A young pink haired woman was sitting at her kitchen table, happily humming a Christmas song.
She sniffed the air in anticipation of the food her boyfriend was preparing, seeing as the delicious smell only made her more hungry. She was looking at the boy's backside and couldn't help but imagine all those toned muscles underneath his black shirt. Quickly she grabbed a box of matches for distraction and lit four candles standing on the table next to her. When Momoi was walking over to the trashcan to discard of the used match she jokingly bumped her rear into Kagami's, slightly pushing him aside.
"You know, I would probably be starved or poisoned by now if it weren't for you," she laughed as she glanced down on the seemingly perfect composition of pasta, cheese, vegetables and salmon.
"That would be quite the shame, though," he chuckled as he pulled the pan off the hotplate and turned around to face her, an amused glint in both their eyes.
"Thank you and merry Christmas," she whispered as she pulled him in for a kiss. He stood on her tippy toes, her arms around his neck, pulling him even deeper into the kiss as his arms found their way around her waist.
"You know you've told me that about 5 times already, right? But who am I to complain," he grinned smugly.
Kagami looked down at her slightly curled hair, her light make up and a tight black dress.
"You look extra beautiful tonight."
He could see a slight pink rush to her cheeks. She never seemed to get used to his compliments and he actually found that kind of adorable.
"Thank you Taiga."
"I still don't get why you dressed up for though. But then again, who am I to complain?"
The girl simply rolled her eyes at him and reached out for the pan behind him.
"This is finished, right?"
The boy nodded.
"Thank god, because I don't think I could resist that smell any longer."
She carried the pan over to the table, which she had already set and decorated. Putting aside the heart shaped napkin, she served herself a large portion of the pasta before also filling up Kagami's plate. Momoi started talking about her meet up with the Kiseki no sedai the day before. Apparently Aomine and Midorima had gotten into an argument about who's job was more important. Kagami could actually picture the scenario perfectly; Midorima discussing the matter calmly, bringing up superficial arguments, while Aomine got more hot headed by the second. He chuckled at the thought. Digging his fork into the food again he was just about to share his thoughts when he was rudely interrupted by a loud beeping sound. Before he even realized what was going on Momoi was groaning loudly and glared daggers at a little device resting a few feet away on the work space.
Kagami on the other hand shot up from his seat, grabbed his beeper and made his way over to Momoi.
"Shit, I'm sorry. I'll be back before you know it."
He looked her in the eyes as he gently lifted her chin and pressed a quick kiss onto her lips.
"Just be careful, Taiga. I want you back in one piece."
"Of course, sweetheart. Same goes for you, though; hands off the kitchen, alright," he joked before dodging an annoyed Momoi's punch.
Rushing over to the wardrobe he grabbed his jacket and emergency backpack before sprinting out the door, leaving his girlfriend to stare at the half eaten food in front of her.
She sighed loudly before finishing up and putting her plate into the sink and Kagami's into the fridge. Walking into the living room she stared at the Christmas Tree, which they had decorated in red and gold. You could clearly see where her range of influence ended, because she had simply been too short, but she still thought it looked pretty beautiful all in all. She snatched the novel she had gotten from Tetsu the other day from under the tree and snuggled up on her couch with a fuzzy pink blanket.
While pink eyes scanned the pages of a book, red ones scanned the apartment building that had caught on fire. Kagami quickly confirmed his superior's barked instructions, before getting his equipment ready. All residents of the apartment building seemed to have been evacuated, except for one woman who was still missing. Her flat was supposedly trapped on the fifth floor, where the fire had started.
"I'm going in," he announced calmly, before dashing towards the burning building. He ducked underneath the door frame and made his way up several levels, always making sure no one was still in there. The smoke was getting thicker the higher up he got and he got more exhausted with every stair he took. When he finally reached the fifth floor, where the air was heavy with thick smoke, he swiftly kicked the door open. A low cry for help reached his ears over the loud crackling of the fire and he spotted the woman cowered in the corner.
