open } { mistletoe meme

[iluvroadrunner6]

1. Pick one of your characters.
2. Pick one of my characters (or have me surprise you).
3. There's mistletoe! It can be magical or traditional, but ideally the thread will end in Christmas smooches.
4. Profit.

Comments

[theloophole]

No!

[That comes up a little too fast and a little too frightened for that to be a sane logical response. She clears her throat and tries to compose herself a little, not wanting to seem like a weirdo, even if she already does.]

It's okay. I've got it.

[She does not got it. She could also just suck up her pride and just let him help her but the answer that she has is also embarrassing. So she doesn't want to. Pride would definitely be Hope Mikaelson's house.]

I'm sure I'll figure it out.

[dragonmount]

[ from one house pride to another: he gets it, but c'mon, man. ]

Okay.

[ there's a smile twitching at his mouth. not unkind, but not not at her (attitude). he approaches, still very much on this side of the line, and stops maybe a hairsbreadth away. gesturing with both hands, ]

I'll stay right here. What happens when you try to cross the circle from your side?

[theloophole]

[She squints at him because what are you doing, sir? But since he's not going away, might as well play along.]

It's like I'm running into an invisible wall. Like the tree won't let me go until it gets what it wants.

[Which is annoying.]

[dragonmount]

[ well, that raises a pretty obvious question. he raises his eyebrows, asks, ]

What does it want?

[theloophole]

[Oh no she said too much. A blush starts to color her cheeks and she looks away, and we land on the real reason she wants other people to go away.]

You have to ... kiss the person you're trapped with. Then, the theory is that the tree will let you go.

[dragonmount]

Oh.

[ yeah, he can see why she's embarrassed. he can see why she's been warning people away too! light, imagine being forced to kiss someone or be trapped by a strange tree for...ever?

well. he breathes out, looks away and then back to her, and says, ]

I'd still be willing to help you. If you want.

[ that's a really roundabout way of offering a kiss, but here we are. ]

[theloophole]

[Honestly that's a much nicer proposition than she was expecting. It disarms her some, but that's what happens when you expect the worst of people ninety percent of the time. Still, she's hesitant to take it, regardless of whether or not he's nicer about it.]

You don't have to. I'll figure out the loophole eventually. It's what I'm good at.

[dragonmount]

[ his smile is lopsided, wry. not unkindly, he replies, ]

"Helping" doesn't have to mean kissing you. Besides, I have just as much interest as you as learning more about the power at work here. [ with a glance at the circle, he amends, ] Nearly as much. What if it happens again, even after you've been released?

[theloophole]

Well, I was planning to burn it down.

[Because she's thoughtful like that, and she's hoping that once she's free of it, the tree will be more vulnerable.]

Can't catch people and make them kiss if you're a pile of ash.

[dragonmount]

That, I like the sound of.

[ he agrees with a smile. sure, maybe there are chiller ways to deal with a magical tree. but consider: burning it down has to be effective. why not try that?

and he starts to step a little closer, carefully, except he trips. over what? the fact that it's more interesting tbqh. because tripping means he stumbles, and stumbling means that he accidentally steps right over the chalk line...and becomes trapped as well. ]

[theloophole]

Wait - No! No no no -

[She tries to stop him, throwing out her arms to push him back, away from the line, but she hits the barrier keeping her in, and there's nothing to prevent him from stumbling past it. They collide, and she stumbles backwards, hands braced on either side of him as they steady themselves.

Now trapped together.]

Damn.

slides back in SO LATE

[dragonmount]

[ now trapped together.

it's not until his balance steadies that he realizes this much, eyes going wide with it. and with frustration, truthfully. ]

Light's name.

[ he mutters, looking at and past her to the barrier. ]

I'm sorry, I —

[ don't know what happened. except it's obvious, isn't it. sheer, stupid chance. ]

[theloophole]

[She shakes her head.]

It's okay. It was probably inevitable.

[It was one thing when Hope was stuck in here, alone, but now it's the two of them, and she doesn't want to keep him trapped here, for her own stubborn vendetta. So, for the most romantic proposal ever:]

If you want, we could just ...

[She gestures vaguely between them.]

[dragonmount]

[ he breathes out, looking from her gesturing hand to her face, and admits, ]

I think we'd better.

[ truly, this is deeply romantic. he starts to lean in, but slowly, mostly watching for discomfort. he doesn't want to make this a bad experience for her, or any worse than it has to be, on the scale of 'magic trees making you kiss a stranger'. ]

[theloophole]

[Hope, however, has decided they're just going to push through and get this over with. As he leans in she pushes up to meet him, possibly almost shoving her lips into his.

Don't judge her, she's only really kissed one other person before this.

But after a second she relaxes and remembers that kissing is supposed to be a nice thing, and lets her hands come to rest on his shoulders as she does.]

[dragonmount]

[ he stumbles at the forcefulness of hope's end of the kiss, nearly jerking back in surprise. he manages to control the impulse, at least, and thankfully she relaxes, which makes it easier for him to do the same. he leans in closer, hands coming up to cup her face, fingertips brushing her dark hair. truthfully —

his experience with kissing mostly comes from a single person, too. more than once, mind, but he's been with egwene pretty much since they were both old enough to have an interest in romance, so this is still a new experience in its own way. ]

[theloophole]

[She keeps kissing him until she feels the magic break, and doesn't pull back right away. Because it is nice - she almost forgot how nice it was. But eventually she knows she needs to stop, and she pulls back awkwardly, stepping back with a nod.]

Thanks.

[And then, when she realizes she doesn't know his name.]

I'm Hope.