Hello again everyone! I'm back with yet another oneshot! This time the story takes place around the same year as ReO, though I can't read Japanese well so I don't really know much about the ReO cast to be included here. The story wasn't originally planned for Christmas, but I kinda edited some stuff here to kinda fit the season.

Be warned, someone's gonna be drunk! Or... maybe a few...

The usual disclaimer: I don't own GE and I still don't.

Drunken Disaster

It was a snowing night in the Far East Branch, right on Christmas Eve. God Eaters of the branch had taken their time from their Aragami slaying routine for a rare break during the holiday, though they were still required to be on standby in case of emergencies. At the very least, they were allowed to enjoy the time together with their close friends, team, or even families when Director Sakaki decided to revive the old holiday traditions.

The lounge was more crowded than usual with many God Eaters and guests from nearby satellite bases visiting for the holiday. A big Christmas tree stood on the back of the room, sitting in the corner with the decorated piano. Christmas ornaments could be seen all over the room, adding more colors to the festivities.

The black uniform of Blood stood out among the people in the lounge as they gathered by the bar. The team captain stood up from his seat, which was right in the middle of his team members.

"Good job, team! We had to chase down over a dozen Kyuubi in the past week right before the holiday, but our hard work resulted in Doctor Somaʼs first successful prototype," The brunette captain lifted a glass of beer and smiled. "Hereʼs to the success of Far Eastʼs Retro Oracle Cell research and our own celebration of Christmas!"

"Cheers!"

The team of seven brought their glasses together before drinking their beverage. Hiro sat down with a satisfied sigh as he put his half empty glass on the table in front of him. He turned to his right as he felt a hand on his shoulder, meeting with the dark brunette sitting next to him.

"Hey, great work today, Captain," Gil gave the captain a smile before finishing his glass. "Or I guess… great work for all these years. Bloodʼs growing better and better everyday."

"Hey, Iʼm not that–"

"I donʼt disagree with Gil," Julius was sitting on Hiroʼs left side as he played with his empty glass. "Blood feels more cohesive compared to my time a few years ago. I think I've made a good decision in choosing you as my successor when I left the team before."

The brunette felt a little embarrassed with the compliments he was getting, even if they still came from two of the team members. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously, "I guess… but I donʼt think Iʼll make it this far if it wasnʼt for you guys helping out too. I mean, the member of Blood isn't just me and a team leader is nothing when there's no team to lead."

"Everyone in Blood does their roles very well under your leadership, Captain," Livie popped her head from behind Julius with a smile on her face. "After about four years of being with everyone, I feel that this is the case."

Just as he was going to respond, he was pushed to the bar table from the extra weight behind him. The smell of alcohol was apparent from both of his sides as Romeo and Nana were clinging to his left and right sides.

"Ya know…" the blond fell over to his side with a hiccup, prompting Gil to growl in annoyance as Romeo was pushing the dark brunette away. "Team rotation…? Noth a prob! We are too good…! We can… do… anythin' with… anyone…!"

Nana was laughing to herself before toppling over to Juliusʼ side, "Captain is good! We are good! We are… awesome!"

Their praises were short as they were interrupted by Gil, who was getting more and more annoyed with their drunken state. The older God Eater had forced them back to their seats on his right, only to see them downing the rest of their beer. The scene prompted Gil to let out an annoyed sigh, but soon followed by a chuckle.

"Seriously… The beer was his idea and those two got drunk before they even finished their second glass…" Gil downed his share of the alcoholic drink before sliding it to the other end of the table. "Mutsumi, can I have another glass?"

The teenage chef popped her head from under the table with a smile and a bottle of beer in her hand, "Sure! Just make sure not to drink too much, okay?"

"Donʼt worry, we arenʼt planning on drinking through the night," Hiro had asked for a refill as well, before turning his attention to the vice captain at the left end of the bar table.

Ciel was playing around with her glass, which was barely touched. Her face looked like she had something in mind, which prompted the captain to leave his seat and approach her. When he stood between her and Livie, the vice captain felt his presence and looked at him with a smile.

"Is something the matter, Captain?" she watched him for a moment, but Hiroʼs eyes were on her glass instead of the vice captain. "Is… there something on my drink?"

