"A Christmas Tale"Written By: Mookie
Disclaimer: I don't really need to be Captain Obvious here, do I? No ownership, no money being made. Written for fun, not profit. Rating: Let's call it NC-17 to be on the safe
side. Warnings: Some angst Spoilers: Entire series and EW. Pairings: I don't want to exactly give away pairings,
and most of it is more implied than anything, but let me just say
that it doesn't stray from my favorites. Notes: OK. Don't fall over in shock. You can thank
my daughter for this, because after we watched this movie together
on Christmas Eve, I confessed that I was a sucker for all variations
of the same story. So I decided to write my own. Summary: Wufei is not exactly the Christmas type.
When he next awoke, he was overly warm and felt suffocated by the blankets. The heat had apparently kicked on at sometime during the night. When he pushed them away from his face, the room was still dark, and he fought with the covers some more until he could swing his legs to the side. He thought it was early morning but the clock said but 1:00. At first he thought it had stopped during the night, but if that were the case it would blink 12:00, and furthermore, he'd seen with his own eyes the clock read 1:05 just the previous morning. If not for the lack of sunlight coming through the windows, he'd have thought he slept through the night and into the afternoon. He shivered despite the warmth in the room, and watched the clock with dread as it read 1:01, then 1:02. He thought of getting dressed at 1:03, but had only managed to get his trousers on when the clock read 1:05. He simply stood there waiting as the expected gray mist began to swirl. "Who will you appear as?" he asked, although more to himself than to the unearthly visitor. He finished unbuttoning his pajama top and tossed it on the bed. After the memories Meiran's ghost had dredged up, he was feeling antagonistic toward this one, and just wanted to get it over and done with. It took him a while to recognize the man's face, for he'd never met him in person, but he supposed there was some sort of reason why the late Vice Minister Darlian, Relena's adopted father, had been chosen as the face of the second emissary. He was a fine example of why Relena was a sitting duck, though, with her complacent pacifist attitude. Une, in her slightly more bloodthirsty days, had cut Darlian down in the prime of his career, and all he'd been doing was meeting with delegates and senators. "Come on, now, young man," Minister Darlian chided. "Now that you've looked your fill, allow me to introduce myself." "Vice Foreign Minister Darlian," Wufei said. "This is a surprise." Darlian frowned at him. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, and you'd do well to remember that." He beckoned for Wufei to approach. When Wufei reached for his shirt, Darlian clucked in disapproval. "You've no need for that where we're going. Just grab hold of my sleeve." Wufei grabbed hold of his sleeve, as he was told, but in a fit of defiance, he also reached for the shirt he'd been about to put on. He ignored the disapproving look the spirit gave him when they arrived at their destination and finished getting dressed. He did have the good sense to button it quickly, not noticing that he'd missed one until he reached the bottom. He didn't dare fix it, however, because Darlian's ghost was standing there, staring at his bare wrist as if a watch was there. Wufei got the hint and he bowed his head, feeling chastened. "Don't look so glum, young man," Darlian said, sounding more jovial than the man had likely ever been in life. "It's a party, after all." It was Relena's party, naturally, the one he'd been so adamant about not attending. Because of Quatre's interference earlier, Wufei rather expected to him chatting with Relena, but she was standing with Commander Une instead. Wufei shot a quick glance over at the ghost, but he was once again alone. He was relieved that there would be no last minute retribution penciled into their agenda for today. Wufei turned his attention back to the women. Despite their working relationship, he'd expected Une to be the last person Relena would want to spend her leisure time with, but they were laughing and to all appearances seemed to be getting along just fine. Quatre was standing about six feet away with the other three former pilots. Duo was telling a story, and at one point, he held his hands out in front of his belly, forming a beach ball shape. He then slapped himself in the head as if he'd just confessed to a terrible faux pas. The others laughed, even Heero, and that's the only reason he saw it. He was staring at Heero in disbelief when he noticed Heero's hand resting on Duo's back, right between the shoulder blades. He didn't miss seeing Heero's hand slide down until it was settled comfortably near the base of Duo's spine. Wufei turned his back to them, wondering what the hell he'd just witnessed. The ghost hadn't reappeared yet, so there was obviously more for Wufei to see here. He discovered there was no need for him to walk across the room, for the moment he turned his head toward Sally and Lucrezia Noin, it was as if he was standing there right next to them. A passing servant offered a tray of champagne to them. Sally accepted one, but Lucrezia shook her head, placing her hand on her abdomen. Wufei's eyes widened, especially as Zechs Merquise approached. Noin's eyes lit up, and although the joy was less obvious on the Lightning Count's face, there was no mistaking that he was just as happy about it. Sally tipped her glass toward the two of them in congratulations, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Neither Zechs nor Noin seemed to notice when Sally left to mingle with the other guests. This time when Wufei turned his head, he found himself viewing a bathroom from the other side of the looking glass. Trowa was seated on the toilet and Quatre was standing over him, the fingers of one hand holding Trowa's eye open. "I don't see anything," Quatre said, turning Trowa's head this way and that. "Are you sure you still feel something in