#tt; secretsanta21

[alstroemeriadissonance]

A Vyn Fairytale: The Dragon and the Rose Knight

Written for @thenovelartist as part of Themis Typewriter Secret Santa Event

I hope you like it! I've agonized about how to go about this prompt until I got Vyn's new SR "Snowy Fairy Tale". The idea of falling asleep to Vyn's storytelling is just...aaah *melts into a puddle of uguu*

Happy Holidays :3

A warm fleece blanket, a mug of hot cocoa, a comfortable sofa and a Vyn to cuddle with.

Rosa deeply breathed in the scent of cocoa intermingling with the fresh pine that came from the tree, which she and Vyn had hauled into the winter cottage rented for the holidays.

"Vyn," Rosa said, content, as she snuggled even closer against Vyn's warmth underneath the blanket. "Don't stop talking. I really like the sound of your voice."

Vyn let out a soft laugh as he adjusted himself on the sofa to let Rosa rest her head on his shoulder. "Shall I practice my presentation for next week's convention then?" He nuzzled her hair. "I rather liked the companionable silence we share from time to time, but I can talk more if you like."

Her nose crinkled. "Not that!"

"Haha, I jest, I jest," Vyn said as Rosa playfully swatted his thigh. "Well then, how about I read you a story?"

Rosa smiled behind her steaming mug, clearly excited about the prospect. "Dr. Vyn Richter telling me a story? I'm in!"

"I am glad you find the idea appealing," Vyn hummed as he fished out his phone from his pocket. "Let us see..." He started browsing for children's fairytales to read to his beloved. "Ah, there we go," he straightened himself in his seat, taking care not to jostle his lover with his movements. "I shall start reading now."

Vyn cleared his throat, and with his soft, honeyed, dulcet voice he began,

"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in peril. An evil sorcerer prince held the kingdom hostage, as he sought out the hand of the kingdom's princess most fair.

He summoned a most fearsome dragon, to prevent the heroes from other kingdoms from interfering with his nefarious plans of taking the princess for himself."

Vyn flipped to the next page. He noticed Rosa sighing contentedly, perhaps starting to fall asleep, prompting him to switch to his softer, gentler voice as he continued to read the story.

"The princess, before she was whisked away into the evil sorcerer prince's tower, called out to the heroes of other kingdoms and told them that in order to break the curse befalling her kingdom, one must slay the curse-bearing dragon.

The one who would do this heroic deed will marry the princess and along with it rule her kingdom by her side."

Rosa felt herself nodding off to sleep, lulled by Vyn's soft, warm voice, and when her eyelids fluttered and closed, all she could think about was ah, but Vyn, Vyn could never be an evil sorcerer prince...

===

The Rose Knight, in her full armor--sans helmet--and rose-colored cape, trudged her way along the gilded pathways that led to the Castle of the Kingdom of Themia.

On her shoulder perched her pet lizard named Peanut.

Peanut was being skittish on her shoulder, somehow uncomfortable with the recent turn of events.

Rising to the challenge of the Evil Sorcerer Prince, the Kingdom of Themia had called upon their champion, the fair, beautiful Rose Knight, she of the auburn hair and brilliant olive eyes.

Her skill with the blade unmatched, the Queen of Themia had chosen her to represent their Kingdom and win the Princess Ingrid for the Crown Prince, in exchange for riches and fame.

It was, of course, such a daunting task that even her pet lizard could not help but be perturbed.

"There, there, Peanut," cooed the Rose Knight, "I know. But the Queen showed faith in my skill, and that by itself is a great honor, don't you think so?"

Peanut only bunted his snout against her cheek, which the Rose Knight understood as somewhat of a response in negative.

"It'll mean you get eggs for lunch every day if I win~"

A tongue flicked on her cheek.

Peanut now liked the idea.

The Rose Knight laughed. "Hah, I knew you'd approve once I mention eggs."

Upon nearing the castle gates, the two guards flanking the drawbridge halted her advance.

"Halt," said the guard on the left.

"State your business," said the guard on the right.

"I am the Rose Knight, summoned by the Queen Celestine," said the Rose Knight, her hands on her hips as she announced herself. "I bear the sword Veritas, and I am here to accept the Queen's call to summons to be Themia's Champion against the Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm."

The guard on the left examines the list of orders--a parchment--held in his hands. "Mmyeap, she checks out."

The guard on the right called out, "Open the drawbridge!"

The drawbridge finally set down, the Rose Knight continued her way into the castle and towards the throne room, where the Queen and the Prince awaited her arrival.

===

"Announcing the arrival of the Rose Knight!"

The huge, ornate doors that led to the throne room opened widely to receive the much-awaited champion summoned to honor the Kingdom of Themia.

The Rose Knight swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and, after taking a deep breath stepped through the threshold of the throne room.

The Queen Celestine and her only son, Crown Prince Artem awaited her by the dais, looking intently at her as she slowly approached them.

Yet the Queen, eager to meet the famed warrior, had risen from her seat to meet her halfway, warmly regarding the Rose Knight with a smile. "My, they did say that the Rose Knight was a woman, but I did not expect you to be this charming," she giggled as she affectionately tapped the tip of her folding fan on the Rose Knight's cheek.

"Thank you for your kind words, your Highness." The Rose Knight blushed, her complexion now matching her name.

"No need to be so stiff, darling," the Queen smiled. Then, leaning close to whisper in the Rose Knight's ear, her fan covering her mouth, she said "I do not mind if you lose the Evil Sorcerer's challenge. I rather like you for my son instead." She winked playfully.

"Your Highness, whatever do you mean...?" The Rose Knight did hear the Queen, but she refused to accept if she heard her correctly. Her face reddened a few more shades deeper. "Please. Um. Haha."

She threw a glance at the Crown Prince, who seemed to already know what his mother was telling her--his own face turned a few shades lighter than a tomato, and was nervously glancing at every direction except towards her.

"I am half-joking," the Queen said with a grin. "Take my words as you will."

How am I going to respond to that? The Rose Knight started to sweat uncomfortably, clearly not used to dealing with courtly exchanges.

Then, as if sensing the Rose Knight's agitation, Peanut climbed on top of the Rose Knight's head.

And in one fateful, excruciating moment he jumped onto the Queen's tiara and proceeded to bite at the jewel-encrusted gold headpiece.

The entire Court gasped.

"PEANUT!" the Rose Knight called out, too shocked to keep in mind how to act with propriety befitting royal company. "Come back here!! Stop! Bad lizard!"

Obediently, Peanut skittered across the tiara and jumped back onto the Rose Knight's head; sulking, he slunk back into her breastplate.

"Heavens," the Queen exclaimed, mouth behind folded fan. "What a lively creature you have."

Mortified that her pet lizard tried to cause damage to the Queen's tiara, the Rose Knight fell on bended knees to beg forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Your Highness!" she cried, panicking and utterly humiliated. "I do not know what came over my little page--please, forgive me!"

"Oh you," Queen Celestine shook her head, smiling. "Stand up."

The Rose Knight did as she was told.

With another playful tap with the tip of her fan, this time on the Rose Knight's forehead, the Queen said "Never you mind, my dear knight. Our crowns are proof of our birthright and lineage--nothing can ever tarnish, destroy our crowns, nor can anyone transform them via alchemy or glamour. Your little one did no harm at all."

The Rose Knight heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Of course, full pardon can only be received once you successfully secure Princess Ingrid's hand in marriage to my little Artem."

"And...should I fail the challenge...?

Queen Celestine winked. "Then I shall demand your hand in marriage for my rather bashful son over there."

The Rose Knight's face blanched.

===

And so the Rose Knight rode on horseback to the Kingdom of Svart, the kingdom currently besieged by the Evil Sorcerer Vilhelm and his cursed dragon.

On the fifth day of travel the Kingdom was already visible on the horizon. The Rose Knight squinted at its general direction, trying to catch a glimpse of the dragon that was the cause of the Kingdom's great distress.

"Not yet visible here," the Rose Knight muttered. "Either the dragon isn't so great, or it has been felled."

Or, maybe something is off, she thought, but shelved the idea at the back of her head. Ride now, take action accordingly.

After a couple of hours of riding she spied a figure approaching her from the opposite direction.

Another rider.

As she neared them, she could clearly see that they were a warrior who most probably turned back from the challenge--it was obvious they were not successful, or else they would have stayed in the Kingdom of Svart to enjoy their spoils: Princess Ingrid and the Kingdom itself.

"Hail, fellow warrior," the Rose Knight called out as they entered within earshot. "How goes the hunt?"

"Ehh, Missy, don't badger me about it," the warrior groaned. "Obviously I lost, okay?". He turned his horse around to ride along with her to hold a conversation.

Looking closely at him the Rose Knight could tell that he was more than a tad worse for wear: his cape was almost completely in tatters and burnt around the edges; his gold armor dotted with bitemarks as if he were made to be a chew toy for a much, much larger dog.

And, perched on his messy head was a coronet.

The Rose Knight took note of this. "Are you...royalty, by any chance?"

"Noticed my little crown, huh," the warrior raised his eyebrow. "Well yes." He did a small bow, or what could pass off as a small bow on horseback. "I am Prince Marius, Second Prince of the Kingdom of Pax."

"Honored to meet you, Your Highness," the Rose Knight returned his bow with a polite nod. "If I may ask, how did your attempt go?"

"Welp, you can see how wrecked I am," Prince Marius gestured towards himself. "The dragon isn't that large, but I'd be damned if it isn't impossible to kill. That thing seems to be made of steel."

"Hmm. Intriguing."

"It is rather weird though," said Prince Marius, "The dragon seems lazy and would rather sleep the entire day, so most of the time the challengers have to poke at it first and then...yeah. We get...roasted."

"A sleepy dragon?"

"Yes, a sleepy dragon," said Prince Marius. "Oh and Missy?"

"Yes, Prince Marius?"

"Since you're really cute and all, just a tip for when you take on the challenge: the dragon should be easily defeated if its gold earring is taken away."

"Really?" the Rose Knight murmured, unsure whether to take the information as reliable--Prince Marius failed in his task, after all. "At least, that was what the Princess Ingrid told me on one of the rare times I manage to climb up her tower."

"Hmm..." if that really did come fron the Princess herself, then I suppose it is worth exploring...

"Anyway, I'm bushed. Princess Ingrid is a looker but not enough for me to endure all that hardship over, you know?" Prince Marius muttered, then grinned roguishly at the Rose Knight. "But you though...fancy becoming my Princess?"

"Sorry," the Rose Knight's curt reply came instantly. "I'll pass."

To reiterate her words Peanut emerged from the Rose Knight's breastplate and hissed loudly at Prince Marius--quite a feat, since lizards of his kind usually did not make any sound at all.

"Whoa, whoa there li'l fellow," Prince Marius said, hands raised. "I was just kidding!"

===

On the sixth day of riding the Rose Knight finally arrived at her destination, the Kingdom of Svart.

By this time the sun was already about to set; and from the unmanned fortress gates the Rose Knight could see the dragon, as tall as five storeys in height, sitting on its haunches.

It was growling deeply and loudly, as if irritated with all the guests that it had to deal with for the day.

The Rose Knight, however, instead of going at the dragon with her blade at the ready, approached it with eyes filled with wonder, her hands covering her mouth.

Oh my god. That is such a beautiful dragon.

And indeed the dragon was a remarkably unique specimen; it was a rare silverback dragon, with eyes of an even rarer vivid shade of champagne gold. Its iridescent scales glittered with a rainbow sheen in the brilliant sunset light; the skin of its folded wings reminiscent of fine-spun silver silk.

Do I really have to slay this magnificent beast? Really?

The dragon warily tracked her movements with its golden eyes.

Ah, there it is, its earring, the one Prince Marius mentioned...

Pierced onto one of its veined winglets set on both sides of the dragon's head was a golden, bejeweled earring, which was too small for the dragon, but...

That looks like just the right size for a crown, isn't it? thought the Rose Knight, but thought no more of it as she drew even more closer to the beast.

She cleared her throat, and with voice loud enough to carry over the wind she said,

"I'm not going to do anything to you, for now at least," the Rose Knight hoped that her words would reach the dragon and somehow understand her. "I was hoping if we could parley, reach a truce, and have you fly off somewhere? Spare this kingdom by any chance?"

The dragon snorted billows of steam out of its snout.

Did...did the dragon just laugh at me? Am I being insulted?

"Okay, I'm going to take that as a no," reluctantly Rosa drew her blade. "You leave me no choice but to--"

Before she could fully unsheathe her blade the dragon stood up, revealing its full height of at least seven to eight storeys high, unfurling its spectacular silver wings.

"W-wait, where are you going?!" The Rose Knight cried out as the dragon took off into the sunset, leaving her literally in the dust as his flight kicked up the dirt and blew all over her.

Was that it? Did the dragon really accept the offer to parlay?

The Rose Knight stood there, coughing in the dust, as she watched the dragon's silhouette shrink into the horizon.

And then she suddenly heard clapping from behind her.

"Bravo. You, my dear lady, are the first warrior to successfully close the distance with the dragon without any incident, close enough that you could actually hit it with your blade if you so wished," a honeyed, dulcet voice spoke.

The Rose Knight quickly turned around to face the Evil Sorcerer Prince, Vilhelm.

He was clad in black robes, his silver hair adorned with a gold circlet--his sign of royalty--on his forehead.

"You." She pointed her blade at him, threateningly. "Release the Princess, if you don't... "

The Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm only gave her a tight-lipped smile, his golden eyes regarding her with sheer condescension. "Ah, but do you not remember the rules?" His lips curled into a derisive smile. "You are supposed to kill the dragon, bearer of the curse, and not me.

"If you kill me, then there will be no means to undo the curse I have cast. The dragon will still be there, but even if you kill it, yet another dragon may spawn, Princess Ingrid will still be trapped in the tower, and this rigmarole will be never-ending."

With a sigh, the Rose Knight dropped her blade. "Fair enough. I know how much trouble you Sorcerers are, with your glamour."

The Evil Sorcerer Prince tsk-ed. "The power I bear is no mere glamour, pet."

"Alright, magic then," the Rose Knight muttered. "So, what now? Why do you have to personally come see me? Are you afraid of me actually defeating your dragon?"

"No, but I am compelled to give you a boon for exceeding expectations." The Evil Sorcerer Prince crossed his arms. "In order to defeat the dragon--"

"--one must remove the earring from the beast. Yes, I already heard of it," finished the Rose Knight for him.

"Oh? And where did you hear that from?"

"One of the other challengers," said the Rose Knight offhandedly. "I imagine it is not easy. But things not easily done are what I do best," she said, holding the Sorcerer Prince's gaze with steely, determined eyes.

"Mhm. I rather like your pluck," said the Sorcerer Prince. "Well, then, since you show so much promise. Yet another boon you shall receive."

"Let's hear it," the Rose Knight said, her lips set.

"You can only kill the dragon at daytime. For the beast retreats at sunset, without fail."

Ugh. That wasn't so helpful, was it? Still, that explained why the dragon just up and left...

As it turned out, the dragon will be back. Rosa took a deep breath.

"Very well then, I shall return tomorrow by sunrise."

The Evil Sorcerer Prince flashed a cryptic smile. "Very well then, my dear lady knight. Good luck."

===

The next day, at sunrise.

True enough, the dragon was back, and as Prince Marius had said, the dragon turned out to be a rather sleepy beast. It laid on its belly right by the base of the tower where Princess Ingrid was said to be imprisoned; its tail curled around its majestic, slumbering form.

And again, The Rose Knight approached the dragon with her blade still sheathed, her gaze still admiring the magnificent creature.

"Um. Hello. Sir Dragon?"

Marius said that the dragon usually slept until they attacked it. Does this mean that...

With a tentative touch of her hand, she laid her palm on one of the dragon's iridescent scutes.

The dragon's eyes suddenly opened, the huge champagne gold irises trained on her.

"What about it?" she said, her voice projecting over the still morning air. "Fancy striking up a parley?"

Once again, the dragon snorted out steam, a loud growling sound coming from the deeper recesses of its belly. I really can't help but think the dragon actually understands me, and that it is laughing at me. The absolute cheek.

The Rose Knight did not think it entirely possible, but she imagined the dragon's gaze somehow grow softer upon her.

How can I bring myself to kill this dragon?

She looked upon the champagne gold eyes still staring at her, in what the Rose Knight fancied as an inquisitive, curious stare.

She sighed. I can't. Damn it.

She rubbed her temples, deep in desperate thought. But if I return empty handed, I fear the Queen's graces towards me may go sour, especially when she finds out that I lost by forfeiting the challenge.

Or was she really serious about...about...the Crown Prince Artem?

The Rose Knight groaned.

Suddenly she felt something nudge at ths scabbard that held her blade, Veritas, rattling it.

"Hm?"

The dragon's forked tongue was deliberately prodding her blade.

"Wait. Sir Dragon, what do you mean?" She looked at its eyes, trying to comprehend what it was trying to tell her.

Is it telling me to...go ahead and do the deed? What? "Sir Dragon, are you telling me to...to attack you?"

The beast snorted once again.

Her hands slightly shaking, the Rose Knight unsheathed Veritas, its silver blade glittering brightly in the sunlight.

Then the dragon roared, as if calling out for everyone's attention.

But there was no one to answer the dragon's call, maybe except for the occupant of the tower that held Princess Ingrid...

"No! That sword! Not that sword!" came a female's desperate shrieking voice from atop the tower.

The Rose Knight looked up, and she saw the curtains of the lone room at the top on the tower part open, revealing the beautiful visage of the imprisoned Princess Ingrid.

She was as beautiful as the tales have claimed: long hair as dark as night, skin the color of snow, and lips as red as blood...

And the circlet around her forehead.

Yet somehow, Princess Ingrid was very, very angry.

And a touch desperate.

Wait, that circlet, isn't that...

Before the Rose Knight could complete her thoughts, everything went white.

===

"Mmnnh..." the Rose Knight groaned, her eyes still closed shut.

What happened? Where am I?

"Easy does it now," whispered a very familiar gentle, honeyed voice. "You are hurt."

Wait. That voice.

The Rose Knight's eyes snapped open to a very unfamiliar sight compared to what she last remembered before she lost consciousness: it was already dark, with the moon high up in the sky.

She seemed to be in a wooded grove of some sort, surrounded by tall trees whose branches loomed all over, creating an eerie, quiet, yet oddly comforting canopy; she was lying on what felt to be a pile of leaves or tall grass...

The place appeared to be located quite the distance away from the walls of the castle proper, where the battle with the dragon took place. Only that it did not really take place; so what actually happened...?

And, kneeling beside where she lay, was the Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm, peering at her with a clear look of concern on his face.

Or rather, someone who looked like him. The man beside her was his spitting image: silver hair, golden eyes, and a fair complexion; the difference being that he was clothed in a dark forest green robe lined with silver.

The man's countenance was also softer, bearing none of the sarcastic, cruel glint that the Evil Sorcerer Prince held in his eyes.

And the coronet on his head...

The coronet on his head...is the same as the dragon's earring!

The Rose Knight blinked, and slowly put two and two together.

She remembered Queen Celestine's words.

"Our crowns are proof of our birthright and lineage--nothing can ever tarnish, destroy our crowns, nor can anyone transform them via alchemy or glamour."

"You," the Rose Knight said, "You are the dragon."

Not-Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm smiled amiably. "Yes. You have guessed it right in one attempt. I am pleased."

She tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain shot all over her upper body, making her wince. "Ah...it hurts...!"

"Hold still," said the dragon. "You bore the full brunt of the Princess's lightning strike."

"Lightning strike?" she asked, a tad confused. Then, "Oh no! PEANUT!"

Frantically she tapped all over her armor, powering through the sharp pain, trying to see if Peanut still responded--the small lizard may not have survived such a strong elemental attack...

"If you are looking for your friend, he is here with me," said the dragon, his arm outstretched; Peanut was lying quite contentedly on his forearm. "He was indeed hurt, but I managed to patch him up with some poultice that I could prepare with the meagre selection of herbs available here."

Then his face turned a bit grim. "I...was also forced to use a bit of magic just to save him. I do owe you a boon for what you did, so consider all debt paid."

"Thank you," she whispered, almost close to tears. "He's very important to me, my little page."

"Never you mind," the dragon said, "I am also thankful that you finally came."

The Rose Knight, still wincing in pain, carefully took Peanut off his arm, setting him down on a  comfortable pile of leaves to rest and recover.

"You are still not healed," the dragon noted as he gently laid his palm on her forehead. "I loathe to use magic, but the turn of events require me to overcome my distaste of sorcery.

"I am required to lay my hands directly on your burns to heal, but your armor is in the way. There is another method, fortunately." The dragon's lips curled into a cryptic smile. "Mayhap you would let me use this other method?"

Grimacing, the Rose Knight nodded. "Yes," she said, voice raspy. "As long as it doesn't require any funny exchanges like my life, or something."

"You already offered your life," the dragon said blithely, "When you raised your Sword of Truth to challenge the true villain of this story."

She did not understand him, but she felt like she got manipulated into something.

But the pain took precedence.

"Well then," the dragon whispered as he leaned over to her, "if you would excuse me..."

He laid his lips on her forehead, his breath caressing the top of her head.

Soft warmth infused the Rose Knight's veins, flowing from where his lips touched her skin, reaching, spreading to the ends of her limbs, fingers; her entire being eventually saturated with a comfortable feeling of tenderness.

When the dragon pulled away, the Rose Knight still felt her face grow hot, yet the pain had long left her.

"Well? How do you feel now?"

Still blushing, the Rose Knight said, "I'm good. Thank you."

"I am glad. I do not like to use magic, but my preferred alchemy requires everything to be in their proper place. I have no such luxury nor time at the moment."

"I...I am still confused as to what is happening." The Rose Knight shook her head. "Why do you look like the Sorcerer Prince? Why is the Princess furious at me, and didn't you say she hit me with lightning?"

"That I did."

"Why...?"

"A lightning strike. For you have displeased someone, for not playing by their rules," said the dragon.

The Rose Knight tried to sit up, this time with the dragon's help; he carried her in his arms and sat her against a nearby tree trunk, its roots lined with soft moss.

"Thank you. First things first," The Rose Knight took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. "I think introductions are in order?" She looked at the man who knelt beside her, his moonlight silver hair--accented by the gold of his coronet--softly glowing in the night.

"Ah, I forget my manners. Forgive me," murmured the dragon. "I am Vilhelm, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Svart."

Thw Rose Knight grew even more confused. "Wait. If you are Vilhelm..." her voice trailed off.

"Then it only means the other is false," Vilhelm finished the obvious. "Do you remember what it is that you did, before you were struck by the Princess's lightning?"

"I remember that I unsheathed Veritas," the Rose Knight murmured, the memory still fresh. Unconsciously her hand crept to feel for her blade's handle--and there it was. Veritas was still with her.

"The Sword of Truth," Vilhelm said. "Which, if the tales about it are true, not only can it pierce, slash, and cut like any other sword, but can also tear through falsehoods created by glamour--is this correct?"

"That it is," concurred the Rose Knight. "It is a blade that was handed to me by my parents, before they departed this world."

"Imagine if...it tore through the falsehood of my dragon form, the glamour forced upon me," Vilhelm said, his champagne-gold eyes holding her gaze. "What do you suppose would happen?"

"The form forced upon you by glamour--your dragon form--will dissipate and you will be left in your true appearance."

The Rose Knight's eyes narrowed. "That is, if your current form is indeed your true appearance."

Vilhelm chuckled. "I would be voluntarily submitting myself to the Sword of Truth to prove the veracity of my words. But." He pursed his lips. "Alas, I will still need to turn into a dragon for the...abilities that come with it, for one last time. So no. I prefer my curse to be lifted the correct way."

The Rose Knight cocked an eyebrow. "The correct way? You mean like the rules that the Evil Sorcerer Prince have set?"

Vilhelm laughed. "Not quite. Close, however."

"Then what would you have me do?"

Vilhelm told her.

The Rose Knight's hands flew to her lips. "Ah."

"It is quite simple, is it not?" Vilhelm chuckled. "Ah, I would have willingly relinquished my right to the kingdom, but they did not even see it fit to talk with me about it. All I knew was that this curse was placed upon me--that I turn into a dragon every sunrise, and turn back into my real form every sunset--when I woke up one morning."

"I'm sorry," said the Rose Knight.

"Do not be, milady Knight" said Vilhelm. "I hear some royalty from other kingdoms have it far worse." Then he smiled, ruefully. "This is why clear, concise communication is important. If communication was done properly, they would have made off with the kingdom with nary any effort, and I would have been free to pursue my dreams as an alchemist."

"So you're not the Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm," said the Rose Knight. "You are...Alchemist Prince Vilhelm?"

"I would rather drop the 'Prince', but yes, I suppose that is correct." One of Vilhelm's hands found a wildflower, and with precise fingers picked the lilac-colored bloom by its stem. "Alchemy is a more sophisticated art, I find, than sorcery. Alchemy is a dance between respecting the laws of nature and the elements, and trying to transcend them. A most nuanced endeavor."

His slender fingers then tucked the flower behind the Rose Knight's ear, the lilac petals now adorning her auburn tresses.

"But enough about me. I wish to know about you. The only warrior who even bothered asking questions, before swinging a sword to take a life, even that of a beast." Vilhelm smiled, his champagne-gold eyes glimmering with delight.

"I am only glad that I do not have to kill such a beautiful reptilian creature," the Rose Knight bit her lower lip. "I love reptiles great and small! You've seen Peanut," she gestured to her little lizard friend, now sleeping on its bed of leaves and moss. "Frogs are cute too, and I'd kiss them a lot but I really don't want any one of them to turn into a prince."

Amused, Vilhelm asked, "And why not? Surely a prince could give you all the frogs you would ever want."

The Rose Knight made a moue. "That's the thing. There's no prince who would do such a thing. They would all be stuffed up with things like decorum, or propriety. I will kiss whoever can prove me wrong!"

Vilhelm laughed. "Oh, I so happen to know one such prince who would be happy to give you pet frogs, snakes, maybe even one benign dragon, if you so wished. In fact, observing them is part and parcel of his studies."

The Rose Knight's lips curled into a twisted smile, unimpressed. "Really now. Who?"

Vilhelm casually points to himself. "Me." And, without missing a beat, said, "Can I claim my kiss, milady Knight?"

Ah, I just had to walk myself right into it.

