Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Hall heard about the snowfall in Utgard, he begged Sander to station him for a patrol there. The man obliged, sending Xie Yuzhi and Leon with him to investigate potential Miramon activity. The three of them were camping amongst the snow clad forest in Utgard’s outskirts, light snowflakes falling onto them.

Hall truly didn’t have any particular reason for coming aside from getting the opportunity to gather mistletoe for his arrows; Utgard’s winters were a hotspot for the plant and it didn’t take long for Hall to catch a whiff upon setting up camp. As he reached out to pick up the plant, Leon voiced out to him.

“What are you doing?” the elder asked.

“Remember how in my training catalogs you said that I did well with charged arrows? I’ve been meaning to make more of my usual mistletoe arrows and I need materials for it,” Hall explained, rapidly gathering the plant. At the sound of his words Yuzhi perked up, suddenly curious about something.

“Mistletoe? You’re collecting mistletoe?” he asked, his voice betraying the slightest tone of mischief.

“Why…?” Hall started, unsure of what to expect from the shorter Esper. While he was fortunate enough to have never fallen victim to Yuzhi’s pranks, he did hear several stories from other guards about how Yuzhi terrorized them with various schemes. Even Tang Yun had vented to him about a time Yuzhi stuck gum in his hair despite the fact that they were usually partners in crime. The way Tang Yun spent so much time talking about Yuzhi caused an odd feeling to rise inside of Hall. Tang Yun never spoke about Hall as much as he did Yuzhi.

Hall knew it was an irrational anger, but he couldn’t help feeling defensive in front of Yuzhi, even though the other hadn’t done anything to him.

“If I help you pick mistletoe…can I keep a few of them for myself?” Yuzhi suddenly asked, his voice becoming chipper. Hall thought about the proposal; he really only needed a few of the plants for his arrows so as long as he got his minimum requirement there was no reason to say no.

“I suppose that’s fair,” Hall shrugged, gesturing to Yuzhi to join him. He could hear Leon sigh in exhaustion, seemingly too tired to object to anything that was going on at the moment.

“I’ll watch the camp in the meantime. Go ahead you two,” he decided before preparing to clean his gun.

When the two of them returned, they were carrying well over one hundred mistletoes, clumping them together in bundles and trying not to drop them. Leon was unmoving throughout the ordeal, keeping a razor sharp gaze on his surroundings. As Hall set his mistletoe aside, he turned to Yuzhi.

“May I ask what you need so many mistletoe for?” he questioned while grabbing the ones he needed for his arrows.

“It’s just for a fun side project. On that note how do you feel about Tang Yun?” Yuzhi diverted without missing a beat. Hall blinked at the question. While they didn’t talk very often, Hall found Tang Yun’s presence to be comforting. He understood Hall in a way nobody else did with his brother being in the Union. Hall greatly admired how Tang Yun was gentle and kind, while also being strong and unyielding at the same time. Also cute; Tang Yun was very, very cute.

So maybe Hall had developed a tiny crush over time, but it’s not like it mattered. He doubted Yun would ever return his feelings, so he told himself to find a way to lose his feelings over time.

“He’s nice…why do you ask?” Hall carefully answered, not wanting to get involved in whatever Yuzhi was scheming.

“Just nice?” Yuzhi prodded. Hall grunted at the intrusion before reluctantly adding on.

“He’s cool. I like him,” he decided, hoping Yuzhi wouldn’t prod more. Fortunately he didn’t, deciding to skip away with the mistletoe while whistling to himself. Hall said nothing, joining Leon to patrol for Miramon instead.

When they returned to the base with no Miramon activity to report, Sander allowed them to take the rest of the day off, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. Yuzhi quickly ran off with his plants while calling out his brother’s name, leaving Hall alone with Leon.

“Why did you help him collect mistletoe of all things?” Leon questioned.

“Was I not supposed to?” Hall wondered. Mistletoe was not only good for making arrows but it had medicinal qualities. Hall wanted to assume that Yuzhi was collecting it for a similar reason.

