It was a particularly quiet and cold Christmas Eve. Suddenly the openness and completely wooden structure of Mahogany Manor didn't seem like such a good thing, because it meant cold winds swept through with ease, and it was too risky to set up a roaring fireplace to cancel the bitter breezes out. So Xephos took refuge in the barn, where the gentle hum of the machines provided a miniscule but pleasantly noticeable atmosphere of heat.

Even if it was Christmas Eve, the spaceman saw no reason to waste time that could be spent working. Sure, it would be nice to spend a nice, lazy time lounging around Baked Bean Fort with the guys, and paying a visit to Lomadia and Nilesy's farm – but that could wait until tomorrow. Even if Xephos was tired and shivering, he could at least utilise the peace and quiet in order to get some valuable work around the farm done. So he carried on working, even as the dull reddish sun began to dip below the clouds, and snow began to swirl down relentlessly. He dug around in the chest labelled 'Tools of the Force!' in search of his Force pickaxe, quietly singing to himself.

Piles of apple pies,

Stacked up to the skies

Down on Sjin's farm

With you…

He frowned and trailed off as he couldn't find his pick, and he began checking the labels of chests as he began to think about where else he or Sjin may have put it. Sjin then wandered into the barn absent-mindedly, a steaming mug in each hand.

"I made some hot chocolate out of some of our spare cocoa beans." He announced, making Xephos turn and smile at him. "Thought I'd say thanks for being super helpful around the farm this year, Xeph." He handed Xephos a mug, before blowing away the steam billowing from his own. Xephos took the mug and hugged it close to his chest, letting the warmth bleed into his body, which was severely lacking any form of heat. Sjin drank deep from his mug, and Xephos copied, letting the sweet sugary elixir swill luxuriously down his throat, filling his body with warmth. He trembled, giving Sjin a grateful smile, before placing his mug down with a clink and continuing the search for his pickaxe.

"Whatcha looking for, Xeph?" Sjin asked, his voice both muffled and echoed by the mug.

"I'm looking for my pick." Xephos explained, hands on hips as he began rooting through other chests, though he doubted he would find anything. "Have you seen it?"

"No, I haven't. I'll help you look for it, though." Sjin offered, and he too began looking through the chests. It was made a little easier by the basic sorting system Xephos had set up a while back, but it was still a little crude and hectic – sometimes rifling through every single chest was the only option. After a while of finding nothing, Xephos gave up with a huffed sigh and dumped himself down on one of the searched chests moodily, clasping his cooling mug in his hand. He snuggled down into his scarf, shivering. While he enjoyed the snow, he wasn't fond of the freezing cold weather that accompanied it, and the open barn only emphasised this every time a bitter wind blew through. Even though Xephos huddled down even further in his red coat, Lomadia still felt the need to get him a scarf. She'd suggested getting one for Lalna and Honeydew as well, since one of the many 'perks' of space was that it was very chilly, especially at night – but Xephos was amazed to report that neither of them seemed to notice the weather very much, since over his clothes Lalna only wore his thin labcoat, and Honeydew insisted on walking round bare-chested as usual. Those two only seemed to even realise it was snowing when the door to Baked Bean Fort had finally caved in to the powdery white menace. Xephos chuckled as he thought about it, and began humming again, tapping his foot against a chest that Sjin had finished searching.

Marshmallows on sticks,

And tasty squid bits all ready,

Fried through.

Oh the beer is all br–

Xephos stopped when he noticed that Sjin was staring at him, a distant look in his eyes. "Did you find it?" Xephos asked eagerly.

"No." Sjin said, slowly lowering the lid of a chest. "No…it's just…that song…it brings back a lot of…memories…"

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry." Xephos said, shrugging, feeling a little insensitive. Though the song had a jolly tone, it did mark the complete and utter obliteration of Sjin's original farm, thanks to the sadistic scarecrow Strawfingers. Xephos gave a small smile, before sighing, exasperated. "Okay, so we can't find the pick. That's fine, it just means we won't be able to grind up the ores we collect – you see I was hoping to go mining, and that pick would have really sped things up, but now I'll have to–"

"Xephos?" Sjin interrupted. "Do you want to…go home?"

