''Hey, someone asked for you.'' Someone spoke while tapping me on my shoulder. I looked away from the work in my hands and got up. I walked out of the work room and stopped in the doorway when I saw only one person there.

''Luke?'' I was clearly surprised and slowly moved closer to him, ''why are you-I mean, is something the matter?'' I forced myself into work mode, feelings had to wait.

''Took you long enough…'' He commented before standing straight. A knot tied in my stomach because of his words but I was somewhat used to it. ''One of the shirts didn't fit the prince, so I came to tell you to start over on it.''

I stared at him with confusion. ''Wait. Why didn't you just send someone else? You didn't have to come here yourself to tell me…'' I furrowed my eyebrows while speaking my mind but stopped talking when his cheeks turned red. ''So… why did you?'' I asked softly and tilted my head slightly.

I was waiting for his angry reply when something would embarrass him like he was now. His cheeks were definitively red and he opened his mouth, surely about to defend himself, but he never got to say anything. A hand appeared on my shoulder and one of the other female designers appeared next to us, ''If I was you, I would watch where I'm standing.'' She snickered before pointing up. We both looked up to see what she was pointing at and heat instantly rose to my cheeks when I realized what it was.

''Oooh, who put up a mistletoe?'' ''How fun!'' ''Shouldn't they kiss now?'' '' Look, they're both red!'' I heard the snickering around us and I looked down in embarrassment.

''I…'' Luke's small voice caught my attention and I looked back up, meeting his panicked gaze. He was completely red. The panic in his eyes matched the look on his face and as much as I hated the situation myself, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Would kissing me really be that bad? I wanted to say something, stop them from laughing and removing that awful look on his face, but no words would form in my mind and I watched him turn around and walk away as quickly as he could. He fled the scene without looking back.

I stood there, paralyzed, waiting for the women around me to comment on his leaving. Luckily, Alma showed up and everyone went back to work with a giggle. I looked down while returning to my station, hoping people wouldn't notice how red my face was or heard how loud my heart was beating. A mixture of sadness and disappointment clouded my mind the rest of the day.

My footsteps sounded especially heavy that night as I made my way back to my room. Alma had taken it upon herself to pressure us even more, surely to punish us for the event earlier. The outfits for the king, queen and prince Keith had to be finished a week earlier than first planned and that definitively made people work seriously the rest of the day. Even so, I couldn't get that expression he had shown out of my head. I sighed heavily and opened the door that led into the servant quarters and rounded the first corner. At this point, I just wanted to get to my room and hide my face in my pillow.

I didn't notice the man I passed before he spoke out, ''you know I don't like it when you ignore me.'' I recognized the voice and looked up, a lump appearing in my throat.

''Luke? W-what are you doing here?'' I stuttered and stopped instantly. My hand dived into my pocket and closed itself around the gift I had been carrying around for a week.

''I wasn't finished speaking when you interrupted me earlier.'' He had his normal, slightly displeased expression on as he spoke and he walked the few steps closer to me. He took a deep breath. ''Will you let me finish this time before making assumptions?'' He for once sounded tired, or maybe even a bit defeated. I nodded softly and watched him as he sighed. ''Good. The prince liked the design, the fabric and color. The only problem was that the sleeves are a bit too short.'' He spoke and handed me a bag with the shirt in it.

I blinked a couple of times before smiling defeated. Of course he was only here because of work. How could I ever believe anything else than that? ''Alright.'' I sighed and took the bag out of his hand, keeping my eyes down and away from his, ''I'll get started on it in the morning.'' I mumbled.

''Thank you.'' His voice was low and soft. He stood there as if he was waiting for something. I looked up and met his brown eyes. Just for a second, I didn't fear his reaction anymore and I didn't care about it. My hand brought out the gift from my pocket.

''Here. This is for you.'' I left the gift in his hand and watched how his expression turned into a surprised one. His mouth opened but I cut him off as quickly as I could. ''It's nothing big and it's only Christmas once a year, so just take it.'' I locked our gazes with determination while I spoke.

He closed his mouth and a faint redness appeared in his cheeks. His eyes flickered from mine down to the present. ''I didn't… I didn't get you anything…'' His voice had reduced itself to a somewhat confused whisper but even so, he slowly took the gift.

''It's fine…'' I mumbled and watched his hands fumble with the wrapping. Was he nervous? By the way his hands moved, almost clumsily, he seemed nervous. I smiled a bit at that while watching him reveal the silver pocket watch from the wrapping. ''Your watch broke last week… you complained about it during the last fitting.'' His fingers gently explored the watch, brushing over the engraved pattern before pressing the side and opening it. The chain softly mingled as he touched it. ''I saw this in a store and thought it would suit you.'' A faint smile played on his lips, making butterflies appear in my stomach. ''I'm also sorry about… earlier… I didn't know there was a… well, you know.'' I mumbled embarrassed but I was glad that I had said it.

''Thank you, I'll treasure it.'' He smiled softly while his eyes met mine. My heart skipped several beats while I felt my cheeks warm up. This was the first time I had seen him smile like this or heard him say thank you with actual feelings in it.

