Weak winter sunlight streaming in through the window fell across Riku's face and the teen frowned in his sleep, twisting in an attempt to escape. Disgruntled sounds escaped him but the dorm room was so crowded that there really wasn't anywhere for him to go. The chunk of sun was too big to roll away from, so the silver-haired athlete sat up and stretched until his joints popped. Sleeping on the floor really wasn't as much fun as the sleepovers in movies made it seem. Well, they'd had enough blankets and pillows that it hadn't been too bad, but it wasn't exactly comparable to an actual mattress.

Relaxing again, he looked around the dorm to see if anyone else had woken yet. It didn't seem like it, and the only sound was that of several people breathing slow and deep. Carefully, the sophomore stood and abandoned his blankets. He picked his way across the room, tiptoeing between the bodies of his slumbering friends, towards the bunk beds and stood by the ladder. Sora was fast asleep, his mouth hanging open and his arms wrapped around his pillow; one of his legs had kicked off the blankets.

Stupid kid.

But he was sort of cute when he was asleep. Riku wished he hadn't bit the brunet, wished things were still as easy as they'd been a week ago. Even though they'd talked and joked almost like normal last night during the celebrations, it hadn't been quite the same. Sora had still been a little more hesitant than Riku was used to, and the older boy didn't like it.

Would they have shared his bed last night, if he hadn't messed up that badly? Would they be cuddling right now, the way they had the night Riku was supposed to act as Sora's slave? He kind wished they would. It'd been nice and watching Sora hold onto his pillow like that made him really wish the brunet was holding onto him like that.

Sap.

Yeah, so what? I like him.

If only he could actually do something about it without screwing himself up.

Sighing quietly, Riku turned and surveyed the dorm room. The lights on the tree glowed softly in the dim room, reflecting off the wrapping paper of the presents that were piled around it—there were way too many for such a small tree, but that hadn't stopped any of them. Blankets and pillows covered the floor, occupied by the sleeping forms of Kairi, Namine, and Demyx. An abandoned pillows marked where Riku had slept, and an empty space betrayed that Axel hadn't slept in his spot. The lucky bastard had been up in Roxas' bunk, flirting with the blond, when they'd all started to fall asleep, and the two had ended up sharing the bed. If he bothered to climb the ladder and check, Riku was sure he'd have found them cuddling in their sleep.

Lucky bastards.

They might have gotten off to a rough start, but at least they were working things out. Riku had just screwed himself over again and again right from the beginning.

What time was it, even? Almost ten? Huh. He really thought he'd have slept in a lot later than this, considering how late they'd all stayed up. Four hours of sleep really wasn't enough, but he didn't feel tired, just stiff from the floor.

It's Christmas morning.

Yeah, but they'd all made a toast at midnight to celebrate. They hadn't opened presents—Sora had wanted to but Roxas was adamant about waiting—so instead the sparkling grape juice Demyx had supplied was poured into plastic cups and toasted with, and they'd snacked and talked and partied until the small hours of the morning. Things had quieted down around three, and after that they'd just shifted around the room chatting until everyone eventually fell asleep. And now…

Now he was just waiting for them all to wake up so they could open presents. What should he do until then? Hmmm there was the twins' gaming system but he couldn't do anything that would make too much noise, and that would definitely wake them all. Movies would, too. Maybe he could go to his room and get his laptop or something, but he didn't want to seem antisocial when the others woke up, and he was starting to feel more and more tired the longer he stood there. The sun had woken him and now that it wasn't in his eyes anymore, the lack of sleep was catching up. But he really didn't think he'd sleep very well if he went back to his spot on the floor.

Slowly, teal eyes moved back to Sora's sleeping form. Man, the kid really looked stupid like that, one leg sticking out and everything.

Riku let a fond, crooked smile find its way onto his face as he gently tugged the blankets back into place to cover the younger boy's leg. To his surprise, Sora shifted and mumbled, and he froze in the hopes that he hadn't actually woken the brunet.

"Mn….jerk…" Turning onto his back, Sora kept the pillow he'd been hugging to his chest and worked his jaw as if his mouth had dried out, which it probably had.

Heh, even in his sleep, he knew Riku was the one to mess with him.

"Whatcha dreamin' about, Brat?" the older boy whispered, crouching by the bed so his face was just about level with the brunet's.

"Riku."

His name came out on a sleepy sigh and he couldn't deny that it was pretty nice to hear. But wait—Sora was dreaming about him?

"What about me? Huh?"

"…stupid…"

Of course.

"Well, you're no bag of brains, either."

Sora merely hummed in response to that, so Riku decided he'd messed with the younger boy's sleeping brain enough for one morning. That meant he was still let without something to do until they all woke up.

Losers. How come I'm the only one who got a face-full of sun?

