Life At The Academy: Christmas

It was a few days before the holiday that had become too commercial; Christmas. Aeolus didn't really see the point in celebrating it, but everybody else seemed to enjoy it; most likely because it meant getting gifts. It never snowed on the island, the only way you could tell it was that time of year was because of all the decorations put up everywhere.

About the only good thing that would come of this was that his shopping was on the cheap side; he knew very few people well enough, and of those, cards for them weren't that expensive. The only thing he had trouble with was one person; a girl. Not just any girl, though... an 11 year old girl named Blair.

She followed him like a little lost kitten everywhere he went these days, even after he transferred to the Blue dorm. The irony being, the dorm he was in was the same that caused all the problems in the first place. At times he wished he'd never followed her into that dorm room that night, or dueled and beaten her, which thus brought on her little schoolgirl crush... but those times were few and far between; he actually did like having somebody that adored him so much.

It was a Saturday, and as was normal for him he headed off for the Red dorm. As he came close, he could see her waiting for him on the stairs, just like always, her eyes scanning the distance for him. When he came with sight her cute little face lit up, then she got to her feet and ran to him, she was as excited as a puppy. She hugged him as best she could, being as she was still a few feet too short and her arms weren't long enough fully encompass his body, and he in turn patted her on the head, then stroked her long, black hair.

"I missed you, Mister Aeolus..."

Her voice was so small and cute, and she was just as cute in the way she talked, she seemed to love referring to him in such a way. He smiled down at her, then turned and kneeled down so that she could get on his back, her small hands taking hold of his shoulders. He stood up and grabbed her small legs to help support her, then he began to walk away from the dorm, giving her a piggy back ride. One would figure that she wouldn't like it, as it was something one mostly did with small children, but she loved it... because it gave her a chance to be close to him, closer than she would ever normally be.

She happily sighed and rubbed her cheek against the back of his head before placing her forehead there, resting her own head on his own. As creepy as it might seem, she even sniffed his hair, to see if he had been using that shampoo that she gave him. To her delight, she found that he had used it, which only made her happier.

"So where are we going today, Mister Aeolus?"

"I figured that maybe we'd head to the ocean and get some swimming in. Of course since neither one of us has any swim wear, we'd have to make sure nobody saw us. But don't worry, my dear... if anybody does see, I'll just dunk your head under the water and say I'm alone. But don't go grabbing anything down there... and don't judge, because that water can be cold!"

She giggled a little at the thought of it, but knew he wasn't being serious. He was all but unable to give her a normal, straight answer the first time she asked.

"My, you're such a naughty boy. But really, where are we going?"

"I'll let you pick today, okay? It's been a while since you've done that."

She made what he called her cute little thinking noise, it was something that always came from her whenever she began to pondered things over. She squirmed a little bit against his back as she thought ever longer, it was just another one of those cute little things that she did, but it told him that she wasn't completely sure if she had come upon a good idea or not.

"Um... how about we go to the lake near your dorm? I've heard all these stories about how it has all kinds of rare types of fish, and I've always want to see them for myself. I've tried a few times before, but... they wouldn't let me near it because I didn't belong. So... can we go and look at them...?

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease...?"

She was just so adorable... and she knew how to push his buttons and make him give into her by using that adorableness. He just couldn't say no when she asked like that;

"Sure thing... and maybe if you're good, I'll let you feed them."

She squealed in delight, so very much like the young girl that she was. She hugged him as best she could given her position, then kissed the back of his head.

"You're the best, Mister Aeolus! But... before that, could we... um..."

She shifted and fidgeted a little bit, he could tell that she didn't want to ask. He halted and looked over his shoulder, trying to face her as best as possible. Sometimes he wished his head worked like that of an owl;

"What's wrong? You know you can ask me anything."

She bite her lip and chewed on it slightly, she didn't exactly like to bother him with things, especially considering that he was carrying her around. But this was important...

"Um... could we maybe... head to the school for a few minutes? I need to get something from there..."

One of his eye brows rose at that, it seemed rather odd that she was worried about something so trivial;

"Is that what this was all about? Really now, you shouldn't be scared to ask when it's something minor like that, especially considering that we're heading in that general direction."

"I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize for that. Just tell me, are you in a hurry?"

"Um... a little bit. I want to get there before... well, I just need to get there a little bit quickly."

He wasn't exactly sure why she hesitated to finish her original thought, but shrugged it off; he didn't want to press the issue, especially considering that the more time he spends grilling her, the less time they'd have to enjoy one another's company, not to mention that she wanted to get to the school quickly.

To that end, he suddenly lurched forward and went into a full blown jog causing her to yelp in shock. Her arms and legs instantly clamp down on him as tightly as she physically could, so as to not fall off.

"Mister Aeolus, that was mean! You should've warned me that you were going just start running like that!"

He laughed a little at upon hearing that, she could be such a little whiner when she wanted to. But like so many things about her, it just made her more adorable.

