Second Christmas Prompt - HONEY
And it had all started off so fantastically well…
“Ceithin!” Even if he hadn’t towered over the masses of shoppers scouring the stores in the hunt for Christmas presents, she would have spotted him for the gloomy look of self-pity which marred his features. “Ceithin! Oh my gosh you’re actually here! In a shopping centre! It’s like a Christmas miracle!”
He smiled at her squealing form, grateful for a familiar face. “There are times when I have no other options left and I’m forced to brave the shops.” He lifted up the handful of bags to show her. “I’ve been trying to find presents, it’s too late to order online.”
“Are there any in there for me?” Despite the playful smile there was a gleam in her eyes that practically yelled she was a present-receiver. Sure, she may have loved giving gifts, but that didn’t mean she love getting too. He figured when she was a child she’d been one of those who’d wake up their parents at five in the morning by jumping on their bed and screaming “It’s CHRISTMAS!” at the top of her lungs. Actually, he wondered if she still did it now.
“Not yet, unfortunately. I was actually on the look out for something.”
“Well I don’t mind, it’s the thought that counts, right?” She smiled brightly, her neck craned up as high as it could go and allowing her to just barely make eye-contact. “Do you want to get a milkshake from Millie’s Cookies with me?”
“Yeah, why not; I’ve been at this for too long. It’s surprisingly stressful.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. “You’ll start to have fun once you find the perfect thing to give someone.”
“But until then?”
She sighed, “You’re looking at it all from the wrong angle. Just enjoy the whole experience. It’s like an adventure.” Her eyes lit up suddenly as she noticed something in a store window. “Ooo! Wait right here.” She left him trailing before he could answer. “I’ll only be a minute! I just spotted the most perfect thing for Rei!”
He stood at the entrance to the arts and crafts store like a hapless child who’d lost his parents (albeit an extremely large one). True to her word though, Usagi was quite quick and she returned to his side in a few minutes.
“I bought her a new set of calligraphy ink. Do you think she’ll love it?” She asked as she slid her bags further up her wrists.
“I’m sure she will.”
As they made their way to the other end of the shopping centre, Ceithin noticed Usagi was lagging behind slightly, he usually had to keep his pace quite slow with her since her legs were so much shorter than his, but she seemed to be struggling more than usual to keep up, it was most likely masses of bags she was dragging. “Here, let me take those.”
Usagi snatched her hands back, cringing when she heard things chinking against each other in the bags. “No, no. It’s fine.”
It blatantly was not fine, some of the bags looked large and rather chunky and she was plainly struggling.
“At least let me carry some of them.”
Usagi squinted her blueberry eyes at him for a moment, “Ok, fine. But you can’t look at any of them. They may or may not contain your present. I don’t remember which has what.”
He smiled and crossed his heart. “I promise. I will not try and peek.”
“I don’t want you to see what I’ve bought the others either, I want my presents to be a surprise for everyone.”
He simply shook his head and grabbed almost everything she was holding.
She had to take a few back, including her purse. “Thanks Cei, but I think I can handle these.” She smiled brightly as they continued on their way.
“So you’ve bought my present already then?” He asked.
“Maybe.”
A grin spread across his face. “Can I have it now?”
“Not a chance! It’s not nowhere near Christmas yet and besides, it’s not wrapped.”
They joined the short queue for Millie’s.
“What is it?” He asked.
Usagi scoffed. “I’m not going to even dignify that with a response.” She thought about that statement for a moment. “Except for what I’d just said, which was that I wasn’t going to respond - and that technically wasn’t a response, because it wasn’t in answer to your, uh, question.” She had confused herself and thought it best to give up. It was time to order anyway. “I’ll have a large mint chocolate shake with Maltesers and After Eights, please.” She scanned the menu to see what else was available. “Could I possibly have Jelly Babies in there as well? And some peanut butter? I’d also like it topped with Dairy Milk Caramel please.”
