Christmas Special

A/N: this chapter has very little relevance to the actual fic. But, I felt like doing a Christmas chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Mars. She had not returned for thirty years. Every year, she would visit the graves of her parents; or more specifically the graves of the woman who she was cloned from and her family. Monotomo Peilei had killed them for petty reasons, on Halloween, thirty-five years ago.

The dock could barely hold her ship, but it did; the place she was going was not a very high-traffic area. Dark-grey clouds covered the Martian sky, making morning seem as evening. The temperature had dropped drastically for winter, and Maki was slightly unprepared for the cold weather.

The last time she had visited Mars it had been autumn, and the temperatures were comfortable. Now, the temperatures were in the low 30s to the high 20s. Fortunately, she found a clothing store nearby and bought a long, white coat.

Stopping by an indoor florist, she bought three long-stemmed roses. As she climbed into a rusty taxi, snow began to fall from the clouds. Not surprising. It was Christmas Eve, and Mars always had snow for Christmas.

Cold, white snow crunched under her boots as she walked through the graveyard. Section 371C, Row 6….She'd always remember those numbers; they represented where her family was laid to rest. She found the three headstones easily enough.

Kneeling down, she placed one rose on each grave. The woman she was cloned from, her husband, and her son, were all buried here. Maki prayed for them, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. They had been so kind to her….

For nearly an hour she sat by the graves, her tears now gone. She stood up and paid her last respects, and then left. The taxi was gone, so she decided to walk to her hotel; the Venus Eclipse was being tuned and repaired.

As she walked she noticed an open field, one she used the play in. She walked into it. The snow was falling harder, but she did not mind. For some nostalgic reason, she began to hum a Christmas song.

"Da…dadada….Da….dadada….Dadeedadada…Da…dadadada…" She began to dance to her tune, holding her hands out as if she had a partner. "Da…dadada…Da…dadada…Dadadeedeedada…" She felt at peace dancing, yet a voice broke that peace.

"I thought snow angels were myths, yet I find myself staring at the most angelic snow I have ever seen." Maki turned to see a man cloaked in a black coat and blue jeans. His hair was black and slightly unkempt, his eyes a beautiful jade green. His chin had a bit of stubble on it, just enough to make him gorgeous…

Maki blushed. She had not found a man attractive in a very long time, and she did not really want to. "Care to dance?" He stepped up to her and held out his hands. She felt calm around him for some reason. She took his hands and they began to dance in the snow.

After a few minutes of silent dancing, the man let her go, and she got a better look at him. The way his muscles were and the way her held himself, he was easily in his thirties. However, he was very young-looking and seemed kind.

Taking her hand, he kissed it softly and held it in his hands. "May I ask your residence so we may continue this ball again sometime?"

"Oh. I don't live here. I'm staying in the Bush Hotel, the Harris Suite. But, I'll be leaving in two days. My ship will be ready by then."…..She had just told a complete stranger where she was staying….What an idiot she was. She looked down and then back up, but the man was gone.

The walk to the hotel was not very long, though she was very thankful for the heated conditions inside the hotel. Her suite smelled faintly of pine and cinnamon, the result of the Christmas tree in the living room area. However, underneath the tree was a package that had not been there before.

It was large, about 2'x3'x1', and wrapped in silver paper with a white bow on top. She looked at the small card attached to the package. "To: The Lovely Angel. From: The Masked Man. 'Open as soon as you can and then come to the address inside the box. You'll have a grand time."

Maki took the box to the couch and opened it up, gazing at the white silk. The dress was pure white silk, with a V-neck front and a low back. There was white gossamer for sleeves and in between the two long slits in the skirt. As well, there were two long gossamer trails from either shoulder that flowed down the back; a white eye mask with two feathers at the corner of each eye was also in the box. The last thing was an invitation to a Christmas costume ball.

She decided whoever had done this deserved her attention for at least a little while. She changed into the dress and got into a taxi, ignoring the cold.

Inside the large hall were several people in various costumes, all dancing and having a good time. Maki looked all about for the "Masked Man", but found it hard. Finally, she sat down in a chair and took a break from searching.

"My angelic snow. So glad you could come." Maki looked up and saw a man dressed as Zorro, his hand held out. His eyes and his chin gave away that he was the man she had danced with in the snow. She took his hand and he pulled her up. "You look beautiful in the dress. I'm glad it fits."

"Why did you do all this for me? We don't even know each other, yet you gave me a dress and a mask, and you invited me to this party. Why?"

He just smiled. "You danced by yourself. A person only does that if they are lonely. This is Christmas Eve. You should have fun." After this, he took her to his chest and began a waltz with her.

The ball lasted well into the night. The man took Maki back to her suite. "Sir, may I ask your name before you go?"

He removed his mask, and hers, smiling. Placing his hand upon her cheek, he kissed her softly, their lips together for a good few minutes, but his tongue never invading. It was perfect. "My name is Drake Atnas."

Maki, her eyes closed during that moment of bliss, opened them, but saw that he had gone. Strange. She stepped inside of her suite, and stared at the enormous pile of packages under the tree, all wrapped in colorful paper. Who….Atnas….Santa!

Maki smiled wide. Santa had given her presents, and a day with her dream man. This was the best Christmas ever.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This pertains to almost none of the actual fic, except the man will make a different appearance later in the fic. However, the reactions and whatnot, and the conditions of their meeting are much different. Also, the man will have much more depth to his character.

Happy Belated Christmas.