" You've been standing there for a while, y'know. " He is quick to call out, pouting as emerald eyes not-so-subtly flick to the seasonal greenery hanging from the ceiling. He is visibly disgrutned. " Ehh.... Are you waiting for someone? Shino, you're not in THAT kind of relationship, right? And you DEFINITELY wouldn't hide it from me... right? "
has he been CAUGHT? he had tried to be as indiscreet as possible, but leave it to tori to notice ( or perhaps hajime was just bad at keeping things hidden ). unable to hide the REDDENING of his cheeks, he felt his face heat up and hoped the other failed to notice. just do it. hajime repeated to himself as his fingers knit together, fumbling with the hem of his coat in utter nervousness. it’s so unlike him; the mistletoe was such a BOLD symbol and bold is the very opposite of his timid nature.
“…i-it’s not like that.” he was quick to DEFEND, but his voice was seeped with uncertainty. the thought of being in such a relationship always EMBARRASSED hajime ( just thinking of holding hands made the boy flustered ), but if it were with tori, then maybe he wouldn’t mind. such an idea had been reoccurring in his mind. was it WRONG? was he wrong? his eyes flickered up towards the mistletoe. was this his chance to test the rising feelings.
he always felt the greenery was SILLY. why would people need an excuse to kiss someone? yet here was, relying on the excuse to do something he never would have thought himself to do. would tori be mad? would this cause a rift in their relationship? DOUBTS piled upon doubts as he tried to picture each scenario that this would invoke — his favorite, of course, is the image of tori not outright rejecting him ( how could hajime go on with the heartbreak AND embarrassment of ruining his relationship with tori? ).
“i’d tell you anything, you know that…” well, except maybe these newfound feelings that he worked hard to keep buried. he felt a twinge of GUILT in hiding this from tori, but this could be a chance for them to shine through. if they were unable to be seen from this small action then perhaps they are better off being buried deeper. “…the tradition surrounding a mistletoe is rather silly, don’t you think?” he emitted a small, NERVOUS chuckle as his grasp tightened on his hem. his gaze tore from the mistletoe and returned to look at the boy beside him.
“though, since it’s tradition, m-maybe we should, um,” be brave, shino, “we’re here.” were the final words he spoke FEARING if he were to speak more, he’d have second thoughts of performing such an uncharacteristic action. his hands removed from his own clothing and settled upon the shoulders of the other. his motions were made to be SWIFT as to not give any time for doubts or rejection. his soft, inexperienced lips pressed against tori’s cheek ( his lips landed closer to the other’s than he would have liked, but perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing ). hajime had been used to cheek kisses because of his younger siblings but this meant much more and he only HOPED tori could understand.
unsure of when the opportune time to pull away was, he let the contact LINGER for a second more before retracting himself. his hand fell from shoulders to tori’s wrist and he gave a soft squeeze. there were no regrets, he was HAPPY.
“…merry christmas, tori.”