Foreword: this chapter is not canon in any way in the story. It's just a oneshot-esc romance chapter for Christmas, and due to the nature of this chapter, there will not be any outro sequence. All review replies will be in the next chapter.

Enjoy!

"Merry Christmas, Mikazuki!"

Raising a brow as he turned away from Barbatos, Mikazuki tilted his head just a little when he made eye contact with Mina, who was grinning from ear to ear as she, alongside Nac, jogged towards him. Despite his usual neutral self, the young pilot offered a mild sigh before exhaling a little, though that simple act caused a bit of cold air vapor to be formed in front of his mouth.

Turning away from Mina and Nac for a brief moment, Mikazuki stared around the general area for a brief moment and saw that the tent that kept Barbatos from public view was now covered in quite a thick layer of snow. Hell, the entirety of Trost was covered in a thick layer of snow as well, and by all means, he suspected that every other wall was no different. To his knowledge, during this time of the year, snow would begin falling from the sky. Why, Mikazuki neither knew nor cared to learn of why.

The cold was rather intense, to say the least, so much so that even Mikazuki was unable to withstand it, and as such, even he had to wear some thicker attire. Thankfully enough, the Survey Corps had a handful of cold weather appropriate attire that they were willing to loan to him, and now, he was wearing a long sleeved and padded Survey Corp uniform alongside his typical Tekkadan pair of pants. A thick pair of gloves covered his hands, and a set of earmuffs shielded his ears from the cold. A mask was also provided to Mikazuki to keep his jaw from freezing, and while he didn't need it, the pilot still kept it wrapped around his neck just in case.

Likewise, Mina and Nac were also loaned a set of winter wear. Their attire was similar to Mikazuki's, only at differing sizes, and Augus would've been lying if he claimed that it wasn't exactly odd to see them dressed so weirdly. He was able to overlook that, however, as he simply turned back to look at the two.

"Christmas?" muttered Mika, frowning in confusion as his two friends stopped in front of him, with Nac nearly slipping on the snow and causing both Mika and Mina to wince a little as they watched Tias flail his hands around to rebalance himself. Once he was alright, he sighed in relief and smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah, y'know, when snow starts falling!" replied Nac with a small smile. Mika raised a brow at that, prompting Tias to blink a little. "We… uh… celebrated it a little before becoming Cadets. Did you forget…?"

"I only remember the snow a few times, but I don't remember celebrating Christmas," replied Mika with a shrug as he leaned back on Barbatos' leg armour, to which Mina held the sides of her head.

"Seriously?!" proclaimed Mina, sounding rather heartbroken as she spoke. At the very least, the young pilot appeared a little sheepish as he shrugged, genuinely not remembering celebrating Christmas ever in the past. "Come on man…"

"Sorry," apologised Mika with a shrug as he rolled his shoulders, and in response, Mina offered an awkward nod as she hugged herself a little. Likewise, Nac appeared a little fabblergastered as well, and Augus did admittedly feel a little bad about forgetting about their previous 'Christmas' incidents, so as a compromise… "Well, why don't we celebrate it again?"

"Eh? You're serious?" muttered Nac, sounding surprised to hear Mika be the one to ask to celebrate something rather than be asked to. His response was a mild nod from the young pilot, and at that, Tias turned to stare at Mina, who appeared equally as shocked.

"Ah. There's nothing to do right now, and if it means that much to you, then I'll do it," replied Mika, nodding a little as he spoke. And to that, Mina's eyes became literal stars as the young pilot winced a little at their brightness.

"All right! Come on, let's go see the others!" proclaimed Mina, rushing forward and grabbing Mika by the hand. At that, the pilot raised a brow briefly before he allowed himself to be dragged off towards the Trost refueling station where everyone else was, though as soon as she was gone, Hanji Zoe alongside the rest of Team Levi appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Alright gang, now that he's gone, let's get to work!" proclaimed Hanji, smirking wildly as she held onto a terribly long string of Christmas lights that were bought from Sina and a massive she cobbled together a few nights prior. The long string of crystals were so damn long that Hanji needed the help of Petra, Oruo and Eld to help her hold it up, and though most of them didn't show it, they were all incredibly unsure on if they should be helping Zoe out in her antics.

