First Meetings
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First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the treasure chest!
-Anonymous
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Disclaimer: Nah. I won't torment my disclaimer by making witty (and stupid) comments. It's (almost) Christmas! So no, Shugo Chara! tis not mine.
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Christmas Eve is a magical night…
And it may even be the best place to create new beginnings…
And to have first meetings.
She pushed through the crowd irritably, her curly blond hair floating around her. She tucked it behind her ear absent-mindedly, still utterly ticked. Her doe-like eyes blinked twice as she stood on her tip-toes looking around frantically for something, giving up, and then landing back on the balls of her feet.
She continued shoving her way through, weaving between the legs of the various people. Her stupid parents had dragged her off to a Christmas concert, including a sing-a-long. You try to be in a concert hall with a bunch of Japanese people singing 'Jingle Bells' in horribly accented English.
Yeah, it sucks. A small sigh escaped through her lips. In her eagerness of leaving the stupid place, she had left her parents behind, or vice-versa. Either way, she was lost. So crap. Right now, she was searching for her mother's bright red coat. And it was Christmas. So all of these dumb people were wearing red sweaters, red shirts, red jackets, red everything, making it ten times harder for her to find her mom, and she growled. What in the world ever happened to the color green? It was Christmassy, and her mom hated that color. Now that she thinks about it, some man in red came up to her parents and started talking to them. Stupid man in red.
She continued grumbling and cursing, and unknown to her, she caught the eye of another person. With a slight frown, the boy tilted his head, watching the young (or what he thought was a seven-year old) girl practically climb a guy, looking around, her eyes narrowed. He sighed. This is what he gets for needing money. Crap.
He walked towards her hesitantly, tapping her on her shoulder, kneeling down next to her. The girl slightly raised an eyebrow, watching him. He smiled gently.
"Hi sweetie, are you lost?" he asked kindly. Her jaw nearly dropped, and she wouldn't be lying when she said she was tempted to punch the snot out of this guy (not that she could or anything).
"I'm not a sweetie, and before you ask your next question, no, I'm not seven," the girl said stiffly back, crossing her arms angrily. If she was ticked before, she was pissed now.
The boy stared at her, his eyes wide. "Are you… older then that?' he asked slowly.
"Very good!" she said, clapping her hands while rolling her eyes sarcastically. He pouted. This girl looked really… childish and innocent from the back. He was obviously wrong.
"So how old are you really?" he asked. She gave him a side-glance, since she had returned to searching for her (evil) parents.
"And why would I tell my age to a random person exactly?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip. He shrugged.
"To prove you're not seven?" he suggested easily. She shot him a dirty look. Already, this guy was on her bad side.
"Shut up, you totally suck," she mumbled. She scrutinized him closely, her eyes narrow. He had long, elegant hair and dark amber eyes which twinkled cheerfully in the light. She hated him.
"Fine, how old are you?" she snapped. He looked surprised by her sudden outburst.
"If I say it, you have to tell me yours," he said, his eyes sparkling mischievously. She gave him a look, but nodded. He shook his head.
"No, you have to pinky promise," he insisted, stifling laughter.
"I've met you for about five minutes, and already, I hate you," she told him bluntly. He feigned hurt.
"That's mean," he said with a pout. She shrugged; like she cared if that was mean. Nevertheless, she reluctantly took his pinky and shook it, feeling like a kid (and yes, feeling and looking are two different things).
He grinned. "I'm fifteen."
She sighed. "Fourteen."
"Huh, you look about half your age," he muttered to himself, only to earn a dark glare from the girl beside him. He raised his hands defensively, holding back his smile. "Sorry."
She grimaced as she continued searching through the crowd, but then a familiar tune filled the air. She whipped her head around to face that weird boy (heck, he's still there?), and he shook his head, pointing at her pocket.
"That's yours."
She grabbed the phone and flipped it open, and nearly shrieked from exasperation.
To: Rima
From: Mom
Subject: None
Message: Rima, honey, are you still with Amu-chan right now? Papa and I need to a business meeting suddenly (I know, at 7:30?), so please stay with her for now! The door's locked at home, and I doubt you have your keys anyways… Love you, and I promise we'll be back in time for Christmas tomorrow!
-Mama and Papa
She was about ready to bang her head repeatedly against a wall. Her parents ditched her! Amu, who had also come to the concert, had left two hours ago. And was currently on her way to Hokkaido to visit family, which meant that she had nowhere to stay. Oh yeah, this sucked.
She flipped her phone closed, furrowing her eyebrows. There was always Yaya, but…
No… just… just no. She wasn't that desperate yet. There were the others, but they were guys, and her dad would flip out. And she wasn't willing to go there yet.
The boy watched the flurry of emotions cross the girl's face. Anger, irritation, thoughtfulness flew across her face, only signaled by her eyes. The girl herself probably didn't even know that she was so vulnerable, that a single stranger could learn so much about her from her pretty eyes.
They flitted over at him and he smiled cheerfully. "Do you want to go walk around outside?" he asked. She bit her lip. On the one hand, he was a random stranger. On the other hand, she had no place to stay.