"Go…home?" The statement was especially vague to Xephos. Back home where, exactly? His home planet, wherever that may be? Simon's old shack? The YogCave? The Jaffa Factory? Moonbase Jaffa? Baked Bean Fort? Or just up the stairs into Mahogany Manor?

"I mean, go back to Baked Bean Fort." Sjin clarified. "Or wherever. I mean…do you want to go home early? For Christmas?"

"Oh. Well…uh…I mean, I don't mind."

"Well…I do. Sorry, Xeph, but I think I'd just rather be alone tonight." Sjin said, sounding weary, not at all like his usual bumbling, bubbly and energetic self.

"Well, if that's what you want, Sjin." Xephos said, feeling as deflated as Sjin looked. Suddenly, Sjin noticed the spaceman's eyes brighten and widen with glee. "Wait-wait-wait-wait!" he said, tugging on Sjin's sleeve.

"Wait? For what…?" Sjin said, as Xephos hurriedly ushered him out of the barn. Xephos shook his head insistently, firmly pushing him out into the courtyard. "Xephos...come on…this is my farm…you can't…"

"Hang on, hang on!" Xephos repeated, darting back into the barn. "Just gotta do something!"

Sjin watched as the Spaceman ran back into the barn, and Sjin heard the clunks and clatters of many chests being opened and closed in a frantic search. He tried to suppress his irritation – not only at the fact that he wanted to be left alone and he very plainly wasn't; but more at the fact that Xephos just seemed to be delaying the inevitable. Even if he stayed the night, the next day – Christmas day – he would head on down to Baked Bean Fart and enjoy a day of laughs and presents with Lalna and Honeydew. Or spend a romantic Christmas with Lomadia. Xephos may have been different and 'alien' compared to everyone else, but he always had someone there for him. He was so well-liked, so respected, that even someone like Rythian or Zoeya – normally very secretive ad antisocial – wouldn't refuse an invitation to one of his Christmas parties. He always had someone to go back to. Always someone to be with; share the warmth with on a cold, crisp evening, snuggling up next to a roaring fire.

Sjin didn't have anyone like that. Half the people on the server were baying for Sjin's blood, despite his insistence that his days of dabbling in destructive high explosives were behind him and he was now turning his attention to 'feeding the world'. But nobody really believed him, and even if they said they did there was still a wary tone to their voice.

Sjin was alone. He didn't have anybody.

Well…

He thought, as his eyes drifted to the frosty statue standing motionless in the parked wooden cart.

It wasn't always like that.

He had had Sips, once upon a time – and with him, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter if everyone on the server hated him; as long as he was with Sips, he could crack jokes, goof around and generally have a good time, despite the growing price on his head. Together they'd earned an infamous reputation for their nefarious activities, all while establishing one of the most successful dirt manufacturing corporations in Minecraftia.

But that had been so long ago. Sjin had tried to carry on, but it didn't work. Not without Sips by his side. That's why he'd turned his attention to farming – to try and forget about those days; to move on, no longer bogged down by the past. SipsCo had been such an industrial and corporate environment, so he'd began investing in a hobby that was the exact opposite. But every time he planted a crop, he couldn't help but think about how much faster it might grow on SipsCo brand dirt. And it pained him every single time. And once again; he'd been so happy when Sips had finally been retrieved from Mars, longing for the glory of the old days to return, but his hopes had been crushed when attempt after attempt to thaw out his companion had failed, and his heart twanged with sorrow every time he looked at his best friend's expressionless face, immortalised in stone.

Sjin wandered up to him now, running his hand over the smooth stone of Sips' arm, ice cold to the touch from exposure to the frost. As Sjin swept off some of the tiny star-shaped snowflakes, he noticed Sips' eyes were glassy and cold, and their dull, dead look only made Sjin feel worse. He sighed, slumping against the frosted wood of the cart as he slid to the ground. It was freezing but he didn't care. The clammy wetness seeping through his dungarees was nothing compared to the cold, empty ache he felt in the pit of his stomach. As a chilly wind blew through his hair, Sjin hugged himself tightly, rocking back against the cart. He began to softly sing to himself, barely louder than a whisper.

