A Kingdom Hearts Christmas fic that I wrote last year but I didn't actually get my account until January...so it was never posted ^.^ So here it is now! Hope you enjoy!


Well, it's X-mas Eve here at the Castle That Never Was. I would just write Christmas, but Xemnas insists on the other spelling. He takes pride in the fact that X-mas is his name without the E or N….

The Organization members don't usually get along very well, to say the least, but something happens for these two short days. Everyone… changes. There's no fighting or arguing. There's no tension between anyone. It's weird. I don't get it. But it's nice.

It's early X-mas Eve morning. Today, everyone is decorating the castle so that tonight, we can celebrate. I yawn and get out of bed, putting on jeans and a black and white T-shirt. We don't have to be in uniform for these two days.

I walk outside my room. Suddenly, I hear my name called.

"Yo! Roxas!"

It's Demyx. I walk over.

"Hey, what's up? Merry X-mas Eve!"

"Thanks, dude, you too! Me and Axel and Vexen were just about to decorate the Round Room. Ya wanna help?"

"Sure!" I nod.

As we walk through the halls toward the Round Room, everyone we pass looks happy and they all wish us a Merry X-mas Eve. Even Larxene. We enter the Round Room to find Axel wrapping tinsel all over the chairs and Vexen sitting back and watching…he claims to be the "overseer" of the decorating.

"Aah, there you are!" he exclaims, handing Demyx and I both a box of decorations. "Let's get to work!"

Demyx rolls his eyes but does as he's told. I can tell Axel is annoyed beyond comprehension, but he doesn't complain. After the Round Room is decked out with tinsel, popcorn strings with half the popcorn eaten off of them, and hand-made snowflake cutouts hanging from the ceiling, we declare the space DECORATED. Vexen heads out in search of more people to boss around, Demyx runs for the kitchen, hoping to find some snacks to munch on, and Axel stays to observe the room.

"Hmm, we did a pretty good job."

"Yeah," I agree, "What are you gonna do now?"

"Well, I'll probably head over to the Grey Area and see if they need help settin' up the tree."

"OK."

We both walk in that direction. As we near the door, a loud voice echoes through the halls.

"There you are, Roxas!"

It's Xion. She runs over with a huge smile on her face.

"We're baking cookies! You should come help!"

"But I was just about to-"

"C'mon!"

She grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward the kitchen.

"Uh, I guess I'm going this way!" I call out to Axel. She drags me around a corner. With an energetic run and an overexcitedly tight grip, she pulls me through the castle until we're at the kitchen. She bursts in.

"I FOUND ANOTHER HELPER!"

There in the kitchen stands Zexion and Demyx, both wearing aprons. Xion hands me one too.

"C'mon, let's start!" she exclaims.

"I just wanted a snack!" whines Demyx.

"Well, once you're in here, you aren't leaving! Besides, this will be fun!"

"Alright…" he grumbles.

We start gathering the ingredients. Zexion reads everything out of the cookbook and we start mixing. Demyx and I both have no idea what we're doing. We never cook anything. Xion shows us how to crack eggs and how to measure out different ingredients. When the dough is finished, we start cutting out different shapes.

We have cookie cutters shaped like hearts, stars, moons, ice cream bars, and even the Organization's symbol. We decide not to make the moon shape cookies for Saix's sake. While they're baking in the oven, Demyx gets his long-awaited snack. We all eat Cheez-its and popcorn. We also down a few cans of whipped cream…

When they're all baked to a golden brown, we get the frosting out. Time to decorate! We start spreading frosting on all the cookies, but by the end, there's more of it on each other than the sweets. But come on, who wouldn't have a frosting fight? Especially when everyone is in such high spirits!

After cleaning up, Xion asks me to take the cookies to the Grey Area for the party. I put them on a plate and head over there.

"Thanks for helping!" she calls.

"Sure thing!"

"Hey, that wasn't so bad," comments Demyx, licking the frosting from his fingers. When I arrive at the Grey Area, Axel, Xigbar, Marluxia, Larxene, and Lexaus are hanging ornaments on the X-mas tree. I walk over to one of the tables that are set up for the party and put the cookies down.

"Sweet, Tiger brought us some treats!" yells Xigbar, running over.

"Hey! Not until tonight!" scolds Marluxia.

"Aww, c'mon! Just one?" pleads Xigbar.

"No."

"Oh, alright," he crosses his arms in disappointment.

"Roxas, you wanna help with the tree?" Lexaus asks with a hint of a smile. He hardly ever speaks and I don't think I've ever seen him smile. I can't help but smile back.

"Of course!"

