Author's note: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters. I'm just a student who writes for fun; don't sue me.
The Secret Santa
"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree," Noin sang along with the cd. It was the 1st of December, and she was in the holiday spirit. Even the amount of paperwork she had couldn't ruin her mood.
Noin had been one of the first Preventers. She, Sally Po, and Lady Une had founded the organization shortly after the war had ended. Now the Preventers numbered about a hundred including the five gundam pilots. Many of her former students had joined as well. The only thing that would make her life better was if Zechs was here to share it with her.
Zechs was still presumed dead by most of the world; Noin knew better. He was alive, and she hoped it was just a matter of time before he returned. But worrying about Zechs wouldn't get this paperwork done. Sally popped her head into Noin's office, "Do you want to join me fir lunch with Hildie and Cathy?"
"Sure, just let me finish this report."
An hour later she returned to her desk. Perched on top of the stack of paperwork were two boxes. Curious, she picked the first one up. It was the special edition DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Underneath it was a box of chocolates with a hand written label reading: Chocolate Covered Minstrels from your secret santa. She laughed; someone knew about her fondness for Monty Python. It was probably one of her former students. Or maybe...no, probably not. She tucked the DVD into her briefcase and opened the chocolates.
She was clearing off her desk the next day when she found a little white box. Taped to it was a note reading: A tune to brighten your day from your secret santa. She opened the box to find a miniature harmonica hung on a silver chain. Noin read over the note again, but there were no clues to who it was from. It ans yesterday's gift might just be a coincidence.
The next afternoon when she came back from a meeting, Noin found a large box on her desk with the note: Stay warm in style from your secret santa. Inside was a light blue hooded sweatshirt with "Angel" written across its front. Okay, now Noin was curious. It was time to start investigating. The first thing to do was find Sally; she would probably be ignoring Wufei's ranting.
After pulling Sally away from her partner, Noin asked, "Do you know if anyone is doing secret santas this year?"
"The secretarial staff is, but they're the only ones this year. Why?"
"This is the third day in a row that I've gotten a secret santa gift. I'm kind of curious about who's sending them."
"I'll look into it if you want."
"That would be great."
The next morning found Noin kicking the wall. The coffee machine was broken, and they were all out of instant. Heck, they were out of tea and hot chocolate too. Grumbling, she returned to her office. On top of her computer sat a mug with packets of hot chocolate, hot cider, tea, and coffee tucked inside. The note read: A cup of good cheer from your secret santa. Noin smiled; whoever this person was, she was beginning to like them.
Noin grinned as she marked Saturday the 5th off on the calendar. There were only twenty more days until Christmas. She opened the door to find Kermit the frog sitting on her doorstep along with a copy of the Muppet Christmas Carol. This time the note read: Have a Muppet Christmas and a hoppy new year from your secret santa. The stuffed animal got placed on the couch while the movie was tucked in her bag. It would give her and Marimeia something to do after they baked cookies; she was babysitting so Lady Une go do some Christmas shopping for the girl.
On the 6th, Noin found a small white box tucked inside her newspaper. It contained a pair of golden wings like pilots used to receive at graduation. They had stopped that tradition long before she and Zechs had graduated from Lake Victoria. The note read: Wings for a top gun from your secret santa. She smiled and pinned the wings onto her leather jacket.
The next day Noin was back in the office, and Sally had news for her.
"I checked with the interns. It's not any of them, and they helped me eliminate over half of the unattached Preventers. If it's a Preventer, we'll know who it is by the end of the week."
"You think it might not be a Preventer?"
"No, but there is always the chance that's it's not."
"Thanks Sal."
"No problem."
Noin returned to her office and was not surprised to find another package on her desk. This time the note read: For one who sees Christmas with a child's eyes from your secret santa. Inside the box was the picture book The Polar Express and a single jingle bell. She smiled.
When no gift appeared the next day, Noin figured her secret santa had given up. But tucked in her box that evening was an envelope. Curious, she opened it to find a note and a ticket. She read the note first: Even the busiest elf has to relax from your secret santa. She took a closer look at the ticket. It was for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competition that was coming up. Whoever her secret santa was, they knew about her love of figure skating. And she had thought that was a well guarded secret.