"Fine," she said stoically, her face impassive as she attempted to walk out of the concert hall. The boy snickered, and she glowered at him, her eyes narrowed. He took her arm and dragged her into a hallway.
"I find it mildly disturbing that a strange fifteen-year old boy is taking me into a dark hallway," she commented coolly, and he ignored her. They finally stopped at the end, and he pushed open the door, letting in the fresh and cold winter air.
"Backdoor," was all he said as he walked out, hands in his pockets. She followed him, her red and white dress standing out in the darkness.
"Where are we going?" she asked him as they continued walking at a brisk pace. He shrugged.
"Something's usually going on in the park; we could go there," he suggested. She hung back warily, watching him suspiciously. He arched an eyebrow expectantly.
"Are you in a gang?"
He gave her a pointed look. "Are you tall?"
She sniffed. "Maybe."
"No, you're not tall," he answered for her, which she found rude. "Which means no, I'm not in a gang."
"… Fine," she mumbled as they kept walking.
He frowned at her. She was wearing a simple red and white dress, and her long and curly blond hair was held back by a simple red and green hair band. She wore simple and practical red flats with white leggings.
"You really are short," he said to himself, and luckily, the girl just shot him a glance and ignored the comment (mostly because she knew it was true).
They walked in silence, the sounds of their shoes slapping against the cement sidewalk echoing in the air. She breathed softly, letting her breath turn white from the cold. The boy, who really didn't like silences all that much, started whistling familiar Christmas songs to fill it in.
"Oh no, don't you dare do that," she warned, putting both hands on her hips, shooting him a fiery glare. "I just spent three hours inside of that concert hall listening to that crap, and I am not going through that again."
Oh. Looks like this girl really didn't like Christmas songs. Or maybe just music in general, he really wasn't all that sure. "Why not?" he protested, since him, on the other hand, liked Christmas music (even if it tended to get a tad… repetitive). "It's almost Christmas."
"Whatever," she scoffed. He looked at her thoughtfully. She was definitely stubborn, that's for sure, and sarcastic too. What the heck did he just get himself into?
"What's your name?" he blurted out. She turned around, looking at him. He shrugged uncomfortably underneath her piercing glare. "Um, if you want to tell me, that is."
"Shouldn't you have asked that the first time we met?" she pointed out, crossing her arms.
"I would have, except it was never really brought up…" he trailed off. She remained silent, only signaling that she had even heard him by the dirty look she was giving him. He was really weird, bringing this up now.
"Do I have to go first again?" he asked teasingly. She nodded her head slightly, and waited.
With a soft sigh escaping his lips, he said, "It's Fujisaki Nagihiko."
He prodded her, bumping his elbow gently against hers. "Well?" She pursed her lips and looked the other way.
"Mashiro Rima."
"Rima-chan? That's a nice name," he said pleasantly.
"Gross, I don't want you calling me by my real name," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I just met you, and heck, I barely even know you."
"Well, we could get to know each other," he responded. She looked at him, their eyes connecting.
"Did you mean to say that in a perverted way?"
"You really do have a sick mind," he retorted, playing with the buttons on his coat. "That's not what I meant!"
"Uh-huh," she said with a slight smirk on her face. "And what did you mean, Nagihiko?"
"Wait a minute, you can call me by my first name without an honorific, but I can't call you 'Rima-chan'?" he asked. "Now that's just twisted logic."
"Deal with it," she huffed as she walked ahead of him, twirling around to face him.
He shoved his hands back into his pockets and muttered to himself, "I'll never understand girls."
A small light twinkled ahead, and she frowned at it. The lights multiplied into millions of colors, all of them bright and cheery. Music filled the air, and she watched as people laughed and smiled, their cheeks tinted a rosy red, some of them dancing in time to the music. It almost made her feel giddy along with them. Stupid influential people.
"I thought I said I didn't want to hear Christmas music," she eventually said. He pouted unhappily.
"I thought you'd like it," he said thoughtfully as he gazed around the familiar surroundings. She looked anywhere but at him directly.
"I didn't say I didn't like it," she mumbled, hoping the music would cover her tiny voice. It didn't. Darn. A smile lit up his face like a Christmas tree.
He took her arm and another smile tumbled across his face. "C'mon!" The place was bright and happy, the individual lights looking like colorful stars in the night. In truth, it was pretty, but like she was ever going to tell him that.
And that's when he (finally) stopped in front of a particular person. A girl with indigo hair that tumbled around her shoulders prettily. Her amber eyes were surrounded by long eyelashes and a gentle smile was on her face. Rima's eyes looked back and forth between the girl and Nagihiko.
"She's my sister," Nagihiko answered the unsaid question. Rima nodded slowly. The girl smiled cheerily (Pft, now she can really see the family resemblance), and gave her a small wave.
"Anything I can play for you?" she asked kindly, holding up a silver flute. Rima shrugged. She really didn't know all that many Christmas songs.
Nagihiko tapped his cheek thoughtfully. "How about 'Jingle Bells'?" Both girls gave him a wilting look. "Or maybe not."
