Chapter 11: Christmas Extra - Secret Santa
Sam conjured up an overstuffed sofa covered in a fur blanket from the pocket dimension or, PKD, store and flopped down on it with a huff, his head resting against the arm of the couch on one side, his knees bent.
A frown was evident on his face as he adjusted himself, trying to get comfortable, causing him to look absolutely miserable.
"What's wrong now?" an aggrieved tone came from Alfie's mouth. "Are you upset that you didn't have more sex in the last world?"
"Yes," Sam replied immediately without an ounce of restraint. Flipping onto his stomach, he batted his beautiful green eyes at the stoic system and gestured flirtatiously for him to come over. "How 'bout you come over here and make up for it?"
An erotic scene of himself tied up with red and green ribbons invaded Alfie's consciousness. He was draped in silver and gold tinsel as he lay naked on a fur rug in front of a glowing fire.
Repulsed, Alfie stepped back and shot his host a disgusted look. Still, he had begun to grow accustomed to the lewd and often pornographic images that Sam frequently transmitted to him through their psychic connection, so he wasn't at all surprised by Sam's response to his question.
However, what surprised him was that there seemed to be something that Sam was trying to hide beneath the projected sexual fantasy.
"It's no use lying to me," Alfie chided him. "Your mind is an open book to me, remember?"
"Whatever you say, boss," Sam muttered. An image of snow falling on a street in the suburbs. In stark contrast to the cold outside, many warm lights shone out from the houses around them. "I just saw something in the last world that brought up some unhappy memories, that's all. Don't mind it."
He seemed unwilling to continue the topic, and the alpha system didn't want to force the issue, so when Sam turned over to face the back of the sofa, Alfie walked away to give him some space.
Alfie scanned his memory banks, looking for the street that had flashed through his mind. It didn't take long to find.
At the time, they had been hunting down a particularly ruthless villain who had taken up residence in this quiet neighborhood. He had been difficult to uproot, and Alfie thought that Sam's less than ideal mood had come from the perilous situation rather than any other form of stimuli.
However, it occurred to the alpha system as he rewatched the 360° holographic footage that rather than focusing on the crisis in front of him, Sam was distracted by a scene playing out behind the windows.
After calculating the trajectory to pinpoint the target of his host's gaze, Alfie was stumped. The scene behind the window was peaceful and warm, a family exchanging gifts for the winter solstice celebration.
Why did such an affectionate and loving scene cause Sam to feel distressed?
It is always better to do research than make assumptions, so Alfie decided to open up the host manual and see if anything written there would be of use in this situation.
Unfortunately, most phrases like "sudden mood swings" and "abnormal behavior" brought up results related to either reproduction or mental disorders. Alfie was at least ninety percent certain were not the problem with his host.
However, one reference at the bottom of the list suggested that the issue may be related to homesickness. Alfie was aware of Sam's past, and it seemed to the alpha system that being homesick would be the least of his host's worries. However, it was the result that held the most promise.
To better understand the problem, Alfie decided to look more closely at Sam's world, but to do it, he would need to contact his supervisor and have the historical records transferred over.
With a sigh, despite being filled with dread at the thought of interacting with the often rediculous Iota 74, Alpha 7419 made the call.
After explaining the problem in detail, the iota system immediately sat up straight and exclaimed, "I know exactly the system to help you with this!"
He pressed a button on his grand mahogany desk and called out, "Hey, Sil! Send that Gabby person back in here!"
Alfie's eyes bulged out of his socket, and a vein on his forehead immediately began to pulsate. Just because he had never used Gamma 6284's nickname didn't mean he wouldn't recognize it immediately.
"I believe the two of you are acquainted?" Iota 74 asked as the blue-haired pink-eyed system popped open the door and bounced inside.
Gabby glanced at the holographic projection, but the moment he registered who it was, his jaw dropped.
"Is that Alfie?!" he exclaimed, holding his face as if it would fall apart without his hands supporting it. That indeed seemed to be the case, for the moment he took them away, Gabby suddenly started spewing out questions as if a dam had burst inside him. "OMG! How have you been? What's it like having a host? Sam seems really fun and easy to get along with. Are you on a mission right now?"
Awkwardly the alpha system cleared his throat and shot Iota 74 a meaningful look. With a roll of his eyes, the older system patted Gabby on the shoulder and told him, "There will be time for questions later. Right now, what we need is your expertise.
Once Alfie was finished explaining things again, Gabby immediately came up with the answer. "I see. I know exactly what's wrong. The scene at that time likely reminded him of family holidays in his own world and made him miss home."
"I really don't think that's it, though," the alpha system rebutted. "Sam never had a good relationship with his parents when he was alive, so why would he miss spending time with them?"
Realization dawned on the iota system, and he explained, "Perhaps it's not a desire to revisit happy memories, but rather a feeling of regret that he never got to experience the gentle and warm feelings that he saw back there in the window."
