Abel had a hard time sleeping.

And why wouldn't he? It was Christmas Eve. One of the most rocking holidays of the year! Not only that, but he was in one of the swankiest hot spring resorts in all of Japan.

After the stressful first semester at U.A. (Where so much happened you would't believe it even if it was written), Deku was able to swing a Christmas trip to the a massive natural hot spring where they could rest and relax from the hustle and bustle of studying.

Fortunately, Abel had just passed his finals for the semester thanks to a desperation study session with Austin. In fact, he almost passed Katsu for second-to-last in the class! He considered it a victory and spent the whole ride bragging to the others about how he didn't fail. The entire class had bet on him being the one to do so, therefore he thought bragging was necessary.

The bus ride up was uneventful. Hunter tried out his new web strengthener with Martel while Anton scarfed down bags of potato chips. Megan ate stalks of broccoli and played with the bus radio putting on hard metal that made Deku practically deaf. However, the music made Abel quite supercharged and he was practically bouncing off the walls when the bus made it back. He had been a loud chatterbox ever since they made it to the resort. Pretty much all the staff hated him, but what else was new.

Now, Abel and Austin were resting in the male side of the hot spring. They had decided to arrive first. Austin to get a good spot at the very end of the spring. Abel because he wanted to increase the odds of seeing the girls in his class.

"C'mon, Austin," Abel cried out. "Don't you wanna see what Synaes is wearing? Or not wearing?"

"I've seen it already," Austin said.

"Oh, right," Abel crossed his arms over his bare chest. "You're in a re-lame-tionship. Ugh, and Megan is still a lesbian even in the real world! She's literally perfect for me! So unfair."

"Yeah, but you ain't perfect for her," Austin said. "All you've done this semester is hit on folks in the other classes."

"And yet none of them want me as their boyfriend," Abel shouted. "Why? What's wrong with me?"

"You're loud and a creep," Austin said.

"Okay, but besides that."

"Nothing. You're perfect."

"Exactly," Abel pouted and leaned his head back. "Well, maybe things will turn around. Hey, maybe we'll see Moxie pop in and say hello! She doesn't seem like a shy girl. Imagine what she'd look like! Literally every guy in school talks about her. They'd be so jealous."

Before an answer, the door slid open. The hot spring entrance was obscured by a wooden cocoa wall that split the two sides, so no one could see who was entering until they appeared on each side. Abel perked up and swam for the wall.

"I have arrived!"

Lloyd walked out with only a tight Canadian flag swimsuit wrapped around his waist. He held a can of sparkling water with his shoulders gleaming from the steam droplets already on his skin. He stepped into spring with the water hugging his knees. Abel stared at him and smirked.

"Damn, Lloyd," Abel teased. "You have a license to drive around that dump truck of an ass?"

"Excuse you," Lloyd said. "Comments on anyones appearance will be reported!"

"Calm down, La-Lloyd. It was just a compliment."

"I figured you would be the most immature here," Lloyd said. "You better not try peeking through that wall at anyone. I have given the females my word that I will stop any and all uninvited glancing."

"It's not my fault the girls are hot," Abel crossed his arms. "Where is everyone else?"

"Maybe they heard you were here and decided to come later," Austin said.

"Man, you think saving the universe would get you on people's good side." Abel splashed the water in frustration.

Rustle.

Abel looked around the hot spring. A strange creaking noise was emanating from somewhere above them.

"You hear that?"

Another creak. The sound of a boot clacked on wood.

Austin pointed at the sloped roof of the hot spring inn. "Look at that."

Abel peeked upward to see a figure dressed in red disappear through a dark window. The last thing he saw was the bottom of a thick black boot before the figure fell into the room.

"Wait, that's Synaes' room," Austin said. Suddenly, the tall boy narrowed his eyes into a determined stare. He rose up with water sloshing on either side of him. Instead of waddling across the water, he hoisted himself on the back ledge he leaned on and stepped onto the deck. He grabbed Abel by the neck and lifted him up. He yelped as Austin dragged him towards the doorway. Behind him, Lloyd swam his way to the other side of the pool as Austin and Abel arrived at the edge of the spring.