The captain shook his head, "No, just…" He looked back at Ciel curiously, "Do you hate the beer? Youʼve barely drunk your share."

"Ah," the vice captain took her glass. "Iʼm… not good with alcoholic drinks…"

Hiro looked back at her glass and compared the liquid with the one left in Livieʼs glass. This was the first time he heard about the vice captain being alcohol intolerant, but she didnʼt look like she drank anything different. The contents of her glass didnʼt look like it was something other than beer.

As if she could read what he was thinking while staring at her glass, Ciel held the glass closer, "I… requested for some apple juice instead."

The vice captain was avoiding his gaze as she spoke before she took a sip of her beverage. It wasnʼt like he didnʼt believe her, but he noticed that the color was far too similar to be apple juice. Or it could be just the lights playing tricks on him.

He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, "Okay, just let me know if you need anything else. Iʼm treating the whole team tonight. After all, this is Christmas that everyone is looking forward to!"

Ciel gave him a quiet smile as he left back for his seat, continuing the conversation he had with the others. She wanted to join the conversation as well, but the topic she heard wasnʼt something she knew very well. She would have to be satisfied with being the watcher as she looked at him from the distance while sipping away her drink.

She was happy that he still took the time to pay some attention to her. Maybe it was fun to hang out with friends while having things like beer or wine to complement the conversation, but she had to pass on the drink. She hadnʼt had more than a small glass in the past and she couldnʼt risk being drunk when she had already read about the possible things a drunk person could do. She didnʼt want to be a burden to them after their energy was drained by the tiring missions.

Just like he mentioned before, it was Christmas. Everyone deserved the time off they needed after risking their lives on a daily basis.

Ciel took another sip of the drink and savoured the flavor, though she felt that it was more bitter than she expected. The smell was a little odd to her as well, but she assumed that her fatigue had only messed up with her senses. Smell and flavor aside, tiredness was probably starting to catch up to her as she felt her head a little lighter than usual.

An empty glass hit the bar table loudly, but the sound was drowned by the noisiness of the lounge.

Hiro looked proud as he released the empty glass he had put down before folding his arms, "That was my fifth glass tonight. Anyone else want to compete?"

"That was… quite impressive, Captain," Julius commented with a slight of disbelief. "Donʼt you feel dizzy from the amount of alcohol you have tonight?"

Hiro shook his head and smiled, "Nope, Iʼm still good. Itʼs only about how you drink that affects whether or not youʼre gonna get drunk."

The captain looked at Julius, who turned to look at his own empty glass. He expected the former captain not to know much about the trivial stuff he mentioned and then turned to the right end of the table.

Romeo and Nana had their arms around each otherʼs shoulder while singing random Christmas songs in tones the captain wasn't familiar with. That was, if what they were doing could be considered as singing. Whether or not they were actually singing, the pair looked like they could topple backwards any time. Their eyes were looking everywhere except at the front, their faces were red, and they were being much louder than usual.

"Well, thatʼs… what I heard… somewhere…" Hiro added, though lacking the confidence he had moments ago.

Another sound of glass hitting the table was heard nearby as Gil had put his as well. The dark brunette looked to his side, where the pair was doing their own thing in their drunken state, and chuckled, "They werenʼt even halfway through their second glass."

Hiro only laughed in response, as he wasnʼt sure what else he needed to add. Maybe the drinking method wasnʼt the main factor determining how fast a person got drunk. That fact was represented by Romeo and Nana as their half empty glasses sat in front of them.

The captain looked around the lounge for a moment, seeing that a few other God Eaters started watching them. They most likely got curious with how loudly Romeo was talking, especially when it was louder than usual. While it was best to keep them under control, he couldnʼt help himself as their shenanigans were too funny to be stopped.

The funny act came into an abrupt stop when he heard a loud thud coming from the other end of the table. When the brunette turned to see what happened, he could see Ciel with her face on the table and Livie trying to check up on her.

Fearing for anything bad to happen to her, Hiro ran over to her side as the scythe wielder was shaking her shoulders in panic.

"W-Whatʼs going on? What happened to Ciel?!" Hiro asked in panic, though more panicked than Livie. "Did she eat something bad?"

