AN: (Sings) Christmas fic! (Dances) Yeah, I've decided to do my Christmas fic for ToS this year, after last year's failed attempt at doing a Naruto Christmas fic at the request of a friend last year... I wrote two and posted neither (Because I abandoned one (It sucked BIG time) and didn't managed to finish the other in time; though I might upload it this year if I have the time, so it doesn't go to waste).

Expect flashbackness, oyako, the Kharlan war and of course, the Christmas goodness we all love to love so much... But for this chapter... Well, you'll see. Just bear with.

Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, but I wouldn't say no if someone was to, say, get it for me? (Is hopeful)

Zelos dodged around a random renegade, the man not seeming to notice as he tiptoed past and pinched his fold-up ladder. Thankfully, the pink-clad man didn't encounter any more renegades as he carried his precious cargo into the hall-like room where the Christmas festivities would be taking place for the heroes while the Renegades were on their hard-earned Christmas holidays.

He set the ladder down to the side of the door, relying on the keen vision granted to him by his Cruxis crystal to make out the tacks sitting in his pocket. He transferred his weight onto the ladder and climbed it, careful not to make even the smallest sound as he fished out a tack and a sprig of mistletoe, smirking devilishly into the darkness, and gently and, above all, noiselessly attached them to the door frame.

And Sheena thought she was the ninja...

Stepping down from the ladder, Zelos bit down on a satisfied chuckle, determined not to ruin Operation Mistletoe at the last minute, only to fall to the floor with a loud crash and an undignified yelp of, "Not the face!" when the hall was illuminated by the flick of a switch.

"Oowwww!" Zelos moaned, clutching at his face, eyes opening to take in the unimpressed blue-haired figure with folded arms that towered over his prone form.

"Nice try, Zelos," was the could-be sarcastic comment as the half-elf leapt onto the ladder, removed the mistletoe and stashed it in the deep hidden pockets of his cape – or as he preferred, as it carried an air of mystery, his cloak.

"Awww! You're no fun!" Zelos whined, picking himself up off the floor. "You know that, Old Timer?"

"With age comes experience," Yuan said, sagely, a smirk weaving its way around his face.

Zelos scoffed, only causing Yuan's smirk to widen as the half-elf added, "When are you going to give up? I'm getting tired of this little game."

"What makes you think I'm giving up?" Zelos retorted, brushing past Yuan, a wolfish grin spreading on his face.

"Oh I don't know," Yuan toyed, "Maybe the fact that I've caught you every night this week."

Zelos yawned. "Tomorrow, Yuan," he promised, pointing a finger in the direction of the half-elf challengingly. "There will be mistletoe. You can't have Christmas without mistletoe kisses! How do you keep catching me anyway?"

That last question Yuan assumed to be rhetorical as it was uttered more than spoken, and with that, Tethe'alla's chosen stalked off down the corridor, leaving his host to scoop up the ladder and return it to the renegade who had been using it to hang holly wreathes earlier. He only had tonight's night shift to finish decorating before they left on the time off he let them have every year.

After receiving a customary, "Thank you, Lord Yuan," from the renegade, their leader's mind wandered as his feet took him back towards his office and adjoining bedroom.

Couldn't have Christmas without mistletoe? The blue-haired man shook his head, smiling. Yuan knew very well that you could, and probably should when Sheena was around and you happened to a philandering red-head known as Zelos.

Opening his door, he came into contact with another red-head, this one seated at his desk with a book open on its polished surface. The man looked up as the door closed, Yuan having already made his way over to the desk.

"Hey, Kratos," he said, leaning over the book into his companion's expectant face. "Guess what I've got?"

The swordsman frowned, his eyebrows lifting as Yuan hunted blindly in his pocket for the object in question, with one hand. "I would hope that it isn't food, seeing as you've put it in your cape," he responded.

"It's a cloak," Yuan corrected automatically, preceding an exclamation of "Aha!" as his fingers closed around the object.

"Mistletoe!" he announced whipping it from his pocket and dangling in front of the human's eyes. "You know what they say about mistletoe..."

He received a light punch to the shoulder. "That it repels werewolves," Kratos replied.

Yuan dropped the mistletoe back into his pocket, moving out of the human's range with a chuckle.

How did he always catch Zelos? Well, the philanderer wasn't the only one to sneak mistletoe onto doorways before Christmas. However, he hadn't been caught doing it. Well, at least, not when it really mattered anyway.

Stealing one last glance at the human at his desk, Yuan smirked before he headed into his bedroom. Yes, Yuan was the real ninja here. And didn't Kratos know it.

"Guys! Guys Guys Guys!"

Lloyd rounded a corner with such speed that he almost ploughed into Raine, who has been eying the door to the kitchens of the Flanoir base in an almost hungry manner that unsettled her younger brother greatly.

"What is it, Lloyd?" Colette asked immediately, concern clouding her caring blue eyes as she stared up at her friend from her seat at the extremely long table the Renegades ate at, as Regal appeared in the door way, complete with his chef's hat, to find out what the noise was all in aid of.

"We haven't written our Martelmas-"

"Christmas," Yuan interrupted, without looking up from the file he appeared to be reading. He was actually observing Zelos out of the corner of his eye, expecting the Chosen to duck out of the room when he thought no-one was looking to plant some mistletoe. (AN: No pun intended...)

It had been 'Christmas' when he was a child, and if they wanted to spend the holidays in his base for free, they would have to live by his rules. Since Martel had been granted her eternal peace at last, he had been able to make peace with and enjoy her memory, but he would not celebrate a holiday of Mithos' image of her when Christmas had been the holiday that she had celebrated when she had been alive.

