"It was so nice for us to get together for a little bit. These next couple of days are going to be so busy," Yolei waved a chicken drumstick in the air.
"No kidding. I'm not looking forward to it at all," Matt grimaced.
"Who do you think has a better Christmas? Mom or Dad?" TK smirked.
"At least your parents were smart enough to get divorced early. Our parents are sticking together for 'our sake', but if they really cared what we think, they would have split up a long time ago," Kari peeled away her fried chicken skin and plopped it on her plate.
"All I want for Christmassss is youuu...to get divorced!" Tai sang.
"At least you have a family- albeit a dysfunctional one to celebrate Christmas with. My family are all dead," Cody casually said.
"This conversation took a very dark turn," Joe frowned.
"And with that, I think it's my cue to get home," Izzy pressed his lips together.
"I think me too," Mimi stood up and smoothed her dress.
"Alright. Just keep warm and get home quickly, it's cold outside," Ken raised an eyebrow as everyone else exchanged looks with each other.
"Will do," Mimi said as she bundled up in her scarf and hat.
"Not planning on dillydallying, but the cold never bothered me anyways," Izzy slipped on his trench coat.
"Something tells me he's gonna change his mind tonight," Davis sing-songed under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Izzy raised his eyebrow.
"Nah, just eating the chicken skin. Best part!" Davis reached over to Kari's plate and grabbed her chicken skin.
"Hey! Get away, I was saving that for last!" Kari slapped his hand.
"Come on, Mimi. Let's go before it gets...interesting," Izzy ushered Mimi out of the door.
"Bye everyone," Mimi waved goodbye.
"We'll see you guys around," Sora smiled as Izzy closed the door behind him. When the coast was clear, the remaining group huddled closer to the kotatsu and started gossiping at rapid fire speed.
"Do you think we made a mistake leaving as early as we did?" Mimi brought her scarf closer to her face.
"What makes you say that?" Izzy asked.
"Did you see the way they looked at us when we said we were going home?" Mimi shrugged.
"They give each other weird looks over everything. I'm not sure if I'm bad at picking up social cues, or if they're all secret baseball umpires in training with all their little hand signals and facial expressions. At this point, I ignore it," Izzy shook his head.
"It bothers me. At least you see they're doing it too. I thought I was going crazy," Mimi huffed.
"Don't let it get to you. If we crossed them, I think they'd let us know," Izzy slowly exhaled.
"Well, it annoys me. Next time I see it happen, I'm gonna call it out," Mimi haughtily quipped.
"I couldn't expect any less," Izzy smirked as he blew into his hands.
"Izzy, are you getting cold?" Mimi asked.
"I'll be fine. My apartment is only a couple blocks from here," Izzy said.
"Lucky. I have to catch the train to get to the other side of town...oh crap, speaking of, my parents are going to kill meeeee. Smell my coat?" Mimi asked.
"Yeah, smells like weed," Izzy smirked.
"This sucks! Stupid Matt and Tai! I didn't even do anything and the smell is on my clothes. I'm gonna be in so much trouble," Mimi whined.
"You could stay the night at my place. I have a laundry unit and it's closer anyways," Izzy shrugged.
"I dunno, my parents might worry that I'm not home," Mimi turned red.
"You could call them and let them know you're staying with me. They've known me for a long ti- I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be pushy. Just an open invitation if you want," Izzy blushed back.
"I don't want to be out too late, I'll check the train updates," Mimi scrolled through her phone and grimaced. "40 minutes for the next train?!"
"We're only a half-block from my place now. You could warm up for a bit until we get to the station," Izzy jerked his thumb across the street.
"Why not? Maybe we could put on a movie or something," Mimi wrapped her arms around Izzy's.
"But a movie- your train...okay, sure," Izzy couldn't follow Mimi's logic but he decided to go with the flow as he led her into his apartment.
"Oh, it's so much more cozy inside," Mimi tossed her coat to the side.
"Much better than waiting out in the cold for over forty minutes- if the train runs on time," Izzy slid off his coat and gently placed it on his coat rack.
"Hah, can you believe this- it's cancelled for the rest of the night! Look!" Mimi held up her phone.
"Wow, good thing you're inside here. Again, if you want to stay, you're welcome to. I'm going to fix myself a drink. Do you want one too?" Izzy opened his cabinet.