"Is this really a good idea?" asked Gunther, biting his lower lip as Hanji eyed him incredulously.

"As if I'd let this chance pass me up! Let's move! I didn't pay Levi half of my salary for nothing!" was Hanji's response, and to that, the soldiers sighed as they remembered that they were literally paid to do dumb shit with Zoe.

Though at this point they reckoned that it wasn't the dumbest thing they've done in their careers…

Elsewhere

"No offence, Mika, but… why aren't you smiling at least a little?"

In response to that, Mika simply raised an eyebrow at Nac, who seemed genuinely curious as he walked beside his friend. Likewise, Mina appeared a little upset by her friend's lack of enthusiasm in regards to the current festivities, and though it wasn't exactly an exciting answer, Mika still offered them one.

"There's not much to smile about. It's just snowing," answered Augus truthfully as he shrugged and brushed some snow off his shoulder and noticed the flabbergasted expressions on the faces of his friends. "What?"

"Not a big deal… C-Christmas is always a big deal!" proclaimed Mina, sounding bewildered as she flailed her arms around wildly, nearly slapping Mika at one point before she calmed down. "It's the only day of the year where we can all spend time together…"

"We spend a lot of time together already," muttered Mika, frowning just a little as his Carolina blinked in apparent disbelief. Even so, she couldn't exactly deny that fact as Mika, Nac and herself did spend a lot of time together during training sessions or during their breaks.

"Yeah, but when was the last time we hung out casually, anyways?" asked Nac, seeming rather upset as he crossed his arms. "It's been more than a few years since we were able to just be friends and not cram in all the soldier stuff into our daily lives, y'know? And since everyone gets a day off on Christmas, we can do just that!"

"I guess you're right on that front," conceded Mika with a mild shrug as Nac smirked and fistpumped while Mina noticeably brightened up. "But where are we going, anyways?"

"The refueling station! Sasha and Connie planned out a get together for everyone," replied Mina, prompting Mika to shudder a little.

"This won't end well," bemoaned Mika, prompting his two friends to raise their brows.

"Come on, have faith in them, man!" suggested Nac, and his response was a simple raise of Mika's brow, a nonverbal: "Are you sure about that?" from the pilot that made him reconsider. "Yeah… nevermind."

Some time later

"Welcome!"

"That's my ear, Sasha. You don't need to shout into it."

Laughing sheepishly as she backed away, Sasha Blouse blushed just a little as she welcomed Mika, Mina and Nac into the refueling station's cafeteria after having yelled into Augus' ear, albeit without the intent of permanently damaging his eardrum. Thankfully the pilot didn't seem to mind as he simply walked it off.

The interior of the refueling station was redecorated a fair bit, with several fuzzy decorations hanging along the walls and stockings hanging everywhere. Augus had no clue why it was this way but he wasn't willing to bother asking regardless.

The cafeteria was filled to the brim with several platters of food. Nothing extravagant, obviously, as the soldiers didn't have access to anything meat related, though it was still rather nice… if one could consider stale bread, various cups of alcohol and massive pots filled with overnight stew to be nice, anyways. Off by the sides were several familiar faces all standing and speaking between with each other as they helped themselves to the food on display,

"Hey, you guys made it!" greeted one of the Survey Corps present, with said soldier being Armin, who was holding onto a piece of bread as he waved at them. In response, Nac waved back at him with a smirk before he wrapped an arm around Mika's shoulders.

"Yeah, and we brought Mika too!" proclaimed Nac, smirking as he gently punched Mika's shoulder, to which the pilot raised a brow before snorting and nodding a little. This caused Tias to chuckle briefly before he removed his arm and motioned for them to get a move on as Sasha closed the door, shutting out the cold winter breeze, before she moved off to get something to eat, much to no one's surprise.

"Well, it would be nice if he smiled a little!" quipt Connie, appearing behind Armin rather abruptly and scaring the pants off the blonde as he leapt up into the air. Springer laughed a little at that before he placed an arm around Arlert's shoulder and spoke up. "Kinda makes all the effort we put into getting all this stuff pretty unsatisfying if he doesn't!"

