A Wishful Thought: WHAAAAT! ? I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS STORY IN OVER A MONTH AND IT'S ALREADY ON THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER! ? O_O Daaang. . .

Anyway, I really do have to apologize for the super late update. I assure you, it wasn't intentional or anything. Stuff just. . . came up, ya know? However, I do have to say that timeline wise, we're a little over halfway through the story. Of course, a bunch of things come near the end that might take chapters for me to cover, so I can't necessarily say that we're halfway content-wise. XD Anyway, I really appreciate all the reviews I've received though. :) They truly do mean a lot!

My reviewers of the last chapter were:

Oblivion Fantasy, Sackboy023, FutureX13, TwinToshiro, Rokunami123, Friedbones, CupcakeLerman, Sato Tadashi, and luv. Roxas! :D YOUR COMMENTS ARE ALL SO DAYMAKING!

Ironically, this "Christmas/Holiday" chapter is probably going to come out around the holiday season. X3 So I'd like to wish you a "Happy Holidays!" before then! :D And I guess we could consider this a Christmas Special. ;D

N 0 N 3 X 1 $ + E N +: The Most Wonderful Time of Year, MY ASS.

No one can deny it.

Whether you're Christian or Jewish or Buddhist or Islam or Hindu or... or Axel, the fact remains undeniable: The month of December is the best time of the entire year.

No matter what religion you practice, it doesn't diminish the fact that the sense of togetherness is just so freaking strong during the Holiday Season. People are smiling everywhere you turn, everyone is more generous than they usually are, you can bond with your family while you sit around the fireplace and tell crazy stories, the food is just… awesomer than usual, and well… the gifts. Yeah, I'm not going to deny that I think that giving gifts is the best part of the whole month.

Oh. I suppose receiving them is fun, too.

Every year I go out of my way to get people the best gifts that I can afford. Sure, I have to tap into my beloved piggybank on numerous occasions to afford some of the things I want to buy, but in the end, it's definitely worth it. Seeing the joy on everyone's faces when they rip open a neatly-wrapped present is just day making. Zack used to joke around about how Sora and I always switched personalities around this time of year. According to him, I became more "joyful" while Sora became more "selfish."

Was he implying that I'm usually selfish on a daily basis?

Psh, what am I talking about? Of course not.

But you see, the thing about this year is that Christmas is just so much more… complicated.

I mean, they shouldn't be, right? My family has this new "money-saving" policy that says we don't have to get each other gifts for Christmas. We pretty much just do gift exchanges with our friends and leave it at that. Sora might think it's a stupid idea, but my mom is totally right. In her words, "Being together as a happy family is a gift enough for all of us, don't you think?"

Of course, Sora's immediate response was a muttered, "I swear, the holidays just screw up everyone's minds."

This resulted in the spazzing of my mother, my crazy rambling about how the holidays are about giving and not receiving, and Sora's whining about how he wouldn't be getting as much gifts anymore.

The further result was an icepack on Sora's head, my mother scrubbing her tongue with soap, and me laughing like a crazed idiot.

But that's not the point.

My point is that I only have to buy one gift for one person in this entire world.

It doesn't sound that bad, right? I'd just get to spend all of my money to buy them something completely, utterly epic that would bring them to tears.

So when I reached into Xion's sparkly Santa hat to see who I would end up buying a present for, I wasn't worried in the least bit. No, of course not!

I didn't start freaking out until I unfolded the neon green piece of paper, and read the dreaded name in the cute, little cursive writing.

Naminé Soto.

Of course. Of course! Just my freaking luck.

And you see, that's the story of why it's the day before we leave for the beach and I still have no idea whatsoever as to what I should buy for Naminé.

It's also the reason why I'm pacing the mall, literally dragging around a delirious Sora, a bitchy Hope, and for some reason, some strange reason that I still don't understand, Axel.

Don't… Just don't ask.

"Ngh…Sleep…Need... Sleeeeeeep…"

Hope, who was independent enough to manage to walk by himself, shot Sora, who I was still dragging on the floor, a slightly concerned look, before a whine escaped his lips, "What are we even doing here, Roxas? I thought you were buying me ice cream!"

"Well, I have some cream I can give you, Hope, but I can't say that there's any ice involved…"

The silver-haired boy paused for a moment to take a look at Axel's rape face, before his features contorted into one full of disgust, "I think I like you better when you're convinced that you own me. And that says a lot."

Axel, who was on his stomach and somehow managing to move forward with minimum muscle movement let out a low grunt, "It's because of the lack of coffee, man."

"I see… So when you don't get your daily dose of coffee, you turn into a creepy, gay, rapist and or pedophile?"

"You betcha. That's how I had butt sex with Justin Bieber."