Lloyd shrugged, running out of steam for a moment before he realised he hadn't shared the very important piece of information that had ousted him from his bed before the glorious scent of food, his usual alarm clock (that wasn't Genis casting a water spell on him), had had the chance to.

"We haven't written our lists!" he exclaimed.

Genis, Colette and Zelos all gasped. Raine shook her head, smiled and made a small 'tut' noise, while Sheena simply said, "You've lost me. We all know what each other wants for Christmas, and most of us-" here she turned and glared at Zelos, who emitted awkward laughter, "- have bought everyone's Mar-Christmas presents anyway. Why would we need a list?"

"For Santa!" Genis answered, his eyes wide at the possibility that Sheena could not know about Santa.

Colette nodded eagerly. "We have to write a letter and send it to Santa, so that he knows what to get us if we've been good this year!"

"Wait," the summoner laughed. "So what you're saying is that you expect us to write a letter to Santa?"

"Uh huh," Genis summed up.

"But-"

Every adult in the room was aware that the conversation had taken a dangerous turn for the young (and not so young) believers, and each was aware that they needed to take control of the situation to preserve some fragile Christmas dreams. Raine started to open her mouth, but was beaten, surprisingly, by Kratos.

"You must remember that we are a diverse group, and that festive rituals in Iselia and Mizuho differ from each other," he reminded softly, sending Sheena a pointed look.

"Wow, really?" Lloyd enquired, rounding on the uncomfortable ninja.

Sheena averted her eyes from Kratos threatening gaze, into Raine's stern, urging one and away again, to the table that wasn't glaring at her. "Er, yeah," she stated. "In Mizuho, chi-" Raine cleared her throat. "I mean, we, write a list for Santa and throw it in the fire so he gets it."

"But how does it get there if it's burnt?" Zelos wondered, Sheena's eyes widening in shock as she rounded on him.

Still surprised that Zelos of all people seemed to believe the myth, she stammered, "I-I... It just does, okay?" Then in a flash of inspiration, she added, "The summon spirits take the words to him."

"We just trust in the postal service," Zelos bragged. "I give my letter to Sebastian and he posts it to Santa at the North Pole, which is under Flanoir, in case Mizuho doesn't know that."

"You wanna know what we do?" Genis asked, though he didn't give anyone time to reply before he continued to babble on excitedly. "We put it up the chimney! It might get burnt but the smoke carries the words to Santa, and then he'll bring something you want down the chimney."

There was a sharp intake of breath, sending all eyes in the general direction of Colette, whose face betrayed something that was the lovechild of heartbreak and horror.

"Oh no! I didn't see a chimney here! How is Santa supposed to come?"

"I leave the back door open, Colette," Yuan diffused, then looking over to Kratos with a smirk, tagged onto that, "And when I forget, he comes through the window."

The human raised his eyebrows, struggling to hold back a smile at the memory this sparked, but said nothing as Regal, having disappeared back into the kitchen to serve breakfast, rang the little bell that Yuan insisted they use instead of the large one while it was just them because it was easier on his enhanced hearing.

"Food time!" Lloyd announced, instantly abandoning his friends at the table in favour of charging into the kitchen.

Genis and Colette ate breakfast surprisingly quickly, finishing almost as quickly as Lloyd managed to finish inhaling his second portion of Regal's potato waffle, egg and bacon combination, and all three had started composing their letters to Santa by the time the others had eaten half of their meal.

"Hey Zelos," Lloyd called, pausing in his frantic pen scratching to look up at the red-haired Chosen, who was the next person to set down his cutlery and had leaned back in his chair, pillowing the back of his head in his hands. "Aren't you gonna start writing your letter?"

"Yeah," Genis piped up. "Raine told me that the quicker you get your letter to Santa, the better it is for Santa."

"Already written it," Zelos declared. "In fact, I might even go and post it right now."

"I think we should wait and post them together," Sheena proposed, swallowing a mouthful of bacon, having finally caught on to the game played by the non-believers at this time of year.

Raine backed her up. "I think that's a lovely idea."

"Fine," Zelos agreed, "but you all had better hurry up with writing your lists; I won't wait forever."

"Dad?"

Kratos' eyes locked onto his son's and he inclined his head to show that he was listening.

Lloyd continued with his question, "Why aren't you writing a letter?"

"Because I am much too old to receive gifts from Santa," the mercenary stated simply.

"But-"

"I'm going to make Christmas tree cookies!" Raine announced, standing suddenly.

Her students jumped to dissuade her, Genis whining that he wanted to make the cookies in the hope of guilting her into letting him take over to save their palates while all others backed him up and Zelos turned a strange shade of green. Amidst this chaos, even Kratos failed to notice that Yuan had slipped away to his office to prepare a little Christmas surprise.

He only hoped Kratos wouldn't be too overcome with emotion...

AN: Okay, this chapter was a little slow moving. It gets better as we go along and get closer to Christmas. But yeah, I just thought I'd do this for Christmas. The chapters probably won't be very long, 'cause, as you can probably all tell, they start to run out of steam closer to the end... But hopefully the Christmassy goodness makes up for that.

And yes, there is a slight Doctor Who (which I don't own) reference. Could just be mythology in general but I heard it on Doctor Who so... Yeah.

Next chapter will have secret meetings, snowballing, shopping and decorating. Any questions, requests and feedback?

Hint: reviews would make my Christmas all that bit more Merry!

Oh, and I'm considering writing their letters to Santa and posting it as a fic. What do you think? Would you read that if I wrote it?

~ThePurpleRose