Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Things would have happened differently after Sora found Riku again if I did.
Warnings: This is actually pretty tame compared to what I usually throw in these things. There's some slash between Sora and Riku (because I can't write a fic without it, apparently), but I'm trying not to make it take up the whole story. Other than that, it's pretty fluffy. I apologize if anyone seems OOC and for any mistakes you may find in this.
So I was wondering if Sora would ever take Riku and Kairi to any of the other worlds and realized that I haven't seen many fics based on this concept. So I decided that they're going to go to Halloween Town. Sora needs to prove something to Riku anyway!
NOTE: This is going to be a series! If you decide to review, tell me if I should make multiple separate oneshots or if I should tie them all together in this one fic.
ALSO, tell me which world you want to see next! I'm going to write a oneshot for every world in Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. However, when I get to Neverland, it will be the world in Birth by Sleep. The other worlds in Birth by Sleep
Other worlds that will not be featured: Traverse Town, Monstro, World that Never Was, and End of the World. If anyone wants to see Gepetto and Pinocchio, they will be in Hollow Bastion. 100 Acre Wood and Space Paranoids will also not be posted until after they get to Hollow Bastion, which will be posted directly after Olympus Coliseum. The rest are in particular order. So tell me which ones you want!
On to the story!
"Merry Christmas, guys!" Sora cheered as he burst through the door of the little shack by the waterfall on their little island off the 'mainland.' Kairi and Riku looked up from their game of cards.
"Christmas isn't for another couple of weeks, Sora," Riku stated as Kairi rushed over to embrace their brunette friend.
"So? I can't say Merry Christmas to my two best friends after being gone so long?"
"Best friend and boyfriend, you mean," Kairi said with a smirk. At that, Riku got up and walked over, kissing Sora soundly on the lips. The brunette squeaked. "He's been whining and moaning the whole time you were gone, Sora," she admitted.
Riku glared at her. "Have not."
"You so have!" She stuck her tongue out at him. Sora laughed at them. "So how is everybody?"
Sora smiled. "They're doing well. Daisy is keeping Donald in line for me." All three laughed at that. Sora turned to Riku, hugging him. "And the King says hi. He was sorry you couldn't come along."
Riku smiled softly down at his boyfriend. "That's fine, I guess; as long as I can come along on the next one."
"What? And leave me here all by myself?" Kairi huffed, stomping her foot. "No way! I'm going on the next one, too!"
"You'll have to take that up with the King," Sora said solemnly. They all burst into laughter.
Riku sat on the warm sand, pulling Sora into his lap, kissing him softly on the neck. Sora smiled happily.
He was happy to be home. King Mickey had sent word to him a week prior about some stray Heartless terrorizing a small world that needed help right away. And so the Keyblade master had heeded the call, Donald and Goofy picking him up in their Gummi ship, ready to slay some Heartless. The residents there had been friendly enough, a few new names to add to his growing list, and Sora had been happy to help. But it never beat the feeling of coming home to Destiny Islands.
"So does the castle have any plans for the holiday?" Riku asked him and Kairi going back to their card game.
Sora leaned back against the taller teenager's chest. "They're having a party on Christmas Eve. They invited the three of us, actually. I told them we'll try to make it."
Kairi looked up. "Why not take the invite?"
"Don't know if any of our families want to do anything. We were gone for a really long time…" Sora trailed off. Understanding dawned on Kairi's face and she went quiet. Riku squeezed Sora around the waist.
Sora and Riku had been away from the islands for nearly two years while Kairi had been gone for only a few months. Sure, nobody really knew they had been gone, what with the islands being swallowed up by darkness and nearly everybody losing their memory of Sora, but still. It did not take away the fact that they still missed home and their families.
"We'll think of something," Riku spoke up. The other two nodded.
"Don't we always?" asked Kairi. They shared a laugh and the mood was lightened considerably.
It was nearing dusk when the three friends finally climbed into their boats and rowed back to the main island. They tied their boats up to the dock and headed for home, a comfortable silence between them.
Sora finally spoke up, remembering something from way back when he was looking for Riku. "Have you guys written Christmas lists, yet?" he asked, his hand in Riku's.
Kairi glanced over at him. "Are you serious, Sora?"
Sora blinked. "'Course I am."
