sweetdevil | 52nd ♫ | the first star in the sky is even brighter out tonight

52nd ♫ | the first star in the sky is even brighter out tonight

FESTIVE SEROTONIN ❤ 2020 CMO

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[ Erina groooooooaaans in response. ]

Kirisakiiiii. [ It's not quite a whine, but it's close. ] Come on, don't get all tender on me. I know it's Christmas and everything, but–

[ But what? She doesn't really have an answer outside of "emotional vulnerability makes me uncomfortable, because I'm a dumb jock" and admitting that is uh, a little more emotionally vulnerable than she's prepared to be, even with Chitoge. So, to distract from the whole issue of Feelings (even though she knows, realistically, it's not going to work for shit), she pushes her mug back into Chitoge's hands so she can stand up and lope over to the tree, snagging the giftbag she's got Chitoge's presents in and crossing back over so she can hold it out. ]

Here, you might as well open it now. I was gonna hang onto the mystery for a little longer, but why the hell not.

W-wait--

[ All that concern, and what she gets in response is that sound? Thank goodness she didn't say a fair bit of what was actually on her mind, there. If she did, what the hell would Erina do, gag? For Christ's sake...

She all but drops her gingerbread man when Erina foists the cocoa back onto her, not quite expecting the shove; the poor bastard falls head-over-gingerbread-heels into the steaming hot drink, never to be seen again. He never even knew what hit him.

Chitoge's close to chasing her down, about a half-second from hoisting herself back up to go after her, but she holds down the fort once she sees that Erina's not going far. It doesn't stop her from muttering into her drink, though... ]

Blockhead. If you didn't want me to get tender, don't go saying stupid shit like that...

[ She runs her thumb along the rim of the mug, wiping away at any of the cooties Erina may have left on it. But she doesn't even get a chance to take a good and proper sip by the time Erina returns, gift in hand.

If she doesn't hold onto this thing tight, it's gonna spill-- ]

Estival, I...

[ Even though she's holding a hot drink, she can feel her hands starting to get a bit clammy. There's a lot that starts swirling through her head, at the sight of Erina sheepishly holding out a bag with her name on it.

Fuck. ]

H-hang on. If I'm gonna open mine, then, you gotta do yours too.

[ Where did she put her bag..? She leaves Gingey to his fate as she scrambles around her fireplace haunt, looking for a small handbag she's had nearby since she first sat down. It doesn't take long for her to grab it and scurry through the clutch, pushing her phone and wallet aside to pull out...

Well, it's not hefty in the least; it seems she wasn't kidding when she called it a little something. But that sure is a gift box, about the size of her palm, wrapped up neatly in white paper on top of a card. The whole thing is tied up in a bow as red as the ribbon on top of her head.

Her cheeks, incidentally, are approaching that shade, too. ]

It's only fair.

[ Erina's a proud jackass, but even she's not quite enough of a jackass to laugh at Chitoge right now, even if seeing her so flustered kind of makes her want to. This is a bit different from their usual prodding and poking at each other and it makes Erina feel sort of itchy and uncomfortable but weirdly fond all at the same time.

It shows in the grin she gives Chitoge as she takes the gift and then hands the bag over in turn. Come on, Erina, be a cool girl for maybe five more minutes. ]

Alright. Count to three and then rip 'em open?

[ That smile alleviates her jitters and adds to them all at once. She'd just about like to sink into her big, doofy sweater and hide her face for a bit, because she can feel herself growing pink in the ears, but she hopes that she can pin the warmth of her face onto the heat of the fireplace. With both hands, she holds the bag from the bottom, and while she's certainly curious about what's inside...

What she's more curious about is how Erina will react when she opens the box. The card, she hopes, can wait. ]

Okay, get ready. One, two...

[ Erina's box shouldn't be too hard to tear into! It's fairly tiny, after all, and the ribbon should slide right off without much fuss. What greets her when she slips the lid off the cardboard box inside, as she might have expected from the size of the thing, is a small piece of jewelry: a pendant, one not all that dissimilar from the gilded key that's never too far from Chitoge's own neckline. The piece dangles just so from a 45 centimeter stainless steel chain, propped up on a black velvet backing. As for the pendant itself...

One might be forgiven for thinking it's a cross, from a distance. But anyone who knows Erina Estival for even a second would be a fool to believe that.

Make no mistake: the sterling silver pendant, catching the light of the fire behind Chitoge, is a sword. ]

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52nd ♫ | the first star in the sky is even brighter out tonight

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