Alban Arthan & Hanukkah
Author's note: This story (which should contain three or four parts in total) will reference multiple religions and holidays. If that will make you uncomfortable, or you simply dislike seeing real religions used with these characters or in this universe, then I recommend that you stop reading now. This is a quick holiday story for me, so the sort of critique I usually encourage is not necessary; just read and enjoy. All information on Hanukkah was taken from Wikipedia, as I do not know much about that holiday. I apologise for any inaccuracies. The rituals observed for Alban Arthan can vary among different Druid sects, and Zexion's reflect my own. Thank you and happy holidays everyone. ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Kingdom Hearts.
Sephiroth shook out a match after lighting the Shamash candle of his Menorah. He paused for a moment to consider how casually he had picked up such habits once he started doing things in a more standard way, after Zexion had suggested that he should start acting a little more human if he wished to regain his sense of humanity several months before. The tall man had thought it would be frustrating to do so after being accustomed to being so much more, but found that he actually took an odd sort of pleasure in such simple tasks as using matches or walking to and fro. He vaguely wondered if it was for the same reason that Zexion liked to do such domestic chores as gardening and cooking.
He murmured the traditional blessings before lifting the lit candle to light another, once again, surprised that he felt a small sense of peace instead of simply feeling silly as he expected. He had not observed the holiday in many years. However, he was pleased that he had decided to do so after he had noticed Zexion preparing for the winter solstice that he observed.
A package near the fireplace caught the green-eyed man's attention; its bright wrappings caused it to stand out against the modest décor of their home. Zexion had brought it back with him when he went into town the previous week, stating that Zack had asked him to give it to Sephiroth.
Now, the former First Class removed the small card from the package.
To Sephiroth: I guess it would be sort of mean to tell you not to open this until Christmas, so just wait until the first night of Hanukkah. Happy holidays! ~Zack.
The silver-haired man smiled slightly. He had not been sure of the idea when Zexion told him that he had contacted his old friend, but now that his memories were returning and his thoughts were truly his own again, it was nice to hear news of his former comrade. Sea-green eyes turned to a few smaller packages that sat on the mantle opposite Sephiroth's menorah. Each was wrapped simply in plain brown paper.
With a small shake of his head, the ex-SOLDIER lifted his friend's package and calmly removed the obnoxiously bright ribbons and paper. He discovered a deep purple v-neck sweater that appeared to have been handmade, although Sephiroth knew Zack could not have done it. Despite the fact that he was not cold, the silvered man pulled the sweater on and removed his long braid from underneath it. It fit perfectly.
The tall man caught the scent of holly from the wreath on the door as it opened, and did not need to turn to know that Zexion had returned from his trees and altar. A gust of cold air toyed with the silvered man's bangs before the little non-being silently closed the door behind him. "I hope you've been at least somewhat protected from the elements," commented Sephiroth as he turned to the smaller male.
Slate coloured eyes narrowed at the older male, but his slightly shivering form prevented the little Nobody from looking as menacing as he normally managed to achieve. "I was." The attempted expression faded as the smaller male looked over the larger; "It looks good on you."
The silvered man nodded once in reply and then arched an eyebrow when, without further ado, the shorter of the pair set down a white cloth with a faint scent of mistletoe and heaved up a log that he had apparently dragged in.
"Can I carry that to the fireplace for you?" He did not know very much about the youth's traditions and tried to respect them, but sometimes he had the feeling that the blue-haired non-being was just as unused to allowing others into his life as he himself was.
The smaller male paused. "Yes; thank you." Zexion allowed the tall man to take the log from him and carry it to the fireplace, where a special crate had been set up for it above the pre-set kindling. When he saw Sephiroth reaching for the matches, Zexion grinned and pulled a large sliver from his pocket, which looked as though it had been burned before. "It has to be lit with this."
The ex-SOLDIER took the small piece of wood from the little Nobody and looked at it blankly. Not wanting to insult the other, he kept his tone neutral as he asked, "What is this?"
"A piece of last year's Yule log…its tradition to light each year's with a splinter of the previous one's log," explained the blue-haired male.
The silvered man nodded and lit the splinter before holding it to the kindling below the Yule log and waiting for it to catch. Zexion slipped off his coat and grinned as he took in the lit candle and the older man's yarmulke. "Thank you."
Sephiroth nodded and stood, then frowned when he saw that the shorter male was still shivering. "You don't take the cold well."
"I'll be fine soon enough. I haven't been here in the winter for some time now and it never got this cold in-" Zexion was cut off as the older man dropped his new sweater over the Nobody's head.
"I'm sure you will," the tall man replied with a smirk as watched the petite non-being roll up the sleeves of his sweater. The neckline came halfway down his chest and the hem stopped just a few inches short of his knees. "Well at least it's a good colour on you."
The blue-haired Nobody shot the tall man a vexed look, but headed into the kitchenette without comment as a timer sounded. He pulled a couple things from the oven before lighting the stove. Then, the little non-being heated some oil and pulled a couple of bowls from their small refrigerator, where they had been taking up most of the small appliance's centre shelf.
Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall as he watched the younger male, who appeared to be quite content to be doing all of the cooking, as usual. The green-eyed man grew somewhat curios when he saw the younger one scooping some sort of batter from one of the bowls. "Are those pancakes?"
"Potato pancakes," amended the blue-haired teen. "I believe you call them latkes? I've never actually made them before; or pontshkes," the petite male glanced at the dough in the second bowl, "But they seem simple enough from the recipes I found back when you used to celebrate Hanukkah before..."
