"Why am I spending my fifth day of break with you?"

"Because you're a total people-pleaser and would never say no at the end."

"Don't butter it up—just call me a straight up slave at that point."

Sora was not happy to be up at ten in the morning. The only reasons why he would ever be up before two on a holiday were to play games or get dragged out of bed by his mother to help out around the house. Spending time with Xion on a morning that deserved to be slept in was not part of the holiday plans. Sora was a nice guy; he would never ignore the doorbell if anybody rung it. Sadly, the same could not be said to Xion. If only Roxas didn't persuade him through text to let the raven-haired girl invade his house, he would've told her to buzz off already.

Sora Hikari was not a nice person when woken up before two in the afternoon.

"I get that we got a Christmas party coming up soon, but baking? At my house? At ten?" Sora crossed his arms and hid his face into the table. He swore just closing his eyes made him want to knock out. He shot his head up to avoid such a disaster. "Dude, go crash someone else's place. I'm sure Axel would love to give you some assistance in baking—with his stomach."

"Shut it, you idiot. Does it look like I naturally wake up at ten either?" Xion hissed. Sora feared the way she whisked the batter in the bowl and couldn't help but think how he was going to end up like the batter if he didn't shut up soon. "I pride myself by declaring myself as the event planner for this whole get-together. Just listen to what I say and this whole place of yours is going to be a Christmas festival."

Sora groaned inwardly as he remembered how his homely abode suddenly became a place for a high school Christmas party.

~Five days ago: first day of winter break after finals~

"Christmas party at Roxas, let's go! Woo!"

Sora winced as he rapidly pressed his speaker to lower down the volume of his phone. He wasn't the only one in the group chat who tried to salvage whatever hearing they had left as he heard rapid tapping from the other three people.

"Axel, your microphone is right there underneath your mouth. Just you speaking normally is enough to blow this city up," Xion growled, definitely not appreciating the flamehead's loudmouth.

"No, a more important matter is who decided a party would be held at my house?" Roxas redirected the topic. "I would like the location of our gatherings to be equally spread."

"Roxas, you know well yourself that your house is the only one big enough to house a bunch of high school hooligans," Sora jokingly remarked. Still in bed after a good night's rest, Sora didn't budge from his place as him and his friends greeted the first day of break together. Axel had gathered the most of them as much as he could through a group call, only to burst their eardrums first thing in the morning or—in Sora's case—the afternoon. "Assuming that the regular crew will come, there's gonna be already like seven people. Add in a couple more acquaintances and you got yourself a festival."

"Wait a minute, who said my house was the only big one? Sora, don't you lie to us," Roxas quickly rebutted. Sora could imagine the blond's narrowing eyes. "I've been to your house before."

"What are you implying, sir?" Sora played dumb. He could hear Namine's giggle from the other side—a clear sign of betrayal.

"Sora's house is big," Namine added for good measure. "It's been a while since I visited too, but I'm sure Sora is the one with the biggest house with the biggest garden and the biggest—"

"Alright, Namine, I didn't let you step foot all those times just so that you can infiltrate it and—"

"Christmas party at Sora's, let's go! Woo!" Axel boomed again, completely disregarding the entire conversation they were all having. Before Sora could even object to the idea, the other three were suddenly cooperative with Axel now as they thought about the activities they would do. Sora, not being afraid to be the party pooper this time, gently reminded them of an important fact.

"Guys, I didn't even ask my parents yet."

"Then go ask," they all said in unison, freaking Sora out a little bit. Seeing how the numbers were stacked against him, Sora simply sighed and complied.

~.~.~

"It's better if I bake at your place so that I can decorate as well." Xion gestured with her eyebrows at the box of random Christmas decorations stuffed together. "Let me remind you, sir, that the party is tomorrow. If you aren't going to do anything, I insist: go back to sleep, bitch."

"What am I more scared of, your whisk or my mom's ladle wacking me to get up? Please, I don't think she'd be happy knowing I left you without any help alone in our house." Sora rolled up his sleeves dramatically, causing Xion to pinch her eyebrows together in preparation of disaster. "Okay, what you want me to do?"

