Title: Cody Claus

Summary: ". . . It was a stupid idea. Even Cody knew that. The bag of gifts on his back weighed more than he did, and there was no way he could fit down the chimney. So why was he out here, standing on the roof, in the cold? . . ."

Main Pairing: Cody/Izzy, Cozy

Side Pairings: Mostly Noah/Katie, some Alejandro/Heather, Geoff/Bridgette, Tyler/Lindsay, Harold/LeShawna, Duncan/Gwen, mentions Duncan/Courtney, Sadie/Justin

Author's Note: Haven't published anything new in a while, but this is dedicated to GonardWithTheTDL as his secret Santa story. Merry uh, belated holidays!

Chapter Only - A Cozy Reunion

It wasn't their first choice on how to spend the holidays. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't have been their second choice, either. Most would've preferred something less painful, like, say, scratching their nails down a chalkboard, or walking through a war zone.

But, of course, Chris McLean wholeheartedly disagreed, which is why twenty-four teens found themselves once more on their way back to the small island made infamous by Total Drama. Some were nervous, others excited.

Rumor had it that it was a fourth season.

Not that he would flat-out tell them that. No, not the Chris McLean, known for his lying and deception. The official story was a reunion, which, believe me, could be just as painful.

'Dear Ex-Contestant!' the invitation started.

Dear Ex-Contestant!

Guess who? That's right: the one – the only – Chris McLean! Hope you haven't forgotten me. But I mean, who could?

Now I hope you are enjoying your break, because it's about to get better. Remember all your friends, your enemies, your old flames from Total Drama? Let's hope you do, because . . .

With more love, more hate, and more drama, who knows what will be waiting for you under the tree this year at Total Drama's Holiday Reunion!

Don't forget to bring me a gift, and happy holidays!

Reality show host extraordinaire, Chris McLean

And that was that. A one way trip back to hell, to reunite with the devil himself, and his carefully handpicked devil spawns.

More eggnog, anyone?

The island was already crowded when Cody got there.

Flashing his famous smile at the camera, Chris McLean announced, "And here comes the ladies' man himself. Give it up for, Cody!"

"Eheh, I wouldn't say 'ladies' man', Chris," Cody chuckled lightly, stepping off the boat.

Chris shot him a sympathetic grin. "I hear ya, bro. Bummer about that, but in good news, you would not believe the ratings we got."

Cody cringed.

"So tell your fans what you've been up to," Chris said, gesturing towards the camera.

Cody scratched the back of his head. "Well, recently, I created a handmade robot to compete in the NSRC – that's the National Senor Robot Competition – and –"

"And nobody cares," interrupted Chris, pushing Cody off to the side. "Let's welcome out next contestant!"

After catching his balance, the techno-geek looked around, realizing why it seemed so crowded. When Chris had announced there was going to be a holiday special reunion, naturally the public was excited. And after he accidentally let slip that it was taking place at Playa de Losers, well, the paparazzi started flocking.

Not that you could immediately tell they were paparazzi. Since reporters and photographers weren't allowed in, they cleverly disguised themselves: as maids, waiters, even going camo as a bush.

"Psst!" somebody hissed near Cody.

Turning, he blinked.

"Yeah, you!" the lampshade continued.

Getting his sense back, Cody saw that the lampshade was attached to a body; more accurately, the reporter was wearing it as a hat. Reassured that he wasn't being attacked by mutant lamps, Cody said, "Yeah?"

The lampshade turned on – how, Cody didn't know, seeing as there was no source of light – and two bright brown eyes blinked back at him.

Before he could say anything else, the reporter pulled out a journal and started firing questions. "So, Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson . . . if that's even your full name? Is it true you're seeing somebody back home? Are you excited to be back for the holiday special? What plans do you have for Christmas? What do you think of Duncan and Gwen? Did you know they are still together? How is Sierra? When –"

Cody didn't have time to respond when somebody behind him placed a cool hand on his shoulder.

"No comment," the person shot at the reporter.

Frowning, the paparazzi personnel slinked away, in pursuit of other contestants.

"Thanks, Gwen," Cody said, smiling nervously.

"Any time, Cody," the Goth responded. Frowning, she added, "Those paparazzi bloodsucking leeches will find a way to twist anything you tell them."

"I couldn't agree more," he laughed, and then winked, saying, "And that's the Codemiester to you."

Gwen grinned, rolling her eyes in an amusedly exasperated way.

"More like the Dorkmiester," scowled Duncan.

Cody blinked; he didn't notice the punk.

