Summary: It's Christmastime again, and tension reigns in the En Inn over the subject of presents.

Written: Christmas Eve 2008.

Rating: T for some language and innuendo.

So it's been a long time, but I thought I owed it to my readers to do a Christmas story. I'm quite burned out from finals week, but I do hope you enjoy this story!

All I Want for Christmas

Kiss #29

"If you don't want to get me down, just leave the presents and then leave me alone."

-Blink 182, "It's Christmastime Again"

"It's today?" Yoh asked, glancing from unadorned wall to wall. "Christmas? How could you tell?"

Indeed, the interior of the En Inn betrayed no hint of the holiday season. Aside from Yoh and the perpetually unimpressed Anna, not a creature was stirring—not even a mouse. "Pfeh!" Anna spat in reply. "All the garish tinsel and mall Santas and holiday cheer. Wake me up in January," she said, frowning at the TV as a commercial set in Santa's workshop flickered on.

"I'll never understand why you hate Christmas so much," Yoh observed, sauntering over to the refrigerator. "Care for some egg nog, Anna?"

Despite already knowing the answer to his question, he grabbed two glasses off the dishrack. Sure enough, it provoked another tirade. "Keep your implements of Christmas cheer to yourself, thank you very much. This whole season makes me nauseous. Why can't we all be like groundhogs? Sleeping through this whole Godforsaken charade and waking up in the middle of February sounds good to me."

Yoh returned to his perch behind Anna's couch, a thin film of egg nog still clinging to his lips. "They're also afraid of their own shadow half the time," he pointed out. "I think you're braver than that. Although I wonder what it is about this season you're really afraid of?"

"Afraid?!" she screeched. "Who's afraid here? I just hate the way these multinational corporations create this intimate illusion of ''tis better to give than to receive' while they rake in our yen by the boatload."

"Spare me the economics lecture," Yoh ribbed, taking a sip of egg nog. "You don't give a dango about these companies getting rich off of the Christmas season. You're just afraid of opening yourself up."

"Why—how dare you!" Anna bellowed. The scathing look in her eyes alerted Yoh to the possibility that he had gone a step too far. "I don't give anyone anything for Christmas, and I don't expect anything in return! There's nothing more to it than that!"

"Fair enough," Yoh said, mostly because he wanted to give her some time to calm down. "But...let's pretend for the moment that we exist in some parallel dimension where we're not shamans and you observe Christmas. What would you want to get as a present?"

Anna looked somewhat startled to be asked such a question so directly—even if it was strictly hypothetical. "Oh, I don't know...how about restoring this inn so that it can start taking in customers again? That would be nice...'Miss Anna, what a lovely little inn you run here...and your husband, so obedient...I'm definitely telling all my friends about this place...'"

Every trace of rage had cleared from Anna's eyes. In its place was a blissful, spaced-out gaze at nothing, and for once the eternal angry wrinkle above her nose was smoothed out. All of Yoh's attention was now focused upon this tranquil face, a sight he yearned to see every waking moment yet so rarely had chance to appreciate.

"And the guest rooms...of course you will need to change the linens every morning—What are you staring at?" she asked, interrupting Yoh's mesmerized look.

"Ah—nothing. It's just that, okay, let me rephrase my question a little. If you were to receive a gift for Christmas, and the price limit was—" he checked his pockets—"eleven hundred and forty-five...no, forty-six, yen...hypothetically speaking of course, then what would you want to get?"

"Smooth. Nice try, but you don't need to get me anything this year."

"But Anna, I want to get you a present!"

"No, you don't," she replied, although not without hesitating for just an instant first. "You think you want to because that's what all the commercials tell you. Besides, if you got me something, I'd have to reciprocate."

"Uh, can we keep the vocabulary on a level I'd understand?"

Anna sighed. "I'd have to...get you a present in return."

"Ah. Well, no, that's not completely true. Look, Anna, you're not supposed to feel obligated to get people stuff for Christmas. You're supposed to want to, you know, from the heart?"

Her only answer to that was a derisive grunt. Yoh sighed. "I'm just going to have to guess at what you want, then. But I'm getting you a present no matter what. Because I want to."

