ORB

December 25th

"Merry Christmas!"

The little wooden cabin was shocked with colour, and it seemed like the festive cheer had really become contagious, decorations hung from everywhere you would look. Thick green garlands lined the walls, peppered with boughs of holly and mistletoe, and pretty lights strung along with it.

A giant tree sat in the far corner of the cabin, simply loaded with brightly wrapped boxes of all sizes underneath it. The tree was beautifully decorated, with bright gold and red garlands, home-made ornaments and lights that twinkled every colour of the rainbow. Perched on top was a gold star that caught the light and gleamed cheerfully to top off the look.

Christmas tunes were blasting out of a small radio that sat beside the tree, adding to the already festive mood. As soon as Murrue stepped inside the orphans, armed with reindeer antlers and santa hats, charged as one to greet her. The brunette didn't have a chance, laughing at the mob hugged every part of her they could reach, tugging on her sleeves to get her to come with them.

"Miss Murrue, Santa's here!" A little girl squealed excitedly, grasping Murrue's hand tightly as she let the mob of children lead her into the living room where the tree was.

"What do you mean Santa's here Sherry?" Murrue asked curiously, bending down to lift her up into her arms, brushing a kiss to the little brunette's forehead. "Where?"

"In there!" Sherry giggled, pulling again on Murrue's sleeve to get her attention. She whispered, "I know it's not really Santa. But Uncle Kira wanted to make everyone really happy."

"Uncle Kira...?" Murrue asked in confusion, wandering inside with the orphans. She set the little girl down, turning around to see something she was certain meant hell had frozen over. She felt like she'd been hit in the stomach, and fought to hide the hysterical laugh that threatened to escape her.

Others weren't bothering hiding it, Cagalli was on the couch laughing hysterically, clearly unable to help it. Her boyfriend had his arm around her shoulders, wearing a very big smile that spoke volumes, he was very glad it wasn't him. Erica was barely able to contain herself, but the camera she was wearing around her neck had probably been used for blackmail. Lacus was attempting to hide her amusement behind a too-big smile. Even Andrew was shivering with mirth.

It was easy to see what had the group in a laughing fit, and it was a terrific battle for Murrue to hide her own laughter. Sitting on the chair, wearing a red suit with a pillow stuffed down to add to the effect sat Santa Kira, with the fluffy white trimmed hat and beard to boot. He glared at the lot of them before staring at Murrue with a very threatening look that spoke for itself. 'Say anything, and you will regret it.'

Murrue forced her giggles down into her stomach, swearing that she'd never let him forget what he had done. She grinned broadly at the boy and said cheerfully to the kids, "Well what do you know, Santa decided to pay you a visit! Why don't you tell him what you want for Christmas?"

The mob of children promptly cheered in unison and mobbed the poor boy, laughing and giggling to boot. Erica tugged her friend beside her, and she gave in to her hysterical laughing fit the moment she was out of the living room. "My god!"

"The poor kid." Erica snorted, not sounding the least bit apologetic or sympathetic. She could see her friend was fighting hard to keep herself controlled for his sake, but she wasn't trying at all.

"Who the hell... convinced him... to do that...?" Murrue asked between fits of giggles, barely able to get enough breath in to speak. Her sides were beginning to hurt from laughing too hard, but she couldn't help herself. The mere thought of the young Coordinator she remembered wearing that suit only sent a fresh round of laughter through her.

"Well we all kind of did, but the idea was the princess' entirely." Erica answered with a wide grin, poking her camera rather smugly. She had gotten all the pictures she would ever need to blackmail the poor boy for years. "And of course once she bat those long eyelashes and asked him 'pretty please', he couldn't say no. Cagalli's having a riot of it, I think it's honestly hilarious, Athrun's just happy it's not him, hell, even Waltfeld thinks it's amusing."

"I think it's very humiliating for him but I can't stop laughing." Murrue snickered, having a very hard time fighting her laughter. "The poor kid... I feel so sorry for him." She was still grinning when she peeked over to see him laughing in a deep voice that wasn't his own, fighting to keep a smile on his face behind that outrageously fake white beard. "He saves our lives more times than I can count and we repay him by dressing him up as Santa and letting the kids have at him? I feel very evil at the moment." She smiled broadly at Erica and joked, "We're all going to hell."

