Dedicated to jacepurr88 for the awesome fan art!

Happy Holidays, Readers! This chapter was originally in one part, but I split it into two because it got too long. (To be fair, this was published at Christmastime on Wattpad)

So I thought I'd write a Christmas one-shot, or two-shot, rather, because I have been watching way too many cheesy Christmas romance movies and then I imagined Nova and Adrian snuggling on the couch with ugly Christmas sweaters and I knew I had to write about it.

If you don't celebrate Christmas, I'm sorry, but Christmas is the only thing I know. I'm not that educated on Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc. I hope I don't offend or upset you.

As always, feel free to skip this chapter

This takes place before Arch Enemies and Supernova, shortly after Nova joins the renegades.

I know the timelines don't add up, but this idea was way too cute to not write about, so i decided to ignore the timeline.

Anyway, on to the chapter. It's a long one.

Nova loved the holidays.

With her past trauma, it was kind of strange. In a season with so much emphasis on family, why was she so happy when she didn't really have one?

Nova used to not really care about holidays, but she started to like it after the Battle of Gatlon.

She didn't like the renegades, but she did love how they did Christmas.

They decorated the Renegades Headquarters liked nobody's business. They went all out, with inflatables, lights, even lights that matched tunes of famous Christmas songs.

Perhaps the thing Nova loved most was the annual Christmas Tree Decorating Ceremony.

They had a huge evergreen in the town square, it was decorated every year, with every citizen putting on one ornament and Nova never missed it, not even when she was supposed to be in hiding or with the anarchists. She always found a way to go.

It was her dream to someday be the one lucky person in the crowd to be picked to put the star atop the tree and press the power button to light it up.

Too bad they usually only exclusively pick little kids.

Adrian hated the holidays.

It doesn't seem like he'd be the Scrooge type, because he had a pretty good adopted family.

But all the emphasis on family usually only made him miss his mom more.

Not even the girl with the necklace of flashing lights at the grocery store could change his mind.

Neither could the boy sporting reindeer antlers at the information desk at headquarters.

Not even the jolly mall Santa could make him happy.

Although he did see Nova waiting in line to see Santa, and when he asked why, she said "Oh. I thought this was the checkout line" but made no movement to the actual checkout line. Knowing that Nova was secretly obsessed with Christmas made him a little happy. He thought it was funny and cute.

But even with Nova, he still didn't like Christmas. And there was nothing he hated more than the tree decorating ceremony. His dads made him attend since he was their son. But he hated it.

Nothing could prepare Adrian for a few days before Christmas, their last day before they were off for the holidays.

Nova came in with a huge shopping bag.

She wore leggings with white snowflakes with a baby blue background.

Her sweater was atrocious. It was just full of tinsel and Christmas bows and random puff balls and cutouts of reindeer and snowflakes. The background was green. It looked like a Christmas Tree threw up on it.

It was so random.

And so ugly.

"I have sweaters for everybody!" Nova exclaimed.

She handed one to Ruby.

It was black with red lining around the hems. The sleeves were striped with red and white, like a peppermint. On the middle was a Christmas tree with lights that said "Get Lit".

"I love it," Ruby said.

Oscar's fit his personality. It showed tacos wrapped in Christmas bows with avocados and chips in a pattern behind them.

It was ugly, but Nova's still won.

"It's beautiful," Oscar said, putting a hand over his heart.

She went to Danna next.

Danna's sweater had a Christmas tree with a butterfly with a Santa hat flying towards it. It wasn't as ugly as the others, but Danna loved her powers and she appreciated it. She even gave Nova a small smile, even though she wasn't Nova's biggest fan.

Lastly, she went to Adrian.

He took the garment from Nova, who was beaming at him as she presented the sweater to him.

Great skies, it was worse than hers.

It had green sleeves and a black background.

It depicted a Christmas tree with presents underneath.

But it had a hood.

And the hood had a star on the top. That was the worst part.

"I'm not wearing this," Adrian said.

Nova's face fell.

"But I got it for you. I thought you'd like it," Nova said.

"It's hideous, Nova. And no offense, but I hate Christmas."

Nova looked so hurt that Adrian instantly regretted his words.

But he was going to stand his ground. Not even a girl he liked could change his mind.

"I'm sorry, Nova," Adrian said, walking out of the room. While Nova wasn't looking, the other renegades had pulled the sweaters over their uniforms.

"Adrian has never liked Christmas," Oscar said.

"Yeah. It reminds him of his mom." Ruby added.

Nova picked up the sweater, which Adrian had dropped on the floor.