There was a package waiting for her when she came home the next day. Yawning, she picked it up and headed inside. Noin kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the couch; it had been a long day. She read over the note before opening the package: If the weather outside is frightful, keep your toes warm from your secret santa. Puzzled she opened the box. Inside was a pair of sheepskin slippers.
Noin found herself busy with intern evaluations the next morning. And she was getting bored; this was the fifth time she'd gone through her cd collection at the office, and she probably knew every single cd by heart. Deciding she needed a cup of coffee before she fell asleep, Noin headed for the kitchen. When she came back, she found a stack of five Christmas cds sitting on top of the evaluations with a note reading: Cause you need a little music from your secret santa. She laughed and popped the first cd into the player.
She was not in such a good mood the next day. The furnace at Preventer HQ was broken. She huddled in her office with a cup of hot coffee warming her hands. And she was more than pleased when the gift of the day arrived. This time it was a matching set of hat, scarf, and gloves of pale blue lambswool. The note read: Even a warm heart suffers from cold fingers from your secret santa.
Sally found Noin swearing at her computer the next morning, "It froze again, I gather? Do you have a moment?"
"Sure Sally," Noin replied give the computer a kick.
"Whoever this secret santa is, he's not a Preventer. Though some of your students are rather upset that someone else has an interest in you."
Noin sighed, "They can't accept the fact that I have no interest in a romantic relationship with any of them. You sound sure it's a he."
Sally shot her a look.
"Okay, it probably is a guy."
"Have you gotten anything today?"
"Not yet." Noin sighed again softly, "You know, this is the kind of thing I'd expect Zechs to do."
Sally just stared at her, "This is something the great Lightning Count would do? You're kidding me."
"It is. No one would know it was him after all. We used to do something similar when we were in school."
"Noin, all the facts point to Zechs being dead." Sally held up a hand to keep Noin silent, "I know your intuition tells you he's alive, and as far as we both know, your intuition has never been wrong. But you have to accept the fact that you might be wrong this time."
"But I'm not."
Sally just shook her head and left. Noin turned back to her computer. A few minutes later there was a soft rap at her door.
"Come in."
Aeris, Preventer Blossom, stepped into the room, "This was left for you at the front desk Noin."
She handed Noin a package with a note. Noin thanked her and turned to her gift. This time the note read: A tale to sit beside the faire and read from your secret santa. Not surprisingly it was a book, a copy of True Valor that had been autographed by the author. Noin smiled; she wouldn't be reading it tonight. Tonight was the ice skating competition.
The ice skating was wonderful, and as an added bonus, her favorite skater won. An exhausted, but delighted, Noin returned home grateful tomorrow was her day off. She finally dragged herself out of bed around noon the next morning. When she went out to get her newspaper, Noin found another gift. But this time when she opened it, she sat down on the couch and blinked back tears. Clutching the silver picture frame to her chest, she reached for the note. It read: They loved you, and they're gone. I know it hurts. But it's time to let go of the past and let the good memories live form your secret santa.
Noin looked back at the photo. Seven smiling faces looked back, including her own. It was her family. Not her birth family, but the people who had raised her because her "real family" had been too busy. They had been killed when she was eight. This time when the tears came, she did not hold them back.
She set the photo on her dresser then froze at a realization. Zechs was the only person who knew enough about her past to find that picture. She couldn't help smiling; Zechs was back.
Sally noticed Noin's incredibly cheerful mood the next day at work. But when asked about it, Noin just smiled mysteriously. She would keep her secret to herself. She wasn't at all surprised to find another package on her desk when she came back from lunch. This time it was one those crackers that you pop at New Year's. It's note read: The holidays should contain a surprise or two form your secret santa.
Noin laughed and popped her cracker. In a minute her desk was covered with confetti. Noin giggled and picked up the chocolate coins that had been inside. The next evening when she returned home from work soaked to the skin by sleet, she found a basket of bubble bath, lotion, soap, and other bath stuff on her door step with the note: The wise men brought frankincense and myrrh; I though you'd like this better from your secret santa.