"In handbaskets." Erica teased, and the two exchanged a loaded glance before collapsing in on each other in a fit of mad laughter.

They travelled back into the living room, wearing too broad smiles. Kira had sat another orphan on his knee, asking heartily what the little boy would like. Lacus was giggling by that point now, and Cagalli looked dangerously close to asphyxiation due to laughter. Even Athrun had began chuckling.

Finally a snickering Andrew led the orphans outside to play some games while the women would get to work on dinner, and Kira groaned loudly the moment the kids were gone. He tore off his beard and glared at his sister and best friend. "It's your turn next year Athrun."

"You're not getting me anywhere near that thing once you get out of it." Athrun answered swiftly, causing his girlfriend to lean into his shoulder and giggle more. "It must be boiling in that thing!"

"It is." Kira managed to grumble through grit teeth, getting awkwardly to his feet from the chair.

Murrue hadn't noticed before, having been too perplexed by the image of the young man in a santa outfit, but he was wearing big black boots along with a huge buckle across his pillow-widened berth. She couldn't stop the joke that was coming out of her mouth now, and asked cheekily, "Aren't you going to let us sit in your lap and tell you what we want for Christmas Kira?"

A tense silence followed her words for half a second, and Murrue was fairly certain that Kira was going to explode because of fury and embarrassment. Cagalli lost it first, nearly falling off the couch as she howled with laughter, and Athrun had to duck his head as his shoulders shook. Erica snickered, trading a swift high-five with her friend as Lacus pranced over to Kira and gave the boy a swift kiss to the cheek.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Miss Murrue." Kira finally managed, glancing gratefully at Lacus who was wearing a smile so bright it could light a city block. He shook his head when they still beamed at him, and trudged along upstairs to change back into some better, more breathing, clothes.

"That was uncalled for." Erica snickered, nudging her friend gently in the ribs, barely able to keep her laughter under control. Murrue grinned sheepishly, shoulders shivering a bit as she fought to hide her laughter as well. Erica ruffled her hair around and added cheerfully, "But then again, it was damn hilarious so you're off the hook."

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,

fa la la la la, la la la la.

Tis the season to be jolly,

fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now our gay apparel,

fa la la la la, la la la la.

Troll the ancient yuletide carol.

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Dinner had been magnificent, Mrs Yamato, Erica, and Lacus had worked wonders in the kitchen. Murrue was a little annoyed that the three women had ganged up on her and refused to let her even enter the kitchen, their excuse being since she'd done the baking, they would do the cooking. Despite the fact that she wished she could keep helping out, they did have a point. She spent the remainder of the day outside with the orphans, playing with them along with Cagalli, Athrun, Kira and Andrew.

When Lacus had hollered down the beach that dinner was ready, the now starving group had once again become a mob. The large hall that served for a dining room was full to the brim, and it had been delicious from start to finish. Mrs Yamato presented the desserts, with Murrue's cakes included. Much to hers and Erica's delight, the teenagers seemed to really enjoy the treats, all four of them ending up with a pink tint to their face.

The children caused havoc once they dug into the presents, the older group deciding to wait until the children were finished and put to bed instead. It turned out the wait wasn't that long, the children had tuckered themselves right out and were gone to bed before dusk had really settled.

Now the remainder of the group sat alone in the living room, laughing and enjoying the fading bits of the holiday together. Erica had cheerily reminded them of the remaining presents left for themselves, and now arranging themselves in a circle, they readied themselves for their own Christmas.

"Alright, alright... Youngest first then." Erica laughed cheekily, winking at Murrue and then turning to Lacus. "Go on then."

Lacus pretended to roll her eyes but primly picked up a slim package wrapped in silver. She examined it thoroughly, finding the tags on the end. "This one is from Kira..." She gave him a shy smile before gently unfolding the paper and sliding the box from its wrapping. It was a thin white box and she quickly opened that too before gasping in alarm.

Curious, Murrue leaned over to see what Lacus had in her hands, and her jaw dropped in amazement, eyes widening. "Oh that's beautiful!"