Ceithin wasn’t phased, but the sales assistant was. “Are you sure?”
“Definitely.”
Her eyebrows raised themselves as she punched the order in. “I’ve never had that combination before.” She turned to Ceithin. “Are you ordering together?” There was a little hint of curiosity in her voice that Usagi picked up on instantly, it wasn’t difficult to spot: most girls used the same tone when they addressed Mamoru for the first time.
“No.” Usagi answered. “We’re paying separately.”
“No we aren’t.” Ceithin insisted, pulling out his wallet. “This one is on me. I’ll just have a vanilla one please.” He paid the money and sent a brief, polite smile to the woman behind the counter, his finger just touching hers for a second as he handed over the ten pound note.
Poor girl, Usagi thought, he didn’t even notice that he’s probably just sent her into spasms of joy.
They collected their drinks and sat themselves on one of the empty tables. Millie’s Cookies was situated in centre of the walkway, a little island surrounded by a sea of shops, the perfect spot to sit and people-watch. Usagi silently offered him a sip of her concoction but he turned it down, offering some of his instead.
“No thank you. It’s a bit plain for me.”
For a few minutes the two sat in silence, watching and listening as people bustled by in their rush for presents.
“So is there anything particular you’d like?”
She stopped slurping to shove him lightly. “You can’t ask that!”
“Why not?”
“It’ll defeat the point! I hope you didn’t ask Mina!”
Ceithin’s brain stopped at the panic in her voice. “Urm, maybe?”
“Ceithin!”
He sat back, unwilling to be so close to Usagi when she risked getting squeaky. “It was a trade-off. She didn’t want my assistant buying her gift, and I didn’t have time to look, so she told me what she wanted.”
Usagi looked dubious. “Are you serious? Just because she said what she wanted didn’t necessarily mean that it was what she wanted.”
That didn’t seem quite right to Ceithin. Why would someone ask for something they didn’t really want? Women. “Well I couldn’t find exactly what she asked for, so I got her something similar.”
She sucked in her breath. “That might be an issue as well. If she gave you specifics, or if you couldn’t find what she was expecting, she may be thinking that you’ll tell her so that she can choose something else.”
“What?” Ceithin’s grey eyes clouded over in confusion.
“That’s the danger of asking.”
He gave in and his worry came out. “Have I messed this up?”
Usagi shook her head lightly and decided to take pity on him. “Let me see what you’ve bought her.”
He pulled open the bag from Ernest Jones and handed her three cases, each various sizes. He’d bought a matching set.
Usagi reached for the smallest box first. She opened it carefully, her eyes zeroing in on long gold earrings which were made up of a solid band that twisted like ribbon and was smattered with diamond dust; the largest box contained a thin gold chain with a matching pendant; and the last one was a bracelet with the same pattern. Usagi’s eyes practically shone. Her voice came out a little breathless. “Pretty…” She swallowed and handed back the boxes. “I think that’ll be fine.”
“She wanted a gold necklace, but I saw them and I thought they would be nicer.”
Usagi smiled. “I forget you’re you sometimes. I keep grouping you with the other guys.”
“I make mistakes all the time.” He said in a sombre voice.
Usagi rolled her eyes the most exaggerated manner possible, just to make sure he got the point. “Come on. We have shopping to get done!” She stood up enthusiastically, a little too much so, and knocked over one of Ceithin’s bags, spilling its contents.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Usagi’s eyes widened as she hastened to help. She stopped soon as she spotted an item that fell out. “Where did you find that?” Her voice took on a rather cautious tone.
Ceithin looked up at her sudden change in attitude. He looked down at medium sized picture frame and then looked up at her. “Uh, the memorabilia shop next to John Lewis.” Something was up, he could sense it. “Why?”
Usagi said nothing for a moment, clearly assessing the situation. “Who’s it for?” She asked, instead of answering his question.