Noin had just arrived at work the next morning when she was nearly bowled over by Duo who was fleeing a katana wielding Wufei. She managed to stay upright, but her briefcase was knocked out of her hands scattering papers everywhere. Sighing, she knelt down to pick everything up. Another pair of hands appeared, and Noin looked up to find Esmay, on of her favorite inters, grinning at her.
"Morning Noin."
"You seem surprisingly cheerful this morning Es. Did someone spike your coffee?"
"Nah, Barin invited me to spend Christmas with his family, and we both got notification of our promotion to full Preventer status."
"Congratulations. You two have definately earned it."
"Thanks. Oh, this came for you earlier," Esmay handed her a small box with a note attached. It read: Ids with style from your secret santa. Noin quickly opened the box to find a pair of silver dogtags on a chain. The first had the kanji for fire engraved on the front along with a round amethyst embedded below it while on the back the engraving read "Fire". That made sense, her codename was Fire after all. But the second tag had the kanji for wing engraved on it with a pale blue diamond set below it and "Wind" was engraved on the back. There was currently no Preventer with that codename.
Esmay just grinned at her, "Well someone is being mysterious. How long do you think he'll keep this up?"
Noin sighed, "I have no clue."
She was even more puzzled by her gift the next day. She had been chatting with a group of her former students when the package arrived. This time it turned out to be a sprig of mistletoe tied with a bright red ribbon. The note read: I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus from your secret santa. Noin had to giggle at that. Her students were far less amused however. They didn't approve of her secret santa. Of course, all of them had asked her to the New Year's Ball and had been turned down. She just wasn't interested ingoing, at least not with them.
Her gales of laughter drew many a person to her door the next afternoon. After a mission, she had once told Zechs that her heart's desire was a pair of thick woolen socks. The secret santa gift had been a half dozen pairs of those. It was a good end to the work week.
Noin answered her door to find a grinning Sally on her doorstep.
"Ready to go?"
Noin nodded and grabbed her coat, "You bet, I wouldn't miss Relena's tree trimming party for anything."
"Oh, here's your gift of the day; it was sitting on your doorstep."
Noin took the square box and headed out to Sally's SUV. While Sally drove, Noin read over the note: It's time you hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough from your secret santa. She opened the box to find a Christmas tree ornament. It was a cloisonne ball decorated with holly and ivy leaves. It also had a clasp. Noin flicked it open and found a chocolate inside.
After arriving at the Vice-Foreign Minister's residence, she and Sally joined Relena and the others along with a number of Preventers and interns in decorating the mansion. Noin had a wonderful time and made sure her new ornament had a place on the tree. The only drawback to the party was she had to keep an eye out for mistletoe for a number of her former students kept trying to trap her beneath it.
She awoke the next morning smiling; there were only five more days until Christmas. Noin puttered around her apartment all morning wrapping presents and doing other small tasks. At about noon, she took a break for lunch then changed clothes. She and Relena had plans to deliver presents to the children stuck in the hospital over Christmas. There was a knock at the door; Noin grinned, time to go.
Three hours later Noin was delivering the last of the presents. This one was for a little girl with leukemia. She hadn't asked for anything, but the hospital staff knew she loved tigers. Relena and Noin had put their heads together and come up with the perfect present. They had made a donation in Amy's name to a conservation agency and had received a picture of a Siberian tiger named Whiteblaze. Then they had bought a stuffed animal which bore a remarkable resemblance to Whiteblaze. Noin had made a tag for it which read "Whiteblaze" and tied it around the toy's neck with a ribbon.
Amy squealed with delight when she opened the gift making both Noin and Relena smile. But as they got up to go, Amy said, "Wait Miss Noin, I have something for you."
Puzzled, Noin took the package and opened it. Inside was a white rabbit and the book Miffy in the Hospital. Noin cuddled the stuffed animal as she read the note: Love is something if you give it away; you end up having more from your secret santa. Noin just smiled. Zechs was really enjoying this.