''I'm glad you-'' I was suddenly cut off. It took me a second or two to realize how he did it but there was no mistaking. His lips were pressed against mine. My heart fluttered as soon as I realized it and I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. Perhaps a bit too eager than first intended but he didn't pull back. I lost myself in his kisses and it felt like he intensified it, pressing closer to me while his free hand grabbed mine almost desperately.

He drew back as quickly as he started it, staring at me like he had just done the most foolish thing he could have done. His cheeks were red and he was breathing quickly. His eyes met mine before they started to flicker back and forth from my lips to my eyes.

''What… I…'' I breathed, obviously confused by his sudden action, and blinked while trying to make sense of the situation.

''I… that… t-that was because before we were…'' He stumbled across the words like he had no idea what he was saying while the redness in his cheeks spread to the rest of his face. I watched him panic and felt how his hand let go of mine. ''Th-the mistletoe…'' He stuttered before turning around and walking off. My hand dropped the bag and quickly grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving. ''Please let go!'' He almost yelled, voice thick with embarrassment and desperation.

''No, I need to tell you something.'' I kept my voice down and tightened my grip around his arm, ''please.''

He looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine.

''Why did you kiss me right now?''

''I told you…''

''That's not a valid excuse. You could have left. So why?''

''Why did you give me a gift?!''

''I'm asking the questions!''

We both started to yell, forgetting about where we were while yelling at the same time.

''But that's-!''

''No! Why did you?!''

''Well, why did you?!''

Frustration had replaced every other emotion in our voices while our breathing quickened. Our fight reached its climax when we both yelled the same sentence with equal frustration and desperation. ''Because I like you!'' Then, we both felt silent with that, only staring at each other with surprise and confusion. An awkward silence fell between us.

''Must I remind you two that it's past curfew? Yelling in the hallway is also forbidden.''

We both spun around to face whoever had spoken. I felt my knees weaken and a lump form in my throat.

''A-Alma…'' We both stuttered quietly.

''I suggest both of you return to your rooms. Immediately.'' Her voice was calm but the threat in it was as real as it could be.

I pressed my lips together before picking up the bag and hurrying the short distance to my room. I heard Luke's quick footsteps disappear down the hallway as I closed the door behind me. I immediately pressed my back against it and took a deep breath, as if I had just gotten to the surface. My hand went to cover my lips in a desperate attempt to savor the feeling of his lips on mine while a voice appeared in my head, 'you should have let him go…'

I sighed and let my head fall back against the door; I doubted I would get much sleep that night…

The day had gone by quicker than I had first thought it would, not that I was complaining. The episode the night before had left me with a lack of sleep and concentration. Luckily, I wasn't behind on work so I had quietly excused myself and returned to my room. To occupy myself, I had started working on making a new shirt for the prince. Hours passed and my hands slowed down. The shirt was finished.

I leaned back in the chair from exhaustion, closing my eyes while I tried to relax. A sudden knock on the door startled me enough to almost make me fall of the chair. I got up too quickly and stumbled on my way to the door. I quickly opened the door with an annoyed expression. It quickly vanished when I saw who it was.

''L-Luke…'' I choked, only barely managed to react before he quickly passed me and walked inside. I closed the door and waited for him to turn around and face me. We stared at each other in silence and both looked down at the same time.

''I guess things got a little out of hand last night…'' I softly spoke and crossed my arms over my chest. ''But I don't regret it.''

''I'm sorry for yelling.'' He sighed and shifted how he stood.

I looked up when I heard the soft mingle of a chain. ''You're using it…'' I smiled softly and met his eyes. ''I… really do mean what I said last night.''

''I… the same…'' He mumbled awkwardly and avoided my eyes.

I smiled after sighing. He really was no good when it came to these kinds of things. ''I'm sorry if I embarrassed you.'' His face turned red. ''And now, I guess… I'm just happy that I'm not the only one who-'' His lips cut me off again.

''Just shut up, you're making me embarrassed again.'' He mumbled before catching my lips again with ease.

Yup. Definitively bad with this sort of thing.

His hands hesitatingly found my hips and I let one of mine gently grab one of his, the other carefully moved to his chest and stayed there. Unlike yesterday, the kiss was gentler and sweeter, like you could feel how nervous we both were. It was nice and soft, like you would expect from the first kiss. When our lips parted, I felt how much my face had flushed.

''Does this mean that we're…?''

''I wouldn't have kissed you again if that wasn't my intention…'' He mumbled while looking away but his hand gave mine a squeeze, ''I'm… not going to have much time from now on until Christmas is over…''

''It's okay, we're kept pretty busy as well.'' I hummed softly and smiled.

He smiled faintly and hummed something before softly catching my lips in a quick kiss. ''I have to go.'' He mumbled before moving towards the door, his hand tugging me along with him.

I saw him out and pulled him closer to me before he got too far away. ''I'm really happy…'' I whispered before pressing my lips against his. As I had him distracted, I quickly allowed myself to run my hand through his hair, softly rustling it. ''And I've been wanted to do that for the longest time.'' I grinned and watched his face go completely red. I laughed softly as I could easily see how much he wanted to yell at me right now but he held his tongue. Maybe the possibility of Alma showing up was the reason.

''Don't ever do that again.'' He muttered before walking off, looking over his shoulder several times while his hands seemed busy with trying to fix his hair.

I snickered to myself and didn't leave until he turned the corner and disappeared. When I closed the door behind me, I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over…