Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or any of the characters in this story. However, I do own the plot.

A/N: Before you read, I just want to sincerely apologize for the extreme lateness of this story (6 days after Christmas). I had this idea in my head earlier in December, but I let my laziness consume me. However, I simply couldn't let this story go. I feel like it's a pretty good plot. So to anyone who might read this story on any following Christmases: Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year to everyone reading. Also: Sissi and Odd are both 16 in this story.

December 22nd

"I'm gonna be home, for the holidays,

To the place I know is my heart and soul,

Yeah, I'm gonna be home for the holida–"

Sissi turned off the radio with a scowl, effectively putting an end to the cheery Christmas music. Ignoring the stares of the other students in the rec room who probably didn't appreciate the abrupt silence, she turned back to the window and rested her head on the cool glass.

White was all she saw.

Actually, blinding white was more like it. The insufferable color was everywhere—falling from the sky, weighing down every tree, blocking every road, and cancelling every flight.

Sissi watched in despair as the white flakes continued to fall heavily and was hit with the sudden urge to burst into tears. Instead, she glared fiercely at the thick blanket of snow, as if the heat from her gaze had the power to melt it.

Unfortunately, she had no such power. Whether she liked it or not (although it was clearly the latter) they were snowed in. Snowed in three days before Christmas. And judging from the rate of the snowfall—not to mention the news she'd heard on the radio—no one was going anywhere until at least Christmas morning...if they were that lucky.

"The fireside is blazing bright

And we're caroling through the night!

And this Christmas, will be

A very special Christmas for me…"

Sissi frowned as the melodic voice of Chris Brown flooded the room.

I thought I turned that off, she thought irritably.

She turned around, ready to give the power button a fierce jab with her finger—or better yet, unplug the radio. The last thing she wanted to endure in the midst of her misery was cheery Christmas music. However, as she turned around, she realized that she couldn't stop the music, due to the big purple obstacle in front of her.

Odd was leaning against the wall, smirking as he blocked her access to the radio.

"What's the matter Sissi dear?" he teased. "Are you a Scrooge on Christmas? I would've thought that for the holidays your attitude would improve, not stay the same."

Sissi merely gave him an annoyed glare. She was in no mood to play his stupid games. Despite her fiery stare, Odd was undaunted.

"Cat got your tongue?" he prodded, chuckling at her.

Sissi rolled her eyes. If it was anyone else, she could've simply ignored the person and be left alone. But not Odd. She knew very well that he would pester her interminably until she gave him a response.

"What's 'the matter' with me should be obvious. I was supposed to be going away for Christmas break today, but what happens instead?" Sissi asked, throwing her hands up and looking at the ceiling dramatically. "I wake up to a blizzard. Now we're all stuck here," she muttered darkly.

"Oh, is that all?" Odd replied, as if she was complaining about something insignificant or ridiculous like a stain on her shirt or a paper cut.

Sissi frowned. "Well I don't know about you, but Christmas at Kadic doesn't seem like a very Merry Christmas to me."

"It can be," he said simply.

Sissi stared at Odd, who was grinning at her like an idiot. Ugh. Everyone else was moping around the school—an appropriate reaction to their current predicament—and then there was Odd…walking around in good spirits like he'd just won the lottery. It was sickening.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "But of course, you can't expect to have a Merry Christmas with that attitude, now can you? Besides, it's not the end of the world. Don't you usually spend Christmas here?"

Sissi stiffened. "Just because I spend my Christmases here doesn't mean I like it."

Odd had hit the nail on the head. Sissi had spent every Christmas at Kadic Academy ever since she'd started attending the godforsaken school, and each Christmas was worse than the last.