"No!" Yoh's gaze snapped to Anna at that. She had yelled a lot louder than she had meant to. "I mean, look, I'm letting you have the day off from your training. Why would you want to do anything today? Just hang out around here.

"You...you really don't understand." Yoh wasn't asking. He knew from her response that she just didn't get Christmas. "Well...seeing as it's Christmas Day I probably won't find anything, but I have to try. I'm going to the Don Quijote, I'll be back soon."

"See ya," Anna called over her shoulder as she heard the front door slide open and shut again. Somehow, although the door had only been letting in the chilly December air for a moment, the house felt much colder in the absence of her fiance. Shaking her head—or perhaps shivering from the sudden chill—she mashed buttons on the remote harder than was necessary. The volume of the TV increased accordingly, but the sound of jingling bells filled the air. "This holiday season," intoned the announcer's voice, "don't you want to be with the people who mean the most to you?"

"Ugh," she groaned, positively smashing the buttons on the remote to change the channel. "Tonight at 7, watch a special encore presentation of the heartwarming Christmas story beloved by millions..."

"Jeez, give me a break!" She shut the set off in disgust and stood up. Not really knowing what else to do, she paced about the house, leaving the sanctity of the living room in favor of the immaculately cleaned kitchen. She peered out the window. Outside, the gray rock garden was flecked with spots of white. More white flakes were lazily drifting down from the sky to join them.

"Snow on Christmas. Oh come on, that's laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?"

There was no denying the emptiness of the desolate house then. Much as she hated the prospect of seeing so much holiday mirth on the streets, she couldn't stand the way that every sign pointed to what she knew she had to do then. With a final, resigned sigh, Anna halfheartedly slung her signature taupe coat over her shoulders and took one last glance through the snowy windowpanes...

As the largest department store chain in Japan, Don Quijote had a reputation for the merchandise on its tightly spaced shelves to be orderly and neat. Christmas Day threw a monkey wrench in the works, and Yoh found himself goose-stepping over toppled displays and mounds of potential presents that hadn't quite cut it. Maybe Anna was right, he thought despite himself. All these Christmas specials on TV have brainwashed me. The real Christmas miracle will be finding a present on my budget on the day of the celebration.

Adding to his woes was the salient fact that he had no idea what to buy. Yoh was a notoriously bad gifter, and the lack of merchandise made it even less likely that he would find something that would meet with Anna's approval. He began his search in housewares, although his shoestring budget precluded buying anything remotely useful. He completely skipped the electronics section—he would be lucky to buy half an extension cord with his meager savings—and settled into one of the many aisles of food. The way to my heart is my stomach, he reasoned, but is that old saying true for girls too? It's a moot point anyway. I don't have enough money to buy anything else.

He bypassed an aisle full of snacks—Anna would never eat them, she's so worried about her figure...as if there's anything to worry about there, man, talk about a body that never quits, and at that point he smacked himself for letting his mind wander. He made his way to an aisle of canned drinks, and imagined something there might be useful to Anna. As he scanned the stacks of cans, his eyes caught sight of a misplaced article on one of the shelves.

What's this? he wondered as he turned the object over in his hands. It was a plastic pouch filled with a clear liquid, and suspended within it was a small round silver object. He squinted at the writing printed upon the pouch. "Damn, it's hard enough to read kanji and these are so tiny...Oh! It's perfect!"

Yoh was next in line at the cashier when he realized he had no idea how expensive his planned gift was. He hoped that the coins in his pocket would cover it. If not, I'm back to square one...

The cashier was being kept busy by some hiccup with the register. His customer was sliding his credit card through the scanner repeatedly, as if the magnetic strip would immediately clear whatever technical glitch was slowing down the system. The anxiety was killing Yoh. He swallowed hard, watching the register display with an inappropriate degree of intensity. Finally the register squealed as it printed out a receipt, and the customer, sighing in relief, tucked away his magic credit card and pushed his shopping cart towards the door.

The moment of truth, Yoh thought, is here...