"Remember, you cannot renege on whatever you have promised, no matter how small..." Vilhelm's head tipped to one side, a small smile dancing on his lips. "Especially when it comes to royalty."

"Yes. Um." The Rose Knight gulped, nervous, yet her eyes did recognize how much of a beautiful man Vilhelm was: hair as fair as moonlight; eyes as gold as the sweetest champagne.

It was this very knowledge that made her shy away; she never thought of herself as deserving of such kind of affection, most especially from those highly esteemed as royalty.

Vilhelm must have sensed her hesitation, for he inched closer to her and said, "To make it easier for you to deliver on your promise, maybe I should take this kiss from you?"

Reaching over to her, he planted his palms on the tree trunk behind her, trapping her in his arms. "May I have your kiss, my dearest Knight?" His gentle voice was tinged with need. "Please, do say yes."

The Rose Knight found her gaze transfixed at the deep pools of gold that were his eyes, now half-hidden behind his long silver lashes.

Vilhelm's face still slowly inched ever closer to her, now close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her lips when he said, once again, "Please. Say yes."

"Am I...deserving of something like this?" The Rose Knight asked, her lips almost touching his.

Vilhelm smiled at her tenderly. "But of course. Milady Knight of the pure, valiant, kind, and inquisitive soul. I admit I was already taken by you when you dared ask a dragon, sword sheathed, for a parley." A finger lovingly caressed her cheek.

"Then yes," the Rose Knight said, after mustering enough courage to acknowledge and get what she wanted. "Please, take my kiss."

And Vilhelm finally kissed her, his lips gently pressing against hers, a chaste kiss that was nonetheless filled with utter longing and passion; filled with such warmth that the Rose Knight could not even dare dream of, not even during her idle daydreams after reading of books that told of sweet, wonderful, romantic love.

When their lips parted, the Rose Knight was no longer the same; her heart was splintered and part of it became the Prince's possession, whether either of them liked it or not.

"When this all ends, I will come for you," Vilhelm whispered. "I shall court you, woo you, romance you, like you so deserve."

The sky started to fill with milky light.

"It is almost sunrise," noted Vilhelm as he reluctantly removed himself from the Rose Knight's side.

With nary any warning he removed his robe, letting it fall off his arms and quickly folded it before handing the clothing to Rosa, whose face instantly went beet red.

"Y-you're naked, Your Highness," the Rose Knight stammered. "Please, this is too much."

"I do apologize. Unfortunately this is a necessary measure; if I do not disrobe before I turn I will be left with no clothes to wear upon turning back into my original form." Vilhelm smiled knowingly. "Do you not like what you see?"

He opened his arms, wholly welcoming her scrutiny of his naked physique: a complexion most fair, his figure exceptionally toned for someone who spent most of his time poring over his books and research.

"Please, do not tease me so," the Rose Knight--still a tender, chaste, woman at heart--started to panic.

"I jest," Vilhelm said, seemingly delighted at the flustered reactions his teasing had caused. "Please do take care of my robe; I am giving it to you, because I intend to return to you after this is all over."

"Alright."

Vilhelm walked a few paces away from the Rose Knight, towards the part of the grove that had less canopy.

As soon as the first ray of sunlight touched his head the man who had kissed the Rose Knight a few moments earlier had turned into the familiar silverback dragon.

Before the dragon--Vilhelm--flew away, he clambered around to face the Rose Knight, who was still clutching his robe as she stared at him with wonder.

Then licked her from her greaves to the top of her head with his forked tongue.

Peanut, seeing this display of wanton affection, only yawned widely and went back to sleep.

===

Once again the Rose Knight made her way to the tower where the Princess Ingrid was said to be kept.

"I call upon the Evil Sorcerer Prince Vilhelm," the Rose Knight said, projecting her clear, assured voice over the dry wind. "I will undo this curse!"

So saying, she unsheathed her blade, Veritas, pointing its tip at the Evil Sorcerer Prince.

"Ah. What a wonderful turn of events," the Sorcerer Prince said from atop the precipice of the tower on which he watched all battles in comfort. "Tell me, Knight," he lifted his hand. "How adept you are at avoiding lightning strikes?"

The sky above them crackled, but before the lightning could strike the Rose Knight the dragon kicked off in flight, urgently picking up the Rose Knight with its talons before the tendrils of deadly summoned light crashed into the ground.

It then flew towards the top of the tower, the Rose Knight in its gentle yet secure grip.

Seeing this the Sorcerer Prince panicked. "Vilhelm!" He growled. "You dare you defy me, you will regret--"

The dragon, upon reaching the precipice of the tower, unceremoniously tossed the Rose Knight towards the Sorcerer Prince.

The Rose Knight, who already anticipated how the dragon planned to dispatch her, flew towards the Sorcerer Prince with Veritas already in a thrusting posture, her sword-bearing arm cocked behind her, the blade's tip aimed at its target...

And upon reaching him, the Rose Knight pierced the Sorcerer Prince's heart, her aim true.

Killing the illusion, the glamour.

Eventually revealing the true form of the Sorcerer Prince: Princess Ingrid, her beautiful form now sprawled upon the floor.

True enough, her circlet was the exact same one as the Evil Sorcerer Prince's. The royal circlet was the one thing that could not be concealed by her glamour.

Curse now finally broken, the flying dragon had also disappeared, turning into Prince Vilhelm--naked--mid-air a few feet just above the tower's precipice.

"Prince Vilhelm!" The Rose Knight cried out, her arms outstretched to catch him in her arms, just before he hit the floor.

"You did not have to, but thank you all the same," whispered Vilhelm with a small smile on his face, amused that the Rose Knight carried his nude self in her arms princess-style.

"Can I have my robe back?"

The Rose Knight, her face once again furiously blushing, silently put Vilhelm down and fished out the robe from underneath her breastplate, averting her gaze away from him all the while.

Finally having made himself decent, Prince Vilhelm walked over to where Princess Ingrid lay. "Are you awake, dear half-sister?"

"Damn you, Vilhelm," Ingrid seethed. "I was so close, my plan was--"

"Ill-thought out," Vilhelm cut in. "If you only talked with me about this, I would have willingly relinquished my birthright to you." He crossed his arms.

"You think I believe your blathering, Vilhelm?" Ingrid hissed.

Vilhelm sighed. "See, this is why I think you are not ready to rule a kingdom. You think it easier to call upon the mightiest warriors from other Kingdoms, even farflung ones, than calling upon me, your half-brother residing in the very same castle, to have a chat. Unbelievable.

"Though, I do believe in giving credit where it is due. It is rather a brilliant stroke of genius to offer yourself to the warrior or the prince who manages to slay me, to ally our Kingdom to a powerful one." Vilhelm flashed Ingrid a grin that did not quite reach his eyes.

"I'm only doing it for our Kingdom," said Ingrid, still furious. "I can't stomach to lose the right to rule to a slacker such as you!"

"So you say, so you say," said Vilhelm, placatingly. "I do understand your intention, which is why I played along while waiting for a much better solution to fall onto my lap," he said as he gestured towards the Rose Knight.

"You--" Ingrid seethed, her eyes burning holes at the Rose Knight. "Curse upon--"

"Enough, Ingrid," said Vilhelm, voice now taking an imperious tone. "If you threaten my bride-to-be any further I shall have you sentenced to death instead of simply being banished."

The Rose Knight looked up at Vilhelm, shocked.

What?

===

And with enough courting and wooing with a little bit of chasing and dueling a nervous bride-to-be, Prince Vilhelm finally managed to marry the Rose Knight and made her his Queen, as soon as he accepted the responsibility to ascend the throne.

However many stories abound, about a couple who resembled Svart's King and Queen roaming lands unknown under the assumed names of Vyn and Rosa, offering their services of alchemy and mercenary work to the farflung places that needed them.

As to how they managed to pull it off, nobody ever found out.

===

"Rosa, darling," Vyn nuzzled her hair, waking her up gently. "You fell asleep while I was reading to you." He planted a kiss onto the top of her head. "Did I bore you?"

Rosa's eyes fluttered open. "Vyn? Oh, uh...no," she mumbled. "I guess...I got too comfortable?" She stretched underneath the blanket, relishing the feel of heart-melting warmth radiating from her lover. "Sharing a blanket with you in wintertime is just the best way to relax, is all--oh, hang on, what time is it?"

Vyn threw a glance at the screen of his smartphone. "It is almost midnight," he noted. "Well, do you want to exchange our gifts now?" He smiled at her, his gold eyes sparkling with delight, and what appeared to be traces of excitement barely hidden.

"Yeah, let's!"

After handing each other their gifts, Vyn and Rosa counted down from three to one before opening their presents.

Vyn had received from Rosa a silver letter opener, its blade embellished with a rose motif. His eyes admired the workmanship of the silver, his fingers gently tracing its outline and the rose design etched onto the blade.

"This is beautiful," he whispered reverently. "I will make sure to use this whenever I receive traditional missives."

He leaned over to Rosa, giving her a lingering kiss on the lips.

"Thank you."

Blushing, Rosa focused on opening her present, then gasped.

It was a plush toy of a silver-colored dragon, holding a rose with its snout.

Rosa blinked, marvelling at the sheer coincidence.

"Do you like it?" Vyn asked, rather bashfully. "I thought you would appreciate something that represented this town's coat of arms, a dragon holding a rose."

Rosa turned to him, a smile blooming beautifully on her face. "My Prince. You really did give me a dragon."

[sdaomine]

Secret Santa ‘21 — Storm and Moonlight

This is my entry for Themis’s Typewriter’s Secret Santa Event! The theme is fluff and christmas (with a little bit of inspiration from Taylor Swift's ‘Sparks Fly’). Happy holidays, @choc-chino 💝 I hope you like it! Honestly, I was a nervous wreck because I couldn't come up with anything at first, but, thankfully, here we are! 🥰 Enjoy, everyone!

Pairing: Marius von Hagen x fem!reader

It’s three hours before the clock strikes Christmas.

Your mind wanders aimlessly into its own fantasy—you think of the snow-covered streets in Stellis, of the cup of hot cocoa you could’ve been sipping right now, of the overly-decorated pine tree in the center of your living room that would probably be blinding you with the flickering lights wrapped all over it.

Ah, you let out a quiet sigh, I never thought I’d miss my hometown this much…

You catch a glimpse of the colossal round clock across the lobby, ticking the way it always does and with no plans of stopping at all. You somehow wish it spares you enough time.

Please, just a little more.

The speech happening upstairs inside the events place had just begun, and Christmas is not adjusting for anyone. Whoever thought and agreed to host such affair on Christmas eve must have a lose screw in their brains.

You and Marius had no choice. PAX had just launched its services internationally, and their new business partnerships with countries across Asia had become one of the most valuable and crucial investments the company has ever made. With this occasion the only social event one of the Asian partners had offered, Marius was left with absolutely zero chances of a peaceful Christmas eve.

“I should be returning upstairs,” you mumble to yourself, flitting your gaze from the glass windows to the lobby elevator. “But it’s peaceful here, and quiet, with no one around…” you quietly say. Will Marius agree to sneak out and join me here instead?

You let out a startled gasp as you sense a ticklish warmth on the crook of your neck. You instinctively angle your head to the side—only for your breath to be knocked away by the painfully attractive sight of your boyfriend. Marius...

You feel your cheeks burn.

“Oneee-san,” calls Marius in a somewhat teasing yet utterly soft voice. “What are you thinking about?”

For some reason, you feel embarrassed to admit that you were contemplating about sneaking out with him, of ditching the event so the two of you could spend time together. So you try to squeeze your brain for a fool proof response—but you end up shamelessly staring at Marius, whose head rests atop your shoulder, his lips on a knowing smile and amethyst eyes on a scorching gaze. You feel your face heat up again.

“Were you thinking of sneaking out, Missy?”

“I’m not!” You look away. “I know this event is significant to you,” you say, “even if I did consider sneaking you out, I won’t do it.”

“Fine,” says Marius as he pulls away from you. The slowly waning heat from his body causes a frown on your face, but his next words betray your claims as your eyes light up in eagerness. Marius leans down slightly for his lips to graze your ear, “If you won’t sneak me out, then I’ll take your hand,” he whispers, “and sneak you out instead.”

---

You hear the solid drumming of your heart. Your footsteps are ringing in your ears. You hear your ragged breaths along with the sweet laughs coming out of Marius’s lips, and the chilly winds on this night of Christmas eve were but constant waves of nostalgia hitting your face.

It has been a long time since you felt this exhilarated.

Neither you or Marius have an idea of your whereabouts—this isn’t Stellis, after all, but a foreign place. That said, it’s the perfect chance to let down your walls and stop pretending to be proper souls.

Of all people, it is you who is entirely aware of what Marius needs to be in Stellis, of how he is expected to speak and act. It is only you who sees the exhaustion in his eyes and the sag in his shoulders after a day in the office. He isn’t even allowed to act recklessly or childishly in public, even when he is a child, a young adult of twenty-one still grasping the burden and responsibilities of life.

You halt your running, resting your hands on your knees as support as you catch your breath. Marius, on the other hand, still hasn’t stopped laughing as he watches you gasp for air. “Oneee-san, can’t you keep up with me?” he teases, “do you want me to carry you?”

“You wicked, wicked thing!” You do not suppress the grin on your face as you stand on your heels. “Marius von Hagen, I—oh!”

You hear the crack of your velvet stiletto, and you see light flashing in your eyes as you lose balance; though instead of colliding with the cold cobblestones, your small frame falls into the young von Hagen’s arms.

You take a peek at him, and you are immensely grateful that you did.

Suddenly it’s all Marius—so cliché, you think, but it's true. You see only his lilac eyes staring right at you and you feel yourself melt in his embrace. His hands feel too big as they hold your waist, and for a moment you’re all breathless and flustered as you realize he just saved you from a nasty fall.

“Missy.” He doesn’t let go and instead, draws closer, dangerously closer to you. “Are you alright?”

You were about to respond, but instead of a word or two, only a light gasp escapes your lips as Marius teasingly squeezes the exposed skin on your thighs. “Missy, why are your cheeks all red?”

You glare at him. “Marius!”

His fingers travel higher on your thigh, his touch so electrifying you immediately slap his hand away from you. “Marius! I’m going to pinch your cheeks so hard it’ll sting for a month.”

“Sorry, just thought you needed some warmth.” He winked, but you notice that he isn’t entirely teasing you. Marius gestures to your silk dress. “Aren’t you cold? How are you surviving this chilly evening with a slit that high?”

“I’m okay, I swear! Don’t worry.” You smile up at him, your hands reaching to grab the lapel of his coat. You suddenly have an idea.

You tug slightly on his collar, bringing him closer to your face. “Baby,” you whisper, looking straight into his eyes. “Want to do something spicy?”

The moment his lips curved into a smirk, you knew the evening was off to a good start.

---

“M-Marius!” You breathe out—almost screamed—when you feel the agonizing sting spreading like wildfire all over your tongue. “Water! Water, Marius!”

You fan your hands in front of your face as if your small fingers had the power to ease the hotness in your mouth. “Marius, what the hell are you doing?”

Instead of handing you a water bottle, you see your boyfriend stuffing big squares of chocolate cake in his mouth, bits of fondue smudged across his chin and cheeks like a little boy eating his birthday cake for the first time—devouring them nonstop perhaps to ease the spiciness in his mouth and completely oblivious of you and your suffering.

“Marius—oomf!” Before you could even react, Marius stuffs chocolate cake in your mouth.

He wears a goofy smile, a grin so wide that he almost has his eyes closed. “Yes, baby? Did you say something? I can’t quite hear you,” he asks innocently, batting his eyelashes. “Water, was it? How about you say sorry to me first for feeding me something so spicy I almost teared up?”

You stifle a laugh. Indeed, Marius didn’t expect you to feed him a (super) spicy delicacy—you had grabbed his hand and pulled him to food stall area, bustling with bright christmas lights and smelled as if it’s heaven on earth. You had bought him chocolate cake first before you caught sight of a nearby stall that sold hot desserts, and Marius, who had trusted you a hundred and one percent, didn’t even dare read nor ask about what that damned food stall had in store.

You can’t help but giggle. “What are you talking about?” You try to hide your face with your hands. “It’s not my fault that the oh-so-great Marius von Hagen couldn’t eat spicy foods at all,” you tell him, “besides, it’s you—”

You hiss in surprise as you feel coldness on your cheek—Marius has painted chocolate fondue on your face as if you are a blank canvas in his studio, and he doesn’t even look sorry about it. “Besides what?” he repeats, this time using two of his fingers to paint yet another sweet fondue on your forehead. “There,” says Marius in a satisfied tone as he draws nearer to you, “consider this as payback, baby.

“But don’t worry,” he adds, “I’ll treat you to something special.” He winks.

Somehow, you start to consider that this payback is a blessing. After all, instead of being punished for your deliberate feeding of spicy food to Marius, here you are—looking pretty with your new bunny headdress, and it even has movable ears! “Oh my god, this is… this is so cute! Marius, too cute!”

“I know I’m cute.”

You narrow your eyes but continue to simultaneously pull at the bunny ears, “Not you. The bunny headdress. And look at its ears!”

“Oneee-san, I’m starting to get jealous over here.”

“Come here, I’ll hit you.”

And there goes his puppy eyes and pout again. “Missy!”

He’s so cute, you think to yourself. Marius, you’re too cute. It’s starting to feel unfair…

Oh, but he is. Your gaze is fixed intently on him as he tries to pull the ears of his new fluffy puppy headdress—you take note of the way his lips curve in delight every time he succeeds, of the way his dazzling, dazzling amethyst eyes brighten in felicity—

Your breath catches as you finish the thought.

Every time he looks at you.

Right now, he’s preoccupied with the new stall in front of you: a small cart of cheap scarves and jewelry owned by a really, really kind old man. He says he’s heading home in a few to celebrate Christmas eve with his family, but he needs to catch up with sales first.

Looking at your boyfriend’s cheery grin as he converses with the old man, you know exactly what he’s planning to accomplish.

And you don’t know what, when, and how it all happened—it feels like a blink of an eye as you stare at the old man pushing his almost empty cart home. You give Marius a sideward glance—and you couldn’t suppress the rich laughter that comes out of your mouth.

Fully aware of how hilarious he appears, your boyfriend joins in on the fun.

Marius von Hagen. The Marius von Hagen, acting CEO of Pax—adorned with a neon pink scarf and a few more pastel-colored ones wrapped around his neck, four plastic rings on his fingers, and a “Merry Christmas” headband on his head. Your first thought was that he looked utterly hysterical he could be a circus clown; somehow you don’t feel any guilt with it. Ah, because it’s true!

As if to entertain you even more, Marius places a hand on his hips and twirls around before he walks on a straight line—just like a contestant on a beauty pageant, you realize, and you burst out laughing for the second time around.

“Goddammit,” you curse, feeling your abdomen burn as well as your breathlessness.

“Oneee-san,” he calls to you in the softest, painfully adorable voice ever, “are you done making fun of me? Aren’t you going to coddle me now, Missy?”

“Haha, s-sorry…”

“Pfft, look at you talk. You don’t even see yourself right now,” he huffs, crossing his arms. “You look worse than I do, seriously.”

“Excuse me?”

“You look like a homeless wreck,” he adds in a more teasing tone, “hehe, the slit on your dress looks like it needs sewing.”

Maybe your minds are indeed now connected, because the moment you take your first step towards Marius, he’s already a few feet ahead of you, running as fast as he could. His long legs serve him well as his head start, while you, unfortunately, are about to suffer from blisters from running barefoot on the cobblestones.

“Marius. Von. Hagen! Come back here, you brat!”

He’s slowing down, you think, and you prepare yourself for the long-awaited payback you’re about to give Marius. That’s it, he’s slowing down!

But your calculations are wrong. Instead of slowing down Marius has stopped entirely, and your mind breaks into a panic as you realize that you’re not strong enough to stop your pace all of a sudden—and as expected, you crash onto Marius… who had his arms wide open.

The force is too much that Marius deems fit to hold onto you tightly and twirl the both of you around. Your face is still buried in his chest, and you feel just how warm he is—so nice, so comfortable you yearn to stay there a little while longer. You bask in the sweet fragrance he exudes, of the sheer coziness he brings upon you that it takes you quite long to realize how Marius hasn’t let go of you yet.

“Marius?” You try to tilt your head to look at him, but he doesn’t budge and instead, tightens his embrace on you. His chin rests atop your head. Suddenly you feel long fingers caressing your locks. “Mm, what are you up to, baby?”

“Hmm? Hugging the love of my life, obviously,” he chuckles. “What do you think?”

You giggle against his chest, using it as your chance to hide your reddened cheeks. “I don’t know, suffocate me to death?” you almost snort, your fingers gripping tighter on his coat. “Well, I—oh no, Marius, is it…?”

“Shit.” Marius instinctively pulls away from you to remove his coat. He then hoists it above your heads as a futile attempt to shield you from the sudden rain—but to no avail since no weather forecast mentioned of a surprise icy battering ram in the middle of the night, one hour before Christmas day.

The two of you bolt running towards the nearest shelter—but the evening sky is like a shadow cast overhead and you see almost nothing save for the streetlights and Christmas LEDs wrapped around trees and houses; the rain shower adds up to the poor visibility in the area, but even so, there isn't really a shelter nearby.

You and Marius are already soaked by the time he used his coat as protection anyway, so you halt running, leaving your boyfriend confused. “Shit,” he curses, sprinting back to you, “come here! You'll get sick—”

“Marius!” You cup your hands on either side of your mouth as you call out his name a little loudly, trying to outdo the rain’s heavy showering. “The coat! It’s useless!”

“What?” he shouts back, “what do you—”

Marius is speechless when you grab his hand, tugging him happily towards you—you giggle when your face bumps against his chest even if your nose stings a little. “Ow, haha...”

But before he could even say something, you take his hand for the second time and, under the pouring rain, twirl yourself underneath his hoisted arm.

Right after it, you grab both of his hands this time and look into his still astonished eyes—the sight of it makes you laugh, and while you do, you take one step towards him, and use the same foot to step backwards. You slightly tug at him too, gesturing for Marius to emulate your movements.

Y/N, he thinks to himself. You want to dance in the rain?

Suddenly Marius captures your wrist and pulls your body flush against his. “You're so fucking cute,” he says almost inaudibly before cupping your face with his wet hands, “i want to kiss you, i really want to.”

With those words—and a quick nod of approval from you—Marius draws close, closer, until you feel his warm lips brush against yours. It almost felt like he was moving in slow motion, his mere presence blurring everything around you.

Good, you think. Let it all go, Marius. Tonight, I'm all yours.

For now, you flay all pretend, all inhibitions. There are no one else in this deserted park, just you and him—for now, the only real thing is the softness of Marius's lips against yours, the unhurried demand of his tongue drawing yours out, the electric shivers that races through you at his touch.

You sigh when he pulls away, but seeing how he grins at you excitedly, you figure it out in an instant: more blisters.

Haha, you think. Not that I mind.

You let out a giggle when Marius takes your hands, twirling you around—again, and again, careful not to make you dizzy too much. “Onee-san, no one told me dancing in the rain was this fun.”

He guides your hand to his shoulder, and he holds the other one, extending your entwined hands to shoulder level. His free hand rests on your waist.

“Remind me to take you out on stormy nights.”

Marius plants a small kiss on your forehead and, in one quick motion, spins you around—when your bodies face each other again, Marius secures you with a strong hand on your back and abruptly dips you so low you almost felt your head hitting the ground. Just like dancing tango, you remember.

And so you flex your leg and bend it upward in a graceful, almost sensual manner, then your hand pulls away from his touch to let your arm fly free to your side as he lowers your body.

“And remind me to set up lovely lights in my living room.” Marius lifts you back up with such great force, ensuing a gasp coming out of your lips. “So we get some pretty ambience while I waltz you all over it.”

Your bodies sway in sync, your fingers now running through his damp hair of midnight-blue—both your smiles are too wide that they are unmatched, eyes glistening with overwhelming delight.

“Y/N.” Marius fastens the pace of your dancing, his hand moving up to where your jaw and neck met. “I think I'm seeing sparks everywhere.”

“Haha, don't worry.” Your laugh echoes across the empty park. “You're certainly not alone.”

“That's good to know.”

And so you danced with Marius, the love of your life, so blissfully it didn't matter whether there was a storm or not—all there was were swaying bodies under the moonlit night of Christmas eve, two youthful souls having the time of their lives.

Your back is now against Marius, the movement of your bodies now slower; his hands are wrapped around you and his chin rests again on your shoulder. Caressing his face were your soft little fingers, your other hand placed atop his own. “You're ferocious,” you chuckle, eyes closed as you sway mindlessly, “that, or my stamina has become all rusty.”

“I'm not Mr. Extreme Sports for nothing,” says Marius, his breath tickling your skin. “Hehe, maybe I also got a little too excited. It's not everyday I get to dance with you under a storm.”

“You owe me midnight snacks, Marius.”

“Just midnight snacks? You're making it too easy for me. Don't you—”

Your sudden movement interrupts him. You panic when you catch a glimpse of your shoes, as well as the few scarves and paper rings you and Marius left on a nearby bench before you decided to dance the night away—you were too caught up in the moment, you almost forgot your belongings...

You grab your unattended things and walk back to where Marius stands. You're smiling up at him, waving your free hand as you tread closer—only for you to be get a little confused. Marius wears not his usual grin on his face, his body now more tense; but his eyes, his eyes hold something different.

“Marius?”

He doesn't respond, but his eyes are fixated on you.

Oh, it's pretty unfortunate that couldn't read what was going in his brain. Never you mind, though, for it is all you—all you in his head, all you in his heart. Every thought, every beat. You, you, you.

Y/N, he thinks to himself. She's so beautiful.

Water rivulets were dripping from your hair down to your neck, collarbone, chest. Marius's muse appeared utterly alluring underneath the iridescent moonlight.

So gorgeous, I want to kiss her.

Because even with your tousled locks and your sleeveless velvet gown all wet and bedraggled from the rain and mud, you still made his heart skip a beat—the sight of you enough for Marius to suddenly need a breather, to make the man lose his head.

I really want to kiss her.

You sigh in relief when you see him move from his once frozen stance. “Gee, Marius. I got nervous thinking something happened to you—”

Gripping your shoulders, Marius leans forward to selfishly claim his second kiss tonight. You wonder if kissing you was what he was thinking moments ago. Ah, but that doesn't matter now...