Actually, Sissi hadn't had a good Christmas since her mother died when she was a child. It was after that…"incident" that she'd moved to Kadic with her father—who paid far more attention to his principal duties rather than his fatherly duties during the Christmas season. And principal or not, an educator's salary was nothing to brag about. Consequently, travelling anywhere for the Christmas break was out of the question. The only reason Sissi had been given an opportunity to actually go somewhere, was because her aunt had moved nearer to Kadic, drastically reducing the cost of travel. But of course, the universe could never be so kind as to allow her one decent Christmas…

How could Odd understand?

Odd who had a family...Odd who had real friends...Odd who even had a dog to shower him with unconditional love should that of his friends and family ever become insufficient.

He couldn't possibly understand.

Frowning, Sissi averted her gaze away from Odd and chose to stare at an empty corner of the room.

"What if I could make you like it?"

Sissi blinked in surprise at his sudden inquiry and turned to face him. It was then that she realized Odd had significantly lessened the gap that had separated them and was now standing very close to her. His proximity caught her off guard. So much so, that she found herself stepping back instantly—and realizing that there was nowhere to go when the back of her head bumped the window. Odd chuckled—obviously amused by her flustered state—and continued to gaze at her intently, making her realize that he was waiting for her response to a question she'd forgotten he'd asked.

"E-Excuse me?" she stammered finally.

"I asked, 'what if I could make you like Christmas at Kadic'?" he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Finding her voice—and with it her attitude—Sissi pushed him out of the way and made for the door. "Yeah, right," she scoffed.

However, Sissi didn't make it very far because Odd grabbed her wrist, spun her around and pulled her closer, restoring the unnerving proximity between them.

"Naturally, I'm a lot kinder on Christmas, so I'll tell you what…I, Odd Della Robbia, promise you, Sissi Delmas, that I'll make sure you have a great Christmas this year."

Sissi gaped at him for a moment, and then she shook her head slowly at him, in apparent disbelief before prying her wrist out of his grasp.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Still grumpy Scrooge?"

Sissi's nose wrinkled—a sign that Odd had come to recognize as irritation. "Bah humbug," she replied.

Before he could even think of something else to say, Sissi was walking out of the rec room.

Odd stared after her retreating form, barely aware of anything else around him, even the Christmas music that continued to blare from the radio…

"All I want is you

This Christmas, this Christmas, this Christmas,

All I want is you this Christmas..."

December 23rd

"Sissi! Come outside! It's snowing!"

Sissi ran outside, dressed in a bulky pink outfit which would most definitely shield her from the bitter cold.

There was a woman dressed in a royal blue sweater, with matching ear muffs, mittens, fur boots, and black leather pants. Her long black hair fanned out in the air around her as she span around in the snow with her arms outstretched, as if she were a child of ten instead of a grown woman.

The woman was making quite a spectacle of herself, and Sissi would have been looking her way, had she not been so preoccupied with staring up at the sky.

Sissi marveled at the ice crystals dropping from the sky and floating lazily to the ground. The coat of white that it placed on everything it touched was such a sharp contrast to the multi-colored Christmas lights that seemed to adorn everything in sight. It was beautiful; the snow never ceased to fall, gently…naturally making everything ten times more magical—one snowflake at a time. Sissi didn't dare to step into the snow, lest she taint the pureness of it all, ruining the majestic scene before her.

"Sissi! What are you waiting for?" the melodic voice called out to her again, this time followed by joyous laughter.

Intrigued, Sissi looked away from the sky and found herself staring up into the eyes of the same lady who'd been spinning in the snow.

"I hoped it would be a white Christmas," she said, sounding positively giddy. "Looks like I got my wish!"

Without warning, the woman grabbed Sissi's hands and pulled her out into the snow with her, spinning her around and laughing. Sissi laughed too, enjoying the perfection of the moment.

Suddenly, the wind—undoubtedly envious of their bliss—whipped Sissi's hat right off of her head. The lady set her on the ground, but before she could even take one step, Sissi was sprinting farther and farther away, ignoring the woman's shouts of protest.

When Sissi had finally retrieved her runaway hat and returned, the scene of happiness seemed to have melted away while she was gone and been replaced by one of melancholy.