"You do know that lists are for little kids, right?" Riku asked. He'd teased Sora about stuff like this for years.
Sora shook his head. "I'm serious! The lists are for Santa, so he knows what to get you!"
Kairi and Riku stopped and stared at him, the brunette's face completely serious. Then they burst into laughter, Kairi wiping tears from her eyes. "Good one, Sora!"
Riku smirked down at the brunette, who pouted. "I thought you didn't believe in Santa Claus. What were we, six?"
Sora shrugged, face flushing a little. "I lied?"
"Uh huh." Riku squeezed his hand, letting go and wrapping an arm around the smaller boy's waist instead.
"Santa Claus is so real!" Sora shouted.
"Sure he is," the redheaded girl snorted.
"I'll prove it to you," the Keyblade master challenged. "Twenty bucks says Santa Claus is real."
Kairi shared a glance with Riku who simply shrugged. "Alright, you're so on."
"I'm in, too, I guess," said the white-haired teen.
Sora punched the air, wide smile on his face. "Awesome! I have to get ahold of the King!" He was about to run the rest of the way home had Riku not caught his arm.
"I haven't seen you in a week. You're not leaving without a goodbye kiss," the older teen stated.
Sora blushed, but stood still, the older green-eyed Keyblade wielder leaning down to kiss him softly. Their lips molded together sweetly, Riku prodding Sora's soft lips, who moaned and let the wet muscle in. They stood like that for what seemed like forever until Kairi's giggling broke through their lustful haze.
"Get a room," she laughed out. Riku glared while Sora blushed. "We'll see you tomorrow, Sora," she stated with a smile.
The blue-eyed boy nodded, face flushed and eyes glazed over as he walked away.
The red and white haired teens stood there.
"It still surprises me that you're okay with this," muttered the older teen.
The redhead smiled. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked. They continued on, their houses right next door to each other, so there was no need to split up. Sora, however, lived a couple of streets over.
"Well, you used to have a crush on him. I would have thought you'd be jealous or something…" he trailed off.
Kairi laughed. "Well yeah, but that was just a crush. I had a crush on you at one time, too." She laughed again at Riku's wide-eyed look.
"Really?" he stared at her.
"Mmhm." She laced her hands behind her back. "That was a long time ago, though." She smiled at the white-haired man.
"Huh," was all Riku could muster.
After the three friends had finally returned to Destiny Islands, Kairi and Sora had tried to start a relationship. They had never gotten past light kissing and holding hands. It had felt like they were friends with benefits rather than boyfriend/girlfriend. They had broken up, Sora starting to talk to Riku more than he ever used to, and that was a lot back then. They had discussed everything; the time Sora spent looking for him, finally finding him only to lose him again and how devastated he had felt, finding him again and getting lost in the darkness together, just the two of them. The more they talked the more they realized what they were feeling for each other. Eventually it had led up to them getting together, much to Kairi's immense amusement.
As they got closer to their houses, the green-eyed man spoke up again. "What do you think he meant?"
"What do you mean?" Kairi looked up at him.
"Sora said that he would prove that Santa existed." He looked down at her, stopping in front of the redhead's house. "How would he do that?"
The blue-eyed girl giggled. "Maybe we'll get to meet him!"
Riku smirked. "Sure. Goodnight, Kairi." He waved as he started walking to the house next door.
She waved back. "Night, Riku!"
/
The next morning found the three friends inside a rather spacious Gummi ship the King had sent over night. Riku and Kairi were still in awe.
"I can't believe you persuaded him to give you one!" Kairi continued to exclaim, staring out at the stars flying by. She and Riku had only ever been inside a Gummi ship a handful of times and only to Disney Castle.
Sora laughed. "I guess it helps that I saved his world along with all the others," he said. The brunette sat at the controls with Riku by his side. He was the only one who knew how to fly, after all.
The white-haired teen pecked Sora on the cheek. "It comes in handy," he said. "So where are we going? Yesterday you were being weird about the Santa Claus thing."
"You'll see," Sora waved him off with a smile.