“Do you really not know what mistletoe symbolizes in this day and age?” Leon asked him, to which Hall nodded his head no. He wasn’t very caught up on pop culture all that much with the exception of action films and similar genres, none of which have anything to do with mistletoe.

“Oh? I thought you of all people would know,” Leon crooned.

Before Hall could further ask about what he meant, the door creaked open and Tang Yun entered, flinching upon seeing the two of them.

“Why are you holding glue?” Leon wondered, causing Yun to shuffle a bit.

“Um…no reason?” he weakly explained.

“...Just know that Sander won’t appreciate you gluing his mug to his desk,” Leon sighed before walking out the door, leaving Hall alone with Tang Yun. He could feel his heart skip a beat when he realized that it was just the two of them. Hall took a deep breath before speaking.

“Were you actually going to glue Sander’s mug to the table?” he asked, resulting in Yun breaking into a nervous sweat.

“If I say yes, are you going to tell him?” Yun worriedly asked in return.

“No, I’ll keep it a secret,” Hall decided. Yun beamed at his words and Hall could feel the warmth radiating off of him.

“Thank you so much!” Yun chirped in an endearing manner, causing Hall to grin a bit.

“O-Of course, it’s nothing. But did Yuzhi ever tell you anything about a prank involving plants?” Hall asked him, causing Yun to let out a soft hum while thinking.

“No, why do you ask?” he wondered, to which Hall shrugged and figured it was nothing.

“He was suddenly really curious about plants when we were patrolling today. Wasn’t sure if I needed to worry,” he joked, causing Yun to giggle a little bit, the sound being music to Hall’s ears. He wanted nothing more than to keep on hearing Yun laugh like that, keep him smiling and happy. Unfortunately the moment came to an end with Yun stopping to respond.

“It’s probably nothing in that case. He’d tell me unless he was planning on pranking me. But I’m really not sure what he could possibly do with plants,” Yun said. Hall took comfort in his words, certain it was a coincidence and nothing more.

“Yeah, I doubt that it’s going to be anything worth worrying about,”

The next morning Hall was awoken by a loud thud outside of his room in the Shadow Decree. He shot up and scrambled towards the door, still half asleep. When he opened the door, he heard Bai Liuli squeak like a mouse caught in a trap. Jacob was sheepishly rocking back and forth on his feet and for once even Long Mian seemed flustered by whatever was going on.

“Is…everything okay?” Hall asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.

“U-Um…yeah! We just uh…got caught up in something. We’ll figure it out!” Bai Liuli nervously answered. Hall wasn’t sure what was going on, but he could feel the embarrassment that lingered in the air.

“Sorry, we uh…didn’t mean to wake you. Please, go back to sleep,” Long Mian stated, to which Hall nodded and closed the door, allowing them to sort out whatever predicament they were in.

When he got ready for the day, the embarrassment that the three of them shared seemed to multiply as almost everyone in the Decree seemed to be feeling bashful for one reason or another. As he walked over to his scheduled station, he overheard Lynn and Ophelia come to a halt, the former letting out a surprised gasp.

“O-Oh! Um…we really don’t have to if you don’t want,” Lynn stammered, causing Ophelia to nervously fiddle with her cuffs.

“Well um…I don’t mind if it’s with…you,” Ophelia confessed, her voice low from embarrassment.

“You…really mean that? You’re not just saying it right? I really only want to do it if you’re comfortable,” Lynn insisted.

“I mean it. Besides, just now you technically confessed that you would want to do it,” Ophelia pointed out, causing Lynn to giggle.

Hall didn’t have any idea what was going on, but he knew he needed to give them some privacy when he heard the sound of them kissing. Lynn and Ophelia were a couple? Hall realized that he really needed to get out more, it seemed as though he was out of the loop on something.

He decided to wait in a hallway of the Decree base instead, only to immediately run into Leon who seemed to be grumbling about something.

“Is everything okay?” Hall wondered, to which Leon nodded.

