Merry Christmas my friends! Just a special Christmas edition. I am writing this at 4am. again. I unfortunately had to get my wisdom tooth and a jawbone cyst removed on Christmas eve, which means my entire eating and sleeping schedule will be mixed up for a while. On the upside, I now have the personal space and time to churn out some awesome pieces of writing! :) Hope you like this one… I was just contemplating how these folks would spend Christmas… assuming they do have Christmas. What culture wouldn't?
I don't care, I'm putting in a Christmas holiday for them. ^_^

Simple Gifts

It was one of her many favorite days of the year. The people would take a break from their hard work to gather home for a time of relaxation, reflection, and pure joviality. Wives often cooked up fancy meals, husbands would help (or just watch) their wives, kids went on their playdates. Nature provided the perfect complementary backdrop to the holiday, with gorgeously mellow rays of sunlight, cloudless crystal blue skies, and breathtaking sunsets.

The gifts were always fun. She loved coming up with new things to give to people and totally surprising them in the process. The year she gave Tersa a wind-driven floating target board her best friend just about bounced off the walls in excitement. Or the time she gave Yupa a new sunhat that could simultaneously hide knives, she cracked a laugh out of the old man.

This year she went for a more heartfelt gift for Asbel. In years past she managed to semi-prank him with useful but amusing gifts that sometimes were a little awkward to pull out and use. He always managed to get her the coolest gifts though… nailed it every time with a new gadget or a sweet personal accessory that fit her personality perfectly.

They had spent the night of Christmas eve together after a lovely dinner with the friends and family in the Valley. For an hour or so they simply sat in front of the fire with Tersa and Jack, chatting away about the highlights of the past year and excitedly discussing new plans in the next. Eventually folks got tired and everyone dispersed for the evening, but Nausicaa wasn't quite ready to sleep yet and thus dragged Asbel out for night flight over the Valley. Not that he really minded; he loved flying with her. Night flights did wonders for her and when she came back she felt quite exhausted for the day and was ready to jump straight into bed. The clock struck twelve right as they were walking alone back to her bedroom.

"Merry Christmas Asbel." She told him, stopping in the hallway.

"Merry Christmas Naus." He replied, and of course pressed his lips over hers for a sweet kiss. Inside the bedroom they ended falling asleep in front of the fire; Nausicaa basically brought her pillows and blankets over to him for a classic sleepover arrangement on the floor.

The next morning Nausicaa woke up to find a medium sized box next to her head, and quickly identified it a Christmas present.

"Open it." A voice told her. She looked over to find Asbel watching her from several feet away. The girl took the box and unwrapped the outer ribbon. Inside she found a strange contraption, but it didn't take long for her to recognize it. She had wanted one of these for as long as she could remember, and a genuinely excited smile began to spread across her features, lighting up her eyes.

"Oh my word…" She exclaimed out loud, while Asbel grinned and chuckled.

She pulled out the device and practically squealed with joy. It was a plant extractor: a small device that ran on hydraulic power and steam to make extracts out of plant matter. The classic method would be to boil or steam the leaves, mush, strain, then steam again…the entire process was time consuming and obviously labor intensive. She had been saving up money for one of these for a while, and was about to get it next year. It required no work other than a power source, and would speed up her experiments and research by a long shot.

"How did you - where?" These things were hard to find and made in distant countries… which meant they weren't cheap. When did he get the time to find one?

"I have connections…" He replied with a smirk. He could barely finish his sentence when she tackled him to the ground, beyond ecstatic about both the present and the giver. She pressed a kiss first into his neck, and then over his lips. Excitement turned into passion, and the kiss deepened: her fingers sensuously slipped over his scalp, while his hands roved over her body and gripped her waist. They got a bit distracted however… and he roughly pulled her into him and rolled over until he was on top of her. When they were finished they were both breathless, having both enjoyed a perfectly good Christmas present of their own.

"Thank you so much…" She breathed to him, eyes soft in the morning sunshine.

"You're welcome."

"Wait! I have something for you." When he lifted himself off of her she danced her way over to her closet and pulled out a loosely wrapped present. "It's not as exciting as a plant extractor though." The man chuckled and took the present, happy to receive anything from her. When he unwrapped it he found a woven hat, amber-brown on the outside, and a warmer, white material on the inside. It was perfect for flying, and even appeared to have slots to hold flying goggles and masks in place.

"Wow." He whispered, clearly in awe of its softness and beauty. "Did you make this?" Nausicaa nodded.

"The wool is from Pejite; and I dyed the outer layer. So now it matches your eyes." He smiled at the last comment. The color was indeed quite unique; in fact he had the highest regard for those that could make woolen products… Lastelle had showed him her knitting project before and he remembered just the knitting as being the most complicated procedure ever.

"It's perfect. I keep telling myself to get a new one but never got around to it. Mine's gotten old."

"Haha, yours has at least five holes in it…it's ancient. You'll wear it?"

"Of course I'll wear it." And immediately proceeded to try it on, before a joking smirk pulled the corners of his lips. "I'm not tackling you to the ground though, if that's what you're asking." The girl laughed, then yanked the hat down over his eyes.

Hehe hoped you liked it! Merry Christmas too all! Also, my other fanfic ch 19 is almost ready. It's coming out in the next few days I promise!