Hello all! Happy Holidays! :D

Welcome back to the series! Ready to get started?

Prompt 2:

Mistletoe

Toma x Raven

Toma's boots crunched against glistering snow as he shuffled down the sidewalk to Raven's front door. Needless to say, it was cold. And while he would've liked to stuff his gloved hands in his pockets, they were occupied with Raven's gift. It was a good sized box. Toma chose the pink rapping paper and silver bow it was decorated with. Luckily it wasn't windy out that day, but there was still an unpleasant breeze. The sun was no where to be seen, hidden by the milky clouds that hung in the graying sky. Raven's House was embellished to the max with Christmas lights. Toma had even helped her with some of the decorations. His breath shook with cold as he stepped up onto the porch, applying his fist to the wood of the front door in a knock.

"Hey Toma!" Raven slid the door open in a startlingly quick manner. She stood, swaying side to side and shifting from one foot to another. Her hands were clasped in front of her thighs, coffee brown eyes sparkling with delight. There was an anticipating air to them that Toma couldn't quite pinpoint. She was dressed in a red winter coat, cute and cozy, and a pair of dark jeans. A bit of holly was ornamented in her lustrous brown curls.

"Hi Raven." Toma drawled, tucking the present in one arm and dragging a hand through his blonde locks. The smile she was offering put him off a bit. It was deceivingly innocent. Raven, on the other hand, thought Toma was looking rather adorable bundled in his winter apparel. He was buried in a dark coat and fluffy purple scarf. Light shades of pinks and reds stuck to his cheeks, ears, and nose. Flakes of snow were trapped in the delicate tangles of his hair, and his caramel gold eyes held their trademark glare. Raven couldn't help giggling at his appearance.

"You okay?" Toma quizzed. Raven's grin widened as she tipped her head to one side. "I'm fine Toma. Why? Is something bothering you Muffin?" She chirped. Toma mumbled a reply that nothing was wrong as he took a glance around, searching for the cause of her strange behavior. Everything seemed fine. His brown eyes drifted up, settling on the splaying verdant leaves and pearl like berries that were strung over Raven's door. Mistletoe.

"Aw, is that it." Toma mused, coming to the conclusion that the mistletoe was the reason Raven acted so weird. He could only assume that she put it there herself. He fixed her with a deadpan stare.

"Don't look at me!" Raven defended, waving bare hands out in front of her. "It's not like I put it there." She huffed, though the smirk playing on her lips was an obvious dichotomy to her coy words.

"All right then." Toma snickered, his mischievous gaze set a shimmer. He leaned to set Raven's present down before stepping closer to the latter. He lessoned the space between them, cupping his hand to her cheek and guiding her face down to his. Raven couldn't help her smile as their lips brushed, her hand grasping his shoulder. The pair held the kiss for a few short seconds, pulling away with a quiet, succulent pop.

"C'mon, let's get inside before we freeze to death." Raven chuckled, her cheeks warm and rosy. She turned to enter the house. Toma lifted Raven's present back into his arms and followed. He was pleased to be enveloped by the warmth of Raven's home, closing the front door behind him.

"Here, let me help with all that." Raven breathed. She took the present he had for her and stashed it under the living room Christmas tree. It was large and lovely. Small, multicolored lights wound around the tree, and Toma had no doubt that Raven hand made most of the pine tree's ornaments. There were a lot of presents stacked under the tree, all addressed to Raven's friends and family. Toma repressed a fond smile. She was such a sweet girl. Raven took Toma's coat and scarf, hanging them on the coat rack. Toma slid from his boots, placing them on the mat before the front door.

"Thanks for coming." Raven cheered, pulling him into a quick squeeze.

"Whatever. You know it's nothing special." Toma harrumphed. Raven only flashed a bright grin. "How bout we eat?" She suggested, eliciting a nod from Toma.

Raven initially planned to cook dinner on her own, but Toma thought it good of him to join her. They cooked dinner together, and ate it too. They spoke of what all was happening for the holidays. Toma gushed about his approaching trip to Japan. He was quite eager to revisit home and see his family. Raven didn't have much to look forward to, but she managed to put on a good front by ranting about clothes and the fact that her dad was coming.

