"Aaaaaand done!" I hung the last star on the tree. I cupped my hands over my mouth like a microphone, and yelled to Leo and Will, who had their eyes closed. We were decorating the camp Christmas tree, and Leo was taking a break from designing the Argo 2 to come with Will and have a look. The Camp used to have a rota of who decorated the camp tree each year, but since two years ago, when it was the Ares cabin's turn, and Clarrise poured fake blood all over the tree, Chiron just stuck to getting the Apollo and Hermes cabins decorating it.

"Let's see!" yelled Will and Leo at the same , and they ran forward.

"Oh sh*t!" I screamed, as the 5 meter tall ladder I was standing on toppled over. Yes, the Christmas tree was really that huge.

I landed on the floor with a thud. Will was at my side in seconds, checking my wrist for a pulse. I laughed, and pulled my wrist away, throwing my arms behind me to support my weight, and my fingers were splayed outwards.

"I'm not dead, and you know it, so stop checking my pulse."

"H-how?" Leo asked, his mouth wide open. "Wait, how are you not dead?"

"Are you joking?" I asked, and then I grinned. "Too much for ya, Valdez?"

"Yes," he said. "For sure."

I was stunned for a bit, then I said, "No seriously, that was nothing. I fell of a cliff once."

"Oh yeah," Will said. "And you fell off the chariot. I still haven't forgiven you yet for the hole. You owe me that."

"Will." I rolled my eyes. "The chariot's broken. If you're gonna blame someone, then blame him." I jabbed my thumb in Leo's direction. He threw his hands up in surrender.

We were in the Cabin courtyard. Next to the much loved fire at this time of year, stood the Christmas tree, freshly decorated. It smelt of grassy fir, and dusty decorations. I swear those things are as old as Zeus' underpants.

The cabins around us had sprigs of holly above them, and the Demeter cabin decided to go the extra mile for inspection, by making little fir trees sprout on the roof. The air had that vibe about it, the 'It's cold and depressing, so try and keep your spirits up' vibe.

It had been about a month since we had come back from our Quest, and the main frame for the Argo 2 was under construction. However, Leo, Nyssa, and Jake Mason(who had just come out of his body cast) were planning and prototyping the finer details. It was annoying, as they spent practically every minute in the Bunker, which meant that I spent practically every minute in the Bunker too. But truth be told, I didn't regret a single second.

The time was 12:07 am. I was slapping Leo around his face, getting him to wake up.

"W-wha-whatdyouwan' Al?" he said, face sleep-ridden and lousy.

"Listen, if you're gonna go to sleep, then you might as well go to sleep in your own cabin. Really, a shaken sleep schedule is gonna really mess your mental health, Leo. It's not good for you. At all." I told him.

"Really," Leo told me, not impressed. "The world is about to end, and you think I care about mental health?"

"Well I do, so get your a*s over to your cabin, and go to sleep. Everyone else has that sense."

Leo looked around. "Wh-where is everyone?"

"In bed. Look, Leo, the time is past 12:00 am. You need to go too."

It was in the late hours of December the 1st. My eyes were heavy, as I played with a steaming cup of coffee, waiting for it to cool down. Annabeth walked over to me, and raised her eyebrows.

"Didn't sleep?" she asked concerned. I smiled. I didn't get what people meant when they said Annabeth was scary. This was the Annabeth I knew. My best friend.

"Yeah, not really. Leo, Nyssa and Jake stayed up really late, and I stayed with them to help tweak some bits. I finally managed to get Nyssa and Jake to bed, but Leo? He just wouldn't. He ended up going to bed past 2 am, after I hounded him. That's why you don't see him now." Then realisation dawned. "Unless...Leo! You jacka*s!" I ran towards the bunker. I heard hurried footsteps behind me, which meant Annabeth was following.

I slammed open the door of the bunker, and sure enough, there was Leo, working over his metal. I went over, not caring that the bunker was full of people. I slapped Leo in the face. He looked at me surprised.

"Good morning to you too, then."

"Good morning?!" I yelled. "When did you come back after I told you to go to bed?!"

"He was here when I got here," Layton said.

"When was that?" I asked, turning on my heel so fast I nearly toppled.

"About five-ish. And he'd already completed half the missiles for the rotating bastilliea. That takes about two or so hours, if you're really quick. So I'd say he was here about 2:45-ish. Dang, he's early."

My face was fuming. "So, Valdez, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Uhhhh..." was his reply.

"Alex!" came Annabeth's voice from the doorway. I glared at Leo.

"I'm not done with you yet." Then I stormed out the doorway after Annabeth.

"Look!" Kayla bounded up to me excitedly. Austin came behind her, grunting and sweating as he dragged his saxaphone. "We got Advent Calendars!". Austin hurriedly played a fanfare. I grinned.

"How many?" I asked, excited. This was the first time we had them.

"One for each camper! Y'know, over Christmas!"

I nodded. "We'll set to work, getting them out."

It was evening, and the December fireworks had started. Explosions after explosions. The Hephaestus cabin was busy, so we used the ones from last year, but they were still great. I was on my own, on the top of bunker nine. I didn't like going with someone else. It was just a hassle. And I usually sat on top of a tree to get a good view, but I discovered that the view from the roof of the bunker was even better. All was quiet, or quieter than by the event. I let my thoughts wash over me, letting the colors dance before my eyes, when,

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I looked around. Somehow, Leo had got up to the roof, and was sitting next to me.

"How did you get up here?" I asked. I didn't have the energy to be mad at him.

"Using the ladder embedded into the walls."

I grinned. I didn't think anyone else had seen that, but for some reason, I din't mind Leo knowing about it.

"Yeah, well, aren't you supposed to be working on the ship? Not saying anything, but..."

Leo sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I've been working on the ship too much. I feel like I owe it to you."

I nodded, in mock seriousness, and then burst out laughing. It was never easy to not be laughing around him. I remembered something, and handed him a box.

"An Advent Calendar?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. One for each camper. I dunno why."

Leo grinned at me, and then opened window number one. He broke the candy, which was shaped like a pair of bells, and handed one half to me. Together, we watched the fireworks, on the 1st of December.

And the first Christmas one-shot out! Yes, I know it's like the 10th of December now. Or it's later depending on where and when you're reading it, but yeah.

Also, I just wanted to say my update schedule may or may not be rocky for the next month (hoping may not!) 'cause I'm on holiday, but I will still post(even if it's a little bit!)

I think you can expect more one-shots like this, but if you want me to move straight onto the MoA, then just review on this story, or you can PM me.

Yours,

MilkandCheez