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The lights strewn across the streets are enamoring, completely changing the vibe of Hitori’s neighborhood to one far more jolly and festive than usual. More than any other night, it truly feels like Christmas.
The girl currently holding my hand stirs a little, looking up towards the lights in utter glee.
“So pretty…” Hitori can’t help but let out.
I immediately smile to myself. She’s not one to artificially comment on things like that. It really just goes to show how beautiful they’ve made it all look. Although I can’t lie and say it’s not a tad funny she never saw these before tonight. I suppose she was never one to venture out of her “secret base” without reason.
I’m more than happy to be that reason tonight~
But…
“I’m still prettier though, right?” I ask with a mischievous smile.
“E-Eh? I-Ikuyo?” She looks at me in shock. “Wh-Why is it a competition???”
I give a slight pout. That’s not the answer you’re supposed to give your girlfriend, Hitori.
“I thought it would be obvious that you’re prettier…” she whispers under her breath.
“A-Ah…” I begin to turn a light pink. Suddenly my teasing got thrown back at me. And that wasn’t even her intention…
Haah, I seriously can’t beat this girl…
The 24th of December. The day that partners in Japan look forward to most. Of course it’s Christmas Eve in many places, but it’s different for us. It’s romantic. It’s my time to shine, hehe~
Hitori told me before that she didn’t used to like winter and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. It must’ve been especially lonely for her on this day in past years…
That’s why I made it my mission to give her the best Christmas Eve ever tonight! It’s her first one with me after all <3
To that effort, I’ve spent the past few nights with her. It’s been beyond wonderful. Even I’m baffled by how much her presence seems to improve my wellbeing. Even just being able to hug anytime we want… It shouldn’t do as much to my heart as it does…
But I’m not complaining~
Needless to say, I’ll be spending the night with Hitori once more. I truly can’t wait to snuggle up with her and fall asleep next to her soft breaths for another night.
Man, Sattsu’s gonna tease the crap out of me when I get home…
Speaking of home, tomorrow’s schedule is pretty hectic in that regard. We’ll be spending the morning with Hitori’s parents before getting on the train back to Shimokita. From there, we’ll spend the afternoon with my parents, then head to Ijichi-senpai’s for dinner and a belated birthday party for Manager.
There was some talk of a concert happening, but I guess with everyone in the band having a date for the first time, it just didn’t pan out.
Either way, tomorrow will be… quite the day.
That’s why tonight…
“Ikuyo?” Hitori cautiously peers at my face.
“Ah, sorry!” I lightly wave in reassurance.
I guess I kinda spaced out for a minute there. Come on, girl! You said this night would be for Hitori! Your focus should be solely on her.
I squeeze her hand a little tighter.
“You’re just so beautiful tonight that I couldn’t stop thinking about you!”
“E-EH!?” Red immediately overtakes her cheeks. “I-Ikuyo!!!” she cries out in a distinctly embarrassed manner. She always gets so cute when she’s like this. It’s addictive…
“Wha~t?” I teasingly ask. “It’s your fault for taking over my brain. Stop being so cute!” And it’s not like I was lying. The outfit she wore for our date tonight truly put my heart at risk of giving out. This girl is a hidden weapon, I swear…
“I-I…” she stammers. “E-Even if you say that, I…” She pulls up her scarf to try and cover her face.
Aah, but that’s cute in its own way too, Hitori!
I wanna keep teasing you, though~
“How am I supposed to kiss you like that, silly?” I ask with a particular desire in my eyes. I see her beautiful blue eyes entranced by it for a brief spell.
“Wh-Why didn’t you kiss me before, then…?” she shoots back, desperate to not let me totally control this exchange.
I won’t let you win that easily. “So, you don’t want a kiss?”
“E-Eh!?” The unexpected question completely bypasses her defenses. “Th-That’s…” Her gaze begins to shift from side to side as she hurriedly tries to come up with a response.
“Hitoriiiiii~” I call out once more, desire even more present in my eyes.
“A-Ah…” I see her eyes widen as she gets lost in the love I’m showing her. “Y-Yes…” she admits. “I want one…”
I give her a satisfied smile as she lowers her scarf once more.
I don’t let her have any moment of reprieve as I snatch her lips the second I’m able. She’s understandably surprised, but quickly melts into my eyes once more. The warmth of her lips never fails to light the fire in my heart, as my love for her completely clouds any other thought.
The kiss is brief, however, as we still have a whole night ahead of us. As silly little smiles bloom on both of our faces, I grip her hand a little tighter.
“I love you,” I let the words slip out.
