A/N: I heard a new Hanukkah song this morning (well, new to my ears, at least), Hanukkah Lovin' by Michelle Citrin, and of course, the lyrics of this song just had to stimulate my imagination. In fact, I actually managed to write this in about an hour and a half before I go to work tonight.

I also figured to place this within the Sharuby Saga timeline to have it take place concurrently with the events of mine and Albertson's collaborative Not another Obligatory Holiday Special from last year, as it felt like this song best reflected Shannon's first Hanukkah in which Ruby was included in the festivities.


The snow began to fall harder as Shannon Tannenbaum raced home to her family's apartment, lest she become stranded out in the wintery powder on this blustery December night. Even in spite of the cold and frigid conditions outside, she was warm and joyful on the inside after having spent her very first holiday celebration with her girlfriend, Ruby Patel… and in the wake of an even nastier storm that the two of them had just weathered…

Ruby, unfortunately, still carried some painful baggage from the toxic and tumultuous relationship she had the year before with her now ex-boyfriend, high school jock, Spencer Banks, in which he began to control almost every aspect of her life out of a desperate need to project a macho manly image amongst his peers. She was aware that she was not entirely without blame in the situation, as she willfully allowed him to control her out of her own need to project an image as well: one of status and reputation befitting a picturesque pair of high school sweethearts. Even though that was in the past, Ruby desperately wanted to avoid history repeating itself with Shannon –with whom she was much happier, as they already had an established close friendship prior to falling in love with each other- and figured rather than make the same mistake again, this time, she would be the one to take charge of the relationship. However, that turned out to be an even bigger mistake, as Ruby had unwittingly become a near copy of her ex-boyfriend in controlling almost every aspect of Shannon's life, which not only pushed her girlfriend away, but nearly cost Ruby the best thing that ever happened to her. Shame, guilt, and devastation claimed the young Indian girl when she saw the errors of ways, and made a vow… multiple vows, in fact… that she would do whatever she had to to salvage the most important relationship she ever had with her most favorite person in the world, to not only make it up to her, but to regain her trust and loyalty again.

An invitation to join the Patel family's Tulsi Pujan Diwas celebration was proffered. The holiday was generally celebrated amongst family only, but Ruby managed to convince her parents to allow her best friend from school (she was careful not to mention that Shannon was actually her girlfriend), who was very much interested in learning about Indian culture and the Hindu faith. Since part of the meaning of such a holiday was to cleanse the body and soul of the previous year's negativity and claim a fresh start for the new year, she saw this as a perfect opportunity to do just that: to bury the negativity she subjected Shannon to in the past, and press forward into a new future with her, once and for all. Shannon happily agreed, but she had something of a condition: her family, as well as the Steins, were to have a big Hanukkah party this year, and since Benny had managed to get his family to agree to include Luan in the festivities, Shannon also wanted to include Ruby; just the same, Ruby agreed.

Shannon always looked forward to Hanukkah, as it was one of the only times of the year that she got to see all of her family: her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and her cousins all in one place… now, she looked forward to this Hanukkah even more, because it would be the first one she will spend with her girlfriend (or, simply her best friend, as she had lead her family to believe). Because their apartment was rather small, her father, Daniel, made arrangements to rent a banquet hall to accommodate both the Tannenbaum and Stein clans for the party, and after getting the approval from her parents (who were delighted to see their usually shy and socially awkward teenage daughter had a best friend of whom she was so fond), texted Ruby the address of the hall where she could meet up with them for the party.

Even so, the Tannenbaum apartment was decorated for their holiest of days. Shannon had strands of lights strung throughout her bedroom of blue, white, and gold, which were traditional Hanukkah colors in the same way red, white, and green were Christmas colors (plus, blue and white in general were colors that were symbolic within the Jewish faith). In her window, she also her own personal little battery-powered Menorah; on a clearer night, with the stars and the distant skyline of downtown Royal Woods providing a visually pleasing backdrop, she had taken a picture of the setup to use as her cover image on social media. Ruby may have been somewhat indifferent and disinterested in her own culture, but Shannon was very proud of her Jewish heritage, and considered it an important element in being the woman who she was.