We all immediately stopped what we were doing to stare at Axel with mixed expressions of shock, disgust, horror, and disbelief. In response, the pyromaniac simply managed a minute shrug, "What can I say? Not having coffee does things to your brain, man."

I turned my gaze to Hope, whose eye was twitching slightly. Slowly, he brought his gaze to mine, "I vote that we buy Axel coffee. As soon as possible."

From his position at my feet, Sora raised his arm slightly, "I second that. Buy me some too while you're at it."

I groaned, "All we're here for is to find Naminé a Christmas present. It won't take long if you guys would pick yourselves off the floor and actually help me."

Axel huffed, "It's not my fault that you're not creative enough to buy something nice for your lady friend. Can't you just get her like… Birth Control or something?"

Before I could even think of a reaction, Hope beat me to it with a hard smack to the back of Axel's head. "Ouch! The hell was that for?"

Hope's eyes merely narrowed and I'm pretty sure that he would've murdered the psychotic college student if I didn't make a move to step in, "Hey, hey. Let's calm down. Uh… Why don't you come with me into Starbucks, Hope?"

The silver-haired boy shot another glare at Axel who was now trying to convince the semi-conscious Sora to lick his foot, before rolling his eyes and giving me a nod. "Yeah, let's go. You're getting me something too, right?"

I let out a sigh, "I wasn't planning on it, but why not?"

A large grin appeared on the teenager's voice as he turned his head to face me, "Then let's get going."

Starbucks wasn't actually that far from where we had left the two lazyasses, and we got there in no time. But because it was Starbucks, we had to wait in a pretty sizable line. I let out a sigh, at the sight. "Damn, this is gonna take forever…"

Hope, who was already looking up at the menu with an excited gleam in his eye, shot me a spare glance, before his attention returned to the menu above. "You're worrying too much. Buying Nami a present isn't that hard. You're just over-thinking things again."

I frowned. "Easy for you to say. You've known her for like… ever."

He rolled his blue-green eyes, before turning his body so that he was facing me directly. "Yeah, and that's why I can tell you this: You're over-thinking the whole thing."

I let out a groan, not realizing at the time how high-pitched and whiny I sounded, "That doesn't help at all!"

Hope huffed, before shaking his head, "C'mon, it's not that hard to figure out. Just get her something simple, alright? Naminé isn't really into all that extravagant stuff. As long as it has some sort of meaning, or there was at least some thought put into it, I'm sure that she'll love it. Actually, I think that she doesn't even like expensive things."

I felt myself frown. Nothing expensive? But… "Oh… I see…"

His lip twitched upward for a second, but it vanished almost immediately. At the time, it didn't quite register why that had occurred, for I was already freaking out in my brain about what to get the strange new girl. But before we knew it, we were at the front of the line. I'll admit, I was pretty underprepared for ordering, so I quickly scanned the menu for the cheapest things—no way in hell was I going to buy Axel and Sora something even remotely expensive! I was putting my foot down!—but before I could get the words out, Hope beat me to it. "We'll take a Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino, a Caramel Brulée Latte, a Tazo Chai Crème Frappuccino, and…" His bluish green eyes flickered towards me, before he added, "And a Java Chip. While I'm at it, give me three slices of whatever holiday pastry you like the best."

The young woman at the counter blinked for a moment in surprise, but the surprise was quickly replaced by a large, honest grin. "Alrighty then! Coming right up!" I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but right before she turned, she sent a wink our way.

But who knows? I was barely paying attention to her.

I had been searching the menu for all the prices of the things that Hope was ordering while he ordered them, and as soon as the cashier left, I let my disapproval show. "Hope! Why the hell did you order all of that?"

Though I was sure that my tone sounded pretty serious, he didn't even look at me while he responded, and continued playing with the gift cards, "Double Chocolaty Chip just sounds like something Sora would enjoy. Axel needs coffee, so I figured he'd love a latte and Caramel Brulée sounds freaking awesome. I've always wanted to try one of the Tazo drinks, and you?" He paused for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders, "Well you weren't saying anything and I figured that you seemed like the type of person that would like a Java Chip. But hell, I have no idea if I made a decent choice. I'm more of a Panera person, ya know?"

I felt my eye twitch slightly, and I couldn't help but feel thankful that Hope wasn't staring at me. I wanted to scold him for ordering Axel and Sora things that were obviously not the cheapest things on the menu, but I figured that that would make me sound… well, cheap. "Well… why only three pastries then? Why not four?"

"Because you're not getting one."

My eyes widened in surprise, but before I could respond, the young woman came back with a single drink in hand, placing it neatly in front of me, "One Java chip Frappuccino!" Her warm, brown eyes flickered towards Hope, "Right?"

Hope left the gift cards alone long enough to return her grin, "Right."

Her smile seemed to widen, and she turned to leave once more.