In a daze, Lacus lifted the delicate silver chain from the box, and hanging from a tiny silver pendant was a small amethyst stone shaped in a heart. Cagalli murmured appreciatively as Lacus slowly lifted her hair and put it on. The chain was short and the stone hung delicately around her pale neck. She quickly pounced on her boyfriend, rewarding him with a warm kiss to the lips that left him looking stunned. "Thank you Kira. It's amazing." She breathed, hugging him close.

Kira laughed awkwardly, nuzzling gently into her neck and winding his arms around to hug her close too. "I guess it's our turn."He glanced at Cagalli who was grinning from ear to ear. "You go first."

"Hell no, I'm older than you are." Cagalli shot back, causing the adults to snicker amongst themselves. "You first."

"For god's sake, both of you open something at the same time." Erica laughed, tossing them both a gift each from the pile sitting in the middle of their circle. "Save us some sanity."

Cagalli grinned but turned her attention to her gift as Kira did the same. "Alright then... This one's from..." The both murmured, before turning to look at each other with mirroring grins.

"Guess that means they found the presents they planned to give to each other." Murrue laughed, trading a wink with Andrew before snuggling further into the couch to watch the twins. "Go on."

Cagalli got her box opened first, a bright grin lighting up her features as she gently picked out a diamond-shaped picture frame. The frame was brushed silver and gold, two ovals entwined at the middle. In one oval was her picture and in the other was Kira's, and in the thin oval that connected them was a picture of the two of them sitting together with broad smiles on their faces. A mirroring one now adorning Cagalli's, she threw her arms around her brother's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Kira!"

"This boy has a taste for gifts." Andrew snorted, watching in amusement as Lacus playfully tugged him closer to her and out of his sister's grasp. "And women too."

Murrue giggled, trading a high-five with Erica as she watched Kira open his present. He slid open the thin box before a disk of some sort fell into his hand. The others looked mystified but Kira looked outrageously happy and promptly kissed his sister before laughing triumphantly. "I've been looking everywhere for this! Where'd you find it Cags?!"

"I have connections." Cagalli answered smugly, leaning on her boyfriend and trying to hide a snicker of amusement. She gently elbowed him and said sweetly, "Now it's your turn Athrun."

The blue-haired Coordinator nodded silently, selecting a box from the pile and examining the tag. "This one is from... The Director?" He glanced at Erica in surprise, as did the rest of them, and she simply smiled sweetly at him. Confused but intrigued, he opened the small box and tipped it over. A pair of keys fell into his waiting palm. Confused, he looked up at her.

"Keys to your new car." Erica answered with a broad smirk, before turning to Cagalli and adding, "It's yours too by the way, share and be nice." She winked before Athrun opened his mouth to protest, cutting him off smoothly, "It was a pet project of mine, it didn't cost me a cent, and I figured it was better than you having to take cabs all the time to escape the press. Enjoy it."

"I feel quite broke right now." Murrue murmured with a weak laugh, earning a swift cuff over her ear from her friend. "Alright, I know, my go!" Glancing at the pile she finally chose a medium sized crimson one with her name on it, glancing with a glare at Erica. "If you gave me keys I'm giving it to Waltfeld, I like my car."

Andrew snorted loudly and Erica rolled her eyes skyward before muttering, "Open the damn present."

"Nyah." Murrue stuck out her tongue but returned to the box, giving it a small shake in hopes of hearing anything inside. She unwrapped it curiously, opening the lid a fraction for a peek inside. Then she gasped in alarm and the box slid from her hands into her lap. She gazed at Erica with wide questioning eyes.

Erica glanced at the package worriedly, bitting her lower lip nervously. She hastily began, extending her arm half-heartedly to take the gift back, "Was it too early? I'm sorry, I thought maybe you'd like it considering, but if you don't it's alright, I could take it back–"

Murrue cut her off by wrapping her arms tightly around her friend and hugging her as tightly as possible. The redhead woman gave a squeak of surprise, but then smiled ruefully and returned the embrace with a soft laugh. "I love it Erica. It's perfect." She released her friend and turned back to the box, pulling off the lid and tenderly holding up the object for everyone else to see. Held like it was a crown jewel in her hands, was a perfect miniature scale model of the FX-550 Skygrasper.

