A/N: Xion's POV.

Aqua puts her hands on her hips when she sees Kairi and me walking up to the dojo.

"Ooh snap," Kairi whispers.

"Did you think I forgot your reputation for spying?" That along with her knowing smile tells me I'm busted.

I smile back. "It's not spying, it's, uh, reconnaissance," I try.

"Right." She snorts, shaking her head. "Father and Axel aren't in there, anyway."

"What? But you said –"

"I said Father was in the dojo, not that he would speak with Axel in the dojo."

I feel like facepalming. "So that's why you stayed behind to talk to Father earlier." I should know better than to try and get anything past Aqua; she's way too smart. Which can be nice, like when I need help with homework or other life-related issues, but otherwise it's really annoying.

"Why did you want to eavesdrop, anyway?" Aqua asks. "You can't influence Father's decision. Only Axel can."

"I know…" I sigh. It would still be reassuring to get a glimpse of how things were going…

"She just couldn't bear not to see him a moment longer," Kairi says in her best drama-class voice, winking at me.

"Kairi!" I shove her (more lightly than I do with Roxas and Axel), face burning up. Now Aqua and Kairi are giggling (well, Kairi giggles, I'm not sure if Aqua's even capable of giggling, but she laughs), and I think my cheeks might actually burst into flames. "Aquaaaa…"

"Sorry, little sister." She ruffles my hair.

"Couldn't resist." Kairi grins.

"Well, maybe sometime I'll stop resisting teasing you about Sora."

Her jaw drops. "Xion, you wouldn't!"

I smile. "Of course I wouldn't. I'm a decent friend."

"Fine, Xi." She sighs and rolls her eyes like I'm the one who's being insufferable (one of Saïx's favorite words). "I was just joking. You could lighten up a little."

"Lighten up about what?"

I spin around, face still on fire, and take in Axel's stunning grin, the kind that lights up his whole face and mine too.

"Nothing," I say too quickly. "So, uh, you look happy."

I'm too focused on his shining eyes, brighter than I've seen them in months, to actually hear his reply.

"Earth to Xion, come in, Xi." Kairi giggles, and I snap out of it.

"Sorry, I'm just a little distracted…" Embarrassing myself already. Wonderful.

"By my dashing good looks, I know," Axel jokes. His teasing cockiness is part of what I like about him, but does he have to say things like that when I'm already flustered and Kairi and Aqua are laughing right there? Even if it is true… "I got the all-clear. Your dad said we can go."

"Really!" Yes yes yes yes yes, after so long… I am seriously going to start leaking rainbows or something; I must look ridiculous. At least Axel doesn't look put off by my excitement any more than he was by my distracted-ness.

I finally notice Father standing a little off to the side, looking amused. He usually only has that when Van and I are being silly, or when Saïx submits to watching Power Rangers with Van to make him be quiet, or other rare moments of cuteness in our family. "Yes, Xion. Really. You are my youngest daughter, but I must allow you the rights that come with age. I trust you with Axel tomorrow night."

"Thank you, Father!" I hug him, barely holding back an elated laugh.

"You are welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I must talk with Vanitas about his manners…"

Axel and I high-five once Father's gone, and for some reason Kairi and Aqua do too. I didn't think they'd be that happy for us…

"I still can't believe I survived," Axel says, leaning on the wall, and I can't tell if he's joking or not.

"Did you think he'd use you as a karate plank or something?" I ask. Was Father really that intimidating when they talked? "He's really nice when you get used to him."

"I'm sure he is, but his eyes gave me the chills at first…"

Kairi and Aqua explain the details of tomorrow's date (tomorrow! So soon!) while we walk back to the living room. After that we play Command Board until we're all tired of Aqua beating us, and then we sit around talking about our Christmas vacation plans.

"It'll be a staycation this year," Axel says, tucking his arms behind his head while he lounges on the couch. How does he always look cool somehow when he's just sitting? Maybe that's just my crush talking again… "Last year's trip sucked all our vacation munny."

"Yeah, Mom and Dad just had to take us to Twilight Town," Kairi says, sounding bummed. "It's only two hours away; I don't know how it cost anything."

"Hey, you had fun with Olette and her friends, right? Besides, the sunsets were amazing, and they had the best sea-salt ice cream ever. I'd drive there myself just to buy some if Mom let me."

I laugh at that. He and Roxas are so obsessed with their ice cream… Well, I'll admit I am too. They got me addicted.

"We're staying in town, too," Aqua says. As usual.

"The last time we went on a family vacation was when Mom was alive," I say quietly, making Aqua wince. I was only six when it happened, but she was eight. Not a huge difference, but enough to hurt her more. Not that it didn't hurt me. It still hurts.

Aqua swallows. "…Yeah. We went to Destiny Islands. The beach. It was fun."

I nod, wishing I remembered more about it, but I can't ask Aqua. I can tell it hurt her a lot to say that much.

