Christmas on the Gundamusai

His first Christmas anyway from everything he's ever known: How's a boy to cope?

Shute eye's snapped open about a quarter-way and went no further. The dream he had been having was instantly forgotten; it took him an hour to remember that he was dreaming about Christmas morning back in Neotopia, but was, as I said, an hour later.

Now, he whimpered and stuffed his face back into his pillow in an indirect plea to go back to bed.

"Shute."

"Mmmmm-MMMMmmmnnn..."

Captain's hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him in long, exaggerated sweeps. "Wake up, you overslept."

Shute was too awake to fight it now, but still drowsy enough to not talk. "ThasimpossibleIsetmyalahrm..."

"Your alarm clock is broken, remember?"

Shute picked up his head and eyed his clock; the poor little clock still had a large, fist-shaped dent in it from when he loaned it to Bakunetsumaru. "Ohyeahnevermind..." and he let his head fall back down.

"Shute."

"Cahppywhatdayisit?"

If Shute had been looking, he would have seen Captain blush from the mention of his old nickname. The Gundam paused for a second to recover before answering. "December 25."

Shute shot straight up from the pillow, eyes wide. "IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

"Yes."

The boy stumbled out of bed, tripping over his sheets and falling flat on his face. Captain helped him up as he ranted. "Muri desu! It's Christmas! How could I forget it's Christmas, it's- I mean it's Christmas, for crying out loud, how did I miss it!"

"Shute."

The frantic boy tugged at his hair in despair. "Oh man, what am I gonna do-"

"Shute."

He couldn't ignore Captain anymore; he sighed and turned to his friend, the complicated pattern of his new battle armor hurting his eyes. "What?"

"It's time for breakfast."

&&&

"Are you gonna eat your egg?"

"Hai."

"Then why aren't you eating it?"

Shute sighed through his nose, fingering his cup of hot cocoa nervously. "Because I don't want to yet."

Genkimaru, despite being told this fact five times, still wouldn't accept this as an answer. "Well, if you don't want it, why can't I have it?"

Shute growled, resisting the urge to kick Genkimaru.

"Genki-kun, leave Shute alone." Bakunetsumaru gently shoved (i.e. only lightly kicked) Genkimaru away from the table. Bakunetsumaru shared the table with Captain, Zero, Princess Rele, Genkimaru and Shute, despite the table supposed to be being just for the Gundams. Zero's mouth was too full of hashbrown to speak (he still ate with his fingers, like Princess Rele did), but shot Genki daggers with his eyes until the child agreed to behave and got back in his booster seat.

Shute eyed the tray of food before him mournfully. The food was prepackaged, freezed dried, generic looking, and just barely able to hold Shute throughout the day, like McDonald's. The eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and even the banana were the regulation size and cut, and each was put into its own seperate groove in the tray.

A mental picture flashed through his mind; his mom's homemade Christmas breakfast of blueberry waffles, hot chocolate with marshmallows, an apple, and a fresh-baked cinnamon roll...

Without warning, the corners of his eyes closest to his nose started to ache. He rubbed them roughly, making Zero and Captain take quick notice.

"Is something wrong with your eyes, young Shute?"

"I don't-" he sniffed violently. "Think so." With a violent shake, the feeling faded.

&&&

Zapper Zaku, Grappler Gouf, and Destroyer Dom swept the floors in perfect unison, singing in harmony as a little crowd of Zakos and Elmice tittered with evil glee. "Joy to the world, The Captain's dead! We baaar-bequuueeed his heeeeaaad! What happened to his body? We flushed it down the potty, and 'round and 'round it goes! And 'round and 'round it..."

The Zakos followed their leader's eyes; Captain was giving the three psuedo-Gundams death glares, Shute shrinking behind him.

Dom went, "... goes...?"

They heard the KA-BANG in the upper decks.

&&&

Shute sat by Baku's feet and drew. There wasn't much else to do; he was finished with his training, and was now waiting for his shift in the bathroom so he could shower. He couldn't quite figure out what he was drawing, for somewhere after the few few lines he went into a trance and didn't wake back up.

Until Baku coughed and covered his faceplate. "You humans stink when you exercise."

"Hmm?" Shute shook his head and looked around. After he had sat down to draw, Genkimaru and Cheif Haro had lined up behind him and were looking over his shoulder at the picture he was drawing. He was sitting on his hip with his legs folded together, like Princess Rele sat, with both his knees resting on the top of Baku's foot. "What the-?"

He shook his head again and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, yeah, we do, sorry..."

A crew member wandered past the hallway, a Christmas carol playing on her pocket radio. The carol made him remember...

"Chibi-chan!" Cousin Noboru pointed the microphone to his little cousin, who was the tender age of four. "Don't you wanna sing?"

The little red-cheeked boy giggled and shook his head. "No-oh!"

