Summary: What better way to spend to Christmas than with the one who you love? Right?!

[ A Free! Christmas ]

It was December 22nd when it happened: that was the day when Rei received that fateful text.

The school semester had just ended for winter break two days ago and the only plans that he had set in stone were studying and possibly visiting a shrine on New Years Day.

December 20th was the final day of the semester and even with Christmas right around the corner, the studious young man had no intention of partaking in the spirit of the holiday. Rei and his friends were well into the age where they normally would try to find a date for Christmas, but with their dedication to swim practice (and for him and Makoto, studying), there left no room for romantic encounters.

And besides that… As much as he would never acknowledge it, there was a girl who he had his eyes on—the madonna of Itwatobi Swim Team: Higurashi Kagome. But there were too many complications involved with trying to pursue her romantically. It took three painful, confusing months for him to figure out why his heart was always sporadic around the girl. But after an afternoon of binge-reading reference books in the local library, he finally figured out that he was infatuated with Kagome.

After that, it did not take long for Rei to realize that his first crush also caught the eye of his fellow team members. From the way that Haruka silently watched her from the corner of his eye, to Makoto's tendency to turn bright-red when she smiled up at him, to how Nagisa was brazenly touchy and openly flirted with Kagome: they all showed their own signs of infatuation.

When he realized this months ago, Rei decided that it was best to not tear a rift in their group by trying to pursue Kagome. Not only would it put her on the spot, but she was simply out of his league. Rei could come up with a mountain of reasons about why he shouldn't (knowingly) act on his feelings…

But imagine his surprise when Kagome suddenly began showing signs of returning his feelings. Just before she went her own way home, the girl grabbed hold of his hands and intertwined their fingers. She beamed up at him, unaware of how his heart skipped a beat, "Rei-kun, I'm going to text you over break, okay~? Be on the look out~!"

"Y-Yeah…" was all that he could manage, but it was accompanied by a slow nod.

Rei would never admit that he kept his phone completely charged and within earshot ever since he got home that evening. That night, all of December 21st,. and all morning on December 22nd was spent anxiously looking between his notes and his phone. His face was fixed into a nervous wreck as he anxiously waited for his cell to light up, ring, and vibrate.

Despite his building anticipation, Rei almost managed to jump out of his skin when his phone suddenly buzzed and clacked against his desk that afternoon. His hands were shaky and clumsy as he picked up the device, having to scramble to catch it mid-air a few times after he accidentally lost his grip. 'Get a hold of yourself!' He scowled at himself as he unlocked the screen. 'It's not like Kagome's never texted you before!'

Even his inner scoldings did not prepare him for the contents of Kagome's text.

Rei's jaw dropped in disbelief and his cheeks instantly went bright red.

He had to re-read it a few times to make sure that his brain was not playing tricks on him.

"How's it going? Sorry for sending this text so late, I wanted to make sure everything was in place before I invited you! But hey, if you don't have any plans, how about you come and spend Christmas at my place?"

She was even cute enough to decorate the text with a beautifully rendered strawberry short-cake emoji and an animated heart.

For about an hour, Rei did not respond. He was too busy pacing his room with his arms crossed. He was torn on how to proceed with the situation. The girl who he was crushing on liked him enough to invite him to a Christmas date at her house! That was any young man's dream scenario for Christmas!

But then, if he went on this date, Kagome would know that he returned her feelings. And the pieces would fall naturally in place, they'd start dating and—. Rei grunted and ran his hand through his hair. 'What should I do…?!' He gulped at his next thought. 'If I turn her down, she'll be broken-hearted, thinking that her feelings are unrequited…!'

No.

He had to stop stalling.

Kagome was waiting for an answer!

Just as Rei was about to make up his mind, his phone buzzed on his desk again. Within two small strides, he picked it and read the new text. This one was from Nagisa.

