The safe house was a place we’d all grown accustomed to. Stark walls, neutral tones, furniture that served a purpose rather than providing comfort—it was never meant to be a home. But tonight, it was different. Sagittarius had insisted on bringing Christmas to us, turning the drab interior into something festive, if slightly chaotic.
“C’mon, guys, we deserve this!” he’d said a week ago, pitching the idea with the enthusiasm of a child who’d just discovered Santa Claus. “We save the world on the regular. We should at least get to eat cookies and decorate a tree without feeling like we’re under surveillance.”
Somehow, he’d managed to convince all twelve of us to participate.
The result? A night of chaos, laughter, and an absurd number of gingerbread houses and sugar cookies.
---
The dining table had been turned into a makeshift decorating station, piled high with bowls of icing, jars of sprinkles, gumdrops, chocolate chips, and candy canes. Sagittarius had even managed to scrounge up some tiny gingerbread people for extra flair.
The smell of baking lingered in the air, mingling with the faint scent of pine from the artificial Christmas tree Sagittarius had dragged in from God-knows-where. Strings of twinkling lights crisscrossed the room, casting a warm glow over the scene.
“I’m just saying,” Leo began, hands on her hips, “if anyone’s going to make the best gingerbread house tonight, it’s me.”
“Oh, please,” Gemini shot back, rolling her eyes as she grabbed a piping bag filled with red icing. “You’re too much of a perfectionist. You’ll overthink it and run out of time.”
“I do not overthink,” Leo said, narrowing her eyes.
“Sure you don’t,” Gemini replied with a smirk.
At the far end of the table, Virgo was already hard at work, her brow furrowed in concentration as she meticulously applied tiny dots of icing to create snowflake patterns on her gingerbread roof.
Meanwhile, Cancer was carefully sorting through the candy, her movements deliberate. She’d claimed a corner of the table, where she was piping intricate snowflake designs onto sugar cookies.
“You’re putting everyone else to shame, you know that, right?” Aquarius said, leaning over to inspect her work. His own cookie was a simple blue circle with a few haphazard sprinkles.
“It’s not a competition,” Cancer replied softly, though the faint smile on her lips suggested she didn’t mind the compliment.
---
Aries was frowning at his gingerbread house, which had already started to collapse under the weight of too much icing.
“Structural integrity is key,” Taurus said, glancing over from his own project, which looked more like a fortified bunker than a festive holiday home.
“I know that,” Aries snapped, grabbing another piece of gingerbread to try and salvage the mess.
“Do you?” Libra teased, balancing a tiny candy cane on the edge of his gingerbread chimney. “Because it kind of looks like a sugar bomb went off over there.”
“Why don’t you focus on your own house, Libra?” Aries muttered, though there was no real heat in his voice.
Across the table, Scorpio was watching the chaos with her usual air of quiet amusement. She’d barely touched her own gingerbread house, instead content to sip her hot chocolate and make the occasional snide comment.
“Need some help, Aries?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
“I’ve got it,” he said stubbornly, though the half-collapsed roof suggested otherwise.
---
“Alright, everyone, listen up!” Sagittarius called, clapping his hands to get our attention.
“What now?” Pisces asked, looking up from her tray of perfectly decorated cookies.
“We’re adding a twist,” Sagittarius announced, his grin widening. “Team gingerbread house-building competition. Two people per house. Winner gets bragging rights and the last slice of the Yule log cake.”
“Who made you the judge?” Scorpio asked, her tone dry.
“Uh, me?” Sagittarius said, as if the answer were obvious. “Now, let’s pair up!”
The room immediately devolved into a chaotic shuffle as everyone tried to claim a partner.
---
The Teams
1. Leo and Pisces
Leo’s energy and Pisces’s attention to detail made them an unexpected but effective duo. Leo took charge of the overall structure, while Pisces focused on delicate touches like wreaths and candy cane fences.
2. Sagittarius and Aquarius
Sagittarius’s boundless enthusiasm clashed hilariously with Aquarius’s laid-back approach. Their house ended up looking like something out of a surrealist painting.
3. Aries and Scorpio
Despite their differences, Aries and Scorpio worked surprisingly well together. Scorpio’s calm focus balanced out Aries’s tendency to bulldoze through obstacles.
4. Taurus and Libra
Their house was a study in contrasts—Taurus’s obsession with structure and Libra’s flair for aesthetics somehow came together in a perfectly balanced design.
5. Gemini and Virgo
Gemini’s chaotic creativity was tempered by Virgo’s meticulous nature. Their house was both whimsical and precise, a true reflection of their combined skills.
6. Cancer and herself
“Someone had to sit out,” she said with a shrug, continuing to pipe delicate designs onto her cookies.
---
The next hour was a whirlwind of laughter, shouting, and the occasional argument over candy placement.
“Stop eating the gumdrops!” Leo yelled at Sagittarius, who had a mouthful of candy and zero remorse.
“Think of it as quality control,” he said, grinning.
Meanwhile, Virgo was painstakingly applying tiny icicles to the edge of her roof, while Gemini slapped a gummy bear on the door and declared it a “security guard.”
“Does this look structurally sound to you?” Libra asked Taurus, who was inspecting the walls of their house like an architect reviewing blueprints.
“It’s good enough,” Taurus said, though he couldn’t resist adding another layer of icing for reinforcement.
---
By the time the timer ran out, the table was a mess of crumbs, candy wrappers, and empty bowls of icing. Sagittarius surveyed the creations with a critical eye, making a big show of “judging” each house.
“Leo and Pisces’s house is elegant, but it’s missing some pizzazz,” he said.
“We went for timeless,” Pisces replied, crossing her arms.
“Sagittarius and Aquarius... uh, I’m not sure what this is, but I respect the commitment,” he said, gesturing to their lopsided masterpiece.
“It’s abstract,” Aquarius said, grinning.
In the end, the prize went to Gemini and Virgo for their perfect blend of chaos and order.
“You’re welcome,” Gemini said, winking at Virgo.
---
The night wound down with everyone lounging around the tree, sipping hot chocolate and munching on cookies. The laughter and teasing continued, but there was a warmth in the air that went beyond the holiday decorations.
For one night, we weren’t agents or operatives. We were just a group of people sharing a moment of peace and joy.
And that, I realized, was the real gift.
AN: This doesn't affect the story
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Operation: Zodiac
ActionIn a world veiled by secrets, twelve extraordinary agents, each bearing the name of a celestial sign, are the silent sentinels guarding against global chaos. Born of diverse nations, their paths have been shaped by tragedy, resilience, and an unyiel...
