AN: It's Christmas! And as such, this is the final day of the countdown. I won't be doing this again, but don't worry. I'll think of something new that's equally as great! THANK YOU SO MUCH to my reviewers! Tobirion! xxTakaraxx! Dark Hikari Twilight! I Love you guys. Really. You guys are the best!

But I digress, I present to you all this final chapter of the Advent Calendar 2013 – ASGZC Christmas Joy~!

-x-MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE-x-

DECEMBER 25, 2013

The door shut with a soft click and Cloud rushed to his room before the others could greet him. Several large bags full of Gaia knew what weighed on both his arms. He dropped them without much care the second he reached his bedroom. Throwing several rolls of wrapping paper onto the bed he hardly if ever used, he paused a moment to catch his breath.

This was what he got for procrastinating.

It was Christmas Ever for Gaia's sake and he had only just finished all of the Christmas shopping he needed to do in the first eight hours of the morning. Now it was close to five in the evening, already dark outside, and he was just now getting things wrapped. Honestly, he loved Christmas shopping. As long as he wasn't doing it on the day before. He'd thought he was going to be trampled at least three times today. Halfway through, he had been caught by an equally frantic Yuffie who had dragged him around with her for a few hours. They'd both endeavored to search and find everything they needed even if it killed them. Thankfully, they had and it had only taken a few shouts, some weird looks, and one or two instances where they'd had to tackle another person for the last item available in store.

Needless to say, it had been a hectic near-death experience. But now that he was done, all there was left to do was wrap. How he wished he could just cheat and stuff everything in bags with tissue paper stuffed in to cover up. That was unacceptable in a house with Zack Fair in it. Zack loved to rip into his wrapping. He did too, for that matter, and Angeal liked to save the paper for some reason no one was quite sure of. They all knew he collected it. He had a decent sized pile of the stuff stuffed into a shoebox in their hall closet. The question was, 'what was he going to do with it?' but that remained unanswered.

'Knock'

Cloud perked up, turning to the door at the sound.

'Knock, knock, knock'

"Cloud?" Speak of the devil, the blonde thought. He didn't move to answer the door, but he did turn more fully to face it.

"Yeah, Angeal?" he answered before the man could knock again. He could hear the man shift his weight on the other side of the door.

"Are you alright? You didn't even say hi when you got home," Angeal sounded both amused and slightly worried and Cloud felt a little guilty for it. He probably should have gone and said hi or at least called out an 'I'm home' when he'd gotten there.

"I'm fine," he smiled, thought the man couldn't possible see it. "I just have something to do real fast."

"Alright." Cloud wasn't sure but he assumed Angeal nodded. "Don't stay locked up all night. Come out and help me with the cookies." Cloud smiled.

"Okay!" he heard Angeal chuckle and listened as he left then turned back to his bed and the bags at his feet. Now for the tedious task of wrapping everything he bought today. With some determination he would be done in an hour. Then he'd just need to sneak them under the tree.

It was a good thing the other three were out at the moment, all busy with whatever it was they were doing. If he remembered correctly, Sephiroth was patrolling the outskirts of town and clearing monsters. Zack had probably been dragged along with Aerith on some errand or other. Genesis might have been doing some last minute shopping as well. Or maybe he was just terrorizing Kalm's poor materia salesman. Again.

Well, hopefully, they'd stay out until he was done.

~x~x~x~

There. Done! Cloud cheered for a job well done. Silently. In his head. If he cheered out loud Angeal would no doubt come back and ask if he was okay again. Now that he was done, he just had to stick them under the tree. Staring at the tall pile of boxes of varying sizes now wrapped in various colorful papers, Cloud could only wonder how this was going to work.

Perhaps he should ask for help, but…

No. He could do this himself! Set in his determination, the blonde gather a decent armful and marched himself out of his seldom used bedroom. The living room was just down the hall, and he could hear Angeal humming to himself in the kitchen. If he moved quietly and without any exaggerated movement, he should be able to do this without alerting the other man.

"Cloud?"

Dammit.

"Yes?" Cloud answered, not even trying to get a better look at his eldest lover around the pile of gifts in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Angeal sounded very amused at that moment and Cloud almost scowled.

"Uh…" how as he supposed to answer that? What did it look like he was doing? Angeal chuckled and he frowned.

"Need any help, Cloud?" the burly man asked, already reaching over to take most of the boxes into his own arms. Cloud didn't bother to answer in the negative, though he did mutter something along the lines of being able to do it himself. Angeal simply ignored him. Cloud handed over the rest of his armful and skipped back to his room for the rest of the pile. Together, he and Angeal placed his presents neatly beneath their Christmas tree.

"Now you can come and help me make those cookies. You know that if we don't make enough, Seph will eat them all before anyone else can get any."

