Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club just the idea for this two-shot.

A.N. This was written for the Themed Topic at the Winx Writers Anonymous forum on fanfiction. net.

AU Winx Club because I wanted to write something that wasn't so angsty. The Winx Club are still Fairies, the boys still specialists but the rest is pretty much alternative universal – also it's not so much Christmas but Winter Solstice so by rights this should have come out on the 21st of this month... I fail at deadlines.

Yuletide Enchantments

Musa stalked down the halls of the Alfea with her arms tightly folded, her eyes darting around the decorations for her eager stalker and the reason she had become so paranoid. So far, the being seemed to have lost her, which was all well and good but he was sneaky and she knew she wouldn't be safe until she found Stella and got her friend to take the spell off. Stupid Stella, stupid spell and stupid holiday.

She directed her scowl out the frosted glass window to the snow that was falling heavily and blanketing the grounds of the illustrious academy. The snow forced her to stay inside so she couldn't escape her undaunted follower.

A squeak of feet on the tiles ahead of her made her still and watch the silhouette of a figure grow longer and larger. Heavy footsteps told her that the approaching person was not a fairy but was most definitely a specialist. Not willing to risk it, she lunged at a nearby door and yanking it open, she tossed herself into the room and pulled the door shut.

The room was a closet.

Great.

The footsteps continued down the hall, passing her and growing fainter and the person moved further away. She exhaled deeply, closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the door in front of her.

Safe.

Taking advantage of the empty hall, she ventured back into the corridor, pulling the door shut behind her. A quick scan left and right assured her that all the students were somewhere else. She didn't really care where they were, so long as they weren't near her.

Now she just had to get to the girls dormitory and stay there until she found Stella and forced her to remove the enchantment. Her sneakers squeaked on the floor as she tripped over an unlevel tile and shooting it a dark, venomous look, she ran towards the locker area just outside the alcove that led to Faragonda's and Saladin's joint office space. Headmistress Faragonda and Vice Headmaster Saladin could probably take off the enchantment but she was fairly certain that, in the spirit of the festive occasion, they wouldn't.

So she was back to her original plan. Besides the last year she had gone to them – her friend Flora had been quite ill and to this day no one knew was it the egg punch or the crab-apple pies that had made the girl sick – the two of them had been drunk as nymphs on the Solstice. Luckily Helia, one of the prefects had done a first aid class and had been able to administer a potion to make Flora expel the contents of her stomach. Not that Flora had ever properly forgiven them for going to Helia about it but the girl had never mentioned a crush on the guy before. That's what happened when friends hid things.

She skidded to a halt, scowling at the black mark on the floor; then darted behind the row of bright purple lockers. A troop was coming… well a group of specialists but they were trooping; their feet marching to the rhythm of a non-existent drum as they laughed loudly and made disturbing comments about the shortness of Amaryl's skirt and what they'd like to do to Pia if she ever let down her hair. If she hadn't been avoiding her stalker, Musa would have liked to introduce them to her fist while playing them a nice hip-hop asswhooping song.

As they sauntered on past, she stuck her tongue out and narrowed her eyes, making a note of the four. She'd give them a nice little Yuletide present soon… once she'd taken out Stella. Payback was a bitch and so was she.

She sidled around the side of the lockers and almost squealed as she caught sight of a figure standing by the doorway to Griselda's office. "Albert! What are you doing there?"

The older boy sent her a bland look. "Sentry duty. What are you up to?"

She jerked a shoulder as she gave him a wide berth, ready to run should her stalker make a sudden appearance. "I'm not up to anything."

"Yeah, and I'm Griselda's long lost love child." He drawled, eyes narrowing warily on her, as if expecting something. She couldn't blame him. She had helped a few of the girls – namely Nova – play a few pranks on the stoic soldier.

"I thought I saw a resemblance. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Soul promise!"

Albert glowered but didn't deign to reply as he fixed his gaze on the wall opposite him. "Your friends are in the Dining Hall decorating."

