ChristmaHanukah
A Titan Chronicles Side Story
by CidGregor
"Angel!"
"Star!"
"Angel!"
"Star!"
"ANGEL!"
"STAR!"
"Please, argue louder. I still have a little patience left to spare," Raven growled. But Beast Boy and Cyborg's argument went on undaunted.
"We should have an angel, Cy! It's just the way it's supposed to be!"
"No way, little man!" Cyborg argued. "My family has ALWAYS had a star on top of the tree. It's a tradition!"
"But an angel is so much prettier!" Beast Boy nearly whined.
"It's just a doll, BB. Tradition is more important!"
"Unnhh…" Raven murmured from her seat at the table in the Living Room's kitchen unit. "You goons are giving me a headache…"
"Ah, it's not so bad, Raven," Robin said, watching the other boys from the semi-circle couch.
"How is it 'not so bad?' They do this every year."
Robin shrugged. "I guess I've just gotten used to it."
"Hehehehehe!" Starfire giggled from her seat next to Robin. "Indeed, Beast Boy and Cyborg's arguing is almost a tradition in and of itself!"
"Doesn't make them any less annoying…"
It was the holiday season. December the twenty-fifth was rapidly approaching, and the Titans were gathered in the Living Room one particularly cold and snowy night. The tree stood fully decorated in front of the semicircle couch after a solid two hours of work, and now all that remained was the top…and thus had Beast Boy and Cyborg's yearly "star-versus-angel" argument begun again.
One Titan, however, had been silent for the majority of the night. A certain blonde stood off in one corner by the window, staring outside at the thick snow falling, a faint frown on her face. She'd been that way longer than anyone really realized, and throughout the night she hadn't offered to help with any of the Christmas decorations at all. It didn't strike the Titans as all that odd; Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy had done most of the work, after all, as Raven and Robin weren't exactly the poster children of Christmas cheer.
But for once, the argument over the treetop décor ended early, as Beast Boy gave it up once he finally noticed his girlfriend's less-than jovial demeanor.
"Terra?"
The blonde turned to face him. "Hmm?"
"You feeling sick or something? You've been so quiet lately."
"…No, I'm not sick, Beast Boy."
The changeling looked slightly confused. "Well…it's just that, you're usually so energetic…"
"And?"
"…And, well...I guess I just thought, since it was Christmas, you'd be even more energetic than usual."
"I don't feel much like celebrating, Beast Boy."
"Aww, don't be a sourpuss!" the green Titan insisted. "Or else Santa'll just stuff coal in your stocking!"
"Beast Boy, you're not helping."
"Oh, Terra, will you please join us in our festivities?" Starfire spoke up. "These Christmas traditions are most enjoyable!"
Terra's frown deepened. "Look, you guys, I appreciate the effort, but I told you, I'm not interested."
"Aww, c'mon!" Beast Boy practically sang. "Oh, I know!"
The changeling dashed away with leopard legs and returned in five seconds flat. In his hands he held a small green and red plant dangling from a string.
Beast Boy held it just over his head and slid up beside the blonde girl. "Lookie what I've got, Terra! Mistletoe!"
Terra ignored him.
"C'mon, hon! Christmas tradition!" Beast Boy pressed, puckering his lips.
"Beast Boy, I said no!"
"Your mouth says no, but your eyes say yes!" Beast Boy chuckled.
Abruptly, her eyes flashed yellow. "What do they say now?.!" she snapped, and a split second later the window shattered as a rock crashed through it and smacked Beast Boy across the face.
A blast of cold air hit the room, making Terra shiver from her place right next to it, but she otherwise ignored it, her eyes on the shocked changeling.
"Terra…?" Starfire murmured, equally stunned.
"What's wrong, girl?"
The blonde glared down and Beast Boy, who stared at her with a hurt-puppy-dog look on his face. It did nothing to sway her. "If you can't figure it out, then why should I bother telling you?" she growled. Ignoring the stares of the other Titans following her, she stormed from the room, the doors slamming shut behind her.
By the time she'd reached her own room, Terra's anger had subsided, but she was no less upset.
How could they be so inconsiderate? She demanded of her own thoughts. It's not like I made a big secret out of it…
She sighed. I need to get out of here…clear my head…
She slipped a heavy coat on over her petite figure, slid open her window, and flew away from the Tower on a small boulder…but not before lighting the first in a row of eight candles that stood on her dresser.
I hope the temple's still open in this storm…
"What could be wrong with her?"
