Carlos couldn't help but smile as he passed them by, holding bags of groceries, gotten before the stores closed for Christmas Eve. Christmas was always a great time, even for a psychic like him. After all, there was nothing better than a snowy day to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Well, that and have hot chocolate. With marshmallows and whipped cream. God, he could use one of those right now; he forgot to purchase gloves of all things and now his hands were freezing cold. He'd be surprised if he got home with his fingers intact-
FWUMP.
His face was suddenly cold as something smacked right into it, He could hear giggles as he wiped it off his face.
"We got him, we got him~"
"Indeed we did, Siren! Ah, yes, the look on his face... Priceless, is it not?"
Once he was done wiping the snow out of his eyes, he shot a glare at his attackers: a bard in green and red, his eyes glowing brightly under the darkness of his hood, and a fairy, dressed in blue, and somehow not freezing to death in her very short dress.
"Hardy har," said Carlos as the two grabbed each other, arm in arm, and did a jig. "Nice to see you two are getting along, but could you please not launch snowballs while I'm obviously carrying groceries?"
The fey snickered and asked, "Well, it's no fun if you know about it, is it, dear Carlos?"
"It's no fun being struck when you might get frostbite any minute, Siren," he retorted, walking past them and setting his groceries down for just a moment as he searched for his house key in his pockets. "It's cold outside, so how about you two go inside and maybe make out under an invisible mistleto-"
He stopped in midsentence and yelped, feeling snow dumped right in his pants. He turned around and saw what looked like a flying butt with hands holding his pants out as mini-sirens dumped snowballs right in. Of course, the actual Siren and her illusionist friend couldn't help but stifle a giggle.
Their giggles were soon silenced as a rain of snowballs fell upon them, barraging them mercilessly and banishing the ever-lewd butt-illusion conjured by the bard. Unfortunately, the most appropriately dressed bard couldn't handle the barrage and fell over dramatically with a thump. Siren was at his side immediately, Carlos watching the drama unfold as he got snow out of his pants.
"Ricard, no!" she cried. "My darling Ricard, are you okay? Speak to me, Ricard! Speak to me!"
The bard coughed once before saying, in a weak voice, "Siren... I am sorry. I was not strong enough to face the cold, bitter taste of defeat... The world of the dead beckons..."
"Ricard, no! Stay with me! You must stay with me, please! Don't go!
He stroked her cheek gently, eyes half closed. "Forgive me... I... Oh, gods above, I see the light! The world fades..."
His eyes closed, his breath leaving him. Siren whimpered a little before shouting out loud, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"
"Ignoring both of you," Carlos said grumpily with an eye roll, after making sure there was no extra snow shoved in awkward places, unlocking the door, and opening it up, taking one large stride in. Those two loved acting out dramatic moments just for the hell of it. One day, it might get him a ticket for being too loud in the neighborhood. He set his groceries down by the kitchen and set his hat and brown coat up on the coat hangers, letting out a relieved sigh before heading towards the living room and sitting on a reclinier. Groceries, check. Christmas tree in the corner, all decorated? Check. Cookies? Che-
Munch, munch, munch. The psychic raised an eyebrow at this mysterious noise and turned towards the kitchen. With no sign of anyone there, he stood up and took a step, preparing to check the other rooms.
Wasn't really necessary when the muncher was right beside him, dressed in a green sweater and long, black pants. With a lot of cookie crumbs on them. Kneeling by the small table where he left the cookies. The cookie thief looked up at him for a moment, their eyes locked...
" 'Sup, homie?" she asked as she polished off the last cookie.
"How long have you been here, Sammy?" Carlos asked, brushing off her question.
" "Bout 30 minutes. Was gonna surprise you but then I saw these cookies, and then I was like, 'maaan, one won't hurt'. Then I fuckin did a cookie massacre!"
"You know you're going to have to bake more to pay me back for those, right?"
Sammy stared at him before dusting off the crumbs and heading towards the kitchen, mysteriously conjuring an apron with a thunderbolt on it and scouring the cabinets for ingredients, yelling, "YO MAN SHIT'S ABOUT TO GET SAMMICAL UP IN THIS JOINT CUZ I'MMA BE BAKIN COOKIES, YO!"