"How are we-".

Abel was interrupted by Austin flinging him into the roof. Abel screamed before his body landed on the tile sconces. When Lloyd arrived, he grabbed an umbrella and turned it into a small platform of dust. Austin hopped on and bounced onto the roof. Lloyd followed suit and trounced off the roof towards the window.

Austin grabbed Abel's lapel and dragged him across the tough tile. The roof bumped and clawed at his skin. He yelped with each bounce until the got to the window. Austin flung him inside, and Abel screamed until he bounced over the carpet.

He hit the pole of the bed and groaned. Abel splayed out on the floor as the strange dark shape looked back at them at the door. Austin surveyed the swanky room and found nobody on the bed. However, the figure with the strange sack on his back slipped out the front door.

Austin grabbed Abel again and threw him o ver his shoulder. His head smacked into the bed post as Austin sprinted out the room. Lloyd followed behind into the bright hallway.

In the hall, Austin turned left down the pink walls and traversed over the brown mahogany boards underneath his bare feet. However, he ran too close to the wall and passed by a coffee table with a flower vase. Abel's head slammed into the marble vase which knocked it onto the ground. It shattered with Abel moaning in pain. However, Lloyd grabbed a shard and morphed it into dust. He thrusted it forward, and it stabbed the side of the escaping man's red coat.

However, once the dust passed, the fabric tied itself back together and sewed the abrasion shut.

The figure rushed into another room. Despite the door being locked, he gripped the knob with a gloved leather hand. A bright glow emanated which caused the lock to unclasp. He pushed into the room and closed the door.

Austin arrived and flung the door outward. He pushed inside with Abel's cranium being knocked into the door frame. He screeched as they entered the bright room.

Inside was Katsu who screamed at the trio rushing into his room.

"I'm naked!" he screamed at them.

"Ah!" Lloyd shouted and shielded his eyes. Austin paid no mind and charged past him at the figure reaching into his sack. Katsu grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around his waist, but not before Abel crashed into him. Abel's arms flailed and wrapped around Katsu's hips. Austin let go which made Abel and Katsu fall into a heap.

The figure threw a small cube box onto the little Christmas tree in the corner of the room. All the rooms had them, but Austin found it odd how the tag appeared to have Katsu's name. Before he could react, the figure darted for the door leading into the adjacent room. He gripped the doorknob and rushed into the dark room.

Now pitch black save for the dull moonlight shining through the window, the figure failed to notice a chessboard on the floor. His black boot stepped on the board and slid underneath him. He yelled and skated forward into the Christmas tree.

Austin tried to stop, but his foot jammed into a queen piece from the board. He collapsed like a deck of cards and rolled over the wood towards the tumbling man. He grabbed onto the tree and took it with him. Once Austin rolled into his legs, the man fell backwards with the tree plummeting onto the two men.

The smaller man landed on top of Austin who was now crushed by the figure and the tree. All he could see was the bright glow of space heaters humming the night away with the man's red coat suffocating him.

"Austin," Lloyd shouted. He grabbed the Christmas tree and groaned out to turn the tree into dust.

Bap! The tree disappeared into a cloud of black debris. Lloyd tossed it aside and pushed it through the air vent. However, when he saw what lay before him, he gasped.

Abel and Katsu stumbled into the room. Abel yelped when the heat burst onto his skin and cooked him alive.

"It's like an oven in here," he shouted. When he turned to the bed next to him, he saw Drake dozing the night away. However, he noticed the strange headset over his eyes with the visor glowing blue.

"What is Drake wearin-?"

"What? What are you doing here?"

Abel whipped around at the interruption. On top of Austin's flailing body was….

"James! What are you doing?" Lloyd asked.

James, in a red Santa coat with a strange lavender jumpsuit underneath crossed in lather belts and chains, grunted and rolled off Austin. He rose to his feet and snagged the sack like it was a feather. Abel reached down and grabbed Austin's hand to lift him up.

"What is going on here?" Katsu whined. "I was just about to go in the hot spring! And why are we in Drake's room?"

"I don't know," James shouted. "I know why I'm in Drake's room. Why are you clowns?"

