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“Alright guys, are you sure you don’t have your name now?” Misaki asked, giving a long annoyed look in Hagumi’s direction.
“I’m sure, Mii-kun! I read it over and over again just to be super sure!” Hagumi replied a small piece of paper clenched tight in her hand.
“You didn’t tell Kokoro or Kanon-san your person right?”
“Yep! I’m sure! It’s a secret!”
“I think we’ve all double-checked Misaki-chan.” Kanon said, giving Misaki a weak smile, “You should draw the last name now.”
It was two weeks before Christmas. Misaki wasn’t one to get excited during the holidays. She’d get her siblings presents and go to the occasional party at most. But that was usually it. Ever since she joined Hello, Happy World! That holiday mentality proved to be difficult to maintain.
Kokoro was the one who suggested they do a Secret Santa. The group exchanging gifts had been commonplace in previous years, but Kokoro was never one for keeping things the same. It had been a stressful ordeal, seeing as Michelle was included in the mix. Misaki couldn’t just tell the three dummies not to get Michelle a present. They thought she was a different person, unfortunately. Nothing you could do about that.
It took some time but eventually, The Suit’s agreed to buy a present in Michelle’s place. Which lifted the burden of Misaki buying two gifts.
So there Misaki was, six pieces of paper resting in the bottom of her hat. One for each band member…. And Michelle. They had done the process about three times already. Everyone kept drawing their name, one of the instances being Hagumi telling Kokoro who she got.
Misaki sighed in relief, “Good, I’ll draw one, and give the last name to Michelle. Sound good?”
The rest of the group nodded, content with the system.
Misaki reached into her hat, pulling out the small folded piece of paper. She opened it up to see Kaoru’s name neatly written on the paper.
The DJ glanced at Kaoru, eyebrows scrunching up in thought. What was she supposed to get her?
------
“What would Kaoru like?” Misaki thought to herself as she sat there in her empty living room, notes app open to record her ideas. Some random telemarketing channel was playing on her T.V as background noise. Misaki thought it would help, but she was pretty sure Kaoru wouldn’t want a twenty dollar coffee maker for Christmas.
The brunette let out an exasperated sigh, dropping her phone on one of the various pillows lying on her couch. Why was this so hard for her?
She had spent a whole week thinking of what to get Kaoru and she drew a blank every time. Kaoru was her god damn girlfriend but she couldn’t think of anything. Some great partner she was.
Misaki glanced at her T.V screen, cheap cat litter boxes were currently being advertised for fifteen dollars. Did Kaoru even have a cat? No, she didn’t. Why would she even get her a litter box anyway? How awkward would that be, giving your girlfriend a fucking litter box?
Would she want a book? Maybe something by Shakespeare? That could work, but Misaki barely knew anything about the great bard himself, or how many of his works Kaoru owned. New guitar strings? Or a case? No, that was lame. Was she overthinking this? Probably.
One week until Christmas. Misaki was usually pretty diligent with getting Christmas presents early, it was a hassle trying to buy stuff last minute. That’s what made this situation even more stressful, what if her decision was already sold out? What if she already missed her chance to get Kaoru the perfect gift?
She was already going to get Kaoru a gift anyway, but the premise of Secret Santa really threw her for a loop. Kaoru was sure to get Misaki an amazing gift. It’d be something perfect that Misaki really wanted because that dumb loveable idiot always knew what she liked. She didn’t want to half-ass this present, she wanted to show Kaoru her gratitude more or less. She’d never admit it but Kaoru had helped her out a lot over the two years she’d known her.
Misaki sighed and stared at her blank phone, unsure what to type. Notifications popped up on the top of her phone every few seconds, the majority of them from Hagumi and Kokoro. They apparently didn’t know how private messages worked and just spammed the group chat every few hours. Her finger landed on her contact list, Kaoru’s name at the top of the list…. It wouldn’t hurt to see Kaoru, just once.
{DELIVERED}
>11:05 AM
>To Seta Kaoru from Okusawa Misaki
“Are you free this afternoon?”
Misaki turned off her T.V as the telemarketing channel was not helping in the slightest. Her phone buzzed and she rushed to open the new notification.
{RECEIVED}
>11:06 AM
>From Seta Kaoru to Okusawa Misaki
“Always free for you, my beloved. :heart: :heart: Do you wish to meet at the cafe?”
{DELIVERED}
>11:06 AM
>To Seta Kaoru from Okusawa Misaki
“That sounds nice. See you at 12:00??”
{RECEIVED}
>11:07 AM
>From Seta Kaoru to Okusawa Misaki
“See you then dearest! My heart awaits the very moment my eyes lay upon your beautiful face! :heart: :heart: :kissing face: :rose:”
Misaki’s lips curled up in a smile, “Dork…” She muttered, standing up from her spot on the couch, “Alright Misaki, things to do, girlfriends to see.”
While this was a good thing, how was Misaki supposed to ask Kaoru what she’d like for Christmas? She didn’t want Kaoru to find out she was her Secret Santa, but she also didn’t want to screw up her gift choice. God, she hated being so indecisive. She supposed that was another problem for future Misaki.
-----
It was 12:01 when Misaki arrived at the Circle Cafe, and sure enough, Kaoru was already there. Punctual as ever. The guitarist was simply sitting at a table, chin propped up by her back of her hand. It was as if she knew how good she looked regardless of what she was doing.
“Hey, Kaoru-san,” Misaki said, walking up to the table.
Kaoru’s face lit up in a smile, “Ah, Misaki. How pleasant to see you.” The older girl stood up to place a small kiss on Misaki’s cheek.