Your arms instinctively wrap around his torso, his slender hands finding comfort on your waist. “Sorry,” he says, breaking away for a millisecond to whisper against your lips, “but you look so beautiful, I couldn't tame my greediness tonight.”

“Marius—”

He kisses you gently at first, but after a while, his kisses grow hotter, more fervent—and you willingly part your mouth so his tongue could enter past your lips.

His lips... So soft... You feel your cheeks heat up as your thoughts run their own will. Somehow you already know what you want for Christmas.

You pull away, your breathing slightly ragged. “Marius,” you breathe, “do me a favor.”

“What's that?”

“Want. You,” you say, still catching your breath from all the kissing you just did. “Exquisitely wrapped as my Christmas gift tonight, with a pink ribbon on top.” I wonder how he's going to take this jest of mine...

Shit, you think, seeing Marius just openly staring at you. Really... Why did I make such a lame joke while we're being intimate...

“I love you.”

You instantly tilt your head, staring back at him. “What?” you ask, dumbfounded.

His hands still resting on your waist, he tugs you a little closer. “I said,” he repeats, his amethyst eyes brimming with euphoria and admiration, “i love you. Y/N, I love you.”

You unconsciously tighten your grip on his shoulder, and with the threat of tears in your eyes you confess so keenly to him, “I love you too, Marius. I love you too.”

Marius almost flinches. Shit. Critical hit.

And then there's silence between you; comfortable, at the same time thrilling. You hear the strong drumming of a heart—yours? His? You have no idea. All you know is that this evening is one of those nights you won't forget, ever.

At a loss for words, all that escaped past your lips was a single word: “O-okay.”

But his lips curve into that smile again, and in a low whisper, you hear him say it back. “Okay.”

It was only then that the two of you realize it's not raining anymore. The cobblestones are still damp, some steps still muddied. For whatever reason the streetlights now flickered a mix of melancholy orange and yellows, and the place got even quieter.

It feels like the world is giving you and Marius all the time, space, and chances you need for tonight.

You feel aching on your foot. You look down on your toes, seeing blisters all over your feet. But Marius's shadow snags your attention, and you see him offering a hand to you.

“It's time for us to return home,” he says. “Hop on my back, I'll carry you to the car.” And maybe we could dance in the empty parking lot, too.

“Okay.” You wouldn't admit—even if it was already obvious to him—that you're still shy and flustered from your confessions this evening, so you keep quiet the entire time.

You hop onto his back, his strong hands gripping on your thighs to prevent you from slipping away. When your arms make their way around his neck, falling all the way to his chest, you feel yourself getting flustered again—he smells so good.

Marius easily carries you. He begins to walk back to the hotel parking lot, a comfortable silence hanging over you. Suddenly you hear his digital watch beep a few times.

“Y/N.” Marius angles his head slightly to the right to get a glimpse of you. “Thank you for tonight,” he says in a low, sweet tone, “merry christmas, baby. And just in case you haven't processed it yet—Y/N, I'm certainly drunk in love with you.”

“Yeah.” You bury your hot, reddened face in his shoulder. “Me too.”

[thenovelartist]

I'm Dreaming of a White Kissmas

Here's my Secret Santa story for @alby-rei as part of the Themis' Typewriter SS event ;D I think I may have taking a little liberty with the prompt, BUT I think there's still plenty of fluff with a dash of humor for our dear Luke/Rosa. I hope you like it :D

...

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” Rosa absently commented as she and Luke walked around the city, watching as every shop and building was decorating for the holiday.

“Oh? Just like the ones you used to know?” Luke teased. He could say she was the only reason he even remembered the song. He’d listened to her sing it more than once growing up, and it had become one of his fondest childhood memories.

She giggled, her cheeks adorably pink from the cold. “Like our first one together back when we were five. It snowed, and I begged you to build a snowman with me.”

Luke chuckled. “I remember. You got so cold after building it that you forced me to sit beside the fireplace with you to warm up.”

“Weren’t you cold at all?”

“Can’t remember. I don’t think I was, though.”

“Luke the space heater,” she teased with a wink that caused his heart to trip.

“Always.” He squeezed her hand, which he was holding inside his jacket pocket. To everyone and anyone on the street, it had to look like they were lovers. And while they weren’t—though Luke wished they could be—he really didn’t care what others thought. They didn’t know their history, didn’t know how close they were, how utterly dependent they could be on each other despite being individually capable adults. It was just how things were, and Luke might not survive if things were to change. There was once a point he thought he could, but he knew better now.

“Want to make a bet on if it snows for Christmas this year?”

“No way," he cried. "Because that means I have to bet against your wish.”

“Come on,” she playfully begged. “Humor me.”

He let loose a lighthearted sigh. He supposed he could relent this time. “Alright. What wager is there?”

She hummed in thought. “How about this? If you win and there’s no snow, I have to tell you a secret I’ve been keeping all year long.”

“All year long?” he asked, eyes widening in surprise while something in his mind suddenly turned desperate to know.

Was it just him, or did her cheeks turn pinker? “Maybe… even longer.”

Forget desperate. Now that same part of his mind was positively feral with the need to know just what she’d been keeping from him. But, soon a far saner part of his mind realized he’d have to offer up something just as valuable.

You know what to do. A whisper came from the dark corner of his mind.

It sounded shockingly like Aaron.

The thought had his heart racing but… but he supposed he could. Even if it didn’t snow, he should offer this to her. Would offer it to her. And soon. He’d been keeping it so long, and she deserved to know. “Alright. I…” His pounding heart made it surprisingly hard to get words out. “I also have a secret I’ve been keeping from you all year.”

Her lovely eyes widened, blinking a few times as a cold gust of winter wind passed them by. “Oh?”

“Actually…” he continued, his face heating up. “A little longer than that.”

His smile felt a little more sheepish than he wished it was, but she didn’t tease him. Instead, she looked up at him warmly, a gentle light twinkling in her eyes. “Then it’s a bet, Detective. That is… if you can’t figure out my secret beforehand.”

Ohhhh, that challenge did things to him. “You mean it’s something I could figure out?”

“Possibly,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Maybe you already have. I… kinda hope you haven’t though.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“I am, too, you know,” she said, taking a step closer to purposefully bump his shoulder with hers.

“Then does this mean I get to spend Christmas with you?”

She looked up at him, eyebrows quirked. “I didn’t even think that was negotiable.”

A new warmth filled him as he grinned down at her. “Noted. Shall we plan our day, then?”

Her lips took on a bright smile again. “We shall.”

…

Six o’clock Christmas morning, Luke found himself standing outside Rosa’s apartment. He barely had time to knock before the door flung open, revealing a beautiful young lady who looked fit to burst with excitement as she launched herself at him.

He instantly braced for impact as he caught the flying girl.

“Yay! Santa brought my best friend home!”

His heart was racing a little quicker than he’d anticipated, and his face grew notably warm, but his instinct was to wrap her up in a hug and literally sweep her off her feet.

And preferably, never put her down or let her go.

“Obviously, all your court cases put you squarely on the nice list this year,” he playfully countered.

“I’d like to think I was on the nice list every year, but apparently not.”

Her words struck him through the heart, the guilt piling upon his shoulders like a snowdrift. He couldn’t help but squeeze her tighter. “Sorry.”

She clung tighter to him in return. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“I’m here now,” he repeated.

After a moment longer, Luke slowly set her down on her tiptoes, and she just as slowly loosened her grip on him.

“Merry Christmas, by the way,” he said.

“Merry Christmas,” she returned, her voice warmer than a lit hearth and sweeter than any candy cane. “I made breakfast.”

“I’m starved.”

Grabbing him by the hands, Rosa tugged him backwards into her home.

Home. Yes, she was his home. He’d had more than enough time to realize that. Last Christmas, things had been wonderful because he’d gotten to spend it with her again after eight long and lonely years apart. But this year… this year, he’d made sure he’d cleaned up every loose end he could so there would be no secret he couldn’t keep from her. So they could go back to being as close as they were when they were kids.

Or maybe… not that close. Maybe closer, in a far sweeter way.

A man could hope. Particularly one with a years-long crush.

“I made crepes.”

“Crepes?” Luke asked, mind coming back to the present. “Seriously? Like that one year we begged Auntie for them?”

She giggled, shutting the door behind Luke. “Yeah. I had to practice a few times, but they’re pretty easy once you get the hang of them.”

Catching the slight warble in her smile, he leaned over, looking at her intently. Which was easy considering she came in close so she could shut the door just now. “You know I’ve known you since we were five, right?” he challenged.

Just as he suspected, that blush on her cheeks grew pinker as she bit her lovely lips. “Y-yeah? What of it?”

“You know I know when you’re lying, right?”

“Who said I was lying?”

“Oh?” he said, grinning. “Then how many practice runs of crepes did you actually make?”

She squirmed under his gaze for a few seconds before she sighed, a resigned grin on her pretty pink lips that Luke just knew were painted for the occasion. “Five… and I had Vyn help me.”

…Oops. The name of another guy set him surprisingly on edge, raking across his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “You know, you didn’t have to go through the trouble.”

Suddenly, she was looking up at him with an assessing look. “Luke.”

Uh-oh. “Yes?”

She tilted her head to the side, her brown hair swaying slightly around her face as she did. “How long did you say we’ve known each other?”

No point in fighting her when she had that look. He surrendered easily, hanging his head.

“Yeah, don’t think I couldn’t tell,” she said, lightly swatting him on the chest with the back of her hand. “Stop worrying about if you inconvenienced me, and don't you dare tell me I didn't have to. I wanted to do this for you.”

That wasn’t at all why he was worried, but he was relieved that she misunderstood. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She then headed into her kitchen, Luke trailing behind.

Instantly, he looked over the spread on the table. Various cut fruits, chocolate spread, a peanut butter sauce, a third orange-tinted sauce he couldn’t quite peg, a few jams, and a can of whipped cream were lined up buffet style. “Wow, you really went all out.”

“It’s Christmas,” she said with a smile as she started heating up a large pan over the stove.

“Still, I feel like I should have brought something.”

“You brought the most important thing already,” she quickly assured, turning her back to him.

“Huh?”

“Yourself.”

He was so glad she was facing the other direction as she poured the batter into the pan because his face was about as hot as the stove flame.

“So,” he started, sharply changing the subject. “It’s not snowing. Does this mean that I win the bet?”

“Not yet,” she argued. “It counts as a white Christmas if it snows at all by the end of the day.”

He grinned. “So does that mean we’ll be up 'til midnight to see who won the bet?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I hope we planned enough for the day, then.”

Within the next few moments, a slightly sad crepe was slid out onto a plate. “The first one is sacrificial,” she commented, scoping more batter for a second crepe.

He chuckled, reaching for the crepe and ripping a piece off it. He then looked at the smattering of toppings on the table. Time to test the third sauce, he supposed. He dipped the crepe into the thin sauce before dropping it into his mouth. Orange and bourbon. “Crepe suzette,” he realized belatedly.

“Yeah, I made that sauce yesterday,” she said with a brilliant grin. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s killer,” he said, ripping off another piece of crepe before dipping it in the same sauce and dangling it in front of her. “Open up!”

“Hey, Luke!” Her cry only lasted a second before she did as asked, allowing him to drop the piece into her mouth. He was so close that it was impossible to miss. But the way his fingers hit her upper lip had his blood boiling.

“Seems like a shame to waste it,” Luke said, purposefully ignoring his pounding heart as he turned away from her, continuing to rip off pieces to dunk in various sauces and jams.

“I can actually make nicer ones, you know!” she said, sliding a crepe out of the pan.

“It tastes the same,” he said with a wink.

“Still…” Her voice petered off.

“Hey,” he said, siding up to her again as he watched her make another crepe. “I’m just glad to be able to eat your cooking.”

Her expression softened. “Alright, I’ll take it.”

After a bit, she slid a second crepe onto a plate. Luke took one and began filling it with a thin smear of chocolate spread topped with strawberries before rolling it up.

“For you,” he said, setting it down at her spot on the table.

“Oh!” she said, looking over at the crepe with a bit of surprise. “Thanks, Luke.”

“Least I can do since you made breakfast,” he said, taking the second crepe to fill for himself. Though, he stared at the spread in consideration of what to make. He eventually settled for the same thing before returning to her side at the table with the whipped cream can in hand. However, before she could take her first bite, he shot some cream at the forkful.

“Luke!” she shrieked.

“Come on. It’s Christmas,” he said with a brilliant, slightly smug grin. “And you always liked the whipped cream on this.”

She watched in resignation as he put a line of whipped cream down her crepe. “I was trying to watch my weight.”

“You weigh almost nothing,” he dismissed, thinking of all the times he’d carried her over the past year and how she always felt so light to him. “And you eat healthy the rest of the time. Enjoy it today.”

While she glared at him, it was weak at best.

But what goes around comes around, as they say. And knowing Rosa as long as he had, Luke was fully prepared for the retaliation. In fact, he even let it happen.

Except… it didn’t quite go as planned.

Due to her being slightly shorter than him, she couldn’t quite get the whipped cream can at the right angle as she shot whipped cream at his forkful of crepe. And while half of it went on the fork, the rest of it shot everywhere as the can off-gassed a larger than expected air bubble.

Which shot most of that cream up his nose.

Automatically, he snorted, realizing too late he should have covered his face as his nose turned into a whipped cream cannon.

Just as it fully clicked in his mind what happened, a shrieking laugh rent the air.

And at the sound of it, he couldn’t help but laugh himself. A task and a half considering he still had some whipped cream blocking one nostril as well as a mouthful of food, but he couldn’t help it.

“Oh… oh my gosh,” she wheezed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she reached over to wipe his face off with a napkin. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Mm-hm,” he hummed, trying his best not to choke on his food as he swallowed. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Cheeks rosy from laughter and eyes twinkling brightly with amused tears, Rosa nodded. “Good. Good.” She sighed, the high pitch due to her waning amusement. “Oh my goodness, that was funny.”

Chuckling as well, he took the paper napkin from her, blowing his nose to get rid of the rest of the whipped cream burning inside of it.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her laughter subsiding as she proceeded to take a second napkin to wipe up the table.

“Nah, that was like old times,” he said, tossing the napkin away before helping her clean up the mess that, admittedly, he started.

A few crepes and no more whipped cream fights later, they had decisively finished.

“I could not eat another bite,” Rosa said, leaning back in her chair.

“That was really good,” he commented, staring at the plate that had held a total of seven crepes.

“Where did you even put all that?” she absently wondered, turning towards him.

Revealing a little smudge of chocolate on her lip.

“You got a little something…” He pointed at her lip.

She licked at it, trying to get it, then took a little swipe with her finger but still missed. “Did I get it?”

“Here.”

Before he even realized what he was doing, he swiped the chocolate smudge with his finger. But once he realized his thumb was on her lip, he had to continue pretending like it was no big deal even though it very much was. “Got it,” he said, managing to keep his voice steady despite his heart racing and gut in a tight little knot.

“O-oh,” she murmured, suddenly turning her face away from him. “Thanks.”

“No sweat.”

Quickly, she took his plate for him to the sink.

“I can get that.”

“No, you’re my guest.”

“No way,” he countered, standing up to follow her to the sink. “You made breakfast. I can clean up.”

“No, really.”

“It’s no big deal.” He took the plates from her before she could set them in the sink. “Let me. Please?”

After a moment, she sighed. “Fine. I’ll let you wash the dishes. I’ll put the leftovers away.”

“Fair enough.”

Together, they cleaned the kitchen. Rosa even started drying the dishes once she was finished, much to Luke’s protest.

“I can help, you know,” she sassed, drying and putting away the dishes.

“I wanted to pull my weight, though, since you’re hosting.”

“My home is your home. It’s fine.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew weighty by her words. They both fell silent as they decided to not look too deeply into what she’d meant.

At least, Luke did. Because… this was his home. She was his home. And, frankly, he kinda wanted to make a house-home with her.

He stared intently at the dishes in his hand in an attempt to push that from his mind.

Once they finished, Luke went to retrieve the gifts he’d bought for Rosa. He’d spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what to get her. He’d even dragged Aaron on a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip when Luke had caught sight of something in a window that had been perfect. He had to tell himself it was worth it, though, because Aaron had not stopped ribbing him since.

“Luke Pearce, you did not get me four gifts.”

He grinned as he presented her with a pile of presents he’d spent the last month and a half agonizing over. “I totally did.”

“Luke!”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

She heaved a sigh.

He just grinned, feeling almost a little too proud of himself. “Don’t kill me?”

“No, I definitely will.”

Luke just laughed.

“Besides, I… kinda got you a massive stocking, so…”

“Whoa, wait. What?” He only then caught sight of the overlarge stocking that was laid by the couch.

“I would have hung it," she said, "but it’s too heavy.”

“Rosa.”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

They really were a pair, weren’t they?

Luke didn’t know how Rosa felt, but he felt like a little kid again. Ripping open paper and slowly unpacking the contents of a stocking, both containing things that he felt only she would think of. Serious things like parts for projects as well as silly things like socks with the name Sherlock Holmes plastered all over them. He loved all of it.

“And now,” she said, sitting across from him on the couch with the bottoms of their feet pressed together, tapping her socked toes against his in a stupid way they did as children. “We have enjoyed Christmas.”

“We have,” he said, returning her toe taps. He wondered how long this would go on for. When they were kids, they once played the toe tap game until dinner, at which point they were subtly tapping each other under the table. And the only reason they stopped was because Auntie got mad at them when she got caught in the middle of it.

“So, now what?” she asked. “Movie? Walk around town?”

“And here I thought you’d have it planned out.”

“I mean, I had gifts and presents, and then I have a gingerbread house kit to decorate, but I didn’t plan it out to the letter. That’s your domain, Mr. Prepared.”

He chuckled. “Fair. Then how about we turn on a movie while we do the gingerbread house.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Despite not having a perfect plan and just making it up as they went, the day positively flew by. They had two Christmas movies under their belt, a deformed but well-loved gingerbread housesitting on the kitchen table, and a handful of pictures taken on their afternoon walk. Now, they were cleaning up from making Christmas dinner, a surprisingly tasty one if Luke did say so himself. Maybe the fact he was with Rosa had something to do with it. Just her presence could make everything around him better.

“It looks like it’s not going to snow,” Luke said as he dried the dishes Rosa was washing.

“We still have five hours until midnight,” she insisted, handing him a clean saucepot.

“We do,” he agreed. “But I have to hope I’m the one who wins.”

“Don’t get so cocky, Sherlock,” she said with a wink. “Who knows. Your Watson might be right this time.”

“Nah, Sherlock’s rarely wrong.”

“And this could be one of those times.”

“I doubt it.”

“How do you know?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson,” he said with a wink of his own. “That, and I checked the doppler earlier.”

“Cheater!” she hissed, a grin on her face.

“No no. It’s called clues.”

“It’s called cheating,” she said, flicking water in his direction.

He held the towel up to block the spray.

“Hey! No! Take it like a man!”

“Oh, is that how you want to play?”

Suddenly, he ran his hand through the water stream and flicked it at her.

She squealed, taking a handful of water and throwing it his direction.

So he took the pot, quickly dipped it under the running water and tossed it at her.

She gasped, then reached for the sprayer.

“Oh no you don’t!” Luke cried, reaching to stop her.

He tackled her, holding her by the waist and trying to pull her back before she could snatch it and aim it—he knew she wasn’t gonna use it; she was just gonna aim it at him as a threat, as she’d done many times growing up—at him. Giggle squealing, she reached for it, but his arms were longer than hers now. He thought he had the upper hand, but she made one last-ditch effort, managing to somehow weasel out of his grasp so as to snatch it from him. But she grabbed it too tightly, tighter than she was intending. And in the next second, the two of them were hit with the spray.

Rosa let go as soon as she could, but the damage was done. So, there they stood, shock still as Luke held Rosa’s waist, her hand over his on the sprayer, water running down their hair, faces, and shoulders.

Rosa started giggling first, followed by Luke. And soon enough, the duo dissolved into laughter. Rosa reached over to turn the water off, allowing them time to collect themselves before they got back to the dishes.

“That was on you,” Luke said.

“Oh, I deserved that, though,” she said, patting his arm.

That was still holding her around her waist and pinning her to his chest.

Oops.

He slowly let her go. “Um… I think we should finish the dishes.”

“We definitely should.”

Though a little wetter than they should be, they did finish the dishes before Rosa offered to dry off his wet sweater with her hairdryer. Thankfully it wasn’t soaked, so that was a reasonable solution to the water splotch on his shoulder.

“Here,” he said, sliding out of his sweater and handing it to her. He still wore a white tee underneath, but it wasn’t too wet. His sweater had taken the brunt of it. “If you could dry that, I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Rosa looked at the puddles on the floor. “Okay, that seems like a fair trade. I’ll be back.”

Luke gave her a nod, watching her hop up the stairs to her room.

I love you.

The thought had crossed his mind many times today. He couldn’t help it; whether or not it snowed tonight, he would tell her. He had to. He couldn’t chicken out any longer. She was so precious to him, and she had stayed by his side all this time. Heck, she was still by his side even when he wasn’t here. She thought of him every birthday that she missed, every holiday, every odd Saturday night…

He wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side, making it up to her and proving the effort she had poured into their relationship even when he wasn’t there was worth it.

I love you.

And whether or not it was in the romantic sense, he just knew… he just knew she loved him, too.

That was enough to keep him going.

She wasn’t out by the time he finished wiping up the kitchen, so he simply sat himself down on the couch and waited for her. He let himself close his eyes a moment, emptying his mind so he could fully focus on just how he was going to confess his secret to Rosa tonight.

“Are you tired?”

Her sweet voice broke into his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see her standing there in a red dress she hadn’t been in before. She’d been wearing a slightly oversized pink sweater that had been paired with a pair of black jeans. She’d looked cute, sweet, like in her high school days. But now…

The person standing in front of him now was a woman, through and through. The red dress fit her form up top, accentuating her slender arms before slightly flaring at her trim waist, draping over her hips…

Ohhhh, he was in trouble.

“Sorry,” he said, taking his sweater from her. “I was lost in thought.”

“About?”

He shook his head. “Nothing important.”

Definitely not how you look in that dress.

She didn’t look convinced but quickly brushed it away and took a seat beside him, smoothing out the skirt that barely hit her legging-covered knees. “Only if you’re sure. I don’t mean to keep you awake all night if you need to go to sleep.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured, pulling his sweater back over his head. “I’m more than happy to spend all of Christmas right here. We have to see if it’s a white Christmas, anyway. I want to know your secret.”

She shot him a grin. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be the one to hear yours.”

“Don’t bet on that.”

One more Christmas movie later, they were huddled under a blanket together, Rosa leaning against his shoulder looking very close to being asleep.

“You cold?” Luke didn’t even wait for an answer as he pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” she assured. “Don’t make me drowsy.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“No way, I have a bet to win.”

At the mention of the bet, Luke looked outside. “I see no snow,” he commented, reaching for his phone to pull up doppler again.

“Hey,” she said, shifting so as to look up at him. “You want to go look at the lights one last time before the holiday is over?”

He quirked a brow. “Are you up for it?”

She nodded.

“And you won’t get cold?”

She shook her head. “Besides, I have my Certified Luke Space Heater.”

He couldn’t say no to that. “Alright. Go bundle up, and we’ll go look at the lights.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking hand in hand down the street, taking in the glow of Christmas lights and the last of the Christmas displays before Christmas was over. They occasionally pointed out ones they liked or found noteworthy, but other than that, they didn’t really talk much. But it hardly mattered. There weren’t any words to be said. And the words that needed to be said were not words to be spoken here, now, lightly.

And Luke still didn’t know how to go about confessing in the first place. Because from the looks of it, he was winning this bet. Honestly, he had hoped to lose. It seemed the weather was working against both his and Rosa’s wishes today.

“I’m gonna lose, aren’t I?” Rosa asked, looking up at the sky as he took her home. It was nearly midnight, and the sky still didn’t show any signs of snow.

“Likely,” he said.

“Shall we call it early?”

“Not like you to not fight it out until the end,” Luke lightheartedly commented, opening the door for her.

“Thank you. And normally, I would, but… there’s not even a cloud in the sky and there’s only…” She glanced at her phone. “Four minutes left.”

“So, no white Christmas?”

“No,” she lamented, taking off her winter outer clothes. “Sadly.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, hanging her scarf and beret on the coat rack by the door. “I suppose I have a secret to confess to you, don’t I.”

“Wait,” Luke cut in. If they were spilling secrets, he had to share his, too. “I want to share mine first.”

“What?”

Luke's smile was a little warbly, a little tense, and a little scared. Truthfully, he didn’t know what sort of secret she was keeping, but if it was something silly, he didn’t want to completely shift the mood. He wanted to tell her straight out, here, now, before they went back to teasing. If it went over poorly, he could say he was teasing, then slip away under a light albeit awkward atmosphere. But if it was accepted…

Honestly, even after all this time, he still wasn’t even sure what to do about if his confession was accepted.

“But, it’s not snowing,” she said, glancing out the window as if to check. “You won the bet.”

“I did,” he said. “But I still want to share my secret.”

Rosa looked… oddly nervous. “Why?”

“Because I want to,” he said before swallowing hard and fighting for the words he actually wanted to say. “Because… I spent this year fighting to reveal all my secrets to you. And this is the last one.”

“Luke…”

And just like that, the atmosphere grew shockingly heavy as her soft voice faded to silence.

“Then,” she finally spoke up, “I’ll go first, since I lost the bet.”

“Actually, I want to say it first,” Luke said.

“No,” she insisted. “I need to say it first.”

“No, Rosa—"

“Luke—”

“I love you.”

The grandfather clock she owned, one he’d given her, struck twelve, punctuating the fact they both had spoken at the same time.

Together, they stood, staring at each other in wide-eyed silence.

“Rosa…” Her name fell from his lips before he could even realize it.

A smile warbled on her lips. “Luke…” Tentatively, she took a step towards him, reaching out for him before hesitating for a moment.

But that was all Luke needed to take the next step forward and take her in his arms.

His action encouraged her to wrap her arms over his shoulders as his settled around her waist. Together they stood, chest to chest, their heart each pounding as they clung to each other.

“Since when?” he asked, his voice barely stronger than a whisper.