"Because you're sneaking around people's rooms," Austin said. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, you porcupine! I'm giving presents to everyone."

A pregnant pause. Katsu shared a look at Abel who then raised an eyebrow towards James.

"You?"

"Yes me!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm Santa Claus!" James screamed.

"What?" Lloyd shouted. "But Santa is old and obese!"

"I'm helping him out," James said. "He's too elderly to go around house to house like he used to, so he hired people to help deliver presents in certain regions."

"So…it's a job?" Abel asked. "How'd you even end up with that?"

"I applied online," James yelled. "How else would I have gotten it?"

"But Santa isn't real!" Katsu said.

"Of course he is, you dumb sponge," James said. "How else would be delivering presents to all the kids of Japan? And where would I have gotten this coat?"

"Okay, if you're really Santa or at least helping him," Austin said. "What did I want for Christmas?"

James crossed his arms. He sneered and let out a deep sigh. "You said you wanted your family from the digital universe."

Abel looked up at Austin who suddenly had a mournful look on his face.

"Did you really?" Abel asked.

"Well, yeah," Austin said. "My twin and my siblings. I wanted them to be real."

"Aw, man," Katsu said. "I wanted Shoto back."

"Yes," Lloyd interjected. "I, as well, was looking for a way to see my family again. But I certainly never considered writing a letter to Santa for it."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," James said after a brief pause. "But gifts don't work that way. But…since you're here…I got something for you that Santa thinks would work."

James takes a small package out of his large red bag. He tosses it at Austin who snags it in midair. It's a small cube with a red ribbon around it. He dug in and flung gifts at Katsu and Abel. Then, he placed a box next to Drake's body.

Abel shook his package by his ear. "Is this real? You're not pranking us, right?"

"Don't open it until morning," James said. "If Santa finds out I gave gifts to non-sleeping people, I'm fucked. Got it?"

"Okay, I seriously don't believe you," Katsu said. "Even if Santa was real, why would he hire you?"

"Because I get along with his elves," James grunted. "What other reason does he need?"

"I will need further proof," Lloyd said.

"Fine," James huffed. "Follow me."

The others rushed out of the room with James. However, Abel looked back at the visor over Drake's face.

"Hey, guys?" Abel said. "What about this weird thing on Drake's face?"

However, none of them paid attention as they rushed out into the hallway. Abel shrugged and ran out with them.

But not before tripping over a piece of the chess board smacking his face into a space heater.

"Agh!"

On the roof, Lloyd could not help but gape at the insanity before him. Katsu's jaw was on the floor while Austin could only stare.

Abel grunted and swung his leg onto the roof. He rolled himself on the surface and rose to his feet. His face covered in cuts and blackening bruises, he bumbled over to Austin on the top of the sloped roof.

"Alright, so what is-."

Abel sucked in a deep breath and screamed.

On the roof was a sleek red sleigh with a group of reindeer chewing on carrots. The one in the front with a glowing red nose neighed as James petted his head. He ran for the sleigh and jumped into the plush velvet bench that lay in the center. He grabbed the diamond-encrusted ropes and snapped them in place.

"Now, if you excuse me," James shouted over the sound of a jet engine starting to erupt under the sleigh. "I have a lot of houses left for tonight. I'll see you all in the morning. And you never saw me. If you blab to anyone about this, Santa will send down the elves."

"The elves?" Abel squealed.

"You don't wanna see the elves," James said. "One time, I saw an elf fall off pace in making toys, and the others ate him! Imagine what they do to snitches."

As he raked over the disgusted and horrified looks of his fellow classmates, James smirked and gripped the reins in his hands.

"By the way," James adjusted the hat on his head. "Merry Christmas, you dumb manatees. Hiya!"

A harsh golden glow erupted underneath the sleigh. The entire frame lifted upwards, and the reindeer charged forward. James' head hit the back of the seat from the acceleration, and a loud boom erupted as the sleigh rocketed towards the sky. As quickly as the glow shown from the sleigh, it disappeared into a bright light screaming over the horizon and evaporating into the twinkling quilt of the night sky.

Lloyd fainted on the roof. Katsu blinked before electing out a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, I get it," Katsu said. "This is a dream. Kay, I guess I'm gonnna go wake up now."

