Chapter 2

We brought the Noble Fir we had cut down back into the Snack, setting it into the tree stand that Jun had already prepared. After we filled the stand with water, we spent about half an hour debating whether or not it was straight; such was our time-honored ritual. But eventually we both agreed it was perfect.

And looking at Jun, I knew it could have been one of those damn Charlie Brown trees, and it still would have been perfect.

It was Christmas Eve, and I was home again.

My experiences over the last eighteen months had taught me that this was all I had ever wanted. To Hell with the races and the cars; this was what mattered most.

I just hoped that whatever plans Dr. Raphael had for me wouldn't interfere.

"Let's get started decorating it." I suggested, moving toward the boxes of ornaments and lights that Jun had set aside.

"We can't." Jun said. "Ken's not here yet."

"What?"

"Ken told me that he wanted to decorate the tree with us," Jun explained, "but he had some deliveries to make this morning. He's supposed to be here in a couple of hours."

I stood there, speechless. Ken? Ken wanted to be involved with Christmas?

"But while we're waiting, I have something I want to show you." Jun continued, taking my hand and pulling me toward the stairs to her living area.

"Come with me, Joe." she begged prettily, and nervously I wondered what it was she wanted of me in her private living quarters.

"Why does Ken want to decorate with us?" I asked, more to distract myself from the sudden images dancing through my mind than anything else.

"Well, essentially, it seems that all of these years he hasn't wanted to participate in Christmas because it reminded him too much of the family he lost… specifically, his mother. But last year we had a talk, and I pointed out to him that we are his family, and there was nothing stopping him from celebrating with us."

Jun stopped just above me at the top of the stairs and looked down sternly at me, using her temporary advantage of height to full effect.

"Sound like anyone you know, Joe?"

I grinned, understanding that she was referring to that Christmas two years ago, where I had shut myself away in my trailer because the holiday was too much of a painful reminder of my family. It had been Jun who had pulled me out of that depression, and that was the night I had remembered most often while I had been recovering in Dr. Raphael's lab.

"You know best, Jun." I winked at her, and she smiled softly, leaning over to brush her lips against my cheek.

"And don't you forget it." she whispered, but her tone was full of laughter.

She pulled away, and I had to fight an urge to touch the spot on my cheek that her lips had just occupied. For a moment, I felt like an awkward schoolboy coming face to face with the object of his first crush.

"Anyhow," Jun said, as if this interlude had never occurred, "last year he wasn't the only one with issues. I…"

I became concerned at her pause, particularly when Jun stopped pulling me along for a moment.

"What is it, Jun?" I asked, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. She turned to me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"It's silly…" she shook her head, brushing at her eyes with the back of her hand. "For awhile, I was avoiding Christmas last year too."

"Why?" I asked, tilting her face up, forcing her to look at me.

"I couldn't face it without you." Jun admitted. "It all seemed so empty and meaningless, and every time I turned around there were reminders of you… and you were gone…"

"If it helps. I was thinking about you last year as well." I confessed. "It wasn't much of a holiday, but I remembered past Christmases with you."

One night in particular…

"I was hiding away from everyone." Jun said quietly. "I couldn't deal with your… absence. Until I found this…"

She pulled away from me, walking to a closet a few feet away and opening it. She pulled out three boxes, then closed the door.

"These are yours, Joe." she said simply.

I stared at the non-descript boxes on the floor, but picked them up and carried them into Jun's tiny living room as she directed me. I placed them on the coffee table, then sat down next to her on the couch.

"I was the one who cleaned out your trailer." Jun said. "I couldn't bear to see them get rid of all of your things, so I boxed up what I thought was important… things that reminded me of you."

"Thank you." I whispered. It was all I could think of to say to this gesture… to think that Jun wanted to keep my things… not for me, but for her…

Carefully, I opened the boxes, one after the other. Inside was jumble of items, representing my life before I had 'left' the Science Ninja Team.