The cheerful woman was nowhere to be found, and the house that Sissi had emerged from was gone as well. All that Sissi saw were a few leafless trees, a thin blanket of snow on the ground…and her father. Hunched over a tombstone.

Sissi's body went numb and her vision blurred. Despite the indistinguishable state of everything around her, one thing stood out clearly. The tombstone. Although Sissi was a fair distance away, she read the epitaph as if it was right in front of her.

"Elise C. Delmas.

A beloved wife, mother, and friend. May she rest in peace.

July 6th 1972 – December 25th 2005"

Time froze. The snow stopped falling in midair, and Sissi could no longer hear her father's grief-stricken sobs. Then, as if Sissi was watching the scene from behind a window that had been hit with a hammer, the world shattered…and the broken shards fell around her, practically mimicking the way the snow had fallen when there was happiness—when her mother was still alive.

Oxygen became short…and Sissi felt herself slipping away…

Odd strolled though the school grounds, his mind still fixated on his conversation with Sissi. More specifically, he was replaying the moment when he'd pulled Sissi close to him. A smile crept onto Odd's face. He'd only done it to get a rise out of her. Whether she liked him or not (and he had a suspicion that it was the former, despite how well she hid it) seeing her so miserable had troubled him. He wanted to stir up some kind of emotion. Any emotion other than the dismal one she'd been displaying…and her expression had been priceless. Cute, even. It was at that moment that Odd decided he wanted to evoke some more emotion out of Sissi. Preferably happiness.

But there was something else that had bothered him about Sissi. After attending Kadic with her for so many years, he'd grown used to her spoiled demeanor and the way she reacted when she didn't get her own way. Yet her reaction to being snowed in was fairly intense—even for her. And the way she'd tensed up when he'd brought up the fact that she was pretty much always at Kadic during the holidays...it was strange. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it, but something in his gut told him that Sissi's problem might be a little deeper than not being able to travel for Christmas. And it was the very same gut-feeling which told Odd that it was important that he kept his promise to Sissi.

Reaching his destination, Odd stopped to open the door to the cafeteria. As he walked to his table to join his friends, he continued to wonder how he should go about fulfilling his promise to Sissi. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even remember to pick up a plate of food before he sat down.

"Uh, Odd? Aren't you forgetting something?" Ulrich asked, staring at him.

"Hmm?" Odd responded indifferently.

"Aren't you hungry?" Aelita asked.

Odd blinked. "No food…" he mumbled, glancing down at the space on the table where his tray was supposed to be. He turned around in his chair to look back at the line for food, when it hit him that something was familiarly unsettling about the cafeteria.

Jeremy scrutinized Odd's distant facial expression. "You came late to dinner, which you never do, and you forgot to get food? Odd, are you feel—Odd?" Jeremy watched Odd, concern visible on his face.

Odd had gotten up, retrieved a tray of food, and was now walking past the table. To be exact, he was walking out the door.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

Sissi took her hand off of her chest, satisfied that her heart had stopped beating erratically and had returned to its regular, steady rate. Her nightmarish memories that had come to her in the guise of a dream had disturbed her, and she was more than willing to erase it from her mind.

Turning her head to the side, she inspected the clock.

6:00 PM…good.

She had successfully slept through breakfast and kept herself holed up throughout dinner. She didn't want to be surrounded by her classmates, and she most definitely didn't want to be eating any Christmas-themed foods. She'd rather starve. She was certain she could tough it out until the 26th.

"Just six more hours," she breathed. "Six more hours and two more days until Christmas is over."

She stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to risk falling asleep and re-experiencing her mother's death. Again. Instead, she studied the ceiling, ingraining every crack and crevice into her memory—memorizing every patch that was faded in color due to old age.

She had been doing this for some time when her brain registered an annoying tapping noise. It took her a moment, but she finally recognized the sound of someone knocking on her door. However, before she could decide whether or not she wanted to open the door, the person made the decision for her. The incessant knocking ceased and the door swung open to reveal Odd. He walked in, shut the door behind him and then set a plate of Christmas cookies on her bed.

