This is my first Mon Colle Knights fic, and one of the only ones out there. Don't be too harsh. I liked it well enough, and so did my friend Apryl (it was an Xmas present for her). Please review!!! I crave feedback! All comments and most critisism is welcome. Flames will be laughed at and deleted. And also, if u can't guess, I don't own any of the characters here. I wish I did though, because Zichi is so cute! Oh, and just do me a favor and imagine Mondo and Rockna a few years older. Thanx!
Love,
Jo
*****
"Such a pretty day," Rockna commented, looking around at the snow-covered cherry trees as they walked home. "Don't you think so Mondo?" she asked over the single bag of groceries held in her arms. If Rockna had been paying amount of attention she would have noticed that Mondo had been staring at her intensely, over three grocery bags, for the past five minutes.
Blinking rapidly, Mondo realized he hadn't heard a word Rockna had said, and so he answered her with the most intelligent response he could think of; "Huh?"
She giggled slightly, looking away form the trees. Smiling sweetly at him, she repeated "Don't you think it's a pretty day outside?"
"Yeah," he answered, still only half listening. "Very pretty girl...I mean day! Very pretty day!"
Rockna's smile grew shy suddenly, yet still managed to retain it's brightness.
Mondo looked at the top of a bread loaf - it's hard to see the ground over three bags of
groceries - and mentally kicked himself. Then he smiled. Instead of walking ahead of him indignantly, as he thought she would do, Rockna had stepped closer and was now walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
He made a mental not to 'accidentally' compliment her more often.
*****
Mouth-watering smells, almost completely devoid of garlic (for once), wafted through the kitchen door. Mondo could hear Rockna singing along with the christmas carols on the radio, her soft voice floating through the doorway along with the smell of roasting turkey.
Professor Hiragi was outside stringing up lights. He too was singing carols, though his were much louder than Rockna's, and not quite so pretty.
Just as Mondo finished tying the last gohei on the tree standing in the middle of the den, Rockna pushed open the kitchen door, wiping her hands on a grease-stained tea towel. Walking around the tree a few times, she studied it at every angle, making sure it was perfect.
When she smiled at him, Mondo noticed how she still managed to look pretty, even through the specks of soot on her nose and cheeks from cleaning out the oven that afternoon.
"The tree looks wonderful Mondo!" Rockna exclaimed, throwing the tea towel over her shoulder and untying the apron before lifting it over her head.
"Your cooking smells really good too," Mondo commented.
The smile that lit up Rockna's face when she thanked him made his heart skip a beat.
"The turkey should be done in a few hours," Rockna said, leaning into the kitchen to hang the apron and tea towel on a peg by the door. "In the mean time, I can ask my dad to take the stuffing out in thirty five minutes and you and I can go pick up the honey-cured ham from the butcher's shop."
Looking out the window at the snow cloaked ground, Mondo said "Isn't it a little too cold to go out again? We can always wait for your dad to finish with the lights so he could drive us instead of walking..."
Rockna looked down at him as she climbed up the stairs. "If I know dad," she said, "he'll be awhile with those lights Besides," she added, smiling at him, "the cold won't bother me as long as you're there to keep me warm."
And with that she disappeared down the hallway into her room.
*****
Mondo looked up at the flurries of snow, thinking how cold he should've been. However, the minute Rockna had slipped her tiny gloved hand into his - he was all too willing to let his fingers curl protectively around hers - his coat had felt just a little too warm. He was sure all his insides had melted from the heat, and he wondered if his cheeks were red.
If Rockna noticed, she never hinted at it. She just pulled him on through the ankle deep snowdrifts, chattering happily about any stray thought that crossed her mind. Occasionally she would turn to him to ask his opinion of something, and every time she did he noticed another small thing that made her so attractive. Like how her nose was bright red form the cold, or how the snowflakes that had melted in her eyelashes had made them thinker and darker, bringing out the bright, brilliant green of her eyes.
He noticed absently that his right arm was starting to hurt a little from carrying the bagged ham, but he wouldn't have let go of Rockna's hand if his life had depended on it.
"...all right Mondo? You seem unusually quiet today. Mondo?"
Shaking himself, Mondo replied "Huh?.. Oh! Yeah, I'm fine...Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders under her thick white coat.
"I'm fine," he assured her. "I'm just...thinking."
"You shouldn't think too much," she offered. :When you think , your mind wanders." Smiling, she added playfully "And your mind is definitely too little to be left alone."
He grimaced at her before he smiled back and said "I'm not too worried about it. Afterall, it has you to take care of it."
"That's right!" she said brightly. Standing on tip-toe, she patted the top of his head lovingly and added "Not to worry. I'll take VERY good care of-"
Her sentence cut of suddenly as she tripped over a rock hidden in the snow. Rockna closed her eyes on instinct, waiting to hit the cold, wet ground.
When the impact never came, she opened her eyes, wondering why she hadn't hit the ground. She found herself nose to nose with Mondo, looking into the gorgeous dark pools of his eyes. She could drown in those depths. His arms were shaking as he held her - one around her shoulders, the other around her waist - ; she could feel it even through her coat.
"T-thanks," she murmured breathlessly, her eyes still locked to his.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and replied "No problem," just as quietly. The ham lay in the snow where Mondo had dropped it, completely forgotten.
Well, he thought. It's now or never...I hope she doesn't kill me for this...
Mentally bracing himself, he closed his eyes and brought his head down slowly, his mouth hovering over hers. He felt her shift in his arms, felt her hand at the back of his neck, urging him forward.