"I thought he would like it," She said.

"It's ok, Nova. We like ours," Oscar said, patting Nova's back comfortingly.

"Let's go talk to Adrian," Ruby said. "Maybe we can convince him..."

"I don't want to make him f he doesn't want to. I'll just hang on to the sweater in case he has a change of heart."

Ruby, Oscar, and Danna knew he wouldn't have a change of heart, but they decided not to tell Nova that. She was so hurt from his reaction and nobody wanted to make her sadder.

"Are you coming to the Christmas Decorating Ceremony?" Ruby asked as the group took a lunch break from practicing.

"I always go," Nova said, already a little happier. Adrian was sitting alone, a few tables away.

"My mom wants me to take my brothers this year so she can have a night to bake peacefully without my brothers asking to lick the bowl or spoons," Ruby said, chuckling. "I told her I'd be happy to go."

"Are you going, Oscar?" Nova asked.

"I wasn't going to, but mom has a work thing and now that Ruby's going... I mean, both of you are going, I might go." Oscar said, trying to cover up his slip-up. "I didn't mean to say Ruby, I want to see you, too, Nova, of course, It's just, I was looking at Ruby and..."

"I know, Oscar," Nova said, laughing.

Danna shrugged. "I might go. I dunno."

Nova looked at Adrian. She knew he would be there. He had to, since his dads were part of the council, and the council was in charge of such things.

"You're right. He'll be there," Ruby said, as if she just read Nova's thoughts.

She got up and sat next to him.

"Why don't you like Christmas?" She asked as he stared at his lunch tray, not eating anything except a carrot, of all things.

He pursed his lips.

"I know I come from a good family. Two good dads, well-off. It's just, the holidays is when I miss my mom the most. I know I have an adoptive family, but I still have some memories of my mom. And I miss her a lot. Especially around the holidays."

"I miss my family, too." Nova said, and then it occurred to her that she never told Adrian what happened to them.

"How..."

"What happened to them isn't important right now." Nova said. "But I love Christmas. Everyone is happy and the world seems at peace. Do you not see that?"

"I'm sorry. Nova. I can't see it the way you do," He said, getting up to throw his tray away.

Then, he left the room.

Nova sighed.

She saw a cherry flavored candy cane slide her way.

"You ok?" A girl asked, sitting down across from her.

She had dark brown hair and a kind smile. She wore a necklace with big Christmas lights, and they were slowly blinking on and off.

"Didn't I see you at the grocery store?" Nova asked.

She nodded. "I work there."

"Are you a prodigy?"

"No. I wish I was. Which is why I spend so much time here." The girl replied, looking around. "The council gave me permission to give candy canes to all the renegades in the building." She said. "Courtesy of my store. But I've been telling people they're from me. I do it every year."

She sighed. "But in all honesty, I couldn't afford this many candy canes." She gestured to a huge bag she had set down, right next to her, filled to the brim with candy cane packages.

Nova smiled. "I'll tell people it was all your idea. How many teams have you given them too so far?"

"Not very many. You looked particularly sad, so I chose you first. Of course, Sketch was a lot sadder, but he didn't accept my candy cane." She explained.

She got up. "I have more candy canes to pass out. But don't get discouraged. Miracles happen, Insomnia. Sometimes, people just need the right amount of time to find their inner Christmas Spirit. Keep working at it, and I'm sure he'll have a change of heart."

As she walked away, Nova said "Wait!"

The girl stopped and turned towards her.

"What's your name?"

"Kennedy Smith, renegade enthusiast," She said, smiling. She then walked towards the rest of Nova's team, handing them candy canes.

Though this Kennedy was seriously misguided in loving the renegades so much, she was right. Maybe Adrian just needed more time. Nova would keep showing him Christmas magic, and maybe he'll start to like Christmas.

Nova joined her team. 'Wanna trade? I don't like the purple ones," Danna said to Oscar. The candy canes she gave out were the fruit flavored kind, not the classic peppermint.

"Sorry, Danna, but red is my favorite." Oscar replied.

"Here, Danna," Nova said, handing Danna her red one.

"Thanks, Nova! You're the best," Danna said.

"I'm sure she would have given you a red one if you just asked," Ruby said, licking her orange candy cane.

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings," Danna said.

"Asking for a different flavored candy cane would have hurt her feelings?" Nova asked.

"Maybe," Danna replied.

Nova shrugged and unwrapped her candy cane.

"We're not supposed to accept gifts from our fans, but she's different, since it's the store that provides the candy canes. This is her third year doing it," Ruby said. "Poor thing wants to be a renegade so much."