"You looked it up back then?" The former general was only marginally surprised.
Zexion shrugged, "I never even truly celebrated the solstice until after I was sent to live with Ansem. The other apprentices and I had never taken interest in any other beliefs until you mentioned yours. I felt…badly about not knowing anything about your traditions, so I decided to at least learn the basics."
Sephiroth watched the small non-being cook as he listened, and frowned briefly, not knowing exactly how to respond to that admittance. He was not usually touched by the gestures of others. "I'm sure they'll be fine," he said finally, nodding toward the perfect-looking latkes when the little Nobody glanced at him in question. "You're a good cook."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Zexion's mouth as he finished cooking the pancakes and then began the doughnuts. While they were frying, he pulled a small package from his pocket, wrapped in silver paper with blue ribbon, and offered it to the taller man. "Here; Happy Hanukkah."
The ex-SOLDIER took the small package and smirked at the younger male. "You aren't considering converting to Judaism, are you?" He asked teasingly.
Zexion flicked his gaze to the Yule Log that the older man had lit. He matched the other's tone as he replied, "No more than you are considering converting to Druidism." His voice returned to its usual tone as he continued, "I just thought that as long as we're living together…"
"Hmm," Sephiroth nodded his concord once before pushing away from the wall and approaching the mantle, where his small stack of gifts remained. He picked up one of them, and returned to the kitchenette to hand it to the blue-haired Nobody. "I was thinking the same thing; Happy Alban Arthan."
The small non-being grinned lightly as he removed the now-cooked pontshkes from the stove and took the proffered gift. "Thank you. Do I even want to know how you managed to get those without terrifying any villages into chaos?"
"Probably not, it might put a damper on the mood," replied the older male before returning the grin with a mild one of his own.
Both males opened their gifts silently, Sephiroth gazed at the pendant in his hand a moment before looking at Zexion, who was smiling softly as he looked over the small silver pentacle that Sephiroth had gotten him.
"Thank you," stated the blue-haired teen as he looked up to meet the older male's eyes.
"I thought it was about time you had one again. The chain isn't too small, is it?" questioned the former general.
"I suppose great minds really do think alike…and no, it's just the length I like," Zexion answered as he put on the necklace and felt the pendent fall just below the neckline of his shirt. "What about yours?"
Sephiroth looked at the silver Star of David and allowed the chain to hang form his hand to guess its length. "Its perfect," he answered just before he slipped the chain over his neck and tucked the necklace under his own shirt. The former general found the weight of the star against his chest to be comfortable, much as the dog tags he had worn for years while part of ShinRa's army.
When Sephiroth looked over to Zexion again, the smaller being was filling the doughnuts with jelly and sprinkling them with powdered sugar. Once he finished, he looked to the taller male. "Dinner's ready. Can you carry these?"
Sephiroth took the offered plates with a nod as the little Nobody picked up the serving dish he had been keeping warm and they headed to the small kitchen bar, where they normally ate. "Vegetable tempura?" questioned the taller man as the younger removed the foil from the other dish. Zexion normally did not like many fried foods, especially in one meal.
"With sweet and sour or mandarin sauce," replied the blue-haired teen as he sat. He raised eyebrows quizzically when he noticed the ex-SOLDIER looking at him oddly. "I like vegetables and I read that its tradition to eat foods fried in olive oil for Hanukkah, so yes…we have plenty of pickled vegetables if you'd rather have those."
The silvered man smirked at the understatement of the smaller male's final comment. With all the food the blue-haired Nobody had pickled, preserved, or otherwise storied from his garden, he doubted they would be running out any time soon. "No, this is fine," Sephiroth returned to his earlier thought and realised that the younger male had chosen the meal especially for him. "Thank you."
Zexion paused and looked at the older man for a moment. He knew very well that thank yous were almost as rare as apologies from the former First Class. Hiding a smile, he turned his head and noticed two more gifts on the mantle place. Although he was quite sure he already knew the answer, he decided that inquiring about them would be a less obvious subject change and took pity on the taller man. "Who are those for?"
"Zackary and Riku," Sephiroth began serving the food, not needing to look to know what the smaller male was speaking of, and knowing just as well that Zexion had already guessed that much. However, he found he did not mind sympathy when it came from the petite teen, so he accepted the excuse to bypass any sort of emotional conversation. "Although, I don't know if it would be worth the chaos involved with delivering them."
"I could deliver them for you tomorrow, if you'd like." The petite Nobody turned back to his friend, then glanced down at his plate to find it already filled with food. "Thank you."
The former general nodded absently at the gratitude. He had found the blue-haired teen's instance on using proper manners odd upon first meeting him, but then he had grown used to it, as well as the boy's dry humour, and now he found it somewhat amusing. "I'd appreciate that." He offered the small non-being a wry grin, "Thank you."
The little Nobody arched an eyebrow, "You're welcome." He waited until Sephiroth tucked into his dinner, looking slightly smug, before allowing a small smirk to grace his features. "So…are you going to play 'spin the dreidel' after dinner?"
The silver-haired man looked up, clearly irritated until he saw the expression on his friend's face. He blinked and then asked, with the slightest expression of interest; "Did you want to play with me?"
"Only if we can play for something more interesting than chocolate coins," replied the smaller male as he began eating his dinner.
Sephiroth merely grinned as he returned to his dinner. He was glad he had decided to return to some old traditions and did not truly care if he had twisted them a little in the process.
After all, what about him was not twisted in some way?