Chapter Twenty-Nine:Operation Miss Hill's Toe
ALERT! I got my FIRST flame by Luna Astaer... And I don't mind one bit. If you don't like this type of fanfiction you are not obligated to read it and I'm not going to respond by saying "I'm a child" because I am not. I am a young lady. I wish I could say the same for you but by your flame you underestimated me and insulted me as a person not just this writing. Also, you should have substantial evidence for accusing me of being on 'crack'. Drugs may be in your family but is far from mine and I'm proud to say I'm Drug FREE. How about you? I'm not sure, normally I take flames like this with a grain of salt but I was astonished by yours because what you wrote was very childish of you. XD
But anyway, on a much happier note, I have lots of reviewers that just LOVE this fanfic. I wrote it for them. For those who don't like it, well like I said, you are not obligated to read it; it IS a FANfiction, after all. Find something that suits your taste better. But thank you for what little constructive criticism you offered me.(:
A/N: This chapter… will be fun… (Grins)
Sasume: You got inspiration from that LxLight yaoi didn't you…?
Author: SASUME-SAN WILL NOT REVEAL AUTHOR-SAMA'S SECRETTTTSSS!
Sasume: Geez… Sorry… Story time… Fanfic time… Whatever!
L was sitting out on the roof while Sasume took a shower. He shifted uncomfortably as he remembered what Sasume's friends had told him before they got out on Christmas Break.
"You've heard of mistle toe right," asked Lina one day as Natsumi kept Sasume busy with various questions. That little action had caused Ryuzaki's mind to deduct that something was definitely afoot.
"Never," he replied with genuine honesty. He threw his thumb into his mouth in wait for the definition he knew was on its way.
"Well," Kyoko whispered to him so Sasume wouldn't hear, "It's something that's only used around Christmas time…"
"Yeah," piped Mohoko, "I mean… yeah…" Mohoko was trying to be mysterious the second time she repeated 'yeah' but due to her failed attempt the first time, the second time had an even lesser effect.
"Hush," Lina commanded, "Sasume-chan will hear you… Anyway, you like her right?"
L felt wordless, he honestly didn't know what to say to a question like that. Perhaps Sasume was testing him or perhaps her friends were. Would they ridicule him for whatever answer he spoke?
"Yes," he finally said and then added as if unflustered, "Sasume-san is my dearest friend."
Lina rolled her eyes and impatiently said, "No dummy… more than like… Like you want to kiss her like…"
Ryuzaki looked at the three faces of Sasume's friends, all bearing eager grins. He still wanted to choose his words carefully but it was no use now; they knew; all of them.
"Perhaps," he said anyway to show he would not lose so easily.
"Oh," Mohoko and Kyoko cried in unison, "He's shy about it!"
"Well listen up Ryuga-kun," Lina murmured to him, feeling that her time was almost up and Natsumi was running out of things to distract Sasume with, "Mistle toe is the little leaves that are hung up around Christmas time. Ask Mrs. Kawashima about it, I'm positive she'll help you. But if you and Sasume stand underneath the mistle toe… you HAVE to kiss… Understand?"
L nodded, words failed him.
"Good," said Mohoko and Kyoko at the same time like twins would.
L snapped out of his daydream when he heard the window slide open. Sasume stuck her head of wet hair out and said, "Lawliet-kun, what is it you are doing out there?"
"Thinking," he replied, not facing her.
"Oh… Okay," Sasume said a bit disappointed that he hadn't turned around to face her, "In that case… I'm going to go get my nails done… I'll be back in an hour."
"Alright then," said Ryuzaki staring up at the sky, "Seeya."
"Seeya," Sasume said awkwardly, knowing that L had often complained about using such phrases. She shook it off and went on her way.
Ryuzaki waited several minutes before he made a move. He watched as Sasume pulled out of the drive way in her car and was two blocks away. He got up from his spot and crawled back into his room. He casually walked down the stairs and wound up in the kitchen where Mrs. Kawashima had been baking various cookies.
Once she saw L she handed him a giant tray of cookies and she smiled saying, "For you L. I made you some gingerbread cookies… They look just like you and Sasume!"
Receiving the tray of gingerbread cookies, L took a good look at them. Mrs. Kawashima had been right, they looked exactly like he and Sasume, and they were holding hands. Mrs. Kawashima had been too much at times.
"Arigato," said L as he set the tray of cookies on the counter. He picked one of them up and bit off the head to an L cookie. "I was wondering if you had any mistle toe," he told Mrs. Kawashima without feeling embarrassed for asking her such a thing.
