Hello everyone. This is just a little oneshot that I happened to have the inspiration for. Sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. ^^" This fanfiction takes place after the events of episode 19 of The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya.

If you haven't seen this particular episode yet, this story may have slight spoilers. But if you have seen it, enjoy. :)

I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own the Haruhi Suzumiya series, nor any of it's characters. I also do not own the title of another manga series that is referenced here.

Okay, so what the hell happened again?

"COME BACK SANTA! DON'T GOOOOOOOO!"

Her voice still sticks in the back of my mind. Why won't it get out of my head?!

"I neutralized the changes miss Suzumiya made to Santa's body."

Man, now I feel really bad for Taniguchi.

My feet dragged themselves back towards the clubroom, preparing to pick up my bag and just go home.

It's nearly midnight, too. Thanks a lot, Haruhi.

After 'Santa' escaped, Haruhi suddenly decided to dismiss the club's activities for today, but not before telling me, and only me, to clean up the nets Nagato had used to capture the so called Santa Claus.

By the time I was finished, everyone had gone home. Straight to their warm, cozy beds…

My ungloved hands continued to grip the inside of my coat's pocket, searching for warmth that literally doesn't exist.

I finally arrived outside of the brigade room's door. My eyes stared at the crescent moon that was high above the dark sky, before turning back to open the door.

The room was surprisingly still heated, which caused me to close my eyes in content. Maybe I'll stay in here for a bit before going home.

While I was basking in the warmth of the room, I failed to notice the presence of a certain purple haired girl holding a book at the table where she was seated. A small desk lamp was positioned above the opened book.

"Nagato?"

The alien turned her head towards the door, still wearing her emotionless expression as usual.

"You're still here? I thought you went home already."

"..."

The interface said nothing as she stood up from her seat, closing her book and putting it inside her bag along with her laptop.

I couldn't tell if it was an actual book, manga, or just another strategy guide, but I swore I saw the name 'Fruits Basket' written across the top…

Her pale hands reached to turn off the lamp.

"Wait!"

She froze.

"Do you mind keeping that on for me? I think I'm going to stay here for a bit."

Nagato slowly lowered her hand, her fingertips brushing over a small box that was next to the lamp before returning to her side.

"Are you going to go home now?"

I couldn't help but be curious about the box near the lamp. It looked like it was all wrapped up in decorated paper…

"... Yes." The short girl picked up her bag and began to walk towards me, ready to exit the school.

"Wait."

Her body froze again, this time in front of me. She stared at me, waiting for what I was about to say.

"So, why did you stay behind?"

"... Haruhi Suzumiya has advised me to inform you to lock the door before you leave."

Why couldn't Haruhi have written a note telling me to do that? Why couldn't she do some kind of crazy message that would scare the crap out of me?

… Not like I want that to happen...

But still! Why not do that crazy message instead of making Nagato stay up waiting for me?! If I knew that she would be waiting here for me, I would've hurried and cleaned up that stupid mess sooner!

The girl continued to stare at me.

"Oh, sorry, Nagato. You can go home now."

I moved aside, allowing her to pass. She stepped out into the hallway and began walking down the same path I just took, her footsteps almost noiseless.

"See you later, Nagato."

"..."

And with that, she was gone.

I look back into the darkened room. It was near spotless, with only a few used party poppers scattered around in one corner of the room.

At least Haruhi is thoughtful enough to not make me clean this up too.

I pulled up the chair Nagato was using before and sat down, sighing. My vision eyed the box right next to the lamp.

Now, if I squint, I can tell that it's a box wrapped perfectly with Christmas wrapping paper, with a red ribbon to match. There was a small slip of paper on top of the box, with the name 'Kyon' on it.

It's for me?

I quickly snatched the box off the table, finding that it was bottomless, and that it was actually just a cover for what was hiding inside.

I came face to face with… A slice of cake?

A piece of perfectly sliced cake was resting on top of a small paper plate, along with yet another slip of paper and a plastic fork.

YUKI.N: I preserved an article of sweets for you. 'Merry Christmas'.

Why is 'Merry Christmas' in quotes? Maybe she doesn't get what Christmas is yet.

I stared at the cake for a few seconds, before quickly gathering my belongings and bolting out of the room, making sure to lock the door. I had placed the cake back into the box as a hold, with the plan to eat it later.

My legs sprinted down the hallway, being careful not to drop the box. She couldn't have gotten too far away from the school.

My eyes scanned for her outside, and caught her sight just outside the school gates.

"Nagato!"

The alien girl froze, turning her body to the source of my voice.

"Do you… want to walk home together?"