Katsu leapt off the roof onto the main deck of the male hot spring. He grunted when he landed face first onto the pavement.

"Never mind," Katsu glowed from the energy created from his stunt. "I'm awake."

Abel sat down on the roof next to Austin. The taller boy followed suit as they looked up at the sky.

"So you wanted to see your family, too," Abel said.

"Yeah. It still sucks. It not being real," Austin said.

"Well, in a way, they're still real," Abel said. "I mean, our memories and feelings and what we learned from them are still real. And that's what makes us who we are. Right?"

Austin paused and looked down at the shimmering hot spring. Thinking back to the last few months, his class grew closer and closer together. In a way, this was his family now. And he couldn't help but be glad to have a chance as this new life.

He smiled. "Yeah. I think it does."

"Great," Abel said. "Y'know, from the roof, we can scoot over to the girl's side."

"They're gonna catch you," Austin said. "And then they'll filet you alive."

"I think I'd die happy," Abel got up and headed for the girl's side. "As long as I got to see Megan and her killer-."

The last thing Abel heard was his own scream as one of the tiles slipped out from underneath his feet. He tumbled off the roof and plummeted for the ground.

"Agh!"

Splat!

"It's okay! Katsu broke my fall!"

Christmas Day. The entire class awoke. Or more so, Abel screamed and knocked on every single door to get his class down into the main lobby.

Drake pulled off his headset and sat up in his bed. Not only was he awoken from a particular pleasureable part of his travels within the visor, but that annoying Radiohead had to be the first voice he heard that day. His eyes remained lidded until he saw a strange red glint at the die of his bed.

The redhead reached over and uncovered the gift underneath his comforter. His golden eyes examined the paper and rubbed a finger over the tag attached to the present.

For Drake Kaiset.

Drake furrowed his brow. However, his strong sense of smell betrayed a succulent scent of caramel. His mout practicalky salivated as he grabbed the paper and tore it to shreds. He had never received a present before in this new world, so he gasped in delight at the box of caramel underneath the wrapping.

He grabbed one of the pieces and shoved it into his mouth. He moaned and continued to eat them. The caramel dissipated in his throat and massaged it with a warm tint that ran over the back of his tongue. His lips smacked, and he reached down for another piece.

However, his fingers found a piece of paper instead.

He gazed at the corner of a thick parchment under the box of caramel. Drake was weary of any surprises, so he slid the paper out from the candy as if a bomb would be triggered with a rapid movement.

He unraveled the paper and smoothed it out in his hands. He placed his head on a pillow edged to the periwinkle walls and scanned the note.

Dear Drake Kaiset,

Nobody told you about the one major difference between your old universe and this one. Well, it's me! I rarely sent letters like this, but since it was your first Christmas in the new world, I thought I'd make it a little more special.

Clearly, you have been through a lot. But I am happy to say that you and the rest of your class were probably the best kids in the world considering all you did for our universe and others. You probably deserve a lot more than just the gifts I left you, but Japan is quite strict on their import laws, and you don't wanna see the how much I still owe the IRS in America.

That said, I recognize you are still sad about your family not being in your life. And you are very sad about Blake sacrificing himself for your class. I wish there was something I could do about it, but my powers, I'm sorry, my quirk only stretches to material items specifically those mass produced and copyrighted. However, I pulled a few extra strings to get these for you. Just know that all of that pain you feel becomes a lot more manageable when you look around and see all the people whose lives are a little better just because your here. You make the world a little brighter, and know just how valuable and loved you are. By those you know, and even those you don't. At least, not yet.

Now, if you excuse me, I have about thirty million more of these to write. Merry Christmas.

Drake set down the letter. When he did, the caramel dish had disappeared. In its place was a picture. He dropped the letter and grabbed the glass frame.

Holding it up to his face, he looked at the photo of him and Blake. It was not an instance he remembered a camera being present for, but it was an image of him and Blake laying on the floor of the pawn shop. It was after their fight, yet both of them seemed completely at peace and relaxed in each other's presence. Despite being covered in blood and sawdust, but of them were content and looked up at the person viewing the photo. Blake's wide grin, once unsettling, now oddly comforting to Drake.

