SGA-fic: Lux (G)

[zinnith]

Today is St. Lucia's Day, one of the few Saint Days we celebrate in Sweden and my favourite winter festival. It's about light in the darkness and about music and joy. I wanted to share it with my boys and with you, so therefore I give you this little Entangled Particles snippet!

Title: Lux
Author: Zinnith
Rating: G
Category: John/Rodney slash, AU
Wordcount: 411
Warning: Futurefic
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
Notes: Entangled Particles-verse. If you want to know how Rodney found out he'd won the Nobel in Literature, you can check here.

Thank you the_cephalopod for wrestling this into shape!


Summary: “John, there’s a bunch of singing girls in our room and I think one of them’s on fire.”

John was having a very nice dream. Rodney was wearing a tux, and there was champange and a kiss in front of hundeds of flashing cameras. Someone was singing and Rodney was poking his head.

 

“John. John, wake up.”

 

Oh. That part wasn’t a dream then. John tried to burrow back underneath the covers where it was warm and comfy. His leg really didn’t like the climate in Stockholm and he wasn’t looking forward to getting out of bed at all.

 

“G’ away, Rodney, ’m sleeping,” he mumbled and turned his face into the pillow again.

 

The poking didn’t stop, however, and then Rodney hissed, “John, there’s a bunch of singing girls in our room and I think one of them’s on fire.”

 

Okay, that didn’t sound right. John peered out over the top of the covers. Apparently the singing hadn’t been part of his dream either. A group of young women clad in long white gowns were standing beside their bed. They all had red ribbons tied around their waists and green wreaths in their hair. The room was bathed in a warm yellow glow and... yes, Rodney was right; one of the women was on fire. Or rather, her hair was on fire - she was wearing a crown of white candles in her long black hair.

 

“This is weird,” John said, blinking in the light.   

 

The singing was kinda nice though, even though he couldn’t understand a word.

 

“I know this song,” Rodney said, humming along. “Tu sei l’impero. Di armonia. Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia... Caruso recorded it! But they’re not singing in Italian...”

 

The woman with the candles in her hair was smiling, as were the rest of them. Rodney was waving his fingers unconciously, as if he was conducting the choir and John couldn’t hold back a smile. This feeling of wonder, of being with Rodney never really went away, not even after forty years and counting.   

 

The scent of cloves and gingerbread and coffee was spreading through the room. John shifted a little, attempting to ease his aching joints. “You should win a Nobel more often,” he said and snuggled up to Rodney to enjoy the show.

 

Rodney snorted and rolled his eyes. Then his arm sneaked around John’s shoulders and a kiss was pressed against his temple. John sighed contentedly, leaned further into Rodney’s embrace, and let the women’s clear voices chase away the cold darkness of the Swedish morning. 

 

- fin -

Additional notes: If you've never seen a Lucia procession, you've missed something. Watch one here! I have no idea who those people are, but they're pretty and they can sing...

Comments

[zinfic.livejournal.com]

It's an ancient rite of passage. I was part of a Lucia procession once where the crown was a little askew so the Lucia got hot wax all over her face. And the only thing you can do is smile and keep singing...

Then there's also the little issue of all the burning candles sucking the oxygen out of the room, which isn't very fun from a fainting point of view. Usually you perform in a bunch of different places over the day - I think the most I ever did in one day was 13 shows. You don't have time to eat properly so you have to survive on saffron buns and gingerbread which means your blood sugar is all over the place all day. Not to mention all the running around in just a thin gown in the middle of the winter.

Hmmm... now I'm wondering why I kept doing this year after year?

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

So why did you? *curious*

[zinfic.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. But my father is a musician and both my parents are irredeemable choir people so I was indoctrinated at an early age...
But if you're Swedish, female and can sing even a little bit, odds are you have been part of at least one Lucia procession. Getting time off from school for practice might have something to do with it ;-)

[chebonne.livejournal.com]

I knew this one girl once who got candle wax in her hair. And that doesn't sound so bad, until I tell you that it was long, blonde, curly and the crown was titled slightly backwards.

And I keep hijacking threads! So sorry, it's just that I'm sick in bed today and had all but fogotten about today until your story here. *sigh*

[zinfic.livejournal.com]

Ouch!
I've never actually been a Lucia (no, I'm not bitter at all...) but I know how unpleasant it is when the candle drops hot wax on your hand. I can only imagine getting it in the hair or the face...

[chebonne.livejournal.com]

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Or something. I'm too short, but I've been in several. Those little circular thingies never ever keep the wax off your hands. And then you start in the professional choirs and you can't switch hands like you did in high school.