All characters © their respective owners

-JINGLECRISISJINGLECORE

Hoshi: On the eighth day of Christmas my true love wrote for me!

Warnings: Attempt at humor. OOC.

-PREQUELINGALLTHEWAY!

Shinra company was a government, had its own standing military, and made developments in science. So when did the company decide that it was policy to dress up in such a way during festive holidays?

'Why did I agree to this?' Genesis thought as he pushed the ball of fluff attached to his hat out of his eyes. It wasn't that he had a problem with the color, his fans certainly loved it as well, but the material repeatedly got in his way. He half thought the fluffy ball thing on the hat was possessed to have landed in front of his eyes for the tenth time today. He sighed.

It appeared he was the only one who was actually hindered by the outfit.

The Shinra infantrymen were dressed as elves, but aside from the minimal protection from the cold, they could march just fine. They looked ridiculous with the red and green striped pants and the equally stupid-looking hats, but they hardly seemed embarrassed by it.

Well, not compared to the Turks, who had it much worse. He had overheard some talk of Rufus Shinra losing a bet to Lazard, which could explain their current appearances.

"Can't believe this shit!" that voice must have been Reno's. The red-haired Turk stomped through the hall huffily as he took off what looked to be a headband and threw it to the ground. He was still wearing a red ball on his nose, however, as well as what looked to be a deer suit. Genesis held back a laugh.

"Reno, put the antlers back on." A deep voice from down the hall said.

"Hell no!" the red-haired Turk shot back defiantly. "Rude, you can't tell me you don't think this is stupid too!"

"No, I can't, but orders are orders." The Turk down the hall answered calmly. "If it makes you feel any better, at least we know Rufus is wearing the same thing too."

"…You think I could get a picture of him like that?" Reno seemed to contemplate.

"No." the other Turk answered immediately.

"Don't doubt my ability, yo."

"He'll kill you, Reno." Rude asserted. "If Tseng doesn't get his hands on you first. Just put the antlers on and come back to work."

"All right, all right." The red-haired Turk agreed reluctantly. "But if these things get in my way one more time, I'm burning 'em, yo!" he declared as he put the antlers back on and left.

And there went Genesis' brief source of entertainment… Well, he could probably still find something else to stave off the boredom. Maybe Sephiroth was close to stripping his outfit off to burn it in frustration too.

cCcCcCc

Then again, Sephiroth never seemed to have much of a problem doing anything. He narrowed his eyes as the general took care of the lab experiments that had gotten loose with about as much difficulty as he normally had. Namely, no difficulty at all. Some of the elf-dressed troopers had paused what they were doing to watch him. Genesis had the most tempting urge to set them on fire.

Of course, he couldn't do that because he recognized one of the cadets in the group was Zack's little 'chocobo,' and he would never hear the end of it from the puppy or Angeal if he injured that one. Surprisingly, that kid wasn't shivering even slightly while the other troopers' teeth were chattering. Maybe the puppy did see potential in him?

"Hey, Genesis!" Speak of the devil, and he will come. The youngest 1st class SOLDIER practically bounced his way towards him in the same outfit he and Sephiroth were wearing. "Aren't the holidays great?" he asked rhetorically as he looked down at his clothes.

"Maybe for you." the rapier-wielder answered quietly. Zack frowned at that.

"Do you always have to — hey!" The puppy then ran past him.

"Do I have to always what?" Genesis asked no one in particular as Zack went to hug his chocobo.

"Make that face." Sephiroth answered as he walked up behind him. Genesis narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't really understand this holiday, but I'm fairly certain you're not allowed to be unhappy during the celebration."

"It'd be easier to be happy if we didn't have to dress up like this."

"At least we're not dressed like that." The general said as he pointed out the Turks.

"Wow, Cissnei, you look ridiculous!" Zack had no tact at all.

"You sure know how to compliment a girl, don't you, Zack?" The red-haired female Turk said sarcastically.

"Er…well, it's actually not that bad. Kind of cute, really." He tried to amend.

"Cloud, is your aim improving?" Tseng asked. He looked devoid of any emotion as usual even with a deer suit, red ball-shaped nose, and antler headband. The troopers didn't appear to be laughing at them they way they would had it been Reno or another Turk present. Must be because Cissnei was attractive and Tseng was intimidating…

"Y-yeah…a little bit." Cloud answered, unable to look the older man in the eye.

"Quit your complaining, Genesis." Sephiroth said before he turned away from him. "It's unprofessional." He walked away from his friend. He could only watch the general's retreating back as he narrowed his eyes.

As skilled as the silver-haired man was, he was still determined to be the hero in this play.

-OHWHATFUNITISTOWRITEWITHSTIL LNOINSPIRATIONATALL!

Hoshi: I feel like…I feel like I just switched writing styles with KN…

Holiday moral: There's always someone who has it worse.

Hoshi: I want to crawl into a corner, shrivel up, and die quietly for writing this now.