She came home the next afternoon from some last minute shopping with Sally to find a package stuck in her mailbox. This time the note read: Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but they don't taste very good from your secret santa. Noin opened the package to find a box of assorted chocolates. And none of them had nuts; that was always a plus in her book. Laughing she headed inside to finish wrapping presents.
The next afternoon Noin found herself in need of a rescue. A group of her former students had come over to exchange presents, and while she was enjoying most of their company, several of them were making her quite uncomfortable. Suddenly a sound caught her ear.
"I think I hear carolers."
She rushed out onto her balcony to see about a dozen teenagers. Some of them grinned and waved, and they launched into another song. They sang for about ten minutes, but before they could move along, Noin was outside with a plate of cookies, "Please, take some of these with you."
The kids grinned and thanked her. An auburn haired girl with bright emerald eyes approached her, "Hi, I'm Sakura; I was asked to give you this."
Sakura handed Noin a little jewelry box along with a note that read: Some stars are easier to reach than others from your secret santa. Inside the box lay a pair of silver star earrings. She smiled at Sakura, "Thanks."
She could feel the disapproving glares of some of her students. She didn't care. Noin waved goodbye to the carolers then headed inside to send her guests home; after all, she still had some shopping to do.
"It's the twenty-third day of Christmas, now what will my true love give to me?" Noin mused. She was in the middle of packing her bag for the next two days. She, along with the gundam pilots and company, was spending Christmas and Christmas Eve at Relena's. The woman double checked to make sure she had everyone's presents.
Noin collapsed onto her couch. She might love the Christmas season, but man was it exhausting. She closed her eyes intending to rest for a moment. She woke several hours later to find it snowing outside. Yawning, Noin got up and went out on the balcony to watch the snow. A giggle escaped her lips when she saw the package sitting on her deck chair. She pulled at the bright ribbon and found about a dozen candy canes of different colors inside. A snowflake hit her nose, and Noin decided going inside and fixing hot chocolate was a good idea.
"It's Christmas Eve at last."
Noin grinned at Relena, "I'd think you'd be dreading it with all of us descending on you."
"Are you kidding? You guys are my family."
The younger woman sat on the floor in front of Noin who was braiding her hair, "Besides, it gives me a chance to hang out with all of you without having to work."
"True," Noin secured the braid in place. "There, you're done."
"So, do you know who your secret santa is yet?"
"I have a few guesses."
"And you're not going to tell me?" Relena pouted."
"Are you two ready yet?" Duo's voice called. "The rest of us are ready to go."
Noin grinned and offered Relena a hand up, "Come on, if we keep them waiting too long, Wufei's libel to clobber Duo."
It was about ten o'clock when they got back from the Christmas Eve service. Most of the guys turned in, but Heero joined Hildie, Sally, Relena, and Noin in the kitchen for hot chocolate and late night discussions. Cathy had opted for sleep instead. They finally turned in around eleven-thirty. Upon her pillow Noin found a single white rose along with a note that read: Merry Christmas to all and to all goodnight from your secret santa. Noin smiled and placed the rose in a vase on her nightstand before settling into a comfortable sleep.
She was awakened the next morning by someone pounding on her door.
"Noin, wake up! We want to open presents."
Noin pulled on her robe and slippers and headed downstairs. Within an hour the living room was littered with brightly colored paper and ribbons. Relena shad shoed almost everyone into the kitchen to help with breakfast. Looking up from a book that had been of her presents, Noin noticed that her ornament had been knocked off the tree. As she was putting it back on, she accidentally caught the clasp, and the ornament pooped open. Inside was a little piece of paper. Noin frowned; that hadn't been there before. It read: Meet me in the garden.
Quietly, Noin slipped upstairs, got dressed, and snuck outside. It had been snowing again and everything looked had been covered with a blanket of white. It looked lie a fairyland. Standing beneath an old oak tree on the garden was a young man she knew very well.
"Zechs!" she cried and flung herself at him. Zechs caught her up in his arms and proceeded to kiss her breathless.
