Zero glared at the storming sky. Clouds grayed the inky night, pressing in on the sleigh. The cold of unformed snowflakes slapped against him, soaking his clothes and chilling his body. He felt his hair cling before his eyes, and wiped it away. It made no difference. The world was still an all encompassing grey.

"Dilly, what should we do?!" roared Zero. The shocks of thunder nearly drowned his voice. After a moment of no response, he thought to try again, but then a low elven voice filled his ears.

"I don't know! Why'd you fly into a storm cloud in the first place?"

"Because I'm too cool to do things easily. You should know that about me by now. How many years have we been doing this together?" " I just met you three hours ago." " Oh yeah." Zero ran a hand through his snow soaked hair. He fingered the reins of the reindeer. What to do? A bolt of lightning arched through the sky, briefly illuminating Zero's hand. His violet eyes widened, and when the grey returned, he grabbed at the reins. A powerful whip crack snapped through the air. Zero felt the snow pelting against his face speed up. Beside him, Dilly shifted angrily.

"What the hell Zero? What are you doing?" " I know what to do. I'm going to rush to where the lightning is strongest. This sled is magic, right? If I'm struck by it, we might just get some kind of super… mega…boost…. thing." " You can't just fly above the clouds?!"

"Oh yea-," the world burst into a flood of light and pain. Thunder cracked, and a yellow glow flowed over Zero's jittering body. For a moment Zero's vision turned a solid white-

And then everything was black.

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"Zero." Zero stared up at Yuki. The moon burned against her hair, painting it shining silver. Strands fell to brush against his pale cheek. They tickled.

She was looking at him with an odd combination of concern, and quiet empathy. Zero hated it when she looked at him like that, because when he saw her, he just couldn't help but think that she probably looked like that for HIM all the time, that HE could probably show up and rip her attentions from Zero with his very presence, that SHE cared about HE more than…

But that was neither here nor there. Zero fought to find his voice.

"Did you see him?" he whispered. Yuki's face didn't change at all. She just kept starring at him with those amber eyes. He forced himself to sit up. He realized just how tired he was, but that didn't matter. He had to make her understand.

"Did you see him?" he roared. Yuki didn't flinch.

"Zero." She whispered. Zero's heart raced at the sound of his name on her soft lips.

"I wasn't lying! He really was here. You have to believe me. Please, Yuki, believe me. There was a vampire on the roof. I'm not lying. Yuki-"

"Zero," she whispered. Her face pressed in closer to his. He could smell the berry scent of her breath caressing his face. Her lips looked soft and inviting. His eyes lay helpless before hers. All at once, he realized that she was holding him down.

Their noses almost touched. "Zero," she repeated.

"Yuki," he said. He drew ever so closer to her. His breath misted in the cold air, brushing against her face. Against the moonlight, Yuki's hair really did look silver.

It… really did. Zero stared closer. It really was silver. He glanced back at her face. The features seemed to shift. Her lips moved again. "Zero… Clause?" asked Mrs. Clause.

Zero sat up quickly. The world shifted into a blur of white and black. He realized it was snowing. Mrs. Clause had retreated back, her eyes wide and curious. She was sitting on her legs, inches from his feet. Zero forced himself to stand up. Crimson bled into his cheeks, but he managed to hide it.

Rubbing his arms to kill the cold, Zero assessed his surroundings. He was in a large, white field. Snow bleached trees ringed the area, their tall gnarled bodies serving as silent guardians. Zero's eyes caught on the sleigh. It was in tact, if a bit smoky. The hairs on the reindeer had all poofed up, giving them the look of huge, antlered sheep dogs.

Dilly was atop one, brushing its hair down. He turned to Zero. His voice sounded like a very loud, very long growl. "So you're finally up? Good. We're running late. We have to get going. You and Mrs. Clause, get back in the sleigh. "

Zero snorted. Without a word, he walked over to the sleigh and got back in. Mrs. Clause sat herself down close to him. A little too close for his taste. Was it his imagination, or was she looking at him? Zero coughed as Dilly threw his short form over the side of the sleigh.

"What is she doing here?" he asked sharply. He glanced to his side, and almost flinched at the hurt in Mrs. Clause's huge, puppy dog eyes. She was too damn cute to have been married to someone that old. Struggling to keep his weakness under control, Zero turned away.

Mrs. Clause's voice was soft and embarrassed. Zero had to strain to hear her. "W-well, y-you see, I love the elves and everything, but they're just not… human. Kaien offered to stay, but I knew they needed him at his school. And without Nick…," her voice grew even quieter, and something in Zero's heart sunk. Nick. Santa Clause. It had been his fault.

She continued, "… without Nick, I just knew it was going to be so lonely. I decided, well, I decided that if I snuck onto the sleigh then maybe I could hold off from feeling lonely for just a little longer. When the sleigh fell from the sky, I came out to help you. I know, I'm a horrible person, aren't I? But please, let me stay for just a little bit longer. I just don't want to be lonely" She leaned in closer to him. A little bit too close.

Zero swallowed. "Umm, I suppose so. Just be careful, and don't get in our way." Mrs. Clause's eyes lit up, and before Zero could defend himself she enveloped him in a crushing hug. Too close. WAY too close. His cheeks burned.

The two were broken up by a sharp cough from Dilly. "Are you two done? We have presents to deliver." Zero jolted into action, and grabbed the reigns. A whip crack was quickly followed by the beating off a dozens of hooves against the snowy ground. Their thundering softened as one by one, they leapt into the sky.

Dilly's voice filled Zero's ears. "So why did you fly us into thunder again? You didn't look that stupid."

Zero turned to face Dilly, trying his best to ignore the silently bubbling form of Mrs. Clause. "All of the electricity in the air was screwing up my character. The author couldn't write me correctly, so I acted stupidly." Dilly's face contorted in confusion. "What?"

"Fourth walls are for sissies," muttered Zero, as they soared high above the clouds. Mrs. Clause gave a big yawn, and leaned in closer to him. Her head cradled against his neck.

Too damn close…

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Well, sorry for the wait. Real life, original fiction and all.