"You just asked Tomas to pull some strings, didn't you?" clarified Nac, smirking knowingly as Connie's proud expression made way for a shocked one.

"N-No… I… I didn't! I just-" began Connie, only to realize that he was backed into a corner before he sighed in frustration. "Fine, yeah. I kinda asked him to do it. The guy was cool enough to do it for free."

"Heh, well, where are the senior soldiers anyhow?" asked Mina, smiling gently as Connie shrugged.

"They're off doing their own things, I think," replied Armin in place of Connie, who appeared a little stumped by what Arlert was speaking of though still willing to pretend that he did. "They said we could have this place to ourselves for now."

"Fair enough. Let's make the most of this," suggested Nac with a smirk as he moved off to grab something to bite on, leaving Mina and Mika behind as he offered a mild wink at the former, who chuckled awkwardly as he waltzed off. As for Mika, he dismissed the gesture and glanced over at Connie, who shuddered a little under his gaze.

"Got any raisins?"

And Connie shrunk down a few inches when he realized that there were, in fact, no raisins.

"I'm glad you could make it, Annie!"

As she said that, Mina launched herself towards her blonde friend and slammed into her, wrapping her arms around the short lady, who was forced to catch her and keep her from falling onto the ground. For a brief moment, Annie found her face buried in her twintailed friend's bosom, though she didn't voice any discomfort out as she stared up at her.

"You invited me, so I came," reminded Annie, looking somewhere between irritated and perhaps a little happy as she spoke, to which Mina giggled as she got off her blonde friend and jumped up and down on her feet. And despite herself, Leonhardt couldn't help but smile just a little at her friend. "But I will at least admit that I missed you."

"You do care!" proclaimed Mina happily as she lunged forward for another hug, only to be stopped by the blonde, who frowned a little as she placed a hand up to her chest to stop her. "Awh…"

"I do care, but I'd also rather you not do that," clarified Annie as Mika walked up to her and blinked a little. At that, Leonhardt made eye contact with him before she nodded in greeting, with the pilot mirroring her gesture a little before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a raisin. And in spite of her usual self, Annie couldn't help but make a small, playful jab directed at Carolina. "See? Mika knows about personal space."

"Jeez, rub it in why don't cha?" quipt Mina with a pout, one that made Leonhardt roll her eyes as she took a sip from her cup before she stared over at Jean, who was currently speaking to Mikasa, who… was not listening. Ironically enough she was trying to speak to Eren… who was also not listening to her as he simply stared out at the snow thoughtfully.

As she did so, Annie, and somehow Mina and Mika as well, failed to notice someone sneaking up on the two of them and wrapping her arm around Mikazuki's shoulder. The pilot blinked in surprise at that, though he was quick to shrug it off, though not before greeting the young woman out of general politeness. "Ymir."

"As sharp as ever, Mika! Though not sharp enough to see me coming up behind ya," quipt Ymir, poking Augus on the chest as she spoke. The pilot didn't seem keen on responding as he simply ate a raisin, promoting Fritz to sigh in disappointment. "Jeez, did the snow numb your emotions even further or are you still as much of a prick as usual?"

"Ymir! Don't be rude!" scolded Christa from behind the taller lady, prompting her to roll her eyes and wave the little blonde off as she snickered.

"Psh, Mika can handle it. After all, if he couldn't he'd probably try to kill me with that Gundam of his!" reasoned Ymir, smirking as she pinched Mika's cheek playfully, something that set both Annie and Mina on edge as the pilot simply ignored it and sighed to himself and swatted her hand off his cheek, prompting her to raise a brow. "Seriously, you tryna make me contradict myself?"

"No. You're just getting annoying," replied Mika as he rolled his eyes and eyed her, prompting the lady to sigh as she threw her arms into the air.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," grumbled Fritz, frowning as she glanced between Mina, Annie and Mika. and it was then when she began to think of something rather… devilish, prompting her to rub her chin with a sinister grin. "So, ever thought of kissing someone under the mistletoe?"

