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Crow grinned as he stared around the Third Dormitory, looking at all of the Christmas decorations that adorned the walls and other surfaces, not to mention the piece de resistance, the eight-foot tree tucked into the corner of the foyer. There were homemade candy canes hanging from the branches, and at one point there had been popcorn chains also, but Crow suspected that someone had been nibbling on them, as there were now suspiciously bare spots that he could see.
There was a table set up in the dining area, with cornucopia and poinsettia flowers decorating the surface, ready and waiting to bear the weight of the feast that Sharon was currently working on; and a smaller table set up with jugs of eggnog and non-alcoholic warmed cider. Crow briefly wondered if he could get away with spiking one of the drinks, but Sharon shooed him away before he could make up his mind.
Probably better that way, he decided with a shrug. Millium and Fie were only fifteen after all, and honestly, now that he was taking a moment to think about it, Millium would probably be terrifying drunk or even just tipsy.
All in all, everything was perfect.
Well, almost, Crow thought with a smirk, pulling the little sprig of mistletoe he had procured from his pocket. Now, he just needed to find the perfect place to hang this and then somehow manage to catch Rean underneath, and he would finally get the chance to lay his lips on the other boy.
Crow eyed the front door, but soon dismissed the location as there would be little chance of Rean needing to enter and leave the Dorm throughout the night, so he would only have the one chance to catch him, and he didn’t want to take the risk of missing that moment. He could try hanging it above the stairs, but really, unless he borrowed Airgetlam or learned how to fly, there was no way he was reaching the roof. Besides, being up that high, no one was going to see it anyway.
So that pretty much left the doorway leading into the kitchen and dining area. Crow avoided looking at the suggestive smile Sharon shot his way, ignoring her rather pointed comments about catching certain people underneath the plant as he hung the mistletoe, hightailing it out of there while he still had some dignity left.
Still though, his embarrassment didn’t stop him from being ready and waiting by the time Rean and the rest of Class VII arrived back at the Dorm, the sound of Millium’s excited chatter heralding their return. If he could just catch Rean as he walked in, then he could get this nervousness out of the way and enjoy the rest of the night, hopefully with Rean by his side where he could continue to sneak more kisses throughout the evening...
“Wow! Everything looks great!” Crow could hear Millium exclaim. “Oh, look! Someone even thought to hang some mistletoe above the door!”
“That wouldn’t have happened to be your idea now, would it?” Came Rean’s wry voice, questioningly.
“Nope! But it’s a good idea! I want to catch you all underneath so I can give everyone a big Christmas kiss!”
Giving Rean a big Christmas kiss was Crow’s plan too, however, his plan came crashing down the moment Rean walked through the doorway. He’d stood up, ready to pounce the moment Rean passed under the mistletoe, trying to appear casual and as though he weren’t waiting, when Millium barrelled through the door and jumped on him. He was just about ready to drop the younger girl on her arse as he caught sight of Rean coming through, when disappointment slammed into him.
Coming out of the kitchen with a tray laden with appetisers, Sharon and Rean nearly crashed as they both tried to use the doorway at the same moment. Of course, Sharon being the wonder maid that she was, managed to not only keep hold of the tray, but not spill a single crumb either. Rean stammered out an apology that was quickly waved off, and that would have been that; except for Millium.
“Hey you two! You’re under the mistletoe! That means you need to kiss now!”
“I uh, don’t think....” started Rean, beginning to turn slightly pink from embarrassment.
“Oh my, Master Rean. I don’t think I could possibly betray my mistress this way by stealing a kiss from you,” Sharon demurred slyly, shooting Crow a hidden smirk. “But maybe just this once, since it’s tradition.”
She leaned down, pressing a quick kiss against Rean’s cheek, giggling as he turned an even more fetching shade of pink as Millium cheered from Crow’s hold.
Crow frowned as he watched, annoyed that that hadn’t been him.
Of course, this stroke of bad luck seemed to set the tone for the rest of the night. Nearly every single member of Class VII had managed to catch Rean under the mistletoe at one point or another.... but not him. So far, Crow’s only consolation had been bearing witness to the looks of absolute and utter horror on Machias and Jusis’s faces when they had pushed through the doorway together, and Millium had insisted that they follow tradition and kiss. The... violent mashing of lips that had followed, had drawn hoots and hollers from the rest of the group.
No one had bothered to tell them that a kiss on the cheek would have sufficed, it was much more entertaining that way.
But Crow was getting desperate; the night was nearly over, and he still hadn’t managed to get a kiss from Rean.
Laura had placed a peck on the cheek on him when he needed to go to his room to retrieve something; Sara smacking a loud, wet kiss on his cheek when she came in late (and smelling strongly of alcoholic eggnog) upon his return. Elliot had the chance for a kiss when they went to retrieve some instruments so that they could sing some carols, and Gaius when he offered to help Rean bring out some sweets to the foyer after dinner.