"No?"

He, despite grinning ear to ear, continued to violently swing his head from side-to-side. "No-oh-oh!"

"Aw, come on!" Shute's southern cousin, Patricia, patted his shoulder. The little one laughed out loud; Patricia, a slim 15-year-old senior cousin, was his favorite relative outside of his immediate family. There was just something about her smile, her friendly-but-not-condescending tone, and her joyfulness that made him want to sing.

He flushed and flung himself into her belly, giggling loudly. "I'm mbarrased!"

"You're embarrased, Shute?"

"'m mbarrased."

"Well, I'll go up and hold your hand. Would that make you sing."

"Yes!" cried the little boy, who immediately bounced onto the tiny stage.

"So cute..." Patricia remarked to herself. "I'm gonna miss him..."

Patricia joined the boy onstage and held his hand as he cooed into the microphone. "Sleigh bells-ling, awe you lisning..."

"In the lane, snow is glistening..."

Shute felt the pain in his eyes again, and he covered his face as he rubbed them. Patricia, he thought, what happened to you...

"Shute?"

The boy looked up at Chief Haro, who was looking down on him with his emotionless face. "What's that you drew?"

Of course, as we all know, "Chief Haro" knew exactly what his picture was of. Shute looked down-

It was him, his mother, his father, and Nana, drawn in the same blocky, linear style that he used to draw the Gundams. They were dressed in Christmas clothes and holding hands under a festive garland, and in the background was a tiny Christmas tree.

The pain returned, and Shute finally recognized it; they were tears.

"Nothing." He pushed the picture absentmindedly behind him, his voice cracking. It scrunched up against Baku's foot; the Musha Gundam lifted it gingerly and cradled it in his hand.

A flock of crew members, finally done with their shower shift, piled out of the bathroom with a puff of stream, fully clothed but still slightly wet.

Among them were Captain and Zero. Captain was, for some reason, visibly flustered, but the reason for this became apart when he opened his faceplate and breathed a cloud of steam out of his mouth. Zero watched the sight and laughed comically. "I kept telling you, 'Captain, you're running the water too hot', but do you listen? Nooooo, Mr. Hot Springs here has to have it near boiling!"

Shute ignored them and rushed into the bathroom. Chief Haro took Baku and Zero by the shoulders, with Captain sandwiched inbetween, and pulled them towards him. "Men, have you noticed anything wrong with Shute today?"

Baku scoffed and unfolded the picture, holding it up for Captain and Zero to see. "As if this doesn't explain it." He muttered under his breath. "Obviously not a father..."

The comment sent an arrow through "Chief Haro's" chest, but he pulled the Gundams in closer and began to whisper.

&&&

Shute dragged himself out of the bathroom, still drying his hair with a company towel. The heat had made him draggy. But, fortunately, the water splashing over his face had given him a chance to release some of those pent-up tears without anyone seeing him and without, embarrasingly enough as it is, crying.

He ran into Zero. Literally.

"Ow!" Shute grasped the part of his arm where he had walked into Zero's foot. "I-ii-tai!"

"Oh, Shute, I'm sorry!" Zero patted Shute's shoulder. "Come on, I want you to join me and the others in the hot spring room."

"W-" Shute's throat caught him for a second. "Naze boku nan da? Dou shita nou?"

Zero froze, his gaze slowly drifting away.

"Why?"

"Oh!" Zero floated down to where he was eye level with Shute. "Well, we noticed you haven't been feeling well today, probably because it's that... Christmas thing and you're away from home, so a little time with us in the hot spring might bring you up to spirit."

The thought of it blew Shute's mind. "Uh-g-u- you know I'm not supposed to go into the hot spr-" He shook his head again. "Hot tub, I'm too young, I'll cook-"

"Poppycock!" Zero gave Shute a playful slap on the arm. "Bunch of sciencetific mumbo jumbo. Go get in your swimsuit, we'll let you in when you get there."

&&&

Shute stood at the doorway to the executive lounge, towel in hand and dressed in swim trunks, wondering whether to knock or not. He was cold, preperation for not totally boiling himself in the hot tub. He was barefoot, because he didn't own any flip flops. He technically wasn't allowed in. The room was for senior officers only.

Now what?

The door opened, and Captain answered. "Hi, Shute."

"Ya- Oh! Hi!" he automatically answered. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Captain waved him inside.

The room was mostly white, with flourescent lighting covering the ceiling to make it look whiter. In the corner of the room was the hot tub, where Baku and Zero sat on opposite ends (in full armor, unbelievably) idly conversing, along with several other swimsuit clab members of the crew. In the other corner of the room were several vending machines, and in the middle were some benches covered with shoes and towels.

A woman in a one-piece Speedo walked by. "Merry Christmas, Shute."

The boy jumped in surprise. "Juli!"

