A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES!

Consider this my Christmas (or whatever holiday you may celebrate) gift to all of you! I can't thank you enough for reading and reviewing this story. Honestly, ever comment fills me with so much joy. I love you all.

Just a fair warning: I wrote this pretty rapidly. It was a last minute decision to make a Christmas chapter, and I really wanted to make it longer and more detailed. It's brief, but hopefully decent enough to entertain you all

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lunar Chronicles

~o0o~

"This is the last time I let Thorne decorate the place for Christmas," Cinder grumbled, ripping off the 18th sprig of mistletoe she had encountered.

Honestly, she had no time for this celebration. Only a handful of months had passed since the end of the revolution, and everyone was up to their necks in work. Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, and Thorne were still busy distributing the Letumosis antidote, and she and Kai had countries to run, for star's sake! Winter and Jacin had stayed by her side every step of the way, offering suggestions on how to best reform their country to a democracy, so they were swamped as well. But when Thorne spontaneously called her up last week, he made a compelling offer.

Scarlet would have no family to spend the holidays with since her grandmother passed. This would be Wolf's first time celebrating Christmas in a long time and Cress's first Christmas ever. Cinder and Iko had spent the 25th with Adri, Pearl, and Peony in the past, which wasn't too awful, but she didn't get anything more exciting than a pair of worn boots to better hide her robotic foot and Iko didn't get anything at all. Winter also didn't have many great memories of the holiday, having spent it with Levana, and Jacin just needed some good ole fashioned Christmas cheer. Therefore, Thorne decided, a relaxing Christmas break is just what they all needed.

"What about gifts?" Cinder pointed out. "This is too last minute for everyone to buy eight gifts to give out."

"Which is why we'll play white elephant! It'll be fun! Everyone only has to buy one present that way. Cress is so excited about this," he added with a pleading tone. "She's already started finding Christmas cookie recipes."

She chuckled over the phone. "Oh, so that's what this is about," she teased. "Trying to do something nice for your girlfriend, huh?" Cinder knew that Cress was probably a huge influence on his insistence that they get together for Christmas, but from the little he revealed about his own past, she knew this was just as important for him. His parents, while they loved him, weren't the best folks. Christmas was a rushed affair; they got him a huge pile of gifts, half of which didn't relate to any of his interests, and then left him to play with his things alone. For once, he just wanted to spend December 25th with the people he cared about.

"…Well, I am a sucker for Christmas cookies," Cinder admitted, a grin spreading across her face as he whooped and hollered on the other line.

"YOU WON'T REGRET THIS, I SWEAR!" He promised enthusiastically before promptly hanging up the phone.

They all got together on the group chat (which, again, was still very active) and planned the event. The Rampion would swing by the palace and pick up Kai, who would leave Torin temporarily in charge, and they would all arrive on Luna by Christmas Eve. Cinder offered up one of the cozier palace rooms for the event to take place, fit with a fire place and several comfy couches and arm chairs for them to snuggle up in. Scarlet agreed to assist Cress with some of the food preparation on the ship, and Thorne claimed the responsibility of decorating from the start. Everyone was informed about the white elephant idea, and they were all on board.

When they finally arrived, Cinder was swept into the most loving, tear-filled group hug she'd ever been in. Kai was the first to bolt out of the Rampion, followed shortly by Thorne with Cress in tow, and finally Scarlet and Wolf. Kai pulled her into a crushing embrace, cradling her head and allowing her to burrow her face in his neck, staining his collar with happy tears. Then Thorne rammed into them, and shortly afterwards Iko launched herself into the fray followed by an enthusiastic Winter and less enthusiastic Jacin. Everyone eventually piled on each other until they toppled over, sprawling onto the ground and laughing hysterically.

The image of their queen and her friends collapsed on the pavement was posted on every single high-end Lunar newspaper in the country. Some said it showed her charisma. Others said it showed her inadequacy as a leader. She honestly didn't care. Her friends were back, and she was elated.

