Chapter Text
Everywhere she looked, it was white. The trees, the sky, the railings—even the very ground she stood on was white. Each step she took made a soft crunch, a sound satisfying to her ears. Colorful lights hanging along the street lamps, glowing amongst the white scenery.
It was Christmas and the young purple-haired girl stood in front of the arcade, shivering in the snow. Despite her scarf and layered outfit, the cold was still crawling onto her skin. How long was it going to be before he arrives? Yet, a part of her wished he would arrive a bit later as her heart wouldn’t stop pounding at the thought of seeing him. She still found it hard to believe this was happening.
“Christmas…?” Her own words echoed in her head as she recalled the event from last week.
“Yeah, Christmas. Wanna go out that day?” The boy asked, his raspy voice sounding soothing to her ears despite how sharp his tone can be.
She could remember last week ever so clear in her head, replaying the scene over and over again. Her crush—No, no, it’ll be fitting to call him her boyfriend now—Chuuya Nakahara, asked if she wanted to go out during Christmas. There were so many days he could pick, and he chose Christmas. Oh, how her heart rate skyrocketed through the roof. She seen this kind of thing in the books before. The couples always going out during Christmas, buying presents for each other, warming themselves up at a cafe, going back to spend more time on one or the other’s home and then… the Mistletoe Kiss!
Her mind combusted at the thought of it, unable to imagine it happening to them. After all, they were still teenagers and the most intimate they ever been holding hands. She couldn’t imagine going beyond that! That would be an atrocious thing to do, a sin! Kissing is something adults do and it would be extremely ina—
“Oi, Suisen, ya listening?” The girl, Suisen, snapped out of her thoughts, turning her attention towards him. How embarrassing… she got carried away again.
A small smile broke out of Chuuya’s face upon seeing the blushing face of his girl. It was adorable and he couldn’t get enough of it. “If it’s too much for you, just tell me. I’m not forcing ya or anything.”
“No! Let’s go out during Christmas!” Exclaimed Suisen, having a determined look on her face despite the redness of it.
Chuuya chuckled, aware of how she wouldn’t the pass up any opportunity to spend time with him regardless of how shy she was. “Alright, it’s a Christmas date then! Meet ya at the arcade.”
And here she was, standing at the very arcade, waiting for him.
Suisen was nervous, that much was obvious. She got ready five hours prior to the date, changed her hairstyle few times, her outfit too. She thought hard of wearing multiple layers to keep herself warm but at the same time, she thought “What if I look like a layered ham? What if the clothes drowned me out?!” Ridiculous thoughts but that was how Suisen had always been. She even asked Kouyou if she could give advice for the date though it wasn’t much of a help. She just hoped Chuuya has a solid plan for the day.
“Suisen!” She jumped at the voice, snapping her head towards the source of it.
Chuuya was waving at her as he ran his way to her, holding onto his fedora. He stopped just right in front of her, catching his breath. “Sorry, didn’t expect the mission to last that long. And that blockhead Dazai was also messing up with my stuffs.” He huffed, dusting himself off and adjusting his hat.
Suisen scanned his outfit, a habit she always does to calm herself down (although it doesn’t apply to Chuuya). Black-red coat layering another thinner coat with a pair of black pants and boots, his usual fedora—he looks so cool, Suisen thought, her heart skipping a beat. She was already blushing just at the sight of it, trying to not get lost in her thoughts about the possibility of today.
“Anyway, ready to go?” Asked Chuuya, holding his hand out to her.
Suisen nodded, gently slipping her hand into his before their fingers laced together. The two of them then started to walk along the streets, their held hands swinging slightly in the air.
“Where are we going…?” Asked Suisen, curious of what activities he had planned for today.
Chuuya grinned at her question, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. “Buying presents! I got my pay early this month so I’m gonna spoil you rotten today!” Said Chuuya proudly, holding his chin high.