Carlos wanted to roll his eyes, but he couldn't help but smile as Sammy got to work. "Try not to make too much of a mess," he said before returning to his seat and turning the TV on. "Sol and pals are coming over, and the last thing we need is something he thinks he needs to clean up."
-----------------------
"FFFFFFFFFFFFuck, I thought I had that one!"
Carlos stared in shock at the TV, which clearly showed a Captain Falcon triumphing over an Ike in Super Smash Bros.
"You need more discipline," said his opponent, crossing his arms and ignoring the chatter of a scientist and an electrokinetic over sugar cookies. "You are too quick to rapidly tap the A button, without any thought of what your opponent is up to. Use the field to your advantage, and think before you Smash."
"Well, gee, thanks Sol," Carlos said jokingly, setting his controller aside as Sammy and Angie set the living room table with dozens upon dozens of cookies. Angie was dressed up like Mrs. Claus, while Sol was dressed up as Santa. More presents were sitting under the tree, eagerly awaiting greedy hands to rip them open and find out what's inside. Siren and Ricard were conjuring illusionary mistletoes all around the room for fun, much to the confusion of everyone present. They used it as an excuse to make out passionately (or at least, Siren did!), while Mikey, wearing his trademark blue sweater and a pair of jeans, prefered to ignore tradition and instead, tried painting the happy faces of his friends on canvas.
It couldn't have gotten any better, really. Just the seven of them, having fun inside, waiting for the clock to strike 12. Carlos did ask other psychics, as well as Sammy's roommates, if they wanted to come over, but they had other plans for tonight. Oh well.
He stood up and ejected the Smash Bros disc from the Wii U and put in Mario Kart 8 before picking his controller back up again and smirking. "You may be good at Smash Bros, Sol," he said, "but do you think you have a chance in Mario Kart?"
Sol said nothing as he gripped his controller tightly, but Angie took a seat beside him and picked up another controller. "If you think you're getting away with winning against my hubby," she said with a wink, "You're going to find out the hard way that getting first even after that won't come easy!"
"Well, duuuuuh," Sammy chimed in, snatching the last controller in a flash. "That's 'cuz the RACE TRACK MASTER'S gonna fuckin' leave ya'll in the dust!"
"Sammy, you barely played this game," Carlos pointed out, unamused. "Meanwhile, I've been practicing just for this moment."
"Yeah, well, who needs practice when you're motherfuckin' SAMMY?!?"
"She has a point. Hard to be discouraged when you kicked a nearly murderfairy's butt. Or helped."
"That was more of Tenshi's doing, dear."
"True, but she still had help!"
As they picked their racers, Mikey couldn't help but peer over the couch and watch the races, laughing along with his friends as they zipped through tracks and made jabs at each other for fun. He soon went back to painting, a smile on his face as he finished everything up. Siren and Ricard started watching, too, splitting off into tinier versions of themselves and whispering not-so-helpful tips like a backseat driver. Carlos had to punt a mini-Siren off of him with his psychokinesis after she suggested "GRAB ALL THE COINS EVEN THOSE ONES ALL OF THEM" and tried to grab his controller, sending his poor racer into the drink.
In the end, though?
(Carlos: 12
Sol: 4
Angie: 19
Sammy: 1)
"Ha! Still got it!" said the perky scientist after doing a jig in her seat, Carlos dropping his controller in shock. Sol didn't seem too surprised at all, instead giving her a congratulatory hug. Sammy, being dead last, could only say one thing.
"Well, shit! Looks like I do need more practice."
"Told ya so," Carlos said, reaching over the table to grab a gingerbread cookie. He then turned to Angie and asked, "How'd you get so good at Mario Kart, anyway? I mean, I understand Metroid games and all, but Mario Kart?"
Angie smiled, wrapping her hair around her finger and making eye contact with the psychic. "Well, when you grew up with Mario Kart and the first game you ever played was Super Mario Kart... hard not to get good, am I right?"