"Oh," squealed Satsuki Kawashima with joy, "I feel young again! I'll have you know that that is how Hiro and I met; at a Christmas party! Both of us were caught underneath the mistle toe. We rarely knew each other but tradition calls for a kiss… After that, Hiro asked me to be his girlfriend. He was very handsome then and I just couldn't object." Mrs. Kawashima sighed as she pictured the marvelous memory in her head again and again.
"Oh yes," she purred, "Very handsome…"
"So do you have any mistle toe," L persisted as he took a bite of the Sasume cookie because he had chewed off his half already.
"Of course I do," Mrs. Kawashima said with a scary grin as she pulled some mistle toe out of nowhere, "Right here…"
She handed L the mistle toe and told him to take care of it because it was the last one she had. She had been shopping for mistle toe everywhere and only found that one. All stores had been completely sold out of it. "Must be a lot of desperate guys looking for a kiss," she remarked with a wink, "Either that or some stubborn girls…"
"I agree with the stubborn part," L said as he stuffed the mistle toe in his pocket, "Thank you again…"
XXX
When Sasume came back from getting her nails done she found L still sitting on the roof. She slid open the window, careful not to damage her freshly manicured nails.
"Still out here," Sasume called out to him.
"Yes," he said as he bit off yet another head of an L cookie. This time he left the Sasume cookie untouched.
"Well take a look at my nails," Sasume cried out as she went out on the roof and sat next to him, "Candy canes!"
"Adorable," Ryuzaki said licking some cookie crumbs from his fingers. He loved the taste of sugary ginger on them.
"Thanks," said Sasume not really believing he thought so, "Well tomorrow's Christmas Eve… We're having a party you know?"
L nodded and said, "Sasume-san and parties have the history of not mixing well, like the chemicals—"
"I know, I know," Sasume muttered, "Like the chemicals from the Noble Gas Family being thrown into one concoction."
Ryuzaki gave her a half smile, satisfied that she had remembered.
"Anyway," Sasume said to him ignoring his satisfied smile, "It'll be fun… Lina and Natsumi are coming over… Mohoko and Kyoko have their own family coming down…And some of my parents' friends… Like our boss, Mr. Hoshiro-sama is coming over."
"Sounds interesting enough I suppose," replied L as he finished up the remainder of the gingerbread cookies, leaving only one Sasume gingerbread to exist undisturbed.
XXX
Sasume and L had both been wearing Santa hats except hers was pink with rhinestones, obviously from Victoria's Secret. L had seen it on the Christmas edition, page 27. Unlike Sasume's pink Santa hat, L was wearing a red one that Mrs. Kawashima had bought for him.
"Is Miss Hill coming," she had told him with a wink, "I do recall she injured her toe."
"Who is that," grumbled Mr. Kawashima from his spot on the couch as he read an important newspaper article.
"Oh… nobody… You go on reading your silly little paper!"
"Hmph."
It was a clever thing to say, what Mrs. Kawashima said. Miss Hill could be easily translated to Mistle and the fact that she had injured her toe was so blatantly obvious; Mistle Toe. That had been the secret message in the sentence. Sasume had noticed nothing and L had smiled inwardly; triumphant.
He dug his hand in his pocket and fumbled with the…
It was gone!
He frantically pulled out the lining of his pockets and found nothing but lint. He began to retrace his steps and still found nothing. He threw open the door to his room and dug around the blankets of his bed, hoping it was somewhere within the sheets. He sat in his awkward position, defeated; the mistle toe was gone forever.
XXX
Sasume had let her two friends in, the first guests. Lina and Natsumi gave each other a nod and a grin once Sasume's back was turned.
"I have to use the restroom," Natsumi said, "Which one should I use?"
"Oh the guest bathroom," Sasume told her as the two girls began to walk toward it.
"Time to get Operation Miss Hill's Toe in action," Lina chirped to Mrs. Kawashima.
Mrs. Kawashima gave a single nod and tugged at her ear. That was the code. Definitely time for Operation Miss Hill's Toe.
Lina opened up her hand bag and pulled out one single piece of mistle toe. She had many more stashed in the bag, but she could only put one up at a time in order to remain discrete. She casually walked to Sasume's door and placed a mistle toe there, and then on L's door. She grinned evilly as she began to breathe heavily. This mission stuff, it was just for her.
Lina had used up her last piece of mistle toe when she found another piece on the ground just outside Mr. Kawashima's study. "How'd that get there," she wondered out loud, "Must have dropped it."
Placing the final mistle toe atop the area around the Christmas tree, Lina smiled like a champion. Victory was hers and it would soon be Ryuga's as well.
"Lina, oh there you are," a familiar voice said as Lina whirled around to see it was Sasume and Natsumi. Natsumi had a sheepish smile on her face and Lina wondered how long they had been there and if they had been there long enough to see her set up the last piece of mistle toe.
