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It was the first holiday that they would be spending together, and Derrick was helping Key in decorating the apartment. They had to go out and buy some decorations since he never really celebrated any of them, and the decorations that Key had didn't seem to be enough. Either way it was a bit fun to go shopping together, on purpose this time.

Currently he was working on hanging some decorations on the plastic tree they had gotten, something he hadn't expected to ever have in his apartment, but he wasn't against it's presence in any way. It was kind of nice to have actually. Or at least it felt nicer to have it when celebrating with someone else rather than just himself.

He dug into the box for another ornament, fiddling around with one of the hooks when he noticed something under the tree near the back of it. It was a present, but one that looked out of place for some reason. Reaching down he grabbed it and looked at the tag. He was surprised when he read it and it looked like it was for him!

That's when he noticed that there was a second present underneath the tree. Another strange one. Strange because so far they had both told each other they hadn't done any shopping, and he certainly hadn't told Key about what he had wanted yet.

And since this was Destiny City and they were a Knight and a Senshi... "Key! You know anything about this present?" He asked, hoping to get her attention. "I found it under the tree... and there's a second one too."

Derrick felt a bit of a chill go up his spine when Key had replied that she hadn't gotten anything yet. It confirmed his suspicions. Something was definitely up. For all he knew it was a youma-bomb or something. Like youma-bedbugs, but they would be invisible instead. Because what good could possibly come from a present that appeared out of nowhere?

He sniffed the air and could smell the hot chocolate coming closer, which he could just take it as a shot to heat himself back up. The chill this present was giving him did not care that he was in a heavy hoodie.

He sighed. "Well, something is up then. Neither of us have gone shopping." He reached back to grab the other present, holding it out to Key. "You want to check this one out? They could contain anything at this point. I honestly just want to throw it into the trash. Or the fireplace. Honestly the fireplace sounds the best." Of course if there was something plastic in there then that would smell to high heck... he was willing to take the risk though.

"Well, for all we know, Santa could be a Negaverse Agent." He replied shrugging, giving her a weak smile. He was trying to make a joke out of the situation, but anytime the Negaverse was brought up, it always dampened the mood, no matter where either of them were.

"But yeah, something always comes up this time of year. You have to wonder why it's these holidays and not say, summer solstice or something. Instead it's just October and December." He took another look at the present. "How about we open one at a time though, just in case?" Though if one of them was something that exploded, opening one at a time wouldn't help. A glitter bomb would still forever leave it's mark in the apartment.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "All right I'll open mine first and see what it is." He said, looking for the flaps so that he could tear it open.

"Agreed." Derrick replied, giving Key a grin. He really loved when she came up with nicer ways to tell someone to off themselves. She did have a point though. It might not be the Negaverse. Could it be some sort of magic or something? Certainly their magic didn't come from the Negaverse, and he had heard something about some Galaxy pot or cauldron or something. Perhaps it was just the way it seeped out? But why only these two months then?

"I'll open mine first then." It looked pretty flat. And it looked like something he had been wanting... but would have taken a gift card for considering it was so specific.

He carefully unwrapped the paper, going slowly with it. He would have liked to rip it apart, but if it was something that was going to thrust glitter in his face, he wanted to avoid being pelted with as much of it as possible.

But nothing that could explode was in there. Instead, it was just the very expensive set of calligraphy pens that he had wanted. He felt a bit of a blush on his cheeks, but at this point Key knew what he did as a hobby and for extra money, so it shouldn't have been anything to be embarrassed about. Still though... something or someone knew he had wanted it, and somehow it had appeared.

"Well... I really hope this didn't magically teleport from a store or something." He certainly didn't want to avoid paying someone the money that they were owed for the set. He quickly opened the container to make sure it was just the calligraphy pens and not an empty or otherwise dangerous container. It was just the usual set of pens, with some instructions on use and how to clean them.

He let out a sigh of relief once he knew that it wasn't going to do anything weird... at least until he tried using them. "This is weird... I guess you can open yours now though." He said, turning to look at her and nodding.

Derrick gave her a small smile. "It is. But if it does disappear, then just getting some money for it or a smaller set would be fine. I don't really need it." He didn't want her to spend all of the money on it. They didn't have to get each other very expensive presents. Just a small gift card would go a long way to get this set if it somehow vanished, but he wasn't expecting to actually get it on Christmas morning.

