Okay so the last time I did anything holiday related was for Yu-Gi-Oh! at Easter time. But now that I'm on Christmas vacation, I got a lot of time on my hands even if I should be doing some homework which I will!
Anyways one of my favorite couples is 003x004, a rare pairing indeed. I already have my multi-chapter fic up for them but this is my week to work on one-shots or any other projects. Therefore I present one of the few Christmas Cyborg 009 stories I have come up with!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Cyborg 009 and its characters belong to their respectful owners!
It was another Christmas Eve they didn't have the worry of Black Ghost attacking them. Another Christmas without having to worry about going to some place halfway across the globe to attack Black Ghost. One would think 003 also known as Françoise Arnoul would be happy with this fact. After all, she was the one who hated all the fighting, all the deaths and sorrow she and her team encountered along the way. However, there was one thing she hated about this Christmases since the defeat of Black Ghost.
"Another two days of Christmas without everyone together," 003 sighed, pressing her forehead against the cool window of the train. She was taking a train ride to Germany where 002 and 009 were. They had called her a few days ago and told her they were spending Christmas with 004. They wanted the French woman to join them for the holiday, as the last time she spent Christmas in Paris alone was not exactly the best.
Françoise had to take out the Christmas gifts she had made for 002,004 and 009 out of the packages she was going to send in the mail and put them in boxes to be she later wrapped. She had taken up knitting on her birthday when 007 jokingly sent her a birthday present of yarn and knitting needles with a card congratulating her for still looking young despite her age.
Not wanting to waste the gift (even if she immediately called the British cyborg and yelled at him for sending such a gift) she purchased a book about knitting.
003 first began knitting things for 001, the little infant she had cared for until she decided to go back to France in search of her brother and any of his descendants. Unfortunately, last month she gave up her search when she found out her brother disappeared two or three years after Black Ghost kidnapped her. So Françoise decided to stay in France for a tiny bit to mourn the loss of her brother.
"Welcome to Berlin. Thank you for riding with us today and we hope you have a wonderful Christmas," A feminine voice rang out through the intercom speakers first in French and then German. Françoise quickly put her crimson wool coat on that reached to her thighs, leaving her neck to show the only remnant of the snow-white turtleneck she was wearing. She slipped her crimson and snow-white gloves on before grabbing her simple black leather purse, a small suitcase and three packages that were the boys' Christmas presents. She got off the train, heading towards the exit of the Berlin train station where 002 and 009 said they would pick her up once she told them the time her train would be arriving.
Françoise shivered against the cold chill of the air as she scanned the area for the two cyborgs. When she didn't see them with her 'normal' sight, she looked further around the area, finding no trace of them whatsoever.
"Well this is wonderful," Françoise muttered, setting her suitcase and the packages onto the ground. She began digging through her purse, searching for the slip of paper with 004's address on it. She pulled it out, the address scrawled neatly in cursive on the piece of paper.
003 looked around for a taxi, sighing when she found none. She picked up her things, beginning to head towards the direction of 004's apartment.
003 pressed the button to 004's apartment a few times to gain access into the building but she never received a reply. Therefore, she was standing there, in the cold with her arms full when an elderly woman in her 70s came. She had short dark blonde hair with evidence of graying hairs that was barely below her chin. However, what stood out to 003 the most were the grayish blue eyes this woman had. She had asked 003 why was she standing out in the cold in German and 003 realized how little German she actually knew when she picked up fragments of the woman's question. The elderly woman picked up this fact and quickly started speaking French, repeating the question.
003 quickly told her that she was celebrating Christmas with Albert Heinrich and two of their friends who had traveled to Germany.
The elderly woman smiled, unlocking the door for 003. She said she knew Albert and he was a very polite young man but he always looked so sad. The elderly woman said she felt sympathy for the young man as she assumed he must have been through a lot in his life. She would later on joke that maybe Albert should get a girlfriend sometime soon, one that was very pretty and said that maybe 003 would be perfect. 003's jaw nearly dropped but she only smiled in return at the woman's joke. They both got on the elevator together and the woman left when they arrived on the fourth floor, departing when the old woman had to go to the down the hall to head home.
Before 003 could ask for the woman's name to thank her properly, the woman disappeared. 003 heard a click from a door down the hall, a small smile on her face.
