--A/n: The first of the Christmas collection, this is my first time writing a Misaki and Tsubasa one shot..hopefully, they will stay in character; forgive me for any OOCness :')

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. Boyfriend and Girlfriend .

. A tsubasa and misaki tale .

. by snowmirage .

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most often, the answer to the most difficult of questions lies in one's heart.

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They were three when they entered the Alice academy together.

Chance encounter by fate perhaps, but it was the mischievous twinkle in his cobalt eyes that had drawn her to him.

"Will you be my friend? "

Such a simple question, yet the meaning in it went deep, forging an unlikely friendship between two individuals seeking company in their own ways.

He irritated her, she bossed him around, he was predictably unreliable, she was brash but that was Andou Tsubasa and Harada Misaki for you.

Sometimes, he knew her better than she did herself, and every so often, he would astonish her by his astuteness.

Sometimes, she surprised him with her ability to care for others and her need for his companionship.

They fell together with the ease of two pieces of puzzle, yet were at odds with each other.

And thus, it was in this unconventional fashion that the two carved their future together for the road ahead, sniping and bickering along the way.

Boyfriend and girlfriend?

It might be so for all you know, Tsubasa would sigh out with a dole look on his face as he slouched in his seat.

Che, Misaki would say and pushed it aside with an airy, him? Not possible, not possible.

Yet, she wonders if she spoke the truth, because every time she sees him, her breath would catch, her heart rate would quicken, even though she would quickly hide it behind a quick smile or a whack to Tsubasa's head.

Misaki wonders if, just if, she might be falling in love with Tsubasa.

Tsubasa, her constant irritant and nemesis and her childhood friend.

Yes, that was it.

Tsubasa was just a friend, just that and nothing more. She was simply thinking too much into it.

Liar liar pants on fire…

The slender stem of the wineglass wrapped in her hands snapped into two, the sharp ends cutting deep into her palm.

Blood flowed steadily out from the wounds, a dull throbbing pain growing slowly.

Misaki released the broken wineglass to fall into the inky darkness below from where she was leaning against the cool marble banister of the balcony.

"Misaki you idiot!" she muttered in annoyance under her breath even as she looked frantically around for something to stem the flow of blood.

Nothing.

She glanced back at the brightly lit French doors that led to the balcony. Behind it, the annual Christmas party held by the academy was in full swing, the din from there muffled by the closed doors.

Nope, not going back in there.

She looked back out to the vast inky openness that spread out beyond the boundaries of the railing, missing the slight increase in the noisiness behind her as someone opened the door and stepped out.

"Oi Misaki." Tsubasa's familiar drawl pierced through the chilly night sky suddenly.

Misaki jumped and pivoted around, russet eyes wide in shock.

Quickly, she hid her cut hand behind her back as she smiled brightly at the shadow manipulator, who was looking at her queerly.

"Are you hiding something?" This was said with much suspicion behind the lazy drawl, his azure eyes sharp and discerning in the white moonlight.

That was the problem of being friends too long; they know every little quirk about you. Tsubasa, for all his 'heck-care' attitude, could spot a lie from ten feet away.

"Oh nothing, nothing." Misaki sang out, brushing aside his suspicion quickly.

With a smile as bright and quick as silver fire, she split into ten perfect images of herself, surrounding Tsubasa in a circle.

"LET'S PLAY A GAME! GUESS WHO THE REAL MISAKI IS!" All ten doppelgangers chorused out together, forefingers wagging playfully in the air simultaneously.

Tsubasa let out a world-weary sigh, muttering under his breath, "Not this again."

His indigo eyes raked the row of indistinguishable looking Misakis even as he felt a headache brewing again.

He had no idea why the brunette adored this game so much.

On the other hand, he knew exactly why he hated the game so much.

Because a) he gets a headache every time he looks upon row upon row of the brunette, b) they have a habit of speaking all at once, which really doesn't help improve his headache and c) he never got it right, be it through deducing or pure guessing.

This time doesn't seem to be an exception.

Tsubasa let out a weary sigh, prepared to surrender himself to the sad fate of being forced to play the dreaded game when he saw something

In a sudden break of character, Tsubasa moved forward, a serious glint in his usual lazy indigo eyes even as he removed his hands from the pockets of his pants.

Before the real Misaki had any chance to say anything, he grabbed her hand and lifted it up.

With a series of 'poof', all the doppelgangers disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving only Misaki and Tsubasa.

Silently, Tsubasa reached up and jerked off the snow white cravat that was part of his costume and wrapped it around the gash, his hand gently cradling hers.

Misaki didn't say a word, couldn't, so she watched mutely as he proceeded to finish up the make-shift bandage with a little bow.

They were so close she could smell the clean soap scent on his skin and she wondered, just wondered, how it would feel if she simply bent down and kiss him.

"Well, it will have to make do." He gestured to the bandage, his breath escaping in small puffs of white mists in the cold weather as he straightened.

"A-arigatou." The stammer fell out unintentionally and Misaki's eyes widened in horror as she hoped that Tsubasa would not notice.

A futile wish of course, Tsubasa Andou was sharper than he let on.

A slight lift of his eyebrows before a teasing grin found its way to his face, Tsubasa slouched back against the banister Misaki had abandoned earlier. "Was that a stutter I heard?"

"Urusai." She growled out even as the blush on her cheeks deepened to a tomato red. She spun around, prepared to walk away least she embarrassed herself further.

"Hey wait," A hand shot out to clamp down on her arm as Tsubasa spun her around to face him.

Before she had any chance to move or even ask what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed her.

Misaki felt her eyes widen in shock.

What-what was he doing?

But, it was nice, Misaki had to admit. Not that she was ever going to say that to Tsubasa Andou.

It was there and then, something cold and wet landed gently on her cheek.

Snow.

The first fall of snow had started, tiny specks of white that glowed against the dark sky floated down weightlessly from the skies above and onto the couple entwined below.

Misaki was the first to break away, a deep blush staining her cheeks.

"What was THAT for?" She almost yelled into Tsubasa's ear, a nerve leaping up on her forehead.

"Mistletoe, " was all the shadow manipulator said as he pointed upwards where the white berries of a sprig of mistletoe floated midair.

"IT WAS MY FIRST KISS!"

"Well, that explains why you are such a bad kisser."

Oops. Wrong answer.

In reply, Misaki's fist came crashing down on the head of a certain indigo-haired male.

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Boyfriend and girlfriend?

It might be so for all you know, Tsubasa would sigh out with a dole look on his face as he slouched in his seat.

Che, Misaki would say airily with an arched brow, don't be such busybodies.

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owari

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The idea of the guessing game was taken from Ouran High School Host (my new obsession!). This was a favorite game the Hitachiin twins in the series like to play :')

Next up, Natsume is finding it very hard to walk around the school without someone attempting to kiss him, much to his irritation. To escape from them, he moves to his favourite sakura tree, only to find someone already there.

Good, bad? Do share :')