Ryuko has always been a night person. It's the most peaceful time, a time where the majority of the world is silent with slumber. A time where she can gather her thoughts, make plans, figure out the best ways to get things done. Even before she found herself consumed with plots of revenge, Ryuko enjoyed the stillness of night.
Or at least, that's how she used to be. In recent days, Mako's voice wakes her up at the crack of dawn, high pitched in its enthusiasm. She crams down breakfast, spends her days fighting, eats a heavy dinner, and passes out. Some days, when she's especially bruised and beaten, she falls asleep even before the street lamps are on.
The routine of it is new to Ryuko, but not unwelcome. Despite the weight of recent revelations settling on her shoulders, she can say this is the happiest she's been in a long time. The longest time.
"Ryuko-chan!"
Ryuko is pulled from her thoughts by the call of her name, and she looks in the direction of its source. Mako is peeking around the door frame into their shared bedroom.
Not a fan of television, Ryuko had left Mako in the family room with everyone else a little while ago as they huddled around the shoddy set, attempting to force entertainment out of it. Ryuko smiles at Mako, sitting up from where she had been lying on her cot, arms folded beneath her head.
"What's up, Mako?" Ryuko says as Mako crosses the room towards her, hands hidden behind her back.
"Guess what I found? Well, dad found it, but still," Mako starts immediately, folding her knees underneath her as she plops down next to Ryuko. She shoves a fistful of leafy green branches, wrapped with red ribbon, into Ryuko's line of sight. There's even a few small, red berries dangling from it.
Recoiling a little, Ryuko looks between Mako's face and the bundled plant. Mako has a wide smile plastered across her face, brown eyes practically sparkling, and Ryuko raises her eyebrow at that too. "Uh, Mako? What is this?"
"It's mistletoe!"
Ryuko just blinks at the response.
At Ryuko's blank stare, Mako's face goes from excited to shocked. "Really, Ryuko-chan? You don't know?"
"Nuh uh," she says truthfully, punctuating her statement with a light shrug.
"Oh," Mako says, frowning momentarily. She rebounds quickly, though, then says cheerily, "I'll explain it to Ryuko-chan!"
Ryuko is never prepared for Mako's sudden disregard for personal space, and this time is no different as Mako abruptly clambers over into her lap, knocking the wind out of the brunette briefly in her haste. Mako's weight presses heavy and soft on Ryuko's thighs as she straddles her, dangling her fistful of mistletoe over the both of them.
Ryuko leans back on her hands to keep herself upright and huffs out a laugh. She looks up at Mako with a smile tugging at her lips and says, "Okay, explain."
"It's a Christmas tradition and you put the mistletoe up somewhere, like above a door," Mako begins rambling in that way of hers, as if the words are rushing to get out of her mouth. She squirms nervously on Ryuko's lap and, with every word, a pink flush creeps up her face. "Or above a fireplace, and when two people stand under it, they stand under it, and…,"
She suddenly trails off, face fully flushed and contorted into a determined expression.
Ryuko tilts her head, curious. "And?"
Mako leans forward and Ryuko doesn't realize what's happening until it does, when Mako's lips press soft and warm against her own. It shocks her into stillness and she can feel her cheeks heating up embarrassingly. Ryuko moves her tingling lips - maybe to speak, maybe to kiss back, she isn't sure - and then, just like that, Mako is pulling away from her and it's over.
There's a heartbeat of silence where Ryuko stares open-mouthed at Mako, her belly dissolving into a mass of butterflies; but it fades as quickly as it appeared and then she's toppling over completely as Mako sprawls out on top of her, burying her face in her neck. Mako's hair tickles where it touches her skin.
Mako's voice is uncharacteristically mild as she says, "Merry Christmas, Ryuko-chan."
Ryuko decides not to think too hard on that warmth that blossoms in her chest at those simple words. She wraps an arm around the brunette instead.
"Merry Christmas, Mako."