"Yes, I was admiring the tree," Lina lied so easily.
"Yeah, we got a huge one this year," Sasume said with a grin, "Well let's go eat some cookies… Natsumi would you mind getting Ryuzaki-kun for me?"
"Ryuzaki," she asked wondering who that could possibly.
It was a slip up on Sasume's part. "I mean Ryuga-kun… Sorry."
Natsumi nodded and went up the stairs and knocked on L's door. After doing so, she took a step back to avoid being caught underneath the mistle toe so strategically placed at his door. Ryuzaki opened the door, a bit surprised to see it was Natsumi and not Sasume.
"Hello," he said not noticing what was hanging on the door.
"Success," thought Natsumi inwardly with a grin wide enough to be a banana. "Sasume-chan told me to come get you."
"I see," said L as he stepped out of the room.
He was wearing his red Santa hat, a red turtle neck, obviously knitted by Mrs. Kawashima, and black slacks. Natsumi judged that he and Sasume would look very cute when they kissed, so cute in fact, that she and Lina had brought many disposable cameras.
As Natsumi walked along the hallways with L she was careful to avoid every piece of mistle toe that Lina had planted. They had agreed on each of the spots ahead of time and so she knew where every piece lied in wait for victims.
She turned back to look at L once. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his posture was curved as he slouched, feet bare, as usual. She turned back around and smiled.
"Perfect," she purred to herself as they reached the living room which was filled with many guests, "Let Operation Miss Hill's Toe begin
There had been many family friends gathered in the room, all sharing Christmas cheer with one another. Each person had a smile on their face, all except the pale and bored Ryuzaki. Sasume had spent much of her time ignoring him and conversing with many of her mother's friends along with her friends as well.
Ryuzaki frowned and looked up at the Christmas tree when something caught his eye. A single piece of mistle toe hung just above the tree. He was a bit shocked to see it there but figured Mrs. Kawashima had found his missing piece and placed it up there as if to come to his rescue. He gave an appreciative half smile, though no one was looking.
"Ryuzaki-kun," Sasume said as she grabbed his hands to pull him up from his spot, "We're all going to sing Christmas songs now."
Just as Sasume had pulled L from his chair, Mrs. Kawashima had done the first step to the second phase of Operation Miss Hill's Toe and dropped her napkin.
"Let me get that," Natsumi and Lina said at the same time, both bending over to reach for it.
The two girls bumped their heads together and began to back up from the spot they had been standing at. Lina had made sure to back up far enough that she gave Sasume a good booty bump. Sasume, as planned, lost her balance and began to fall toward the Christmas tree.
"Oh no," cried Mrs. Kawashima with a smile she just couldn't hide, "Don't fall on the tree honey!"
At that moment, L had placed himself behind Sasume and caught her. Sasume landed gracefully in his arms. The two smiled at each other as he stood her upright.
"Oohhhh," Lina cried with a grin, "You two are under the mistle toe!"
"You have to kiss," Natsumi almost shouted with a grin to match Lina's.
Mrs. Kawashima had the most enthused look on her face that anyone had ever seen but Mr. Kawashima was quite the opposite. He scowled at the fact that now his lovely daughter had to kiss the 'Slovenly Creature' but didn't complain.
L hid his eagerness expertly and managed to keep his unperturbed look on his face, as he always did in times like these. Sasume, on the other hand, had turned completely red. She felt very much hot and bothered but turned to face L anyway.
As if experienced at this, Ryuzaki slid his hand up to her cheek and said, "Sasume-san doesn't have to if she does not wish to."
Mrs. Kawashima, Lina, Natsumi, the rest of the party guests, and even Mr. Kawashima's mouth dropped; everyone at the edge of their seats. Mr. Kawashima's mouth only dropping ever so slightly, but it had indeed fallen. Mrs. Kawashima, Lina, and Natsumi's mouths were the ones dropped the lowest. After all their hard work on Operation Miss Hill's Toe, L had ruined it with one single stupid sentence! The three couldn't help but feel disappointed and angry.
Sasume laughed a little and said, "Well it is a tradition." She then murmured, "And we mustn't get everyone's hopes up."
She leaned in and pressed her lips against L's cold lips, the warmth of her lips warming his. They felt so soft and supple against his. Neither of them even noticed the camera flashes going off from Natsumi and Lina's disposable cameras. Sasume had even allowed her hand to hold onto his fingertips a bit as she kissed him a little harder. Perhaps she had wanted the kiss too?
Their kiss had seemed to be lasting a lifetime yet felt not long enough as she pulled away. A blush spread across her cheeks as she looked at L and then the rest of the party.
"Show's over now," she said with a laugh.
