What's a Holiday?

Home.

There is nothing quite like stepping into your home after months of being away. There is an instant familiar warmth; like a comfy blanket on a cool night. It was here you could just let your problems disappear. Here you could pretend to have a normal life, or invent an outrageously busy one. Within that sanctuary of home; you were truly at peace.

Unless of course; you're on the Star Fox team.

For them; home had simply been a place they claimed to live. They had simply been over worked, nearly constant missions ranging from the boring to the bizarre. The paychecks had been worth it, and truly the only thing that kept them going for so long.

With a moan of disapproval, the heavy door swung open inviting the chilly winter's breeze in like an old friend. Voices filled the halls, echoing dully before the door shut with a click behind the exhausted mercenary team.

"So help me Fox if that damn communicator goes off again in the next two weeks I'm breaking it." Falco said letting his bags drop off his shoulders with a thud. "I plan on doing next to nothing."

"I couldn't believe how bad the traffic was. I mean the weather I get but man. You'd think it's the end of the world or something!" Slippy's tone was a mixture of bitterness and exhaustion. "I'll meet you guys in the living room in a few for the debriefing."

Falco groaned in annoyance before picking up his bag and headed for his room. Leaving Fox and Krystal standing alone in the landing. "Slippy I can understand, but I'm pretty sure Falco was enjoying himself up until we had to drive here."

The vulpine chuckled, snaking an arm around Krystal's waist. "Can't blame him too much. We're all tired, he just happens to be the most childish about it."

Krystal giggled resting her hand on his. She had long since grown accustom to how the team acted when they were off duty. Falco, when bored was rather annoying. He'd sit in the living room and play games constantly on the plasma screen. Sometimes he'd disappear for a few days and come back in either a great or a worse mood than before. Something to do with Katt Monroe she suspected. Slippy on the other had was sociable. Too sociable. He'd talk your ear off given the chance. Lucky for the team, however, Beltino normally took Slippy away to his research lab.

Fox was something different entirely. Before they were together he was similar to Falco, but managed to pay attention to the outside world. For example; Fox would drop mid game to help her even with the smallest things. It was one of the reasons she loved him, he always put others before himself.

Krystal reached up and ran her hand against his cheek. "Come on; let's get our stuff to our room."

"So... we're free for the next month then?" Falco asked, pretending he hadn't slept through most of the debriefing.

The face of Pepper nodded slowly. "You have my word that Star Fox will have no missions forwarded to them for the next month. You four have more than earned the break, and this is just a small way the system can repay you."

"Thank General." Fox replied. He looked over at his team. "Anyone got any last minute things to add, or can I send our reports to Pepper now?" There was just a moment of silence before Fox smirked. "Alright Pepper, I'll have those reports to you in an hour or so."

"Glad to hear it. Enjoy your vacation Star Fox, and Merry Christmas!"

As Pepper's face vanished from the plasma screen, a look of sheer shock appeared on Falco and Slippy's faces. "It's friggin' Christmas?"

"There is no way we worked straight till Christmas!" Slippy yelled, grabbing his wrist comm and tapping on its calendar. Sure enough it showed tonight as the 23rd of December. "Guys, I haven't even thought about gifts!"

"I don't even think there is going to be any good crap left!" Falco grumbled, cursing under his breath. He slowly turned, pointing an accusing finger at Fox. "You..."

Fox held up his hands in defence. "Hey, calm down bird brain, I forgot about Christmas too." Falco scoffed, leaning back into the chair he had been sitting on.

"The way I see it." Krystal said, touching her forefinger to her chin. "We've got two options. Either we skip Christmas completely like we did a few years ago and celebrate the two holidays as one. Or we can try and make something of this and head downtown first thing tomorrow morning."

The three other members of Star Fox went quiet; trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do. When they had celebrate New Year's and Christmas at the same time it was fun, but it was missing that magic that each separate holiday had. Christmas was just something that brought joy; it reminded the team of their younger years, before Star Fox, before their celebrity status. It was a simpler time when the only thing required of them was to simply be themselves. Around this time each year, the child in all of them burst through them. And besides, New Years was a different beast altogether.

"Taking into account what Falco said," Slippy said, breaking the silence in the room. "There isn't likely going to be a great selection of gifts left. And every mall is going to be full of people doing the exact same thing we might do. But if you guys are willing to dive into that hell, I'll come with you."

Falco smirked. "I think we can make something of Christmas yet. I'm in."

"I think I know a few shops that might still have some cool things left over." Fox grinned and looked around the room. They'd have to get a tree. "Slippy you still have the Christmas program? I think we need some decorations going up."

