Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I am also not bashing any religion with the philosophical views portrayed in this story.
It is December 24, the day before Christmas. Jump City, being the fun, sunny city it was known for, yields no snow as usual. No one even bothers anymore. They know hoping for frozen precipitation would only lead them on and leave them disappointed in the end. It is still cold, though; ten degrees Celsius to be exact. Unsurprisingly, the nose-freezing temperature does little to dampen the spirits of the city's citizens. The people are restless. Malls are packed with families looking for presents for beloved relatives and friends. Mothers out for some last-minute shopping come second on the list, followed by high school guys looking for just the the perfect stuffed teddy bear and bouquet of flowers for their sweetheart. Traffic iss even heavier than that of last year's notorious pre-Thanksgiving Turkey Panic. Yes, it is the perfect setting for some out-of-his-mind villain to hold someone hostage, or rob a bank, or even blow up a building. Which leads us to our inevitable question: "Where are the Teen Titans?"
As it turned out, the rest of the group found a way to finally persuade their fearless leader to leave crime fighting to the local police for at least a couple of days. With a lot of persuasion on Starfire's part, Robin was finally convinced that after all the crimes they have stopped, the team deserves a break.
So at three in the afternoon, there they are, all cooped up inside the beautifully decorated tower of theirs. A thick line of green(blame Beastboy) Christmas lighting borders the T-shaped building's outline and drapes around the bushes that dotted about the small island. Inside, ostentatious displays of holly, tinsel and what not clad every possible surface of the tower. The Titans sure aren't shy on their holiday budget this year. Even Silkie has his own little sticking hung on the improvised cardboard fireplace next to the 8-foot Christmas tree in the Common Room. Everyone has their holiday spirit on. It's a time for giving.
Raven sit comfortably on her usual spot on the couch while reading a 1682-page book on the ancient Gallon Scrolls-her advanced gift to herself for Christmas. Surprisingly the half demon is so enthralled in the said exposition that the two Mega-Monkeys-9-playing superheroes beside her doesn't even make her stir.
"Dude! I thought we weren't gonna do any axe kicks!" whines the green changeling.
"No way, BB. I said we won't include crescent kicks. There's a huge difference between the two." explains Cyborg.
All three friends have finished wrapping their gifts and are having their "rest" time. Meanwhile, out favorite duo are still busy wrapping presents--or so we thought.
Robin's POV
"Star, can I borrow your finger?" I ask. It's a good thing I explained all the 'mechanics' of gift wrapping to her earlier or else it would take us ever longer to wrap all there presents.
Starfire breaks out of her trance and looks at me with clouded eyes.
"Can I borrow your finger?" I repeat. I make a mental note of asking her what the matter is later.
"Of course," she smiles as she puts her index finger on the red box. I quickly tie a ribbon and hand the package to her for labeling.
"Finished!" she quips and stacks it on the pile on the left.
"Great work, Starfire. That's the last of it. 'Wanna take a brake before cleaning up?"
She nods her head in response. We sit on the floor near the edge of her elliptical bed for what seems like ages while I take in the whole sight of her room.
Starfire's quarters are so heavily decorated it literally sparkles. Aside from the holly and tinsel that adorn the whole tower's interior, purple lights also strews throughout the room. Decorative bells and mini-Santa ornaments stand on both of her bedside tables.
My eyes then turn to the mess we have made on the floor. Silver and gold ribbon are scattered all around the purple carpet while bits of read and purple wrapping paper took the role of confetti over the presents we prepared. There are two piles on the floor. One red and the other purple. Normally, each of us had to prepare only four gifts, (five if, like Raven, you would also give yourself a Christmas present) one for each Titan, but since Titans East and all the honorary Titans are coming over later for dinner, around 15 presents sits on each stack. Wait..15? I thought we were all 16... Hmm...I wonder what Starfire got me. I never got the chance to peek at it...
"Robin? Friend Robin."
I turn my attention to the alien beauty beside me.
"Robin, may I ask you a question?"
"Sure Star. What is it?" I inwardly prepare myself for whatever question it may be.
"Why do we do this? I mean, I know Christmas is a season of giving and of families getting together, but how did it originate?" Starfire looked eager in her question. She must have been thinking about it for a long while now.
'"What started Christmas?" That's a good question.'
"Hmm... Do you really want to know? Its kinda a long story." I think of all the legends and traditions connected to the said holiday and stop on the one I was sure to be true to a certain degree. I would take me quite sometime to explain all that.
"We have time, do we not? Besides...why would I not like to know?" Ahh...the ever persistent Starfire. I should have known she wouldn't give up without a fight.
"Okay," I ramble my brain for somewhere to start until I find a moderately good point, "You have a god or goddess in your planet, right?"
