It was nearing that time of the year again for humans. Although the Great Gods didn't celebrate human festivals, they needed an excuse to buy things. Hence, the following heated argument was taking place at Zeus' shrine.
Team Inconspicuous: Hades, Sedna, Gaia
Team Flamboyant: Zeus, Isis, Freya
Team Practical: Buddha, En
"I say we go for dresses," Isis insisted. They could have Truen trick Zero into a secret photo shoot. The last batch of photographs sold out and they made a neat profit from that.
"He needs clothing that will help him fit in with the different civilisations once he begins his travel. None of his current clothing is suitable for keeping a low profile." Hades disagreed much to his brother's displeasure.
"Hades, Zero will attract attention anywhere he goes. If he wore the same as commoners and travellers, he would be targeted by some lowlife and be taken advantage of. Better looking clothes will keep them at arm's length," the Sky God reasoned.
"How about we go for something that Zero can use and enjoy?" Buddha asked and Freya shot him a glare.
"Are you saying that he won't enjoy our gifts?"
"Calm down, Freya. Nobody said that. I'm sure we could just ask Zero what he wants for Christmas..."
"Rejected!" En yelled. He didn't want to let Zero know about their plans. It was meant to be a surprise and En was most confident in his gift.
Sedna raised an eyebrow. En was definitely up to something.
"How about this," Buddha proposed. The fight was getting them nowhere. "We prepare our gifts for Zero as a team. Then, we present it to Zero on Christmas. Depending on which gift Zero likes better, the other teams will have to cover the bills for the winning team. Deal?"
Everyone looked at Buddha with suspicion. Buddha hardly did bets but when he did, he always won. Then again, everyone was confident about their gifts.
"Deal!" Zeus declared and promptly walked out of the meeting, preparing to pay a visit to Grem in La Boutique.
On the other hand, Gaia helped Hades and her sister to prepare for a trip down to Earth.
"When do we start?" En asked Buddha.
The Sage God smiled serenely. "Patience. I'm going to have a talk with Merlin and Hua Tuo. Just be sure to update me about their movements."
King Yama grinned. A gift didn't have to be an object. Those Great Gods had a long way to go.
***
Grem Lee sneezed. Jen looked at the tailor worriedly. He'd been sneezing a lot since the morning and she feared that he might be under the weather.
The quiet morning ended when three of their shop's VVIPs stepped in through the front door. Startled at their arrival without a call in advance, Jen led them to the inner room and excused herself to get tea while Grem attended to them.
"Great Gods and Goddesses, how may I help you?"
"We're looking for a gift for Zero," Isis explained and Grem nodded. He remembered how they pampered that strange boy with a bottomless appetite. It was quite a handsome profit he earned back then and he looked forward to another business deal.
"How can I help?"
Freya explained about their desire to present Zero with clothes for Christmas and Grem raised a bushy brow. If they were talking about Christmas, children generally liked meeting the legendary Saint who gives presents.
"Is anyone going to be playing Santa?"
Zeus cocked his head to a side. "What's a Santa?"
Neither of the Great Goddesses knew what that was and Grem had to explain in detail about the Christmas tradition while Jen brought the snacks over.
After a long question and answer session, there was a twinkle in Zeus' eye.
"Could we ask you for one more favour?"
Grem felt the chills. However, Zeus was considered a very important customer so he cautiously agreed.
"Please be our Santa and deliver the gifts on our behalf!"
Jen had to stifle a giggle at Grem's horrified expression. Isis and Freya's stares didn't allow the poor gnome to refuse so he had to agree. However, he didn't allow his assistants to go scotfree.
"Jeremy, you'll be playing Rudolf. Jen, you will be playing the worker elf!"
They looked horrified and Jen immediately protested. The look on Grem's face offered no room for negotiation so the pixie reluctantly set to designing their costumes while Grem discussed details about Zero's gifts.
It was simple. Frey and Isis wanted Zero to wear costumes for a photo shoot while Zeus wanted to gift Zero an armour that looked cool.
