A/N: This is a 12 Days of Christmas Sentai fic, focused on my favorite couples! It will be sweet, humorous, and fluffy! Each chapter will have a different theme, based on some of my personal favorite aspects of the holidays. I hope you all enjoy!
First up, Shinkenger with Takeru/Kotoha (my OTP).
"The snow looks so pretty," Kotoha comments dreamily, propping her head up in her hands with one arm resting on the windowsill. The glass is frosted except for the clear hole she had rubbed with the heel of her hand, giving her a view of the meadow behind the Shiba house.
"It sure is," agrees Mako, looking up from her painting. She had wished to practice her kanji a little more and the Kuroko had set up an easel for just that wish.
"But it's too cold to go outside," protests Ryunosuke absentmindedly, not raising his eyes from the book he is enthralled by. Chiaki rolls his eyes and tosses the book he was also reading at the blue Shinkenger. Considering Ryunosuke was the one who forced Chiaki to read it in the first place, the younger figures it's just karma.
"Ow!" Ryusouke rubs his head ruefully and glares at Chiaki who is laughing at him while the girls jut smile and shake their heads. "That hurt. And what was the point of it?"
"Does it hurt, Ryu-san?" Kotoha intervenes, saving Chiaki from the older's wrath. Ryunosuke nods but then puffs out his chest, sends one last scowl to the other and buries himself back into his book. The others exchange glances and giggle silently.
"What's so funny?" Takeru asks, entering the room and dropping his ShodoPhone back into his pocket. Kotoha looks up at him with a sunny smile, having been in awe over him ever since their first meeting. She might have even gone as far to say she's in love with him, however wrong that may be. But she can't help it, something about him just drew her in like nothing else.
"Nothing," Chiaki answers quickly, hoping to cover up any sign that he might have made mischief. Takeru raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment, instead coming over to Kotoha's side and leans over her shoulder to peer out of the window.
The yellow Shinkenger can feel the temperature go up and her face grows hot, even though it's below thirty degrees outside. He's so close that she can feel his breath on her neck, warm and inviting. Every time you come to mind, I realize I'm smiling.
"Isn't it pretty tono-sama?" she says, hoping to distract herself from what she is really thinking and what she really wants to say.
"Yes, it is," he answers thoughtfully, letting his eyes slide over to the young girl for a moment. Yes, the snow is lovely but it's nothing compared to the girl sitting next to him. He knows it's not right, that they could never be anything more than friends but he hopes anyway, in the deepest depths of his heart that someday, someday, he will be able to call her his own.
"Let's go outside," suggests Chiaki excitedly. "It's been so long since I've played in the snow and since no Gedoshu have shown up in a while, we're free. And to get in the holiday spirit."
"It'd sure be a shame to waste such a thing as snow," Mako says, tossing her hair behind one shoulder and setting her paintbrush down.
"Oh can we Takeru-san?" asks Chiaki, getting up and bounding over to his lord. "Can we? Can we? It'll be fun, I promise! Please?"
Takeru sighs at his enthusiasm but admits to himself he'd like to play in the snow as well. Play…it's been so long since he's ever played. Every day, every night, it's been training, training, training. He never really had a childhood but now with his vassals…no, friends, he's getting some of his childhood back.
"Please tono-sama?" Kotoha looks up at him sweetly and inside, Takeru knows he's a goner. He can't say no to Kotoha. He'd do anything she'd ask in a second. Of course, the others don't need to know that.
"It seems Genta is already a step ahead of you guys," Mako states, pointing out the window. They look up, surprised to see the gold Shinkenger diving into a snow bank. As they watch, he pops up and shakes snow from his dark hair, a huge grin on his face.
"No fair!" Chiaki pouts, crossing his arms. "I'm going to join him!" He sails out of the room to the amusement of the others.
"Let's go too," Takeru says, nodding at the others. "I know you guys want to." The girls' eyes light up at his sentence and hurriedly exit the room to get more appropriate clothes to brave the snow. "You too Ryunosuke."
"Yes, tono," the so addressed man replies dutifully but there's a sparkle in his eyes that shows he had been longing to get outside too.
Ten minutes later, the five had joined Genta in the backyard, the cold instantly penetrating through their many layers of clothes.
"It is cold!" Mako squeals as Chiaki throws a snowball at her. The ball explodes over her coat and she jumps backwards. Kotoha laughs lightly and helps the older girl wipe the snow from her body.
"Snowball fight!" Chiaki yells and he immediately begins pelting the two girls with snowballs. They shriek in delight and surprise as Genta joins him, pulling along a reluctant Ryunosuke.
"That's not fair!" Kotoha manages to get out before being hit in the right arm. She bends down to make one of her own, the cold getting to her fingers even through her yellow mittens. She packs it tightly into a ball. "It's you three against us!" She lets the snowball fly, hitting Genta in the back of the head.
"Who said that it wasn't fair?" Genta teases. "That was a hard throw, Kotoha-chan."
"Takeru will join us, won't he?" Mako gives the older man a smile. Takeru shrugs but nods, coming over to their side to join them. In truth, he would've done so anyway just to see Kotoha smile at him.
She looks absolutely beautiful. Snowflakes are getting caught in her ebon-colored hair and landing on her yellow pea coat. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold or maybe from all the laughing and her smile hasn't left her face once since they've been outside.
