Wow, this is the 3rd Saiyuki one- shot in 24 hours. This one's a Christmas fic. I read some where that Hakkai was a Christian. Again, this is a shounen- ai fic. No likey, no readie.
"I heard in the west, it snows around this time of year," Hakkai mused.
"Anything's better than this freakin' rain…" Sanzo grumped. Once again, they had had to hole up in an inn because of the pouring rain. It had only been a day, but Sanzo was already in full- depressive mode. Goku was bored. Hakkai, for some reason, didn't seem to be affected by the rain the way he usually was. And Gojyo… well, he had walked out into the rain an hour ago, and hadn't been seen since. The innkeeper said there was a bar down the road, so they could guess where the lecherous kappa had gone.
"Will we get to see it when we get to India?" Goku asked. He had seen snow once, long ago, but all he could remember about it was the bitter cold. He wanted to see it again.
"No, it's further west than we're going. The nuns used to talk about it all the time, this time of year. They were from England, where it snows all the time apparently."
"What's so special about the snow?" Sanzo asked. It wasn't a question, more like a command to shut up.
"Maybe we'll just leave Sanzo by himself," Hakkai said cheerily. Goku followed him out of the room, looking back at the priest, who was still sprawled dejectedly out on the bed.
"Do you think I should leave him?" he asked a bit worridly.
"He'll be fine, as soon a the sun comes out," Hakkai said, the ever- present grin on his face.
"So what is so special about this time of the year?" Goku asked, as they made their way down to the common room.
"Well, the Nuns used to say that on December 25, Jesus was born. So we all celebrated it by getting up early and going to church."
"Doesn't sound like much of a celebration."
"Oh, there was more to it than just that. We'd all give each other presents after services."
"And there was food, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. Now that I think about it."
"So what other stuff did you do?"
If it had food, this Christmas thing might not be a bad thing to celebrate.
"We'd hang up one of our stockings, the night before. Then, during the night, we'd get up and go to the other kids stocking and put our presents to them inside."
"Wouldn't that make them smell like feet?"
"Yeah, I guess. Not really though. I remember one of the funniest things, though, was one year, somebody came up with a sprig of mistletoe."
"What's that for? Can you eat it?"
"No. They didn't tell the nuns, but they hung it up under a doorway. See, the mistletoe is kinda like a game. You try to get your crush under the doorway, and then you're not only allowed but actually obligated to kiss them. I remember when they found out, the nuns were so mad… we all had to go to bed early that night but it was worth it."
Hakkai stared off to space, lost in pleasant memories. Goku stared off into space, too, but he wasn't remembering, he was planning.
"How far off is Christmas?" he asked.
"Oh, couldn't be more than a couple of days," Hakkai answered.
"And, um, this mistletoe… what's it look like?"
Maybe it grew in China…
"Oh, I can't remember. It was green and leafy."
"Would you know it if you saw it again?"
"Probably not. But it doesn't grow around here. It's from way further west."
"Aw, man."
"On the other hand, since I won't know what it looks like, Sanzo probably doesn't either," Hakkai mused. He sent a meaningful glance in Goku's direction.
"Yeah, thanks. I gotta go. See you around, k?"
Hakkai watched the monkey god scramble off, and grinned again.
You know that kind of sleep where you're half asleep, and half awake? You see things that aren't there, but swear you're awake as you dream them. I hate that kind of sleep. I see monsters that aren't there, and shoot at them.
That's one problem with sleeping with a loaded gun. The other problem is that the bullets pass through the monsters that aren't there and hit things that are there. Said things tend to break.
I was just emerging from one of those half- dream states when a super-bright light shone into my eyes.
"Hey, look! The rain stopped!" the voice of a very familiar monkey exclaimed, way too cheerily. Not for the first time I wondered if life would be less annoying if I shot him.
Probably not.
Graoning, I pulled a pillow over my head, to block out the horrendous light.
"Come on, Sanzo," the voice urged. I felt the pillow being pulled on. I kept my grasp on it.
"Come on, get up. I have something to show you!"
"No."
"I didn't even tell you what it was yet!"
"Well, tell me so I can refuse to go see it."
"No, you'll love it, I promise."
A gentle weight appeared on my stomach and the force on the pillow increased. Bracing my self against the light, I let go of the pillow. Goku, who had been sitting on my stomach and pulling on it, fell backwards.
"Finally," he said, sitting up.
"Get off me," I growled at him.
To my surprise, he actually rolled off, bouncing on the bed a bit as he watched me get dressed. Which didn't take long, considering I sleep in most of my clothes.
"So what did you want to show me?"
"Well, you know that Christmas is only about two days away?"
"Christmas… isn't that one of Hakkai's holidays?"
"Yeah! Well, see, there's this one tradition-"
As he talked, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the doorway of my bedroom. I removed my hand from his grasp, stopping right inside the door.
"Listen, Goku, I'm not sure if you figured this out or not, but I'm a Buddhist."
"Well, yeah, I know, but-"
"We don't celebrate Christmas."
"Yeah, I know, but there's just this one tradition I thought you might want to-"
"Let me guess: Something about a big meal, right?"
"No. Well, yes, but this one's better."
I sighed. There was something Goku wanted more than food. Will wonders never cease.
"Fine, what is it?"
"Take two more steps and I'll show you."
He wants me in the doorway. Fighting my common sense, I moved forward, bracing myself for a cold bucket of water on the head. At least I would still have my gun.
What I felt wasn't exactly cold. Actually, it was quite warm, seeing I was taller than Goku, so to reach my lips he had to press his body against mine. This wasn't unwelcome, but it was a bit puzzling.
"What does this have to do with Christmas?" I asked a minute later. "We do this all the time."
He pointed up, onto the rim of the doorway.
"It's mistletoe. When you stand under it, you're supposed to kiss."
I reached up and pulled the leaves off the wall.
"Goku," I said slowly, "This is cabbage."
"Well, yeah, but I couldn't find any mistletoe."
I looked from the cabbage to the blushing teenager and back. Then I put the cabbage back on the wall.
"Merry Christmas," I said as I pulled him back into the doorway.
He didn't get a chance to respond.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Chanukah (I think that's spelled right,) Joyous Kwanzaa, and whatever other holidays you religious people celebrate!
Hope you enjoyed this, R&R!