"Sure thing Fox!" Slippy pulled out his laptop and connected to the secure server within the mansion. With the program he could set up holographic decorations at certain locations. Normally it was the landing, the living room, the hallways and the doors to their rooms that got decorated. This time was no different.

It was like a wave of nostalgia hit them, causing each team member to fall into a memory. One by one, a smile found its way on their faces. "Let's turn in for the night. We've got a heck of a day to get through tomorrow."

"Well we're finally here." Falco said stretching his legs as he stepped out of the car. "Who'd a thought that people were scared of a little snow?"

"You're more than welcome to drive back Falco." Fox chuckled. There had actually been quite a bit of snow, and while it was nowhere near what they had dealt with on Fichina; it was still more than most Cornerians were used to. Causing what should have been a twenty-minute drive turn into an hour-long game of 'what annoys me the most'?

"C'mon guys, we're wasting time here." Slippy said, already heading towards the mall. The rest of the team follows him. Krystal took Fox's hand in her own before glancing around the parking lot. She still found the Cornerian concept of Christmas weird. As Fox had told her during her first Christmas here; the true sense of the holiday had been lost for the most part. It was becoming less and less about being together as a family. Now it only seemed like families could only exist with the promise of gifts and money. She sighed. Ceneria's idea of Christmas was completely different. It was a mutual meditation, followed by a great feast, and during the night all the elders of the surrounding villages would recite legends and myths using the younger generations to act them out.

She still celebrated this version of Christmas, but normally it had been alone until last year when Fox had interrupted her meditation. She had been embarrassed at first as she explained to Fox why she was wearing her traditional Cenerian clothes. But his genuine curiosity had put her at such ease about the subject, that night had been one of the first times she talked about Ceneria without any negative emotions attached. When she had finished, Fox surprised her by asking her out on a post-Christmas date.

He had also stolen his first kiss from her with a small plant he called 'Mistletoe.'

Krystal felt Fox squeeze her hand slightly, pulling her out of her memories with a small giggle. "What you thinking about?" He asked, holding the mall door open for her.

The vixen sighed contently as the warm air rushed out to meet her. "Mistletoe."

"It's been helping guys like Fox get a girlfriend for years!" Falco said clapping Fox on the shoulder as he walked inside. "Thanks for holding the door open Foxie."

"Someone had to let your ego in." Fox replied, taking Krystal's hand in his own before they walked up to Slippy. "Alright, we're all here. We've all signed on the waiver if we don't make it out alive right?"

"Meet back here in a few hours. Use the comm if you're going to be later than that." Slippy stopped mid-turn to face them again. "Oh! Don't be surprised if you see pictures of yourselves around. People like to claim we shop here. Anyway, I'll see you guys later!"

Falco scoffed, watching the toad before he disappeared into the growing crowd of people. "People already profiting off our hard work. Typical Cornerian crap."

"Anything to help themselves out in the long run." Krystal smirked. "Just be ready to deal with rampaging fangirls Falco. We'll see you in a bit!"

Falco chuckled and waved before heading in the same direction as Slippy. Leaving Fox and Krystal alone for the time being. "So, who did you want to start with?"

Krystal put a finger to her chin. "Well Falco is going to be easy. He'll be happy if we pick up that new gaming console he's been eyeing for the last month. We should probably head there first; maybe we'll be lucky enough to get one."

"Good call." Fox nodded, leading Krystal towards the gaming store.

Slippy knew exactly what he was going to get everyone. Being the lead mechanic of Star Fox as well as a general tinkerer, he always had his eyes out for the latest and craziest inventions coming out of Lylat. And one thing that had caught his mind was a new type of scouter.

It was smaller than their current scouters, and didn't need to be attached to a helmet to work. From what he could tell by the specs it was solar-powered and had a battery life that made it sound almost too good to be true. There was only one shop on world that sold it, and it was nearly packed full of like-minded people.

Had most of them not been introverts they might have noticed Slippy walk directly to the sales desk. He waited patiently for a few minutes until a sales representative finally noticed him. The rep took a few seconds to recognize the amphibian. "Holy crap. Slippy Toad! Uh... H-how can I help you?"

Slippy chuckled, while the rest of the team got most of the media's attention, it was in small shops like these that Slippy truly felt like a king. "I heard you guys carry those new scouters. I was wondering if I could get my hands on them."

"Uh, yeah! Totally! I've worn this one all morning." The rep tapped the scouter, the familiar green screen loaded in front of his right eye. "For me it's just giving me statistics of our sales and how many people have entered the store. But it's completely compatible with the equipment that Star Fox and the CDF use. You shouldn't have a problem tweaking it as your team would need."

Slippy rubbed his chin. "Any downsides? That you've noticed anyway?"