“I… I don’t know,” Rosa answered. “Since forever, I think. At least, a part of me always… I just… when you left, nothing was the same and… I don’t know. At least for a year, since shortly after you came back to me.”

It hardly made sense, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. And Luke wasn’t needing clarification on the why or when. Knowing she did, that she had for a while, that was enough for him.

“You?” she asked. “Since when?”

“Forever.” His answer was more confident. “And if not, at least since middle school.”

Rosa stiffened in his grip. “That long?”

“At least,” Luke whispered, turning his face to nose the side of her head.

Rosa turned towards him, sliding slightly back so as to press her forehead to his, noses touching and breath intermingling.

He could die happy right here and now. He’d also die sad knowing he’d be leaving her behind.

“Can I kiss you?” He was the one who asked, surprising even himself. He couldn’t say the desire was new, but he patted himself on the back for having the courage, or maybe the impulsiveness, to ask.

He was not met with a verbal answer. He was met with her hands sliding up his cheeks, her nose sliding away from his, and her face coming somehow even nearer.

He wrapped her in his arms, one around her shoulders, the other tightly around her waist. And he used his grip to his advantage of pulling her flush against him as she balanced on her tip-toes to meet his lips.

I love you.

I love you

I. Love. You.

The words repeated over and over in his head as their lips oh-so-slowly moved against each other. One long lingering kiss. Two long lingering kiss. Shift of his hold. Slide of her hands into his hair. Three. Long. Lingering. Kiss.

Slow down.

The warning flashed in his mind for only a second, but it was enough to snap his senses back to some semblance of consciousness. He loosened his tight grip on her, letting her slide back down to the ground.

Honestly, he hadn't even realized he'd picked her up.

Her grip on him loosened, regrettably. Yet, she still clung to his shoulders, likely because she didn’t seem so steady on her feet.

Did he do that?

He did that to her, didn’t he?

Well, he didn’t feel that steady, either, so he couldn’t blame her.

No words were spoken. The only sound filling the silence right now was their heavy breathing.

“Does this mean you’re mine?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he whispered back, his answer so automatic it took a second to fully catch up to him what he’d just agreed to. “Yes, I’m yours.”

I always was, and always will be.

I love you.

“Good,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Good. Oh!” Her head shot up as she took his cheeks in her hands. “I’m yours, too!”

He chuckled, taking one of her hands and bringing it downwards so he could press a kiss to her palm. “Yes. Good. I… I’m so happy.”

He watched tears well in her eyes, glittering against her lashes.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Those tears fell. He would have wiped them away, but he was holding her at the moment. But, it seemed she didn’t want to let go of him to wipe those tears, either. “I love you, too, Luke.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

He swallowed. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.”

I love you, Rosa.

From now, until forever.

Oh, Luke,

I love you, too.

From now, until forever.

[kaygom]

Unexpected Christmas Company

For the @themistypewriter Secret Santa event. Merry Christmas @alstroemeriadissonance! This was a very last minute piece so I hope that you will enjoy your present!! Pairing: Vyn x Rosa WC: 2587 A/N: This is slightly AU. This is set before NXX. Before Luke returned. But Rosa becomes acquainted with Dr. Richter after she met him at an art exhibit and became his TA. Wrote this on the whim and within a few hours since I wanted to get it done before Christmas ended in my timezone.

--- --- --- --- ---

Rosa closed her eyes and buried her nose into her scarf when the wind from the pedestrian blew past her face. She kept her hands gripped tight around her mug and pressed more of the heat into her fingertips. She blinked her eyes open and gazed around the square. People were doing their last minute Christmas shopping and there were couples enjoying dates with each other. She smiled lightheartedly, wishing she had someone to spend Christmas with.

To her dismay, but as expected, her parents didn’t return home for the holidays. Her childhood best friend is still MIA, so she knew she wouldn’t be seeing him. She declined Kiki’s invitation to spend Christmas with her and her old college friends to avoid any awkwardness. Celestine had suggested to see what Artem was doing for Christmas, but Rosa couldn’t bring herself to intrude on her senior partner’s holiday plans. So she decided to get herself ready with no exact plan for the holiday. She walked to her usual coffee spot and asked for her usual order. She chose to sit outside in the brisk winter air to people-watch, as if that would help curve the loneliness she felt.

She tapped her nails against the glass and she sighed. She watched as her breath became a light mist and it drifted up into nothing. She took a careful sip of her coffee, the bittersweet drink filling her body with warmth. Rosa pulled the mug away from her lips, she held it close to her chest as she let out another sigh. When her gaze moved back to the square, she noticed a familiar head of silver hair. Dr. Richter? Her eyes widened and she quickly placed her mug back on the saucer.

Rosa dug around her coat pocket for her phone. She fished it out and her fingers tapped around the screen to send a message.

Rosa: Hello, Dr. Richter! Merry Christmas! What are you up to on this lovely holiday?

Her eyes stayed glued on the doctor that was across the square. He stopped in his tracks to find his phone on his person. Once he got it out, he resumed his walk with his head down to look at the phone, the typing bubble popping up. She felt a tinge of relief that her hunch was right.

Dr. Richter: Hello, dear Rosa. Merry Christmas to you. I am on my way to the toy store to buy presents to hand out in the residential pediatrics department.

Rosa’s eyes lit up when she read his message. Even on the holiday, Dr. Richter is working hard for his patients. She hesitated a little before she responded:

Rosa: Would you like some help?

She bit her thumb nail as she waited for Dr. Richter to text back.

Dr. Richter: I couldn’t burden you with such a task if you already have your own plans.

Rosa smiled to herself as she typed out her next message.

Rosa: Just think of it as an extension of my TA work!

She believed that her and Dr. Richter had gotten closer in the last few months since she became his TA. When she visited her alma mater to see an art exhibition, she crossed paths with him. While they admired the art together, she had mentioned how she would like to volunteer around campus in her free time, to which Dr. Richter offered her a TA position. Rosa accepted without hesitation because she was interested in learning more about psychology.

Through the last few months, she would go whenever he asked and she was always so intrigued by every lecture that Dr. Richter presented. After his lectures, she would follow up with questions about his lesson for personal indulgence. She found his voice rather enchanting and she loved listening to his voice as long as she could. The vibration of her phone pulled her out of her reverie.

Dr. Richter: Well in that case, if you want to see it like that. I wouldn’t mind the company and a second opinion for toys. Would you like me to come get you?

Rosa chuckled and responded quickly.

Rosa: No need. I can come to you~

Rosa stuffed her phone into her pocket and she stood up. She pushed in her chair, then picked up her saucer and mug. She left her dishes in the designated bin before she walked away from the outdoor terrace of the coffee shop. Dr Richter had walked some distance from when she originally saw him. She looked around the square for the head of a silver mane.

She zig-zagged through the crowd, her eyes diligently searching for the doctor. She tried to avoid bumping into people, but when she reached the large Christmas Tree in the middle of the square, the crowd started to get denser. Rosa started to bump shoulders with strangers and she repeatedly apologized. She sighed when her attempt at finding Dr. Richter didn’t seem to work out. He couldn’t have gone too far.. What the heck?! She scratched her head. There went her attempt to try to surprise Dr. Richter. She retrieved her phone, but when she was about to call him, her phone rang instead.

“Hello? Dr. Richter?” Rosa answered her phone.

“Rosa? When you said you were coming to me. Whatever did you mean? Are you out in the city square?” He questioned her.

Rosa chuckled and her eyes continued to search around. “Yes, I saw you from where I was at the coffee shop. That’s why I texted you. I was going to surprise you by approaching you. But I seem to have lost you.”

“Well, what do you see in front of you, Rosa?”

“I am surrounded by a bunch of people. Behind me is the Christmas tree. Mmm,” she paused, “I can also see the huge marquee for a sale for some cosmetic brand.”

“Okay. I suggest that you stay where you are.” Dr. Richter’s voice is calm in her ear.

“Alright, Dr. Richter.”

The phone call ended and she stayed in her spot. She turned back around to give herself a better view. As she waited, she hummed along to a Christmas carol, rocking on the heels of her feet. She fell quiet when she felt a pair of hands land on her shoulders. Then a voice whispered in her ear, “Merry Christmas, Rosa.” She felt their breath brush on her cheek, causing a blush to spread along her cheeks.

Rosa couldn’t help but smile. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Richter.” She responded as she twirled around to face the man the voice belonged to. He looked warmly down at her, his golden eyes sparkling like the lights that adorned the Christmas tree behind her.

“It is lovely to see you on this beautiful holiday.” Dr. Richter tells her, his smile polite.

“It’s nice to know that I am not the only one out and about for Christmas.” Rosa spoke with a soft chuckle.

“Are your parents not home for the holidays?”

She shook her head. “Sadly not. But nothing of a surprise. They were rarely home this year in general.”

“Well, you can definitely join me to buy presents to bring joy to children who are in the hospital.” Dr. Richter nodded his head and removed his hands from her shoulders, one hitching behind her elbow. “Let’s get going before the stores close.”

He helped lead her out from the crowd to the safety of the open square. His hand moved to his side and the two walked side by side through the rest of the square to get to the shopping district.

“You said you were at a coffee shop when you saw me pass by?” Dr. Richter asked her.

“Oh, yes. I left my apartment with no real plan for the day. So I just decided to go to the coffee shop to start.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But coincidentally crossing paths with you beats not having any real plans for Christmas.”

The two arrived at the large toy store, brightly lit to invite consumers to enter to finish their last minute Christmas shopping. “I have to buy about a dozen toys. The nurses compiled a list for me so I wouldn’t have to play too much of a guessing game on what to get everyone. But I know most of the kids personally, so I want to make sure to get them all something they’d love.”

Rosa nodded her head as her eyes perused all the displays set up around the entrance of the store. “My goodness. Toys sure have changed a bunch since we were kids, huh?” she observed.

Dr. Richter laughed softly. “I suppose so.”

He led her deeper into the store. They were welcomed by a worker donning a red and green apron and a Santa hat on her head. The two of them acknowledged her, but walked in the opposite direction after telling her they wouldn’t need assistance.

Rosa followed behind Dr. Richter as he scrolled through his phone to make sure he finds all that he needs. When they arrived at the aisle with all of the plushies, Rosa’s eyes lit up. She immediately went up to the section that had cute fluffy puppy plushies. She took one off the shelf and she squished it between her hands. “So cute!” She squealed quietly. It was a cute shiba inu that she always dreamed about owning. Since she was so busy, perhaps a plushie version of it would suffice.

“Is that something that you like?” Dr. Richter asked beside her.

“Oh, uhm..” Rosa blushed then placed it back on the shelf. “Yes. I wish to adopt one in the future when I am less busy.. It’d help keep my apartment less lonely.” She answered him.

Dr. Richter nodded. “A dog is the perfect companion. Hopefully one day, you will be able to.”

Rosa glanced down at the large basket full of toys that Dr. Richter was holding.

“Do you need help carrying those, Dr. Richter?” She asked him, reaching out to grab some of the toys to take a load off the basket.

“No, thank you. It’s not too heavy. I was just wrapping up to grab the last of what I needed. Why don’t you wait outside and once I finish, I will meet you outside.” Dr. Richter suggested.

“Okay!” Rosa agreed and made a beeline out of the toy store. She waited quietly and she glanced up at the sky. It was rather grey and gloomy. She wondered if perhaps it was meant to snow later in the day. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to wait.

Minutes passed and Dr. Richter approached her from behind. “Ready to head back to the research center?”

“Yes!”

The duo make their way back to the hospital. They’re greeted by some nurses. “Dr. Richter, welcome back! We have some bad news. The man who usually plays Santa had an emergency. So we don’t have a Santa…”

Dr. Richter’s eyes widened. “Are there any male nurses who’d be willing to play the part?” He asked them.

They shook their heads in unison. “Unfortunately, no..”

Rosa watched as Dr. Richter rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That means only one thing, huh?”

“You have to be Santa Claus…” The nurse said to him with a tiny chuckle.

Rosa couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. The nurses swept Dr. Richter away to get things ready. After a half hour, Rosa looked up from her phone when she heard shuffling down the hallway and a lot of giggles. Dr. Richter was dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit nearly two sizes too big for him. She laughed quietly behind her hand, then opened her camera on her phone.

He hid behind his hand as if that would help him disappear. She took a few pictures, then he told him to put his hand down and he obeyed. She took better pictures of him and he smiled in embarrassment. One of the nurses dragged the large red bag to him. “Here you go, Santa!”

Dr. Richter blushed a little as he took the red bag where it was cinched. He lifted it up and rested it on his shoulder with ease. “Rosa, care to accompany me?” He offered her his free hand.

She pointed at herself. “Me?”

He nodded. “Yes. After you get changed.” A smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

“Eh?!”

“The nurses have a Mrs. Claus outfit you’d be able to wear.” His voice sounded too cheery.

One of the nurses approached her and pushed her through the same hall Dr. Richter just came down. “Wa-Wait! N-No!” The nurse brought her into a random hospital room with the outfit set up on the bed.

The nurse was relentless as she got Rosa out of her clothes and into the red dress and white tights. “We also have a pair of red heels. What size are you?” The nurse asked her.

Rosa told the nurse her size and she bent down to pick up the pair of heels. She flipped it over in her hands and frowned. “Oh, it’s too big.. I suppose you can wear your heels with this outfit.” She put the heels back down then grabbed one last accessory off the hospital bed.

The nurse gave her a Santa hat and she carefully put it on her head. Rosa slipped it onto her head and turned to the nurse to help her fix her hair. The two of them exited the vacant hospital room. Dr. Richter was in the same spot where they left him. When she rejoined him, he offered his arm. She placed her hand on his arm and they made their way through the hospital to visit each child he bought presents for.

Each child was excited to see the two of them. They always gasped and asked if it was really Santa and Mrs. Claus. The two of them just had to smile and agree. Some of the children even hugged her tightly after they received their gifts. Rosa’s heart filled with joy and happiness from seeing all the excitement on every child’s face.

This truly beat anything that she could have possibly done with her day alone. Once they were finished, the nurses took a picture of the two of them together in front of the decorated Christmas tree in the lobby. “There’s one more gift that I need to give out.” Dr. Richter whispered in her ear.

“Huh?” Rosa pulled away a little to look at him, the nurses still snapping pictures.

Dr. Richter stuck out his hand and one of the nurses shuffled forward to put a plushie shiba inu into his hand. Rosa gasped and glanced down at the plushie.

“This is for you. Merry Christmas, Rosa. Thank you for being my Mrs. Claus for the evening.” He smiled at her as he placed the plushie into her hands.

She took it in her hands and gazed at it lovingly. “Thank you, Dr. Richter! Now I feel bad because I didn’t even get you a present.” She averted her gaze up at him.

“Not necessary. Your company is the greatest present I could ever ask for,” Dr. Richter reassured her.

Rosa smiled widely at him. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Richter.”

[readerinsertfanfiction]

Glitter

Fandom: Tears of Themis

Character: Vyn Richter x Rosa (ToT MC) 

Prompt: Fluff & Christmas for the Secret Santa event organised by @themistypewriter. Hi, @vynsd​ I was your Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy what I wrote! 

Warnings: Family, pre-relationship, mentions of loneliness. 

Word count: +/- 2,5K

“Christmas is spent with family!” Rosa’s mother had insisted when she finally managed to catch her in a video call. Between work and all of her other obligations Rosa had been busy ever since the start of December, busy enough to evade the dreaded question on how and where she should spend Christmas. She knew what her mother was to say, having instilled the same value in her since childhood after all. Rosa also knew that with everything that came with December, holidays and a year ending, she had precious little time and even less energy to spend it jolly and cheery when work was gnawing at the back of her mind.

Shortly put, the December month and the holiday mood really was only meant for children, not for young singles that were trying to build up a career outside of their place of birth on their own.

Rosa heaved a sigh as she tried to manoeuvre herself between her desk and the files that she was ordering without giving her mother an idea that she was still at work. A tall order, she realised, with the front camera on and only halfway into her coat.

“Luke will be coming home as well,” her mother’s voice sounded through the empty office, the first thing she said which actually took Rosa’s interest for once as she moved back into the camera view.

A ‘what?’ escaped her as her mother repeated the statement with a sly smile, knowing that now she had Rosa’s attention. Line, hook and pull, and pull she did.

“Yes, Luke is coming back as well. After all we are his family,” she stated and Rosa rolled her eyes before a dramatic sigh followed. “In fact, he is already back, helping that handsome new neighbour of ours.”

Here Rosa sensed another lead to another inevitable topic that always made its round with the Christmas holidays. Rosa had a career, was independent, and above all, an adult. Which meant that nothing completed the image more than the addition of a potential partner, a significant other to complete her life with. According to her mother that was.

“Mom,” she warns and Rosa gets waved off, knowing what she was about to say as her mother sends an air kiss through the screen.

“I know, I won’t say anything. But I would appreciate it if you would come back and see us, even if it is for just a day!” her mother exclaims and Rosa can’t help but sway at that statement, knowing that in her heart of hearts she missed them as well. Life in the big bustling city wasn’t an easy one after all, and neither was building up a career.

“Of course, if you could meet Vyn as well that would be great! He is so handsome, and so young, but so lonely. To move in December!”

Rosa let the sly attempt of convincing her slip by, waving her hand as she finally threw on her scarf and hat.

“Bye!” She calls, and the call ends with her mother frantically questioning if she was still at work and why she was still out and above all, to be careful outside. It made a little smile linger on Rosa’s face as her phone lit up seconds after with her mother telling her to ‘better come home for christmas or else…’

Sure enough, when the holidays rolled around an ecstatic Luke opened the door on Rosa. Eyes bright and a little older than the last time the two of them had parted. “Finally, I was about to pick you up myself!” was his greeting and she let go of a scoff, pushing herself into the warm house of her parents where she met with her parents who had to examine her from head to toe first before allowing her anywhere past the hallways.

“And what if I hadn’t gotten a leave?” Rosa threatens, though everyone knows that Celestine and Artem both would sooner insist on her taking day offs rather than keeping her hostage.

“I would have kidnapped you!” was thus Luke’s exclamation as Rosa finds herself with a hot drink in hand and led into the living room where all was decorated and set for the festivities to come.

“As if,” she retorts, before getting cut off by the doorbell. It is followed by an excited squeal from her mother who was quick to open the door.

“Vyn!” Which was the cue for all that the new neighbour had been invited over as well. Half out of sympathy, half with other intentions, provided with how often she had tried to sneak in the neighbour in the texts and calls she made right before Rosa’s return.

Vyn was an eyecatching individual, Rosa noted. Dressed in earth-tones giving him that classical academic vibe. It went accompanied with his own pale features that gave him a reminiscent look to what Prince Charming would look like personified.

“I see that I’m the last to arrive,” he speaks apologetically, and somewhere Rosa gets the idea that he isn’t as sorry for it as he pretends to be. Neither was it unintentional from his side.

“And here she is, the lost daughter returned,” Rosa’s mother introduced her, a mocking remark slipping by, sparing the both of them the moment of having to do so later.

“So, why december?” Rosa’s question startles the lonesome figure later on, when the man thinks himself alone and free for a moment. Inside her parents and Luke are shouting in choir, accusations of cheating thrown around as yet another classic board game breaks the peace of the usually quiet house.

It takes Vyn a moment to understand what she means with the question, golden eyes examining her before he pushes up his glasses. “No reason in particular. I could move in and so I did,” is his matter-of-fact answer and she wonders if that’s truly all there is to it. December was, after all, a busy month for all, having a move on top of it sounded unbearable.

“And why here?” She continues to press, curious to know why someone so close to her own age decided to move out all the way to this place, the place she had been so desperate to leave for bigger dreams.

To this Vyn doesn’t answer, and Rosa realises that she is prying. It had only been a few hours since the two of them were introduced, there was no reason to interrogate the man. “I heard that you are a psychologist,” she smiles, hoping to restart the conversation once more with an unwilling man and to switch topics.

Golden eyes travel over hers once more, this time she can read the question in his eyes, the bewilderment on why she wants to get to know him, the wonder on why she approached him. There is distrust but at the same time there is a willingness as Rosa finds another curiosity in his eyes, a question of whether he should try it again. What this again is she doesn’t know, but she can read it in his eyes that there is something he contemplates, a wounded soul that has wrapped himself up carefully and now fled.

“I’m,” he answers curtly, before raising himself, “and you are a lawyer,” he states, undoubtedly having heard that from her mother as well. A blessing and a curse, Rosa found, for it enabled some conversation starters that she had otherwise been unable of.

“Yes, the type Shakespeare wishes to kill,” she jests and Vyn’s eyes widen, a flicker of appreciation coming across as he chuckles at her joke. Rosa knew that it would fall in good soil, having heard from her mother what collection of classics he owns.

There is silence once more between them, but this time it doesn’t feel as forced and as cold as before and the conversation flows naturally, between classical literature and music.

“The city attracts chaos, this town gives peace,” Rosa states a few days later. This time she is at Vyn’s place, taking in the antique style in which he has dressed his place with. It confirmed her suspicion that Vyn was an old soul despite his youthful looks, and a sudden understanding on why he moved to this little town suddenly dawned.

It had been days since Rosa had returned to her parents for the holidays. The second being restless as work kept on gnawing in the back of her head, the worry about the endless end-of-year statements occupying her every thought. Vyn seemed to have picked up on that stress, as he had suddenly invited her over for pastries. ‘To leave work behind,’ had the claim been very direct unlike what the man had been so far.

“And you always bring a piece of either back with you,” Vyn adds, the tea set and a scone served. The piano in a corner, classics on the wall, a vinyl score playing in the background whilst the scent of fresh linen mixed with a hint of vanilla from the kitchen completes the scene with an assortment of flowers and plants. It was as if Rosa dropped straight into a regency novel, complete with its fine customs and manners.

“Have I?” Rosa questions, an apologetic smile crossing her face as she wonders what sort of chaos she brought with her. The sort that pressured all youth trying to make it big? Or the sort that came inherent with some people, a turmoil that always raged and couldn’t settle.

Vyn doesn’t answer, and Rosa finds that there is a silence threatening between them once more. The type of silence that was comfortable, but would end up with none of her curiosities satisfied.

“This place,” the male starts just before Rosa manages to formulate a question she hopes Vyn will answer. Vyn smiles gently when he realises he has cut her off, but proceeds nonetheless when Rosa gives him an encouraging look, a soft sigh escaping him as he does so. As if speaking now took effort, though Rosa had a feeling that this was always the case with Vyn when it came down to talking about himself.

“I’m trying to lose that city-part by moving here,” the man finally states and Rosa blinks at the man for a moment, her eyes trying to find that city-chaos. Vyn grins a little wider, pushing his glasses up as he eyes Rosa just as intently, the look suddenly sharp as if reading through her.

“If only I could have found you in the city,” he mumbles, and Rosa wonders what he means with that, or if she even heard this right when she eyes him just as boldly, wondering what part of the city had him make the sudden decision to move.

When Christmas finally comes around Rosa feels as if she has been reset. The familiar faces of home, the lack of constant buzzing that could only be found in a city where productivity was a priority, both have done her well as Rosa starts to see what Vyn may have meant with losing the city within him.

His last statement still confuses her, however and it bothers her still when she quietly watches his silhouette move in his living room. The one without Christmas decorations and anyone else celebrating it.

A wee feeling passes by Rosa, a familiar feeling she knows from the city. Usually too small to be noticed, never noted upon by the constant buzz surrounding them and all the distractions that came with. An emotion that Rosa suddenly seems to understand as she sits in her parents’ living room, surrounded by Luke and her parents who are now attempting another board game in the hopes that this wouldn’t lead to a feud.

“Do we still have some leftover decorations?” she suddenly exclaims, and her father stammers in affirmative as Rosa rises up from her seat and stumbles off into the attic, not much later finding herself outside and in front of Vyn’s door as she presses the doorbell.

“Rosa?” Vyn’s voice sounds from the other side of the box she is carrying as she has to lean onto one side of her legs to peek behind the carton to meet his eyes, a grin spreading over her face.

“Surprise!” she calls, and Vyn blinks once more, unsure what to make of the situation though his arms reach out for the box anyway to take it over from the female. “It might only be for one day, but we have so much whilst you had none,” she explains when the male peeks into the box, seeing all of the crafts and lights accompanied with ready-set Christmas decorations.

Perhaps she was being presumptuous. Rosa was aware that there are people who didn’t enjoy decorating for the holidays, finding no point in it. She had to try anyway, if only as an excuse to spend more time with the man.

Vyn didn’t seem to mind it at least, allowing Rosa entry as he helped her unbox the contents of the box she brought. Not much later the two of them were even surrounded by paper scraps and covered in a light hint of glitter, another apologetic smile around her lips as it was her carelessness that had Vyn trigger a glitter bomb in his face.

“It is fine,” the man tells her, covered in glitter like snow dust. Once more there is that reserved smile that is supposed to ease her. Rosa finds that it does the opposite instead, as desperate as she is in trying to get to know him. At the same time she wonders why she is so insistent on getting to know the man. There was nothing holding her back here. Besides the occasional visits there was no reason for Rosa to return to this town more than the few times a year that she does return.

There is a nagging voice within her as Rosa reaches out to brush the glitter out of Vyn’s hair, a startled look from the psychiatrist who flinches at her reach first before allowing Rosa to come closer, those inquisitive golden eyes forever reading into her soul, as if able to read her every thought.

Rosa wasn’t one to believe in Christmas miracles. Neither did she have anything in particular that she wanted for Christmas. However, right at that moment Rosa found herself wondering how wonderful it would be if she could unpack the mystery that was Vyn Richter, psychiatrist that was trying to lose the city.

Somewhere, Vyn seemed to think the same. At least Rosa believed so as fingers brushed against each other and soft smiles were exchanged before an evening was spent decorating the space of a man who could use a little Christmas magic, and you who thought of maybe another reason to frequent home.

[alby-rei]

When You Wish Upon a Lucky Star (Tears of Themis Secret Santa)

a/n: Happy Holidays!! I had the honor of being @readerinsertfanfiction‘s secret santa in @themistypewriter‘s ToT Secret Santa event 💙💙💙 I sincerely hope you enjoy the read, Nemos >/////////<

[Characters]: You, the NXX Squad, Kiki

[Tags]: Christmas and Fluff, ‘Tis the season for gift-giving, and a li’l Mystery :3 

[Word Count]: ~1600 words

~*~

You stretched your arms above your head, trying your best to shake off the leftover drowsiness to properly focus on today’s work.