"For the last time, I'm a clothing designer, not a blacksmith. I can only make cloth armour and not mithril ones. Besides, the magic imbued in all of Zero's clothes are better than any tough looking armour anyone can make out there."
Zeus looked lost. "But... Zero is a man! He can't just wear dresses and wigs. Surely he would like something more masculine..."
Grem pinched the bridge of his nose. Reminding himself that Zeus was still a valuable customer, he took a deep breath and tried to explain again. "I can make clothes in a more masculine fashion. However, I CANNOT make mithril armour with fabric. I can, however, design hero costumes if you want. It is rather popular among children his age."
Zeus considered it for a while. The hero costume that Grem spoke off was meant to be pyjamas. Zeus didn't know if having a hero sleepwear was going to make the boy more masculine but it was better than nothing. Reluctantly, he agreed.
"Could you make a hero costume with a cape?"
Relieved that Zeus was finally asking for something possible, the gnome nodded. In the meantime, Isis and Freya argued over the kind of costumes best suited for Zero. Freya wanted to buy twenty costumes for the secret collection but Isis chided her, claiming that it would make a huge indent in their profits.
"We can only select one each. I'm sure Zero will model for all our gifts so it's pointless to spend a fortune on clothes he would only wear once. Although I don't agree with Sedna and Gaia, I do believe that it has to be something Zero would want to wear."
Freya looked offended. "Are you telling me that he doesn't want to wear stockings?"
Isis deadpanned. "He doesn't like silk ribbon bowties. Do you think he'll enjoy stockings? You heard Truen's report. Zero mostly wore the tracksuit."
"But a tracksuit isn't fancy!"
Isis patted Freya. "We just need to find something that is. How about a uniform? That's popular..."
Freya tried to picture Zero in a school uniform and had to promptly stop her nose from bleeding. "That's so cute! I could almost see those pure white wings and halo behind him... That's it! We're getting an angel outfit with flight abilities."
Isis pulled out a calculator while Grem watched the Great Goddesses debate. Finally, they reached a conclusion and Grem took their orders happily before seeing them out. It was a short notice but if anyone could get it done, it would be the world's best tailor.
"Jen! Jeremy, prepare for work. We're closing the shop for a few days."
Jen readied the fabric and threads. "What are we making, boss?"
The gnome grinned. "One Santa costume - gnome-size XL, one Christmas elf costume - pixie-size M, one Rudolf headband, one Elementary school uniform for boys - human-size M, one Angel Halo and Wings Set - kids size, one Hero pyjamas with cape - human-size M. Designs to be finalised by tomorrow and work to be completed in four days."
Jeremy immediately got to preparing the materials while Jen and Grem started sketching designs. They had no time to lose.
***
"A party?"
Buddha smiled. Zero was currently out on an errand. "Yes. I've spoken with Merlin and informed Truen about it. They will be coming for Christmas. It's a surprise party to be held at King Yama's mansion in the Purgatory. The Great Gods will be there too."
Hua Tuo hummed. They would make it back before Christmas so it wasn't too much of a worry. "How will we get there?"
"Merlin will open a gateway. Just be prepared for it. Also, the Great Gods seem to be competing about who would get Zero the best gifts. I wouldn't try to compete against them if I were you."
Hua Tuo shuddered. It wasn't rare for the Great Gods to have internal competitions but nobody liked it when that happened. For one, they weren't graceful losers. Freya lashed out and set fire to an entire planet because she lost a bet against Gaia once. Hades' depression caused a never-ending eclipse. Zeus' rage caused thunderstorms and lightning destroyed half a continent. Sedna's tears caused a huge flood. Gaia's fury caused multiple earthquakes for months and Isis' discontent made stars explode.
"Thank you, friend. I'll be sure to keep the schedule open. Are you participating in their bet?"
The Sage God of Enlightenment smiled serenely and said nothing. Hua Tuo shuddered. Buddha was up to no good and he just knew it.
"Well then, see you during the party," Hua Tuo said and hung up promptly. Never bet against Buddha. His enlightenment was a cheating device for gambling and clearly, there wasn't a rule against it.