He looked over at her present, unable to tell what it was at first. When he realized it was a wetsuit, he looked back at her with a grin. "Something you aren't telling me?" Of course he knew it was probably to go surfing with. Something he had never tried, but he would be willing to give it a go. Still, he hadn't had any idea that she had wanted it. "Well, I'll make sure to get it if these both disappear or somehow disintegrate or something." They were magic it seemed. The magic might be temporary. Or broken. Like his pen would explode when he tried to use it and her suit would just come apart. He seemed to have the same thoughts about these not staying for long as Key did.

He shook his head though at both of the presents. "I still don't really trust them... but if you want I can get you another wetsuit too. Maybe one in different colors or something." He knew they came in different colors. But this might have been the pattern she wanted the most. He got up from where he was sitting on the floor, and sat on the ottoman that had been near them. "Of course our first holiday together had to start out like this. But if these things are real, well I guess it's okay. I just don't understand why the holidays have to be so weird. But it's not... terrible. At least we can weather out these weird experiences together from now on." He sent a look her way.

Derrick looked at the set. "All right then, I'll try it out once we're done out here." As much as he liked calligraphy, he liked to get everything else on his agenda done first. That way his mind could fully concentrate on his writing and hand movements. He sometimes wondered if he shouldn't just create a font in a computer program and use that instead. But people seemed to appreciate the hand-done cards.

"Surfing? That sounds interesting." Though they weren't located on the West Coast or in Florida or anything. He could only imagine the water being colder, but that wouldn't stop him if it was hot enough. "I'd love to try it with you. And we can help each other if one of us gets into any trouble." It was always good to surf with a partner in case of an emergency.

"No pink. Got it. That should be easy enough. I think blue would look good on you..." He muttered the last part, his mind half wondering about other colors that would look good on her, and the other half wondering just how it would look on her...

Sitting on the ottoman, he considered her words. At this point... he felt the same. If he had to date anyone, they would have to know about all of this. Whether it was because they were told or were a knight or senshi themselves, to be unable to discuss this with one's significant other, having to hold such a large secret... he was sure that others did it. But he couldn't.

Before he knew it he had moved himself over to the couch and hugged her a bit. "Yeah. I couldn't imagine discussing this with anyone else. And I like to go on patrol with you too. It makes it feel like we might actually be able to do something about the Negaverse. We're always so scattered. Even when we make other powered friends, it seems to take a large event such as fake hospital or some other Negaverse related event for everyone to get together and actually do something. Perhaps they did more before and now everyone seems so... content to not do anything. We haven't had anything big in a while other than some attacks, but nothing like trying to strike at the heart or getting rid of agents at the tops of companies or something." It made him feel a little on edge, which is when he realized that he had probably been hugging Key a bit too hard and he relaxed his arms.

"Sorry Key. Just thinking out loud here. We should try to relax a bit more. Maybe focus on our non-powered lives, you know?" She helped him break away from his mundane life at least. Sure, parkour and calligraphy were interesting, but at some point they became repetitive. She helped to push him into trying new things.

Derrick laughed quietly. "Well I have seen you in your uniform." He said, waggling his eyebrows a bit at the implication. He wondered what it would be like if they were powered up and decided to do... Well maybe they could try it later. Key was trying to be a bit more serious here, and he couldn't blame her. The need to talk about all of... this was overwhelming, and to be able to do that to one that you were close to, well, it would be bother terrifying and amazing at the same time, at least to him.

"I agree. If I were going out with anyone else, I might just try to be a police officer or something so that I would at least have the excuse of going out all of the time. It wouldn't be the same though." Even if there were others risking their lives out there, they faced their own mental health challenges and appearing weak. And at least they could try to fight the corruption. There were laws and such, and evidence. With the Negaverse though? What exactly could they do, unless they became such an overwhelming force or decided to actually do something proactive and take cities that were held by the Negaverse down?

He believe that there were more with the Order, but they never seemed to want to do anything until they were attacked. Being reactive instead of proactive. Suddenly he felt her lips against his and he couldn't help but kiss her back. He felt a smile on his face. "Yeah... all we can do is live in the moment, the here and now, and appreciate every day." He looked her in the eyes. "And spend as much time as possible together." His face took on a more cocky look, one he rarely ever had, before he quickly lifted her and headed to the bedroom. "Like right now, I think we can find a way to appreciate each other..."