Christmas had always been a very special time of the year for the Seragaki family. Even after the disappearance of Aoba's parents, Haruka and Nain, his grandmother managed to keep him in high spirits during the holiday season. They would bake gingerbread cookies together and read lots of special Christmas stories, and Aoba would always be happily content with whatever Santa Claus had managed to leave under the tree from him that year.

This year, however, was starkly different.

Aoba was at the ripe old age of seven, and still fiercely believed in Santa Claus's existence. His grandmother, Tae, would always try to tiptoe around the subject of Christmas presents and gifts of the like over the breakfast table, knowing that there had to have been something that her dear grandson wanted to receive from Santa that year. Usually, Aoba would be spouting about all sorts of things that his little heart desired, but during the week before Christmas, the time when Aoba tended to be the most vocal about what he wanted, he was surprisingly silent.

"Aoba," Tae said, in her typically comforting, yet stern tone. "You haven't sent your letter out to Santa Claus yet. Don't you want anything for Christmas this year?"

Climbing into his seat at the kitchen table, Aoba began to quietly fuss with the mismatched buttons on his pajamas as the lovely smells of morning food wafted around the room. With a simple shrug of his shoulders, the little one seemed to have nothing to say.

"You know, Aoba," his grandma prompted knowingly, "if you don't send out your letter soon enough, Santa isn't going to know what to make for you. Won't you be sad when you have nothing under the tree to open up on Christmas morning?"

Again, Aoba lifted and dropped his shoulders pathetically. As he rested his arms across the table before him, Tae had been just about ready to serve him his plate of breakfast. She chided him softly for being so quiet this morning, setting his plate down next his arm. "It's not polite to ignore me, Aoba. Keep this up, and Santa's going to leave you nothing but coal."

At the mention of the enemy - coal - Aoba's sleepy eyes widened and he immediately sat up straight in his seat. There was no way he would be getting coal this year! He had always been a very good boy, and Santa Claus must have known that, right? It was just...the one thing Aoba had truly wanted this year, he knew he couldn't have.

"Granny..." Aoba finally spoke up, albeit miserably. "I really, really do want Santa to bring me something, but..."

"But?" Taking her seat across from her grandson, Tae set out their chopsticks and clapped her hands in muted gratitude. "What is it, Aoba?"

Mimicking his grandmother's actions, Aoba placed his hands together before grabbing his chopsticks, using them to poke at his food. His sudden surge of energy after hearing about coal seemed to have faded quite quickly, because now, he was back to sitting in his somber state of mind once again.

After poking at his food for long enough to raise his grandmother's blood pressure, Aoba gently mumbled, "There's no way that Santa can bring me what I want, because it's something that he can't make..."

Something that couldn't be made? Did that mean Aoba wanted something that was alive? Oh, no. Tae certainly hoped that her grandson wasn't going to be asking for a pet this year. He was much too young for that level of responsibility. He couldn't even button up his pajamas properly, let alone remember to feed an animal every day.

"What do you mean by that, Aoba?" Tae wondered, as she began to pick at her food. With a swipe of her chopsticks, she tried to get her grandson to start eating himself with very little luck. He was being much more stubborn than usual this morning, and it was starting to become worrisome. "Aoba, if there's something you want, you know you can always tell me. I'll be sure to let Santa know-"

"Granny..." Aoba sniffled, borderline whining at this point. The poor kid must have been holding his tears in from the moment Tae had started asking him questions about Christmas. If she would have known that Aoba was going to get so emotional over something like this, she would have approached the topic much more lightheartedly. "I...I..."

Knowing that the waterworks were about to start, Tae let go of an aged breath as she stood up from her chair and shuffled over to where her grandson had already turned into a blubbering mess. Kneeling down next to where his little feet were dangling off of his chair, Tae rested her hand on top of Aoba's shuddering shoulder and asked him, "What's the matter, Aoba? Why are you crying like this, all of a sudden?"

"B-because...because..." he whimpered, "...y-you asked me what I wanted for Christmas, a-and I really do want something, I really d-do...b-but..."

"But?"

Still sobbing, Aoba squirmed in his seat as he tried to get all of his wavering words out. It was a bit of a challenge, but he managed to at least say, "B-but I know that Santa can't bring me wh-what I want..."