Ceithin pulled out the signed photograph of Adam West in his original Batman costume from the bag. “Mamoru.”
She flumped herself back onto her chair and started digging around in her own shopping bags. Ceithin waited patiently until she found what she was looking for. When she did he found to his horror that it was the exact same photo frame. “I got mine from the second hand record shop on the other side of the shopping centre.”
“Well this is a bit of a problem.”
Usagi looked up at him and bit her lip. A habit Mina also had, although he had no idea who had picked it up from who. “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing I suppose. It’s too late to get him anything else.” He picked up both frames and compared them. Both had the same photograph and both were hand signed but in different areas. “Maybe he can use two?” He put hers down.
Usagi’s eyes instantly took on that innocent pleading blueberry colour. “Can’t you get him something else?” She decided on being direct, it was the most likely way to get what she wanted from him. He liked it when people were straight with him.
“Uh, no.” Any other time he would have acquiesced, but he’d been trying to figure out what the hell to get Mamoru for almost two months (which was about when Mamoru had bounded into his room with excited puppy-like enthusiasm and announced that he’d found Ceithin the perfect Christmas present).
Usagi immediately sat up straight, a challenge glowing from her very being. “What do you mean ‘no’?” She was obviously not used to men refusing her requests.
“I’ve been planning this for a long time. I need this.”
“You’ve be-” Usagi stopped herself from getting over-excited. “I have too. Mamoru’s impossible to buy for.”
Ceithin could sympathise. “I know.”
“You can’t not let me give it to him,” She pleaded. “I’m married to him, I have to get him something awesome.”
He used her point against her. “You’re his wife, he’ll forgive you. Anything you give him will be fantastic.”
“No it won’t, I’ll look insensitive. You’re his best friend, he won’t mind as much if your gift isn’t perfect. And besides,” She placed the picture frame she was holding on the table, “You’re much smarter than me, you could probably think of something better to give him.”
Ceithin wasn’t going to allow her to play that card. “You can give him sex.”
Usagi’s face and neck suddenly looked completely sunburnt, her voice dying in her throat.
“I win.” He smiled, his expression smug.
He should have known she had a failsafe play. “CEITHIN! PLEASE!” Her voice went louder, and her eyes became teary. She didn’t quite hit the decibels that she used to as a young girl, but it was enough to send Ceithin into a panic, worried that he’d made a girl cry.
“Alright fine!” He gave in almost immediately.
She stopped her sniffling.
“I’ll find him something else.” He lifted his hand in resignation, “Just don’t cry. I hate that.”
A sly smile spread onto Usagi’s face. “Have I finally found a weakness to the impenetrable leader?”
“No.” His answer came on reflex.
“I think I have. You can’t stand to see a girl cry.”
He looked up, his silver eyes daring her to challenge him. “Not all women. Just you.” They softened slightly, but Usagi didn’t notice until the rest had snuck out from his lips. “And Mina. I could never handle that.”
If it had been anyone else she would have thought no more about it. But this was Ceithin -if angst could take on a human form, it would look like a massive, white haired, gentle-smiling man who had a weakness for blondes and sheep-loving (at least that’s what Zach had once told her- obviously he’d used the ‘f’ word instead of ‘loving’). Everything he said held meaning. Every dip in tone had significant implication behind it; this one, however, wasn’t very cryptic. She decided to simplest way of dispersing the dark cloud which threatened to appear was to pretend it wasn’t there.
“Well then, I suppose it’s a privilege I shouldn’t abuse. Too often.” She added the last part with a wink.
It seemed to work. “This isn’t fair, you know.”
“It’s perfectly fair.”
The edges of his lips curved upwards slightly. “That’s only because it’s in your favour.”
“Look, let’s make a deal.” She extended her hand out to shake his.
Ceithin’s eyes dropped to her outstretched arm and then looked up suspiciously. “I’m not going to shake, you haven’t even proposed anything yet.”
