Disclaimer: NellyLove owns Kayla. I own the story and the random other OC's here. After that we own nothing else.

A/N: Hey, everyone. Merry Christmas and happy New Year! ^_^ This is an early Christmas gift to Nelly and the final oneshot in the trilogy of oneshots I promised her I'd write. I figured, considering the time of year, I absolutely had to write a Christmas fic. So here it is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more random Christmas fics to work on and you have a fic to read. :) Enjoy!

As the murky gray skies faded to black, and the roar of the city's seemingly never-ending stream of vehicles dulled, one house seemed to contain all the action and life of a single day.

The house, a large white one with black shutters, was located on a residential street. It was situated between a sour-looking gray house and a classical-looking brick one. Neither house had any lights on in them because their owners were next door.

The massive once-a-year event that was the Christmas party at Chris Irvine's house was always an interesting one. Though Chris hosted other parties during the year and was, in general, a cheerful and friendly guy, this party was one of the rare times he could be described as… "Cuddly".

No one missed it. Not if they could help it.

And so, Chris' house was packed to the gills with guests while the host himself made sure everything remained perfect.

The evening, and party, was perfect.

The guests mixed and mingled, filling each room with cheer, leaving no story untold, no hug un-given.

Some people, though, really knew how to hide in a full room.

Like Chris himself.

Chris didn't mind Christmas- heck, he loved the holiday. It was one of the few that he actually took off from work. Both the secret and the non-secret work. There was just something about the evening, though, that had Chris wanting to get away.

Maybe it's this sorry excuse that Matt calls "eggnog"; too little… Christmas cheer in it. Chris thought, referring to one of the various Matt's in his house as he eyed the mug in his hand, artfully hidden near a gaggle of women. They all were too busy talking about their holiday purchases to notice him, and no male was going to risk getting sucked into the conversation in order to get close enough to him.

Therefore, Chris was alone. Relatively.

Sure feels like this whole party is missing Christmas cheer. Chris thought as he eyed the nearby green tinsel he had put up.

It bugged him; he wished he knew what was missing from the party this year.

A tiny part of him, the part that usually only showed up when he was Jericho, voiced a tiny, insistent thought. What if it's not the party, but me, that's missing something? He wondered.

With a heavy sigh, he drank more eggnog. Unless a Christmas miracle happened, he wasn't getting his answer any time soon.

Kayla Green had not known much about Chris Irvine's annual Christmas party until three hours earlier when one friend insisted she was coming with her to the party.

Her friends- the ones who had attended the party before- raved about the food, decorations, and all-around fun at it. They swore it was an event not worth missing; if something was going to happen, it was going to happen there.

"I have seen four different people get engaged at this party in years past," one friend had explained. "And countless numbers of other couples meet for the first time there. It's like Chris is freakin' Cupid."

Kayla hadn't seen that part yet, but she had seen a lot of familiar faces over the course of the evening.

How this party was kept so secret from everyone but the ones in attendance she did not know.

For that matter, though, she had not seen the host yet; she had no idea what he looked like or what he was like.

Cupid, James Bond. Same difference. She thought light-heartedly as she listened to Matt Hardy's latest tale about his work. The SWAT officer sure loved his job.

When Matt's story wrapped, Kayla excused herself and went to another room of the house. She needed a change of pace, and a little breathing room.

Yeesh this place is packed. She thought as she weaved her way through the busy house.

Beehives, in her opinion, were emptier.

Upon reaching the nearest room with the least amount of people, Kayla snagged one of the lone free seats near the electric fireplace, toeing her peach platform pumps off.

Three hours in the darned items had left her feet sore.

Kayla wiggled her toes as she looked around her.

A group of women sat nearby, laughing and complementing each other shoes. None of them paid attention to the rest of the room, including the man standing near them.

Kayla shot the man, most likely one of their boyfriend's, a sympathetic smile before returning her gaze to the fake flames.

