oddsandends | 29th ♫ | If I say ‘I love you’, then I can be at ease

[ cont! ]

[ Oh gosh, Dia is cute. Mari bites down on her lip to keep from blurting that out, but she can't help the little twitch at the edges of her mouth. ]

Mm... [ She rolls her head to the side in thought, the curtain of her hair spilling over one shoulder. Her thumb brushes idly at Dia's side. ] Would that be bad?

[ Ohhhhh no. Ohhhhhhh nonononono. Dia... forgets sometimes, between all the goofing and shouting and catlike smiles that there's a very good reason that Mari tends to get what she wants. A dull heat rises to her cheeks and she knows for a fact that she's gone bright red, despite all her attempts to appear collected and unaffected. ]

I-- you-- you're a menace! Do you know that? A menace!

[ she jabs her finger right up against Mari's nose, her eyes narrowed. ]

If we're going to do this then I insist on setting some boundaries! Is that clear?

[ Mari's nose crinkles beneath Dia's finger, and her eyes momentarily threaten to cross. But she patiently waits it out, because she knows Dia, and she knows that once she's done hurling insults, it'll be worth it.

And it is. Mari lights up like a whole Christmas tree herself -- though the word 'boundaries' seems generally absent from her vocabulary, she's more than eager to scribble it in if it means she'll be getting what she wants.

In this case: Dia. ]

Ma'am, yes ma'am! [ At her most enthusiastic obedience, she even throws in a salute. ] Lay it on me!

First of all!

[ Oh lord. It's a list. ]

This kiss is to last no longer than ten seconds from the moment our lips touch! You are not to try and exceed this limit by trying to initiate a second one!

[ don't think she doesn't know Mari and loopholes. ]

Second! Your hands are to be placed on my waist and will go no further than an inch higher or lower than that! Do you understand?

[ Ten? Mari's eyebrows shoot up, but she fortunately manages to keep this thought unvoiced, as well. Does-- does Dia not realize how long that is for a kiss, compared to the two-second peck Mari was planning?

Well, she sure isn't about to inform her. Rules are rules, after all! ]

-- Question, ma'am! Can I put one hand in your hair? It's soft and I really like it!

[ ... Except for when Mari'd like to bend them, of course.

And there's that aforementioned catlike grin, though the way it crinkles the edges of her eyes makes it look surprisingly sincere. ]

[ She does not, no. It will probably not surprise you to realize that Dia is not thinking this through in the slightest. Mari is only partly to blame for the knock her common sense has taken.

Almost in contrast, her own brows sink low down to her eyes which she narrows suspiciously. ]

And what exactly is it you're going to do with that hand while it's there? And what do you intend to do with the other one?!

Me? [ She brings a hand over her chest, wounded. ] Nothing at all! Don't look at me with such scary eyes!

... Though for you to be asking these sorts of questions, it sure makes me wonder what kind of things you're imagining. [ Leeeeaning in. ] Hmm?

[ Dia leans in as well -- so she can knock her forehead right against Mari's and glare all the harder. You are not taking this utter ridiculousness seriously enough, young lady. ]

I'm imagining what sort of loopholes you're planning to exploit! If you had the time to set all this up then who knows what else you've been planning?! This is self-preservation and I'll thank you not to read any indecencies into it!

[ Don't take her seriously, Mari. It just encourages her. ]

Ouch! Dia, you big meanie! [ That hurt, you know. Mari pouts, but doesn't hold it for long -- their faces are so close now that she can feel Dia's breath on her skin. Warm. It's hard to mind much of anything, like this.

Mari's expression slowly slips into a blank as Dia rambles on, the very image of in one ear and out the other. She's more occupied by the movements of her mouth than any of the words they shape.

And at the end of it, rather than reply, she cups Dia's cheek with one hand and brings their lips together. ]

[ It takes Dia a few seconds to realize that she's been silenced and another before she realizes just how Mari's done it. She brought this on herself for going on for so long, really, but Mari's so rude! So inconsiderate to kiss her when she's not quite prepared and goodness Mari's lips are soft and did she always smell this nice...?

... Well, at least she's... participating in the kiss but it's very clear that Mari's caught her off guard. Then again, that's probably exactly what she wanted. ]

[ At first Dia doesn't respond at all, and Mari braces herself for the inevitable blow-up as soon as the kiss registers. Yup, okay. Definitely getting yelled at. She's a second from pulling back -- but then, against all odds, she feels Dia reciprocate.

Every thought in Mari's head bursts into a gushing stream of oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, and she can't help bouncing on the balls of her feet before sinking deeeper into the kiss. She's good about it, though! They made a deal, and loose as her physical boundaries can be, Mari respects that. She keeps one hand at Dia's side and slips the other into her hair, to lightly thread her fingers through it. It's so smooth and silky and probably one of her favorite-feeling things in the whole world, and Mari sighs into Dia's mouth, utterly content.

In contrast, Dia's lips feel a little rough against her own -- she's never been too good with winter, the cold and the wind chapping her delicate skin. Mari likes that about her, too. Likes the way her cheeks would get all pink when they're outside for too long, and how when she gets just cold enough she'd stop complaining about her clinginess, and even cling back a little bit.