She rolled her eyes at his statement, like she was annoyed that he was asking her to explain the obvious. “Next time we gift clash, I’ll be the one to go find something else.”
“I don’t think it’s likely that this will happen again.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You never know.”
He thought for a moment. “If you wrap Mina’s present for me, like you did for Mako’s party, then it’s a deal.”
“Sure!” She smiled brightly as they shook.
~*~
Usagi was fuming. Steam was practically screaming from her ears. And the only one who knew she was angry was the smug, leek-eating sheep-molester who had stolen all of her thunder and most of Mamoru’s attention.
Ceithin walked up to her and gave her a superior smile. “Thank you for wrapping the gift. You really put a lot of effort into that. I liked how you managed to make the smaller one into a swan.”
Usagi smiled back through gritted teeth. “My pleasure.” She lowered her voice so the others wouldn’t hear. “You sneaky jerkwad. This means war.”
“But I bought him something else."
Usagi simply glowered. "You bought him a better version of my present. That does not count."
There was no use trying to pretend it wasn't a deliberate move on his part. "I suppose it was cruel. But you did leave me in the lurch.” He patted her on her pretty head. “I’m sure you can’t stay angry for too long. The next milkshake is on me.”
“The next twenty, more like.” She had to start smiling again since Mamoru had come over to give Usagi a close up of Ceithin’s present.
When he had opened up the autographed photo of TV’s first Batman, he’d been ecstatic, which had made Usagi more than happy. Mamoru used to watch the episodes as a child: he’d grown up with Adam West, and it was a bit of a standing joke that he’d based his Tuxedo Mask persona on the dark knight.
“It’s perfect.” He’d said, kissing her unabashedly in front of everyone at their Christmas party, more than a little drunk on Champagne. “You put so much thought into everything you do. Thank you.” He’d whispered in her ear once he’d pulled away from the embrace. Usagi had blushed with pride.
Everything had gone splendidly, Usagi was practically a hero. And then Ceithin had brought out his gift. “You won’t believe this,” He’d said, “But Usagi’s gift and mine are along the same vein. Isn’t that incredible?”
Usagi had all but glared when she noticed the similarity in shape his gift had had with hers.
When Mamoru ripped open the wrapping paper, his scream almost went girly. “Where the hell did you get this?!”
“It wasn’t actually that hard to find.”
“But-! But it’s the frickin’ Blues Brothers!” He spluttered his words out. He looked at the large frame he’d unwrapped. “Holy shite. Are those signatures…” Mamoru’s midnight eyes squinted slightly. “That’s James Brown! And Ray Charles! Ha! They’re all there!”
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Usako! Did you see it? Isn’t it amazing! And it’s just like your gift, but with the Blue Brothers! I love the Blues Brothers!” He took another look. “It’s even got Fank Oz!” His eyes practically shone.
Usagi gave him the best smile she could fake. She looked over at Ceithin. It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. He thought he may have won but like he’d said before, Usagi could give Mamoru something that he couldn’t. And she would give it to him. Oh, she was going to give it to him until he forgot about everything else, especially the Blues Brothers and any famous people who signed their movie poster.
Even if it took all night.
She gave Ceithin a deliberate look, making sure he was watching as she leaned in close and whispered something in Mamoru’s ear.
The party ended soon after.
As Mamoru walked Mina and Ceithin out he took his friend’s hand and brought him into a man-hug. “Man, you’re incredible. This is going to be the best Christmas gift ever.” He was practically beaming. “Thank you for taking the hit. And thank you for the other gift, you know, the photo frame, it is pretty cool.” He couldn't help the gleam that was in his eyes, "Although it's going to be nothing compared to tonight." He said excitedly, wrapping Ceithin in another hug.
“You owe me about twenty milkshakes for this.”
Mamoru frowned, his dark eyebrows creasing in confusion. After a second he shrugged. “Sure, anything.”
