Hello everyone! This story is in response to Midnight Feathers' challenge. It took me a while to write, and it's completely different then what I had originally planned (it's not even the same pairing!). Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Baten Kaitos. It Baten Kaitos was owned by a Lyude-obsessed teenager, you would know. Trust me.

Crash!

Xelha woke with a start. Wide-eyed and panicked, she pulled her blankets up around her neck. After a few minutes of silence, she slowly got out of bed. She shivered slightly as her bare feet touched the wooden floor of the room she shared with Savyna and Mizuti. She gingerly made her way to the door, careful not to wake her roommates. She opened the door, grimacing as it squeaked, and stepped out into the hall.

There's nothing to be afraid of, she told herself. Something probably just tipped over because of the Mindeer's movement...

She drew closer to the Mindeer's cabin and felt slightly uneasy. She pressed herself against the wall and listened for any sounds. She could hear some faint movement and muttered words. It's probably just someone getting a drink, she told herself.

But...maybe I should check and see if all the boys are still in their room. No, I would look foolish if they were to wake up and find me there. Besides, I can take care of myself.

She bit her lip, then pushed open the cabin door. "Oh!" someone yelled, surprised. Xelha turned on the light, just in time to see a blur of red fall to the floor in shock. He sat up and rubbed his arm where it had hit the floor. "Hello, Xelha," he said, half embarrassed and half confused. "Shouldn't you be asleep? It must be two or three in the morning now."

"Lyude? Well, I heard a crash, so I came out here and..." she trailed off; he already knew the rest of the story. "What are you doing out here?"

"Ah, well, I was decorating," he said as he got up from the floor. "I hadn't even realized what day it was until a few hours ago, what with all that's been going on lately, and I didn't want to wake anyone, so I decided to get everything ready myself. I must apologize for waking you, and for not having adequate decorations."

Xelha looked around, finally noticing the decorations about the room. Amateur chains of paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling, with a few single ones attached to the walls and furniture. Five new, red socks were pinned to one side of the room, filled with some treats and near-worthless magnus. Strawberries, a substitute for mistletoe, hung from the doorway above her head. "Lyude? Is it Christmas?"

"Oh, yes! I don't think anyone else realized it. I am glad I remembered, I think the rest of the group needs something nice to happen. It's been a hard time, for all of us."

"Yes, this will really get their spirits up. At least, it did for me," she said, a small smile forming on her lips. She looked around again, this time noticing a small tree in the corner. It was decorated with Lyude's medals, large earrings, and a few magnus cards attached with ribbon. She giggled softly, then asked; "Um, is that a maple tree?"

Lyude looked back to where she was gesturing. "Well, erm, I really couldn't find a real Christmas tree out here, so I thought that would have to do." He turned back to her and chuckled along.

"You're very resourceful, aren't you?" Xelha asked him, looking once again at all the makeshift decorations. "It's very sweet of you to do all this."

"I just hope you feel that way when you see your present," he said, motioning towards a few small boxes sitting on top of a table.

"You got us presents? You didn't have to do that!" Xelha whispered, although her eyes were lit with obvious joy. "That's really sweet of you, Lyude."

Lyude shook his head. "They're not much, about the same quality as these decorations," he said, looking around the room. "You probably won't like yours," he said, his smile fading.

"I'm sure I will!" she said, grabbing his hand to reassure him. "What is it?"

Lyude's eyes widened slightly at her touch, but calmed quickly. She was looking up at him, her lips curved into her perfect smile. "I can't tell you what your gift is before you open it, Xelha," he said, looking towards the presents on the table. "However...you can open yours now if you wish, since you're already up."

She smiled a bit, but declined. "I'll open mine with everyone else. Waiting is half the fun of Christmas."

Lyude frowned a bit at the rejection, but quickly corrected himself. A snowflake chain on the wall suddenly caught his eye. "Have you ever had a White Christmas?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Where I live, it always snows," she said. "But on Christmas, it always seemed so much prettier."

"That sounds nice," Lyude replied. "It doesn't snow in the Empire. I've never seen snow."

"Oh! You haven't?" Xelha said, surprised that someone could go through their life without seeing something as common as snow.

"No, but Almarde has. Once, I think. When she was still in Azha she said it snowed once, but she said it was more like sleet than snow. It hasn't happened since. I really would like to see it."

"Well...you could come to my town after this is all over. I'll show you the snow," she said, blushing slightly.

Lyude smiled. "I'd love to."

Please tell me what you think! I'm not sure if they're in-character or not, so please tell me!