"I hope they haven't started Christmas without me," 003 murmured, looking at each of the brass numbers on the door. She was close to 004's apartment, forcing herself not to break out into a run to get to her final destination. 003 sighed in relief as she stood in front of 004's apartment, setting her suitcase on the ground to open the door.
'I know I should knock but they know that I'm coming today. I should give them a piece of my mind for forgetting me at the train station,' 003 thought as she opened the door.
"Merry Christm-" 003 froze her cheerful words when her teal eyes fell upon a surprise she didn't expect.
002 aka Jet Link had his button up shirt open, exposing his bare chest as his belt and pants were loosened. Underneath him was the cyborg team leader 009, completely shirtless with his cheeks flushed completely. They were completely unaware of 003 as 003 saw 002's hand travel down to 009's nether regions. 003's cheeks burned a bright red, dropping her purse and the packages onto the ground.
That's when the boys stopped their actions, turning towards the direction of the crashing sound. Wide ruby and brown eyes met teal eyes, no words whatsoever exchanged until 002 spoke.
"Frannie. When did you get here and why didn't you knock first?"
003 quickly looked away, wishing now she didn't have to be in this awkward situation.
"I got here a while ago Jet. You and Joe were supposed to pick me up from the train station. I had to walk here and I buzzed in to get inside the building but no one answered. My arms were full at that moment you know!"
002 rolled his eyes, keeping the half-Japanese cyborg pinned beneath him. "How did you not hear us? Joe is pretty loud you know," 002 smirked as the male beneath him glared at him.
003 turned towards the male cyborgs, her eyes narrowed.
"I don't care if 009 is loud, 002 because it's none of my business," 003 grabbed her suitcase from the hallway quickly and brought it inside. She quickly picked up her purse and the present for 004. "Where is 004?"
009 shoved the aerial cyborg off him so he could sit up. "He said he had to go somewhere for a little bit. Albert didn't say exactly when he would be back though," 009 explained, noticing the female cyborg's face was no longer tinted red.
009 really had to do something about Jet. He had lost track of how many times someone from their old team had walked in on them. He wasn't expecting the one to walk on them to be Françoise of all people this time.
003 was silent a moment, thinking.
"Thanks Joe. I'll see you guys later," 003 quickly left, shutting the door behind her gently instead of slamming it like 009 was expecting.
002 leaned against 009 against, a devilish twinkle in his eye.
"We should finish y'know. Who knows when they'll be back."
009 ran a hand through his hair. "You've had too much eggnog."
004 sighed, staring at the remnants of the neighborhood he and Hilda had managed to get to when they escaped. He and his Hilda had their final moments together at this location.
"Hilda it's been a while," 004 murmured, unzipping his black leather jacket to pull out a simple gold chain necklace. Attached to it was Hilda's ring, as polished as it was the day Albert had gotten it for her. However, it had something new to it. A deep sapphire gemstone dangling at the bottom of Hilda's ring.
"Hilda, I met a girl a while ago named Vena," 004 moved the charms between his fingers of his right hand, looking up towards the sky, "She had the same spunky attitude you had at times but you were more careful about things. Have you two met already? I hope you two aren't exchanging stories about me." 004 paused for a moment before continuing.
"It seems like love is something I have a hard time dealing with after everything I've been through. After Vena, I don't know how to express myself like how I did with you Hilda. My friends taught me a lot but I still feel like I can't say anything without getting angry. Any ideas?"
004 received no reply as he expected, chuckling at himself.
"Sometimes I wish I could hear you say my name again," 004 whispered, his eyes closed as the chilly air caressed his body.
"Albert," A soft voice called out, breaking 004 out of his trance. 004's head whipped towards the direction of the voice, his bright blue eyes wide.
They softened as he realized who it was. "Françoise. What are you doing here?"
003 stood there, her eyes looking forlorn until she locked eyes with the German cyborg. Her cheeks instantly burned into crimson, her thoughts going to back to the scene at the German cyborg's apartment.
"I intruded during a…well special moment between Joe and Jet."
004's lips formed a frown; not understanding what 003 was talking about.
"Special moment?" 004 asked, folding his arms across his chest. "What do you mean by that?"
"You know how they are a couple right?" 003 asked even though she already knew the answer.
004 nodded, wondering where this was going. "Yes Françoise. They've been together for about two years now. What about it?"