Around the margins, words were scribbled in various colors and fonts. They appeared to be handwritten, yet Drake was shocked at some of the slogans on the picture.

"You're the best, dragon head!"

"Rocking time knowing ya, Drake!"

"Thanks for heating up my beaker for me that one time. Beep boop."

"I'm not straight, but you'd be my cheat guy."

"Merry Christmas. Even without wings, you'd be a fly-ass mother-."

Drake could not read much further. Tears dropped onto the glass over the photo. His vision obscured, he cried in his bed and hugged the picture to his chest. Fortunately, these tears were far from those of sorrow; and he could not help but smile as they ran over his face.

He grinned and swallowed the lump of coal in his throat. He threw off the covers and rushed for the door to see the rest of his class. For once, the space heaters around him bade his body hot, but he knew the best way to cool down was to see the others.

He ran into the hallway wiping his tears one last time before slamming the door shut.

Meanwhile, outside the window, James smirked hunched over the glass. His work finished, he hustled away.

Downstairs, the entire class gathered in the lobby all holding different pictures. Under the giant Christmas tree in the center, Izuku sat with a horde of presents towering above his green hair. He had bought a couple of presents for the students but the amount that accumulated over the night overwhelmed him. All of the students held out their pictures and compared them. Not only that, but they compared the words in the margins and tried to match the person who created them.

"Okay, who said I was hotter than a semi-truck engine?" Megan shouted as she looked at the picture of her defeating Bakugo the first day of school.

"Sure, I never said it," Abel said from last wheelchair. "But I certainly agree with it."

Smack.

"Ow!"

In the corner, Martel shared his photo with Anton which was of him holding a bong in a classroom towards the beginning of the year.

"This message says that Pathogen believes I'm a great robot. I want to thank him personally."

"How could Pathogen have even written that?"

Moxie sat at the bottom of the tree. She saw the picture of her first kiss with James and looked at the messages in the margins.

"I reckon these messages are what we think of each other!"

"Mine is even in braille," Synaes, who made Austin blush from the Santa dress she wore, smiled and ran her hand over the frame which showed her feeling up Austin at the "Sports Festival."

"And look at this," Katsu said. "Mister Deku said I'm the best student in his class!"

"No, it doesn't," Abel shouted. "He wrote that about me."

"Stop lying, you two," Lloyd said. "Besides, Professor Deku wrote I was his most well-behaved student."

"That doesn't mean best," Abel and Katsu shouted.

Then, from the doorway to the lobby, the gigantic doors burst open. James, still wearing a Santa coat with the strange purple costume underneath, trudged into the lobby with tired circles under his eyes. His hair was frazzled with twigs and leaves clinging to his coat.

"James," Izuku said. "Why were you outside?"

"Sorry for being late," James dragged himself to the tree. "I had a long night."

"A long night doing what?"

James stopped and glared at the class around him.

"I was delivering presents for Santa Claus."

A long pause. Martel exchanged glances with Hunter. Austin and Abel bit their lips to silence themselves.

Then, a laugh from Moxie.

"Ha ha," she chortled. "Your sense of humor has improved."

Then, the rest of the class laughed. Except for those who knew the truth. They pretend to laugh, but squirmed from having to keep the truth to themselves.

James sat next to Moxie. She giggled and ran a hand through his hair to brush off the twigs in his bangs.

"Wow, James," she said. "Your hair is especially fluffy today."

Megan tilted her head and scooted from her spot next to Drake and placed her hand on James' head.

"Really," Megan said. "Let me feel."

James startled and froze as Megan ran her hand through his obsidian locks.

"Wow, that is really soft," Megan said.

Synaes, curious, sat next to Megan and reached her hand towards James' head. She felt her fingers brush over his hair as well.

"Correct," Synaes said. "Very luscious."

James tried to bat away the girls' hands as they combed through his hair. "Gah! Get away from me! I'm tired!"

They laughed and continued to poke at James. When they finally left him alone, he looked around at the rest of the class opening presents and examining the pictures with uplifting opinions from their fellow classmates.

