"Is it straight?" Light asked.

With Light on his shoulders, Noctis couldn't look to answer her question.

"Maybe a little more to the left." So the job fell to Serah, Light's little sister whose presence Noctis was still getting used to.

"Always just have to have things be damn perfect," Light grumbled.

Serah laughed. "You haven't figured that out after all this time, Light? Besides, it's our first time actually celebrating this festival."

"It's been around for a long time. I guess we were just always in the wrong place."

"Hey, that looks straight. Leave it like that," Serah said.

Noctis heard Light's sigh of relief and kept from chuckling. Anytime she was released from Serah's command, she breathed a little easier. Noctis didn't blame her. Serah could be very intimidating for such a small girl. She's always become a school teacher. Light commented that it must be easy to get a degree after going through school so many times and living through some of the material.

Light never pursued a career. When she tried to resume a soldier job in her first rebirth, a vision in the middle of a mission ended with a member of her squad dying while watching over her unconscious body.

She never got over that death. Noctis knew that the first time she woke up screaming in the middle of the night and he held her until she fell back to sleep. At first, it happened often. Now, less so. But only Noctis was ever let in by her. For everyone else, she kept the 'I'm fine' façade up.

With the exception of the occasional nightmare and brooding, Light seemed more light-hearted now. She was with her family again and with Noctis. The weight of the world no longer rested on her shoulders. As a seeress, her responsibility lied in protecting the future through prophecies, not war.

"C'mon, Sis, I'll help you down from Noctis' shoulders," Snow said.

Serah's towering husband lifted Light easily from Noctis' shoulders, ignoring the glare she gave him the entire time.

"I'm not your-whatever. Look, just because I gave up some power, you don't need to treat me like some porcelain doll," Light said.

We just want you safe, Light. Can't you see how much we all love you? But of course, Noctis would never say those thoughts aloud. Light would kick his ass into her next lifetime.

That'd take getting used to. Seeing her face as youthful as it'd been twenty-one years ago made it difficult to accept that she'd age without him. His solace came from knowing her lifespan was usually average and that she would always be reborn. He'd wait those years for her to find him again, because he knew she would always come back. She'd always come home.

"I still don't understand what all the fuss is about," Light said.

The tree stood tall in the center of the living room. Its lights glowed with multiple colors, each gave Light's hair a different tint, but Noctis found the phenomenon mesmerizing. Orbs of glass dangled from the needle-filled branches. The star on top was the perfect finishing decoration.

"It's a celebration of life and human resilience. We made it through the unleashing of Chaos and are still here. So, we need to remember that we're luck to be alive and appreciate everything around us, especially our relationships with others," Noctis said. The last words weighed heavy on his heart. Only one thing was left for Noctis to do to prove his devotion and love to Light. "If you want to know beyond that, You'll have to ask Ignis."

"My, you all did a lovely job," Lumina said, standing in the doorway.

Snow wrapped his arm around Serah and they both grinned at Lumina. The first meeting between all of them was a bit awkward, but Serah and Snow made friends easily. Light a bit less-so.

Light and Lumina weren't enemies, but Light's reserved demeanor put up a barrier between them that Lumina—in her natural friendly ways—had difficulties breaking. Light's friend, Fang, told Lumina 'Sunshine just needs to warm up to you is all'.

Noctis suspected that her name bothered Light a bit, reminded her that the hero she used to be is no longer her. That power she passed to Yeul, but she was still strong in her own right. Visions just had an unpredictable nature that made it dangerous for Light to do certain tasks without someone. What if she had a vision and fell unconscious where she wasn't safe? Outside, she could freeze. Up high, she could fall.

Letting her out of his sight, Noctis hated it. At least he could use the excuse of being her guardian now, but she didn't mind his constant presence much anyway. She seemed to welcome it instead.

Serah told him to be patient with Light, she had a hard time letting others in. But he seemed to be doing a good job, she said, since Light warmed up to him quickly.

He suspected that either Light didn't share all the details of her time with him or that was exactly what she referred to.

"The meal will be done soon. I hope you're all hungry," Lumina said. "Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend before we celebrate with a feast, so I'll see you all at dinner I hope."

She gave a little wave and continued down the hall.

"A feast?" Snow asked. "Sounds like my kind of celebration."

Noctis smiled. "The chef usually cooks a whole chocobo for this feast, among many side dishes. I think you'll find plenty to your liking."

"One chocobo?" Light asked. "With how much this oaf eats, you'd better tell your chef to make two whole ones."

Noctis, Light, and Serah shared a laugh at Snow's expense, but he grinned and pat his stomach. In the back of his mind, Noctis wondered if maybe Light wasn't exaggerating.

When the only light in his living room came from the decorated tree and crackling fireplace, Noctis should have felt at ease. Light was the only one beside him, the others having gone off on their own.

She opened the curtains of the window a bit. The moonlight illuminated outside enough for them to see snow fall.

"I thought this celebration would be stupid," Light said, "but it was actually really nice."

"You're tough to please."

"You've done a pretty good job so far."

She sat beside him and laid her head on his shoulder.

Rolling a cart in, a maid announced, "Here's the hot chocolate you asked for, my prince. I added some candies on as well, your favorites."

"Thank you. Don't be afraid to take a break yourself. Everyone deserves a bit of rest for the holidays."

The maid smiled in a way that told Noctis she appreciated his concern, but wouldn't take his offer, and left. She was older and Noctis knew that he and his sister were the closest she had to a family anymore.

"This is a nice surprise," Light said.

Noctis rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I just wanted everything to be perfect for this."

Light raised her head from his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Noctis stood and took a cup of hot chocolate from the cart and handed it to Light. But he didn't sit beside her again.

Instead, he fell to one knee in front of her and pulled a small box from his pocket. "I've been waiting to do this since I first saw you, Light."

The heat from the fireplace burned on his back.

"Claire," Light said. "You should… you should call me 'Claire' for this." She set her cup on the end table beside the couch. "It's my real name."

A beautiful name. I should have known 'Lightning' wasn't her real name.

Noctis cleared his throat and shifted a bit, though he couldn't find comfort with every nerve working double time. "Claire, I love you more than I can ever say in words and can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend an eternity with. Will you marry me?"

Noctis opened the box to show her the white gold ring inlaid with diamonds. With the light from the fireplace constantly changing, the ring reflected the light in a way that made it look alive with fire. Fierce, the way Light had always been.

Her lips crashed against his and her arms circled him. "Yes," she whispered, breaking this kiss. "I love you. So yes, I'll marry you. This lifetime. Next lifetime. Every single one, I'll say yes."

Stepping back from the balcony's edge, Noctis smiled at the goddess' confused expression. He took a deep breath.

"I think… I'd rather stay here."

A/N: And here is that extra bit of epilogue for Christmas! It's hard to believe that In Valhalla is over now, but I want to thank all of you for going on this Lightis journey with me and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry that it is a bit shorter, but it was never originally a part of this story. I didn't know I'd finish it around Christmas and had to add in a little something extra.

For the final time, I'd like to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. This category really does have some of the nicest people around and I'm so happy to be a part of the wonderful stories here.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!