“Yeah, it’s just the mistletoe that Yuzhi hung everywhere. It’s driving everyone insane,” he complained, leaning against the wall. Hall furrowed his brows at his words.

“The mistletoe? He hung it? And why would that upset people?” Hall pondered, causing Leon to form an uncharacteristic smirk. Hall really didn’t know why everyone said Leon was cold and unfeeling; while he was certainly quiet, Leon was always warm and supportive towards him, caring immensely for Hall.

“You really don’t know what the mistletoe means?” he asked in an amused tone, to which Hall felt defensive.

“Am I supposed to know or something?” he unwittingly spat.

“No no, what I meant was…mistletoe are kind of known for being a romantic tradition in the winter. Basically it’s a thing where if two people are caught under the mistletoe together, they kiss,” Leon explained, the answer making Hall feel a bit silly.

“Oh…”

Upon reflecting, the odd encounter with Bai Liuli, Jacob and Long Mian made a bit more sense. But what happened if multiple people were under mistletoe? Or if two people that weren’t dating were under the mistletoe.

“What if two people that don’t want to kiss each other end up under the mistletoe?” Hall asked.

“Then they wouldn’t kiss; either they’d hug or just ignore it completely. Mistletoe is more of a thing among couples or crushes,” Leon stated, his voice ever so slightly wavering.

“Did you end up under the mistletoe with anyone?” Hall suddenly asked.

“That’s irrelevant,”

“Oh? Who was it?”

“Ahem! I wanted to find you because of a change in your patrol schedule,” Leon interrupted, refusing to answer the initial question. Hall made a mental note to prod more into it later, diverting his attention to his patrol schedule.

“Yes, Sander wanted me to tell you that you’re being relocated to the West Base with Tang Yun,” Leon said, the mention of the macaque’s name causing Hall to flush.

“Just us?” he eagerly asked.

“Yes. You and Tang Yun are going to be making sure no suspicious activity happens. It will be the two of you. Alone,” Leon emphasized. Hall did everything in his power to hide his excitement, forcing himself to fight the smile that was forming.

“I’ll be there immediately!” Hall exclaimed, wasting no time rushing to the West Base. As he vanished from Leon’s sight, Sander emerged from the opposing door, watching him run off with a smug grin.

“This mistletoe thing is a pain in the ass, but do you think they will finally confess their feelings at least?” Sander asked him, taking a drag from his cigar.

“I hope so. If I have to keep seeing Hall and Tang Yun pining, I might shoot myself in the head,” Leon grumbled. Sander hummed in agreement, carefully watching as Hall disappeared from their line of sight.

By the time Hall made it to the West Base, Tang Yun was already waiting for him, pudding cup in hand.

“Hey Hall! I had an extra pudding cup and I was wondering if you’d want it?” Yun kindly offered. Hall was about to politely decline until his stomach growled. He hadn’t gotten a chance to properly eat since the day started, so the idea of a sweet pudding cup was rather tantalizing. Not to mention Yun being the one offering only made the situation sweeter to him.

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Hall admit while taking the pudding cup. Tang Yun gave him a spoon before moving to sit closer to Hall, eating his own cup of pudding alongside him.

“How is it?” Yun asked. Hall wasn’t the type of person who ate pudding very often, so he did not remember it tasting so nice. The sweetness wasn’t over the top and the texture was smooth. He was unsure of which store brands tasted so good.

“It’s amazing, what brand is this?” he asked. Yun scratched his head in a bashful gesture.

“I made it myself actually. I’m glad you like it,” he mumbled.

“You made it? It really does taste incredible!” Hall encouraged, becoming even more eager at the fact he was technically eating Yun’s cooking.

“I-I can make more for you sometime…if you want,” Yun stuttered.

“I really do appreciate it, but I don’t want you to go out of your way. I’ll help you at least,” Hall offered, pulse quickening by the second.

“Well…then the two of us can work together sometime then. Maybe next Wednesday?” Yun suggested, to which Hall rapidly nodded yes.

