Disclaimer: Believe me, if I had enough money to buy Riku and Sora, I would.

Warnings: Uh, they're like six. And no, I'm not into shota.

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three:santa

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"He is gonna come, Riku," the little brunet insisted stubbornly, hugging his knees to his chest, gaze never wavering from the fireplace.

His older friend scowled, none too pleased that they were going to stay up all night waiting for a nonexistent man to come down the chimney. "He's not real, Sor. Are you gonna listen to me or Kairi?"

Sora contemplated this for a moment, azure eyes thoughtful. Then he announced resolutely, "Kairi."

The scowl deepened. "But I'm older!"

"You're only seven," Sora stated matter-of-factly. "And Kairi's from a whole 'nother world."

"Well maybe 'Santa' only lives there," the silveret speculated, huddling deeper into his blankets.

"He does not! He lives in the North Pole and he can fly to all the worlds and all the houses in one night!" the younger boy asserted, adding, "You'll see."

"You're never gonna stay up all night anyways," Riku mumbled, flicking the brunet in the middle of his forehead.

"Oww!" Sora whined, teary-eyed. "What was that for?"

"To prove that you're just a baby," the older boy replied, although he would never admit that he hated seeing his friend cry.

The brunet pouted. "I'm not a baby and I am gonna stay up! Just you watch me!"

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Minutes later, he was sound asleep.

Riku grinned smugly as his friend's gentle snoring filled the room, but his expression softened just a bit as he shifted closer to the younger boy, contentedly warm.

He looked back over at the fireplace, almost wishing that Santa would appear. Maybe he didn't believe in flying reindeer and toy-making elves, but he knew how disappointed his friend would be if he knew the truth.

Sighing with exaggeration, he got up, throwing off the blankets and watching the brunet whimper in his sleep a bit, curling into a little ball on the floor.

He smiled to himself, then padded quietly down the hallway, careful not to wake Sora or his parents. He followed the glow of the nightlight to the hall closet, the door creaking slightly as he sifted through the hanging jackets, looking for his own. He found it a minute later, slowly unzipping the left pocket and digging his little hand inside until it closed around a box. Satisfied, he pulled it out and closed the door again, treading softly back towards the living room. Now if he could just find a pen…

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Sunlight filtered in through the window panes, slowly entering Sora's eyes as they fluttered open. Suddenly he shot up, looking around the room wildly for the traces of evidence he just knew had to be somewhere. "Riku!" he hissed, shaking his friend who was still sleeping peacefully next to him. "Riku, wake up! It's Christmas!" he continued, shaking harder. Finally he flicked the boy's forehead, effectively earning a groggy moan.

"Wha-?" Riku mumbled blearily, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Merry Christmas, Ri-ku!" Sora exclaimed happily, throwing his arms around his older friend, who blinked in realization and quickly patted the carpet around him, searching for the package.

A second later the brunet pulled away, face falling. "I fell asleep, though," he admitted sheepishly. "So I dunno if Santa really came or not."

"'Course he did," the silveret said, thrusting a messily wrapped present in front of the shocked boy.

Sora's eyes widened, and he reached out almost hesitantly for the package. He took it from the other boy slowly, examining it closely. Then he looked back at Riku, hopefulness and disbelief clear in his expression. "He came? Really? You saw him?" he asked excitedly in a hushed voice.

"Yeah," Riku mumbled. "He said to give it to you later 'cause he didn't wanna wake you up."

The brunet grinned widely, readying himself to tear into the wrapping paper before the little white tag hanging off of it caught his eye. It was addressed to him, with a prominent, inky smear following the "From:" and "Santa" scrawled messily in big black letters after that.

Sora's smile softened, and he fingered the tag for a moment longer before taking the wrapping off very carefully and subtly shoving the tag in his pocket.

He would thank Riku later.

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Author's Notes: Oh, the smushyness. Inspired by that REI commercial with those kids and the head lamps. Yeah…I find inspiration in weird places. xD

-Emmy