A/N: HO, HO HELLO! That's right, surprise! I generally explained this on my Tumblr, but we are doing 12 Days of Rayllum! Now you may be asking, "Bleh, what, pray tell, are you bloody on about?" And to that, my imaginary British reader, I say, is my gift you guys! For the holidays! I've been planning this since early November, and while I am still finishing the last of my exam season I intend to do this entirely. I am ALSO, posting this separately as its own standalone 12 chapter series on Ao3 to keep it all flowing together. And, this is sort of its own thing so I kind of want to just set it out there.

NOW HOW IT WORKS:

The entirety of the 12 Days of Christmas song, all 12 days dedicated to verse, but changed! The song itself won't really be a song, but I merely using it as prompts to shape all 12 days! I'm explaining this poorly but I'm sure you'll all get it on the third or fourth day. ANYWAYS:

1st Day of Rayllum: A Party & a Pastry

Chapter Summary: Superhero AU. A promise is a promise. And while Rayla has her duties to her best friend, she also has duties as Moonshadow.

Word Count: 4,345

A Party & a Pastry

"A Christmas party?" Rayla echoed, closing her locker shut as she stared at her childhood best friend.

Callum nodded as he continued to rifle through both his locker and messenger bag, looking for his books and notes. "Yup! Aunt Amaya's girlfriend is flying in with her family, so it'll be a whole celebration!" he cheerfully explained. "And, Mom's gonna be making her famous jelly tarts! She's even setting aside a whole batch for Ez so we can all have some!"

Rayla's eyes lit up at that. She only ever had a couple, and it was because Callum would split his with her since he knew she loved sweets so much. Ezran was notorious for devouring Sarai's jelly tarts within seconds, so Rayla could count the amount of times she's eaten one on a single hand—ones she's had to share with Callum of course. Sarai only made a small batch at a time and only for special occasions because according to her, "It's not special if you have it everyday!" Which everyone thought was absurd because they would never not be special, but they all understood the principal of tradition. Still, to have the promise of an entire batch saved for Ezran? That meant Rayla would have at least one, whole jelly tart.

The Scottish girl practically foamed at the mouth with the idea. But…

Rayla seethed. "I dunno Cal. My folks are invitin' Uncle Runaan and his husband over for Christmas dinner outing and ya know it's been awhile since I saw them!"

His eyes shot wide. "Runaan and Ethari are visiting? Why am I just finding out about this the week before we go on break!"

Because she just made it up. Rayla sheepishly shrugged. "I-I just found out today! They're only flyin' in for Christmas and leavin' on the twenty-sixth!" That wasn't too far fetched, right? Holiday flights were a pain to book sure, but quick visits were still a thing during holidays.

He frowned at that. "Dammit, if I had known I would've gotten them a present!" Rayla really felt bad about Callum's frustration. Uncle Ethari really liked Callum, and loved to hang out with him, and here she was making him feel sad about something that wasn't even happening.

"It's a busy few days. Sorry. I-I won't be able to make it." She sighed. "I wish there was some way but—"

Callum rolled his eyes and snorted. "Ray, it's you. My parents would love to have you all over as well! The more the merrier! 'Sides, you know Ethari is equally as excited to see me as much as you!" he teased. "My parents love chatting with Runaan too, it'll be a classic reunion!" His offer sung with high hopes and a smile.

That smile she loved so much.

The one she had to constantly lie to.

She frowned. "We already made plans. Sorry Cal." She shrugged. When his smile fell and his face look downcast, she kicked herself in the mental groin for being so damn believable with her lies. She did want a pastry. And she had been to their Christmas parties before—they were always a blast. "But," his eyes shot up, "I can probably slip out of our dinner early to join your party! Only for a bit, of course, but my folks and Uncles won't mind!"

Callum's face lit up at that. "Great! I'll hold you to it!" He held his fist out and shook it, "Props Promise?"

An uneasy, unnerving filling flooded within her gut as soon as he said that. But, they had never backed out on a Props Promise before. Not even in their childhood. She grinned, nodding as she bumped her fist with his, knocking them together three times before locking pinkies. "Props Promise," she whispered.

"And it's a lock," Callum winked.

They parted ways, again Physics being no fun without her best friend. But Rayla sighed to herself. Hoping she could keep her promise.

::::

It wasn't like she wanted to lie.