"Help me decorate the batch of gingermen cookies that just finished." She tossed him the icing. "Make them look… Christmas-y."

Five minutes later, and Sora was banned from touching anything involving the cookies.

"I'm sorry that I have two left hands," he sheepishly apologized. He might be an ace swimmer, but his dexterity was unfortunately not adequate for small-scale things. "Anything else I could do?"

"Just sit tight, Blitz Boy," Xion glowered. "Before you know it, it'll be Halloween-themed if you continue."

Sora simply pouted as he took back his rightful place on the chair and watched Xion do all the busy work. It kind of felt weird, having Xion in his house and all—they only just became friends a few weeks ago. Rather, Sora wasn't sure if he could call her a friend; their love-hate relationship was something he didn't expect to happen. Someone he viewed as "one of Roxas's friends" surprisingly had chemistry with him.

"I like you a lot, Xion," he blurted amidst his thoughts. He didn't think he said anything wrong for Xion to just choke on her saliva and send death daggers through her eyes.

"I reject all of your future advancements, you creep," she shuddered, clearly not liking the compliment he gave her. The frown on her face was quick to evaporate though as it got replaced with an amused smile. "A lot of stuff has happened for us to be here, hm?"

"A lot of stuff? Things happen in your life?"

Sora laughed and got off of his chair to avoid getting smacked by the raven-haired. She obviously grew annoyed at his comments and blew the bangs out of her eyes.

"I'll have to admit: you had more drama than I did. Which isn't something to boast about. It's holiday season. I would hope you got everything sorted out."

"What is this intel you are receiving about my," Sora quoted in the air, "drama? My life is dandy, for your information." Of course, Sora knew exactly what Xion was talking about, but why let such a topic ruin the mood? However, Xion was keen enough to not let the topic slide.

"We got a happy party being planned. I don't think anybody wants a brawl down when we're in the middle of singing Christmas songs. Who's even going?"

"Well, let's see here," Sora whipped out his fingers. "There's me and you. Then Roxas, Axel, and Namine, of course. Kairi hasn't said whether or not she'll be going, but I'll make sure of it." At this, Xion covered a face with a hand. "I'm sure Tidus and Wakka would like some of the action. I should probably send the invite to Yuna, Rikku, and Paine soon since, y'know, the party is tomorrow." Sora smiled sheepishly when Xion gave him a deranged look.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Bro, they chill. I'm sure their schedule is free since this thing's one week before actual Christmas." Sora rapidly typed on his phone, waited for a couple of seconds, and smiled victoriously when his phone ringed shortly. He flashed his phone to Xion. "See? Already secured. Yuna is a super-texter—she never lets me down when I need to copy homework."

"Considering how you almost stole Tidus's girlfriend, one would think you would have learned some tact."

Sora nearly entered a coughing fit when Xion brought up a long-buried topic. "Excuse me, what do you mean by tact? It was me who got them together in the first place."

"Do you think the school doesn't know how Yuna was head over heels with you, but your eyes were somewhere else on a certain blondie? The entire time. Why are you looking at me like that? You and Namine were the "it" couple back in freshman ye—"

"Why are we talking about this, please," Sora covered his ears, strongly signaling how much he didn't want to go where the conversation was leading to. "You hear too much and know too much—who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare if you don't finalize the list of people coming tomorrow by the time I finish making these goddamn cookies so that I can plan the Secret Santa," Xion hissed. "Your buddy Riku not coming?"

The mood instantly took a turn at the mention of Riku. Sora's smile faltered by the slightest when he heard his dear friend's name. He uncomfortably felt the back of his neck, not sure how much Xion knew.

"Based on this incredible intel system you have, I'm sure you know that it's quite a sensitive topic right now."

"I don't need intel to know that shit's been going on," Xion rolled her eyes. "It's not every day a whole friend group suddenly goes missing at a certain table at lunch, nor is it every day Roxas has a look of murder every time he spotted the silver-head in the halls." Xion hummed, thinking back a few weeks ago where everything was just chaos. "At least your stuff with Namine is figured out. We're all finally sitting in one table without having to do a head count. That is, of course, if you want to exclude your friend forever."