Siren sighed dramatically after reforming herself, slapping Carlos on the shoulder. "Alas!" she said. "We should have gone for the coins from the start! Only then would victory have been ours! Oh, a sorrowful day-"
"Coins won't do jack all if you get hit by a blue shell," Carlos pointed out, standing up and checking the clock. 11:55. Man, where did all the time go? He turned towards Mikey, who was still painting, and asked, "Hey, you alright? You've been quiet the whole time you were here."
The painter turned towards his friend, eyebrow raised. "Huh? I was?"
"Yeeeeaaah. You didn't say much aside from hello and all."
"S-sorry! I just got so focused on my painting, I kind of... oops!"
Carlos peered over Mikey's shoulder and took a look at the painting. Mikey's art was as great as usual, although he clearly emphasized the cheer and joy by using bright colors. "Can't blame you, then!" the psychokinetic said with a smile, patting Mikey on the head. "You're doing a great job at what you love most. But we're about to open presents now!"
Mikey stared for a moment before setting his art supplies down. Carlos took another look at the clock. 11:59... and in another minute-
"MERRY FUCKIN CHRISTMAS YA'LL!"
Before the clock struck 12, Sammy dove into the present pile like a dolphin in the deep blue, scattering boxes and bags everywhere. Carlos groaned and facepalmed, while Mikey was more than eager to follow Sammy's example. Both emerged with a red and blue present, ripping them open faster than a sugar-hyped white mage. And both almost had their eyes pop out when they saw what was inside.
"HOLY SHIT CARLOS, YOU GOT OMEGA RUBY FOR ME!" Sammy squealed with the intensity of 10 nuclear ravens. "Holyshitholyshitholyshit"
"Well, he got me Alpha Sapphire!" Mikey said, waving his copy around before tumbling out of the present pile. "Team Aqua for liiiiife!"
"No bruh you on the wrong side, it's Team Magma that's smokin"
"Sammy, you don't understand: Team Aqua. Water. EVERYWHERE!"
"BRUH FITE ME"
Mikey took Sammy by surprise when he actually took her up on her challenge, tackling her back into the pile and scattering the boxes more than they already have. Sammy was more than eager to try to pin him down, but he was agile, slippery like a fish. Carlos took a step forward to try to stop them, only to be stopped by Sol, who shook his head.
"This is one battle that you cannot win," he said. "Let them be. In the meantime, why not open presents yourself?"
Carlos stared for a moment before shrugging and picking up the gifts that were addressed for him. The others did the same, leaving only the gifts for Mikey and Sammy scattered about as they fought for who was better: Team Magma or Aqua? Carlos opened his first gift, which was from Sol, and plucked from a box a very intricately knitted green sweater, with a matching hat and gloves. "Holy crap," he said, jaw nearly dropping to the floor. "You put all this work and effort into this for me? And you even made gloves, which I needed badly!"
Sol smiled meekly and replied, "It is winter, and it does get really cold here... and it was a nice change from intentionally making ugly christmas sweaters for you."
"Wasn't that Angie's idea, anyway?" asked Carlos. Sol exchanged glances with Angie, the only thing Carlos needed to know. He said with a smile, "Well, anyway, thanks man! Really appreciate i-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH LOOK WHAT ELSE I GOT CARLOS"
In the next moment, there was something in his face. Something incredibly pink and squeaking.
"IS A KEFFYYYYY!" squeaked Sammy. "Angie, you are the best for getting me this how did you even get this"
Angie stared for a moment before pulling out her wallet and staring inside. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She then looked up at Sammy and said, deadpan, "I sold my soul for that shiny Cleffa."
The entire room fell silent for a moment, up until Mikey opened his next gift, given by Siren: a golden trident. That shot water blasts.
Needless to say, everybody got soaked.
"Woo, one step closer to being Posiedon!" Mikey said cheerfully as he waved his new gift around. "Now, how am I going to explain this to my parents?"
