~*~ I realized while I was wrapping presents that the way you wrap something is kinda an indicator for what the person's like. Then of course my mind immediately ran towards Hanna is Not a Boy's Name, and this is the result. For what it's worth, I wrap my brother's presents as well as my own, because he really is terrible. And that trick Hanna does to Worth's present? We've been doing to my aunt for years.
Musical Muse: Christmas songs, although it should be mentioned that in my house Iron Man by Black Sabbath is a Christmas song. Don't ask why, its tradition.
Warnings:…Holy crap, are there no swears in this thing? It really is the time for miracles.
Disclaimer: I'm not Tessa, even though I wish her a very merry Christmas, wherever she is.

~*~ Presents ~*~

Hanna was working furiously, his tongue protruding out one side in concentration. As his partner watched, he laid the last piece of tape into position and smoothed it down with a small 'ha!' of triumph. That was two presents down, about three more to go. Derek had already been demanded to turn around and not peek, and he had obeyed, putting his back to his partner with a small grin. A few minutes and a few swears had finally resulted in the painstakingly wrapped box at Hanna's side, which was joined by the freshly wrapped tube he had been working on for the last few minutes. Hanna took his present wrapping very seriously, it seemed…even though James could tell, just with a simple glance, that he wasn't very good at it.

The year before, Hanna had been content to simply hand Manson his new fedora with a bashful smile, but it seemed that this time around it would be different. It also helped that just last week Hanna had received a Christmas bonus from his "real" part-time job, as well as doing a job for a rich old widow who actually felt the need to give them a reward. Hanna, full of holiday joy and his usual selflessness, chose to spend their hard-earned money on presents for their friends and partners-in-crime.

Apparently Hanna wasn't the only one getting in the festive mood. If Veser's word could be believed, Conrad of all people was interested in hosting a Christmas Eve feast at his apartment, and was hinted to have presents as well. Zachary expected that they would be neater than Hanna's attempts. Everyone was invited, but – Veser disclosed with a violent snicker that Conrad had delivered Worth's invitation personally, and didn't come back for a few hours. Whatever that meant. It sure gained an accompanying snicker from Hanna.

Worth, Toni, Veser, Hanna, Callahan…Mr. Tibenoch had declined his invitation, but stuttered happily when Hanna decided he would mail his present instead. Lamont, if Worth could be believed, was spending Christmas with his family, which admittedly threw Adam for a loop. It was hard to remember that sometimes, but the people within their little family had families of their own. They were there, even if they were never mentioned. Veser's were MIA, Toni once mentioned some cousins up north, Conrad had his insufferable mother, but neither Worth or Hanna had disclosed any familial relations.

With Worth, he knew better than to ask, but with Hanna… he really, truly wanted to know. Not to pry or be nosy, but simply to learn more, to understand. To be perfectly honest, Ludwig was more curious about Hanna's past than his own. He didn't remember anything; he had no knowledge of anything he had lost, whereas Hanna could provide details of his life before Hans entered. He would never ask though. If Hanna wanted to tell him, he would.

Hanna was now trying his best to discover a way to wrap Toni's present: a bright blue headband covered in decals. There was no easy way to cover it with wrapping paper, and Hanna seemed blind to the decorative bags lying next to his feet. Jack had been warned to stay out of the way, and so far had been content to watch Hanna go at it, because he was clearly having fun, despite his wrapping disabilities. A gleeful smile was spread across his face, and not even the trickiest tape job put him off. The whole Christmas season was making Hanna happier than usual, despite the fact that they couldn't turn a corner without tripping over some ghost's chains these days.

But, eventually, Finn couldn't handle it. He stepped away from the wall he was leaning against and crouched next to Hanna on the floor. "Hanna is there any way I can help?" he asked, trying to be supportive. He voice sounded like he was trying not to laugh, and perhaps that was true, but he didn't want Hanna to take it the wrong way. Hanna looked up with a smile. "Of course Sammy! I was just about to ask, since I already got your present wrapped." He turned his attention back to Toni's gift and made an annoyed face, which meant his nose scrunched and his tongue protruded as he pondered the puzzle.

"You do remember the bags over here, right?" Ozzy gestured to his left, where the bags sat in plain sight just waiting to be filled. Hanna looked at them, then shook his head, causing his curls to slap his face. "I don't have any of that paper stuff you stuff in it." Rodney considered the problem as he surveyed the mess orbiting Hanna. There were ribbons, yarn, candy canes, stray pieces of wrapping paper, scissors, a tube of glitter, tinsel, and a roll of duct tape, but no tissue paper. He surveyed the rest of the apartment looking for ideas. "Maybe you can just use regular tissues." he suggested. "I'm sure Toni will understand. Maybe she'll appreciate the extra tissues."

