Colors blend and transform into wondrous things
Osakada Tomoka pulls her green jacket close to her and tightens the black scarf around her neck. The wind picks up as the stars begin to shine. It is well past ten and the streets of Tokyo are less crowded except for the super late shoppers and couples taking a romantic night stroll. The snow falls in soft, white sheets and the temperature slowly begins to drop.
She heads towards a nearby café, looking the opposite direction of some random kissing couple. Ryoma and Sakuno are going out, so the chance of her having someone to spend Christmas with besides her family is slim. She really wants a boyfriend, someone to cuddle with on cold nights and make cookies with. She always wonders if someone will date a girl like her.
She stops in front of her destination and sighs before opening the door. She is hit with a blast of warm air and the smell of fresh coffee. The old lady behind the counter smiles at her – she's a regular here – and motions for her to enter. She does so and takes a seat at the counter.
"Osakada-chan, why are you out here all alone?" The old lady asks, setting a cup of hot chocolate on the counter along with a small plate of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Tomoka's favorite.
"Ah, Obaa-san, thank you," she says, grabbing a cookie. The old lady is like a grandmother to her. "My family already retired for the night, and I wanted to take a late night stroll."
"My dear, you only take walks at night when someone is on your mind," the old lady says knowingly. "Do you have someone special for this magical winter night?"
Tomoka sets her drink down and shakes her head; her curls bouncing slightly. She had curled her hair this morning and left it down because her mother had wanted it to look nice for pictures.
"No one this year," she replies. "I'm just a bit sad since Sakuno – you remember her right? – has a boyfriend while I don't."
"Is it that Ryoma boy?" the old lady asks. Tomoka nods. "Are you happy for your friend?"
"I am; she really deserves someone!" she smiles, imagining her best friend, bright red, and Ryoma sitting on the couch, watching some holiday tennis.
"Maybe that special someone will appear tonight," the old lady says. "Are there any other boys who have caught your attention?"
"Um…" Tomoka pauses, looking at the cookie she was going to eat. She thought of Horio, and how they had started talking more at the beginning of their second year of middle school, and now they are first years in high school. He is really sweet, although a bit arrogant, but has definitely shown some changes in his personality and looks.
"Oh, is there someone?" The old lady leans closer, grinning. "Come on, you can tell me."
Tomoka blushes and sets down the cookie. "There's no one!" she exclaims. "I don't need anyone!"
"You weren't saying that earlier," the old lady recalls. "Now, who is this lucky young man?"
Tomoka looks away embarrassed. She has always felt something for Horio, and it is nothing like her crush on Ryoma. It is something completely different and she doesn't know how to explain it. She admires Ryoma and looks up to him (plus he's cute), but feels nothing for him like the girl usually does in romance novels.
However, with Horio it is a completely different story. She gets happy every time she sees him and can never stop herself from smiling. Maybe he just has that effect on every girl?
"Well, I don't really lik-"
"Tomoka?"
She turns around to see Horio standing there, bundled up in a blue jacket with snow in his hair. His cheeks and nose are red from the cold and he has a small purple bag in his hand.
"Horio?" she blinks, standing up and giving him a friendly hug. "What are you doing here?"
He grins. "Just taking a late night stroll, yourself?"
"Same," she answers, and finds herself smiling as they engage in a conversation about what they both got for Christmas. He got a new tennis racket along with two packs of grip tape, a new bag, and a video game. She got a new dress, a fancy perfume set, and a few other girly things.
"Do you want to go sit at a booth?" Horio asks, gesturing to the now almost empty café.
Tomoka nods. "Sure."
The two situate themselves in at a window seat near the back, away from everyone else. American Christmas music is playing, and Horio orders a hot chocolate with cinnamon.
"Cinnamon?" Tomoka asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, because real men put cinnamon on their food, and I'm a real man," Horio states, puffing out his chest. Tomoka smiles and shakes her head, flicking some of her whip cream at him.
"Well, real man, how well do you know your Christmas songs?"
"Very well!"
"Really? Sing 'Jingle Bell Rock' then."
Horio freezes. "Uhhhhh... pick a different one."
Tomoka can't help but break out into a fit of laughter. Horio crosses his arms and pouts, confused as to why she is laughing. So he didn't know one Christmas song, an American Christmas song to be exact.