The room went silent. Neither Gabby nor Alfie had ever experienced what it was like to have regrets. Both systems had always lived as they wished, never backing away from anything they wanted to pursue, never suffering personal setbacks, and had never lost anything precious to them.
Iota 74 had. Having lived as long as he had, and after having so much exposure to the outside world, it was impossible that he wouldn't have at least one or two. On top of that, he had been a supervisor for nearly a million years, which meant making decisions that were often related to life or death matters.
He had a significant number of regrets.
However, the old system was also wise. Iota 74 knew that the best way to counteract a bad experience was with a better one. "If Sam's holidays in the past weren't pleasant, then the only thing you can do at this point is to create a memorable and happy experience for him now."
"I see..." Alfie hesitated. "But how would I go about doing that?"
"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Gabby, with a festive twinkle in his eye. "This is where I come in!"
.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.
Despite Alfie's general distrust in Gabby's abilities, the nonsensical system really did come through for him this time. He had a seemingly endless supply of images of Sam's homeworld during the holiday season, apparently for a side project that he was working on.
Gabby's interpersonal skills were much better than Alfie's, which helped immensely when purchasing a gift for a particular melancholy host.
"You can't just buy him something useful, baka," Gabby scolded when he saw Alfie opening the upgrade shop and scrolling to the host section. "If you want to make him feel that warm and cozy holiday feeling, you have to get him something special. Something personal. Honestly, the best thing would be to get him something custom-made."
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Alfie groaned miserably. It was the first time he had come back to the system world since setting out with Sam, and he was already anxious to leave. "What do you think I should get him? It's not like he needs clothes or jewelry. Even furnishings can be created easily using the energy in the pocket dimension, so what else is there that I could possibly get him that he can't get himself?"
"Well, let's start with this," Gabby coaxed. "What does Sam like to do?"
The image from when they'd just gotten back to their personal space flashed through Alfie's mind, causing him to shudder. "I'd rather not say..."
Gabby gave his friend a puzzled look, considering what could cause him to have such a flustered appearance. Then a light turned on in his mind, and he smiled knowingly at Alfie. "You could just give him yourself."
"What do you... NO!" As soon as he understood what Gabby was implying, the alpha system let him know he was vehemently opposed. With a bright pink face that almost matched Gabby's gleaming and playful eyes, Alfie denied, "There is absolutely no way that is ever going to happen! Not. Ever!"
"Well..." Gabby hummed, undeterred. "What does he like to do, other than, you know, that?"
It took a while for Alfie to actually come up with an answer, but eventually, he recalled, "He was always playing phone games when we were in the 'modern world,' as he called it."
"O.K.," Gabby replied, over-enunciating the word and exaggeratedly holding up a hand sign. "That's as good of a place as any to start from."
.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.°8*.°o*.
Because Alfie had been out for the last few days, Sam had spent his time puttering around the pocket dimension, rearranging furniture, playing dress-up, doing other things that are less suitable for children to read about. Finally, he just slumped onto the overstuffed sofa and watched movies on an old school tv that he'd purchased from the PKD store.
He could watch movies from every dimension and time that had the technological capability to record images. Still, the only films he was interested in lately were the ones from his home. Christmas movies, to be exact.
Yes, it was poking at his sore spot, but like a wound that wouldn't heal, he just couldn't stop picking at it.
In the PKD, it was always sunny and calm, with only a few fluffy clouds in the distance. There was no need for shelter, however reasonably soon after arriving for his first "vacation" between missions, Sam discovered that the endless good weather could be just as tiring as bad weather. So he converted some of the spiritual matter from the PKD to fashion himself a house to stay in.
It wasn't grand, just a small space to watch movies and eat interdimensional food that could replenish his spirit. He didn't really need to sleep as a spiritual body. However, Sam found that going without a rest period caused him to feel unsettled, so he also added on a bedroom.
As soon as he finished 'Miracle on 34th Street' for what felt like the hundredth time, Sam decided that now would be an excellent time for a nap. So without further ado, he went into his bedroom and closed the door.
A few hours later, he was woken by a rustling sound outside the room. Thinking that Alfie must be home finally, he walked to the door and pulled it open.
The sight that greeted him was far beyond his expectations.
What used to be a plain room with four white walls, a shallow ceiling, and a soft carpeted floor now had all the look and feel of a luxurious log cabin, the kind that only the rich could own. Sam could even smell the scent of the wood, and there was a crackling fire inside a river stone fireplace. In front of the fireplace, there were a pair of leather recliners and a bearskin rug. As Sam stood stupidly in the doorway, Alfie stood up from one of the chairs and, with his warmest smile, which honestly still looked somewhat forced, held up an ugly sweater that matched the one he was wearing and wished Sam a "Merry Christmas."
Tears welled up in Sam's eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had sincerely called to him on Christmas morning. Even when he'd still been alive, it had been years. Given his 'situation,' he always felt that he had to suppress half of himself whenever the holidays rolled around.
