Disclaimer: I'm running out of witty and original ways to write these. So I'll settle with, "Don't sue me. I have cookies."
Note: Done with eighteen days to spare until Christmas. Why is that important? Cause that's when the last chapter will be posted. See you all on Christmas morning!
Note 2: I realize that I didn't include Ratchet in the conversation taking place in this chapter. There's a very good reason for it, which I can't say without giving away what happens here.
WARNINGS: A bit of Jazz/Prowl. Barely enough to require this warning, though.
READ & REVIEW ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Jessangel249 - As mentioned above, indeed I will! And yes, their manner of speech is indeed adorable (did I say that last chapter? lol).
Sweetyamiyugigirl - Now that someone mentioned the violin playing, I do have to admit it's not completely my doing. While I had the idea before I saw it, the idea came heavily from a picture on DevART by plantman-EXE. Do go and look her up if you love Jazz/Prowl slash of both the TFA and G1 variety!
Evil E. Evil, flamingmarsh, flareflight17, and Hiezen Uchiha - Thank you all for reading and reviewing! And what do I want for Christmas? Lots and lots of reviews! (And fanart wouldn't be objected to, either. If you do decide to fanart any of my fanfics, send me a PM! If you wish to post them on DevART, my penname there is purpletiger!)
PrancingTiger86 - Thanks for pointing out my mistake! It's been edited!
Chapter 10
Claus
The warehouse was completely quiet as the mechs inside recharged. The snow outside slowed to a light sprinkling for the first time in days. In Prowl's room, the two ninjabots still recharged under the bare yet decorated tree, snuggled against each other and content to stay that way until morning. That is, until Jazz's optics onlined with a start.
At first the black and white mech wasn't sure what had awakened him. Everything seemed normal enough. He checked his internal clock. 1:15am, local Earthen time. What could have woken him at such a…?
That train of thought was cut off as something seemed to melt through the ice wall surrounding the tree, seeming to not even disturb a molecule of it. It was an organic, a human, or at least it seemed to be. He was a plump old man, with a white beard and an coat of red velvet with white trim. He wore black boots and gloves. Over his shoulder he carried a large cloth sack. As he stared at the strange organic, there was only one word he could think of. "Crazy…"
The man put a finger to his lips with a, "Shh…" He gestured to Prowl, who still slept. Somehow the new presence hadn't been detected by the usually extremely alert cyber ninja. He then moved over to the tree and waved a hand in the darkness. A few candles seemed to appear from thin air. They lit the room in a mysterious dim glow. "Jazz," he then requested, turning to the mech. "Will you help an old man with his work? I am afraid I am not as young as I used to be. I am not sure if this old back could handle some of your friends'… larger gifts." Jazz wouldn't usually hesitate at helping someone in need, but he looked unsure at the mech still leaning against him. "Do not worry, he will not awaken."
Jazz gently removed Prowl from himself, lowering him to lay on the floor. Sure enough, he oddly didn't so much as twitch. "Crazy…" he repeated. He then moved over to the old man. He was lifting a gift from his bag and setting it beneath the makeshift Christmas tree. "You must be the Claus cat BB has been excited about." A moment after he said it he came to a realization. "Hey, how'd you know my name?"
The red-suited man's dark eyes twinkled. "I am indeed the one they call Santa Claus. You may, call me by my true name, Saint Nicolas. However, Nick will do if you prefer. And as for your name? Well, it is my job to know such things."
Jazz thought about it a moment before smiling. "Point well taken, Nick. What do you need help with?"
"Reach into my sack and pull out the next gift, please."
Jazz reached down and the sack seemed to expand on its own to accommodate for the size difference. The seemingly shallow (at least for the cyber ninja) bag felt much deeper when reached into. His servos found something solid and he pulled it out. It was a rectangular package, wrapped in blue paper with an orange ribbon. It was large, at least by human standards. For a Cybertronian it was barely larger than his hands. On the tag under the ribbon was written, 'To: Jetfire and Jetstorm.' "How'd your bag do that?" he asked. "Personal transwarp?"
Saint Nicolas chuckled. "Something like that."
Jazz thought of asking him further about it, but decided against it. Instead he put the gift with the other. The gift Nicolas had put down first was yellow with a teal ribbon. The tag indicated it as Bumblebee's. The one for the yellow mech was fairly large itself, though it didn't seem that way when Nicolas had put it down. He wondered how the human could carry it. "Well, these three will be glad you came by. Bumblebee especially, he's been absolutely psyched about Christmas."
