Author's Note: I don't own Bionicle. (Good thing too, because I've been spelling the names of Vakhi incorrectly all these years.) Speaking of which, in this story the Vakhi and the Toa Metru declared a truce for the holiday season. My fic, my rules. Now without further ado, on with the story!

O Tannenbaum

By: Firework Warrior

Snow dusted the nano-cobblestone streets of Ga-Metru, sparkling in the oblique rays of binary suns. Ga-Matoran who tended the gardens were preparing for the holiday light display, under the supervision of a small squad of Bordakh. After an accident a few days ago where a young student decided to meddle with electrical wires, the Bordakh had to live up to their motto of "protecting you from yourself." Thankfully, no such accidents had occurred since then.

"At least not yet," muttered Nokama. She kept an eye on the gardeners. But she kept the other eye on the Bordakh squadron. She had managed to reason with the elite squad commanders to declare a truce for the upcoming holiday season. Hopefully the truce would last...

The good news was, this squad was already less bothersome than others. Mostly because they had witnessed Nokama get the young student to safety before any further damage was done. Nonetheless, Nokama remained wary of a single Bordakh who was shooting her a glowing amber glare. She thanked her lucky stars when the squad commander stepped in front and put out its right staff like a barricade. That would prevent unnecessary chases. The other Bordakh turned away with its arms folded, as if grumbling. (Was it even possible for Vakhi to grumble? Nokama often wondered this, but had little desire to ask).

Nokama soon reached her destination: a Christmas tree farm. Matau was supposed to be helping her. She looked up, hoping he'd arrive soon. A north wind kicked up, blowing powder everywhere. Above, an emerald green Toa with silver glider wings on his back performed a few loops. That was unmistakably Matau.

"Show-off." Nokama shook her head.

Matau landed with his arms in the air as if he finished a gymnastics routine. "And he good-sticks the ground-landing!"

Nokama clapped slowly with a neutral expression on her mask. "Perfect ten." Her voice was flat at best, completely unimpressed at worst.

"Much-thanks, love-dear!"

"Oh, stop it… we're here to look for a tree, are you ready?"

"Ever-ready!" Matau bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. His excitement created a small puff of wind, sending snow flying at Nokama's mask.

"Sorry-oops..."

Nokama wiped the snow off her mask. "I'll show you 'sorry-oops,' flyboy." She put air quotes around the chute-speak, giving Matau a stern teacher look. Matau decided to behave - at least for now. "Rule number one, we're staying together." Ever the sensible one, Nokama had decided to set down ground rules. "And rule number two, no public displays of affection."

"Can I hand-link with you?" Matau extended his hand towards Nokama's, a hopeful shine in his eyes.

Nokama sighed in exasperation. "Very funny, Matau…"

Matau pouted in response to this. Nokama huffed, "fine," and took Matau's hand. The minute she did, it felt like sparks jumped to her heartlight. Even in winter, Matau was warm and playful like a summer breeze. From a sensible perspective, It wasn't the worst thing they could do. Holding hands was preferable to frost-bitten fingers. Not to mention, it would prevent Nokama losing track of Matau. The moment she lost track of him would be the moment he did something reckless.

Some of the trees had icicles hanging from the branches like silver ornaments. Others glittered with frost and snowflakes. All different sizes and shapes, some short and squat and some tall and skinny.

"How about this one?" asked Matau. Nokama looked over and saw a very scrawny tree in a pot. She shook her head "no," then focused her eyes forward again. A little too focused, perhaps. Soon after, she heard an "Oof!" and a THWUMP! Matau had walked into a branch and landed mask-down in the snow.

Matau spit out some snow and jumped to his feet. "How about this one?"

"Too big," Nokama answered, "it's probably three times my height. Now watch where you're going."

The morning turned to noon, and Matau's earlier excitement turned to boredom. Nokama hadn't found a tree yet. Which was nice because she was still holding his hand. But he wanted to have some fun. "Quick-hide, Seek-find sounds ever-fun!" Matau made an illusion of himself. Then he slipped his hand out of Nokama's hand and ran off to hide in a nearby grove.

Nokama was wondering why "Matau" was being so quiet as he walked. Silent, even. Normally she would have taken it as a nice change from the usual. But this didn't seem normal. She suspected something was off. As she continued to walk, she got farther and farther away from the grove where Matau was hiding. Unfortunately, Matau couldn't sustain the illusion copy over a distance, and it disappeared.

Nokama's suspicions were confirmed - something was indeed off. Specifically, Matau had run off. She groaned and began to search. Suddenly, a green flash zipped through her peripheral vision. She decided to keep her head on a swivel, because she didn't want Matau to sneak up on her. (Which he had done a few times, each time earning a swat on the hip armor.) Then again, how could she tell if he was actually sneaking up on her or if it was one of his illusions?

That was when Nokama got an idea. When she was younger, she had studied under a priestess who taught her about energy signatures and how to pick up on them. Nokama took these lessons to heart, feeling as if they would be part of her Destiny someday. And they were - just not in a way she expected.

The illusions had some of Matau's energy, as he created them with his abilities, but a different signature. Nokama breathed in and out a few times, closing her eyes and opening them with a soft, somewhat unfocused gaze. She picked up a spike of energy by the grove she had walked through when she and Matau first entered. But when she got there, she still couldn't see where Matau was. She'd have to actually use her eyes, and stop looking for an energy signature. She sighed loudly and refocused her gaze.

"Dammit, where's that airhead…" she muttered.

"Jump-scare!" Matau leapt out from behind a tree. Nokama did a double-take, stumbling backwards and landing on her back in the snow. Her heartlight jittered from Matau's prank and the impact of her fall. She breathed deeply and focused on that, until her heartlight was back at a normal rate.

"Sorry-oops, love-dear." Matau extended a hand, which Nokama accepted. He pulled her back up.

"What did I tell you about running off?" Nokama scolded. "You could have gotten hurt! Or worse, caught by Vakhi!"

"But… what about the peace-time?"

"Don't do anything that would convince them to end it."

Matau smiled and moved in closer. "I knew you cared." Nokama grabbed his hand and smiled back. She couldn't stay mad at Matau for long. And there was something else now… an emotion she couldn't quite place...

"Nokama! Look-see!"

Matau pointed at the scrawny tree he had first seen. Nokama looked over, her eyes still shining with an emotion she couldn't place. A gust shot from Matau's hand and kicked up some snow. The snow and wind swirled around the tree in silver and emerald sparkles, obscuring it from view. When the sparkles cleared, the tree was still small, but restored to health.

"It needed love." Nokama realized. She picked up the now-healthy tree in its pot, and put it on a small sled. "We're taking it home."

"We…?" Matau's voice trailed off.

Nokama was riding high on this new feeling. "Matau, there's something I've been meaning to tell you… but it never felt like the right time…"

Matau held his breath.

"You're such an airhead..." Nokama began. Then she leaned even closer and gave Matau a peck on the cheek. "But you're my airhead. Hot cocoa and cuddles at my place?"

Matau grinned. "I'm in."

The End