Disclaimer: I don't own Karneval.
A/N: Spur of the moment writing in the spirit of the holidays! Consider this as an early Christmas present since I may drop off the face of the Earth for a while.
Hirato briskly walked down the length of Circus' Second Ship's corridor towards his room. It had been a long and tiring day starting with a tedious meeting with the superiors that lasted far longer than he would've preferred to joining the Christmas festivities on board his ship and then supervising the clean up of the party. He left in the middle of the clean up though trusting Iva and the others to properly put the room back in order while he sought out his room for a moment's peace and rest.
As soon as the bedroom door closed behind him, Hirato slumped against it and closed his eyes plucking the top hat off his head and dropping it on the floor. His tense shoulders sagged as he reached around to knead away the stubborn knot and let out a weary sigh that was quite uncharacteristic of him.
He was half way undressed, working on unbuttoning the top three buttons of his crisp white shirt and tossing his tie and heavy great coat on the floor, uncaring of where they lay when he glanced up and saw the most appealing sight he'd witnessed all day long.
There, reclining on the middle of his bed as if she owned it was Tsukumo with her pretty pink lips curved in a playful smirk and wearing a delightfully breathtaking outfit. On the top of her head was a Santa's hat with a sprig of mistletoe pinned to the side. A wave of golden hair hung free and loose curling around her shoulders in gentle ringlets, a fuzzy white collar in the shape of a shirt's wrapped around a graceful neck, deceptively frail wrists were adorned with white furry wrist bands, and dainty feet were covered in a pair of cozy red and white boots. However, the most riveting part was the large red bow wrapped around her breasts, bright red lacy panties held together by thin ties on the sides and a small piece of mistletoe attached innocently to the front.
Gone was the weariness that plagued him all day to be replaced by a mixture of curiosity, gratification, and excitement. A smile bloomed on his face as he slowly crawled up the length of Tsukumo's body until she laid flat on the bed.
"Are you supposed to be my Christmas present?" He lightly asked, fingers toying with the ends of the bow.
"Mmhmm," she purred in the back of her throat and wrapped her arms around his neck in a loose embrace, "I thought you'd have more fun unwrapping your gift this way."
"How thoughtful of you and I see you decorated yourself with mistletoe as well." His violet eyes roved up and down her body, pausing briefly on the piece of greenery below her waist before traveling back up to those mischievous lavenders.
"You're room can be so gloomy, Hirato, with not a speck of holiday cheer. I wanted to uphold at least one of the holiday traditions," she teased, the playful smirk never leaving her face.
Brushing off the remark about his room, one perfectly arched eyebrow raised as mirth danced in his eyes, "Is that so? I suppose it would be rather rude of me to not honor this particular tradition," he leaned down and claimed her sly lips in a languid kiss. They broke apart after a moment and pressed their foreheads together.
"Merry Christmas, Hirato."
"Merry Christmas to you too, Tsukumo," he chuckled and kissed her more deeply before finally unraveling his much awaited Christmas present.