Look forward to a short New Years chapter for Notice Me next.

Merry Christmas! I hoped to have a chapter out last night for theatrics, but…

Y-y'know, I suck. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

"Akira~. Santa told me you'd be up here - oh, no."

What Makoto saw upon entering Leblanc's attic was a sight most disturbing. Akira was sitting on a bean bag, and Morgana was on Akira's bed, nestled in a bundles of what was almost certainly warm towels. That was normal, maybe even a little cute because they were both wearing Santa hats. The real problem was the sounds coming from the TV they were watching. "Akira…"

"What? It's a marathon."

"I can't believe you're spending your Christmas watching bad Christmas movies."

"Bad is such a…"

Akira looked at the TV and hesitated for a long moment. "...accurate term."

"Don't they all follow the same plot?"

"Mostly. Look, I'm at the sad flashback part already."

Makoto chanced a look at the TV. The protagonist had holed up in her apartment with a tub of ice cream, remembering the fun times the audience had been privy to no more than twenty minutes prior. "Riveting."

"And original! C'mon, grab a seat."

Akira hauled out another bean bag from behind him and laid it out next to his. Makoto smiled and adjusted the bag in her hand. If Akira had noticed it, he didn't say anything. Either way, she was grateful that he wasn't prying. She set it down and took a seat, giving Akira a quizzical look when he handed her a thermos. "For once it's not coffee."

"Okay?"

His words were a little odd, but he meant what he said. Makoto felt the corners of her mouth quirk up a bit when she smelled something sweet coming from the vessel. "Oh, cocoa."

He produced two mugs from a small cabinet nearby and fished out a bag of something white. "I also bought marshmallows if you want some."

"Ooh, please."

"Only downside is-"

"I SMELL MARSHMALLOWS!"

"Futaba, I told you not to run in the-"

"MARSHMALLOWS!"

"Oh, for…"

Moments later, a wild Futaba Sakura appeared. She had bounded up the stairs with no regard for stopping, as she tumbled into an ungainly heap before the duo. "Futaba loves 'em."

"So I can see."

"Akira…"

"Hey, Futaba."

"I think I broke something. Surrender your sweets so I can recover."

Akira took a long sip of cocoa as he considered, leading Makoto to laugh at the sight; Futaba was still persistently keeping her face on the floor, with one hand held up expectantly. "Yeah, I guess I can spare a few."

He unceremoniously dropped a handful of marshmallows into her palm. Having received her prize, she did a surprisingly quick hop to her feet as she devoured it. Akira let out a deadpan "wooow" to congratulate her. "How can I help you, Futaba?"

"Got another mug?"

"I don't."

"It's cool, I'll get one. Oh, and I forgot the presents! Be right back."

She scampered off again, leaving Akira and Makoto to ponder over what just happened. "...I can never read that girl."

"She marches to the beat of her own drum, for sure."

"Well, I guess it's time for the gifting of the gifts."

Akira muted the TV and got up from his seat to rummage about somewhere under his desk. "I already gave everyone else theirs, and I was hoping I'd have some alone time with you, but...ah, well."

Makoto smiled wistfully and drew her bag a little closer. "I was thinking the same. This isn't too bad either."

Akira brought his three boxes over, sat down, and took her hand with a smile. "You got that right."

He had just brushed his lips against her knuckle when Futaba hopped back up the stairs, whooping like a certain game character with each jump. "I'm back for your coco - ohoho, am I interrupting something~?"

Makoto simply smiled at Akira and shook her head. "No. No, not really. Come, sit down and let's pass these out."

"Man...you guys are way too loud. Can't a cat catch some sleep around here?"

Morgana arose from his towel sanctuary and stretched forward, backward, side-to-side. His ears flattened against his head as he yawned luxuriously. "Hey, you're right on time. C'mon, we're opening gifts."

"Oh...what, am I included? I didn't get you guys anything."

"Hm? Of course you are."

Akira had said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His friends couldn't help but smile as Morgana chuckled lightly. He wasn't sure what the warm feeling in his little chest was, but it felt nice so he didn't complain. What the cat was sure about was that Futaba would needle him about it if he brought it up, so it was decided that he would simply keep it to himself. That was fine, right? "...Well, alright then."

[- Addendum -]

"So can I have some of that, too?

"No, sorry. You're a cat."

"So?"

"You can't have chocolate."

"Why not?"

"Well, you'll die, I guess."

"Pft. That's dumb."

...I'm not very good at writing endings.