"I'm not excluding Riku," Sora stated firmly. He let out an anguished groan when he thought about the guy. Ever since their disagreement about Kairi and her breakdown, Sora had not spoken a single word to the guy. Whatever happened on the islands really did stay on the islands. It seemed like both Riku and Kairi were firm about not talking about it, but it seemed like things were okay now in Sora's eyes considering how Kairi came back in one piece. Despite this, Riku still didn't come back to the group.

As for Kairi, she still refused to sit at their newly formed table with him, Roxas, Axel, Xion, and Namine. Sora had asked her why before break, and he received only one phrase that he was all too familiar with.

I don't feel comfortable.

Sora wondered if it was his fault. Even with a lot going on, there was no way he could forget how he laid his hands—or rather, mouth—on her, and he doubted she could easily forget that impulsive kiss on her forehead either.

But she was fine with me the day finals ended, he continued to reason with himself. Xion stood by the side and continued mixing her batter, watching him cautiously as he suddenly stopped talking and lost himself in his thoughts. She hugged me.

You forced it on her, you idiot, the other side of him sharply pointed out. Just because she hugged Roxas and Xion doesn't mean she wants to hug you.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Ah, fuck it," Sora cursed out loud, accidentally scaring Xion by his sudden outburst. He realized how it came out of nowhere for the poor girl and instantly apologized. "I, uh, got lost in my thoughts."

"No shit, you didn't," Xion deadpanned. "I hope you were thinking about Riku because you kind of left me hanging there."

"Riku and I haven't talked in a while, so I don't know. I think I'll just have to wait it out for a bit, so he probably won't be at the party."

Xion raised an eyebrow to question his decision to hold off an inevitable confrontation, but since it wasn't any of her business, she let it be. However, she offered advice.

"Don't wait too long. Before you know it, the critical time passes and you'll be wondering why you didn't act sooner."

"You sure sound experienced."

"Take it from someone who has been there."

"Well, I'm sure you did all you could've during that time," Sora grinned, already knowing what she was talking about. "Roxas couldn't have asked for any more support."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Xion pretended to play dumb, but it wasn't going to work on Sora. To save her some face though, he dropped the topic and moved back to the conflict that restlessly stirred in his mind.

"Xion, you're a girl, right?"

"Ask me such a dumb question again and you'll really be asking for a boot," Xion scowled. She started to cut the dough with the gingerbread man mold and place them onto a tray. When Sora didn't say anything for a brief moment, she frowned. "What do you have to ask me? Just lay it out."

"Why do you think Kairi hasn't been sitting with us?" he sighed, laying the cards out on the table. "She seems to be fine with all of us—heck, she even gets along with Axel during the brief times they've seen each other. I'm just confused why she avoids us at lunch…"

"Yikes, you don't have a single clue, huh?" Xion shook her head in disappointment. "I thought you would be a lot keener than that."

"It's not me, is it?" Sora hurriedly asked out of paranoia. Xion blinked.

"And why would it be you?"

A huge wave of relief washed over him—it really must've not been him. The relief didn't last long however as another question dug at his conscious. "Then why?"

"Just 'cause everything's okay for you besides the whole Riku thing doesn't mean she doesn't have her earn share of, uh, difficulties," Xion said a matter-of-factly. "The dynamics of our group aren't as harmonious as you think."

This got Sora thinking. Was there something Kairi wasn't comfortable about in their group? He swore that she got along with everyo—

"Oh."

Xion nodded her head at Sora's realization as she slid the next batch of cookies into the oven. "Bingo."

"It's Namine?"

~.~.~

It was the fifth day since break started, and Roxas hadn't planned on doing anything besides attend the Christmas party. So when he was greeted it with a surprise visit from Riku, his world tilted to the side a bit. Just a bit.

The doorbell had rung, much to his surprise. Axel and Xion liked to crash at his place on the weekends from time to time, but they would never do it at eleven—the two would probably still be sleeping. Besides, Xion was over at Sora's place—it couldn't just be Axel alone. With his father out for work too, the blond did not have a clue about who could possibly be visiting.

