I attempted a Christmas fic surrounding Minako and Kunzite a few years ago, but abandoned it because it wouldn't have been ready by the 25th. I started this endeavor knowing it wouldn't be done by Christmas; instead I'm shooting for New Year's. Anyway, I have yet to decide how the story will be broken up in terms of chapters but tentatively bank on a total of anywhere between 5-7 chapters.
Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Twelve Days of Christmas, loosely based, as you may have guessed, on that same holiday tune.
"Ami!"
The dark-haired beauty turned at the sound of her name, only to see a wild-looking young man rushing towards her. Just when she'd decided she should duck out of the way—unless she wanted a head-on collision—Zane slid to a stop.
Strike that—he tried to slide to a stop.
Funny thing about winter, though, is that sometimes the temperature drops to 0 degrees Celsius or below. And as Ami had learned from her first general chemistry book—a gift on her fifth birthday—water tends to freeze at 0 degrees Celsius. That, oddly enough, included water on the street. Maybe Zane's first chemistry book had overlooked this bit of trivia?
"Oomph!" Ami gasped as Zane's hard, masculine form crashed into hers. For a second, she managed to grab onto the railing of the stairs she'd begun to climb. But she discovered that the railing, too, chemistry be cursed, was coated with ice, and it slipped from her gloved grasp.
With a 'thunk' Ami's behind landed on an icy stair, followed soon after by the rest of her body as well as Zane's.
"Ouch. Hi." The gleam of Zane's teeth reflected the shine of the snow, making for a literally dazzling smile. "Did you see that it's snowing?"
Ami's snow-powdered eyelashes fluttered in disbelief. "Is that why you ran at me like a maniac? To tell me that?"
"Mmhmm. Hey, I've never seen snow before!" he said in his defense. "New Zealand isn't exactly a winter wonderland." His handsome face lit up boyishly as it hovered over hers. The gold-green eyes she'd come to love flicked every which way, watching the snowflakes descend upon Juuban.
An unladylike groan escaped Ami. "I don't know how Usagi and Mamoru managed it."
"What?"
"Making their daily collisions look so graceful. That certainly didn't feel at all pleasant or staged."
"What do you mean 'staged'?" Zane inquired as he pushed himself up, only to slither back onto Ami. "Ah! Sorry!"
"Staged as in…well Usagi admitted that once she started liking Mamoru, she purposefully ran into him…" Ami trailed off as she realized what she appeared to be suggesting.
"I can't say I object to lying on a warm body on a day like this…come to think of it, I'd rather lie on top of you than any other five foot, blue-haired girl I know." He grinned once more and she wished he would get off since she felt sure he could feel her heartbeat speed up. "Do you think I did it on purpose?"
"No, no, it was clearly an accident…I just….could you please get off me?" Ami begged, a pink blush flooding her face.
"No, I don't think I will. Don't look so dismayed--I think we need to resolve this now."
"Must you make me so uncomfortable?"
"Literally or figuratively?"
"Both."
His cherubic features should have enhanced the innocent expression on Zane's face, but they only made him look more like a naughty boy. "I only want to solve this dilemma of yours, Ami."
"I don't have any dilemmas except the presence of your very heavy body on mine!" she spluttered, hoping to wound his ego with the fat joke. He refused to fall for it, though for a second, an offended arch came into his eyebrow.
"If I staged it then that must mean I'm attracted to you, no?"
Poor Ami futilely pushed Zane's shoulders, but they didn't budge. "But you didn't do it on purpose, of course. I didn't mean to make that connection—"
"You're wrong, though. I did do it on purpose. Now how do you feel about that?"
"I still feel uncomfortable, surprise, surprise," Ami murmured, though her mind had fuzzed over at Zane's admission.
"Don't you feel flattered in the least bit?"
"I…"
"Yes, attracted to you I certainly am. But is there something more?" Unknowingly, Ami held her breath. "We may never know." Zane's arms crept on either side of her, only to successfully push him off her body and to a stand.
