Holidays, for me, meant that my poor, rarely used, truck got unburied from snow and whatever else I'd stacked on it, the interior cleared of whatever leftovers had been rotting in there since whenever the last time I drove it had been, sprayed to death with Febreze to get rid of the stench of rotten takeout, before I'd throw my suitcase in and drive down to my Mom's house. It had been routine for the past four years, the only alteration happening last year when my bags were ejected from the front seat to the bed and joined with Gwen's who took over the front seat.

This year saw another change. Starting with my little sister was in the area, no big, it'd be a tight squeeze but the three of us could fit in my truck. Then Axel invaded, and while I had NO qualms about strapping Axel to the roof of my truck like a Christmas tree, I didn't feel the three blonds that followed him deserved the same treatment.

My mother had only laughed when I had said this to her.

"Arienn, you couldn't strap him to the roof anyway." She chided.

"Why not? He's temperature resistant." I sulked fiddling with the green ribbons that had replaced the old used-to-be-white shoe laces on my bright red converse.

"Well it's kinda illegal dear." She pointed out.

"I'd just disguise him as a Christmas tree!"

It took my mother a moment to catch her breath after the fit of laughter and a little coughing due to her minor asthma. "Lovey, you are one in a million. However, despite the fact that he's unbelievably tall and skinny and has spikes, I don't think you can pass him off as a tree. His spikes don't go all the way down, and they're the wrong color."

I huffed a sigh. "Well since that plans shot anyway, I guess I don't have to track down green hair dye." I waited for my mother to recover again. "But puts us back to, I have no idea how we're all getting down there."

There was a moment of silence. "I'll come to you then."

I sat up straight. "Mom, are you sure?" I asked.

"Come on dear, Monica, and I and our whole army of presents can fit in my Honda!"

"Well yeah but, you haven't been here since Grandma died."

Silence again. "It was five years ago Ari." She said slowly. "It's time."

I chewed my lip. "I better go find a real tree then."

I sighed, watching my breath turn to a white cloud just past my lips. "What are we doing again?" Axel asked looking down at me, hands in the pockets of his long Organization coat.

"Tree hunting." I muttered pulling my scarf; I noted that it matched his hair, up over my nose.

"Well, hunt complete." He said motioning out to the mini forest of green trees.

"Yeah, if it were only that easy." I muttered shrugging my coat up a little.

"How difficult is it?"Axel asked taking two long steps to catch up to me.

I sighed, "A little harder then you may think, there are several types of tree and then the right height and color…"

I felt him scowl at me little. "Is your Mom even going to care?" He sighed in response to the look of fierce determination I gave him. "Okay fine. Then go off what you know. Pick a tree with good color."

"And smell."

"What?"

"It's got to smell nice too," I repeated a little more clearly.

Axel furrowed his red brows at me. "The smell is a big deal?" as he spoke I bent down picking up a fallen sprig of pine [or whatever] and held it out to him. He lifted his brow a little higher.

"Just trust me." I sighed. He looked at me warily for a moment longer before curling his hand round mine and leaning in to the sprig. "See?"

"It smells nice, I guess?" He looked up at me in that pathetic lost way he got when the Nobody history came back to make him confused.

I tossed the twig away. "It's a big deal to me." I admitted.

"Any particular reason?" He asked following me in a manner that, somehow, felt cautious.

I shrugged putting my hands back in my pockets. "Because. I always remember the house smelling really strongly of pine." I shrugged again. "Guess it makes me a little nostalgic." I licked my lips a little.

The house I live in now had been my Grandmothers. She'd left it to me after she died of a stroke five years ago. Before then Christmas had always been at Grandma's, I remember so clearly the smell of the house during the time, pine, cinnamon, spice, warmth, food, dear lord sooo much freakin' food. When I had moved in, the smell hadn't been the smell of the place at Christmas time, but it had still smelled of her. But over time, slowly her pleasant musky old smell had been replaced with the smell of cheap shampoo, and the smell of oil paint and turpentine, burnt toast and greasy take out. My scent. The old scent was washed away further when the others came, with strong scents of wood smoke, crayons and rain.

That old familiar smell was gone now and I guess, I just wanted to recreate it for my mom, as best as I could.

I stopped, taking a few steps back to stand in front of the bushy little tree. I tipped my head a little to one side at it, pulling my hand from my pocket again to caress the spiny branches. The unnatural aura of warmth behind me and crunch of gravel warned me that he was there. "It's small."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you Axel Obvious. I hadn't noticed." I turned half way to scowl at him.

He returned my eye rolling gesture. "I'm just saying, I didn't realize you wanted a small one."

