And the Streamers Fly by Agent Midnight

The party was still in full swing when Duo Maxwell opened his eyes to look at the front door, earphones resting over his ears to replace the sound of dance music. His gaze shifted away from the wooden structure as a woman moved off to the side, making a sudden motion with her hands. A brilliant display of reds and greens shot out of the small canister, the streamers dancing through the air like birds in flight. The man sitting on the couch smiled just barely as she looked directly at him and mouthed, "Merry Christmas, Duo!" to him out of habit. Lifting his glass a little in a toast, he gave her the brightest of smiles and a little wink, all he could manage to produce in the spotlight of her gaze.

Stretching a little in the comfort of the couch, Duo grumbled and forced himself to stand, one hand gripping his CD player like a lifeline and the other curled around the glass. He shifted his weight from foot to foot to try and get the white-hot pricks to go away, and eventually the feeling returned enough for him to take a step further into the living room and not plunge face-first onto the carpet. The woman who had drawn his attention away from the door was swept off her feet by a mutual friend, the two spinning onto the designated dancing area. For just a brief moment, Duo almost wondered what song was playing to match their frantically cheerful movements, but he shoved the urge away just as quickly as it had appeared.

In one corner of the room sat a gorgeous Christmas tree, decorated in reds and greens and silvers, sparkling lights flickering here and there... here and there. Duo knew without even listening that the lights were playing Muzak-ish versions of well-known holiday songs, blaring through tiny speakers close to the wall plug. On top of the piano lay one broken blue ornament, looking sad for being the only one knocked off by a man slightly tipsy from one too many shots. The angel on the dangerous top was watching over all of them with a dead look in her crystalline eyes, holding a bag in one hand and a bell in the other. On the branch below her, a reindeer stood frozen in an arched coast, head tilted back and nose permanently showing red as a form of identification.

Duo jerked forward as someone bumped into him, and he turned around just in time to see a too-young Santa Claus spin away in time with their music, his fake beard hanging off his face completely to drape around his neck. For a second there, Duo thought that he was the worst Santa in the world, but quickly dismissed the faults for the meaning behind it all. If he wanted to be a unrealistic Santa for Christmas, Duo thought, he should be able to run around with a red satin bag and a beard not attached to his head.

The violet-eyed man's destination came into sight in no time, the kitchen moving with the life of the party more so than the living room. His neighbor sat atop the tile counter, swinging her legs back and forth and sipping her eggnog with delicate ease. Duo liked her -- she always seemed like a calm girl, even in social situations. She gave him a bright smile and tipped her heat forward, the white ball on the Santa's hat drifting forward over her shoulder. Like the first woman, she opened her mouth and spoke even though he couldn't hear.

"Great party. I'm having a blast!"

For show and show alone, he bowed slightly and mouthed out numerous thank yous almost like he had won a great award. His neighbor gave another smile and took a sip of her drink, leaning back against the cabinets, bobbing her head to the music. Duo made his way to one of the counters, picking up a piece of pizza from the empty box and shoving a little into his mouth. Leaving the food hanging from his mouth, he went to a second counter and poured some more eggnog into his cup. Fully in stock of all his necessities, he reentered the living room and claimed his seat again.

The wreath on the inside of the door had a stuffed toy hanging from the middle, the comical elf staring at everyone from his temporary home. The obnoxious lights wrapped precariously around the wreath, shining tacky neon colors into the doorway. The garland of lights wrapped around the tree and the ones wrapped around the wreath were so different, Duo wondered why the hell he had put them up in the first place.

He shifted his eyes around the room to study the rest of his strategically placed decorations. The mistletoe hanging above the door to the hallway was comical and a cute touch, the red stockings hanging from the stone fireplace were traditional but meaningless. Through the open window blinds, he could see the golden glow coming off his outdoor decorations, the reindeer and sleigh set sitting on his front yard, no doubt drawing attention to his house.

He would disapprove. Duo smiled at the thought, his eyes unconsciously sliding to the door. It stayed closed despite his frustrations and mental attempts at getting it to open. Realizing he couldn't magically get the door to open or make anything suddenly appear, he stopped straining and relaxed back into the cushions.

The makeshift Santa bounced down into the seat next to him, grinning at him like everything was right with the world. The beard was somewhat over his mouth now, a dark red lipstick staining the fake white hair around his lips. Duo glanced to the side and saw a young lady standing under the mistletoe, laughing as she stared at Santa, her lipstick smeared at the corner of her smiling lips. Santa laughed with her, looking at Duo, then he stood up with such fervor, it tore a chuckle from the host's throat. Duo watched the man flounce towards the woman, letting his smile fade as Santa wrapped his red-clad arms around her and they disappeared into the hallway.

Duo looked around the room at all the people, recognizing some but not recognizing all. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable that strangers were in his home, but a party's a party and he didn't want to disappoint anybody. Across the room, one of his co-workers opened up one of the streamers and let out flying green, her eyes glowing with merriment as the strands ghosted along the air before hitting the floor. Her younger brother was standing off to the side, eating some cake off of a paper plate. Smiling just barely, Duo watched as his co-worker grabbed the cake and smeared it onto her brother's face. The poor kid sputtered and stood up, glaring daggers at his sister before he stomped out of the room to get cleaned up.

Her eyes shot across the room and she gave Duo a funny look, her lips curving into a smile as she wiped the cake bits onto her jeans. She moved out of the room the next instant, probably in search of her younger brother to either apologize or do something else to embarrass him.

Santa returned to the living room, his new lady friend in tow. They staggered onto the dance area almost drunkenly, and held each other as they swayed along with the music. The woman tipped her head back and her mouth opened in a wild laugh, and Duo could almost picture a howl coming from those bruised lips. The woman who had shot off the first streamers was rocking back and forth with a beer bottle in her hand, watching the dancers with rapt fascination. His neighbor strolled into the room, stumbling into the doorframe on the rocky entrance but managing to get herself to a chair before she passed out and hit her head on something.

Everybody came.

Duo's smile was just a little too bright as that thought fled through every corner of his mind. His smile was too bright, his hands were clenching the edge of his sweater a little too much, his eyes were a little too wild. That thought ran through his mind and he looked at everybody who had showed up to his wonderful Christmas party. Most of his neighbors, a lot of people he saw every day at work, a lot of friends he had picked up along the way.

Reds and greens exploded before his eyes, the colors dancing up towards the ceiling before delicately weaving their way to the carpet.

Everybody came... except for him.

Reds and greens... exploding. Christmas.

Laughter.

But...

Soft fabric of dresses swished as the owners were twirled.

Everybody was having a great time.

Why do I feel so alone?

Duo closed his eyes.

Away from the party, away from Duo, Heero Yuy turned the invitation over once more before carefully letting it glide downwards into the wastebasket in his kitchen. His dark eyes stayed glued onto the festive envelope, a smile forcing its way to the surface as he looked at the green and red ribbon taped onto one corner of the invite. Every thought that disappeared at the promise of seeing Duo again came flooding back and his smile faded away.

Heero stepped away from the wastebasket and walked out of the room, flipping off the light on the way.

As he walked further and further down the hallway towards his bedroom, Heero walked further and further away from his thoughts of a happy Christmas.