My brows were now furrowed in deep confusion, "W-Wait, what the hell? What happened to everything else you ordered? I'm the one paying for everything, so the least you can do is tell me what's going on!"

"You see? That's where you're wrong."

I felt my head pound as it scrambled to attempt to follow Hope's train of thought. "What?"

Hope picked up the drink that had been set on the counter, and thrust it into my hands, "You're wrong, because I'm paying for this."

I blinked, "I'm so confused."

The silver-haired teen let out a sigh, "I am going to bring all this stuff back to Axel and Sora, and I am going to distract them while you take your frappuccino and buy Naminé her present, because God knows that if you keep dragging Axel and Sora around, you're going to get nothing accomplished."

"B-But… I still don't know what to get her!"

Hope facepalmed himself, "Come on, Roxas. It's not that hard. Think a little."

And so I did.

And when the answer finally came to me, I felt like a complete idiot.

"Oh! So I should get her—"

Hope silenced me with a shove, "Yeah, yeah. Stop talking and go buy it already! You'll be lucky if you can even find one that's still being sold."

"R-Right!" I began my run out of the café, before coming to a halt at the door. "And Hope?" The young man in question turned, and stepped out of line slightly so that he could see what I wanted. I felt my lips curve upwards in a smile, "Thanks."

He looked at me curiously for a moment, before returning my gesture with a grin that seemed somewhat halfhearted.

I didn't stay to think about it though, for I was already halfway out the door, running to that store to buy Naminé her Christmas present.

"There. All done."

I released the red silk ribbon from my delicate grasp, a large smile still on my face. A perfect bow on top of the perfectly wrapped snowflake covered wrapping paper. "What do you think? Do you think she'll like it?"

Sora, who was reclining on my bed and halfheartedly humming along to a random song, glanced at me, probably taking in my excitement, before he broke the gaze. "I think she'll love it…"

Instantly, I felt my heart sink. "You're lying to me."

My twin sat up in my bed, a frown on his face, "I wouldn't say that."

I let out a huff, "Well you don't sound very convincing."

"It's just… It's so simple, don't you think?"

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. Sora was right. Despite what Hope had been insisting, this gift seemed so… lame compared to gifts that I had given in previous years. It just didn't feel… right. "I know… That's what I was thinking, too."

Sora's frown seemed to deepen, and he got out of the bed to sit next to me on the floor and give me a reassuring pat on the back, "Well, it doesn't matter if it's simple, right? As long as she loves it. And… And you always tell me that it's the thought that counts, not necessarily just the gift itself, right?" I looked up at him to see a hopeful smile on his features.

"I know, I know… But…"

"But…?"

"I…I wanted to get Naminé something really awesome, you know?"

As I had expected, a smirk came to rest upon Sora's features. "Hum. And why is that?"

I quickly evaded his gaze, already feeling like I had dug myself into a hole to deep to crawl myself out of. "N-No reason."

"You're lying to me, Roxas."

"Am not!"

"Just tell me the truth, bro. I can help you out. I have experience."

"Yeah. Of course you do. Must I remind you of the current state of your love life?" The full meaning of the words I had muttered dawned on me, and I quickly turned my gaze back to my brother. It was then that I knew I had crossed the line. His mouth was agape, and the hurt was evident in your eyes. I felt my heart clench as his eyes hardened and fixed themselves on me in a venomous glare. "Hey, look… I didn't mean that."

My brother simply "Hmph!"d, before standing up and brushing off his pants. "The gang should be arriving in ten minutes so that we can all go to the beach. Make sure you have all your stuff packed."

He began his stride towards the door, and was about to twist the doorknob before I felt the words escape my lips involuntarily, "I-I think I love her!"

Immediately, an awkward silence took over my room. Sora's back was still turned to me, so I couldn't see his expression. I felt the dread dawning in on me at the absolute horror of my claim. Before Sora could say anything, I had already placed my hands on either side of my head, feeling shakes and chills engulf me. "Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy shit… HOLY SHIT!"

To interrupt my mantra, Sora had thrown one of my old action figures at me, hitting me square in the face.

"The hell, Sora! ?"

My brother looked sort of confused and out of it as he stared at me, before he muttered, "I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be happy for you or angry at you, but throwing something felt like the right thing to do."

I felt my expression contort into one of pure bewilderment. I was so confused.

With a sigh, my brother walked back to me, and took his place on top of my bed. "Man… You know, I always thought that I was the dumb one."

That's because you are!

"But after hearing you say that, I think I might be wrong."

His ocean blue eyes met mine, and there was something in them that I found I just couldn't name. "Roxas, you're just saying that. You don't really know what love is."

I felt like exploding. "You're not making any sense! Weren't you the one that was trying to get me to admit my feelings for her! ?"

