Christmas Gifts

a Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Shanejayell

        It was slushing in the city of Megatokyo, an irritating mix 
of rain and wet snow that was coming down over the sprawling city. 
Most of the residents were back in their homes along with their 
families this Christmas Eve, spending some time with their loved 
ones. The slick streets were mostly deserted by that time of night, 
only one or two vehicles still out in the rough weather.

        In a part of town that might be considered bad by some Priss 
Asagiri left the manager's office at the nightclub Hot Legs. There 
was a satisfied smile on her face and an thick envelope was in her 
hands. She joined her four bandmates a few minutes later, handing 
out shares of the money that the manager had been trying to stiff 
them.

        "Here you go," Priss said crisply, "try not to blow it all 
in one place."

        "Hey, Priss," her lead guitarist called out to her as she 
walked away.

        "Yeah?" Priss asked, not turning around.

        The young man was actually nervous, his voice rough, "A few 
of us are going out drinking tonight, before going home. You want to 
come along?"

        Priss smiled slightly, "Thanks, guys, but I got plans. Maybe 
next time."

        "Merry Christmas, Priss," her drummer yelled, just a bit 
drunk already.

        "Yeah, yeah," Priss grumbled, then a bit more loudly, "Merry 
Christmas." And with that she slipped out of the club, walking out 
to where her bike waited for her. 'Yeah, I got plans,' Priss 
thought, 'I'm going home and getting drunk.'

        Her usual set of riding leathers hugged her slim body 
closely, all in deep red. Priss swung her leg up over her bike, 
letting her weight settle down on the seat. Her helmet fit her 
snugly, and she smiled with satisfaction as the engine revved to 
life, settling to a gentle hum.

        Priss slid from the alley out onto the nearly deserted 
street, following the path through the steel and concrete towers of 
the city. She focused on the driving, trying not to look up at the 
massive tower that filled the skyline, the tower of 
Genom. 'Someday,' Priss vowed, 'you're going to pay.'

        A flash of red and blue, and Priss softly cursed under her 
breath as the AD Police cruiser came up beside her on the rain 
slicked streets. The driver waved to her, then the brown haired man 
gestured towards an covered garage. Knowing that he'd follow her 
Priss pulled in, waiting with her helmet resting in her lap until he 
got the car parked.

        "What do you want, Leon?" Priss barked.

        Leon McNicol leaned up against his squad car, a slight smile 
on his almost boyish face. The AD Police officer was a big man, but 
he also had a softer side, one he was showing now as he mildly 
said, "Merry Christmas, Priss."

        "Merry Christmas, Leon," Priss had to answer him. She 
climbed off of her bike, hanging her helmet on her handlebar as she 
stalked towards him. "I didn't buy you a gift," she said with a 
frown, "but I have something I can give you all the same." She took 
a breath, "There's no chance of us dating, McNicol, none at all."

        "I know," Leon surprised her by calmly answering. He smiled 
wryly at the look on her face, "A friend of mine finally made me see 
reality, at least about you." He reached into the front seat of his 
car, tossing a package towards her, "Here."

        Priss caught the gift onehandedly even as she said 
fiercely, "Damn it, I said that I didn't have a gift for you, Leon!"

        "Then consider it back payment for all the times you and 
your three pals helped save the city, all right?" Leon shot back as 
he opened the door and climbed inside his cruiser. He left his 
window open as he stuck his head out and yelled at her, "Get home 
out of the rain, Priss! Before you catch a cold or something."

        'He knows?' Priss thought dazedly, watching the cruiser pull 
out into the snow and rain. It shouldn't have been all that 
surprising to her, really, he had been there a few times where she 
had been caught up in Knight Sabers business. And she had always 
wondered if Leon had gotten a good look at her face when her visor 
got smashed that time...

        "Now I guess we know," Priss muttered to herself aloud.

        The bike started up again smoothly, and helmet on Priss slid 
out into the cold and wet once again. She rode well, pushing the 
speed a bit but being careful not to go too far. The streets could 
be dangerous when wet, and this mix of rain and snow could make 
things even worse.