But Christmas was full of other plans. And no, not dinner with her parents and uncles. Despite what Callum thought, her folks were actually going out for a Christmas getaway courteous of Rayla! She had told them she was going to spend her night with Callum's family anyways, and pushed them to go out and have fun for the holidays, enjoying a Thursday to Sunday long weekend of spa fun. Of course, neither were true because what Rayla really needed, was reasons to avoid being held up.

Because Moonshadow needed her Christmas plans wide open.

It had taken months of preparations. Busting gang deals, interrogating criminal informants, and spying/surveilling routes. But she found it. A splinter mercenary gang illegally purchasing Viren Industries products on the black market. Products that weren't like the usual Viren Vignette Coffee or Viren Viper Car. No, Viren Industries was mass producing countless illegal weapons and drugs to gangs and criminal organizations all over the city. And the night of Christmas Day, a big black market showcase was going down and Viren Industries was rumoured to make an auctioning.

Whether it be the seller themselves or just the actual product with actual traceable information, Moonshadow would bust them.

But that meant abandoning all plans with family and friends, and Christmas karaoke, and jelly tarts, and Callum. She took a deep breath as she pulled her hood over her head, feeling the brisque chill of the cold night. She had to do this. As much as she wanted to be hanging out beside Callum's fireplace, wrapped up in a blanket with him, munching on jelly tarts and drinking hot chocolate—she had a job to do. Perched atop the corner of an apartment building rooftop, Moonshadow set her eyes upon the docks a couple blocks over.

Like all good black market deals, the current one of Moonshadow's interest was also set in the warehouse in the harbour. From the collection of intel she gathered from thugs and dealers, the last Friday of every other month was when they all met up. She had accumulated all of this back in October, narrowly missing the last black market showcasing in time, so she had to wait and prepare for the next one. And it was going down now.

She hopped from roof to roof, carefully keeping her body low as she maneuvered through the apartment building rooftops. She picked up from the first two vans that the gangs were arriving at twenty minutes intervals, and the last black SUV pulled into the dock's parking garage thirty-five minutes ago. This was everyone. This was her chance.

Scaling down the building using the fire escape, she hurriedly rushed across the street and over to the warehouse. No guards anywhere—her intel was good. Nights like these would look more suspicious if people were loitering around an abandoned warehouse all evening, but that didn't mean they were completely unguarded. Moonshadow glanced up at the top of the building, noticing a small ledge from the window halfway up.

She took a deep breath. And let herself immerse into her surroundings.

Shadows.

Darkness.

The Moon.

She could feel her body's muscles strengthen. It was a full moon—faster power up for her. Crouching down into a squat, Moonshadow felt the surge of power shock into her calves and jumped. In a single bound, she managed to reach the window ledge, gripping onto it fiercely. Peeking her head over the window, she could see it.

Dozens and dozens of them. From mobster suits to the urban gang outfits; it was everyone. Every gang she had been tracking ever since—

And her eyes found it.

Right in the centre of the room, on a stage, on a cart were a black collection of barrels. She had no doubt that they were filled to the brim with dark purple ooze. Moonshadow glared at the labels. Medically Altered Gene Irradiated Construction: M.A.G.I.C.. The very same substance that was responsible for supposedly changing the future of medicine. Capable of killing dangerous genes and altering them into healthier cells for the body, Viren Industries' latest medical marvel. And, coupled with a Katolis High field trip to the aforementioned science centre?

You create a superhero Hell bent on shutting this operation down.

Moonshadow's eyes scanned the interiors more. No one seemed to be on the catwalks, the majority do the guards weren't even carrying anything like an assault rifle, so that possibly meant they were all concealing their handguns. It was still an auctioning she supposed, and most of these gangs were notorious for having conflict with each other—seeing so many armed guards might've resulted in some itchy trigger fingers. Still, a small part of her worried she was in over her head. She hadn't expected this many.

Nonetheless, she had her plan.

Digging into her belt's pouch, she pulled out her burner phone and dialed 911.

Step one: get back up.

Putting on her patented American accent, she said "Howdy? I'd like ta report a crime?"

::::

Step two: infiltrate and discombobulate.

The police wouldn't be able to handle these guys. Especially since the first responders coming were expecting thugs breaking into the thrift shop across the street. But by the time shots fired—and she knew they would—she had to make sure they weren't dangerous. She counted around thirty-three baddies, and each gang were respectively gathered into groupings in an audience. And no doubt they were all armed.

Moonshadow crept around through the catwalk, quietly moving as she watched a pale, well dressed man literally take the stage. He had a galaxy-like coloured three piece suit, and white hair longer than Moonshadow's. On either side of him stood two black suits, dressed in a sort of secret service ensemble.