The pair were at the dining room table now. Having finished eating and conversing, they decided on opening each other's presents since Toma would be abroad soon. Raven had heaved the two presents on the dining room table, as well as ready a movie for them to watch in the living room afterword. In favor of her hospitality, Toma had washed all her dishes. Which, Raven was totally cool with.

"May I go first?" Raven questioned, hands resting on the wood of the table. She was bursting with alacrity to show Toma his gift. However, the amount of butterflies nesting in her stomach was enough to starkly smother that excitement. Her curiosity for what he had gotten her was invigorating too, as she hardly expected to get so much as a penny from him.

"Yeah." Toma chimed, sliding the gift across the table to Raven. Raven untied the bow from her box. She took her time unfolding the rapping paper, as it was a thing she liked to save. Toma watched her keenly. The unveiling of the rapping paper revealed a case encrusted in red velvet. Raven flipped up the silver latch holding the case closed, raising the top. She leaned over and peeked inside, eyes brightening and mouth falling agape with a sharp gasp. Toma instantly smiled. "You collect these don't you?" He asked, "I see them in that display cabinet in your room all the time."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss!" Raven squealed, gently extricating the porcelain doll from its cushiony pillows in the velvety case. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" She giggled. The gleaming smile on her face widened. Her cheeks puffed and reddened. Her countenance burned with ecstasy. She was so cheerful, her grip on her doll was slipping. She reposed it on the table. She traced its smooth features, tapping its nose and chin fondly. She played with a few of the doll's scarlet curls. "Toma! How the hell did you pay for this!?" She cried, averting her eyes from the doll's cerulean stare to regard Toma.

"Just a little extra work at retail is all." Toma yawned, throwing a nonchalant hand behind his head. And it was a complete and utter lie. Toma wasn't sure how many hours he had put in at work to earn all that extra cash. He remembered getting wats of cash from Valerian too, in exchange for his enchanting singing voice. It had definitely taken a lot. Raven knew this as she contoured the lace dazzling the doll's blue gown. Her eyes narrowed. "Toma." She whined.

"It was worth it, all right?" Toma spat. He did have a time he'd deem as endearing, browsing the Internet in search of the perfect porcelain doll for Raven. The grin that painted her vivacious face, the crystal shine in her eyes, the physical and emotional feel of her joy, it was all worth it. He almost didn't notice her arms tie around him, her chin resting on his shoulder. "You didn't have to Toma." She whispered.

"Course not. But I wanted to." Toma murmured, returning the embrace.

"This means a lot to me. I love these things." She muttered.

"I know." Toma cooed, stroking long lines up and down her back. Raven sprung back, wearing yet another blinding smile. "I'm gonna go put her in my display case!" She squeaked, "Then we'll get to your present." She grabbed the little classic doll and bounced off, disappearing from the room. While she was gone, Toma took the liberty to fold her rapping paper and move her newly emptied case under the table,

"I'm back." Raven sang, popping back into the dining room. She reclaimed her spot across from Toma, sliding his gift to him. Toma gave the gift box a quick once over. It was quite long. It didn't have any bows and rapping paper, but the red floral pattern that adorned the box was nice. He pulled the top off and discarded it. He had to remove the item from the box, as at first glance it looked like a purple cloth and nothing more. His observations gradually changed as he held the object up and examined it. It was long, very long. It was a deep, egg plant purple color. It was made of silk, the edges and sleeves embroidered in gold thread. He looked at the gentle green band that had fallen into his lap. Long black ribbons were sprawled on the table from when he pulled out the purple cloth. His eyes floated to Raven, unable to produce a sound as he put the pieces together.

"It took me forever to make." Raven groaned, hand planted on her hip and smug grin dancing over her red lips. She was standing. "I had to put a lot of research into it too. A lot of research. It was cool though." She chuckled. She executed a bow, "Shiawasena kyujitsu ne ... Toma-Kun."

"You ... you made me ... you made me a ... .. a kimono?" Toma breathed.