Her cheeks are a tad pink, but she smiles anyway. “I-I love you too…”
“Wanna keep guiding me?” I cheerfully ask.
Suddenly, the realization that we’ve been standing still for the past five minutes hits her brain. “A-Ah, yes!! F-Follow me!”
I’m holding onto your hand, silly.
That was the pretense of this date, though… Hitori guiding me through her Christmas-themed neighborhood. I love the proud look in her eyes anytime I’m enamored with something. But I also can’t help but chuckle to myself when she gets entranced by things, such as the lights earlier.
I’ll let her guide me wherever she wishes, though. I wanna see that sparkle in her eyes again~
As we continue through the streets, we stop at all the places that catch our interest and just enjoy our time together. We’re together, after all. What’s not to enjoy?
I’m completely frozen in my tracks when we reach the central square of the neighborhood, however.
“W-Whoa!!” I can’t help but let out my excitement.
A beautiful white Christmas tree constructed entirely purely from strings of lights illuminates the area in patterns of snowflakes. It seems like magic, but I know it’s just a work of electricity. I just… can’t stop staring at it…
“It’s… so beautiful…” I can barely get the words out.
“Y-You’re… You’re m-more beautiful.”
“Eh?” This bold pink girl’s words snap me out of my trance. As the implication of her words bloom in my mind, my face instinctively turns a shade of red. “H-Hitori, th-that’s…”
“I-It’s true!” she stutters through her own blush.
“…Aw, jeez!” As I let a warm-hearted smile spread across my face, I bring my forehead to hers. We simply bathe in the light of the tree for a few moments.
“D-Did I do better that time?” she nervously asks.
“…You didn’t say that just to get on my good side, did you?” I somewhat teasingly ask in response.
“N-No!” She vehemently refuses. “I-I just… said what I was thinking this time. I-It seemed like keeping it in my head w-wasn’t the right move with the lights…” she admits with a blush visibly forming on her face.
“Hitori…” My heart beats in a joyful rhythm from her thoughts alone. I seriously can’t get over how much I love this girl~
After spending a few more moments basking in the light from the tree. I back away with a pep in my step, placing my hands behind my back.
“So, I know we said we’d wait until tomorrow to do presents, but-” I fiddle around in my pocket searching for my secret weapon.
“I-Ikuyo…” She says in a slight pout.
“I know, I know! But I wanted this one to be special. I wanted it to just be between us…” I say, trying a little harder than usual to accentuate my cuteness.
“A-Ah,” she hurriedly looks away. “I-I guess that’s fine…”
Hehe, success!
Once I have the gift in my hand, I eagerly step towards Hitori once more. I look into her anticipatory aqua eyes and grin with delight. But of course, every good gift starts with some preamble.
“You know, I almost can’t believe the last few months actually happened. I was happy being in Kessoku Band. I felt like I’d found a new home. But when I realized my feelings for you… everything changed so fast. I know I seemed like I was charging head first into it all, and I was hehe, but… I was a little scared too,” I admit.
“Ikuyo…” She looks at me with empathy. I’m sure she knows this exact feeling quite well.
“But, dating you is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Everything about you makes me so happy. The way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you cling to me when we’re away from prying eyes… The way you hold me tight at night, like you’d do anything to protect me… Every single day of mine is made better by you being in it.”
“I-Ikuyo…!” Her face is red, but she’s clearly genuinely emotional over my words. That makes me happy.
“I love you so much, Hitori. It’s kind of crazy how much, actually. I can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore, and I hope I never have to. Thank you for making this Christmas and everything we’ve shared the past few months so special,” I let out the last of my thoughts with a smile.
“A-Aah!” She immediately crashes into a hug with me. I’m not surprised, but it is a little funny. “I-I love you too!” Through those words alone, I can tell she’s fighting tears. I gently rub her back.
“I haven’t even given you your present yet, silly.”
“I-I know,” she says through a sniffle. “J-Just… give me a sec.”
“Of course.” I continue to comfort her until she’s finally ready to pull away. “You ready?”
“M-Mm.” She nods, red still present on her face.
“Here you go!”
I hand her the small, wrapped gift. She looks at me, questioning if it’s okay to open it. She’s so silly! I give her a nod and she lightly tears away at the paper.
“Th-This is-” Her eyes widen as she realizes what it is.
“Mm-hm! It’s my favorite picture of us!” I cheerfully exclaim.
“A-Ah…!” Her eyes are completely glued to it.