***
At a local tavern, three figures in cloaks spoke in low voices.
"Did you find what you wanted?"
Gaia grinned at her sister and produced a small hunting knife. Sedna was impressed. It was well crafted and definitely imbued with enchantments. After hearing from Hua Tuo that Zero was learning how to hunt animals, Gaia had the idea to present Zero his very own hunting knife. It was a practical gift and even Hades couldn't help but approve of it.
"What about the both of you?"
Sedna grinned. She had similar ideas. However, instead of a hunting knife, she'd gotten Zero a portable pill making set. It consisted of magic enchanted mortar and pestle, a mini magical furnace and some measuring scales. Although the idea was originally provided by Hua Tuo, Sedna felt proud that she managed to get the best craftsman to make what the Sage God specified. Ancient Chinese pill making tools were not on this planet so it was difficult to buy any. Fortunately, they were not difficult to replicate.
Hades looked smug. While the Goddesses had great gifts, he had confidence that Zero would like his more.
Recently, he heard from Hua Tuo that Zero enjoyed reading. As such, God of Death went to great lengths to record stories from every library known to them and had Steve compile them into a thin magical reading device. Of course, books were constantly being written and found so it wasn't a complete collection but Hades was still proud of his achievement.
Gaia complained about Hades' gift when she heard it. That was definitely cheating. With the powers of controlling shadows, Hades could collect information at a speed nobody could imagine. The God of Death merely brushed it off and claimed that it was fair. Dinner at the tavern was full of protest from Gaia and Sedna while Hades felt proud at his accomplishments.
***
Finally, the day of judgement arrived. Although they were feeling confident about their gifts, nobody knew how Zero would react to it. They didn't know if Zero understood the concept of Christmas but it was too late to back out. Grem was on standby and Merlin went to fetch the guest of honour for the party. En looked bored and Buddha was smiling as usual.
When Zero arrived, the first thing he noticed was the people in the room. Sedna welcomed him with her open arms and the brunet quickly jumped into them. Gaia snatched the boy over and cooed when Zero presented her a leaf of the same green as her hair. She was touched when Zero apologised to everyone else. He didn't have gifts for them yet as they were difficult to collect but he promised to find them soon. Isis didn't mind and demanded a hug from the small boy. Freya followed and it took a while before the party could officially begin.
La Boutique worked hard providing for the feast and Zero thoroughly enjoyed every single dish, mindful to leave enough for everyone else. He was most glad to see Truen and couldn't wait to share with his friend about what he learnt.
The wood elf was great at keeping Zero distracted while everyone else readied their gifts. Santa wobbled on his reindeer and Jen had to help steady him before they made their dramatic entrance.
"HO HO HO! Merry Christmas!"
Zero was startled but started laughing when he saw Grem try to enter from the unlit fireplace. Jeremy had to help the gnome out of it when he got stuck halfway. Once Grem finished adjusting his beard, he coughed awkwardly and started to present the gifts.
Zero oohed and ahhed over every gift, trying on the costumes at Freya and Isis' urging. Nobody expected Merlin to gift Zero an amulet and the Great Gods were impressed by how fast he could finalise the magic accumulation device. Steve must have pulled many all-nighters to finish the product on time and Sedna made a mental note to bring good sushi to thank the God of Technology.
By the end of it all, everyone was dying to know which gift Zero liked the best.
It was a nerve-wracking moment when Zero couldn't decide. In the end, his answer made everyone fall over in their minds. However, nobody could hate him for it.
"All of it! I love everything because I love everyone! This is the best Christmas, I promise to bring presents for everybody next Christmas... thank you for this wonderful surprise. I'm so happy..."
Although nobody won, they were satisfied. Christmas was about giving and if anyone had gotten that right, it was Zero. The boy went around giving hugs to everyone, showering them in his love before he had to leave again.
"Merry Christmas!" he yelled before Merlin closed the warp gate.
The words weren't spoken but everyone knew what they would've said if the boy was still around.
Merry Christmas, Zero.