Warnings: This is slight AU, because they do not celebrate Christmas in Alvarna. But that’s the theme, so that’s what I write. 8D Otherwise this is rated K+.
Characters: Barrett, Kyle, Douglas and Gordon. Ray, Mana, and Byron are mentioned, but not present.
Rune Factory 2: 100 Themes
Theme 092: Christmas
.~.~.~.~.
It was a quiet winter morning. The sun shone uncharacteristically bright for such a morn, merrily handing down its rays through a cloudless sky. The blinding brightness bounced off of the clean white sheet of snow, reflecting and making the day even the more bright and cheery.
Barrett awoke with a start, squinting painfully through the sunlight. Silently he pulled the covers away, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Overslept…” he said simply, standing up to change. A glance at the calendar stopped him for a moment.
Christmas Day.
Barrett groaned aloud, continuing to dress himself. The town was going to be in utter chaos – everyone would be running around exchanging gifts, decorating, singing carols… he could already hear the overtones of someone singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Too bad they were off-key; Barrett couldn’t recall ever listening to anyone in town sing well. And, per tradition, all of the girls would have a small piece of mistletoe to ambush their crush with.
It wasn’t like he was ever targeted – except Mana that one year, and he never wanted to think about that again – but it didn’t mean that he enjoyed the sight.
And, he had to admit—he might have been a little bitter at the whole holiday. Sure, everyone wished him a Merry Christmas… but ever since he became a teenager, he stopped getting presents. Sure, he got things from his father—but they usually had a double purpose to them, so he just dumped the gifts somewhere in the house and never looked at them again. Ray had given him something a few years back, but it was small, and he quite honestly couldn’t remember what it was.
He stepped outside, and sure enough, Douglas and Gordon were dancing around in front of the church, singing that god-awful song and undoubtedly drunk. Already. Barrett rolled his eyes, slipping past the pair as quickly as he could.
He stepped down the path to Cherry Blossom Square – only to be bowled over, both him and his assailant tumbling into a snow bank.
“Ow…” the other man groaned, sitting up. Barrett stood up quickly, dusting the snow off as best he could.
“You should watch where you’re going.” Barrett grumped, looking down to see who it was.
“Sorry…” Kyle rubbed his head awkwardly, before perking up and looking around frantically. “Oh no, where did it go?” He turned around, animatedly digging through the bank.
“What are you looking for?” Barrett raised an eyebrow, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“A present, I must have dropped it when I fell… Ah ha! Here it is!” He shouted joyfully, pulling a box out of the snow. He stood up, dusting the snow off of the top.
“Here, this is for you. I was looking for you when we crashed.” Kyle said, holding the box out. He smiled brightly, waiting for him to take it.
“Huh? For me?”
“Yeah, for you. I spent a lot of time trying to find it, so you better like it.” Kyle chuckled as Barrett took the box hesitantly. It was very heavy, the contents rattling inside. “Well, are you going to open it or not?”
Barrett looked up for a moment before looking back down at the box. It was dented and soggy, the sides discolored by the muddy snow it had fallen in… but it was a present. For him.
He lifted the lid, revealing several stones. These stones, he quickly realized, were ore – iron, silver, copper, gold, even a small bit of platinum.
For once, he got a present he could actually use. Barrett stared at the contents for a while, not having anything to say.
“Do you… not want it?” Kyle asked quietly, staring at him nervously. Barrett shook his head automatically.
“No… I mean, yes, I do want it…” For the first time in a long while, Barrett smiled. “Thank you.”
.~.~.~.~.
A/N: I kinda sorta hate it a bit. I don't know why. It's just...lame. Ninny-na (who regularly reviews my RF stuff on FFN) seemed to like it, though, even if it was just an "awwwww Barrett smiled." Oh well.
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