A/N: Sorry it's a few days late guys, but here is my Christmas 2017 addition to the prompt collection. Hope you like it!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

18 was about five minutes away from pulling every single one of her hairs from her head. Rudolph the bloody red nosed Reindeer had been playing on a near continuous loop for hours now, worming its way deeper and deeper into her brain, and the temptation to send a discreet little energy ball in the direction of the iPod dock was becoming harder and harder for the blonde to resist.

"Again, mama! Again!"

No sooner had the closing bars of music died away, was Marron demanding 18 start it back up again. Somebody at day care had had the audacity to teach her child a dance to go along with the carol, which included jumping, stomping, clapping and pretending to be both a reindeer and Santa Claus himself. All the things that four year olds just couldn't get enough of.

It had been adorable the first dozen times, and cute the next ten. Now though, 18 was wracking her brain trying to find the most diplomatic way to put an end to this torture without breaking Marron's heart on Christmas Eve.

Thankfully, a pair of headlights turning into the driveway, and beaming into the living room saved the day. It was a true Christmas miracle.

"Papa's home!" Marron raced across the room, scrambled up the couch and peeked her head through the curtains, waiting not so patiently for the first glimpse of her daddy as he climbed out of the car. Similarly, 18 dove across the room as fast as lightening, and yanked the power cord of the docking station from the wall socket before Marron had a chance to notice.

Marron watched through the window as Krillin trudged across the lawn, his path illuminated by the harsh glow of the motion activated spotlight. Fresh snow was falling from the sky. It was deep, and clung half way up the small man's legs.

"Papa!" Before Krillin had even managed to close the front door, Marron had launched herself at him. She latched onto his damp legs, clinging as tightly as her little arms would allow.

"Hey there, firefly!" Krillin pried Marron from his calf and lifted her up to give her a proper hug. She pressed her face into his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. "How was your day?" he asked, as he placed Marron down and began the process of unbuckling and unlacing his police boots. Wearing them any further into the house was strictly forbidden.

Marron took off. "It's tonight, papa! It's tonight! Santa is coming tonight!" She could barely contain her excitement as she leapt around the room, jumping along the couch, across the armchairs and back again in a totally joyous frenzy.

This was the first year that Marron had really been 'into' Christmas. It had been easy for her parents to avoid the commercialism of the holiday when they had been living on a tiny speck of sand in the middle of no-where, but now there was no escape. Living in a big city, Santa, and Christmas in general, was around every corner. And Marron, being four and surrounded by the magic of Christmas for the first time, was eating it right up. She was obsessed.

Outwardly, Krillin and 18 expressed disdain that their child was being exploited by such blatant consumerism, but on the inside, they were both almost as giddy as Marron was, seeing her get so thoroughly and completely swept up in the season. It was an absolute joy to see their child this happy, even if that happiness was expressed through listening to the same song on repeat five thousand times over.

"Stop climbing all over the furniture please, Marron," 18 stepped in as the voice of reason. Krillin may have been able to be tough when it came to crooks and thieves, but when it came to his daughter, he was putty in her hands. Completely and utterly incapable of scolding her, or bringing her under control when she was over excited.

"Sorry, mama," Marron slunk down the couch and looked sheepishly from one parent to the other. "Will Santa still come?"

18 nodded, unable to completely hide her smile. "I'd say so," she said, "But only once you're sound asleep, so why don't you go and put your pyjamas on and brush your teeth. It is well and truly past your bed time, young lady."

Dutifully, Marron trotted off towards her bedroom, and 18 was finally able to turn her attention to her husband. "How was your day?" She asked.

Krillin crossed the living room with a tired smile on his face. "Long," he replied. Now close enough to touch, he pulled 18 into his arms and stretched up on his tiptoes for a kiss. 18 ducked her head, more than happy to oblige. "People are idiots at the best of times, but the holidays seems to being out the worst in everyone. I wrote thirty seven people up for traffic violations today. Don't people even think about the consequences of car accidents…." He trailed off, lost in his own sleepy thoughts. "All good now though, I'm home with you for the next three days and that's all that matters." Krillin finished off his sentence by leaning back in for another kiss.

Marron, having broken some kind of world record for the fastest time ever to get changed and brush your teeth, was back in the living room in the blink of an eye. Under normal circumstances, 18 would have sent her back to the bathroom to do the job properly, but tonight was a special night and one subpar tooth brushing effort wouldn't have any dire consequences in the grand scheme of things. She decided to let this one slide.

"Alright," Krillin clapped his hands together and grinned, "We need to leave out some treats for Santa!"