"Is Stella there?"

"No… she's somewhere else with Nova."

"Oh, she's still avoiding you?"

Again his look spoke a thousand words that would never pass his lips. Rolling her shoulders in reply – there was nothing she could do about his unrequited love, since Nova fancied herself in love with pretty boy princes and delicious lords, rather than a good, strong, kind-hearted knight – she left him at his post and proceeded to walk up the corridor towards the lobby.

As she walked away, a frown marred her features. The stalker had left her alone while she had talked to Albert. Maybe she had lost it or maybe it was waiting for her somewhere else. The latter was most likely.

Her next obstacle was to get past the Dining Hall without being seen. Technically she had promised Flora that she would be there to help decorate and to choose music for the Yuletide ball that would be held that night, not to mention the music that would play during the Yuletide feast. But the Hall would be filled with Specialists and there was no doubt in her mind that if the stalker was lying in wait somewhere, it would be in the hall.

She ducked under a low hanging loop of holly and sidled up to the column built into the wall that decorated the entrance to the lobby. The pristine marble floors with their motley of grey veins gleamed under the crystal chandelier glittering with white light and pixie dust while long threads of popped corn, tinsel and holly were draped along the walls and ceiling. It was an enchanting sight that normally took her breath away but today she was a little distracted. By the gilded double doors of gold frame and frosted glass, two sentries stood talking while a group of giggling freshmen fairies were ogling them off to the side. She was half tempted to tell them to roll their tongues back in but she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

She crouched low as her eyes strayed to the entrance to the Dining Hall. A sweet Festive melody was coming from inside as students, fairies and heroes alike got into the spirit by singing and humming as they decorated the large Banquet hall. From her spot, she could see the pure white table cloths that covered the long dining tables dusted with glitter and glowing candelabras. More holly and other leafy sprigs were carefully placed at regular intervals while a few of the sophomores began to set the tables with the special gold cutlery and crockery for the upcoming feast. Stars were suspended from the ceiling while flakes of snow drifted down glass roof to disperse in motes of silver light. It really was beautiful.

"Hey, Bloom, what do you think of my new boa?" Aisha's voice rang out as the brunette leapt into sight, spinning an elegant pirouette before pausing to allow Bloom to see the silver tinsel she had wrapped around the smooth cocoa skin of her neck.

Though out of view, Musa heard Flora's cheerful applause and Bloom's delighted laughter as the two girls demanded an encore. Bitter longing twisted in Musa's gut and she vowed that Stella would pay for her machinations.

There was a sudden squeal as a pixie zipped out of the hall and crashed into the front door with a bang that made the large doors shudder. The sentries were immediately distracted in seeing to the poor befuddled pixie and the sharp gasps of the girls told Musa that the sophomores were equally preoccupied.

She took that as her cue and ran. Whether the girls or her friends noticed her or not, Musa didn't know but she kept running knowing that if she reached the end of the corridor, she was home safe. All she would have to do then is race up the flight of stairs and she would be in the hall to the senior's dorms. Safe. With the halls being patrolled constantly by fairy prefects, there was no chance of any Specialists coming close to her.

A grin began to unfurl over her features as she dashed past a bewildered Mirta who sported a pointed green cap trimmed with white fur and an equally perturbed Timmy who called out to her as he struggled to balance the books he had been holding. She raced around the corner.

A door opened to her left.

The impact was imminent and couldn't, with all of her skills as a fairy, be evaded. She hit the floor – well she landed on the body that hit the floor with an ominous thud, followed by a groan. She winced.

"Sorry," She gasped as she struggled into an upright position. "I'm so sorry. You just came out of nowhere and I didn't see you until it was too late. I didn't mean to knock you down –"

"I came out of the Kitchen Musa, that's hardly nowhere and what were you doing running?" The boy groggily demanded as he lifted a hand to press it to the back of his skull.