His childish requests for things like dolls and kitchen play sets were at first simply met with refusal and eventually led to big fights that would completely ruin any Christmas cheer that would have existed in that house.
So to have someone who knows him, someone who accepts him, someone who has never treated him like he was anything other than himself, stand in front of him and offer Christmas greetings... It was something he had never even dared to wish for.
An indescribable feeling filled his chest, and unable to control himself, he suddenly changed to his female form. As he once again became she, the sweater in Alfie's hand morphed accordingly.
Vindication was not a strong enough word to describe how she felt at that moment.
Sam sprinted across the room and pounced at Alfie, who, for once, didn't dodge. Instead, he held her in his arms and asked, with a self-satisfied smile, if she liked her present.
"Do I like it? I love it!" Sam shouted as loud as she could. Then she caught sight of the view outside and immediately jumped out of Alfie's arms and ran over to get a better look.
On the other side of the window, snow fell in big fat flakes. They danced away on the wind, carried here and there before finally resting on the snow-covered ground.
There wasn't a trace of the usual flowers and butterflies. The stream that ran through the field was now frozen over. The trees in the distance had transformed into some sort of evergreen variety and were themselves covered in thick layers of snow.
It was a winter wonderland, a marshmallow world, a white Christmas.
Just when she thought it couldn't get any better, Sam noticed the distinct smell of oven-roasted ham. She gravitated towards a gigantic table laid out with all the best Christmas foods. There was even a gingerbread house and hot chocolate with candy canes hanging on the edges of the mugs.
If Sam was pressed to paint a picture of the perfect Christmas, this would absolutely be it.
"Put on the sweater before you eat," Alfie harrumphed, pressing the knit shirt with red and green chevrons into her hands. Without hesitation, Sam pulled it over her head and sat down to start shoveling food into her mouth.
'No, this is better than perfect,' she thought as she ate happily. Her spirit body would never get fat no matter how much she ate!
Alfie sat with her and picked at some of the food. Sam had mentioned in passing once that she hated to eat alone, so the alpha system thought that the least he could do was sit with her and pretend.
When Sam was done eating, Alfie walked over and told her to close her eyes. He almost dropped the package in his hands when he saw the suggestive image that popped into her head the moment she did so but using every ounce of his self-control, he walked over and placed the present in her hand.
Sam opened her eyes with a puzzled look. The size of the velvet box in her hand was larger than a ring box, and it wasn't shaped like the type of boxes that things like necklaces or bracelets came in.
But what else would come in a velvet box like this?
"Well? Open it," Alfie urged the nervousness in his tone entirely out of character and at odds with his perpetually calm exterior.
Smirking, Sam started to open the box, but then her hand 'slipped,' closing it again. However, Alfie was too impatient to wait for her to stop her shenanigans, so he pulled the box out of her grip and opened it himself.
Inside was a watch. A perfectly average-looking watch with nothing special about it in the least. Sam was suddenly skeptical of her system's IQ.
Sensing that things weren't going the way he intended, Alfie rushed to explain, "This watch is actually a portable console designed especially for hosts to use. When you travel to different worlds and different times, it will automatically camouflage itself to fit your surroundings and attire."
"Ooh," Sam made an appreciative sound.
Alfie rolled his eyes. "You can play games on it."
"Best system ever!" Sam exclaimed, her emerald eyes lighting up with glee as she snatched up the watch and placed it on her wrist. She started fiddling with it, trying to activate the display, but suddenly stopped and looked at Alfie with a pained expression.
"I- I don't have anything to give you," Sam worried. "You're supposed to exchange gifts for Christmas. It isn't fair if I'm the only one on the receiving end."
She couldn't help but smirk at the double entendres, but her eyes still conveyed a feeling of regret.
Secretly Alfie was happy that Sam hadn't had the opportunity to get him a gift. He was sure that anything his host gave him would definitely be sex-related. In a suitably pleasant tone, he demurred, "As long as you stop being so insufferably moody, that's good enough."
Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head, a smile filled with warmth and fondness on her face. Glancing at the ceiling, her eyes narrowed, and she pointed at a little bundle of twigs covered in green leaves and white berries. "What is this?"
Alfie looked up, "It appears to be mistletoe. Wha-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Sam had already wrapped her arms tightly around her system's neck and pressed their lips together in a warm yet chaste kiss.
Alfie: ...
Damn that nosy gamma system!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Silly_Fox
Silly_Fox Merry Christmas everyone!
I'll be back with another (possibly more) chapter on the first!
If you are itching to read some more BL stories on WebNovel in the meantime here's a couple of my favorites:
[BL] Quick Transmigration: Is it Better to be a Beta, by LittleBlueLake
&
(BL) Quick Transmigration: Homewrecker System!, by ForeverPupa
Be sure to check them out~
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone