I'll Be Home For Christmas (Dante.)

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

“Mum? Mum? Hey, dad, can you tell mum to – no, not that – the camera. Can you just tilt it up a little – not that far – yeah, that’s great.”
“Is that better?” her mother, Vivian asked over the video chat.
“Not perfect, but doable,” Hazel responded.
Back in England, Vivian Yeung peered, confused, at her laptop screen, and wondered whether she should be talking to the keyboard or the webcam. On the sofa beside her, her husband, Nathan Yeung laughed at his wife’s cluelessness with technology and angled the laptop screen down just a little bit more, so that their daughter wasn’t taking to the top half of their heads. For Nathan, Vivian’s incompetence was mildly amusing, but for Hazel, who dealt with nanotechnology on a daily basis, it was frustrating to the point of infuriating.
“That better?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah, thanks dad.”
“So how’s things in the big US of A?” he asked.
“The big apple,” her mother said.
“The rotten apple, more like,” chipped in Hazel’s older brother, who entered the camera picture behind her parents carrying two cups of tea.
“Hey Noah!” Hazel said, waving at the camera as Noah, his hands full, nodded back and walked out of the picture.
“Cassie’s over too,” said Vivian, turning the laptop around to face Noah’s fiancée. The camera swivelled back onto Noah, who passed one of the mugs to a pretty young woman on the other sofa, and sat next to her. Behind them, a tall Christmas tree twinkled merrily in the background.
“Hi!” Cassie said, waving enthusiastically at Hazel who waved back.
“This is my little sis,” Noah said, “Sir Limpsalot.”
Cassie looked affronted. “You can’t say that-”
“Cass, it’s fine. I’m not offended.” Hazel laughed at Cassie’s politically correct attitude. Cassie was the kind of woman to call disabled people ‘differently-abled’, and while Hazel appreciated the sentiment, she wasn’t one to be hurt by flippant nicknames. To prove it, she leaned back, lifted Stumpy and wiggled it in the camera. Cassie’s eyes widened as she laughed, surprised at her attitude. Beside her, her older brother snorted into his mug and spilled it all over himself.
Hazel put her leg down. “So how’s everybody doing?”
Vivian turned the laptop back around to face her. Nathan peered in over her shoulder.
“Not too bad,” Vivian said, “you?”
Hazel paused. “M’alright. Things here are... alright.”
“Nice to hear.”
“What is it you said you do again?” Nathan asked.
Hazel cleared her throat. Mercifully, Noah remained silent on the matter. Her brother was the only one she had told about what she really did. “I do mechanicy, engineery stuff. Not all that interesting.”
“Oh, I’m sure it's plenty interesting,” her mother said. “I’d love to hear about-”
Hazel cut her off. “So what’re your plans for Christmas?”
"I think we’re going to have your grandparents round," Vivian said. She meant Hazel’s maternal grandparents, the white folks who lived in England, not Nathan’s lot who were thousands of miles away in China. "Have Christmas dinner here, it’ll be fun."
“Wish I could join you,” Hazel said.
“It would be nice if you could,” Nathan said. “Maybe next year, huh?”
Hazel nodded. “Well, I’m sure it’s late where you are,” she said, glancing at the clock. It was five p.m. in New York, meaning ten at night in England. "I’ll get off. Call you again soon."
“Keep in touch, darling,” said her mother, and together there was a chorus of goodbyes and farewells and a ‘seeya, limpsy!’ from her brother, before her mother ended the call and Hazel’s room was silent again.
With a sigh, she pushed her chair back from her desk and stared down at the half leg. She was silent for a moment, resting her hands against the stump, before turning the wheelchair around, closing the laptop lid, and rolling herself out of her room and into the corridor beyond.

It was only early evening, but it was already dark outside and the Hunter’s Compound was strangely empty, eerily so. Hazel wheeled herself through the corridors, pausing at the plaque in the foyer to see if she could finally find the name she’d been looking for, and continued on to the main hall, where there were a few sofas, a TV, and a bar.
Though, before Hazel could reach it, she could hear I’ll Be Home For Christmas, floating through the air on the stereo system. And as she came closer, she recognised the staggered muticoloured flashing of fairy lights cast against the far wall.
“What the..." Hazel wheeled herself closer, frowning.

[Dante Stark]

Dante had been walking down the main street of the city, he'd been gathering supplies for his own little Christmas party.. He knew around this time of year many of The Hunters left the compound and Stark usually took advantage of this time to throw his own little special Christmas festivities within the comfort of the compound..

His leg had only recently healed after the fiasco in the sewer due to the Lycans he was less then pleased with it but he marched forward going from shop to shop getting the Christmas decorations.. Stark piled all of the bags into the boot of his Impala.. He'd spent a fortune on buying small things, simplistic things that made him feel jolly.. He'd remembered how his mother used to decorate the tree and how she always used to be in a jolly mood around Christmas.. Stark had longed to spend the holidays with her but unfortunately she'd passed away before he got the chance to spend one more holiday with her.

Dante pulled up outside of a small garden lot, the place was selling authentic Christmas trees and he just had to have one it's what made the whole thing feel real.. Stark looked around the lot as families passed and grabbed their trees.. He found one that was perfectly trimmed and wasn't that expensive.. Stark paid the vendor and strapped the thing a-top of his car.. Stark drove towards the Compound where he'd spent the majority of his Christmas time.. He'd bought a few gifts for some of the hunters he was closer with like Vaughn and a few others.. He even bought Hazel a few gifts and a brand new toolset.. It's the only way he thought he could thank her for saving his life.. He'd assumed she had headed home for the holidays as he started dragging the tree into the main hall..

Stark set the tree up and began to place fairy lights around the sides of it, he tried to make it look as full as possible, he started to throw on a few of the Christmas ornaments that he'd bought.. Stark grabbed the remote and clicked it as the stereo began playing "I'll be home for Christmas." Stark had set up majority of the decorations placing tinsel and stockings around the bar, he'd felt satisfied with half of his work...

"I'm dreamin' tonight of a place I love
Even more then I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you" Stark peacefully sang to himself as he continued hanging up various decorations keeping in time with the music.. He'd been in his own world following the lyrics in time keeping pace with the song..

"I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.." Stark continued with his singing as he hopped off the ladder and began to marvel at his work, he was smiling softly to himself allowing the cheesiest grin to take over his face, he was happy for once.. And it'd felt like he was finally feeling like himself again.. Dante began to place some of the wrapped presents under the tree, he assorted them into size order, he'd still been singing to himself as he finally stepped back and picked up the glass on the counter, instead of his usual scotch he was drinking a lemonade.. He took a sip just as the song ended and another Christmas song began to play..