Disclaimer: I don't own Love Live! School Idol Project or any of its associated intellectual property. The following has been written for entertainment purposes only.

The cover image I used I found on the Love Live reddit page. I'm not quite sure who to credit for it, but thanks to whichever talented artist out there drew it.

"Mama, papa, wake up! Santa's come! There are presents under the tree!"

In her excitement, Maki hadn't even realised that it wasn't even 6 am yet, nor had she quite clocked just how uncivilised an hour this was. Such considerations were far beyond her care though. Without warning, she flicked the light switch on and jumped on the bed. The lumpy shape under the duvet that Maki guessed to be her mother let out a very loud groan. For a split second, she felt bad about waking her parents up, but then she remembered what had brought her here in the first place and her face split into a wide grin.

"Mama, papa, wake up!" she repeated. "It's Christmas!"

Her mother rolled onto her back and looked at her with what could only be described as a very tired expression.

"It's too early, Maki dearest. Go back to bed," she murmured, her voice still half-asleep.

Maki pulled a pout that at any other time would have made her feel immediately self-conscious. But it was Christmas damn it and she'd pull every trick in the book to wake her parents up, and if that meant acting noxiously cute, then so be it. "Please, mama," she wheedled, drawing out the last 'e' on please. "It's Christmas! I'm too excited to get back to sleep now anyway."

To her right, her father's tussled head of hair appeared from under the covers. "Alright, poppet," he murmured. "Give us a minute and we'll come down. Why don't you go wait by the tree?"

Maki smiled, practically leapt off the bed and just about managed to restrain herself from running out of the room. But her restraint could only last so long. She'd barely passed through the door frame before she took off at a run down the hall.

Contrary to popular belief, the Nishikino family didn't keep a veritable army of servants to tend to their every whim, but they did have a maid called Asaka who would normally make the house ready for the family every morning. But since it was Christmas, Asaka had the day off (as did the rest of the staff) so the living room was dark when she entered it. The three members of the family would be alone for the morning until the staff returned with their families as guests for the afternoon. On Christmas Day, the Nishikino family liked to show their appreciation to their staff by cooking for them. It was one of the things Maki liked the most about Christmas.

Maki lit a fire in the grate and turned on the main Christmas lights that adorned the room. The living room was cold from the early morning chill so she knelt by the fireplace, holding her hands as close to the flames as she could without burning herself.

She tried to focus on the fire to distract herself from the siren call of the presents under the tree. And for all of about thirty seconds, she succeeded. But the presents... they were so pretty. She slapped her own hand when she realised she'd been unconsciously reaching for one of the nearest shiny packages.

But it was difficult to restrain herself for so long and her patience was nearing an end. It had been five whole minutes since she woken her parents. What could they be doing? Running to the foot of the stairs, Maki gripped the banister and called for them. It couldn't hurt to pester them just a little. "Mama, papa, hurry up!"

They appeared at the top of the staircase a few seconds later. As soon as she caught sight of them, Maki smiled and ran straight back to the living room. During the brief wait, she started pulling the prettiest looking presents out from under the tree: ones wrapped in red, gold or green paper with lovely delicate ribbons tied up in elegant bows.

Her parents had barely arrived in the room when she reached for the closest present in the pile. "Can I start now?" she asked eagerly, unaware of how her face was aglow with excitement.

Her parents awkwardly took a seat on the floor on the other side of the pile of presents. "Of course, dear," her mother replied.

Maki didn't need telling twice. She'd chosen one of the largest boxes to start with; it had been so large that it wouldn't fit beneath the tree and been stood awkwardly to the side. She refrained from opening it only long enough to read the label. It was one of the few that weren't addressed from Santa. This one was from her parents, and she was curious to see what was inside.

After making short work of the wrapping paper, Maki revealed a large non-descript cardboard box. Opening it up, she couldn't help but gasp as she discovered a beautiful old-fashioned dolls house inside. Her mother helped her to dismantle the cardboard box and explained that it had belonged to her since she was Maki's age. It had been crafted in Amsterdam in the early 19th century and had been passed down to the oldest daughter in the family for the last five generations. Now it was Maki's turn to look after it, now that she was old enough and sensible enough to be trusted with such a valuable possession.