"Here tono-sama." Kotoha presses a snowball into his hands, smiling shyly at him. "I can make more if you want me to."
"That's okay, Kotoha, I want to help you," he responds. "But I will use this." He smirks and aims carefully before launching it and hitting Chiaki square in the chest.
"That was a good toss," Kotoha says admiringly. Takeru gives her a small smile, ignoring Chiaki's dramatic protests.
And so the snowball fight continued.
Takeru and Kotoha worked wonderfully together, the young girl making sure Takeru, and Mako for that matter, never ran out of snowballs. Every time she passed one to him, she felt a warm sensation in her fingertips that helped feeling flood back into them after being numbed by the cold.
Takeru repaid the favor by pulling Kotoha out of the way numerous times, saving her from being hit. And each time such a thing occurred, she gave him a grateful smile that seemed to brighten the surrounding area.
"Let's take a break now, can we?" Without waiting for an answer, Ryunosuke drops to the snow-covered ground, breathing a little heavily. The snow had stopped falling a while ago but it was already two or three inches deep.
"Getting tired already?" Mako teases, kicking snow at him lightly. Ryunosuke gasps loudly and dramatically, causing the others to laugh and banter among each other.
"Are you having fun, tono-sama?" Kotoha asks sweetly, not paying attention to the antics of the others. Takeru looks at her and uses one hand to brush some flurries out of her hair. When he touches her, she represses the urge to shiver. From the cold or the touch, she isn't sure.
"Yes, I am. Thank you Kotoha," he says softly. She looks at him, confused at what he means. Thank you? For what? All she did was plead him to come outside and then make sure he always had a supply of snowballs.
"For what, tono-sama?"
I'm thankful I met you. "For convincing me to come out here and…and play. It's been a while since I've had so much fun, since, you know, I always had to train," he explains, stuffing his hands back into his pockets to try and warm them from the cold. The temperature seems to be dropping every few minutes but the air is still crisp and clear, the sun still shining through the few clouds in the gray sky, no matter how muted the light may be.
"It's no problem, tono-sama. What makes you happy makes me happy." At her innocent answer, Takeru's smile grows a little bigger. How can such a girl even exist?
Not for him, maybe, but the fact that she's his friend is the important thing. He'd rather be stuck with her lovely friendship forever than anything else.
"Are you having fun?" Takeru turns the table. Kotoha's dark head bobs up and down, a smile still present on her reddened cheeks.
"Of course," she responds matter-of-factly. "If everyone else is happy, then I'm happy." He smiles at her gracious answer. It's just like her to be so concerned about the others. The fact that it's close to the holidays makes it even nicer. She always seems to be filled with the holiday spirit, no matter the time of year. And that's one of the things he loves the most about her.
"Hey, you two get over here!" Chiaki calls out, motioning with his hand. The two look at each other and Kotoha shrugs, a little disappointed such a moment was ruined but doesn't want to leave her friends waiting.
As she makes her way over, she doesn't notice a particularly slick patch of snow that was wet because the icicles had dripped down on it. She slips and falls backwards, her arms flailing to try and regain her balance. Takeru instantly reaches out and catches her but the force of it makes them both topple backwards onto the snow.
They are still for a moment, not sure what just happened.
Kotoha feels overwhelming embarrassment. She just had to trip, didn't she? And she just had to make tono-sama fall, didn't she? Speaking of which…
She looks to see she had landed on top of him with his arms around her waist. Oh. Their faces are inches apart from each other and she can see the surprise in his eyes that's surely in hers as well. They are silent for a second, continuing to stare at each other. A small, half-smile is gracing the red Shinkenger's features.
"I-I'm sorry, tono-sama. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." she starts to say, realizing how awkward a positing this must be for him. "I'm sorry." She tries to get up but Takeru won't let go of her. "Tono-sama?"
"It's alright, it wasn't your fault," he tells her, enjoying the moment too much. Of course he's embarrassed that the others are here too and witnessing this but if that's the price he has to pay for this, he'll gladly do it. You're my kind of perfect, he thinks as he gazes at her. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt." She blushes a little at his statement, not noticing the others who are just staring at them in such a compromising position. "Kotoha?"
"Yes tono-sama?" She can't tear her eyes away from his, not even bothered by the cold seeping into her boots from the snow and getting up her coat. She imagines it must be must worse for Takeru but since he still hasn't released her, she doesn't mind in the least.
"Are you happy?"
She tilts her head, not understanding why he is asking such a question. But she is happy, so very happy. To be with him like this, with his warm body pressed against hers in the pure white snow that is slightly sparkling under the dim sunlight. So yes. In a simple word.
"Yes, I am."
Takeru smiles slightly. "Good." He leans his head forward and gently presses his lips to hers. It's a light peck but has all the passion as one that might have gone much harder. They stare at each other.
The yellow Shinkenger can't believe what just happened. Takeru, her tono-sama had jut kissed her. It's like every one of her dreams, every one of her fantasies had just jumped from her mind and into reality. Her heart is beating so fast that she's surprised if he doesn't feel it against his own.
"Are you happy?" Kotoha asks this time, breaking the silence shyly. She raises one hand to her lips and touches them, still feeling the warmth and taste of Takeru on them.
He brushes some snow off the top of her head and then runs his fingers through her hair, trailing them down to the back of her neck. She shivers involuntarily. Takeru smiles, wider then she's ever seen him. Your smile makes me smile.
"Now I truly am happy."