They flew along in space in a comfortable silence, each just enjoying the company of the others. Sora was bouncing giddily up and down in his seat, Riku smirking next to him with a hand on the teen's thigh. The brunette had longed to take his two best friends on a tour of the worlds, ever since his first visit to Traverse Town so long ago. He wanted to take them flying through Neverland, shopping in Hollow Bastion, or maybe even pirating! That one had been a personal favorite of Sora's, even if a certain captain was a little untrustworthy. One day they would have to go to the Pride Lands. He was dying to see them in animal form!
Riku squeezed his thigh. "So are you going to tell us where we're going or no?"
Sora smiled brightly, blue eyes crinkling. Riku's heart sputtered at the sheer happiness shining in those beautiful orbs. "It's a surprise!" sang the younger teen.
Riku huffed, Kairi laughing behind them.
Come on, Sora! Don't keep us in suspense!" she giggled out.
"Nope! Not telling!" He continued to smile, thoughts of what their outfits would like in this world floating through his head. He wondered if they would be initially scared of the place like Donald, Goofy and himself were when they first showed up. The outfits alone would amuse him to no end.
"Aw! You're no fun!" Kairi continued to complain.
The blue-eyed boy laughed. "Quit your whining! If you'd look out the window, you'll see that we're almost there."
His two best friends rushed to the window, Sora laughing at them. He put a little more boost to the engines and in a few short minutes the strange looking world came into view. Riku and Kairi stared with wide eyes.
"Do all the worlds look so strange?" Riku asked curiously.
His boyfriend nodded, letting up on the thrusters as they orbited the world. "Yep. Believe it or not, but this is not the strangest one." Thoughts of life under the sea came to the forefront of his mind.
"So how do we get down?" the older green-eyed boy asked.
"We land, of course," stated Sora with a teasing grin. Riku rolled his eyes.
As the Keyblade master maneuvered the controls and the descent to the outskirts of a graveyard began, he muttered a short spell under his breath. It was the same one Donald had cast on him and Goofy multiple times whenever they went to a world where they needed to really blend in. The loudmouth duck had taught it to Sora sometime after his yearlong sleep. He figured it best to cast it now while his friends were distracted. There was no need for too many more questions. The spell wouldn't take effect until they stepped out of the ship anyway.
Kairi and Riku both had strange looks on their faces when the brunette turned to face them.
"Sora…" started Kairi. "There's a cemetery over there," she pointed in its direction, "and this whole place has a dark feeling to it. What does this have to do with Christmas?" Even Riku looked a little freaked out.
Another laugh escaped the ever cheerful brunette. "This place isn't that bad! It just looks a little spooky."
Riku snorted. "A little?"
Sora rolled his eyes. "Wait until you meet the residents. They're all really nice."
"And what does this place have to do with Christmas?"
An enigmatic smile appeared on Sora's face. "Just wait and see." He pressed a button on the control panel and the landing doors opened. "Watch your step!" he said cheerfully, walking out with a bounce in his step.
As soon as his foot hit the ground, he heard two loud gasps behind him. Looking down, he saw that his normal clothes had changed to the strange vampire getup he wore in this place. His teeth grew to fangs and he couldn't help but to run his tongue over them, like he did every time. The weird little pumpkin hat popped up on his spiky head and he touched it affectionately. Of all the crazy things his clothes magically changed into, this costume was definitely his favorite.
"Sora?" Riku hesitated. The brunette turned back to them, grinning widely, showing off his teeth. "What is going on?"
"Come down and find out!" He beckoned them closer with a hand. Riku and Kairi shared a hesitant look before Riku reluctantly took a step forward. Kairi followed.
Slowly, they made their way down the ramp, pausing once they reached the end. The Keyblade master continued to grin at them. "Come on, guys! You're not scared are you?" he teased.
The redhead huffed. "Scared? Please! I'm not scared!" With that, Kairi took that last step. Riku gasped and Sora laughed.
She was a witch. A rather cute witch, but a witch nonetheless. Her black hat was tattered and lopsided, the point of it hanging to the side. She now wore a long-sleeved, V-necked dress in place of a white shirt and pink skirt. The ends were frayed all around with it longer in the back than in the front. The sleeves billowed out around her small hands and bracelets adorned her wrists. Kairi's pink and white shoes were replaced with short-heeled black boots, dark pink and black stockings hugging her legs. Her blue eyes were outlined heavily in dark eyeliner.
"Stop laughing!" she shouted at Sora.
