A/N: I really don't know where this came from, Ulysses is hard to write for, so be kind please.
Red lights flashed in the distance, blinking like the Christmas lights he'd seen once in an old holotape. The dust certainly wasn't snow, but it blew with the wind and fell around him like the white flakes in the movie. He wasn't sure why he was thinking of Christmas, it wasn't a holiday much celebrated anymore, even in the Mojave.
"Still here? Don't you ever get bored?"
Ulysses turned and saw the Courier standing a few feet behind him. She had on the duster he'd given her, the symbol of New Vegas on her back for all to see.
"Still have thinking to do Courier, haven't finished walking the Divide, might never be done."
The woman made no reply to this but walked forward and sat down a few feet away from him. It had been a while since she'd paid him a visit; a few months at least, he wasn't sure what had made her come now. The Courier was the new ruler of New Vegas, though from what he understood she was more of an ambassador between the families and the NCR. Ulysses still wasn't pleased with the Bear's presence in the Mojave, but they wouldn't bother him here in the Divide, so here he would stay.
"Something else in you needing an answer Courier?" He asked when she made no further attempt at conversation.
The Courier shifted uncomfortably, he watched as she seemed to struggle with what to say, something she'd had no problem with when convincing him to spare the NCR during their first encounter.
"Not that really, more like something in me needing closure, I thought I had put this all behind me but…well, this time of year always gets me thinking..." She faltered then, again at a loss.
"Christmas in the old world was a time for returning home, reflecting upon the year gone by, and spending time with family. Your home, your family is back with the bear in Vegas Courier." Ulysses felt the old anger rising in his chest again. Not that he wanted to have it out with the woman, no, they'd said their peace. But here she was, interrupting his solitude and bringing up Christmas and its meaning as if the thought had just crossed her mind.
A few minutes passed before the Courier attempted to speak again. Her voice finally finding the confidence it had held on their first meeting, perhaps in rebellion to his outburst, Ulysses wasn't sure.
"I can't take back what I've done, and I'm sorry for that." The man could feel the Courier's eyes on him as she spoke, but he kept his gaze on the Divide. "Christmas is partly about coming home, and I took yours away." She took something out of her bag and set it down between them. "I found this on my first visit here, trying to find you, and it only seems right that you should have it. It's not much, but with this I might be able to give you something of your home back." She stood and looked at him a moment more before sighing and turning away.
"Merry Christmas, Ulysses." The Courier whispered as she left him, and only when her footsteps faded did he turn to look at her gift.
A small snow globe, not unlike the ones he'd seen in old holotapes, was sitting on the rock beside him. Inside was the Vault Tech mascot waving, a large smile on his face. Behind him was The Divide, Ulysses' home, as it once was. A part of him found this small mockery of the Divide's former glory insulting, but he knew she hadn't meant it that way, so he merely picked the small gift up and shook it gently.
"Merry Christmas, Courier."