She frowned. "What do you want Odd?"

"You haven't eaten all day," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "You weren't at breakfast and you weren't at dinner." He suddenly gave her a sheepish grin. "I would've brought you actual food, but by the time I got to the cafeteria, there were only cookies left."

Sissi cocked a brow. "You mean that's all that was left after you devoured enough helpings for three people."

Odd's stomach grumbled loudly. "Actually…I didn't eat anything. I was busy thinking."

She gaped at him. "You? You were too busy to eat? Busy thinking? Thinking about what?"

"Oh you know…my family, Christmas…and you," he admitted.

Sissi hadn't even realized that she'd picked up a Santa shaped cookie and started munching on it until she started choking. Finally, she stopped coughing long enough to look up at him.

Odd moved closer to her and she scooted away from him, determined to keep some distance between them. What she'd actually done was unintentionally make room for Odd to sit next to her. Which he did.

Odd's brow furrowed and he stared at her intently.

"…What?" She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I just want to know. What do you have against Christmas? I mean, what do you really have against Christmas?"

"Why do you care?" she countered.

"Because," he said simply. "I made you a Christmas promise."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"Well…that's not the only reason. I want to know why you don't like Christmas, so I can help you."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't need—"

Odd put his fingers under her chin and gently moved her face so that she was looking directly at him. "Do me a favor. Stop being so difficult," he murmured.

Sissi stared at him and said nothing. She couldn't focus on talking when her nerves felt as if they were engulfed in an undeniably pleasant fire.

Releasing her chin from his hold, he picked up the plate of cookies and rested it on her lap. "Eat," he insisted as he got up and made his way towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder and almost chuckled at her wide-eyed expression. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sissi stared at the door, her body rigid. She was very aware of the butterflies that she felt fluttering around inside her. No. That wasn't right. It was more intense than butterflies. It was more like fireworks. Despite the chilly atmosphere in her room, her skin was prickling with heat. Slowly, she picked up a cookie, placed it into her mouth and ate, all the while staring at the door in a seemingly unbreakable trance.

December 24th – Christmas Eve

"Psst! Sissi!"

Sissi groaned and rolled over, keeping her eyes clamped shut. The irritating noise would go away eventually…

"Psst!"

Or not.

She cracked one eye open lazily, and then waited for her vision to adjust.

"Aaaa—mmphhh!" Sissi's attempt to scream in terror was thwarted by the hand of the silhouette that she was staring at in the dark.

"Sissi!" the voice hissed. "It's me, Odd!"

Sissi grabbed his hand and yanked it away from her mouth. "Odd! Just what do you think you're doing? Just because we don't have actual school, doesn't mean that the rules have changed. You're still not allowed in my room this late," she hissed.

"Technically, it's not late."

Her brow furrowed slowly as she began to grasp what he meant. She turned to look at the clock. The numbers that flashed back at her made her very unhappy.

"Odd. It's 4:30 in the morning," she said through gritted teeth.

"Sissi. You're crushing my hand," he replied, indirectly pointing out that she had never let go of his hand when she'd removed it from her mouth.

Frowning, she squeezed his hand tighter, deciding that he deserved a little pain for waking her up at such unholy hours of the morning. However, when Odd smirked at her and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, she dropped his hand instantly.

"Come on." He took hold of her hand again and began pulling her to her feet.

"I'm not going anywhere with you this early! Are you insane? Go back to sleep Odd."

"Sissi," he groaned. "We're going to miss it if you don't stop being so stubborn."

"…Miss what?"

A mischievous grin spread on his face. "You'll see." And with that, Odd swept her up bridal style and took her out into the cold morning breeze.

Precisely thirty minutes later, Odd and Sissi had maneuvered through the woods and found themselves sitting on top of a small cliff that allowed you to just barely see the top of Kadic over the numerous trees.

