Under the Mistletoe (Open)

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

"I hope this works," Forrest squeaked, watching his blonde brother as Skye balanced dangerously on a chair, barely managing to reach the top of the doorway that led to the stairs from the common room. He was tacking up a large piece of mistletoe they'd managed to snag earlier in the day, and were hoping they might finally get a kiss or two if only because of traditions that were supposed to happen underneath the sprigs around this time of year.

"It better!" Skye giggled, wobbling precariously as he finished setting up the sprig. He nearly toppled off as he stepped off the chair; Forrest managed to catch him before he smacked his head into the floor.

"And now... We wait!" the blonde declared, unharmed in the least, and the two boys darted around the corner to their hiding place, waiting for an unsuspecting boy or girl to walk underneath that they could pounce and ask for a smooch.

Desperate? Nahh... They were just... Creative and festive!

[Walther Ebersbacher]

Walther loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of the year. The massive array of sweets, the presents. The fact that people were out in the courtyard lobbing snowballs at each other every day. The fact that there were plenty of lights strung up. Trees and snowmen were starting to get decorated. He loved the various traditions of Christmas. And he'd participated in almost all of them at home. Except for one, of course. And in his wayward wandering, he was inadvertently about to see it.

He was on his way to the lounge. A bit more couch-surfing. There were some good movies on schedule today! As he rounded corner after corner, he was recognizing the halls. Almost there, almost in the clear. Hopefully it was as quiet as it had been. Though, that was starting to be a fleeting wish, considering that classes were out. People were actively walking the halls.

Maybe, if he was lucky, there would at least be a seat on the couch. The lounge door was open, but there wasn't much noise coming from within. He poked his head inside, then stepped in. In his periphery, he saw that there was something dangled about him. He cocked his head, then tilted it upward. Oh.. He knew what that was, and he knew what it meant. He could only hope it was a thematic decoration.

"Mistletoe..?"

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

It wasn't too long before the twins heard footsteps approaching the doorway. They gave each other giddy looks. "Who d'you think it's gonna be?" Skye mouthed, tempted to peek around the corner. Forrest pushed his head back.

"Just be patient!" he hissed under his breath.

"I hope it's Oriel." Both of the twins hoped that. They knew the chances were unlikely, but it was no secret that both of them would do anything for a smooch from that hottie.

By then, the approaching figure reached the doorway, and as soon as the young boy noticed the mistletoe, the twins pounced, ready to ask for some holiday cheer. They both stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of the kid, though.

"No... No, you're too young!" Skye practically wailed, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically. Forrest sighed, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. They were being over-dramatic on purpose, but they were still slightly upset that their perfect plan had trapped someone so... Not kissable.

Not that he wasn't adorable! He was. But young.

"You new here?" Forrest finally asked politely while Skye continued to whine and flail for added effect. "I don't think we've seen you before."

"Move, move out from under there so someone else can come!" Skye ushered, coming up behind Walther and gently prodding him out of the way. Maybe if they were lucky, someone else would come by soon.

[Walther Ebersbacher]

Oh, gladly. Them jumping out of nowhere scared him nearly half to death. That ambush would have absolutely left him running out of the room if they hadn't spoken to him just after that. He sort of got their end of this game. He was naive, but not stupid. They were definitely waiting for someone in particular. Maybe he could have helped with that. He was new enough that he could have asked someone to help him 'find his way to the lounge'.

He nodded, oh boy, another set of introductions. He didn't mind introducing himself, but there were so many people in Hammel! And it seemed like he'd only met about ten, so far. And when he was urged out of the way, he gladly just stepped there on his own. He couldn't help but wonder...

"Who are you trying to put under the Mistletoe?" His odd breaking of some rules of English could simply be tied to his heavy German accent. He was understandable, it wasn't like he was babbling unintelligibly like someone who had absolutely no grasp of the language.

Who did they want to trap, if not him? The way they sprung out together, the way they seemed eager. That wasn't just about holiday cheer. Definitely not for a pair of teenagers like them. Their mischief was visible from a mile away. More visible than someone hiding, and keeping an eye on a set prank, barely restraining giggles... Well, now was his chance to be a bit 'cooler' in the eyes of some teenagers.