Dread pooled in her stomach and a cold sweat broke out along her spine as she recognized the voice and looked down at the boy she'd landed upon. Fate was a bitch.

"Riven," She choked out.

Crap.

"What were you running from? Was Stella threatening to dress you or something? Is your music collection burning? Jeez, you're such a klutz." He moaned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"I'm not a klutz," She bit out, but before she could say more, a wave of heat washed over her as if a vent of hot air had suddenly opened. Her mouth went dry, her tongue thick as she slowly forced herself to look up. "Oh snowballs," She cursed weakly. And there it was. The bane of her existence, all but sparkling with mirth as it loomed over her.

Riven followed her gaze, blinking spots out of his vision and forcibly ignoring the fact that Musa was straddling his hips. "Is that… thistletoe?"

"Mistletoe." She groaned, swallowing hard. Her breathing was coming in soft pants now and she could barely think straight. Stupid plant. She wished Flora had never given it to Stella. It was nothing but pest.

"That's what I said. What's it doing there? I thought Faragonda banned it this year."

"Well," Gosh when had thinking become such a chore? "Flora, um, she…" Her hand lifted to her forehead. Think straight. Keep focused. "She grew some, for Stella."

"What did Stella want it for?"

"Because…" She trailed off, shaking her head in frustration, "Riven, can you just… shut up."

Riven growled, opened his mouth to snap something back and then swallowed it. Musa looked… flushed. "Are you ok? You don't look so good." He lifted his hand to feel her forehead. It was warm but not feverish… but the way Musa leaned into his palm was slightly disturbing. More so was the fact that she was almost nuzzling her forehead into his hand, murmuring softly under her breath. Was she purring?! "Musa?! What's wrong?"

She needed to focus; there was something she had to do… Except when she opened her eyes, they latched onto Riven's and she couldn't look away. "You have really pretty eyes."

"Uh-huh. Did you drink egg-punch?"

"No," She smiled softly, eyes dipping to his mouth. His eyes were glorious but his mouth was devastating, all soft yet firm. Bitable.

"Musa!"

"What?" She'd never thought of a nose as kissable but there was a slight tilt to the tilt of Riven's nose. It would have been girly had the bridge not been so straight. He was so good looking, truly handsome but not pretty like the other boys. No Riven had a sort of rugged beauty that the other boys would never be able to pull off.

"Musa, stop moving."

"Hmm?" She frowned and looked down. Oh, she was sitting in Riven's lap. Well that was handy. How had… that's right, she'd swept him off his feet. She grinned lazily. Riven had literally fallen for her, how apt. "Riven?"

"I'm going to take you to the infirmary; you've obviously partaken in too much holiday spirit."

She poked him cheek. Great Dragon, his skin was taut. Where else was his skin taut? He did have amazing abs and his chest… it was definitely lickable but was his skin taut there too? She'd have to check.

"Musa, get your hands out of there, they're cold."

"They'll warm in a little while." Oh boy, his skin was just taut all over. She could probably sink her teeth into it and leave a perfect impression. She should do that, just in case people ever needed to identify her teeth.

"Watch your hands!" He growled, grabbing her hands and jerking them away from his belt.

"You're no fun."

"Well then go find your boyfriend."

She snorted. Why would she want that wimp for, when she had Riven all neat and tidy and wrapped like a Yuletide present in blue and white spandex. "Besides, I broke up with him two weeks ago. He's moved on though and I don't care. He was never right for me. His song is all wrong." She giggled. "Wrong song."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, struggling to pin her hands to her side where they could do no damage.

"Yeah the rhythm was off. There was no harmony, just clashes. It sounded like something from the depths of Dischord. You, on the other hand, have the perfect song. Ass! Which makes you an idiot for being with that Witch. Your song belongs with my song not that Harpy's song which," She paused to poke his chest and quickly leaned in to lick his ear, "believe it or not, is what her song sounds like. A harpy screeching. Good luck to her finding a song to go with that!"