Sora had an exasperated expression on his face, as though he was trying to explain something to a child, but the child had no hope of understanding whatsoever. "Love isn't the only feeling out there! Do you even know what love means?"

I opened my mouth to retort, but I found that I had no words.

Seeing this, Sora opened his mouth, and it seemed like words just began flowing out. "Love is knowing everything about a person, and finding that even though they've made mistakes in the past, you still care for them so much that it hurts. Love is risking everything you have, every fiber of your being, just to keep someone happy, even if it means that you have to suffer. Love is dangerous and causes countless wars and deaths, but the feeling of being in love and being loved in return for just even a single moment is worth it. Love is a huge risk, because either the person will love you back, or they'll just turn you down. But the emotion is just so strong that it's a risk worth taking. When you're in love with someone, all the pain in the world seems to disappear, as long as you're with that person. You feel like you're flying whenever you see them, and whenever you're apart… You feel like dying." At this point, what had started out as frenzied words, became slower, more careful ones, "Love… is forgiving someone no matter what stupid shit they do. And love… Makes you do tons of crazy shit, too…"

My eyes were wide as I stared at my brother, and I couldn't stop the surprise from taking over my features.

Why was Sora… crying?

"It's more than just mumbling those three words before you go to bed, Roxas. It's the little things you do every day whenever you care about someone." When he finally met my gaze and saw the confusion written all over me, he managed a small smile. "You still don't get it, do you?"

Slowly, I shook my head; still not entirely sure of what was happening.

"Love… is an overwhelming sort of thing. It takes over your body, and blurs all your rational thoughts. You stop thinking straight, and your thoughts seem to only circle around that person you love… When you tell someone that you love them… You're promising that you'll always be there for them. That you'll die if it means protecting them." He paused, looking at me directly. And in his eyes, there was something powerful. Something that made it hard for me to look at him in the eyes.

So I looked away.

And as soon as I did, Sora let out a sad sigh, "Sorry, I guess I'm getting worked up for nothing." He let out a small chuckle, "I should've said something earlier when I was trying to get you to admit feelings for her. It was mean for me to confuse you into thinking you love her."

Hesitantly, I looked back at him, but his eyes seemed focused on something else, "Sora… I don't understand..."

That small smile that seemed to be so much more than just a small smile came back. "You will. One day."

"You have everything you need, right?"

"Y-Yeah! All in here." I said, trying my best to sound excited as I patted the large duffel bag I was carrying.

There was no need to bring bigger bags, especially since we would only be staying at the beach for three days. This would be our third year spending some "Christmas time" with the gang at Selphie's beach house on Destiny Islands, and perhaps, even our last year. Who knew where we would all go for college? For all we know, we would each go to different colleges all over the freaking galaxy. Which is why we vowed to make this year's trip to the beach the best one yet. We even invited more people into our tradition to increase the fun! You know, the more the merrier!

Of course, we'd be back before Christmas Eve to spend the real Christmas with our mom. Though if it ends up anything like what happened with Thanksgiving, then I don't know what I'll do.

Sora grinned at me as though our previous conversation hadn't affected him at all. "Good. Cuz they'll be here soon."

I forced a large smile at him, before looking away. Suddenly, Sora wasn't the doofus brother that I had learned to take responsibility for. After the words he had shared with me, he suddenly felt like the older brother he was. Out of nowhere, he seemed to become the one that would be taking care of me, and dare I say it, he even seemed… wise.

Holy shit, I can't believe that I just called my brother that.

"Hey… Where's mom?"

Sora blinked as though he had just noticed her absence. "Hm… She's probably in her room catching some sleep. We'll wake her up before we leave to say bye."

I nodded, and before I knew it everyone had arrived.

Riku, Hayner, Pence, Kairi, Naminé, Hope, Olette, Tidus, Xion, Selphie, Vanille, Yuna, Rikku, and even Irvine. Axel, Demyx, and Larxene said they couldn't make it this year—something about an important meeting with the Organization. Still, including Sora and I, that would make sixteen of us!

So hell yeah, we were still going to have an awesome time.

But of course, our first issue would be getting to the beach.

Out of all of us, only Riku and Irvine had cars. And of course, each of their cars only sat five people max.

"Um… So who wants to volunteer sitting in the trunk?"

Selphie punched Tidus in the shoulder, and judging by the sound of the impact, it was a pretty hard punch. "Tidus, don't be stupid!"

The tan boy merely shrugged, "Unless someone comes up with a better idea, then that's all I've got."

"We could make some people sit on the floor of the car?"

Hayner shook his head, "No, I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

Sora huffed, and crossed his arms behind his head, "So? Us drinking alcohol is illegal, but we do it anyway."

"Point taken. But do we really trust Riku enough to keep us out of an accident?"

