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“Didn't you once tell me your family hadn't been to Temple in three generations?” McCoy asked as he watched his husband struggle to pin a black kippah to his hair, covering the crown of his head and making the swish of his bangs strangely more attractive to Leonard.
“Yeah, but I still qualify,” he huffed, giving up and tucking it into his pocket. “Maybe Pavel can help me with this.”
“So what are you doing?”
“I told you. It's the first night of Hanukkah in Israel. Since we're in space, that's the calendar our Jewish crew members are going by.”
“Yeah, but why are you going?”
“Because,” Jim smiled, wrapping his arms around Bones' neck as he sat on his lap, and softly kissing him, “Pavel asked for the Captain of the Enterprise, the head of our family, to light the first candle. I may not be religious, but I love my family, and I will do what ever I can to make them happy.”
“Within reason.”
“This isn't within reason?”
“Oh, it is,” Bones said, rubbing his nose against the other man's, “but I need you to add that to that phrase every time, to make sure you remember it next time a crew member asks you to be their labor coach.”
“I did fine.”
“You passed out.”
Their banter and light kisses and touches were interrupted by the door chime. Jim reluctantly removed himself from his husband's lap and, once given permission to enter, the door opened to admit Spock. In a kippah of his own.
“Mr. Spock,” Jim greeted with a little confusion, “what's with the head covering?”
“I assumed you would recognize the traditional kippah, Jim. It is also referred to as a yamukah,” he replied, an eyebrow disappearing into his bangs.
“I do,” Jim smiled, “just wondering why you're sporting it.”
“Ah, you are unaware of my mother's heritage,” he nodded. “While I was raised exclusively Vulcan, my mother did tell me stories of her family's rich history. We only ever spent summers with my Human relatives, but since she and Vulcan are gone, I have desired to become closer to my living family. I began our last shoreleave on Earth, joining my cousins at their local Temple.”
“I wouldn't think you'd hold to any religious beliefs, Spock,” McCoy said in confusion of his own.
“Respecting a people's beliefs and participating in your family's traditions is logical, whether you follow those religious beliefs or not.”
“I agree,” Jim said, stepping towards Spock as he fished his kippah out of his pocket. “Can you help me with this?”
“Certainly, Jim,” he said, taking it but not the pins from the Captain's hand.
Spock positioned it precisely on Jim's crown, his superior height giving him an advantage, then swiped one finger under the front rim. Jim flinched a little as the kippah sealed itself to his hair.
“To remove it, pull up sharply on the center,” Spock said with a smirk.
“What, did that thing not come with instructions?” Leonard scoffed.
“Grandpa Jim always talked about his dad pinning it to his head with bobby pins,” he groused. “Are you two ganging up on me?”
“No,” McCoy denied at the same time Spock said, “Of course not.”
“Well, you two remember where your loyalties lie,” Jim admonished as he headed towards the door. “Come on Spock, it's time to leave.”
“Happy Hanukkah,” McCoy called as they left.
Leonard stared at the door for a moment after they left, lost in thought. Coming to a decision, he lightly huffed and then levered himself out of his seat on the sofa. He moved over to his personal terminal and, after a command to the ship's computer, started researching Hanukkah traditions. Twenty minutes later, he nodded, a plan taking form.
Leonard's family, while also not religious, had always been deeply traditional. Every year they celebrated Christmas, complete with stories of Christmas' past about ancestors in pre-Federation days. When he and Jim got together, he included him in these traditions and Jim, never having much in the way of family celebrations himself growing up, participated wholeheartedly. When asked about his own traditions, that's when he explained that while his father's family didn't have any that he knew of, his mother's side were proudly Jewish, though no one practiced. Leonard had found it odd, but accepted it for what it was, and continued to include Jim in his own celebrations. Over time, they had turned it into something of their own.
But maybe it was time to add something of Jim's family to the mix, regardless of his seeming indifference. Jim seemed touched by Pavel's invitation and maybe even a little wistful. So, he pulled out one of the presents he had gotten for Jim for their Christmas celebration and put it on his desk to be opened for the first night of Hanukkah. For the rest of the nights, he had other gifts and was sure he could get the kitchens to put together a couple of traditional recipes.
If it made Jim happy, they could plan better for the next year. Bones may not be Jewish, but he was looking forward to creating new traditions with his husband that would be important to both of them.
The End