Author's Note: It's been a while and I haven't logged into my account in nearly a decade, but my OTP has always been on my mind. The latest Netflix remake caused me to write again. Also, I plan on cross-posting my stories at the other archive soon.
A Sanctuary Christmas
Chapter 1: It begins
Sanctuary, December 1st, 1pm.
"Kiki-sama! What in all heavens is this music coming from the Taurus house?"
"Huh? Music?" Kiki, the Aries Saint, set aside his Cloth repair tools at the insistence of his young apprentice.
"Listen closely," Appendix Raki pulled Kiki by the hand towards the back of the Aries House. "There, do you hear it?"
"Oh yes, I can hear it now," Kiki said. Jazzy, lively music was streaming from the Taurus house. Kiki had to admit, it was a catchy tune. "Well it's not unlike Harbinger to blast loud music, I don't think that's unusual. Although… Why is he here and not the Patriarch's room? It's the middle of the day, he should be up there working."
"It's not just that!" Raki insisted. "The music he usually listens to is… different." She was right, Kiki realized. Harbinger usually played rap and hip-hop. At Kiki's and the other Saints' requests, or rather threats, Harbinger was even forced to play clean versions of those songs, for Raki's sake. Either that, or wear headphones. Kiki couldn't understand the appeal of those songs, but this? This was downright pleasant, and that worried him.
"Hey you two, do you know what's going on with Harbinger?" Integra suddenly showed up out of nowhere.
"How did you…" Kiki narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Nevermind that," the Gemini Saint replied dismissively. "What's wrong with the big guy? This music isn't his speed."
"I'm wondering the same," Kiki replied. "Also, why is he not up at the Patriarch's chamber?"
"Oh I… I told him that Athena would be distracted today and wouldn't notice if he took a personal day." Integra told him, trying to hide a blush.
"How did you know Athena would be distrac-… Oh." Kiki murmured in understanding. He did not envy her premonition gift, particularly not now. "Today is…"
"Yep." Integra nodded. "Sure is."
Meanwhile, Raki observed her mentor talking to the really cool Gemini Saint, but didn't have the faintest idea of what they were talking about.
"Aaaanyway, should we go check on him?" Integra suggested, sticking her thumb towards the Taurus house.
"I suppose…" Kiki sighed, and the trio ascended the long stairs towards the second of the twelve houses.
—-
At the Taurus house Harbinger hummed contentedly, holding a box of trinkets, trying to find the perfect spot for his decorations, oblivious to the three pairs of eyes watching him.
"Ahem," Kiki interjected, making the trio's presence known. Harbinger jumped and turned around quickly.
"Oh heeyy, Kiki my dude. What's up?" He tried, and failed, to feign nonchalance while trying to use his imposing size to hide something behind him. "And Raki and Integra too! How… nice of you to visit."
"Harbinger, are you okay?" Raki asked in wide-eyed innocence.
"Sure I am, kid! Why wouldn't I be?" Harbinger was growing uncomfortable.
"We noticed the music coming from your house, Harbinger." Integra said.
"Pfff, so what, I play music all the time! I worked real hard with Athena to upgrade the utilities so we could get high speed internet around here, you're welcome by the way, so I make the most of it!"
"It's not that, it's just… there's a distinct lack of 4-letter words in the music you've been playing today." Kiki volunteered.
"Kiki! Are you saying you miss my usual hip hop? I knew you'd enjoy it some day!" Harbinger grinned, still trying to distract his visitors from what he'd been doing.
"I absolutely do not." Kiki said firmly.
"Harbinger, we just wanted to check in on you to make sure you're okay. You're our neighbor after all, so to speak." Integra tried a conciliatory tone. "But if you'd rather keep it to yourself, we'll leave. We were just worried, that's all." She offered him a kind smile. Harbinger dropped his shoulders in defeat.
"Fiiine! Just promise you won't judge, okay?"
"We listen and we don't judge." Integra said sagely, repeating one of the latest social media trends. Everyone else stared at her. "What? I too have been using the internet!"
Harbinger raised an eyebrow at Kiki and Raki. "We won't judge," they promised.
"Well then," Harbinger said, dramatically stepping aside and revealing a medium sized Christmas tree. "Voila." He tensed, still wary of what his companions might say.
"Oh, that's very pretty!" Raki exclaimed, running over to get a closer look. "So shiny!"
"It's… it's the first day of December, so I thought I'd put up a lil tree." Harbinger tried to explain himself. "And you gotta have Christmas music when doing that." He felt self-conscious, trying to explain himself.