"I-Iʼm not quite sure…" Livie responded while her attention was still directed at the vice captain. "She just… passed out while I wasnʼt paying attention…"

The captain looked at Ciel worriedly as the vice captain wasnʼt moving at all. He gently put a hand on her shoulder and carefully lifted her from the table to a more comfortable sitting position. He slid a hand on her back to support her as she leaned back and revealed her face under the messy strands of silver hair.

Some of her hair had fallen out from her ribbons, partially covering her reddening face. The sudden exposure to the light above her head made her open her eyes as the worried captainʼs face came to her view. Her eyes werenʼt directly looking at him but she let out a smile as both of her hands grabbed the front of his uniform shirt.

"You look…" –she hiccuped– "handsome tonight, Captain…"

His worries disappeared almost instantly, replaced by an amused look.

"Eh?"

He gave her a questioning look, seeing as she looked very drunk even if she claimed to have apple juice instead of any alcoholic drink. Her voice didnʼt become loud like Romeoʼs, but her tone was far different to the usually serious vice captain he had always known. It was almost like she was speaking in a flirty way and it was probably the reason why the rest of the team had their full attention on the two.

"I… I didnʼt say anything–"

Before Hiro could finish, he was forcibly pulled into a kiss by none other than Ciel. He was too surprised by the sudden gesture that he didnʼt even think of pushing her away when the entire team had stopped whatever they were doing and stared at them. That was a very bold public display of affection, even if it wasnʼt intentional.

The vice captain broke the kiss after a moment and let herself fall forward to Hiroʼs chest. Her action caused the captainʼs shocked and embarrassed face to be fully exposed to the other team members, who looked almost as shocked as he was. Even Romeo and Nana had stopped dancing and singing just to stare and give him more weight to the embarrassment.

The whole team of Blood went completely still for a few seconds, until Julius looked away awkwardly and cleared his throat, "I… Perhaps it would be better for you to get Ciel back to her room, Captain…"

"Good call," Gil nodded almost immediately and looked everywhere but the team leaders. "I guess Iʼll… uh… I-Iʼll send the bills to your email later…"

"Y-Yeah…" Hiro nodded nervously before looking down at the unconscious vice captain clinging to his uniform.

Even if it was faint, he could still smell a trace of alcohol as she softly breathed out in her apparent sleep. He wasnʼt sure what happened that she ended up drinking, but taking her back to her room was his first priority. It was better to let her sleep comfortably in her bed instead of using his chest as a pillow while sleeping in a sitting position.

He put an arm around her shoulders as his other arm slid under her legs. He positioned himself carefully before lifting Ciel up to carry her in a bridal style. She was light enough for him to carry around without problem, but the small incident before made him want to hurry up and get it over with before he was faced with questions he couldnʼt answer.

Hiro almost ran out of the lounge and through the hallways of the branch, ignoring the hushed tones of other people wondering why the Blood Captain was carrying the Blood Vice Captain in that manner. He had run out of words to respond and he wasnʼt even going to look at them if he was forced to answer.

He sped through the long hallways until he made it to the Blood section of the dorms and to the door of Cielʼs room. He carefully pressed the security number he had been told a long time ago without dropping the sleeping God Eater in his arms. He quickly entered the dark room as soon as the door slid open and put her on the bed on the rightmost side of the room.

Once Ciel had lied down safely on the bed, Hiro moved away to pull the covers over her, but he was being held back by a pair of hands on his shoulder. Before he had the chance to react, he was pulled back to the bed and landed right on top of the vice captain. Her eyes were half open as her grip on his shoulders tightened.

He realized that she wasnʼt asleep the entire time he carried her all the way from the lounge. She didnʼt look like she had recovered from her drunken state as he was certain that Ciel wouldnʼt do things like she had been doing for the past few minutes. But at the same time, his gut feeling was telling him that even if she wasn't drunk in the first place, she still had the desire to do all of them deep inside her mind.

Hiro looked at her tired eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She still had an empty stare as she looked at him, hinting that she wasnʼt completely in the right state of mind. She slowly tilted her head to the side as one of her hands caressed his cheek gently.