Ceithin smiled as he left. “Happy Christmas.”
“Ceithin!” Even if he hadn’t towered over the masses of shoppers scouring the stores in the hunt for Christmas presents, she would have spotted him for the gloomy look of self-pity which marred his features. “Ceithin! Oh my gosh you’re actually here! In a shopping centre! It’s like a Christmas miracle!”
He smiled at her squealing form, grateful for a familiar face. “There are times when I have no other options left and I’m forced to brave the shops.” He lifted up the handful of bags to show her. “I’ve been trying to find presents, it’s too late to order online.”
“Are there any in there for me?” Despite the playful smile there was a gleam in her eyes that practically yelled she was a present-receiver. Sure, she may have loved giving gifts, but that didn’t mean she love getting too. He figured when she was a child she’d been one of those who’d wake up their parents at five in the morning by jumping on their bed and screaming “It’s CHRISTMAS!” at the top of her lungs. Actually, he wondered if she still did it now.
“Not yet, unfortunately. I was actually on the look out for something.”
“Well I don’t mind, it’s the thought that counts, right?” She smiled brightly, her neck craned up as high as it could go and allowing her to just barely make eye-contact. “Do you want to get a milkshake from Millie’s Cookies with me?”
“Yeah, why not; I’ve been at this for too long. It’s surprisingly stressful.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. “You’ll start to have fun once you find the perfect thing to give someone.”
“But until then?”
She sighed, “You’re looking at it all from the wrong angle. Just enjoy the whole experience. It’s like an adventure.” Her eyes lit up suddenly as she noticed something in a store window. “Ooo! Wait right here.” She left him trailing before he could answer. “I’ll only be a minute! I just spotted the most perfect thing for Rei!”
He stood at the entrance to the arts and crafts store like a hapless child who’d lost his parents (albeit an extremely large one). True to her word though, Usagi was quite quick and she returned to his side in a few minutes.
“I bought her a new set of calligraphy ink. Do you think she’ll love it?” She asked as she slid her bags further up her wrists.
“I’m sure she will.”
As they made their way to the other end of the shopping centre, Ceithin noticed Usagi was lagging behind slightly, he usually had to keep his pace quite slow with her since her legs were so much shorter than his, but she seemed to be struggling more than usual to keep up, it was most likely masses of bags she was dragging. “Here, let me take those.”
Usagi snatched her hands back, cringing when she heard things chinking against each other in the bags. “No, no. It’s fine.”
It blatantly was not fine, some of the bags looked large and rather chunky and she was plainly struggling.
“At least let me carry some of them.”
Usagi squinted her blueberry eyes at him for a moment, “Ok, fine. But you can’t look at any of them. They may or may not contain your present. I don’t remember which has what.”
He smiled and crossed his heart. “I promise. I will not try and peek.”
“I don’t want you to see what I’ve bought the others either, I want my presents to be a surprise for everyone.”
He simply shook his head and grabbed almost everything she was holding.
She had to take a few back, including her purse. “Thanks Cei, but I think I can handle these.” She smiled brightly as they continued on their way.
“So you’ve bought my present already then?” He asked.
“Maybe.”
A grin spread across his face. “Can I have it now?”
“Not a chance! It’s not nowhere near Christmas yet and besides, it’s not wrapped.”
They joined the short queue for Millie’s.
“What is it?” He asked.
Usagi scoffed. “I’m not going to even dignify that with a response.” She thought about that statement for a moment. “Except for what I’d just said, which was that I wasn’t going to respond - and that technically wasn’t a response, because it wasn’t in answer to your, uh, question.” She had confused herself and thought it best to give up. It was time to order anyway. “I’ll have a large mint chocolate shake with Maltesers and After Eights, please.” She scanned the menu to see what else was available. “Could I possibly have Jelly Babies in there as well? And some peanut butter? I’d also like it topped with Dairy Milk Caramel please.”