"Musa…" He shook his head and groaned.

His jaw tasted good, she mused as she scraped her teeth along it. It tasted it really good. But she knew that. It wasn't like this was the first time she had sat in Riven's lap and necked with him. However, it had been a while since they had kissed.

She should remedy that.

"Musa, you're… going to hate us… later."

"Hmm," She agreed, "Later."

Then her mouth covered his and everything was good and warm. His lips were perfect for tugging on with her teeth but it was even nicer when he did the same to hers. And while thinking about how he would taste, it was always better when she actually experienced the taste on her own tongue, like mulled apple cider and cinnamon. He'd probably snuck a mug from the kitchen when Cook wasn't looking. Her fingers tangled in the silk spikes of his burgundy hair while his hands separated, one going to the base of her back and slipping under the hem of her top to play along the dimples, while the other one cruised up to her neck, massaging the skin there in a way that made her shiver.

She pulled away from his mouth with a few short pecks, punctuated by another long kiss, so she could nuzzle her nose at the spot beneath his ear. He smelled especially good there, soap and something like black ice… though she wasn't sure why she thought that. It was just true.

"Muse," He mumbled against her shoulder.

She sighed and drew his mouth back to hers, slipping her tongue inside to tangle with his. His fingers clenched tighter and her body arched against him, feeling the solid mass of his chest against the soft flesh of hers. A greedy whimper escaped her lips and the kiss turned hungry, a desperate need to sate the growing feelings inside. Her heart began to pound like footsteps in her ears and her skin shivered from the heat of his body against hers and the dizzying, delicious sensations racing through her.

"Excuse…! What …on earth is…here?!"

"Oh... sweetie… you doing?"

Musa frowned at the extra sounds that were drawing Riven's attention from her. She could feel it in the way his body had tensed up and the way he kept trying to remove his mouth from hers. Something she was not especially eager to allow. Riven and her were two pieces of a whole. Their songs were in complete and utter harmony; why were people trying to destroy that? Why was Riven allowing people to disrupt the melody?

He jerked away and held her at arm's length, his chest heaving as he sucked in air through bruised lips. Frantic eyes lifted to the group standing over them and he hissed out an inaudible curse as he tried to put Musa away from him, and to rearrange the problem in his trousers, yanking his cloak tightly around him.

Musa scowled up at him. Traitor. Then her eyes wandered to their little audience. Perverts. As her eyes met with Miss Griselda's and moved onto Flora's horrified gaze, the haze in her mind began to clear and the cold dread took over, washing through her. She shuddered in revulsion. "Oh what did I do?"

"Well, Miss Musa, you seem to have made quite a public spectacle of yourself right outside the Kitchen sidedoor."

Musa groaned. She had, she really had. Her hand came up to cover her mouth which throbbed from the pressure of Riven's lips against hers. She could still feel them like a phantom's caress which made her body shiver anew but with a new sensation but equally unwanted given her situation.

"I'm so sorry." Her eyes lifted to Riven and the horror washed over her again. "I – I –" There were no words to express her remorse for what she'd just done. She'd… Unable to think of it, she scrambled to her feet, weaving for a moment as gravity toyed with her. Her hand leapt to the wall to steady her body and her eyes met another's in the crowd. A moan of despair left her lips, and she ran away from the growing crowd, up the stairs to the senior's dormitory to lock herself in her room until the humiliation was over.

"Well, would you like to explain yourself?"

Riven wanted to shift awkwardly under the woman's piercing gaze but he wouldn't allow himself to show such weakness, especially since he hadn't been in the wrong in the first place. He had just been grabbing some food and drink having completed his sentry duty for the day when Musa had barrelled into him. He had been annoyed, pissed off even, that she had knocked him down and more importantly that she had continued to just sit there looking mortified and unbelievably beautiful while he had felt like a complete schmuck. Then the mistletoe had appeared and after that, things had just degraded into anarchy – a really excellent anarchy.