"Hey! Stop laughing!" Horio demands, yet he can't help but smile at the way her eyes sparkle and her manicured hand covers her smile in a way that only Tomoka could pull off.
"You know that song is the one that just ended like two seconds ago, right?" she says once her laughter dies down.
"What!" he exclaims. He points a finger at her. "That's not fair!"
She breaks out into another fit of laughter and shakes her head. "You're so gullible, Horio."
"I'm not gullible! You just got me there for a second," Horio says. He tries to be angry but he can't keep a smile off his face. "Well," he continues. "If I'm Mr. Gullible, you're Mrs. Gullible."
She stops laughing and glares at him. "I am not gullible!"
He grins. "Then you would have noticed that I ate one of your cookies."
Tomoka looks at her plate and blinks to see a cookie missing. He took one of her cookies, one of her favorite cookies. Oh he is in trouble. She grabs the cherry off the plate next to his hot chocolate (it was on the cocoa) and plops it in her mouth.
"Tomoka!" Horio protests. "I love cherries!"
"I know," she smirks, putting the tied cherry stem on his plate. "Can you do that?"
"What? Tie a cherry stem with my tongue?" he asks. She nods, and he stands up. "Of course! Let me go get one."
She watches him walk up to the counter, clad in his black jeans and sneakers, and ask for a cherry. The lady nods and while she reaches under the counter, he turns around and wiggles his unibrow at her before taking the cherries and walking towards her. The old lady flashes her a wink and she hides her blush by drinking her hot chocolate.
"Alright, she gave me a couple, so lets see..." Horio says once he sits back down.
Grabbing a cherry, he bites the fruit and chews before swallowing, then puts the stem in his mouth. She watches him make face after face, trying to tie the stem, and hides her grin. He's so adorable making his eyes cross as he tries to see his progress. After a minute or so, he produces a tied cherry stem.
"See! Told you!" he grins proudly, tossing the cherry stem onto the plate.
She claps slowly. "Congrats, oh great master," she says sarcastically.
He mock bows. "Why thank you, thank you! What a lovely crowd you've been!"
"You're an idiot, Horio," she says, covering her face with one hand and shaking her head. "Only you..."
"Hey, you know I'm funny," he says, smiling.
"Yeah, you are," she admits before she can stop herself. He stares are her, surprised, and she stares back, equally surprised. They stay like that for what seems like eternity, neither of them breaking the silence. It's a mix between awkward and comfortable, tense yet relaxed. He breaks it first.
"...Wanna dance?"
"Say what?"
He grins and stands up. Grabbing a straw, he begins to sing, making goofy hand gestures and shaking his hips. "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas. I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas. I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart!"
She laughs at his attempt to serenade her, although he can sing. He pulls her up and leads her to the middle of the café where they begin to bust out in random dance moves. He attempts the robot while she does the disco. He fist pumps while she twirls. Their laughter fills the air, all the while the music has switched to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.
"Rocking around the Christmas Tree, at the Christmas party hop. Mistletoe hung where you can see, ev'ry couple tries to stop!" he sings, jumping up and down.
She stops dancing and sits down, clutching her stomach while she laughs. Soon he joins her, and they laugh for all the stupid stuff they've done tonight.
"Remind me, to," she takes a deep breath before continuing, "to never do that again with you."
He nods in agreement, huffing and puffing. "Ditto."
They both head back to the table and gather up their coats. Both of them bid goodbye to the old lady and leave, tossing their trash into the trashcan. The temperature has dropped and little people wander the streets.
"We go separate directions now, huh?" she asks, turning to face him. He nods and they both smile before hugging.
"Have a goodnight," he says, pulling away and heading in the opposite direction.
"Wait, Horio!" He turns around and blinks when he feels her lips press against his cheek. "Merry Christmas," she whispers in his ear before walking away, a slight skip in her step. Horio touches his cheek and grins, watching her retreating figure.
"Merry Christmas, Tomoka."
A/N: Merry Belated Christmas! It is almost 6:30am and I've been up all night. Dedicated to the lovely Frog-kun for Christmas, because I turned into such to Terry May for beta-ing this!
Disclaimer: I do not own PoT. I do technically own the old lady hahaha.