A/N: Soooooo…It's almost Christmas. I'm not really one for holiday cheer (I abhor Christmas music), but I figured, why not take the opportunity as an excuse to write more fanfiction? I'll have you know that I'm starting this with absolutely no plot in mind, so it may turn out crappy. And I'm actually writing this AN before I write the fic, which is kind of new for me. Anyway, I'm guessing it'll end up Faxy, fluffy and plotless. Let's see if I'm right. Wouldn't it be weird if it came out Miggy, angsty and so full of plot that I need to continue it as a full-length fic? Yeah, probably not…Why don't I just stop babbling and start writing? Yeah? Okay.

I do not own Maximum Ride. Happy?

I stared at the Christmas tree currently taking up the entirety of my mom's living room. Why she had felt the need to bring home such a big tree will probably never be known. I had a theory that maybe she thought more people needed more tree-age, but I could be wrong. Maybe she just couldn't find any little ones. That was all quite beside the point, though. The point was more that it was here, and we had no idea where to put it.

"How about behind the couch?" Fang suggested. "It looks like it might fit there."

I moved over a little to see where exactly it was he was suggesting we stuff this thing. Then I shook my head. "Won't fit. The lower branches would get all squished." I looked back at the tree. "Besides, isn't the point of having a Christmas tree to put presents underneath it? What's the point in that if you can't see the bottom half of the tree?"

"I guess that's true," he acknowledged. After another couple minutes of examining the living room, he sighed and shook his head. "It's no good. There is no way we're setting that thing up in here."

I had to agree with him. It was just way too big to fit. "What about in the hall?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew there was no way that would work, either. The hall was only barely wide enough for two people to walk next to each other, and there were a bunch of coat racks and wall hangings. That definitely wouldn't work.

Fang must have been thinking along the same lines, because he just gave me an 'are you stupid?' look. I didn't blame him. It was a rather foolish suggestion.

Another few minutes of staring at the tree passed. Then I snapped my fingers. "I've got it!" Fang raised his eyebrows at me in a challenging expression. "The kitchen," I said triumphantly. "We can set it up where the table usually goes."

"No, Max, we can't," he said, sounding exasperated. "One, where would we put the table?" Ah. A good point. "Two, I don't think anyone wants to sit on the kitchen floor to open their presents." Another good point. Darn Fang and his logic.

"Well…fine," I spluttered. "Where would you suggest we put it, Oh-Great-And-Mighty Fang?"

He smirked. "How about your room? You've got plenty of room in there, don't you?"

"Very funny, Fang," I said, glaring at him.

He just looked at me. "Who said I was joking?"

I stared at him for a minute, then exclaimed, "No, Fang! We are not putting that big, huge tree in my bedroom!"

His mouth twitched, and a few seconds later he burst out laughing. "I was joking, Max! It wouldn't even fit."

I scowled, realizing that he was right. Why had I fallen for that?

Just then, Ella came into the room. "How's it going, guys?" she asked cheerfully. "Found our tree a home yet?"

"No," I replied sourly, still annoyed from Fang's teasing. "There's no way it's fitting comfortably in here, and there's nowhere else in the house it can go."

Ella looked disappointed. "Oh. Are we going to have to find a chainsaw?"

"A chainsaw?" I repeated, nonplussed. "Are you planning to cut a hole in the wall? I really don't think that getting the tree to fit is quite that important."

Oh, drat. She was giving me that same 'are you stupid?' look Fang had given me a minute ago. "No, Max," she said slowly, like she was talking to a three-year-old. "I meant to cut the tree down to size, and I was also kind of joking."

"Oh." I felt like an idiot. In an attempt to defend my dignity, I said, "Hey, I'm a little stressed here. Don't make me do anything more complicated than two times two, because my brain is currently running in low-performance mode."

Fang just shook his head at me, then went over to the tree. He walked around the base of it a few times. "We could just leave it here."

I frowned. "No, not really. It's right in the middle of the room. The people sitting on one couch wouldn't be able to see the people on the other couch, and no one would be able to watch TV. It's too inconvenient there."

He shrugged. "It's going to be more inconvenient anywhere else. What do you think, Ella?"

Ella cocked her head, considering. "Well, if the options are that or a chainsaw, I guess that'll do. I'll go ask Mom." She left the room.

I looked over at Fang. "You're insane."

"Yup," he replied, grinning at me. "But you are too. It's why we fit so well together."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Which one should I reply to? Hm… "I'm not insane."

"Oh, I think you are," Fang replied, moving closer to me. "You have a Voice in your head–"

"Had," I interrupted. "I had a Voice in my head. I haven't heard from it in ages."

"Okay, had," he conceded. "That's still a bit insane, though." He moved around behind me, continuing his list. "When you hear that there's danger, you fly toward it." He put his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. "You freak out about chocolate chip cookies. And…" Moving his hands to my shoulders, he spun me around to face him. "You're dating me."

"That makes me insane?" I questioned.

He nodded seriously. "I've been told that I'm a very difficult person to get along with."

I shrugged. "Sometimes. I haven't had any trouble yet."

"That's because you never get on my bad side," he replied, grinning. Then he leaned down and kissed me.

Which was, of course, the exact moment that Ella and my mom chose to walk into the room. My mom raised her eyebrows, and I broke away from Fang, clearing my throat.

"Hi, Mom."

She smiled. "Hi, Max. I see you're enjoying yourself."

I blushed, staring at my sneakers. Luckily, my mom chose to drop the subject. Looking at Fang, she said, "Ella told me you have an idea for where the tree could go."

He nodded. "I thought maybe we could leave it here. Unless we want it outside, there's nowhere else to put it."

"Hm…maybe." My mom walked over to the tree. "Might be kind of inconvenient, but I guess we could make it work." She shrugged. "Okay. I'll get Ella to bring down the ornaments, and you guys can start getting the tree ready."

"I can't get them all myself," Ella protested.

"You could go recruit Iggy," I suggested. "Nudge, too, if you need three people."

"All right," she said, heading toward the door. "They'd better be cooperative."

Three hours later, the tree was decorated and sitting pretty.

"That's awesome," Ella said, looking at the tree in appreciation. "Even if it is taking up most of our living room." Then her face lit up. "Ooh! I have an idea!" She ran over to where the plug for the lights we'd wrapped around the tree was and picked it up, plugging it into the wall outlet. The tree lit up with the five different colors. Then she went over and flicked off the room's lights.

The effect was breathtakingly gorgeous, and it gave the whole room a kind of romantic feeling. I guess Fang felt that too, because he moved over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"It's nice, isn't it?" I asked him quietly. He nodded.

Suddenly, Angel piped up. "There's nothing on top."

I looked over at her. "What?"

"There's nothing on top of the tree," she said. "It needs a star or something."

My mom came over, holding a box in her hands. "I've got just the thing," she said, smiling. She handed me the box. "Why don't you do the honors, Max?"

I took the box from her, a bit curious. I opened it slowly. Inside was the most beautiful tree-topper I'd ever seen in my life. It was a shiny, golden star, and the best part: it had wings. Two feathery, silver wings extended from where the top point met the two on either side of it. It was amazing.

I looked up at my mom. "Wow. Where'd you get it?"

She shrugged, to say it didn't matter. "I found it while I was out Christmas shopping. I thought it fit."

"It does," I breathed, staring back down at it. "It's absolutely perfect."

And somehow, staring at that winged star, I knew that this Christmas was going to be exactly that: absolutely perfect.

A/N: Wow. That came out kind of mushy. And it feels kind of clichéd. Oh well. I'm posting it anyway. I hope you like it.

Well…Merry Christmas!

Now review. =P