It was Christmas night.
Asuna was at her grandparents' house in Kyoto, where she was going to spend the entire holiday season. Since arriving there she'd spent a lot of quality time with her grandparents, that she didn't get to see much during the year.
That Saturday night her two uncles and their own families had joined them, too, and together they'd enjoyed a special dinner to celebrate not only Christmas but also their family reunion.
After dinner they gathered in the living room: her grandma and her brother immediately started a shogi match, her father was chatting with her uncles and her grandpa, her mother and her two aunts were cleaning the kitchen and Asuna was sitting on the sofa with her cousins.
To tell the truth, she was feeling a little uncomfortable: her cousins were about her age and they all attended the same school, so they'd soon started talking about school stuff or their friends and Asuna didn't know how to fit in. She didn't even know them all that well since they rarely saw each other during the year. And so she fell silent, staring at the fireplace while the others' chats and laughters filled the room.
Soon her mind started drifting to Kirito and her friends, who were in their log cabin in New Aincrad at that exact moment. She looked at the clock: it was almost midnight, so she guessed they were about to wrap up their little in-game celebration. She sighed.
In that moment her mom entered the room with her aunts, holding a tray. "We made tea" she announced.
Everyone accepted a cup save for Asuna, her brother and her grandma, who were completely absorbed in their match. While her aunt filled the cups with tea, Asuna went back to watching the fireplace. She wondered about what her friends were doing: was Yui having fun? Were Eugeo and Alice spending some time alone? Her friend had called her that same day to inform her that she and Eugeo were going to tell everyone else that they were officially a couple that very night in the log cabin. She smiled at the thought. She really wanted to be there. She wanted to see her friends' reaction and…
"Asuna".
A voice abruptly shook her from her thoughts. Asuna looked up: she already knew who it was. Her mother was watching her from an armchair, a cup of tea in her hands. The tone of her voice had been so authoritative that everyone else in the room had stopped talking.
Asuna braced herself: she was sure her mother was about to scold her because she wasn't trying to make conversation with her cousins, because her mind was clearly somewhere else…
"You can go to your room if you're tired. I can see you're sleepy" her mother said, her voice loud and clear.
Asuna frowned, confused. She wasn't sleepy at all. But then why did her mom…?
Mrs. Yuuki was staring intently at her, the curve of her lips turned slightly upward in an almost imperceptible smile. It was then that Asuna understood. Her mother was secretly giving her permission to leave the family reunion and do what she wanted with the rest of her night. That meant…
"Y-you're right, I'm a bit tired". She got up from the sofa, feeling everyone's eyes on her. "I…I think I'm going to sleep. I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight" she stuttered.
Her relatives wished her a good night in return and she tried hard not to run while she left the living room and went upstairs. A smile lit up her face: she couldn't quite believe that her mother, of all people, had been the one to allow her to leave the family gathering, but she would think about it later. She was going to properly thank her tomorrow, that was sure.
When she reached the room she always occupied when she was in Kyoto, she opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. Not wanting to waste even a second, she went toward the bag on her desk, where she'd put the Amusphere. She'd been unsure whether to take it with her to Kyoto or not, cause she didn't think she'd use it, but now she was glad she'd stuffed it in that bag. She put the device on her head and quickly lay down on the bed.
She just hoped it wasn't too late.
The living room of the log cabin on the 22nd floor of New Aincrad, in Alfheim Online, was quite crowded that night. The official owners of the cabin were Kirito and Asuna, who had spent there two unforgettable weeks in the SAO days, but all their friends regularly gathered there whenever they weren't busy playing and that night was no exception. The group had planned to celebrate Christmas together in that very cabin, after having dinner with their own families. The only absent was Agil, since he'd obviously chosen to spend the holiday with his wife in the real world.
Everyone was enjoying their time in the cabin: Yuuki and Klein were playing cards on the huge wooden table; Silica, with the little dragon Pina perched atop her head, was gleefully chatting with Leafa about some idol group who was at the top of the charts; Kirito was on the sofa with Yui leaning against his chest in her child avatar, and he was gently stroking the little girl's black hair; on the sofa opposite to him were seated Eugeo, Alice, Sinon and Liz.