Riku scowled, "Nice to know that even after all these years, you still don't trust me."

Hayner smirked, "I only don't trust you because I care."

Olette flinched, but no one seemed to notice.

"We could try sitting on top of each other?" We all turned to look at Pence with different levels of disapproval. "Right. Bad idea."

It was silent for a moment as we all tried to think of some other idea, before Xion spoke up, "How about we try smushing together in the seats first? We're all pretty tiny, I'm sure we could probably sit four or five people in the back row of each car. It'll just be really uncomfortable."

We all nodded slowly, until Hope pointed out, "I doubt that five of us can stay smushed together that tightly for the four hour drive."

Tidus grinned as he exclaimed, "I say we fit the spare people in the trunk, then!"

I won't lie; he actually got some laughs out of that.

And so, we began strategizing how we would all fit into the two cars. But as we continued to talk it over, something finally dawned on me: "Where are we going to fit in all our stuff?"

It was silent for a moment, before my front yard erupted in screams and groans of frustration.

"Okay, you know what? We're going to have to ask someone to lend us a car, or we'll just have to switch out Riku and Irvine's cars for minivans."

Immediately, identical expressions of disgust arose on both Riku and Irvine's faces. "As in those hideous things that soccer moms drive? I think I'll pass on that one."

"Agreed."

"Come on, it won't be that big of a deal. It'll all be worth it once we get to the beach, right?"

The two mumbled something that I couldn't comprehend.

Feeling a little agitated at this point, I bitterly said, "Well, unless some flashy sports car appears out of nowhere, then I think you both will have to settle for finding and driving some minivans."

Just then, a black Convertible Porsche parked in front of my house.

At first, it was quiet as we all took in the irony of the arrival of the new car, along with my statement, but it was quickly followed by the whoops and cheers of my friends, along with a wolf whistle or two. And in Irvine's case, a jolly, "I call driving that car!"

I could feel my eye twitch. "You can't be serious…"

Of course, the moment was ruined when the driver's side door popped open, and a tall man with tousled black hair stepped out. He had dark shades on, along with a black uniform. It took a while, but it eventually dawned on me that it was the uniform of one of Shinra's elite First Class SOLDIERs. He slowly made his way towards us, and I noticed that there was a large sword strapped to his back. In fact, the car, the sword, and the man all seemed strikingly familiar.

I should've realized then what exactly was going on, but I didn't.

Perhaps you'll understand better if I explained to you what Shinra even is. It's basically what we call our government here in Twilight Town and the surrounding area. Shinra is a powerful government, and a force that you can't take for granted. They're very good at intimidating rival worlds, all while keeping their citizens safe and protected. There are different branches under Shinra's military force, SOLDIER being the highest of them all. SOLDIER itself is split into three: First Class, Second Class, and Third Class. And I'm pretty sure that from that information, you can figure out the hierarchy of that entire division. The other branch of the military force is the Turks, though I'm not sure if you could really classify them as a military force. They're more like an investigative bureau, compromised of only the elite. The less important force is made up of mainly foot-soldiers, or Infantrymen. They're not all too important, but I guess the more the merrier in Shinra's eyes.

I know, I know. Right now, you're thinking that they sound great. But that's the thing. They sound great, but a lot of people say that they aren't. Rumors fly around and around Shinra, and most of the time, the rumors aren't good. People say that once you get yourself involved with Shinra, there's no way out. You think that you escape their grasp, but they keep close watch on every single one of their former subordinates. The Turks, who are considered the military force that is entrusted with the most information, is said to kill anyone of their members that even thinks about abandoning their ranks.

That being said, though Shinra intimidates all who oppose them and protects those who live under their guard, it is the citizens themselves that harbor the most fear of the company.

The young man that had stepped out of his car raised one of his gloved hands to remove his dark sunglasses, revealing deep blue eyes that, though extremely familiar, seemed so different at the same time. He looked around, puzzled for a moment, before asking, "What's going on?"

I didn't have to look at Sora to know how upset he was. "What do you want, Zack?"

The man in question flinched at the venom that Sora's voice contained, and he let out a sigh. "Answer my question first. Please."

I couldn't help but let my eyebrow quirk. Why did he come here so suddenly? Even when my mom had made it clear that she didn't want to see him? Even more importantly, why was he wearing his old uniform?

Knowing that my brother was going to make no move to give our teacher a straightforward answer, I took the lead, "We're getting ready to head over to Destiny Islands."

At my words, Zack seemed to freeze in shock. "Does your mother know about this?"

I frowned, "Of course. Why wouldn't she?"

At this point, he seemed a little out of it. The glasses that he had been holding in his hand dropped to the pavement, and his eyes seemed to harden. "Where is she?"

For some reason, the simplicity of the question caught me off-guard, and before I could say anything, Sora responded, "Why should we tell you?"