Cloud laughed and nodded. He waited until Angeal's back was turned before he rushed forward and jumped onto the man's back. Angeal made an 'oof' sound and Cloud giggled. The other didn't move to dislodge him, however, and he settled in for the piggyback ride to the kitchen.

Once they reached the kitchen, Angeal promptly dropped him.

"Angeal!" Cloud whined, standing and rubbing his butt where he'd landed hard on the tile floor. Above him, Angeal laughed. "And your fanclub thinks you're so nice…" Cloud muttered, ducking the swat to the back of his head by an amused Angeal. Cloud grinned.

"Behave yourself," Angeal admonished, pointing to the pantry door. "Get the baking powder, flour, and sugar out of there, please."

Cloud did as asked.

~x~x~x~

The door shut with a bang and all that was seen was a silver-black blur. Cloud didn't have a chance to properly greet the man who had just come in, having his lips assaulted the second he moved to open them. The kiss lasted only a millisecond, but it was long enough to distract the blonde from the large plate of edible goodness that sat on the counter behind him. The silver blur was gone again a moment later, the plate obviously missing a handful of freshly baked cookies.

"Hello to you, too, Sephiroth," Angeal laughed. Sephiroth now sat on the couch in the living room, two handfuls of cookies on his lap and one stuffed halfway into his mouth. His cheeks bulged a bit with no doubt another two half eaten cookies. Cloud giggled at the picture his silver-haired lover made at that moment.

"ahm hmm," Sephiroth spoke through his mouthful. Cloud mentally translated the food talk as 'I'm home'. Angeal sighed.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Seph," the older man admonished. Sephiroth waved it away, going back to chewing on his food. Cloud smiled at his antics and moved back with Angeal into the kitchen.

With Sephiroth home early it was probably a good idea to make more cookies.

~x~x~x~

It was about an hour to midnight when Genesis returned, having gone out and found himself a small theatre on some corner in a lesser part of Kalm. According to the redhead, some theatre troupe was putting on an adaptation of The Nutcracker. It had been decent, or so he said.

Another half hour passed before Zack came in, looking slightly tired but still plenty energetic and feeling happy. Aerith had dragged him along with Tifa to pass out wreaths and gifts and what not. It was something she usually did every year back in the slums of Midgar, but they had come to visit this year. It appeared, Aerith had decided that Kalm was as good a place as any other.

Now they all sat around the coffee table, grabbing sugar cookies off two large plates and sipping at hot chocolate as they stared at the clock and waited as seconds ticked by.

"Look!" Zack pointed at the cuckoo clock on the wall directly right of the tree. He sat on the floor closest to the tv with two large Nibel Wolves on either side of him. Azure and Teru were usually outside, but the cold had caused Angeal to have pity on the poor dogs and let them inside the house. Zack looked positively cozy with his pets wrapped around him. Cloud wondered how he wasn't sweating bullets.

"Ready?" Angeal asked and they all began the tradition. "6."

After Angeal came Sephiroth, uttering a '5' in monotone.

Genesis chirped a '4' sounding incredibly happy for once. It wasn't unusual for the redhead to be happy when he was with them, but it was a nice chance for them to actually hear his happiness in just one number.

"3," Zack continued, two excited barks sounding beside him a beat later.

"2," Cloud smiled, shouting the next number along with the others as the minute hand tocked to the '12' at the top of the clock.

"1!"

"Merry Christmas!" Zack cried, jumping up and tackling the first person he could reach which just so happened to be Sephiroth. Sephiroth rolled his eyes but smiled and leaned forward to plant a kiss to Zack's lips. Zack laughed and jumped to the next person, deciding he wanted a Christmas kiss from everyone now.

"Merry Christmas," Cloud stood beside Sephiroth and smiled, loving when the silver-haired man reached down and pulled him into his arms. Cloud wrapped his legs around the man's waist and levered himself up further to get his own Christmas kisses.

Similar exchanges took place for the next few minutes until finally Angeal became the voice of reason and made them all calm down. Reaching below the tree, Genesis pulled the first gift from the mass of presents and handed it over to Angeal.

"Here you go, Angeal," Gen grinned. "Merry Christmas from all of us!"

Angeal took the present and flipped it around until he found the seam. As per usual, he took his sweet time to unwrap the gift. He hid a smirk as he noticed both Genesis and Zack looking less patient than they probably meant to be. It was his little secret that sentiment was only half the reason he always went so slow. The other half was just him having fun watching Gen and the Puppy make faces while they waited.

Eventually, though, he had to finish up.

Reaching into the flat, medium-sized box he pulled the first of a handful of small gifts from inside. A hand drill. From Zack specifically, most likely. The man had a running joke that whatever he broke, Angeal could fix, and while it was true and he appreciated the handy new tool, he still shot the Pup an exasperated look. Zack only grinned at him.