"What are we doing here?" Sissi asked, tired of waiting.

"You'll see," was his response…for about the nth time.

She shivered, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Odd. It occurred to him that dragging Sissi outside in almost subzero temperatures while she had only her pajamas to protect her from the stinging cold, wasn't a very wise thing to do. He silently cursed his idiocy and then did the only thing he could think of that would keep her warm. He opened his jacket, pulled her into his lap, and closed his jacket around her.

Sissi tensed up at first, but after a few seconds she succumbed to the heat that was radiating from Odd and relaxed, laying her back against his chest.

They sat like that comfortably for some time before Odd cleared his throat nervously. "Um, Sissi?"

"Hmm?"

"I know about your mom."

She tensed up again.

Sensing her discomfort with the subject, he took hold of her hand, fearing that she would try to leave.

"How did you find out about that?" she asked, her voice sounding pained.

He looked at the ground and then told her what he'd done yesterday, flashing back as he spoke—

Odd looked up at the dark, mahogany door. There was something utterly intimidating about it—or rather, the person who resided behind it. Jean-Pierre Delmas. The principal of Kadic. Sissi's father. He shook off his anxiety, and knocked on the door confidently.

"Come in."

Odd did as he was instructed, shutting the door behind him.

"Mr. Della Robbia! What a…pleasant surprise," Principal Delmas said. "How can I help you?"

Odd shifted, suddenly feeling very silly about the question he was about to ask. But then again…it wasn't like he had much of a choice. His only other options were Hervé and Nicolas—and the chances of Sissi confiding in either of them about anything personal were slim. Very slim. So he'd come to her father, hoping for an explanation—some clarity. If Principal Delmas couldn't shed some light on the situation, then Odd was stumped. Because it didn't look like he was going to pry it out of Sissi anytime soon.

"Well...sir...I was just wondering if you...uh...if you know about anything that might have happened to Sissi...to make her not like Christmas?" He winced at how much stupider the question sounded when said aloud.

Hearing Odd's words, the principal stiffened.

"You asked my father?"

"Well, I had to find out why you were being so…distant. And you wouldn't talk about it, so—"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want you to know? I don't want anyone to know! It's my business."

Odd felt that she was getting ready to leave, and wrapped an arm around her waist, forcing her back down into his lap.

"Odd—"

"Look. I won't pretend to understand where you're coming from, because I don't. I've never lost anyone important to me. And I know it's not my place but...I don't think your mother would want you to still be suffering after six years." He squeezed her hand tighter, not wanting her to get up and leave. "Your dad told me that she loved you a lot. She'd want you to be happy, not make yourself miserable every Christmas. You need to relax and see the beauty of life."

"What are you talking about?" she questioned, sounding fairly annoyed.

He grinned. "Look." He pointed to the sky and heard Sissi gasp.

The clouds were suddenly bursting with light as the sun began to break through the clouds. Meanwhile, the sky lit up in different shades of orange. Their snow covered surroundings glistened under the sunlight, further beautifying everything.

"Oh wow," Sissi breathed. "I can't believe it. It's so pretty…"

Odd nodded, glanced at her, and found himself loving the way her face looked when illuminated by the rising sun. Unconsciously, he started to stroke her hand with his thumb.

Merry Christmas Eve, Sissi…

December 25th – Christmas

Sissi woke up early on Christmas Day. Odd's little speech had remained with her all day yesterday, and even as she awoke she heard his voice telling her to relax…to see the beauty of life….that her mother would want her to be happy. For some reason, she had never seen it from his point of view. However, after meditating on his words, she made a decision. She wouldn't sit in her room and mope all day. It was Christmas. And when her mother had been alive, it had been her favorite day of the year. Instead, she had given herself a mission.

She wouldn't allow her father to drown himself in his work just so that he could avoid thinking about her mother. She would drag him out of his office one way or another, and this year, they would finally have a good Christmas…together.

