Christmas Surprise
By StarDuchess
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron, and I make no money off of this, although I used to own the figurines and keys and could have sold those as collector's items!
Summary: The Voltron team wants to celebrate Christmas but will Lotor allow them to have a merry holiday? Will there be peace on Arus? Total fluff.
This is my first fanfic, so please review with critical comments so that I can improve my writing. Thanks in advance!
A big thank you to Mertz for inspiring me to write a holiday piece after she wrote 'Masquerade'.
Chapter 1: Preparations
"Come on, guys! I think I found it!" Pidge yelled excitedly. The male members of the Voltron team were hiking through the dense forest around the Castle of Lions in search of the perfect tree. Christmas was not normally celebrated on Arus, but after missing the one last year, the three Earth-native pilots had become very homesick. Arus had its own holidays such as a spring flower festival and a fall harvest fair, but nothing quite held the joy of hope that Christmas did. The Doom forces hadn't left much room for elation, but a quiet, simple observance would fit the mood well.
The other members converged on Pidge's location. Most of the trees were very tall whose canopy left little sunlight for smaller trees to grow, and none of the scrubby underbrush would work either. Green Lion's pilot, however, found a clearing where a few older trees had fallen and new pines were growing up in their places.
"This one's a little short," said Hunk about the first sapling that was only a few centimeters taller than Pidge.
"The one next to it is too large," said Keith. "We'd never get it through the Lion tube."
"This one should work, though." Pidge pointed to the third tree a little apart from the others. It was a good height and full foliage.
"Yeah, that should do nicely." Keith said. The others nodded their approval.
The next hour was spent cutting down the tree and carrying it on their shoulders back to Green Lion's launch site. Once there, they debated taking it into the castle now or leaving it in the glen until the late shift. Since Coran was monitoring in the control room at the moment, they decided to leave it for nightfall, not wanting to receive another lecture on proper tube useage. They were out on a false pretense of "handgun target practice over rough terrain" as it were. At least no one asked any questions when they came back smelling of rotten dung and spicy wood tap.
Setting up the tree in their pilot's lounge with a bucket of water and some old red cloth Lance found in a back storage closet, the four contemplated the rest of the decorations.
Keith presented his thoughts to the group. "We're going to need lights and some ornaments along with a Nativity underneath. I know of a local stationery owner whom I could persuade to make us some colored wrapping paper if we want to exchange gifts."
"Lights will be easy," Pidge replied. "I'll need more wire, though. Oooh, there's a good glass blower in town that might help us create the ornaments and maybe a star."
"Hmmm. That leaves me with the crèche. Looks like I'll have to find a toy shop for the figurines." Lance winked gleefully at the others.
"Nothing garish, Lance."
"Don't forget the feast and hot chocolate!" cried Hunk with enthusiasm. "I'll convince Nanny to cook us a banquet."
"That all sounds fine. While we're in the village getting supplies, we can shop for gifts too."
"Thinking about getting something for your little lady? She'd look great in a little Santa negligee." Lance teased Keith.
Hsssss. Keith's blood pressure shot up. Dammit, Lance always knew how to rile him up. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "Actually, I was wondering if we all wanted to pitch in together to get her something nice." Maybe Coran and Nanny too, just to be safe.
The youngest pilot came out of technical musings in his head to second that thought. "That would be really sweet." Pidge paused for a second in more thought. "I found an old pocket watch in the ruins outside Keldar last month that I wanted to fix up."
"Yeah, that'll make a great gift for the princess." Lance said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Pidge's suggestion.
"No, dummy, that can be for Coran. Keith, why don't you find Allura something she would like. But, are we going to get Nanny anything?" He unknowingly mimicked Keith's earlier sentiment.
"Well, I spend more time with her in the kitchen than everybody else, so I'll come up with something." Hunk was always generous with his time.
"Okay, I think that's settled. Let's get some sleep, team, and come back to this tomorrow night with any leads from in town."
Everyone left excited about their activities for the morrow.
"Yes, and what colors would you like?" The stationer, who was a small, thin, older gentleman with a balding head but sharp piercing eyes, was deep in a vision of fibers and parchment, dyes and materials. His dry hands sketched out patterns and measurements on a notepad.