The girl shook her head, smiling gently. A customer came up and whispered in her ear, and she nodded in consent and raised her flute up and played. Gentle and sweet tones filled the air, and the tune was faintly familiar…
When the song ended, Rima clapped without even noticing. The girl beamed happily and Nagihiko allowed an easy grin to come onto his face.
"So, I'm guessing you liked it?" he asked. She gave him a sour look, but nodded her head a bit.
"Thanks," she murmured, and luckily (or maybe unluckily?) for her, he didn't hear her. What he did notice, however, was his cousin's sad attempts of 'vague gestures', which only resulted in attracting weird looks from the onlookers.
"What?" he whispered to her. She grinned.
"Finally, Nagi, a girlfriend!" she said, exasperated and happy at the same time. His jaw nearly dropped and slammed right into the ground.
"But… But she's not… and," he trailed off, looking at her helplessly. His sister, obviously not getting the point, pushed him away, giggling.
"Aw, you're so bashful. Go on with your date," she said with another tinkling laugh. Nagihiko shook his head, deciding he would just play along. She was a hopeless romantic anyways.
He just met the girl for goodness sake, and he hardly even knew much about her besides her name, her age, and what she looked like. And, now that he thought about it, it was really to both of their disadvantage that she was short, because…
He couldn't find her anymore. He just lost a little girl in a massive crowd… And he now sounded like a terrible father.
Great.
"Rima-chan," he yelled, pushing through the crowd hurriedly. He cursed (politely, since he's a gentleman) under his breath, continuing to search high and low (mostly low, obviously), and started panting due to lack of breath.
"This… sucks," he said between breaths as he sucked in the air. Who knew looking for such a tiny person would cause him so much energy.
"What the heck are you doing?" He turned around and faced the said short girl, who was raising an eyebrow with a hand on her hip.
"I was looking for you," he told her, trying not to show exasperation, and was succeeding to an extent. She gave him a weird stare, and pointed to where his cousin was, and then moved her finger about five feet from there.
"Did you ever think… to look right and left before going on a mad dash through the crowds?" she asked, and he could tell she was trying to hold back her laughs of amusement. Nice to know she enjoyed his pain.
"Whatever," he grumbled. She hid a small smile and then turned away from him, looking into the crowd, searching for something.
"You know, you're really hard to find," he complained to her. "You blend in with all the other kids here." Before she could say anything, a something red bumped into her.
"Ah, I'm sorry sweetie!" the man cried out. A long white beard and cheerful twinkling eyes faced her and she just smiled at him and shook her head.
"It's fine, it was my fault anyways," she murmured as the man helped her up.
"You're very nice," he told her. "Good bye, Rima-chan! Merry Christmas!" He walked away.
Nagihiko stared after him and then pointed. "Did you know him?"
She arched an eyebrow. "No."
"But he knew your name."
She crinkled her nose. "I don't know."
"Maybe you have an elder for a stalker," he muttered, mostly to himself, only succeeding in getting a kick from the girl next to him. And that's when her stomach rumbled loudly (or as loudly as a small person's tummy can grumble), and she cringed. Hopefully, he hadn't heard that.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, amusement taking over his face. Oh sure, he hears her stupid stomach, but doesn't hear her polite thank you? Screw him.
"… Maybe," was her cryptic answer. He held back his small grin, knowing it would annoy the girl.
"Fine, let's go," he said, giving her a wink, which she blatantly ignored. He started walking away from the park, and she reluctantly followed.
"Care to tell me where we're going?" she asked, gritting her teeth. This guy was too much. He was creepy. What kind of weirdo takes a girl out on Christmas Eve night to a park and dinner?
There's a chance he may be a stalker… She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. That would be terrific. She was abducted on Christmas Eve by a random guy. Nice way to spend her holidays, that's for sure.
"Rima-chan? Hello?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face repeatedly. She blinked. Due to her (over)-thinking things, she had missed his answer. Darn.
"Yes?" she asked, looking him the eye impassively. He chuckled. He knew she wasn't listening.
"You should pay attention when somebody talks to you, Rima-chan," he scolded with a light smile playing on his lips. "Anyways, you said you were hungry, right? So I'm taking you to a restaurant."
She looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because you said you were hungry," he scoffed, giving her a look that said 'geez-you-are-stupid'. Of course, it was said (silently) in a polite way.
There are times when she felt like slapping people. There are times when she felt like kicking people. And of course, there are times when she felt like kicking boys in a place where the sun just doesn't shine. But with Fujisaki Nagihiko, she wanted to stab him with a steak knife (perhaps this was due to her hunger) and then chuck him in a meat sack.
And she was now in the mood for steak, and it was all because of him. Insensitive jerk.
"Hello? Rima-chan, you're doing it again," he said as he started waving his hand in front of her face frantically. When she snapped out of her reverie, he pointed at where they were. "We're here."
They walked inside, Nagihiko slipping past some waiting customers, and they smiled warmly at him, and he flashed a smile back. Suck-up.
