Sent: Sunday December 26, 8:39

Dear Santa,

I've had enough. I'm going to have a talk with Dark.

This email's just so that you know what I'm going to do, so you're not going to be left in the dark (hahaha bad pun) or anything like that.

This Christmas has been messed up. Yesterday night, after the first hour or so, I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep because I was worried about Dark. I did sleep, though...eventually.

…

But you know what? Now that I think about it, you had granted my wish. In a roundabout stressful sort of way, maybe, but now at least, I know what's been bothering Dark.

Thanks.

Sincerely, Daisuke.

Sent: Sunday December 26, 5:35

Santa

Look, I'm sure you're bored with all these emails Daisuke and I are sending to you. After all, it's just some teenage drama, right? (Well, not exactly, considering I'm two centuries older than you, but never mind. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M OLD?). But if you've followed us this far, I figured you have the right to know how this all plays out.

And after that, then you can go delete all these emails or whatever.

~~ this would be a line break except I don't know how to make the stupid things here so whatever ~~

So, see, this happened after lunch:

/Hey, Daisuke, could I take over for a while?/ I asked. Daisuke seemed pretty tired right then, though I didn't know why.

/Hmm? Why?/ he replies with (okay, I admit it) justified wariness.

/Are you saying I'm not allowed to visit anybody to wish them a belated Christmas? How cruel!/ I answer, pretenfing to be indignant. It all was a lie, of course.

/Oh, okay/ Daisuke, being him, agrees. And falls asleep the moment I come out. Kid must have been exhausted.

I slip out of the house with a disguise(don't want the police arresting me, not that that'll ever happen), a couple dollars I saved up (I do have money, you know) and flap over to a nearby store. See, the city the Niwas live in has this street that extends right through the middle of it. The street, I admit, was pretty cool - lined with stores and venders that sell just about everything you can think of and more you can't. More importantly, it had the store I wanted.

Even more importantly, the store had a cute sales-girl.

I mean...never mind.

After much thinking and deciding and...ah...asking said sales-girl for advice, I came out, a brown-paper-wrapped package in my arms and quite a bit poorer. (Well, I never said I was rich or anything.)

I return to Daisuke's house and sit on his bed.

/Hey, sleepy-head! WAKE UP!/ I shout mentally, as loud as I could.

/Agh!/ he exclaims, his mental form jumping awake. It was quite comical, actually. /Dark?/

I let him retake his form, and I project myself sitting beside him.

"Hey, I got you a present," I say. I point to the package on the bed between us, not bothering to hand it to him because my hand'll just melt through it anyway. "Merry day-after-Christmas!"

Okay, I admit it: I was nervous. Krad, a museum full of cops, creepy-boy, the Hiwataris, phantom thief Dark could take them all. Giving a present to a fourteen-year-old kid, on the other hand…

This wasn't just a late Christmas present; it was an apology. What if he didn't accept it?

Hesitantly, he ripped open the package. Inside was a set of new acrylic paints and soft brushes, from the brand he usually used. Of course, I knew he needed new ones, but I wasn't sure how he'd react with them coming from me.

"Whoa, thanks, Dark!" Then he laughed.

I looked at him strangely. Was something wrong?

He smiled, and jumped off the bed. Reaching into the closet, he retrieved a similarly-wrapped package. "This was yours, Dark, but I…ah…couldn't work up the nerve to give it to you yesterday."

Raising an eyebrow, I watched as Daisuke pulled off the wrapping for me. Inside, was…

A sketchbook. Artist pencils. I'd seen them not two hours ago, in that exact same art store where I bought Daisuke's present.

I grinned.

"You don't do it often, but I know you like drawing, so…" Daisuke was scratching his head nervously. He placed the sketchbook beside the paints.

"I am an artwork, after all."

"…I figured you'd probably want your own stuff," he finished, ignoring my comment.

"Great minds think alike," I smirked, crossing my arms. "Thanks, Daisuke."

"Great minds? And here I was thinking you had nothing but fluff up there." He raised an eyebrow in an attempt to mimic me. Sorry, Daisuke. That takes years of practice.

"Fluff?" I crossed my arms. "I prefer feathers, thank you very much."

We stared at each other for a minute, then...

...ended up cracking up; bent over and laughing. I'm sure we probably freaked out Dai's mother and grandpa (not to mention the neighbours) but I didn't care. It felt good.

And, maybe it was just my imagination kidding itself, but in that laugh we shared, I thought I heard forgiveness. And apology. And understanding.

Daisuke's me, after all. And I'm him. With him, I don't need to pretend to be somebody; I don't need to label myself something. I just am, and he knows that.

And that's enough for me.

How's that for a cheesy holiday story?

So, Santa, how's it going with you? Don't think I forgot what I asked you for Christmas. I've yet to see it given. Or maybe it has, I'm not sure.

But maybe it's good that Dai's the way he is.

Merry day-after-Christmas!

Dark.

Sent: Sunday December 26, 8:29

Dear Santa,

Turns out I didn't need to confront Dark. I'm glad.

Hope to see you next year!

From, Daisuke.

And so concludes the Daisuke-Dark part of this story. The Satoshi-Krad will not be nearly this long (not that this is long), probably only a oneshot or something.

Personally, the ending could have probably gone better, but oh well.

Once again, I thank everybody who's reviewed, read, or skimmed it through out of plain boredom. You guys are awesome!