Tᕼᙓ ᕼOᒪIᗪᗩY ᑭOᔕT

[formidable]

Let's celebrate. ➤ For all holiday related madness. ➢ "Obligatory Christmas Music".

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[onoir]

[ Let's be real, it's absolutely a date... the eternal question is if they'll finally muster the courage to hold hands in public.

Diarmuid figured as much about the house being empty, since he doesn't sense the familiar prana that he would if there'd been a Servant nearby. There's still the possibility that they're cloaking their presence, but he doubts that Lien and Cu would go through the trouble of doing that just to prank them. He chooses to place his faith in them... perhaps unwisely...

But the house is warm, regardless of the lack of a certain two people, which makes it inviting. He steps inside, ushers Ai in too. ]

Will they be returning? I understand that Miss Lien's heater may still be broken.

[emotive]

She said she might bear with it or invest in a kotatsu... Oh!

[Ai trails off when she switches on the lights and finds that not only is the house spic and span, but that there are some Christmas decorations, in the form of a small Christmas tree set up on one of the small tables, some multi-colored Christmas lights that line the wall along with paper snowflakes. And most importantly of all, most of the household is filled with pots of...]

Poinsiettias! She got so many of them!!

[Wow, Lien had a lot of time to kill.]

[onoir]

[ Whoa, look at all of this stuff. It's nothing like Diarmuid has ever seen, so pardon him for wandering around the room for a bit to reach for some of these decorations, to run his fingers over a delicate paper snowflake or two. ]

...She has a talent, your sister.

[ Note to self to compliment Lien later for her efforts!! The flowers are a nice touch, too: flora during the cold winter always warms homes up a bit. ]

It's remarkable that she found so many of them this season. Does she have an interest in flowers?

[emotive]

You know, I don't believe she does, no more than most people. Maybe it's a change of pace for her?

[Ai is recalling some very brief instances of Lien stopping to look at flowers, mentioning offhandedly about which flowers would look best in her apartment...]

I'll bring the tea and coffee into the kitchen. She might have decorated it too!

[And off Ai goes and in her excitement she has neglected to notice some extra decorations that are placed in innocuous locations where they're not immediately noticeable when one walks under them, but they're unavoidable to walk past and under. In fact, there's quite a few scattered about, one on the ceiling, some on the doorways, another one or two innocently hanging off the corners...]

[onoir]

[ Somewhere, in some part of Fuyuki, Cu Chulainn is teasing Lien Kha about poinsettias and what they mean: "my heart burns for you".

In this part of Fuyuki, Diarmuid is learning that innocuous things are as dangerous as they are pleasant.

The police report for this incident would read thusly: Culprit– mistletoe. Offense– trapping Lancer right underneath it on his way to following Ai to the kitchen.

Rooted to the spot, Lancer blinks and looks up at the thing hanging over his head. Lien... ]

—Master, I'm going to request that you don't move from where you are, until I've sorted something out.

[emotive]

Hm? What is it?

[Lien Kha is currently buried under several quilts and not letting Cu Chulainn get to her. He totally is.

Ai was just filling a kettle with water for tea, one Christmas Card in hand (ominously, all it says in red and green letters is, "You're Welcome.") before glancing at Diarmuid, finally noticing the... Ah.]

[onoir]

[ You know what's great about Noble Phantasms??? The fact that you can't tell someone to pick it up off the wall and bring it to you, that's what. Gáe Dearg could conceivably break this stupid mistletoe spell in a second, but it's infuriatingly out of his reach for the moment. Let's say that he can't just... summon it... because Reasons.

So here's Diarmuid, infuriatingly pretty and infuriatingly troubled, looking back and forth between his beloved golden lance and Ai, who is similarly beloved. What a conundrum. ]

I seem to be... [ he clears his throat. how humiliating... to be this way in front of his Master?! ] ...Stuck.

[ kill him now ]

[emotive]

[Okay, so she finally gets what the note means, THANKS SIS, but at the same time, good lord.]

You're stuck? Mistletoe shouldn't do that! Oh dear...!

[They have totally been punked to hell and back.]

Let's see, I can't remove it from here, not safely anyways.

[She moves towards him, only intending to be about a feet away, but the mistletoe is magnetizing and she finds herself right next to him.]

[onoir]

[ THANKS MISTLETOE?? Here's Diarmuid trying to be a proper gentleman, and this stupid cursed mistletoe comes and ruins everything. Everything!!!

He supposes the charm works that way— drawing people like moths to a flame— and he can only manage a grim smile before Ai sidles up right next to him, effectively trapping herself. ]

...It must be enchanted. I suspect foul play.

[ Lien ]

[emotive]

It's... Well meaning... I think...

[She glances to the side even though she knows she'll have to explain what's with the mistletoe unless he has an idea of it already. And then she sees the other ones around the house.

LIEN.]

Too... Well meaning...

[onoir]

[ There are so many of them... so many. Did Lien truly put a mistletoe over every single doorway in this house?! How far does this prank go. ]

...That would make her definition of 'well meaning' slightly skewed.