He took her through another door and closed it, and Rima glanced around, realizing that they were now inside of a closet. Racks and racks of clothing littered the inside, and what Nagihiko grabbed was a puke-green vest with a black bow-tie. She smirked, which he returned with a grimace.
"Wait, do you live here?" she asked, now registering the fact that not everything in here was ugly-looking. He frowned and shook his head.
"No, my uncle's too cheap to buy a house and built it somewhere behind this mess," he said, jabbing his thumb backwards. She nodded slowly. He took off his black jacket and undid his tie. He put on the puke-green vest and was (trying) to do the same with the bow-tie.
She gave him a dark look (and, now that he thought about it, she was pink too), which he countered with a look of surprise. "What'd I do?"
"I swear, you're an indirect pervert," she stated shortly, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. When realization finally hit him, his face cleared.
"Why am I the indirect pervert if you were thinking about it?" he protested.
"Well, you looked like you were going to!" she pointed out, pointing at his black jacket and tie that was on the ground.
"So how the heck am I the indirect pervert?" he mumbled as she swung the door open. Ignoring him, she marched out of the closet, but then turned around and surveyed him closely.
"Your bow-tie is loose," she told him ruefully and he glanced down at it. He sighed and started to struggle with it again. She watched him tie it and untie it, each time unsuccessful.
"You're doing it wrong," she said helpfully, and he nodded sarcastically.
"Thanks, Rima-chan."
She smirked, but made no move to help him with it. When he was finally (some-what) satisfied, he took her to a table and made her sit down, handing her a menu.
"Anything you want to drink?"
"You work here?" she asked in response to his question. He arched an eyebrow.
"Boy, you catch on fast," he said with a small smile. She scowled.
"Shut up. I thought you worked at the theater." He shrugged.
"Who says I can't work in more than one place?" he asked. Still unsatisfied with his rather confusing answer, she crossed her arms and flipped through the menu, while the boy just stood there, waiting patiently.
"I'll have water and… onigiri," she finally said, handing him the menu. He nodded and whisked the menu away. A few minutes later, he came back with somebody pushing him from behind.
Nagihiko, who was in a bit of a… pinch, rubbed his temples. "Uncle, it's fine," he said as the said man continued pushing his rather stubborn nephew. The man shook his head.
"You have a date and it's Christmas Eve; take a break, Nagihiko, alright?" he asked him as he finally managed to push his nephew into the stupid seat. The man noticed the petite girl staring at Nagihiko, and then her eyes shifted back over to the Uncle again. He bowed politely.
"Hello, I hope you enjoy your evening," he said politely. "Somebody will bring you your food shortly."
She turned her gaze back over to Nagihiko, who eventually sat up and met her look. "Er… hi."
"What was that about?" she asked him cautiously.
"Nothing," he said back innocently, leaning back into his seat. "Did you think something was wrong?"
She said scornfully, "Your uncle just pushed you over here, saying something like 'Enjoy,' and you were protesting the whole time."
Thankfully, she hadn't heard the whole thing, so that was a relief. He shrugged. "It was nothing."
Her eyes narrowed a considerable amount. "Liar."
"I don't lie."
"Well, you're lying right now," she said triumphantly.
"And how would you know if you didn't hear anything?" he asked her defensively. A spark flew between them as they had a very subtle stare-down. The uncle, who was coming out with their food, chuckled to himself as he watched the sparks fly.
"Ah, the spark of love," he mumbled to himself. He felt a gentle behind him and turned his head slightly, only to face his niece. "Do you have it in place?"
An evil grin curled onto the girl's pretty face. "Of course. Do you know how long I've been waiting for my darling brother to get a girlfriend?" she asked with a scoff. "Now go," she commanded, pushing the man out.
Grumbling, he went over to their table. He set the food down and turned towards Nagihiko seriously. "Make sure you don't give birth to slave-drivers."
Nagihiko stared after his uncle incredulously as he walked away. Rima watched as well. "Your whole family is screwy, isn't it?"
"…" He grabbed an onigiri and bit into it. "No. I'm not screwy."
She snorted. "I beg to differ. You drag a girl you met about two hours ago around a park and take her out to eat. If that's not screwy, then what the heck is it?"
"It's being polite to a girl."
"Whatever Nagihiko," she said, chewing thoughtfully. And that's when Nagihiko choked, and Rima looked at him curiously. He pointed at the plate and she glanced down and (unwillingly) turned pink.
The onigiri was placed on a heart-shaped plate with the onigiri arranged in a heart as well. A piece of paper was placed there, which Nagihiko took before Rima noticed. He looked at it and grimaced, and then proceeded to stuff the paper into his pocket.
She stared at the plate, then at Nagihiko, and then at the kitchen. "Uh-huh, your family definitely isn't messed up."
Nagihiko hung his head in his hands. This time, he really couldn't blame her for thinking of his family that way. Glancing at the note again, he bit his bottom lip.
Good luck! And I swear, if you dump her Nagi, I will set you up with somebody! Love ya!
-Nadeshiko and Uncle
He stared at the note for about three minutes, not even noticing the looks he was getting from the girl across from him. His long dark hair hung in front of his face, and a slight crease was formed between his eyebrows. His amber eyes looked annoyed and amused at the same time. And then Rima mentally slapped herself.