Disgruntled by his misfortune, Riku crossed the room to the window that was letting in the offensive sun and closed the blinds, blocking out the light. Why no one had thought to do that the night before, he didn't know, and he really didn't care. His eyelids felt heavy and his neck was starting to have trouble with holding up his head.

It was harder to make his way back to his sleeping spot now that it was darker, but he managed it without kicking or stepping on anyone, and a minute later was curled up under his blankets and fast asleep once more.

X

"Everybody wake up! It's Christmas!" Eyes bright and mouth split in a wide grin, Sora yanked on the string of his blinds so that they flew open, flooding the room with bright sunlight. Pained groans sounded from behind him, along with mutters and a few not-quite-quiet curses.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Riku demanded, still not feeling rested despite having gone back to sleep.

"Nothing! It's Christmas! Everything's great!"

"Sora!" Roxas shouted at his twin from the top bunk, chucking a pillow at the brunet before rolling over and snuggling back into his blankets. He didn't realize that he'd also snuggled into Axel, but the senior certainly didn't mind. Meanwhile, Sora caught the pillow and threw it at Riku, nailing the silver-haired athlete in the face.

"Ow! Hey!" With vengeance in mind, Riku scrambled to his feet and bounded across the room as Sora half-crouched defensively. It didn't do him any good, though, because a moment later Riku had him in a headlock and was thoroughly mussing the spikes that made up his hair whilst the rest of the students watched in half-asleep amusement.

Struggling vainly, Sora shouted at the older boy. "Okay, okay! Stop!"

"Too bad we don't have any mistletoe," Axel murmured, and Roxas nodded without lifting his head.

"They'd just fight about who should make the first move." His comment received a chuckle from the older boy.

"True."

Below, Kairi sat up in her spot on the floor and ran a hand through her hair, her eyes squinted against the light Sora had unleashed into the room. "Riku."

He looked at her first to see exactly what she wanted, then grinned and released the boy in his hold. Panting and red-faced, Sora straightened and shoved the older boy, though not hard enough to do anything but shift Riku's shoulder.

"Jerk."

"Brat."

That exchange was going to become annoying soon if they kept it up much longer.

"Whatever. Presents! Everybody up! Merry Christmas! Present time!" His cheerful mood not damaged in the slightest by his confrontation with Riku, Sora began picking up presents from around their little tree and passing them out to whomever they'd been addressed.

"Demyx, don't you have to web-chat with Zexion for this?" Namine asked, gently touching the still-dozing junior's shoulder.

"Hm…?" The mulletted blond lifted his head and stared at her as comprehension came into his express. "Oh, yeah." Slowly, Demyx sat up and pushed his blankets off so he could pull his laptop out of his bag and into his lap. While he was busy with that, Sora continued to pass out gifts and Roxas and Axel made their way down from the top bunk to settle on Sora's abandoned bed.

"That's all the presents," Sora announced, choosing a spot on the floor next to Riku, as the older athlete had already resumed his place among the blankets.

Demyx clicked a few keys on his laptop then grinned. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning," Zexion's sleep-heavy voice sounded from the laptop, and Demyx gave a thumbs up.

"We're ready."

"Okay, everybody go!"

Immediately, the sound of ripping paper filled the room. Wrapping paper was crumpled into balls and tossed, sometimes hitting other students or bouncing harmlessly off the floor or walls, only to be picked up and thrown again. Exclamations of surprise or happiness were barely audible over the general noise, the dorm room falling silent after several long minutes of this.

Roxas pushed a pile of wrapping and tissue paper off the bed and onto the floor, letting the brightly colored paper scatter. "Are we announcing what we got from who?"

A grin spread over Sora's face. "Sure! I got a sweet leather jacket from Rox, the fanciest headphones I've ever seen from Kairi, and Riku got me a Zune!" The brunet beamed at the three friends who'd taken the time to get him something. "It's perfect cause now I don't have to buy an iPod!"

"You're welcome," Riku half-mocked, smiling. "I'll show you how to use the Zune program later."

"Cool. Namine, you're next!"

Shy, the blonde held up her gifts one by one. "Demyx got me CDs of Lindsey Stirling, Vitas, and Jónsi, a new sketchpad and pencils from Kairi, and a dessert cookbook from Roxas. Thank you."

A round of "you're welcome" sounded before all eyes went to Kairi.

"Namine got me these gorgeous heels," the redhead announced, holding them up so everyone could see the stilettos she'd received, "and Sora gave me a scarf that I'm surprised he had the fashion sense to pick."

Laughter covered up Sora leaning over to whisper to Riku that Namine had helped him choose the scarf.

"They're both perfect. Thanks."

Since he was next, Roxas held up a leather-bound journal with his name inscribed on the front in silver, "From Axel," a pair of darkwash skinny jeans with red stitching, "from Sora," and a thick, fluffy looking blanket that was the exact color of the sea salt ice cream they'd made for their home ec class, "from Namine."