The party guests and the party hosts clapped and cheered. Her two friends Natsumi and Lina were high fiving and giggling about something that sounded like, "Operation Miss Hill's Toe is a go!"
Sasume smiled a smile that was desired by all and said, "May we sing now?"
They all laughed and lined up to sing many different Christmas songs; L and Sasume lining up side by side, both very happy on the inside but outwardly pretending as if nothing happened. It was a perhaps L's fondest memory with Sasume so far and he dearly wished that he had taken up Mrs. Kawashima's offer on scrap booking his time with Sasume.
XXX
That night, after everyone had gone home, Sasume tiptoed out of her room to go eat the milk and cookies that were meant for Santa Claus. She closed her door quietly and found L, also in the hallway.
"Those milk and cookies are mine," he said with his half smile.
She smiled back and noticed that his dark lines under his eyes were even visible in the dark. Most would have found this creepy, but not she, she found it charming.
Sasume approached him and said cockily, "Wanna bet?"
She let out a small gasp when she had noticed another piece of mistle toe hanging at his door. He turned to see what she was looking at and saw it too. Without waiting for a response, L grabbed her chin and gently guided it towards his lips. He kissed her chin softly and released her.
"That's not a real one," Sasume breathed out.
"A real what?" L asked her curiously, not understanding.
Sasume was hesitant at first but then she stepped closer to him; stepping right into his lips. She pressed hers firmly against his and could feel his arms wrap awkwardly but longingly around her waist and then is hands settled firmly upon her hips.
Both of their lips had been slightly cold but they immediately felt the warmth as soon as their lips touched. Ryuzaki's eyes were wide open as he kissed but Sasume's were closed. He almost laughed at himself for keeping his open as he closed them as well.
Sasume's hands were raised up and playing with his turtle neck, making him feel all the more warmer. Ryuzaki decided to do something he had often seen in romance movies. He let his tongue carefully and barely touch at her lips. It was a while but her lips parted and waited for his next move. He slipped his tongue in and was unsure what was supposed to happen next.
Sasume's tongue made the move after and caressed his tongue, giving him the most wonderful of emotions. He allowed his tongue to imitate her tongue's actions and found that it was quite an easy motion. Sasume playfully pulled back momentarily and gave his bottom lip a small nip and then returned her tongue to his mouth.
Ryuzaki moaned from the achievement and found himself desiring more, so much more. But at that moment, Sasume had pulled away. She had also found herself desiring so much more than that simple French kiss but she knew it was best if they stopped.
She gave him the smallest little push with her hands to notify him that it was over and it snapped L back to reality. Ryuzaki took a step back and waited for Sasume to speak first because he was speechless. Sasume had given him the greatest pleasure he had ever known in his life and had just taken it away so wickedly.
"I'll split it with you," she breathed, feeling the warmth travel from her lips and the cold return to them. She felt so desperate to make them warm again but ignored it.
As the two walked to the kitchen, L noticed the clock. It was 12 in the morning. Christmas was here.
This once, L couldn't help himself, he really couldn't. He stepped close to Sasume, reached his hand to her cheek, began to caress it affectionately, and gave her a small kiss on the lips.
"Merry Christmas Sasume-chan," he said to her as he pulled away from the kiss, liking the switch from san to chan very much.
"Merry Christmas Lawliet-kun," she said to him in her sweet voice that at that moment L could have sworn it was sweeter than even Midouri's; in fact everything about Sasume was sweeter than anyone or anything. She gave him a peck on the cheek.
L nodded and left it at that. He knew that the two kisses would never be brought up again; it was just something they could both pretend never happened. He knew that she would pretend and he could too, but he simply didn't want to. It was to be a memory he would always cherish in the warmest part of his heart, the part that used to be frozen and cold; the part that Sasume had warmed.
A/N: MWUAHHAHAHA DID YOU LOVE IT??
Sasume: I don't know about them… but I know… er… L did!
L: Sasume-chan liked it as well…
Sasume: (Blushing) Yeah… I did.
(L and Sasume begin to gaze into each other's eyes and lean in for another kiss when the wicked Author-sama cuts in the middle between them, postponing said kiss)
Author: Well that wraps up this chapter! I bet you guys are melting in your seats from the warmth of their many kisses!
Sasume: It was only three.
Author: Shut up… Three is a good number… Third time is a charm!
L: I agree with Author-sama although multiple kisses would be very pleasing…
Sasume: (Blushes again) Oh… you think so?
L: I do.
Author: Okay, okay… Save it for another chapter! Anyway, REVIEW MY READERS! REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
Sasume: Wow, I think you're just a bit too excited… heh. (Turns to readers) For once, listen to Author-sama, she is crazy but she is wise!
L: Yes! REVIEW!