"Have you got your letter?" 18 asked, and laughed when Marron audibly gasped and disappeared into her bedroom. When she returned, she was holding a letter that she had very proudly written herself with only a little bit of help from 18.

"Show papa," 18 prompted, she smirked at Krillin as he was handed the letter, and he looked back at her with a curious expression in return. It was just a letter to Santa written by a four year old child, what could be so funny about that?

"Dear Santa," Krillin read aloud. "For Christmas I would like a baby sister-" he paused, felt his cheeks turn bright pink, and looked at 18, now fully understanding her amusement. Choosing to ignore her smugness for the moment at least, he continued to read. "I have been very good this year, and if I had a sister, we would have so much fun playing dolls together. May I also please have a new pony toy, and some colouring in books? Thank you very much, love Marron Chestnut."

"Well," Krillin cleared this throat to mask a nervous giggle, and knelt down on his heels to be eye level with his daughter. "Firefly, I don't think Santa is going to be able to bring you a baby sister okay? That's not exactly how that works." He glanced over Marron's head toward 18, who was enjoying being a spectator to this awkward conversation far too much for his liking. Krillin made a mental note to himself to get her back for that later. "How about we forget about that, but I'm sure Santa will have plenty of other wonderful gifts for you. You've been a very good girl this year, after all. Now," wisely, Krillin decided to change the topic of conversation. "Santa has to visit all the boys and girls in the entire world tonight, I bet that he is going to need a snack when he gets to our house. How about we leave out some milk and cookies, and some carrots for his reindeer?"

"Yes!" Marron jumped up and fist pumped into the sky, causing both Krillin and 18 to shake their heads in wonder. Where the heck had she picked that up? Her larger than life personality truly never ceased to amaze.

It was almost two hours later, after many stories, glasses of water and trips to the bathroom that Marron was finally asleep. It was hard to be angry at her when she was so, so excited for Christmas, but to say that her parents were relieved when she was out for the count, would be an understatement.

"I thought Santa was going to be visiting our house at four in the morning at the rate she was going," Krillin said, and took a long sip from his wine glass, finishing it off.

"You're telling me," 18 agreed, and refilled both of their glasses. No point in only drinking half of a bottle of wine, what a shameful waste that would be.

Neither Krillin nor 18 were particularly big drinkers, but Christmas Eve was somewhat of a special occasion in their house. It was the night, which felt like a lifetime ago, when Krillin had nervously bumbled his way through asking 18 if she would like to be his girlfriend, and she had even more awkwardly agreed. And exactly one year later, on the very next Christmas Eve, against the breath taking backdrop of a Kame Island sunset, Krillin had again fumbled his way through another nerve wracking question. One that involved a ring and getting down on one knee. This time though, there had been no hesitation at all on 18's part, and she had said yes a thousand times over before the words were even fully spoken.

And so on each Christmas Eve since, 18 had cooked them a special romantic dinner, which they shared over candle light with a bottle of wine. It was a tradition that hadn't changed in the almost 10 years that had passed since that first night, even though just about every other aspect of their lives was unrecognisable from the people they used to be back then.

Krillin pushed back his chair and stood up from the dinner table. He was a little wobbly, that wine had gone straight to his head and he laughed at himself. How unbecoming it was for an officer of the law to allow himself to get tipsy. How unprofessional indeed. "Dinner, as always, was delicious. Thanks babe," he said. There were no arguments on his behalf when 18, who was still seated at the table, took hold of the scruff of his shirt and pulled him towards her for a kiss. Her lips were hungry, and it only took a moment before her tongue was seeking permission to enter his mouth, but Krillin pulled away.

"Did you hear that?" he asked eagerly.

"Hear what?" 18's hearing was impeccable, she heard everything. She had not heard anything.

"I think it was Santa Claus."

18 didn't understand. "Santa Claus? Krillin, have you lost your-"

She was cut off mid-sentence by a finger pressed up against her lips. "Shhhh," Krillin was listening intently. His face a picture of stone cold seriousness. "I'm going to go and investigate. Don't. Move."

There was a glint of mischief in his eye that suggested to 18 that her husband was up to something, and so she was inclined to follow his instructions. She didn't move when Krillin disappeared down the hallway, or when she heard the familiar squeak of the back door. She sat, patiently, for at leave five minutes, waiting, wondering what in the hell was going on. Exactly how strong was that wine? They'd had more or less the same amount and she felt fine. Had Krillin been taking drugs at work?

The sound of rustling on the front lawn was what finally made 18 reach the end of her patience. Nobody came onto her property unannounced, especially when her child was sleeping only meters away. She stood up, prepared to fight whoever it was who came through the door next.

