A/N: Happy Holidays to everyone kind enough to take their time to read this! This ficlet was written for the FF13 Drunk Dramatic Fic Reading Christmas Contest on Tumblr. Currently, I am in a state where I think I can actually write a fanfic worthy of winning so here I am. Though the story didn't have to be themed around Christmas, this idea had been floating around in my head anyway and I figured the best setting would be a party. This story has no real point...it's just for fun. Rated T for teen just in case. I'd rather be safe than sorry, you know?

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy. I don't own it. In fact, I think if they ever see this fic any miniscule chance I have of laying any claim to Final Fantasy will go up in a puff of smoke. I also do not own any of the songs or lyrics that show up. I can't carry a tune, so trust me, I don't own them.

A Hero's Christmas Wish

"And they say a hero can save uuuuuus...don't worry guys, I'll always save the day" buzzed a certain male as he danced haphazardly.

"Shut up, Snow," Lightning grumbled at the carolling tank, knowing full well that her demand would go unheeded. The party had been a bad idea from the get go and she only had herself to blame for not axing it the moment the proposal came up. But no, Serah had gotten her way and plans for a Christmas party had gone ahead.

"We can be herooooes forever and eeeever, NORA's got it down!" Lightning groaned at the abrupt change of song and watched as Snow's Santa hat fall off during his failed venture into a drunken twirl.

The whole gang had joined in the festivities. Former l'Cie and NORA members piled into the Farron home, and most had arrived accompanied with some alcohol - the major cause of Lightning's current problem. With drink after drink, the volume had increased. Which had led to Snow's live performance.

Standing proudly on the coffee table, Snow's drunken dancing came along with random lyrics. "I can be your herooooooo, baby," he sang, pointing to a flustered Serah before adding, "That's me babe, don't forget it."

"He really...likes those songs, huh?" asked the only other sober voice in the house. Hope handed the bemused woman a drink as he watched the scene before them with a mixture of amusement and bafflement. Lightning had to give the boy credit - despite his age, he hadn't tried to drink any of the liquor that had been served freely at the party. At least, he hadn't tried after the look she had given him.

"They're certainly up his alley," Lightning snorted gulping down the beverage in her hand before adding, "And of course the idiot would be tone deaf."

"I need a heroooo to save my liiiiife, I need a heeeeeeero, just in timeeee," Snow sang on, bouncing around the coffee table, barely avoiding disaster.

"Heh," Lightning laughed to herself. "Not even paying attention to the lyrics now, is he?"

As if answering her question, Snow continued on. "I need a heeeeerooo, I'm holding out for a heeero until the end of the niiiiight-" he crooned as he attempted a clumsy pirouette. "I'll be a hero 'til the morning liiiiiiiiiiight."

Deciding enough was enough, Lightning started to walk towards the crowd. "Cut it out, Snow," she ordered. "Party's over."

A collective chorus of cries asking "Why?" was their response, but before she could tell them to shut up and leave, Snow interrupted. "Just one more guys, just one. Makin' it extra special."

His expression turned as serious as it could in his inebriated state. Speaking into his half-empty glass as if it were a microphone, he said, "This song has meant a lot to me since as a kid, I really wanted this for Christmas, but Santa...Santa he never got it for me. So when I first heard this song, it r-really got to me, ya know?"

Lightning stopped herself from going through with her initial desire to drag him off the coffee table and throw him out the door. It had been a long time since Snow had been so serious and Lightning couldn't help but feel that it wouldn't hurt to let him sing the song he felt so important.

With mini-speech complete, Snow started to sing at the top of his lungs. "I...want a hippopotamus for Chriiiiiistmaaaaaaaaas- only a hippopotamus will dooooooo-"

"You really are an idiot."

Fin

A/N: I hope you guys found this a little humorous. Admittedly I didn't find it as funny as when I first thought it up. So sorry about that. Feel free to tell me what you really thought of it, though!

I did use some song lyrics in this story, since I felt like when Snow's drunk, he feels like the type who'd start singing and dancing for an audience and would probably sing whatever song with the word 'hero' in it. I also strongly suspect that he's also tone deaf so he's not gonna be doing a great job at singing anything.

I really wish this could've been longer, but there was a 1000-word limit which was really, really, really, hard for me to do. This originally came out 1200 words! And that was considered the condensedversion. I am no good at writing short stuff, lol

Here is a list of the songs I used lyrics to (in no particular order):

Holding Out for a Hero – Ella Mae Bowen

Hero – Enrique Iglesias

Heroes – David Bowie

Hero – Skillet

Hero – Chad Kroeger

and not a 'hero' song, but Snow just HAD to end it all with this, the song that has stayed so close to his heart and echoed his heartfelt dreams:

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas