Shinoa creeps up on them, feeling very - what was the word? There was an old word for it... ah, of course. Ninja. She's feeling like a ninja as she creeps forward, and then unceremoniously pushes them.
Yuu and Mika collapse on top of each other, much to their bewilderment - and embarrassment.
Shinoa break into peals of laughter, brushing imaginary tears away - or maybe not! She's actually crying with laughter. She wishes she had a camera.
Now, Shinoa isn't one for pushing people, and to the ground too at that, without reason. In fact, she has something very important in mind for these two.
It's Christmas Eve, the squad is holding a party, and it's the season of giving! And so, out of the kindness of her heart, she's decided to spread some Christmas cheer. By instigating some kisses between two oblivious sweethearts, that is.
And if she gets to gleefully bask in their - and by that, she means Yuu-san's - mounting embarrassment and confusion, well. That's just a bonus really.
Yuu glares balefully up at Shinoa, blushing from his position between Mika's legs.
"What the hell, Shinoa?" he asks.
Shinoa just smiles sweetly at him, "Why, Yuu-san. You're looking awfully red. Do you have a fever?"
Yuu looks at Mika and, if possible, blushes even harder. He glares back at Shinoa.
"What's the big idea?!" he shouts.
This attracts everyone else's attention. Yoichi, Kimizuki and Mitsuba make their way over and take in the scene.
"What's going on?" Mitsuba asks.
"Oh, nothing really. Just a little accident where Yuu and Mika have found themselves," and here Shinoa flourishes her hand, "under the mistletoe!"
She awaits a collective gasp, and is disappointed.
"Oh, is that all," Kimizuki makes his way back to the spiked punch.
Shinoa gives in to a little pout.
Yoichi's eyes follow after Kimizuki but he refrains from sighing. He turns back and says brightly, "Well, you know what that means! You have to kiss each other!"
Shinoa grins like the long-forgotten Cheshire cat.
Yuu splutters out a, "W-what?!"
Mika just stares wide-eyed at Shinoa, and then at Yuu.
"He's right, Yuu-san!" Shinoa says gleefully, "It's tradition!"
Mitsuba nods along, grinning, "Very true."
Mika vaguely remembers such a tradition from his days in the orphanage, but snaps out of it before he can get lost in bittersweet memories. He stares at an increasingly flustered Yuu.
Yuu feels like strangling Shinoa. What the hell is she playing at?
"Shinoa, I'm gonna kill you. Mika, don't listen to her, we don't have to -"
"Oh, shut up, Yuu-chan," and with that Mika takes Yuu's face in his hands and kisses him.
Yuu's belly swoops at the contact. Holy shit. Mika is kissing him! What the hell! But once he moves past his shock and his flaming face, he realises, god, MIKA is KISSING him. And so Yuu's lips move too. Mika lets out a whimper as Yuu starts to kiss back.
It's gentle, and Mika's mouth is the sweetest thing Yuu has ever tasted. They can vaguely hear Shinoa cheering loudly in the background, but they're too wrapped up in each other's warmth to care. Their lips playfully dance and then it's their tongues moulding to each other and wow, Yuu thinks, Mika is a really good kisser.
It starts to get heated. Yuu crawls closer, close enough to sit back on his legs and still hold contact with Mika's passionate lips. He runs his hands up Mika's chest and then into those blond waves of hair. He pulls Mika closer, saying screw it to breathing in his head. God, his mouth is heaven, Yuu thinks.
Their hearts are pounding. This is insane. They should stop - they're in company. But they also don't care. Maybe those couple glasses of punch have loosened their inhibitions more than they'd thought. Or maybe this has been a long time coming, and now that the barriers between them have fallen away they can't stop touching one another. Yuu's hands trail down to Mika's chest again. I want to touch more of him. He fiddles with the buttons on Mika's shirt...
Shinoa slow-claps loudly, startling them apart.
"Well, as ... rewarding as that was," Shinoa makes a fanning motion with her hand, whistling, "I don't quite want you guys going all the way on our common room floor."
Mika and Yuu stare at each other, breathing heavily, faces flushed. Their thoughts and feelings loop between them, whirling around and amplifying until they're on the same wavelength.
"We, um-" Yuu begins, turning to Shinoa, Mitsuba and Yoichi.
"- are going to retire for the evening," finishes Mika, voice rough, not once taking his eyes off Yuu.
Shinoa giggles, stepping aside. "Of course, boys. We understand. Retire away."
Mitsuba and Yoichi also step aside and let them pass out into the hall, and they head towards Yuu's room. Yoichi has a dazed look in his eyes and is a little flushed.
Mitsuba, on the other hand, is downright impressed. "Shinoa, I don't say these things often, so you might as well listen up ... that was brilliant," she says.
"Wasn't it just?" Shinoa twirls her hair around a finger, "I've outdone myself this time!"
"It was so successful! Not only did they end up giving each other a little smooch, but they made out right in front of us! And now, well." Mitsuba goes a little red.
Shinoa eyes her and smirks. She walks - nay, sashays up to her - and tugs on one of Mitsuba's pigtails.
"What? You can't say it?" Shinoa asks, her voice dropping to an intimate murmur.
"I-" Mitsuba is caught off-guard. What is Shinoa doing? "Of course I can, I just-"
"You. Can't. Say it." Shinoa grins, leaning closer.
