayumi smiled back at him, folding her hands behind her back. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, it's not very often we get everybody here. It's like a huge family reunion." Ayumi agreed and looked down at her shoes. They were brand new leather heels with a bow at the strap. She had splurged and got them because they knew the party was coming up. She giggled to herself. She and Ai had been preparing for weeks.

Haibara got bossy when preparing for a party…

"So, I uh… never got to give you my gift."

His eyes widened slightly in curiosity. The hand that was in his pocket pulled out just enough to get ready to hold the gift. Her cheeks burned bright red again as she looked away and took the present out from behind her back. Conan raised an eyebrow. It was done perfectly. There wasn't a piece of tape out of place.

"Ayumi-chan…"

"Open it."

She passed it to him and he set his drink down to tear the paper apart, cringing, knowing it had probably taken her hours. "Did Haibara help you?"

"Well, she taught me."

He stopped and faced her. She was staring down at her feet again, foot digging up dirt that wasn't there. "I didn't want to ruin your present, so I had her teach me how to wrap." He grinned. "Well thanks for the effort, Ayumi. It looked great."

His hands searched for more paper to find none left, signaling he had unwrapped it entirely. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. There was a scrapbook in his hands, light blue with the shadow of Sherlock Holmes on the front. It read "To Edogawa Conan-kun on Christmas". He looked up at her and she nodded for him to open it.

He did as asked and turned the cover page. There were pictures of the Detective Boys when they first formed. There was a picture of their latest case, the Hina Dolls case, and a number of other cases they had taken over the years. "Ayumi…"

"The descriptions are empty."

Her manicured nail tapped the description boxes under the pictures. "I want you to write them in."

"Why?"

"Because what they mean to me might not be what they mean to you." His voice croaked. She stared up at him with shimmering eyes, glossed lips, and a bright smile that reached her blue orbs. "Ah, th-thanks, Ayumi…" He looked back down at the book. "No problem."

"Oh, Ayumi-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Why isn't there a picture here?" He pointed to the last page.

At this, Ayumi quickly glanced back down at her feet. "Oh… well, we haven't taken that picture yet. We will tonight, though."

"When?" His eyes widened. "Kudo-san hates having pictures taken of him!"

Her stare found its way back to him. "He, um… won't be in the picture."

Conan blinked and before he could say anything, Ayumi had pressed her lips to his. It wasn't a peck, but it didn't include tongue, either.

The lip contact had lasted all of twenty seconds before she pulled away, her hands on his chest. Upon seeing his shaken expression, her head snapped away and her hands pulled off of him like he was fire. "S-Sorry."

"No," his hands reached out to grab hers. "Don't be." Her eyes met his again, and he beamed affectionately at her, bringing her hands back up to his chest again. "Bahrou… I've been waiting for you to say something." With that he leaned down and kissed her on his own accord, reaching around to the small of her back and pulling her closer.

Happy holidays to you…

He didn't even notice a camera set on the cabinets had taken a picture of them.