Okay, I'm bored of writing all the things like the cue down up here, i always put the cue at the bottom anyway :s

If any of you seriously miss the boring information part, send me messages so I can laugh at you.

...

Christmas Eve

After a valiant battle lasting much more than an hour, Squall could go on no longer. A yawn escaped his lips before he could stifle it. Rinoa gave him a sour look, and he grinned sheepishly back. She shifted slightly, getting her head more comfortable against his chest and turning back to the old movie they were watching (Squall had no choice in the matter). It was a silly old film, full of drunken actors, crappy special effects and it had a happy ending because the good guys 'believed in magic'.

I believed in magic when I was fighting Ultimecia. It really didn't help to 'believe in' the ultima flying at me…Squall mused, a wry smirk on his face. He had always hated stupid films like this, but he had persevered for Rinoa's sake. Apparently, she had watched it every Christmas since she was two, when her mother had sat her down to watch it. Squall had learnt very quickly to just keep quiet whenever Rinoa's mother was mentioned, so he had been sat slowly losing feeling in his buttocks for the past hour or so. Rinoa let out a deep sigh, squeezing Squall's hand gently, as the movie's heroes finally kissed each other. In severe danger of yawning again, Squall stood up, walking out of the warm living room to 'get a drink'.

When he reached the kitchen, he shut the door into the hallway, so Rinoa wouldn't hear him yawn and stretch his lethargic limbs. He looked around the kitchen, slightly bemused that it all belonged to them. It wasn't any bigger than any average kitchen, but was simply colossal compared to the tiny one in the flat they had shared. With a grin on his face, he walked across the black tiles, picking up a saucepan from where it hung. He opened the fridge, taking out a carton of milk, closed it, and was just about to turn away, when he saw a picture attached to it by a magnet. Him and Rinoa hugging in the ballroom at garden, where they had first met. With a smile, he grabbed two mugs instead of one. As he made the hot chocolate, he couldn't help thinking how much his life had changed over the past year. After a few months as an item, he and Rinoa had finally moved in together. Up until a month ago, they had been perfectly happy in the little flat, but then, things had changed…After a series of arguments, they had both eventually agreed they needed more space. So they had gotten it. A nice big, three bedroom house on the edge of Winhill, that had more than enough room for everyone. The only problem with it was, Winhill was a long way away from everyone else.

And tomorrow was gonna go a long way towards solving that…Squall thought bitterly. Then he shook himself out of it, realising there was no point in dwelling on it on Christmas Eve. Besides, dad's still coming. He remembered, a smile on his face. It had been too long since he had last seen his father. The smile was still on his face as he carried two steaming mugs of hot chocolate through the hallway, back into the living room. The smile vanished, as he saw the look on Rinoa's face. Her watery eyes were focused on her phone, a fiery scowl on her face.

"Angel?" Squall said, a worried look on his face as he used his pet name for her. She looked up, her expression changing to one of pure sadness, then back into anger as she threw her phone across the room, then stomped away up the stairs, tears pouring from her eyes. Angelo whimpered in the corner, having been woken up by the noise. "It's alright boy…" Squall said with a sigh, placing the cups on a side table and crouching by the dog's bed. He scratched him behind the ears as he picked up Rinoa's phone, hoping he was wrong about what had set her off.

Hi Rinoa! Can you please tell Squall I can't make it to dinner tomorrow? The people here in Esthar have set up a surprise ceremony for me that's come as…well…a surprise! I have to be at the dinner tomorrow, otherwise I'm going to look awful! I'm really sorry! Laguna

Squall growled a curse, flicking the phone shut and standing up. He threw on his old leather jacket on top of his shirt and walked out the front door, hoping a walk would take out some of his anger. As he walked through the snow strewn countryside, his mind turned over each of his former companions in his head, trying to decide which he hated the most. Quistis had been the first to cancel his and Rinoa's offer of Christmas Dinner together, as she had a very busy life these days, what with being the new headmistress of garden, and that had meant that Seifer was out of the picture as well, as he would be spending Christmas with Quistis at their house in Balamb. Zell had cancelled a few days later, saying he was spending Christmas at his mother's in Balamb. Irvine and Selphie had been next, what with their dedication to Trabia Garden, or to each other, Squall suspected. Cid and Edea had cancelled due to the snow, and Squall hadn't argued. It was totally unfair to have them travel in this weather at their age. Now that his dad had let them down, however, it looked like he and Rinoa were going to be spending Christmas alone…It had been so important to her as well. She had made a massive fuss about picking the right turkey, getting every vegetable under the sun and moon, finding her mother's father's sister's recipe for gravy and getting it just right. Squall had decided early on to just play packhorse rather than dare to interfere, and had loyally fetched everything she had asked for (twice on some occasions). But there was more to it that having a perfect Christmas. They both had so much they needed to say to everyone, in person rather than over the phone for once. Squall looked around him, realising his blind fury had carried him all the way to the village centre. Leaning against a wall, he pulled his phone out, typing a text with numbed fingers. He sent the message to all of them with an angry press.

I hope you all have a really happy Christmas, because I'm certain we won't. I'm still usually the most miserable in the group, so why the hell am I showing more Christmas spirit than any of you?

He didn't care if he never got another message back from any of them as he walked home. As he reached the door, his phone still hadn't buzzed, and an unsatisfying smile reached his face. He hadn't wanted them all to back off at his anger, but it looked like they had. Just as he threw his coat onto it's hanger, his phone buzzed. With a smirk, he flipped it open, looking forward to a heated argument.

If letting him bang me while I'm wearing reindeer antlers and a painted red nose isn't the Christmas spirit, I don't know what is

His mouth fell agape in shock, and that was only the beginning. He actually made a choking sound as he saw who the text had come from.

...

Seifer scowled moodily over at Zell. The punched had sobered him up viciously, and what had started as a prank had turned the air of the room sour. Zell frowned back, unwilling to apologise for almost breaking his jaw.

"I don't care if you thought it was funny. What do you think Squall's gonna say?" Zell growled folding his arms.

"Like I give a shit what he thinks…" Seifer replied huffily, rubbing the side of his aching face.

"Grow up…" Zell sighed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing some ice in a towel. Walking back into the living room, he held it against Seifer's face. "You can't go around acting like a bully to him anymore."

"And you're going to stop me doing what I want?" He replied with a smirk, placing his hand over Zell's.

"If I have to." Zell said simply, trying to pull away from his touch.

"But you know you've never been any good at that." Seifer said with a grin, pulling Zell closer and slipping his tongue in his mouth. Zell fought the kiss for a moment, then gave in.

"No more text from my phone, ok?" Zell grumbled, snuggling against him.

"On one condition." Seifer replied, kissing him gently on the head. Zell looked up questioningly. "Show some Christmas spirit." He said with a smug smile, holding up a pair of reindeer horns they had been goofing around with earlier.

...

The Text I Corrupted: If letting him bang me while I'm wearing reindeer antlers and a painted red nose isn't the Christmas spirit, I don't know what is

Hehehehehe, try and get THAT image out of your heads :p