"Can't wait to see those on you," Axel murmured in reference to the skinny jeans, making a blush spread over the blond sophomore's cheeks.

"Shut up and say what you got," Roxas muttered, looking away rather than admit his embarrassment.

"Rox got me a shirt," he held it up, showing the black shirt emblazoned with "TWISTED FIRE STARTER" on the front, "and Zexion got me some Muse albums I somehow didn't have."

"You're welcome," Zexion's voice sounded, his tone making it obvious that those albums hadn't been easy to find.

"Thanks, Zex."

Demyx turned the laptop around so everyone could see his boyfriend's face on the screen. "Your turn."

Being careful to make sure he was within the camera's view, Zexion held up a box with an expensive-looking watch inside. "Time, temperature, GPS, and it glows in the dark, from Demyx, and an alchemy book from Axel that I might practice on him with."

Axel gasped in mock horror while everyone else chuckled at the mostly empty threat.

"Do you like it?" Demyx asked, turning the laptop around again so Zexion could see him.

"It's perfect."

A pleased blush overtook the junior's face and he smiled. "Good." It was another moment before he realized that the rest of the students were waiting for him to announce what he'd gotten, and then his face turned a little redder out of embarrassment. "Namine gave me professional grade swim goggles and Zexion gave me a book of piano music that I'll have to practice for a year before I'll be able to play it."

"I bet you'll get it in a month. Are you going to tell them what else I got you?"

Interest made his friends perk up but Demyx ducked his head. "I don't want to."

"Come on, Lark."

Reluctantly, Demyx reached back into the gift bag beside him and withdrew something small, silver and metallic. "He got me a whistle."

"To destroy the eardrums of anyone who ever tries to hurt him."

"A rape whistle?" Kairi gave the mulletted blond a confused look.

"Yeah." Clearly embarrassed by the second part of his gift from Zexion, Demyx placed the whistle back into the bag and curled around his laptop. Zexion's voice was audible but not discernible, and Demyx murmured back several times. Silently, the rest of the group decided to move on despite the junior's distraction.

"Your turn," Sora quietly reminded Riku, and the silver-haired sophomore nodded.

"Movies."

"From?" Kairi asked.

"Sora."

The brunet grinned. "Tell 'em what movies I got for you."

A look akin to murder came over the older boy's face as Riku looked back at the sophomore beside him. "No."

Instantly, Sora started pouting and whined in the back of his throat. "Why not?"

"You know exactly why."

Just as confused as the rest of them, Roxas shifted in his spot on Sora's bed. "Are you guys having an inside joke or something?"

"Sort of." Sora continued his pout as he looked up at his twin. "When I was his slave, I had to clean and re-organize his entire room, and I noticed a part of his movie collection that was sort of lacking, so for Christmas I got him what he was missing."

"What part of his movie collection?" Kairi asked, looking at Riku with her head tilted to one side because she'd known him longer than the others but still didn't know what Sora was talking about.

"Don't," Riku warned, but Sora was already grinning.

"Riku likes dance movies."

Silence greeted his announcement of the older athlete's secret. They might not have believed him if Riku hadn't instantly glared, his face turning red with embarrassment and anger, the movies hidden beneath a layer of tissue paper so no one could see the covers.

"Really?" Namine scooted closer to him and tried to catch a glimpse of the movies. "Which ones?"

While Riku twisted away from her, Sora took liberty in answering the blonde's question. "Footloose, Dirty Dancing, and all the Step Up movies."

"I love those movies!" Kairi smiled excitedly. "I'll watch them with you, Riku!"

Even though he looked like he wanted to turn his glare on her and declare that he would never watch the movies, alone or with anyone else, Riku merely shrugged with one shoulder and kept his gaze on the floor.

"I get to watch them with him first."

Surprise interrupted Riku's grumpy attitude and he looked at Sora. "You do?"

Proud of himself, the brunet grinned and slung an arm around Riku's shoulders in an amiable fashion. "Yep! I got them for you, so it's only fair that I be the first one to watch them with you! We'll have a marathon. It'll be great."

"Oh." Conflicted, Riku frowned slightly before managing a small smile. "Okay."

Smirking ever so slightly, Axel leaned closer to Roxas. "Yeah, those two really need some mistletoe."

X

In silence that wasn't exactly awkward but wasn't entirely comfortable, either, Roxas and Axel made their way from the twins' room to the front door of the sophomore dorm hall. It was late, after dark and probably snowing again, and almost everyone had gone to sleep already. Demyx had gone first, returning to his dorm shortly after dinner. Namine and Kairi had gone around eight so they could shower and relax for a while before bed. Sora and Riku were both still up in the twins' room. Now Axel was on his way out, and Roxas had decided to walk him because, well, he didn't really want the senior to leave yet, but he couldn't say that, could he?