Maki felt honoured to be entrusted with the care of such a precious family heirloom. As she looked over the dolls house, she opened up the rooms ever so cautiously, afraid that it might break beneath her fingers and occasionally she picked out little sticks of furniture for closer inspection. They were exquisitely crafted and were surprisingly detailed for such tiny things. For a moment, Maki imagined bringing Honoka and the others over to show it off, but put the thought aside. She was grateful to have friends now, but she wasn't sure if they would tease for being so enthusiastic about what they might consider to be just a children's plaything. Nico definitely would, and the others would probably whisper about it behind her back even if they were too tactful to say anything to her face. She wasn't yet ready to be so open about everything with her friends.

It was only when her father coughed that Maki was startled from her reverie and she remembered she had other presents to open.

She worked through them like a machine, instantly finding weaknesses in the wrapping paper where the paper hadn't been taped down firmly enough. Every time she opened a present, she would stop long enough to thank whoever had given her the present (her parents sometimes, Santa more often) before returning to work on her ever dwindling number of presents.

Eventually, there was only one present left, so small that it had almost been lost in the growing mountain of discarded wrapping paper. Maki cautiously rattled the little box and heard something clunk about inside, but she couldn't guess what it was. Excited, she began to read out the label.

"For a very pretty princess," she uttered, colouring immediately at the compliment. "Love from Santa."

With this present, Maki had trouble worrying a way into the wrapping paper. The paper was layered in copious amount of tape, leaving no single weak spot behind. Maki flipped the parcel three times in her hands before she decided to go for the brute force method: she dug a thumbnail into the paper and tore. A few seconds later, the paper was gone, revealing…

A little black box.

"What did Santa get you, poppet?" Glancing up, she realised her parents were leaning in a bit closer, apparently just as curious about the present as she was.

Maki opened the box and held its contents up to the light. It was a locket in the shape of a heart; a pretty thing made of silver and covered with tiny gems that looked suspiciously like diamonds. It was held by a fine, silver chain.

"It's… beautiful," Maki said, sounding and feeling slightly dazed. She'd never received a present quite like this before. She didn't know what to make of it.

"Is anything inside?" her mother asked, curiosity clear in her voice.

"Ah, I hadn't thought of that." Maki set the locket down in her palm and fiddled with the clasp. After a few seconds, she heard a distinctive click and felt the locket give in her hand. There were no photographs inside, indeed it was completely empty but for a small scrap of paper. Discreetly unfolding it, she found it to be a short message written in an unfamiliar hand.

'Maki,

I hope you like your present. I think you'll look really pretty wearing this locket (not that you aren't pretty already of course!). The gems are diamonds, your birthstone, and I think they suit you very nicely. Fill this locket with lots of happy memories.'

Maki read the message through two more times before realising that her parents were still looking at her expectantly.

"Are you alright, dear?" her mother asked. "You look flushed."

"I-I'm fine. There was nothing inside. Would you like to see it?"

She wasn't quite sure why she lied. Neither was she sure why she kept the little scrap of paper hidden from her parent's line of sight. Maki's attention was elsewhere as her parents praised how pretty the piece of jewellery was. Something was off here. Why would Santa write something like that to her? He never had before. Indeed, he'd never given her such an intimate present before either. Which could only mean… the locket was from someone pretending to be Santa. It was the only possible explanation but why on earth would anyone pretend to be Santa Claus?

For the rest of the day, she pondered and tried to figure out who the locket was really from.

The next day, the members of Muse had agreed to have a little Christmas party of their own. Nozomi had offered the use of her apartment for the occasion and Honoka had been up since very early in the morning decorating it with copious amounts of tinsel, lights and paper garlands. Kotori and Nozomi had worked jointly on decorating the tree as prettily as possible, and between the three of them they tried to make the apartment the most festive place on Earth. Nozomi left shortly before the place was finished (something about 'escorting Eli-chi through the snow' as if the blonde came from some country where it never snowed), leaving the two friends to finish up the decorating. Satisfied that they'd done a damn fine job, Honoka gave Kotori a hug just as the other members of the group began to arrive.