Earlier that night, as soon as everyone had logged in, Alice and Eugeo had announced they were a couple. Obviously Kirito already knew, since his friend had told him before anyone else, but even the others hadn't seemed particularly surprised by the news; he imagined they'd somehow already noticed that Eugeo and Alice felt something for each other: Eugeo, in particular, was so easy to read, no matter how hard he tried to hide his feelings. The only ones who'd seemed genuinely baffled were Klein and Silica.
Ever since they shared the news, Liz hadn't left them alone: even now, she was sitting between them on the sofa asking them the details of their new relationship, while Sinon was trying her best to hold her off. Every now and then, Eugeo threw suffering glances at Kirito and he answered with amused smirks. He really didn't want to be in his shoes.
Save for Eugeo's pain, the atmosphere in the room was chilled and relaxed. The whole cabin was decorated with fairy lights, wreaths and hollies; there was even a Christmas tree. Of course, they didn't really have to decorate the tree: Asuna had simply bought it in one of the NPC shops that had appeared with the Christmas update of the game and the tree had simply popped up as an item in her inventory. Nevertheless, it was really pretty and, most of all, its presence allowed Yui to feel the holiday mood, since she couldn't do that in the real world.
The little girl, who was tenderly leaning against her father's chest, was really enjoying that festive night. But something was bugging her.
"I wish Mama was here" she suddenly confessed to the boy.
Kirito's heart tightened at the sadness in her voice. "Me too". He hadn't admitted it to anyone, but he'd really hoped his girlfriend would show up at some point and join them; as the minutes ticked away, though, he'd realized that wouldn't happen and had resigned himself. Moreover, their little celebration was about to come to a close.
As if she'd read Kirito's mind, Silica got up from her chair. "I think I'm gonna log out now. I don't wanna go to bed too late".
Sinon joined her. "Yeah, I think I'll go, too".
Yuuki and Klein raised their eyes from their cards to see them off. "Okay. Goodnight, girls" said Klein, waving his hand.
"Goodn…"
Sinon stopped her greeting abruptly, her hand hanging mid-air.
A bluish light lit up the space between the two sofas and a silhouette appeared at its center; as the seconds went by, the shadowy figure revealed itself to be an ALO avatar. It was, without a doubt, the event that signaled the log-in of a player. Kirito struggled to keep his hope at bay: it could very well be Agil, after all…
The light effect disappeared, revealing a female player in a Undine avatar. Her blue hair and blue eyes didn't leave room for doubts: it was really her.
"Oh, thank goodness you're still here!" Asuna exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"Mama!" cried Yui, then she went and gave her a big hug.
Yuuki abandoned her cards on the table and ran to hug her, too. All of her friends stopped what they were doing and stared at Asuna in disbelief.
"I can't believe you're here!" Yuuki said happily.
"But how did you make it?" asked Liz incredulously. "I thought your parents were very strict about your family gatherings".
"To be honest, I'm just as surprised as you" Asuna confessed.
"Anyway, the only thing that matters is that she's here" Kirito stated quietly, smiling at his lover.
The sweet look in his eyes was enough to melt Asuna's heart and she beamed.
Suddenly, a movement outside the windows caught the girl's attention and Asuna moved her eyes away from her boyfriend to see: it was something white and it seemed to fall directly from the sky. It looked like…
"Guys, it's…it's snowing!" Asuna exclaimed.
"What? Seriously?" Leafa ran excitedly toward the window, immediately followed by Yui.
"It's really snow!" the little girl happily cried out.
"It must be some sort of special event featured in the Christmas update of the game" reasoned Kirito, who was nowhere near as excited as his friends.
"Oh! Now that you mention it, I think I've read about it online" confirmed Alice.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go outside!" cried Silica. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was about to log out just a few minutes before. The same could be said about Sinon.