Sissi walked down the hallway with her feet on autopilot as her thoughts wandered. She had succeeded in pulling her father away from his work, and as the snow had let up considerably, she had even coaxed him into going outside. They'd gone for a walk, and even though she considered herself much too old for it, at her father's suggestion they had built a snowman together. Just like old times.

Now, Sissi was walking back to her dorm—alone. Although her father overworked himself during the Christmas season, it wasn't simply work that he created to keep himself busy. He went as far as to let work pile up, so that he would be "conveniently" swamped with work—leaving no room for thoughts of the dead. Seeing as dragging him away from his office had been a miracle in itself, she had allowed him to (reluctantly) return to his paperwork.

Sissi arrived in front of her door and had only opened it halfway before she heard a thump. Curious, Sissi stepped through the crack in the door and looked down at the object that she had hit with the door.

It was a gift.

Her initial reaction was shock; she couldn't imagine who would leave her a present…but it didn't take her long to figure out who it was from.

The purple wrapping paper completely gave it away.

Odd, she thought fondly (much to her surprise).

She picked the gift up, planning to open it on her bed, but the box was so unbelievably light that she gave into her curiosity and opened it right where she was.

Inside the box was a single sheet of paper. Sissi's eyes scanned over Odd's handwriting, reading the note in her head.

'Dear Sissi,

I saw you spending the day with your dad, so I decided not to bother you two. Whenever you get back, I'll be waiting for you in the rec room with your Christmas gift.

Odd.'

Sissi smiled softly. She hadn't quite realized it until just now, but she had become so accustomed to seeing Odd everyday, that not seeing him had left her with a faint hollow feeling.

She had missed him.

She walked into the rec room and caught sight of Odd instantly; he was leaning against the window, staring straight at her—in the exact same spot she'd been in three days ago. It was like déjà vu, only now the roles had been reversed. Well, kind of.

Sissi walked over and came to a stop in front of him, greeting him with a smile.

He grinned at her and pulled out what looked like a jewelry box. "Open it," he said, handing it to her.

She took the box from him and when she opened it she felt her eyes widen and her breath hitch in her throat. She lifted the gold heart-shaped locket out of its container, totally speechless.

Odd came closer and opened the locket, revealing a picture inside that warmed her heart.

It was her mother.

"Thank you Odd…" she said finally.

He gave her a smile and moved forward so that he could fasten the locket onto her neck. He stepped back a bit while she admired her gift and then looked up nonchalantly. "Oh, look. A mistletoe."

She jerked her head up to follow his eyes. "What?" Oddly enough, the ceiling was bare. Then all of a sudden, a mistletoe appeared above them. Sissi's eyes followed the string that it was hanging from, to see that it was attached to a hat on Odd's head—which he had obviously just put on.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? It's a Christmas tradition!"

"…"

"Oh, come on. You know you wan—"

Odd's words were cut off by the sensation of what felt like a thousand watts of electricity running through his body.

Oh. And the way Sissi had suddenly grabbed his jacket and yanked him towards her to receive his kiss had been a tad disorienting too.

For a moment, he couldn't think. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. All he could do was feel. And it felt so good. Then, it occurred to him, that Sissi was having all the fun, so he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed back.

When their lips parted, Odd smirked. "So, did I keep my promise?"

He got a genuine smile from her in response. "Yes. Yes you did."

Odd's mistletoe hat had fallen off from the rough way Sissi had grabbed him, but he had a feeling he wouldn't need an excuse to go in for a second kiss. So he did.

After a few moments, he pulled away to look at her. "Merry Christmas, Sissi."

"Merry Christmas, Odd."

A/N: 1) For anyone who cares, the songs in the beginning in the order that they appear are: Home For The Holidays by Keke Palmer, This Christmas by Chris Brown and All I Want Is You by Justin Bieber.

2) Please review. It will mean a lot to me, even if I only get one review. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

- colemanfan242