"I dunno, Star…" Cyborg muttered as he fitted a new pane of glass in place of the broken one. "She DID seem pretty quiet most of the day…"
"This is definitely unusual behavior from her," Robin agreed, deep in thought.
"We didn't forget her birthday or something, did we?" Raven chimed in, half-sarcastically.
Beast Boy shook his head. "No…this is something else." He stood up. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Maybe it was something I said."
The Titans nodded along, figuring it was worth a shot. The changeling left the Living Room and made a beeline for his girlfriend's room, wondering what he could possibly have said or done to upset her so.
Slowly he raised his fist and knocked on her door. "Terra? It's me…um…I'm sorry if I said something stupid…whatever it was, I didn't mean it…"
No answer.
Beast Boy knocked again. "Terra? Are you in there?"
Silence answered him once more. He glanced down and tried the doorknob; to his surprise, it was unlocked. He pushed the door open; the lights in the room were all off, save for the very faint light of a single lit candle on her dresser. Terra was not there.
Still, Beast Boy found himself wandering into her room. He hadn't been in there for a couple of days, and he noticed rather quickly that she'd made some changes since then. Nothing exceptionally obvious, but they managed to catch Beast Boy's eyes anyway. Usually, she had a large framed photograph of all the Titans together hanging over her bed; but now it had been replaced by a golden, six-pointed star. On her bedside table, he noticed a small wooden toy, pointed at one end like a top, with symbols painted on the toy's square sides. Lastly, however, was the most obvious difference. On her dresser stood a golden candle stand. A few inches up from its base, several 'branches' stalked out of its sides, forming a perfectly straight row of eight candles…one of which was lit.
And in a flash of understanding, Beast Boy realized what was bothering his friend.
The other four Titans, sitting silently in the Living Room, all looked up as one as the doors slid open again, much quicker than they expected. Beast Boy stood in the doorway, his hands behind his back and his expression downcast.
"Beast Boy! Have you found Terra?" Starfire asked.
"Did you find out what was wrong with her?" Robin added.
Slowly, Beast Boy brought his hands out from behind his back; in them he held the golden, eight-pronged candle stand.
Raven half-frowned. "A menorah? Where'd that come from?"
Beast Boy sighed. "It was in Terra's room. On her dresser." He raised his eyes to the others. "You guys…Terra's Jewish. Today's the first day of Hanukah."
A look of understanding washed across the faces of Robin, Cyborg, and Raven. Starfire, however, still looked confused.
"Of course…" Robin muttered. "Oh man…and here we've been all wrapped up in Christmas celebration…we didn't even think to ask her…"
"I had no idea," Beast Boy murmured. "Some boyfriend I am…"
"I can't believe we were so stupid!" Cyborg berated himself.
"I do not understand," Starfire murmured. "How have we been unintelligent?"
"Because, Starfire…" Robin started, "Christmas isn't the only holiday that people celebrate this time of year on Earth. Some people have different beliefs, and celebrate different holidays."
"And Terra is such a person?"
Robin nodded. "Terra's Jewish, Star. She celebrates a different holiday this time of year, called Hanukah. But we got so wrapped up in our Christmas stuff, we completely ignored her own beliefs and traditions…"
Starfire gasped. "Oh, how awful! Terra must be so upset with us!"
Raven folded her arms. "Well, we aren't going to get anywhere by sitting around here feeling sorry for ourselves, now are we?"
"What are you suggesting?" Cyborg asked, turning his human eye on the empath.
Raven gave him a rare smile. "Everyone…we've got work to do."
A small crowd of people slowly filed out from the Jump City Temple of God, pulling heavy coats tight around them against the biting cold and thick snow. A bearded man in black and white robes stood at the doorway, chatting pleasantly with some as they passed, wishing them all a safe journey home.
The crowd of worshippers quickly thinned, and soon most everyone had gone. The robed man was about ready to close the doors and lock up when one more person came into his view. She wore an enormous coat, seemingly even more massive when wrapped around her petite figure.
The man smiled. "Greetings, Miss Markov. I hope you enjoyed this evening's service."
The blonde nodded. "Yes, Rabbi Weinstein, it was great." She shivered despite her coat. "I was surprised so many people came in this weather. I was worried services might even have been cancelled."
Rabbi Weinstein smiled. "God's house is always open, child, especially on this holy week. And please, call me Joseph."
Terra half-smiled back. "I see. Well…thank you for the service."
The Rabbi looked curiously at her. "Is something troubling you?"
Terra looked down. "Well…kind of. It's…nothing, really, I'm probably just overreacting."
Joseph laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?"
