Sword Art Online
After The Incident
Christmas Special – Our First Christmas
~Kazuto's POV~
I smiled a bit as I walked through the whitely adorned park. It was December 23rd, and I was going to go get my girlfriend a present for Christmas. I had already bought for everyone else, so now I just needed hers. I wanted to save her for last, so I had all the time in the world to make my choice.
I looked up at the grey December sky. It had been snowing last night. I had more or less prayed for a white Christmas this year, since that would only make our first Christmas together all the more magical. I smiled a bit as I walked by shop after shop, clerks standing outside, trying to attract customers.
I had one shop in sight though. It was one she herself had told me she loved to visit from time to time. She had especially commented on the interior, and how well you were treated as a customer. Though knowing her shopping habits, it would be expensive as all hell.
I chuckled softly to myself, and looked up at the sky again with a small smile.
It had begun to snow again. Big white drops of snow floated gently down onto the buzzling street, making several men and women pull up in their coats and scarfs to make sure that they stayed warm. I smiled a bit as I looked up, a gentle snowflake landing onto my nose as I admired the beauty of gentle winter. Though of course it couldn't compete with the beauty of the woman who I was now out to buy a gift for.
I smiled a bit as I finally saw the small shop a bit further down the street. It was a cute little shop for such a rich and fruitful part of town, but then again, maybe it was part of the shop's charm?
It was a simple-looking building from the outside, being a simply white building with tall bright windows in the front, showing off the wonderful, and probably expensive, jewelry that they had for sale at the current time. Just from outside I could see many wonderful candidates for a good Christmas present, though I still wanted that one that could tell her how much I loved her.
I needed something unique. Something she would love no matter what. Something that could remind her of all the good times we had had together. I smiled a bit as I stepped through the doors to the store. I was a bit surprised as I was immediately greeted by a young girl with long brown hair and glasses, standing there in a Santa Claus outfit and a bright smile on her lips.
"Welcome to Bijoux Parfait" She said with a small smile "Please take your time, mister. I'll be right there if you need anything"
"Wow, Asuna wasn't kidding when she said the customer service is great here" I mumbled in wonder.
"That's right, we take great pride in our customer service here" She said with a bright smile "What are you looking for sir?"
"Well, I was looking for a Christmas present for my girlfriend" I mumbled silently with a slight blush on my cheeks "We're celebrating our first Christmas this year, so I wanted to get her something special"
"I'm sure she's lovely" the girl said with a bright smile "How old is she? I there anything particular she likes?"
"Well, I was wondering," I mumbled as I looked down my wallet "can you have customary jewelry made here?"
"Yes, you can. Though that costs a little extra" She mumble as she thought about it.
"Well, then I have a thought" I mumbled "I have this drawing I have made these last few days. Could you take a look at it?"
She smiled and nodded as I began pulling out my drawing from my pocket, and showed it to her. I had drawn it the best I could, and I hoped she could tell that it was supposed to look like an open treasure chest, with a pink heart inside it.
She smiled softly as she took my drawing from my hands and looked at it briefly.
"This is very cute" She said with a bright smile "This can be arranged. We can even have a gem in the lid of the chest if you want?"
"How much is it going to cost to make a bracelet with that?" I asked softly.
"About 50000 Yen"
My jaw hit the floor at that insane prize.
"50000!? Are you out of your mind!?"
"No, I'm afraid not" She mumbled with an apologizing expression "Jewelry is very expensive lately. The fact that you want a customized piece of jewelry, and the gem only adds to the prize"
"What if I remove the gem from the list?" I mumbled, wondering if my wallet could take this much "How much would it cost then?"
"Then already the prize would drop to almost 50000 Yen" She said with a smile "Though, I think it's worth seeing your girlfriend's surprised and happy expression"
"Yeah I guess you're right"
That was true. Nothing could compare to her smile. I thought about her expression as she would open the gift box. Her face would light up, first in confusion and surprise, then in pure happiness. She would begin questioning how the hell I managed to afford this kind of stuff. Though I was lucky enough to have a free time job.
I smiled a bit at the thought and looked up at the clerk with a sigh.
"I think you've managed to convince me" I mumbled softly "Do you have a gift wrapping service?"
"Yes sir, though that is a free service" She said with a bow and a smile "I will be borrowing the drawing so our crafter has something to work with. You can expect it to be done tomorrow afternoon"
"That soon? That's perfect!" I said with a smile "Do I pay now, or…?"
"No, no! That's not necessary" She said with a smile "you can pay when you get your jewelry tomorrow"
"Good, then goodbye for now" I said with a smile as I walked back out of the store.
