Wishing You

(Earth-CSK14051981)*

There was snow falling outside, dusting Westchester New York in a shimmering sprinkle of feathery white, and inside the Xavier Mansion was filled with busy excitement. Raven and Angel, clad in frilly red and green aprons, were apparently baking…something in the kitchen, and chasing out any of the guys who even so much as stuck their head through the door. Alex, Darwin, and a somewhat reluctant Beast were hanging garlands in the dining room. In the parlour, Azazel and Riptide were carefully positioning the massive tree they had just brought in from outside—melting snow dripped from its branches, and the unmistakable fresh scent of evergreen filled the air. Sean was sitting in the hallway with a book in his hands, reading bits of trivia about mistletoe and candy canes to anyone who would listen. Charles was in the recently rearranged parlour, setting his favourite record of Christmas carols to play on the phonograph. He smiled brightly when he looked up to see Erik walk into the room. "Erik! Merry Christma-" He stopped himself, looking apologetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Erik; I didn't mean—"

Erik frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "Sorry for what, Charles?"

"Well, that is to say, you don't—you wouldn't…celebrate…I didn't mean to offend."

Erik shook his head with a small smile. "I wouldn't be 'offended,' Charles—would you be 'offended' if I wished you a Happy Chanukah?"

Charles looked down at his folded hands in his lap for a moment. "No, I don't suppose I would." He turned a beaming smile to Erik. "In fact, I wish you would. Wish me a Happy Chanukah, that is."

Erik held up one finger. "Only if you wish me a Merry Christmas."

Charles' grin became impossibly broader. "It's a deal, then." A thoughtful frown furrowed his brow, but his eyes twinkled when he spoke, "Though, I don't suppose it's an entirely fair deal, since I understand Chanukah lasts an entire week, while Christmas is only one day."

"Eight days. Well, nights, actually," Erik corrected.

"Well you see the problem then," Charles continued with mock-seriousness. "If I wish you a Merry Christmas, you get one wonderful day, but if you wish me a Happy Chanukah, I get eight wonderful nights, in a row no less. It most certainly is not fair. Not fair at all."

"Well," Sean spoke up from where he still sat in the hall, "you could always wish him a Merry 'Twelve Days of Christmas' if it makes you feel better." He shook his bright coppery hair out of his eyes. "And can I have a Happy Chanukah too? I've never had one before."

Erik felt his breath catch in his throat. He'd had a Happy Chanukah; he'd had several in fact, but…not for so very long. It seemed his last Happy Chanukah had been in another life. And he'd never had a Merry Christmas. He'd never wanted one before.

Charles grinned at Sean. "That's a brilliant idea, Sean. We all have so very much to celebrate, and I don't think there are entirely enough days in which to do so. So, we'll have eight days—nights—of Chanukah and twelve days of Christmas." He looked lost in thought once more and spoke quietly to himself, "I'm not even sure if those are supposed to overlap at all, but no matter—we can just move the Christmas days around if we have to, since I'm not sure anyone remembers just when they were supposed to start or end…"

"Professor," Sean interrupted him, "you do realize that's a total of twenty days?"

"Yes, of course I do." He frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Sean shook his head quickly. "Not at all, but…I mean, this is supposed to be a school, and, well, I'd never heard of having twenty days off for the holidays…"

Alex poked his head out of the dining room, an incredulous frown on his face. "Banshee, you're not seriously complaining about having too much time off for the holidays, are you?"

Sean looked embarrassed. "N-no, of course not!"

"Good," Darwin said, his head appearing over Alex's shoulder, "because I love the holidays, and—how many days were we getting?"

"Twenty, apparently," Erik supplied.

"Huh." Darwin gave Erik an appreciative look. "I suppose we can thank you for at least eight days of that?"

"Ask him to wish you a Happy Chanukah," Sean suggested. "Oh, and wishing him a Merry 'Twelve Days of Christmas' was my idea, so you can thank me for that one."

Beast's furry blue head poked out of the dining room. "Is that—" He sniffed at the air. "What's burning?"

High-pitched feminine squeals sounded from the kitchen.

Raven and Angel turned away from the oven looking flushed to look at Charles, Alex, Sean, Beast, Erik, and Darwin all crowding in the kitchen door. Charles sat front and centre and somehow imposing in his metal wheelchair. Azazel and Riptide hovered silently somewhere behind the others. Charles struggled for some semblance of a stern expression. "Raven, Angel, are you two trying to burn down my house?"

Both girls looked sheepish. Their festive aprons were not the only thing that was covered in a liberal dusting of flour; in fact, most of the room looked as though the snow had been falling inside as well.

"We made gingerbread!" Raven said proudly, presenting a tray of dark brown person-shaped cookies that were only slightly blackened around the edges.

"That's-," Charles blinked a couple times, "that's actually really great, Raven." Raven's first Christmas in the mansion, the maid had baked gingerbread cookies and let them decorate the cookies with icing and candy. Raven had told him it made her feel welcome; her first 'real' Christmas. "We're going to need a lot of icing and candy this year."

Raven nodded. "And we made one for each of us, so we can all—oh." Raven stopped, her gaze falling on Erik. "I-I mean, you don't have to—it's just…if you—I-I didn't mean…" She trailed off, looking mortified.

Sean shook his head quickly. "It's okay!" He grinned at Erik. "He's not offended. He's going to let us all have a Happy Chanukah too."

Raven's expression quickly changed to relief, and then even quicker to joy.

Angel smiled shyly, her eyes shining though her lashes. "That's…Thank you. I…I've never had a Happy Chanukah before."

Charles smiled, feeling an overwhelming sense of warmth and happiness. This…this was exactly what he wanted.

*See my profile for an explanation of numbered universes.