"Let's go, Gwen," Duncan said abruptly, pulling his girlfriend away from Cody.

The techno-geek sighed and looked down at his feet, not noticing Gwen cast an apologetic glance over her shoulder.

Cody walked over to the pool and sat down by Noah and Harold, who were in a heated debate about the latest video game.

"No, no, no. My paladin elf could easily take down the Red Dragon, and when you equip it with the Ring of Light, that doubles its attack score!" protested Harold, adding his infamous, "Gosh!"

"Oh, sure," argued Noah sarcastically. "Tell me how strong your little knight is against an all-powerful, brain-sucking, light-draining zombie."

Cody opened his mouth to comment, but was cut short by two loud squeals of, "Eeeeeee!"

"Ohmigosh, Sadie, isn't he so dreamy?" gushed Katie.

"Like, you're so totally right, Katie! Totally dreamy!" Sadie agreed.

The two girls were watching Justin do laps in the pool, laughing to each other. Justin flipped his hair and grinned at the two BFFFLs. Sadie waved; and Justin, trying not to blush, waved back.

When Katie burst out in another fit of giggles, Noah rolled his eyes and groaned, "Oh joy, Braniac's at it again."

"Come on, Noah, you know you like her," Bridgette said teasingly, sitting down next to Cody.

"I do not," Noah answered back, unreasonably loud. When Katie and Sadie looked over at him, he slunk down and added, "I want somebody who I can have a normal conversation with without them bruising my eardrums."

"Aw man, bro, Noah likes Katie? That is so cool!" Geoff grinned, sitting down on the other side of Bridgette.

"I do not!" repeated the bookworm, jumping up. "I'm hungry."

Watching Noah storm off to the food bar, Bridgette whispered gently to Cody, "I saw what happened with Duncan and Gwen. I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you wanted."

"I'm fine, honest," Cody said lightly, thankful his voice didn't quiver. "At least she's happy, right?"

"Happy . . ." mused the surfer girl, glancing over at the aforementioned couple. They were standing somewhat away from everybody else, outcasts, and appeared to be arguing about something.

"Yeah, bummer about that, Cody man. I feel your pain," Geoff added, pushing his cowboy hat up.

Bridgette looked at her boyfriend and frowned slightly. "You feel his pain? What's that supposed to mean?"

Cody quickly stood up, muttered a good-bye, and hurried away from the couple, before he got caught in their tiff.

Walking over to the food bar, a strange sight greeted him: A teary-eyed, stony-faced Courtney being comforted by Lindsay – who had somehow managed to pull herself away from Tyler – and LeShawna – who was by no means great friends with Courtney.

He pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. Noah and Harold had resumed their earlier conversation, and to their surprise, Tyler joined in.

"You gotta admit, a warrior's the most extreme class out there, though," the jock commented.

"A warrior? Unless you've spent forever leveling it up, you're going to have trouble getting it past the first dungeon." Harold paused, and then said thoughtfully, "Unless you got your hands on the Orb of Magic."

"Don't worry, Crystal," cooed Lindsay, patting Courtney on the back. "Darwin and Greta are just being big meanies right now!"

"It's okay, hun, that white boy ain't worth your tears. But if he thinks he can harm my girl Gwen, he's got another thing coming," LeShawna growled, glaring at the delinquent.

Courtney burst into tears again, furiously complaining that she was alright and that she was a CIT and that she didn't need anybody's help and that she wanted to be left alone.

"The Orb of Magic?" Noah gasped incredulously, sarcasm forgotten. "That's nearly impossible to get."

"Not if you have mad skills," boasted Harold, striking a ninja pose.

Tyler chuckled, and subconsciously fell out of his seat, getting his feet tangled with the support beams, and bringing down the whole table.

"Good move, Sir Failure," groaned Noah, standing up from his overturned chair.

"Careful there, boy," LeShawna grumbled, picking her drink up off the ground.

"Ouch, my head," Lindsay moaned, and then gasped. "Oh no, Dave, are you okay?"

"It's Tyler!" protested the Jock, struggling to stand up, tripping, and falling again.

"Aw, I'm sorry. Did I get your name wrong? It won't happen again, Taylor!"

Harold, somehow managing to stay standing despite Tyler knocking the entire table over, offered a hand to Cody.

Cody grabbed his hand and stood up, saying, "Thanks bud. How'd you do that?"

"Magic," grinned Harold. "I learned it at Magic Steve's Magic Camp."

"Ugg!" screeched Courtney. She kicked an empty chair, denting it, and stormed away.

Seeing Lindsay's worried expression, LeShawna said, "Don't worry about her, hun. White girl just needs to let off some steam."