"Because I can help and maybe take them here."

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

The twins were too far into their own woes to really notice how badly they'd startled the poor kid. They just wanted a kiss! Was that too much to ask? Apparently sooo, because they were willing to settle for nearly anyone that wasn't so... So young and little! Just their luck...

Of course, they didn't vocalize all these complaints for the kid's sake, but they were definitely thinking it to each other in their dramatic reaction. They were distracted, though, when the guy asked who they were trying to get under the mistletoe. Skye just continued to grumble, but Forrest spoke up again.

"Well, we're not really picky," he admitted with a small grin. "We were just hoping for someone... Older." They both made note of the boy's interesting accent, but said nothing about it.

"Yeah, we set it up for a cute babe in general, although..." Skye gave his brother a look, and Forrest flushed a bit. "There is someone we'd really like." A certain someone that they were sure would play along with their games...

At the offer to find the person and bring them here, both of the twins perked up visibly and whirled to look at Walther again. "You'd do that? Really?" Forrest squeaked. His eyes were wide and excited. "His name is Oriel," he started-

"And he's super gorgeous and has the most beautiful hair you've ever seen," Skye chimed in. "If you can find him and bring him here, we'd... We'd pay you!"

Forrest had started flipping through his phone, and pulled up a picture of the boy in question. "That's him," he grinned. Would this kid really do it?

[Walther Ebersbacher]

Well, never mind the fact that they had a picture of him. That odd sort of obsession creeped him out enough as is. But he really just played it off to some teenage crush. After all, the stereotype for girls was lockets with pictures inside, posters.. Pictures inside of lockers. It wasn't too unreasonable for them to have one picture... Was it?

Regardless, he agreed to it with a nod, and set off. He didn't care about payment, really. This was just his way of outreaching, in a manner of speaking. Making friends. And they seemed like they'd be willing to practically in-debt themselves to get a kiss from this Oriel. Library, nothing... Gymnasium, nothing. The student lounge, however... He thought he saw just who he was looking for.

He had to make it look like he wasn't up to no good. So, a little bit of straightening himself out, and a lot of patience, he approached the older boy. He wasn't even really going to give him a chance to ask 'what', before he introduced himself with a pair of blue eyes with a very lost expression. It was really a sad sight, and maybe that's what he was relying on.

"Excuse me." Walther began, avoiding tugging his shirt to emphasize it. "Do you think you could bring me to the uh.. Dorms lounge?" Ugh, sounded like 'Lounzh' again. He needed to work on that G sound. Well, another day. Right now, it was getting those twins what they wanted for the sake of good will, for the sake of seeming nice and likable. As for the excuse, really, he could have still been getting lost. He'd only been at Hammel for all of three days.

"I would really appreciate it." All the while, he had this uncanny ability to suppress the giggles that he so desperately wanted to let out. He kept the trick a locked away secret, and he could absolve himself of involvement if things went bad since he /was/ a new student. This Oriel fellow didn't seem like the kind who enjoyed being trifled with.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy was pretty keen to avoid holiday-related stuff; this year she'd decided that with her sister here, she might as well not go home for the holidays. Her parents were relatively understanding, and she called that a victory.

Fiddling with the buttons on her parka, Lucy wandered down the stairs without looking where she was going. Her attention was elsewhere - primarily directed towards the music playing into her ears. Of course, when she did look up, she saw a familiar pair of faces and she instantly stopped in her tracks.

"Hey!" She shouted. Unintentionally. She just didn't realise how loud her voice was projecting. As she pulled her earphones away, Lucy wondered why they were even here. Standing. Randomly.

Then she looked up.

"Ah, fuck me." The Australian swore. It had to be Mistletoe. "That's not even a thing where I live, y'know."

[Deleted]

So for what reason was Oriel hanging out in the Student Lounge, a place that he so rarely ever ventured? Why, he was preparing a couple cups of hot chocolate for himself and his Squishy, aka, his adorable boyfriend Phoenix Tang.