"I think I got her," he told his colleagues via his microphone while scanning his surroundings.
"Get her and then get out there immediately. Backup is on the way. Understood?"
"Understood," he confirmed.
/
Meanwhile Momoi was sitting at home, trying to concentrate on the lines in front of her. She couldn't quite concentrate though and had to read every sentence at least twice. She read word after word, but they simply didn't seem to make any sense to her, so she put away the book, turned off the lights and turned on some christmas music. She always found her eyes wandering towards the clock on the radio. He hadn't even been gone that long yet, but it sure felt like eternity to her. Time seemed to run even more slowly worrying about him. In the need for a distraction she pulled her phone out and went through her contacts. Almost on instinkt her thumb stopped at a certain name and pushed the call button. Exactly five rings later her cellphone clicked as her call was answered.
"Satsuki, I swear, this better be fucking important."
"I'm sorry, Dai-chan. Merry christmas. It's just, Taiga was called in for an emergency and you know how worried I get. Do you happen to know anything?"
She could hear him sigh from the other end of the line.
"Satsuki, I'm off duty and also frankly busy. I don't know of anything, but I'm sure he's alright. He's always been."
"I know, it's just-"
"Satsuki. Listen. It's going to be alright, he's going to come back soon and you'll be all happy and giddy and you can give him your present and he will be happy, alright? You should try to sleep a bit until he gets home, that way you won't get crazy."
"I sure hope you're right. I'm just paranoid. I'm sorry for interrupting you. Have a merry christmas!"
"That's not paranoid, just normal, I guess. No worries though. Merry Christmas Satsuki."
The line clicked again and she put the phone away and curled up in a ball on the sofa, trying to heed Aomine's advice.
/
Flames had spread throughout the whole apartment already. He heard her heavy coughing and his frown deepened as he made his way around burning pieces of furniture. When he finally reached the woman he knelt down before her and checked her over quickly.
"I'm right here, I'll get you out of this mess. It's going to be okay," he spoke sternly, looking deeply into her dark, teary eyes and she nodded. He pulled her to her feet and quickly pushed her onward, supporting most of her weight while shielding her from the flames with his body out of lack of a better option. The moment he had stepped out into the staircase he spotted his colleagues who were already waiting and gave the woman, who was slowly slipping out of consciousness, over to them. The sweat was dripping heavily from his whole body, the heat and the exhaustion slowly getting to him.
"We got her out. Severe smoke inhalation likely. Making our way out now," he informed his superior. After quickly catching his breath he followed his colleagues down the stairs and sighed loudly when he finally stepped out into the cool night air. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see paramedics bent over the young woman, but it didn't look too bad apparently. Pulling his mask off he took a deep breath before dismissing the paramedic, that wanted to take a look at him. He glanced over at the woman again and smiled slightly. He had saved her. Even though it was his job he was still incredibly happy he had succeeded. Kagami didn't even notice his boss walking over to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Good job tonight. That's why I hate Christmas though. You would think one day people would be smart enough not to use real candles for their tree, but they never learn. At least not until burn half their house down."
"That's true. I'm just glad everyone made it out alive. We've definitely seen worse than this." He ran a gloved hand through his sticky hair. "If you don't mind, though, I'm going home. My job here is done and my girlfriend's waiting."
The man simply nodded.
"Alright, you deserve that. You're off for the night, I'll keep you updated."
"Thank you Chief. And merry Christmas by the way."
"Thanks I'll make the best of it. Now go, I thought you were in a hurry."
With a chuckle Kagami walked over to his car, discarded his jacket, helmet and backpack in the trunk and drove off into the night. When he got home and opened the door he was just about to call for Momoi, when he spotted her lying on the couch, sleeping soundly. Next to her on the floor lay a book and the only thing illuminating her small frame were the lights from the Christmas tree. He smiled fondly at the scene before him and decided to take a quick shower. Tip toeing through the living room he quickly stopped next to the couch to push a few strands of hair out of her face.