Gross. She had been staring at him, and in the creepy way too. That's just great.
Stuffing the note back into his pocket, he glanced up to see Rima glaring at the ground. He shook his head. He didn't want to know; this girl was moody.
"Are you ready to go, Rima-chan?" he asked. She looked up from beneath her long lashes and nodded. He reached out a hand, bowing as he did so. Rolling her eyes slightly, she took his hand. As they walked out, neither noticed the two trailing people behind them. They soon reached the doorway, and both winced when they heard a girly squeal from behind them.
"Hmmm? You two," she sang. She pointed above them excitedly. Glancing up (both completely dreading the results), they saw the stupid plant that both instantly hated. Mistletoe.
Rima glared at the plant murderously. They must have been planning this. She didn't want to kiss a guy she met a few hours ago. That'd be… weird. Just… no. She felt the blood rush to her face.
She glanced around quickly, desperately looking for something to help her. Noticing a glint to the side next to her, she grabbed it. A butter-knife. She handed it to Nagihiko (she took note of the fact he was slightly red), and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Why'd you give me a butter-knife?"
"Because I have the crappiest aim ever."
That's when his eyes glinted, and he nodded in understanding. Raising the weapon, he used all of his strength (which definitely wasn't necessary) and stabbed the plant, and everybody watched as it fell to the ground. Rima, who looked at if for about five seconds, turned towards the two stalkers.
"Your plant died," she told them, pointing at it. Nagihiko restrained himself from laughing. Impassively, Rima pushed open the door, turned around, and bowed courteously. "Thank you for the meal."
She then left, dragging a now chuckling Nagihiko outside. Both missed the amused smirks and smiles on the two people that were inside.
"They're a match made in heaven, aren't they?" she asked, smiling happily. "To be able to be so quick to think, she's practically made for Nagi." The uncle didn't say anything as he turned around, walking towards the kitchen again, but a tiny grin made his way onto his face.
And they didn't notice the man in red watching the two walk out the door, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. Well, won't this be interesting?
As they walked outside in the chilling air, Rima shivered. A shuddering breath came out of her, and it turned pale white in the night. She wrinkled her nose. It was still pretty cold.
Nagihiko, who really wasn't all that cold, was relieved to get away from his uncle and cousin, since that meant no more set-ups for the night. The mistletoe was definitely quite the awkward situation. Glancing at the clock, he frowned in surprise. It was nearly 9:45.
"Ah, should you be getting home Rima-chan?" he asked the small girl. She froze. Shoot, she forgot. Nagihiko watched the now stiff Rima as she shifted from foot to foot.
"Is something wrong?" he wondered. She turned her head a fraction of a degree.
"Actually," she started, pausing and cringing. To ask somebody you just met today to stay with them is pretty imposing. And if it was a boy, her dad would have a fit. "I don't have a place to stay tonight."
He frowned. "Oh. Alright," he said with a shrug. "You can come to my house."
Her head snapped up. He didn't feel weird about this at all? His smile reflected the bright twinkling lights that surrounded them and he started walking. "Come on, it's this way."
Reluctantly, she followed him. She could hear carolers belching out songs like no tomorrow, and it definitely wasn't helping that Nagihiko was whistling along with them. "Can you shut up? Or is it impossible?"
"No need to be testy, Rima-chan," he chided. "Besides, you're sleeping over at my house tonight."
"… That sounds wrong on so many levels."
"Again, why am I the pervert? You're the one thinking this stuff."
"Because you brought it up!"
"I didn't mean to though," he protested.
"Fine, you phrased it weirdly, making it sound… pervy," she said in disgust. He decided that it was smart to just not say anything, pretty much knowing that was all he was going to get from her. Wise choice.
She shivered. Why did winter have to be so cold? She then felt the extra weight around her body and turned towards Nagihiko, who was now coat-less. He had put his brown jacket over her and worn his puke-green vest in public. That was nice…
She thought.
"Thanks," she muttered. A small smile appeared on his face, but he didn't reply.
They continued walking, Nagihiko's whistles piercing the air while she shot death glares at him irritably. When they finally reached his 'house', she stared. And stared. And stared.
"This is your house?" she asked him meekly as he rang the doorbell to his 'house'. He nodded, surprised. "It's… it's huge." In actuality, it was rather big, and the land itself could have easily held three or four houses.
"Or maybe you're just so short it makes you feel that way," he suggested, and she shot him a dirty look.
"Thank you for being such a gentleman, Nagihiko," she said mockingly as she walked inside of the house. He smirked.
"You're welcome."
As soon as she walked in, she realized just how traditional this house was. It was pretty incredible, actually. But before she could revel in its historic beauty (because she was actually going to do that), she heard footsteps coming closer, and all of a sudden, a woman stepped around a corner and looked at the two of them in surprise.
"Nagihiko-san?" she inquired. The woman was beautiful, with her hair elegantly tied up and a pretty purple kimono with a delicate pattern of flowers decorated all over it. Her amber eyes were surrounded by long lashes and her smile was kindly amused. "Your grandfather's finally here to visit."