But out of nowhere, when he'd just about finished the chocolaty tinticure, Oriel was approached by a pint-sized….thing. Wut? Why was this kid talking to him? Did he know him? No…. Out of all the people in the world, why would this kid choose to talk to Oriel, a guy who was reputed for being an asshole and violent and generally dislikable by normal people.

Oriel scowled. He didn't have a good enough excuse to say 'no', especially since he was on his way back to the dorms in the first place. He sighed, which came out as more of a growl. Holding both cups of hot chocolate in either hand, he gumped out, "Sure, whatever, follow me, I'm on my way anyway," and then sauntered forward, glancing back slightly to make sure the squirt was following.

Courtesy would require that Oriel offer a cup to the kid…but Oriel lacked all 10 kinds of traditional courtesy, so that wasn't going to happen.

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

The twins just giggled and waved to their new little minion friend, hoping he'd have good luck and would find the gorgeous gorgeous boy. In the meantime, they decided to stay under the mistletoe - who knew, someone else might come by and they'd get lucky and get kisses from two people! That would be a Christmas miracle - the sixteen-year-old twins had only gotten kisses on the cheek before now.

They both jolted up at the sound of a loud "Hey!" Immediately upon seeing the girl's face, they gave wide, happy grins. Ahhh, look who'd walked right into their trap!

"Lucy-loo!" Skye chirped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Perfect!"

"Yeah, you don't have a choice now!" Forrest grinned. "It might not be a thing where you came from, but... But it'd be rude if you didn't, it'd break our poor little hearts!"

They both made their best sad faces, puppy eyes and all. "You wouldn't do that to us, your favorite boys, would you?" Skye whimpered. They both knew, or at least assumed, she might just ignore it and go about whatever she was doing, but they could hope, right?

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy actually grimaced at the way they were talking to her. This really wasn't part of her day. Well, she supposed now it was. And she knew them well enough to know this was never going to go away, no matter what she did.

Might as well just get it over and done with.

"You are my favourite." She repeated, a little sarcastically, but that'd probably go right over their heads. What was it she called them last time? The nickname seemed to slip her mind.

"Alright, fine. Fuck it." Lucy conceded with a heavy sigh. "Who goes first? Rock paper scissors? Age before beauty?" Instantly she raised a hand out towards them, as if that alone would stop their advances. "I'm not doing both at the same time. I don't even care if you're the same person. That shit's weird enough already."

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

If Lucy didn't agree to it, they would mention it to her every time they saw her until she eventually gave in or hit them - which, they realized, the latter was a very likely chance. But it wouldn't be a first time. They just had such a natural way with the ladies.

They both beamed as she said they were her favorite, but of course, that made them go into a mental debate with each other about who was her most favorite between the two of them and who she would kiss first and and and...

When she finally agreed, Forrest nearly fainted right there, and Skye bounced several times, squealing quietly. When the question of who first, however, they looked at each other, silent rivalry clear in their eyes.

"I'm older," Forrest stated.

"I'm better-looking!" Skye argued, poking him in the chest.

"Hey that's not true-!"

And so the bickering began, and lasted for several long moments, until finally Forrest, who had slightly more control and less fight in him, just sighed and pushed the blonde towards Lucy. "Fine. I'll just stand here and feel the mental effects," he sighed, crossing his arms with a mean pout.

Skye was grinning, excited by his victory and what was about to come. His first kiss! So what if it took mistletoe to get it? It was still happening! He closed his eyes, preparing for the moment.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy had a pretty clear feeling. She was going to regret this. But if she didn't, she was going to regret the headache the duo would forever give her. Truthfully, she didn't mind their company. They brought quarters to the arcade when she always forgot and they were actually funny. Sometimes.

She didn't interject as they argued; rather, she folded her arms before her chest and watched. It was like a fight. If they went to blows it would have been downright filmable.

When they decided - and evidently it was on the blonde one - Lucy unfurled her arms again. She was always glad they had different hair colours. Without that she might have been lost, though picking up on minimal details when it came to her twin friends was something of a forte by now.