          ‘Just one more day here, and then it’s off for the holidays!’

“[Name], there’s a delivery for you!”

“Oh?” You tilted your head.

At the front desk was the delivery man with your package: A prettily wrapped blue box that was a little bigger than your hand. You bring it back to your work desk, eyes lighting up when you opened it to find the label of your favorite chocolate brand. Atop the box was small, origami star that greeted you with a message attached, ‘A star had fallen from the sky, so I caught it for you. May it bring you good luck today.’

You scanned the box for a name to find none. You wracked your brain for a list of potential senders. It became increasingly hard to focus on work with this in your mind, but you pushed it aside for now as you logged into your computer.

During your lunch break, you decided to start eliminating options.

“Hey Kiki, come here for a second.”

“What’s up?”

“Did you send me this?”

You held the box in front of you, much lighter now that you’ve enjoyed in its delights. Her eyes widened when she gave the present a look over. Kiki shook her head with a shy smile slowly forming.

“My bet is that it’s probably from someone too shy to gift it to you in-person? Y’know, Mr. Wing arrived uncharacteristically late today.” She gasped. “What if… it’s from him?”

You raised your eyebrows, not quite sure how she reached that conclusion. As if on cue, Artem walked out of his office, cerulean eyes scanning the workplace until he made eye contact with you. You shot him a smile, and he nodded and returned your smile. He made his way to your workspace with a binder filled with case files.

“I’ve read your report, and I left some comments. They’re mostly minor, so if you can take care of them today, you can leave when you’re finished.”

Business as always when it comes to your partner. His eyes quickly darted to the present on your desk.

“Early holiday gifts?”

“Yeah, it appears so. Want one?”

He chuckled and waved a hand to decline.

“Must be from someone special, you should enjoy it. Who is it from?”

“I’m not sure. I was starting to wonder if it was from you, Mr. Wing.”

“O-oh, no. But I did get…”

Underneath the binder, a wrapped gift emerges! He holds it out for you. It’s rectangular and solid, but not very heavy.

“Thank you, Mr. Wing! I’ve got one for you, as well.”

You and Artem had discussed exchanging book gifts before, on the basis that you wanted to share reading material outside of work reports and case files, for once. You hand him his wrapped gift in return.

“Thank you, too. I’ll open it once I’m home, I’m very curious as to what it’ll be.”

“Hmmm, I thought you needed something a little different from your usual,” you quirked your head innocently.  

“…It’s romance, isn’t it?” He hid his face behind the gift and the binder.

You giggled, saying, “You’ll just have to wait to find out!”

He joined in your laugh. His excitement shone through in his expression.

At least you can eliminate him from your list of suspects, then.

~*~

After work, you aimed to go directly home. And you would have, if it weren’t for the familiar face that awaited you in front of Themis Law Firm.

“Miss [Name]! About time you finished work.”

“Marius?! What are you doing here?”

          ‘Was it him…? Sounds like something he’d do…’

“Can’t I drop by to see my favorite attorney?”

“I’m surprised you had time to leave work, heard it’s been busy. So, what did you come to see me for?” You were rubbing your gloved hands together, just wanting to get to the train station as soon as possible.

          ‘Any second now, he’ll bring up the chocolates.’

“Let’s talk in the car, it’s freezing out here.”

Once you were seated, you relaxed into the warm chair, grateful for the heating in the car. Marius sat next to you in the backseat, letting out a big sigh, as well. The driver took care of the way.

“Are you on holiday, officially?” Marius asked. 

“Yes! Time to head home and relax.”

“Aww, is that so? Don’t you want to spend the day somewhere together?”

“It’s way too cold in Stellis to do anything outdoors, and the streets are definitely going to get more crowded. Maybe after the initial holiday fever.”

He pouted at that, his shoulders instinctively doing a little wiggle as he thought of something to change your mind. No matter what he said though, you didn’t budge. You were still grateful for the ride though and told him as much.

“Before you go, I got youuuu… this!”

He pulls out a fancy present bag with a bow. You thanked him, and he urged you to look inside. Beneath all the colorful shredded paper was a tree ornament painted with a snowy landscape, bordered with delicate patterns. Turning it around, you see a cute sleeping fox on one side and a curious crow on the other. There were also several hair accessories. 

“Made them myself, after learning a few tricks from the DIY master.”

Marius had the proudest look on his face when he got the warmest smile he’d seen from you.

          ‘But no mention of this morning’s gift. That leaves two suspects in the NXX.’

~*~

You settled in your apartment, thinking about warm food and maybe some hot cocoa. You heard knocking on your door and went to answer it. It was Luke.

“Hey, [Name]! Glad to see you home on time, for once.” He smiled and ruffled your hair.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You shooed his hand away and combed through your hair to fix it.

“You know what I mean, my hardworking Watson.”

“What’s that in your hand?” You pointed out.

“Hm? Oh, this.”

It was another wrapped gift. In fact, it was the same wrapping pattern as the one from the morning.

“Was it you who sent me that gift during work?”

“Not me. I found this sitting outside of your door. Looks like you got a mystery on your hands, today.” He handed you the wrapped gift. This was a bigger box, and a little heavier too. 

“Mind if I come in?”

“Well, I’m a little tired, and so I was just going to order some—”

“I got all the ingredients to make your favorite food~.” He sang, holding up a bag of groceries in his left hand.

“…Alright, deal.”

While he cooked in the kitchen, you carefully unwrapped the next mystery gift. 

There were two items. 

The first thing you saw the reflective surface of a snow globe. Taking it out of the box, you took in all of the little details that went into its crafting. The scene within the globe was that of a couple frozen in time decorating a christmas tree together. The base of the snow globe was decorated an intricate band of pastel-colored roses. You gave it a shake, sending bright and sparkly snowflakes whirling around the scene.  

The second was a large cylindrical jar with a pretty purple ribbon wrapped around it. The sealed jar was filled to the top with a rainbow array of origami stars, folded just like the one you received this morning. There was a tag that read, “99 Lucky Stars. All the twinkling stars in the sky, and none shine as bright as the ones in your eyes.”

Luke turned to ask you what was in the package. His face lit up with a memory at the sight of the colorful jar, “Oh, I remember these! We used to fold stars like this when we were kids. Hahah, I remember you were determined to make 1,000 of these.”

~*~

You also recalled a different memory from your conversation.

“Yeah, they’re called lucky stars! I used to fold a whole bunch when I was younger. There’s a special message tied to how many stars you present to someone,” you said.

There was only one other person in Stellis who you had told that story to.

“Is that so? And what were the messages?” Vyn inquired.  

While Luke was back in the kitchen, you rummaged through your bag for your phone to message your secret santa.

“One star means ‘the only love,’ and ninety-nine hearts mean ‘May our love—or friendship— last forever.”

“That is a very sweet sentiment, indeed. I’ll keep those in memory.”

“There’s more! With a hundred stars, you can grant a wish, and...”

You look at your jar of colorful stars with newfound glee as you wait for him to come online. You get a response immediately, as though he had been waiting all this time for your text.

Your phone pinged with a text. 

< “I’ve brought you a hundred stars so that your dearest wish would come true tonight.” >

Warmth spread through your chest. Another ping signaled a following text. 

< “Will you grant my wish of spending Christmas day together?  We can fold more stars to reach the goal you had set before.” > 

[dandywonderous]

Tears of Themis Secret Santa!

It’s Christmas Eve! And due to family obligations tonight and tomorrow I won’t have much time, so I’m going ahead and posting this.

This is a Secret Santa gift for @ladydehaspran who asked for Vyn/Marius under the prompt “Christmas and Fluff.” I’m new to writing for ToT and especially Vyn but hopefully this hits on what the giftee wanted!

Some context for this fic:  the McMansion Hell Gingerbread Contest is a thing that exists and it is glorious.

I will be putting this on AO3 later but for now here it is on tumblr. Content is SFW.

...

“Someone baking gingerbread cookies in here?”

Marius unceremoniously draped his winter coat over the back of a chair, taking a long, exaggerated sniff of the air. The scent of baking gingerbread filled the house, and combined with a crackling fire it gave Vyn’s house a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The man himself appeared in the kitchen doorway, his sleeves rolled up, flecks of flour still on his hands. “I was testing a recipe to see how it looked.”

“How it looks? Isn’t the most important thing how it tastes?”

Marius followed Vyn back into the kitchen, reaching for an unadorned gingerbread man, only to get his wrist swatted.

“I haven’t iced those yet.”

“Can’t I have just one?” Marius pouted, but as usual, Vyn was not swayed.

“You can have one after I ice it.”

Vyn grabbed his piping bag - despite his speed, each gingerbread man came out perfectly decorated. Marius watched and tried not to look impressed.

“As I was saying, I’m seeing how it looks. I’m entering a gingerbread house contest.”

“Ohhh, a contest, huh?” Marius bit the head off one of the hapless cookie men, humming his appreciation for the taste. “Fine, fine, no need to beg me. I’ll design the house for you.”

“I only need you to hand me things,” said Vyn dismissively, setting the gingerbread men aside with a satisfied nod before returning to the dough.

“Awww, come on!” Marius stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Vyn’s waist. “I’ve studied architecture, you know.”

“As have I.” Vyn continued mixing the dough, ignoring the hand on his hips.

“You’re so cold, Vyn.” Marius stepped back, pouting. “And I already had a really good idea, too… Fine, I guess I’ll just go back to my apartment, and sit, alone…”

“If you’re going to be that dramatic about it, then fine. You can design the house.” Vyn gestured behind him. “I have some paper and pencil over there.”

“Alright!” Marius instantly perked up, like a dog promised a treat. He trotted over to the paper, grabbing the pencil. “Is there a theme, or should I just do whatever?”

“There is a theme.” Vyn went back to kneading the dough. “Have you ever heard of McMansion Hell?”

Marius froze. “That blog where they show off tacky houses? Wait…” He turned slowly to Vyn, folding his arms. “This is for that gingerbread contest?”

“Yes.” Vyn smiled over his shoulder at him. “We have to make the biggest, most obnoxious gingerbread house we possibly can.”

“You want me to design something bad on purpose?”

“Precisely.”

“Never mind. I don’t want to do this after all.” 

“Hmm? After you agreed to?” Vyn turned from his baking, dusting off his hands to come closer to Marius. “You’d really be leaving me in the lurch, you know.”

“You’ve studied architecture.”

“Not as much as you.” Vyn put his own hands on Marius’s hips, smiling at the light blush that dusted the younger man’s cheeks. “This may be one of the few things you’re better at than me.”

“Nngh… No fair. I love flattery.”

“I know.”

“To think you would trick me like this…”

“I only used reverse psychology.”

“Sounds like a trick to me.”

“Only a harmless one.” Vyn smiled, then used his grip on Marius’s hips to swivel him around in one motion; Marius put up little resistance. “Now get to work. I need to know how much gingerbread to bake.” 

“Fine, fine. One spectacularly ugly house, coming right up.”

“Thank you.” Vyn pressed his lips to Marius’s neck. “Let me know what you come up with.”

…

“So.” Marius spread his diagram across Vyn’s kitchen island, gesturing at him to look it over. “I was thinking we could use those candy cane sticks for the pillars on the entry, and the M&Ms for the rock wall on the turret. I’ve also included…” A pause while he counted. “...Six different types of windows, but we can just outline those with icing.”

“We could use the Fruit Roll-ups and make it look like stained glass windows.”

“You’re an evil genius. I love it.”

Despite his initial protests, he was having fun with it now - coming up with increasingly elaborate ways to create a candy monstrosity was surprisingly relaxing. He’d pulled up a tablet to look at pictures on the McMansion Hell blog for inspiration, all the different candies Vyn had bought spread around him so he could take stock.

“I think we need a six car garage. We can use white icing for the doors and outline them with the black licorice. And crush up these Oreo cookies to make the driveway. What do you think?”

Vyn surveyed his handiwork, resting his hand on the small of Marius’s back. It made him shiver. “I think, with a blueprint like this, I should be tutoring you more in architecture.”

“Hey, you have to know the rules to break them, right?” Marius tapped the paper with a finger. “And I have broken a lot of rules.”

“As is your specialty.” Vyn picked up the diagram and moved it to a safer spot, away from the mounting chaos of candy and gingerbread, where they could still reference it. “I like it. Let’s get started.”

“Alright!” Marius rolled up his sleeves. “Where do you need me?”

“Let’s start with baking all the gingerbread we need. Here…” Vyn took Marius by the hand, pulling him closer, then lowered his fingers to the dough. “Work the dough out like this. Then we’ll roll it flat.”

“Hmm… like this?”

“Yes, exactly. You pick things up quickly.”

Marius grinned at him. “Was that a compliment?”

“You have to be able to learn things quickly in order to keep up with me.”

Marius chuckled, turning back to the dough. “You know, this is good practice… maybe later I can give you a massage.”

Next to him, Vyn just smiled.

“Focus on the gingerbread.”

…

“Look! We’ve made a hideous baby!” Marius mimed wiping a tear away. “I’m so proud of us.”

“Don’t get comfortable. We still have to decorate it.”

The sprawling gingerbread house now covered half a table, with a massive entry held up by candy cane pillars and a garage that was almost the same size as the main structure. Vyn was bent over it with his pipette, carefully outlining the roof. Marius followed behind, popping one gumdrop in his mouth for every one he stuck to the icing.

“I was thinking we could stick Chex Mix to the roof to look like shingles. What do you think?”

“You don’t think that’s overdoing it?”

“I think overdoing it is the point.” 

Vyn’s lips curled up in a smile. “That’s true. And you are the architect here.”

“That’s right! Don’t forget it!”

They split up to work on the windows, carefully cutting Fruit Roll-ups into the right shape and then outlining them with icing. Then Vyn began the careful work of lining the walls with M&Ms while Marius worked on the Chex Mix roof.

By the time they were crushing up Oreos for the drive, it was fully dark outside, the lights from nearby houses twinkling through the windows. A gentle snow was falling, the flakes drifting lazily outside the window. Vyn paused long enough to turn on his own lights, the Christmas tree providing a cheery backdrop to their work on the house.

“The front feels a little empty… You know, if you mix up some blue icing, we can use the extra gingerbread to make a fountain.”

“Hmm… I think we could do even better.” Vyn grabbed a small piece of leftover gingerbread and held it out to Marius. “Here - carve this into an angel.”

“I’m not a cookie artist, you know.”

“You can’t do it?”

“Of course I can - give it here.”

Marius bent over the piece of gingerbread with a toothpick, poking out a design that he felt satisfied with. Then he carefully broke his gingerangel out of the rest of the bread, holding it up for Vyn’s inspection. 

“How’s that?”

“The wings aren’t quite the same size, but it will do.”

“It’s perfect and you know it,” Marius argued, but he shaved a bit more of the left wing off before handing it over.

Vyn had mixed up the blue icing, and now he made an octagonal ring of gingerbread pieces to form the fountain. Another pedestal of gingerbread held Marius’s angel. “What do you think?” he asked when he was done.

“I think we just raised our property values another half million.”

“Well, money can’t buy good taste.” Vyn started to spread the Oreo driveway.

“We’re going to have a lot of leftover icing,” Marius observed, drawing Vyn’s attention back to him. “What are we going to do with it?”

“I’m sure we can find a use for it.”

Marius grinned, scooping some up with his finger and then slowly licking it clean, eyes on Vyn the whole time.

“I’m sure we can.”

Vyn watched him appreciatively, before returning to the driveway. “Finish the house first. And stop eating the candy, we still need it.”

“Sure, sure.”

…

The snow had picked up outside, a full inch now carpeting the lawn. Vyn had turned on the radio, instrumental Christmas music filling the air. Marius slid his arm around Vyn’s waist as the two of them surveyed their finished gingerbread mansion.

“So, what do you think?”

“I think we’ve made something truly ostentatious.” Vyn took a sip of his hot tea. “We may have a shot at winning.”

“We better win, or what were the last five hours for?” 

“Hmm… I wonder.”

“Don’t say quality time. We could do lots of things that don’t involve creating gingerbread monstrosities.”

“Even if the mansion is not quality, I think the time we spent building it was.” Vyn turned in Marius’s arms, resting his forehead into the crook of Marius’s neck. It was warm there.

“Mmm…” Marius pulled him closer still, and for a moment they stood quietly, the notes of a piano rendition of Oh Holy Night swirling around them.

“Wanna cuddle on the couch and watch Christmas movies?”

“I thought you wanted to find something to do with the leftover frosting?”

“We’re both pretty good at multitasking…”

“No, we’re not getting any icing on my antique couch.” Vyn pulled away from Marius, taking him by the hand. “Let’s stick with Christmas movies for now.”

“Fine… never let me have any fun.”

“And tomorrow, we’re going over your architecture lessons again.”

Marius gave an overwrought sigh, flopping down on the couch and pulling Vyn down with him. “Fine, Teach, if you insist.”

“For every correct answer, you’ll get a reward.” Vyn grinned, turning in to Marius to give him a long, slow kiss. “Something to do with the icing.”

[themistypewriter]

Hello! Themis’s Typewriter is having a Secret Santa event! This is open for any writers who would like to participate in this Tears of Themis fanfic exchange! If you would like to participate, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/arHQhoKB3pZCRtYY7

The form is different from the interest check. This is the form where you are submitting the prompt/pairing that you would like to receive from your Secret Santa. So if you filled out the interest check, you still want to fill this out.

The deadline to fill out the form is December 5, 2021!!!

Once submissions have been collected, I will curate a list for who will be writing what for who. If there is not an even amount of people who join, I will ask those who said they’d be okay writing two pieces first.

Guideline for the gifted fanfics:

The word count minimum is 1,500 words! There is no maximum. We just ask that your work be complete at the time of posting.

We are NOT accepting any NSFW content. All work must be SFW. Any prompts that are submitted that are NSFW will either be turned down or you will be message privately to provide a better suited prompt.

Please post original work and stand alone work. We just ask that all the work that is gifted have not been previously posted or already established work.

Have fun! Be as creative as you can~

[sdaomine]

Reblogging this because I was a beet stupid for posting it privately three days ago instead of saving it in my drafts. Enjoy! <3

Secret Santa ‘21 — Storm and Moonlight

This is my entry for Themis’s Typewriter’s Secret Santa Event! The theme is fluff and christmas (with a little bit of inspiration from Taylor Swift’s ‘Sparks Fly’). Happy holidays, @choc-chino 💝 I hope you like it! Honestly, I was a nervous wreck because I couldn’t come up with anything at first, but, thankfully, here we are! 🥰 Enjoy, everyone!

Pairing: Marius von Hagen x fem!reader

It’s three hours before the clock strikes Christmas.

Your mind wanders aimlessly into its own fantasy—you think of the snow-covered streets in Stellis, of the cup of hot cocoa you could’ve been sipping right now, of the overly-decorated pine tree in the center of your living room that would probably be blinding you with the flickering lights wrapped all over it.

Ah, you let out a quiet sigh, I never thought I’d miss my hometown this much…

You catch a glimpse of the colossal round clock across the lobby, ticking the way it always does and with no plans of stopping at all. You somehow wish it spares you enough time.

Please, just a little more.

The speech happening upstairs inside the events place had just begun, and Christmas is not adjusting for anyone. Whoever thought and agreed to host such affair on Christmas eve must have a lose screw in their brains.

You and Marius had no choice. PAX had just launched its services internationally, and their new business partnerships with countries across Asia had become one of the most valuable and crucial investments the company has ever made. With this occasion the only social event one of the Asian partners had offered, Marius was left with absolutely zero chances of a peaceful Christmas eve.

“I should be returning upstairs,” you mumble to yourself, flitting your gaze from the glass windows to the lobby elevator. “But it’s peaceful here, and quiet, with no one around…” you quietly say. Will Marius agree to sneak out and join me here instead?

You let out a startled gasp as you sense a ticklish warmth on the crook of your neck. You instinctively angle your head to the side—only for your breath to be knocked away by the painfully attractive sight of your boyfriend. Marius…

You feel your cheeks burn.

“Oneee-san,” calls Marius in a somewhat teasing yet utterly soft voice. “What are you thinking about?”

For some reason, you feel embarrassed to admit that you were contemplating about sneaking out with him, of ditching the event so the two of you could spend time together. So you try to squeeze your brain for a fool proof response—but you end up shamelessly staring at Marius, whose head rests atop your shoulder, his lips on a knowing smile and amethyst eyes on a scorching gaze. You feel your face heat up again.

“Were you thinking of sneaking out, Missy?”

“I’m not!” You look away. “I know this event is significant to you,” you say, “even if I did consider sneaking you out, I won’t do it.”

“Fine,” says Marius as he pulls away from you. The slowly waning heat from his body causes a frown on your face, but his next words betray your claims as your eyes light up in eagerness. Marius leans down slightly for his lips to graze your ear, “If you won’t sneak me out, then I’ll take your hand,” he whispers, “and sneak you out instead.”

—

You hear the solid drumming of your heart. Your footsteps are ringing in your ears. You hear your ragged breaths along with the sweet laughs coming out of Marius’s lips, and the chilly winds on this night of Christmas eve were but constant waves of nostalgia hitting your face.

It has been a long time since you felt this exhilarated.

Neither you or Marius have an idea of your whereabouts—this isn’t Stellis, after all, but a foreign place. That said, it’s the perfect chance to let down your walls and stop pretending to be proper souls.

Of all people, it is you who is entirely aware of what Marius needs to be in Stellis, of how he is expected to speak and act. It is only you who sees the exhaustion in his eyes and the sag in his shoulders after a day in the office. He isn’t even allowed to act recklessly or childishly in public, even when he is a child, a young adult of twenty-one still grasping the burden and responsibilities of life.

You halt your running, resting your hands on your knees as support as you catch your breath. Marius, on the other hand, still hasn’t stopped laughing as he watches you gasp for air. “Oneee-san, can’t you keep up with me?” he teases, “do you want me to carry you?”

“You wicked, wicked thing!” You do not suppress the grin on your face as you stand on your heels. “Marius von Hagen, I—oh!”

You hear the crack of your velvet stiletto, and you see light flashing in your eyes as you lose balance; though instead of colliding with the cold cobblestones, your small frame falls into the young von Hagen’s arms.

You take a peek at him, and you are immensely grateful that you did.

Suddenly it’s all Marius—so cliché, you think, but it’s true. You see only his lilac eyes staring right at you and you feel yourself melt in his embrace. His hands feel too big as they hold your waist, and for a moment you’re all breathless and flustered as you realize he just saved you from a nasty fall.

“Missy.” He doesn’t let go and instead, draws closer, dangerously closer to you. “Are you alright?”

You were about to respond, but instead of a word or two, only a light gasp escapes your lips as Marius teasingly squeezes the exposed skin on your thighs. “Missy, why are your cheeks all red?”

You glare at him. “Marius!”

His fingers travel higher on your thigh, his touch so electrifying you immediately slap his hand away from you. “Marius! I’m going to pinch your cheeks so hard it’ll sting for a month.”

“Sorry, just thought you needed some warmth.” He winked, but you notice that he isn’t entirely teasing you. Marius gestures to your silk dress. “Aren’t you cold? How are you surviving this chilly evening with a slit that high?”

“I’m okay, I swear! Don’t worry.” You smile up at him, your hands reaching to grab the lapel of his coat. You suddenly have an idea.

You tug slightly on his collar, bringing him closer to your face. “Baby,” you whisper, looking straight into his eyes. “Want to do something spicy?”

The moment his lips curved into a smirk, you knew the evening was off to a good start.

—

“M-Marius!” You breathe out—almost screamed—when you feel the agonizing sting spreading like wildfire all over your tongue. “Water! Water, Marius!”

You fan your hands in front of your face as if your small fingers had the power to ease the hotness in your mouth. “Marius, what the hell are you doing?”

Instead of handing you a water bottle, you see your boyfriend stuffing big squares of chocolate cake in his mouth, bits of fondue smudged across his chin and cheeks like a little boy eating his birthday cake for the first time—devouring them nonstop perhaps to ease the spiciness in his mouth and completely oblivious of you and your suffering.

“Marius—oomf!” Before you could even react, Marius stuffs chocolate cake in your mouth.

He wears a goofy smile, a grin so wide that he almost has his eyes closed. “Yes, baby? Did you say something? I can’t quite hear you,” he asks innocently, batting his eyelashes. “Water, was it? How about you say sorry to me first for feeding me something so spicy I almost teared up?”

You stifle a laugh. Indeed, Marius didn’t expect you to feed him a (super) spicy delicacy—you had grabbed his hand and pulled him to food stall area, bustling with bright christmas lights and smelled as if it’s heaven on earth. You had bought him chocolate cake first before you caught sight of a nearby stall that sold hot desserts, and Marius, who had trusted you a hundred and one percent, didn’t even dare read nor ask about what that damned food stall had in store.

You can’t help but giggle. “What are you talking about?” You try to hide your face with your hands. “It’s not my fault that the oh-so-great Marius von Hagen couldn’t eat spicy foods at all,” you tell him, “besides, it’s you—”

You hiss in surprise as you feel coldness on your cheek—Marius has painted chocolate fondue on your face as if you are a blank canvas in his studio, and he doesn’t even look sorry about it. “Besides what?” he repeats, this time using two of his fingers to paint yet another sweet fondue on your forehead. “There,” says Marius in a satisfied tone as he draws nearer to you, “consider this as payback, baby.

“But don’t worry,” he adds, “I’ll treat you to something special.” He winks.

Somehow, you start to consider that this payback is a blessing. After all, instead of being punished for your deliberate feeding of spicy food to Marius, here you are—looking pretty with your new bunny headdress, and it even has movable ears! “Oh my god, this is… this is so cute! Marius, too cute!”

“I know I’m cute.”

You narrow your eyes but continue to simultaneously pull at the bunny ears, “Not you. The bunny headdress. And look at its ears!”

“Oneee-san, I’m starting to get jealous over here.”

“Come here, I’ll hit you.”

And there goes his puppy eyes and pout again. “Missy!”

He’s so cute, you think to yourself. Marius, you’re too cute. It’s starting to feel unfair…

Oh, but he is. Your gaze is fixed intently on him as he tries to pull the ears of his new fluffy puppy headdress—you take note of the way his lips curve in delight every time he succeeds, of the way his dazzling, dazzling amethyst eyes brighten in felicity—

Your breath catches as you finish the thought.

