Work Text:
Gary checks his watch, eyes widening slightly as the date clicks in his mind. He curses loud enough that Barry looks over at him. “I need to pick up candles,” Gary explains, running a hand back through his normally neat hair.
“...there’s a Bath and Body Works right there,” Barry points out as they walk through the mall together. “I hear they have pretty nice candles.”
Chuckling, Gary shakes his head. “No, not those kind of candles. With work and all the Christmas stuff, I forgot Hanukkah starts tonight. I need candles for the hanukkiah.”
“Oh yeah.” Barry nods. This isn’t a surprise, he knows Gary’s Jewish, he’s gone to synagogue several times with him since they started dating. He guesses with the Christmas rush, he forgot about it too. “Wait, I thought it was called a menorah?”
"Well, a menorah has seven spots for candles, a hanukkiah has nine," Gary explains.
Barry nods again. "So how does the whole thing work?"
“You want to come over and see?” Gary asks almost hesitantly. He and Barry have been dating almost a year, but this feels like sharing something personal. This would make it the beginning of sharing holidays together.
A smile spreads across Barry’s lips. “That depends. You gonna make latkes?”
Gary laughs at that. “Just for you,” he agrees. “Guess we need to swing by the grocery store too then.”
Hours later, as the stars begin to appear in the night sky, Gary unwraps the blue and green candles he and Barry picked out. Carefully, he places one of the blue candles in the far right spot of the menorah.
“Why is that one holder taller than the others?” Barry questions, a half eaten plate of latkes on the coffee table in front of him.
“That’s for the shamash,” Gary explains as he grabs another blue candle and sets it in the higher holder on the menorah. “You use it to light the other candles.”
Barry blinks at that. "Why not just use the other candles to light each other?"
Shaking his head, Gary says, "Because you're not supposed to use the other candles. They're there for you to observe and remember the miracle that occurred."
Grabbing the lighter from the table, Gary carefully lights the shamash. Once the flame catches on the wick, he sets down the lighter and picks up the shamash.
Barry watches him intently, how he lights the lone candle with the shamash before setting it back in its place.
As soon as the shamash is out of Gary's hand, he's speaking quietly, reverently in Hebrew.
Barry waits until he finishes to ask, “So you add a candle each night?”
“Yep, so you light one more each night,” Gary nods as he moves to sit by Barry on the couch. He nudges him lightly with his shoulder. “What’re you thinking?” he asks softly.
“...maybe I can light the candles tomorrow night?” Barry suggests.
Gary presses a kiss to the side of his head. "Well, unless you're suddenly Jewish, that'll be a no." He wraps an arm around Barry as he watches the flames. "I can teach you to play dreidal though."
"Sounds good." Smiling, Barry leans against him. “Happy first night of Hanukkah,” he bids as he watches the lights of the menorah flicker.