"Yup, you bet!" Raven confirmed, "I made all of it, by hand. The kimono, obi, and all the himos. I ordered all the materials from Japan. I wanted to make it as authentic as I could. I did a lot of research about traditional Japanese kimono and even spoke to one of my father's girlfriends who was Japanese. I thought of making the kimono black and the obi red, but I read that you shouldn't wear red obis after age sixteen and that black was a mournful color. So I went with dark purple and green because their popular in Japan and I think you look really nice in purple. It was really hard to do. I messed up a lot and it took a really long time, but I think the end result was worth it."

Toma opened and closed his mouth, running his hands along the purple fabric. He gazed over the green obi and black himos once, twice, thrice.

"I thought it might be nice for you to have something special and close to home since you're mostly in America." Raven elaborated. Her stomach dipped at the silence. "I'm sorry Toma. Did I offend you? Maybe the design is wrong and I didn't end up doing it right? I'm sorry." She whimpered, her eyes finding the floor. A sense of dread overtook her from the embarrassment of shaming his culture. She drew a trembling gasp at sudden pressure on her. Toma had pressed himself against her brusquely. His arms constricted around her, bringing her so close that there was no space between them. He buried his face within her chest, hiding the few tears that threatened to fall. Raven flushed down to her neck at the position, despite this wasn't the first time Toma had gotten cuddly and used her bust as a pillow. She still wasn't used to having him so close, to having his head rest so intimately. As always though, it made her happy. Really happy. She was quick to return his embrace, slinging an arm around him and massaging his hair.

"Arigato." Toma whispered, breaths a bit ragged and his voice muffled in her pink shirt. "Arigato gosaimasu."

"Toma, you're speaking in Japanese ag-"

"Arigato gosaimasu." Toma wasn't even paying attention, lost in his own world. It was unbelievable to him. She had hand made a kimono for him. It wasn't often that he received nice things, but this ... "Wah," He stammered, "Wakarimasen. Anata wa watashi ni totte totemo sutekidesu. Naze desu ka?"

"Toma?"

"Ai.. aishiteru."

"Toma, What are you saying!?" Raven called. Toma glanced up, shaken from his daze. His face lit up a flattering shade of strawberry as he realized what exactly he had said, and he wasted no time reburying his head in Raven's chest. Raven tried not to laugh. It was an adorable, if slightly awkward, sight.

"What did you say?" Raven queried, "I recognized Thank You, but what else?"

"It doesn't matter." Toma grumbled.

"Yes it does!" Raven mewled.

"Nope,'

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Tomaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Toma snickered, pulling away from the hug.

"Fine, at least cuddle with me then." Raven proposed.

Toma was fine, so very content with cuddling. The day, really couldn't get any better. The two were lying on the couch, a blanket draped over the both of them as they watched a movie. Raven was lying on her back, one hand planted on Toma's spine while the other dangled off the couch. Toma was lying on top of her, head nestled on her chest and eyes closed. Sometimes he'd nuzzle at her neck and chin. Raven would blush, often reaching up to scratch his hair.

"I made a kimono for Yukiko too. I figured it'd be nice if you both had one." Raven commented.

Toma nuzzled into her, not sure if he could express his affection in this one cuddle session. "She'll love it." He purred.

"Thanks Raven. Merry Christmas."

Just for you guys, I'm gonna put the translations of what Toma said down here. As a bit of a disclaimer, I do know a bit of Japanese because I started taking professional lessons a few years back but never finished. So, this translation isn't pulled from Google translate or anime and such do to my understanding of the language. just in case it looks different.

Shiawasena Kyujitsu ne ... Toma-kun/(Said cheerfully) Happy holidays ... Toma

Arigato/Thank you

Arigato gosaimasu/Thank you (said with more formality or emotion)

Wakarimasen/I don't understand (Said formally or emotionally)

Anata-wa watashi-ni totte totemo sutekidesu/You're so nice to me.

Nazedesu ka/Why

Aishiteru/I love you.

Thank you all for reading!

SilverSwirls, my honey, thank you for lending me Toma! And I hope yiu enjoyed this. Consider it one of my christmas presents to you! :D

Once again, we take time to gawk at the beauty that is the cover art. My sister was amazing enough to make it. Thanks, you're the best!

See you all in prompt 3! :)

Leave a review ... and remember how much feedback is ... LOVE! ;)