"It really reminds us of how grateful we should be that we got powers. Because it's not something that everyone has." Danna said.

"Easy for you to say. I went through trauma to get mine," Oscar said. "You were born with yours."

"Hey, if that girl had to get traumatized in order to get powers, I'm sure she'd welcome it." Danna replied.

"We really are lucky. I just wish Adrian would realize that there's more to Christmas than family. There's friends, there's happiness, and most of all, gratefulness, especially since that old Thanksgiving tradition was done away with after the war."

"Why do you think they did away with that tradition?" Oscar asked. "I would have loved a holiday dedicated to eating."

"Well, I guess after the war, people didn't have a whole lot to be thankful for," Danna replied. It seemed like after that comment, the whole team got a little glummer.

"Hey! I didn't want blue!" Genissa screamed from the hallway. "Give me a red one!"

"No! I gave you a blue one to match your cold, dead heart!" Kennedy yelled back, running down the hallway, away from Genissa.

"Happens every year. And yet, she keeps coming back." Ruby said.

"Where do you think Adrian went?" Ruby asked when she got back to the practice room, where Adrian was nowhere to be found.

"I have an idea. I'll meet you guys back here in an hour," Nova said.

She slid out of the room and went to Max's quarantine.

And just like she guessed, there was Adrian, facing Max, who was looking at Adrian with concern etched on his face.

"Adrian?" Nova asked. Max looked over, relieved that now someone else was here to help him.

"He's sad. He gets sad around this time every year," Max said to Nova. "Kennedy gave him a red candy cane, and even that didn't cheer him up."

Nova's heart sank. He's not getting better, he's getting worse.

"Adrian, there must be some things you like about Christmas," Nova said.

"No, Nova. Stop bringing it up. I don't like Christmas, I don't like the holly, I don't like the jolly, and I especially hate the Christmas spirit!" Adrian exclaimed, losing his calm and collected exposure he usually had.

He walked away, muttering things like "holly" and "tree" under his breath.

Nova hung her head.

"I try so hard. He just doesn't want to see it my way. Ge could. He doesn't want to," Nova said. She stomped back to the practice room.

"That was way less than an hour," Oscar pointed out.

"Adrian went to see Max, but then I came along and he lost his temper and ran off. I didn't have anything else leaving me there," Nova said with a sigh.

"I guess he doesn't need time or the right person. He just doesn't like Christmas. Plain and simple." Nova added.

"I'm sure with time..." Ruby started.

"No. He won't. Everybody has been telling me that maybe Adrian's mood will improve after time, but I don't think it will this time. I'm done trying to cheer him up." Nova said. "Let him hate Christmas if he wants."

And at that, she decided to go home and spend Christmas Eve with the anarchists until the Tree Decorating Ceremony.

Ruby and Oscar exchanged looks, feeling terrible about Nova's rotten luck with turning Adrian around.

Danna, not being the biggest Nova fan, didn't really seem to be paying attention.

Í think we all should just go home," Ruby said. "I need to tell my brothers to get ready, anyway."

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan," Oscar said.

"Nova will be ok," Danna added. "I know I'm not a huge fan of her, but she's strong, and it's going to take more than Adrian's pessimism to bring her down."

With that, the team parted.

Nova knew she should stop thinking about it, but she couldn't.

She couldn't stand the thought of Adrian being sad around Christmas.

Ever her, an anarchist, a villain (in Renegade vocabulary, at least) loved Christmas. How could Adrian hate something so beautiful and meaningful?

Nov was brainstorming ways to make Adrian happy this Christmas.

Then, Nova thought of the perfect idea.

What did Adrian love?

His fans.

What did other people love?

The Tree Decorating Ceremony.

What if Nova gathered a bunch of Adrian's biggest fans and made a scrapbook about why they loved Adrian and why he deserves to be happy?

And, they could present it to him at the Tree Decorating Ceremony.

But that would mean...

Oh, great skies, Nova only had two hours to compile it.

Luckily, Nova knew the perfect group to help.

The Renegades Fan Club.

I know I already did a little note at the top, but I wanted to say something down here, too.

I know that making Nova love Christmas and making Adrian hate it was a bold move. But, I wanted to be unpredictable, and I'm sure a hundred other writers out there wrote about how much Adrian loved Christmas and how much Nova hated it, so I decided to flip the script.

But don't you worry, like most Christmas movies, this will have a happy ending.

Stay tuned for the next part, and please, comment and vote! :)