Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! Much appreciated!

Six mistletoe smooches

'What is that doing there?' Mary said, stopping dead and glaring up at the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the door jamb leading into their office.

'What?' Thomas said, all innocence.

'That,' Mary said, jabbing her finger at the offending decoration.

'Oh, that. Well, I forgot to bring my lunch today, so Richard is going to swing by and deliver it. If I'm standing under that, he'll have to snog me before he goes, won't he?' Thomas replied.

Mary rolled her eyes. 'Then just snog him. You don't need to stick that up there for that to happen. It's not like he's going to object, is it? You two are always disgustingly handsy.'

'Ooo, someone's a bit crabby today.'

'I am not!'

'Yes, you are. You sound like you've sat on some holly.'

Mary glared at Thomas and stomped over to her desk.

'Are you just salty because you've got nobody to snog under the mistletoe?' he teased, grinning at her.

'No. I just think it's inappropriate for an office setting,' Mary replied, primly.

'I'll give you a little smooch if you like,' Thomas offered. 'Just don't go trying to slip me the tongue.'

Mary pulled a face. 'I'll pass, thanks.'

'Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't offer.'

Footsteps came down the hallway and Tom appeared in the doorway, his cheeks flushed with cold. 'It's brass monkeys out there. I'm going to make a cuppa. Anyone want one?'

'Yes, please,' Mary said, perking up.

'I'll have one, too, thanks. Oh, Tom, wait,' Thomas called, getting up from his seat as Tom withdrew to head for the kitchen.

Tom turned around coming back to stand in the doorway. 'What?'

Thomas strode over to him, pointed upwards, watched as Tom looked up, and then cupped his face and kissed him on the lips, grinning at him afterwards.

Tom gawped at him, taken by surprise. At her desk, Mary gawped too.

'What the…'

'Mistletoe, mate.'

'Right. Are you going to do that every time I come through the door?'

'Only if you linger under it, baby,' Thomas said, winking at him.

'Okay. So, no lingering in the doorway then. Got it,' Tom said, tossing Thomas a grin. 'I'll go and put the kettle on.'

With that, he disappeared back down the corridor.

Thomas turned back towards his desk. 'There you go, you see, Crawley. Just a friendly peck, no tongues, everyone's happy. That's the magic of the mistletoe.'

Mary pointed a warning finger at him. 'Keep your lips away from me, Barrow. I don't know where you've been.'

An hour later, Richard popped by to deliver Thomas's lunch. He walked down the hallway and stood in the doorway, rapping on the wooden frame, a lunch bag dangling from his other hand.

'Thomas's personal delivery service,' he said, grinning at his lover.

Thomas crossed the room in four strides and took hold of Richard's jacket, hauling him in for a snog.

'Thanks, babe,' he said when he finally let him go.

'Well, I wasn't expecting that,' Richard said, breathlessly.

'You shouldn't have lingered in the doorway,' Tom called, pointing up at the mistletoe.

Richard looked up and grinned. 'Oh, I see.'

Then he wrapped his arms around Thomas and dipped him for another kiss.

Mary sighed and rolled her eyes again.

Anna picked the post up from the mat by the front door and wandered back to the office, flicking through it.

She paused in the doorway, seeing an envelope she'd been waiting for, and then suddenly, she found herself swept into Thomas's arms, crushed against him.

'Batesy, I know you've been dreaming about this moment for years,' he crooned as she looked up at him, startled. 'But you must accept that I can never be the man you want me to be. This is all we can ever have.'

He dipped his head and kissed her swiftly on the lips as Anna stared at him, wide-eyed.

'Let that be enough, dear heart! Don't pine for me! Just let me go!' he cried dramatically, releasing her and sweeping past her down the corridor.

Tom erupted into laughter at the look on Anna's face.

'You're an idiot!' she called after Thomas, shaking her head fondly.

'But you still love me!' he called back from the kitchen.

'Flipping mistletoe enabling his dramatics,' Anna muttered, walking back to her chair with a grin on her face.

Despite herself, Mary couldn't help smiling at Thomas's antics.