"I don't think anyone is going to top that one tonight Miss Murrue." Kira chuckled quietly, watching his former captain smile tearfully and nod. He turned towards Andrew and said politely, "I guess it's your turn."

"Yep. Lessee..." Andre picked a larger box that was wrapped in bright yellow, testing its weight before smirking. "Light as a feather..." He glanced at the tag. "Ah, thank you Captain Ramius." He grinned broadly at the still emotional Murrue.

"Don't thank me till you see what's in it." Murrue laughed weakly, hurriedly drying her face with her sleeve. She tucked her box closer into her lap, having placed the model back into its protective wrapping so she could display it proudly at home when she returned.

Andrew made short work of the wrapping, opening the box before letting loose a groan as he lifted up his gift. Held in his hand was a stuffed tiger, and almost immediately the group burst into laughter.

"Murrue you topped it!" Erica snorted, watching as Andrew snorted and leaned over to ruffle the woman's hair. She snickered and playfully pushed him away, poking the tiger's white stomach before beaming over her joke.

"You don't need to keep it Commander." Murrue grinned, full of good humour, "If you want you can return it."

"Nah it's cute." Andrew snorted, idly pulling the plush toy into his arm and mockingly hugging it. "I'll keep it just to spite ya."

The group laughed before a quiet knock on the door caught their attention. Lacus quickly glanced at the clock in confusion, wondering who would come calling after dark. The others grew tense, suspicion rearing in all the former soldiers. Kira fluidly got to his feet along with Lacus, both walking casually to the door and attempting to look somewhat calm.

Murrue leaned a bit off the couch in an attempt to see the visitor, but her angle was wrong and the doorway was effectively blocked. She did however hear the conversation that took place, along with the others who were listening just as intently as she was.

"Hello...?"

"Hello. You don't know me, but I'm looking for someone and I think you might know her. Her name is Murrue Ramius."

Everyone froze, all eyes automatically flying to the frozen brunette on the couch. Much to everyone's alarm, she bounded right off the couch and towards the door, easily side-stepping around the tow stunned teenagers. A warm smile lit her face when she saw who stood there, and she quickly embraced him with a warm exclamation. "Justin! What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you." Justin chuckled, likewise wrapping an arm around her and returning the embrace. When she drew away he noticed the stunned expressions on the other guests inside and smiled sheepishly. "Hiya everyone."

"Who the hell is he?" Erica asked in confusion, getting up from the floor to stand protectively beside her friend, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "He knew your name?"

"This is Justin Halberton, Lewis Halberton's younger brother." Murrue hastened to explain, understanding the worry, confusion, and suspicion that had fallen on her friends at his unexpected arrival. She turned to kira and added hurriedly, "You remember Admiral Halberton, don't you Kira?"

"I didn't know he had a brother." Kira answered evenly after a moment, his violet eyes still unsure as he examined the man curiously. "You don't look very much like him..."

"Comes with being a Coordinator." Justin answered with a wry chuckle, eliciting a gasp from the young boy. "Yeah, odd, I know. My parents were kind of big on the whole acceptance thing between Coordinators and Naturals."

Murrue smiled a little, though she was full of questions. She couldn't remember seeing the man for a few years, before the entire situation at Heliopolis which spurred on their future. It was strange to see a face from her past that he remembered so clearly, especially now. Worry gripped her chest, making it hard to breathe. He had been an Earth Alliance soldier, just like his older brother before him, albeit a pilot. Nothing good would come from an Alliance soldier being here, especially one who was able to track her down. "Justin... What's going on...?"

"I've got some good sources up in Copernicus. That and I had some help tracking you down." Justin answered with a small smile, remembering the numerous times he had sat down with the blond pilot and questioned him repeatedly for information that would help with his work. All the information had proved quite useful, though his search and been anything but easy. "I've been looking for you."