"I pity her punching bag," muttered Noah. "I'm just surprised she hasn't killed Harold yet."

"Well, gosh, you don't see me complaining, do you?" Harold responded, adjusting his glasses.

Tyler grinned sheepishly at his friends. "Sorry, guys. It's a habit."

"What's a habit, failing?" Noah asked.

"Nolan, don't be mean!" Lindsay exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Tyler.

"Whatever," the bookworm said. "I'm going back to my novel."

As Noah started walking back to the pool, LeShawna called, loud enough that he could hear, "You mean, back to Katie, Short Stuff?"

Noah didn't bother responding.

"What happened here?" somebody sneered.

"Hi, Harriett!" Lindsay said, grinning at Heather.

"It's Heather, Blonde."

"No, Hannah, my name's Lizzie!" Thinking for a second, Lindsay added, "Or was it Lucy?"

"So where's Lover Boy?" LeShawna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trent's somewhere over there," answered Heather, rolling her eyes and gesturing behind her.

"Not him; your Alejandro."

Heather scowled and shouted, "He's not my anything!"

Lindsay leaned over and whispered to Tyler, "I don't remember an Alejandro on the show."

"You know: tall, tan Latino?" the jock whispered back.

"Not ringing a bell."

"He got second place? Fell down the volcano?" Tyler continued.

"Oh!" Lindsay grinned. "You mean Alfonso!"

"Why, hola, my fellow contestants. Long time no see, si? And Tyler, mi amigo, I didn't fall, I was pushed by a raven-haired beauty."

As if knowing he was being talked about, said Latino seemingly appeared from thin air, leaning against the upturned table.

"Come on, String Bean. Let's go."

LeShawna stood up, glared at Alejandro, and walked away, dragged a pleased-looking Harold after her.

Cody grinned and gave his friend a thumb-up.

"Shame, ella hasn't forgiven me for my rather brutal strategy, no?" Alejandro continued, his eyes never leaving Heather.

"Well, you did get her boyfriend eliminated," said Cody, frowning.

"And then you used her to get further in the game," added Tyler, wrapping an arm around Lindsay protectively.

Alejandro raised his hands and grinned. "What a sharp memory you have, si? You would have made bueno partners. And as you can tell, karma has been none to kind on me."

"Glad to see you're out of your robot suit, Alejandro," Heather said stiffly.

The devious Latino smiled at her. "Why hello, Senorita. I did not see you there."

Heather didn't respond, only narrowed her eyes.

"I can tell I am not welcome here," Alejandro sighed dramatically, looking at everybody's glares. "What a shame. Forgive and forget, si?"

"But you were so mean to Bailey. She and George almost broke up because of you!" Lindsay piped up, looking confused.

Before he could respond, a redheaded blur came swinging in on a vine, crashing into Cody and knocking them both over.

"Help, I'm being attac – oh, heh, hey there Izzy." Cody chuckled nervously, grinning up at the girl sitting on top of him.

"I heard bombs," Izzy explained, looking around hopefully. Laughing, she patted Cody on the head and added, "Oh, hiya Codemiester. You're pretty comfy, did ya know that? Don't mind if I drop in, do ya?"

"Of course not. So, did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?"

"When you fell from heaven, of course."

Tyler face-palmed, and Lindsay giggled, cooing, "Aw, Cory is so cute with Missy!"

"Fell from heaven? That sounds like fun! Kinda like skydiving, without the parachute. E-Scope's always wanted to try that, ya know?"

Alejandro chuckled. "If it isn't the fierce and exciting Isabella. How are you, Senorita?"

"Nuh, uh, uh. Noah-San warned me about you. You're like an eel. And know what E-Scope does with eels? She eats them!" Izzy grinned, and then added, "And nobody calls me Isabella, Al, si?"

Blinking, he looked away. "Of course, Isabella. My bad. You know, I think I shall go accompany mi amigo bueno Owen over at the food bar."

"I dunno about you," moaned Lindsay, rubbing her head after Alejandro walked away, "but I didn't understand him at all. It was like he was speaking a whole different language!"

"Aren't you gonna go after him?" Cody asked, pointedly looking at Heather.

"What, you don't want me here?" she scoffed.

"Not really, Heather – Beather – Ceather –" Izzy answered, rattling names off the tip of her tongue.

"Why not?" demanded Heather

"Deather – Eather – Feather – Geather –"

"You used Beth and Lindsay for most of Total Drama Island," Tyler argued.