"Um, just give me one second. I want to check the rideshares and see how much they are- $400? Wow, I can't do that. Izzy, I don't mean to impose but I think I will have to take you up on your offer," Mimi clutched on to her phone.
"You're not imposing, I offered. I assume you'd like a drink now then?" Izzy cracked a small smile.
"That would be nice. I'll just text my parents to let them know I'm here. I mean, I tried my best to get home, but I couldn't. I don't think they'll mind too much, I am in good hands after all," Mimi smiled back.
"Okay, I think you've done enough protesting for the both of us," Izzy rested his finger on her lips, which shocked both him and her. "Uh, here's your drink."
"Thanks," Mimi breathily said. It was a miracle she could utter a word at all; there was just something about the last couple of seconds that left her speechless and she was hoping to unlock more. She took a sip of her drink and magically, it was like her voice came back. "This is good, what did you put in this?"
"It's an apple pie moonshine- you like it?" Izzy said.
"It's delish," Mimi nodded.
"Why don't you pick out something to watch?" Izzy said as he drank away.
"Okay," Mimi walked over to the living room and grabbed the remote. "I'm feeling Christmasey...how does Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sound?"
"That's not a Christmas movie- I mean, I don't care what we watch, but that's not Christmas, is it?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"There's candy!" Mimi exclaimed.
"There's candy in Halloween too," Izzy looked puzzled.
"Don't think too much about it, let's just get comfortable," Mimi grabbed Izzy's hands. "Wow, they're still cold."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Izzy tried to pull his hands back but Mimi had a firm grip on them.
"I'll make them warm," Mimi interlocked her fingers with his and looked in his eyes.
"You don't have to, they'll be fine enough soon," Izzy smiled weakly.
"They have to catch up to the rest of your body. The rest of you is really warm," Mimi stroked his cheek and the side of his neck. Out of curiousity, she sneakily slid her hand under his sweater and grazed her fingertips against his skin. "You really are warm, I like it."
"And you're a bit cold yourself," Izzy timidly slid his hands only slightly above the hem her shirt- just to feel what she felt. "But I don't mind."
"I did come here to get warmed up. You did offer, after all," Mimi wrapped her arms around Izzy's neck and brought her face closer to his.
"I did," Izzy whispered as he pulled her body towards him.
"So...?" Mimi teasingly nuzzled him.
"Does this mean yes?" Izzy gently tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Yes," Mimi leaned in close and kissed him. He grabbed on tighter to her as their kiss became more intense. Their lips pressed harder as their jaws moved at a more jilted rhythm. She involuntarily let out a small gasp as she felt his fingers cradle the outline of her head and firmly pulled at her hair. She slowly slipped her tongue in his mouth and he drew her in closer, as he broke away for a couple of seconds to teasingly tug at her bottom lip with his teeth.
"Mimi, wait...I really should say no," Izzy said in between kisses.
"But it's been such a nice night so far," Mimi smiled.
"It has been...at least I tried," Izzy smirked.
"Izzy?" Mimi broke away from their kiss.
"What's wrong?" Izzy looked concerned.
"Nothing. Just something came to mind...do you think this is why we're probably gonna be the talk of the town tomorrow- if we're not already?" Mimi smiled mischievously.
"I love our friends but don't give them too much credit," Izzy smirked.
"Maybe you're right...but let's get warmer. After all, it's cold outside," Mimi pulled at Izzy's hand and led him to his bedroom.
"I simply invited you in, the rest of the night is yours to do as you wish," Izzy bashfully said.
"You think?" TK looked around the room.
"They totally did," Yolei scoffed.
"Did you see the way they kept looking at each other? If they didn't do anything tonight, then slap me stupid and shove a broomstick up my a-"
"I already want to do that to you," Kari crossed her arms.
"I didn't think you were gonna eat it! I'll make it up to you, I'm sorry!" Davis groaned.
"I think we need to lighten up the mood. Who wants some Christmas music?" Sora asked to a bickering crowd.
"I do. Please, anything?" Joe groaned.
"Alexei, play Christmas music," Sora barked.
"Playing Christmas music from Kohl's Christmas Playlist," a Bluetooth speaker sounded.
"I really can't stay- baby it's cold outside...I got to go away- but it's cold outside..."