Mitsuba can't move. She would say she's frozen, but she doesn't feel very cold. In fact, there's something about Shinoa's grin that has her insides melting, flaming, setting alight. She stares at her, aware of every breath and movement of both her own and Shinoa's body.
"Oh my god," Yoichi whispers, "Is this a disease? What is happening to everyone?"
They ignore him. Yoichi backs away and runs to find Kimizuki, the only sane one left.
Mitsuba's thoughts are going crazy. Shinoa is inches away from her, and she doesn't know what to do. She knows what she wants to do, sure. But - this could be just another one of Shinoa's tricks. It could be anything. She doesn't want to be tricked.
She doesn't want it to be a trick.
Mitsuba turns away, and her hair slips out of Shinoa's hand.
"Shinoa, don't," Mitsuba mutters.
"Don't what?" Shinoa asks lightly, like it doesn't matter. But Shinoa has taken a step back, and her hands are now behind her back, and though there's not that much more distance between them now as opposed to before, there's a significant distance in Shinoa's eyes.
That's exactly how Mitsuba gets the feeling that maybe...
"Shinoa." Mitsuba holds out her hand.
Shinoa raises an eyebrow and takes it, though the distance is still there in her eyes.
Mitsuba gently tugs on her hand and pulls her along until they're under the mistletoe.
Shinoa very pointedly looks up.
"Is this your way of saying you want to kiss me? Well you could've just said so! I'm always up for some making out between friends!" Shinoa grins. While her mouth smiles, though, her eyes tell a different story.
Her eyes tell Mitsuba she's screaming inside.
Mitsuba doesn't know what to say. She's not as artful with her words, not like Shinoa is.
So she acts, and gently takes Shinoa's face in her hands.
Shinoa's eyes widen at the contact - no, not at the contact, but at the way the contact is made. Mitsuba is being so careful with her. Why? What could she sense?
Mitsuba searches Shinoa's eyes one more time. Then, slowly, she leans in and kisses Shinoa.
It should be a gentle kiss. It should. But it isn't. As soon as their lips touch, something snaps in Shinoa and then she's pushing Mitsuba backwards until Mitsuba is backed up against the wall. They lips move together fast and hard, both of them whimpering and breathing heavily as they go.
Shinoa's hands float to Mitsuba's hips, and she shoves until Mitsuba is flat against the wall.
Mitsuba pulls her lips away from Shinoa's. She whispers, "So you like it rough, do you?"
However, Shinoa is giving her a look, a vulnerable look, that tells Mitsuba it's less about the roughness and more about ... desperation.
Mitsuba strokes her thumbs across Shinoa's cheeks. She took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve.
"I love you," Mitsuba says. "I have for a while now."
Shinoa's eyes widen in surprise, and she doesn't seem to notice the tears falling down her face. Mitsuba swipes at the tears gently.
"I- I- me too," Shinoa says, placing her forehead against Mitsuba's.
Rather than tease her, Mitsuba basks in the moment, breathing in Shinoa's air. She never dreamed things would turn out this way.
Then, she pulls away.
"Come on, let's pack it in for the night." Mitsuba smiles, taking Shinoa's hand.
Shinoa widens her eyes at her and says, "Can I stay with you?"
"Of course, stupid," Mitsuba says playfully.
Shinoa grins, and her usual mischief lights up in her eyes. "That's awfully kind of you, Mitsu! Especially since you won't be sleeping tonight~"
Mitsuba smirks, "Fine by me."
And so they make their way to Shinoa's room to have their own party for two.
Kimizuki's drink is sitting on the floor beside him. He's lying on his back on the sofa, holding a dangling bauble up to his face and tapping it so it swings. Yoichi sits opposite him in a chair, trying not to stare.
Kimizuki sighs, "Ok, something's on your mind. Spit it out."
Yoichi startles. Was he being that obvious? "Ehh... it's nothing at all."
"It's something. So tell me or I'm going to bed." Without you, Kimizuki silently adds in his head. He smirks. If only.
He doubts Yoichi even swings that was though.
Now, this bauble on the other hand! Perfectly easy to tell which way it swings. No matter which way you look at it, it swings in a straight line. But if he were to stop it, and swing it around... ah, yes. Now there's nothing straight about it.
Yoichi swallows down his nerves and thinks. He doesn't want to be alone for the rest of Christmas Eve, and honestly... he wants to wake up with Kimizuki come Christmas morning. But what can he say?
He figures, since everyone else helped each other get who they want, it's up to him and only him to do this. And he wants this, damn it.
He can do this.
"Um.. Kimizuki?" Yoichi says.
"Yeah?"
"I ... like you." There, he's said it. God, that was stressful. His heart is about to explode.
Kimizuki sits up to stare at him. "What?"
Yoichi just stares back. "I'm serious."
Kimizuki pushes his glasses up his nose. "Good."
"What?" Yoichi gasps.
"Good, I said good. We never would've gotten off the starting block if you hadn't said anything." Kimizuki smirks.
Yoichi's heart leaps into his throat. He starts to smile.
Kimizuki opens his arms.
"Come here," he says.
Yoichi jumps up and falls into his arms.
And the squad had a very merry Christmas indeed.