"It's frigging uncomfortable if you use it for a long time. Like five hours or longer. But you can make them attach to helmets like the older models if you need to. Other than that these guys are a complete upgrade."

"How many do you have right now? Because I'd be looking to get four." Slippy smiled as the sales rep literally ran to the store's backroom. Within seconds the rep came back holding four brown boxes under his arm. "And here I thought you guys would be sold out. I'm sorry to have doubted you for a second!"

The rep gave Slippy a grin as he started ringing up the sale. "To be honest these ones were supposed to be for our sales after Christmas, but I'm sure my boss will understand when I tell him we've officially helped out Star Fox!"

"You're too kind." Slippy laughed, handing him his credit card. "Thanks for making Christmas really easy for me. Give my best to everyone working here!"

"Thanks! Merry Christmas!" The rep handed Slippy a large bag and waved before looking to help another last-minute shopper.

Slippy checked his comm. Within twenty minutes of being here he had gotten almost everyone a gift. "Guess I can take my time looking around for something for Dad and Peppy."

Falco wasn't having much luck. For most of the night and the entire drive here; he had thought about what to get everyone. Normally he would have just straight up asked them what they wanted. Or even try to eavesdrop on their conversations to try to figure out if they needed something specific. But this year was different. They had worked half a year straight, almost missing Christmas completely. "Damn it." He said quietly. None of the stores had anything that was jumping out at him or screaming one of his teammate's names. "Slip would want something techie. He's always been the easiest to shop for. But since Krystal and Fox started dating... he's been as hard as Katt to shop for." As he continued to mull over in his head what he could get for the couple he found himself walking into a 'seasonal' shop. As he looked around, his eyes widened as he saw what appeared to be a new simulation program. From what he could see, it was an obstacle course combined with a list of different combat situations. While the Great Fox was already equipped with a similar program; this one had a few extra 'funner' courses that they could use as a warm up, or simply just for fun.

"Excuse me, can I help you..." Falco looked up to see that not only the sales rep, but an entire group of people had surrounded him. "Mr. Lombardi?"

Falco blinked a few times before his ego took over and he grinned. "Yes you may. I'm interested in this sim program you got here. I'm not overly concerned about the cost, but do you have any left?"

"J-just the one. But let me check outback really quickly. That sim has been rather popular this year. I'm actually surprised Star Fox doesn't have it yet."

In the few seconds of silenced that passed Falco was handed a marker by a younger avian. "May I have your autograph please?" The child asked, their eyes pleading.

Falco ruffled the kid's hair before taking the offered paper. "And who do I make this out to?"

"Aaron, future pilot!" Aaron replied, buzzing with excitement. "You're my idol! Ever since I watch you on TV I knew what I wanted to do!"

Falco chuckled heartily. "It's a hard life, but a noble goal. You'll do fine Aaron. Be sure to drop my name around the academy when you get in. It'll help you out in the long run!" He handed the paper back to Aaron, giving him a thumb up before moving onto the next person.

After about thirty minutes of signing autographs and chatting with the group it finally dispersed. Falco sighed contently before heading back to the sales rep. "Hey sorry about all that. Happens a lot."

"I can imagine." The rep replied with a laugh. "Unfortunately while you were busy I had another customer come in and buy the last copy of that sim. I'm really sorry, but he was rather insistent."

"Damn it." Falco grumbled. He did another scan around the shop, not seeing anything else that caught his eye. "Just give me some gift cards. I'm sure it'll be back in stock soon."

Fox smiled as he saw Krystal walking towards him. They had just finished getting gifts for one another and were now finished. "So what you get me?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." She patted his check before leading him towards the food court. "I can't believe how lucky we got. Seemed like we got the last of everything."

"I guess that's partly due to Star Fox's reputation. We've saved these people on more than one occasion, and I guess this is their way to pay us back the favor." As they found some seats Fox set down the bags of gifts. "What are you feeling?"

"Surprise me; I could go for about anything right now." Fox nodded giving her a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing into the long lines of people.

"Hey Krys! I thought I saw you walk by." Slippy yelled, sitting down at the table. "You guys already done too?"

Krystal nodded. "I figured it would take longer. But we managed to find something for everyone. How about you? How many shops did you have to go to?"

"Just a few." Slippy grinned. "It's something I've looked at for a few months when he had a bit of down time. I'm sure you guys will love it! Plus finding something for Dad and Peppy is always easy."

"We had to go to most of the shops to find things just right for you guys. But like you said Beltino and Peppy are quite easy to shop for. Actually Fox did most of the work, it's like he just knew what you guys would need or want. For a moment I thought he was the telepath."