A sidewalk cafe, closed for the holiday but offering a couple of unattended tables and seats, provided Anna with a place to sit and rest. She watched her breaths—short and hot—lengthen into wisps of cold vapor. Before her the streets were eerily deserted, and the storefronts were shuttered. Not a single set of footsteps were pressed into the thin layer of fresh snow. For all her dislike of Christmas, her surroundings were peaceful, and she could ignore all of the Merry Christmas banners and lights strung about. She couldn't ignore, though, the rough grating of heavy footsteps upon the downy snow. She looked up to see the intruder, and found him, along with a female companion. They looked to be high schoolers, and from their gestures and facial expressions, they also looked to be less than immersed in the holiday spirit. They rambled nearer, and Anna could now hear their heated conversation.

"I had to study for those final exams, and they wouldn't let me take any days off from my part-time job," the boy pleaded. "I told you, Tomoko, I'm really sorry I didn't have time to find you a present."

"And to think I went through all that trouble to get yours, Shunichi. Do you have any idea how bare the shelves get this time of year? And how long the lines get? You know, I had to study too, and somehow I managed to get you a gift. Wanna explain that one to me?"

"I...look," the boy said, now stopping to sit down on the table immediately opposite Anna's. He made no indication of noticing her; indeed, all of his attention was still focused on his girlfriend. "I screwed up, alright? I was almost failing history, and I got so wrapped up in cramming for the test I didn't notice how close it was getting to Christmas. I only got that job so I could pay for your gift, you know...But it's the thought that counts, right? Don't you agree?"

"Yes. I do." The girl's voice sent chills down Anna's spine. She even shivered, although it made her realize how obvious it was that she was eavesdropping. She averted her gaze and shifted her coat as the girlfriend continued. "But don't you agree that completely forgetting to actually get the present is pretty thoughtless?"

"I—I, but, I can still buy it tomorrow! Then you'll see how hard I've been working for your present—"

"You just don't get it, do you?" the girl seethed. Her tone of voice definitely put her ill at ease; it reminded her of...someone she knew very well... "I don't care if you give me a million yen tomorrow. Today is Christmas, and you got me nothing. If you're going to forget something as special as today, maybe it would be best if we stopped seeing each other."

The boy recoiled at this suggestion. Standing up, he rebutted, "But...can't you...my intentions were good!"

"Well," the girl spat, "you know what they say the road to hell is paved with."

They continued arguing as they proceeded past the sidewalk cafe and on down the snowy lane. Flakes of feathery snow continued to parachute between the buildings. Anna stood up and watched the couple shrink as they passed by all the festive storefronts and decorated trees. She couldn't stop thinking about the girl, even as she made her way through the city streets. She persisted in her memory, she knew, because of the similarities in their personalities. Indeed, which was colder, she wondered—the weather, or her demeanor.

"And Yoh wonders why I hate this season," Anna muttered as she sought refuge from the chill in the only open store she had seen so far.

"Huh," grunted the cashier, "you're lucky to find one of these in this weather."

Yoh nodded, wishing he could skip the pleasantries and just get the price.

"These things are so convenient, too," he continued, turning it over in his hands. The silver insert drifted lazily within the liquid, like a snowflake in a gentle updraft. "Everyone should have one."

"Mm, I hope I will have one soon too," Yoh agreed weakly, nervously fingering the coins in his pocket. When is he gonna pass it over the scanner?

"Well, I'm sure you have better things to do on Christmas Day than exchange small talk with a cashier," he laughed, finally ringing up Yoh's purchase. You couldn't be more right, he thought. The amount of his purchase blinked on the register display. Yoh felt his stomach knot when he read it; then, as if to shatter all hopes of the display being in error, the cashier spoke. "Twelve hundred and forty-six yen, please."

Oh, you're kidding...That's just mean, Yoh thought. I'm exactly one hundred yen short. Unless, he reasoned desperately, maybe I miscounted...

Yoh felt foolish dumping the contents of his pocket onto the countertop. He sorted the coins by denomination and counted them carefully, hoping a 100-yen coin had gone unnoticed. Eleven hundred and forty-six. Well, so much for that.

A dull silver coin, almost exactly the same size and color as the disc within Yoh's purchase, bounced off the countertop and landed squarely inside the pile.

