"Fakir!"
The dark-haired young man turned around at the sound of his name, his breath fogging out of his mouth. He looked with amusement at the orange-haired girl running towards the train station, struggling to catch up with him. "Ahiru," he sighed, shaking his head and trying to disguise his smile. "You're late, moron."
The freckled youth puffed out her cheeks angrily, the tip of her nose cherry red from the cold. She opened her mouth to speak, probably to say something like "You think I don't know that?", but the teen boy put a finger to her lips. "Ahiru," he said, allowing himself a smirk. "It's not like this is your first time being late."
She sighed, pulling on her long red braid. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Fakir! I was just–"
Fakir laughed. "It's all right."
Ahiru looked up at her boyfriend, smiling, and took his hand. "Thanks. So where are we going?" she asked.
"It's a surprise," he told her.
"All right."
The train arrived at the station just as snowflakes began to swirl down from the sky. Ahiru paused to watch, but Fakir pulled on her hand. His green eyes reflected annoyance and he turned his head away. "Come on, idiot. We're gonna miss the train if you don't hurry up."
Ahiru's cheeks burned and she had to take several quick steps to catch up. "I'm sorry, Fakir," she said, her blue eyes looking sad.
"It's fine." He turned to her and chuckled, ruffling her hair as they boarded the train. She slapped his hand away, and he laughed.
A few minutes later, the train stopped. Fakir held out his hand to the orange-haired girl. "This is our stop." he commented.
"Really?" Ahiru perked up when she heard this and took his hand. "Where are we-"
"I already told you," Fakir interrupted, putting his other hand over her mouth, "it's a surprise."
She glared at him. He smiled innocently and moved his hand from her lips to her eyes. She gasped. "Fakir, what are you doing?"
"Come on, we have to get off the train." He guided her off the train, letting go of her hand and putting his arm around her waist instead. They walked in silence for a few moments before Ahiru tentatively said, "Fakir?"
"What?"
"Are... are people staring at us?"
The dark-haired boy glanced around. They were only getting a few strange looks, but mostly everyone just went on their way to wherever they were going. So he answered truthfully. "Not particularly. A couple of people are looking at us, but not really."
"Oh."
About two minutes of walking passed, and Ahiru murmured his name again. "Fakir?"
"What is it now?"
She swallowed. "Are we almost there?"
Fakir looked straight ahead. "Yes, just a couple more minutes."
"Oh, okay."
Several minutes later...
"We're here," a voice spoke softly in Ahiru's ear.
She jumped. "Oh. Okay."
Fakir's hand slid away from her eyes, and she blinked against the brightness – even though it was past sunset, there was still some light. Her gaze immediately sought out the tall boy beside her once her vision had cleared, and she smiled when she saw the snowflakes caught in his hair.
He looked down at her. "What?"
"Nothing," she replied with a giggle. She looked away. "Where are we – Ohhh!"
They were standing on a bridge spanning a street. One of Fakir's hands rested on the railing, and his other arm was still around her waist, drawing her close. Even though snow whirled down heavily from the sky, the lights cut through the white.
The Christmas tree lights.
The biggest Christmas tree Ahiru had ever seen was right in front of them. It towered high above them, the star on top of it shining. The smaller, colorful lights twinkled merrily among the branches, tinting the snowy air around the tree all different tone of tones.
It was beautiful, and breathtaking, and the best Christmas Eve present she got that year.
Well, part of it.
As the small redhead stood there, blue eyes wide and sparkling with the reflection of the tree, her boyfriend's arm tightening around her waist called her attention back to him. She met his eyes and was a little surprised at the gentleness there.
He turned her to face him and held her close, his free hand coming up to rest on her jaw. Fakir tilted Ahiru's head up towards him and leaned down, lightly pressing his lips against hers. She blushed and closed her eyes, heart pounding.
He pulled back slowly and looked into her eyes, cheeks red. She smiled up at him sweetly and hugged him, snuggling against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and looked out at the tree again, putting both his arms around her.
"Merry Christmas, moron."
"I love you too, Fakir."