She was enjoying the party; it truly was what her friends swore it would be, and more. It was just that…

She sighed, relaxing further. It just feels like Christmas is missing its usual pop and zing.

She, like Chris, couldn't place her finger on it either. Something about Christmas was off.

Surveying the room, she determined it wasn't a lack of decorations. The main tree, as well as the miniature tree in each room, was decorated to perfection. And you couldn't swat your hand without hitting a person wearing a Christmas sweater.

She thought about her life next, wondering if maybe she'd missed something on her holiday to-do list.

Finished all of my shopping weeks ago. Strung lights and decorated. I have my tree and it's beautiful. Plans all set for Christmas day. She thought with a frown, quickly determining it wasn't anything obvious that was causing the odd feeling in her heart.

She rolled her head, trying to work out the kinks in her neck. The holiday itself just felt wrong.

It seemed that kindred spirits had the same feeling that Christmas Eve evening.

Chris studied the woman who had smiled at him, having been instantly intrigued by her.

He recognized her- he knew every name on the guest list- but… He didn't know who she really was.

It was easy to know a person's name and face, but to know who they truly were on the inside, to know their heart, was a different, and delicate, matter.

Deciding that he had had enough of hiding, somehow, amidst all of the festive décor, he stepped away from his little corner and over to the electric fireplace.

I gotta get a real one, one of these days. He thought, eyeing the "soulless" item that only added to the holiday spirit in the house, electric or not.

"Cookie for your thoughts?" he asked the woman, her gaze flying to him instantly.

"What?" she asked, a chuckle in her voice. Her gaze then flicked to the women behind him.

Chris looked over his shoulder, quickly understanding her unsaid message.

"I'm not with them," he said, returning his gaze to her before holding out his hand. "Chris Irvine."

"Ah, the mysterious host," she said, accepting his hand. "Kayla Green." She added, introducing herself.

He nodded and then surprised her, and himself, when he bowed his head low and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

Kayla bit her lip, suppressing a giggle, as Chris raised his head, releasing her hand from his grasp.

"I was just wondering what had you looking so serious." He said, looking at the end table next to the chair she was seated in that had a partially empty tray of cookies on it. "So… Cookie for your thoughts?" he asked again, smiling at her.

Kayla returned the smile as she took a cookie from the tray. A tree-shaped one, with white frosting and green sugar crystals sprinkled on it. "I was just…" she looked at the cookie, then looked at the fire again, as Chris grabbed a stocking-shaped cookie with red and white frosting. "Christmas just doesn't feel the same this year." She finally said.

Chris, who had just taken a bite out of his cookie, swallowed wrong and began to cough.

Jay Reso, who was perusing the cookie tray himself, whacked Chris on the back a couple of times until he was satisfied that one of his oldest friends was all right and then wandered off, three cookies in hand.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asked him when his blue-eyed gaze returned to her concerned face.

Chris nodded, clearing his throat. "I was just… Surprised, that's all." Chris honestly replied with. He'd thought he was the only one who felt that way.

Kayla studied him. "Why?" she asked him.

Chris shrugged as he grabbed a nearby ottoman and sat next to her chair. "Well, it's because…" he looked into her eyes as he continued, "…I feel the same way."

He was a little surprised that he had admitted that to her, but he felt comfortable sharing that information with her, like he almost knew that she felt the same way.

"Really?" Kayla asked, her turn to be surprised.

Chris nodded, looking at the fire again. "Yep, totally. I mean, it looks like Christmas-"

"-Minus the snow." Kayla reminded him of the lack of snow in their section of Florida.

"Right." Chris said with a laugh.

Kayla chuckled as well. "I just meant that it feels like something's missing, y'know? Something… Something we didn't even realize was."

Chris nodded as they both studied the flames. "Yeah, same here." He was quiet for a moment, analyzing what he felt that missing item could be. "It could be the lack of Santa hat's people are wearing this year." He suggested.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Kayla agreed, nodding, though they both knew he was joking.