"Today was a lot of fun. Best Christmas I've had in a long time," the senior commented as they left the stairwell and entered the lobby—Roxas had suggested they take the stairs because it would be a better opportunity to chat.

"Yeah. Well, it's the first time Sora and I have spent Christmas like this. Usually, since we never really a permanent home before, we'd just get a fancy dinner somewhere and end up opening presents in a hotel or the jet or ship, wherever we happened to be."

"Your parents travel a lot, huh?"

Roxas nodded, his hands in his pockets. They'd reached the front doors but Axel hadn't moved to leave and Roxas wasn't about to dismiss him. Now, they were just wasting time together. "Dad's got business all over the world and since he met mom through work, she goes, too. We have a house, we're just hardly ever there. Sora and I had private tutors before we came here, so this is a whole new thing for us."

"You both seem to like it."

"Definitely. It's nice, not being hauled all over the world, making friends for a few days and then never seeing them again. Meeting people—" he stopped, but the rest of the sentence hung heavy on his tongue. He'd been about to say that they could meet people they might want to date now that they were old enough for it. Certainly, when they'd moved around all the time, they never would have managed to get close enough to anyone to develop feelings for someone the way Sora had for Riku.

And…maybe…the way I have for Axel…?

Ugh, okay, maybe he liked the senior, like that. Maybe. And what exactly would be wrong with that? He'd settled his differences with the older boy and they got along perfectly fine now, and Axel clearly trusted him on top of having liked him from the beginning. There was nothing wrong with returning the older boy's feelings. Besides, Axel was smart, and he liked the books Roxas liked, and they were in some of the same classes, he was athletic and was generally pretty happy despite all the crap that went on with Miss Larxene. Roxas was pretty sure that if a teacher was harassing him like that, he wouldn't be able to smile more than once a week. The fact that Axel had put so much effort into just being his friend after everything that had gone on was plain impressive. And then, of course, there was the fact that the senior seemed to be able to make him blush without even trying.

Okay. I like him. Cool.

Deciphering his own emotions wasn't nearly as big of a relief as Roxas thought it should have been. Instead of being able to relax and enjoy Axel's company, he suddenly felt self-conscious. What if he said something stupid? How many stupid things had he already said in front of the redhead?

Oh my god.

Now what was he supposed to do? He liked him but…he couldn't just come right out and say it, could he? Just the thought of doing so made his insides feel cold. Was this really what it felt like to be genuinely attracted to someone? It'd been years since the last time he had so much as a crush on anyone. Actually, when he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he'd ever had a crush before. Wow. This was a huge first.

"Hey, you all right?" Axel was leaning down, his entire body tipped to the side so he could see Roxas' face a little better. "You just sorta stopped. Something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, I just lost my train of thought. I forgot what I was going to say." He offered a sheepish smile then rolled his eyes in a self-deprecating way, and froze.

No way. No, no, no. This was a joke. He was imagining it. No way.

"Rox? Really, what's the matter?" There was genuine concern in Axel's tone as he watched the younger boy continue to stare upwards. "What? What's-?" Without really meaning to, Axel glanced up to see what had captured the blond's attention and couldn't help but freeze for a moment, too.

Oh. Mistletoe.

"Uh…was that there when we came back from dinner last night?" he asked, his voice lower than normal.

"Dunno." Roxas had yet to tear his eyes away from the bunch of green and white that hung from the ceiling. "I didn't notice it."

"Yeah, me either."

Now what was he supposed to do? He'd only just come to the conclusion that he even liked Axel as more than a friend! Was he really supposed to just kiss him just like that?

"Well, well, rules are rules."

What?

Still too shocked to say anything, Roxas managed to lower his gaze far enough to watch the senior smile and starting leaning closer. The closing distance between them made his heart pound. Oh, god, oh god oh god oh god. He was getting closer, there was no back out, he couldn't move holy crap this was really about to happen…!

With a tiny, crooked smile, Axel tilted his head to the side and placed a chaste kiss on Roxas' cheek. "Merry Christmas, Rox," he whispered, giving the blond goosebumps, before he pulled away. The surprised look on the younger boy's face made him chuckle a little. "What sort of guy would I be if I kissed you because of a plant?"

Oh, right, yeah, good point. "Right." Embarrassed now, Roxas forced his own uneven smile. "Night, Axel. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Roxas." One last grin from the senior and then Axel was gone, disappearing into the blackness that waited for him outside. For several long moments, Roxas stood looking after the redhead, until he came to his senses, shook himself, and turned to go back upstairs.

Idiot. Of course he wasn't going to kiss you. He's not that big of a jerk. It's good that he didn't—it means he respects you.

So how come he couldn't help the sense of disappointment that was weighing on him as he went back upstairs to his room?