All these little traditions meant very little to Rikki. She and her dad did Christmas like any other day after mum left, with two exceptions: one, they would give each other one small gift to unwrap and, two, they traded in their Vegemite toast breakfasts for eggs and bacon and pancakes. Just on Christmas.

So all the silliness about mistletoe had never really been Rikki's thing, only...well. It gave her an excuse and Ben was just standing there like he might not realize it was hanging over his head.

Moving to her boyfriend, she didn't stop at a normal distance or hug him, she just laid one on him, slow and lingering, her arms circling around his neck. When she did end it, she pulled her face away just enough to look back at him with a little grin. "Thought I had better claim you before someone prettier noticed you standing here," she said, the grin shifting into a smirk.