Playful banter had definitely descended on the Cram School students and naturally the whole of True Cross Academy.
Mistletoes hung fairly innocently along the halls while wreaths hung over classroom doors and while it was only early December, many were excited to simply celebrate the holiday before it passed far too quickly while on break.
Rin normally looked forward eagerly to Christmas and his and Yukio's birthday which fell only two days later, but since Father Fujimoto's passing, this would be their first Christmas.
He stared down at his hand as if measuring what little remained of the human before or perhaps what he'd held onto with such a violent passing.
Perhaps such gloom would come as no surprise if it caused a distracted mind especially when two unnoticing 'victims' passed under said mistletoe over the door of Yukio's classroom together.
Shima unsurprisingly was the first to notice said mistletoe over their head and couldn't resist begging for them to follow suit with the traditions.
His attention on said decoration drew others' eyes to stare over the two students' heads.
Kamiki was the first to speak up other than Renzou as she spoke up that a tradition was a tradition after all though her cheeks had taken on a light pink hue at the statement.
Shiemi muttered almost incoherently that she wasn't familiar with this holiday tradition while Rin who had seen many couples under a mistletoe insisted that he couldn't, not like this.
Shima's smirk only grew as he insisted that the two lovebirds might as well get it over with.
Rin stared down at his crush and good friend as he deliberated whether she'd be willing to make such a leap with him; he felt nerves take over his being as he barely uttered the two words that would follow, "May I?"
Perhaps it was the question or the reactions or may be the way that Rin stared at her lips that alerted Shiemi to what the tradition entailed.
Her face bloomed scarlet as she barely managed a shaky, "Yes."
It was enough for the air to feel as if it was floating away and as if she'd finally been lost as the air swooped by and a nervous mouth met hers that was just as nervous.
Lips clung as if surprised yet overjoyed at the sensation of another's lips on their own and the world rushed away.
All Shiemi could feel anymore was the warm pressure on her lips, and all that she could see was the dark of her eyelids that had fluttered closed at such a sensation.
It may have barely lasted a few seconds, but those seconds were passed with such a pleasurous and sweet feeling that they could have been a lovely lifetime beyond what others may have noticed.
The applause that filled the room was certainly enough to fill two separate pairs of cheeks up with the flames of shy embarrassment as two people carefully walked in and took their seats among the stares of fellow classmates.
Perhaps the class time would simply fly by, and one day, they'd get to replicate that feeling without needing encouragement from either an audience or a plant hung ever so innocently overhead.
Shiemi smiled as she leaned ever so slightly against Rin from where they sat side by side and tried to focus on a class that demanded their ever so waning attention after such a beginning to said class.