"Yes, he is a spirited young one, isn't he?" the man called Claus chuckled again. "A bit brash, and more than a little impatient, but he has a good heart. That is, a good spark." He turned to the large gift Jazz had put down. "I must admit to having not the knowledge of you and your comrades that I do of the five who have been here. I can only watch those here on Earth. However, when you are here… well, you know the song, I assume?"
"You see us when we're recharging?"
"And I know when you are awake," he affirmed, nodding. "From what I have seen, though, the two other young ones deserve something special. I understand that they had a rough time before coming here."
"Yeah. Had an accident at an Energon refinery, almost offlined," Jazz answered somberly. "Then they got turned into these… sentient weapons. Never even got asked if it was what they wanted. Believe me, I know a few things about wantin' to choose my own way."
The next gift was blue and yellow, and slightly smaller than the twins'. According to the tag it was for Jazz's superior himself. "Is it true? You know, that you give people who've been bad coal?" Jazz asked curiously, putting it under the tree.
"Indeed. After all, I mustn't condone poor behavior."
"Understandably. But… well… why coal?"
"Well, I must give them something," Nicolas chuckled. "I actually cannot recall when I started giving coal, but it somehow simply stuck. It's now expected."
The ninjabot grinned. "I don't suppose SP qualifies, huh?"
The saint shook his head. "No, no. He is most certainly…" he paused a moment, searching for the proper word, "… a jerk. However, despite what many believe, being a jerk is not the same as being naughty."
The black and white ninjabot reached in and pulled out a gift the same size as Sentinel's, this time red with blue ribbon. He didn't have to guess too hard at who's it was. "Hope you didn't get Sentinel and Optimus the same present. We'll be havin' a civil war right here in the warehouse if ya did."
"Do not worry, I am not so unwise," Nicolas replied, smiling. "Quite the opposites those two are, I have observed. They could stand to learn a few things from each other. Optimus could learn a bit more confidence from Sentinel. And Sentinel… well, there is more than a few things he could learn from Optimus."
As he placed the gift, Jazz's gaze drifted to the mech he'd fallen for, who still mysteriously slept through their conversations and work. After a moment, he asked, "Hey, is there a chance I could… request a gift?"
"Of course, though I usually take requests before Christmas morning," the man in red replied in good humor.
"It's not for me."
"Oh? Who is it for then?"
"Well…"
()()()
As they finished up, Nicolas finally slung the now empty bag over his should and took a breath. "Thank you for your company, Jazz. And your help."
"No problem, Nick. And thanks for, you know, that special request I asked for. Are you sure it's okay?"
Nicolas smiled reassuringly. "There is always room in my bag for a selfless gift. Now, I must go. I have many other places to visit, then a wife and warm bed waiting to greet me."
"Yeah. Sorry for keepin' you so long."
"Oh, do not worry, it has been really no time at all."
Jazz check his internal clock. "1:15am? But… how?"
"We humans call it… magic. Oh, speaking of." Nicolas clapped his hands twice and the Christmas lights in the room lit up. Power returned to the rest of the warehouse as well with a dull hum. "Now, if you will excuse me, there are a few boxes of coal I must deliver to the Detroit Metro Clocktower."
"Sure. Thanks again. Oh, and merry Christmas, Nick."
"Thank you again as well. Merry Christmas, Jazz." With a twinkle of his eye, the man many knew as Santa Claus put a finger to the side of his nose and melted back through the ice wall.
The moment he disappeared, the ninjabot's internal clock clicked to 1:16am.
"Jazz…?"
He turned around. Prowl sat up, stretching. "What on Earth are you doing up at this hour?" the black and gold mech asked. "Oh, the power's back on…"
Jazz shook his head, rejoining him. "Yeah. But it's not important right now." He spread himself on the ground and pulled a confused Prowl down next to him. "Go back to recharge."
Prowl gave him a questioning look, but didn't push it. He was still too tired. Instead he simply offlined his optics and fell back into recharge.
Jazz sighed in relief. He had no doubt Prowl would have seen the gifts. It was true that he wanted to give him his present right then and there, but it wasn't the time. They'd have to wait until the sun rose for Christmas morning.