Sighing once more, Tae shook her head as she tried to think of what Aoba could have possibly wanted for Christmas this year. What had gotten into him? He'd never acted this strangely around the holidays before; not even after his parents had disappeared. If only he would just spit it out already, Tae would be able to understand what was going on in that little head of his. "Aoba," she spoke with reason. "Please tell me what it is. What do you want?"

And there it was. Releasing a high-pitched wail of a cry, Aoba threw himself into his grandmother's unsuspecting arms as he shook with sadness. The sound of his sobs began to tear away at his grandmother's heart. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her chest, just like she always would whenever he was in need of comforting - which, unfortunately for his age, was quite often.

With so much anticipation building up just to hear her grandson's answer, Tae had been silently praying for relief. But when the strangled sound of Aoba's one and only Christmas wish was spoken, there wasn't an ounce of reprieve to be felt.

"...K-Koujaku..."

All at once, everything made sense in the world.

Koujaku had suddenly left the island of Midorijima with his mother no more than a few months ago, and the absence of Aoba's best friend had really taken a toll on him. At first, there wasn't a day he had went without crying. Tae would hear him up in his bedroom, quietly mumbling the words "don't give in" to himself, but whatever sort of mantra that had been, it never quite seemed to work.

And now that the Christmas season was upon them, it only made sense that all Aoba really wanted this year was to have his best friend back with him. How tragic...

As Tae continued to comfort her grandson, she whispered sweet promises into his ears, telling him that she would make sure to tell Santa right away what it was that Aoba had truly wanted. Aoba, of course, was a bit skeptical, as he sniffled in wonder, "But, Granny...how is Santa going to bring Koujaku back here? H-he's so far away..."

"Now, listen here, Aoba," Tae said, her voice as wise as time itself. "Santa Claus is a very magical man, you know. He grants the wishes of millions of little boys and little girls every year without fail; especially good little children like you. If you keep your spirits high and keep on wearing that big grin of yours, I'm sure he'll be able to grant your wish, too."

Aoba's eyes were wide with wonder, as he listened to his grandmother speak to him. When she had finished, his gasp had filled his lungs with so much excitement that he nearly caused himself to choke. "Really? You really think so?"

Tae nodded. "Ahh. I know so."

Jumping right out of his chair, Aoba leaped into his grandmother's arms - this time expectantly - and thanked her for being the best grandma in the whole, entire world. Laughing wearily at such a bold statement, Tae patted the small of Aoba's back before telling him to get back up in his chair and finish his breakfast; and this time around, there were no complaints to be heard.

Even though Tae had told Aoba all about Santa's magic, the little one tried not to get his hopes up too, too much for fear of disappointment. The most he was expecting to receive was a letter from his dear best friend, or maybe even a phone call (as much as a letter would have made him happy, being able to hear Koujaku's voice would have been so much better). And so, as he tucked himself into bed on the evening before Christmas, Aoba clutched onto his bedcovers and whispered his prayers over and over, hoping that Santa wouldn't forget about him this year, and that maybe, just maybe, he would get the one and only thing that he was truly wishing for.

"Aoba... Aoba, wake up... It's Christmas morning... Don't you want to see what Santa Claus left for you underneath the tree?"

At the mention of his name, Aoba's eyes had started to flutter. At the mention of Christmas, he'd begun to stir. And at the mention of the Christmas tree, Aoba was up and out of his bed in a flash, stumbling over his bedsheets and tripping over his own two feet as he rushed past his grandmother and headed for the stairs.

With his heart nearly beating out of his chest, Aoba raced around the corner and ran through the kitchen. He didn't even check to see if the plate of Christmas cookies that he had left out for Santa was gone; he was much too focused on getting to that tree.

And so, with rapid footsteps and an even rapider set of heavy breathing, Aoba raced into the living room at the speed of light - only to stop directly in his tracks.

"Ah, there you are! Merry Christmas, Aoba!"

It was inevitable, it really was. Absolutely, one-hundred percent unavoidable. Aoba knew that voice more than anything; a voice that he had heard so many times before, a voice that he had missed oh, so dearly. He was just about to pinch himself, he really was, because maybe he was dreaming, but that's when the boy that was standing there, waiting for him right beside their twinkling Christmas tree, opened his arms and beckoned for him to come closer. And before he knew it, Aoba was rushing toward him, a blubbering, sobbing mess.

