A/N: -swoons- I love the holidays, I love love…-swoons- Oh and italics is from Kairi and bold is from Sora

---Home For Christmas---

December 23, 2006,

Two more days… Sora says he's going to get me something spectacular. I really want to know, but he's being boyfriendish about it. I cant' know until he sees me with it on Christmas day. He wants to see my face when I get it, which I guess is pretty cute. I don't even know what to get him! Gah…the holidays were so much easier when we weren't dating, but they're so much more special now that we spend them together. Maybe Yuffie and Namine can help me pick a gift for him. Maybe Namine, Yuffie will just blab. I wonder what Namine is getting Roxas. I just want to find something that shows I love Sora. Is that really so much to ask for? Ugh, I swear, my Grandma is a ditz. Gotta go get the tree off of her.

12/23/2006

I didn't think guys got this nervous. Oh geese, I hope she likes her present. I mean, it's our first Christmas actually together. I'm always gone and miss it, and I don't wanna blow it the one time I get to stay home with her. But it'll happen. Just like always, me screwing something up to disappoint her. Her gift is gonna rock, and mine is going to look pathetic. Well, I still have two days to perfect it. Maybe Riku and Roxas can help me with that. Maybe Riku, Roxas will just flap his mouth off about it. Roxas probably got something good for Namine. He's better with that kinda thing than I am. What did he get Namine? I just want my gift to show Kairi I love her. Why is that so much to ask for? Maybe if- good God, Roxas is a complete idiot. Gotta go get him out of the chimney. For the second time in 8 hours.

:---:

"Oooh!" Yuffie squealed, pointing into a frosty store window. "You said you were having a trouble picking a gift for Sora, right?" she asked Kairi who she was out shopping with.

"Yeah, why?" Kairi answered her, unsure of what Yuffie was "oooh!"ing at. It generally wasn't good. Kairi walked over to the window to see what it was Yuffie was pointing at.

It was lingerie. Extremely revealing lingerie.

"I've never officially checked, but I'm pretty sure that Sora's a guy, Yuffie," she said, uncomfortable with what Yuffie was showing her.

"Not for him to wear, silly! For you! He takes one look at you in that and it'll be the merriest Christmas he'll have in a LONG time," Yuffie brainstormed, dragging Kairi into the store with the lingerie which was named Aloof for Her as Kairi had read on the sign.

"Oh, ew," Kairi thought aloud with a disgusted expression. She bumped into Yuffie who had abruptly stopped at a clothing rack from which hung the silk and lace garment they viewed in the window.

"Try it on!" Yuffie pressured her, shoving a hanger with a size 3 slip on it into Kairi's arms.

"No! Are you kidding me?! I am NOT trying this on!" Kairi exclaimed with a laugh of disbelief, shoving the hanger right back into Yuffie's arms. Yuffie frowned, but then looked at Kairi with a beyond mischievous grin.

"What?" Kairi asked Yuffie, not feeling up to her little "Sora and Kairi are gonna do it" tricks.

"You know," she began slyly, "If Sora sees you in it, it may be a merry little Christmas for you, too." Yuffie's grin was bigger than ever while Kairi's mouth hung wide open with shock.

"Yuffie!!!" Kairi shrieked. "Me and Sora are NOT going to…" she hesitated, not knowing how to word her next statement.

"Do it?" Yuffie snickered naughtily, amused at Kairi's discomfort.

"Exactly!" Kairi whispered, wishing Yuffie hadn't said that so loud. Then, a sweet girl's voice distracted them.

"Hey you guys, doing some Christmas shopping?" Namine approached them eagerly. Winter was her favorite season and she was always ecstatic around the holidays. With an excited smile, Yuffie held up the slip for Namine to see.

"I guess so," she said, wide eyes on the frilly piece. That certainly answered her question. Then Kairi noticed the green and beige striped apron Namine was wearing.

"Since when do you work here?" Kairi asked her, surprised at Namine's choice of work place. Namine began to explain.

"I always work here over the holidays," she giggled, "to get a little extra money for presents and what not. And what, might I ask, is this for?" she asked suspiciously, holding up the satiny little number from Yuffie's arms.

"Oh, it was just part of Yuffie's dumb idea," Kairi answered, slightly embarrassed, "We aren't getting it," she said, abruptly taking the slip from Namine's hands and putting it back on the clothing rack. Yuffie pouted with Kairi's decision. The three looked around Aloof for Her some more with Namine's guidance on a quest to find something perfect for Sora. Why they continued searching there, I honestly don't know.

:---:

"How can she not like your gift for her?" Riku asked Sora, stretching as he, Sora, and Roxas had been working all day to try and perfect Kairi's gift in the living room of Sora and Roxas' house.

"You mean besides the fact that IT IS NOWHERE NEAR AS EXPRESSIVE AS IT SHOULD BE AND IT DOESN'T SAY WHAT I NEED TO BE SAID LOUD ENOUGH!!!" Sora raged on the verge of a nervous break down as he clutched Riku's shirt and shook him violently.