"Oh-kay." She definitively decided, resting her hands to his cheeks and leaning inward. She pressed her lips gently against his own, waiting the obligatory few seconds (which felt like forever, honestly) before she slowly drew back. Her eyes opened at the opportune moment, her gaze searching his expression for a response.

With a wave of her hand, she indicated to the other guy. She was all business, funny as it was; "C'mon, baby. I ain't got all day."

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

Forrest had always been more faint-hearted than Skye, ever since they were young. Even before they became gestalts, Skye was always the one leading the adventures, pushing his brother into more dangerous territory and encouraging him when Forrest was feeling uncertain. Since they manifested, Skye's outgoing nature had rubbed off onto Forrest, as gestalts did, but he was still just a tad less certain of himself and the things the two of them did.

It only made sense that Skye was going to be the one to go first. And even though he was outgoing and tried to make moves on girls all the time... He was giddy and nervous and not at all prepared, even if he pretended he was. As soon as he felt Lucy's hands touch his cheeks, his shoulders tensed, and he kept his eyes closed as he felt her mouth press against his. Warmth spread across his cheeks, and his hands clenched into ecstatic fists - it was nice. Really nice. Not sloppy or wet or messy, just... Just right.

When she pulled away, the blonde didn't fight it - he just let Lucy go as he opened his eyes and gave a broad, affectionate smile without his normal cheekiness or mischievousness. "Thanks, Lucy," he said quietly, looking away as he blushed even more.

It was then, through the foggy haze that had become his mind, that he realized his brother... Well, Forrest had quite fainted onto the floor. Apparently the shared thoughts passing through them during the kiss had been overwhelming for the darker-haired twin, and he was now lying on the ground, only now groaning as he came to. "Wha' happened..." he mumbled, blinking up at the two of them.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"No problem," The Australian replied, though it was always weird to be thanked. Especially for something like this, "It's the tradition." No, that wasn't right. "-Season. Whatever."

Even she had to admit, the affectionate little smile he wore was endearing. She was almost glad she was the one who walked down the stairs.

That was when she also realised that the dark haired one was literally flat on his back. Lucy went over to him, kneeling down by the passed out boy's side and studying him carefully. "Jesus, mate. You okay?" Lucy asked him, nudging him on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

When he finally spoke, Lucy supposed he was okay. It didn't look like he's bashed his head. "You awake?" She asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Forrest opened his eyes, and Lucy resided to the fact that she didn't break him. So she leaned down and pressed her lips against his, offering the most exact kiss that she could replicate.

It'd be unfair if she didn't, right?

Leaning back, she smirked at the boy on the ground and lightly slapped his cheek twice. "Y'okay, buddy?"

[Forrest & Skye Cheng]

"Forrest?" Skye mumbled, blinking at his brother for a few moments before breaking into laughter. "You moron!" It was a good thing, apparently, that the dark-haired boy had let his brother go first - there was no telling what he might have done otherwise. Skye himself felt a little faint now that he wasn't so fuzzy-headed from the kiss, and rested a hand against a nearby wall.

"Don't laugh at me..." Forrest groaned, blinking up at Lucy as she knelt next to him. "I'm fine," he croaked; he could still feel where she had pressed her lips against his brother, it was weird. "I dunno what happened..."

He blinked again as she snapped at him, but hardly had a chance to respond before she leaned down and kissed him. Forrest's mind went completely blank, devoid of thought until it was over, and he promptly passed out again. This time Skye wavered a little, but he managed to stay conscious and stumbled over to his brother.

"Jeeze, I think you killed him," he joked, taking her example and slapping the boy's other cheek, harder than Lucy was. "Wake up, loser, you're making us look bad." It took a moment, but Forrest woke up again, groaning.

"I think I'm in love," he cooed, and Skye sighed, slapping him once again for good measure. "... Ow."

The blonde shook his head and offered a hand down, pulling his brother to his feet. "Forgive him, Lucy, he has a weak heart. Poor thing's never been kissed before."

"Neither have you!"