Every time he looks at you.

Right now, he’s preoccupied with the new stall in front of you: a small cart of cheap scarves and jewelry owned by a really, really kind old man. He says he’s heading home in a few to celebrate Christmas eve with his family, but he needs to catch up with sales first.

Looking at your boyfriend’s cheery grin as he converses with the old man, you know exactly what he’s planning to accomplish.

And you don’t know what, when, and how it all happened—it feels like a blink of an eye as you stare at the old man pushing his almost empty cart home. You give Marius a sideward glance—and you couldn’t suppress the rich laughter that comes out of your mouth.

Fully aware of how hilarious he appears, your boyfriend joins in on the fun.

Marius von Hagen. The Marius von Hagen, acting CEO of Pax—adorned with a neon pink scarf and a few more pastel-colored ones wrapped around his neck, four plastic rings on his fingers, and a “Merry Christmas” headband on his head. Your first thought was that he looked utterly hysterical he could be a circus clown; somehow you don’t feel any guilt with it. Ah, because it’s true!

As if to entertain you even more, Marius places a hand on his hips and twirls around before he walks on a straight line—just like a contestant on a beauty pageant, you realize, and you burst out laughing for the second time around.

“Goddammit,” you curse, feeling your abdomen burn as well as your breathlessness.

“Oneee-san,” he calls to you in the softest, painfully adorable voice ever, “are you done making fun of me? Aren’t you going to coddle me now, Missy?”

“Haha, s-sorry…”

“Pfft, look at you talk. You don’t even see yourself right now,” he huffs, crossing his arms. “You look worse than I do, seriously.”

“Excuse me?”

“You look like a homeless wreck,” he adds in a more teasing tone, “hehe, the slit on your dress looks like it needs sewing.”

Maybe your minds are indeed now connected, because the moment you take your first step towards Marius, he’s already a few feet ahead of you, running as fast as he could. His long legs serve him well as his head start, while you, unfortunately, are about to suffer from blisters from running barefoot on the cobblestones.

“Marius. Von. Hagen! Come back here, you brat!”

He’s slowing down, you think, and you prepare yourself for the long-awaited payback you’re about to give Marius. That’s it, he’s slowing down!

But your calculations are wrong. Instead of slowing down Marius has stopped entirely, and your mind breaks into a panic as you realize that you’re not strong enough to stop your pace all of a sudden—and as expected, you crash onto Marius… who had his arms wide open.

The force is too much that Marius deems fit to hold onto you tightly and twirl the both of you around. Your face is still buried in his chest, and you feel just how warm he is—so nice, so comfortable you yearn to stay there a little while longer. You bask in the sweet fragrance he exudes, of the sheer coziness he brings upon you that it takes you quite long to realize how Marius hasn’t let go of you yet.

“Marius?” You try to tilt your head to look at him, but he doesn’t budge and instead, tightens his embrace on you. His chin rests atop your head. Suddenly you feel long fingers caressing your locks. “Mm, what are you up to, baby?”

“Hmm? Hugging the love of my life, obviously,” he chuckles. “What do you think?”

You giggle against his chest, using it as your chance to hide your reddened cheeks. “I don’t know, suffocate me to death?” you almost snort, your fingers gripping tighter on his coat. “Well, I—oh no, Marius, is it…?”

“Shit.” Marius instinctively pulls away from you to remove his coat. He then hoists it above your heads as a futile attempt to shield you from the sudden rain—but to no avail since no weather forecast mentioned of a surprise icy battering ram in the middle of the night, one hour before Christmas day.

The two of you bolt running towards the nearest shelter—but the evening sky is like a shadow cast overhead and you see almost nothing save for the streetlights and Christmas LEDs wrapped around trees and houses; the rain shower adds up to the poor visibility in the area, but even so, there isn’t really a shelter nearby.

You and Marius are already soaked by the time he used his coat as protection anyway, so you halt running, leaving your boyfriend confused. “Shit,” he curses, sprinting back to you, “come here! You’ll get sick—”

“Marius!” You cup your hands on either side of your mouth as you call out his name a little loudly, trying to outdo the rain’s heavy showering. “The coat! It’s useless!”

“What?” he shouts back, “what do you—”

Marius is speechless when you grab his hand, tugging him happily towards you—you giggle when your face bumps against his chest even if your nose stings a little. “Ow, haha…”

But before he could even say something, you take his hand for the second time and, under the pouring rain, twirl yourself underneath his hoisted arm.

Right after it, you grab both of his hands this time and look into his still astonished eyes—the sight of it makes you laugh, and while you do, you take one step towards him, and use the same foot to step backwards. You slightly tug at him too, gesturing for Marius to emulate your movements.

Y/N, he thinks to himself. You want to dance in the rain?

Suddenly Marius captures your wrist and pulls your body flush against his. “You’re so fucking cute,” he says almost inaudibly before cupping your face with his wet hands, “i want to kiss you, i really want to.”

With those words—and a quick nod of approval from you—Marius draws close, closer, until you feel his warm lips brush against yours. It almost felt like he was moving in slow motion, his mere presence blurring everything around you.

Good, you think. Let it all go, Marius. Tonight, I’m all yours.

For now, you flay all pretend, all inhibitions. There are no one else in this deserted park, just you and him—for now, the only real thing is the softness of Marius’s lips against yours, the unhurried demand of his tongue drawing yours out, the electric shivers that races through you at his touch.

You sigh when he pulls away, but seeing how he grins at you excitedly, you figure it out in an instant: more blisters.

Haha, you think. Not that I mind.

You let out a giggle when Marius takes your hands, twirling you around—again, and again, careful not to make you dizzy too much. “Onee-san, no one told me dancing in the rain was this fun.”

He guides your hand to his shoulder, and he holds the other one, extending your entwined hands to shoulder level. His free hand rests on your waist.

“Remind me to take you out on stormy nights.”

Marius plants a small kiss on your forehead and, in one quick motion, spins you around—when your bodies face each other again, Marius secures you with a strong hand on your back and abruptly dips you so low you almost felt your head hitting the ground. Just like dancing tango, you remember.

And so you flex your leg and bend it upward in a graceful, almost sensual manner, then your hand pulls away from his touch to let your arm fly free to your side as he lowers your body.

“And remind me to set up lovely lights in my living room.” Marius lifts you back up with such great force, ensuing a gasp coming out of your lips. “So we get some pretty ambience while I waltz you all over it.”

Your bodies sway in sync, your fingers now running through his damp hair of midnight-blue—both your smiles are too wide that they are unmatched, eyes glistening with overwhelming delight.

“Y/N.” Marius fastens the pace of your dancing, his hand moving up to where your jaw and neck met. “I think I’m seeing sparks everywhere.”

“Haha, don’t worry.” Your laugh echoes across the empty park. “You’re certainly not alone.”

“That’s good to know.”

And so you danced with Marius, the love of your life, so blissfully it didn’t matter whether there was a storm or not—all there was were swaying bodies under the moonlit night of Christmas eve, two youthful souls having the time of their lives.

Your back is now against Marius, the movement of your bodies now slower; his hands are wrapped around you and his chin rests again on your shoulder. Caressing his face were your soft little fingers, your other hand placed atop his own. “You’re ferocious,” you chuckle, eyes closed as you sway mindlessly, “that, or my stamina has become all rusty.”

“I’m not Mr. Extreme Sports for nothing,” says Marius, his breath tickling your skin. “Hehe, maybe I also got a little too excited. It’s not everyday I get to dance with you under a storm.”

“You owe me midnight snacks, Marius.”

“Just midnight snacks? You’re making it too easy for me. Don’t you—”

Your sudden movement interrupts him. You panic when you catch a glimpse of your shoes, as well as the few scarves and paper rings you and Marius left on a nearby bench before you decided to dance the night away—you were too caught up in the moment, you almost forgot your belongings…

You grab your unattended things and walk back to where Marius stands. You’re smiling up at him, waving your free hand as you tread closer—only for you to be get a little confused. Marius wears not his usual grin on his face, his body now more tense; but his eyes, his eyes hold something different.

“Marius?”

He doesn’t respond, but his eyes are fixated on you.

Oh, it’s pretty unfortunate that couldn’t read what was going in his brain. Never you mind, though, for it is all you—all you in his head, all you in his heart. Every thought, every beat. You, you, you.

Y/N, he thinks to himself. She’s so beautiful.

Water rivulets were dripping from your hair down to your neck, collarbone, chest. Marius’s muse appeared utterly alluring underneath the iridescent moonlight.

So gorgeous, I want to kiss her.

Because even with your tousled locks and your sleeveless velvet gown all wet and bedraggled from the rain and mud, you still made his heart skip a beat—the sight of you enough for Marius to suddenly need a breather, to make the man lose his head.

I really want to kiss her.

You sigh in relief when you see him move from his once frozen stance. “Gee, Marius. I got nervous thinking something happened to you—”

Gripping your shoulders, Marius leans forward to selfishly claim his second kiss tonight. You wonder if kissing you was what he was thinking moments ago. Ah, but that doesn’t matter now…

Your arms instinctively wrap around his torso, his slender hands finding comfort on your waist. “Sorry,” he says, breaking away for a millisecond to whisper against your lips, “but you look so beautiful, I couldn’t tame my greediness tonight.”

“Marius—”

He kisses you gently at first, but after a while, his kisses grow hotter, more fervent—and you willingly part your mouth so his tongue could enter past your lips.

His lips… So soft… You feel your cheeks heat up as your thoughts run their own will. Somehow you already know what you want for Christmas.

You pull away, your breathing slightly ragged. “Marius,” you breathe, “do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Want. You,” you say, still catching your breath from all the kissing you just did. “Exquisitely wrapped as my Christmas gift tonight, with a pink ribbon on top.” I wonder how he’s going to take this jest of mine…

Shit, you think, seeing Marius just openly staring at you. Really… Why did I make such a lame joke while we’re being intimate…

“I love you.”

You instantly tilt your head, staring back at him. “What?” you ask, dumbfounded.

His hands still resting on your waist, he tugs you a little closer. “I said,” he repeats, his amethyst eyes brimming with euphoria and admiration, “i love you. Y/N, I love you.”

You unconsciously tighten your grip on his shoulder, and with the threat of tears in your eyes you confess so keenly to him, “I love you too, Marius. I love you too.”

Marius almost flinches. Shit. Critical hit.

And then there’s silence between you; comfortable, at the same time thrilling. You hear the strong drumming of a heart—yours? His? You have no idea. All you know is that this evening is one of those nights you won’t forget, ever.

At a loss for words, all that escaped past your lips was a single word: “O-okay.”

But his lips curve into that smile again, and in a low whisper, you hear him say it back. “Okay.”

It was only then that the two of you realize it’s not raining anymore. The cobblestones are still damp, some steps still muddied. For whatever reason the streetlights now flickered a mix of melancholy orange and yellows, and the place got even quieter.

It feels like the world is giving you and Marius all the time, space, and chances you need for tonight.

You feel aching on your foot. You look down on your toes, seeing blisters all over your feet. But Marius’s shadow snags your attention, and you see him offering a hand to you.

“It’s time for us to return home,” he says. “Hop on my back, I’ll carry you to the car.” And maybe we could dance in the empty parking lot, too.

“Okay.” You wouldn’t admit—even if it was already obvious to him—that you’re still shy and flustered from your confessions this evening, so you keep quiet the entire time.

You hop onto his back, his strong hands gripping on your thighs to prevent you from slipping away. When your arms make their way around his neck, falling all the way to his chest, you feel yourself getting flustered again—he smells so good.

Marius easily carries you. He begins to walk back to the hotel parking lot, a comfortable silence hanging over you. Suddenly you hear his digital watch beep a few times.

“Y/N.” Marius angles his head slightly to the right to get a glimpse of you. “Thank you for tonight,” he says in a low, sweet tone, “merry christmas, baby. And just in case you haven’t processed it yet—Y/N, I’m certainly drunk in love with you.”

“Yeah.” You bury your hot, reddened face in his shoulder. “Me too.”

[alstroemeriadissonance]

Aaaa I really love this one! To be honest this hits really close to home--I've spent quite a few Christmases alone, so I totally get Rosa here. I have also experienced how it is to spy my (crush? Object of affection?) in a crowd and, all giddy-like, meet up with them in a similar fashion as in this story... This gives me a lot of nostalgic fuwafuwa feels aaaa

Also Santa Richter...

The cheery, fun atmosphere when they got changed into costumes is just infectious! I'm just awash with giddiness at this point.

Thank you very much!!!

Unexpected Christmas Company

For the @themistypewriter Secret Santa event. Merry Christmas @alstroemeriadissonance! This was a very last minute piece so I hope that you will enjoy your present!! Pairing: Vyn x Rosa WC: 2587 A/N: This is slightly AU. This is set before NXX. Before Luke returned. But Rosa becomes acquainted with Dr. Richter after she met him at an art exhibit and became his TA. Wrote this on the whim and within a few hours since I wanted to get it done before Christmas ended in my timezone.

--- --- --- --- ---

Rosa closed her eyes and buried her nose into her scarf when the wind from the pedestrian blew past her face. She kept her hands gripped tight around her mug and pressed more of the heat into her fingertips. She blinked her eyes open and gazed around the square. People were doing their last minute Christmas shopping and there were couples enjoying dates with each other. She smiled lightheartedly, wishing she had someone to spend Christmas with.

To her dismay, but as expected, her parents didn’t return home for the holidays. Her childhood best friend is still MIA, so she knew she wouldn’t be seeing him. She declined Kiki’s invitation to spend Christmas with her and her old college friends to avoid any awkwardness. Celestine had suggested to see what Artem was doing for Christmas, but Rosa couldn’t bring herself to intrude on her senior partner’s holiday plans. So she decided to get herself ready with no exact plan for the holiday. She walked to her usual coffee spot and asked for her usual order. She chose to sit outside in the brisk winter air to people-watch, as if that would help curve the loneliness she felt.

She tapped her nails against the glass and she sighed. She watched as her breath became a light mist and it drifted up into nothing. She took a careful sip of her coffee, the bittersweet drink filling her body with warmth. Rosa pulled the mug away from her lips, she held it close to her chest as she let out another sigh. When her gaze moved back to the square, she noticed a familiar head of silver hair. Dr. Richter? Her eyes widened and she quickly placed her mug back on the saucer.

Rosa dug around her coat pocket for her phone. She fished it out and her fingers tapped around the screen to send a message.

Rosa: Hello, Dr. Richter! Merry Christmas! What are you up to on this lovely holiday?

Her eyes stayed glued on the doctor that was across the square. He stopped in his tracks to find his phone on his person. Once he got it out, he resumed his walk with his head down to look at the phone, the typing bubble popping up. She felt a tinge of relief that her hunch was right.

Dr. Richter: Hello, dear Rosa. Merry Christmas to you. I am on my way to the toy store to buy presents to hand out in the residential pediatrics department.

Rosa’s eyes lit up when she read his message. Even on the holiday, Dr. Richter is working hard for his patients. She hesitated a little before she responded:

Rosa: Would you like some help?

She bit her thumb nail as she waited for Dr. Richter to text back.

Dr. Richter: I couldn’t burden you with such a task if you already have your own plans.

Rosa smiled to herself as she typed out her next message.

Rosa: Just think of it as an extension of my TA work!

She believed that her and Dr. Richter had gotten closer in the last few months since she became his TA. When she visited her alma mater to see an art exhibition, she crossed paths with him. While they admired the art together, she had mentioned how she would like to volunteer around campus in her free time, to which Dr. Richter offered her a TA position. Rosa accepted without hesitation because she was interested in learning more about psychology.

Through the last few months, she would go whenever he asked and she was always so intrigued by every lecture that Dr. Richter presented. After his lectures, she would follow up with questions about his lesson for personal indulgence. She found his voice rather enchanting and she loved listening to his voice as long as she could. The vibration of her phone pulled her out of her reverie.

Dr. Richter: Well in that case, if you want to see it like that. I wouldn’t mind the company and a second opinion for toys. Would you like me to come get you?

Rosa chuckled and responded quickly.

Rosa: No need. I can come to you~

Rosa stuffed her phone into her pocket and she stood up. She pushed in her chair, then picked up her saucer and mug. She left her dishes in the designated bin before she walked away from the outdoor terrace of the coffee shop. Dr Richter had walked some distance from when she originally saw him. She looked around the square for the head of a silver mane.

She zig-zagged through the crowd, her eyes diligently searching for the doctor. She tried to avoid bumping into people, but when she reached the large Christmas Tree in the middle of the square, the crowd started to get denser. Rosa started to bump shoulders with strangers and she repeatedly apologized. She sighed when her attempt at finding Dr. Richter didn’t seem to work out. He couldn’t have gone too far.. What the heck?! She scratched her head. There went her attempt to try to surprise Dr. Richter. She retrieved her phone, but when she was about to call him, her phone rang instead.

“Hello? Dr. Richter?” Rosa answered her phone.

“Rosa? When you said you were coming to me. Whatever did you mean? Are you out in the city square?” He questioned her.

Rosa chuckled and her eyes continued to search around. “Yes, I saw you from where I was at the coffee shop. That’s why I texted you. I was going to surprise you by approaching you. But I seem to have lost you.”

“Well, what do you see in front of you, Rosa?”

“I am surrounded by a bunch of people. Behind me is the Christmas tree. Mmm,” she paused, “I can also see the huge marquee for a sale for some cosmetic brand.”

“Okay. I suggest that you stay where you are.” Dr. Richter’s voice is calm in her ear.

“Alright, Dr. Richter.”

The phone call ended and she stayed in her spot. She turned back around to give herself a better view. As she waited, she hummed along to a Christmas carol, rocking on the heels of her feet. She fell quiet when she felt a pair of hands land on her shoulders. Then a voice whispered in her ear, “Merry Christmas, Rosa.” She felt their breath brush on her cheek, causing a blush to spread along her cheeks.

Rosa couldn’t help but smile. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Richter.” She responded as she twirled around to face the man the voice belonged to. He looked warmly down at her, his golden eyes sparkling like the lights that adorned the Christmas tree behind her.

“It is lovely to see you on this beautiful holiday.” Dr. Richter tells her, his smile polite.

“It’s nice to know that I am not the only one out and about for Christmas.” Rosa spoke with a soft chuckle.

“Are your parents not home for the holidays?”

She shook her head. “Sadly not. But nothing of a surprise. They were rarely home this year in general.”

“Well, you can definitely join me to buy presents to bring joy to children who are in the hospital.” Dr. Richter nodded his head and removed his hands from her shoulders, one hitching behind her elbow. “Let’s get going before the stores close.”

He helped lead her out from the crowd to the safety of the open square. His hand moved to his side and the two walked side by side through the rest of the square to get to the shopping district.

“You said you were at a coffee shop when you saw me pass by?” Dr. Richter asked her.

“Oh, yes. I left my apartment with no real plan for the day. So I just decided to go to the coffee shop to start.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But coincidentally crossing paths with you beats not having any real plans for Christmas.”

The two arrived at the large toy store, brightly lit to invite consumers to enter to finish their last minute Christmas shopping. “I have to buy about a dozen toys. The nurses compiled a list for me so I wouldn’t have to play too much of a guessing game on what to get everyone. But I know most of the kids personally, so I want to make sure to get them all something they’d love.”

Rosa nodded her head as her eyes perused all the displays set up around the entrance of the store. “My goodness. Toys sure have changed a bunch since we were kids, huh?” she observed.

Dr. Richter laughed softly. “I suppose so.”

He led her deeper into the store. They were welcomed by a worker donning a red and green apron and a Santa hat on her head. The two of them acknowledged her, but walked in the opposite direction after telling her they wouldn’t need assistance.

Rosa followed behind Dr. Richter as he scrolled through his phone to make sure he finds all that he needs. When they arrived at the aisle with all of the plushies, Rosa’s eyes lit up. She immediately went up to the section that had cute fluffy puppy plushies. She took one off the shelf and she squished it between her hands. “So cute!” She squealed quietly. It was a cute shiba inu that she always dreamed about owning. Since she was so busy, perhaps a plushie version of it would suffice.

“Is that something that you like?” Dr. Richter asked beside her.

“Oh, uhm..” Rosa blushed then placed it back on the shelf. “Yes. I wish to adopt one in the future when I am less busy.. It’d help keep my apartment less lonely.” She answered him.

Dr. Richter nodded. “A dog is the perfect companion. Hopefully one day, you will be able to.”

Rosa glanced down at the large basket full of toys that Dr. Richter was holding.

“Do you need help carrying those, Dr. Richter?” She asked him, reaching out to grab some of the toys to take a load off the basket.

“No, thank you. It’s not too heavy. I was just wrapping up to grab the last of what I needed. Why don’t you wait outside and once I finish, I will meet you outside.” Dr. Richter suggested.

“Okay!” Rosa agreed and made a beeline out of the toy store. She waited quietly and she glanced up at the sky. It was rather grey and gloomy. She wondered if perhaps it was meant to snow later in the day. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to wait.

Minutes passed and Dr. Richter approached her from behind. “Ready to head back to the research center?”

“Yes!”

The duo make their way back to the hospital. They’re greeted by some nurses. “Dr. Richter, welcome back! We have some bad news. The man who usually plays Santa had an emergency. So we don’t have a Santa…”

Dr. Richter’s eyes widened. “Are there any male nurses who’d be willing to play the part?” He asked them.

They shook their heads in unison. “Unfortunately, no..”

Rosa watched as Dr. Richter rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That means only one thing, huh?”

“You have to be Santa Claus…” The nurse said to him with a tiny chuckle.

Rosa couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. The nurses swept Dr. Richter away to get things ready. After a half hour, Rosa looked up from her phone when she heard shuffling down the hallway and a lot of giggles. Dr. Richter was dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit nearly two sizes too big for him. She laughed quietly behind her hand, then opened her camera on her phone.

He hid behind his hand as if that would help him disappear. She took a few pictures, then he told him to put his hand down and he obeyed. She took better pictures of him and he smiled in embarrassment. One of the nurses dragged the large red bag to him. “Here you go, Santa!”

Dr. Richter blushed a little as he took the red bag where it was cinched. He lifted it up and rested it on his shoulder with ease. “Rosa, care to accompany me?” He offered her his free hand.

She pointed at herself. “Me?”

He nodded. “Yes. After you get changed.” A smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

“Eh?!”

“The nurses have a Mrs. Claus outfit you’d be able to wear.” His voice sounded too cheery.

One of the nurses approached her and pushed her through the same hall Dr. Richter just came down. “Wa-Wait! N-No!” The nurse brought her into a random hospital room with the outfit set up on the bed.

The nurse was relentless as she got Rosa out of her clothes and into the red dress and white tights. “We also have a pair of red heels. What size are you?” The nurse asked her.

Rosa told the nurse her size and she bent down to pick up the pair of heels. She flipped it over in her hands and frowned. “Oh, it’s too big.. I suppose you can wear your heels with this outfit.” She put the heels back down then grabbed one last accessory off the hospital bed.

The nurse gave her a Santa hat and she carefully put it on her head. Rosa slipped it onto her head and turned to the nurse to help her fix her hair. The two of them exited the vacant hospital room. Dr. Richter was in the same spot where they left him. When she rejoined him, he offered his arm. She placed her hand on his arm and they made their way through the hospital to visit each child he bought presents for.

Each child was excited to see the two of them. They always gasped and asked if it was really Santa and Mrs. Claus. The two of them just had to smile and agree. Some of the children even hugged her tightly after they received their gifts. Rosa’s heart filled with joy and happiness from seeing all the excitement on every child’s face.

This truly beat anything that she could have possibly done with her day alone. Once they were finished, the nurses took a picture of the two of them together in front of the decorated Christmas tree in the lobby. “There’s one more gift that I need to give out.” Dr. Richter whispered in her ear.

“Huh?” Rosa pulled away a little to look at him, the nurses still snapping pictures.

Dr. Richter stuck out his hand and one of the nurses shuffled forward to put a plushie shiba inu into his hand. Rosa gasped and glanced down at the plushie.

“This is for you. Merry Christmas, Rosa. Thank you for being my Mrs. Claus for the evening.” He smiled at her as he placed the plushie into her hands.

She took it in her hands and gazed at it lovingly. “Thank you, Dr. Richter! Now I feel bad because I didn’t even get you a present.” She averted her gaze up at him.

“Not necessary. Your company is the greatest present I could ever ask for,” Dr. Richter reassured her.

Rosa smiled widely at him. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Richter.”

[nad-zeta]

🥺🥺🥺❤❤❤❤🥺🥺🥺❤❤

I'm Dreaming of a White Kissmas

Here's my Secret Santa story for @alby-rei as part of the Themis' Typewriter SS event ;D I think I may have taking a little liberty with the prompt, BUT I think there's still plenty of fluff with a dash of humor for our dear Luke/Rosa. I hope you like it :D

...

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” Rosa absently commented as she and Luke walked around the city, watching as every shop and building was decorating for the holiday.

“Oh? Just like the ones you used to know?” Luke teased. He could say she was the only reason he even remembered the song. He’d listened to her sing it more than once growing up, and it had become one of his fondest childhood memories.

She giggled, her cheeks adorably pink from the cold. “Like our first one together back when we were five. It snowed, and I begged you to build a snowman with me.”

Luke chuckled. “I remember. You got so cold after building it that you forced me to sit beside the fireplace with you to warm up.”

“Weren’t you cold at all?”

“Can’t remember. I don’t think I was, though.”

“Luke the space heater,” she teased with a wink that caused his heart to trip.

“Always.” He squeezed her hand, which he was holding inside his jacket pocket. To everyone and anyone on the street, it had to look like they were lovers. And while they weren’t—though Luke wished they could be—he really didn’t care what others thought. They didn’t know their history, didn’t know how close they were, how utterly dependent they could be on each other despite being individually capable adults. It was just how things were, and Luke might not survive if things were to change. There was once a point he thought he could, but he knew better now.

“Want to make a bet on if it snows for Christmas this year?”

“No way," he cried. "Because that means I have to bet against your wish.”

“Come on,” she playfully begged. “Humor me.”

He let loose a lighthearted sigh. He supposed he could relent this time. “Alright. What wager is there?”

She hummed in thought. “How about this? If you win and there’s no snow, I have to tell you a secret I’ve been keeping all year long.”