"There, Asuna" I said as I looked up at the sky for the third time that day "Your gift is in place. Hope you'll love it"
I began looking back down the street the same way I came, smiling silently to myself the rest of the way home.
~The next afternoon~
I smiled a bit as I stepped through the door to my house, the smell of roasting meat in the oven hitting my nose as soon as I stepped inside. The fact that the food was in good hands with Asuna and my aunt, only made me all the more sure that it would become a magical evening.
Asuna was the first to greet me by the door, quickly pulling her oven gloves off of her hands before jumping into my arms with a delighted giggle. She threw her arms around my neck and pecked quickly on my lips as she smiled at me.
"Welcome home sweety" She whispered sweetly as she nuzzled her nose against mine "And merry Christmas"
I chuckled softly and kissed her back, trying to hide the small bag with the gift for her behind her back.
"Thank you honey" I smiled a little and kissed her again before putting her back down on the floor "when we move together, is this how I'm going to get greeted every day?"
"Maybe, if you're lucky" She said with a giggle "What's in the bag?"
"That doesn't concern you. Yet" I said with a smile as I put it back into my coat pocket "Wait till tonight missy"
"Aww, but I want to see what you bought for me!" She mumbled with a pout "Meh, I guess I can wait till tonight. Just remember to keep an eye on that gift"
"Of course, I can't risk you peeking" I said with a smile "How are you doing with the food?"
"Good, the duck is in the oven right now" She said with a smile as I kicked my shoes off my feet "you can help with the rest if you want!"
"Well, you do know that I'm horrible in a kitchen" I said with a chuckle "I needed your help with that Ragout Rabbit for a reason"
"Come on, it's not like you're going to burn down the house" She said as she dragged me off towards the kitchen "you do know how to cut salad right?"
"I guess I can do that" I mumbled as she put me in the right place "Though normally that's Suguha's job"
Suguha was standing in the opposite end of the kitchen, throwing a glare after me.
"Shut up Kazuto!" she mumbled with a pout as she stirred around a soup "I do know how to cook meat"
"Then why did I have to live with salad the past three years!?"
"Because it's healthy. Now concentrate on your salad"
"I'm so tired of salad…" I mumbled melodramatically as I cut tomatoes and everything.
Soon we were finished with the last bits of food and we put everything that needed to be heated in the oven to get the last bit of heat, and everything else was put in the fridge. I smiled a bit and clapped my hands together in success.
"Done" I said with a smile "What's next?"
"Well, I need to go home and get prepared for tonight" Asuna said with a wide smile "Our families are celebrating together remember?"
"How could I ever forget?" I said with a smile as I lead her to the front door.
That's right. Tonight, Asuna, her parents and her brother, would come over to celebrate Christmas with my aunt, sister and myself. I saw it as a chance to bond a bit more with her family, especially her brother, who I hadn't interacted with much in the past.
I smiled a bit and wrapped her white coat around her body and she smiled as she turned around to look at me.
"Why thanks sir" She said with an overdramatic voice, and a giggle.
"No thank you for visiting madam" I said with a smirk and a bow, like I was a waiter. "See you tonight alright?"
"See you" She whispered and planted a kiss on my lips before running out the door.
I smiled and watched her walk down the street a moment before closing the door and walking back inside, the bit of a cold wind following me inside for a moment before getting engulfed by the intense fire of the fireplace in the living room.
I smiled a bit and jumped upstairs three steps at a time, and straight into my room. Just as any other time, I was hassling to put on a good outfit for these kinds of occasions. I would always get stuck on the most stupid things, like which tie to wear or if I was supposed to bring a jacket. Though this time I managed to put together an outfit relatively quick.
I smiled a bit and dashed towards the bathroom, quickly stripping down and getting a quick bath. I rinsed myself down and put soap in my hair, before rinsing that out as well and quickly exiting the shower. I jumped into the nice outfit I had chosen, and smiled a bit as I looked at my mirror.
I didn't know if it was too casual. I had just chosen a long set of dark jeans and a white t-shirt, along with my black hoodie.
"Is it too casual?" I turned my head at my reflection to look at every angle "Nah, it's fine. I want to be casual and cool in my own home"
I sighed silently and put my phone on my desk as I sat down at my computer and began running through a couple of emails. When that was done, and the usual spam was taken care of, I went back downstairs.
I smiled a bit at the two others. They smiled back at me as they began setting the table for tonight.