Ceithin wasn’t phased, but the sales assistant was. “Are you sure?”
“Definitely.”
Her eyebrows raised themselves as she punched the order in. “I’ve never had that combination before.” She turned to Ceithin. “Are you ordering together?” There was a little hint of curiosity in her voice that Usagi picked up on instantly, it wasn’t difficult to spot: most girls used the same tone when they addressed Mamoru for the first time.
“No.” Usagi answered. “We’re paying separately.”
“No we aren’t.” Ceithin insisted, pulling out his wallet. “This one is on me. I’ll just have a vanilla one please.” He paid the money and sent a brief, polite smile to the woman behind the counter, his finger just touching hers for a second as he handed over the ten pound note.
Poor girl, Usagi thought, he didn’t even notice that he’s probably just sent her into spasms of joy.
They collected their drinks and sat themselves on one of the empty tables. Millie’s Cookies was situated in centre of the walkway, a little island surrounded by a sea of shops, the perfect spot to sit and people-watch. Usagi silently offered him a sip of her concoction but he turned it down, offering some of his instead.
“No thank you. It’s a bit plain for me.”
For a few minutes the two sat in silence, watching and listening as people bustled by in their rush for presents.
“So is there anything particular you’d like?”
She stopped slurping to shove him lightly. “You can’t ask that!”
“Why not?”
“It’ll defeat the point! I hope you didn’t ask Mina!”
Ceithin’s brain stopped at the panic in her voice. “Urm, maybe?”
“Ceithin!”
He sat back, unwilling to be so close to Usagi when she risked getting squeaky. “It was a trade-off. She didn’t want my assistant buying her gift, and I didn’t have time to look, so she told me what she wanted.”
Usagi looked dubious. “Are you serious? Just because she said what she wanted didn’t necessarily mean that it was what she wanted.”
That didn’t seem quite right to Ceithin. Why would someone ask for something they didn’t really want? Women. “Well I couldn’t find exactly what she asked for, so I got her something similar.”
She sucked in her breath. “That might be an issue as well. If she gave you specifics, or if you couldn’t find what she was expecting, she may be thinking that you’ll tell her so that she can choose something else.”
“What?” Ceithin’s grey eyes clouded over in confusion.
“That’s the danger of asking.”
He gave in and his worry came out. “Have I messed this up?”
Usagi shook her head lightly and decided to take pity on him. “Let me see what you’ve bought her.”
He pulled open the bag from Ernest Jones and handed her three cases, each various sizes. He’d bought a matching set.
Usagi reached for the smallest box first. She opened it carefully, her eyes zeroing in on long gold earrings which were made up of a solid band that twisted like ribbon and was smattered with diamond dust; the largest box contained a thin gold chain with a matching pendant; and the last one was a bracelet with the same pattern. Usagi’s eyes practically shone. Her voice came out a little breathless. “Pretty…” She swallowed and handed back the boxes. “I think that’ll be fine.”
“She wanted a gold necklace, but I saw them and I thought they would be nicer.”
Usagi smiled. “I forget you’re you sometimes. I keep grouping you with the other guys.”
“I make mistakes all the time.” He said in a sombre voice.
Usagi rolled her eyes the most exaggerated manner possible, just to make sure he got the point. “Come on. We have shopping to get done!” She stood up enthusiastically, a little too much so, and knocked over one of Ceithin’s bags, spilling its contents.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Usagi’s eyes widened as she hastened to help. She stopped soon as she spotted an item that fell out. “Where did you find that?” Her voice took on a rather cautious tone.
Ceithin looked up at her sudden change in attitude. He looked down at medium sized picture frame and then looked up at her. “Uh, the memorabilia shop next to John Lewis.” Something was up, he could sense it. “Why?”
Usagi said nothing for a moment, clearly assessing the situation. “Who’s it for?” She asked, instead of answering his question.
Ceithin pulled out the signed photograph of Adam West in his original Batman costume from the bag. “Mamoru.”