"Rockna! Mondo! What a pleasant surprise!" a woman's voice called out suddenly.
Startled, Mondo let go of Rockna, dropping her in the snow.
"H-hi Miss Loon," Mondo said, waving to his teacher while mentally kicking himself and trying not to look at Rockna.
"Hello kids!...Uh, Rockna, what are you doing in the snow?"
"That," Rockna said, climbing to her feet, "is a very good question." Dusting the snow off her coat, she shot Mondo a slightly annoyed look. "You can stay and chat Mondo, but I have to get home to check on the turkey," she said sharply, picking the ham up out of the snow. "Merry Christmas Miss Loon," she added, much more cheerily, before hurrying on.
Mondo stood in the cold for nearly half an hour, listening to Miss Loon talk about her pathetically sad love-life, before he finally thought of an excuse to follow Rockna home.
*****
The lights on the christmas tree twinkled merrily in the darkness. Mondo laid on the couch, blankets piled up against the cold. His parents were out of town visiting his grandmother so he opted to spend Christmas with the Hiragis. Anything was better than two days of slide-shows and stale meatloaf. Almost anything. He would rather have eaten a sink-full of that meatloaf than have Rockna ignore him for eight and a half hours, which was exactly what she had done since returning home. She didn't appear angry, or even the slightest bit upset. She just ignored him.
He heard a creak on the stairs and turned his head toward the sound. Rockna stood on the last step in her blue flannel pajamas and fluffy white bunny slippers. She met his eyes briefly before looking away. She was glad it was dark; she didn't want him to know she was blushing. She shivered unconsciously at the memory of his arms around her.
"Are you cold?" he asked suddenly, sitting up and offering her a space on the couch. "I've got plenty of blankets."
She smiled shyly at him, nodded, and walked over. Pulling one of the blankets off him, she wrapped it around her shoulders. Sitting down next to him, she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her head on arms folded atop her knees. They sat in silence for some time, Mondo staring at Rockna, Rockna staring at the dancing lights of the christmas tree.
Turing to face him suddenly, Rockna said "I'm sorry I've been-" at the same time that Mondo began "Look Rockna, I'm sorry about-"
They both stopped, blushing slightly, until Rockna said "You first."
"I...I'm sorry about earlier," Mondo stammered, looking at the floor. "The cold must've gotten to my head," he continued quickly, picking up speed as he began to babble, "or else I wouldn't have tried to...I'd never want to do anything to ruin our friendship. I mean, you're one of the best friends I've ever had! Losing you would be like losing myself and I keep kicking myself when I think of how I almost ruined everything we-"
Silencing him by pressing a finer to his lips, Rockna whispered "Try again."
"A-again?" he squeaked, swallowing the lump in his throat. How could she be so calm? She couldn't be asking him to...She just could not be.
"Kiss me," she persisted, just as gently yet somehow managing to sound desperate.
He felt his heart beat increase in speed. He could feel the heat in his head making him dizzy.
He nodded fractionally; his mouth felt suddenly dry. "Close your eyes," he said softly, wishing his voice were more steady.
She smiled shyly up at him before complying. Her eyes fluttered shut, dark lashes brushing the apples of her cheeks. Her face was tilted up toward his, her pretty pink lips slightly persed, expectant.
Taking a breath, Mondo made his first real christmas wish since he had asked for a pair of rollerblades when he was six. He wanted this much, MUCH more.
Please, he prayed. Please! Let this go off without a hitch! Let her dad stay upstairs asleep. Don't let me make a fool of myself...And let me make her happy. Let this be the perfect First Kiss. And not the last kiss.
As he made his wish, hoping fervently it would be granted, he leaned down slowly, deliberately. Then, thinking his nerves might snap if he hesitated, he pressed his lips to hers for nearly half a second before pulling away. His brain was already short-circuiting and anything longer than that half a second would have over-loaded his mind.
Her eyes snapped open as soon as he pulled away. Looking up at him, slightly perturbed, she asked incredulously "Is that it?"
"Yes?" he answered uncertainly, almost asking if his answer was correct. "It was a first kiss!" he added, frowning slightly. "What more were you expecting?" Fate was toying with him today.
Rockna looked at him as if he had asked whether or not the sky was blue. "After that little display of affection while walking home Mondo?" she asked, eyes alight with a strange fire. "I was expecting something a little more like this." Fisting her right hand in his shirt collar, she pulled him down roughly, her lips slamming into his with bruising force.
He felt her lips sliding along his -his mind felt VERY far away- brain struggling to catch up. Pulling his arms up around her waist, he returned the kiss ten-fold, feeling her tremble as he ran his hand up her back, along her shoulders and arms.
The kiss grew suddenly hesitant, as if Rockna had realized what she had done and was ashamed. When she tried to pull away he tightened his grip on her waist, puling her closer until she knelt between his legs, and not letting her break away. One of her hands stroked his cheek fondly; the other had a fierce grip on his thigh.
After what seemed like eternity, they pulled apart reluctantly, just sitting on the couch, foreheads together, eyes locked. Each was gulping air desperately, trying to calm their beating hearts.
A tiny beeping noise broke through the cloud of silence that seemed to surround the two. Lifting his chiming watch into view, Mondo and Rockna looked on as the tiny numbers on the corner of the watch face changed from 12-24 to 12-25.
Rockna looked up and smiled at him. "Merry Christmas Mondo," she said, kissing his forehead.
"Merry Christmas," he repeated, listening to her pleasant giggle as he kissed the tip of her nose and both her cheeks before silencing her with a kiss on the lips.
The End