"Now, I understand everyone's concerns regarding the rumoured Vigilante," his voice was deep, soothing, and captured the attention of the audience immediately, "but my employer and I can assure you—there have been no leaks on our end. However, I cannot control the extension of your underlings and to whom they mouth off to—"

"You sayin' it's our fault?" a voice shouted, causing an uproar of murmurs to spread.

"Ladies and gentlemen please, I would never imply such a thing!" His sardonic tone implied otherwise, but judging from the crowd's died down whispers it either went over their heads or they didn't care. I'm merely assuring you that we have done what we can to secure the necessary safety of our auction. But we cannot speak for certain."

So they were onto her. It seemed like she still remained a rumour to the streets, but not enough to the point where Viren Industries was investigating her. Luckily for her, that also meant they still had no idea how her powers worked. She made her way over to the far end of the building and quickly began her search. Sure enough, she found it: a circuit breaker. She pulled out her burner phone and took a deep breath—it was time.

She threw her phone at full force right at the circuit breaker, smashing it into bits as the panel itself sparked like fireworks. She then turned and dashed back toward her perch above the stage as the lights began flickering. Gasps and startled whispers spurred as she watched the galaxy suited man made a break for the barrels. The lights finally went out and the entire building was pitch black, with the exception of moonlight streaming through the high windowsills.

She closed her eyes and activated her camouflage. Feeling her skin tingle with a chill sensation, she opened her eyes and it worked: her body was shimmering like a glassy window. She wasn't completely invisible, but with her night vision and shadow-like presence, she would be a blur. Her concentration held as she cleared her throat announced herself, "Now, shall we begin the bid for our product of interest tonight?"

The crowd sporadically looked around, with several pulling out their guns in alarm.

Moonshadow smirked. "I'll start!" she shouted, gaining their attention to the rafters as she hopped down to the stage, "How 'bout an ass kicking for thirty-three?" The guards on the stage reached into their coats but she moved fast, punching one square in the jaw and kicking the other in the gut, sending them both off stage. "And sold! To the two henchmen in secret service suits!"

The auctioneer immediately dove off the stage, and soon enough the crowd started scattering. Half the crowd fumbled for their guns while the other half ran for the exits, or at least, where they thought the exits were.

"It's her!"

"I knew she was real!"

"Take her out!"

Bullets began launching at her but she hopped out of the way long before they fired. Out of the stage and into the crowd, their shooting ceased, in fear of crossfire. With that moment of hesitation Moonshadow acted. "How 'bout a bid for who gets the worse bruises?" she jumped forward and clocked two guys out instantly. Suddenly, a large burly man charged at her with a pocket knife. Thrusting forward at her, Moonshadow deflected his attack with her forearm, then sent her other elbow straight to his face, knocking him out cold.

Another rushed at her from behind, taking a swing at her head but she blocked it with her bicep and carried her momentum with her other hand as she struck the man's gut. He folded on the spot and she grabbed his body, twirling him around and launching him at a group behind her ready to take aim, successfully knocking them all out. Ten down, twenty-three more to go. And then the rest went like clockwork.

She darted around the entire floor, knocking out anyone who pulled out their gun and disarming those who dared to pull a knife on her. Bullets fired but she dashed aside before they even landed at her spot. Fists flew but she was faster, blocking their blows and clocking them out within seconds. She was thinning out the herd quick.

A bullet zipped by her head, and she instantly whipped around to find a thug aiming a gun at her. She ducked out of his line of fire and rolled over the stage for cover, barely dodging his shots. Time had passed enough for some of them to adjust their eyes on the dark, even with her camouflage. It was times like these where she really wished she had a long ranged option. As she peaked over the stage, she realized the barrels of M.A.G.I.C were gone. Her eyes darted around to find the galaxy suited man hauling them away with a guard all on a cart.

She dashed over and sent a flying kick to the guard pushing the cart. He fell face first into the ground as the auctioneer paused in his steps. She watched as a smug smirk fell upon his lips.

"So the rumours are true. Moonshadow exists. Never thought the name to be so literal," his velvety voice spoke.

She scoffed. "Ya're pretty confident for a guy's whose eyes are 'bout the same colour as his suit!"

He merely scoffed. "Your interest in chasing me tells me two things: you are aware of what these are capable of," his gaze shifted to the barrels, "and that you've dug far too deep into this." His hands slowly maneuvered into his jacket.