She flumped herself back onto her chair and started digging around in her own shopping bags. Ceithin waited patiently until she found what she was looking for. When she did he found to his horror that it was the exact same photo frame. “I got mine from the second hand record shop on the other side of the shopping centre.”
“Well this is a bit of a problem.”
Usagi looked up at him and bit her lip. A habit Mina also had, although he had no idea who had picked it up from who. “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing I suppose. It’s too late to get him anything else.” He picked up both frames and compared them. Both had the same photograph and both were hand signed but in different areas. “Maybe he can use two?” He put hers down.
Usagi’s eyes instantly took on that innocent pleading blueberry colour. “Can’t you get him something else?” She decided on being direct, it was the most likely way to get what she wanted from him. He liked it when people were straight with him.
“Uh, no.” Any other time he would have acquiesced, but he’d been trying to figure out what the hell to get Mamoru for almost two months (which was about when Mamoru had bounded into his room with excited puppy-like enthusiasm and announced that he’d found Ceithin the perfect Christmas present).
Usagi immediately sat up straight, a challenge glowing from her very being. “What do you mean ‘no’?” She was obviously not used to men refusing her requests.
“I’ve been planning this for a long time. I need this.”
“You’ve be-” Usagi stopped herself from getting over-excited. “I have too. Mamoru’s impossible to buy for.”
Ceithin could sympathise. “I know.”
“You can’t not let me give it to him,” She pleaded. “I’m married to him, I have to get him something awesome.”
He used her point against her. “You’re his wife, he’ll forgive you. Anything you give him will be fantastic.”
“No it won’t, I’ll look insensitive. You’re his best friend, he won’t mind as much if your gift isn’t perfect. And besides,” She placed the picture frame she was holding on the table, “You’re much smarter than me, you could probably think of something better to give him.”
Ceithin wasn’t going to allow her to play that card. “You can give him sex.”
Usagi’s face and neck suddenly looked completely sunburnt, her voice dying in her throat.
“I win.” He smiled, his expression smug.
He should have known she had a failsafe play. “CEITHIN! PLEASE!” Her voice went louder, and her eyes became teary. She didn’t quite hit the decibels that she used to as a young girl, but it was enough to send Ceithin into a panic, worried that he’d made a girl cry.
“Alright fine!” He gave in almost immediately.
She stopped her sniffling.
“I’ll find him something else.” He lifted his hand in resignation, “Just don’t cry. I hate that.”
A sly smile spread onto Usagi’s face. “Have I finally found a weakness to the impenetrable leader?”
“No.” His answer came on reflex.
“I think I have. You can’t stand to see a girl cry.”
He looked up, his silver eyes daring her to challenge him. “Not all women. Just you.” They softened slightly, but Usagi didn’t notice until the rest had snuck out from his lips. “And Mina. I could never handle that.”
If it had been anyone else she would have thought no more about it. But this was Ceithin -if angst could take on a human form, it would look like a massive, white haired, gentle-smiling man who had a weakness for blondes and sheep-loving (at least that’s what Zach had once told her- obviously he’d used the ‘f’ word instead of ‘loving’). Everything he said held meaning. Every dip in tone had significant implication behind it; this one, however, wasn’t very cryptic. She decided to simplest way of dispersing the dark cloud which threatened to appear was to pretend it wasn’t there.
“Well then, I suppose it’s a privilege I shouldn’t abuse. Too often.” She added the last part with a wink.
It seemed to work. “This isn’t fair, you know.”
“It’s perfectly fair.”
The edges of his lips curved upwards slightly. “That’s only because it’s in your favour.”
“Look, let’s make a deal.” She extended her hand out to shake his.
Ceithin’s eyes dropped to her outstretched arm and then looked up suspiciously. “I’m not going to shake, you haven’t even proposed anything yet.”