“All year long?” he asked, eyes widening in surprise while something in his mind suddenly turned desperate to know.

Was it just him, or did her cheeks turn pinker? “Maybe… even longer.”

Forget desperate. Now that same part of his mind was positively feral with the need to know just what she’d been keeping from him. But, soon a far saner part of his mind realized he’d have to offer up something just as valuable.

You know what to do. A whisper came from the dark corner of his mind.

It sounded shockingly like Aaron.

The thought had his heart racing but… but he supposed he could. Even if it didn’t snow, he should offer this to her. Would offer it to her. And soon. He’d been keeping it so long, and she deserved to know. “Alright. I…” His pounding heart made it surprisingly hard to get words out. “I also have a secret I’ve been keeping from you all year.”

Her lovely eyes widened, blinking a few times as a cold gust of winter wind passed them by. “Oh?”

“Actually…” he continued, his face heating up. “A little longer than that.”

His smile felt a little more sheepish than he wished it was, but she didn’t tease him. Instead, she looked up at him warmly, a gentle light twinkling in her eyes. “Then it’s a bet, Detective. That is… if you can’t figure out my secret beforehand.”

Ohhhh, that challenge did things to him. “You mean it’s something I could figure out?”

“Possibly,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Maybe you already have. I… kinda hope you haven’t though.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“I am, too, you know,” she said, taking a step closer to purposefully bump his shoulder with hers.

“Then does this mean I get to spend Christmas with you?”

She looked up at him, eyebrows quirked. “I didn’t even think that was negotiable.”

A new warmth filled him as he grinned down at her. “Noted. Shall we plan our day, then?”

Her lips took on a bright smile again. “We shall.”

…

Six o’clock Christmas morning, Luke found himself standing outside Rosa’s apartment. He barely had time to knock before the door flung open, revealing a beautiful young lady who looked fit to burst with excitement as she launched herself at him.

He instantly braced for impact as he caught the flying girl.

“Yay! Santa brought my best friend home!”

His heart was racing a little quicker than he’d anticipated, and his face grew notably warm, but his instinct was to wrap her up in a hug and literally sweep her off her feet.

And preferably, never put her down or let her go.

“Obviously, all your court cases put you squarely on the nice list this year,” he playfully countered.

“I’d like to think I was on the nice list every year, but apparently not.”

Her words struck him through the heart, the guilt piling upon his shoulders like a snowdrift. He couldn’t help but squeeze her tighter. “Sorry.”

She clung tighter to him in return. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“I’m here now,” he repeated.

After a moment longer, Luke slowly set her down on her tiptoes, and she just as slowly loosened her grip on him.

“Merry Christmas, by the way,” he said.

“Merry Christmas,” she returned, her voice warmer than a lit hearth and sweeter than any candy cane. “I made breakfast.”

“I’m starved.”

Grabbing him by the hands, Rosa tugged him backwards into her home.

Home. Yes, she was his home. He’d had more than enough time to realize that. Last Christmas, things had been wonderful because he’d gotten to spend it with her again after eight long and lonely years apart. But this year… this year, he’d made sure he’d cleaned up every loose end he could so there would be no secret he couldn’t keep from her. So they could go back to being as close as they were when they were kids.

Or maybe… not that close. Maybe closer, in a far sweeter way.

A man could hope. Particularly one with a years-long crush.

“I made crepes.”

“Crepes?” Luke asked, mind coming back to the present. “Seriously? Like that one year we begged Auntie for them?”

She giggled, shutting the door behind Luke. “Yeah. I had to practice a few times, but they’re pretty easy once you get the hang of them.”

Catching the slight warble in her smile, he leaned over, looking at her intently. Which was easy considering she came in close so she could shut the door just now. “You know I’ve known you since we were five, right?” he challenged.

Just as he suspected, that blush on her cheeks grew pinker as she bit her lovely lips. “Y-yeah? What of it?”

“You know I know when you’re lying, right?”

“Who said I was lying?”

“Oh?” he said, grinning. “Then how many practice runs of crepes did you actually make?”

She squirmed under his gaze for a few seconds before she sighed, a resigned grin on her pretty pink lips that Luke just knew were painted for the occasion. “Five… and I had Vyn help me.”

…Oops. The name of another guy set him surprisingly on edge, raking across his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “You know, you didn’t have to go through the trouble.”

Suddenly, she was looking up at him with an assessing look. “Luke.”

Uh-oh. “Yes?”

She tilted her head to the side, her brown hair swaying slightly around her face as she did. “How long did you say we’ve known each other?”

No point in fighting her when she had that look. He surrendered easily, hanging his head.

“Yeah, don’t think I couldn’t tell,” she said, lightly swatting him on the chest with the back of her hand. “Stop worrying about if you inconvenienced me, and don't you dare tell me I didn't have to. I wanted to do this for you.”

That wasn’t at all why he was worried, but he was relieved that she misunderstood. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She then headed into her kitchen, Luke trailing behind.

Instantly, he looked over the spread on the table. Various cut fruits, chocolate spread, a peanut butter sauce, a third orange-tinted sauce he couldn’t quite peg, a few jams, and a can of whipped cream were lined up buffet style. “Wow, you really went all out.”

“It’s Christmas,” she said with a smile as she started heating up a large pan over the stove.

“Still, I feel like I should have brought something.”

“You brought the most important thing already,” she quickly assured, turning her back to him.

“Huh?”

“Yourself.”

He was so glad she was facing the other direction as she poured the batter into the pan because his face was about as hot as the stove flame.

“So,” he started, sharply changing the subject. “It’s not snowing. Does this mean that I win the bet?”

“Not yet,” she argued. “It counts as a white Christmas if it snows at all by the end of the day.”

He grinned. “So does that mean we’ll be up 'til midnight to see who won the bet?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I hope we planned enough for the day, then.”

Within the next few moments, a slightly sad crepe was slid out onto a plate. “The first one is sacrificial,” she commented, scoping more batter for a second crepe.

He chuckled, reaching for the crepe and ripping a piece off it. He then looked at the smattering of toppings on the table. Time to test the third sauce, he supposed. He dipped the crepe into the thin sauce before dropping it into his mouth. Orange and bourbon. “Crepe suzette,” he realized belatedly.

“Yeah, I made that sauce yesterday,” she said with a brilliant grin. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s killer,” he said, ripping off another piece of crepe before dipping it in the same sauce and dangling it in front of her. “Open up!”

“Hey, Luke!” Her cry only lasted a second before she did as asked, allowing him to drop the piece into her mouth. He was so close that it was impossible to miss. But the way his fingers hit her upper lip had his blood boiling.

“Seems like a shame to waste it,” Luke said, purposefully ignoring his pounding heart as he turned away from her, continuing to rip off pieces to dunk in various sauces and jams.

“I can actually make nicer ones, you know!” she said, sliding a crepe out of the pan.

“It tastes the same,” he said with a wink.

“Still…” Her voice petered off.

“Hey,” he said, siding up to her again as he watched her make another crepe. “I’m just glad to be able to eat your cooking.”

Her expression softened. “Alright, I’ll take it.”

After a bit, she slid a second crepe onto a plate. Luke took one and began filling it with a thin smear of chocolate spread topped with strawberries before rolling it up.

“For you,” he said, setting it down at her spot on the table.

“Oh!” she said, looking over at the crepe with a bit of surprise. “Thanks, Luke.”

“Least I can do since you made breakfast,” he said, taking the second crepe to fill for himself. Though, he stared at the spread in consideration of what to make. He eventually settled for the same thing before returning to her side at the table with the whipped cream can in hand. However, before she could take her first bite, he shot some cream at the forkful.

“Luke!” she shrieked.

“Come on. It’s Christmas,” he said with a brilliant, slightly smug grin. “And you always liked the whipped cream on this.”

She watched in resignation as he put a line of whipped cream down her crepe. “I was trying to watch my weight.”

“You weigh almost nothing,” he dismissed, thinking of all the times he’d carried her over the past year and how she always felt so light to him. “And you eat healthy the rest of the time. Enjoy it today.”

While she glared at him, it was weak at best.

But what goes around comes around, as they say. And knowing Rosa as long as he had, Luke was fully prepared for the retaliation. In fact, he even let it happen.

Except… it didn’t quite go as planned.

Due to her being slightly shorter than him, she couldn’t quite get the whipped cream can at the right angle as she shot whipped cream at his forkful of crepe. And while half of it went on the fork, the rest of it shot everywhere as the can off-gassed a larger than expected air bubble.

Which shot most of that cream up his nose.

Automatically, he snorted, realizing too late he should have covered his face as his nose turned into a whipped cream cannon.

Just as it fully clicked in his mind what happened, a shrieking laugh rent the air.

And at the sound of it, he couldn’t help but laugh himself. A task and a half considering he still had some whipped cream blocking one nostril as well as a mouthful of food, but he couldn’t help it.

“Oh… oh my gosh,” she wheezed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she reached over to wipe his face off with a napkin. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Mm-hm,” he hummed, trying his best not to choke on his food as he swallowed. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Cheeks rosy from laughter and eyes twinkling brightly with amused tears, Rosa nodded. “Good. Good.” She sighed, the high pitch due to her waning amusement. “Oh my goodness, that was funny.”

Chuckling as well, he took the paper napkin from her, blowing his nose to get rid of the rest of the whipped cream burning inside of it.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her laughter subsiding as she proceeded to take a second napkin to wipe up the table.

“Nah, that was like old times,” he said, tossing the napkin away before helping her clean up the mess that, admittedly, he started.

A few crepes and no more whipped cream fights later, they had decisively finished.

“I could not eat another bite,” Rosa said, leaning back in her chair.

“That was really good,” he commented, staring at the plate that had held a total of seven crepes.

“Where did you even put all that?” she absently wondered, turning towards him.

Revealing a little smudge of chocolate on her lip.

“You got a little something…” He pointed at her lip.

She licked at it, trying to get it, then took a little swipe with her finger but still missed. “Did I get it?”

“Here.”

Before he even realized what he was doing, he swiped the chocolate smudge with his finger. But once he realized his thumb was on her lip, he had to continue pretending like it was no big deal even though it very much was. “Got it,” he said, managing to keep his voice steady despite his heart racing and gut in a tight little knot.

“O-oh,” she murmured, suddenly turning her face away from him. “Thanks.”

“No sweat.”

Quickly, she took his plate for him to the sink.

“I can get that.”

“No, you’re my guest.”

“No way,” he countered, standing up to follow her to the sink. “You made breakfast. I can clean up.”

“No, really.”

“It’s no big deal.” He took the plates from her before she could set them in the sink. “Let me. Please?”

After a moment, she sighed. “Fine. I’ll let you wash the dishes. I’ll put the leftovers away.”

“Fair enough.”

Together, they cleaned the kitchen. Rosa even started drying the dishes once she was finished, much to Luke’s protest.

“I can help, you know,” she sassed, drying and putting away the dishes.

“I wanted to pull my weight, though, since you’re hosting.”

“My home is your home. It’s fine.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew weighty by her words. They both fell silent as they decided to not look too deeply into what she’d meant.

At least, Luke did. Because… this was his home. She was his home. And, frankly, he kinda wanted to make a house-home with her.

He stared intently at the dishes in his hand in an attempt to push that from his mind.

Once they finished, Luke went to retrieve the gifts he’d bought for Rosa. He’d spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what to get her. He’d even dragged Aaron on a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip when Luke had caught sight of something in a window that had been perfect. He had to tell himself it was worth it, though, because Aaron had not stopped ribbing him since.

“Luke Pearce, you did not get me four gifts.”

He grinned as he presented her with a pile of presents he’d spent the last month and a half agonizing over. “I totally did.”

“Luke!”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

She heaved a sigh.

He just grinned, feeling almost a little too proud of himself. “Don’t kill me?”

“No, I definitely will.”

Luke just laughed.

“Besides, I… kinda got you a massive stocking, so…”

“Whoa, wait. What?” He only then caught sight of the overlarge stocking that was laid by the couch.

“I would have hung it," she said, "but it’s too heavy.”

“Rosa.”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

They really were a pair, weren’t they?

Luke didn’t know how Rosa felt, but he felt like a little kid again. Ripping open paper and slowly unpacking the contents of a stocking, both containing things that he felt only she would think of. Serious things like parts for projects as well as silly things like socks with the name Sherlock Holmes plastered all over them. He loved all of it.

“And now,” she said, sitting across from him on the couch with the bottoms of their feet pressed together, tapping her socked toes against his in a stupid way they did as children. “We have enjoyed Christmas.”

“We have,” he said, returning her toe taps. He wondered how long this would go on for. When they were kids, they once played the toe tap game until dinner, at which point they were subtly tapping each other under the table. And the only reason they stopped was because Auntie got mad at them when she got caught in the middle of it.

“So, now what?” she asked. “Movie? Walk around town?”

“And here I thought you’d have it planned out.”

“I mean, I had gifts and presents, and then I have a gingerbread house kit to decorate, but I didn’t plan it out to the letter. That’s your domain, Mr. Prepared.”

He chuckled. “Fair. Then how about we turn on a movie while we do the gingerbread house.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Despite not having a perfect plan and just making it up as they went, the day positively flew by. They had two Christmas movies under their belt, a deformed but well-loved gingerbread housesitting on the kitchen table, and a handful of pictures taken on their afternoon walk. Now, they were cleaning up from making Christmas dinner, a surprisingly tasty one if Luke did say so himself. Maybe the fact he was with Rosa had something to do with it. Just her presence could make everything around him better.

“It looks like it’s not going to snow,” Luke said as he dried the dishes Rosa was washing.

“We still have five hours until midnight,” she insisted, handing him a clean saucepot.

“We do,” he agreed. “But I have to hope I’m the one who wins.”

“Don’t get so cocky, Sherlock,” she said with a wink. “Who knows. Your Watson might be right this time.”

“Nah, Sherlock’s rarely wrong.”

“And this could be one of those times.”

“I doubt it.”

“How do you know?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson,” he said with a wink of his own. “That, and I checked the doppler earlier.”

“Cheater!” she hissed, a grin on her face.

“No no. It’s called clues.”

“It’s called cheating,” she said, flicking water in his direction.

He held the towel up to block the spray.

“Hey! No! Take it like a man!”

“Oh, is that how you want to play?”

Suddenly, he ran his hand through the water stream and flicked it at her.

She squealed, taking a handful of water and throwing it his direction.

So he took the pot, quickly dipped it under the running water and tossed it at her.

She gasped, then reached for the sprayer.

“Oh no you don’t!” Luke cried, reaching to stop her.

He tackled her, holding her by the waist and trying to pull her back before she could snatch it and aim it—he knew she wasn’t gonna use it; she was just gonna aim it at him as a threat, as she’d done many times growing up—at him. Giggle squealing, she reached for it, but his arms were longer than hers now. He thought he had the upper hand, but she made one last-ditch effort, managing to somehow weasel out of his grasp so as to snatch it from him. But she grabbed it too tightly, tighter than she was intending. And in the next second, the two of them were hit with the spray.

Rosa let go as soon as she could, but the damage was done. So, there they stood, shock still as Luke held Rosa’s waist, her hand over his on the sprayer, water running down their hair, faces, and shoulders.

Rosa started giggling first, followed by Luke. And soon enough, the duo dissolved into laughter. Rosa reached over to turn the water off, allowing them time to collect themselves before they got back to the dishes.

“That was on you,” Luke said.

“Oh, I deserved that, though,” she said, patting his arm.

That was still holding her around her waist and pinning her to his chest.

Oops.

He slowly let her go. “Um… I think we should finish the dishes.”

“We definitely should.”

Though a little wetter than they should be, they did finish the dishes before Rosa offered to dry off his wet sweater with her hairdryer. Thankfully it wasn’t soaked, so that was a reasonable solution to the water splotch on his shoulder.

“Here,” he said, sliding out of his sweater and handing it to her. He still wore a white tee underneath, but it wasn’t too wet. His sweater had taken the brunt of it. “If you could dry that, I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Rosa looked at the puddles on the floor. “Okay, that seems like a fair trade. I’ll be back.”

Luke gave her a nod, watching her hop up the stairs to her room.

I love you.

The thought had crossed his mind many times today. He couldn’t help it; whether or not it snowed tonight, he would tell her. He had to. He couldn’t chicken out any longer. She was so precious to him, and she had stayed by his side all this time. Heck, she was still by his side even when he wasn’t here. She thought of him every birthday that she missed, every holiday, every odd Saturday night…

He wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side, making it up to her and proving the effort she had poured into their relationship even when he wasn’t there was worth it.

I love you.

And whether or not it was in the romantic sense, he just knew… he just knew she loved him, too.

That was enough to keep him going.

She wasn’t out by the time he finished wiping up the kitchen, so he simply sat himself down on the couch and waited for her. He let himself close his eyes a moment, emptying his mind so he could fully focus on just how he was going to confess his secret to Rosa tonight.

“Are you tired?”

Her sweet voice broke into his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see her standing there in a red dress she hadn’t been in before. She’d been wearing a slightly oversized pink sweater that had been paired with a pair of black jeans. She’d looked cute, sweet, like in her high school days. But now…

The person standing in front of him now was a woman, through and through. The red dress fit her form up top, accentuating her slender arms before slightly flaring at her trim waist, draping over her hips…

Ohhhh, he was in trouble.

“Sorry,” he said, taking his sweater from her. “I was lost in thought.”

“About?”

He shook his head. “Nothing important.”

Definitely not how you look in that dress.

She didn’t look convinced but quickly brushed it away and took a seat beside him, smoothing out the skirt that barely hit her legging-covered knees. “Only if you’re sure. I don’t mean to keep you awake all night if you need to go to sleep.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured, pulling his sweater back over his head. “I’m more than happy to spend all of Christmas right here. We have to see if it’s a white Christmas, anyway. I want to know your secret.”

She shot him a grin. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be the one to hear yours.”

“Don’t bet on that.”

One more Christmas movie later, they were huddled under a blanket together, Rosa leaning against his shoulder looking very close to being asleep.

“You cold?” Luke didn’t even wait for an answer as he pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” she assured. “Don’t make me drowsy.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“No way, I have a bet to win.”

At the mention of the bet, Luke looked outside. “I see no snow,” he commented, reaching for his phone to pull up doppler again.

“Hey,” she said, shifting so as to look up at him. “You want to go look at the lights one last time before the holiday is over?”

He quirked a brow. “Are you up for it?”

She nodded.

“And you won’t get cold?”

She shook her head. “Besides, I have my Certified Luke Space Heater.”

He couldn’t say no to that. “Alright. Go bundle up, and we’ll go look at the lights.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking hand in hand down the street, taking in the glow of Christmas lights and the last of the Christmas displays before Christmas was over. They occasionally pointed out ones they liked or found noteworthy, but other than that, they didn’t really talk much. But it hardly mattered. There weren’t any words to be said. And the words that needed to be said were not words to be spoken here, now, lightly.

And Luke still didn’t know how to go about confessing in the first place. Because from the looks of it, he was winning this bet. Honestly, he had hoped to lose. It seemed the weather was working against both his and Rosa’s wishes today.

“I’m gonna lose, aren’t I?” Rosa asked, looking up at the sky as he took her home. It was nearly midnight, and the sky still didn’t show any signs of snow.

“Likely,” he said.

“Shall we call it early?”

“Not like you to not fight it out until the end,” Luke lightheartedly commented, opening the door for her.

“Thank you. And normally, I would, but… there’s not even a cloud in the sky and there’s only…” She glanced at her phone. “Four minutes left.”

“So, no white Christmas?”

“No,” she lamented, taking off her winter outer clothes. “Sadly.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, hanging her scarf and beret on the coat rack by the door. “I suppose I have a secret to confess to you, don’t I.”

“Wait,” Luke cut in. If they were spilling secrets, he had to share his, too. “I want to share mine first.”

“What?”

Luke's smile was a little warbly, a little tense, and a little scared. Truthfully, he didn’t know what sort of secret she was keeping, but if it was something silly, he didn’t want to completely shift the mood. He wanted to tell her straight out, here, now, before they went back to teasing. If it went over poorly, he could say he was teasing, then slip away under a light albeit awkward atmosphere. But if it was accepted…

Honestly, even after all this time, he still wasn’t even sure what to do about if his confession was accepted.

“But, it’s not snowing,” she said, glancing out the window as if to check. “You won the bet.”

“I did,” he said. “But I still want to share my secret.”

Rosa looked… oddly nervous. “Why?”

“Because I want to,” he said before swallowing hard and fighting for the words he actually wanted to say. “Because… I spent this year fighting to reveal all my secrets to you. And this is the last one.”

“Luke…”

And just like that, the atmosphere grew shockingly heavy as her soft voice faded to silence.

“Then,” she finally spoke up, “I’ll go first, since I lost the bet.”

“Actually, I want to say it first,” Luke said.

“No,” she insisted. “I need to say it first.”

“No, Rosa—"

“Luke—”

“I love you.”

The grandfather clock she owned, one he’d given her, struck twelve, punctuating the fact they both had spoken at the same time.

Together, they stood, staring at each other in wide-eyed silence.

“Rosa…” Her name fell from his lips before he could even realize it.

A smile warbled on her lips. “Luke…” Tentatively, she took a step towards him, reaching out for him before hesitating for a moment.

But that was all Luke needed to take the next step forward and take her in his arms.

His action encouraged her to wrap her arms over his shoulders as his settled around her waist. Together they stood, chest to chest, their heart each pounding as they clung to each other.

“Since when?” he asked, his voice barely stronger than a whisper.

“I… I don’t know,” Rosa answered. “Since forever, I think. At least, a part of me always… I just… when you left, nothing was the same and… I don’t know. At least for a year, since shortly after you came back to me.”

It hardly made sense, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. And Luke wasn’t needing clarification on the why or when. Knowing she did, that she had for a while, that was enough for him.

“You?” she asked. “Since when?”

“Forever.” His answer was more confident. “And if not, at least since middle school.”

Rosa stiffened in his grip. “That long?”

“At least,” Luke whispered, turning his face to nose the side of her head.

Rosa turned towards him, sliding slightly back so as to press her forehead to his, noses touching and breath intermingling.

He could die happy right here and now. He’d also die sad knowing he’d be leaving her behind.

“Can I kiss you?” He was the one who asked, surprising even himself. He couldn’t say the desire was new, but he patted himself on the back for having the courage, or maybe the impulsiveness, to ask.

He was not met with a verbal answer. He was met with her hands sliding up his cheeks, her nose sliding away from his, and her face coming somehow even nearer.

He wrapped her in his arms, one around her shoulders, the other tightly around her waist. And he used his grip to his advantage of pulling her flush against him as she balanced on her tip-toes to meet his lips.

I love you.

I love you

I. Love. You.

The words repeated over and over in his head as their lips oh-so-slowly moved against each other. One long lingering kiss. Two long lingering kiss. Shift of his hold. Slide of her hands into his hair. Three. Long. Lingering. Kiss.

Slow down.

The warning flashed in his mind for only a second, but it was enough to snap his senses back to some semblance of consciousness. He loosened his tight grip on her, letting her slide back down to the ground.

Honestly, he hadn't even realized he'd picked her up.

Her grip on him loosened, regrettably. Yet, she still clung to his shoulders, likely because she didn’t seem so steady on her feet.

Did he do that?

He did that to her, didn’t he?

Well, he didn’t feel that steady, either, so he couldn’t blame her.

No words were spoken. The only sound filling the silence right now was their heavy breathing.

“Does this mean you’re mine?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he whispered back, his answer so automatic it took a second to fully catch up to him what he’d just agreed to. “Yes, I’m yours.”

I always was, and always will be.

I love you.

“Good,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Good. Oh!” Her head shot up as she took his cheeks in her hands. “I’m yours, too!”

He chuckled, taking one of her hands and bringing it downwards so he could press a kiss to her palm. “Yes. Good. I… I’m so happy.”

He watched tears well in her eyes, glittering against her lashes.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Those tears fell. He would have wiped them away, but he was holding her at the moment. But, it seemed she didn’t want to let go of him to wipe those tears, either. “I love you, too, Luke.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

He swallowed. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.”

I love you, Rosa.

From now, until forever.

Oh, Luke,

I love you, too.

From now, until forever.

[alby-rei]

Thank you so so much! 🥺💖🥰✨ Luke and Rosa are absolutely ADORABLE ( Indeed the first crepe is always a sacrifice 😂😂 #relatable ) and it’s why I love their relationship so muchhh 🥺🥺💖💖 and the sweetest confessions!! 

ngl I did have tears in my eyes towards the end 

I'm Dreaming of a White Kissmas

Here's my Secret Santa story for @alby-rei as part of the Themis' Typewriter SS event ;D I think I may have taking a little liberty with the prompt, BUT I think there's still plenty of fluff with a dash of humor for our dear Luke/Rosa. I hope you like it :D

...

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” Rosa absently commented as she and Luke walked around the city, watching as every shop and building was decorating for the holiday.

“Oh? Just like the ones you used to know?” Luke teased. He could say she was the only reason he even remembered the song. He’d listened to her sing it more than once growing up, and it had become one of his fondest childhood memories.

She giggled, her cheeks adorably pink from the cold. “Like our first one together back when we were five. It snowed, and I begged you to build a snowman with me.”

Luke chuckled. “I remember. You got so cold after building it that you forced me to sit beside the fireplace with you to warm up.”

“Weren’t you cold at all?”

“Can’t remember. I don’t think I was, though.”

“Luke the space heater,” she teased with a wink that caused his heart to trip.

“Always.” He squeezed her hand, which he was holding inside his jacket pocket. To everyone and anyone on the street, it had to look like they were lovers. And while they weren’t—though Luke wished they could be—he really didn’t care what others thought. They didn’t know their history, didn’t know how close they were, how utterly dependent they could be on each other despite being individually capable adults. It was just how things were, and Luke might not survive if things were to change. There was once a point he thought he could, but he knew better now.

“Want to make a bet on if it snows for Christmas this year?”

“No way," he cried. "Because that means I have to bet against your wish.”

“Come on,” she playfully begged. “Humor me.”

He let loose a lighthearted sigh. He supposed he could relent this time. “Alright. What wager is there?”

She hummed in thought. “How about this? If you win and there’s no snow, I have to tell you a secret I’ve been keeping all year long.”

“All year long?” he asked, eyes widening in surprise while something in his mind suddenly turned desperate to know.