003 mustered up some courage she would need. After all, someone needed to have a lot of courage to tell the German cyborg the two younger men had violated his couch while he was gone.
"And you know how couples tend to show affections different ways especially when you mix Jet's special eggnog?" 003 looked away quickly as soon as she said this, her cheeks turning redder if it was possible.
004's eyes widen slightly, realizing what the female cyborg was hinting at. No wonder she didn't come straight out with the answer.
"I knew I shouldn't have left them there," 004 muttered, running his gloved hand through his silver hair. "Now I'm going to need a new couch and kick their asses."
004 noticed a bouquet of red roses and white poinsettias in her arms along with her huge black leather purse was hanging loosely on her shoulder. 003 saw 004 staring at the bouquet of flowers causing her to shift in her stance a bit nervously. How would he react?
"I thought we could put the bouquet of flowers at the memorial…for Hilda."
004 stared blankly at the French cyborg, unable to speak now. He never went to the actual wall memorial dedicated to the other victims of the Berlin wall. It had taken him so long to come to this neighborhood but the wall? That was another story.
Finally 004 nodded, his eyes turned towards the direction where the memorial was located.
"We probably should get there soon before the weather turns nasty," 004 muttered.
003 nodded, noting the sudden change of mood. Had she done the right thing by suggesting to do this?
003 made sure the present was in her purse safely before she and 004 started walking towards their destination. She kept her gaze on the flowers while listening to the footsteps of 004 so she wouldn't get lost in the small crowds.
'I should have just stayed at the apartment. Then maybe it would teach 002 a lesson to learn some manners,' 003 thought. 'Did I ruin Albert's Christmas?'
003 looked up when she heard 004's footsteps cease, realizing they must be at their final destination.
Hardly anybody was at the memorial; the closest people were far enough away to not hear any conversation that may occur between the two European cyborgs.
When 003 glanced at 004, she saw the man she thought of as her shoulder when times were rough, now looking so hurt and filled with pain. 003 kneeled down, her fingers tracing the cobblestones before placing the bouquet of flowers on the ground.
"Hilda, you married a great man," 003 whispered, smiling to herself. "He rarely talks about you but when he does, it's like I can almost picture you being right there with us and telling Albert to stop saying such things. I never met you but the way he describes you, I feel like I met you a long time ago."
003 giggled quietly, remembering something. "One time I came for Albert's birthday the year after we defeated our greatest enemy during Oktoberfest. I am not one for drinking beer so I volunteered to be the one to hold keep everything valuable we had in my purse. Well I had to go to the bathroom very quick and I lost track of Albert. There was too much interference for me to use my hearing and sight to find him." 003 folded her hands on her lap, looking up at the night sky.
"This very big drunk man started hitting on me in German and I don't know much of this language without having Albert around to guide me. So I used the phrase Albert taught me: Es tut mir leid, aber ich weiß nicht viel Deutsch. I think this only encouraged the man further as he grabbed me and started pulling me towards a desolated area. I grew frightened, not knowing what to do."
003's voice turned quiet yet happy as she continued with her story. "Albert appeared and he threatened to use his left hand if he didn't let me go. The man did, as your husband can be a bit scary at times when he's angry."
004 was listening to every word the female cyborg was saying, in awe that the girl would remember that incident on that day. He thought that she would have worked to push that dreadful memory behind, knowing 003's nature. He remembered that day as well. The fear he had for the French cyborg when he couldn't find her. He already lost two important women in his life; he didn't need to lose another.
"Hilda, it's my last year I get to spend the holidays with Albert. I'm going back to Japan where Dr. Gilmore and Ivan are along with some of the others. They need me to take care of them and I only came to France to search for my brother. I can't find him as he left no trace of himself behind. But I did find something else while in Europe." A tear trickled out of 003's eye, falling slowly down her cheek. "I found someone who I've grown to love during these past years. I don't want to say goodbye."
003's eyes closed as she said this, fighting back the sobs her body wanted her to release. 'I don't know what to do.'
A cold metal finger brushed itself against her cheeks, removing the traces of tears. 003's teal eyes opened up, meeting the startling blue eyes of her former teammate.
"Then don't say goodbye," 004 murmured, his voice sincere. "There may be nothing for you in France but you have chances here in Germany."
003 blinked a few times in confusion making a small smile appear on the German's face.