        Lights flashed by her on the street-lamps and in shop 
windows, the brightly lit store fronts all decorated in red and 
green for the holiday season. 'It's not even a Japanese holiday,' 
Priss scowled fiercely, 'just something that we adopted from the 
west.' It had been especially irritating having to listen to Nene 
and Linna over at the Silky Doll, both of the young woman going into 
almost nauseating detail discussing their oh-so romantic Christmas 
dates.

        Sylia, thankfully, had the good sense not to jump on that 
bandwagon. The black haired leader of the Knight Sabers had coolly 
drank from her cup of tea, smiling slightly. "I'm holding a little 
party at the Silky Doll," she said calmly, "I'd like to see you all 
there."

        Nene and Linna had agreed almost immediately, making Priss 
wonder a bit about their supposed big dates later that night. 
Despite Sylia pressing her slightly for an answer Priss had been 
firmly noncommittal, not promising to actually show up. Not her 
style, that sort of high class party.

        The rain and snow continued to come down as she rode on, the 
streets becoming even more deserted as she made her way to her home. 
The battered red trailer sat on a lot that she had bought a while 
back, using some of the money that she had earned as a Knight Saber. 
It still felt a bit odd having that kind of money, but it did come 
in handy occasionally.

        The ramp came down from the side easily, and she carefully 
rolled the bike up into the chunk of the trailer she used as a 
improvised garage. Dropping her helmet by the bike she laid out a 
tarp to collect any of the rain water, then smiled wryly as she 
turned an older heater on. "Gotta take care of my baby," she smirked 
before moving into the other part of the trailer.

        Priss carefully navigated through the mess, music magazines, 
beer cans, biking publications and other stuff littering the floor. 
Her leathers she stripped off smoothly, leaving her dressed in just 
her bra and panties as she moved towards the little shower. Panties 
and bra dropped by the door, and she hit the water as hot as she 
could stand while she stood under the spray.

        A few moment's later Priss slid out of the shower, grabbing 
the least grungy towel sitting by the shower door. She dried herself 
off, pacing nude through the suite to her closet. A pair of jeans, T-
shirt and fresh underwear later and Priss sat down on the side of 
her bed. She took in the clock mounted on the wall, noting that 
Sylia's party was probably over long ago.

        'I'll probably get a stern lecture tomorrow about not being 
there,' Priss got up, walking over to her fridge and pulling out a 
cold can of beer. She popped the top, taking a drink, and considered 
turning on the television. 'Watch more of those damn Christmas 
specials?' she thought to herself grumpily, answering 'I don't think 
so.'

        Priss finished off the can of beer, laying there on top of 
the sheets on her rumpled bed. She was just putting the empty down 
beside the bed when she heard it, off in the distance. The sound of 
a well maintained engine was getting closer and closer, a powerful 
throaty sound that was oddly familiar to her, one that she had heard 
many times before.

        "Sylia?" Priss blinked in surprise. She got up off the bed 
and walked over to the window to make sure. Yes, she recognized the 
sports car that was pulling into the lot, the very same vehicle that 
Sylia had come here in once before.

        The car smoothly came to a stop out in the lane, Sylia 
opening up the door to stand beside the car in the driving rain and 
snow. She looked as elegant as ever, the dark haired business woman, 
but her fine clothes were rapidly being soaked through as she stood 
out there in the storm.

        "Shit," Priss ran to her front door, pulling it 
open. "Sylia!" she yelled out at her, but the dark haired woman 
didn't respond. Cursing under her breath Priss ran outside, reaching 
the other woman's side, wondering what must have gone wrong.

        "Priss," Sylia's hair was already soaked, water running down 
her face.

        "Come on," Priss dragged her forward, only pausing a moment 
to kick out and slam the car door shut with her foot. She half 
pulled, half carried the dark haired woman inside the trailer, all 
the while looking at her face. 'That's not just the rain,' Priss 
realized, 'she's crying.'

