(A/N: Please don't kill me. This is my first Peanuts fic. I feel like I'm trespassing all over this beautiful piece of art that Charles M. Schulz (yay for not spelling it right on the first time) has created for us. So, to help make me feel like I'm not burning a Picasso here, the Peanuts are all college kids. And Snoopy and Woodstock are still alive. Because I couldn't let them die. Alright. Enjoy the fuzzy Christmas story.)

Summary: Linus X Sally fluff on Christmas Eve, with minor Schroeder X Lucy on the side. Not much else to it.

Disclaimer: I'm actually glad I don't own the Peanuts, 'cause if I did, I would feel very unworthy. *bows down to Charles M. Schulz picture*

For Tonight

A Linus/Sally Fanfic

by Jill Diamond

It was a typical van Pelt family Christmas party. Charlie Brown and Linus were chatting in the kitchen. Schroeder was getting lost in his own little world on the piano, and Lucy was staring at him lustfully from afar. Peppermint Patty and Marcie were gossiping on one end of the couch, and Sally was on the other end, feeding Snoopy his Christmas cookies. But tonight, she didn't seem to pop them in his mouth with the bubbly disposition she usually did. She just seemed to stare into the fireplace absentmindedly until the old beagle whined for another treat.

"What do you think is wrong with Sally, Charlie Brown?" Linus asked with a sip of his cocoa.

"I'm not really sure. She was fine until we got here." The best friend joined him by the kitchen window.

"Will you two blockheads kindly move over? You're ruining my view!" Lucy promptly bumped Linus with her hip, causing him to hit Charlie Brown with his hip. She rested her elbow on the sill of the window and continued to gaze at the blond pianist across the room. Though she claimed that her colossal crush on Schroeder was over, anyone with eyes could have told you she was lying.

Linus made a brief face at his older sister's actions, and then handed his friend his hot chocolate. Christmas was a time when he, very passionately, felt that no sad faces should exist.

He knew he was crossing into dangerous territory as he stepped into the living room.

"Hey, look who decided to join the party!" Peppermint Patty remarked with her usual broad grin.

Sally didn't even notice him, and even if she did, she didn't give any sign of such. She just fed Snoopy another sugar-coated snowman and looked on toward the hearth.

Linus sat down awkwardly next to her.

"Hi," he chimed softly.

Sally turned her head and gave him a weak smile.

"Hi," she echoed.

"You look awfully sad for someone at a Christmas party."

"Oh, I wouldn't say 'sad'..." The young blond girl uncrossed and re-crossed her legs uncomfortably. Being shy around Linus was new to her. Like Lucy, she claimed that her infatuation with him just died out. But whether or not she still was in love with him was a mystery to everyone, including herself.

"Well, what would you say?" the boy in question asked curiously.

Sally wasn't sure exactly what to say. She stuttered for a moment, and was glad when Snoopy whined again. She quickly fed him a pine tree.

"Sally," Linus said in a clear "answer me or I'll tickle you" tone. But instead of calling upon the Tickle Monster, when she didn't respond, he gently tugged at her wrist and pulled her up from the couch. He led her over to the doorway to the kitchen, where an innocent sprig of mistletoe had been hung that morning. Sally caught sight of the small green leaves and blushed a pink that matched her sweater perfectly.

"Linus!" she whined playfully.

"What? Didn't you ever wonder what a kiss from your Sweet Babboo would be like?"

Sally had wondered about it. At least a thousand times, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"Are you only doing this because it's Christmas?"

"Maybe..." Linus drawled as he wrapped his arms around her lower back. Good grief, did I just say that Why wasn't it a straight forward "yes"? This is Charlie Brown's baby sister we're talking about! The one who used to follow me around like a sad puppy for weeks on end when we were kids!

Sally blushed an even pinker and tried not to look him in the eye.

"The mistletoe is growing stale," he whispered.

"Linus..." The blond girl lay her hand firmly on his chest, feeling the soft blue material of his sport coat. She took a deep breath before daring herself to look at him, and when she did, she saw the sincere little boy that she had fallen for so many years ago. She could never resist that face. Her heart jumped as she reached and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"There, ya happy?" she huffed, with a smile contradicting her tone. Before she could lose her self-control, she moved out from under the sprig and quickly went back to her seat, ravenously eating a sugar Santa hat for herself (at which Snoopy let out an annoyed groan). The smile never left her face.

Linus still stood motionless, the spot where her lips touched his cheek burning. All he could do was blink.

"...Linus?" Charlie Brown had been watching the whole scene from a distance, and was quite unsure of how to react.

Once Linus had regained his motion, he walked briskly over to the refrigerator and pulled and ice cube out of the freezer. He held it to his cheek until it had become numb.

I brought this upon myself he thought.

The End

(A/N: Yeah, weird ending, but it's pretty deep for fluff. I FLIPPIN' LOVE LINUS X SALLY! It's one of the most adorable ships ever! I have a weak spot for fangirl ships. (Harry X Ginny, Tugger X Etcetera...) Anyway, Merry Christmas everybody! And also Happy Hanukkah and Merry Kwanzaa! *mwah!*)