And at that, Mina felt her face heat up just a little at that thought while Annie simply widened her eyes just enough for it to be noticeable. Meanwhile, Mika simply raised an eyebrow in apprehension.

"No. Why?" asked Augus, sounding genuinely confused as he spoke, to which Ymir's grin grew in size, and before anyone could stop her, Fritz seized Mika by the waist and pulled him in close, lifting his left up until it reached her waist whilst also bringing her face close to his.

"Why don't we have a go at it then, kid?" quipt Ymir, smirking teasingly as both Mina and Annie appeared ready to blow up at her, which made Fritz's smirk grow much wider as she was getting what she wanted. Call it prudish of her, but hey, she was technically paid to do this… "You and me, kissin' it up~"

"No thanks," was all Mika said, and before Ymir could continue speaking, Augus grabbed her by the face and shoved her backwards, not wishing for any lip-to-lip contact with Ymir anytime soon, prompting the freckled woman to pout mockingly.

"Well jeez, you could've just said so! But hey, I doubt a kiss from you would be better than one from Christa!" quipt Ymir, smirking as she crouched down and squished Christa's cheeks, much to her embarrassment, while Mika was left confused by what just transpired. As for Mina and Annie, however, they were left feeling rather… odd as they stared at each other in confusion.

"I'm going to find Reiner and Bertholdt. You have fun…" muttered Annie, still unsure on how to react to what she was feeling as Carolina just nodded a little and stayed where she was. Rather unfortunately for her, however, Mika seemed to notice just how red her face was, as he was quick to approach her and place a hand over her forehead, prompting her to squeak out in shock.

"M-Mikazuki?!" proclaimed Mina, just loud enough to catch everyone's attention, and though they pretended not to, they were very obviously watching in on the two as Augus leaned dangerously close towards Mina's face to check on her.

"Your face is red. Are you feeling alright?" asked Mika, raising a brow in apparent worry as his face hovered mere inches away from Carolina's. In response, Mina simply backed up a little as her cheeks burned so intensely that it could possibly melt the cold winter ice, further worrying Mika as he raised his brow further up his face. "You should get some rest."

"D-Don't worry about me, Mika! I'm perfectly fine! So fine that I could run ten laps around the entire refuel station without feeling winded!" assured Mina, half lying as her heart was racing so swiftly that she felt herself go into an overdrive state. Hell she felt like she could bring down the Colossal Titan on her own with all the adrenaline rushing through her systems at the moment!

"You're not lying, right?" clarified Mika, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he asked. He was serious with this question and if she really was lying, he'd… well, he'd probably just get her to a doctor, though he wouldn't be happy with the lying part.

"N-Not at all! In fact, d-don't you think it's pretty cold alrightsoI'mgoingoutnowbye-"

And with those final few words from Mina, she made use of all the adrenaline rushing through her system and ran out into the winter cold, with Ymir smirking as she rounded a corner and met up with a soldier cloaked in shadows.

"Going according to plan?" inquired Ymir, smirking widely as she glanced up at the person, who nodded at her.

"Yep. You can expect more free time in the future… not that I condone it, of course."

"Psh, you do you, bro. Me? I just wanna kick back and live my life however I wanna!"

"So… do you think I can just… eat the snow off the ground?"

"Are you that stupid?"

Pouting a little at the insult, Sasha crossed her arms and looked away from Connie before marching off and attempting to eat the snow anyways, though as Springer had predicted, it didn't end well. Off to the side, Armin offered a mildly worried expression while Eren did his best to hold in a chuckle. Mikasa had no opinion on the scene.

By the waysides, Mina had a hand held up to her chest as she breathed in deeply. Her heart was racing intensely and her cheeks, in spite of the cold, were still burning with so much heat that it threatened to turn all the snow around her into water.

'He… he's just a friend, Mina! Your brother… maybe! Why're you acting so weirdly about this?! Sure he's hot, but still…' thought Mina rather worriedly as she clutched both sides of her head and let out a mental cry of exhaustion. Meanwhile, however, Mika couldn't help but keep his gaze on Carolina as she (metaphorically) slammed her head against a wall.

