Wintertime "Definitely Not A Date"

Karaoke Done

Oak Town was a city of history, and its temple was revered by most of the people residing inside and outside the walls of this town donning ruins of old symbols like accessories. And in this time of the year, the town wore some more festive colors on top of those hotspots too - red, green and white were the most dominating lights in the streets. Snow was falling, freezing the air and giving JJ quite a hard time - he had been too used to the tropic climate rom his homeland and near Amber Island, so this white snow was new - but he came equipped with a long, red-and-white scarf to warm his neck up.

It was apparent on the look of his eyes that Illya’s comment about them looking like a couple disdained him. How long was she going to joke around with that? He was lucky that she hadn’t blatantly meant what she said, for given her fame, it could only become such a hassle and an annoyance to him if all her fans believed that they dated. He didn’t see any romantic possibility in her; he… had different tastes, perhaps. Maybe he had a crush on someone else, or maybe he wasn’t into pink hair. Speculations from the writer, but yeah…

While her mimicking his voice didn’t annoy him as much, he still wanted to make things clear. “Please don’t fool people into thinking that we’re dating or anything like that. I am in no way angry or spiteful of you, Illya - you’re a very beautiful woman and a splendid bearer of melodic voice, and I pray that your life brings good winds to you, but…” JJ warned her with a slightly anxious look on his usually monotone face, “If your fans ever got that idea, they wouldn’t leave me alone… just like the lunatic from your previous concert-“ He was talking about the beanie-wearing idiot who assaulted both Illya and him out of pure spite of not being able to attend the concert himself. Just because of JJ’s association with Illya, he was targeted by the foolish boy’s anger too - he hoped that such an event wouldn’t occur once more.

While he didn’t understand her calling him a stick in the mud, even if it was coming from her as a joke, maybe he was being rude to her? He wanted to apologize, but he thought back to what he had said to her, and… huh, nothing stuck out. Still, knowing that his actions might’ve been a hassle, even if Illya took them so lightly, he still lowered his cap in tawbah.

Hearing how she had never experienced Fiore’s Christmas due to her business and occupation was shocking. Was she… that busy? Damn. She was passionate about her role as a pop idol, and her position in Dies Irae was solid, so… maybe that was why she had her first opportunity to celebrate Christmas this year. That was one thing they had in common now. “I have no doubt in my heart that we’re friends, Illya - best friends, even,” JJ continued as a way to lighten his chest up a little. He shouldn’t feel so down and bad all the time, and he needed to start explaining about his own alienation to the holidays in a good tone. “… Say, I’ve actually read a little about Fiore’s winter holidays. I haven’t celebrated Christmas before; we have other holidays in Desierto that differ in time of the year. I’m honored to spend it with you for the first time, if that helps you.”

She wished that Aoi, the third Officer of Dies Irae, would have joined them too… while moaning about her absence, Illya summoned Laerwen via her Celestial Key and handed a gift box to him. He accepted the gift - Christmas was about giving - and opened it to find a red coat with white, fluffy edges accompanied by red leggings, a red blouse and a staple of his - a red cap with two peppermint sticks etched to it.

“Hmh…” he hummed in deep thought before emitting a blinding light - all but a brief moment, but enough to give him time to completely change his clothes. He was now… huh, he looked like the mythical Santa Claus. Maybe Illya was a big fan of Santa Claus.

He softly nodded with his still monotone look, more clad for the winter cold and grateful for Illya’s consideration. He was quickly dragged along with her, much to a few people’s discomfort as he heard whispers with his Demon Slayer hearing… damn it, there were actually some fans of hers here in Oak Town, and-

Oh no…

When they arrived at a small stage where people sang random songs through a mic, Illya found herself in her element and began singing. JJ was a little hesitant on walking up to sing, but there was a small magazine with famous Christmas songs and their lyrics to aid him. He managed to climb up and search through the lyrics until he found a pretty easy song:

“*cough* … W-We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Yeeeeeaaaaaar!”

“Good tidings we bring…!”
“To you and your kin…!”
“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Yeaaar!”

He was no professional.

“Oh bring us some figgy pudding, oh bring us some figgy pudding, oh bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it right heeereeee…!”

What were these lyrics about? What kind of pudding was figgy?

He simply stopped mid-song and put the mic away, thinking that he needed to sing no more. It was almost perfect timing, for he… failed to dodge a sudden snowball aimed at his face that toppled him off of his feet and made him land on his back.

“You piece of shit, you planned to get up there with her, didn’t you?!”
“How sleek of you, I’m so jelly like URRRRRRGHHHHHHHH…!”
“JUST KISS ALREADY, JEEZ! WE KNOW YOU LIKE HER - HALF THE COUNTRY DOES!”

What was with these ridiculous requests? JJ began panicking a bit, for he didn’t know how to respond right now - what was he planning? Why were they jealous? And why in the world should they kiss? This made no sense…

“Hey, would you all pull yourself together?!” he rebuked them as he rose up on his feet again. Had lllya said anything about the two of them? If she had, he would be veeeeeeeery disappointed in her… but it didn’t seem to be the case at all. “First of all, I have no idea what y-…”

Ah, upon pushing himself up on his feet, he noticed the garment above the two of them - whoever placed it there was evil. A mistletoe… and having read about the holidays and their traditions, JJ knew exactly what that meant.

“U-Uhhhhmm…”

Perhaps for the first time since he joined Dies Irae, he lost his composure and succumbed to embarrassment.

WC: 1177