Reverently, I touched each item. That life seemed a million miles away, yet, just for a moment, I recalled everything with vivid clarity.

My first black belt… my racing trophies… my brush and comb… my leather jacket… my favorite shirt before we had been assigned civilian uniforms… car repair tools…

If I had had to abandon my trailer suddenly, these were exactly the things I would have taken from it.

"I found them last Christmas Eve, and I decided that you could be a part of our Christmas after all." Jun said softly. "I took a few things and gave them to the others… to bring you closer to us."

"You gave my things away…" I was confused.

"You already know about your lucky gloves." Jun rushed to explain. "I gave those to Ryu, but he could never bear to wear them. I gave your shaver to Jinpei, and needless to say, he hasn't used that either." Jun winked, and I laughed, picturing Jinpei's smooth face. It would be another couple of years at least, before that boy needed a shave.

"They both said that you could have them back, if you still wanted them." Jun offered.

"Tell Jinpei he can keep the shaver." I replied. "ISO gave me a new one. But I'd like to hold on to the gloves." Unconsciously, I put my hand into my back pocket, fingering the soft leather there. I had unconsciously shoved the gloves into my pocket once we had returned from Hakase's house.

"I think Ryu would like that." Jun smiled.

"Anything else?" I asked her.

"I gave your socket wrenches to Ken." Jun revealed. "He used them on his airplane, and they're certainly not in the same condition they were. He offered to buy you new ones, if you wanted."

"No, that's all right." I said, momentarily bemoaning the fact that I no longer had a car to work on. "I don't need them anymore."

Jun nodded, then sat quietly as I continued to look through the things. Something suddenly occurred to me.

"What about you, Jun?" I asked her. "Did you keep anything… ?"

She looked startled for a moment, then nodded again.

"I did." she admitted, as if she were confessing a deep secret. "I'll show you."

Jun stood up, and walked away from the couch. Curiously I followed, wondering what was going on.

Jun and Jinpei's living quarters above the Snack were pretty tiny. Although I had been up there a handful of times before, there was one particular place I had never been. It quickly became evident that that was exactly where Jun was taking me.

Her room.

Cautiously, I stepped into the room, looking about with great interest. Unlike other girls' rooms I had seen, Jun didn't have clothes strewn everywhere, or makeup scattered across a vanity. Neither did she have an over-abundance of flowers and lace. Jun's room was confident and feminine, much like herself, but without all of the frills and paraphernalia I might have expected.

"There." Jun said, pointing at something.

I followed the direction of her slim arm to the corner of the room...

Jun was pointing at her bed.

Holding my breath, I moved closer, unconsciously reaching out toward the item that lay upon it.

My old blanket.

I sat down, pulling it into my lap, my hands fingering the rough wool from which it was made. Memories came flooding back, threatening to overwhelm me with my own emotions. I remembered Jun wrapping me in this blanket, using her own arms to ensure that I wouldn't throw it off.

I had sat with Jun under this blanket, when it had become clear that she was getting cold, too.

We had spent the night in each other's arms, underneath this blanket, lying together in my bed that Christmas Eve when I had thought all hope and joy had been lost.

This blanket was the personification of that night… a night that I had never spoken of afterward, even to Jun, but one that had remained with me, and become a part of me. A night that had defined who I was, and what was important to me.

I sat there for a moment, lost in thought, until I suddenly realized something.

Jun had felt the same way.

She would never have kept this blanket otherwise. She had boxes of things from my trailer, yet this was what she had wanted most.

That night had been as special for her, as it had been for me.

I looked up at her, not knowing what to say, yet desperately wanting to communicate the importance of this revelation I had just been privy to.

Without saying a word, Jun sat down beside me and unfolded the blanket. She wrapped it around the two of us, laying her head on my shoulder, as my arms embraced her.

We sat there in silence, each of us remembering that night in our own way.

I truly had come home.