Pool boys from the Interview Chamber Choir

Still singing; 'SipsCo hooray'

But no dirt is shipping out

On Christmas day…

Sjin felt his voice crack and cursed himself, before snapping to attention as Xephos bounded back into view, a gleeful beam on his face, hands behind his back. Sjin rolled his eyes. Some people had every reason to be happy.

For a moment, Xephos' smile faltered, as he looked down at Sjin, concerned. "Sjin? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just…thinking about stuff." He said, shrugging.

"Is it about that stuff I said earlier?" Xephos said, looking guilty. Sjin managed a weak chuckle.

"About the old farm? Nah, it's not that. Just…some other stuff that's been bothering me lately. Don't worry about it." Sjin put on a false smile as he caught hold of the edge of the cart and pulled himself to his feet. "You go home and enjoy your Christmas, Xephos."

"Oh!" Xephos' smile returned. "Yeah, I'll try, Sjin." He blinked and squirmed awkwardly for a moment, not meeting Sjin's eye. "Uh…you…uh…you enjoy your Christmas too, Sjin. Thanks for letting me help around the farm…and stuff. It's a nice change of scenery." Xephos gabbled, extending his arms out and revealing that he held a very well-wrapped present in them, meticulous in its attention to detail – and in cursive script on its label, it read 'For Sjin'.

Sjin was so shocked that he didn't actually take the present; rather, Xephos stuffed it into his hands, murmured something along the lines of 'goodbye' and began walking away at an unusually fast pace. Sjin hadn't been expecting a present, much less anything decent (the closest thing to a present he expected was an activated nuke from Lalna or a Taint Swarm from Kim), so it was with a mixture of excitement, suspicion and intrigue that he carefully undid the ribbon and pulled off the wrapping paper. As he opened the box, he caught a scent – a familiar mix of scents – a blend of herbs and spices and earthly smells that only one man knew how to combine so masterfully. With increased urgency Sjin pulled off the lid and tipped out the contents, only to be truly amazed at what he saw.

A steaming block of SipsCo brand dirt. Factory condition. Priceless. Incredibly rare. Perhaps even unique. Why, Sjin hadn't seen one of these in a long time, not since…

He glanced first at Sips, then at the tiny red-coated speck in the distance, making its way towards the wooden slab of a platform in the distance, bathed in the lilac light of a nearby Nether portal.

How had Xephos even got a hold of this? Sjin didn't remember him buying any of it before – he would have remembered someone from Honeydew Inc. 'fraternising with the enemy', especially since they'd questioned from the start the legitimacy of a dirt-manufacturing business. But when else could he have got it? Surely, when the factory had fallen into ruin, most of the dirt products had decomposed along with it – and any that remained were surely corrupted by moss or plants or even taint? And even if that weren't the case, surely when the factory toppled, the entire site had been too dangerous to enter; off-limits to everyone?

Sjin shrugged to himself. He didn't know how the spaceman had done it, but he may have given him the best Christmas present ever. Even better than mahogany doors. Sjin grinned and leant back against the cart, putting his hands behind his head and using them as a pillow, and resting his feet on the block of dirt. He glanced up at Sips.

"Merry Christmas, buddy. And a dirty new year."

He could have sworn he saw a happy twinkle in Sips' eye. He hoped Xephos would have the same twinkle when Sjin told him how much he loved his present.

A/N: Yes, I am well aware it isn't Christmas. But when I saw this prompt from randombrethren on tumblr - well, it had to be done.

Le prompt: Imagine Christmas at Sjin's farm, and Sjin tells Xephos that he wants to be alone for a bit, and Sjin goes to the statue of Sips and sits down, leaning against it, and sings, quietly and with his voice breaking:

"Pool boys in the interview chamber choir,
Were singing "Sips Co, Hooray."
And the dirt was shipping out,
For Christmas day…"

AJ