"HoHoHo!" The front door handle jiggled and the door swung open, bringing with it a blast of icy winter air. "Meeeeerry Christmas!"

"What the…." 18 wasn't even able to totally comprehend what was happening in front of her. She stood up from the fighting stance she hadn't realised she had dropped into, and blinked, trying to make sense of the situation. "Krillin?"

"Krillin? No." The man, who was clearly Krillin, said. "It is I, Santa Claus, on my way to deliver gifts to all the good boys and girls of the world."

"You're an idiot."

Where on Earth he had managed to find a Santa costume that actually fit his stumpy little legs, 18 had no idea, but the fact remained that from somewhere, he had. Now, standing in the middle of their living room, was her husband, decked out in a jolly red Santa suit, complete with a full and luxurious fake white beard, and a big sack swung over his shoulder that looked about to burst open with goodies. So much for 18 being restrained with her gift buying in an attempt to stop Marron from becoming spoiled, because it appeared as though Krillin had gone out on his own accord and spent every cent they had between them on toys galore.

"What on Earth are you doing? You look ridiculous." 18 said, but the amused expression on her face suggested that truly, she was loving this entire thing. "Where did you manage to find a Santa suit like that?"

"It's amazing what you can buy on the internet, babe!" Krillin replied, dropping his Santa act. "C'mon, what if Mar were to wake up and see us just piling up her gifts under the tree. I don't want to ruin the magic of Christmas for her. Plus, let's not deny the obvious truth here, I look seriously adorable in this get-up, don't I?"

"Mmmm…" 18 mumbled a non-committed response, but when Krillin lifted himself up off the ground, and 18 found herself staring into his warm, dark eyes, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She wrapped her arms around his stomach and squeezed him tight against her body. Krillin WAS goofy, and he WAS silly, and that was exactly what 18 loved most about him. He refused to let 18 fall into the nasty old habit of taking herself too seriously. And the fact that he was so committed to keeping the magic of Christmas alive for their daughter was undeniably attractive.

"I don't know about this beard though," she reached up and rubbed the scrunchy polyester between her fingers, "I think I could do without that."

"You wanna know a secret?" Krillin whispered into 18's ear.

"What's that?"

"It's really itchy."

18 laughed, "Is that so?" she asked and tugged the fake beard down so it hung under Krillin's chin. "That's better. Now, about these gifts." 18 turned her attention to the sack that had been forgotten about on the floor, "It looks a lot fuller than the two hundred zenni we agreed we'd spend on her.

"Oh shush," Krillin said, dismissing 18's worries. She was right, of course. He'd gone out and spent double that and then some. "If a man can't spoil his girls on Christmas, then what's the point of life?!"

"That's a tad over dramatic, don't you think?"

18 reached for the sack, but Krillin leapt in and snatched it from her grasp before she was able to sneak a peek at what was inside. "Uh-uh-uh." Krillin tutted, and waggled his finger. "Only Santa Claus is allowed to look in here." He hoisted the itchy beard back up over his face and asked, "Where should I leave these gifts? I have lots and lots of stops to make tonight, you know, and I don't have any time to spare!"

This was all too much. 18 shook her head. "Over there," she pointed to the glittering Christmas Tree in the corner of the room. How had this become her life? She'd married an absolute clown.

"Ah, yes," Krillin sat down by the tree began to unload gift after gift after gift, stacking them nicely up under the tree. They were all beautifully wrapped with pretty paper, ribbons and bows, and all 18 could manage to think was that Marron was not even going to take one second in the morning to appreciate the effort that had gone into them. That paper would be off quicker than Son Goku's instant transmission technique.

"Oh, what's this?" Krillin pulled another gift from his sack, but this one was wrapped differently from all the others, in shiny gold paper that looked like it came from somewhere expensive. "This one has your name on it."

"Krillin," 18 frowned, and came to sit beside her husband. "We specifically agreed not to spend any money on each other this year." She realised, of course, as the words were coming out of her mouth, how ridiculous that sounded. There was no way, absolutely no way, Krillin was not going to buy her a gift. He was pathological in his need to spoil her.

Quickly, 18 decided not to be mad at her husband. Any gift that he had gotten her, he had done so out of love, and not some need to one-up her in the gift giving stakes. And besides, it wasn't like she too, didn't have a gift tucked away ready to give to him in the morning.

"Here," Krillin held out the package. It was a long, skinny rectangle shape and was heavier than 18 expected it to be. "Open it now."

"But it's not Christmas until tomorrow."

"Just open it."

"Alright," 18's fingers gently peeled back the tape from the gift wrap. She could tell that whatever was under here was special, and to just rip it open felt inappropriate. Underneath the paper, was a long box encased in red velvet, emblazoned with the insignia of 18's favourite jeweller.