The brunette got ahold of himself, a small chuckle escaping now and again. "But your face when your clothes changed! It was so priceless!" He held a thumb up after calming down. "You look good, though."
"You really think so?" She did a little twirl, the back swaying along with her.
Riku laughed, still standing at the edge of the ramp. "Nice, Kairi."
They both turned to him, Kairi as a cute little witch and Sora as the most adorable little vampire he had ever seen. It took all he could not to ravish the hero then and there.
"You're turn, Riku," the redhead stated, no, demanded. Her hands were even on her hips.
"Alright, alright," he grumbled, hands held up. He stepped off the ramp.
Kairi's face told him that he didn't look that bad, but one look at Sora said that he looked damn good.
His blue jeans were now baggy, tattered shorts that hung low on his hips, the ends ripped around the edges. He wore no shirt. Instead, covering most of Riku's torso was white bandages. They stopped right under the white haired man's armpits. More bandages were around his neck and wrapped skillfully around his fingers to allow them maneuverability, continuing up to his elbows. Both of his knees were wrapped up loosely, allowing for more movement. There was a bandage around his head, hanging just over his right eye. Black boots were on his feet.
"Looking real good, Riku," Kairi said with a grin. She elbowed the dazed vampire standing next to her. "Sora thinks so, too."
Riku smirked. "Really now?"
The blue-eyed teen gulped, nodding his head slowly. Another smirk appeared on that handsome face, Riku striding over to stand before his boyfriend. He took Sora's blushing face in both hands, leaning down to kiss the beautiful brunette tenderly on the lips. Sora whimpered a little, clutching at the taller teen's arms.
They broke apart when laughter pierced their little bubble. Both boys glared at Kairi, who continued to giggle innocently.
"I thought you brought us here for a reason, Sora," she giggled.
If it was possible, Sora's face just turned redder. Riku smirked. "Well, let's get going, then." He pushed the shorter boy's back slightly, just to get him moving. "Lead the way, Sora."
Sora stumbled. "Uh… right…"
And so they walked, Sora and Riku hand in hand.
"So what's this place called?" asked Riku, stepping around another gravestone.
Sora was grinning, completely out of place in this dark world, at least to two who had never been there. "Halloween Town!" he exclaimed.
"Really?" Kairi looked around, noting a weirdly shaped hill not too far off. "That does explain a little bit…"
"But what does it have to do with Christmas?" Riku was becoming increasingly impatient with the lack of answers.
Sora only laughed once more, squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "Would you just hold your horses? You'll see soon enough."
The gate out of the cemetery came into view and Sora ran up to it, holding it open for the others. They glided through and continued up the long path to a small town. The buildings were all twisted and almost dilapidated, some narrow, some really tall. Kairi and Riku took it all in with wide eyes. The gate into town was lowered, but the strange looking guard in the window opened it readily when he caught sight of Sora, who waved and smiled at him. Just like the last year he visited, Christmas lights were strung up all over town, tinsel hanging off the guillotine in town square, and even a few Christmas trees were set up outside of homes. The skeletal reindeer he had seen last year were even strolling about the area.
"Looks like Jack's been busy…" muttered Sora. He turned to his friend and giggled at the looks on their faces.
Kairi's head turned every which way. "For a town as creepy as this, the people sure seem to like Christmas."
"Oh, you have no idea," said Sora with a knowing smile.
Riku's hand clenched tightly around Sora's, voice tight. "Who's Jack?" he asked tersely.
This time, both of the younger teens laughed.
"I sense jealousy!" sang Kairi.
"Don't worry, Riku." Sora squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Jack's just a friend. He actually runs this place. I wonder where he is…" he trailed off, glancing around.
Just then, a familiar bark sounded behind them. They jumped and turned, Kairi screaming and Riku pulling Sora close protectively. A little ghost dog floated before them, nose glowing brightly.
"Zero!" Sora shouted. The little dog flew closer, tongue ghosting chill down the side of the brunette's face. "How've you been, boy?" The dog barked happily.
"It's a ghost!" the redhead shouted, hiding behind Riku.
"You know this thing?" Riku's grip tightened, eyeing the dog suspiciously.
Sora nodded. "This is Jack's dog. He's a good boy, aren't you?" Zero barked, tongue rolling out the side of his mouth.