"Merry Christmas Noin," his sky blue eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back to you."
She smiled up at him, "It's okay, I knew you'd be back when you could."
Zechs kept an arm around her waist as they walked. He told her about what had happened to him since Libra's destruction, and she filled him in on what had happened to her and the others, including finding Treize's daughter, Marimeia, on one of the colonies. Neither seemed to notice the cold. Zechs pulled a small black box with a violet ribbon from her pocket, "Here's your Christmas present Noin."
"But you've already given me the best present; you came back."
"Open it."
Noin sighed and opened the little box. Her eyes widened with surprise. Inside the box lay a delicate silver ring that held a single pale blue diamond. It looked like spun starlight. Zechs gently pulled off one of her gloves and slid the ring onto her left ring finger. Noin looked up into his eyes and smiled, "Zechs, I'd love to be your wife."
***
Relena put her dishes in the sink then looked up as something hit the window. She peered out the window to see Noin stick her tongue out a somebody and lob a snowball at them. Her mouth dropped open when she saw who the snowball hit, but withing minutes she was smiling. It was about time.
She poured another two mugs of hot chocolate and took the time to top them off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. She grinned when she heard the door open and headed out into the dinning room.
"Hey Noin, what were you doing outside?" Duo asked.
Noin laughed and stepped aside so everyone could see who was standing behind her. There was a collective dropping of jaws. Relena grinned and handed her brother and Noin each a mug of hot chocolate, "So, I take it you're officially going to be part of the family Noin?"
Noin held out her left hand for Relena to inspect. Relena squealed with delight over the ring. Before long they were all seated around the table chatting about their plans.
"So what do you plan to do now Zechs?" Quatre asked.
"I'm hoping to join the Preventers; as far as I know, there's no one using the codename 'Wind'. And I hear a rumor that Non's in need of a partner."
Noin grinned at him and squeezed his hand, "You'd be a better match than most of the newbies I've interviewed, that's for sure."
They all laughed at that and the discussion turned to the antics of the other Preventers and interns at the office.
***
Noin laughed as she put on her earrings, "Zechs, stop staring. We're going to be late if we don't get moving."
Zechs grinned back at her, "But I enjoy the view."
He leaned against the doorframe dressed in a tuxedo. Noin spun around making the black velvet dress swirl around her feet, "I'm glad you like it."
Noin slid on the silver locket that Zechs had given her for graduation and took one last look in the mirror, "All right, let's go."
Zechs helped her into her coat, and they walked out to his car. Fifteen minutes later the two of them arrived at the New Year's Ball. They stopped in the lobby to check their coats before heading into the ballroom.
"Are you ready for this?"
"I think so. How bad can it be?"
"Have you met some of my students?"
He just offered her his arm and off they went. Zechs and Noin mingled on the sidelines of the dance floor taking the opportunity to introduce Zechs to some of his new coworkers. They chatted with Esmay and Barin as well as Aeris and her partner, Sephiroth; it seemed both Aeris and Esmay had also gotten rings as Christmas presents.
"Miss Noin, I thought you said you weren't coming tonight."
Noin smiled rather nervously at a group of six of her former students, "I had a change of plans over Christmas."
Zechs said nothing but kept an arm around her waist as the young men eyed him suspiciously. Noin's smile became wicked, "Oh, I found out who my secret santa was. It was my new partner Preventer Wind, Zechs Marquise."
She grinned up at him, "He's also my fiancee."
Zechs inclined his head toward them, "Pleased to meet you. If you'll excuse us, I owe my lady a dance."
With that he swept Noin out onto the dance floor.
"You handled that well."
"It was easier than having to fight them all. Less messy too."
"Not to mention fairer to them. Six of them against you, they didn't stand a chance. Especially since I would have been tempted to help."
He laughed, "As much fun as that would have been, I don't think Lady Une would be too happy with us if we started a brawl."
After a half a dozen dances, they retired to the sidelines. The countdown to midnight began. Noin leaned back against Zechs. It was doing to be a great year.
Owari (the end)