Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

"Okay!" Kirito announced. "I've finished winding the last of the lights around the tree!"

"Did you remember to test them first?" Asuna asked her husband.

"Of course I did! I made sure there's no breaks in the wires or risks of sparks coming out. Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my family."

The Black Swordsman's noble protective words made his wife's cheeks turn as red as the Santa Claus hat on her head. She smiled as she placed a hand onto her chest to steady her racing heart. She always knew she could count on Kirito to protect their little family which they had made up with Yui within Sword Art Online. The three of them were gathered in the lounge of their in-game home - where they had worked together to put up their Christmas tree.

"Okay!" Asuna rummaged through the box which had been holding the decorations that were now on the tree. "The baubles and tinsel are all hanging up. All that's left to put on is the star!"

"And we know whose special job that is!" Kirito winked. "Don't we, Yui?"

"I'm on it, Daddy!"

With a happy salute directed to her adoptive parents, the tiny Navigation Pixie dove into the box her mother was kneeling before. She pulled out the large golden star that was inside, holding onto it tightly as she flew towards the top of the Christmas tree. Yui felt so honoured that her parents entrusted her to do the most special task of all. Determined to make them both proud of her, she reached the peak of the tree, where she perched the star into place.

"There!" Yui cried. "The star's on the tree, Daddy!"

"Excellent!" Asuna cheered. "It's all finished!"

"Not just yet! There's only one more thing felt to do!"

With a wide smile, Kirito held up a black box and pressed a button - resulting in the fairy lights which were wound around the tree turning on. The family gathered together to observed the beautiful sight they had worked on as a team. All three were smiling as the tree towered over them, its colourful bubbles flashing and ornaments twinkling while the star took pride of place at the very top.

"Wow!" Yui exclaimed softly. "The tree looks so amazing!"

"That's because we all worked together!" Asuna beamed. "As a team!"

"Not just as a team," Kirito said, resting one hand onto his wife's shoulder while gently holding his adoptive daughter in the palm of his other one. "As a family."

Asuna averted her gaze towards her husband and adoptive child. Her brown eyes twinkled in all her love for him. In spite of all the trials and perils which Sword Art Online threw her way, she did not joining the game in the slightest - for they she would not have made the wonderful family she was proud to have.

"Right!" Asuna nodded agreeably. "Decorating a Christmas tree is what families do is what families do together."

"And we did a great job on our Christmas tree!" Yui flew out of her father's hand to sit on her mother's shoulder. "Didn't we, Mommy?"

Asuna turned to smile at the tiny pixie who was sat on her shoulder. She gave a soft nod towards her before turning her warm gaze towards Kirito, her heart overflowing with her undying feelings for him.

"We sure did," she murmured happily. "Right, Kirito?"

"Right."

Kirito beamed at his wife and daughter. There was no one he would rather have with him around the Christmas tree. This magical time of the year was all about families being together - and Kirito knew he had the best family in both the real and virtual world.

"Hey, Mommy, Daddy!"" Yu exclaimed, her gaze perking up as she suddenly flew off Asuna's shoulder to dive into the box which had held the decorations. "There's something we forgot to put on the tree!"

"We have?" Kirito murmured, blinking with surprise at his daughter's remark.

"What have we missed, Yui?" Asuna asked.

"This thing!"

Yui reemerged from inside the box. She soared upwards as she lifted something out that was almost as big as she was. She clutched it tightly with her tiny little hands as she hovered in front of her parents for them to see it.

At once, Kirito and Asuna both gasped when they saw what their child had found and was holding before them.

It was a piece of mistletoe.

"Oh…" Asuna cried, her eyes widening as she fidgeted at the sight of the piece of plant. "That… That's not for Christmas tree, Yui."

Yui blinked and stared at her mother as she tilted her head. "It's not, Mommy?"

"No it isn't…" Kirito added as he glanced towards Asuna, recalling what mistletoe was used for at this time of year.

Seeing the way her husband was looking at her, Asuna felt her cheeks beginning to heat up as they turned read. She could tell her husband was thinking the exact same thing as her.

"Then what's this plant for?" Yui asked curiously. She was highly interested in the strange thing she had found. Having never seen anything like you before, she was eager to learn all about it from her parents.

Kirito turned back towards his child. His heart raced inside his chest as he realised he was going to have to teach her what mistletoe was used for.

"You hang it in the air," he explained, "over people's head's…"

"Hang it over people's heads?"

Without wasting a second, Yui flew upwards, taking the mistletoe with her. Her parents watched with stunned gazes as their daughter hovered above them. She smiled happily down at them as she dangled the mistletoe, holding it above both their heads.

"Like this, Daddy?"

"Yeah…" Kirito nodded slowly, staring up at the mistletoe before averting his gaze towards the young woman who was underneath it with him. "Just like that, Yui…"

Asuna peered back at her husband. She couldn't believe she was underneath a piece of mistletoe with him. She placed her hand against her chest to steady the rapid beating of her heart. Leave it to Yui to place her in a situation like this with Kirito. To decorate a Christmas tree with the one she loved was one amazing thing, but to be under a mistletoe with him was something else…

"Why is this thing for hanging over people's heads, Daddy?" Yui asked, still smiling sweetly dangling the piece of plant over her parents.

Kirito glanced up at his daughter, then beamed as he reached towards his wife who was standing underneath the mistletoe with him - before causing her brown eyes to widen as he cupped her red cheeks gently in his hands.

"So that when they're underneath it, Yui…" Kirito answered, tenderly caressing the stunned swordswoman's face with his thumbs. "They can do this…"

Realising what was about to happen, Asuna smiled elatedly at her husband. She nodded slowly before closing her eyes, leaning towards the Black Swordsman.

Pressing their lips together, the young couple locked into a deep passionate kiss. They wrapped their arms around one another, holding onto each other tight. Relishing being with the one they loved at Christmas, they embraced warmly with no desire to let go. They kept their lips sealed to the other's, highly enjoying their softness as well as the closeness between them.

As she watched her parents from above, Yui smiled brightly in all her amazement. She was astonished to learn from her mother and father what people did underneath a piece of mistletoe. Now that she knew what this plant she'd found was used for at this time of the year, she would be sure to bring it out every Christmas to hold it above the loving couple - who the young Navigation Pixie was proud and delighted to be the adoptive daughter of.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy and Daddy," Yui whispered softly. "I love you both…"

THE END