A/N: I know, I'm totally slacking on INK3D Meets CB...but I really wanted to write a quick Christmas fic, and Dio-kun and Claus were just begging to be written about! Anyway, this is the result. Lemme know what you think? I'm trying to improve on detail.

Disclaimer: I don't own Last Exile. If I did, Dio would've won Claus and that would probably be the end of it.

Multicolored lights sparkled from their nests among the thick, dark green needles of a pine tree. Shiny blue and silver baubles hung from thin but sturdy branches by hooks fashioned out of intricately twisted wire. The crushed needles underfoot let off a faint fragrance that drifted upward like invisible smoke.
Dio Eraclea stared up at the hardy tree, his dark eyes glowing with wonder and excitement. His older sister would never allow something this rugged to pass into the pearly, pristine confines of her castle.
Claus Valca, the young commoner pilot that Dio had somehow befriended, watched the young noble's rapture from a respectful distance. An amused smile tugged gently at the corners of Claus' lips as his eyes caressed the smooth, pale skin of Dio's face.
Dio's quickly shifting emotions were clearly visible in his expression. His eyes widened in awe as he gazed at the softly glowing lights. His lips formed a perfect "O" as his stare traveled higher, finding the glittering star that topped the tree. Laughter escaped him as he turned back to Claus at last; his whole body expressed his delight.
"Thank you, Immelman!" Dio cheered joyfully, darting forward and throwing his arms around the other boy's neck. Claus' hands found each other at the noble's back, struggling to encircle the thin body contained in the voluminous, white winter coat.
Dio's lips pressed briefly against Claus' cheekbone, and their owner pulled back with an eager grin. The pilot's cheek's flared with color as he smiled back at Dio.
"Dio-sama!"
Before either of them could speak, the voice forced its way into the moment and broke the tender gaze that held the two boys together. Dio looked past Claus to see his bodyguard, Luciola, cresting the rise that separated Claus' little tree from the rest of the forest.
Claus let his arms fall from his friend's torso, and Dio reluctantly released him and stepped back.
"Dio-sama," Luciola began, pouting slightly, "you can't always run off like that. I'm supposed to protect y-"
"I know," Dio cut him off, frowning grumpily. He loved Luciola, but the bodyguard, friend, and constant companion was interrupting the time he'd finally wrestled from his schedule to be with Claus.
"C'mon," Luciola sighed, "Cicada will come looking for us if we don't hurry."
Dio started towards him. Claus didn't think; his hand just reached out and caught the pale boy as he passed.
"Meet me here on Christmas?" he heard himself ask hopefully. His eyes searched Dio's, looking for the reassurance he usually found there.
An oversized smile broke out across Dio's lips. Claus wanted to see him on Christmas? Maybe his efforts were finally paying off.
"Okay!" he chirped, barely resisting the urge to dance in place. Instead, he turned and traipsed his way through the deep snow to reach Luciola's side.
It was only after they were out of sight that Claus realized they hadn't set a time.
Snow whirled around Claus' head in airborne eddies as he trudged down Main Street, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his knee-length, tawny trench coat. A grey-and-white plaid scarf, last years gift from Lavie, was wrapped tightly around his neck and the lower half of his face. Shivering, he buried his ruddy nose into the warmth until only his big blue eyes were visible.
To his right and across the street, lighted store windows displayed the wares available within. Claus had been searching for nearly an hour, but he still hadn't found anything he deemed worthy of presenting to Dio.
He stopped dead. The streetlamp over his head cast only a short shadow onto the snow-slicked pavement before him. His heart pounded in his throat as shock permeated every cell of his body.
When had Dio begun to mean so much to him?
This wasn't supposed to happen. He was a commoner; Dio was nobility. He was serious, and Dio acted oblivious and carefree. He piloted run-down vanships; Dio had access to Guild's newest ships.
His mind ran over his past with Dio. Dio playfully kissing him. Dio teasing him about the condition of his dad's vanship. Dio's warm, dark eyes. Dio's quick, eager smile. Dio's embrace, whether it was full of childish playfulness, fearful desperation, or genuine happiness.
Claus forced his legs to start moving again. The wet corduroy of his pants rubbed uncomfortably against his legs and his soaked socks irritated the soles of his feet. It all reminded him of how much he wanted to get back to Lavie and Alvis and the warm fire they no doubt had blazing.
He finally came to a stop in front of a familiar, well-lit shop. The sign overhead read Silvana Mechanics. He pushed the door open, wondering if Ethan had any new inventions or toys that might suit the object of his affections.