"Hey, James," Drake said. "Did you write that you admired my quirk?"

"What? No, I-," James stopped when he saw the picture with his handwriting on the margins. He smiled and nodded.

"Aw, you're so sweet, James," Moxie said. "You wanna share this pot of gumbo I got in my present?"

James quirked an eyebrow and sniffed the strong odor of crab and roux. He saw the box in Moxie's lap and looked into the steam wafting from the open side. Sure enough, a giant cauldron of gumbo sizzled in her lap.

"You asked for a pot of gumbo for Christmas?" James asked.

"That and a shotgun," Moxie said. "But the letter I got from Santa said I'd shoot my eye out."

"Hey," James said. "You're not supposed to talk about the letter."

"I reckon you won't tell Santa on me, will ya?" Moxie elbowed James in the ribcage.

"Wait, how do you know about that?"

"You just told us, didn't ya?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Moxie laughed and grabbed a silver ladle inside. She slurped on her gumbo while the others broke open their gifts. James, however, had nothing to open. After all, he had been gifted the coat and the costume underneath, so he was set as far as Santa was concerned.

"So, what's up with the costume," Katsu munched on a wedge of Shoto's Famous Swiss Cheese.

"Oh, it's my hero costume," James said. "Looks good, doesn't it?"

"I guess, Freddy Kreuger," Katsu chuckled with a shrug. He continued to eat until he finished the wedge. When he did, he found a small slip of paper attached to the bottom of the cheese wheel.

He lifted the wheel up and grabbed the paper. It was a handwritten letter in Japanese.

Katsu,

Remember how I said that last time I spoke to you would be our last contact? I lied. Turns out, Santa is actually a Saint and therefore has a lot of heft up here. I wrote a whole bunch of letters to be sent to you many Christmases into the future, so this is the first one.

I now you are still confused about your path in life. I wish I could just tell you what to do, and you can dive headfirst into it. Sadly, life wasn't created that way. Just know that your life as far as being successful and happy really has not even begun. You have a long road, and that is a good thing. I think all people strive for living a life where, at the end of it, they could say they did something that mattered on Earth. I'm happy to say that, even without the hero stuff, you are one of those things. My memory and my dreams live with you, Katsu. And when you fall in love and have kids, yours will live in them. So if you ever feel like you are too weak or too slow in life, remember to stop and just breathe in what is around you. And frankly, that's the only real advice I have left for you. Don't worry so much. Be honest and humble. But most of all, just breathe.

That, and don't invest in a restaurant centered around cheese. Especially if it's only open in Japan.

Love, Shoto

Katsu became the second student to tear up. He was patted on the back by Izuku who happened to be walking past. Katsu nodded his head and put the letter in his pocket.

Izuku walked towards James who was nodding off. He tapped the boy on the shoulder and sat next to him.

"So," Izuku said. "Did you get what you wanted?"

James picked up the picture in his frame. He was being hugged by Robyn with a hesitant but happy Leo saddled up next to James. It was the same picture they took when Leo apologized for hitting him.

"Yeah, I did," James said. "You?"

Izuku took out his picture frame from his pajama pocket. He showed it to James. It was a picture of the three of them in their old U.A uniforms underneath the blooming cherry blossoms.

"Not exactly what I wanted," Izuku grinned. "But what I needed?"

Izuku set the picture down and gestured out to the rest of the class. Happy and at peace. All was well.

OPTIONAL ENDINGS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE CANON

James slid himself over the hardwood floor to his room. Truth be told, this delivering presents job was tough. He planned to tell Santa that he would likely need next year off unless he got a major increase in salary.

He reached for the doorknob and pulled open the door towards the main hallway of the boy's wing of the resort. He sighed knowing he was so close to his room.

However, when he opened the door, he gasped. He was confronted by the sudden realization that someone was behind it, and there was a leaf of mistletoe hanging from the doorframe!

Before he could turn away, he found himself planted under the mistletoe in front of….

Moxie

"James," Moxie tucked a hair behind her ear "I didn't think you'd be up here."

"Huh? Then why are you here?" James asked. "And why we're you just standing by the door like this?"

