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Chii shuffled the bag of groceries in her hands. Hideki always carried the heavier set of foodstuffs, but she protectively kept the bread in her own bag upright so it would not be crushed in her rush to keep up. While she stepped up on the stairs leading towards their apartment, however, a shiny object hanging above her head caught the corner of her eye.
Pausing mid-step, she titled her head to take a glance. A bushy plant with red and green ribbons hung on the roof between the stairs and top landing. Small plastic berries attached to the green edges and glowed under the evening sunlight.
“Hideki,” Chii asked, “what is that?”
Hideki followed her line of sight. Seeing the decoration in plain view brought him to a mental standstill. Scratch that, it was smack-dab where they had to walk past. It was unavoidable! “It’s a mistletoe.”
“Mis… tle… toe…” Chii stored the new information to memory, but she thought the foreign word was strange. “Chii?”
Who would put a mistletoe above the entrance to the apartments, anyway? Did Hibiya put it up there to tease someone? It didn’t sound like her. Well, on second thought… Hideki stopped on the stairs next to her as the implications raced through his brain like speeding cars.
“A mistletoe is a Christmas decoration. So, ah, you see, the truth is, Christmas is a—“ He gripped the plastic grocery bag in his hands tight, ducking his head to burn holes into his feet with an embarrassed stare. No, he hadn’t treaded too far from the subject without mentioning the details. “For… couples. Anyway, mistletoe go up really high. That’s the tradition.”
Chii accepted that much as a suitable explanation, but she still had a bigger question. “The mistletoe is here?” She never thought of decorating outside.
“Out here?” The more Hideki fiddled for a reason, the less he had any idea himself. “Um. Because. The mistletoe is magic…? Christmas magic! Yeah, that’s it. Magic works best in the fresh air!” Gasping in the crisp air, he felt refreshed. Hideki swore he would prove something if he used that logic to calm himself. Instead, he felt more giddy and lightheaded.
“Magic?” Chii didn’t get the connection.
“Magic is…” Hideki hung his head. Magic was the magnetic feeling buzzing in his stomach. Chii was under the mistletoe. He was there, too. They were together.
“Hideki is pink,” Chii said, frowning. “Did magic hurt Hideki? Is Hideki sick?”
Hideki hurriedly coughed to clear his throat. Chii was too observant for her own good, but he had every right to be flustered. The December day was cold but not that unforgiving to wave away the fierce pink flush to his cheeks. “No, magic is… good. Yeah, it’s good. Really good. It’s magical to be here! It’s pretty simple. You k-k-kiss under the mistletoe.”
“Oh,” Chii said. Something important clicked in her brain immediately.
Urgency seized her curiosity. Holiday traditions were temporary. It was special, after all. The rare opportunity to take advantage of the mistletoe would not arrive for another year, and Chii herself knew a full year would be a long time.
While the mistletoe swam in Hideki’s mind’s eye, Chii side-stepped in front of him. She gazed at the mistletoe and then back down at Hideki. Chii leaned on her toes and hovered above his grocery bag. She lightly pecked him on the mouth.
Hideki froze, his daydreams realized, and he wobbled on his feet. He grappled for the staircase railing before he fainted. His knuckles turned white. Yes, his soul must have left his body and fallen into heaven.
“Chii!?” His voice cracked.
“Hideki said kiss,” Chii said, her expression blank and innocent.
The simplicity of her gaze—completely focused on him, not at all fussed with the mistletoe itself—indeed was plenty to distract him. Hideki dropped the bag in his hands. Pain blossomed in his ankle.
“Owww!”
He hissed, hopping. The offending can rolled from the opening of the bag and clambered down the stairs without a care in the world. Despite how much he hated his luck, he hoped it would not burst.
“I—I didn’t!” Hideki cycled through his explanation. He had talked about the kiss, but he hadn’t. He was a liar. A huge liar. He didn’t know what he lied about. “I told tell you… But—!“ Chii had kissed him, and he was hot. So hot. When had summer heat kicked out the mid-winter chill?
“Hideki didn’t like it?”
“I liked it! A lot!” He held in a scream that did not account for the pain anymore. Through the film of tears in his eyes, Chii’s face visibly fell. He sobered up. “I promise. The, um… It was… You lived up to Christmas tradition with flying colors.”
“Why is Hideki crying?”
“Sometimes pain makes you,” Hideki said, the tears prickling in his eyes. But he was also happy. His happiness outweighed the painful throbs, which made it stranger.
Chii gently squeezed the bread in her bag, working together the connections of the moment. Human emotions were difficult for her, but she oddly enough understood the sentiment. Was that the mistletoe’s magic? He rubbed his foot, his eyes screwing shut. Slowly, the throbbing pain ebbed away. But what if she kissed him again? Would he forget the pain?
“How many times do you kiss under the mistletoe?” Chii asked. She was proud she was used to the pronunciation.
“Once,” Hideki said through gritted teeth.
“Once,” Chii repeated. As predicted, one kiss made the tradition even more special. Still, Chii didn’t like that it was over even though Christmas had not passed yet. “Okay. Can Chii break the tradition?”
Hideki was thankful he didn’t have a second bag to drop on his other foot.