"Oi, Claus!" a voice called from the counter as he stepped through the door. It was Gale; he was sitting on a wooden crate behind the register and toying with a screwdriver and a shapeless block of iron. His eyes lit up at the sight of his favorite customer before Ethan stood up and blocked his view.
"Hey kid," greeted Godwin's gruff voice from behind Claus before Ethan could do more than wave with the hand that wasn't clenched around the neck of a nearly-empty bottle of Scotch.
Claus turned to see the scruffy, deeply tanned head mechanic. Though he hid any outward signs of pleasure at the sight of his young friend, his eyes sparkled with warmth and familiarity. Claus smiled and returned his greeting.
"Didn't you already get something for Lavie?" Gale asked. Curiosity and a touch of jealousy suffused the expression of his pale, elfin face.
"Yeah. Actually, I was looking for something I could give to Dio..." His voice trailed away and he fidgeted, blushing, as he realized how stupid he must sound. A commoner searching for a gift that a noble would actually cherish? It was hopeless.
Gale lapsed into a grumpy, jealous silence, but to Claus' surprise, Ethan and Kostabi jumped up with huge smiles dominating their faces. Claus was suddenly apprehensive, looking from one Cheshire-Cat grin to the other.
"Look no further!" Kostabi announced dramatically.
"We have exactly what you need, and it's right here!" Ethan finished.
They stepped back, gesturing overzealously towards a glass case pushed up against the back wall of the shop. Claus stepped forward and peered cautiously through the reflective plexiglass.
The first item his eyes fell upon was a small pocket watch. It was nestled into a bed of soft-looking, dark blue velvet that contrasted beautifully with the watch's silver finish. Engraved across the front was an intricate script "E," made up of intertwining roses. Next to it was a tiny plaque card, printed in fine lettering on stiff, off-white paper, that read "Warning: May spontaneously combust."
Only if I was shopping for Delphine, he thought with a touch of wry amusement, shifting uneasily onto his other foot.
The next item was a small, gold telescope. He barely spared it a cursory glance; Dio wasn't a pirate. After that followed a tiny locket that opened with the touch of a button, a gaudy toy train, and a life-sized robot dog that ran on Claudia-what a waste.
Then he saw it.
In the back corner of the case, almost hidden by its blue velvet cushions, was a small, perfect replica of the same model of Guild ship Dio had been piloting when Claus met him.
The wind tugged at his hair like tiny, playful fingers as he maneuvered his vanship through a moist whisp of cloud. Lavie shouted information forward to him, her energetic voice nearly snatched away by the wind. He shouted something back and his hands tightened on the controls, turning the vanship into a smooth roll. Further instruction from Lavie, and he dropped to a lower altitude.
Suddenly a white, four-pointed star entered his peripheral vision. Turning his head, he could see that it was Guild's sleek new model. The closed cockpit prevented him from seeing the pilot or navigator before the ship began toying with them.
Pearly wings sliced the air as the ship rolled into a series of impressive, perfectly executed turns. Claus' pride and curiosity overrode his professionalism, and he found himself joining the game. He copies the moves, adding an extra spiral to the finish. The star-shaped ship repeated the moves, this time with his spiral and another spin.
The game continued for over half an hour. When Claus finished his round with an Immelman Turn, the other pilot suddenly landed. Confused, Claus followed him to the ground.
The cockpit slid open with a sharp "hiss," and out jumped a slim boy with white hair and an open, eager face.
"Wow," he gushed, "Your Immelman Turn was amazing!" He rushed forward with his companion, a taller boy with close-cropped blond hair, as Claus dropped from his vanship to the dying grass beneath.
Claus merely stared at the boy as he ran circles around him and Lavie. The boy was making engine sounds and holding up his hands to imitate a ship in flight. The second boy's face was impassive as he watched his childish companion.
"Ne, can you show my how to turn like that, Immelman?" the white-haired boy asked, stopping suddenly and throwing his arms around Claus' neck from behind.
Claus found himself smiling. To keep from embarrassing himself further, he quickly bought the replica and left the shop.
The wall seemed innocent enough. In fact, there didn't seem to be anything special about it at all. The white paint was smooth and even, and there was no decoration on this particular stretch.
Still, Dio frowned at it. His chin-length white hair was tousled from all the times he'd run his pale fingers through it. He had one day until Christmas, and he still couldn't figure out what to get Claus.
Being a noble, he didn't have a lot of experience in dealing with common people. Normally this didn't bother him, but now he was finding it rather troublesome. He had no idea what Claus might want, much less what he might need.