Nagihiko paled, and under his breath, he cursed politely. The woman pressed her lips together to refrain from laughing at the girl's confused reaction and her son's stunned and rather unhappy reaction. Clearing her throat, she bowed politely to the small girl, and she quickly bowed in return.
"Hello," Rima said quietly. The woman gave her another small smile, and then turned towards Nagihiko again.
"Well then, Nagihiko, shouldn't you go greet your elder?" she asked him. He shook his head and pointed at Rima.
"I have a guest," he said. Rima, who really wasn't sure what the heck was happening, became aware of more footsteps. All of a sudden, an elderly man with a beard appeared wearing a gray kimono. He shuffled towards Nagihiko, who smiled weakly.
"Ah, look, your elder came to you," the woman, whom Rima was guessing was Nagihiko's mother, said, clearly wanting to laugh. "I'll go prepare some tea."
"Ah, Nagihiko-san, you've gotten so much taller over the years," the elderly man said. He squinted his eyes as if he couldn't see him. "But you really need to get some more fat onto these bony arms," he scolded, holding up one of Nagihiko's arms and waving it around. "They're like twigs."
Nagihiko nodded, trying to ignore Rima, who was trying to muffle her laughter (and was failing). His grandfather glanced in her direction, and his eyebrows shot up high. "Nagihiko-san, you got a girlfriend?" he asked in shock. "And you brought her home?"
Rima stiffened at those questions, and Nagihiko pinched the bridge of his nose. This was exactly why he really didn't like having people (especially girls) over. Because this starts every time…
"I remember my first girlfriend," the grandfather said dreamily. "Don't tell your grandmother about this," he added darkly, shifting his eyes around shadily.
"Grandfather…" Nagihiko muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Anyways, that was back when I was eighteen," he continued his story hastily. "We were young and free, and back then, you could do just about anything. I think our first date was on Christmas Eve too, actually," he said thoughtfully. Nagihiko and I exchanged a glance.
"Well, it was a beautiful night, and the stars looked close enough to touch. We walked around till midnight, dodging the police patrol. They were partying anyways," he said dismissively. "We had visited the park and listened to the music, drinking a few good beers here and there. Eventually, the poor dear got tired. I took her home and was going to finish the night with a goodnight kiss," he finished, his eyes shining, making the two of them cringe and back away.
"It was sweet and wonderful, and then we started doing other things like—"he was cut off by Nagihiko's mother, who clapped her hand over her father's mouth. Rima was pretty sure she was going to have nightmares about what Nagihiko's grandfather was 'doing'.
"Are you corrupting children again?" she asked with a sigh. He shook his head.
"I was telling a story," he corrected her, crossing his arms. The elegant woman rolled her eyes slightly and turned towards the petite blond in front of her.
"I'm sorry about this," she said apologetically. Rima nodded her head, giving her a sweet smile.
"No, it's fine."
"Mother, Rima-chan doesn't have anywhere to go, so would you mind if she stayed… here?" he asked her. Her eyes sparkled.
"Of course, you two can go upstairs to be alone," she said as she ushered them upstairs. She pushed the two into a room, gave Nagihiko a tray, and then shut the door behind them. Rima was pretty sure she heard the door give a suspicious click.
"Oh yeah, your family is definitely not screwy," she said sarcastically as she flicked on the light.
He shrugged as he landed onto the couch. "How was I supposed to know you'd meet them all? Usually it takes years of dating before you can meet somebody's relatives."
"Dating? This is not a date," she said, emphasizing the word. "This is a… a… coincidental meeting!"
He shrugged. "Call it what you want, Rima-chan." He jumped over to the window and opened it. An evil grin spread onto his face. "Wanna go out?"
She walked over and stared down. "We're on the second level."
"And?"
"And so, heck no," she snapped.
"That… rhymed. Did you mean for it to?" he wondered.
"Nagihiko, you can be really stupid sometimes."
"Thanks," he said dryly as he clambered outside through the window.
"Nagihiko, get back inside," she said through gritted teeth. He shook his head.
"Why? It's perfectly safe. C'mon, Rima-chan!" He took her hand and tugged on it. She sighed and reluctantly climbed outside.
"If I die, I'm telling my parents to sue you."
"But, if you're dead, how are you going to…? Nevermind." Probably wiser to not back-talk her. He led her carefully onto the roof and he sat there happily. She sat down softly, gazing around.
"Your backyard… is unnaturally huge," she said, looking at the place in awe (not that she was showing it). It was decorated with Christmas lights and they twinkled brightly. Their frozen koi pond reflected the light, making everything look ten times brighter than it was originally. One time she could've sworn she saw somebody peer behind a tree, but she didn't see anything afterwards and dismissed it.
"It looks a lot like the park," she remarked. He looked at her in surprise.
"Really? I decorated it, kind of wanting it to look like the park," he mused. "Well, it's nice to know I succeeded," he said, giving her a heart-warming smile.
She felt something cold touch her nose, and her head snapped up to the sky. He followed her gaze.