“Sorry, I’m late. Were you waiting long?” Misaki asked, sitting down.
“No, not at all. I just got here. How has your day been treating you?” Kaoru said, dismissing Misaki’s worry.
“It hasn’t been bad. Should we order something?” Misaki asked, pointing to the counter.
“I already ordered something actually. I believe a week ago you were telling me how much you liked the pasta here, so I decided to try it myself. I could always ask the waitress to double my order.”
Kaoru was always so prepared for this kind of stuff. Misaki was always worried about being the lacking one in the relationship. Kaoru was nothing less than a perfect girlfriend, she was everything the DJ could hope for but was Misaki the same for Kaoru? That’s what really worried her.
“Is something the matter dearest? You look worried.” Kaoru noted, frowning slightly.
“Oh… Oh no! I was just thinking about something. Doubling the order would be nice, I really do like the pasta here, you’re right.” Misaki said, snapping out of her daze.
She wanted to be a good partner for Kaoru, and for some reason, this present was of utmost importance to her. Misaki sighed as she watched Kaoru order more pasta. What should she get her...
“I’m glad we’re able to spend more time together, my love. Our school days are behind us as we enter the winter break…. Ah…. How fleeting… Wouldn’t you agree?”
Misaki let out a small laugh, “Uh… I don’t really know how it’d be fleeing but I guess I agree. This is our second Christmas together as a couple. So aren’t those memories still with us? I don’t really know how this fleeting stuff works still.”
Kaoru laughed as well, “I suppose you’re right, intelligent as ever dearest.”
There was a moment of silence as their food was delivered. How was Misaki supposed to ask about Kaoru’s gift preference? That was the issue truly, the brunette took a bite of her pasta in thought.
“So… Kaoru-san… Did you already get your Secret Santa gift for the band?” Misaki asked, glancing up at Kaoru.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow, “Yes, I did. It took me a bit though. Choosing the perfect gift for my sweet kittens is very important. I wish to show my affection to each of the bandmates, so this present was a difficult task, to say the least.”
“Tell me about it…” Misaki muttered, glancing down at her plate.
“Are you still choosing your gift Misaki?”
Misaki’s face lit up in surprise. Fuck, come on Misaki you’re so obvious the goal is for Kaoru not to know you’re her Secret Santa. “Ah… More or less… I’m just kind of indecisive when it comes to gifts, y’know?”
“Yes, I agree. While I think it’s the range of options on my part. There are so many fleeting gifts to give my kittens, but I wish to acquire the one that provides them the most joy. Such a tremendous task it is…” Kaoru lamented, placing a hand on her chest.
“Haha… I think our situations are a bit different then. I just don’t really know what kind of special gift I’d like to give this person…” Misaki sighed.
“I see… Quite the predicament…”
“What kind of gift would you want from someone. Ah- I mean just as an example so I can run off that, of course.” Misaki flustered, weakly covering up her obvious statements. Hopefully, Kaoru continued to be oblivious as per usual and ignored the statement.
“Something… fleeting.”
“That doesn’t really narrow it down,” Misaki said, letting out a disgruntled sigh.
“I would want something that comes from the heart. Something full of passion and love. Something that is truly fleeting! Perhaps if my dearest Misaki was my Secret Santa, I would want a kiss. A fleeting kiss, if you understand what I’m saying.” Kaoru said, staring at Misaki, a smug smile curling at her lips.
Misaki felt her entire face heat up, “H-Huh? What are you talking about Kaoru-san if I was your Secret Santa then why would I ask such a silly question- ahaha… Haha… Ha…”
Kaoru chuckled, brushing a piece of hair out of Misaki’s face, “I knew you were my Secret Santa the moment you began asking me about it. You’re not a very good actor, dearest. So about that kiss?”
Did she know about it this entire time? Misaki’s face burnt with shame, so much for keeping her Secret Santa identity a secret. Kaoru was a lot more intuitive than Misaki gave her credit for. Jeez, damn that beautiful dumbass and her ability to sniff out any lie Misaki told.
“You’re so embarrassing… Fine… Come here.” Misaki leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to Kaoru’s lips. It was a quick but sweet moment, the DJ pulling away quickly.
Kaoru laughed, her cheeks slightly pink, “You’re as red as the fairest rose, my princess. Are you embarrassed?”
“Of course I am! What if someone saw us…” Misaki said, glancing down at her plate, “It was nice though.”
“I’m glad I could satisfy you dearest kitten. I certainly found joy from the gift.”
“Well, I can’t really kiss you for Christmas… What kind of girlfriend would I be if I only kissed you? That’s why I want to know what you want, dork.” Misaki said, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.
“Anything from you would be lovely dearest. Perhaps one of your felt dolls? Or one of the Great Bard’s works? I would savor any gift you bestowed upon me, my darling Misaki.” Kaoru took Misaki’s hand in her own, placing chaste kisses along her knuckles.
Misaki let out an airy laugh, “You’re so weird Kaoru-san. I think I have a good idea of what I want to get you now. Thank you, I love you.”
Kaoru’s face lit up with a big smile, “And I love you too, Misaki. My adorable kitten.”
“Someone likes embarrassing me today, doesn’t she?” Misaki said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, how could I not love it? You’re utterly adorable when you blush.” Kaoru said, letting go of her hand.
While Misaki didn’t get to keep her Secret Santa position a secret like she intended. She was glad she knew what to get the guitarist in question. Her dumb, lovely, adorable Kaoru-san.