Axel places a warm hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lie. Thankfully he knows me well enough to leave his hand there. Again my heart jumps at the thought of our date tomorrow, pushing away melancholy thoughts.

Eventually Saïx comes downstairs to find us cooking dinner. Well, Axel and Aqua are doing most of the cooking since they're the best, and I help as much as I can. Axel makes Kairi work on the dishes since we all know she doesn't have the greatest experience with cooking, even though he's tried to teach her.

"Where were you, man?" Axel asks, chopping up zucchini. "Not that I don't enjoy hanging with a bunch of pretty girls…"

I blush and catch Aqua rolling her eyes. Saïx gives him an infamous glare.

"I had business to attend to," he says. Which could mean anything. "I spoke with Father. He said you obtained permission."

"Yep, we're going!" I practically cheer in excitement, turning the heat down on the stove.

He doesn't show any sign that he heard me; he just silently relieves Kairi of dishwashing duty.

"…Saï?" Axel sets the knife down and approaches him. "C'mon, you're not still mad, are you? We went over this."

"No," he replies quietly, scrubbing a plate with more force than necessary. "You'll enjoy your… date," he makes a face like the word tastes bitter, "tomorrow. I wish the best for both of you."

I smile brightly, feeling relief like that time I found out an Algebra II test was postponed. "You really mean it, Saïx?"

"…Yes." He still looks unhappy about it, but there's a small smile-like grimace on his face.

Axel smacks him on the back in that way that's somehow always friendly. Guys have the weirdest expressions of friendship. "Great, then you can stop scrubbing that plate like it insulted you." He grins one of his heart-stopping grins and goes back to chopping vegetables.

By the time we're done cooking, Father and Vanitas join us in the dining room to eat. The food smells delicious, of course – Aqua's the best cook in our family, and Axel could be a chef if he wanted to. Maybe his obsession with fire led to that, I don't know, but I'd love his cooking even if I didn't have a crush on him.

"Thank you for the meal, children," Father says, placing his napkin in his lap. Saïx, Aqua, and I do the same, and Kairi quickly picks up on it as well, but I have to stifle a giggle at how long it takes Axel to remember the code of etiquette that Father insists on. Nobody expects Vanitas to use his manners, of course, so Father has to place his napkin for him. I'm just glad my little brother doesn't tie his napkin around his neck and wear it like a cape.

"You're welcome, Father," Aqua says. Everyone appreciates the days when Father is too busy to fix dinner because… well, let's just say Mom was the one with the culinary skills. Thank goodness she taught Aqua her tricks before… she was too sick to…

Saïx says the blessing over the food, and then we dig in with all the manners of semi-domesticated hyenas. Or, in Vanitas's case, a regular hyena. Axel and Aqua's cooking will do that to you. I try not to laugh while even Father seems to eat more quickly than usual, and everyone goes back for seconds.

When we've had enough food to talk instead of constantly stuffing our faces, Father and Axel get into a conversation about the "shameful inaccuracies of films involving the martial arts" (which is mostly Father talking while Axel looks like his whole life has been a lie, but still, it's progress), and Saïx doesn't look quite as grumpy as usual. Vanitas plays with his food, making an awkward shape that he insists is a sword out of his rice. Kairi and Aqua chat with me about the usual stuff, schoolwork, chick flicks Kairi wants to see, our date tomorrow, Aqua's work, our date tomorrow… It still feels too good to be true, but I can't stop myself from getting my hopes up.

Dinner officially ends when Vanitas belches loudly. "I'm full."

"Vani!" I cover my nose with both hands. "Gross!"

"No one wants to hear – or smell – the gaseous byproduct of your digestive system." Saïx wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"Remind me never to feed that kid soda or beans," Axel says, gagging. It's one thing for Vanitas to be gross at normal family meals, but can't he give me a break when my friends are here?

Van grins evilly. "Just making sure your noses work. No need to thank me."

Someday I am going to strangle my brother. But not today, because then I would be grounded, set on bathroom-cleaning duty for months, and Father would veto my date with Axel. At least Father reprimands Vanitas after dinner's over and sets him on cleaning the kitchen.

Since Saïx has decided to associate with us again and for some reason isn't trying to exclude me, the five of us brew some hot chocolate and sit around the fireplace, talking about whatever comes to mind.

"So why don't you have any decorations up yet?" Axel asks, holding his mug close to the fire to keep it warm. "No tree, no lights… How do you get in the Christmas spirit?"

"You can blame Saïx for that." I laugh. "It's his year to find the tree. It has to go up first." That's the rule, and it always has been: the Christmas tree has to be the first decoration put up.

Next year it'll be my turn – we go into the forest behind our house and look for the most Christmasy evergreen, and then Father cuts it down and we haul it home together.

"It couldn't be helped," he mutters. "I haven't had time to tramp through the woods with so many exams to study for."