"Or maybe the shortage of gingerbread cookies around here. I swear it's like they've fallen off the face of the planet, and so have all their ingredients." Chris said, waving his hand in a sweeping motion.

"True. Or perhaps it's how few decorations are up in many neighborhoods." She added.

Chris nodded. "That's a big one."

They both grew quiet after that, the party starting to grow softer as more and more people started to grow weary and wished to return home. Several shouted goodbyes while others just vanished, taking a random cheese or cookie tray with them.

It wasn't long after that that it dawned on Kayla what might be missing.

"You know, there's always a chance that what's missing is not a physical item." She said, looking at Chris.

Chris' eyes met hers once more. "Oh?" he asked, tilting his head.

Kayla nodded. "Maybe what we feel is missing is the true meaning of Christmas."

That made perfect sense to Chris.

"You have an excellent point there." He said, looking around the room. "What should be a holiday spent enjoying time with loved ones, observing religious holidays, and childlike fun has turned into…" Chris struggled to think of an apt description, but Kayla already had one in mind.

"…Into one big blur of lights, decorations, and wrapping paper, only to have it fade into another rarely-thought-of memory?" Kayla offered.

Chris thought her description over for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, that's it." He said, a somber look crossing his face.

Kayla and Chris resumed looking into the fire, just enjoying each other's peaceful company.

At a party that was so loud and over-the-top, they had managed to find each other.

They both counted their blessings that they had.

Some time later, when the number of guests was starting to wind much, much more down, Kayla decided it was time for her to go.

She and Chris had spent some time exchanging Christmas stories and munching on cookies, enjoying talking with each other. But, it was time for her to go home and get some rest. She had big plans for Christmas.

"I'll walk you to your car," Chris said as Kayla shrugged into her coat.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him as she removed her keys from her pocket.

The pair slipped out the front door, Chris' other close friend Adam Copeland nearby, telling Randy Orton and Matt Hardy about how his work was going.

Chris knew that Adam was not referring to his day job.

The sky had cleared enough for the moon to be visible through occasional holes in the clouds, thus lighting their way to her car.

They said nothing as they enjoyed the softer sounds of the night. It was Kayla, though, who finally spoke again.

"You know," she said as they neared her car, "my friends told me that you were a real character that would be impossible to forget. I think they were understating that." She teased as Chris laughed.

"Believe me; I'm not trying to be that way. I just am." He said, laughter in his voice. "But, you know, I have to say that I'm not going to forget you either." He said, smiling at her.

Kayla smiled and looked at the moon. "Thanks." She said.

They had reached her car by that point and Chris opened her door for her. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Kayla Green." Chris said as she climbed into the car. "So… I'll see you around?" he asked her.

She looked up at him, meeting his impish smile with her own. "I dunno. I kinda have a busy schedule after the holidays are over."

Chris nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, so do I. I- I'm a lawyer." He said, as an afterthought.

Kayla studied him for another moment. "But… I am hosting a New Year's Eve party. It's nothing big; just a couple of friends and I. Watching the ball drop. You should come."

For a moment, Chris was at a loss for words. Then, he grinned. "Absolutely. I will bring my famous 8-layer dip." He told her.

Kayla laughed a true laugh. "All right. I look forward to it."

It was hard for them to say goodbye, but they knew they'd be seeing each other in a few days again. So, finally, Chris spoke.

"Good night, Kayla." He said, gently shutting her door and walking around the front of the car to the sidewalk.

Kayla smiled, wondering if this was part of Chris' cupid-like behavior. She then started the car and put it in drive, deciding that she would ask him at the party.

It seemed that Christmas, and the year to come, had regained its cheer.

She couldn't wait to see what next Christmas had in store for her… And Chris too.

Flamers will have to wait until after 2013 begins to have their flames reach me. My secretary, Proto, is out of town for the next two-three weeks. First they decided to celebrate their birthday on the 21st because of the prophecy surrounding it (go figure) and then… Well, that's a different story.

All the rest of you reviewers I would love to hear from. ^_^ And thanks for reading!