How strange… though he didn't show it, Mika did feel rather weird at the moment. While his face was so close to Mina's, the young pilot had felt rather… off. He felt odd urges tug at his heart, wishing for him to crash his lips against Mina's and just embrace her there and then. Truthfully, he did find it tempting back then, though he was able to resist the urge so it caused no harm.

But if that were the case… why did he feel tempted to go and try it again…? The sensation of his face being so close to Mina's was already quite a thrill… a feeling that Mika really wanted to experience once more…

"Hey there, Mika."

Blinking as he was called, Mika broke from his trance like state and turned to see that Mylius was now standing behind him. Raising a brow, the young pilot turned his body to face the blonde fully, and at that, he smiled awkwardly and coughed into his fist.

"So… uh, Mina's acting oddly, don't you think?" pointed out Mylius, to which Mika glanced over at Mina, who had curled up into a ball by now, and nodded.

"Ah. I should check on her," muttered Mika, only to be stopped by Zeramuski, who grabbed him by the wrist with a grip that was shockingly rigid for someone like him.

"Hold on, I just kinda wanna ask…" began Mylius as Augus turned back to him, seeming a little irritated as he raised a brow, though he was willing to hear him out as he cleared his throat. "Have you kissed anyone before?"

Well, that came out of left field… so much so that Mika, temporarily stunned, gave a confused: "What?" in response to Mylius' question. Rather unfortunately, Mylius' courage had ran out by then, though thankfully enough, Christa just so happened to be within earshot of the conversation, as she was quick to help him out.

"Mylius wishes to know if you've ever kissed anyone before, Mikazuki," repeated Christa, smiling gently as Zeramuski smiled at her thankfully.

"Yeah," replied Mika, short and simple as both blonde soldiers blinked in shock. "It was a long time ago, though. Forgot what it felt like."

"A-Ah… well… have you ever thought of kissing someone… again?" inquired Mylius, motioning a little with his arms as he spoke. In response, Mika raised a brow as Christa cleared her throat and nudged the taller blonde. "W-Wait nevermind! What I meant to say was that… erm… you know…! Uuuuuuh…"

And before he could even finish that statement, Armin came swooping in from literally nowhere and dragged him off before he could get a panic attack.

"Sorry about that, Mika! Mylius' just stressed out over the upcoming expedition! No need to worry about it!" assured Armin with a knowing smile as he dragged a Mylius who was frozen solid thanks to a combination of the cold and fear while Mika and Christa watched in both amusement and bemusement.

"Is that the Christmas spirit I keep hearing about at work?" asked Mika, eyeing Christa in confusion as she chuckled briefly.

"Perhaps… though the ultimate show of Christmas spirit is typically a kiss under a mistletoe," replied Christa, with a noticeable sweatdrop coming down her face as she had quite literally made that fact up.

Even so, it had its desired effect as Mika ended up rubbing his chin a little as he nodded.

"I see…"

And off in the distance, another shadowy figure stood! The figure spied on the whole thing through her spyglass and mumbled a little to themself as they smiled.

"All according to keikaku!"

Hours later

And so, as the sun began setting over the horizon, the Christmas party had come to an end, with Sasha passing out near the end thanks to an overconsumption of snow.

Everyone had gathered around her to get her to puke the snow out before her insides froze over, and it was only through a hearty elbow slam from Annie that saved Blouse's life. Her repayment was a frozen potato, one that Leonhardt was quick to throw back at Sasha, in turn knocking her the fuck out.

However, even as everyone watched as Jean nursed the massive, potato made bump on Sasha's forehead, none of them expected Mike of all people to come galloping into the refueling station and ordering every one of them to get their ass over to the tentage that held Gundam Barbatos, posthaste. They didn't question the sniffer, and as such, they did as they were told.

And upon arrival, they were greeted with a very… strange sight.

"What did you do to Barbatos?" asked Mika, with him being the one to break the silence as he turned to stare at Hanji. At first, Zoe feigned ignorance as she held her hands up to her chest and gave an expression of mock terror, though when it became clear that he wasn't buying it, she slouched over and sighed.