"I'm home," he whispered before continuing to the bathroom.
When the warm water hit his shoulders he started stretching his neck as he watched the dirt wash away.
After he had stepped out of the bathroom, clad only in his boxers, he made his way over to the bedroom quietly when he was suddenly interrupted by a low purring sound.
He jumped in shock and turned his head around towards the couch, where Momoi was no longer sleeping.
"Now that's a sight I like to see. Come here, Taiga," she asked him lowly.
"Well, I can't say no to that," he admitted and walked over to her, falling back into the soft cushions.
"I'm really glad you're back safe. How was it?"
A frown spread across his face.
"It was okay, I guess. A woman was trapped in a burning building, though and I had to get her out. But it could have been worse, and she'll be alright."
"That's good. You're always such a hero," Momoi swooned.
"I'm no hero. It's my job."
"Still. And you'll be my hero no matter what will happen, I promise you that."
He grinned at that.
"How come you're all cheesy all of a sudden? And have I told you already, that your bed hair looks incredibly sexy?"
"Well," she answered coyly, "it's Christmas, after all. And thank you. Maybe you'll get a chance to mess it up even more later." She winked at him and he smirked.
"You little tease. Now let me get dressed and get you your present alright? I'll be right back."
"You don't have to get dressed though," she shouted after him before getting up to get a small gift out of one of the cupboards. She waited for him, already grinning, until he finally emerged from the bedroom, now wearing basketball shorts and an oversized shirt and holding a small wrapped box in his hand.
"Merry Christmas Taiga," she cheered happily and pushed her present into his hands.
"That makes number seven today."
They sat down as he opened the lid of the black, glittering box in his lap. In it he found a new necklace for his ring, a picture frame and a mug. The frame was decorated with a few ribbons and heart shaped stickers and showed a picture she had taken at the beach. She was grinning from ear to ear, her long pink hair swaying slightly in the wind, while he smiled warmly at her. She had always loved his gentle glances and it didn't hurt that she would now get to see at least a part of that sexy, shirtless torso more often.
Even in the dim light of the Christmas lights the girl could make out the smile the memory had put on her boyfriend's face. His hand reached out and softly stroked along her thighs.
He put the frame on the table and pulled out the mug, his eyes widening at the sight. He recognized her handwriting on the white ceramic. With a glittery gray pen she had written both their names on the mug, connecting them with a small red heart. Right underneath she had put their anniversary date and next to it she had drawn a small tiger.
"That's really amazing Satsuki. Thank you so much," he told her earnestly.
"I'm glad you like it. I put a lot of effort into it."
"I can tell. And at least it is very unlikely, that I'll ever forget our anniversary."
"That's my intention," she laughed and ran her hand through the wet tresses of Kagami's hair.
"Now it's my turn now, though. Merry Christmas, Satsuki!"
He pushed the small box over to her and she stared at it, excitement glistening in her bright pink orbs, as she slowly unwrapped it. She squealed and nearly ripped the velvet box inside open.
Her eyes started to fill with tears when she saw a thin silver ring with an oval, pink gem in the middle.
"It's so beautiful. Thank you so much Taiga!"
"Yeah well, I was looking through that jewelery store and didn't quite know what to get you, but when I saw that ring it reminded me of you. With the color and all, it looks a bit like your eyes to be honest."
Said eyes widened in disbelief of such thoughtfulness.
"And you accused me of being cheesy. Hypocrite! Oh my god, that's so cute," she gushed and squealed in delight. Throwing her arms around his neck she pulled until both their lips met. Kagami's mouth trailed down her neck from there, lingering slightly over her pulse, where he could feel her heart racing under his sensitive lips.
"I'm glad you like it," he whispered against her skin. "Can we now get to the 'mess up your hair' part please?"
He looked up at her with clouded eyes and a slight pout. Carefully placing the ring back in the box she grinned down at him.
"I love you. Merry Christmas Taiga."
"Merry Christmas, indeed," he chuckled.