Terra frowned. "It's just…my friends…it's like they don't even care. They're so obsessed with Christmas…it's like I'm not even there."
"Have you ever tried telling them how you feel, child?"
"Well…no," Terra admitted.
Joseph continued to smile. "Miss Markov…ignoring a problem and hoping it will go away is not the way to solve it. You speak of your friends quite often during your visits here, and it is never anything but good you speak of them. They sound like wonderful friends, not the type to intentionally ignore you on this special time of year. They likely don't even realize how they are affecting you. If you speak to them, I'm quite confident you can resolve your problems."
Terra thought about that, and realized the Rabbi was probably right. She hadn't made a big secret out of her faith…but then, she hadn't exactly broadcast it to them all either. They probably had no idea.
The blonde smiled. "Thank you, Rab--I mean, Joseph."
"You're most welcome, child. Happy Hanukah."
"Same to you," Terra said. "See you tomorrow!"
The blonde drew the same boulder she'd flown in on back to her and rode it all the way back to the Tower, her mind racing as fast as she was flying.
I really should apologize, she thought. Especially to Beast Boy…he was just trying to cheer me up, and I hit him…and broke a window in the process…I guess I owe them all an explanation…
She hovered to her window and climbed back inside her room, letting the boulder fall to the ground below. She closed the window against the cold and shrugged off her coat, half-wondering why her room was so dark. Did the candle blow out in the wind?
She flipped on the light, grabbed the box of matches from her dresser, and made to relight the candle…but she suddenly dropped the box in shock.
The menorah was gone.
Oh no…someone stole it!
She sped out of the room and toward the Titans' Living Room. She burst through the doors, half-hysterical. "You guys, you gotta help me, someone…stole my…my…"
She trailed off as she laid eyes on the Living Room interior and realized it had changed dramatically in the two hours she'd been gone. The Christmas decorations had, for the most part, vanished. The paper snowflakes that hung from the ceiling were replaced by streamers from which hung rows of six-pointed stars. Instead of toy reindeer and model Santas, metallic dreidles stood on the tables, a design Terra could see was obviously Cyborg's, as they had somehow been engineered to spin on their tips indefinitely. Even the tree had been moved into a corner and out of the way. And where it had once stood, a simple table had been set up, draped in white cloth; and on top of it sat the missing menorah, its first candle glowing brightly.
She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder, and she turned away from the sight to see the other five Titans gathered behind her, smiling; all except for Beast Boy, who was right in front of her, his eyes sad and ashamed.
"Terra…we owe you an apology," he said.
"We let ourselves get so carried away with Christmas…" Robin began.
"…we didn't even stop to think that maybe you might celebrate the season differently," Cyborg finished.
"So…we decided to put together this little celebration…just for you," Raven said.
"Oh, Terra, we do hope you can find it in your heart to forgive our ignorance," Starfire practically pleaded.
"And, um…I hope it's okay that we borrowed your menorah," Beast Boy added apologetically. "It was…kinda the only one in the Tower."
Terra could scarcely believe it. They'd done all this…just for her?
Her mouth tried to say something, but no sound was coming out. Eventually, though, she gave up on words, and threw her arms around Beast Boy, hugging him tightly.
Beast Boy hugged her back. "Does…this mean you forgive us?"
Terra nodded into his shoulder. "You guys…thank you so much…I can't believe you did all this just for me…I'm sorry I got so upset earlier…"
"No need to apologize," Beast Boy assured her. "So…um…what exactly do you do for Hanukah, anyway?"
Terra giggled. "Don't worry, Beast Boy. There're still presents."
Beast Boy grinned. "Sweet!"
"All right, y'all, who's up for some eggnog?" Cyborg offered.
"Oh, I would love to partake in the beverage!" Starfire exclaimed, but then paused, looking slightly puzzled. "Please, what exactly is 'nog?'"
The Titans all got a good laugh out of that, and soon the festivities were in full swing. Robin and Starfire snuggled close together by the fireplace, talking quietly and enjoying each other's company. Cyborg got to work whipping up his family's special eggnog recipe. Raven…meditated, to no one's surprise. And Terra and Beast Boy stood hand in hand by the menorah, smiling at each other.
"Really, Beast Boy…thank you for all this. It means a lot to me."
Beast Boy shrugged it off. "Hey…it was the least we could do."
Terra pulled her boyfriend close and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, and held him in her arms for a good long while.
"Happy Hanukah, Terra," the changeling whispered.
Terra smiled. "Merry Christmas, Beast Boy."
THE END