[ He's not petty enough to seek revenge, but LIEN. ]

...Does she know?

[ 'About all of this, about our current status with respect to each other', is what he doesn't articulate. ]

[emotive]

[Ai feels her cheeks flare up when he asks the question, but she keeps her voice at a level and calm volume even if she may not look it.]

I-I may not say anything, but I can't exactly evade her either...

[Aka, yeah, Lien knows. Like. It's OBVIOUS. She clasps her hands together nervously because being this close to him makes her feel odd and guilty for feeling that way at the same time.]

If it's something that catches her attention, she makes sharp enough conclusions.

[onoir]

...And that would mean her intentions are to make us kiss.

[ Those words are surprisingly forthright, and it comes with a short accompanying sigh: not exasperated or resigned, but just. A sigh, for the sake of one.

(Listen, it's not like he's against the idea, but there are steps—) ]

She's a bit of a romantic, your sister.

1/2

[emotive]

[SO FORWARD and of course Ai is having the same line of thinking; that there are steps and that it should happen naturally and--]

[emotive]

[She needs to cover her face, give her a minute.]

She's giving us a hard time... That's what's really happening...

... Um, but you... Understand the gist of the mistletoe tradition then...?

[onoir]

As simple as it is difficult. Yes, I believe I understand it.

[ His reverence for Ai would have him refuse, out of sheer chivalry, but their current situation affords him no alternative actions. How inconvenient.

So, like a knight, he elects to take the path of thorns: as angry as Ai may get at him, this is the only way he can free her. He isn't thrilled— this is still, after all, a charm he needs to break— but he doesn't feel a crushing sense of guilt or self-disappointment, both things he may have felt before. ]

May I ask you to close your eyes, Master?

[emotive]

Ah... Um...!

[Ai uncovers her face looking more determined than angry. Or at least looking like she's trying very hard.]

B-Before I do, I need to let you know something!

[onoir]

[ He knows that look, but he bows his head anyway to indicate that he's listening. ]

Of course. You're free to scold me for my carelessness, if that's the case.

[emotive]

[She shifts slightly, poking her fingers together as her fervor levels out.]

If the mistletoe wasn't enchanted to put us in a compromising position... You know, I'd still kiss you right?

[onoir]

[ Ah. That kind of straightforwardness, he didn't expect... but it settles nicely, a warmth that spreads in his noncorporeal body and gives him strength. Conviction.

He nods, because he knows she'd never be dishonest about something like this. ]

Knowing that makes me happier than you'd know.

[ And with that, he leans in, angles his face dangerously close to Ai's— so close that his hair brushes her cheek, that his eyes hover just in front of hers. One hand keeps itself under her chin, the other strays to her hand to press it over his chest. ]

...My heart, for a kiss from you. Will you accept? [ Stupidly earnest, but also lightly teasing. ]

[emotive]

[Aside from the fact that she WILL find a way to punk Lien back, this position is not at all bad right now. Her eyes are warm with the affection that's only for him as he draws near to her with one hand under chin. She's keenly aware of all of these sensations in such a way that felt almost unreal.

She smiles at him brushing some of her hair behind her ear and she leans in close enough so that their foreheads are touching.]

I accept, of course.

You have my heart already. So a kiss follows naturally!

[onoir]

[ "He has her heart". Those are the sort of words he could get lost in, the sort of sincerity that he feels like he hasn't received in ages; which isn't to say that he regrets a single thing about Grainne, no, but there's a certain comfort in the knowledge that he hasn't swayed Ai's heart with a curse mark, that her smile is there because she wants it to be, not because it was the inevitable outcome of a lingering curse.

So he laughs: a quick, warm sound that flits across Ai's lips before he claims them. His fingers stray to her jaw to support her neck while she cranes up, and the resulting contact feels like home. Something to return to. ]

[emotive]

[Ai closes her eyes and returns his kiss gladly yet steadily, allowing it to be a slow burn instead of trying to be too eager. It's dizzily sweet as it is dangerous because she'd be happy to get lost in the warmth from his lips and to get lost in him.

And so, she may draw it out by making the kiss bolder on her end, gently pressing her one hand on his cheek and gravitating towards him even closer if possible.]

[onoir]

[ In turn, Diarmuid maintains the contact for as long as he's able, taking care not to make himself push too much into her lips on their first kiss. His lips part a millimeter or two to take in Ai's breathing, and he counts them in his head, one, two, before he finally pulls back and opens his eyes just a fraction. ]

...Acceptable?

[ A light tease, punctuated by a slow brush of his thumb under Ai's lower lip. ]

[emotive]

[With that brush over her lip and the way his eyes look into hers, Ai thinks it's a wonder that she hasn't been driven mad by this man like others may have been. Then again, with the way they are now, it's incredibly maddening, but altogether wonderful.]

It could be...

[With a cheeky grin, she gets on her tip toes and steals a kiss, quick and light.]

But I'd be lying if I said that's all I need.