"Zero!" The sudden yell startled the red and white haired teens, who were now on edge. They had not been expecting ghosts.
A tall, skinny skeleton rounded the corner of one of the buildings, round head turning this way and that. "Zero!" he called again.
Kairi screamed.
The skeleton turned towards them, eyeless sockets widening and a large smile decorating his fleshless face. Riku took a step back, still holding Sora close.
"Sora!" The skeleton waved. "It's so good to see you!" He came closer, unperturbed by the other two frightened teens.
"Hey, Jack!" Sora squirmed in the green-eyed teen's grip, whose arms only tightened around him. "Long time, huh?"
"It certainly has been. I was hoping you'd stop by on Halloween." The thin skeleton pouted.
Sora laughed. "Sorry. I had things to do, otherwise I would have." He finally struggled out of Riku's grasp, who stared wide-eyed up at the skeleton. "Jack, these are my friends I told you about: Riku and Kairi." He pointed out their shell-shocked faces respectively, Jack simply smiling down at them with a wide grin. "Guys, this Jack Skellington."
Jack bowed low to them. "Welcome to Halloween Town!" he exclaimed cheerfully. The two teens nodded dumbly. He turned to Sora. "Are they alright?"
"They'll snap out of it," the Keyblade wielder answered.
"Of course." Jack turned to the two. "Would you like a tour?"
Kairi was the first to snap out of her stupor. "That would be wonderful, Mr. Skellington."
Jack laughed. "Please, just Jack." He held his arm out to her, making her giggle. She wrapped her arm around his much longer one, turning back to Sora and Riku. "Shall we?"
The blue-eyed vampire smiled back, wrapping an arm around Riku's. "Lead the way."
As the four walked, Jack pointed out this and that, who lived in which house, the city hall, and explained a little about the town. Kairi was absolutely fascinated, Zero floating on her other side as she loosened up to the all-around spookiness. Riku, however, was still in a daze.
Sora tugged his arm. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
Riku shook himself, eventually smiling down at his boyfriend. "I'm fine. Just a lot to take in, I guess."
Another giggle escaped Sora. "I know what you mean. I was freaked out the first time I came here, too."
"I would have loved to have seen Donald and Goofy's faces, then," Riku stated with a smirk. Both teens laughed.
Kairi and Jack turned back to them. "What's so funny?" asked Jack.
"I just remembered the looks on Donald and Goofy's faces when we first got here," Sora giggled out.
Jack laughed. "I remember that. Where are those two, anyway?"
"They had stuff to do back home," the redheaded girl stated.
The odd group continued on, eventually walking up the steps of a large water-tower structure.
"So, what are you visiting for, anyway?" the skeleton asked, opening the door to a large spacious room. "Hello? Doctor?" he called.
"Up here, my boy!" a withered old voice answered. They started up the long ramp.
"I was wondering if you could take us to Christmas Town." Kairi and Riku's eyes widened once more. "I want these two to meet you-know-who." Sora had a small smirk on his face.
Jack blinked down at him for a moment. Then understanding dawned on his boney face. "Oh! Of course I'll take you. I've been meaning to say hello myself." He opened the door to the lab.
"You can't be serious…" Riku muttered.
His little vampire boyfriend smiled sweetly up at him.
"You're not getting anything from me until I see him with my own eyes," the teen witch stated matter-of-factly, hands on her hips. They stood in the doorway of the lab as Jack walked in, the mummy and witch staring at the… 'person' in the wheelchair on the other side of the packed room. Equipment filled the whole of the room, a large operating table taking up the majority of space. A bookshelf stood to one side, bits and pieces littering the floor.
"Sora?" a quiet voice asked from behind them. Riku and Kairi jumped once more, but this time Kairi refrained from screaming.
What could only be described as a rag doll stood behind them. Her green eyes were wide and curious, sewed-on hands smoothing down her multicolored patch dress. She smiled timidly at them.
"Hey, Sally." Sora smiled at her, walking up to give her a hug. "How've you been?"
"Fine." Her big eyes darted to the skeleton opposite of them. "I've been trying to keep Jack in line, but he doesn't like to listen sometimes."
"He can only learn from his own mistakes," Riku suddenly spoke up. He wrapped his arm around the brunette. Sally stared at the redheaded mummy and witch curiously.