When Riku's face popped up from behind the door, Roxas really tried not to do a triple-take.

"Morning," Riku gruffly said. Already, with the first word from his mouth, Riku already struck a bad chord in Roxas's morning. A part of him wanted to just close the door to avoid dealing with any potential trouble, but another part of him told him to just hear the silver-haired out, especially after all of Kairi's hard work on the islands.

"I wouldn't have minded a text, y'know," Roxas said. He opened the door wider, gesturing for Riku to make his way in. The blond couldn't believe his eyes; the jock seemed very hesitant to just enter his household, but he eventually did anyway.

"Haven't been here in a while," Riku muttered as he took a look around the house. Roxas gestured for him to sit down on the sofa. He took the seat next to him on the neighboring sofa, elbows on knees and hands clasped together by his mouth. It was clear to Riku that Roxas wasn't going to waste time just faking smiles.

"What brings you here?"

Roxas watched as Riku put a brightly-colored bag on the shin-height table, something he didn't notice at the door.

"Happy early Christmas," Riku said quietly. He was not used to doing these types of things, especially to Roxas. After all, the two never did quite get along, even before their disagreement. Both Roxas and Riku did it for Sora; with no Sora, there was no reason to pretend.

Noticing how Roxas didn't even flinch, Riku let out an exasperated sigh and pointed at the bag as he reclined his back against the sofa. "Just open it right now. I promise, it's not going to kill you."

Roxas's observant eyes shifted from Riku to the mysterious bag. Slowly, he dug his hands into it and was surprised to see the contents.

"This novel was just released last week," Roxas stated. It wasn't a question, but it might as well be one with the way the look of wonderment instantly plagued the blond's expression. Riku looked away to avoid any eye contact. "How did you know that this was the one I've been wanting since—"

"Seems like you and blondie number two don't realize how annoying you guys can get when you talk up a storm about these nerdy things," Riku scoffed. The muscles in his arms rippled as he sat back up from the sofa and sat with his legs spread. "You better not throw it away just 'cause I'm the one who gave it to you."

"You should know better by now that I'm not the type of guy who would do that," Roxas sighed. He waved the book in his hand before settling it down next to him. "Thanks. You got me occupied for the break."

The two finally locked eyes once more as a brief silence passed between them. Roxas's originally hard gaze softened as he saw the message the cyan eyes tried to convey. With the surprise gift and everything, it didn't take long for Roxas to realize what Riku's intentions were with this unexpected visit.

Riku was the first to break eye contact.

"Whatever."

He stood up, obviously not comfortable with sitting around any longer. Roxas did the same, a small frown etching itself across his forehead.

"Leaving already?"

"I already finished what I came here for," Riku said. He pointed to the book on the sofa. "I'll excuse myself out, no worries."

"Stay for a little longer," Roxas awkwardly suggested as he rubbed the back of his head. "I think you came by at the right time."

"What?"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang again. This time, Roxas knew who it was. Riku stared at Roxas's retreating back as the blond went over to the front door. When he opened it, a familiar figure greeted the both of them.

"Hi Roxas, I brought a lot of stuff to cook with for the—Riku?"

Riku blinked, not expecting a sudden confrontation again with her.

"Kairi?"

"Come to the party tomorrow with us," Roxas said. He cracked the faintest of a smile. "Of course, you'd need to help us cook tomorrow's food for today."

Hey guys! I know, don't kill me please. I seriously am not lying when I said I hit writer's block HARD with this story. I could not think about what to right, and then 7 months later, I realize that I gotta do my readers justice xD So I thought for a few days what I would write to wrap this up, and luckily I *KIND OF* know what I want to write and how I want to style it. Hopefully I haven't lost anyone here! This chapter is just a reminder of what has been going on and a way for you guys to get refreshed! Hope everything is okay for everyone out there, and be on the lookout for chapters. As always, thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I read everything you guys give me and always keep it in mind! Thank you for following this story here. UNTIL NEXT TIME!