"You wanna get Spikey off 'a me?" Riku told Roxas who was standing there watching with terror. Roxas quickly snapped into action and pulled Sora off of him.

"Calm down, man," Roxas beckoned the hyperventilating love bird.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I really want this Christmas to be amazing for Kairi and me. I mean, it took me 2 years to get this one day at home with her, and I don't want it to go wrong. Gah!" Sora yelped in agony for his sweet-heart as he attempted to pull his hair out. Riku smacked his hands away from his head.

"Well, what are you trying to tell her anyway?" Roxas asked him, curious as to what would need to be expressed so vibrantly.

"THAT I LOVE HER, DAMMIT! I'M A SORRY, LOVE-STRUCK FOOL, AND I CAN'T HANDLE IT!!!" Sora shouted, shaking Riku insanely, eyes near popping out of his head.

"Alright, first," Riku yelled over Sora's mad grunting, ripping the maniac's hands off of his shirt collar, "you gotta stop doing that! Second, besides what you already have, I don't think anything else on this planet says 'I love you' more than that" Riku reasoned with the calming Sora.

"You think there's something on another planet?!?!?!" Sora asked him, enthusiastic about this idea. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"You have a good thing going with Kairi, you've had it since you two were 8. Nothing can screw it up now," Roxas reassured his perfectionist of a friend.

"Yeah, you're right," Sora replied quietly, thinking of how long Kairi had been his, and how many of those years he had spent away from her.

"Sora, you love her too much for anything to go wrong, you two will go on for eternity," Riku chimed in reassuring Sora, giving him a brotherly pat on the back as the trio stood up from their spots around the coffee table. Roxas had to give Sora a hand, for the poor little guy was weighed down with feelings for Kairi.

"I say we go get some grub. It's no wondering you two stay pixie sticks, you have no food here!" Riku declared, stretching again. Sora and Roxas looked down at themselves to see if they were really as thins as Riku had described them.

"Well, Sora is in charge of getting groceries, so it's normally like a third world country here," Roxas said poking fun at Sora with a playful elbow in the ribs. Sora returned the gesture with much more force.

"Maybe I'll find something for her when we go out," Sora said with hope gleaming in his cerulean eyes. RIku and Roxas both gave tired sighs and left for food.

:---:

December 25, 2006

My gift sucks. No. It doesn't suck. It's flat out abominable. I found not even one thing good enough for Sora, so I guessed. I think the butterflies in my stomach are throwing a house party. Namine's Christmas party is today, I'll get to see Sora for the first Christmas since he started going to the other worlds with Riku. I hope it's as spectacular as I imagined it to be, I love him. Well then, if I love him, it will be even more spectacular. Ugh, I can try and persuade myself all I want, but I'm still nervous. I don't know why I'm so nervous though. It's Sora. I guess it's natural for your knees to shake when you really care about someone. Namine's party is soon, better go get ready.

12/25/2006

Can butterflies have epilepsy? The ones in my stomach do for sure. Riku and Roxas say my gift is beyond perfect. I hope they weren't just lying to shut me up. Why is this so nerve racking? It's Kairi, I've known her for 16 years now. I guess love is supposed to make you nauseous. I can't believe this is the first time I'm going to see her at Christmas since we were 14. I'm terrible, I made her wait all this time to share a Christmas actually together with me. Maybe my present will make up for it. Well, it's off to Namine's party. I hope I don't throw up on the way. I hope I don't throw up AT her party. That'd be worse…

:---:

"Oh good, you made it!!!" Namine squealed as she greeted Sora in the doorway of her mansion. Decked out in a red and green dress, nice and short for Roxas, Namine's rosy cheeks matched her Yule-tide garb perfectly.

"Yeah," Sora said with a shaken laugh. He forgot how perky Namine became around this time.

"I can put that in the sitting room with the other gifts for you," Namine offered, reaching for the bedraggledly wrapped present in Sora's hands.

"No, no, I think I'll keep this one with me," Sora said anxiously. Namine knew it was his present to Kairi, so she simply winked at him and led him to the study where everyone was gathered.

"Look who's here!" Namine announced to the rest of the gang, clapping her hands frenziedly with joy.

"Hey!!!" yelped Olette, Slephie, and the two of the Gullwings as they ran to Sora to for a group hug. Paine stayed behind for a more relaxed welcome with the guys which consisted of Roxas, Riku, Wakka, Hayner, and Pence. Sora chuckled, a heart warming high over coming him, making him delirious with bliss. That light headed sense of serenity took its toll as one more girl who was not part of the group hug jumble came down the embellished staircase.

It was Kairi.

His lovely Kairi to hold onto, as Riku said, for all of eternity, which he would surely do.

"Sora!!!" Kairi yipped, her amethyst eyes aglow with rapture. She fled down the stairs, running into Sora's inviting arms. Kairi tackleglomped him and the two of them, and Sora's gift to her, too, fell to the ground and embraced each other.

"This is incredible, Kai," Sora told her, his message muffled by her cranberry hair.