He seemed to crack a little, as a frown came onto his features from Sora's obvious mistrust of him. I could feel the awkward tension in the air, and before I knew it, the words had already escaped my lips, "She's inside. Follow me."

"Roxas!" Sora hissed, clearly not pleased that I was allowing Zack to see our mother. But I ignored him, and continued leading Zack inside the house. I could feel it, and I couldn't help but wonder why Sora couldn't.

We already knew that mom was keeping something from us, and it was obvious that Zack thought it was something we needed to know. How could Sora not be curious?

Based on the angry steps that were being taken behind me, I could tell that Sora had decided to follow me in after all. A small part of me felt bad, especially since we had basically decided to leave all of our guests alone in out front yard, but I quickly shook the thought away, telling myself that solving this mystery was currently our top priority.

Still, I couldn't stop myself from hesitating as I reached for the doorknob. I turned my head slightly, just enough so that I could see both Zack and Sora out of the corner of my eye. Sora still had a scowl on his face, making it obvious that he still wasn't happy with this decision, while Zack's expression was completely unreadable. Before they could notice that I was staring at them, I turned the doorknob, and quietly made my way into the room.

As Sora had guessed, our mother was indeed catching up on sleep. Her long, wavy brown hair was spread around her messily, and for once, her delicate features seemed at peace. Before Sora and I knew it, Zack was already sitting at our mother's bedside, using one of his gloved hands to carefully move some stray hair away from her face. At this gesture, a small smile appeared on our mother's face, and she leaned into his hand while raising her own to lightly rest on his. From where we were standing, it was impossible to see Zack's expression, but I couldn't help but imagine the immense sadness that must've been expressed on his features as he let out a broken, "Aerith."

At the mere mention of her name, my mother's bright green eyes flashed open. She looked dazed, but as her eyes met Zack's she flinched away from him, quickly moving her gaze towards the two of us, "Zack!" Her eyes were wide, and for some reason that I couldn't comprehend at the time, she looked frightened.

"Aerith… Please." Zack had moved his hand to cup her face delicately, much to the shock of my mother. She had still been averting his gaze, but I guess the gesture was too much for her, for she met his stare once more.

And when she did, she let out a horrified gasp, "Z-Zack… W-What happened?" Her green eyes flickered up and down his body, her expression contorting into one of full terror, "N-No… Not you too…"

"I have no choice, Aerith… It's impossible for a SOLDIER to leave Shinra's ranks. You should know that by now."

My mother was shaking her head now, and tears were streaming down her face much to the shock of Sora and I. What… What was going on? "I-It's not fair… Why… Why did they have to do it?" Zack's hand dropped from her face, and he had already stood up from his bedside, back already turned to her. He moved as though to leave the room, but reflexively, both Sora and I moved to block the exit. Not like we needed to, for our mom's pale hand shot out to grab his arm. "Why… Why did they have to alter our memories?"

At this, I felt my body run cold. Zack himself shut his eyes, as though upset that his meeting with my mother had to come up with this. And I'll admit it, this confused me greatly. Wasn't he the one who had come here in the first place? So why was he acting like he didn't want to be here at all?

"Aerith… You know I can't tell you that."

"Of course you can! But for some reason, you won't!" Zack flinched at her tone, and turned to face her again. "I… I know it's not your fault, but… I… I just want… to understand…" There was an awkward silence in the room as she waited for Zack to answer her, but the thing is, he didn't. At this, my mom choked on a sob, and hung her head sadly, "Then why… Why did you come here?"

Zack was purposely avoiding my mother's gaze, but he still muttered a quiet, "I figured that my appearance would be enough to make you tell Sora and Roxas the truth..." At this, I felt myself flinch. I was so confused… This wasn't making any sense. "And… I guess I wanted to say goodbye."

He turned to move towards the exit one more time, my mother's hand easily losing its hold on his arm. He had made it halfway towards where Sora and I were blocking the door, but before he could continue, my mother's broken voice spoke up, "How can I tell them the truth… When I'm not even sure of it at this point?"

Zack was quiet, and he stared down at his shoes as he responded to her, "Tell them what you know…"

"HOW CAN I WHEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S REAL OR FAKE ANYMORE! ?"

The SOLDIER in the room angrily spun around to face her, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I CAN DO! ? THEY HAVE ME UNDER CHAIN AND LEASH, AERITH! You know what they'll do if I disobey orders!"

My mom was clutching the sides of her head now, shaking as tears streamed angrily down her face. Hesitantly, she raised her head to look at him, her broken stare enough to make Sora and I feel even more awkward and confused at the exchange that was occurring before us. "W-Why… Why are you lying to me?"

Zack seemed absolutely shocked at her claim, and his voice seemed to quiet itself, "Aerith… You know I would never lie to you."