Juli smiled warmly. "Enjoy your present." And with that, she walked away and joined the rest of the crew in the hot tub.

"U- uh-um-"

"Come on, it's cold out here."

Captain walked towards the tub and, as if lead by a rope, Shute automatically followed him. After Captain climbed in, he tested the water with his hand; it made his flesh tingle. Nevertheless, the warmth reminded him of how cold it actually was, so he crawled in between Captain and Juli and snuggled under Captain's arm.

"Dumb excuse for a hot spring," Bakunetsumaru complained. "There's not even any sulfur in the water."

"Sulfur?" Zero gasped. "Why would you want sulfur in the water!"

An Upper Neotopian crew member jerked forward from his seat, eager to answer. "It's good for your skin!"

"Not to mention the water doesn't circulat-"

Zero waved his hand to stop Baku, splashing water onto his bathmates in the process. "Waiwaiwaiwaiwait, you still haven't told me why there is sulfur in the water."

"Because otherwise, you'd just be sitting in a tub of hot water!" Baku growled, insulted. "Which is another thing, this water is barely hot enough."

Juli began to turn around. "I'm gonna turn on the air jets."

And then Baku flew into a rage about false advertising, and Zero tried to shut him up by reasoning that sulfur was bad and didn't belong in bath water. But Shute didn't care. By now, the heat was sinking in again. He leaned into Captain's arm and let the water take him again...

&&&

Captain tried, he really did, but he just couldn't keep Zero and Baku out of the room. "Leave him alone! Shute needs exactly 10 hours of uninterrupted rest!"

Zero grunted, trying to shove his way past Captain's outstretched arms. "We just want to check on him."

"I said no!"

"But Cap-tain!" Baku whined, trying to catch him in a childish whine. "I need to give him his pre-sent!"

Baku held up a crude clay horse, muddy brown and painted in very earthy colors.

Captain stared at the horse, his eyes shrinking slightly in surprise. "Where did you get that?"

Baku held the horse to his face and smiled, speaking in an uncharacteristic chirp. "Oh, there's a lovely arts-and-crafts wing down by the- hey!" His eyes snapped open. "Wait, that's none of your business!"

"Shut up!" Zero yelled even louder than Baku. "You'll wake Shute!"

"Zero! Baku!" Captain waited for the two Gundams to calm down. "I will take the gift inside. You can see him in the morning."

"Won'beChristmasinthemorning..."

The three Gundams all jumped in surprise as Shute appeared in the doorway, rubbing his eyes once again. Zero chuckled nervously and twiddled his fingers; Baku, numb to any emotions as of yet, gave Shute the horse.

"Uma,arigatou..."

Dizzy from being woken up, Shute gave Baku a hug which the Gundam immediately shrunk from. "I'mgoin'backtobedgoodnight..."

Captain, lost for words, said, "Merry Christmas."

"HappyNewYeartoo,goodnight..."

And the boy ducked back into his room for a peaceful night's sleep.

And then he woke up.

Shute looked at the clock. It was off, which didn't make any sense- oh...

No, it was unlit Captain's eye. Apparently the Gundam had had another nightmare (it seemed to be happening a lot lately) and had snuck in bed with him while he was asleep. Shute shook Captain's shoulder, and the Gundam woke up. Slowly, like a computer monitor turning on, Captain's eyes turned their normal yellow and fluttered from the closed-eyed screen to the normal mode. "Captain Gundam reporting for duty, sir-"

"Captain, what time is it?"

"Huh- oh!" Captain blinked a few more times. "It's 10:44 p.m., December 24."

"Wa- so... Yume desu." Shute turned over and sat on his hip. "It's not Christmas."

Captain, tired, rolled over on his back and closed his eyes again. "No, it will be tomorrow. Go back to sleep."

"You go back to your own bed!" Shute snapped.

Captain's eyes flicked on again, and he sat up and looked at Shute pitifully. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, go!" Shute felt bad for a moment. "Yoi otoshi o."

Captain nodded in reply. "Happy New Year to you, too."

With a groan, Captain crawled out of bed and left the room, leaving Shute to go back to sleep and dream again...

DONE! Notes, notes, notes...

Written mostly while depressed about the upcoming Christmas season, finished while feeling more optimistic.

I would like to dedicate this fanfiction to the "newest" mainstream SD Gundam fan, SilverBellsAbove! Thank you for motivating my lazy butt to write more fanfictions! And to draw more fanart, despite the fact that I don't have a working scanner. Well, I actually sorta do now, but I have no computer to hook it up to. Man, my grandmother's computer sucks.

As you can guess, "Yoi otoshi o" is Happy New Year. There's no Japanese translation for Merry Christmas, they just say it phonetically. Phoenetically. P-hon-en-et-i-cal-ly. Whatever.

This was based, oddly enough, around my Halloween experience, which was kinda sucky.