"Krillin…" the rest of 18's sentence died away in her throat. Her eyes darted between Krillin – or Santa Claus – and the box. She knew this store, she walked by it every day on her way to drop Marron at day care. Never had she imagined a day would come where she would own one of the exquisite pieces that lived in the window though. She was almost too nervous to open the box.

"Here, let me," Krillin took the box back from 18, and lifted the lid. The gasp that came from his wife's lips was all the indication he needed to know he'd done a good job.

"Krillin…" 18 was genuinely lost for words. Inside the box was the most stunning necklace that she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a thick silver chocker style chain glittering with hundreds of diamonds and dotted with beautiful creamy pearls, and hanging from the centre of the chain, was the largest and most sparkly diamond that 18 had ever seen. "How…." She utter, as she reached out to touch the gift, "You shouldn't have done this, Krillin. It's too much. We can't afford this."

"Don't be silly." Krillin dismissed 18's claims. "I always told you I was going to replace that crappy, tiny diamond in your engagement ring with something amazing one day."

Looking down at the finger that housed said engagement ring and wedding band, 18 felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I really like my engagement ring," she said, "it's perfect. Small and cute, just like you."

"I'm not cute!" Krillin retorted. He placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, "I'm strong and handsome!" He boasted, before dissolving into a fit of laughter at his own expense. He knew how ridiculous he looked right now in his Santa suit. "Do you like it?" he asked, once he had regained his composure. "The necklace? I can exchange it if you'd prefer something else."

"Never," 18 turned her back to her husband and scooped up her hair. Krillin understood what that meant and quickly snapped the necklace around her neck. Once it was on, 18 turned back to Krillin and smiled. "It's perfect. You're perfect. This night is perfect."

"I'm glad you like it. Although now that it's on your neck, it looks kind of plain in comparison." Krillin said, and realised in that moment just how desperately he wanted to press his lips against that perfectly soft, supple neck.

Which reminded him.

Diving back into his sack, Krillin found one last gift hiding in the bottom corner. Although some might say it was more of a gift to himself than anything else. He pulled out a small cluster of leaves that had been tied together with a piece of red ribbon and grinned victoriously.

"Is that what I think it is?" 18 asked, suspiciously.

"What do you think it is?"

"Mistletoe."

"Then yes, it's exactly what you think it is."

Krillin held up the slightly squashed and honestly, sad looking bundle of leaves above his head, and leaned in towards 18 for his kiss. But to his surprise, she planted her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"Santa Claus, what would my husband think if he were to walk through that front door right now and see me kissing you?" 18 played. She twirled a loose strand of hair idly around her finger and bit down on her lower lip, going into full on flirt mode.

"I don't think he'd mind."

"Oh I think he would. He's very protective of me, you know."

"Ok, look," Krillin was so turned on now, his hands needed to be on his wife's body. With reckless abandon, he ripped the stupid scratchy Santa beard from his face, and along with the matching red hat, tossed it clear to the other side of the room, where it fell behind the couch to be forever forgotten. "Better?"

"Much better." 18 took the mistletoe from Krillin's hands and dropped it to the floor beside them. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his with a fevered passion. Krillin responded in turn, slipping his hands up underneath 18's shirt and unclipping her bra with well-practised precision. This was not going to be about romance, this was plain and simple, an act of passion.

"Wait, wait!" 18 halted. Already her chest was heaving as she panted for air. That had been an intense ten seconds "Not here. Let's go to the bedroom."

As hot as Krillin found the idea of taking 18 right here, he in his Santa suit, her in nothing but that necklace, on the living room floor, and find it hot he did, he knew it was a bad idea. 18 wasn't exactly known for being quiet during their bedroom escapades and the last thing Krillin wanted was for Marron to wake and be left with a lifelong mental image of Santa Claus defiling her mama. Their bedroom door had not one, but two locks on it for that very reason.

"Are you coming?" 18 asked, and Krillin blinked. 18 was already half way down the hall.

"Yes ma'am," he replied and scrambled quickly to his feet. In a moment of clarity he remembered the snacks and hastily shoved a few cookies into his mouth and skulled half a glass of milk. He didn't even like milk.

"Good," 18 called from the bedroom. "And bring that mistletoe with you."

Maybe Marron would be getting that baby sister for Christmas after all.

A/N: So there you have it my loves. I hope you enjoyed this one, I really had a fun time writing it! What would you like to see next in the prompt collection? Hit me up here via a review or a PM, or over on Tumblr at deadlybeautydbz and let me know!

I'll be back soon with more K18 goodness, so stay tuned!