"Yeah well sometimes little ones last longer." I replied looking back at the tree. "And a bigger one would be a pain to get in the house."

"And we're more likely to have space for it."

I looked up at him again and grinned. "Now you got it."

"I really, really hate holiday traffic." I grumbled drumming my almost numb fingers against the steering wheel of my truck. Yeah, it got a little bit of exercise anyway, since we needed it for the tree.

"At least you're not driving all the way to your mothers." Axel pointed out, propping his chin up with his hand, elbow resting on the small ledge on the passenger door.

I scowled. "I think its worse to be stuck in traffic for half an hour a measly ten minutes away from home rather than being stuck for hours, hours away from your destination." I sighed. "I mean come on! It's weeks till Christmas! Why is it all taillights and honking now!?"

"Because it's weeks till Christmas and everyone's trying to beat the rush?" Axel offered with an odd sort of smile like he was being ironic. A moment later he was scowling at me perplexed. "Do you hear like a, clicking sound?"

"It's my teeth." I answered scooting my truck up a shocking six inches before stopping again, and ground my teeth together a little tighter to try to stop the chattering.

"Arienn, if you're that cold why don't you turn on the heat?" He asked exasperated.

"It's been on!" I huffed, twisting my fingers round the wheel a little. "It just takes it forever to do anything!" I muttered scowling at the dials.

Axel followed my peeved scowl before sighing and I heard him shift and the click of the seat belt releasing and a moment latter he was at my side looping his arm around my shoulder. I scowled up at him. "I do not take forever to heat up." He pointed out meaningfully.

I blinked. It was true, I already felt warmer. I sighed and slumped down a little. "Thank you." I said begrudgingly.

"Don't sound so happy." He snorted rolling his green eyes.

I pursed my lips. I was happy to be warm, it made me feel less miserable, but the how I could have done without. Okay, admittedly, I didn't even mind the him-being-close-ness of it. It was how it looked to the people around us that bothered me. It was pretty cozy and intimate looking. And the fact that it bothered me of how it looked to people bothered me even more. Why did I care what people thought? I knew there was absolutely nothing between us. What did it matter what a bunch of people I'd probably never know thought?

"I just want to be home." I answered as my defense. He seemed to accept that as enough of a reason, because he fell silent again.

When Axel and I got to the house we found Naminé standing at the base of a ladder looking up at Roxas, perched at the top handing strings of lights up to my little sister who was sitting on the roof itself. I grinned as I slid from the truck slamming the door closed. "On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two love birds and a Jordan on-a rooftop." I half sang half spoke.

The three blonds looked up and over us. Nami blushed a little, Roxas just rolled his eyes and Jordan's eyes turned round and bright. "You guys got a tree!?"

"We got a tree." Axel said from behind me, looking over my shoulder I found him already freeing the small fir from its bindings.

"Fantastic!" My green banged sister beamed, tinting the word in a slight British accent.

"Where'd the lights come from?" I asked nodding to them.

Jordan looked down at the length of soft white icicle lights in her hands. "Jordan led an 'expedition' as she calls it, into town." Roxas explained, with a slight roll of his eyes.

Jordan grinned at me. "Mom loves her lights." She answered.

I smiled. "Yeah she does." I agreed turning to help Axel get the tree out of the bed.

"I bought a string for the tree too, so at least it will have lights and won't be naked till Mom gets here with the ornaments." My sister laughed watching Axel and I juggle the tree.

"None-naked trees are good." I replied, and would have said more but was afraid of getting a mouth full of Christmas tree.

Inside, I got a brief glimpse of Gwen sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded with the various bits and pieces involved in gift wrapping. She even had a bright blue ribbon, one of those stick on ones, stuck on her head [I found out later that was Dem's doing]. She looked up as I, literally, kicked open the door, setting off a series of jingling from the bells on the wreath someone had hung. "HALT!" She squawked pointing at me with the tip of a pair scissors.

I jumped and almost dropped my side of the tree. "What!?" Axel asked exasperated leaning in a little.

My best friend grinned impishly, which worried me right away and pointed up with the scissors. Both Axel and I looked up and my eyes widened. "Mistletoe." Axel stated in an even tone. "That I do remember."

I scowled at him. "Of all the things…?" I grumbled.

Gwen giggled. "No cheeks." She said sitting forward, with as much anticipation as a child waiting for Santa.

I felt my cheeks turn pink as I looked back at Axel across the tree. He shrugged and leaned over it touching his gloved finger tips to my jaw lightly as he kissed my lips briefly, but tenderly. I blinked at him as he pulled back. "Can we get this tree in now Gwen?" He asked her.