"That's all the money I have on me. Talk about your Christmas miracles."

Yoh's head jerked to the speaker, although the voice could only belong to one young woman he knew. "Anna?!"

"You were expecting Mrs. Claus?"

"Honestly?" Yoh asked, flabbergasted. "Yes, I think seeing Santa's sleigh here would be more likely than seeing you out and about on Christmas. About a hundred times more likely, actually."

"Miracle number two," Anna replied as Yoh picked up his plastic shopping bag and left the cashier wondering about what exactly had just happened.

"Well, I don't know what in the world made you change your mind," Yoh said once they had exited the store, "but in any case, don't you want to see what I got for you?" He slid the plastic bag handle off his fingers and presented it to Anna.

Five slender and warm fingers stopped him.

"I appreciate it. I really do. Look, I'm really glad you thought of me this Christmas. That alone is more than I've ever done for you."

Yoh began to protest, but another set of fingers pressed themselves against his lips to shut him up. "So I'm sure whatever you got me is nice, and thoughtful, and all of that sentimental crap. But I don't care. Whatever's in this bag, I don't want it."

Yoh didn't know where Anna was going with her speech; it almost sounded to him as though she was opening up to him just a little—in other words, he was now in completely foreign territory. "Then," he managed to ask, "what do you want?"

"On the way here," she said, looking warmly into Yoh's mystified eyes, "I stumbled upon the answer. And no, I don't feel any differently about today. It does more harm than good, especially the presents. This 'spirit of Christmas' that everyone talks about should be within everyone year-round. On Christmas, or in the middle of June, what I want is exactly the same."

"Which is?"

"Oh, Yoh," she sighed, with a trace of that familiar impatience that reassured him that he was still dealing with his fiancee. "All I want for Christmas is you."

Yoh and Anna shared a long, meaningful glance that gradually turned into an embrace. Anna's closeness warmed Yoh, but he still shivered from the intimacy. What she had just said was a lot for him to take in, he thought, but he would deal with that later—in the here and now, only she, and the hug they shared, mattered.

"By the way," Anna said, her voice muffled by Yoh's jacket, "we're standing under mistletoe."

Yoh broke off his eye contact with Anna for just a second to check. "No we're not!"

"We're standing," Anna tried again, in a tone of voice that left no room for argument, "under goddamn mistletoe."

Yoh tried to correct her once more, but found it very difficult to speak with Anna's lips upon his. The mistletoe may have been imagined, but their kiss wasn't, and it only grew more intense the longer it lasted. He couldn't verbally point out the lack of mistletoe, but he was sure trying, or at least his tongue was moving as though he was speaking. Anna replied in similar fashion, and their tongues argued tenderly with each other in an extended debate...

"Just out of curiosity," Anna said breathlessly once they had concluded their kiss, "what did you get me?"

Yoh handed her the plastic bag. "A hand warmer! Oh, perfect!" She stopped raving abruptly, however, and gave Yoh a guilty look. Blushing, she asked, "Remember how I said not too long ago that I didn't want the present?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I lied."

"No, you were right. Screw the presents. You don't need that thing. I'll keep you warm tonight."

Smack!

"Owww!"

"You sicko!"

"What? Oh...no, no, no, not like that! I meant...come here."

Yoh pulled an arm out from his jacket, tossed it around Anna's slender waist, and kept it there with his hand.

"Ooh, this is warm," she said. She kissed his cheek where she had just slapped him. "Sorry about that."

"No problem. Although, you know, that shouldn't be totally out of the question tonight, right? I mean, you didn't get me anything, technically..."

"Hey, you already had your Christmas miracle."

"You know, all I want for Christmas is you, too, and I bet you would be lots of fun to, ahem, unwrap..."

"All right, that's enough, Yoh. Keep your wrapping paper—er, shirt—on. Anyway, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Anna."

"Good. Now let's get home before you make another innuendo. This thing has to end somewhere. Think of Kefra, the poor guy. It's Christmas morning and he has to write these stories that no one reads."

"Right. Well, here, have a look at this."

"What?"

"Is this a candy cane in my pants, or am I just happy to see—"

Merry Christmas!