Suisen couldn’t help but worry if he was going to spend his whole salary on her just for this Christmas. She was aware of how high his salary was, especially after he had been selected as an executive. She had seen his new collection of wine, the brand of clothes he bought, as well as his new motorcycle. He was living the life even at such young age. Suisen, however, was only a subordinate under Kouyou and as of now, she wasn’t involved in much riskier mission like Chuuya and Dazai do. She was mostly on surveillance as her ability allows her to do so.
“Come on! I got so many things to buy for you!” Said Chuuya excitedly, dragging her to the nearest shopping centre.
As soon as they stepped inside the place, they were greeted by the colourful crowds of lights, shining in the air like stars. The place was bustling with people, their voices filling up the air and the sound of children’s laughter echoing in midst of it. A big, tall Christmas tree stood right in the middle, adorned with ornaments and snow, a bright, gold star sitting atop of it.
The two teens watched the atmosphere in awe, their eyes sparkling in admiration. A gentle tug was felt on her hand, turning her attention to the bright smile of the young boy.
With their hearts pounding in excitement, they waltzed through the crowds before ending up in a clothing store. Before Suisen could say anything, he was already dragging her to the female teen section, specifically the holiday special section.
“Go on, pick some. These will be my presents to you.” Said Chuuya, leading her to the clothing rack to make her choice.
Suisen stared at all the beautiful dresses in front of her, her mind racing at which dress would be the best. He did say she could pick some, so that’s more than one. But which one? she wondered.
One dress was a typical Christmas dress; red in color with cape, white fur aligning the edges of the dress, sleeves as well as cape, gold ornaments lining as buttons down the middle of the dress. Another was more Christmas elf, similarly, designed as previous dress except the color was split into green and red. Another one was peppermint-colored, paired with red-white striped socks. The option was endless and she just couldn’t make up her mind.
Noticing her distress, Chuuya looked through the dresses before picking up a few. “There. Why don’t you try it on?” Asked Chuuya, a bright smile on his face. In reality, he just wants to see her in all the dresses.
Suisen hesitated for a moment before taking the dresses, bringing them over to the fitting room. She felt a little bad for letting Chuuya did the picking but then again, this is his present to her, so it makes sense for him to make the choice.
One by one, Suisen tried the dress and each time she showed it to him, Chuuya took pictures of her, embarrassing her in front of the staffs who were passing by them. On the other hand, Chuuya couldn’t get enough of her. She was adorable to look at, with her red blushing cheeks and small, round face. The dresses were just her style; cute, lolita style. He wanted to keep all those pictures as memories even if she wasn’t going to get all the dresses.
“That’ll be 35000 yen in total.” Chuuya happily took out his card, handing it over to the cashier for payment. In the end, Suisen ended up buying almost all the dresses she tried, including the one she decided to wear on the spot. They also got a headband with big red laced ribbon as a free gift, which was worn by Suisen right now.
Once paid, they walked out of the shopping center with a bag of dresses, hands held together once more. Suisen pondered on what to give Chuuya in the meantime. It was tricky with him, considering he could afford things he wanted. She considered buying him a bottle of wine but she could only afford cheaper ones and she wasn’t sure if he would like it. Maybe a new hat but he told her the hat he currently wears has important significance to him.
There was nothing she could gift him and it frustrated her so much. It was unfair how Chuuya could easily buy her dresses while she couldn’t even buy anything of his liking. She felt like a bad girlfriend at not being able to do something as simple as this. This was their first Christmas together and yet, she ruins it.
“Oi, ya alright?” Called Chuuya, peering down on her face. His eyebrows creased in worries, wondering if he did something wrong. “Did you not like your gift? Was it too much?”
Suisen shook her head immediately, panicking. “No, I like them! Especially when this is my first gift from you!” Exclaimed Suisen, hugging the shopping bag tightly against her chest. “It’s just… I didn’t get anything for you and… I feel bad.”
Chuuya froze at her confession, staring with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He didn’t understand how that was a problem to begin with. Then again, this was Suisen. Maybe today would be considered as her first time celebrating Christmas with someone else other than her family.
He chuckled afterwards, shaking his head. “There’s no need for that. After all, being with ya is already the best Christmas present I could ever asked for!” Said Chuuya with a bright smile on his face. He then pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her and patting the back of her head. “So, don’t worry too much over it. I’m happy to be spending this Christmas with you.”