"I… love… you… Captain…"

The brunette looked at her in surprise before he was pulled closer to her and their lips met once more. Compared to their first kiss in the lounge, this time it felt lustful at the beginning before she slowly softened and broke the kiss. Her eyes were closed when he looked at her and he couldnʼt really tell anymore if she was still drunk.

But what caught him off guard would be her confession. Her voice was soft, but he felt like she was pained as she said it. He personally didnʼt see anything wrong about liking someone romantically, but knowing Ciel, he guessed that she was conflicted with their friendship. She didnʼt want to lose a friend, especially when that friend was her very first one.

Maybe she was trying very hard to think of him only as a friend. The captain, on the other hand, couldnʼt hold back his own fondness of her. The things she did that she referred to as gestures out of her gratitude to him made him fall for her. Her innocence and cluelessness about the topic of friendships and relationships were too cute for him to ignore.

He wished that he could say it out loud while she wasnʼt drunk, but the position he had ended up in made it harder for him to hold his feelings back.

Hiro cupped her face gently before lowering his head to kiss her. The vice captain responded to the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Even with the lingering taste of beer left on her lips, he could still feel the softness of her lips brushing against his own. It would be hard to explain to her when she was back to normal, but enjoying the moment for the time being wouldnʼt be a bad idea at all. After all, it wasnʼt like he wasnʼt interested in her in a romantic way.

The two of them broke the kiss for air after a moment. Hiro took the chance to gaze at her with her eyes being half open. He gave her a smile before gently brushing the back of his hand against her cheek, a gesture to which she responded with a contented sigh.

The brunette gave her one last smile before he slid away from her, only to be trapped as Ciel had put her legs around his waist. He supported himself with his arms as the distance between them was getting dangerously too close. He thought that the kiss was already more than he should have done and he wasnʼt going to forgive himself he went further than that.

The brunette, however, wasnʼt going to have his easy way.

The vice captain had her eyes shut as she was moving her body around under him. She put her hands sloppily on her chest before her fingers danced around the surface of the black fabric. He watched her while his heart was racing before realizing what she was trying to do subconsciously.

"W-Wait! No! C-Ciel, donʼt!" Hiro had shut his eyes and brought his face away from her as he tried reaching for her hands. "I'm still here! Donʼt take your clothes off!"

His attempts almost failed as she was moving around in protest. Accidentally touching her breasts in the process wasnʼt a big deal compared to having her wake up without clothes on. Things wouldnʼt end too well for them even if nothing more than just a misunderstanding happened.

Thankfully for him, the struggle came to an end as the strength from her smaller figure slowly slipped away and her breathing slowed down to show that she had finally fallen asleep. He let out a relieved sigh before slipping to sit at the edge of the bed, feeling glad that nothing else happened.

The captain took another look at her sleeping figure before she rolled to the side and faced away from him. The Ciel he knew was calm in most situations, but she could get a little flustered when he gave her praise. Her voice could either be stern or calming when needed and she hardly raised her voice even when she was upset.

But most importantly, she had always been a modest woman. She never liked having too much of her skin, especially on her upper body, to be exposed. The short skirt she had as the current Blood uniform was the limit of how she preferred in her choice of clothing.

Hiro was planning on heading back to his room as well. While he wasnʼt drunk, he had drunk more than he usually would and his head was starting to spin. It was his cue to leave and head for bed himself, but the mess on the vice captainʼs couch caught his eye.

The brunette stopped on his way to the door, looking at the messy pile of books on the couch. He eyed Ciel once more, but her face was still turned away and he hoped that she wouldnʼt suddenly wake up and give him a jumpscare. He was going to take a quick moment to satisfy his curiosity about the unusual mess.

He went over to the couch and sat down before taking one of the books and used his phone for a bit more light. He raised a brow with an amused look on his face once he read the title of the book in his hand.

"'How to Engage in a Healthy Relationship…?'" Hiro read the title in a low tone before taking two more books from the pile. "This one is… ʼPsychology of Menʼ and hereʼs… ʼDating for Beginnersʼ…?"

The brunette knew that Ciel had a liking for books and learning new things, but the first books he came across gave him the impression that she was trying to learn something specific. She wasnʼt just trying to build a better relationship just with Blood, but more specifically with men. Moreover, it didnʼt look like her curiosity stopped there as there were other books with the topic of emotions and especially about love.