"Traditionally, it would be green and red, the fancier ones with gold accents, but also blue and white with silver. Easiest would be a single color; images of trees or snowflakes would be wonderful. Do you have any ribbons or bows we could dress it up with? We can't afford to spend a lot, though."
"Hmmm. Well, single color would be cheapest, although striped would also be simple to do. For repeating patterns I would need to make a stamp first; the more elaborate, the more expensive, of course. Did you bring any examples?"
"No, there aren't any here on Arus and it would be too late to order anything from Earth or other neighboring star systems." Keith attempted to describe the designs while the shop owner drew. "Yeah, those would do."
"Another option would be text in a fine script or block letters. What phrases would be appropriate?"
"Oh, 'Merry Christmas' and 'Joy, Love, Peace' or 'Peace on Earth', or maybe that should say 'Peace on Arus'. Also 'Season's Greetings' and 'Happy Holidays', but I prefer the first three."
The shop keeper scribbled some more. "As for ribbons, we have some plain string and a gauzy white for binding up letters. If there was something more elaborate you want, I suggest the clothier's shop two doors down. Their trim pieces are quite nice."
"Okay, can you give me a quote, and how long would it take?" Keith asked.
The stationer gave him several price options. "The simpler ones would be ready by afternoon two days hence. The more complex ones might take 5 days to a week."
That was a problem. Christmas was only four days away.
"So, I guess we'll go with some plain red and green and at least two sets of striped. Oh, give me one set of block letters too." He wanted something special for the princess' gift.
"Very well, sir. I'll see you in a couple of days."
"Thank you," said Keith humbly. He felt good coming out of the stationer's shop. That had gone better than he'd hoped. The paper would be very nice quality, a little subdued compared to the wrapping paper he'd seen on earth, but refined. He headed two doors over.
Leaving the clothier's store with several yards of embroidered trim as well as a dashing Fedora-style hat for Lance, the commander ran into Pidge. "How are things coming?"
"Oh, great! I picked up lots of wire and the glass blower was intrigued enough by the idea that he may give us a discount! He's going to work on a few now, and after lunch I will stop by again to proof them. Would you like to eat lunch with me, Captain, and then come see the stars?"
"Sure, I'm famished. I've got half my gifts bought already and the holiday paper set. Not sure about Princess Allura's gift. There are lots of options but most of them are lavish and too impersonal."
"Keep going; you'll hit upon just the thing, I know it! And whatever it is, we'll all pitch in."
"Thanks."
"By the way, I couldn't believe Nanny's over-reaction this morning to the tree, calling us barbaric heathens just for cutting down a little sapling. Heck, they have a few odd customs here that I cringe at, like the pig intestines hung over barn doors for luck. Eew!"
"Don't insult their culture," Keith reprimanded his subordinate. "We all have weird quirks and superstitions. Remember the time when you freaked out at the black alley cat who crossed your path, and the natives had no idea what was wrong with you? Keep that in mind while you're here."
"Sorry, Captain."
"As for the tree itself, at least she calmed down and gave us leave to keep it. So, let's not dwell on that anymore."
"Okay."
After lunch, Pidge led the way back to the glass blower's stall. "Oh, hi, young fella, back so soon? I've got a few things to show ya'." The artisan pulled out several small wrapped objects and unfolded them onto the examining desk. A few round globes with different tops and bottoms were presented first. Pidge really liked the elongated teardrops, while Keith stuck with the normal round spheres. Next came the stars and snowflakes. The five-pointed stars were wonderfully made with prism-inducing edges. The snowflakes, however, came out much more muddled. "I admit those are not my best. They would take much more time to perfect."
"That's all right," the young Voltron pilot stated. "We'll just go with the others. Thanks! When will they be finished?"
"By the mornin' of the third day hence."
"I guess we'll be decorating the tree Christmas Eve, then." Keith mentioned.
"Guess so, Captain."
As the two soldiers turned to leave the shop, Keith's eye fell on the star again. An idea formed in his mind. Yes, that would be fantastic. "Why don't you run along now? I've got something else to look into. See you back at the castle?"
"Yeah. Cool."
Keith did a 180 and headed back to the merchant boutiques.
Author's Note: Please review. I know I have dangling participles all over the place. That is how I talk and how I write, so I'm not planning on changing it. If there are other issues, however, please let me know. Thanks! Hope you like the rest of it!