it?" "Hang on," Trowa said, grasping Quatre's wrist and moving his hand away. He blinked a few times. "It's hard to say. It still hurts, but not as much." "It could be a little sore from where it hit you," Quatre said, and he gripped Trowa's cheeks with one hand to tilt his head back. "I just want to be sure." Trowa looked more amused than in pain at this point. "Let me know when you're sure, Doctor." Quatre released him and crossed his arms over his chest. "This is the thanks I get." He tried to look petulant, but the corners of his mouth refused to turn downward. Trowa reached out to pull Quatre's hand into his lap. "No," he said, tugging a little bit. "This is the thanks you get." Wufei didn't want to be around to see what was going to happen next, so he turned his head again. The room spun around, everything was a blur, and he was sure he'd find the Ghost of Christmas Present standing next to him again. He was wrong. He was outside, but he felt no cold. Sally was there, too, leaning against an ornamental pillar. It did not look as though she'd had any of her champagne, but then he had no way of knowing if that was the same glass she'd had earlier. She tipped her head back, and the moonlight cast half her face in shadow. "Sally?" Relena asked. "What are you doing out here?" "Just enjoying the view." "Do you mind if I keep you company?" Sally pushed away from the pillar and smiled at her. "Not at all." Relena stood next to her. Her coat was an almost glowing white, a contrast against Sally's serviceable olive colored one. "There's magic in the air tonight. Do you feel it?" Sally tipped her head to one side. "It's Christmas. There's always magic at Christmas." "Do you really believe that?" Relena asked. "Not in magic, but that there's something about Christmas that brings out the best in people?" "Ho ho ho," Duo's voice boomed from the doorway. "Are you ladies working on being on the Naughty list, or the Nice?" "I don't know," Sally replied. She lifted her glass to her lips and drained it in one go. "The Naughty list is often so much more fun." Heero, who had come out right behind Duo, had opened his mouth to say something, but Duo's elbow in his ribs stopped him. Duo raised an eyebrow, Heero mouthed something at him, and Duo bit down on his lip to keep from laughing. He wagged a finger in Heero's face, a promise that there would be retaliation of sorts later. Trowa and Quatre joined them next, followed by Zechs and Noin. It was quiet for all of three and a half seconds, before the sound of excited chatter announced the arrival of Commander Une and Mariemaia. "Mother, you have no idea how hard it was to keep this a surprise from you. You always seem to know everything!" "A surprise it was, Maia. I still can't quite believe it." Une wasn't just smiling, she was beaming. There seemed to be a lot of that going around tonight. There was no question what the excitement, or the surprise, was, considering the size of the rock on Mariemaia's fourth finger, but still she asked Une, "May I share the news?" Une nodded, and everyone gathered around to ooh and ahh over the ring, and then took turns hugging mother and daughter. Relena wiped a tear from her cheek, and Zechs swiped his thumb over Noin's cheek. At least Noin could blame her hormones; Wufei wasn't sure why Relena was so overcome. A servant appeared with a fresh tray of champagne, likely summoned by Relena while everyone was still congratulating the newly affianced young woman. This time everyone, including Noin, accepted a glass. Une lifted hers in a toast and the others followed suit. "To Mariemaia and Daniel," she said, her eyes shining brightly. "Your father would be pleased." Her voice cracked slightly, and Sally moved to stand next to her, putting her hand on Une's shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze. "To Treize," Sally said, and as everyone lifted their glasses again, she added, "and to Wufei, who could not join us here tonight." Not everyone seemed to share Sally's sentiment, and there were several sets of raised eyebrows, but no one outright disagreed with her. It wasn't until Une and Mariemaia went back inside that Duo asked bluntly, "Where is the Grinch, anyway?" This time Heero elbowed Duo, who winced and then glared at Heero. What? he mouthed, only to have Heero tip his glass slightly in Sally's direction. Sally was looking up at the moon again. "He's celebrating the holiday in his own way." "Yeah, alone and miserable," Duo muttered, followed by a much louder "ow!" when Heero stepped none-too-gently on his foot. Quatre, ever the diplomat, raised his glass again. "To those near and far, but close in our hearts." "Here, here," Trowa murmured in agreement. "It's getting chilly out here, and the orchestra should be ready to play," Relena said, after allowing them a moment to sip their champagne. "I hope you came with your dancing shoes." There was a lot of good-natured ribbing about that, and they all followed Relena inside. Sally paused in the doorway. Wufei started when she looked right at him, but of course she could not see him. She raised her glass again in a silent salute, drained it in two swallows, and set it down on the stone ledge outside. "Merry Christmas," she murmured and disappeared from Wufei's sight. "If you'd come, you could have worn your dancing shoes." Wufei held up a hand to silence Darlian, Ghost of Christmas Present. "Have you come to take me elsewhere, or to return me home?" "I've come to show you nothing more than what is. This is the present, your present, true, but not yours alone." In the distance, the clock in the church tower began to chime, but then the ground fell away, and he was once again, back in his bedroom. He was in the process of fastening his shirt when the digital clock's face glowed 12:05, and he felt a blast of cold air as surely as if he were standing outside unclothed. He looked up apprehensively to see a tall hooded figure standing in front of the closet door. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come had arrived, right on time.
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