'Oh, where are my car keys?' Mary muttered, stopping dead, and peering into her capacious handbag, rummaging around inside it.

The next thing she knew, Thomas had appeared behind her, spinning her around, clasping her to him.

'I knew you couldn't resist,' he said, triumphantly. 'You've just been waiting for your chance, haven't you?'

'What?' Mary said stupidly, not following his train of thought.

'You, you saucy minx. You're lingering,' he said, flicking his eyes up towards the mistletoe. 'You're jealous because you're the only one I haven't kissed yet, aren't you?'

'I am not jeal – ' Mary started, only to be stopped by Thomas pressing a kiss to her lips.

'There you go, princess. Wouldn't want you to feel left out. You're just as special as those two,' he said, grinning delightedly and hitching his thumb back inside the office at Tom and Anna, both watching and chuckling.

Mary rolled her eyes. 'Get off me, you fool,' she said, shrugging out of his hold.

'Ah, you are a sweet talker,' Thomas teased, walking backwards towards his desk. Then he stopped and waggled his eyebrows at her. 'You're still lingering. Are you wanting another kiss, you greedy girl?'

Mary took a swift step out into the corridor. 'No! No, I am not lingering! I'm going!'

'You'd better go then, sweet cheeks, before I start thinking you want me to slap the lips on you again!' Thomas called, laughing.

She shook her head and headed for the car park, a grin on her face.

'No, it's definitely coming on Thursday,' Tom said, pointing at his phone. 'Look, I've got the email with the delivery details here.'

Mary squinted at his screen, skimming the email.

'Er, guys,' Thomas said, twisting slightly in his chair.

They both looked at him.

'What?' Tom said.

Thomas flicked his eyes meaningfully up at the mistletoe hanging above their heads.

Mary and Tom both looked up and then back down, meeting each other's eyes and glancing awkwardly away.

'You're lingering. Both of you,' Thomas said, grinning. 'So, it's definitely snog time.'

'Er, no, it's not,' Mary said, quickly.

'Oh, yes, it is!' Thomas retorted. 'If you're under the mistletoe, you've got to kiss the person you're under it with. Rules is rules. Give her a smooch, Tom. She's grumpy because she hasn't been snogged for so long.'

'I am not!' Mary said, indignantly. 'He hasn't been snogging anyone either. Why aren't you accusing him of being grumpy too?'

'Because he's not,' Thomas said, unrepentantly. 'Come on now, Mary. Kissy kissy. Or has it been so long you've forgotten how to do it? Are you worried you'll be a bit crap at it now and you don't want to show yourself up?'

'I am not crap at kissing! I'll have you know that every man I've ever kissed has come back for more!'

'If you say so,' Thomas said, raising an eyebrow, blatantly challenging that statement.

Mary felt a perverse need to prove him wrong flare inside her. Turning, she grabbed hold of Tom, standing there silently observing the battle, and before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed him, a proper, full-on kiss she'd give to a boyfriend.

Startled, he didn't respond for a second and then his hands landed on her waist, and he kissed her back, giving as good as he got.

When they parted, Mary blinked up at him, taken aback by quite how good that kiss had been. Tom returned her gaze, swallowing, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. Mary's eyes dropped to watch him do it before she jerked her eyes away, flushing.

'Mamma mia!' Thomas said, fanning himself theatrically. 'That was scorchio.'

Mary felt her cheeks flame and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tom pinking up, too.

Thomas waved his hand at them, grinning madly. 'You know, you two might want to explore that a bit further. Looks to me like you could be having some hot sex with each other should you feel so inclined.'

'Thomas!' Mary squawked, her cheeks getting hotter, unable to look at Tom.

'What? I'm just saying.' He stood, plucking his coat off the rack and shrugging into it. 'I'm off to talk Yule logs with the Patmore, so if you two want to linger a bit longer under that there mistletoe, nobody's going to be any the wiser.'

He sailed past them, grinning from ear to ear and was gone.

In the silence, Mary and Tom exchanged an awkward look and then scuttled back to their respective desks, feeling unimaginably flustered.