Umi, who had been busy practising her archery for the morning ("Just because it's Christmas, that doesn't give me an excuse to slack off Honoka.") arrived first. She stepped into the room with a bag full of presents and mutely took in the change to what was ordinarily a rather normal apartment. "It looks like Santa's grotto," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Umi-chan," Honoka replied happily, delighted by the compliment. "Merry Christmas!"

The others arrived shortly after. Hanayo and Rin arrived together, bundled up in so much winter clothing that they looked like two balls of fluff with arms and legs attached. That didn't stop Rin from running around and giving everyone Christmas hugs before settling down to shed some layers. Like Umi, they'd both brought a bag full of presents.

Nico arrived next alongside Eli, both of them heavily burdened with a stack of presents each. Honoka ran forward to help them before they might fall over. Just as she was about to ask where Nozomi was, said girl stepped in with another, slightly smaller stack of presents of her own. All the presents were dumped unceremoniously by the tree where Kotori started to arrange them artfully.

As they all exchanged festive greetings, Honoka couldn't help but wonder where the ninth member of Muse was. She briefly considered checking her phone before remembering that Maki probably wouldn't have sent her a message anyway. If she was running late, Nico would be the first to know. Whether they would admit it openly or not, Nico and Maki appeared to have been getting on a bit better of late and they would often talk to each other in hushed voices at practices. Honoka hadn't been blind to the change (for once) and just thinking about it made her frown. It wasn't that she didn't like that Maki was making friends. It was just...

Her frown disappeared instantly the moment she heard the door bell ring.

"I'll get it," Honoka announced loudly and was up before anyone else even had a chance to react. As she dashed to the front door, Honoka could make out a familiar silhouette on the other side of the frosted glass. With a wide smile, she threw the door open. "Maki-chan! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Honoka," she replied, looking slightly ill at ease as she passed through the door. Her free hand clasped at something around her neck. Looking closer, Honoka realised what she was holding. "That's a pretty necklace."

"It's a locket actually," Maki replied. "Santa... brought it me for Christmas. It's very, uh, nice. It's one of the nicest things I've ever been given actually."

Honoka tried very hard not to give away how much that little comment made her heart flutter. After all, she was the one who had bought the necklace for Maki, not that she was about to tell her that. She hoped her happiness didn't show.

"Well it looks very nice on you."

Maki blushed a little, but it was nothing on what Honoka felt when she realised what she'd just done. Her heart beat ten to the dozen. Would Maki think it was weird that she'd said that? Had she made her uncomfortable? Or worse, had she let on in that one little comment more than she'd meant to.

One awkward pause later, Maki spoke again. "Umm thank you. Where should I leave these?" she asked, nodding down to the rather heavy looking bag of presents she carried.

Repressing a sigh of relief, Honoka pointed towards the living room. "Kotori-chan's arranging them under the tree."

"Thanks." Maki wandered off into the living room, leaving Honoka on her own in the hallway. On the way, she bumped into Nico, who seemed to insist on taking the bag out of Maki's hands. Once again, Honoka found herself frowning, partly because she'd been so caught up in her own worries that she hadn't paused to ask whether Maki wanted help.

"So Santa gave Maki-chan a pretty nice necklace, huh?"

Honoka jumped near a foot in the air. She hadn't realised anyone else was around, but there was Rin, standing in the kitchen entrance holding a glass of water. How long had she been there? How much had she heard? Not that there had been anything to hear other than a very stilted conversation, but still…

"It's a locket actually," Honoka parroted, unsure what else to say.

Rin shrugged. "Rin doesn't really know the difference. And Rin's also not very good at these sorts of things so don't me mad if I'm wrong. But why don't you tell Maki-chan that the necklace is from you, nya?"

How the hell had she figured that one out? "I-I didn't buy it. Nope. I-It must... have been Nico-chan or someone."

Rin didn't look like she believed her one bit. "Lying isn't very nice Honoka-chan. And Nozomi-chan told Rin once that stammering is a sign of guilt. And you stammered twice so that makes you double guilty, nya! Besides, you always get real awkward whenever Maki-chan's around so it was kind of obvious." Honoka sighed internally. Was she really that obvious? She thought she'd been getting pretty good at hiding her feelings. "Rin thinks that you and Maki-chan would make a cute couple, nya!"