He recalled that the vice captain felt a little distant since the past few days without any apparent reason. He didnʼt remember saying anything strange to her, but he vaguely recalled that Nana mentioned about the women of the branch having a sleepover party before that. Did something happen there that caused her to act differently towards him?

The sound of shuffling snapped the captain back to reality. He ducked down in panic, expecting to see her tired face questioning why he was in her room. When he heard nothing else after a moment of waiting, he peeked from behind the couch and he caught a glimpse of her sleeping figure being partially hidden by the small shelf next to her bed.

He sighed in relief and his attention returned to the messy pile of books around him. He looked around her room and saw how out of place the pile was compared to her tidy room. He had never been into Cielʼs room even after she trusted him with the passcode, but he wasnʼt surprised to see her stuff being put neatly into their places as the vice captain had always been a very organized person.

Hiro rose from his seat, looking back at the sleeping vice captain on the other side of the room. Her peaceful sleeping face brought a smile to his face as he walked towards the door to leave. As much as he wanted to stay and watch her sleep, he was better off leaving to prevent any misunderstanding.

That was, if he could actually leave the room.

The brunette froze in front of the door as it refused to respond when he was trying to open it. He tried looking through the tiny space between the metal door, but all he could see was darkness on the other side of the door. Without question, he was certain that the branch had suffered a blackout for some reason, but in a very bad timing.

Hiro let out a defeated sigh. He wasnʼt sure for how long the light would be out and with the connectivity of the terminal being off as well, he couldnʼt check for notifications in his email.

The brunette looked back at Ciel, who was completely obvious to the events happening around her. He had no choice but to stay in her room for the night, hoping that he could wake up earlier than her so that he could run back to his room without her noticing at all.

As the bed was obviously off limits, he would have to settle with sleeping on her couch.

The light of the sun on her face had brought the vice captain from the realms of dreams. Her head was throbbing as she tried sitting up on her bed, which made her realize that she fell asleep with her uniform on. What made her question the events on the previous night would be her partially open zipper on the top she slept in.

Her head was too dizzy to think and she decided to prepare for the new day as always.

She drowsily slid off her bed and stretched her arms up before reaching her closet for a fresh set of clothes. She put them on her still messy bed sheet before struggling to tidy it up as her body was still feeling a little weak. Once she felt it was tidy enough, she turned around to head for the bathroom, only to be met with a blur of black on her couch.

The vice captain ignored her dizziness as her shoulders tensed from the sight of an uninvited guest in her room. Cautiously, she approached the couch for a strike, but she was surprised when the identity of the guest was made known to her.

"C-Captain?!" Cielʼs voice was loud enough to cause him to stir in his sleep.

Hiro opened his eyes slowly as he was being exposed to the light of the morning sun. Once his eyes had adjusted to the amount of light in the room, he could clearly see the person standing in front of him and it caused him to jump off the couch to fall on the floor.

"C-Ciel!"

They looked equally shocked, for different reasons, as Hiro tried getting up from the floor.

"I-I can explain!" the captain responded in a panic, even if Ciel was still too shocked to be mad at him. "I… well, you were somehow drunk last night and I took you back here from the lounge and then there was a blackout and…"

The speed of his explanation almost made him forget to breathe. He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself down, but the stare he got could still be felt even as he was looking away from her eyes. When he looked back at her, the shock had turned into confusion.

"I… was drunk…?" Ciel gave him a questioning look before remembering the state of her clothes when she woke up. She let out a gasp as she put her arms in front of her to cover her chest while avoiding his eyes, "T-Then…!"

"N-No! Nothing happened last night!" Hiro quickly denied as he had caught on to what she most likely had in mind.

The brunette regretted that he wasnʼt an early riser and ended up in an awkward situation with her. Even if Ciel had fully trusted him, it was best that he told her about the incidents which led them to this situation. Though he might want to omit a few specific incidents from the story to make things between them a little less awkward.

He took a deep breath before he started the story about the previous night.

