Christmas tree
Yoshiko stares at the small, flimsy and almost dry Christmas tree in front of her with a scowl on her face and with her hands on her hips.
There's no way she's giving this... thing to Riko in such an important holiday. So she lets a heavy sigh out and starts to think about what she can do about it, before she comes up with a great idea.
Yoshiko quickly puts her coat and boots on and takes the bus that will take her to the beach, already glimpsing at her target in the distance: a small cabin and diving shop.
She gets off the bus in a rush and quickly walks towards it, knocking twice on its door as soon as she reaches it.
Soon, she's greeted by her old blue haired friend.
- Yoshiko-chan! What are you doing here? – Kanan greets her joyfully.
- It's Yohane! And I, the great fallen angel, require the help of one of her best, strongest and wisest little demons for a very important mission – Yoshiko says pompously, not changing in the slightest over the years, causing Kanan to giggle.
- And what could that be? – Kanan says amused.
- I… – Yoshiko clears her throat, pausing dramatically yet slightly embarrassed – I may need some help for a new Christmas tree.
- Ooooh!?
- S-Shut up! I-It's just that I don't know anything about them and I need somebody strong to carry it home! – she admits embarrassedly, eliciting a soft smile on the older girl's face.
- Then-
- Then, of course we'll be buying the best one in the store for your little demon Riri!
Another chirpy voice says, joining them and soon, Yoshiko can already see Mari with her coat on appearing from behind Kanan while handing the other girl her coat and the car keys at the same time she winks at Yoshiko, much to her dismay and to Kanan's amusement. Even so, the younger girl agrees begrudgingly to also go with her and soon, the three of them set out on a journey towards the trees' store with Yoshiko having to endure Mari's teases about it the entire trip.
Once they arrive, they split up to find the best tree. The problem is that the best tree is also one of the most expensive trees in the whole store and Yoshiko doesn't have enough money for it, but she doesn't need to worry about it because with some bargaining here and there from Mari and also with some generous economical help from her part, Yoshiko can pay for it so the three of them can carry it to Kanan's pick-up.
Yoshiko sighs relieved and smiles gratefully at the girls once they're able to get the tree inside her house and put it up without it falling.
- Thank you girls – she thanks them sincerely, receiving a quick but tight hug in return.
- You're welcome! – Mari says cheerfully, winking at her.
- Call us if you need anything – Kanan smiles at her, squeezing her shoulder fondly.
- And send us pictures! – Mari yells as they leave, bidding their farewells to her.
Once they're out of the house, Yoshiko can only stare at the big tree in the middle of the living room proudly and thrilled, before she goes to the basement to retrieve the boxes with the Christmas decorations in them.
- Ugh, what does Riri have in them? – she grumbles, almost falling over the last one of the boxes as soon as she puts it on the floor – Now I just have to wait for her so we can decorate it together.
She says, already feeling giddy about spending their first Christmas together.
She doesn't have to wait long as she hears the sound of keys jingling outside before she hears the door opening and closing.
- Yocchan! I'm home!
Riko announces out loud, leaving her shoes, coat and purse at the entrance to head to the living room, gasping as soon as she sees the big tree standing in the middle of it.
- What…
- You like it!? Kanan and Mari helped me with it – Yoshiko says happily, warming Riko's heart with her enthusiasm, who nods at her – Now we only have to decorate it!
Yoshiko says, taking Riko by the hand heartily to pull her towards the big tree while making her laugh, before they indeed start to decorate it.
Once they finish, they take a step back to contemplate their work with satisfied smiles on their faces, although Riko can't help but frown, noticing that something is missing.
The angel!
She thinks to herself, going over one of the boxes to search for it in between its contents and under Yoshiko's confused gaze.
- Riri? What…
- I've found it! – Riko exclaims happily, showing the angel to Yoshiko who smiles softly at her.
- Now we just need to put it on top of the tree – Yoshiko says, leaving the living room briefly to go for a chair that could help them to put it on. Once she comes back with it, she sees Riko handing the angel to her.
- Here you go.