Suisen pouted at how easy it was for him to dismiss such a thing. Even if being with her was enough for him, she still wished to get something for him. Suddenly, a thought came to mind. Though she wasn’t sure how she could do it with her dress at the moment.
As she hugged him back, she quietly harnessed her ability, producing a thin vine from her tailbone, acting like a tail. Then, slowly it moved out of her skirt, curving itself upwards until the tip of it was hanging above them. Chuuya seemed unaware of this, being too immersed in their hug. Once Suisen saw the tip of it hanging above them, she then harnessed the last bit of it, growing a mistletoe on the tip. Now there’s a mistletoe hanging above them.
Suisen then leaned in, pressing a kiss onto his cheek, catching Chuuya by surprise. Chuuya blushed, his eyes widened in shock as he slowly looked at her. “Huh…?” Was all he could say. This was the first time Suisen ever kissed him without asking permission beforehand. Usually, it was him who gives these surprise kisses but coming from Suisen herself was a surprise indeed.
“There’s a mistletoe…above us.” Said Suisen shyly, pointing to the little green, red plant hanging above them.
Chuuya looked up, almost convinced by them standing under one coincidentally. Until he saw the green vine connecting it and clicked it was her. “Hey! That’s cheating! You can’t use your ability for this!” Exclaimed Chuuya, laughing as he looked back up at the mistletoe, lightly hitting it.
“No, it’s not! It’s always there!” Lied Suisen, knowing well it was too obvious.
“Yeah right, we’re standing out here in the open, Suisen.” Chuckled Chuuya, spreading his arms wide to show how out in the open they were right now.
Suisen grumbled, stashing the mistletoe away. She felt embarrassed at her plan didn’t go exactly as planned. She was hoping Chuuya wouldn’t notice it but then again, it’s Chuuya. He knew who she was as well as her ability. He wasn’t as muscle-brained as how people like depicting as.
Chuuya calmed down from his laughing, shaking his head as he took notice of her expression. “It wasn’t so bad. I like how bold you’ve gotten,” Praised Chuuya, patting her head. “But using your ability is foul play.”
“How is that foul play? Chuuya uses his ability all the time too.” Pouted Suisen, stomping her feet in protest.
Chuuya chuckled at her little tantrum, shaking his head in disbelief. He simply couldn’t get enough at her being all pouty over not using her ability. “Yours still raw. I got years of training with mine.” Said Chuuya proudly, puffing his chest out and gaining a whine out of Suisen.
To calm her down, Chuuya dragged her to a nearby park, letting her wait around for a bit as he went to scoop some snowball in his hands. Once done, he called out to her before throwing a snowball right to face, catching her by surprise. Suisen yelped at the snowball, wiping it off her face before quickly picking up one for herself, throwing it back at him. Soon, a snowball fight occurred, filled with their laughter along with the sound of the snowballs smashing into one another.
Eventually, the two of them laid side by side in the snow, panting heavily from their snowball fight. Suisen scooted closer, laying her head on his shoulder. Chuuya brought his hand up to her head, running his fingers through her purple locks.
“Merry Christmas, Suisen.” Greeted Chuuya with a bright smile, pulling her closer and giving a kiss on the top of her head.
Suisen blushed at the kiss, shaking her head vigorously. The mistletoe from earlier popped back out, hanging idly above them. “You can’t kiss me without the mistletoe.” Huffed Suisen. Chuuya was taken aback by her demanding for more kisses, breaking into chuckles at her boldness.
“Aww my princess wants more kisses?” Teased Chuuya, wrapping his arms more around her. “Here’s your kisses!” He announced before smothering her face with kisses, making her giggle uncontrollably in response, kicking her feet gleefully.
“Merry Christmas, Chuuya.”
And thus, this concluded the first Christmas of the two young teens, both happy with each other despite the cruel world they live in. Under the white skies, may more good memories bloom in their lives.
……………………………………………………………………………….
The next day, both of them fell ill and had to be bedridden. Dazai was enjoying Chuuya’s suffering the most.