Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Post series, spoilers apply. Takes place after The Changed Tomorrow, spoilers apply there also. See, I'm still working on this! Just very slowly (The fact that I decided I was unhappy with the direction I was going and scrapped didn't help). Basically, everything is like it is in 'In Which Domon's Life is Neverending Pain' in this story (although there is no mention of that particular fic in this one).

--

Kara couldn't put her finger on it, but there was definitely something off about Commander Sion lately.

It couldn't be the state of the Time Bureau. Even if they did still have their fair share of malcontents, the Commander had managed to almost single-handedly start successful partnerships with both the planetary and interstellar branches of the Police Forces-- not to mention all the charitable works he'd spear-headed since accepting his promotion to Commander. Their public approval rating was higher than it had been since Ryuuta had first taken over, thanks to his efforts. And it couldn't be that he was lonely-- at least, not now that one of his old teammates was his Security Chief. So as far as Kara could tell, Commander Sion had no reason to sometimes stare off into space or suddenly become very quiet during lunch... and yet he was.

If it had been anyone else, she would have asked him what was wrong. But she had served under the Commander long enough to know that he'd just smile, assure her he was fine, and repeat that until she'd forgotten what they were talking about in the first place.

So she decided to ask the one person at the Time Bureau who might have an idea what was off about her Commander.

--

"No, Kara!" Lieutenant Domon pulled his box lunch to him protectively. "The whole point of a lunch break is that you can't give me any forms to sign during it. Now get out before you find a loophole in even that rule."

"I don't want your signature, I promise. Just your time." Kara held her hands up in front of her. "I'd like to talk to you about the Commander."

"Oh, yeah?" He gave her a wary glance. "What about him?"

"Is it just me, of has he been... kind of out of it lately?"

The wariness was gone in Domon's expression, now replaced with worry. "So you noticed it, too?" He put his lunch away (and if Kara needed any sort of proof that something was up with both of them, that was it). "I don't get it myself; things have been running pretty smoothly this December..." Domon's eyes went wide as his voice trailed off.

Great, now Domon was getting quiet for no reason, too. "Lieutenant?"

"We've been so busy; I'd almost forgotten the date." He was talking again, but it seemed to be more to himself than her. Kara was about to press the matter further when he motioned for her to take a seat across his desk.

"Okay, let's see if I can explain this without rambling." Domon's sigh was uncharacteristically soft as he ran a hand through his hair. "You know the first mission he and I went on for the Bureau, right? The one that lasted for about a year?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, obviously, we spent Christmas in the century we were stuck in. And Tatsuya-- he was the guy we recruited for our Red-- he and Sion decided that we'd go all out celebrating it. And even when things were getting... intense, Sion kept working on the decorations."

Kara racked her brain. This would have been when Time Captain Ryuuta had briefly gone back to the year 2000 to attempt to claim the Time Red position...

"Inbetween Ryuuta and all the fighting, things must have been terrible for all of you." She stared at her hands. "So what happened?"

Domon shrugged. "Tatsuya came back, Ryuuta ran off so he could come up with a new plan to save his skin, and we had a Christmas party." He smiled slightly. "It was one of the best parties in my life, too."

The smile faded. "That's why Sion's been so down lately. You gotta understand, Sion had nothing before he joined the Bureau. So he wound up latching onto the four of us-- even though we weren't the friendliest people to know back then. Christmas was his way of proving to himself that we were a family now-- not that he needed to, at that point we..." Domon trailed off again, lost in thought. "And now, a year later, he's got nothing but the Time Bureau to keep him company."

Kara tugged on a strand of blonde hair thoughtfully. Now that she knew what was wrong with the Commander, all that was left was to do something about it, right?

"Well, why don't we have a Christmas party for him here?"

Domon glared at her. "Kara, there's a little over two thousand people employed at this branch of the Bureau alone. Do you have any idea how hard it'd be to organize--"

"Then it'll just be you and me. And the Commander, of course," she added as she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I brought a ton of decorations with me when I moved here, but since my apartment's so tiny, most of them are just collecting dust." She stood up; ready to put her plan into action... but then she stopped. "But he was raised in Japan, so maybe I should just go with the cake... what do you think, Domon?"

"I think you hit your head on the way to work today. But since your mind is made up... Kara, it's Sion. As long as there are lots of bright colors and flashy lights, he'll be happy."

He called out to her as he grinned at him gratefully before showing herself out. "Oh! But get a cake anyways, I'm starved. And maybe some cookies, too! Oh, and while you're out see if you can find one of those tiny trees, but maybe there's enough room in his office for something a little bigger..."

Domon grabbed his coat and followed her. "You know what? I'll just go with you."

--

"You can't fool me."

Domon kept his gaze fixed on the ornaments, trying to decide which one was the gaudiest. Sion was a fan of gaudy. "And what is it that I failed to fool you about?"

Kara threw some extra garland over his shoulders as she kept shopping. "You were acting like I was practically twisting your arm back at the Bureau, but now you've become my own personal Christmas tree." She beamed up at him as she tugged on the garland. "You want this as badly as the Commander does, don'tcha?"

He could swear that he felt his blood pressure go up at that remark. Kara had only known him for a few months. She shouldn't be able to read him that easily that quickly. He doubted she'd ever be able to read his face or tone the way Sion could, but still...

"As long as Sion's happy, I'm happy," he informed her levelly as he paid for buggy's worth of holiday themed food and decorations. It was going to set him back, but if it made Sion smile again, it would be more than worth it.

"We got food, we got lights, and we now have a tree," Kara reported as she put their purchases with the things they'd picked up at her place earlier. She packed carefully, very aware that not only was the sidecar to her hover cycle not exactly spacious, her personal tree/Security Chief would also be riding in there. "Do we need anything else before we head back?"

Domon gave it some thought. Anything? No. Anyone, however...

Ayase was on Mars, getting ready for his next race. Yuuri was on an undercover case. And it was painfully obvious that Tatsuya and Honami wouldn't make it. All that was left was...

"Can we stop by Sion's on the way back? We need to pick someone up."

--

"And you're sure that the Captain will only speak to me in my office?"

Kara smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry to take you away from your work, Commander, but you know how the higher ranks can be sometimes."

"I don't mind. It just seems like... an odd request, that's all."

Her smile widened as his office door swished open. "Yeah, but I think once we get there you'll understand why."

Sion was greeted by the sight of Domon and Takku, surrounded by lights and color.

Domon smiled at him. "I missed lunch to help pull this off, so I was wondering if we could start eating now?"

It took Sion awhile to find his voice, but once he did... "Of course!" He took a seat next to Takku, too happy to do anything beyond looking and resting his hand on top of Takku's head. "I just... I... I can't believe you two went through all this for me."

Kara nibbled on a cookie. "Why is it so hard to believe two officers wouldn't do something to improve the morale of their Commander?"

"Because it's Commander Sion," Domon reminded her as he helped himself to another slice of cake.

Sion decided to ignore them as he picked up Takku. "I thought you were going to stay home and re-charge today."

"I was-- until Domon told me what he had planned. I can re-charge anytime. This comes only once a year, after all."

"So, Sion," Domon said around a mouthful of cake, "Do you have any wishes for this year?"

"No, I've got my holidays straight now." Sion took in the sight of the tree and his friends. "And for today at least, I think I have everything I could ever ask for."