Emmy had been leaning against the doorframe of some random lecture hall for nearly twenty minutes now, watching and waiting for a certain somebody to leave the lecture hall opposite. She had been returning to sit in on the rest of Hershel's lecture when she had noticed a certain little plant with white berries hanging over the door. She could have easily just walked past them and into the room but she had decided standing out here and waiting for Hershel to find them would be far more interesting than an Archaeological theory lesson.

With a sigh of impatience she looked at the clock sitting on the wall. He was keeping his students in later than usual today; perhaps he was giving them an assignment? She just wanted to see his reaction when he came out of the room. And if he failed to notice, which she seriously doubted from the famous Professor Layton, she was going to be here to point it out to him. Also, if she was out here before the students left she might have a good chance at pinpointing who had strung it there in the first place. No doubt the girl would be hanging around the doorway to try and catch her favourite Professor under the festive sprig.

She could feel a yawn about to come when the door suddenly opened and several oblivious students bustled out into the hall. Nobody noticed until a particularly tall guy walked into the sprig, swatting the mistletoe from his hair. The next couple of people walked right into his back before the collision finally cleared. Finally a group of three girls strolled out of the hall, the last of the students. One particular girl had her eyes trained on the mistletoe.

"Aha.." Emmy smiled, straightening up for the show she was expecting.

Truth be told, Emmy had been looking for an excuse to kiss her favourite archaeologist for a very long time but had not been able to find the chance. She wasn't a shy woman but he was a true gentleman and had, frustratingly, not given her any chances. She was hoping she may be able to catch him under the mistletoe herself, even for just a kiss on the cheek. And if this girl decided to go for him first it would just be a little bit of amusement.

Hershel was one of those lecturers who spent several minutes tidying up his things after the class was over. Not only did this give him time to answer any possible questions his students might have but it meant he could gather all of his things. Archaeologists had a habit of being very messy people and when teaching Hershel was no exception. It seemed that this girl knew he would take his time too as she was waiting beside the door for him to exit.

Emmy took the time to actually examine her 'competition'. The girl had fair hair and pale eyes, quite a beautiful young woman who was certainly blessed in the chest department. She had big eyes and was certainly attractive. But she knew Hershel would kindly turn the girl down, he was far too much of a gentleman to do anything else. All she had to do was wait for Hershel to leave. As it so happened, he didn't make her wait much longer, stepping out of the room with his leather satchel under his arm. He closed the door behind him and was still stood under the mistletoe when the girl made her move.

"Professor, look up." The girl practically purred as she walked up to him. "It's a sprig of mistletoe. Care to indulge such traditions?"

She leant right in for a kiss and Emmy nearly laughed out loud at the look on Hershel's face. The man looked embarrassed, a blush tinting his cheeks when his eyes landed on her over the student's shoulder.

"I.. I don't.." He couldn't seem to put a sentence together. So Emmy decided that she would come and save him.

"Come on, Professor, let's indulge in the holiday tradition." She gently nudged the outraged student out of the way and leant up to kiss him on the cheek. But the man turned his head and pulled back from her. He didn't seem as embarrassed as before, instead he looked rather serious.

"Miss Altava, can I see you for a moment?" He opened the door to the lecture hall he had just vacated and allowed her to enter first. She did so, rather confused by his sudden change in demeanour.

"Professor?" She questioned softly, turning to face him once he had closed the door. Hershel just walked back to the desk and placed down his satchel. "Is everything all right?"

"Did that girl put that mistletoe there to try and trap me?"

"I can only assume so. I was watching for a while, she was clearly waiting. Why..?" Emmy watched as Hershel played with the edge of his satchel.

"I just want to know who to thank."

Now, Emmy was very confused by this. What on earth would he want to thank that girl for? If anything she had caused him a little bit of embarrassment, Emmy had certainly caused her a lot by pushing her out of the way in favour of kissing him herself. To put her out of her misery, Hershel crossed the room towards her. His hand came to rest on her cheek and she looked up at him uncertainly. What was happening?

"I want to thank her for giving me the opportunity to do this." He whispered ever so softly and pressed his lips to hers in the sweetest kiss she could ever imagine. Automatically she pressed her lips to his when he pulled back; drawing him into a longer and firmer kiss. Only when air was necessary did they pull apart again.

"But, Hershel.." She breathed, it was the first time she had used his first name to his face. "We aren't even under the mistletoe right now."

"Well, we shall just have to do this again as we leave the room."

"Only the once?"

"Of course not."

This was going to be a very good Christmas, she could tell.

Just a short Christmas present for you all :D I hope you liked it and I hope every last one of you has an amazing Christmas and a very happy New Year. Thank you for reading all my stories this year. It truly means a lot to me :)

Oh, and the girl who has a crush on Layton is the wonderful Rosetta. Not my creation, but I love her.