Honoka couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Rin of all people. She'd expected Kotori to pick up on it first, or maybe Nozomi. But here Rin was, seeing through her like she was a shop window. Her eyes crossed the room again. Maki was kneeling on the far side of the room by the tree, chatting away with Kotori as they sorted out the presents together. At least she wasn't with Nico.

Glancing back to her own conversational partner, she found Rin giving her a rare thoughtful look.

"I, uh, guess there's no point in denying it, huh?"

Rin shook her head. "Nope, but don't worry. Rin won't tell anyone, not even Kayo-chin, even though Rin normally tells Kayo-chin everything. But Rin is still kind of confused, nya! How come you didn't tell Maki-chan the necklace is from you?"

Honoka shrugged although she knew exactly why she hadn't told her. "I think it's nice that Maki-chan still believes in Santa. I guess I wanted to help her keep believing. And… I don't know how Maki-chan would react if she knew it was from me. So it made sense to pretend, you know?"

"Oh," Rin replied, cocking her head with a bemused expression. "Rin doesn't really understand, nya. But Rin knows that Maki-chan knows."

"What?" Honoka blurted out, a little too loudly. Umi, Eli and Hanayo broke off from their nearby conversation to glance over. "She knows? Knows what?" Honoka whispered, taking care to make sure she wasn't overheard.

But Rin was no longer paying attention. "Oooh, Nozomi-chan, are those chocolates? Can Rin have some?"

With that, Rin ran off in the direction of the mother of Muse, leaving Honoka feeling very confused. What did Maki know? That Honoka bought her the locket… or the other thing? Did Maki know how Honoka felt about her? But surely if Maki was interested, she would have shown some sign, some hint that she was… well, interested. But she hadn't. While Maki was no longer as distant with the group as she had been before, she still didn't give much away. And on the precious few occasions when Honoka had managed to get Maki alone, the younger girl had always been visibly uncomfortable and made an excuse to leave as soon as possible every single time.

Surely if Maki had feelings for her, she'd have made excuses to stay, not to leave.

Of course, there was another possibility. Maybe Maki did know everything and this was simply her way of refusing politely. Maybe the way she acted was her subtle way of letting Honoka down gently. And being who she was, Honoka hadn't picked up on it. That would explain why Maki always seemed singly discomforted around her. As far as Honoka knew, she didn't act like this with anyone else in the group.

"Would you like some bread Honoka-chan? I made them myself."

Honoka started once again. She made a mental note to pay more attention to her surroundings. This time, it was Nozomi who had managed to get the jump on her, but the sight of the bread went a little way to cheering her up.

"Yes, please."

Nozomi beamed at her warmly as she started to eat. "I hope you like it, I made it myself. Oh, and incidentally, I agree with Rin-chan. You and Maki-chan would make a delightful couple."

It took a lot of effort for Honoka not to spit out her bread.

Presents were exchanged, food was eaten and the party grew pretty lively. For a couple of hours, Honoka replayed those earlier conversations in the back of her mind. What Nozomi and Rin said about her and Maki making a cute couple… it gave her a little bit of hope. But that hope was soon crushed into the dust when Maki didn't give her a Christmas present. She'd brought a little something for everyone else in the group and Honoka couldn't help but feel a bit left out. Except, it went a little further than that. She felt rejected.

It wasn't that she expected a present or anything. It was just a little disheartening when the girl Honoka had feelings for seemed to remember to bring a thoughtful little gift for everyone except for her. Perhaps it was another hint.

But then Nozomi brought out a game called Twister and Honoka was able to lose herself in the game for a while. Until she was knocked out early in the game when Rin tumbled into her.

"Rin thinks Maki-chan's just being shy," Rin said as they idly watched Nozomi and Kotori gradually become more and more competitive the longer the game went on. "Maki-chan's presents to the rest of us were nice but not very personal, nya! Rin bets she got you something really nice and shiny but is too embarrassed to give it to you in front of everyone."

"You think so?" Honoka asked warily, trying not to get her hopes up too much.

"Well it's not like she hates you or anything. A few days ago, she was telling Rin that…" Whatever Rin had been about to say was lost in a small swell of cheering. Kotori rose from the Twister mat in triumph, her opponent lying defeated at her feet. Across the room, Umi smirked at Eli and held her hand out. Looking slightly annoyed, Eli put something small in Umi's hand and crossed her arms in a huff.

