A Halo Christmas [Halo Universe]

12

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming.

John peered through a glass window of one of the many shops that were still opened. His breath was coming in frosty white clouds and his hands had gloves that had been knitted by the new girl that he had met, Susan. He was hoping no one would notice the pink polka-dotted fabric. Then again, as a famous war hero who nobody knew their face, he found that he really didn't care if someone thought he looked funny with those gloves. Huge muscular guy wandering the streets... nothing wrong with that.

He couldn't help but to pause at that window. As a Spartan, he didn't have the same enjoyments that most kids did. He didn't have anything altogether besides from a few holiday feasts. No toys at all. The little toy soldiers that were fashioned like the old days were absolutely amazing; they waddled about in a circle as they lifted and dropped an arm with a stick of some sorts. But he was memorized. It was easily the most simple toy that was there. But it reminded him too much of what he knew that he was himself; a small toy that was used for someone else's purpose. And as long as he kept everyone safe, he was fine with that toy soldier that he was.

Without waiting much longer, he pushed open the door to the store. A small ping went off and he was greeted by something he hadn't ever felt before. A homily feeling. With its wooden boards and awful pictures along the walls felt... welcoming. He had always felt like he was being pushed away, no matter what it was or anything else, and had just gone with the punches. Here he felt normal. Accepted. Was that even possible for an old battle-hardened Spartan like him?

"Hello?" A heavily accented voice he didn't know came from in behind the old counter, followed by a dark haired woman with bright eyes. "Is there somethin' that I can help you with?"

John watched her carefully as she stood behind the counter, staring at him expectantly. When Mike had explained to him the beauty of Susan, he hadn't understood. Now, however, he did and it made his tongue feel huge. "Uh..." he spluttered. "Um... W-what's your name?"

"Adelina," the woman said, her eyes darting over his form. "You're new, no?"

He fidgeted. "Uh... New to Earth at all, actually. Never been here at all. Haven't really even celebrated Christmas before either."

"No?" He was wondering if this was a habit of hers; he hadn't picked up that extra no anywhere else that he had been so far here. "Christmas is very important. Birthday of Jesus." She fiddled with the towel and little wooden in her hands before reaching up and brushing back a black bang. Her hair was thick too, pulled back into a braid that fell to her waistline. "Is there somethin' that I could do? You wish to buy a toy, no?"

"Um... Yeah. Yeah, I do." He struggled to think of what he wanted when he first stepped in there. "The little toy soldier."

This caused Adelina to beam and she instantly bent down to later place a box upon the counter top. John couldn't help himself; he moved over and reached out for the box, picking it up to examine it with slight excitement. Adelina giggled. When he have her a questioning look, she gestured to his hands. "Polka-dots for a strong man like you?"

"Uh..."

She giggled again before shaking her head and naming a price for the little toy. Fifteen. John had been paid before he had gotten off the ship -the man that had mentioned that pretty much everything that was down on Earth had to be paid. He fumbled with the money, unsure how to pay for it. The woman's eyebrows slowly lifted as he eventually just placed a five and ten dollar bill upon the counter. "You haven't ever payed for something, no?"

John twitched nervously. "No," he mumbled. "I was in the military all my life. Never needed too."

"All you're life?" This seemed to confuse the woman for a moment. Then it dawned upon her. "You're a Spartan, no?" John bowed his head. "Ah. So you haven't really done much then, no?"

He nodded. "Not really."

Adelina smiled. "Then let me show you Christmas." She pulled out a phone and held it up. His eyebrow lifted when he saw a few people in bathing suits all smiling at the person taking the picture. She noticed his strange look and glanced at her phone. "Oh! That is not Christmas!"

Faster than the little woman could comprehend, John snatched her phone away and looked over the picture as she struggled to get it back. He smiled as he glanced over the picture until she managed to get it back and huffed at him. "You know Annabelle?" he asked. After spending what felt like forever with the ODST, he was pretty positive that he could pick the woman with her round face anywhere.

"Yes. Been friends with her for a long, long time."

"Would you like to see her again?"

The woman turned her dark eyes up to his, a hopeful spark in them. "You would do that for me? We just met."

"Well, it is Christmas."

She shuffled about behind the counter before frowning. "We haven't talked in a long time. She probably doesn't remember me."

"I doubt that."

Adelina sized him up with a hearty glare, as if determining if he was lying. "Okay. I'll let you take me. But, on one condition."

John's head tilted. "Shouldn't I be the one doing that stuff?"

"You don't have a car." This time it was his turn to stare at her. "You walked by my store at least seven times, no? Of course I noticed you had no transpiration! I'll drive and you can them come with me later to my family's Christmas party. I... I was supposed to find someone to go with but they let me down just yesterday."

John's head spun. How did he get in this mess? "What kind of party is it?"

"Men have to wear a tiara and a dress."

"What?!"

Adelina burst out laughing, a snort-like laugh that made her sound like she was drowning in it. The sides of his mouth crinkled up into a small smile; it was hard not too. "I'm joking! It's just a small party my family has every year."

A small silence drifted around them and John fidgeted after a few moments. The little toy solider, protected by the cardboard box that it was in, was still in his hands and his fingers pulled at the paper that was decorating it. He leaned back slightly on his heels before looking up at her. "So... are we going?"

"What? Oh. Oh! Yes! Yes, of course!"

He watched her as she darted around her store, grabbing things, pulling them on, and flipping things over. A chuckle drifted along his throat and he stopped it by glancing down at the toy. "'On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming.'" He mouthed the song silently to himself before looking up at the woman, happening to look at the spot-on moment of when she tried over her own feet. Smiling, he glanced out the doorway.

"This sure is one heck of a Christmas."