Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary or Christmas. I do not own the Gold Saints, or Kiki, or just about anything else in this story. I just put it together.
Notes: My greatest apologies for updating so many stories at once. I know, four updates tend to clutter up the list. Sorry. I don't know if I'll have time again, so here goes. This is a story about Christmas, bonding, and our favorite Gold Saints. I used my usual cast: all the Goldies except Shion and Aiolos. It's kind of Sanctuary after Hades, if Shion and Aiolos hadn't been resurrected. Just bear with me. So everyone else is here, Kanon is here, and Kiki is here. The lyrics at the end are a newer version of the Mormon song "Simple Gifts." Send me a review if you like it. Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to everyone!!
Sanctuary "Christmas"
Mu and Shaka were from Asia and never knew Christmas, and most of the others barely remembered it from the few years they had before they were taken to train, so when Milo finished reading Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, he spent many hours pondering on this "Christmas" that he did not know existed. Milo had trained on Milos Island, where holidays were never observed, and while Sanctuary law did not forbid holidays, neither were holidays officially upheld.
Finally, Milo gave up thinking about Christmas, as it had gotten him nowhere—well, almost nowhere—and called a meeting in Shaka's temple. When Milo got to Shura's temple, the Capricorn Saint's first response was, "Why are you calling a meeting at six o'clock in the morning?" Milo ignored him and called the meeting anyway. Soon, a group of mostly awake Saints and an oddly bright-eyed Mu met Milo in Shaka's temple. Milo counted through, and found ten had come including Kanon, which meant one was missing. With a jolt, the Scorpio realized the missing Saint was Camus, who had left Sanctuary a few days ago.
Unable to change that, Milo began to tell the others what he had in mind. "Do any of you know anything about this "Christmas"? What kind of holiday is it?" A few of the Saints exchanged glances, as if to ask the others the same question.
"I think…" Deathmask began, surprising everyone, "It is about the birth of God's son."
"And an old man gives children presents," offered Aphrodite quietly.
"People relive the story of how the woman who bore God's son wasn't allowed to give birth in a house," added Aldebaran.
"That's not very sanitary," remarked Saga.
"I vaguely remember that ceremony," Shura said at the same time, "We had it when I was very young. And afterward people would eat and drink and celebrate being together."
"Camus would know something," Aiolia suggested suddenly. "I think he's talked about this "Christmas" before."
"Where is Camus?" asked Milo. The whole room turned to look at him.
"You mean you don't know where he is?" Shaka demanded finally. Milo shook his head.
"Nope. He left a few days ago, but he didn't tell me where he was going. He said he won't be back until next week." Milo paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, I was thinking we could try to have a "Christmas" here in Sanctuary this year. I mean, it's Christmas Eve today. I just read a book about Christmas, and it doesn't look that hard." A few of the Saints exchanged skeptical glances again, and Milo gave everyone puppy dog eyes. It worked.
"All right, Milo," said Mu, "We can try."
And so it was that Aldebaran could be seen dragging a pine tree into Sanctuary, as Deathmask struggled with stringed lights, Aphrodite walked through the temples holding garland and tinsel and a star, and Shura and Aiolia had their arms full of colored balls. Saga had a boombox and a stack of CDs, and Kanon was carrying a hammer and a bag of stockings and nails. Mu, Kiki, and Shaka were busy cooking a huge meal, involving some sort of meat in whole form. (Who knew that Shaka would be able to cook so well with his eyes closed?)
And Milo…Milo was sitting on the floor of his temple surrounded by paper and tape and ribbons, busily trying to wrap presents for his friends. He smiled as he picked up the dagger he had found for Deathmask, and the hand mirror for Aphrodite, but suddenly frowned upon realizing that he still had not found anything for Camus. He frowned even more upon realizing that Camus would not even be there for their Christmas.
Later in the evening, the preparations were finished. Shaka, Mu, and Kiki were making noise from the kitchen underneath Mu's temple, where they set out all the materials they needed to cook the Christmas meal the next morning. Milo came to the Kyouko's Chamber, where he unloaded a stack of packages under the tree that the others had built.
Aphrodite was standing on a chair and attempting to make the star stand up straight. Deathmask circled the tree again, trying to make the lights look perfect. Aiolia, and Shura were moving the ornaments around to make the colors look random. Aldebaran was sweeping up the pine needles on the ground around the tree. Saga had turned on the Christmas music already, and was testing the acoustics of the room to see where the music would sound best. Kanon was just nailing the last stocking on to the wall. (a/n: The Goldies are OCD, apparently.)
"That's a lot of boxes, Milo," Shura remarked as Milo adjusted his presents. Milo grinned happily.
"There's a present for each one of you, and Shaka and Mu and Kiki. Oh, and a bottle of French wine for Camus."
"What about you? What kind of present should we get you?" demanded Saga. Milo shrugged.
"You don't have to find me anything. I just want this whole Christmas thing as my present." He looked around at everything. "It just feels like something is missing."
"What?" asked Kiki as he and Mu and Shaka entered.
"I don't know," replied Milo, "It just doesn't feel complete." He looked up at his friends, who were all watching him anxiously. "Don't worry about it," he said, smiling. "I think I'm just out of it because Camus isn't here." The others nodded, understanding.
Everyone in Sanctuary went to bed with an air of anticipation that night, besides Kanon, who had been assigned to the role of Santa Claus and was busy filling up the stockings with candy. The next day they would be having their very own Christmas.
When Sanctuary awoke the next morning, the sun was bright, the sky was blue, and the weather was balmy. In their excitement, all ten of the Saints along with Kiki showed up at the Kyouko's Chamber at six o'clock in the morning. Aiolia reached forward for his candy, only to receive a slap on the wrist from Milo. "No presents yet," said Milo, "We're going to eat first." Shaka, Mu, and Kiki headed back to Mu's temple to pick up the food. Mu had already finished the cooking earlier, as he always rose earlier than anyone else in Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Saga turned on the Christmas music again.
Just as the Saints sat down to eat, a gust of cold wind blew through the Kyouko's Chamber, and suddenly, little flakes of white began to blow in through the door. "What the hell?" demanded Deathmask.
"I heard you guys were having a party without me," said a voice from outside the door. Camus's head popped in, bringing more gusts of snow. "Tsk tsk. Christmas without snow." Milo was grinning from ear to ear.
"Camus!! You made it! And you brought snow!" The Scorpio Saint enveloped his friend in a giant hug. More snow came flying from Camus's being.
"Yes, Milo."
"Come look at all this food that Shaka and Mu made!" exclaimed Milo, pulling Camus over to the table.
"And me!" added Kiki. Everyone laughed as Camus sat down and joined in the feast.
--
'The gift we deliver in the gift we receive
Is the living spirit Mary did conceive
The royal gift of love, incandescent faith
Is given to all mankind in his name
Joy, joy, it is our true delight
To give and receive on this wondrous night
The boy child of Mary is born
And his light will shine on beyond the dawn.'