I start selecting ornaments from the box and placing them in the empty spots on the tee. After we have filled the whole thing with red bulbs and crystal spheres and candy canes, Xigbar picks up the star. He floats upside down above the tree and places it on the highest point. We all cheer.

"Now for the final touch," smirks Larxene. She picks up the end of the cord for the tree's lights and sends a strong jolt through it. They light up with all different colors.

"Mission accomplished," Xigbar says, chuckling at his own joke. At that moment, Saix walks in with an armload of wrapped boxes.

"It's almost time for the party! Just a few more hours!"

I glance outside. It is almost evening already! I dash back to my room to grab my presents. They aren't much but they're all I could find. I quickly wrap them as best as I can.

A few hours later, when snow is just beginning to fall and the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon, everyone gathers in the Grey Area. There's decoration everywhere, Xemnas has made his secret recipe fruitcake, our cookies are waiting to be eaten, and there's punch and caramel corn galore. All of the members are chatting and laughing and having a good time as if there were never any differences between them.

I take a cookie and some punch and then go sit by Axel, Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord. They're playing Poker. I ask to join in (even though I've never played and have no idea how to) but they say I can't because "kids shouldn't gamble". So we play BS instead. I'm not very good at it. Everyone says they can tell when I'm lying. I end up with the entire deck in my hand. That's when we decide to play Go Fish.

After a few rounds, Xemnas halts all the activity. He announces that it's time to exchange gifts. He presents each member with a present from himself. The older members get shiny new weapons. Axel gets an ebony lighter with the Roman numeral VIII engraved on the front, which he shows off to everyone. Demyx gets a deep blue sitar pick with his number engraved on it. Luxord gets a silver-plated pocket watch with the Nobody symbol printed on it. Marluxia gets a metal bracelet that's shaped like a rose. Larxene gets a globe that has electric sparks in it that follow your finger if you touch it. Although, she can make lightning follow her anyway…

My present is an ice cream-shaped charm for my Keyblade. It's no secret that I love sea salt ice cream.

Just then, Xion comes up to me and holds out a wrapped box. "This is for you," she smiles.

I rip the paper off and open the box. Inside is a necklace. The charm on the end is a silver X.

"Wow…it's beautiful," I murmur.

"You like it?" she cocks her head.

"Yeah," I nod. "Oh, I have something for you too."

I hold out my present. She eagerly takes it with a glow in her eyes. I look down in embarrassment.

"It's not muchm really. Nothing like the gift you gave me."

She gasps. I look up to see that she has unwrapped it.

"Yes it is!" she exclaims. "Roxas, this is a Wayfinder!"

"Uh, yeah…you know what they are?"

"Yes! I read about these! They supposedly help you find your way back to the one who gave it to you if you're ever separated."

"Yeah, that's right," I smile.

"Thank you," she says and gives me a hug.

"Alright, what's going on over here?" Axel laughs, walking over.

"Axel!" Xion yells. "Here!"

She hands him a large box that he opens to reveal a lava lamp.

"Sweet!" he exclaims.

"I have something too," I grin. I pull out an enormous package from under a table.

"Whoa! What the heck could this be?" he says, examining it. Then he tears back the paper. It's a gigantic box of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, his favorite snack food.

"Alright!" he cheers. "That's enough to last for months!"

"Depends on how hungry you are," I reply. We all laugh. Then Axel takes two small boxes out from his pockets and hands one to each of us.

"Open 'em at the same time," he instructs.

Xion and I exchange curious glances, then both pull the wrapping off our packages. We hold the boxes, just staring at them, wondering what's inside.

"Well, go on!" he urges.

We slowly lift the lids. Inside each is a small silver shooting star. They're really cool, but both of us are slightly confused. Axel can tell we don't get it yet.

"It's a 3-piece set," he explains, taking one out of his pocket as well. "They all connect."

He takes the stars from our hands and shows us how they fit together like puzzle pieces. Then he unlatches them and hands ours back to us.

"It's to celebrate a good friendship," he continues. "Sometimes, we're alone, but we're always together. These are so that you never forget that you're both special to me."

I look down once again at the tiny charm in my hand. It has such a deep meaning now. It's like a promise, to always keep us connected.

"Thanks, Axel," I smile.

"Yeah, that's beautiful," Xion adds.

"Hey, you guys comin' or not?" calls Demyx from across the room. Everyone is gathered around him on the couches and he is holding his sitar.

"Time for carols!" yells Xigbar.

"Let's go!" Xion grins, running over to join the group. Axel follows. As Demyx begins to strum and the Organization quietly sings "Silent Night", I look outside. A flurry of snowflakes fills the night sky. The world is silent. The only sound is the soft words of our anthem, carrying out into the dark. After tomorrow, the usual bickering and arguments will be back. But for now, everything is perfect. For now, we're happy.