The plain truth of the matter is that Mari likes everything about Dia, and she's quickly discovering that she likes kissing her, too. A lot. But she keeps true to her word, counting internally up to ten before pulling back -- only to throw herself over Dia's shoulders the same moment. ]

Hee! I did it, I got to kiss Dia!

[ All Dia can really do in response is splutter. She prides herself on being eloquent if nothing else but right now her extensive vocabulary has gone and fallen right out of her head. She just kissed Mari? And she enjoy it? A lot?! She didn't come into the club to have a romantic crisis today so when she can finally make coherent words, her response is indignant.

(Don't take it personally, Mari). ]

Is that what you wanted all along, you-- you menace!? Did you spend all this money on Christmas decorations just to get me under the mistletoe with you?

[ she's not saying she's positive that was Mari's intention. Just that she totally wouldn't put it past her. ]

[ In Mari's defense, it's not that she doesn't listen to what Dia has to say -- she just chooses to ignore it. Because she can see where this is going, can see the bout of extensive bickering rapidly drawing near -- and Mari likes the bickering, sure, but she just kissed Dia, which makes it awfully hard to focus on anything other than the fact she just kissed Dia.

So she's going to respond to absolutely none of these accusations, and instead focus on more important things like nuzzling Dia's cheek and playing with her hair. That, and a pressing question of her own: ]

Hey, hey, did you like it?

[cont]

Stuck...

[Haruka looks around, one hand at the back of her neck to either shield her gem or draw out her weapon, but all she's finding are Christmas decorations. Like... the mistletoe up above them.]

...Honochi, uh. Do you think that's cursed?

How d'you curse mistletoe, though?!

[ Honoka's still doing her best to pull away, looking around wildly ]

Is this some kind of weird prank? Because, seriously, whoever's doing this, it's not funny!

I don't know! I mean, we can't stay here forever, right?

No way, no way! We'd starve to death or something! But how the heck are we supposed to get outta here?!

I have no idea! What breaks curses? Setting it on fire or something?

[ Pounds her palm with a fist. ]

Something like that! We've gotta try and get it down so we can destroy it! That's always how it works in movies!

Okay!

[Jump, almost got it... crash.]

...Ow.

Why don't we stack? I'll give you a boost and see if you can grab it!

[ THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS GOING TO END WITH THEM BOTH UNINJURED ]

Okay! [Haruka gets up, rubbing her nose, and moves to put her hands on Honoka's shoulders.] Like this?

Yeah, yeah! And I'll do this...

[ she laces her fingers together and holds them out for Haruka to put her foot onto. ]

And I'll boost you up!

Great!

[Haruka bounds up, smiling at Honoka, and...]

Uh... I've got it, but it's not coming down.

It's not?

[ Honoka tilts her head up and squints at the little sprig of mistletoe. ]

Is it stuck or something?

Yeah... [wobble wobble] Maybe we need to do something else! Like uh... I guess we can't break the curse with good deeds stuck here. What else works in stories and stuff?

[ (From here.)

His brows lift beneath the fringe of his hair. He'd feel like kind of a jerk, making his date get their food and drinks, but at the same time... she's feeling brave. He can see it, hear it in her voice. And, well, far be it from him to discourage that.

Yu reaches out briefly, to give her hand an encouraging squeeze. He holds onto it long enough to say: ]

Sure. Just let me know if you need a hand, alright?

[ At which point he relays his order. Which is actually just a black coffee with sugar. (He's picked up some habits from Dojima.) ]

R--right! I'll be right back!

[ Black coffee with sugar is easy enough to remember and she's sure a medium is a safe enough size. All she wants is a hot chocolate with some whipped cream and she's sure that won't be too much of a problem either. And she's got all the time in the line waiting to rehearse the order in her head before she gets to the counter.

... or so that's what she thinks, anyway. It's hard to hear what's causing the problem over all the other people in the store but Ruby sure does look like she's getting herself into a tizzy once she's at the counter, doesn't she? ]

[ Yu relaxes at the table, just people watching and glancing out the windows that wall the cafe....

... until a commotion catches his ear, and he glances over in surprise.

Ah.

Casually, he rises from his seat and makes his way to the front of the line, one of his hands coming up to touch the small of Ruby's back as he smiles at both her and the cashier. ]

Everything alright?

[ Ruby practically leaps a foot when he touches her and lets out another of those unflattering squeaks before she can stop herself. She hastily covers her mouth as if to try and catch it too late and goes firey red. ]

Um-- I was just--

[ She's stuttering a bit too hard to make herself heard and thankfully, the cashier seems to take pity on her and gives Yu a slightly tired smile. ]

“There's a special offer on today, for couples! I was just wondering if she'd like to take a slice of cake back to the table with the drinks for you to share.”

[ ... an offer Ruby had completely forgotten about until it was made in between drink orders and thrown her off so much that Yu's order had dropped out of her head and she'd gotten herself into enough of a panic that she couldn't remember it again. It's embarrassing enough to mess up like that in front of a stranger but now Yu gets to see it too. Wonderful. ]

29th ♫ | If I say ‘I love you’, then I can be at ease

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SURPRISE BITCH I BET YOU etc etc

casually suplexes

this is the thANKS I GET