The items he pulled next were as follows: an assortment of seeds both flowers and edible plants, a pair of work gloves (he'd already worn through his latest pair), a handful of 'helpful tip' books on gardening, cooking, and Zen, a whet stone, a new camera, and… a puppy? He raised an eyebrow at Zack who smiled and explained.

"For those nights when I'm not around to be your human teddy bear!"

Angeal wasn't sure he wanted to know how Zack had stumbled across that one, but decided not to ask. He appreciated the small stuffed dog in any case. "Thank you," he directed at all of them and was met with warm smiles and an affectionate blonde crawling into his lap to cuddle for the remainder of the night.

"Alright! It is my turn," Genesis announced, present of his own already in hand. He wasted no time tearing into the wrapping. He was sure he knew what it was, but he always looked forward to it. Sure enough, as the item was revealed he radiated smug content. It was yet another copy of Loveless. This year it was a smaller than usual volume. Pocket-sized for easy travel. The cover was slate grey with embossed print on the front that read the title as well as his name in the bottom right corner.

Genesis absolutely loved it.

He practically lived for his birthday and Christmas. The two days out of the year when his lovers deemed it appropriate to bless him with this gift of all gifts. Of course, he received things other than Loveless (as evidenced by the number of boxes under the tree with his name on them) but he would always grab this one first. As long as his loves kept buying them for him, in any case. Genesis smiled, a wide genuine smile, and thanked them. He loved these men.

"Cloud," Genesis reached and handed a package to the blonde seated in their most serious lover's lap. The youngest of them pulled the overlarge box toward him with both hands and set it on the couch seat beside where Angeal sat. The older man's arm was around his waist and he didn't bother moving it, but he leaned over it a bit to reach his gift.

He thought he knew what it was, but that couldn't be right. This box was too big for something like that. Not one to prolong the suspense any more than was necessary, Cloud tore at the wrapping on the huge box and swiftly opened it. It was exactly what he had been thinking it wasn't. Only it was three times the size he expected it to be.

It took both of his hands and one of Angeal's to haul the gigantic yellow plush from the box. It had been purposely stuffed in tight. Once the thing was out, Cloud could only gawk at it for the longest time. He laughed. It was life-sized. As in actual size. They had gotten him a giant stuffed chocobo that was twice as tall as him. The exact size of a chocobo in real life.

"You guys are insane."

It was the only thing he could say. He could feel the rumbling in Angeal's chest as the man chuckled above his head. Sephiroth also chuckled and Zack burst with a laugh at the blonde's expression. Genesis smirked and leaned over to plant a kiss on their youngest lover's forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Chocobo," the auburn-haired man's words snapped him from his minor daze and he beamed.

"I love you," he told the room at large and he was immediately crushed to a strong chest.

"We love you, too, Cloud."

"How is this going to fit in my room?" Cloud absently wondered and Zack laughed.

"It'll fit. You don't even use that room, usually. None of us really do," the raven-haired man shrugged. They all shared the master bedroom suite on the second floor and really only ever used their individual bedrooms as storage space and to hang around in when there was nothing better to do or when most of them were away on missions or the like. "It makes me wonder, though. Who do you think has more? Cloud's chocobo plushies or Genesis' copies of Loveless?"

"Hilarious, Zackary," Genesis deadpanned. They all laughed.

"I believe it is my turn then," Sephiroth spoke, his present already in his hands and the wrapping almost all the way off. He was a patient man, but when Christmas came around he was almost like a little kid. As everyone turned to watch him, the rest of the paper was made quick work of and he opened the box in his palm.

One silver eyebrow quirked up.

"A key?"

"Yup. A key," Zack confirmed.

"A key to what?" Sephiroth sounded more than a little confused.

"Nothing," Genesis shrugged. "It's simply a key."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the redhead and spiky-haired young man. He turned to Angeal for a straight answer and was met with wide blue eyes and a smile. That face alone would have placated him, but the words that accompanied it nearly had him melting.

"It's the key to my heart, Seph," Cloud spoke, keeping his eyes on Sephiroth's widened green ones. "Don't you want it?"

The blonde almost sounded like a kicked puppy and Sephiroth found himself about to apologize before he caught himself. Seph managed to make himself look away from that expression and he met Angeal's clearly amused grey eyes. It was a joke. Of course, it was. Angeal chuckled.

"It's in the driveway, Seph," the man explained and Sephiroth strode over to the window to look out at their snow-covered drive. There in the center of the mostly shoveled cement driveway sat a monster of a motorcycle. Sleek streamlined body and massive tires (two on the front, one in the back), all sexy black metal; Sephiroth could not wait to take it out and gun on some random stretch of highway. He returned to the sitting room with a pleased smirk on his lips.