Was it just him, or did her cheeks turn pinker? “Maybe… even longer.”

Forget desperate. Now that same part of his mind was positively feral with the need to know just what she’d been keeping from him. But, soon a far saner part of his mind realized he’d have to offer up something just as valuable.

You know what to do. A whisper came from the dark corner of his mind.

It sounded shockingly like Aaron.

The thought had his heart racing but… but he supposed he could. Even if it didn’t snow, he should offer this to her. Would offer it to her. And soon. He’d been keeping it so long, and she deserved to know. “Alright. I…” His pounding heart made it surprisingly hard to get words out. “I also have a secret I’ve been keeping from you all year.”

Her lovely eyes widened, blinking a few times as a cold gust of winter wind passed them by. “Oh?”

“Actually…” he continued, his face heating up. “A little longer than that.”

His smile felt a little more sheepish than he wished it was, but she didn’t tease him. Instead, she looked up at him warmly, a gentle light twinkling in her eyes. “Then it’s a bet, Detective. That is… if you can’t figure out my secret beforehand.”

Ohhhh, that challenge did things to him. “You mean it’s something I could figure out?”

“Possibly,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Maybe you already have. I… kinda hope you haven’t though.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“I am, too, you know,” she said, taking a step closer to purposefully bump his shoulder with hers.

“Then does this mean I get to spend Christmas with you?”

She looked up at him, eyebrows quirked. “I didn’t even think that was negotiable.”

A new warmth filled him as he grinned down at her. “Noted. Shall we plan our day, then?”

Her lips took on a bright smile again. “We shall.”

…

Six o’clock Christmas morning, Luke found himself standing outside Rosa’s apartment. He barely had time to knock before the door flung open, revealing a beautiful young lady who looked fit to burst with excitement as she launched herself at him.

He instantly braced for impact as he caught the flying girl.

“Yay! Santa brought my best friend home!”

His heart was racing a little quicker than he’d anticipated, and his face grew notably warm, but his instinct was to wrap her up in a hug and literally sweep her off her feet.

And preferably, never put her down or let her go.

“Obviously, all your court cases put you squarely on the nice list this year,” he playfully countered.

“I’d like to think I was on the nice list every year, but apparently not.”

Her words struck him through the heart, the guilt piling upon his shoulders like a snowdrift. He couldn’t help but squeeze her tighter. “Sorry.”

She clung tighter to him in return. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“I’m here now,” he repeated.

After a moment longer, Luke slowly set her down on her tiptoes, and she just as slowly loosened her grip on him.

“Merry Christmas, by the way,” he said.

“Merry Christmas,” she returned, her voice warmer than a lit hearth and sweeter than any candy cane. “I made breakfast.”

“I’m starved.”

Grabbing him by the hands, Rosa tugged him backwards into her home.

Home. Yes, she was his home. He’d had more than enough time to realize that. Last Christmas, things had been wonderful because he’d gotten to spend it with her again after eight long and lonely years apart. But this year… this year, he’d made sure he’d cleaned up every loose end he could so there would be no secret he couldn’t keep from her. So they could go back to being as close as they were when they were kids.

Or maybe… not that close. Maybe closer, in a far sweeter way.

A man could hope. Particularly one with a years-long crush.

“I made crepes.”

“Crepes?” Luke asked, mind coming back to the present. “Seriously? Like that one year we begged Auntie for them?”

She giggled, shutting the door behind Luke. “Yeah. I had to practice a few times, but they’re pretty easy once you get the hang of them.”

Catching the slight warble in her smile, he leaned over, looking at her intently. Which was easy considering she came in close so she could shut the door just now. “You know I’ve known you since we were five, right?” he challenged.

Just as he suspected, that blush on her cheeks grew pinker as she bit her lovely lips. “Y-yeah? What of it?”

“You know I know when you’re lying, right?”

“Who said I was lying?”

“Oh?” he said, grinning. “Then how many practice runs of crepes did you actually make?”

She squirmed under his gaze for a few seconds before she sighed, a resigned grin on her pretty pink lips that Luke just knew were painted for the occasion. “Five… and I had Vyn help me.”

…Oops. The name of another guy set him surprisingly on edge, raking across his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “You know, you didn’t have to go through the trouble.”

Suddenly, she was looking up at him with an assessing look. “Luke.”

Uh-oh. “Yes?”

She tilted her head to the side, her brown hair swaying slightly around her face as she did. “How long did you say we’ve known each other?”

No point in fighting her when she had that look. He surrendered easily, hanging his head.

“Yeah, don’t think I couldn’t tell,” she said, lightly swatting him on the chest with the back of her hand. “Stop worrying about if you inconvenienced me, and don't you dare tell me I didn't have to. I wanted to do this for you.”

That wasn’t at all why he was worried, but he was relieved that she misunderstood. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She then headed into her kitchen, Luke trailing behind.

Instantly, he looked over the spread on the table. Various cut fruits, chocolate spread, a peanut butter sauce, a third orange-tinted sauce he couldn’t quite peg, a few jams, and a can of whipped cream were lined up buffet style. “Wow, you really went all out.”

“It’s Christmas,” she said with a smile as she started heating up a large pan over the stove.

“Still, I feel like I should have brought something.”

“You brought the most important thing already,” she quickly assured, turning her back to him.

“Huh?”

“Yourself.”

He was so glad she was facing the other direction as she poured the batter into the pan because his face was about as hot as the stove flame.

“So,” he started, sharply changing the subject. “It’s not snowing. Does this mean that I win the bet?”

“Not yet,” she argued. “It counts as a white Christmas if it snows at all by the end of the day.”

He grinned. “So does that mean we’ll be up 'til midnight to see who won the bet?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I hope we planned enough for the day, then.”

Within the next few moments, a slightly sad crepe was slid out onto a plate. “The first one is sacrificial,” she commented, scoping more batter for a second crepe.

He chuckled, reaching for the crepe and ripping a piece off it. He then looked at the smattering of toppings on the table. Time to test the third sauce, he supposed. He dipped the crepe into the thin sauce before dropping it into his mouth. Orange and bourbon. “Crepe suzette,” he realized belatedly.

“Yeah, I made that sauce yesterday,” she said with a brilliant grin. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s killer,” he said, ripping off another piece of crepe before dipping it in the same sauce and dangling it in front of her. “Open up!”

“Hey, Luke!” Her cry only lasted a second before she did as asked, allowing him to drop the piece into her mouth. He was so close that it was impossible to miss. But the way his fingers hit her upper lip had his blood boiling.

“Seems like a shame to waste it,” Luke said, purposefully ignoring his pounding heart as he turned away from her, continuing to rip off pieces to dunk in various sauces and jams.

“I can actually make nicer ones, you know!” she said, sliding a crepe out of the pan.

“It tastes the same,” he said with a wink.

“Still…” Her voice petered off.

“Hey,” he said, siding up to her again as he watched her make another crepe. “I’m just glad to be able to eat your cooking.”

Her expression softened. “Alright, I’ll take it.”

After a bit, she slid a second crepe onto a plate. Luke took one and began filling it with a thin smear of chocolate spread topped with strawberries before rolling it up.

“For you,” he said, setting it down at her spot on the table.

“Oh!” she said, looking over at the crepe with a bit of surprise. “Thanks, Luke.”

“Least I can do since you made breakfast,” he said, taking the second crepe to fill for himself. Though, he stared at the spread in consideration of what to make. He eventually settled for the same thing before returning to her side at the table with the whipped cream can in hand. However, before she could take her first bite, he shot some cream at the forkful.

“Luke!” she shrieked.

“Come on. It’s Christmas,” he said with a brilliant, slightly smug grin. “And you always liked the whipped cream on this.”

She watched in resignation as he put a line of whipped cream down her crepe. “I was trying to watch my weight.”

“You weigh almost nothing,” he dismissed, thinking of all the times he’d carried her over the past year and how she always felt so light to him. “And you eat healthy the rest of the time. Enjoy it today.”

While she glared at him, it was weak at best.

But what goes around comes around, as they say. And knowing Rosa as long as he had, Luke was fully prepared for the retaliation. In fact, he even let it happen.

Except… it didn’t quite go as planned.

Due to her being slightly shorter than him, she couldn’t quite get the whipped cream can at the right angle as she shot whipped cream at his forkful of crepe. And while half of it went on the fork, the rest of it shot everywhere as the can off-gassed a larger than expected air bubble.

Which shot most of that cream up his nose.

Automatically, he snorted, realizing too late he should have covered his face as his nose turned into a whipped cream cannon.

Just as it fully clicked in his mind what happened, a shrieking laugh rent the air.

And at the sound of it, he couldn’t help but laugh himself. A task and a half considering he still had some whipped cream blocking one nostril as well as a mouthful of food, but he couldn’t help it.

“Oh… oh my gosh,” she wheezed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she reached over to wipe his face off with a napkin. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Mm-hm,” he hummed, trying his best not to choke on his food as he swallowed. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Cheeks rosy from laughter and eyes twinkling brightly with amused tears, Rosa nodded. “Good. Good.” She sighed, the high pitch due to her waning amusement. “Oh my goodness, that was funny.”

Chuckling as well, he took the paper napkin from her, blowing his nose to get rid of the rest of the whipped cream burning inside of it.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her laughter subsiding as she proceeded to take a second napkin to wipe up the table.

“Nah, that was like old times,” he said, tossing the napkin away before helping her clean up the mess that, admittedly, he started.

A few crepes and no more whipped cream fights later, they had decisively finished.

“I could not eat another bite,” Rosa said, leaning back in her chair.

“That was really good,” he commented, staring at the plate that had held a total of seven crepes.

“Where did you even put all that?” she absently wondered, turning towards him.

Revealing a little smudge of chocolate on her lip.

“You got a little something…” He pointed at her lip.

She licked at it, trying to get it, then took a little swipe with her finger but still missed. “Did I get it?”

“Here.”

Before he even realized what he was doing, he swiped the chocolate smudge with his finger. But once he realized his thumb was on her lip, he had to continue pretending like it was no big deal even though it very much was. “Got it,” he said, managing to keep his voice steady despite his heart racing and gut in a tight little knot.

“O-oh,” she murmured, suddenly turning her face away from him. “Thanks.”

“No sweat.”

Quickly, she took his plate for him to the sink.

“I can get that.”

“No, you’re my guest.”

“No way,” he countered, standing up to follow her to the sink. “You made breakfast. I can clean up.”

“No, really.”

“It’s no big deal.” He took the plates from her before she could set them in the sink. “Let me. Please?”

After a moment, she sighed. “Fine. I’ll let you wash the dishes. I’ll put the leftovers away.”

“Fair enough.”

Together, they cleaned the kitchen. Rosa even started drying the dishes once she was finished, much to Luke’s protest.

“I can help, you know,” she sassed, drying and putting away the dishes.

“I wanted to pull my weight, though, since you’re hosting.”

“My home is your home. It’s fine.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew weighty by her words. They both fell silent as they decided to not look too deeply into what she’d meant.

At least, Luke did. Because… this was his home. She was his home. And, frankly, he kinda wanted to make a house-home with her.

He stared intently at the dishes in his hand in an attempt to push that from his mind.

Once they finished, Luke went to retrieve the gifts he’d bought for Rosa. He’d spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what to get her. He’d even dragged Aaron on a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip when Luke had caught sight of something in a window that had been perfect. He had to tell himself it was worth it, though, because Aaron had not stopped ribbing him since.

“Luke Pearce, you did not get me four gifts.”

He grinned as he presented her with a pile of presents he’d spent the last month and a half agonizing over. “I totally did.”

“Luke!”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

She heaved a sigh.

He just grinned, feeling almost a little too proud of himself. “Don’t kill me?”

“No, I definitely will.”

Luke just laughed.

“Besides, I… kinda got you a massive stocking, so…”

“Whoa, wait. What?” He only then caught sight of the overlarge stocking that was laid by the couch.

“I would have hung it," she said, "but it’s too heavy.”

“Rosa.”

“What! I couldn’t help it!”

They really were a pair, weren’t they?

Luke didn’t know how Rosa felt, but he felt like a little kid again. Ripping open paper and slowly unpacking the contents of a stocking, both containing things that he felt only she would think of. Serious things like parts for projects as well as silly things like socks with the name Sherlock Holmes plastered all over them. He loved all of it.

“And now,” she said, sitting across from him on the couch with the bottoms of their feet pressed together, tapping her socked toes against his in a stupid way they did as children. “We have enjoyed Christmas.”

“We have,” he said, returning her toe taps. He wondered how long this would go on for. When they were kids, they once played the toe tap game until dinner, at which point they were subtly tapping each other under the table. And the only reason they stopped was because Auntie got mad at them when she got caught in the middle of it.

“So, now what?” she asked. “Movie? Walk around town?”

“And here I thought you’d have it planned out.”

“I mean, I had gifts and presents, and then I have a gingerbread house kit to decorate, but I didn’t plan it out to the letter. That’s your domain, Mr. Prepared.”

He chuckled. “Fair. Then how about we turn on a movie while we do the gingerbread house.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Despite not having a perfect plan and just making it up as they went, the day positively flew by. They had two Christmas movies under their belt, a deformed but well-loved gingerbread housesitting on the kitchen table, and a handful of pictures taken on their afternoon walk. Now, they were cleaning up from making Christmas dinner, a surprisingly tasty one if Luke did say so himself. Maybe the fact he was with Rosa had something to do with it. Just her presence could make everything around him better.

“It looks like it’s not going to snow,” Luke said as he dried the dishes Rosa was washing.

“We still have five hours until midnight,” she insisted, handing him a clean saucepot.

“We do,” he agreed. “But I have to hope I’m the one who wins.”

“Don’t get so cocky, Sherlock,” she said with a wink. “Who knows. Your Watson might be right this time.”

“Nah, Sherlock’s rarely wrong.”

“And this could be one of those times.”

“I doubt it.”

“How do you know?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson,” he said with a wink of his own. “That, and I checked the doppler earlier.”

“Cheater!” she hissed, a grin on her face.

“No no. It’s called clues.”

“It’s called cheating,” she said, flicking water in his direction.

He held the towel up to block the spray.

“Hey! No! Take it like a man!”

“Oh, is that how you want to play?”

Suddenly, he ran his hand through the water stream and flicked it at her.

She squealed, taking a handful of water and throwing it his direction.

So he took the pot, quickly dipped it under the running water and tossed it at her.

She gasped, then reached for the sprayer.

“Oh no you don’t!” Luke cried, reaching to stop her.

He tackled her, holding her by the waist and trying to pull her back before she could snatch it and aim it—he knew she wasn’t gonna use it; she was just gonna aim it at him as a threat, as she’d done many times growing up—at him. Giggle squealing, she reached for it, but his arms were longer than hers now. He thought he had the upper hand, but she made one last-ditch effort, managing to somehow weasel out of his grasp so as to snatch it from him. But she grabbed it too tightly, tighter than she was intending. And in the next second, the two of them were hit with the spray.

Rosa let go as soon as she could, but the damage was done. So, there they stood, shock still as Luke held Rosa’s waist, her hand over his on the sprayer, water running down their hair, faces, and shoulders.

Rosa started giggling first, followed by Luke. And soon enough, the duo dissolved into laughter. Rosa reached over to turn the water off, allowing them time to collect themselves before they got back to the dishes.

“That was on you,” Luke said.

“Oh, I deserved that, though,” she said, patting his arm.

That was still holding her around her waist and pinning her to his chest.

Oops.

He slowly let her go. “Um… I think we should finish the dishes.”

“We definitely should.”

Though a little wetter than they should be, they did finish the dishes before Rosa offered to dry off his wet sweater with her hairdryer. Thankfully it wasn’t soaked, so that was a reasonable solution to the water splotch on his shoulder.

“Here,” he said, sliding out of his sweater and handing it to her. He still wore a white tee underneath, but it wasn’t too wet. His sweater had taken the brunt of it. “If you could dry that, I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Rosa looked at the puddles on the floor. “Okay, that seems like a fair trade. I’ll be back.”

Luke gave her a nod, watching her hop up the stairs to her room.

I love you.

The thought had crossed his mind many times today. He couldn’t help it; whether or not it snowed tonight, he would tell her. He had to. He couldn’t chicken out any longer. She was so precious to him, and she had stayed by his side all this time. Heck, she was still by his side even when he wasn’t here. She thought of him every birthday that she missed, every holiday, every odd Saturday night…

He wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side, making it up to her and proving the effort she had poured into their relationship even when he wasn’t there was worth it.

I love you.

And whether or not it was in the romantic sense, he just knew… he just knew she loved him, too.

That was enough to keep him going.

She wasn’t out by the time he finished wiping up the kitchen, so he simply sat himself down on the couch and waited for her. He let himself close his eyes a moment, emptying his mind so he could fully focus on just how he was going to confess his secret to Rosa tonight.

“Are you tired?”

Her sweet voice broke into his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see her standing there in a red dress she hadn’t been in before. She’d been wearing a slightly oversized pink sweater that had been paired with a pair of black jeans. She’d looked cute, sweet, like in her high school days. But now…

The person standing in front of him now was a woman, through and through. The red dress fit her form up top, accentuating her slender arms before slightly flaring at her trim waist, draping over her hips…

Ohhhh, he was in trouble.

“Sorry,” he said, taking his sweater from her. “I was lost in thought.”

“About?”

He shook his head. “Nothing important.”

Definitely not how you look in that dress.

She didn’t look convinced but quickly brushed it away and took a seat beside him, smoothing out the skirt that barely hit her legging-covered knees. “Only if you’re sure. I don’t mean to keep you awake all night if you need to go to sleep.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured, pulling his sweater back over his head. “I’m more than happy to spend all of Christmas right here. We have to see if it’s a white Christmas, anyway. I want to know your secret.”

She shot him a grin. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be the one to hear yours.”

“Don’t bet on that.”

One more Christmas movie later, they were huddled under a blanket together, Rosa leaning against his shoulder looking very close to being asleep.

“You cold?” Luke didn’t even wait for an answer as he pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” she assured. “Don’t make me drowsy.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“No way, I have a bet to win.”

At the mention of the bet, Luke looked outside. “I see no snow,” he commented, reaching for his phone to pull up doppler again.

“Hey,” she said, shifting so as to look up at him. “You want to go look at the lights one last time before the holiday is over?”

He quirked a brow. “Are you up for it?”

She nodded.

“And you won’t get cold?”

She shook her head. “Besides, I have my Certified Luke Space Heater.”

He couldn’t say no to that. “Alright. Go bundle up, and we’ll go look at the lights.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking hand in hand down the street, taking in the glow of Christmas lights and the last of the Christmas displays before Christmas was over. They occasionally pointed out ones they liked or found noteworthy, but other than that, they didn’t really talk much. But it hardly mattered. There weren’t any words to be said. And the words that needed to be said were not words to be spoken here, now, lightly.

And Luke still didn’t know how to go about confessing in the first place. Because from the looks of it, he was winning this bet. Honestly, he had hoped to lose. It seemed the weather was working against both his and Rosa’s wishes today.

“I’m gonna lose, aren’t I?” Rosa asked, looking up at the sky as he took her home. It was nearly midnight, and the sky still didn’t show any signs of snow.

“Likely,” he said.

“Shall we call it early?”

“Not like you to not fight it out until the end,” Luke lightheartedly commented, opening the door for her.

“Thank you. And normally, I would, but… there’s not even a cloud in the sky and there’s only…” She glanced at her phone. “Four minutes left.”

“So, no white Christmas?”

“No,” she lamented, taking off her winter outer clothes. “Sadly.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, hanging her scarf and beret on the coat rack by the door. “I suppose I have a secret to confess to you, don’t I.”

“Wait,” Luke cut in. If they were spilling secrets, he had to share his, too. “I want to share mine first.”

“What?”

Luke's smile was a little warbly, a little tense, and a little scared. Truthfully, he didn’t know what sort of secret she was keeping, but if it was something silly, he didn’t want to completely shift the mood. He wanted to tell her straight out, here, now, before they went back to teasing. If it went over poorly, he could say he was teasing, then slip away under a light albeit awkward atmosphere. But if it was accepted…

Honestly, even after all this time, he still wasn’t even sure what to do about if his confession was accepted.

“But, it’s not snowing,” she said, glancing out the window as if to check. “You won the bet.”

“I did,” he said. “But I still want to share my secret.”

Rosa looked… oddly nervous. “Why?”

“Because I want to,” he said before swallowing hard and fighting for the words he actually wanted to say. “Because… I spent this year fighting to reveal all my secrets to you. And this is the last one.”

“Luke…”

And just like that, the atmosphere grew shockingly heavy as her soft voice faded to silence.

“Then,” she finally spoke up, “I’ll go first, since I lost the bet.”

“Actually, I want to say it first,” Luke said.

“No,” she insisted. “I need to say it first.”

“No, Rosa—"

“Luke—”

“I love you.”

The grandfather clock she owned, one he’d given her, struck twelve, punctuating the fact they both had spoken at the same time.

Together, they stood, staring at each other in wide-eyed silence.

“Rosa…” Her name fell from his lips before he could even realize it.

A smile warbled on her lips. “Luke…” Tentatively, she took a step towards him, reaching out for him before hesitating for a moment.

But that was all Luke needed to take the next step forward and take her in his arms.

His action encouraged her to wrap her arms over his shoulders as his settled around her waist. Together they stood, chest to chest, their heart each pounding as they clung to each other.

“Since when?” he asked, his voice barely stronger than a whisper.

“I… I don’t know,” Rosa answered. “Since forever, I think. At least, a part of me always… I just… when you left, nothing was the same and… I don’t know. At least for a year, since shortly after you came back to me.”

It hardly made sense, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. And Luke wasn’t needing clarification on the why or when. Knowing she did, that she had for a while, that was enough for him.

“You?” she asked. “Since when?”

“Forever.” His answer was more confident. “And if not, at least since middle school.”

Rosa stiffened in his grip. “That long?”

“At least,” Luke whispered, turning his face to nose the side of her head.

Rosa turned towards him, sliding slightly back so as to press her forehead to his, noses touching and breath intermingling.

He could die happy right here and now. He’d also die sad knowing he’d be leaving her behind.

“Can I kiss you?” He was the one who asked, surprising even himself. He couldn’t say the desire was new, but he patted himself on the back for having the courage, or maybe the impulsiveness, to ask.

He was not met with a verbal answer. He was met with her hands sliding up his cheeks, her nose sliding away from his, and her face coming somehow even nearer.

He wrapped her in his arms, one around her shoulders, the other tightly around her waist. And he used his grip to his advantage of pulling her flush against him as she balanced on her tip-toes to meet his lips.

I love you.

I love you

I. Love. You.

The words repeated over and over in his head as their lips oh-so-slowly moved against each other. One long lingering kiss. Two long lingering kiss. Shift of his hold. Slide of her hands into his hair. Three. Long. Lingering. Kiss.

Slow down.

The warning flashed in his mind for only a second, but it was enough to snap his senses back to some semblance of consciousness. He loosened his tight grip on her, letting her slide back down to the ground.

Honestly, he hadn't even realized he'd picked her up.

Her grip on him loosened, regrettably. Yet, she still clung to his shoulders, likely because she didn’t seem so steady on her feet.

Did he do that?

He did that to her, didn’t he?

Well, he didn’t feel that steady, either, so he couldn’t blame her.

No words were spoken. The only sound filling the silence right now was their heavy breathing.

“Does this mean you’re mine?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he whispered back, his answer so automatic it took a second to fully catch up to him what he’d just agreed to. “Yes, I’m yours.”

I always was, and always will be.

I love you.

“Good,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Good. Oh!” Her head shot up as she took his cheeks in her hands. “I’m yours, too!”

He chuckled, taking one of her hands and bringing it downwards so he could press a kiss to her palm. “Yes. Good. I… I’m so happy.”

He watched tears well in her eyes, glittering against her lashes.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Those tears fell. He would have wiped them away, but he was holding her at the moment. But, it seemed she didn’t want to let go of him to wipe those tears, either. “I love you, too, Luke.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

He swallowed. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.”

I love you, Rosa.

From now, until forever.

Oh, Luke,

I love you, too.

From now, until forever.

[sdaomine]

istg this is so sweet, i love it. thank you so much @dandywonderous aaaaaah 🥰 guys, you better read this. let's spread the doctrine of vynmarius.

Tears of Themis Secret Santa!

It’s Christmas Eve! And due to family obligations tonight and tomorrow I won’t have much time, so I’m going ahead and posting this.

This is a Secret Santa gift for @ladydehaspran who asked for Vyn/Marius under the prompt “Christmas and Fluff.” I’m new to writing for ToT and especially Vyn but hopefully this hits on what the giftee wanted!

Some context for this fic:  the McMansion Hell Gingerbread Contest is a thing that exists and it is glorious.

I will be putting this on AO3 later but for now here it is on tumblr. Content is SFW.

…

“Someone baking gingerbread cookies in here?”

Marius unceremoniously draped his winter coat over the back of a chair, taking a long, exaggerated sniff of the air. The scent of baking gingerbread filled the house, and combined with a crackling fire it gave Vyn’s house a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The man himself appeared in the kitchen doorway, his sleeves rolled up, flecks of flour still on his hands. “I was testing a recipe to see how it looked.”

Keep reading

[themistypewriter]

The form to enter this event has closed. I will be sending everyone their prompts before I go to sleep tonight! Thank you to those who filled out the form~

Hello! Themis’s Typewriter is having a Secret Santa event! This is open for any writers who would like to participate in this Tears of Themis fanfic exchange! If you would like to participate, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/arHQhoKB3pZCRtYY7

The form is different from the interest check. This is the form where you are submitting the prompt/pairing that you would like to receive from your Secret Santa. So if you filled out the interest check, you still want to fill this out.

The deadline to fill out the form is December 5, 2021!!!

Once submissions have been collected, I will curate a list for who will be writing what for who. If there is not an even amount of people who join, I will ask those who said they’d be okay writing two pieces first.

Guideline for the gifted fanfics:

The word count minimum is 1,500 words! There is no maximum. We just ask that your work be complete at the time of posting.

We are NOT accepting any NSFW content. All work must be SFW. Any prompts that are submitted that are NSFW will either be turned down or you will be message privately to provide a better suited prompt.

Please post original work and stand alone work. We just ask that all the work that is gifted have not been previously posted or already established work.

Have fun! Be as creative as you can~