"No sense in playin' around pal," she leapt forward and grabbed his arm, "Viren Industries is busted."

Her grip suddenly shook as she met his eyes. They were yellow but glowing like hers did in the dark. His body shimmered and before she could react, she was flung across the room. Her back colliding with the stage and she groaned in pain. Her accelerated healing would take care of that later, but in the morning that would be sore. She glanced up and watched as the man smiled and walked away, looking normal as he did before.

But, she swore he—

Moonshadow shook her thoughts out as she ran after him. Questions were for later, catching was now. But as she arrived at the barrels, he stopped and turned. He was holding a detonator. And for a split second, she heard the beeping come from the barrels.

Without hesitation, Moonshadow jumped to the side, but a massive explosion followed after her and sent her toward a stack of crates in the corner. She was definitely feeling that one in the morning. Moonashadow barely registered the noises around her as she smelt the sizzling fire burn. Her eyes blinked open. The warehouse was a mess of unconscious bodies and a bonfire of barrels set ablaze in the pitch dark.

And then the sirens came.

::::

Tonight was a fail.

Sure, at least two-thirds of the mobs were apprehended, but a handful of the auctioned items were missing. And so were destroyed because she landed on them. The police narrowly missed her before she slipped out of the warehouse, but even then she still had no certainty everything was in order. It was a good job. She knew that. She did her part and stopped the auction. At the very least, an investigation would spark from the police and it would crack down on their bi-monthly market deals.

But no.

Her main gripe was her run in with Galaxy Man. And yes, that was what she was calling him for now until she learned his name. Rayla realized how much she had to learn after only doing this for barely just half a year. For starters, she needed some sort of throwing weapon, one that didn't cause her to use a costly burner phone that would take a while to replace. Her second problem was that she didn't exactly confirm any intel. She didn't record or document anything. She should've realized it was a set up.

Nothing there was really credited with Viren Industries on its label aside from word of mouth. And though it might've been obvious Galaxy Man worked for said company, he certainly didn't tip his hand much. In fact, the only thing he did tip was that they were onto her. Everything she prepped for the last few months, was all a setup for Viren Industries to confirm her existence.

She was terrible at this.

A sniff escaped her and she hadn't even realized she was crying. She had found a small alleyway to duck and change before making her way home, but that meant having to walk the rest of the way. It was her routine, as she couldn't risk being seen entering her neighbourhood in her hero outfit. Another sniffle released as she shook her head. And after all that lying, all of that preparation and tireless work, for what?

She lifted her head up and watched as the house next to hers had no lights on inside. With the exception of the colour changing porch Christmas lights, it was dark. They were asleep. Callum's Christmas party was done and she missed everything. She spent her entire Christmas planning and prepping for a fail, and here she had another. Rayla choked back another sob as she shouldered her duffel bag strap on more comfortably, attempting to muster the courage to walk by his house. She was pathetic.

"Ahhh, there she is!"

She froze in her spot as she turned, surprised to find Callum sitting at the steps of his porch, layered in a winter jacket and his signature red scarf. It wasn't too chilly out for him to warrant wearing fingerless gloves, but he always was more easy going with cold, especially when he was sketching out late. He tucked his book into his messenger bag as he flashed a smile at her. Call it dumb nerves or her emotional state, but she instantly felt better just by looking at that smile of his.

"Ca… Cal?" her voice was a bit shaky from all the silent crying, so she kept her distance because she knew he could tell if she got closer. "What… what're ya doin' up?"

"Waiting for you."

Her heart melted. They made a Props Promise and she failed him and it was already like half past ten and he was waiting all night. He said it so simply as he just scooted his spot over and patted the empty space. Like they had sat down here so many times when they were kids; whenever she was feeling sad they sat at his front porch, and if he was feeling down they would do the same at hers. Their parents never really got it, but the two of them explained something about how where you have your shoulder to cry on helped immensely. And he already knew she was sad.

She wordlessly walked over as she hung her head low. "Cal… I-I'm so sorry. It was a Props Promise and I-I-I broke it! I thought I could make it in time but…" she couldn't even think of anything to say, to lie with. She didn't have it in her.

He patted the empty space again and she obeyed, sitting beside him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped a comforting arm around her as he squeezed her tight. So easy, so simple.

"Why are ya always so forgiving?" she found herself asking.

"Ray? What was our Props Promise this time?"

She sighed. "That I would make it to your party."