"K-Kou...Koujaku!" Aoba cried, cuddling himself into his best friend's warm and welcoming arms. "Kou...jaku... Y-you're really here! You're really..."

Koujaku, who had been patiently waiting for him to wake up all morning, took care to gently pat Aoba's little head, as he asked, "Didn't Tae-san tell you? Santa really is magical, isn't he?"

"Eh?" Hearing something about Santa, Aoba peeked his head up from Koujaku's chest, stifling his sobs just long enough to hear him speak.

"That's right, that's right. I thought you knew, honestly. Santa Claus is the one who brought me here!"

Gasping in utter shock, Aoba quickly moved to clutch his hands onto Koujaku's trademark, red kimono. "R-really?!" He couldn't believe it...he really couldn't believe it! Was Santa Claus really the one who had brought him here?

Nodding in all seriousness, Koujaku crouched down to his best friend's level in order to explain, "You see, I got a letter from the North Pole just a week ago, saying that a certain someone from Midorijima wanted nothing more than his best friend to be with him for Christmas! And so you know what I did?" Aoba shook his head; he hadn't the slightest clue. "Well, I wrote back, of course! I told whomever had sent that letter that I would love nothing more than to come and visit you! And so, last night, when you were all tucked into your bed dreaming of gumdrops and sugar plums, Santa Claus came all the way from the North Pole to the Mainland in order to pick me up and bring me here. Can you believe it, Aoba? I got to ride in Santa's sleigh! It was the coolest thing ever, oh, man! I really wish you could have seen it! Ah, but before I forget, Santa told me to remind you of one, very important thing. Do you want to know what that was?"

Aoba was practically beaming with glee, by the time Koujaku had reached the near conclusion of his adventurous tale. He was so lost in the magic of his best friend's words that he almost forgot to nod.

With a smile as gentle as his grasp, Koujaku took Aoba's hand into his own and gave it a small squeeze. With that simple gesture holding more than enough value, he took his very best friend into his arms and held him there for just a moment, before he carefully whispered, "Don't give in, Aoba. Never give in. Even when you're feeling sad or lonely, remember that we promised each other not to give into those feelings."

"Mm!"

And speaking of feelings, there was no possible way for Aoba to contain all of his feelings, at the moment. He was so incredibly happy that he wanted to scream, but at the same time, he was so full of love and joy that he wanted to cry. Oh, well. He'd have all the time in the world to figure out how he was feeling. For right now, all he needed to focus on was enjoying the rest of the single best Christmas he had ever had - his Christmas with Koujaku.

16 years later

"Nah, Aoba."

"Mm?"

"What do you want for Christmas this year?"

Aoba, who had been mindlessly playing with his much shorter hair, turned toward Koujaku after hearing him ask such an unexpected question. Christmas? It was only November. Why was he already talking about Christmas? He'd just stepped out of the bath, too.

Draping his towel around his neck, Aoba stretched his arms over his head and relished in all of the beautiful cracks and pops that had followed the motion. "Why are you asking? Christmas isn't even close yet."

Blowing out a drag from his cigar, Koujaku didn't seem to want to drop the topic, for he continued to say, "I know that, but I want to prepare something special for you ahead of time. That's why I'm asking. And besides, this is our first Christmas together as, well...together."

It only took a second, before Aoba could all but feel the blood rushing to his face. Great. Why did Koujaku always have to go and say such sappy things? Honestly, he was nothing but a stupid hippo.

"Still," Aoba said, with a sigh, "I don't know why you're worrying about it. There's nothing that I want, anyway."

Koujaku hummed at that. "Oh, is that so? Well, I guess it can't be helped."

With another sigh, Aoba dropped the towel that had been hanging around his neck as he moved to plop himself down onto his and Koujaku's rather extravagant bed. It was almost amazing to think that the two of them slept in that big thing every night...along with other things. "I still doesn't make sense to me why you brought this up all of a sudden."

"Well," Koujaku started to say, pausing between thought and word to take in another puff from his cigar, "I was just thinking about how you were so cute when you were little, and how all you wanted for Christmas was me. Just me. Nothing else."

Mortified that Koujaku had unearthed such an embarrassing memory, Aoba sat up so fast that the room began to spin. "Hey! Why do you have to go and say it like that, huh? Honestly..."

Laughing like an old man, Koujaku moved to smear his cigar against his ash tray, before joining Aoba on their bed. "Oh, come on now. You were so adorable back then. You're still pretty cute now, you know."