"What gave it away?" asked Hanji as Mika glanced up at Barbatos, decorated up with Christmas lights that started from the bottom of the Gundam's feet and wrapped all the way up to the unit's head. Atop its single remaining V-Fin was a weird looking Christmas star, and all the lights were on, making Barbatos look properly garish.

"Everything," replied Mika, prompting Hanji to slouch down further, though she perked up a little when she heard Mika sigh and add on: "But it's not as bad as it could've been."

To that, everyone gasped, having heard Mika say a nice thing! To HANJI, no less.

"Well, looks like someone's got the Christmas spirit now!" quipt Gelgar over by the side, with the rest of Team Mike standing by him as he offered a thumbs up. "But hey, enough stalling, what's to say we get to drinkin?!"

"Gelgar, we have minors-" began Lynne scoldingly, only for Gelgar to cut her off.

"Nonsense! It's a one day thing so let's make the most of it!" proclaimed the pompadour haired man, prompting everyone who opposed his idea to sigh as they facepalmed, knowing that Gelgar's mind was already set, and there was no way for him to change it.

When suddenly!

"Absolutely not!"

Mina, Mika, Nac and Annie noticeably perked up at that voice, with everyone else seeming mildly confused, and their confusion only increased when they saw a middle aged woman emerge from quite literally nowhere.

She wore civilian winter wear with a hat keeping her hair clean alongside a long sleeved shirt and a long, thick skirt. Though she was most certainly not a soldier, this lady exude an air of authority, so much so that everyone stood at attention upon seeing her.

"M-Mum…?" muttered Mina, sounding bewildered as Ms Carolina pinched Gelgar's cheek.

"Gelgar, for a soldier you are terribly irresponsible! To allow these children to drink!" chastised the mother as Gelgar whined.

"But they're not-" began Gelgar, only to have his other cheek pinched.

"No buts!" cut off Ms Carolina, silencing Gelgar immediately as everyone watched on in shock as an Elite Survey Corp was being manhandled by a regular lady! Seconds later, however, she released Gelgar before jogging up to greet the juniors. "But regardless! Merry Christmas, all of you!"

"T-Thank you very much…!" muttered Christa after a short moment of silence, with everyone nodding in agreement as Ms Carolina smiled widely and reached behind her and pulled out a tray of still steaming cookies.

'How the Hell-' thought Jean, only to remember that mothers had magic or something. It was the only way to explain how they could do all this stuff…

"Don't be shy now! Just take whatever you want!" insisted Ms Carolina, smirking as, within seconds, she felt herself being swarmed by several of the junior soldiers who were dying to have a warm snack. As for one person in particular, however…

'The lights are a bit overkill, but it could be worse,' thought Mika with a mild shrug as he eyed Barbatos intently. 'You don't seem to mind, so it doesn't matter, I guess…'

"Between you and me, I think it's pretty damn beautiful, though," came Mina's voice, prompting Augus to turn and spot the girl in question staring up at him with two cookies in hand. "Want one? Made with love from mum."

"Ah," muttered Mika, nodding a little as he opted to take it and eat it in a single bite.

"Jeez, man," quipt Mina with a raise of her brow before she took a bite out of her cookie. Chewing on it, she found herself smiling widely. Her mum didn't often make cookies, but whenever she did, it would be great. As she swallowed, she turned over to speak to Augus to comment on it, though when she did. "Erm… Mika…?"

He was gone!

"K-Kidnapping…?" muttered Mina in shock before someone tapped on her shoulder, prompting her to turn around to see that Nanaba, of all people, was behind her. "C-Commander?"

"Come with me. That's an order," ordered Nanaba, and seeing no way to reject her senior, Mina did as she was told and shuffled off after her…

A little later

"So… Commander, why am I here… am I in trouble?"

"Not particularly, but I want you to wear this."

Raising a brow as she heard that, Mina barely had time to register her senior reaching behind her back and giving her a massive bow… one that looked like it would be used for presents. Grabbing onto it, the young lady eyed it skeptically.