"Don't stand there smirking, young man. I want an explanation."

"I don't know what happened," He drawled. And he really didn't. Musa had begun pawing him for some reason and looking at him as if he was something incredibly delicious. Not a bad thing, but certainly strange when she generally reserved her best disdainful looks for him – except for that one time… he shook his head sharply. Now was not the time for such reminiscing. It was in the past, it would have to stay there.

"She kissed me."

"And you didn't think to disengage yourself?" Griselda demanded with that nasally, superior tone she was so well known for.

Obviously the woman had never experienced anything of a sexual nature in her life – repressed hag – so he didn't bother to try to explain to her that being in that position with Musa had been pretty damn pleasurable until their audience had shown up.

"Your actions today were completely despicable. I will be taking this matter up with the head and vice head and your punishment will be decided then. For the moment – "

The door burst open and Princess Stella of Solaria stumbled in. "I'm sorry Miss Griselda, it was my fault."

"Miss Stella, please remove yourself from this office this instant until you have been summoned."

"But it was my fault. I placed an enchantment on the mistletoe. I didn't realize it would…I didn't know it would turn out like this. So please. Don't blame Riven – it was - it was my fault." The last part had to be choked out as it was well known that Stella and Riven shared no love for each other.

"What kind of enchantment?"

"Well um," The girl laced her fingers and dug the toe of her shoe into the ground.

"Stella," Griselda warned, her tone growing sharper.

"OK, so it was this totally harmless spell to… well see, Musa broke up with Jared and I really thought that she should move on, cause you know, he's moved on, the jerk. I really wanted to put spots on his face because that would have…" She trailed off with a nervous laugh at Griselda's pointed look before quickly continuing, "That's not the point. Musa got on my bad side because we fell out, nothing major but she poured my favourite shampoo down the toilet; and yes, I have extras - several hundred extras – but it was the principal of the matter and I thought, maybe she wouldn't be such a grouch and a – a - a love hater if she could find someone for herself. So I placed an enchantment on the mistletoe I bribed Flora to give me."

Griselda closed her eyes as if praying for patience. "That is all well and good Stella, but you still haven't told me what the enchantment was."

"A true love spell."

"A what?"

"Well you see, it wasn't supposed to actually work. I mean, the mistletoe was going to follow her around and freak her out and I got loads of really funny pictures of her hiding in closets whenever a boy came near, it was… not funny. Right, um, so yeah the spell was only supposed to work if her true love was around and I…"

"Spit it out Stella."

"Hehe, it's really kind of a nice thing I did, because, I found her true love which is Riven… not sure why Fate hates her, but I'm sure it's a good thing."

"What happens when she finds her true love?"

"Well, um," She tugged a strand of hair over her shoulder and began to toy with it. "It would overwhelm her inhibitions and make her more receptive to um… well, I'm not really sure."

"She jumped me." Riven pointed out.

"Ok, well, I mean I'm sure it would have stopped there. It was just…" Stella stopped with a frown and her eyes turned accusing, "You know what: you weren't supposed to be her true love. You suck as a true love! But you kissed her back and you didn't fight her off which means that you love her back and – and – why are you with other people when you love each other?! I might not have gone about it the right way, but I did a good thing. So… you'd better prove that you're good for her. Go break up with Darcy and live happily ever after with Musa. That's what Yuletide is all about."

"Riven, you may go back to your dorm. I will deal with you later. Stella, I believe we need to revise the meaning of Yuletide because it does not involve bespelling mistletoe to attack your friends."

Stella huffed out a breath and stomped her foot. "I still say I did you both a favour," She hissed as Riven passed her, "So you better not mess this up or she'll never forgive you and you'll be doomed to be forever miserable and as much as that might suit you, Mr. Sourpuss, it wouldn't suit Musa at all. So go fix things."

"Stella!"

"Coming, Miss Griselda."

A.N. The next part will be up very soon before the end of the month. Hope you like it.