38) naturally, Christmas for nuts for Star Wars, serenbach, and GypsyKate.

Leon shut the door behind him, reveling the sudden, snowy silence. Everything seemed so much stiller with the five-inch blanket stretching across the Bastion. He leaned back against the wall, content to let the mug of hot coffee warm through his leather gloves. The night sky provided a pleasing contrast—the inky black sky to the sparkling white snow covering every inch of the neighborhood.

The Hollow Bastion community had given the Restoration Committee what Leon considered one of his best Christmas presents to date—a night off. They'd appointed squad captains hand-picked by Leon's number one civilian operative, handed Leon a printed-out schedule of their rounds, and bid the group a Merry Christmas. Leon pulled this schedule out of his back pocket, looking over the current watchdogs. Fine, of course.

The door opened once again, and Leon caught a quick whiff of Aerith's sugar cookies before Cid slammed it shut. He quickly pulled out a cigarette and lit up, sighing happily. "Quiet night, ain't it?"

"It was," Leon muttered under his breath. Cid shot him a sharp look, then relax as he realized that Leon had been joking. The pilot grinned and released a plume of smoke into the gunman's face.

"Your sense of humor hasn't improved since last Christmas," Cid replied. Leon coughed and waved the smoke away. "Got tired of the holiday spirit?" he asked, jerking a thumb toward the door.

"Yuffie kept trying to string tinsel in my hair," he deadpanned. "Figured that was a good time to duck out."

"I'm surprised Blondie is lasting as long as he is." Cloud had returned late on Christmas Eve, surprising everyone except Aerith who insisted she'd known all along that he wouldn't miss this. Last Leon had seen, Cloud had been roped into a Christmas cookie-eating contest by Yuffie and Tifa. Leon wished him luck… Tifa had the appetite of ten men.

Cid ground out his cigarette and picked up a mug from where he'd set it earlier. Leon raised a brow. "If that's straight eggnog, I'll give you the Skill Ring I got from Tifa."

"Keep it," Cid harrumphed. "Whiskey in the eggnog is my Christmas tradition."

"I saw Yuffie with a bottle earlier. I think you two might share that tradition now."

"What?" Cid yanked the door open. "That's my good stuff, no way I'm wasting it on that brat. Yuffie!"

The ninja in question skipped out of his way, grinning. "Think of it as an extra Christmas present, you Scrooge!"

Leon leaned against the doorframe, unable to stop a grin from working its way across his face. Yuffie skipped over Cloud, who was downing Tums as Tifa grinned victoriously. "I take it you lost," Leon called.

Cloud just shot him a dirty look and crunched his Tums. Yuffie tugged on the lapels of Leon's jacket, trying to pull him inside. "Come on, Squally! You're letting in all the cold air."

"I think he has something to do first," Cloud said suddenly. He motioned smugly above Leon's head.

Leon groaned, not even bothering to look up. Wasn't that just typical? Yuffie grinned and cackled. "Yes! Mistletoe! I knew it would come in handy. C'mon, Mister Serious, pucker up."

"Yuffie…"

"Come on, Leon," Cloud prodded, clearly enjoying his revenge for the cookie incident. "Rules are rules."

Leon grimaced, but leaned down and let Yuffie kiss his cheek. "That's all you're going to get," he muttered, "so enjoy it."

Yuffie made a show of licking her lips happily before bounding off to snatch more cookies. Wiping his face, Leon grabbed a glass of Cid's 'eggnog' and sat down in a ratty armchair. "I still think we should have played Dirty Santa," she announced. "It would have made opening gifts so much better, 'cause everyone would have stolen mine."

Dirty Santa—switching and stealing gifts. A typical Yuffie idea. Especially since Yuffie had boxed up a Defender's shield and given it to Leon as a gag gift; a gift that had nearly snapped his face off as soon as he'd opened it.

Tifa and Yuffie soon began squabbling over who gave the best gift. Beside them Cid sat sneaking a smoke, and Aerith was brushing cookie crumbs out of Cloud's hair. Leon allowed himself a moment to look back: their first Christmas off Hollow Bastion had been huddled in the back of a crowded apartment in Traverse Town, trying not to freeze to death. How long had it been since they'd had an actual Christmas? Years. And yet everyone here seemed to fall so naturally into the season.

Then Cid belched loudly, alerting Aerith to the spiked eggnog. As soon as Aerith's back was turned, Yuffie began sneaking ornaments off the tree and stuffing them in her pockets while Tifa laughed until tears came to her eyes. Once again, Leon couldn't stop a grin from forming on his face.

Maybe 'falling naturally into the season' was a bit of an exaggeration.

A very-hastily written Christmas oneshot. I felt like a jerk picking just one prompt, so I decided to at least hint at all of them. This piece isn't the quality that I usually try to put out, but hey, it's Christmas! It's awesome enough on its own.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

-Akiko