"Oh, we'll, it's quite simple," Moxie said with a blush forming over her face. "I was walking back to the hot spring, and I thought this would be a shortcut, but the door wouldn't open for me, so I had to wait for someone and thought this would be the best spot."

"You're a horrible liar, Moxie," James said.

"Oh, forget it," Moxie said.

She practically pounced on James. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she launched her lips onto his. James was taken aback, but he returned the kiss and hugged Moxie. She ran a hand through his hair and breathed in the scent of peppermint that permeated from his lips.

When they released each other, Moxie looked down at her toes and clasped her hands together.

"I'm sorry, James," she said. "I just wanted to give you a surprise."

James laughed at how sheepish she looked. He grabbed Moxie's chin and propped it up. He looked deep into her charcoal eyes and rubbed her cheek.

"You taste like gumbo."

Moxie laughed. "You like gumbo though, don't cha?"

"Yeah, especially when it's spicy," James said while tracing her lip with his thumb. "In fact, I'd like to taste it further."

Moxie blushed and looked away from him. "Well, I reckon we can watch a movie in your room. Since my room is so far away and you have so many movies."

"Good idea. I'll show you my favorite one."

James escorted Moxie to his room. They disappeared inside not to exit for a while.

LLOYD

James shrieked when he saw Lloyd trying to exit at the same time he was entering. Lloyd stammered and stepped back.

"James," Lloyd said. "I was just heading to the hot spring downstairs. What are you up to?"

"Up to?" James shouted. "I was going back to my room, but you're in my way."

"Oh, okay," Lloyd said. "Then I can get out of your way."

"No, you can't," James shouted. "We're under mistletoe, and it's bad luck to walk away from mistletoe without…y'know."

"But we don't have to-."

"We do," James yelled. "Santa told me what would happen if we broke the curse! The elves come after you!"

"But what if we-."

"No buts," James said. "We have to do this. No other way around it."

Lloyd blushed and looked up at the leaf. However, once he examined it, he blew out a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, James. It's not mistletoe!"

James' jaw dropped. "Huh?"

Lloyd pointed up at the plant with a bright smile. "It's just holly, James! The two are often mixed up with one another. This is shaped different from mistletoe, and the color of the berries is also different from most varieties of mistletoe. The edges are serrated, and the bright green tint is common with holly, since mistletoe would only ever be a dark forest green. Also, if you stand close enough, the aroma is more of a clean linen than a lavender, while the-."

"Oh, Screw this," James said.

Then, James pounced onto Lloyd and threw himself into the kiss. Lloyd stepped back, his yellow eyes wide in shock as James' lips smacked on Lloyd's. James had fantasized about this since he had first met Lloyd, and finally his wish was coming to fruition. Kissing Lloyd was better than he could even dream.

After a few moments, Lloyd relaxed and wrapped his arms around James' hips. James threaded his fingers through Lloyd's red hair. The two were intoxicated off the other's lips, and the world melted away from the two of them.

When James finally pulled back, Lloyd heaved to regain air in his lungs. James smiled and placed his hand on Lloyd's chest.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," James said.

"James," Lloyd panted. "You just kissed me."

"I know," James said. "And I wanna do it again. A lot more, too."

"But," Lloyd fumbled over his words. "What about Moxie? What about the others?"

"Don't think about them. It's Christmas," James said. "Besides, I have a movie I wanted to watch in my room. You should join me."

Lloyd's eyes, clouded and dazed from the turn of events, could only nod. James smirked and grabbed his hand. He led Lloyd to his room.

"But what if someone sees me leaving your room?" Lloyd said.

"Don't worry," James opened the door. "The movie I want to show you is really long."

He pushed Lloyd inside. Then, James followed with that same cocky grin on his face.

Slam!

MEGAN

"Ugh. Fine, let's get this over with," Megan said.

"Wait, what are you eve doing-."

Megan pressed her lips onto James'. He gagged and pulled back. Megan coughed and clutched her chest.

"Ew, you taste horrible," Megan said. "Thanks for reminding me why I only like women."

ABEL

"Pucker up, big daddy!"

And that was how Abel Chevelle ended up in the emergency room with a concussion.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!