"How…?" asked Mina, only for Nanaba to grab onto the bow and slap it on the upper left side of Mina's forehead. At that, the young woman squeaked in shock before she stared up at her senior with a look of utter confusion. "What are we doing… exactly…?"

"Just get out there!" proclaimed Nanaba, sounding uncharacteristically excited, Mina noticed, though before she could point that out, she was quite literally shoved out of the room and into the cold with little fanfare. Nanaba was quick to shut the door on her, locking her out as she squeaked. "J-Jeez… that's a bit rude."

"Oh, they did it to you too, huh?"

Tensing up a little as she heard Mika's voice, Mina slowly turned around and saw that indeed, Mikazuki was present. Currently, he was standing near Barbatos, and like her, he had a massive, goofy looking bow stuck onto the upper left of his forehead.

Strangely enough, the two of them were the only people present in the area at the moment. Everyone else seemed to have mysteriously vanished… though Mina didn't voice that thought out as she awkwardly jogged towards her friend.

With only the two of them present, Mina couldn't help but feel rather… awkward as she twiddled her thumbs together and looked a little up at Augus, who stared back at her passively. Even so, Carolina could make out a mild twitch of her friend's hand and the subtle shade of red on his cheeks, giving away his true feelings about their current dilemma all the while.

Shuddering a little to herself, Mina began hugging herself a little as the cold began to kick in. For as good as their winter wear was, the cold was still slowly but surely seeping in as she shivered. Noticing this, Mika glanced at her worriedly.

"Cold?" asked the pilot, prompting Mina to laugh incredulously.

"Me? Cold?! A-As if… what are you-" began Mina, only to slowly trail off as Mika got closer to her. Seconds later, the young pilot gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a gentle hug, causing her face to ignite as she realized that she was so close to him. "M-Mika?!"

"You're cold. This should warm you up…" muttered Mika as he pulled Mina's face up against his neck and stroked the back of her head gently. As he did so, however, Carolina's face caught fire and nearly burnt through his shirt, though he didn't acknowledge that as he felt his heart beating faster than it usually did.

"T-Thanks, Mika…" muttered the twintailed girl as she smiled and stared up at him. "Hey, you feeling cold too?"

"A little," admitted Mika, and at that, he felt Mina wrap her arms tightly around his waist as he raised a brow.

"Now we're even!" quipt Mina with a wide smile as she stared up at him, to which Augus smiled back just a little, making her smile falter just a little in the process.

"Yeah…" muttered Mika as he made eye contact with Mina, whose smile shuddered a little as they eyed each other. And perhaps it was due to how they were alone at the moment, or just perhaps due to their current situation, the two of them couldn't help but lean close to each other until their foreheads touched just a little.

And seconds later, Mika rolled his eyes before he grabbed onto Mina's chin, opting to just do what his heart wanted him to and just… enjoy himself for a change.

"M-Mika… what are you…?" began Mina, only to feel her words get shoved back down her throat as Mika gently rubbed her lower lip with his thumb.

"Merry Christmas, Mina."

And at that, their lips met, and it made for quite an unforgettable Christmas for both young soldiers as they embraced one another gently.

All the while, the two of them missed how a tiny little mistletoe hung from above them as they held each other close.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

From atop Barbatos' chest unit, where the mistletoe was at… was a fishing rod! And holding onto the fishing rod was… Nac Tias! Accompanied by Ms Carolina and Annie Leonhardt, with the former sitting beside Nac on the chest unit while the latter sat in the cockpit.

"Told you it would work," muttered Nac to Ms Carolina, who nodded in approval as she stared down at the two locking lips gently.

"Yes… it's thanks to everyone's hard work…" replied Ms Carolina as she dabbed a little at her eyes. "It's a beautiful sight, isn't it Annie… Annie?"

Turning back to stare down into the cockpit, Ms Carolina could only raise her brows when she saw Annie staring through Barbatos' optic-to-cockpit monitor with sad eyes as she remained in a fetal position.

'... I wish that were me…'

And on the outside, Barbatos' optics flashed green for a brief moment as it watched everything unfold.

'Merry… Christmas… pilot…'