A/N: Originally posted on Tumblr as a Christmas present to missrainbowpie. 3
The Christmas season on Babylon 5 didn't feel much different from any other season, really. After all, the majority of the population didn't celebrate it, and there was no snow in space. Still, there were lights twinkling in a few stores in the Zócalo, and occasionally the tinny sound of Christmas carols rang through a restaurant or a shop.
Delenn seemed fascinated by the holiday, and had asked him about little else during their walk through the central marketplace of Babylon 5. They had gotten into the habit of taking these little strolls together every so often, and John had come to treasure them. She had such an inspiring way of looking at the universe, and he always seemed to look at things a little differently after talking with her.
"So," she was saying, "the bearded man in the red suit manifests in every house on the planet, at the same time, and leaves gifts for children?"
"I guess it is pretty silly," John said, chuckling. "I sure believed it when I was a kid though."
"And he accomplishes this… with his snow deer."
John grinned. "Yep. Except they're reindeer."
"How interesting," Delenn murmured.
They paused as she stopped to examine a kiosk selling hanging ornaments made of bright colored glass in a variety of geometric shapes, before continuing on their way. There was quite a crowd outside the Eclipse Cafe, and John realized with surprise that it was almost lunch time: he'd been walking with Delenn much longer than he thought.
When they emerged on the other side of the bustling crowd, their arms were linked. It had seemed natural, both of them reaching out just to keep a hold of each other through the crowd, but neither let go once they were out.
"Can I ask, why the sudden interest in Christmas?" John said after a minute.
Delenn's face lit up with a smile as bright as a star, "Lennier and I have formed a small group of station residents who are interested in learning about the various cultures Babylon 5 is home to," she explained. "We choose a new topic to study each standard week, and human holidays and festivals are our current selection."
John found himself answering with a smile just as wide – it was almost impossible not to, when she was looking at him like that. "Oh, I hadn't realized… That's a great idea, would you mind if I dropped in occasionally?"
"Of course not." Delenn inclined her head. "We would be honored to have you join us."
"Thank you," John said, mirroring her. They resumed their slow pace through the market. "So, tell me, do the Minbari have any holidays like this?"
"Not precisely," she replied. "However, we do have a festival in midwinter, on the coldest, darkest day of the year, devoted to performing acts of kindness for all of those around us. In so doing, we hope to spread enough light that we may endure the remainder of winter."
John smiled. At that moment Delenn's gaze was captured by something just beyond his shoulder, and she dropped his arm to hurry towards it. He turned and realized it was a shop selling all sorts of Christmas-related knick knacks: lights, ornaments, figurines, and what looked like some of the dolls from the Babylon 5 merchandise store that someone had bought before it closed down.
They were wearing Santa hats. John's smile quickly turned into a frown, but before he could buy all of them and have them tossed out of an airlock, Delenn spoke.
"Mistletoe, I believe," she said, pointing up to where a sprig was hanging over the counter. It looked remarkably healthy: someone must have taken a lot of care to make sure it survived the trip all the way from Earth.
"Oh, yeah," he said a bit awkwardly, realizing that he and Delenn were standing right under it,
"I seem to recall Mr. Garibaldi mentioning it as a major part of the holiday, but I don't believe he ever explained why."
John felt his cheeks getting warm. "Well, uh," he began, wishing a little of her eloquence would rub off onto him right then. "Typically, when two people step under mistletoe, they, uh, they… kiss."
"They kiss." Delenn raised an eyebrow.
John swallowed and nodded.
A smile spread slowly over her face, her eyes twinkling at him. "Well, in that case, should we not observe your tradition?"
"I guess we should." His voice was quiet; without realizing it they had already closed most of the distance between them. At first it was a little awkward, and he was self-conscious about kissing Delenn right here in the middle of the Zócalo, but then their lips met and he forgot about everything except her.
It only lasted a moment, her lips soft and warm, before they separated and John became aware once more of the people swarming around them. Delenn's eyes were bright when they opened and she stood back a little.
The shopkeeper cleared his throat, sounding annoyed. "Hey, you gonna buy something?"
A few minutes later, they left the shop, Delenn the proud owner of a small model of Babylon 5, twinkling with Christmas lights. John hadn't wanted to ruin the mood by announcing his plans for the remainder of the B5 merchandise (though maybe he would just send Ivanova down later to take care of it…)
"So, Captain, shall we expect you at the next of our gatherings?" she asked. "Lennier tells me we will be discussing a genre of entertainment which the humans call a 'romantic comedy.' I would appreciate your thoughts."
He smiled at her as they walked along. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."