"Hey, it's snowing."
"Way to state the obvious, Nagihiko."
She said nothing as she put her hand out and a snowflake fluttered into her hand. She felt a sensation of the cold as it touched her skin, but it soon melted away and disappeared. She didn't even notice the smile on her face.
Nagihiko did. He smiled back. "Do you like the snow?"
She turned towards him, her voice back to impassive. "It's okay," she whispered. He grinned.
"Liar," he whispered back, but making sure she didn't hear. He got up and stretched his arms. "Well, I suppose we should go back."
She nodded and he went in front of her, crawling back through the window. One time she slipped and yelped loudly. She then scrambled inside, one side of her dress wet while Nagihiko laughed.
"It's completely safe," she mimicked him from earlier, crossing her arms defiantly.
Before he could respond, a scraping noise interrupted them. Rima watched as a slender case came under the door, and Nagihiko had to restrain himself from choking. He walked over, beckoning Rima to follow, which she did. They put their ears against the door carefully.
"Grandfather, why'd you put in that movie?" Rima immediately recognized the voice of the girl from earlier.
"It's a classic."
"I've never heard of it." Nagihiko cringed. His uncle too? That's just great.
"Now, now, I'm sure it'll be fine. Let's just give them some privacy."
Rima watched the door as she listened to the footsteps fade away and then she turned towards Nagihiko and put her hands on her hips. "Care to explain?"
"Not generally," Nagihiko responded as he examined the DVD, avoiding the girl's hard glare. "Well, I suppose we'll watch this."
"Why?" she asked him as he opened the cover.
"There's nothing else to do, and we don't have cable," he told her as he took out the CD and put it into the player. Her eyebrows furrowed. This kid (and his family) was really… weird.
He settled onto the couch and patted the spot next to him. "C'mon Rima-chan," he said playfully. Her amber eyes watched him carefully, but she eventually came over and sat next to him.
The movie soon started out with a light and cheerful Christmas song (which made the girl scowl), and two kids walked out, racing and cheering. Rima nearly gagged. Nagihiko chuckled. The boy reached the sidewalk first, and, sticking his tongue out at the girl, he said gleefully, "I was first!"
"First is the worst, second is the best," the girl sneered. Nagihiko snorted. He hadn't heard that one in awhile.
"That's not true," Rima blurted out. Nagihiko turned to her curiously.
"What do you mean?"
Rima didn't talk back. She didn't like him, so why the heck did she say that? She bit her lip, and her impassive mask came back on. "Nothing," she retorted. He shook his head.
"Don't lie," he scolded. He struggled to make eye contact with her (because she was so short) and when he did, their eyes connected. Neither said anything, but thoughts raced through their heads, but what they actually thought would have been denied by both furiously.
Rima didn't like him. He was too nice, too cheerful, too elegant, too… too… stupid. He was amazing, slightly sarcastic with a touch of humor, and he was… he was rather… nevermind. He was… different than most boys, what with his long hair and his eyes were… kind of… entrancing.
Nagihiko was, in fact, somewhat perplexed. He had only met this girl a few hours ago, and already a lot of… crap had happened. Besides, he didn't know all that much about her. She was strange, quick-thinking, and had a tongue like knives. But… he wasn't going to deny that she was… pretty. Her long, curly hair tumbled around her shoulders and her large, doe-like eyes looked into his.
Trying to snap out of his thoughts, Nagihiko's grin returned. "Er, so, what did you mean by 'that's not true'?"
"Nothing," she replied automatically, and they glared at each other. Their heads collided painfully as the clock chimed loudly. Rima stared at it murderously.
"Please tell me?" he asked her innocently, his eyes wide. He was pretty curious, seeing as how she was so reluctant.
She smiled just as sweetly and syrupy in return. "Heck. No."
Nagihiko gave up. If he knew anything about this girl (admittedly, it wasn't a lot), he knew that she was stubborn. And she liked it best when everything went her way, at her pace.
Rima turned back to the screen, satisfied. But still, she was relieved that he hadn't managed to wheedle the truth out of her. The first wasn't the worst; it was the best.
Good thing he didn't know that it was because of him that she started thinking this way…
Nagihiko looked over at the girl next to him. She seemed to be lost in thoughts, her eyes hard and narrowed as she glared at the television screen. He waved his hands in front of her face and got no response, perhaps only to be expected by such a stubborn girl.
He grabbed a gingerbread cookie (way to keep with the theme of 'Christmas' mom) and bit into it, still watching the girl carefully. As if noticing his gaze, she looked up again.
"You look like and act like a stalker," she told him bluntly. He couldn't help but look surprised by the sudden comment, although she said it to him often.
"How?"
"You randomly come up to a girl and start dragging her around everywhere and you stare at her constantly. That's rather stalkerish behavior."
"No, those are coincidences, and I don't see how that's stalker-like at all," he replied, furrowing his eyebrows while chewing on his cookie. Then she slapped his hand and he dropped the cookie.
"Ow. Care to tell me what that was for?"
"Not really."
"What, so are you just torturing me for fun now?"
She gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully, tapping her cheek. "Fine. It's because those cookies," she said, pointing at the cookies, "are for Santa Claus."
"Excuse me?"
She gave him a hard glare. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"… N-no, don't think so," he said, struggling to keep the slight tremor out of his voice.
He failed.
"I hate you."
"Way to get in that 'Christmas' spirit, Rima-chan," he said jokingly. "What happened to St. Nicholas?"
"… I never did see the point of him having different names."
"Different cultures, Rima-chan, that's why. Not everything can be your way, all the time," he said, clicking his tongue.
She chucked a cookie at his head, barely hitting her mark.
"Uh, ow?" Holding back his amused smile, he turned towards the screen…
Only to turn back to Rima again. She sighed, giving him a dirty look. "Yes?"
"I won't shut up unless you tell me what you were thinking earlier," he told her. She shook her head no.
"I'll tell you what I was thinking about when they said that!" he said pleadingly. "But you have to tell me what you were going to say."
"Fine."
"Promise?" he asked innocently, holding out his pinky. She took it, suppressing a retort.
"… Promise."
"… I was thinking of you," he said quietly. She didn't say anything in return. "How you're really different from all the other girls I've ever met, and yeah, in a good way," he added, running his fingers through his hair.
He stopped talking and turned towards her with a wide grin. "Your turn."
She let go of a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "First is the worst, second is the best, isn't it? Well, I thought… first wasn't the worst, in our case. I thought our first meeting was the… best." She looked at him almost expectantly.
It became very quiet then. It wasn't necessarily awkward, per-se, but it was more…
Contemplating.
"Then again," she continued, "I met you on accident."
He gave her one of his effortless smiles. "Yeah… but aren't the coincidental meetings the best ones? After all, if we hadn't had one, then I never would have met you."
"… Maybe."
"Besides, our 'first meeting' is still going on," he decided to point out. She shrugged.
"I've met four members of your family, been to your house, you've taken me out to eat and we've been to the park."
"… That's a lot of crap we've been through."
She nodded in agreement with a small smirk. She took her cup and sipped from it. Then she took a cookie and chewed on it vaguely, but he could tell she was, at the very least, some-what happy.
"Santa Claus not important anymore?" he asked, gesturing towards her half-eaten cookie with a silly grin.
"Way to ruin a moment Nagihiko, way to ruin a moment."
She'd never tell him that she liked his company. She'd never tell him that she may somewhat like him. She'd never say so many things…
He'd never tell her that he liked her since she was different. He'd never tell her that he may have a rather tiny infatuation with her. He'd never say so many things…
They were both stubborn, sarcastic, and kind (in their own way). Maybe that's why they were so perfect for each other…
She heard a loud thud. The elegant woman awoke and she blinked, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at the clock. Quarter till one.
She silently got up and walked to the room and unlocked it. Peeking around the corner, she could see the movie still running. She walked over and then stood in front of the couch, and she bit her lip to keep from smiling.
The small girl leaned onto her son's shoulder, her blond curls around her face, and she breathed softly. Her son, had his long dark hair splayed out, mixing with the girl's light ringlets. His frame rose and fell in rhythm with the girl next to him. His arm was carelessly put around her shoulders, and her hand clenched onto a section of his shirt. The woman crept away silently.
She didn't notice the eaten cookies and some tea (which wasn't even touched) on the table. Neither did she notice the shape behind the window as he peered inside, grinning widely. He thought he did a nice job, pairing these two up. Then he disappeared, only leaving behind a simple little note.
Thanks for the cookies. They were delicious (Oh, but next year, could you lay out milk instead? Tea does strange things to my digestive system.)! My present for you two…
Well… Maybe you'll never know.
Christmas Eve is a nice night to create new beginnings though… Christmas is a nice day to say things you'd probably never say.
Merry Christmas.
-Santa Claus
Santa Claus never did tell them that their first meeting wasn't a coincidence.
I fail at Christmas stories. ._. Lol. This is the result of me trying not to be all cliche. Did I kind of sorta fail?
Yes. Anyways, I would've done this on Christmas, but I'm going somewhere then, so HOORAY! :D
... Right, the story. Anyways, if you really didn't catch on, Santa Claus was tracking them, watching their first meeting. That's basically what I was trying to get at. I have no idea if I succeeded or not in conveying that. =_= And then eventually all of those things happen... Stuff like that. :)
Well, this is my gift to my wonderful readers and friends (I doubt it was a good one...)! I really do appreciate how awesomical you guys are, and I hope you guys have an amazing holiday!
Merry Christmas~ You guys are the best. ;)
-forever blue skies-
Edit (1/10/11): I fixed a few of my tense problems and POV things (thanks screamattheskyx3), so that's all this is. And you guys probably thought I'd never do it. Pft. ;) Another thing to clear up is that the theater was where Rima and Nagihiko met. It was where the concert was being held, and Nagihiko was working there for money 'cause he's broke. XD Sorry if that wasn't all that clear... ^^ Thanks to those who pointed it out though~ (brilliantliex3 and screamattheskyx3) Yeah. So the end. :) Thanks for reading! :D