After they had all peeled themselves off the ground and began speaking enthusiastically to one another, Cress presented Cinder with an elaborate Christmas sweater, her name sewn across the chest.

"It's to wear to the party," she explained, her smile so sweet and genuine it made Cinder's heart swell. "Everyone has one."

"That's so sweet, Cress! This had to take forever to make!" She eyed the garment appreciatively, running her fingers along the tiny reindeer and Christmas trees sewn along the sleeves.

"Oh stars, I didn't do this," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "It was Wolf's idea, actually. He knitted the sweaters. I just sewed on the names."

Cinder blinked. "What?" She turned to Wolf, who was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Scarlet suggested I take up knitting to regain control of my enlarged hands," he muttered. Scarlet, who overheard the conversation, took his hand in hers.

"Turns out he's pretty damn good at it." She kissed him on the cheek, a proud smile brightening her face.

Cinder shook her head in disbelief, laughing to herself and nudging him with her shoulder.

After a few hours of catching up they were shown to guest rooms across the palace and took a well-deserved rest.

The next morning Thorne had the party room off-limits for hours as he worked, opening the door only to take the baked goods from Scarlet and Cress and place them inside. Finally, after everyone had lined up outside the door and Jacin threatened to break it down three times unless he let them in for star's sake, he opened up, revealing…

…a complete mess.

He wore a goofy grin, a lopsided Santa hat, and his brightly colored Christmas sweater as he dramatically swept his hands to the side, revealing his masterpiece. "Well? Waddaya think?"

The entire floor was covered in white feathers, meant to emulate snow. Several blow-up lawn decorations, including Santa, Frosty the Snowman, and a penguin, were strewn about the room. Somehow he had smuggled a real tree on his ship and covered it with a tangly mess of lights and poorly cut paper ornaments. He had thrown more lights on the fan, cords whipping dangerously around the room as it spun above their heads. There was a long buffet table displaying the cookies, cakes, and hot chocolate available to the partygoers.

And, of course, he hung a crap ton of mistletoe.

Cinder opened up her mouth to say a sarcastic comment, but she took one at Cress's awe-struck face, and closed it.

"It's beautiful," the small girl murmured, stepping into the winter wonderland. Winter, just as amazed, agreed with a nod of her head.

"So this is what Christmas is like on Earth?" Her eyes sparkled. "How festive!"

"It certainly is… interesting," Jacin mumbled, poking the inflatable Santa. Thorne puffed up with pride.

"Well, decorating is one of my many specialties. Plus it was super cheap. All I had to do was hit up some suburban neighborhoods for the tree and the lawn decorations and I was pretty much set."

"He's kidding," Cress quickly said when Cinder's wrench magically materialized in her hand.

They spent the next hour eating and chatting. Iko proudly presented her new crimson dress (while wearing her Christmas sweater overtop), spinning in circles and letting the skirt flow. "Isn't it to die for? Cinder's tailor made it for her when she heard she was hosting a Christmas party, but Cinder insisted on wearing pants. Bo-ring."

And despite the fact that Cinder had taken down most of the mistletoe, there was still plenty of kissing. Kai and Cinder in particular were very affectionate after months without seeing each other, and when they had suddenly disappeared from the conversation, Scarlet stumbled upon them making out behind Frosty the Snowman.

"Geez, save some Christmas cheer for the rest of us," she teased, laughing loudly when their cheeks began to color.

"Alright, everyone! It's time for White Elephant!" Thorne announced, rubbing his hands eagerly. "For anyone who's forgotten the rules, we put all of the presents underneath the tree. We'll all be assigned numbers, and one by one we'll open gifts. At your turn, you can either choose to open a new gift or steal someone else's gift. Sound good?"

Everyone murmured their agreement, and Thorne passed around a Santa hat with numbers in it. Iko squealed giddily after drawing hers.