"C'mon, you could take one day off for a Christmas tradition," Axel says. I wish Saïx wasn't so focused on schoolwork, too. I understand since he's taking the hardest classes he can in the eleventh grade, but still, it's even gotten in the way of family nights…

Kairi sighs. "At our house, we just drag our fake tree out of the garage closet. It already has the lights on it, if they haven't gone dead over the year, so all we do is put on the star and ornaments. I wish we could do something cool like your family."

I look between her and Axel, who's sipping on his hot chocolate and staring into the fire, his smile slightly dimmer than usual.

"But that's your tradition," Aqua says to cheer Kairi up. "It doesn't matter how fancy or unique it is, as long as you do it with the people you love."

Aqua says the sappiest things sometimes, but she's so sincere about it that nobody tells her that. Well, except Terra sometimes, but of course she puts up him.

"I don't know…" Kairi cracks a grin, twisting from her spot leaning on the raised fireplace to look up at Axel, who's sitting almost behind her on the ledge. "She said I should do my Christmas traditions with people I love. Sorry, Axel, looks like it's the end of the road for us…"

"Hey!" Axel grins, splashing Kairi's skirt with a few hot chocolate drops. "Maybe I'll find some people who appreciate my amazingness, then." He startles Saïx by putting an arm around his shoulder, and I burn up when he holds me around the waist with his other arm. I'm not sure if I should try to pull away before I melt into a puddle of rainbows, or if I should just let myself melt and worry about mopping up later. The stone fireplace could use some color, anyway.

Well, it turns out what I have been doing while deciding what to do is sitting completely frozen.

"…Alright there, Xion? Xi?" Axel asks, worry in his eyes. No, that can't be right – Axel never worries. I must be imagining things.

He starts to let go, retreating from me.

"I- I just- spaced out again." I stare down at my lap, pushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. "Sorry."

"You're been spending a lot of time in La-La land, Xi." His warm arm returns to hug me close again. I wish he would do this more often. "Daydreaming about tomorrow?"

"Um… kind of." I'm so awful at this; Axel must think I'm so immature and new to this that I can't hold a conversation if we're too close together. …Which is true. That's the awful part.

Surprisingly, it's Saïx who saves me from further awkwardness. He snorts and stands up, letting Axel's arm slide off and spill hot chocolate on Kairi again.

"Axel!" She pouts at him, and he grins sheepishly.

"I believe it's time to rest for tonight," Saïx says curtly. Probably because he can't stand to see me and Axel together any longer. I'm almost thankful; at least now I don't have to risk embarrassing myself any more than I already have. It was so much easier before today, still difficult, but now I'm even more of a hyperemotional time-bomb than usual. I mean, I've known him my whole life, and today I can't pull myself together enough to stop dropping out of reality around him. I sure hope I can do better tomorrow, or I'll ruin everything.

"Yeah, big Chem test tomorrow and all that." Axel stands up, leaving me both disappointed and relieved at the loss of his touch. But mostly disappointed. "At least there's stuff to look forward to after school, right, Xi?" He grins, and I grin back without thinking. I'm so glad I have him as a best friend – he isn't put off by my weird space-outs. Or he's at least kind enough not to show it if he is.

"Oh, and Saïx, do your family a favor and get a tree tomorrow!" Axel says as he and Kairi put their shoes and coats on at the door.

"…I can't," Saïx replies quietly. "I have other things planned."

"No you don't." Aqua crosses her arms. "You said yesterday that Friday would be your first free day since the beginning of the month."

Saïx is silent.

"Saïx…?" My head tilts sideways. What's up with him?

"Something came up. Today," he says, like that explains anything.

"Well, what is it?" Axel asks.

"…It's something Father needs my assistance with. I'm not allowed to say more."

"Must be Christmas stuff," I say to myself. Why would Father need Saïx's help, though? Vanitas usually give him all the info on who wants what presents. My annoying brother's sneaky habits can be useful for something.

Axel shrugs. "Classified, eh? Much as I'd like to know, we'd better get going."

"See you tomorrow!" Kairi hugs me and Aqua goodbye. Then Axel salutes Saïx, half-hugs Aqua lightly, which I would be a little worried about except for the fact that he wraps his arms tight around me afterwards.

"Don't be nervous," he whispers so close to my ear that I get goosebumps. In my ear. I didn't even know that was possible.

Then Saïx coughs loudly, Axel lets go of me, and he and Kairi call cheery goodbyes as they walk out the door into the cold. I focus enough to smile and wave back.

"Don't be nervous…" I mutter to myself once they're gone. "Easier said than done."

A/N: More backstory on Xion's mom will be explained eventually.

I'm working on a series of prequels to this that I'll probably start posting after I post the next chapter. It should explain a lot of things that get referenced here but don't fit into the timeline of the story. This whole thing is a giant, sprawling universe that I had no idea would keep expanding, but whenever I follow one plot bunny down the rabbit hole I always end up finding all its baby bunnies, too… *sweatdrop* It should be fun, though.

Also, I will be on hiatus all next week; I'm going to church camp.