I must apologize (imagine me bowing right now, despite not knowing what I look like). This was supposed to be uploaded on Christmas, for festive cheer, but my PC decided to commit a grand mutiny on me as I was finishing. As such, this was sadly postponed.

However, I do have some surprises in store for you all. Just stay tuned to the Zanmat0 channel.

This can be considered chapter 10.5/11 for RA, but I'm uploading it as a oneshot, as it's a holiday fic.

Naoto stood outside the door to the Dojima residence, torn between what her plan of attack should be. While she held nothing against Nanako, who was practically the little sister she had always wanted, and Dojima, who was as much of an uncle to her as he was a reliable detective; she wanted to be able to have Souji to herself for a day that was a fond source of nostalgia for her. Huh…first option is to use the front door, but…who knows when I'll get some time alone with him.

Second option is…

Judiciously, Naoto walked around the corner of the house to study the entry point to Souji's window. Sighing in exasperation, she took her cap off and ran her fingers through her hair as she closed her eyes in thought. I wouldn't be in this scenario if…ha, that's just wishful thinki-

"Psst."

"Wha-!"

A hand gently tapped her shoulder from behind, effectively making her jump in surprise. Spinning around, she beheld Souji, trying to hide a smile and with his arms laden with groceries. His look became ponderous for a moment as he asked, "…You weren't thinking of breaking into my room again, were you?"

"W-what do you mean, 'again'?"

Souji raised an eyebrow as he stared at Naoto, impassively watching her as she started to fold under the pressure of his gaze. "O-okay, I know what you're talking about. A-and no! As a matter of fact, I wasn't going to."

"What were you going to do then?"

"Er…I was visiting. T-that's what one does on Christmas, no?"

"Well…you're not wrong. Want to come in?"

"Yes! Um…I mean…yes. Thank you."

Naoto's attempt to be as suave as possible quickly shattered as Souji, with his arms still being full, ground his head gently against hers as a sign of affection. Blushing, she brushed her hair back in place as Souji walked past her and tapped the door with his foot. Small footsteps were audible until the door slid open to reveal Nanako with a small Santa hat on, complete with a sunny smile on her face. "Welcome back, Big Bro! And you brought Naoto-chan with you, too!"

"Yep. I think she wants to spend Christmas with the Dojimas this year."

Nanako gave out a small cheer and dashed outside to give Naoto an enthusiastic hug, which the latter returned in a gentler manner. "It's cold out here, Nanako-chan. Let's go inside, okay?"

Naoto took Nanako's hand and led her back into the house, listening to her talk about what her favorite parts of Christmas were. "…and then, I think it's the best when we're all just sitting at the table watching TV!"

"Nothing more…grand than that?"

"Nope! Simple things are the nicest. That's what Big Bro tells me sometimes."

"And you agree?"

"Yeah! Do you?"

"Hmm…" Naoto looked to the kitchen at Souji who was waiting for water to boil as he reclined on the table and watched the events in the living room. Their eyes met, and Souji gave her a small smile as he winked. Naoto blushed and continued, "…I think so as well."

"That's good. Oh, there's Dad!"

"Yep, that's Da- I mean…me. Hey there, Souji. Ah, Shirogane's here too. Well, make yourself at home. It's the best time to have guests over, after all."

Naoto bowed a bit out of habitual politeness, to which Dojima smiled and returned the gesture with a nod. Souji motioned towards the kettle in silent asking, to which Dojima shook his head as he reached into the fridge to grab a can of beer. "You sure you want to be drinking?"

"It's Christmas. Be Santa and let me have this."

Souji chuckled as he poured out three cups of hot water in the mug belonging to their respective owners. "Nanako, do you want marshmallows?"

"Yeah! Lots of marshmallows!"

"Hahah, right, right. Naoto? What about you?"

"Oh, n-no thank you."

"Huuuh? But they're really good, Naoto-chan!"

"Ah…I suppose…I can try a few then."

Souji brought the two girls their cups before he went back to the kitchen to retrieve his own, carrying the small packet of marshmallows with him as he sat down. He poured out an amount of the treat in Nanako's mug until she was humming with joy. He held out the small packet to Naoto, who slowly took a small handful of the marshmallows. Smiling as she took a sip of her drink, he flicked a marshmallow into his mouth before resting the pack on the table and watching Dojima slowly get more and more drunk. "Oh, yeah! Open your present, Nanako."

The gift giving progressed somewhat peacefully, until Nanako was about ready for bed. Before Souji could take her to her room, however, he was stopped by the drunken bellow of a certain older detective. "Stahp right there, kid."

"Er…wait, what?

"You get yer young'un hands offa my daughter. I'm her daddy, and…" Dojima swayed a bit before continuing. "…and daddy's reserving the right to put her to bed. Like a normal famiwy…"

Souji watched Dojima pick up Nanako and walk somewhat normally to her room. Souji and Naoto watched with barely contained laughter until he was out of sight. Naoto broke first as a giggle escaped her, and she looked to Souji, who was chuckling into his hand. "…Famiwy?"

"Ha! Oh, wow, is he drunk."

"Nanako-chan's going to have a very interesting upbringing."

The two laughed in silence until Souji started to sneak towards Nanako's room. Naoto followed close behind, tilting her head in question as Souji put a finger to his lips. "Stay quiet…and watch."

Souji opened the door to Nanako's room the slightest fraction and he crouched down so Naoto could look over him as they both peeked into the room. Dojima and Nanako were laughing amicably as the former read one of her children's books, albeit with some drunken hand motions and incredibly slurred renditions of basic words. As Souji and Naoto left the spyhole, Souji shut the door behind him as Naoto lapsed into a laughing fit until Souji silenced her again. "Wait, wait…I heard something."