"Shut up!"

Still laughing to himself, Koujaku began to speak in reminiscence, looking to the distant ceiling as he did so. "Ahh, I can still remember that whole tale I'd told to you about how Santa came to my house on the Mainland and brought me to Midorijima for you."

"You mean that lie that you told me," Aoba scoffed. It hadn't been until a few years later, when the magic of Santa himself had faded, that Aoba realized it was grandmother's doing all along. Tae had contacted Koujaku's mother on the Mainland. Tae had bought the plane ticket to fly Koujaku out to Midorijima. Tae had been the one to pick him up at the airport while Aoba was still at school that afternoon. And Tae had been the one to keep him hidden away in the spare bedroom until it was time for the big reveal. Impressive, of course, but still an act of deception all along.

"Oh, even you have to admit that it was pretty clever," Koujaku said, shifting just enough to nudge Aoba on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah..." If Aoba had had it his way, he would have taken the memory of that Christmas and altered it entirely. There would have been a lot less crying, a lot less hugging, and a lot more, well...a lot more restraint. Then again, could Aoba really blame himself for acting so helplessly? He really had only wanted one thing for Christmas that year, never expecting to actually receive the real deal. It was no wonder he'd lost his ability to reason with himself.

"Aoba."

"Hm?"

Breathing in deeply, Koujaku moved even closer toward his childhood-friend-turned-lover before wrapping him into his arms altogether. Aoba, of course, had something to protest about the romantic gesture, but he was ignored entirely. "You never answered my question, you know. I still want you to tell me what you want for Christmas."

Making an off-handed remark about how Koujaku reeked of the bitter scent of cigar smoke, Aoba sighed and gave up his protesting long enough to let himself enjoy the sensation of having those strong, yet sensitive arms encircling his body. Although he always made a fuss about being held like this, deep down, in his heart of hearts, Aoba absolutely loved it. "I already told you, Koujaku. There's nothing."

Seemingly in disbelief, Koujaku prompted, "Not a single thing?"

"No. Not a single thing. And don't even think about asking me again next year, because you'll get the same answer. The same goes for the year after that, too."

Koujaku couldn't quite make sense of a response like that. Aoba's answer would be the same again next year? And the year after that, as well? How strange. "Why is that, Aoba?"

Never expecting for Koujaku to push him this far to get an answer out of him, Aoba made a sound as if he were about to speak. Quickly regretting that decision, he snapped his mouth shut and began to mumble incoherently.

Koujaku knew that whenever Aoba got all embarrassed like this, he had something really good to say.

"Aoba, I can't quite hear you," he murmured, twirling soft strands of Aoba's hair around his fingers in the process.

"...Nothing...want...have..."

There was no way for Koujaku to crack Aoba's code unless he stopped slurring his words and spoke up. And the only way to get him to do that was...

"...Huh?! Hahaha! K-Koujaku! Hahaha! Kou- Stop it! Kouja- Hahaha!"

Running his ferocious fingers up and down Aoba's ribcage, Koujaku began to chuckle himself. Aoba was so cute, when he was being tickled. With that in mind, Koujaku warned him, "I won't stop, until you tell me what you just said!"

"No! Hahaha! No- Okay! Fine! Fine! I'll say it! Just stop it already!"

Holding Aoba to his promise, Koujaku captured him into his arms once more, caging him there and refusing to let him go until he spilled his heart's innermost desires - or lack thereof, apparently.

And so, mustering up as much courage - and breath - as he could to get the words from his brain to his tongue, Aoba inhaled deeply, before he unleashed the utmost embarrassing thing he had ever said in his entire life.

"There's nothing that I'm ever going to want for Christmas anymore...because I already have you."

Nothing.

Not a single thing.

Silence was all that followed such a sincere confession, but even that was okay, because with such silence came tender touches and sweet smiles, for nothing could have ever been more perfect than a christmas wish that had been granted so long ago.

Hi there! Chappy here! :D

And Merry Christmas, everyone! This little drabble was a Secret Santa gift that I wrote for my giftee on tumblr for the DRAMAtical Murder Secret Santa Event! I had so, so much fun writing this, so I hope you all enjoy being able to read it, as well! (:

I hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday, filled with lots of love and lots of fluff!

And as always, thank you for taking the time to read!

- Chappy