"Yes, we have several. X'hal, the the sovereign ruler over all Tamaranians, being the greatest of them."
"So... Over here, we have a God, too. His name is Jehovah."
"I have heard of Him." Starfire interjected, "Raven told me of His infinite power during one of out 'girl bonding times'. She said He was and still is in command of everything in the universe, even her father, Trigon." That's new...and surprising. I have to remind myself to thank Raven later for making my job easier.
"She did? Wow... What else did she tell you about that?"
"Raven also told me the story of Creation and the Flood. Those were truly saddening tales."
"Heh...yeah, they are." I chuckled as I remembered how both stories have a dramatic climax in them.
Starfire gives a sad smile and pleads me to continue.
"Okay. So another story tells of the birth of Jesus Christ," this time Starfire did not react, " After man's fall in Creation, God made a way for people to be reunited with Him. He did it by sending His only Son, Jesus, to save us. Jesus took the form of a human being and entered the world through a normal human birth in a manger in Bethlehem."
"A manger? I thought you said he was a God."
"He was. He wanted to experience being a human in order to fully understand us, and us understand Him. That's what we celebrate Christmas for--the birth of a Saviour. See the connection? CHRIST-mas."
"So the bells and holly are not of importance?"
"No," I smile. "Centuries after Christ's human death, people started celebrating Christmas the way we do now. They feasted and exchanged presents instead of reminiscing the one Gift God has given mankind."
"Oh. Robin, if I may ask, how do you know these things?"
"I...uh...my parents taught me," at this I look down to my hands on my lap.
"Robin, I am so sorry," there she goes again, apologizing for nothing.
"No, its fine," I say with a smile of reassurance, "They were dedicated Christians. Living with a travelling circus may have prevented us from regularly attending church but they made sure I had my daily dose of the Bible."
"I see," she pauses for a whle, her mind probably racing with questions until she finally asks, "Robin, do you believe this?"
"I...I don't know," I honestly do not know what to say.
"Why not?" Starfire sounded disappointed, "Your parents taught you these things, did they not? I am sure they would not teach you such things if they were not true."
I allow a small chuckle escape my lips before answering, "After living with the Dark Night, its kinda hard to keep that kind of faith in you."
"But Robin, this God you talk about seems very kind. I feel like He really does love us."
"Huh?" Now I was confused.
"X'hal, Tamaran's goddess, was a powerful being. She ruled the planet with an iron fist and often demanded much offerings and sacrifices--preferably royal sacrifices. Much of out lineage was lost as living offerings for her. I do not understand why the people of this planet would reject such a kind and loving God as Jehovah."
"But that's just it, Star. God is too kind to be real. He's too good to be true. I mean, why would He, an omnipotent Sovereign, have interest on useless beings like us? If what happened in Creation was even true, why would God have gone through all that trouble just to restore us to Him?"
"Perhaps it is because He loves you," Starfire said simply. This foreign alien never fails to surprise me with her frank but wise statements. She has a good point. "You are correct. God would not have given such a sacrifice-His only Son- if he did not love mankind."
"Yeah...I guess so." I give up. I know she was right. I also know that I;m going to have a long talk with God tonight.
She smiles and looks around the messed-up room.
"Hey, 'wanna clean this up now?" I offer, "Bee and the gang are coming in early to help cook dinner."
"Yes, please. I shall go carry these presents downstairs now." Starfire starts to stand up then offers me her hand. I quickly take it and stand up to get the broom.
Before leaving the room, I stop Starfire on her tracks and give her a hug.
"Thanks, Star. You're the best friend a guy can ever ask for."
"You are most welcome, Robin." she replies while returning the hug, "Shall we?" she motioned toward the door.
I help her carry all the presents and arrange them neatly underneat the tree. Downstairs in the Common Room we find the Titans East and Cyborg preparing a feast, and Raven preventing Beastboy from hiding all the eggs for the eggnog screaming, "Save the chickens!"
This is going to be a long night...
Contrary to Robin's presumption, the night turned out to be a magical get-together. Everybody came just on time with the exception of Kole and Gnark(Their flight was delayed.). Even Jinx was present. After eating, everyone gathered around the (fake) fireplace and exchanged gifts. Yes, it was a time of giving...
That night, as the party died down and everyone retreated to the comfort of their rooms in the spacious tower, a pajama-wearing Boy Wonder entered his sleeping quarters with a thick book in his hands. In the darkness of his sleeping quarters, with the moon as his only source of light, Robin got down on his knees and for the first time since his parents died, he prayed.
There you are, people. THis is my Chistmas gift to everyone. Hahah! Please do tell me what you think about it. You like it, love it, hate it...tell me! I welcome flames and constuctive criticsm. Anything at all! I'm open.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!
May GOD bless you!