"Oh, Sally, this is Riku and Kairi; the ones I told you about?" Sora snuggled into Riku's side.
"It's nice to meet you." Kairi held out her hand.
Sally took it hesitantly but smiled nonetheless. "Same here. So you finally found them?" she directed at Sora.
The brunette nodded. "It took long enough."
They all chuckled at that.
The tall, thin Pumpkin King finally came back over to their little group. "Ah, Sally!" He wrapped an arm around her small shoulders, the rag doll looking down shyly. "We're going to see Sandy Claws. Would you like to come with us?"
"I'd like too," Sally started, looking regretful, "but Lock, Shock, and Barrel are supposed to be coming over to help with one of the Doctor's experiments and I promised to help keep an eye on them…"
"Oh…" the Pumpkin King pouted, looking genuinely dejected. "Okay, then. I'll stop by later." He pecked her on the cheek, making her giggle. Kairi awed. "Shall we?" he asked the three teens.
"Lets!" Sora tugged on his friend's arms, shouting a goodbye to Sally, who waved.
They were out the door and heading out of town before Riku and Kairi could blink. They reached the graveyard when Kairi spoke up.
"What's with all the Christmas decorations?" the witch asked.
Jack chuckled. "Well, you see, our town used to celebrate Halloween only. We didn't know about the other holidays. A couple of years ago I found out about Christmas and we've been celebrating it every year since."
"You forgot to mention that you tried to take over," laughed Sora.
"You tried to take over Christmas?" Riku was incredulous.
Jack shrugged. "It's a long story."
Sora laughed harder.
"I feel like we're missing something…" muttered Kairi to her mummified friend.
"I'm sure we'll get used to it after we force Sora to take us to other worlds," Riku muttered back.
"What are you whispering about back there?" Jack asked curiously. Sora looked curious as well.
"Oh, nothing." Kairi grinned at them.
They were in the Hinterland forest now, dead trees surrounding the four friends on all sides. The ground was twisted and gnarled off the path they walked on, a few branches and twigs falling in their way every now and then. Up ahead was a circle of trees in a small clearing.
"Did someone plant those?" Riku was staring questioningly as they came closer.
Jack shook his head. "I'm not sure. This is how I found them." They walked in the circle of trees.
The two newcomers gasped. "Is this every major holiday?" asked Kairi. She touched the one shaped like a firework almost tenderly.
"Yep." Jack strolled over to most ornate tree. It was a colorful Christmas tree decorated with shiny ornaments and tinsel. He placed his hand on the only ornament that stuck out on the pretty tree. "Here we are."
"What are…?" Riku trailed off, Sora grabbing his hand, the blue-eyed teen bouncing with excitement and smiling broadly.
"Come on, we're going to see Santa!" He tugged Riku over to what must have been a doo, Riku grabbing Kairi's hand in the process. Jack opened the door, grinning and sweeping his hand dramatically for the teens. Sora outright jumped in, letting go of his boyfriend.
"Sora, wait!" Riku shouted down. He and Kairi stared down into the hollow tree, eyes wide. They each felt a boney hand on their backs.
"After you!" said jack cheerfully, pushing them in
They screamed.
/
When they landed, it was face first onto something cold and wet. Riku opened his eyes, Sora's strange black boots came into view first, surrounded by white. He looked up to Sora grinning at him, sky blue eyes crinkling joyously. Riku had never seen his love so happy. Then he caught sight of what was around them. A gasp to his left alerted him that Kairi saw it, too.
There was snow everywhere, mountains far off in the distance. There was a bright little town at the bottom of the hill they were on, little dots running about this way and that, people going about their business. A massive tree stood proud in town square, brightening the wondrous little place up further. Music could be heard faintly and the wonderful smell of cakes and pies could be tasted on their tongues all the way up to where they now stood.
"Marvelous, isn't it?" Jack asked from behind, having landed much more gracefully than the two teens Sora was currently helping up.
"It's… incredible," Riku murmured. Sora took his hand, smiling all the while.
"This has to be my favorite world because of it," the spiky haired teen muttered softly to his two best friends. They both nodded in agreement.
Jack was walking on ahead. "Come along! I'm sure Sandy Claws is busy what with Christmas on the way!" The three teenagers eagerly caught up, striding quickly down the hill.