        She dragged the soaking wet woman to a chair, pushing her 
down into the seat gently. Sylia's eyes were dark, looking up at 
Priss' face searchingly. "Priss," she tried to make her voice 
steadily but it came out hoarse, "why didn't you come to the damn 
party?" Her eyes flashed with sudden anger, "I was worried about 
you!"

        "I.." Priss trailed off uncomfortably. 'I didn't know that 
it meant so much to her,' was what was running through her head. 
Sylia began to shiver in her soaking clothes, and Priss 
frowned. "I'll be right back," she said, walking to her bathroom.

        Scrounging around a moment Priss found some dry, clean 
towels and brought them over to Sylia. "Thank you," Sylia softly 
sighed, taking the towels and drying herself off. The towel covered 
her face as she continued drying her hair, "You could have called."

        "You sound like somebody's mother," Priss frowned. She took 
a breath and said a bit more gently, "I never said that I'd be 
coming."

        "You never do. And I know that you don't care much for 
Christmas," Sylia admitted to her quietly, towling off the arms of 
her suit, trying to get the water out, "but I do." She sighed, "I 
used to love Christmas with Mackie and Dad, and I just wanted..."

        ".. to have something like that with us." Priss quietly 
finished. She took in the bedraggled figure sitting there in her 
still soaked clothes, and sighed. "You're stuck here until you dry 
out," she noted, "I'll get you something to wear."

        "You don't have to.." Sylia started.

        "Mackie would have fits if I let you go out soaked like 
that," Priss mentioned Sylia's little brother with a wry 
smile. "C'mon," she gestured Sylia towards her bedroom.

        Sylia certainly looked odd moving through Priss' trailer, 
the slightly shorter black haired woman in the elegant formal wear, 
her high heels sitting there empty by the front door. They navigated 
through the mess, quickly reaching the bedroom, and Priss waved her 
towards the bed while she turned to rummage through the closet.

        "It's about the same as the last time I was here," Sylia 
noted, looking around at the piles of beer cans, messy clothes and 
the occasional motorcycle part.

        "I don't get much company," Priss calmly noted, her face 
hidden as she dug through the closet. A clean T-shirt flew out at 
Sylia first, then a pair of sweatpants soon followed. "Those should 
fit you," she stepped back from the open closet, then she looked 
over at Sylia thoughtfully. "So how's the underwear?" Priss asked.

        "What?" the obviously rattled Sylia blinked.

        "Are they as soaked as the rest of you?" Priss said directly.

        "Well, yes," Sylia admitted sheepishly.

        Priss walked over to her dresser, pulled open a drawer and 
rummaged around in it a moment. "Here," she added something to the 
pile of clothes, "get changed before you get sick or something." 
With that, she slipped out of the bedroom to give Sylia some privacy.

        Priss walked back to the livingroom, picking up the wet 
towels off the floor as she went. She felt a bit grateful that she 
finally had bought a clothes dryer, rather than just stringing a 
line across the livingroom to dry out her clothes. Not that it 
wouldn't be interesting to see the look on Sylia's face when she did 
that, but...

        "No, I don't think so," Priss murmured.

        "Don't think what?" Sylia asked curiously.

        Priss turned around, not having heard her come in the room 
and her lips twitched up in a unwilling smile. The sweatpants that 
would have fit Priss snugly were a bit baggy on Sylia, and the 
slogan that was printed on the T-shirt was cutely rude. Combine that 
with her short black hair sticking up in bits and her red cheeks 
from the cold outside and you had someone who was the polar opposite 
of Sylia's normal look.

        "I know," Sylia tugged on the T-shirt shyly, the 
words 'Women do it better and look better doing it!' being distorted 
by her gesture, "I must look ridiculous."

        Priss blushed. Yes, Sylia looked oddly cute, but in no way 
silly. In fact, she had found herself wondering Sylia looked like 
that after she made love. "You look cute," Priss said firmly.