["Rei-chan! I wanted to host an Iwatobi Christmas Party with everyone but everyone is busy, even me now! Hope you won't be too lonely on Christmas!"]

Kagome's two emojis were endearing.

But Nagisa's text was overrun with animated emojis...still, it made Rei smile.

He promptly returned Nagisa's message, informing him that he would be fine because he had plans too.

Of course, Nagisa responded with god-like speed, teasingly asking if he had a date with a textbook.

If only he knew half of it…

...finally, it was 3:55 P.M. on Christmas day and it was nearing the time that Kagome told him to come to her place. Prior to his departure from his own home, Rei blew several hours on preparing for his date. He absolutely had to make sure everything was perfect. Not a wrinkle on his cobalt-blue suit, not a smudge on his glasses, and not a hair out of place! If he was only going to date a goddess, he too had to be the picture of perfection!

Rei swallowed a lump in his throat.

He had been standing around the corner from Kagome's block for a while now.

Kagome told him to drop by at 4:00 P.M.

So he still had plenty of time! Right?!

His trembling hand unconsciously gripped his bouquet of red roses harder than necessary…

Anxiety quickly set in and the teen reached into his pants pocket.

He pulled out a set of notecards that he hole-punched and bound together.

He raised the packet to his face and read aloud the words in front of him.

"K-K-Kagome-chan…" He had no clue how unstable his voice was. "Y-Y-You look l-l-lovely…a-as always..."

'Right.' He heaved a sigh and tucked the cards away.

Rei was sure that as long as he could remember the first statement, he would be able to recall the rest of his carefully researched and rehearsed lines. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist and grunted. With a determined look on his face, he rounded the corner and stepped onto Kagome's block—.

"Ah! Rei-chan's here too!" Nagisa chirped happily. The bubbly blond raised his arm and waved at his friend excitedly, "Yahoo, Rei-chan! We're right over here!"

Rei almost tripped over his own feet. Almost.

Within seconds, Rei was standing at a congregation of the rest of Iwatobi's Swim boys. "W-What are you guys doing here?!" He asked in a panicked voice.

Makoto blushed while scratching the back of his head. Rei noted how the brunette was wearing a nice green, dress shirt, a matching striped tie, and black slacks. "E-Eheh," He chuckled sheepishly. "We actually just got here and was trying to figure that out ourselves."

Unlike Rei and Makoto, both Haruka and Nagisa were dressed casually: Haruka in a blue dolphin hoodie and jeans and Nagisa in a pink parka with beige pants. But Rei noted the brooding expression on Haruka's face; he was almost pouting.

Nagisa beamed brilliantly as he innocently asked with a raised finger, "Are you guys here to cheer on my Christmas romance with Kago-chan?!"

Makoto's embarrassed smile faltered. Haruka's eyes narrowed. And Rei twitched.

"Y-Your Christmas romance with Kagome-chan…?" Rei asked, almost indignantly. "S-She texted me!" He announced, red-cheeked while slapping his hand against his chest for emphasis.

"No, me," Haruka countered with a displeased scowl.

Nagisa then pouted, catching onto Haruka's silent agitation. "Haru-chan, you've been hogging Kago-chan forever! Let me have my chance with her!"

"Ahhhh," Makoto's gave his friends a good-natured smile. "Looks like there's been some sort of misunderstanding…" He surmised.

That was when Kagome's front door opened, revealing Kagome and Gou wearing matching Santa-themed dresses and knee-high stockings. "Oh, there you are!" The raven-haired girl called. "If you were here already, why didn't you ring the bell or text me?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Only Gou picked up on how the boys' mouths all fell open at the sight of Kagome's attire that was probably sexier than she intended. She snickered, wondering how they could be stunned by a dress when they saw Kagome in a lot less countless times. "Well, come on!" Gou coaxed them when it became apparent that they were frozen on the spot. "You're letting the heat out!"

Authoress' Notes: Welp, this was 100% not romantic. But, it be like that sometimes.