Then the opportunity to talk was lost. Another round of Twister commenced shortly after when Nozomi challenged Kotori to a grudge match. But in each subsequent game, Honoka was knocked out early. She became more and more certain that she was being deliberately sabotaged by Rin and Nozomi right up to their fourth game. Nozomi had made a needlessly big show of reaching for one of the furthest blue spots with her right hand, even though there were other spots much closer to choose from that were far less risky. As she reached for it, she leaned over and knocked into Honoka hard enough to get her to lose balance.

"Go talk to her," Nozomi whispered that time with a hint of a mysterious smile, finally confirming Honoka's suspicions.

Honoka didn't need to ask who Nozomi meant. The 'her' in question sat alone near the Christmas tree, reading one of the many books she had been given by her fellow idols for Christmas. Honoka felt a little trill of pleasure when she noticed that Maki was flicking through the book which she'd given her. She had no idea why Maki wanted a biography of Marie Curie (if she was honest, she was only just barely aware of who Marie Curie even was). All she had known was that Maki wanted it and that was all Honoka needed to know.

Although it was difficult to tell from a distance, it seemed like Maki had already made a significant inroads into the book. She was utterly engrossed in what she was reading and paid no attention whatsoever to the shouts, screams and cheers of encouragement that accompanied each game of Twister. Maki was off in her own world and Honoka was hesitant to disturb her. Besides, it was rude to disturb people when they were reading; her father had imparted that little nugget of wisdom on her when she was little.

It was even ruder to just sit and gawk at people but Honoka sat there and did it blatantly anyway. It was difficult to stop. Maki was just so… pretty. Still, it was probably best she looked away before the other girl noticed.

Even as she consciously thought that through, violet eyes rose from the book and met her own. Trapped like a deer in headlights, it was too late for Honoka to pretend she hadn't been staring, but looking away would only admit her guilt. Caught in her catch-22 situation, at first she was oblivious to the fact that Maki's gaze was merely inquisitive, not hostile. A short staring contest ensued, only ending with a tentative smile from Maki. Honoka smiled back and her grin only grew wider when she realised that Maki was patting the floor beside her; a summons.

Needing no further encouragement, Honoka got up and deliberately avoided catching the eye of either Nozomi or Rin. While they would no doubt by nothing but supportive, it still made her feel slightly uneasy how easily both of them had read her thoughts and feelings. Was she so obvious to Maki too? As she sat down next to Maki, she noticed Nozomi give her a thumbs up while balancing precariously on one hand and foot.

They sat together quietly for a few moments while Honoka cast about for a subject of conversation. Maki wasn't very helpful in that regard; she seemed happy enough to just sit there quietly. "Don't you want to play Maki-chan?"

Maki snorted with faint distaste. "I'm not really a Twister kind of girl." For a moment, silence hung between them again, before Maki turned her attention back to the book. Thinking Maki was simply going to start reading again and ignore her, Honoka felt a slight relief when the younger girl simply placed a bookmark on her page and closed the book. "Thank you for the book. How did you know I would like this?"

Honoka shrugged, trying to look and sound casual. "I remembered you looking at it that time we went to the bookstore."

Maki blinked. "We went to a bookstore together? When?"

"It was… a while ago," Honoka admitted. It was only then that she wondered if perhaps her choice of present had been too good. Would Maki think it creepy that she remembered such a tiny detail about her?

Understanding dawned on Maki's face as she remembered. "Yes, I remember now. But that was months ago. How could you possibly remember that?"

In truth, Honoka had gone back to the bookstore later that same day and bought the book there and then. But she was hardly going to tell Maki that. "I don't know. I just remembered."

Maki nodded and gave her a small smile. "Well, thank you. I, uh, I wasn't sure what to get you. I'm really sorry I didn't get you a present. It's just… nothing I could think of seemed good enough. Not that I put too much thought into it," she added. "I just didn't want to get you a bad present, that's all… Sorry."

Honoka tried not to show anything on her face. It was hard to hide the mild shock caused by the admission, not to mention how happy it made her to know the reason why Maki hadn't got her anything. "That's ok. There's more to Christmas than presents after all."

