Christmas Day

I'm jolted out of sleep by something landing on top of the bed.

"Mama! Mama! You have to see this!" Opening my eyes, I see a pair of mismatched eyes beaming at me. Her disheveled hair the only indication that she just got out of bed.

"What is it Vivio?" Hayate-chan mumbles from her place at my chest.

"He came! He really came!" Now she's jumping on the bed. I can already hear Erin running from her room to check the living room.

No point trying to rest now. I sit up, ignoring my wife's protests as she clings to my shirt. Putting on the brightest smile I can muster at the moment, I ask, "Who came, Vivio?"

Her smile gets even brighter as she takes a deep breath. "The elf!"

"Santa-san was here!" Erin rushes in as well, one of the presents in her hands. "Ka-san. Ka-chan. Can we open them?"

I manage to force a laugh at my kids' antics. Really Hayate-chan, an elf was the best you could come up with. "Now, now you two. Erin, put the present back for now, and give us some time to get dressed. The others will be here soon."

The two girls groan before reluctantly exiting the room.

I try to get up, only to be pulled back onto the bed, my wife's head now firmly planted in my chest.

"They can wait a few more hours."

I sigh to myself. I'll give her ten more minutes.

"Just how many did you guys get?" I bring my coffee mug up to my lips and stare at the redhead sitting next to me. "A couple of pairs of clothes and they would be fine. No need to get them all of this." She takes a sip from her mug. "Besides, they'll just get bored of them. And they probably won't even wear the holiday stuff you got them."

And yet I can't help but notice Vita-chan already wearing the bright red scarf we got for her. The puffy Santa hat definitely didn't help her if she was trying to make a point.

It was Hayate-chan's idea. Honest.

"Then again, she does have a point." Shamal-san takes a quick drink while Erin tears into her fourth present. "Isn't fourteen presents a bit much for their first Christmas?"

Fourteen?

"Huh? We only got ten." Hayate-chan starts counting the presents that are still left. "See, there are only…"

Huh? I didn't notice before, but there are four more presents than we left last night. Same wrapping paper and everything.

Without a word, everyone turns to look at Signum-san. Said swordswoman proceeds to calmly take another sip from her coffee. Why am I not surprised? She does tend to spoil them whenever she gets the chance.

Oh well, I guess this just means they get some extra presents. Nothing to bad, right.

And I'm immediately proven wrong when Vivio holds up a very new, and very expensive video game. Something we had decided we wouldn't get when we saw it on her list.

Seconds later, Erin pulls out another game. Okay, now we're glaring at her.

"I tried to stop her." Agito lets out a defeated groan, earning her a reassuring pat from Rein. "I told her it was too much. She bought them anyway."

That's it. We seriously need to have a talk with her later.

Signum-san, defeated, turns away in embarrassment. I hear her mumble 'traitor' into her coffee before I turn my attention back to my kids.

I stretch out on the bed, completely satisfied.

Aside from a few, setbacks, our first Christmas had turned out rather well. The girls enjoyed their gifts, and were now spending time playing with them.

From down the hall, I could hear sounds from the new video game system. I sigh. At the very least, it will get them to play together.

But did she really have to get something so expensive. How did she afford all this anyways.

Before I could pursue this line of thought, a hand appears at the corner of my vision. I pick up my head to see my wife motioning for me to follow her.

Suppressing a groan, I get up and follow her. "What is it, Hayate-chan?" She shushes me.

I can hear voices coming from the guest room.

"No, no. I'm at Nanoha's place for Christmas. You remember, I told you last week."

"Oh, right. That Earth holiday you mentioned. Sorry, I forgot."

I smile. Tilting my head slightly, I peek into the room. Sitting on the bed is Fate-chan, talking to another blonde through a holo-screen. It certainly was a surprise that she decided to visit, especially after… everything that happened between us. But I'm happy nonetheless.

Then again, hearing Vivio and Erin call her "Aunt Fate" when she arrived was worth it. If just for the smile on her face.

"So that's her, huh?" My wife whispers. I'm a bit surprised as well. From what little she told us I expected her to be a lot more… I don't know, masculine.

"Sorry, I'm planning to visit my family tomorrow through New Years. I haven't seen them in a while, and probably won't with all the work I have."

The woman in the holo-screen shrugged. "Probably for the best anyways. There's a ton of work sitting on my desk I have to get through." She groaned. "The general's going to have my head if I don't finish it."

"I see." Fate-chan's brow furrows in thought.

My wife chose this moment to let herself be known. "You should come next year! We'll save a spot for you at the table!"

I couldn't stop myself from giggling at how Fate-chan jumped. Her supposed girlfriend's expression pushed me over the edge however.

"Really? I'll be sure to save the date then." She just took the sudden outburst in stride.

Hayate-chan smiled and added, "Bring a present."

I could see her laugh through the screen. "I thought I was going to be the present." I'm starting to like her already.

"Geez. You two." Puffing out her cheeks as best she could, Fate-chan walked over to us. It was really hard to stop myself from laughing at just how red she got.

With a small sigh, she smiled. "I'll tell you the details later." Before she closed the door, she managed to mutter out a small "thanks".

"Well, that was fun." With a small spring in her step, my wife walks down the hallway towards the now empty living room.

Taking a look around, I see Vivio hovering around the table in the kitchen, watching Vita, Shamal-san, and Zafira play some card game. Outside, I can see Signum-san showing Erin some sword moves with the new wooden sword she got.

Rein-chan and Agito-chan had dozed off in one of the rooms. Which left just the two of us alone for the first time since this morning.

Suddenly, I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist. When did she get behind me? "Well, Nanoha-chan? How do you think we did?"

I only had to look around to see just how we did. Back home, Christmas is considered a time for family and friends, with material gifts being a source of extra joy and happiness. Looking around, I see a typical Japanese Christmas.

I turn in my wife's arms. "Not bad for our first Christmas." She simply smiles and nods upwards. Above me is a piece of hastily pinned mistletoe.

Just what am I supposed to do with her?

"Merry Christmas, Nanoha-chan."

I smile, wrap my arms around her, and lean in for a kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Hayate-chan."

Author's Note: And that's that. Just something I thought up about a week ago and thought I would write and upload. I like to think I'm getting better at first-person, but I would love to hear feedback. Good or bad. Doesn't matter, just say something. Hope you all enjoyed, and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.