- You don't want to put it on? – Yoshiro asks her dumfounded, looking at the angel then at Riko's soft smile.
- Nope, I want you to do it.
Yoshiko blushes slightly and leaves a light but shy kiss on Riko's cheek before she takes the angel in her hands and she steps on the chair. But to her bad luck, as she moves to put it on top of the tree, she loses her balance and throws the tree to the floor while she falls backwards.
She shuts her eyes waiting for the hard impact when she feels herself falling onto something rather soft and a pair of strong arms holding her tightly.
Riri.
Yoshiko thinks to herself, quickly turning around to see if Riko is okay.
- Shit, Riri, I'm sorry! Are you okay? – she asks her concerned, seeing the other girl smiling kindly at her to then caress her cheek.
- Yeah, don't worry Yocchan – Riko says softly, pecking her lips to erase the younger girl's concern before they both look back at the disaster in front of them.
- Fuck me – Yoshiko sighs lowly and Riko can only laugh, tightening her hold around Yoshiko and resting her chin on the other girl's shoulder to leave a kiss on her cheek.
- Whenever you want – Riko whispers in her ear huskily and teasingly, making Yoshiko blush really hard before she quickly untangles herself from Riko's embrace and stands up.
- W-We s-should redo this disaster! – Yoshiko half-stutters, half-squeals, quickly going over to the fallen tree while Riko laughs at how cute and easily embarrassed Yoshiko can get before also standing up to help her.
Between the two of them, they manage to lift back the fallen tree and start to decorate it again for the second time in such a short period of time. When they get to the point of having to put the angel on top of it, Yoshiko happily lets Riko do it, making sure she doesn't fall.
Once the big tree is all decorated, they smile at how it has turned out.
- It looks good. Now we only have to turn the lights on.
Yoshiko says, going to turn them on. She takes the lights' remote in her hands and clicks the button, but instead of illuminating the tree as the lights should do, she just plunges them into the most absolute darkness.
- The fuck? – she says, clicking the button of the remote repeatedly in vain.
- Yocchan! What did you do!? – Riko accuses her in between laughs and Yoshiko can't help but get offended by it.
- I didn't do anything! It's all fault of this shitty... – Yoshiko complains outraged, seeing Riko turning the flashlight of her phone on to go where she is.
- Let's take a look at the fuse box, okay? – she says softly, taking Yoshiko's hand in her free one to go together where the fuse box is, illuminating the way there with the light of the flashlights of their phones.
Yoshiko sighs, noticing Riko squeezing her hand.
- Don't worry, babe.
Those simple words are enough to erase Yoshiko's anxiety.
Once they find the fuse box, Riko tries flicking the switches up and down, only to see that nothing works.
- Great, now what? – Yoshiko grumbles unamused.
Riko stays quiet, thinking for a second.
- Kanan.
She simply says, searching for Kanan's number in her phone to call her and explain her everything. In less than 15 minutes that feels like hours to Yoshiko, Kanan is entering their house with a big flashlight and an amused smile on her face.
- Do I want to know what did you do? – she asks teasingly, looking directly at Yoshiko and making her groan.
- No.
Riko and Kanan laugh before the latter starts to manipulate the fuse box until the lights finally come back.
- All done! – Kanan announces happily, much to their tranquility.
- Thank you, Kanan – Riko thanks her.
- Yeah, thanks – Yoshiko thanks her too, scratching the back of her head embarrassedly.
- You're welcome girls, just be careful – Kanan says, turning to leave before she stops abruptly – By the way girls…
She trails off, looking up and making them look up too, seeing a mistletoe being hold by the blue haired girl on top of their heads. They look back at her to see Kanan grinning and winking at them.
Both girls blush before Riko takes the initiative to cup Yoshiko's cheek and kiss her tenderly for a long time, without realizing Kanan left them alone and the house in between giggles.
Once they pull apart, they rest their foreheads together.
- So… what do you say about being naughty – Riko suggests Yoshiko boldly and seductively, making her gasp before she gladly complies to be dragged to their bedroom, the problematic but decorated tree and its lights far forgotten.