"Do you like my locket?" Maki asked abruptly.

Unsure how to answer, Honoka settled on answering with a rather neutral "Eh?"

Maki fiddled with the little piece of jewellery between thumb and forefinger. "I've just noticed that you've been looking at it rather a lot."

Honoka found herself unsure what to say so she said nothing. Maki sighed and mumbled something inaudible. When Honoka asked her to repeat herself, Maki sighed again and held the locket up. "Santa left me a note in the locket... or should I say you did." The bottom of Honoka's stomach seemed to fall away. She tried to look bemused but the look Maki gave her flustered her too much to keep up the act. "You already know what it said, don't you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Honoka was slightly proud of herself for keeping her voice level.

"I think you do," Maki replied. Maki held the label from the present Honoka had given her earlier and placed it on the floor. She then opened her locket and pulled out a tiny piece of paper. Placing them side by side, Maki drew back and crossed her arms. "The handwriting on these is identical. Even if wasn't, the way you've been acting lately provides more than enough evidence to come to this conclusion."

Caught out and caught off guard, Honoka decided to stick with silence. Maki had spoken in neutral tones throughout and hadn't given away whether she approved or disapproved of the gift. She was still trying to figure out what Maki was thinking when said girl shuffled a bit closer and leaned in.

"Do you… really think I'm pretty?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

Honoka had heard her and that was the trouble. What could she possibly say? …Well, if Maki had figured this much out, she might as well know the rest. "Umm... yes. I do."

Maki nodded, but gave no further sign of how Honoka's reply made her feel. Say one thing for Maki; she had a hell of a poker face, Honoka thought.

"Honoka… do you have feelings for me?"

Maki's voice was a gentle whisper. A quick glance to the side showed that none of the other seven girls were paying them the slightest bit of attention. They were too focused on watching Kotori try to slide her left leg beneath Nozomi to one of the far corners of the mat.

While Honoka knew she should deny her raging feelings to save their friendship, she just couldn't bring herself to lie. But she couldn't tell the truth either. Even if Maki didn't end up hating her, things would never be right between them again, even if they pretended everything was fine. Honoka didn't think she could handle that kind of rejection.

Seeing she was getting no answer, Maki whispered again. "It's ok if you do. I… don't mind."

Feeling a shade better, but still unable to speak, Honoka simply nodded. But she felt uneasy; she wasn't sure where there this was going.

Maki continued, seemingly nonplussed by Honoka's mute confession. "That note you left for me in the locket. You told me to fill it with happy memories. And… umm…" Maki hesitated, suddenly looking a bit unsure. "Umm… look." Maki gestured to the ceiling and Honoka looked up…

To find a mistletoe hanging there oh so innocently.

Honoka only had enough time to wonder how it had got there (she sure as hell hadn't put it there) before Maki spoke again. "I… that is, there is one thing… I would like to give you for Christmas. If you want it."

Honoka frowned. If Maki was saying these kinds of things, it could only mean that she was dreaming. Surely the real Maki would never say anything like that, right? And she surely wouldn't lean in closer with an embarrassed yet undeterred look of intent on her face either, would she? Her eyes wouldn't sparkle with emotion any more than her hand would subtly rest on top of her own either, surely.

But the touch convinced Honoka that she was definitely not dreaming. Maki's hand felt warm on top of her own. The question in Maki's eyes made Honoka's mouth dry up a little. "I, uh, yes."

Maki smiled again. "Good."

Honoka felt like she was being pulled closer and closer to Maki as if by some magic spell. Their eyes met again and there was now no mistaking the look of affection in Maki's eyes. It made Honoka's insides turn to water.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss. If Honoka hadn't been sure before, there was no further doubt now that she was awake. There was simply no way her imagination was good enough to imagine the way her stomach tied itself in knots at the feeling of the soft lips on her own. She couldn't possibly construct the tremor that passed through her when Maki carded her free hand through her hair, brushing lightly against Honoka's scalp. Nope, this was definitely not a dream, even if felt like one.

Just as Honoka tried to push forward into the kiss, Maki pulled away. It couldn't have lasted more than five seconds but to Honoka it had been timeless.