The rest of the presents were swiftly opened, from Sammy's new gift of an electric guitar from Jonesy ("Oh god help us all," Carlos mumbled as Sammy played it waaaaay off key), to Carlos's gift of Final Fantasy Tactics from Sammy, ("I think it has Alex in it"), to Mikey giving everyone Steam cards ("Happy Gabenmas!"), to Ricard getting and immediately putting on the obligatory christmas sweater from Sol. Even though now he had no hood to hide his face in. No, his real face wasn't shown; his face was still covered by an ever-mysterious blob of darkness, much to the confusion of everybody but Siren.
When all the gift wrap and boxes were thrown away and everyone had a steaming mug of hot chocolate in their hands, they all laughed together and chuckled, although Ricard caught sight of one box that was not opened. "Now, what have we here?" he asked nobody in particular, sneaking from the crowd to pick it up. A quick peek at the tag showed that it was addressed to Sol.
He picked it up and waddled over to the group. "Oh, great giant one!" he said. "There was one more gift under the tree for you. Shall we open it?"
The giant in question raised an eyebrow, plucking the box from Ricard's tiny hands. He opened it up with care, all of his friends watching with curiosity. The giant smile that followed was enough to make even Ricard smile underneath the shadows. A set of DVDs sat inside, with a cutesy title. He plucked that out and pulled out another thing: A giant plush cat, dressed as a knight with a sword an shield. And in the very bottom of the box, he pulled out a letter.
Carlos tried to take a peek, but he was having trouble, even when standing on his toes. "Hey, read it out loud!" he suggested.
"Bet it's sweeter than Alex and Sarah sitting in a candy store!" Sammy commented with a grin.
Sol turned to his wife, who couldn't help but try to look as well. With a smile, he turned to the letter and began to read.
"Dear Mr. Stanton,
Thank you soooo much for all the sweaters you sent and the dolls you made! I really appreciated the gifts and loved them! The needlework is pretty impressive! I think you'd do a great job at making cosplays for people, especially kids! And thank you for all the advice you gave me when I was down. I wasn't in the best of moods, since I've had a rough week after facing all those Nightmare Gang members, and it was taking a big toll. As thanks, here's a full set of Sweet Dreams: Nightmare Fighter Kogasa for you to watch with your friends! And have a copy of my favorite plush in the whole wide world: Guardian Cat, a cat you can trust to guard your belongings! Made by expert dollmakers and stuffed to the brim with sugar, spice, everything nice, and especially love~!
I'm just sad I can't send gifts to your friends, too! :S Either way, I hope you have a great Christmas and a happy New Year! And tell your friends I said hi!
With Love,
Kogasa Yamamoto~
P.S. Don't let any bully dictate who you should be! Belive in yourself! And know that your special someone loves you for who you are~ <3"
The room fell silent for a moment, Sol blushing harder than ever. It was Sammy who broke the silence after it lingered on for too long and said, "Guess you're BFFs with a Magical Girl! That's our Sol, cheerin' up anybody he makes friends with! And she's a star, to boot, ain't she?"
"That's just how he is!" Angie said with a grin. "Always looking out for others! A gentle giant~"
"A-A-Angie," said Sol, even more embarassed when his wife spoke, his heart fluttering in his chest.
"Well, it's true!"
"We're all like that, though," Mikey added, grabbing a cookie from off the table and taking a bite. "We all look out for each other, like a team!"
"Pretty much," said Carlos, taking a seat in his recliner and setting up his TV for a movie. "We've been through a lot and have to watch each other's backs, you know? Especially with things getting crazier in the Feywild. Christmas is just the best time for us to relax and bond without punching a fairy in the face."
"Ah, yes! The best time of year for bonding and gifts and love and oh, I cannot take it!"
In one fell swoop, Siren exploded with joy. And by that, we meant that she exploded into several mini Sirens, floating down on parachutes to hug everything they came into contact with, even little Cleffa. Sammy and Mikey couldn't help but grin and hug back, while Angie gathered them up and let them sit on top of her head. They all noticed that Carlos was setting up and squeezed themselves onto the couch. Sammy picked up her new Cleffa and held onto her on her lap, as Carlos used his powers to turn off most of the lights and prepared to press play.
And as The Nightmare Before Christmas played on the screen, Sammy held Cleffa close and whispered, "Best. Christmas. Ever."
"Keff~!"
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