When they arrived in town, Riku and Kairi found that the people scurrying about were elves, much smaller than any of the four friends. Some stopped and stared curiously at them, others waving to Jack and Sora. One stopped and gave each of the friends a gingerbread cookie.
"Thank you," Jack told the tiny elf graciously. "Is Mr. Claws in his workshop?"
The elf nodded and scurried off, helping another elf carry some boxes.
"You heard him! Let's go!" Sora dragged them off to the workshop, pausing to take in the carousel outside. "I see they got it up and running," he pointed out.
Jack nodded. "They are quite diligent little creatures." He knocked on the door of the workshop. Another elf answered. The little creature smiled brightly when Sora waved. Riku and Kairi were still wide-eyed.
"Come in, come in!" the elf ushered. She led them in, offering milk and cookies and other sorts of refreshments.
"That's quite enough. Leave the poor travellers alone!" a merry voice sounded. The elf nodded and smiled, scurrying out the door in the back.
When the teens entered the sitting room, a large man in red sat smiling at them, his white beard nearly touching the floor. Sora immediately ran forward.
"Santa!"
He embraced the large man, both laughing merrily.
"Sora, my boy! It has been a while!" He pushed the exuberant vampire away from him, patting him on the shoulder. "How goes the quest, my lad?"
Sora grinned. "Over. I have some friends I want you to meet." He rushed back to the entryway, grabbing the wide-eyed mummy and witch, dragging them forward. Jack continued to grin. "These are my friends Riku and Kairi."
The jolly old man shook their hands, smiling at their dazed expressions. "It's a pleasure. Sora has said much about you."
"Good things, I hope," Kairi said, snapping out of her daze. She latched onto Sora's arm. "Is it possible to find out if we're on the naughty or nice list?" She was bouncing up and down.
Santa pulled out a rather long list, most of it resting on the ground. "Let's see… Kairi… Kairi… Ah hah!" He looked up with a smile. "I see you never stopped believing in Santa Claus, but told everybody that you had. Kind of like young Sora here."
Sora gaped at her, Kairi blushing. "You, too?" She nodded, grinning a little bit. They both glanced at Riku, who continued to stare at Santa Claus in a daze. "What about him?" Sora asked, taking the mummy's hand.
"Hmm… Riku…" Santa scanned the list up and down, finally looking up with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "It says here that Riku stopped believing in Santa Claus when he was seven years old."
Riku finally snapped. "I didn't know! I thought you were fake! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" He bowed his white head, hands out in a praying motion. Sora and Kairi snickered.
"It's alright, Riku. There's nothing to forgive." Riku looked up hesitantly, a tiny smile lighting his face. Santa smiled back. It was then he caught sight of the Pumpkin King standing behind the teens. "Ah, Jack. I hope you're not here for my job again."
Jack blinked, shaking his head. "No, no. They wanted to stop by and I figured I'd say hello myself." He grinned at his fellow holiday leader. "Also, if you ever need any help with Christmas, I would be happy to lend a hand."
Santa chuckled. "I'm sure you would. It's a wonderful offer, Jack Skellington, but I cannot take it up this year. Christmas is in a few short weeks and there is still work to be done." He shooed the four friends out. "It was nice seeing you Sora. Not out you go! And, Jack, be sure to keep those three hooligans out of my workshop!" The door closed softly behind them.
"Was he talking to us or Lock, Shock, and Barrel?" asked Sora.
"Lock, Shock, and Barrel. They like to cause mayhem every now and again." They started back for Halloween Town.
"So what'd you think?" asked Sora, wrapping an arm around Riku's.
"I think you're forty dollars richer," Kairi said with a laugh.
"This was a wonderful gift, Sora." Riku kissed him softly on the lips. The three continued arm and arm behind Jack.
THAT IS THE LONGEST ONE SHOT I'VE EVER WRITTEN!
You should all be proud! Sorry again for the mistakes!
Sorry if it's crap. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally see Jack as the very gentlemanly type. But that's just me.
And Kairi seems to have a fast recovery rate for someone who's only been to two worlds (three if you count the fact that in this, she's been to Disney Castle a few times).
So anyway, whatever you want to see next, tell me in a review! It'll be a poll type deal. I'll post the result of each oneshot.
So review!