"I'm sure he took into consideration what you thought of everything. He's always been a leader, even when we're not on a mission. I guess it's just toned down now." Slippy leaned back in his chair. "But I'm sure you see more of a difference than me or Falco can."

"Yeah. His thoughts are the biggest change that I've noticed. He's also really goofy when he wants to be." Krystal smiled at the thought. "And he can act like a child from time to time. Normally when he's playing games with Falco though."

"That's because he's a cheater." Fox chuckled, setting down a tray of food in front of Krystal. "Hey Slip! All done?"

"Yup!" Slippy replied, raising his bags as proof. "Guess we're just waiting for Falco huh?"

"He normally takes longer than the rest of us." Fox said taking his plate off the tray. "We've still got about half an hour before we should head back. After that this place is going to be crazier than it already is."

"Hopefully the snow hasn't gotten worse." Krystal said in between bites.

Slippy shrugged. "We can always just leave him here as a last resort." He chuckled, but stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You wound me Slip." Falco said as he sat down beside the toad. "So I'll guess we're all done then?"

"You always did have a firm grasp on the obvious." Fox grinned.

"You think up that response on your own Foxie?" Falco asked, picking a few fries off of Fox's plate. "And here I thought you'd never be so quick-witted."

"What can I say, I've been practising." The vulpine glanced over at Krystal for a moment before looking back at Falco. "And she's actually got a sharper tongue than you."

"Well I don't need to hear about what you two do on your time off." Falco chuckled. "Hurry up and finish eating so we can beat the traffic back home."

The two vulpines quickly finished their meal. Ready to once again face the elements and the sheer madness that was Cornerian winter traffic.

"Surprise guys!"

The team turned to see Fox walking into the living room with four glasses. He set one down in front of everyone before sitting next to Krystal on the couch.

"Please tell me that's just normal eggnog." Slippy sighed swirling the drink around slightly. "I might have had a few earlier."

"You'll find out." Fox chuckled, raising his glass. "Cheers guys, way to make Christmas happen in less than a day." His three teammates raised their glasses as well before taking a drink.

"What the hell Fox." Falco sputtered coughing a few times as he stared at the glass. "There's more rum in this than eggnog."

"I think we've earned the drink Falco. Besides, I only mixed it a little stronger than normal."

"Well I learned a long time ago not to trust your version of "normal" Foxie." Falco chuckled.

"Hear, hear." Slippy agreed.

"So what are we doing tonight? Movie? Games?" Krystal asked excitedly.

"Movie sounds good. There's bound to be a holiday film being played." Slippy said getting the control and bringing up the TV. "Oh, look – A Christmas Carol. Classic."

"Sounds good to me." Fox nodded.

"This much rum – in twenty minutes we're all gunna be sleeping anyway." Falco laughed.

They drifted into comfortable silence, snuggled in blankets and nesting on the couch and chairs. The empty glasses cluttered the coffee table. The movie only had a few minutes left. Fox felt Krystal fall asleep almost half an hour ago. He looked over at his teammates. Falco was watching the movie with a blank expression – he was visibly tired. Fox then looked over at the chair where Slippy had actually curled up with his blanket. Peacefully asleep with a childlike smile on his face.

"Hey, Falco." Fox called out softly. Falco looked over, Fox nodded toward Slippy and the Avian's face broke into a smile.

"Guess that's the night in a bag." Falco said standing and stretching.

"I'm gunna watch it to the end." Fox replied.

"Alright, g'night and Merry Christmas Fox. See you in the morning – not too early though." Falco said walking to Slippy's chair.

"10 am with pancakes and coffee sound good?" Fox asked with a cheeky grin.

"I'm holding you to that." Falco said as he picked up Slippy and carried him over his shoulder.

Fox didn't reply as Falco carried Slippy away. He looked down at Krystal and smiled with a sigh. He turned slightly so he could reach the secret he had hidden behind his legs when he laid down. Twirling the plant in his hand he watched the last few minutes of the Christmas movie in silence. When it finished and the Christmas carol was playing over the credits he looked at Krystal again and held the mistletoe over her head before kissing her gently on the temple.

"I should have snuck this out earlier." He chuckled as he stood. Krystal made a noise of displeasure.

Fox turned everything off before picking her up and carrying her to her bed. He placed the mistletoe beside her alarm clock and pulled the blankets up to her chin before kissing her again. "I still have tomorrow. Merry Christmas Krys."

Wow, writing Christmas themed stories... I applaud those who have done this more than once! (I think I found it hard because I have a severe lack of Christmas spirit right now.)

This story is my entry to the Star Fox Christmas One-shot Challenge hosted by K.S. Renard and Emile the Watcher.

I likely will forget to say this later on this month so I'll say it here. Happy Holidays everyone!

H-T