"You look good Kazuto" Suguha said with a smile "Asuna will be happy to know you can act casual with her family"
"Yeah, I know" I mumbled silently "I thought if I dressed up too nicely I would only get tense and nervous when they finally got here"
"Good thinking sweety" My aunt walked over and planted a kiss on my forehead "Don't be nervous. It's going to be great"
"Thanks mom" I whispered appreciatively as I closed my eyes.
"I hope so"
~Later that evening~
I smiled a bit and looked up from my phone as I heard the doorbell. I smiled a bit as I more or less sprinted out to the front door, before opening up.
"Welcome" I said with a smile as I saw Asuna and her family on the other side, wanting to be polite.
"Hey hun" She said softly as she stepped up and kissed me deeply.
I blushed a little as she kissed me right in front of her parents, but smiled and kissed her back.
"Woah Asuna, calm down" Her older brother said with a teasing voice "Wait with all that till later alright?"
"Shut up" She mumbled as they all stepped inside, her parents and brother each shaking my hand.
"Good to see you again my boy" Asuna's dad gave me a hearty laugh and a strong handshake.
"You too sir" I said with a smile "Come on in guys. The food is ready for you"
"Such service here" Asuna's mother said with a teasing smile "I know it's good since Asuna has been helping"
"Mom…" Asuna mumbled with an embarrassed blush.
"you don't even know" I said with a chuckle as I led everyone into the kitchen.
The dinner went by relatively peacefully. I couple of jokes was made, and hearty laughter and the clatter of kitchen ware soon filed through the room, the fireplace in the far end of the room silently crackling the time away. Soon, every last bread crumb had been eaten, and everyone had satisfied expressions on their faces.
We all soon moved to the living room, the Christmas tree we had brought in a couple of days ago shining brightly with its Christmas balls and bulb strings delightfully shining, giving the room a nice and cozy feeling.
When the night began drawing to a close, and the most of the presents had been opened, there was only the last two presents. One from me to Asuna, and one the other way around. I smiled a bit and slowly pulled the present for me closer to me, and looked over at Asuna as she did the same thing.
"Should we go somewhere private?" I whispered softly as I leaned over against her "might make this moment more, magical, I guess?"
She nodded softly and blushed a little as she stared at the small gift wrapped box between her hands.
"Yeah, sounds good"
I took her hand and lead her out to the backyard and terrace, smiling a bit as we leaned against the railing and stared up at the sky, which was now filled with millions and millions of stars.
I looked over at Asuna with a small smile. I saw her shivering a little bit, so I pulled her closer by her shoulders and wrapped my arm around her tightly.
"Come on Kazuto, open your gift!" she said with a soft smile.
I looked over the present curiously. It was a rather big package actually, all wrapped up in a neat little bow. I soon had it opened and widened my eyes as I saw what was inside.
It was a perfect replica of the Dark Repulser, perfect with hilt and everything. It was meant to be put up on the wall as a decoration, or as a realistic piece of cosplay.
H-How did you get this?!" I mumbled as I stared at her in shock.
"Well, I know a friend" She said with a smile "Andrew knows somebody who makes merch likes this, so he helped me"
"You're such a treasure!" I yelled in excitement as I kissed her deeply "Thank you so much! This is amazing!"
"I'm happy you liked it" She said with a smile "Now, it's my turn!"
I smiled a little as I watched her open her present. Just as I had predicted, her face lit up almost like the northern star.
"Woah Kazuto…" She smiled widely as she saw the cute metal and silver bracelet on the bottom of the box "it's so beautiful… How did you get it?"
"Remember that little jewelry shop you've been talking about?" I asked a bit as she snuggled closer to me for warmth.
"You bought it there!?" She asked in surprise "That place is crazy expensive!"
"Well, no prize is as high as the prize of your smile" I said softly as I kissed her cheek "If I have to be expensice to make you smile, then so be it"
"You're such a charmer" She mumbled silently.
I chuckled softly and turned my body towards her, and she let me wrap my arms around her waist. The light from inside the house softly illuminating the terrace and us. I smiled a bit as I moved some hair off of Asuna's face, and she gently pushed her face towards my hand.
"This evening has been amazing" I mumbled silently as we drew closer.
"Yeah, it has"
"Want to know how to complete it?"
"I think I already have a pretty good idea"
She smiled a bit and pulled gently at the hood of my jacket. I smiled and leaned towards her, gently kissing her lips as we let the snow fall over us. The mood, the evening, this whole Christmas had been perfect. And I hoped that every Christmas from now on would be just as wonderful.
A/N
Hey guys! And merry Christmas!
Hope you guys will have a fantastic Christmas, Hanuca, and what else it's called. Honestly I don't know.
Anyway, happy holidays, and may you have a fantastic 24th of December.