"I know!" she whispered to him jubilantly, "You're here!" she blurted out, her voice sounding choked up. She began to cry with delight. Having felt a warm tear caress his cheek, Sora sat up with Kairi in front of him.

"Oh, don't go all water works on me now!" Sora said with a pearly grin. He wiped away Kairi's tears and she held his hand to her face.

"You're here for Christmas. You're here with me" she told him, exhausted with thrill and disbelief.

"Yeah," he said, stroking her cheek. "I have to say, it feels great," Sora told her, still smiling a gleaming grin. If he could stay there and look into to Kairi's starry eyes forever, he would have. But alas, he could not. The goose was ready.

"Dinner time!!!" Namine shouted for all to hear, and the entire company raced to the dining hall, Sora and Kairi the last in for they had lagged behind. Both took the last two open seats beside each other. Sora was still clutching on tightly to his gift.

Course by course, a marvelous Noel feast appeared on everyone's plates and disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived. When the last course of the meal was devoured, this happened to be some sort of stew, everyone filed into the parlor for dessert.

:---:

"Oh Peter, Paul, and Mary, that was good eating" Riku said with a satisfied groan as he lazily loosened his belt a notch.

"Do you really have to do that here?" Roxas asked him with revulsion. Riku simply shrugged and took a seat next to Yuffie on a couch.

"Dessert time!" Namine hollered once more, arriving in the parlor with a silver platter. Atop the silver platter were 14 glass cups with a 2 scoops of ice cream in them- 1 strawberry, 1 mint chocolate chip. Namine was obsessed with themes. With Rikku's help, Namine gave everyone a decorative dish of ice cream and an equally fancy spoon to eat it with.

Sora and Kairi sat together on a velvet loveseat, Kairi's head rested on his shoulder and his atop hers. Once the ice cream came, however, Kairi sat up and took an elaborate glass and spoon.

"Give it to her now! Go on, just take it out," Sora's mind demanded him. It was the perfect opportunity to give Kairi her present. "Alright, go!"

"Ehm, Kairi?" Sora shot out, pulling her hand which held a spoonful of ice cream down back to her cup. She looked at him, confusion swept across her face.

"I think I have something a little better for dessert," he said, and he pulled out his chaotically wrapped present. Kairi stared at the irregularly shaped object with a raised brow. Sora smiled giddily as he began unwrapping it for her. A fleck of yellow caught Kairi's eye, and the peculiar object became clear.

It was a Paopu fruit.

Sora handled it carefully, hearing Kairi quietly gasp "Oh my God" under her breath. He looked into her eyes to see if her almost silent exclamation was with glee or fury. It was glee.

Kairi put her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. Rather than screaming out loud, she planted a big wet one right on his lips and screamed into his mouth instead. Sora's sapphire eyes widened with surprise as she pressed her lips to his. Kairi pulled away, not quite being able to get words out of her mouth. Sora began to laugh hysterically, his holiday high becoming stronger and stronger.

"I guess we should eat this," he had to pause to regain his breath from laughing, "before it rots!" Kairi nodded her head vigorously, trying to calm herself so no one would stare at the two of them in the far corner. Sora held up the Paopu fruit to their mouths. Gazing at each other to eat the fruit at the same time, the two slowly came in closer, mouths agape, and took a bite out of the juicy star. Their destinies were now forever entwined.

"As completely spectacular as that was," Kairi began, smirking sweetly, "I don't think we needed a fruit to tell us we'd be together forever."

Sora cocked his head, "Well, at least it tasted nice. It would make a good smoothie," he said and the two began to giggle to themselves. When they quieted down, Sora asked her what he really wanted to know.

"So, you do like your present, right?" he asked her shyly, looking down at his lap. Kairi smiled coyly and took Sora by his shirt collar. She held him against the arm rest of the loveseat and kissed him again, more passionately than ever. She lifted her dewy lips from his and beamed at him.

"I suppose that's a yes," he said, answering his question. Kairi nodded and sat up again. Sora looked up and above him hung a dainty little mistletoe.

"How convenient," Kairi said slyly.

"Hey, there's a reason it's called a love seat," Sora told her, her slyness rubbing off on him. The two brought their faces closer to one another gradually. Then, Namine made her last announcement of the evening:

"Now, to the sitting room for present-opening!"

Again, the entire company raced to the sitting room to open the shiny gifts from each other. Sora was about to get up when Kairi pulled him right back down and kissed him seductively.

"Um, why don't we stay here?" she persuaded him with hesitant captivation. Although not quite following Kairi, Sora liked her idea and they stayed in the parlor together, snogging the life out of each other. And the best part? Sora would never have to know about the tie Kairi got him.

:---:

As for the other's in the sitting room, Namine received a lovely present from Roxas. A familiar silky, lacey slip with a plunging neck line and tag that read Aloof for Her on it was put in a green and beige striped bag. Thunderous laughter erupted from Yuffie as Namine buried her beet red face in her hands.

---Happy Holidays!!!---