"Ah okay, that makes sense!" Integra said, trying to set him at ease. "I guess I haven't been around long enough to realize it's a tradition of yours, this is the first time I spend December as the Gemini Saint after all."
"Well, I can say that if it's a tradition of his, it's the first time I hear of it. And I've been around for a few years." Kiki commented. He knew it wasn't any of his business, but he was very curious about Harbinger's behavior. "It's okay if you'd rather not talk about it, but I just want you to know that you don't have to be so secretive." He offered Harbinger a small smile.
"I wasn't being secretive, alright? I was going to tell you guys, eventually. But I knew you'd ask questions." Harbinger scratched his head.
"Why don't we have a seat by your tree and we can talk it out, if you want?" Integra offered. Harbinger felt himself relax, if only just a bit. They all took a seat, Raki situating herself next to Harbinger.
"You all know that I had a hard time, growing up. I had very little to be happy, or hopeful about. Christmas time was particularly hard. Everywhere I saw families being joyful, and I didn't have that." He stared off into the distance, his gaze hard. "Eventually I survived, I got stronger, and I could probably finagle some kind of holiday celebration for myself, but by then I didn't care for any of it. I was too angry at the world. You've never seen me celebrate it Kiki, because in previous years as a Gold Saint I still had too much rage inside. Besides, you might agree with me that my iron-fisted predecessor didn't leave much room for self expression."
"I know what you mean," was all Kiki could offer.
"This is the first year that I feel like I can allow myself to celebrate something, ya know? I still think we all belong in a loony bin somewhere, our goddess included, but I feel good about who I am, what I've accomplished, and the people I have around me. So I want to give myself what I couldn't before. The tree, the music, the silly movies. I can't have snow here in Greece, but I'll try to have everything else." He finished, a tone of defiance in his voice.
Kiki and Integra looked at each other. Kiki swallowed a lump in his throat, and Integra discreetly wiped a tear. Leave it to Harbinger to say something so beautiful, and yet sound like he was arguing with someone.
"I think you should celebrate too, Harbinger!" Raki exclaimed, hugging her much bigger friend.
"Hmph. Thanks kid." Harbinger hugged her back.
"She's right, Harbinger. And if it's something you'd like, Raki and I will celebrate with you too through the month." Kiki offered.
"I'd like that too, if I can." Integra looked hopeful, and Harbinger nodded with a smile.
"Well… I was just about to load up this bad boy to kick off the season, in case you three wanna watch it with me." Harbinger grinned, showing the title screen for "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Kiki and Integra shared a glance, shrugged, and made themselves comfortable.
"Should we invite Fudo?" Raki inquired.
"Fudo is on a meditative hike right now." Integra replied.
"What about Seiya?"
"He's busy." All three Gold Saints responded in unison. Raki blinked, but then shrugged and plopped herself next to Harbinger to watch the movie.
—-
Meanwhile, at the Sagittarius house…
Saori Kido padded through the kitchen wearing an oversized red T-shirt, looking for something to drink. Grabbing a pitcher of cold water she poured herself a cup and downed it immediately, paying no mind as some of it dribbled down her chin. Upon setting the empty cup on the counter, she felt strong arms encircling her waist and setting her onto the kitchen table with ease. A shirtless Seiya stood before her, his hands resting at her hips.
"I believe you have my shirt," Seiya grinned at her. He wiped the water from her chin with his thumb, his own mouth drying as she captured the digit between her lips briefly.
"Do I now?" She toyed with the collar of the red T-shirt coyly, exposing one of her shoulders. She smirked as his eyes darkened. "I got hungry, and couldn't find my dress." She bit her lip playfully, well aware of how Seiya reacted when she wore his clothes.
"I see…" Seiya gave her a long, unhurried kiss. "I can get lunch ready for us." He offered, but she locked her heels behind his lower back before he could move away.
"Not that kind of hungry." Saori's hands slid leisurely up from his abs to his chest and around his shoulders, pulling him into a heated kiss as the grip of her legs around his waist tightened.
"Well, happy birthday to me." Seiya quipped, his voice rough as his hands travelled underneath the shirt.
TO BE CONTINUED
- Would it ever be a fanfic of mine if I didn't include a gratuitous SeiSao scene? There's a reason why I set this on December 1, Seiya's birthday.
- For anyone wondering, the "jazzy Christmas music" that Harbinger is listening to is "Linus and Lucy" from the Charl
ie Brown Christmas album.
- I love thinking that Seiya and Saori's relationship is the 12 houses' worst kept secret.