"You said you wanted to get there quickly, didn't you? All I'm doing is getting you there."

"... A little warning still would've been nice. I could have fallen off and hurt myself!"

He shook his head, then tighten his grip on her small legs to ensure that she was even more securly attached to his body than she already was;

"Blair, I would never, ever let any harm come to you. Your safety is very important to me... it's perhaps the single most important thing when we're together. I'd never let you be hurt if I can help it, and I'll fight to keep you safe regardless of how futile it may seem."

Blair flushed considerably as her arms moved, just enough so that she could hug him, knowing full well that he would keep her safe. Her little head slipped around his own until her lips came to his cheek and kissed it softly, then sighed happily as she pressed her cheek against his own. She was such an easy girl to please which was good for him; he just loved to please her in any way he could.

They got to the school fairly quickly, even after he slowed down several times to ensure that she wouldn't slip off of him. He headed inside of the building itself, and just as he was about to ask her where she wanted to go, she began to fidget;

"Mister Aeolus, I need you to let me down, so I can go..."

He, of course let her down. He offered to go with her, but she shook her head.

"Thanks, but I have to do this by myself... so... um... please, just wait for me here, okay?"

He nodded and she went off, actually running as fast as her little legs could take her. He waited there for all of ten seconds, but his natural curiosity got the better of him, and so he followed close behind, making sure that she wouldn't catch him. It was actually rather easy; she never looked over her shoulder, nor did she show any signs of even realizing that he was following behind.

After a short little job for him, he realized where she was going; she was heading for the schools shop, a place where one could purchase anything from cards to snacks. Finally, she came to the store and stepped in, and he hit as she was greeted by the shop girl, to ensure that he wouldn't be caught.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?"

She asked, her voice taking on a sing songy tone as was usual for her, but the small girl didn't answer; she merely looked about, as though searching for something. Aeolus stuck close to the door and peered in from his little hiding spot, watching as she looked through multiple cases, at times getting onto her knees, to see the lower shelves.

She sighed softly and become all frowny upon realizing that she had looked through all of the cases that were there. What she wanted simply wasn't there; but what she wanted was a mystery to him.

"Please don't look like that... please, tell me what you're looking for. I maybe have what you want that's not in the cases in the back."

The shop girl spoke, trying to bring some hope back to the small girls face. Blair didn't waste a second, she rose to her feet and walked over to her, then looked up, eyes having some slight hope. But, at the same time her face took on an indifferent look; she didn't want to get her hopes up too much;

"Um... do you, by any chance have a... Black Magician Girl...?"

He was a little surprised that she would have asked for that exact card, it was one that he'd been lusting after for months, but couldn't really afford; it was just so very rare these days. Almost instantly the shop girl smiled at the small girl and raised a finger, then headed off into the back room, to look for the card in question. Blair's hopes were raised, why else would she smile if they didn't have the card in stock?

Moments later, her hopes were confirmed when, finally, the shop girl came back out of the back room, the card in hand. It was in a clear, hard plastic case that was held together with screws, to ensure that both the card couldn't be damaged nor could the case fall apart and expose the card to any damage.

"Ah... how much is it?"

"Considering how rare it is and the time of year... the price is --and do keep what I just said in mind-- 20,000 DP."

Aeolus' eyes felt like they wanted to pop out of his skull, he just couldn't believe what he was hearing. The price had been 10,000 DP just a few days ago when he came around here asking for a price. But now, it had been doubled... just what in the Hell kind of rip off were they trying to pull here? Why, if he weren't attempting to keep himself hidden, he'd rush in there and...

"Oh, but... I only have 12,000...! Isn't there any way I could get it for that much? Please...?"

"I'm sorry.... but I can't lower the price; it was set by the owner. This is the last one we have, and there's no telling when we'll get another one... besides, given the time of year, we're lucky to even have this one left."




She sat down next to him on his bed, her cheeks flushed at the mere though of actually being there, in his room, with him... on his bed. It was something she never though would happen, and yet she was there. To top it off her actually wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, allowing her to snuggle close to him.

She couldn't think of a better gift... anything he could give her would never compare to this moment of tenderness.

"I thought long and hard about what to get you... I even asked a slew of other girls from the other dorm as to what they though would be a good gift, but every option they came up with wasn't good enough. You mean more to me than some little store bought gift could ever convey... so... I couldn't buy you something.

But... I still have something for you, my dear little Blair..."

A hand slipped to one of her cheeks and strokes it softly. She flushed even more, and his fingers slipped to her small chin. There, he took hold and lifted her face, until she was looking straight at him, and he was there, looking down at her. He could see how flushed she was; she was so very adorable.

"I think you'll like it, Blair... it's something that I'm sure you've wanted for a very long time."

Slowly, he began to lean down, and she realized what he was about to do. Her small eyes closed as she lifted her little rear end off the bed, pushing herself upwards. Soon, they came within mere inches, feeling the others warm breath... she was trembling, body overwhelmed by the fact that she was going to be kissed by the man she loved so much.