(open) hanging on in quiet desperation—

[coherer]

WHO: jonas and you
WHERE: all over stygia
WHEN: the duration of december
WHAT: event and notice board chaos
WARNINGS: smooches and anxiety, random possibility of shadow shenanigans

Comments

[coherer]

(he'd rather die than abandon sakura to kiss sasuke after the tea laurent spilled.....

jonas valiantly evades the knee-jerk "a gorgeous, intelligent woman is asking me to lay one on her" reaction, zen when replying to sakura's message. he's grateful to be a go-to, understanding that the trust that comes with that means something good.)

Rescue incoming, just wrapping up a convenience store trip. Want anything before I head your way??

Water? Breath mints? Glittery lip gloss?

[craters]

I imagine breath mints wouldn't be a bad idea, just for politeness' sake.

I'll skip the glitter, though. Sort of at odds with the lifestyle, you know?

（ ahahaha... look at her being so casual about kissing. this is fine. everything's fine. ）

[coherer]

(YOU'RE DOING SO GREAT, SWEETIE)

One thingy of breath mints, no glitter. Got it.

ETA ~5 mins??

(by the looks of it, sakura's on the fringes of the outdoor marketplace where the sneakier mistletoes have been placed, and that paints a picture. it's not a long walk; the convenience store is a few blocks from his place and his place is a few blocks from the bazaars. at a brisk pace, he makes good time.)

Hey, Sakura, (jonas calls to her, ensuring he's heard before approaching. he's emerging from a shortcut at her back and doesn't want to startle her, glancing up at the offending mistletoe in a step around to her front.) You know, mistletoes were festive and cute once... like, as decorations.

(were. now they're proximity mines.)

I, uh... I hope you haven't been standing here long.

[craters]

（ one of the small ways jonas is so thoughtful, she turns faintly to look over her shoulder as he approaches and nods at him once he's situated in front of her. ）

It's also a poison. Why am I not surprised people were using it as decorations?

（ she sighs, and ruffles at her hair (which is already mussed about — divebombed by fairies, perhaps?) ）

Thanks for coming on short notice. I've run into a few people that've gotten cursed by this, not sure I want to add that to my day. I'm, um, not very practiced at kissing, so please excuse me if I'm terrible at it.

（ pls give her a breathmint tho. ）

[coherer]

Because we're all weirdoes.

(an extremely helpful addendum.

sakura messes with her hair and jonas, reacting on instinct, reaches forward to free a loop-de-loop strand that looks stubborn enough to stick in place without intervention. in the time it takes for him to check his pockets for the mints and gum, his ears turn a very embarrassing shade of red.)

It's cool, though. I'm—well, I've—it's not new to me, but I'm not, like, a professional or anything. (stop talking. wanting to avoid making this awkward for her, the mints are offered with a smile when he's got the balls to meet her eyes.)

Oh, I know: We could do a practice run!

(is he joking, shooting his shot, or just really stupid? the jury's still out on this one.)

[craters]

（ please appreciate the amount of self-control it takes to overcome the ptsd urge to just smack jonas' hand away the moment he starts to reach for her. instead, she stands perfectly still as he touches her hair, and by the time he's rummaging for other things she too has a curious red tint to her cheeks.

she takes a mint when it's proffered, and then, perhaps a bit skeptically: ）

Wouldn't practice work the same as, um, the real thing as far as the fairies are concerned?

（ please explain your logic, sir. ）

[coherer]

(flat-lining....... throwing back to his last few mistletoe smooches, it's easy, even for jonas, to notice the obvious pattern.)

Well, a kiss on the lips always works, but besides that, I've only tried a kiss on the cheek and forehead. Those didn't go as well.

(in his pocket, the fingers that touched her hair press together before the whole hand condenses into a tight fist.)

I haven't given anyone's hand a shot yet. It's, like... science-y. You know, like... getting rid of all other ideas to get to the actual right idea. Just pretend I worded all of that coherently and in a smart way.

[craters]

（ it's not you jonas it's the Trauma!! ）

Like forming a hypothesis? （ she does wonder if that was intentional on his behalf, stumbling into something he knows she's good at as a way for her to regain her footing in the conversation. it's sweet, and tender, and whether or not he'd done it on purpose it's enough that warmth gathers in the pit of her stomach, offset by the burning, icy chill of the mint that she's currently working around with her tongue. ）

Well, I already tried kissing a clone of myself... that didn't work out last time, so we can scratch that one off the list. （ that's said dismissively, completely oblivious to the fact she's telling a teenage boy she tried kissing her own clone. sorry, buddy. ） So, um... hand?

（ but, rather than offer her own she does something just a little bold, reaching out to capture his, lifting it up to her lips. hers are chapped with the blustery weather, a little rougher than any normal girl would find acceptable, but the kiss she presses to the tendons standing out against the back of his hand is chaste and soft regardless.

nope, no luck. she releases him after a moment with an embarrassed little giggle, and rubs at the back of her neck — a gesture stolen from naruto and their long years of familiarity with one another. ）

Haha... guess not?