"I'm first!" She proclaimed, springing from her spot on the couch and eying the gifts. She took a slow stroll around the tree, picking up a few packages and shaking them gently. "Hmm. They all look promising… I'll take this one!" She snatched the largest box under the tree, rapidly tearing off the paper and throwing off the lid.

After thirty minutes of gift opening, gift stealing, and a little bit of heated debate, everyone ended up with gifts they were more or less satisfied with. Scarlet couldn't stop staring at the gorgeous image of space Winter had painted, complimenting her every three seconds as she admired the glittering stars and swirling planets. Winter in turn gushed over her hand woven mittens, offering Wolf a peck on the cheek after pulling them on. Wolf ended up with Jacin's gift, which was a dusty copy of an ancient book called Pride and Prejudice. In all honesty Jacin had totally forgotten about the gift exchange and grabbed the first thing he could find on his shelf, but Wolf was excited to have a new novel to peruse. Jacin was probably the least satisfied with his gift. He ended up with Thorne's autographed picture of himself. "Trust me, it will be worth millions one day," he said, patting him firmly on the back. "I just made you rich. You're welcome."

While everyone continued to ogle and discuss their gifts, Cress quietly pulled Thorne to the side.

"I know we decided to only get gifts for white elephant and not for each other this year…" she started. He moaned in response, but he smiled, taking her hands in his. Aces, what was he going to do with this amazing, thoughtful girl?

"Cress, you didn't!"

"Before you say anything," She interrupted, a grin spreading across her face, "I think it's a gift that we can both enjoy."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You sure? Because otherwise you're just an extremely thoughtful girlfriend and I'm the jerk you somehow ended up falling for. People will think I mastered hypnotism and forced you to date me."

She giggled, tugging on his hands and walking backwards until they ended up in the hallway. "Wait here for a second. I left it in my room." She disappeared around the corner, leaving Thorne to contemplate what she had gotten. Monopoly? A cheesy bumper sticker for the Rampion? Couples skydiving lessons? The possibilities were endless.

When she reappeared, holding the gift in her hands, Thorne felt his heart stop.

This totally topped skydiving lessons.

She listened. She listened when he told about his life before crime, his life back home with his parents. She listened when he mentioned offhand that he had a robotic cat that he loved, but wasn't allowed a real one for stupid reasons his parents fabricated to prevent themselves from taking on more responsibilities.

And there she was, holding a tiny gray fur ball with a red bow tied around its neck squirming in her arms. "I picked this little guy up at the pet store and hid him in my quarters in the Rampion for the past four days," she explained, cheeks flushed with elation. He couldn't take his eyes off of the adorable little kitten, which had just yawned the most adorable yawn he had ever seen in his life (even more adorable than Cress's, and that's saying something). Noting his gaze, she handed the animal to him.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" he asked, scratching the spot between its ears. It purred in contentment, the vibration warming his chest in a way no electronic cat could.

"It's a girl," Cress whispered, smiling at the tiny creature. "What do you want to name her?"

Thorne contemplated this for a moment. "Hm. What about… Rapunzel?"

Cress quirked a brow. "Where did that come from?"

"No idea. Rapunzel is similar to rampion, though. Maybe it would make her feel more at home in the Rampion."

Cress smiled. "Rapunzel. I like it."

They locked eyes. Thorne glanced up at the ceiling.

"Well, waddaya know? There just happens to be mistletoe right above us."

"Really? Cinder didn't take it all down?"

"She must've missed this bit."

Cress grinned and leaned in, capturing his lips in hers. Thorne held the kitten with arm and pulled her closer to him with the other, threading his hand in her hair.

He didn't know what he did to deserve all this. He had friends, a steady job, and an amazing girlfriend who truly cared about him.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips. She giggled.

"Well I should hope so, after doing all that," she joked, quoting what he said to her in the hospital room months ago. He released a loud laugh and pulled her in for another kiss.

It was the first good Christmas he'd ever had.

The first of many.