“I know how much you loved Kessoku Band’s ProPho, so… I was hoping you’d love a picture of you with your girlfriend just as much…”
Ah… Is that… kind of narcissistic of me?
…What the heck? Why am I getting cold feet about this now!?
“I-I love it!” Hitori exclaims. “I can’t wait to put it up, ehehe~”
“…Hehe,” I chuckle to myself for getting worried over nothing. “I’m sorry I didn’t print as many as you have of the ProPho.”
“E-Eh!? N-No, that was just… J-Just one of these is good enough for my heart,” she says, clutching the photo to her chest.
“Y-You don’t have to go that far,” I say, a blush spreading across my face.
“But, it really does mean that much to me. A-Any time I feel lonely, I can look at this… and remember your love. I-I couldn’t ask for a better gift,” she admits. “Thank you so much, Ikuyo. I-I love you!!” She gives me the most cheerful smile I’ve ever seen from her. It is exceedingly dangerous for my heart.
“…I’m just happy you like it so much! I love you too.” I just continue to stare at her pleased face for a few seconds. It’s so adorable. I want to marry her. “So, wanna show me around a bit-”
“A-Actually, um!” she interjects. “Y-You weren’t… the only one who… broke our agreement.”
It takes my mind a few seconds to process the meaning behind those words.
“Ehhhhhhh? You got all pouty when you brought a present too!” I playfully fire back.
“A-Ah, w-well, th-that was-”
“You were mad I did it first, weren’t you?”
“Geh-”
Hehe, sorry, Hitori. You’ll have to be one step ahead of me next year.
“W-Well, that aside-” she desperately changes the topic, “I-I got you something special for tonight too! H-Here!”
She presents a gift to me in a way that makes it seem like she’s offering it to the Emperor or something. I chuckle a little and take it from her hands. I’m immediately impressed by how intricate her wrapping is. It’s much neater than I would’ve expected. I almost don’t want to open it. Almost.
“Th-This is…!” Unwrapping the paper reveals… more paper. But the contents of that paper are beyond anything I imagined.
They're tickets to a concert!
“Y-You’ve been listening to that band a lot recently, right? Whenever we listen to things together, you always put them on, a-and they’re playing in Tokyo soon, s-so I figured… you might want to go… with me,” her words trail off in confidence as she continues them.
I immediately pull her into a tighter embrace. “I would love to!!! I really wanted to go, but I didn’t have enough money saved up. Thank you so, so much, Hitori!!!” I rub my cheeks all over hers while I give her this thank you.
“Y-You’re welcome, ehehehehehe! G-Glad you like it!” She’s so pleased with herself that it’s adorable.
“But-” I stop to think for a moment. “Weren’t these really expensive?” I ask, worried.
“I-I’ve been saving up for Christmas for a while now, d-don’t worry!” she says with an earnest smile, like she knows that I’m always keeping an eye on her… let’s just say impulsive purchases.
“Hmmm, okay!” That’s good enough for me. I give her a light peck on the cheek before wrapping myself around her arm instead. “I wanna cling to you for the rest of the night, hehe!”
“O-Oh, well… Th-That’s fine with me.” The look on her face doesn’t hide how happy she is to hear that.
“I love you sooooooooo much, Hitori~”
“A-Ah, ehehe, I love you too, Ikuyo. I’m so happy… that you’re my g-girlfriend!” She forces the words out through her own embarrassment.
“Hehe! Same here!!”
For a moment, we just stand together as I continue to cuddle into her arm. Part of me wishes this night could last forever. I feel beyond happy right now. I don’t know if it’ll ever get better than this. That’s why I wish I could just stay in this moment…
But… a different part of me thinks… if we stay together, will I be even happier? I can’t even imagine that… But if it’s her, maybe it’s really possible…
“Heh,” I laugh to myself and look up. “…That tree is still just so beautiful.”
Hitori gently looks towards me. “…D-Do you want to take a picture for Issta?”
“Mm?” I turn my head towards her, before thinking it over for a minute. I give her a simple smile. “No. I don’t think I need to.”
“O-Oh, okay,” she says, looking a little dejected.
I cling a little harder to her arm to let her know it’s okay. “Why don’t you show me around a little more, Ms. Goto?”
“A-Ah, sure!” She gives me an excited smile as we exit the plaza.
As the tree’s light begins to fade from our view, I think over her question once more.
I could take a picture and post it, I suppose. But… I don’t want to share this moment. Not with anyone but her. This night is special because it’s ours.
Tomorrow will be fun, but it will be a day spent with family.
Tonight is for us. This Christmas Eve is ours.
And I hope she keeps me warm all night long~