Murrue was silent, completely unsure of what to say. She knew enough that Copernicus was decidedly neutral and if he had been with them this entire time the odds were he still wasn't attached to the Earth Alliance military. She wasn't about to jump to conclusions however, relying on her newest friend in paranoia to keep her senses sharp. Erica asked the question that was on everyone's lips. "Why have you been looking for her?"

"I've come to deliver some good news for you. A late Christmas present if you will." Justin snorted, fishing in his black jacket pocket for something. He grinned when he found it, holding out a coffin-shaped locket with a rose engraved on the front and showing it to Murrue. "This is from Mu. He's alive."

Murrue's eyes widened in shock, a rush of electricity flooding down her veins along with several emotions that simply overwhelmed her. She stared at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to say and what to do. It didn't matter, her knees simply gave out and a welcoming blackness enveloped her.

"Whoa!" Erica gasped, hastily managing to grasp her friend's arms and steady her. Justin hurriedly helped lay her down on the floor, looking incredibly embarrassed as he did so. A dark glare from Erica however made him quickly drop his hands and jump backwards and away from the unconscious woman.

"You'd think after being treated like that for three months I'd be used to women hating me." Justin muttered weakly, rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped away from the annoyed redhead. "Sorry to say but you've got nothing on the lieutenant..."

"Did you just tell her that Commander Mu La Flaga is alive?" Erica hissed, eyes narrowing angrily as she took a threatening step forward. Fury swam through her fierce and strong, coupled with the protective instinct she felt on her friend's behalf. "Who the hell are you to feed this woman lies? Do you have any idea at all how much she's suffered since he died?"

"Whoa lady, I'm not lying!" Justin yelped hurriedly, jumping back a good foot away from the redhead's furious reach. He held up the locket almost defensively, looking quite fearful for his life as he did so. "La Flaga gave me this, said if I showed it to her she'd believe me instead of getting all paranoid. I'm a mate of hers, I wouldn't lie."

At this point murrue had begun to come around, moaning quietly as she came back to consciousness. Confusion muddled with her thoughts for a moment, before she bolted upright, a new excitement colouring her marigold eyes bright. She jumped to her feet, grabbing Justin by the shoulders. "He's alive?"

"He's alive and fine in Copernicus, waiting for me to get back and tell him that I found you." Justin answered with a little crooked smile, gently placing the locket in her hands. He was slightly amused by the sheer delight in her face, the relief and joy. "And this is yours I believe... You gave it to him before he left, didn't you?"

"I told him to bring it back to me after the battle." Murrue murmured softly, clutching the locket and remembering the last words she spoke to him before he got into the Strike, the way she put the locket into his hands and made him hold it.

"Here..." She murmured quietly, unlatching the locket quickly from around her neck before she lost her nerve, taking his hands between hers and placing the necklace in his, closing his fingers around it.

"Huh?" Mu glanced down at what he now held, eyes widening in astonishment as he realized what he now held. Shock flooded him, and he glanced up to see her staring down at it, expression a mask of something close to pain. "M-Murrue!" He stammered, shocked into near-silence. "I can't take this!"

"No, you can't. You're just borrowing it." Murrue corrected him quietly, smiling wryly at his now confused expression. She gently tugged him close, pressing her lips warmly against his. He sighed into the embrace, never once fighting against her. She broke the embrace quickly, now smiling a little more warmly. Her hands gently covered his, and she whispered quietly, her lips nearly touching his as she spoke, "I want it back... You have to give it back to me once you're finished out there. So you have to come back to me so I can take this back."

"That sounds reasonable enough..." Mu chuckled weakly, lifting her chin in his gloves hand, fixing the locket around his own neck with his free one. "You'll have this back within the hour. I promise."

"He's alive." Murrue murmured, a single tear making its way down her face as she clutched the locket to her chest, happiness filling her chest till she was certain she was going to explode. "He's alive."

AN

Lol it got so long but I didn't feel like I got to say everything I wanted but bleh... And oh, I had so much fun writing presents, lol. I honestly laughed so hard writing Tiger's present cause I'm a total doorknob... Addressing the "Deck the Halls" lyrics, I have two excuses for my self defence. A) I needed filler. B) I have no life. Review please as always.

Sky