        Sylia obviously must have heard something in her voice, the 
dark haired woman giving her a slight smile. She hefted her arm full 
of wet clothes, "Where..?"

        Priss quickly relieved her of them, walking over to the 
dryer, loading it up, then hitting the switch. They sat down in the 
chairs in the living room, Sylia nearly falling into a overstuffed 
seat that Priss normally used for lounging around in. "You gotta 
watch out for that one," she smiled.

        "Gee, thanks," Sylia levered herself to the edge of the 
seat. She pushed her black hair back from her face, "I'm sorry I got 
so upset, I just.. wanted you there at the party."

        "Why was it so important to you that I attend the party?" 
Priss had to ask.

        "Because," Sylia looked uncomfortable, a flush to her 
cheeks, "you were the first Knight Saber I recruited, symbolically 
it was important for you be there."

        Priss hesitated, unsure if she wanted to ask the next 
question that came to mind. "And was that the only reason you wanted 
me there?" Priss asked.

        "No," Sylia looked down uncomfortably.

        Priss sighed softly, feeling remarkably stupid. Sylia had 
been so gentle to her, for these past few weeks leading up to 
Christmas. They still worked together like normal, of course, but 
Sylia had lingered after their Knight Sabers missions to try to draw 
her out. Priss had been hesitant, but slowly Sylia had been chipping 
away at her guard. And not once had Priss even considered why.

        "I'm sorry," Priss finally said into the long, uncomfortable 
silence, "I can be pretty dense about this kind of thing."

        "I was going to take you out to dinner tonight," Sylia said 
softly, "after I sent Linna and Nene on home. I had this whole 
romantic evening all planned out for the two of us." She smiled a 
bit self-mockingly, "And you didn't show up."

        Priss looked down at the floor, she couldn't think of 
anything else to say other than repeating, "I'm sorry."

        "Priss?" Sylia asked. Priss looked up, seeing Sylia looking 
at her worriedly, "I haven't upset you by telling you this, have I?" 
Priss wanted to say something, but she couldn't seem to make her 
mouth work. Sylia sighed, getting up out of her chair, "I'll get my 
close out of the dryer. I can drive home in this, give you your 
stuff back later."

        Sylia walked by her chair and Priss reached out to grab at 
her arm, "Wait, please." Sylia looked down at her as Priss softly 
continued, "You've always seemed so unapproachable, I've never dared 
to say anything."

        "You mean.." Sylia trailed off, unwilling to put words in 
the brown haired woman's mouth.

        "You remember when my arm was broken?" Priss said to her 
softly. "You took care of me, and I so wanted to stay in your bad, 
continue laying there beside you once I got well."

        "I wish you had told me," Sylia tugged, pulling Priss up to 
stand beside her, "I wanted you to stay there beside me as well."

        "I'm sorry for spoiling your plans," Priss murmured softly, 
standing face to face with Sylia.

        A soft sound, a bell, and Sylia smiled slightly as she saw 
the clock showing it was midnight. "Merry Christmas," she said 
softly, "do you know what I planned to be doing at this time?"

        "Merry Christmas, and I think I can guess," Priss murmured 
back, leaning forward to gently press her lips to Sylia's own.

        Sylia wrapped her arms around Priss' neck, both of them 
savoring the kiss. She drew back a bit to smile, "I can't think of a 
better Christmas gift to receive."

End.

Authors Notes: I'm assuming a fairly good knowledge of the BGC 
anime, but here are the major events that I'm referring to in this 
story: Leon saw the face of the Blue Knight Saber aka Priss when her 
visor was shattered in episode #5 of the OVAs, though it wasn't 
addressed in any detail later on. He's been chasing after Priss 
since episode one, however! The arm breaking incident occurred in 
OVA #7, the Vision episode. This story is set sometime after the 
three episode finale Bubblegum Crash. Priss is basically in 
character, but I think I had Sylia acting a bit too emotional. Oh, 
well... 

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