She rolled her eyes at his statement, like she was annoyed that he was asking her to explain the obvious. “Next time we gift clash, I’ll be the one to go find something else.”
“I don’t think it’s likely that this will happen again.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You never know.”
He thought for a moment. “If you wrap Mina’s present for me, like you did for Mako’s party, then it’s a deal.”
“Sure!” She smiled brightly as they shook.
~*~
Usagi was fuming. Steam was practically screaming from her ears. And the only one who knew she was angry was the smug, leek-eating sheep-molester who had stolen all of her thunder and most of Mamoru’s attention.
Ceithin walked up to her and gave her a superior smile. “Thank you for wrapping the gift. You really put a lot of effort into that. I liked how you managed to make the smaller one into a swan.”
Usagi smiled back through gritted teeth. “My pleasure.” She lowered her voice so the others wouldn’t hear. “You sneaky jerkwad. This means war.”
“But I bought him something else."
Usagi simply glowered. "You bought him a better version of my present. That does not count."
There was no use trying to pretend it wasn't a deliberate move on his part. "I suppose it was cruel. But you did leave me in the lurch.” He patted her on her pretty head. “I’m sure you can’t stay angry for too long. The next milkshake is on me.”
“The next twenty, more like.” She had to start smiling again since Mamoru had come over to give Usagi a close up of Ceithin’s present.
When he had opened up the autographed photo of TV’s first Batman, he’d been ecstatic, which had made Usagi more than happy. Mamoru used to watch the episodes as a child: he’d grown up with Adam West, and it was a bit of a standing joke that he’d based his Tuxedo Mask persona on the dark knight.
“It’s perfect.” He’d said, kissing her unabashedly in front of everyone at their Christmas party, more than a little drunk on Champagne. “You put so much thought into everything you do. Thank you.” He’d whispered in her ear once he’d pulled away from the embrace. Usagi had blushed with pride.
Everything had gone splendidly, Usagi was practically a hero. And then Ceithin had brought out his gift. “You won’t believe this,” He’d said, “But Usagi’s gift and mine are along the same vein. Isn’t that incredible?”
Usagi had all but glared when she noticed the similarity in shape his gift had had with hers.
When Mamoru ripped open the wrapping paper, his scream almost went girly. “Where the hell did you get this?!”
“It wasn’t actually that hard to find.”
“But-! But it’s the frickin’ Blues Brothers!” He spluttered his words out. He looked at the large frame he’d unwrapped. “Holy shite. Are those signatures…” Mamoru’s midnight eyes squinted slightly. “That’s James Brown! And Ray Charles! Ha! They’re all there!”
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Usako! Did you see it? Isn’t it amazing! And it’s just like your gift, but with the Blue Brothers! I love the Blues Brothers!” He took another look. “It’s even got Fank Oz!” His eyes practically shone.
Usagi gave him the best smile she could fake. She looked over at Ceithin. It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. He thought he may have won but like he’d said before, Usagi could give Mamoru something that he couldn’t. And she would give it to him. Oh, she was going to give it to him until he forgot about everything else, especially the Blues Brothers and any famous people who signed their movie poster.
Even if it took all night.
She gave Ceithin a deliberate look, making sure he was watching as she leaned in close and whispered something in Mamoru’s ear.
The party ended soon after.
As Mamoru walked Mina and Ceithin out he took his friend’s hand and brought him into a man-hug. “Man, you’re incredible. This is going to be the best Christmas gift ever.” He was practically beaming. “Thank you for taking the hit. And thank you for the other gift, you know, the photo frame, it is pretty cool.” He couldn't help the gleam that was in his eyes, "Although it's going to be nothing compared to tonight." He said excitedly, wrapping Ceithin in another hug.
“You owe me about twenty milkshakes for this.”
Mamoru frowned, his dark eyebrows creasing in confusion. After a second he shrugged. “Sure, anything.”
Ceithin smiled as he left. “Happy Christmas.”