As she nestled down into bed for the night, she had one of her nearby devices set to a Hanukkah playlist. Unlike Christmas, Hanukkah music was far more limited, but there were a number of songs that she very much enjoyed, and even so, it seemed as though every year, there would always be at least one song that she, surprisingly, had never heard before, including a song by Brooklyn-based artist, Michelle Citrin, that just began to play, and seemed to so perfectly reflect the feelings that were in her heart at the moment…

A little Hanukkah lovin' is what I need tonight
Light a Menorah, and the moment is right
Heatin' up the oil for the latkes to fry
Shredding onions in a bowl, oh no, I begin to cry

Shannon silently giggled to herself. She always enjoyed whenever a little humor could be invoked into something such as this; being friends with Luan Loud for so many years (not to mention her maternal Uncle Josh once aspired to be a comedian himself) helped develop her own sense of humor.

My makeup starts to run down my face
the oil is cracklin' all over the place
but strong as a Maccabee you sweep into the room
comin' to my rescue with a wet towel and a broom

Her eyes growing heavy, the song began to provide Shannon with appropriate visuals within her mind. She saw herself in the kitchen, where the oil in the pan for frying the latkes began to spatter all over her face – a most unfortunate incident, but who should suddenly rush into the kitchen with a pack of moist towellettes than Ruby? She smiled as her girlfriend began to gently wipe the oil spatter from her freckled face with such a towellette, before she also took her glasses from her to clean them as well.

We'll smell of oil together tonight
As we celebrate this festival of light
My latkes don't get cold when you're nearby
And when I sing of blessings, off key, I'm not shy

Indeed, with Ruby being more of an outgoing social butterfly, she had significant influence on helping the much shyer and socially awkward Shannon break free from her shell. It was also within the previous year that their fellow drama club thespian, Lyberti, helped coach her in developing an improved singing voice, which helped Shannon feel less shy about singing, even around Ruby.

I wipe the jelly from the corner of your lip
As you proudly spin the Dreidel on its tip
And after too many bags of Hanukkah gelt
We decide that it's alright… to loosen our belts

In the window, you can only see a glow
All the colored candles burnin' down real low
Our silhouettes are swayin' at a lover's pace
Ma'oz Tuzr is playin' as we embrace

As the song's instrumental bridge played, the lyrics provided the canvas for Shannon's mind to paint the mental pictures. She could also see herself lovingly wiping jelly away from Ruby's lip after biting into a powdered doughnut (another staple of Hanukkah dinner); playing the Dreidel game with her (of which she and Benny had recently taught Luan and Ruby how to play prior to the upcoming party); and even the two of them feeling just a tad amorous after the excessive consumption of chocolate coins (chocolate being a most popular gift to give during Hanukkah). She even saw visions of she and Ruby slow dancing like couples do, though with two left feet, Shannon was not much of a dancer… but a girl could still dream, couldn't she?

A little Hanukkah lovin' is what I need tonight
Light a Menorah and the moment is right
One last latke before the night is done
Out of all eight nights, baby, this is our one

The stars in the winter sky are shining above
and babyyyyyyyy
I'm in looooooove
I'm in looooooove
I'm in looooooove
I'm in looooooove

Indeed, Shannon was in love… all over again. Ruby had been going above and beyond to make things right between the two of them after the storm they had weathered – even going so far as to have recently completely recreated their very first date atop Royal Woods Hill; with them essentially relaunching their relationship anew, she felt that they may as well go all the way… and in doing so, Shannon experienced a sensation in her heart that very much felt as though she had fallen in love with Ruby all over again.

Her eyes fluttered open, and disappointment claimed her mood to have the wonderful visuals she witnessed in her mind come to an end, but now, she anticipated including Ruby in her and her family's big Hanukkah party all the more… even if her family was unware that Ruby was more than just her best friend from school.


To any readers out there of the Jewish persuasion, I wish you a Happy Hanukkah (or Chanukah, however you prefer to spell it), and just know that I firmly believe that even in this day and age of hatred spreading like a viral epidemic, anti-Semitism has no place in our world.