Chapter Text
"Why."
Hiei asks it in much the same tone he would use to make an accusation, or to deliver a biting insult.
Kurama just hums amicably– he's holding a nail between his lips, so he can't exactly answer right that moment. When he's satisfied with the position of the garland, he takes said nail out of his mouth and starts tapping it into place above the window. "Why what?"
Hiei scowls up at him. He'd been lured into helping the redhead decorate with the promise of cocoa and treats– had he known it would be like this, Hiei would have seen the bait for what it was and declined.
Too late now.
Kurama steps down from the stool and smiles at his unwitting assistant. In his long-sleeved navy blue sweater, arms full of greenery and ribbons, the kooridan looks like a grumpy little elf. "It's the holidays," he explains simply.
The answer only makes Hiei's frown deepen. The hot cocoa was delicious, and in the kitchen the scent of chocolate still lingers– but out here, the pleasant aroma is completely overwhelmed by cinnamon and forest smell. Fir, the fox had called it.
It tickles his nose unpleasantly.
Hiei holds his arms out as Kurama starts untwisting the next section of garland, red eyes watching with reluctant interest. "What are 'holidays'?" he asks eventually.
Kurama clearly expected him to ask, but he falters for a moment all the same. His brows furrow in thought as he takes up another nail and steps back onto the stool. The fox is in a sweater, too– and in a surprising break from his typical colorblind fashion, this time he seems to have actually considered how his red hair might go with his choice of attire.
That, or it's just a pleasant coincidence it doesn't clash with his bright tresses. On the contrary; the deep, forest green sweater sets off Kurama's eyes in a way that Hiei thinks the others might call pretty.
He wonders if he should tell the fox.
Mostly he just waits for Kurama's answer.
His patience is rewarded while the next nail is tapped into place. "Before the industrial revolution, winter was a difficult time for humans. Freezing temperatures, shorter days, dwindling food and little to hunt. Many cultures began to hold midwinter festivities to lift their spirits, assigning religious or spiritual significance to the time– or simply reminding themselves that it would pass."
Hiei's fascinated in spite of himself. "And now? Is winter still so trying for humankind?"
It certainly didn't seem like it was. In fact, he'd seen humans bustling around the shopping plazas in droves, heedless of the cold; smiling and chattering, breath puffing out in a fog as they paused to admire the colored lights strung up everywhere, shopping and meeting up with others and making merry.
Gross.
"Well, no, but humans do love their traditions." Kurama takes the last loop of the garland from him and spends a moment fiddling, trying to get it to drape nicely. "There. What do you think?"
Glad to be free of his task, Hiei looks up at the n evergreen boughs, twined with ribbons and light. Steps back to get the full picture. It reminds him of the decorations in those shopping plazas.
He frowns.
"It stinks."