"Jeather – Keather – Leather – Meather –"

"You were mean to everybody," Lindsay frowned.

"Neather – Peather – Queather – Reather –"

"Not to mention, you kissed Trent to break Gwen's heart," added Cody.

"Seather – Teather – Veather – Weather –"

"Alright, alright. Whatever. Like I actually wanted to hang out with you losers?" Heather scowled and stormed away, coincidentally in the same direction Alejandro went.

"Xeather – Yeather – Zeather –"

"Um, Izzy?" Cody asked.

"Cody?"

"You can stop now. Heather left."

Izzy grinned. "That's good to know, eh!"

"Also . . . Izzy?"

"Cody?"

"Can you get off of me?"

Beth tapped her foot. DJ absentmindedly petted Bunny, and Eva lifted her weights. Trent quietly strummed his guitar, and Sadie leaned in, listening. Sierra snapped photos of everything. Owen nibbled on a chicken wing, and everybody was waiting.

Finally, after a long, awkward silence, the cameraman gave Chris a thumbs up, and Chris smiled.

"Welcome back to Total, Drama's, Holiday, Reunion! You've watched your favorite – and least favorite," Chris chuckled, "contestants arrive one by one and socialize with each other. Now it's time for the promised Poolside Interviews."

He pulled out a set of flashcards from nowhere and flipped through them.

"Ok, the first question is to . . . Eva. How much can you lift?"

The fitness buff scowled and answered, "I can probably lift whoever asked this question and throw them off a cliff."

Chris subtly coughed and looked through the flashcards again.

"Next question goes to Alejandro. Do you still like Heather even after she cost you the million and pushed you down the volcano?"

"Si, si, of course. Who could not like such an exquisite life form such as her?" Alejandro smoothly said.

Heather blushed, crossed her arms, and looked away.

"Katie, Sadie, who is prettier?" Chris continued, frowning at the cards.

"Oh, Katie is so prettier!" Sadie grinned at her BFFFL.

"Nuh uh! Sadie is like, soooooo much prettier!"

"No, Katie, you're totally the pretty one!"

"Aw, thank you Sadie, but you're absolutely –"

"How about you're both beautiful?" Justin suggested, sending both girls into silent fits of giggles.

Noah glared at the model and said, "Good job, Anti-Me."

"Cody, do you have a girlfriend? Okay, these questions are seriously lame," declared Chris, tossing the note cards into the pool.

"I dunno, I kinda liked that question," muttered Cody.

"Now it's time for my questions. Geoff, do you really forgive Bridgette for cheating on you with Alejandro?"

Bridgette gasped and said, "I would never cheat on my Geoff!"

"That's not what the footage shows, Malibu," scowled Duncan.

Gwen looked at her boyfriend and looked away.

"Of course I do, bro! I know Bridge is the one for me! Right babe?" the party guy answered, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

The moment was interrupted by Sierra taking a picture of the couple, grinning and muttering something about the web.

"And Sierra, how do you feel about Cody?" Chris continued.

"Oh, I know my Cody-Boo is my future husband! He just hasn't realized it yet! We were made to be!" the über-fan answered.

Cody grinned nervously and scooted away from Sierra.

"And of course, as you know, tomorrow is Christmas Day. A day of giving and loving . . . Ahaha," Chris laughed. "That's a good one. So Cody, what do you expect Santa to bring you?"

"Santa's not real," interrupted Heather.

"Yeah he is!" Izzy argued.

"No he's not," Duncan said, smirking.

"Yeah he is!"

"No, he's not," Noah agreed, crossing his arms.

"Yes, Santa is so real! I saw him when I was hiding from the RCMP in Antarctica."

"Izzy, Santa lives in the North Pole . . . if he even exists," Harold corrected her.

"Santa is real, right Cody?" Izzy said, looking at her friend.

"Er . . ." Cody muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Santa is real. Just you wait!"

The redhead jumped up and stormed away from the pool.

Chris smiled at the camera and said, "We'll be right back after these technical difficulties!"

The camera shut off, and the ex-contestants wandered away. Cody watched Izzy storm off, until she vanished into the shadows.

Cody shouldn't care.

He shouldn't care about some redheaded psycho, shouldn't care that Christmas was most likely ruined for her.

He shouldn't be able to remember every word of the argument that ended the Poolside Interviews early.

The alarm clock's red lights flashed in the dark room: 2:14. He should be long asleep.

But every time he closed his eyes, Izzy's face appeared: hurt, confusion, anger, stubbornness, hope. How she could still believe in Santa Claus, Cody had no clue.

But she did. And that was the problem.

