Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
They all run.
"Way to go, Riku!" a soft voice cheered the silver head boy who was in the lead of the group. The girl (Selphie) cheered and giggled at the rest of the group who were trying desperately to catch that particular old boy.
"I'LL BEAT YA!" another child's voice filled with confidence and bravery rang in the air. The boy (Sora) increased his pace in the efforts to catch up with him only to stumble in his way and fall. This sort of thing was the only thing that could stop the little group (Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Sora, Riku) to stop whatever they were doing and laugh at the boy.
"Do you honestly think that you can beat Riku with that?" Tidus said in between his childish (loud) laughter.
"Did you fall on your own feet?" Wakka teased with his one hand holding his now aching stomach.
"Are you okay So-so-so-RA!" Selphie tried to be helpful but it only made Sora feel worse because of her huge laughter in between her sentence. He scoffed and got up.
"One day, I will beat him!" he said (truthfully) to Tidus (whose laughter had now become a giggle).
"I did not fall on my own feet! There was this huge…snake who grabbed my feet and made me fall!" He said (lied) to Wakka (whose stomach had now stopped aching and he was shaking with fear)
"And I am fine!" he said (partially lie-partially true) to Selphie (who was now patting the scared pair)
"Let's go! Sora's mum must've made cookies!" Riku told his four pipsqueaks (friends) and all of them cheered, already forgetting what had happened.
Tidus and Wakka were singing a song which only and oddly contained the word 'cookie' while Selphie walked with the silver haired old boy.
"Riku? Do you what the purpose of mistletoe is?" Selphie asked, the knowledge in her eyes betraying the curiosity in her voice.
"What's a mistletoe?" Sora asked, his question completely supporting his ignorance to many things. Riku rolled his eyes at his rival (best friend). Ignoring him completely, Riku asked Selphie, "I don't know."
His three simple words caused all of them to stop in their tracks and stare at him in amazement. There was something that Riku did not know and it was something that almost never happened.
"See? There's something that I know and Riku doesn't!" Sora said in a victorious voice causing Tidus and Wakka to stare at him.
"Really? So what is a mistletoe?" Tidus asked with amazement at Sora's knowledge.
"Yeah! And what is its purpose?" Wakka asked, completing his friend's (buddy; brother) question. Selphie stared at the spiky head with a little hurt in her eyes because she wanted to show-off her knowledge at the boys.
"Well, mistletoe is this BIG dinosaur!" Sora raised his tiny arms in the air, indicating the size. "And its purpose is to eat all the kids who won't eat my mum's cookies!" this time, his voice was filled with darkness.
Tidus and Wakka stared at him with their mouths hanging open; Riku glared at him with a single raised eye brow; Selphie giggled.
"You are wrong silly," she said in a gentle voice as if a grandmother was correcting a child's mistake. Four pairs of eyes stared at her and she sighed. After taking a deep breath, she stared.
"A mistletoe is a small plant which is hung over the most sweetest thing present on Christmas. Whoever passes whatever thing placed under the mistletoe, he has to eat it otherwise; they won't get gifts from Santa!"
She finished and raised her chin in the air with a smug look. The four pairs of eyes were wide in amazement and all of them swore inside (pinky swear) that they will eat whatever was under the mistletoe because none of them wanted to be in Santa's bad list and all of them wanted lots of presents!
"Let's get going! Maybe mum put the cookies under the mistletoe and we don't get to eat them because someone else might eat them!" Sora said and all of them nodded. They started running except Riku who had taken a turn and was headed towards the Major's house.
Creak…
The door opens.
He entered the huge house hesitantly. Closing the door behind him, he searched for the old man.
"Riku? Is that you?" the man's voice came from above him. Riku raised his head to see the old man (Mr. Major) struggling with some of his old papers.
"Yes Mr. Major, I am here for what my dad asked you to give," Riku said truthfully because he had forgotten the name of that thing.
"I am so sorry young man! But can you come again tomorrow? I have a lot of stuff to do," the voice came from above again followed by a huge crash. Riku closed his eyes tightly at the voice and replied in a small voice. "Merry Christmas Mr. Major,"
As he started to move towards the door, his eyes rested on the small plant hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the drawing room. His eyes, sparkling with fear and curiosity, moved down from the above. From where he stood, he could see nothing except some red and white. Something dragged his feet towards the…thing lying under the mistletoe, his friend's words fresh in his mind. He wanted Santa's gift! So he was going to taste that thing, no matter what it was.
No matter who it was.
He blinked; twice, thrice. How in the world was he going to taste that!? For once, he got nervous. This was the second time something had happened to him for the first time. His steps took him towards her in a silent way. Feeling nervous (scared; curious) he sat down beside the sleeping body.
She lay there, red hairs resting on the pillow, tiny arms wrapped protectively around an object (a book) on her chest, the small (fragile) body sleeping peacefully. He stared at her and then at the mistletoe (back and forth; back and forth)
There was something which stood out the most about her. His eyes rested on that thing. Her perfectly shaped cherry colored lips. There was something about them about which attracted him. Completely forgetting the whole mistletoe concept, he leaned in closer to her face. Her hot and soft breath hit his face and he forgot the gifts; he forgot Santa; he forgot Christmas; he forgot the cookies; he forgot where they both were;
He forgot everything …
Kiss.
He tastes her.
Softly, as to not wake her, he put his lips on hers' and tasted them. They were the most sweetest thing that he had ever tasted, or maybe (surely) he would ever taste. After tasting (kissing) her for a while, he got up. Her lips, which he had reluctantly stopped tasting, were tugged up in a smile. Not stopping to wonder what pleased her so much, he ran out of the house stopping only when he was at the door of Sora's house.
Pushing the door open with his house, he heard the voices of his friends and he followed the voices. All of them were sitting together eating cookies and taking sips of milk. His eyes moved at the ceiling. Thankfully, there was no mistletoe hanging up there.
"Riku! Where were you?" Selphie was the first one to question his lateness. Without waiting for his answer, she walked towards him with a cookie in her small hands. She handed him the cookie which he accepted without a word of thanks. Not bothering to sit with the rest of the group, he went straight to the corner of the room and sat on cushion facing the dancing flames in the fire place. His thoughts still lingering at those red hairs, tiny arms and cherry lips.
"My mum makes the best cookies!" Sora bragged. "Nothing is sweeter than them in the whole world!"
Unwillingly, a smile tugged on Riku's lips. This was the second time that Sora had been wrong about things. After taking a bit of the cookie, he licked his lips. The taste of cookie was no way near to the thing that he had just tasted.
The taste of those cherry lips was the most sweetest thing that he had tasted; a thought which made him feel superior because he was the only one who had ever tasted the girl.
Fall. Fall. Fall.
The snow falls.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
The bells ring.
Sing. Sing. Sing.
The voices sing.
Think. Think. Think.
He thinks of that small girl and those cherry lipsunder the mistletoe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
jingle bell, jingle bell
jingle all the way…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merry Christmas y'all! Oh yea, my first ever Riku x Kairi fanfic
and on Christmas Eve!! Go me! I love this pairing. Oh well,
have a happy Christmas and I pray that everyone has a joyful
year awaiting them!!
standard disclaimer applied.