My mother was still shaking as she whispered, "But the Zack I knew… Would never keep the truth from me."

I saw him flinch minutely, before he slowly walked back to my mother's bedside. I'll admit it; I was really anticipating Zack's response. Though the two were both keeping secrets, it still seemed to me that Zack was the one who wanted to share the information. But shockingly enough, it seemed like he was only staring at my mom. Sora and I watched as the fright and anger in my mother's eyes morphed into inconsolable sadness. She rose to her knees on the bed so that she could stare into at the man before her directly. "Your eyes… So they brainwashed you, too…"

"I… I've only just gotten my memory back."

My mother stared at him blankly, before engulfing him in a sudden hug. Zack didn't seem to be expecting it, and he ended up stumbling back slightly. Sora and I could hear the manic sobs of my mother as she embraced him tightly while Zack rubbed her back soothingly.

I felt lost and confused, but not knowing what else to do, I turned my gaze towards my twin brother.

Sora's eyes were wide, yet there was an emotion in them that I couldn't decipher, "Someone… Someone tell me what the hell is going on!"

The two adults in the room turned to us in confusion, as if completely forgetting our presence. "Sora…"

"Why are you keeping all of these secrets from us, mom! ? It's obvious that this secret deal is a bigger problem then you were letting on!"

My mom, who had finally stopped crying, frowned at his words. "Sora, listen to me…"

"Only if you tell me what the big issue is!"

She hesitated for a moment, before turning her eyes to Zack. He hesitated for a moment, but managed to mumble, "Do what you think is right, Aerith."

My mother closed her eyes for a second in thought, before leading Zack towards where Sora and I stood. "Tell Zack goodbye."

That was the point at which I cracked, "W-Why! ? Where is he going! ?"

Zack's eyes suddenly seemed foreign and unearthly, and the fact that his gaze was trained on me was making me uncomfortable. Thankfully, his stare flickered towards my mother to see her next move. There was a sad smile on her face as she murmured, "Goodbye, Zack…"

He quirked an eyebrow at her curiously, "Aerith?"

"Stay safe…"

His curious gaze instantly hardened at her words, "Right. Roxas? Sora?" As each of our names were called, we couldn't help but turn our heated stares towards him. He forced a slow smile, one that didn't even compare to his real ones, before affectionately tousling our hair with his hands. "I'll miss you."

I felt my insides drop from the feeling of his touch. It wasn't Zack-like at all. His gentle, caring touch was suddenly replaced by a touch that almost… stung.

The feeling of it caught both Sora and I off-guard, and before we could fully register what was happening, he slipped between the two of us, and out the door.

As soon as this dawned on us, we both quickly turned towards the exit, getting ready to sprint after him to find out what the big deal was. But before we could even move, our mother stepped in front of the doorway, blocking our departure.

"Mom. Get out of the way."

She ignored Sora's words, and merely shook her head. "Zack thinks I'm going to tell you boys the truth now." Both of us froze at her words, and I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster, "But… I think I'll have to lie to him."

I could feel the sudden heat of Sora's glare, "Why aren't you telling us what's going on! ? It's obviously important!"

My mother averted her gaze from us, "Because the two of you aren't ready." I could feel the anger and frustration boiling up inside me, and I could also tell that Sora was experiencing the exact same emotion. But before either of us could make a move, she resumed speaking, "I'll tell you one day, and unfortunately, that day is drawing closer and closer… But not now." She shifted uncomfortably, until her eyes appeared fixed on her feet, "However… I forbid you to go to Destiny Islands this year—" The two of us immediately opened our mouths to begin letting out our screams of frustration, but it seemed like she wasn't done yet, "—and I forbid you from talking about this topic any further."

"YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!"

"WHY ARE YOU BEING SO UNFAIR! ?"

At this point, she had commenced shaking minutely, not that Sora and I noticed at the time. We were too busy being upset. However, we did quiet down when she raised her teary eyes at us, "If you won't do it for me, then do it for your father."

And I found that I suddenly couldn't refuse her.

It was my mother who broke the news to all of our guests that had been waiting in our front yard. Sora and I were each at a loss of words, and had locked ourselves up in our own separate rooms.

We refused to come out for anything but small portions of food.

My head was reeling, my face flushed, my chest pounding as hard as physically possible. I forced my eyes shut, trying to piece everything together. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't manipulate the clues to reveal the big picture. And it was making me horribly angry.

I didn't get it. Why couldn't I get it! ? It felt like everything was in front of me, but yet…

It also felt like I was missing the most important piece of the puzzle.

I clutched my head, begging the thoughts to leave me. It was almost Christmas, there was no point in wallowing in my sorrows.

But the days passed quickly as I remained absorbed in my thoughts. And soon, almost Christmas turned into Christmas itself.