I lay in bed that night, Naminé curled up beside me, as per was usual when Jordan and Gwen were here. Though when Mom and Monica got here those two would also invade the room and the mothers would take Nami's usual room. My mind was preparing a list for tomorrow. There were a few presents left to wrap, and lots of baking to do, and cleaning. There were pine needles and scraps of wrapping paper, oh gosh and all that packaging from the lights scattered across the living room floor. I couldn't even begin to think about the bathrooms, or the dishes. Crap, there were still dishes and we needed to get baking really fast tomorrow. I sighed sitting up and carefully getting up, making sure not to wake Naminé and went out to the living room.

My intention had been to wash dishes, since I couldn't sleep anyway. But, someone had forgotten to unplug the tree, and for some reason, the plain little tree sitting there, its colorful lights glowing softly in the dark, I just stood there, staring at it.

I don't remember what I had been thinking really, the thoughts were scattered when a new light source sparked into life. I jumped turning around to see Axel standing up again from a crouch in front of the fireplace I usually forgot was there. "You didn't even notice me come in, that's unusual." He looked across the room at me levelly, as he put his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants. "You're that stressed?" He asked in a soft voice, I guess to avoid waking anyone else in the house, lifting a brow at me.

I looked away mostly because something about the way the fire light moved across his face messed with my head. I folded my arms over my chest and shivered a little. The house was old and the heating wasn't the best to begin with, but we always turned it off when we all went to bed, which had been hours ago. "What are you doing up?" I asked squinting at the clock dimly lit by the lights.

"I heard you get up." Axel answered walking over. "You're anxious enough I couldn't sleep either." He stopped directly in front of me.

"Sorry." I murmured.

We were quiet for a moment, just standing there watching the two lights play against each other's form. "Why does your Mother coming here stress you out so much?"

I sighed leaning forward till my head hit his chest. He was warm, and I was cold end of story. "This use to be my Grandma's house you know. My Mother's mother." I shivered a little.

"Yeah, knew that." There was a hitch in his breathing briefly, before he spoke, wrapping his arms around me.

I kept my arms around myself for a moment before relenting and hugging him back. "Grandma died about five years ago,"

"Knew that too."

"Mom hasn't been here since Grandma died."

"Didn't know that." He fell silent for a moment before sighing and placing one hand on my hair, and putting his head against the top of mine. "Arienn, if how you are is any testament to how your mother is, then you shouldn't have to worry." He pulled his fingers carefully through my hair to avoid hitting any tangles that might have occurred while I tried to sleep. "She's just gonna be happy to see her kids."

Axel hadn't ever met my mom. Not face to face at least. He'd answered the phone once or twice when she'd called, photos had been showed on both sides, and I'm sure Monica had told my mom all kinds of things about them. For some reason, I was really anxious about them meeting. I crinkled my nose and shifted my weight to look at him.

"Really, how is it you knew about mistletoe?" I asked cocking my head to one side.

Axel arched a brow. "J'ai été élevé par une femme française, avez-vous vraiment à poser?"

I glared at him. "Couldn't you have just said it had something to do with your grandmother?" I seethed.

"I did." He returned with a grin.

"In English!" I snapped a little louder then I intended.

Axel pressed his finger to my lips leaning down very close to my face. "Shh, you'll wake someone up." After a breath more he stopped grinning and his eyes took on a very different expression then the warped amusement he got from my agitation. Slowly he withdrew his hand and leaned back.

I scowled at him. "What was that?"

"What was what?" He asked in a very calculated tone, putting his hands in his pockets, almost hurriedly.

I blinked at him a few times before shaking my head. "Perplexity thy name is Axel." I said shaking my head as I turned away.

"Good night Arienn." He said quietly.

I was stirred the next morning by the sound of, Jordan singing out, practically at the top of her lungs, "Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat!"

However I was fully awake after Jordan was joined by Gwen and Arienn in a great shout of "HEY!" Before Jordan continued on, still very loud and very cheerily.

"Please do put a penny in the old man's hat! If you haven't got a penny, a half penny will do. If you haven't got a half penny then God bless you! Ready ladies?"

"Yep." Gwen piped in.

"Check." Arienn answered.

And Jordan began again. "Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat!"

However, this time as she started the next line Gwen came in at the beginning. "Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat!" And as Gwen started the next line Arienn started in at the beginning.

The sound of it was chaotic and, rather impressive too that they could manage to sing their own section while the other two sang ahead or behind them. It lasted for a few times round before Arienn broke it. "Oh mom's calling! Ahk Phone phone! Hello?"