"He loves it," Zack stated the obvious. "Cloudy designed it for ya, Seph. 'Geal and GenGen took the diagrams to a specialist and had it built. Merry Christmas!"

Sephiroth took two purposeful steps forward and captured Cloud's lips in a fierce kiss, following up with an appreciative kiss to Angeal and another for Genesis. He pulled away only to notice Zack pouting across the coffee table. He planted a quick kiss on the raven-haired man, too.

"Thank you," he smiled. "Puppy, It is your turn."

Zack Fair did not need to be told twice. He dove for his gift under the tree and emerged victorious. He went to shake it to attempt to guess the contents but paused.

"Uh… It's not another puppy, is it?" He wouldn't mind if it was, but he didn't want to go shaking the thing if that was the case. When the others all shook their heads and gave their own versions of a negative, Zack relaxed and proceeded to shake it. It rattled, but he couldn't figure out what it was from just the sound so he placed it on the floor.

While he would normally go about ripping the box apart, this year he opted to let his pets do it for him. He sic'd Teru and Azure on the thing. Not five seconds later, the contents of the box sat I the center of what remained of the package. Had Zack not been surprised speechless, he would have probably squee'd like a fangirl.

There in the middle of the lingering bits of cardboard sat none other than himself. Shrunk and chibified and plush.

"Aw, guys," he gushed, rushing forward to gather the look-alike plushie into his arms. "You shouldn't have! I love it! Me… I love me!"

Angeal chuckled and Cloud grinned while Genesis and Sephiroth shook their head and rolled their eyes respectively.

"There are more," Sephiroth informed. "But you can't have those until tomorrow."

"It's already tomorrow," Zack pouted. They would have none of it.

"You'll just have to wait," Genesis stated,firmly.

"But…"

"You'll live, Zack," Cloud told him, reaching over and patting his head in mock sympathy.

"But I wanna know what-" Once again he was cut off, this time by Angeal.

"Patience is a virtue, Puppy."

"Oh," Zack drawled, crossing his arms. "I get it. You all are messing with me. Well, you know what? I don't have to listen to yous. I can do what I want!" When four sets of eyes stared at him, daring him to try, Zack cowered with a pout and huffed, plopping himself onto the floor where his wolves had already made themselves comfortable. "I'm not moving from this spot until you all let me open the rest of them."

"Alright then," Genesis ignored his resolve, standing from the couch with a yawn and heading out of the room. "Goodnight."

"I will be heading to bed as well," Sephiroth spoke, following Genesis out and up the stairs but not before grabbing a handful of the cookies left on the coffee table.

On the couch, Cloud sagged more fully into Angeal's chest, not really wanting to move but knowing he would have to if he wanted to go upstairs and get into bed with the others. A hand carded through his blonde spikes a couple times and Cloud hummed contentedly. Angeal smiled. Not caring that his youngest lover was using him as a pillow and a bed in one, Angeal reached around the blonde and pulled him up as he stood. He would carry Cloud up. Cloud let another happy sound leave his throat, obviously not minding being carried around by the burly man.

"Goodnight, Pup," Angeal called over his shoulder as he moved up the stairs. Zack could hear the vague night wishes from the blonde in Angeal's arms, as well.

From his spot on the floor, Zack huffed once more. Well, fine then. He laughed to himself as he gazed around the now empty room. He loved those guys. A beat later, the raven-haired man stood with a grin and sauntered over to the stairs. He should probably go up and join them before he was left out.

"Zack!" Cloud called, sounding more awake then when he'd left some minutes ago. Zack didn't bother to call back as the blonde continued without pause. "Are you coming up or what?"

"Get your sexy ass up here, Fair!" Genesis' voice called down a second after. Zack laughed and shook his head, speeding up his ascent to the second floor.

Yes. It was a very Merry Christmas.

-x-x-x-

AN: I dunno what happened there at the end, but all in all I liked it. Written off the top of my head in true Shuffle fashion even though this wasn't written to any music. Now. It's 4am for me Christmas day, but for everyone all over the time-zones~ Merry Christmas! I hope all of you liked this final installment of my Chirstmas Present Trilogy. Well, it's a trilogy now since I'm not continuing this. It can stand alone, of course, but the previous years' ASGZC December 25 chapters come chronologically before this one. In case you didn't know. It has been a bit taxing but very fulfilling journey for me this year, writing this and I'm glad so many of you stuck with me and read and loved this along with me. Thanks.

Merry Christmas to all and everyone! I hope it is/was amazing and that you all had tons of fun. Hope you felt the love and wish you all many amazing things today and in the coming year! Most of all, I hope that you enjoy the time you spend with family and friends on this day and appreciate the love. Beyond that, Have Fun! I hope this little story brought some little piece of fun and love to you for the while that you took to read it!

Lots of love to all my readers, from YaoiWolf with Love! MERRY CHRISTMAS!