"Okay, letʼs just start from the time when you passed out…"

"... and thatʼs how I ended up being trapped in your room…"

Hiro finished his retelling with another sigh. He leaned back on the couch as Ciel, who was sitting on the farther end of the couch, stared at him without any notable expressions. The sight made him feel guilty, even if there were things that he couldnʼt control. He could still ask Livie instead of volunteering to carry her back to her room, but that was the only thing he could think of back then. Even if nothing too extreme happened between them on the previous night, he suspected that she felt her privacy being violated.

She was the vice captain of Blood and she respected him a lot as the team captain. He was her first friend and best friend, but it didnʼt erase the fact that he was a man and she was a woman. She still had her dignity as a woman that he almost stained against their own wills, which he could have avoided, if he just left immediately after putting her on the bed.

The event most likely put a stain on their friendship as well and the captain was prepared for a scolding from her. One which never came as he waited silently and instead, Ciel was lowering her head guiltily.

"Iʼm sorry, for giving you quite a lot of trouble last night," The vice captain raised her head, but quickly turned away to avoid eye contact. "A-And Iʼm truly sorry for my bold and uncouth action at the lounge…"

Hiro didnʼt expect her to apologize as she wasnʼt completely conscious when she did all of those. He stared at her in response, which obviously didnʼt make her look like she was feeling any better.

The vice captain held her arm tightly and closed her eyes, "I truly regret that I wasnʼt in the right state of mind last night. If I had more control of myself last night, I wouldnʼt go as far as stealing your… f-first kiss…"

First kiss? Was that the thing she was worried about the most?

"Wait, what?" Hiro asked, accidentally in a louder tone which caused the vice captain to flinch.

Ciel kept her arms closer to her body and hung her head low, "I-I read in a few books that first kisses are best had with someone you truly love… romantically…"

He had never read or heard anything like it, but he didnʼt see the problem with it. He liked her more than just a friend, yes, so he didnʼt mind it at all. It became obvious in her case as well when she confessed while being drunk, so what was the problem…

Unless… she thought that he didnʼt feel the same about her.

When the captain looked at Ciel, she was hiding her face away out of guilt. The gesture had answered his question, even if her assumption about him was wrong. If that was how she interpreted it, then there was only one sentence left to save the situation.

"If thatʼs the case, then thereʼs nothing to worry about last night," Hiro stepped closer as the vice captain was still avoiding his eyes.

The captain put his arms around her smaller frame, wrapping her in a firm hug. There was a slight movement as she was surprised by the sudden embrace, but Hiro kept her in his arms as he brought his lips to her ear. He paused in that position for a moment, but Ciel didnʼt try pushing him away.

"I love you, Ciel… in a romantic way…"

Hiro could guess that she was surprised as she had stopped squirming in his arms. He still took a moment to fully register what he had just said as the confession was also making him nervous. His hands slid to the back of her shoulders as he tried pushing her slightly while gathering some courage to look at her in the eyes.

He could see her reddening face, which was a sight he had never seen before. Her eyes were wide in shock while they were staring at him blankly. Her arms were hanging on her sides and she was completely ignorant to her messy silver hair.

The captain didnʼt think twice when he pulled her closer to him. He closed his eyes and slightly tilted his head before pressing his lips against hers.

He didnʼt think about whether her drunken confession was actually her true feelings for him. He was already drawn to her before the incident on the previous night. The event only caused him to yearn for her more than before that he couldnʼt really hold back anymore. He could only hope that he didnʼt break their nurtured friendship by doing it.

Cielʼs face couldnʼt be any redder as she felt his lips on hers. While it technically wasnʼt their first, it was the first time she consciously experienced it. She was nervous and happy at the same time and the revolting emotions within her made her feel like she was melting.

Her eyes soon closed as she put her hands around his neck. She pulled him closer and reciprocated the kiss, giving up to the mix of emotions within her. She had never expected the friendship she had always yearned for would grow into a romantic affection.

The two broke the kiss for air before they looked at each other in loving gazes. Hiro was smiling at her and she could feel that her lips had curved into a smile as well, though a nervous one. One part of her wanted to run away out of embarrassment, but another part of her wanted to be around him and the warmth of his embrace. She decided to go with the latter as she somehow couldnʼt bring herself to push him away.