By that point I had decided to just get up and emerged from my garage converted room into the living room to find Arienn leaning over the back of the couch at the waist, the tip of her toes barely on the ground. She was supporting her torso by an arm on Roxas shoulder as she craned her head at an awkward angle to hear the voice on the other end of her cell phone, which was tethered by the charging cord. "Hi Mommy."

I shook my head a little as I went to the kitchen. The concept of her actually using a term like 'Mommy', however alien to me, was just a little more than adorable.

"Yeah we're all up. Trying to get the kitchen under control so we can start baking," She jumped and teetered a little. Roxas grabbed the wrist of her hand on his shoulder, craning his head to try to look and see if she was okay. "O-okay Mom, we'll wait till you get here to start baking." She said sliding back down to the flat of her feet, probably to avoid anymore accidental meetings with the floor. "We do have some things left to clean. The living rooms a wreak from the tree, and I got to tackle the bathroom." Her nose crinkled for a moment before she blinked and hung her head a little, hair falling in her face. "Yeah, okay," She laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Okay okay, geez Mom, I AM twenty one years old you know? Mhmm, love you too."

"Told you Mom would get on your case for stressing." Jordan said smugly.

Arienn waved her off. "Yeah-yeah-yeah, keep rubbing it in kid and you'll be dreaming of a charcoal Christmas."

The younger sister grinned. "Well that wouldn't be fair! My presents would be something you wanted."

"Why would I want charcoal?" Arienn asked hopping on to the barstool next to me. "I can just have him mass produce it."

I rolled my eyes. "That your new business? Charcoal making?"

"Well not me, but you could start pulling your weight round here." She grinned sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "I do. It's my job to keep you out of the hospital." I said taking coffee that Naminé handed me.

Arienn scowled at me. "And who keeps you out of the hospital?" She demanded.

"You do of course." Gwen cut in plopping a plate of breakfast in front of me. "He protects you, you protect him, it's just the way you two work." She shrugged.

"Good foundation for a relationship." Jordan observed grinning at us both.

Arienn glared at her and said something along the lines of finding some honey packets to put in her stocking. Or just squeeze it straight in, while I proceeded to eat the pancakes and bacon in front of me with the concentration of a brain surgeon, while pretending I hadn't heard what Jordan had said.

I just had to resign myself to it.

Everyone could see it.

Parents came, and there was a whir of wrapping, baking, and arranging the presents under the tree, and before I knew it I found myself laying in bed staring into the swirling dark that was my ceiling, head still reeling from the day. I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to force myself to sleep. But the more I kept telling myself to go to sleep the wider awake I felt. It was the passive thought that I had had a hard time going to sleep on Christmas eve as a kid too, that ended up stabbing through my brain to make all hopes of sleep a lost cause. I got up, shuffling through the darkness up the stairs to the living room, hoping the couch would lend me some mercy. However, I found it occupied.

She must have just… crashed. The lamp on end table above her head was still on, so was one of her green ribbon laced red converse. Well half way at least. On top of this, she was curled up around her laptop. Probably because it was warm. The living room was quite cold at, I glanced at the clock, four AM. I sighed running a hand through my hair as I walked up as quietly as I could, closing the lid of her laptop and gently tugging it out from under her. She'd be pretty upset if she moved in her sleep and the thing fell and broke. Arienn stirred a little but didn't rouse.

I blinked at her slowly going down to my knees as I blindly put the computer on the coffee table behind me.

She looked, tiny. I watched her curl up on herself even more now that the laptop wasn't there to provide warmth or inhibit her. I shook my head again grabbing the quilt she kept folded up on the back of the couch and pulling it over her. Again she stirred grabbing the blanket and burrowing down into the sudden introduction of warmth. I blinked at her again, slowly reaching out pressing the brick red of her hair out of her face before leaning over, I faltered for a moment, worried about the consequences if I actually did. In the end I decided to risk it and kissed her temple.

I froze when she stirred again, and for a second I thought her eye partly opened, but nothing happened. I sighed in relief. "Good grief Arienn I−" I stopped myself short, slowly closing my mouth.

I almost said it. I almost told her how I felt. I almost said it out loud, but I couldn't. Even if she was asleep, I just knew it would be bad. I sighed shifting to lean my back against the couch settling in to sleep. "Merry Christmas, Arienn." You have my heart, all of it.

Simply Notes:

Sorry this is a day late, but MERRY CHRISTMAS! This is a bit of a half chapter, can be read and might help explain some things but not really needed. It's been sittin' round forever so I finally finished it! Hope you enjoyed and had a wonderful holiday! I'm going to sleep now xD