Tease.
Ah, good, her mind had turned back on. If only she could get it to shut up again.
Zane offered her a hand and hefted her up, then proceeded to brush her coat free of snow in a motherly fashion. "Zane…"
"Hmm?" He paused to swipe his fingers down the length of her hair, allegedly to rid it of ice crystals.
"Never mind." Her gaze fell to the iced pavement. The scrap of newspaper on the ground. The fire hydrant. Anywhere but his own gaze.
"Hey." Her traitorous eyes lifted to rest upon his green ones. His crinkled at the corners, and she jealously wondered how he'd managed to garner more than his fair share of charm. In that moment, her senses magnified all sounds, all smells, all touches. His breath hot on her neck as he lowered his head, mouth inching towards her lips. The crisp smell of his cologne, one she'd never been able to pinpoint. The sound of his heart racing…or was that hers? His hand sliding to the side of her neck. She inclined her head slightly, allowed her eyelids to fall shut. Shyly, she pressed her lips against his.
Something was wrong. For a split second she thought his mouth was yielding to hers, but then it froze up and his lips pursed up. What the…? He boomeranged back to his original position, lips and all, eyes slightly wide.
"Uh…I actually was leaning down to, um, clean the ice off your scarf." He coughed uncomfortably and avoided her blue gaze. "Sorry, I thought you knew…"
She felt physically incapable of making any sound. So instead of trying, she gave an infinitesimal nod, whirled around, and ran up the steps that led to her college dorm building as quickly as humanly possible.
Soothingly, her pig-tailed friend patted Ami's shoulder. "Oh, Ami, I'm so sorry."
"It was utterly humiliating," Ami said in an even quieter voice than usual. Both she and her roommate sat on her bed, Usagi facing Ami's profile as the blue-haired girl stared at the opposite wall and the peeling wallpaper "Probably the most embarrassing moment of my life."
"Oh, I'm sure there've been worse. I mean, uh, you're exaggerating!"
Ami sighed. "No. I honestly thought he c—never mind. I don't have any experience with this kind of thing, really. It was a lesson."
A grimace appeared on Usagi's face. "A lesson that taught you that you can definitely do better than Zane. I admit that when Mamoru located him and the other Shitennou last year, I thought you all had maybe found your own soul mates. But none of the other girls has fallen in love with a Shitennou. You two are the closest…were the closest," Usagi corrected hurriedly.
Ami shook her head. "Flirt he might, but it never meant anything. I can't believe I was silly enough to think it did." Usagi's patting had turned into a comforting rubbing of the arm.
"Ami, sure it was a little awkward, but maybe you shouldn't completely dismiss him."
The petite girl stood and opened a window, allowing the oblivious winter chill to fly into the room. Usagi shivered, but wisely remained silent. Ami meanwhile inhaled shakily, filling her lungs and empty heart with equally empty air. "Zane and I are just friends. If that," she added with quiet despair.
"Do the people of New Zealand have a term for 'fucking idiot'? If they do, I'm sure you've learned to answer to it like you would your given name." With that, Nevan rolled up his copy of the Juuban Daily and swatted Zane viciously in the head. The golden-haired Shitennou did not protest. He only slumped further down in the café's mahogany chair.
"I lost my head."
"If by 'head' you mean 'brains' then yes, my friend, you did! You two were SO close. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Please tell us, Zane. Not that you were thinking," Jed tagged on. "Why wouldn't you kiss her back? Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you been fa-la-la'ing around here for days because you're in love? It's always 'Ami this' or 'Ami that.'"
"What is wrong with you?" Nevan asked, still stunned.
All of a sudden, Zane got to his feet. "I'll fix it."
Jed nodded his blonde head. "You better. You didn't answer my question, though."
"I'll see you guys later." That said, Zane strutted out the front door of the university cafe, his face so intensely determined that Nevan and Jed lost some of their skepticism.
What now, Zane? Will you make up for your mistake? Tune in to find out! And please review!!