Christmas Eve

"Ow."

I yelped as I tried to shift the boxes in my hands around so I could rub my shin.

Through the darkness, I could barely make out the silhouette of my wife as she shushed me. She was holding another pile of boxes in her arms while trying to maneuver around a chair.

"Sorry." I mutter to her while fixing a glare on the small table I had bumped into. We really should move it somewhere else.

Stopping for a second so I could rub my ankle, I glance around the room. Here we are, stumbling around in the middle of the night, trying to fit piles of boxes under a large pine tree.

"Honestly, why a pine tree of all things. The needles always get everywhere."

"Stop complaining." My wife chastises me as she finishes positioning the presents around the dim tree. "Would you rather have a palm tree?" She points up at the roof. "We could cut a hole in the ceiling so it'll fit."

"Nyahaha. Please don't joke about that. We just got the last one fixed."

My wife turns to me and gives me what I can only assume is a pout. "Not my fault the previous owners didn't take care of the place. How was I supposed to know the floor was weak there?"

I simply sigh as I maneuver next to her and start unloading the presents in my hands.

"It does look good though, right?"

I stop for a second to look around again. Even with the lights off, I can still see the lights and decorations wrapped around everything. The tree, the fireplace, even the knobs on the kitchen drawers are covered in holiday decorations.

I close my eyes as I think back to a few days ago.

"Mama. Why is there a tree in the house?"

I look up from the stove to see a pair of mismatched eyes staring at me, a finger pointing at the large tree sitting next to the wall.

"That's because it's a Christmas tree, Vivio." I glance over to see my wife placing an ornament on a branch. A small gasp draws my attention to the hallway.

"A real Christmas tree. Really? They have Christmas here too?" A mess of black hair flies by. I can almost see stars shining in Erin's eyes as she looks at the tree in amazement.

I feel a tug at my apron and look down to see Vivio looking up at me in confusion. "Mama, what's Christmas?"

Before I can answer, Vita pipes up from the living room. "It's a holiday from Earth. Apparently every winter people chop down trees to put in their house, decorate them, and sing songs about some jolly fat man in a red coat."

While not completely correct, it does manage to answer Vivio's question. Somehow.

"Why does he wear red?" Erin tilts her head in confusion. "Shouldn't he be wearing black." I tilt my head in confusion before realizing everyone else is doing the same. "I mean, Santa-san is always sneaking into houses to leave presents, so it would be smarter for him to not be seen."

Just who filled her head with those kinds of thoughts. As if in answer to my question, Erin started pointing at some invisible scapegoat. "T-that's what Oto-san always said. Oto-san told me."

Of course.

My apron started shaking. "Sneaking? Mama, is someone going to be sneaking into the house?"

Urgh. How do I explain what Santa does to a seven year old girl. Magic was the normal explanation back home, but that obviously won't work here. "Um, well…"

"You see, Vivio, back on Earth, at this place called the North Pole, there is this big workshop where Santa-san makes a who~le lot of toys. Then on Christmas Eve, he goes out and delivers those toys to all the good boys and girls so they could open them the next morning."

Phew, I sneak a small smile at my wife in thanks.

"But how does he do that?" Here comes the hard part, explaining something that is part tradition and part belief in magic, to two children who live in a world of magic.

My wife turns to Erin, and pulls her in closer. "You see, Santa-san is an elf who can fly really fast. He flies into people's houses and leaves presents for everyone there." She reaches up to the platter of cookies I was baking for desert. "But, in order to make sure he leaves the presents, we have to leave him a small gift." She hands Vivio the cookie she took. "We leave behind a plate of cookies for him to eat. He really loves the chocolate ones."

She stands up and claps her hands together. "Santa-san gets his cookies, leaves the presents you asked for, and moves on to the next house."

By now Vivio was staring up at her mother with just as many stars in her eyes as her older sister.

"So we really get presents?"

"Santa-san can come here?"

My wife simply nods her head. "Yep, So, why don't you two go write a list of the presents you want. Give them to Nanoha-chan when you're done, and we'll make sure they get to Santa-san."

With an excited laugh, Vivio runs to her room, cookie still in hand, with Erin trailing right behind her. I would laugh myself, but I'm more amazed at just how easily Hayate-chan can spin a story like that.

With a congratulatory giggle to herself, Hayate-chan grabs a cookie from the tray and walks back towards the tree.

"Yes, it certainly does." I hear a happy giggle next to my ear. "You did a wonderful job." A light kiss graces my cheek as I place the last present under the tree.

"Not bad for our first Christmas, huh?"

A flash her a small smirk. "Save the congratulations until after we have to clean up everything. That's always the hard part." A strained laugh tells me she hadn't thought of that.

Standing up, I step back to admire the view of the tree in front of me, and the presents under it. It'll look beautiful when we turn on the lights.

I wince a little as I look at the number of presents sitting under the tree. Only ten total. Back home, Christmas involved presents, but was mostly about spending time with family and friends. Erin at least grew up with that definition of Christmas. Vivio however, just learned about it a few days ago. I wasn't sure if she would be able to understand that.

I'm brought out of my musings by a small moan from behind me. Turning around, I can see my wife biting into a cookie from the table.

"Nanoha-chan, these cookies are delicious. The perfect reindeer treats."

"Nyahaha. Thanks. One of the perks of growing up in a bakery is learning how to make perfect cookies, I guess." My wife takes another bite. A small jingling sound can be heard every time she shakes her head. "But Hayate-chan, I thought those cookies were for Santa-san?"

She gives me a cute look over her shoulder. "Why should Santa-san get to have all the treats. The reindeer do all the work. Besides," She reaches up to tap the antlers on her head, making them jingle. "Don't I make a cute reindeer?"

I look away, hoping the darkness hides the heat I can feel rising to my cheeks. I should have expected this when I married her, but I didn't realize she could be this cute, this often.

I sigh to myself as I try to figure out how I can get her back, only to look away again when she winks at me.

Resigning myself to my fate, I grab a cookie from the tray and sit down on the couch. I made these cookies damn it, so I should be able to enjoy them. Wrapping my arm around my wife, I look over at the tree sitting in the corner.

I'm suddenly really excited for tomorrow.

Author's Note: Just a small something I thought up. Hope you enjoy. Nonexistent bonus points to whoever gets the palm tree and ninja Santa references (Hint: Fate/Extra web thingies)