As the merry jingling of bells erupted from my phone, I felt my heart ache. I glanced at it for a moment, before hesitantly picking it up.

Twelve o'clock midnight, Christmas Day.

I allowed a quiet sob to rack my body as I muttered the words, "Merry fucking Christmas."

"Cheers!" The glasses of champagne clinked together joyously, before quickly being swallowed down by all those with drink.

In the small room, fourteen people had congregated together. The lights were dim, exaggerating the glow of the fireplace and the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. Some of the faces in the room were bright with excitement, while others looked more sober, and even sad.

"Cheers…" A girl clad in white murmured softly, before setting the untouched champagne on the coffee table that was nearest to her. She felt awkward and out of place with the bunch, and even her cousin, who usually seemed depressed and morose managed to crack a smile or two as she danced around with the rest of her friends.

Subconsciously, the lonely girl clutched the locket around her neck, closing her eyes as though reliving a past memory.

"It's too bad Sora and Roxas couldn't come… I wonder what's up with them."

"Yeah, they didn't even pick up their phones!"

"Or answer any of their texts!"

"Or respond to any of their messages on Facebook!"

"Oh well, I'm sure they're having the time of their lives, too!"

"Oh no! What about their gifts for Secret Santa?"

A girl clad in a bright orange frilly dress with hair that seemed to flip upwards at the ends waved away the concern of her fellow party-goers. "All taken care of! I took the liberty of leaving their gifts on their front porch. Whenever they get their lazy bums out of bed, they'll get their present!"

Drunken whoops were her main response.

"But what about the gifts that theywere supposed to give?"

It was silent for a moment before a silver-haired boy shook his head, a large smile on his face, "Don't worry about that either! I saw their mom a couple of hours ago, and she handed me their gifts to give out."

More drunken hollers.

"Alright! A toast for Christmas! Hip hip…"

"HOORAY!"

Laughter continued to fill the air.

Before long, many of the party-goers were getting ready to take their leave. And so, the hostess of the night, the same young woman in the bright, frilly dress, took the liberty of passing out the gifts. Eagerly, many of her patrons ripped open the wrapping, all of them excited to see what they had been gifted with this year.

The quiet girl in her simple white dress didn't follow their lead though. Carefully, she untied the silk ribbon hat had been so carefully tied, setting it gently in her lap. She delicately manipulated the wrapping paper, revealing a large, rather plain box. She couldn't help but cock her head curiously at the object, but nonetheless, forced the container open to reveal the contents.

Her eyes widened as she saw what lay inside, and she carefully raised the gift out of its constraints.

"Do you like it?"

She looked up to see her longtime friend with the kind, bluish green eyes staring down at her with a large smile on his face.

Her expression immediately brightened, as she asked, "Did you get this for me, Hope?"

The smile was still on his face as he shook his head, "Not me. Roxas did."

The young girl blinked in surprise, "But how… How did he know?"

Her friend shrugged, before taking a seat next to her on the wooden floor, "I don't think he does."

She nodded carefully, and then allowed her eyes to flicker back towards the soft object in her arms, clutching it tightly to her chest, and letting the smile on her face return once more.

The stuffed rabbit that was lost to the disastrous flames oh-so-many years ago. In her arms lay what seemed to be an exact replica.

"Merry Christmas… Roxas."

A Wishful Thought: What was meant to be a joyous, uplifting chapter with tints of angst came up with a practically pure angst chapter.I mean, holy Jesus.

Cuppie, I know that you're not the biggest fan of POV changes, but it was the only way I could think of to reveal what Roxas ended up getting Naminé in the end, so I hope it doesn't irk you that badly this time. XP

You know, now that I think of it, I think this would've come out less angsty if I had included this one scene that I decided to take out in the end. The crew didn't end up going to the beach (partially because they felt bad that for some reason Sora and Roxas couldn't come anymore, and partially because Riku and Irvine refused to drive minivans. XD), and what was originally going to happen was that instead of just throwing the party at Selphie's house, they were going to show up on Sora and Roxas' doorstep singing Christmas carols off-key, thus bringing the party to them. But it then dawned on me that it's really awkward to have Aerith there the whole time in her room or something, and Roxas and Sora are too busy being all thinky and depressed that they probably wouldn't be that appreciative of the gesture.

But, ah well.

… Do I still get points for confusing you all with Aerith and Zack's exchange? 8D Did it work? XD I ended up rewriting that part over and over again, but I eventually gave up, so what you read up there is what I ended up sticking with.

Overall, I can't say that I'm too happy with this chapter. It seems kind of rushed. But maybe it's just me? I dunno anymore, man~

ANYWHO. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF MY AWESOME READERS OUT THERE!

And perhaps, as a Christmas present, you could leave me a review? ;D