"Every day's great at your Junes!"

"Errey day's great at yer Jun….snrrr..."

Souji leaned in the doorway to see a greatly amused Nanako and a snoring Dojima. Quietly, the little girl waved and mouthed the words, "Merry Christmas, Big Bro!"

Souji grinned and nodded good night. Slowly closing the door behind him, he turned to Naoto, who had a bright grin on her face due to witnessing the utterly ridiculous antics of the elder detective. "I guess we can head up my room now. You go on ahead. I…have to get something."

Naoto, although curious, nodded affirmatively and started making her way up the stairway. Five minutes later, and Souji walked in with a small cake, a wrapped present, and a Santa hat was perched on his head. Setting the cake down, he put the present on his shelf and tiptoed back downstairs to get some plates. Naoto, curious as ever, crawled over to the wrapped item and examined it from every possible angle before she heard Souji walking back up the steps, to which she was flustered as to what her next move would be. "Naoto? I brought some…okay. Why are you looking at the dolls?"

Naoto dashed back to her seat as she thought of the most sensible excuse she could. "I…it looked like the Mokoi doll was moving. I, um…wanted to watch it."

"It's always done that."

"Yes, but…er…"

"Never mind. Here's a plate for you."

"Thank you."

Naoto accepted the plate and utensils as Souji detailed what the cake was. "It's a new recipe I culled from some cookbooks and the internet. I think it's in the same class of sweets that you like. Want to do me the honor of cutting it?"

Naoto blinked as Souji seemed to be completely serious that her cutting the cake would gratify him, but she complied willingly nonetheless. Taking a small slice of the cake onto her plate, she took a small bite. Contrary to popular belief (A/N : that was sarcasm) , the cake was indeed her favorite kind: not to sweet, moist enough to almost seem fluffy, and the small candied fruits on the end only served to whet her appetite for more. Souji could tell by the look on her face that he had struck gold once again, and he let her take a bigger slice before helping himself.

After the two finished the baked treat, and with Naoto having an almost unnatural look of satisfaction on her face, Souji picked the present of his shelf before sitting and patting his lap amiably. Naoto blushed and tried to refuse, but Souji insisted with his own rendition of puppy eyes. The ball of the Santa hat bounced a bit as Naoto relented and took a seat between his legs, leaning comfortably into him as she got over her normal issues with distance. Souji took a breath before starting off.

"Here…this, ah…this is for you."

"You've been giving me a lot of things lately."

"Sorry. I just like spoiling you."

"I-I should apologize…I don't want to sound ungrateful. Especially at this time of year."

Naoto looked over her shoulder at the now-smiling Souji and carefully opened the neatly wrapped package. As she opened the box it was stored in, she withdrew a scarf and matching gloves, which were dominantly blue, but they both possessed linings of white in an almost wireframe-esque pattern. Feeling the material, she could tell that it was impossible to find this kind of work in any store. It was handmade, just like many of the other gifts Souji found excuses to give to her. "This is incredible…"

"Well…it took some extra lessons from Kanji. The wire pattern is just me being a tech nerd flexing his creative muscles."

"The subtlety is remarkable. The 'wires' are almost invisible to the naked eye, but they're most definitely there. This must have taken a lot of time…thank you."

"I would say it was worth it if you like them."

"I do…" She ran her fingers across the fabric once again as she mentally kicked herself when she realized that she had no present to exchange with him. She latched onto the idea she knew would, hopefully at least, satisfy him…and to a lesser extent her tamed Shadow, who was crying out for a new rendition of Christmas to remember.

Blushing lightly, Naoto stood and spun around, leaning a knee between Souji's legs as she gently tugged the Santa hat off his head to place it on her own. Souji raised an eyebrow as her blush intensified, and she started off with a low tone but eventually built up her confidence. "I…um…Santa's decided…that you should get a gift this year, too."

Souji fumbled around for words as Naoto ignored her blush and leaned down to give him a gratifying kiss, and she let out a soft mewl as Souji wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. She closed her eyes and murmured encouragingly as Souji captured her lips again, tilting her head as she leaned down onto him. Souji's back pressed against the couch as Naoto climbed onto his lap, and she draped her arms on his shoulders, and the two were content with the warmth that was rising in their little love bubble.

Finally, Naoto released her mouth from his with a small, satisfied gasp, and she leaned her head on his shoulder as she felt a mighty blush surfacing. "Oh dear…t-that was embarrassing to say."

Souji laughed softly as he held her close, quietly whispering so as not to wake the residents downstairs. "That's okay. I should thank Santa's little detective." He kissed her hair as he glanced at the Santa hat that fit snugly on her head, the red of the cloth contrasting fittingly (somehow) with her dark blue hair. "I love it."

Naoto smiled into his shoulder as she snuggled into him, but was unable to hide a surprised squeak as Souji lifted her and laid her on the couch, looming over her with a wry smile on his face. "Can I ask for an encore, or would that make me seem ungrateful?"

Naoto smiled knowingly and tweaked the Santa hat as she giggled softly. Now she was having fun. "It would be in bad taste to refuse, either way."

They shared matching, exhilarated smiles as Souji leaned down to kiss her again, murmuring under his breath, "Merry Christmas."

…That was embarrassing to type…"Zanmat0 channel". Ah, well. I'm leaving it.

Naoto with a Santa hat sounds like it would be cute to see.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed Christmas and all.