He swore and got up. Pressing his ear against the heavy oak door, he listened for Luciola. The soft murmur of the blond's voice reached his ears, along with the low baritone of his older brother's. Good, Cicada's presence would distract Luciola for a while.
He crossed to the other side of the room and pushed the window open, easing it past the halfway point where the smooth wooden surfaces squeaked past each other. Placing his hands on the window sill, he jumped up and struggled to lift his upper body over the ledge.
His arms gave in about halfway through, and he tumbled back to the ground, landing with a soft whump! on the thick, dark green carpet. Swearing internally, he strained his ears to catch any sound that would indicate that Luciola had heard something. Hearing nothing himself, he dragged a footstool over to the window and climbed up on it to try again.
He succeeded this time. Pulling his coat around himself tightly, he dropped down into the snow four feet below his first-floor window. After throwing one last glance over his shoulder, he turned and raced for the nearby lights of the town.
Two hours later, he still hadn't found anything. It didn't help that every little thing the commoners did was fascinating to him. He was frowning again as he watched the other pedestrians hurrying past, their arms loaded with packages. The companionship between many of them made him wonder if Luciola had noticed his absence yet. Probably; they were never apart for long.
Suddenly his eyes landed on the sign for the run-down shop across the street. He recognized the name, Silvana Mechanics, from many of his conversations with Claus. His expression lighting up with hope, he hurried across the road.
The shop appeared to be empty, but a bell chimed softly over his head as he pushed the door open. A figure stepped from the back room as if the bell had conjured him. The man was tall, with shoulder-length dark hair that fell in waves over his pale face. His dark eyes burned into Dio's, and the younger boy grinned with curiosity and excitement.
"Can I help you?" the man asked. His voice was deep and gravelly, like the bottom of a deep well. Dio steadied himself and met the man's dark grey eyes.
"I need something for Claus," he told the older man, never bothering to question the likelihood of this man's knowing his friend.
The man smiled, though it didn't touch his eyes. "I hoped you might come," he told Dio, "I've got something I think he'd appreciate."
Dio followed the manager to the back room. Standing on a worktable in the middle of the room, Dio saw a small replica of Claus' beat-up vanship. He gasped in awe, examining the sleek silver metal and tiny axels. Lifting one hand, he brushed a gentle fingertip against the dent in one side of the tiny ship. He recognized it as one he himself had left on the real vanship.
"It's perfect," he breathed, his own grey eyes sparkling with joy and relief.
"Thank you..." he trailed off as the man handed him the wrapped package.
"Row," he told Dio, his voice monotone, "Alex Row."
"Thank you, Row-san," Dio repeated, smiling gratefully at his helper.
I can't believe we didn't set a time, Claus groaned internally, pulling his thick coat more tightly around himself. He'd only been waiting for Dio for about ten minutes, but the icy wind bit right through his heavy winter clothing. The lights on his little tree, run by a generator, gave off the only illumination in the area. He settled himself down into the snow, hoping Dio would show soon.
Not long after, a head as white as the snow popped over the ridge. Dio looked around furtively, checking for Luciola. Seeing no sign of his bodyguard, he slipped and slip down the incline to his waiting friend.
"Immelman!" he exclaimed breathlessly as he hit level ground. He failed to stop himself as he and Claus met, and they collided. The snowy ground rushed up to meet them as they collapsed in each other's arms, laughing.
"I'm sorry," Claus panted through his giggling. He smiled as he pushed Dio up and retrieved the package he'd dropped.
He held the gift out to Dio, turning his blushing face away. The box had been wrapped by Lavie; every crease was as pristine as her mechanical repairs.
Dio's eyes widened, as did the smile on his face. He took the package from Claus, placing his own gift in the other's hands. His usual impatient, eager manner took over then, and he stripped the bright paper from the package. His breath caught upon seeing the shiny model inside.
"Claus," he breathed, lifting his eyes to Claus' warm blue irises. Claus smiled at him before returning his gaze to the gift in his own hands. More carefully than Dio, he pulled back the paper on his own box. His eyes landed on the tiny vanship and his expression matched the one Dio had just worn.
"Th-thank you..." he stuttered, his eyes locked with the grey ones.
"Do you like it?" Dio asked, sounding uncharacteristically shy and uncertain.
Claus smiled affectionately and stepped forward, taking Dio's free hand in his own. Swallowing his nervousness, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Dio's pale mouth.
"Merry Christmas, Dio," he murmured, pulling the other to him.