Fie hadn’t even tried to make it look like an accident, simply grabbing hold of Rean’s hand and dragging him under the mistletoe and kissing his nose, making Rean go adorably cross-eyed. Crow had considered doing that himself, but he wasn’t so sure that would work for him or not.
In the end though, Crow grew so disgruntled with having to watch everyone else get to kiss Rean, that he decided to take down the mistletoe and stuff it in his pocket. After all, if he didn’t get to kiss Rean, no one else should be allowed to either. He wouldn’t allow himself to acknowledge just how disappointed he felt that he didn’t get his chance, but there was always next year... right? Crow ignored the fact that he would actually be graduating this year and he wouldn’t be part of Class VII next year.
Feeling more than a little dispirited, Crow bid everyone an earlyish goodnight (it was after ten, but a few of the rest looked like they were ready to go all night with the carolling, while stuffing themselves with the seemingly endless array of snacks Sharon kept producing) and dragged his feet up the stairs slowly. It wasn’t until he was nearing the first-floor landing, that he realised that someone was following him, turning in surprise to see a familiar mop of dark hair approaching.
“Not up for more festivities tonight?” Crow joked teasingly, smiling as Rean snorted softly.
“I think Millium celebrated me out already.” Rean groaned tiredly. “Besides, I didn’t want to get caught by anyone else under the mistletoe down there again. Alisa has been eyeing me up like she’d like to drag me under, and I’d just rather not.”
“No worries, Rean, I already took the mistletoe away. See?” Crow pulled the offending plant from his pocket, holding it up to show the other boy. Rean stared at him wide eyed, face beginning to turn that attractive shade of pink again. Crow wondered why.
“I see you’ve finally managed to catch the right person under the mistletoe at last Rean,” drawled Jusis, slipping past them on his way to his room, “don’t back out now. Besides, it’s tradition, right?”
“Right,” Rean breathed out softly, peering up at Crow from beneath his lashes, before he rose on his toes and pressed a chaste kiss against Crow’s mouth, the lingering warmth making his lips tingle.
And it was then, that Crow realised something. Well, two things.
One, all night, no matter who Rean had been under the mistletoe with, it had been the other person who had kissed him. Rean hadn’t kissed anyone besides him.
And two, if Jusis was to be believed, Rean had wanted to catch Crow under the mistletoe tonight too.
“Was that ok, Crow?” Rean asked hesitantly, seeming worried about Crow’s complete lack of reaction.
“Maybe, I’m not sure though,” Crow teased, finally managing to wrap his head around this new development.
Rean liked him. Rean liked him back. Rean wanted to kiss him.
Crow tugged on Rean’s hand, bringing him stumbling a few steps forwards, rising his arm higher until the mistletoe hovered over their heads again.
“Oh, would you look at that Rean? We seem to have ended up under the mistletoe again!”
Rean was looking up at the green sprig, before his eyes drifted down towards Crow’s lips, his tongue darting out to wet his own.
“So it would seem.”
“Yay! Crow and Rean are finally under the mistletoe! I was wondering where that had gotten too!” Millium exclaimed, her small body slamming into them both, arms wrapping around Rean’s neck from behind. “You’re so sly Crow!” She then proceeded to press kisses against both of their heads, before jumping off of Rean and sliding down the banister to re-join the others.
This left Rean and Crow standing awkwardly, Crow’s arm still hovering slightly above their heads, dangling the plant. Crow found his gaze dropping to Rean’s lips, shifting minutely closer to steal another kiss.
It was tradition, right? It would be practically sacrilegious to break tradition.
“Oh my goodness, get a room!” Machias grumbled as he shuffled up the stairs and caught sight of them, before turning his back and firmly shutting his door to block them out.
“That sounds like a perfect idea to me,” Crow agreed, tugging Rean’s hand as he stepped backwards until he reached his own room. “Good thing I still have the mistletoe too, I’m feeling like I need a lot of kisses to make up for after tonight.
“Hey Rean,” Crow murmured, lips hovering just above the other boy’s as they shuffled their way into his room, “would you like to go on a date with me sometime soon?”
“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” Rean responded, pulling Crow down for a kiss, mouth parting slightly and capturing Crow’s bottom lip between his own. He tugged the plant from Crow’s hand, tossing it towards the messy desk. “I don’t think you’ll be needing this anymore tonight; I’ll give you all of the kisses you want.”
Their heads tilted slightly, mouths parting, lips moving against one another slowly; searchingly, only pulling back once they were panting and breathless.
“I’m going to want a lot of kisses Rean. Maybe even a lifetime’s worth.” Crow confessed.
“I’m sure we can work something out,” responded Rean, pressing soft butterfly kisses against Crow’s cheeks and across the bridge of his nose. “Merry Christmas, Crow.”
“Merry Christmas Rean. Having you here in my arms, is the best present I could have ever wished for.”