"Albert I'm not going to be a burden for y-" 003 felt herself being pulled into 004's embrace, her face buried in his chest.
"Françoise don't think of yourself as a burden. I thought we talked about you never being a burden before… If anybody was a burden, it was Jet with his cockiness all the time."
003 bit her lower from laughing at 004's attempt to light up the mood but a small giggle managed to escape.
Then 003 noticed the white flakes falling down from the sky, making all the lights seem brighter than what they really were.
"It's snowing," 003 chirped as 004 got up. He offered his hand to her, helping the ex-ballerina off the ground. 004 smiled at her excitement, leading her the way back to the apartment before the weather got nasty. During the entire time, 004 walked with arm around 003's waist as they discussed past Christmases from when they first were a team. When they were near the apartment building, 004 noticed 003 was taking something out of her large purse.
"Françoise, what are you looking for?" 004 asked when 003 placed a present with gold wrapping paper in his hands.
"I think you should open it now," 003 suggested, a large smile on her face.
004 raised an eyebrow at the young woman before tugging off the red ribbon. Gently he pulled off the top, a big smile on his face as he took out the present.
"It's beautiful Françoise," 004 said, the hand knitted scarf lying elegantly in his hand. It was a simple scarf with a color similar to the black night sky and grey horizontal stripes. At the end of the scarves was 004's initials in pure white cursive stitched perfectly.
"Here let me put it own for you," 003 said, taking the scarf from the man in front of her. She had to go on her tippy toes just a bit to wrap the scarf properly around 004.
"There we go. All d-" 003 froze when she felt 004's lips brush against hers gently.
004 pulled back, smirking at 003's flushed face.
"W-why did you do that?" 003 stuttered, her heart beating erratically. 004 chuckled, pointing above them. "You're supposed to keep with the tradition Françoise."
003 looked up, finding mistletoe wrapped in a red ribbon hanging there.
"When did that get there? It wasn't there before," 003 commented, trying to figure how the mistletoe got there.
"I think the two eggnog lovers had something to do with it."
003 turned, finding 009 and 002 scrambling towards the elevator as 002 was still feeling the effects of the eggnog.
"Joey! She saw us, she saw us!" 003 heard the high-pitched voice of 002 cry out, watching 004 unlock the main entrance to enter the building.
'Luck isn't on their side today,' 003 thought as she watched 002 repeatedly press the button.
009 sighed, his face covered by the palm of his hand.
"Jet, the elevator's been opened since the first time you pressed the button."
002 only blinked in response before his partner, who apologized, dragged him.
"Sorry about that Françoise. Jet flew down and thought it would be funny if he could prank someone," 009 explained.
"Joe, would you like to explain to me why you violated my couch?" 004 asked with humor in his voice, arms that were folded across his chest.
009's cheeks tinged pink and luckily, for him, the elevator doors closed.
Her hand smothered her laughs when she remembered something.
"Albert, can you tell me the name of the elderly woman who lives down the hall from your apartment? She seemed very kind and concerned about your welfare. I wanted to thank her for that."
004 gave her a strange look before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Françoise there is no elderly woman who lives down my hallway. The only elderly woman who lived here moved to live with her son and his family three months ago," 004 watched 003's eyes widen, her left hand nearly covering her mouth.
"Then how did she know you? How did she know that I spoke French?"
Just then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. 003 saw a red and yellow rose lying on the ground with a note card next to it.
003 picked up the rose and card with 004 behind her.
"It's addressed to us," 003 whispered, handing 004 the card that was clearly written in German. She could easily recognize her, 004's names, and then some words in the card.
"The card says 'The meaning of the rose is congratulations. I am congratulating on the growing seed of your love for each other that will blossom fully and never wilt. Please take care of each other.' They didn't sign their name and I don't recognize this handwriting at all."
003 took in the information 004 gave to her, her nose buried in the unique rose.
"We had a Christmas angel that played cupid tonight. I wonder why though," 003 leaned into 004's embrace as the elevator went up to 004's floor.
004 looked up at the light in the elevator. "I got this feeling they didn't want us to be alone anymore."
TADA! How was it? I hope it was good because it took me a couple of days to write it and then improve it by checking for errors in spelling or grammar...
Anyways thank you for reading this and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season :)
P.S. As a Christmas present would you leave a review or some type of love? ;D I'm kidding!
Happy Holidays,
SweetComplications