Christmas Time Is Here: Academy Exclusives

Mistletoe Rules of Engagement: Rule 2

A/N: Hey.... so just another glimpse into Jessica's time in Paris....couldn't help it! :)  this takes place in early December... Enjoy~ 

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Cam froze in his steps. "Hey..."

Jessica smiled. "Hey, welcome home." She finished putting up a sprig of mistletoe. "How's the hotel?"

"Hotel's fine." He said, cautiously, bending to pick up the kitten when she came running to him. "How are things here?"

"Everything's fine, why?" she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... there wasn't this much..." He waved a hand around. "Holiday spirit when I left for work." He arched an eyebrow at her in return. Eiffel batted at his hand and he obligingly started to scratch her under the chin.

"Oh. Right." She wrinkled her nose and gazed at the room. "I'm sorry. I should have asked if you have any holiday traditions or decorating schemes you wanted to use this year."

"So, this is just a decorating scheme?"

She nodded, setting the jingle bells on the headband she was wearing in noisy holiday cheer. "I was homesick." She confessed. "Back home, everything's been decorated for weeks and we haven't done anything yet."

Cam nodded, slowly, his gaze pinned on her. "Yeah, sorry about that. Ever since the lobby was decorated, I've been meaning to talk to you about decorating here."

"Oh, good." She felt a wave of relief flood her.

"But I'm not sure how living in a mistletoe forest is decorating for Christmas."

Jessica laughed. "Well, there will be more stuff, later." She said. "Like the tree and stockings."

"Right."

"Part of my family has a tendency to create a mistletoe forest every year." She went on. "It's home." She shrugged a shoulder.

Cam dropped down on the sofa, Eiffel stretching out in his arms. "It's good then." He decided. "It's important that we make a home for ourselves while we're here, you know?"

She nodded. "Want to go find a tree with me, tonight?"

He nodded. "Sounds like a fun Paris adventure."

"My mom and Sang sent some decorations."

"That was kind of them."

"Please accept my apology for the fact your stocking says Camille on it." She winced.

"Not Cam?" he grinned. "I suppose I can handle being your beard, Jesse." He teased.

She shook her head. "I tried to explain you preferred Cam but given a choice between Camille and Cami, I panicked." She sighed.

"Either is fine." He said, mildly. "So, about the mistletoe again?" he eyed a particularly large cluster in the corner. "What's your purpose? Do you expect me to kiss you, every time I catch you under it?"

"Might put a bit more of a strain on the roommate side of our relationship, right?"

"There is that." He nodded, slowly, watching her as she sat down next to him.

To be honest, they'd settled in, about six months in to living together with the decision that they were really roommates with somewhat relationship level benefits.

No, not those benefits.

Cuddling, handholding in public, the occasional kiss and hugs as needed.

He'd decided they were mostly an old married couple without sex.

But as long as they were both comfortable with the non-relationship, that's okay, right? They'd' decided that if either of them wanted to date someone, they'd shelve what they had going right now.

Jessica glanced at him. "There are, of course, mistletoe rules of engagement that must be followed." She said, glancing down at the sprig of mistletoe she was holding.

"Rules are restricted, hmm?" he smiled. "of course, there are. Is it safe, by the way, for the kitty?" he reached out and plucked the sprig out of her hand.

"Of course. It's fake. Nothing at all to harm our darling baby girl."

"Okay. So, enlighten me, O Wise One, on the rules."

"Rule one is that less is never more." Jessica stated.

"That explains the way this room looks." He remarked. "No one would ever be able to accuse you of less."

"Thanks, I think." She smiled. "Rule two is Location, Location, Location."

He eyed the ceiling. "I suppose." He said, twirling the mistletoe and holding it over his head. "Like how's this?" he waited until her eyes had shifted to watch the mistletoe and he teased her by lowering it slowly down to hold it over his torso.

Jessica laughed when Eiffel reached up and batted it out of his hand. "Oh, the kitty child has it right."

"Meaning what exactly?" he tilted his head.

"No kisses required if the mistletoe is not securely secured to something."

"So, all those movies have it wrong? You know, the ones where someone dangles it over themselves, hoping for a kiss with a cheesy grin?"

"Oh, yes. Absolutely wrong." Jessica frowned. "And even if that's the case, no one was obligated to kiss that person. There's no coercion allowed when it comes to mistletoe."

"No coercion? What about extortion?" He wanted to know.

She rolled her eyes. "That's a different conversation." She pointed out. "A different rule, honestly." He looked skeptical. "Honest. Rule two means you can't just hold mistletoe over your body and demand someone kiss you there. It makes the mistletoe magic disappear like that." She snapped her fingers.

"Good to know." He finally said.

"Exactly." She ran her hand down Eiffel's back when the kitten moved into her lap instead of Cam's. "So... tree tonight and finish the decorations tomorrow." She said, waiting for him to nod. "Great. So, I was thinking we should have an ugly sweater party next weekend."

He wrinkled his nose. "Ugly Christmas Sweaters?"

"Exactly." She nodded. "I know it's probably far too American for most of our friends, but I thought maybe I could invite the other people from my classes, and you could invite people from the hotel. It'll be an ugly sweater theme but absolutely people could come and go as they'd like. We'll have prizes and eat appetizers and sweets all night long."

"Sounds fun." Cam said. "So, we have to find a tree and ugly sweaters."

"Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "Never looked for either of them before so we'll see."

~Fade~