"Wow," was all she could say.

Maki had initially looked nervous, but Honoka's utterance seemed to put her a bit more at ease. "I… hope you… well, I… have feelings for you too, Honoka. I've had them for a while now, but I thought you wouldn't return them. Umm sorry if I was a bit forward just now."

Honoka shook her head vehemently. "That was the best Christmas present ever." And with that, she took the initiative and leaned in for another kiss while the other girl was off guard. Maki leaned into the kiss and let out a little moan against Honoka's lips. The sound sent a jolt of electricity right through Honoka. She couldn't quite believe she was actually kissing Maki. Perhaps there was a Santa after all. He'd certainly given Honoka all she wanted for Christmas.

"Smile!"

A click and a flash of light interrupted their kiss. Pulling away, Honoka glanced to her right to find Nico knelt on the ground not five feet away with a digital camera resting in her hands. And she wasn't alone either. Most of the other girls were there too and they were all staring. Maki looked like she wanted to melt right through the ground, a sentiment which Honoka shared.

Nico held up the camera to the others. "I think it turned out pretty well, but then I am an amazing photographer. What do you guys think?"

Nozomi and Eli leaned in closer to look. "Very good, Nico-chi," Nozomi said, looking very smug indeed. "You really caught the two lovebirds in an excellent light. What do you think Eli-chi?"

"It's… lovely," the blonde replied, clearly at a loss for words.

"Rin and Kayo-chin want to see nya!"

"Now, now, let's not crowd our star crossed lovers," Nozomi quipped. "Besides, they haven't seen how pretty they look on camera yet. Would you like to see?"

Before Honoka or Maki had the chance to speak, Nico thrust the camera into their faces. Nozomi hadn't been lying when she said it was a good picture. It made Honoka feel funny to see the picture of the two of them kissing. Funny in a good way.

"Could we get that framed?" she found herself asking before she could think to stop herself.

"Consider it an extra Christmas present," Nico replied, taking the camera back. She wore a little impish smile on her face like she was privy to a secret joke that no-one understood but her.

Maki looked from Honoka to Nico and back again. Instinctively, Honoka took Maki's hand and traced little patterns over the palm with her fingers. "Happy memories, remember?"

Maki smiled and silently tightened her grip on Honoka's hand.

"I think we should leave these two alone now," Eli declared. Honoka could have kissed her for that if it weren't for the fact that she wanted to kiss Maki much, much more. "I'm sure they have… much to discuss."

"Among other things," Nico added.

Nozomi pouted. "Fine. But this time you're playing Twister Eli-chi. No more abstaining."

It was just as they were about to go that Honoka realised who was missing. "Hey, where are Umi-chan and Kotori-chan?"

"Oh, Umi-chan fainted when she saw what you two were doing," Hanayo told them, speaking as calmly as if she was giving directions to the shops. "Kotori-chan took her outside for some fresh air."

"Oops. I guess I'll have to make it up to Umi-chan later."

"I wouldn't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine in Kotori-chan's hands," Nozomi replied, turning on her heel with the rest of the group, but not before sending a wink Honoka's way.

Then they were suddenly alone again. The other five girls were soon engrossed in a new game of Twister, allowing them the privacy to talk things over.

Except there was really nothing to talk about. Maki had kissed her and then she'd kissed Maki back. It didn't really need to be analysed in any great deal. It was all pretty clear and out in the open what they felt for each other. But there was one little detail left to address.

"So… we're girlfriends now, right?" Honoka asked.

Maki, who had remained in a state of horrified silence throughout the earlier exchange, found her voice again, though she spoke quietly. "If you'll have me."

Honoka beamed. "Merry Christmas, Maki-chan." With that, she leaned in again and met Maki's lips in a passionate kiss. If she'd been paying attention, she might have noticed Umi walking back into the apartment and promptly fainting again at the sight of them, but she was too preoccupied to notice anything but the girl in her arms.

They broke apart after a little while and Maki rested her head in Honoka's lap. As she stroked Maki's lovely smooth hair, Honoka's gaze rested on one of the decorations on the tree: Santa in his sleigh.

"Thanks Santa," she whispered.

A/N: Thanks for reading and merry Christmas!