"So this is what romantic love is…" Ciel whispered as she kept smiling at him. "It feels… as wonderful as I imagined it to be…"

Hiro gave her a nod before giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, "Yeah… and Iʼm glad to know that itʼs you whom I've fallen in love with…"

The vice captain struggled to keep her smile on her face before it turned into a frown as she lowered her head slightly, "I-I honestly thought it was Yuno…"

"Huh?" Hiro picked up her whispers and looked at her in wonder. "Why would you think that? Yunoʼs a good friend, but sheʼs not the one to make my heart race."

It was Cielʼs turn to look confused.

"Your heart is racing?"

From the look of her eyes, he had guessed that she was thinking differently. Smiling, he took her hand and put it on his chest as his heart was still beating wildly. It was wild enough for her to feel it, as shown by the look of realization on her face.

"Itʼs this kind of racing," he whispered and removed his hand off her, but smiled when he saw that her hand was still over his heart. "When words canʼt really describe what Iʼm feeling, my heart can."

Ciel smiled as well before putting her other hand on her chest, "My heart… is most likely describing the same feelings…"

They both had smiles on their faces as they closed the distance between their faces once more. Their lips were only inches apart, but the sudden loud thud on the other side of the door had interrupted their moment. The door was still closed when they nervously looked at the door, but the voices of their other team members could still be heard vaguely.

"I-I think I should get back to my room and get ready," Hiro looked away in embarrassment, but still stole glances at her as he stood beside her. "Y-You should go and get ready too."

Ciel gave him a silent nod in response, turning away as he was walking towards the door. Her hand, however, reached for his and stopped him from reaching the door. She could see from the corner of her eye that he was looking at her in confusion and she responded by holding his hand firmly.

She looked at him with a smile and a hint of redness on her face before letting his hand go. Hiro returned her smile, locking his gaze on her eyes until he went out of the door.

"Hey, do you think that Ciel is going to be mad at us?"

Nana had a worried look on her face as her question caught the attention of her teammates sitting by the bar table.

"I mean… she looked pretty upset when Romeo lied to her about a field report a while ago…" the hammer wielder sat restlessly on the chair as she looked back and forth between the bar and the lounge door.

Gil drank his water in a single gulp before putting his glass on the table a little roughly to get Nanaʼs attention, "Why are you the one worried about it? This guy," he pointed at the blond on his left, "was the one who came up with the idea of switching the juice with the beer."

"Youʼre not the only one to blame, Gil!" Romeo turned to the dark brunette with an annoyed look. "You were the one who started the bet about whether or not our captain and vice captain have a thing about each other!"

"That was a private topic in the womenʼs slumber party," Livie had joined in the argument as well and glared at Gil. "Were you trying to eavesdrop on our conversation?"

"W-What?" Gil backed away and turned to face her, looking equally annoyed. "Why would I even bother trying to listen when you were talking like you were yelling?!"

Julius let out a sigh as he chose not to get involved in the heating argument. He had his breakfast quietly with Gil and Livie arguing in the background while constantly glancing at the lounge door. When the door opened as he was watching, he let out a chuckle before putting his full attention on his meal.

"Hey, why are you guys arguing early in the morning?"

The argument came to a stop when they heard their captainʼs voice. He wasnʼt on his own as the vice captain was also present and was standing next to him. The eyes of the four Blood members went down from the twoʼs faces to their hips and saw that they were holding hands.

Nana was trying to hold back a squeal from the sight and Livie kept her cool and smiled at them. Romeo and especially Gil looked a little too shocked with the scene they had seen. Julius was calmly enjoying his breakfast, but he was also smiling as he was aware of the events around him.

"I-Is there something wrong?" Ciel asked shyly as she tried hiding their linked hands behind her back, even when she was already aware that everyone had seen it already.

The hammer wielder shook her head almost excitedly without saying another word. Gil was still frozen in place along with Romeo, but the blond was actually grinning as he poked the older God Eater with his elbow before whispering to him.

"I think you owe me a thousand Fenrir credits!"

Author's note:

At first I was planning on having everyone in Blood involved in getting their captain and vice captain together, but I wasn't sure how I could get people like Julius and Livie to be involved. So yeah, this is just most of Blood trying to set them up in the end anyway!

Hopefully, I can make more of this kind of stuff on a later date when I have other ideas to write. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed that and I wish you guys a Merry Christmas!