Hanna's face broke into his usual delighted grin. "That's a great idea Harry!" He sprang up from his spot on the floor and bounded across the room, grabbed the tissue box, and started pulling the tissues from their container with barely concealed glee. "You know, there is really nothing more fun and satisfying than just pulling every tissue from the box!" he burst out with excitement. "And then we can use the box to wrap something else in!"

Hanna danced around for a few seconds, flinging paper far and wide across the apartment to rain down on him like a snowy fall of confetti. Travis watched with thinly-veiled amusement. Hanna really could find fun in the simplest of things. Hanna paused his spinning for a second to beam at his silent partner. "I remember when I was ten; I did this for no real reason. It was so much fun!" He went back to his task, completely unperturbed. Puck, however, felt something stir in him. Hanna had shared a happy memory with him; he would save it, add it to the great memories he already had with the boy. He didn't have any of his own; Hanna's would have to suffice for both of them.

Hanna emptied the box, resulting in far more tissues than what they needed, but he didn't seem to care. Despite his erratic performance, he was extremely careful when it came to wrapping Toni's gift in the powdery paper. Conner held a red and gold bag open while Hanna carefully placed the gift inside, then supplied more paper as his partner stuffed every available space with paper. The final touch was tying a ribbon and name tag around the handles. Hanna held the finished product up with pride. "That looks perfect Yorik! Excellent!"

The next two presents (several cans of tuna for Veser, and a pad of drawing paper and pens for Conrad) were wrapped with relative ease, but Hanna paused as he picked up the simple black watch intended for Worth. "Ready for some fun?" he asked with a surprisingly wicked grin on his face. Leslie slowly nodded, wondering what Hanna had in store for Worth.

First, Hanna put the watch in the tissue box, stuffing it with the tissues so it didn't rattle around. He then grabbed the duct tape. "See, Worth is really hard to shop for. So I have to make him work to get his present." He supplied as he thumbed at the roll for the edge of the tape. Objective achieved, he jumped into the thick of it. First, he taped the hole at the top of the box shut, then sealed the edges and seams of the box with the silvery tape. Apparently not even that was enough, because after considering the issue for a few seconds, Hanna simply wrapped the whole thing in tape.

"My dad once gave his brother a big box full of balled-up newspaper, and the present was just an itty bitty gift card mixed in with the bunch. I thought it was brilliant." Another story. Christmas was a time for sharing, and Kurt loved hearing about the times from Hanna's past. As a silent – unnecessary – thank you, he got up to start the kettle for hot chocolate, while Hanna followed his father's actions and put the duct-tape box in a bigger box and sealed it up with more tape. He returned in time to help Hanna wrap it in the more traditional wrapping paper, but of course it had to be sealed with more duct-tape. Hanna was giggling furiously by the time they produced the final result. Nathaniel considered how displeased Worth would be at receiving this to unwrap, then put it out of his mind. It would certainly be entertaining for the rest of them to watch Worth get into the thing.

Hanna stretched happily as he surveyed the presents circling his feet. He was no doubt thinking about his friend's reactions to getting their gifts; he seemed to treasure that more than the gifts he himself received. Alex glanced at the stove and saw the kettle steaming. He tapped Hanna on the shoulder. "Go make some hot chocolate," he told him, before smiling a little smile. "And no peeking."

Hanna's eyes grew very big, but he turned his back with a delighted "Gnee!" David checked to make sure the short man was occupied in adding the right amount of milk and caramel syrup to his powder mix, before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his own gift for Hanna. Surveying the mess of wrapping materials, he cut the exact amount of wrapping paper and set about his task. By the time Hanna was stirring his caramel hot chocolate, the gift was neatly wrapped and added to the pile.

Hanna bounced on the balls of his feet as Sylvester rejoined him in the kitchen portion of the apartment. "What is it? Can I guess? Can I get a hint, pleeese?" he begged like a child, a delighted grin on his face. Scott found himself mirroring the expression with true honesty.

"No Hanna." He smiled and shook his head. "You have to wait till Christmas to learn what it is."

~*~ Gaw this was fun to write. Please review and tell me what you think.
And have a very merry/happy/fun/safe Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/family-get-together-eat-food-give-gifts whatever occasion you celebrate.