Under The Mistletoe

[Luke Brown]

Luke could not sit still today; he was too excited and whenever he managed to muster the willpower to sit down in the first place, he found his fingers and feet moving at random all over the place. In the end, he had given up and resorted to pacing up and down the room just as he had been in the first place. Although it wasn't just excitement, to be fair; he was somewhat nervous as well. He really wasn't sure whether he was doing the right thing or not. Had they known each other long enough for him to be doing this? Would it be taken the right way? Would it go down well? The boy took a deep breath. Easy, Luke. Calm it. This was Sina, she was a nice girl... most of the time. If she was going to let him down, she would do it lightly. On a completely unrelated note, he had taken the precaution of acquiring a sprig of mistletoe to hang from the ceiling. Purely for decorative purposes, of course.

Sina Aleardi

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina ran a brush through her hair - again - before she considered herself in the mirror - again - trying to decide if she wanted to leave it down, or put it up. She grabbed it and twisted it into a quick bun, then shook her head and let her hair fall again.

Finally, the time came and she had to leave the mirror. She grabbed Derecho's harness and leash, called the dog over, and got him 'dressed' before she headed out of her room. Realizing she'd forgotten something, she turned back and grabbed a wrapped present, and then left for real, heading down the stairs and to the lounge. Luke, of course, was waiting, and she chuckled as she saw him pacing, "Hey you."

[Luke Brown]

Luke turned sharply at the sound of a voice which, although he had been expecting it, still came as a surprise to him- he had always been plagued with the worry that she might not turn up. Relaxing after the initial shock, he managed to offer her a genuine grin, pleased that she was actually here- the room always seemed brighter when she was there. "Hey yourself." he returned amicably, doing his best not to allow his nerves to affect the way that he spoke. Honestly, this was ridiculous- Sina was a nice girl and even if he had got it wrong, she wouldn't hit him over the head with a rolling pin- metaphorically speaking, that was. He was worrying about nothing.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina dropped Derecho's leash and silently sent him to lay in the corner of the room - a useful trick, and he wouldn't get in the way of... Well, anything. He couldn't go anywhere in the common room anyway. "I have something for you." She held out the wrapped gift, which held a stethoscope. She'd done her research, trying to pick a good model, although it wasn't the best. "Merry Christmas."

[Luke Brown]

Ben watched briefly as the dog made his way to the corner of the room, his expression registering slight amusement at the thought that it looked as though the dog was a misbehaving child sent to stand in the corner, before he returned his attention to what was, to his mind, a far more intriguing and entertaining prospect; the girl before him. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, taking the package and holding out one of his own. With his lack of understanding of what girls liked, he had resorted to what he thought to be fairly safe and bought her a couple of amusing t-shirts. "And Merry Christmas to you too."

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned brightly as Luke took the package, and then accepted the one he handed her in return, "Thanks!" She perched on one of the couches, then looked at Luke, "You open yours first, though." She grinned, "I hope you like it." She rested the present he'd given her - It felt soft, giving in where she held it - in her lap, and faced the boy, watching him with rapt attention.

[Luke Brown]

Briefly, Luke considered taking the couch next to him, but decided against it in favour of the one opposite, which he perched on the edge of- he was, after all, too on edge to sit any more deeply. He pulled an exaggerated face of disappointment in response to her demand. "But haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?" he complained, although his fingers were already working away at the wrapping of the package in his lap. It took an attempt or two for him to get through the paper, but he managed it in the end and, rather to his surprise, a stethoscope fell into his lap. "That's great!" he exclaimed in delight. "Thanks, Sina!" He went to stand up and then paused. "Are we at the hugging stage yet?" he inquired, only half seriously. "Is that allowed?"

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina chuckled, "I have, and it's silly. If you want to be a real gentleman, you'll comply with the lady's demand." She raised an eyebrow, "No?"

She grinned at his excitement once he'd managed to get through the wrapping paper, and pulled him into a hug as he hesitated, "Yes, we are definitely at the hugging stage." She released him after a few moments, "Don't worry, Der won't be jealous."

[Luke Brown]

Luke grinned in response to Sina's answer, making a mental note never to bring it up again since Sina seemed to have a bit of a vendetta going on there. Honestly, he didn't much mind complying with Sina's demands; they were never very demanding in any case and her smile was brilliant.

His eyes widened momentarily as the girl practically suffocated him, although he certainly had no problem with reciprocating and would actually have liked it to go on for rather longer than it had. "I might be jealous of him." he pointed out, with a grin that belied his words.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned - She'd managed to catch Luke and surprise him, although he recovered well. As he pointed out that he might be jealous of the dog, she laughed brightly, "That may be an issue, sorry. He's not going anywhere." She knew Luke didn't mean it - He knew what the dog was for, after all. And there was a difference between their bond and any human friendships she might make. "You're a better hugger, though."

[Luke Brown]

Luke matched his friend's smile, quite happy to be the butt of the joke; he generally was in any case, and he had found that life was much more fun if you could laugh at yourself. And everyone else, obviously. "Ah, well, I guess I can cope with that." he responded with a grin, waving jokingly at the dog where he lay in the corner. "Der can be my friend too." Although obviously, the bond that the dog had with Sina might well be referred to as a working relationship. Still, Luke recognised an opportunity when he saw one, and he pulled the girl in for another hug.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned, "Good. I'd hate for you to run away now that I've started liking you." She blushed slightly as she admitted that bit, but continued on, "And yes, he says he'd be happy to be your friend." She hugged Luke back as he initiated this time, holding him for longer than last time.

[Luke Brown]

The boy raised a sardonic eyebrow at the girl's admission, although he couldn't help noting the flush on her cheeks and also the spark within himself that it initiated. Did he dare to hope? "You mean you hated me to start with?" he enquired, only slightly joking. He hadn't thought so at the time, but then perhaps that was because he had been slightly stunned by the day he'd had. "I'm glad to hear it, Derecho." The dark haired boy held the girl perhaps a little closer than he had done previously. It was Christmas, after all.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina laughed, "You wish. No, I didn't hate you. I am ambivalent about new people until they give me a reason to like or dislike them." She leaned into the hug for a while longer, enjoying the feeling of being held for a while longer, before she finally relaxed her grip.

[Luke Brown]

Luke grinned. "What, I gave you a reason? Well, that was a mistake for a start... how did I manage that?" He realised regretfully that if he went on hugging the girl any longer, it was going to start to seem weird, so he gave the girl a final squeeze before releasing her and looking down ever so slightly to meet her eyes.