A short one-shot where Futaba and Ryuji spend their Christmas Eve together.

It was strange, really. If anyone saw the two together at any other point in time, then they might have simply thought that they were brother and sister, or maybe just really good friends. They had been polar opposites in the beginning, after all. One had depended on his emotions to survive, while the other had only used logic and evidence to her advantage.

Of course, it wasn't that straightforward. Despite their seemingly sibling-like relationship, the two were sitting on a bench in Inokashira Park on Christmas Eve. Ryuji had his arm wrapped around Futaba's shoulders as the two sat in silence, watching their frosty breaths mingle with the falling snow.

It had been a long while before Futaba felt her hair being ruffled under Ryuji's rough, calloused fingers.

"Hey!" she complained half-heartedly. "Cut it out!"

Ryuji gave her a carefree grin. "So what, Akira can do it but I can't?"

"Of course you can! It's just… a bit… awkward…" Futaba began to twiddle her fingers as Ryuji kissed her on the forehead. The rosiness in her cheeks was replaced with a more reddish tint as Ryuji did it again.

"Why? 'Cause he rejected you?"

Futaba tensed up under Ryuji's grip as she grimaced.

Ryuji looked down onto the redhead's face, his light-hearted grin turning to a frown. "Ah right, sorry. Sensitive subjects are sensitive."

The two lapsed into an awkward silence. It wasn't until the fifth couple passed by when Ryuji spoke up again.

"So… erm..."

As he gathered the right words to say, he got up and lent a hand to Futaba, who was looking away and at the lake. He sighed and put his hand under her chin, turning her head to face him before kissing her right on the lips. When he pulled back, Futaba was blushing even harder than before.

"Don't let what I say ruin our night," Ryuji said, having finally gathered his thoughts. "I'm… a blundering idiot. I know that. I've done a lot of stupid things, some for the worse, some for the better. If you want to be with Akira tonight, then-"

This time, it was Ryuji's turn to be surprised. Futaba pulled on his collar and brought him into yet another on-the-lips kiss before speaking. "I know you, Ryuji. But I think beating you up once is enough."

Ryuji hid his grimace under a grin as, once again, he put out his hand for Futaba to take. This time, she actually took it, getting off of the bench. The two walked around the whitened park for a while, holding hands and purely enjoying the moment. They didn't know how long they did this before arriving at the station.

Futaba plopped down onto an empty bench and motioned for Ryuji to sit next to her. As he obliged, she checked her phone. "Five minutes until our train arrives."

"Snow and shit, I'm guessing?"

"Actually, some of the high-pressure gauges-" Futaba saw the blank, questioning face on Ryuji before continuing. "Ah, forget it."

Ryuji blinked before he started to talk. "Five minutes, eh? What'll we do until the train comes?"

In response, Futaba put her head on Ryuji's shoulder, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I don't really think I'd mind if the train never came."

The five minutes passed, and as the train could be heard arriving, Ryuji tried to shake Futaba awake. "Sakura. Wake up. Sakura."

When it became apparent that she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, Ryuji sighed. He got up and wrapped her arms around his neck before putting the rest of her body on his back. Surprisingly, the sleeping redhead had kept holding onto his neck without Ryuji's help.

The couple was walking past Leblanc with Futaba still asleep on Ryuji's back, when a blur of pink ran out, accompanied by the sound of sniffling and pushing the two aside. Moments later, Akira himself walked out with a blank expression. His eyes passed over Ryuji and Futaba as though the two weren't there before he began to walk in the opposite direction of the pink flash.

Ryuji was tempted to call out to Akira, but after the mess-up he made today, he thought it might be better to stay silent. He began to walk again, arriving at the Sakura household. It became apparent that no one was inside as Ryuji invited himself inside. He arrived at Futaba's room and placed her on the bed before turning to leave. After a moment of thought, he went back to Futaba's side and planted a kiss on her forehead, pulling up her chair and sitting beside it, watching, waiting for his girlfriend to wake up.

Of course, the next morning, she wouldn't be there when he woke up in a pool of his own drool, and he would go to Leblanc only to hear the news.

If only their peace could have lasted longer.