“Sounds perfect! I’m…glad we can spend more time together like this,” Yun confessed, the words making Hall’s heart flutter. He had to stop himself from feeling too much excitement-Tang Yun probably only meant it in a platonic way. There’s no way he would ever return Hall’s feelings and even though it killed him, Hall knew that he would have to accept it.

“I’m also happy to be with you,” Hall said anyway, still craving Yun’s affection.

They were cut off by a loud growl in the distance, no doubt a Miramon. Both of them sprang into action, drawing their weapons and carefully approaching the beast. There was only one Miramon present, a smaller one that didn’t seem very dangerous. It would likely only take two strong hits for it to go down. Hall fired a charged arrow at the beast, Tang Yun charging forward to clobber it once the Miramon was distracted. The Miramon quickly died, leaving the two of them alone once more.

After investigating the area, they both agreed that it was a stray and began making their way back to their patrol site. As Hall opened the door for Tang Yun, he could feel something swing down and hit him in the face, the smell of mistletoe hitting him.

Him and Tang Yun were underneath the mistletoe.

“O-Oh! Wow um, uh, what are the odds?” Yun nervously babbled, embarrassment fully overtaking him. Hall immediately felt joy course through him, only for the feeling to be immediately followed by dread. He knew he couldn’t ever be with Yun, so why was the universe so dead set on taunting him? He knew that if he did kiss Tang Yun his feelings would only intensify.

“I’m not going to kiss you unless you want me to,” Hall declared, trying to mask the hurt in his voice.

“Um…if I said I wanted to, would you want to kiss me?” Yun quietly asked, facing away from Hall. He felt his heart stop at those words; did that mean that Yun wanted to kiss him? Did Yun…also feel something for him?

“Do you want to?” Hall asked him. Yun took a nervous breath before seemingly forcing himself to speak.

“I um…I like you Hall. A lot. And I know you probably don’t feel the same way but the reason I ask is-” he stopped himself, choking on his own words.

“Oh gods, sorry um-I think I just made this weird uh, pretend I didn’t say anything,” Yun backtracked. Hall gasped when he fully processed what Yun said to him. He liked him back? Was Hall dreaming or was this reality? Even though he didn’t have a full idea on what was happening, the joy that he felt was too exhilarating to resist.

“I like you too!” Hall blurted without thinking, bringing the shorter back to his senses.

“You do?” he asked in a meek voice, incredulous at the fact Hall returned his feelings.

“Yes. I uh…like you for some time now and I actually thought that you didn’t return my feelings,” he admit, causing Yun to chuckle. Hall couldn’t help laughing with him when he realized how idiotic they both must have looked.

“So um…would you want to…” Yun started before trailing off. Hall suspected he knew exactly what caused him to feel shy all of a sudden.

“Kiss?” Hall concluded.

“Yeah…would a kiss on the cheek be okay?” he murmured.

“That would be perfect,” Hall encouraged. Tang Yun got on his tiptoes to reach Hall, gently placing a hand on his jaw while slowly, sweetly kissing his cheek. Even though he was expecting it, Hall still let out a faint gasp at the feeling of Yun’s soft lips on his cheek. When he pulled away, Hall immediately missed the warmth from the other, the way the other man smelled like chocolate.

“Can I kiss you back?” Hall asked, causing Yun to laugh.

“Yes, you may,”

Hall bent down to reach Yun’s face, caressing his cheek. He could feel the softness of Yun’s skin and how his hair fell past his ears. Hall tilted his chin up before pressing his lips against Yun’s cheek, giving him a sweet kiss in return. He could feel Yun’s face growing warm at the gesture, reluctantly pulling back.

“So um…since we like each other and we already have plans for Wednesday, can we um…make Wednesday a date?” Yun asked him. Hall beamed at Yun’s words before leaning in closer.

“That sounds perfect,”

While the two of them continued to be distracted at their own affection, they both failed to notice how Xie Yuzhi silently cheered from a distance, patting himself on the back for setting up the mistletoe in the West Base.