Christmas at Balamb was always a joyous affair. Under the many colourful displays and lights, the Garden shone its brightest: the spirit was heavy, the snow lay thick upon the ground and all around there were flyers, adorning festively-decorated walls, that gave information for various festivals, concerts and activities, urging students to come. It was an understatement to say excitement and happiness truly did deck the halls of Balamb Garden.

Well, not exactly everywhere. Turning a corner towards his room, the every solemn Commander, Squall Leonhart, rolled his eyes at a piece of mistletoe and holly. Christmas, while it was the number one season on everyone else's calendar, it wasn't his. Not that he hated the holidays, the Commander simply couldn't find the excitement in blowing his money on people who would more then likely forget about the gift after, possibly, little more then a month and putting heavy effort into decorations only to tear them down again after a few weeks.

No, he thought to himself. Useless holiday

This year, however, would be regretfully different. Just as he strode down the hallway, slid his card through the key-code and stepped into his room, an excited shout greeted him.

"Oh good! You're home!" Rinoa Heartily exclaimed excitedly, motioning for him to come over to her. She had been stooping over a large box but had turned around as soon as she heard Squall open the door. "I have something I need to show you!"

"Oh Hyne. If it's another Angelo trick, forget it. We both know he doesn't perform," Squall said, following her across the room as he shrugged his leather coat off onto the sofa. He really had no interest in Angelo tricks.

Last time, Rinoa thought she'd taught him to play dead. When Squall had come back to their room that same night, she was very excited to show him, "Angelo's best trick yet!". However, when it came time to perform, Angelo merely stared vacantly at his mistress. After a few minutes, he put his put a paw up on her lap and then walked away as if confused at what it was he supposed to be doing.

"Hey, you know very well he was just tired!" She exclaimed indignantly, defending the little dog that, ironically, just happened to be asleep now as well. "And no, this has nothing to do with Angelo. It's more important!"

Oh Hyne, please let it not be that stupid concert Selphie wants us to go to…

Rinoa then kneeled down beside her black purse and started rummaging through it. "Just a sec. I know it's in here somewhere…" She said, screwing her face up in concentration as she felt around for whatever it was she was looking for.

Squall ran a hand down his face, praying adamantly by now. Oh dear Hyne, I'll do anything! Just please don't let it be tickets to The Little Chocobo!


"It's right-"

"I'm sick and I can't go!" Squall yelled suddenly. Quickly, he screwed up his face in what was a pathetic attempt to look queasy.

Rinoa looked up, raising a brow in confusion. "What?"

Squall opened an eye and looked confused as well. She was now standing up, holding a piece of paper in her hand that looked suspiciously to him like one of those ridiculous festive fliers that covered just about every square foot of wall space up and down the Quad.

"I'm not asking you to go anywhere," she said, handing him the slip of paper. "I just wanted to show you this!"

Squall's face turned slightly red as he took the blue slip of paper and began to read. All signs of embarrassment instantly turned to confusion. "So… What do you want me to do with this?"

"Well," Rinoa said, stammering slightly, "well… Quistis showed me this add while we were having lunch today and told me about how Garden saved money on those huge trees in the Quad and the Lobby. She said we might be – erm – that we might be – erm – interested in-"

But he had already caught on and truthfully, he didn't like where it was going. "No." Squall said, abruptly cutting her off.

"But you didn't even let me finish!" Rinoa insisted.

"No," Squall said as he put up his hand to silence the brunette. "I've never had a Christmas tree in any of my rooms before and I'm not starting this year."

"But that's not fair!" Rinoa gasped. "This is my first year with you and I'm used toalways having a Christmas tree around!"

"You're surrounded by Christmas trees, Rin," Squall pointed out. "There's even one down the hall. You can go admire that one."

"But it's not the same as decorating your own! Besides, what am I going to do with all those beautiful decorations I brought with me from Deling?"

"You can help Selphie and Irvine decorate their tree," he suggested casually. "I hear they're short by a lot this yea-"

"No! We're getting a tree Squall! Christmas isn't Christmas without a tree! You're just being a selfish…" She instantly recoiled from the word hanging on the tip of her tongue; her lips were pursed as she glared fiercely at Squall.

Squall tilted his head, and slowly arched a brow. "A selfish what?" He asked slowly. Rinoa nodded but Squall continued trying to coax the word from her smooth, dainty lips. "Come one Rin. Just say what you want and feel better."

"-SCROOGE!" Rinoa shouted fiercely.

Squall drew back a step, his eyes wide. "I am not a Scrooge," he stated. "I just don't buy Christmas trees and I don't intend on breaking that tradition."

"Squall," Rinoa said, her voice lowering dangerously as she took a deliberate step towards him, "I don't care what you haven't done before. This is Christmas. And I want to spend my first Christmas with you happily: complete with a tree and all!"

"No," Squall said, sighing tiredly. Really, was it that hard for her to understand that he might have his own holiday traditions? "I'm not going to tell you again, Rin. And I don't care how angry you get. I'm not buying a damn Christmas tree. End of discussion!"

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"That will be 35 gil, Mr. Leonhart."

Squall looked away from the handcart where two men where securing the tall, green tree and to the bright, grinning salesman who had just totalled up the cost. I can't believe I let her talk me into this… He sighed.After an hour of intense arguing and being driven to the brink of insanity by Rinoa's persistent nagging, his resolve had caved.

Now, he was standing in front of the checkout stand of a large, outdoor tree lot, complete with his leather coat and a persistent snow shower that didn't show any signs of letting up, with a large, shall-branched Noble Fir in tow. Women… He thought bitterly.

"Mr. Leonhart?" The cashier asked warily. Apparently, Squall didn't notice that his eyes had narrowed into an annoyed glareduring his momentary reminisce. "Is everything alright?"

"What?" Squall spat bitterly, turning his piercing gaze on the man.

"Er – umm – err… You're total comes to 35 gil…" The cashier stammered nervously.

"Oh." Squall said, his expression lightening. He wordlessly dug into his wallet, pulled out the correct amount and proceeded to follow the men out the door.

"Merry Christmas!" The cashier called out to his retreating back. Squall did not return the sentiment...

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A/N: Will Squall find the joy of the holidays? Will Rinoa like the tree he bought for her and, more importantly, will the rest of the gang make an appearance? Find out next time in Chapter 2: The Nightmare Five Days Before Christmas! Please review:D