"No," she made a noise of confusion as he corrected, "it was that you that you could probably make it to our party and stick around for a bit. You know? Probably? Like, as in, not likely but there is a chance?" She lifted her head and watched as he smiled at her so easily. "And I figured there was a chance you wouldn't."

A sniff escaped her. Dammit. "So why did ya wait out so long?"

"Because I figured there was a chance you wouldn't," he smugly replied. Rayla chuckled as she rested her head against his shoulder again. He was too nice for her. Too forgiving. "And besides, Props Promises are two ways aren't they?" And much to her silent dismay, he retracted his arm to dig into his messenger bag, revealing a small thermal lunch bag. He opened the bag as he gestured it to her.

Rayla's world stopped once more. "A jelly tart!" she nearly shouted. "Ya saved me one?"

"Yup!" he laughed. "I even bought a small thermal bag for this just in case. It was a week's worth of cautionary planning. But getting the opening to take one before my pig of a family wolfed them all down was the real challenge."

Rayla's mouth salivated at the sight as she dug her hand in. It was really warm, it made her frozen hands feel better. "Lemme guess, Ez stayed up last night so he could get first crack at your mum's tarts."

Callum rolled his eyes in that adorable way that expressed his irritation but also had so much affection. "I swear, I think he's more excited about the jelly tarts rather than his presents."

"Did he like yours this year?" Callum nodded. "Good. I figure he would. He's always complainin' 'bout his controller. I told ya he'd like it."

Callum chuckled. "Yup. You did."

Just as Rayla was about to take a bite out of her pastry delight, she watched Callum's eyes flicker with a look she knew to be jealousy. A wanting. He had that look whenever bought chips from the cafeteria. He had it whenever she ordered a burger meal with fries. She stopped herself and stared at him but he quickly turned his head. "Cal… there was none left this time… was there?"

He sighed. Just as he knew her well enough to do all of this, she knew him too. "My mom didn't have enough ingredients this year, she forgot to prep for two batches."

Rayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew the answer anyways, but still asked, "Did ya have any?"

He shook his head.

He was also too giving sometimes.

Rayla scoffed as she broke apart her tart and quickly handed it to him, mindfully watching for the dripping jelly. He wordlessly accepted and sighed before biting into it. "Thanks Ray."

She laughed. "Ya know I'm not much of a gift giver for this time of year so count that as my present," she mused before taking her bite. Her heart warmed at the sensation within her mouth. Sarai's jelly tarts were heaven upon heaven.

He chuckled. "Only if you count your half as mine."

It was true though. Rayla wasn't really a fan of gift giving. She liked the concept, thought it was sweet, but she could never obligate herself to it. She gave gifts to Callum on his birthdays of course, but more often than not she thought the gesture in quality time together was enough. Callum understood that about her. It's why he waited. It was why he always waited. Even when right now, he could easily ask any question and poke a hole in her lies, he didn't. He just understood her.

"Merry Christmas Callum."

As if it was possible, his smile grew.

"Merry Christmas Rayla."

They clicked their halved pastries before taking another bite. And they ate the rest of their delicious baked good in silence. A comfortable silence they were used to. Like every Christmas before, a shared tart and hope that there was always next Christmas… that just maybe Ezran wouldn't eat them all. They both knew it would be too good to be true regardless. And, speaking of next times, a thought occurred in Rayla's mind.

"My folks are planning a New Years party," Rayla chirped up, watching as an amused smile slowly form on her best friend's lips, "Think ya can make it?"

He laughed, extending a fist out to her. "Props Promise?"

"Props Promise," she agreed, bumping their fists three times before locking pinkies, "and it's a lock."

A/N: Yes, Galaxy Man is in fact Aavaros. That's right, it's a full ON superhero fic!

Oh yeah this is ALSO a celebration! 50 chapters! 50 oneshots! Halfway there everyone! I cannot promise every day of this will be long or good, but I can promise I will do my best. Because I intend on seeing this through. That, is a props promise.

Review Responses:

mdauben: Thank you so much! Sarai is super fun to write yeah, and I always love the chance to get her to interact with Rayla in AU!

Ocaj: Well I'm glad you liked it! As I said too, all AUs stories will eventually close by the time this collection finishes. On that I promise! Good things are ahead for the College AU fans! hehehehe.

GwenuitHolland: I'm happy you enjoyed!

behnbailey: Thanks! And yes, I just finished my classes for ASL this year. Done and dusted but boy it was rough.

Until next time,

- Bleh