A/N: This is a really, really old fic idea, which I left off on December 25th, 2008 – exactly seven years and two days ago, gosh. I was already some three thousand words into the story, so hey, why let an idea go to waste? I completely reworked this fic the past week, and so here it is, finally complete seven years later. I have split it into chapters to make reading easier. Also – Star Fox is celebrating Christmas in this particular story, but of course, it's not the only winter holiday out there! So, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, joyous Kwanzaa, happy winter solstice, or whatever else it is that you celebrate around this time of the year (including holidays with non-fixed dates that don't always, but sometimes fall on December once in a while, such as with the Islamic lunar calendar)!

The Most Wonderful Christmas Gift

It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve. All over Corneria, holiday decorations had been put up in anticipation. Candy cane cutouts had been taped to windows, sleek bows hung proudly from streetlights, and pine wreaths on doors welcomed long-awaited guests. Soft little snowflakes fell upon the morning scene, adding the perfect finishing touch. The whole city flared into life with shades of red, gold and green and dancing lights, and a thin layer of snow glazed the sidewalks and buildings like icing on a cake. The entire scene radiated warmth and cheerfulness… at least in appearance.

"FOX!" Slippy yelled at a locked apartment door. No reply could be heard from the other side except a dull sound followed by a loud clatter, as though a chair had been kicked to the floor. The toad pounded on the door more five times before giving up, sighing deeply in the process.

"Just give up already. He's not going to answer."

Slippy turned his head at Falco, who was standing by his side with an annoyed expression. Despite Falco's outward display of impatience and irritation, deep down, everyone knew that even the blue-feathered avian was worried. Before the toad could begin to reply, his teammate pulled him away from the door, into a side corridor.

"But… it's been two, no, three weeks already!" Slippy cried in exasperation, once they were safely hidden in the staircase of the apartment building. His voice quivered with worry. "What do you think that he's doing in there, all by himself?"

Of course, the entire Star Fox team already knew the answer. Their leader still wasn't over his recent loss. The love of his life had left him, to join Star Wolf no less. Fox had been simply devastated – and to what point, the others didn't even dare imagine. No texts or calls could reach him, and not even his teammates' intrusive knocking in the past few days had succeeded in getting him to reply.

"Listen, Slippy. Whatever we do, it's not going to work. Unless we bust open that door, he's not coming out."

The toad couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle at his Falco's suggestion. It was so like his friend to resort to more… direct and physical means to achieve his goals. But even Slippy himself was getting to the point where he wouldn't rule out kicking down that door by force. It was more in his style, though, to devise a way to pick the lock. Yes, maybe he would first try to pick Fox's lock, and after that, Falco could go ahead and kick in the door. It wouldn't be a bad idea if things continued the way they did… His musings were interrupted by the sound of Falco's voice.

"Slippy, let's just leave. If Fox wants to be so moody, that's his problem. We're wasting our time."

"But tonight's Christmas Eve, Falco!" Slippy's eyes filled with sadness, and his voice faded to a faint mumble. "We can't celebrate without Fox…"

"Shoot… What? It's Christmas Eve today?"

Falco was hit by a surprise that quickly turned to embarrassment. He really had forgotten. He had been so preoccupied by his teammate's condition that he didn't keep track of time. But more importantly, for many years now, it was Fox who organized their Christmas celebration, hosting the event and sending all the invitations to the team. And since Fox had cut contact in the past while, nobody had so much as spoken about organizing a celebration. Falco bit his lower beak at the thought.

"Darn it, Slippy… What are we going to do!?"

A smile suddenly lit up Slippy's face. "Hey, it's a good excuse to get him to come out! We have to try!" He spoke much faster than intended, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. "Why don't we… why don't we get him the best Christmas gift ever, and lure him out?"

However, Falco's beak continued twisting into a deeper frown.

"But what do we get him, then?" It's not like we could bring her back or anything! And don't even think about buying Fox anything! Even if we had the money to do that, won't it just make things worse?"

And Falco was right. Even if they had wanted to buy something, the financial pressure they were under would prevent them from doing so.

"Well, if we can't replace the gap in his heart, then we'll have to fill it up!" A new light lit up in Slippy's eyes, and Falco swallowed. He recognized this light, a dangerous light which meant that, now, there was no stopping his amphibian friend – no matter what. "Fox has always been there for us, so we have to help him out now! I'm sure that we could all come up with something he'll never be able to forget!"

"Fine then, genius. But where do we start looking? Fox won't come out anytime soon, that's for sure!" Falco was sneering at Slippy as per usual, but this time, it was with a more lighthearted note. Slippy knew that he was being appreciated by his teammate, even though the latter hated to show any signs of concern over others.

"Well… since he's holed himself in for so long, he mustn't have been able to eat a proper meal in a long while! Let's… let's give him a big surprise!" Slippy's own eyes lit up while saying this, imagining what he had in store for Fox. "We could use my place and set up a surprise Christmas party. I have decorations and everything. And we- we could make Fox dinner! We just have to buy some food!"

Falco shrugged. "Okay… fine. As long as you manage to drag him out of the apartment in the first place." Upon finishing the sentence, the avian looked down at his watch… and realized that it was exactly five fifteen. "Shoot! The shops close at six! And what the heck do we buy? It's not like I'd know! Fox was always the one who prepared the dinner!"

"Well… uh… Let's ask Peppy to help us!"

Whether in the context of a mission or not, when in trouble, Slippy had the habit of relying on others to help. Intuitively, something told Falco that consulting the aging hare wasn't the best idea. But then again, if they were to throw Fox an improvised surprise Christmas party, the plan wouldn't be complete without Peppy's involvement.

"Fine," the avian sighed.

Thus, the two Star Fox teammates ran hurriedly down the stairs and exited the apartment to better execute their plan.