Nobody should have their Christmas ruined by some evil Queen Bee.

They were friends, of course. They had spent a long time during Total Drama Island talking about Cody getting mauled by a bear, a fact Izzy found absolutely fascinating. They kept in touch during Total Drama Action and Total Drama World Tour.

Maybe, it was her contagious excitement. Her eagerness. Her innocent, naiveté, her carefree way of life. Her willingness to take on whatever life threw at her, and walk away unharmed. Either way, Cody had always nursed a small crush on the crazy redhead.

But when Cody's friend Owen started liking Izzy too, Cody easily transferred those feelings to Gwen. Which worked out so well.

Izzy, however, always seemed to remain blind to what her friend thought. To Cody, he was eternally trapped in the dreaded Friend Zone, with no way out.

That didn't stop him from getting out of bed, rubbing his eyes, and opening his closet.

It was a stupid idea. Even Cody knew that. The bag of gifts on his back weighed more than he did, and there was no way he could fit down the chimney. So why was he out here, standing on the roof, in the cold? Oh yeah.

Cody peered down the chimney, pushing the Santa hat up. It would have been challenging to crawl down the chimney in his regular clothes, but it looked near-impossible bundled up in the red and white fur. He still wasn't quite sure why he bothered dressing up like Santa, because if his plan worked, nobody would ever see him.

Plan? That's a good one. Cody hadn't bothered thinking about how he was gonna do this. He was much more of an impulse guy than a planner.

He chuckled nervously and whispered to himself, "C'mon, you can do this. You're the Codemeister, and it's just a simple chimney!"

He gently lowered the bag of gifts and let go, listening to it fall down the chimney and land with a thud.

Before he could reconsider, he drew in a deep breath and jumped after it.

On the list of things Cody never wanted to do again, falling down chimneys was right at the top. They were claustrophobic, dusty, cramped, dirty, and nearly impossible to fit down.

After what seemed like an eternity of slowly inching downwards, Cody finally landed awkwardly.

Brushing the ash off his shoulder and looking around, Cody breathed a sigh of relief. He only had to drop the presents by the tree and return to his nice warm bed.

He almost got away unnoticed. He would've too, had some insomniac contestants not waited up in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

He was just turning around, the empty bag slung over his shoulder, when a muffled squeal broke the silence.

"Ohmigosh, look!" Katie gasped, pointing at something. Cody looked around until he realized she was pointing at him.

"Some midget dressed in red?" somebody responded sarcastically.

The light from the Christmas tree flickered brightly for a second, and Cody could see the outlines of Noah and Katie sitting on the staircase, eagerly – only in Katie's case – waiting.

"No, Noah, that's Santa Claus!" squealed Katie, pulling the bookworm in for a hug. "You were right! He did come!"

Cody raised an eyebrow at the disheveled Noah, who turned red and scowled.

Just when the lady's man was sure he could slip away unnoticed, a third contestant came skipping out of the kitchen.

"Explosivio heard shouting. Shouting is good!" Izzy grinned.

Upon seeing Cody, Izzy stopped in her tracks and gasped.

"Santa!" she grinned. "The voices in my head were right!"

Cody, unsure how to respond, just smiled and said, "Ho, ho, ho, Izzy?"

"You know my name? You remember me! So, tell Esquire, how is Maurice doing?"

"She's doing very well," answered Cody, who had no idea who Maurice was.

Izzy looked Cody over and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Tsk, tsk, Santa. You look shorter and scrawnier than Kaleidoscope remembers. But! Good thing E-Scope made cookies, right?"

Before the techno-wiz could say anything, Izzy bounced over and grabbed Cody's hand, pulling him towards the kitchen.

Cody subconsciously looked up and blushed. Above the two, taped to the door frame, was a branch of mistletoe.

Katie giggled, noticing it too, and Noah – the only one who recognized Cody – snickered under his breath.

Izzy looked up too and shook her head. "No can do, mister! Izzy has a strict no-kissing-old-men rule, ya know? And what would Mrs. Claus have to say?"

A loud beeping sound echoing around the kitchen, accompanied by the smell of burning rubber, saved Cody from having to say anything else. He hoped she couldn't see his blush.

Izzy's face lit up and she grinned. "The cookies are ready!"

Cody – that is to say, 'Santa' – chuckled and followed Izzy into the kitchen. He'd get that kiss sooner or later. After all, he had all the time in the world.

Sappy Cozy fluff. That is all. Merry holidays, and a happy new year! Good bye 2010, hello 2011 . . . one year closer to the end of the world. Fun?