Underneath the Christmas Tree
...Itâs a plant. Mistletoe, specifically, wrapped together with a red silk bow. You brought it with you to the party so that you could watch Leon squirm.
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Christmas was arguably the cheesiest time of year, and personally, you weren't the biggest fan. Tradition is tradition, sure, but you just preferred not to take part in it. Youâll see your loved ones, exchange gifts, but the tacky tales about stockings over the fire and mistletoe strung up overhead never really intrigued you.Â
Leon was unsurprisingly the opposite. The man loved everything about the holiday and was enthusiastic about all the traditions. All traditions, that is, minus one- mistletoe.
You had been helping him decorate his place; putting up colorful lights on the walls and bells on his doors, even helping him chop down and lug in his Christmas tree earlier in the day. Though Leon instructed you specifically to not decorate the tree yet. He wanted to wait until Hop was around during the upcoming party to do that.Â
As you decorated, though, you noticed one thing missing.Â
âDonât you have mistletoe?â You ask him as you sort through his boxes of decorations. When you look up, a few more strings of lights in your hands, you notice how Leon has frozen up in his doorway. His eyes were wide like a Sawsbuck in headlights.Â
âMistletoe?â Leon coughs when he notices youâre looking at him strangely, kicking himself into gear as he laughs and scratches the back of his head. âNah, mate, why would I need one of those?âÂ
âWell, I just thought,â you shrug and look around his apartment. âYou have basically everything else. Youâre not planning to get some kissing action this year?â You tease him as you raise an eyebrow, but decide to drop the subject as you go back to rummaging through his boxes.Â
Apparently, Leon doesn't realize that you honestly don't care if he doesn't own mistletoe because he scrambles. âNo! I mean, Iâd be fine with it, but itâs just me here. Well, us. Right now. Itâs just us, so it would be weird if there were some if it was just- destined to..." He trails off and looks at you with his eyebrows furrowed. "Right?â
Your face scrunches up as you look at him from over your shoulder. What was he even going on about?Â
âPlus, Hop. You know, Hop is an awkward kid. Big olâ crush on the, uh- the Champion. I donât want to make it awkward when theyâre both here.âÂ
âRight,â you drawl out, disbelief heavy in your tone. Leonâs shoulders jump up and his face is endearingly red as he shuffles his festive sock-clad feet on the carpet.Â
âWhat! Why are you so curious?âÂ
âLeon.â Standing up from the box, you place your hands on your hips and give him a look. This seems to shut him up as he closes his mouth, lips sealed tightly and eyebrows still furrowed in either embarrassment or frustration. You amusedly huff through your nose as you stare- cogs are turning in your brain, trying to think if what youâre about to do is a good decision or not- but maybe you can blame it on the season if it goes wrong.Â
Taking long, confident strides forward, you stand in front of Leon and cup his jaw in one hand as you lean in and give him a brief, sweet kiss on the lips.Â
When you pull away, Leonâs golden eyes are staring holes into your head, eyebrows high up on his forehead. You almost laugh at how red his cheeks are, too- he certainly is making good competition for Santa Claus at this point. âWh-â he splutters. âWhat was that?âÂ
âUsually you close your eyes when someone kisses you,â you amusedly curl your lips as you lean away. âYou were acting so weird about it. Figured Iâd kiss you anyway and see what happens.â Your eyes run up and down his body and you teasingly hum as you place a hand on your chin and contemplate. âI get it. You donât want everyone to see the Great Leon so flustered like this, right? Itâll be our secret, then.âÂ
Leonâs expression slowly shifts as he continues to stare at you- shifting from utter disbelief to skepticism, but slowly, he nods and squints his eyes at you. âRight.â He says. âOkay.â His eyes dart around the room, back to you, and then back around the room again before he clears his throat. âYeah, our secret.âÂ
You laugh when he turns on his heel and then runs into his own wall before heading into the kitchen. The fridge opens loudly, bottles scattering from the fridge door and he curses when something falls. You watch him all the while before you ultimately decide that you might sneak a mistletoe into his party.Â
Cheesy as the tradition is, youâd love to see him fluster like that again.Â
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