The others nodded in agreement and materialized their coats from their inventories: the temperature outside was almost the same as that in the real world, given it was supposedly Christmas in ALO as well.
Silica, Leafa, Liz and Yui didn't waste time: they ran toward the spacious yard and started a snowball fight. On the other hand, Yuuki, Klein and Sinon started building a snowman.
Kirito and Asuna lingered on the wooden deck and watched their friends with a smile. Asuna burst out laughing when Klein produced a bandana from his inventory and wrapped it around the snowman's head, making it look like him. Then her eyes furtively moved toward the other side of the deck, where Alice and Eugeo stood, completely absorbed in each other; Eugeo's left arm was draped around Alice's shoulders and the girl's cheeks were red for a reason that had nothing to do with the cold.
"It seems those two have their lovebirds mode on" noted Asuna.
Kirito chuckled, following her gaze. "Actually, this is the first moment they get to spend alone since the beginning of the night".
"Let me guess" Asuna rolled her eyes. "Liz?".
Kirito's laugh confirmed her theory. "I don't know who was suffering more, between Eugeo and Alice".
Asuna shook her head. "I wish I could have come earlier. Maybe I could have done something to avoid it".
Kirito's amused smile slightly faded at her words. He put an arm around her waist and squeezed it, then whispered in her ear: "I'm so, so happy you're here".
Asuna's heart jumped in her chest. Unsurprisingly, Kirito had waited until they were alone to tell how he really felt: when she'd appeared in the living room earlier, he hadn't hugged her like Yui and Yuuki, hadn't shown a surprised reaction like Liz. But Asuna had never expected that from him. She knew that Kirito didn't feel comfortable showing his feelings in public and that he saved his sweetest and most vulnerable side for when they were alone. And Asuna wouldn't have changed it for anything. She treasured their private moments like the most invaluable thing in the world.
And she certainly didn't expect what came next.
Kirito looked her in the eyes, his expression suddenly serious: every trace of amusement was gone from his face.
"I love you" he whispered.
Asuna's heart melted for good at his words. Never, not even for a second, she'd felt not loved by him, but hearing him say it was definitely something else. She was sure she was the happiest girl in Alfheim in that moment. Possibly in the whole world.
She opened her mouth to reply, to tell him she loved him, too, but she didn't get the chance to do so.
A snowball flew directly toward Kirito, hitting him right in the face. The boy touched the spot where he'd been hit, but after a few seconds the snowball burst in a thousand particles and vanished. He didn't even feel the impact thanks to the pain-absorber of the game, but there was genuine surprise on his face.
"I'm sorry, Papa! My aim isn't very good!".
Kirito and Asuna turned toward Yui, who was waving her hand in their direction. She didn't look sorry at all.
Asuna burst out laughing and, after a few seconds, a huge smile spread on Kirito's face as well.
"Oh, really! Let's see how good my aim is, then!". He rushed from the deck and grabbed a handful of snow, throwing it at the little girl. Asuna joined the battle, too, and she hit Yuuki, who was still busy building the snowman.
Just like that, the log cabin's yard became a battlefield. Only Eugeo and Alice were still on the deck, apparently oblivious to everything happening around them. And so Kirito decided to throw a big snowball right at his best friend. Both Eugeo and Alice jumped in surprise; Kirito smirked, not feeling guilty at all.
Eugeo moved his arm away from Alice's shoulder and pointed a finger at Kirito. "This is war!". Then he ran toward the battlefield, ready to take his revenge. Alice shook her head with an amused smile on her lips.
And so the screams and laughs of Alfheim's most famous group of friends echoed through the 22nd floor. They lost track of time, simply happy to enjoy each other's company.
What a wonderful Christmas they had.
Hi, it's Emma! I really hope you enjoyed this little Christmas story. It's really nothing special (I actually hesitated a lot before publishing), but I had a lot of fun writing it!
I also wanted to point out that English is not my first language, so I apologize for any error you might have found throughout the story.
Let me know what you think!
Emma
