Lunar Club Secret Santa

Lunar Club Secret Santa

"A Taben's Peak Christmas"

It was that time of year again, when even Taben's Peak was covered with snow. Typically, the snow never left the White Dragon's Cave and the area around it, but it was so late in the year that even the area where it was humid and hot during every other month was left below freezing. But, even though cold winds surrounded the peak everyone was warm on the inside. A circle of stones kept the large fire in the very center, where all the children would gather together to keep warm. No one ever went to bed cold. That was Nall's policy, and Ruby decided it was indeed perfect when she first started living with him and the orphans of Lunar.

Ruby never thought that Nall was such a family-oriented being when they first met. They fought a lot. There was a lot of things she didn't understand, and now, so many years later... Now that she did understand, she started to see how wonderful he was. Reflecting upon that time made all the other memories resurface. Hanging up bells and holly bunches on the walls made it hard to keep it down, of course, but she always put on a cheerful face in front of the kids.

"Hey," Nall's voice called from the other side of the fire. "All the girls asleep over there?"

Ruby nodded. "Oh yeah." She didn't want to look away from the fire. She didn't want Nall to see that tears were going to start forming in her eyes. "I think it's that time, but I don't really want to leave."

"You don't wanna go get the tree?" Nall asked, picking himself up off the floor. He recovered the boys that had been snuggling up to him and walked over to Ruby's side. "But I thought you loved seeing their reactions. Their eyes light up and they jump with joy."

"I do. It's what keeps me going-"

"-when you want to go back to the past," Nall finished her thought for her.

Ruby nodded again, trying not to look at him. She hadn't cried about missing Hiro, Lucia, and all their friends in years. They were human, and she was a dragon - more specifically, one of Althena's Dragons. Sure, now she had the power to take the shape of a human the way Nall had the first day she met him, but Ruby was painfully aware that she was not a human. She wanted to remain by Hiro's side for all time.

"Ruby," Nall said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. I'm not going to tell you to put your feelings away, because I have them, too." He wanted to pick her up and take her out anyway, but he'd been doing this job much longer than she had - even if she had been doing it for almost a hundred years now. Going on after losing everyone one was attached to was painful, as those were wounds that never quite healed. "I just want you to know... that as long as I'm here, you won't ever have to be alone." Nall smiled as he went over to the main door of the ruined facility and grabbed his coat.

She blinked a few times and felt her confidence inside growing all of a sudden. Yes, Nall was right. She wasn't alone. Ruby stood up and ran over to Nall, hugging him from behind and throwing him into the blizzard that was raging outside.

"Now there's the Ruby I know and love," Nall said, laughing.

"Thank you, Nall!" Ruby exclaimed, gripping around him tightly. "I needed to hear that."

"Merry Christmas, Ruby."

"Merry Christmas, Nall."

And for that brief moment of silence afterward, they knew that no matter how many Christmases came and went, it didn't matter. They had each other, and they had their job of taking care of the world's orphans. Ruby and Nall never had to worry about being without a family or a purpose. It was a wonderful Christmas present, even if Ruby had it all along and had never realized it.