I know this one has been much-awaited. Here it is; Alak and Christie's first kiss. :)

Rating: 10+

Author: castithientogenes (my tumblr account)

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the kind thoughts on my last fic! I didn't expect half as many people to even read it, much less enjoy it and want more. So, I had some free time today and wanted to write something else. This is my take on what Alak and Christie's first kiss was like. In my mind, Alak and Christie couldn't get together much, and their love progressed over nearly a year as opposed to them both just jumping into the relationship. In 'Teach Me,' Christie was about to turn fifteen; this fic is set a year later, on her sixteenth birthday. Hope you enjoy it! Please tell me what you think!

Someone also asked me to include a song playlist for the fics I write to set the mood: for this fic, I think that the 'We Found Love' cover by Lindsey Stirling and Ventribe is absolutely perfect.

"Alak, where are we going?" Christie whined, a reluctant smile spread across her face. Her hair was pulled neatly back from her face in a ponytail and her eyes were covered by a strip of black cloth that Alak had insisted on tying over her face.

"It's a secret," she heard him say with happiness in his voice. "A surprise. You're not supposed to know until we get there."

"But, Alak!" she protested, but only halfheartedly. She was more excited about his secrecy than anything else. "Come on, I can't see anything, what if I trip?"

"That's what I'm here for," he said, his voice closer to her now. She felt his arm encircle her waist to support her, guiding her carefully through the brush underfoot. Christie didn't know where they were going, but she could tell from the bright light filtering through the material over her eyes and the softness under her feet that they had left Defiance. "Come on, we're almost there."

"If it's much further I'm going to hurt myself before we get there," Christie laughed. "I still think I'm bound to trip over something."

"I'll catch you," Alak said softly. "Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you," she replied, just as softly. She let him guide her body, pushing her slightly to the left or the right so that she wouldn't fall. After a few more moments, he pulled to a stop and his firm grip on her waist halted her as well.

"We're here," he told her. His fingers came up to untie the knot behind her head and the material blocking her eyes fell away. "Happy birthday, Christie."

Christie opened her eyes to the bright, yellow-orange light of a beginning sunset shining down on the tall grass of a small clearing. All around her were a ring of trees but this place was clear of everything except tall grass and beautiful white flowers. And on the ground a few steps ahead of her was a small covered basket laying over a beautifully woven white blanket.

Her mouth dropped open. She tried to speak but words seemed to evade her. As Alak stepped in front of her, his lilac eyes focused on hers, all she could do was smile. His face lit up with hers, his happiness apparent in every line of his face.

"I guess you like it, then," he guessed, and Christie stepped forward to embrace him, burying her face into his chest. His strong arms came up to hold her and he rested his chin on her head.

"It's perfect," she murmured.

He chuckled and disentangled himself from her, pulling her toward the blanket. As she sat down, crossing her legs beneath her dress, Alak pulled the top off of the basket and tipped it over. Bright fruits spilled onto the ground, rolling in different directions. She caught one before it hit the ground and curled her fingers around it.

"Mangoes?" she asked. "They're my favorite."

"I noticed, the first time we met." He watched her with a smile. "You went to the trading tents first and spent almost all of your money on the mangoes. And your friends told me you love them."

"Now the truth comes out," she joked.

"I have to admit, they're pretty good," Alak said with a grin. "Out of all the Earth fruits, they're probably my favorite too."

"Earth fruits? You mean you didn't have mangoes on Casti?" she frowned slightly as she rubbed a speck of dirt off of the fruit with her thumb. "Hey, can I have your knife?"

"We didn't, as far as I know," Alak said. He reached into his pocket and handed her his knife - the same one he had first taught her to fight with. Christie took it from him with outstretched fingers, flipping it from its sheath with expert care. "What do you want that for?"

"To get the skin off," she said. "It's a pain to peel off with my fingers." She placed the blade just below her thumb and scraped it along the fruit, removing the fuzzy covering strip by strip.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Christie asked a few moments later when she took her eyes off of her work. Alak had been staring at her strangely, confusion apparent in his expression.

"Are you supposed to do that?" he asked, pointing at the mango in her hands and the blade covered in the skin of the mushy fruit.

"Yeah," she told him. "You didn't know that?" She caught sight of the mango in his hand; with a rather large bite taken out of the side. "I guess not," she amended with a grin.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Alak said defensively. "You humans are so weird."

"Says the guy who just ate a mango wrong," Christie teased. "Come on, try it this way. The skin doesn't taste very good anyway." She used the knife to cut the flesh of the fruit into quarters and handed him one. She put the blade down on the blanket and took a bite, letting the sweet flavor flood her mouth. Alak did the same, holding the slimy piece of fruit with the tips of his fingers.

"So? Better?" Christie asked as she took another big bite. She handed him a second piece of the fruit and kept the other for herself, as she had quickly finished her first.

"Better," Alak agreed. "I thought I was the one teaching you things, but you teach me plenty too."

"Well, knowing how to fight with a knife is a more important skill than knowing how to eat Earth fruit," she allowed. Taking another bite, she stretched her legs out in front of her and laid back on the cloth below her, looking up into the quickly darkening sky. It was turning a beautiful dark blue, but it mixed with purple and the orange light of the setting sun that shown over this clearing and the rest of Defiance. "Thank you," she said suddenly. "For all of this. My dad's been out all day and I didn't think you'd even remember my birthday, so I wasn't expecting anything."

"So little faith in me," Alak sighed, but Christie knew he was only joking. "I'm glad you like it. I just wanted to spend some time with you, completely alone."

"How'd you manage it?" she asked, licking her fingers to get the last of the sweet juice from the mango. She twisted her head to the side to look up at him; he had moved closer to her and was perched on his knees just a bit to her right side.

"A few of my friends helped me," he admitted. "They helped me find this place, and they're still hanging around just outside the city to stop anyone who comes this way."

"Well, thank you." Christie said. Alak leaned against her slightly, putting one arm across her body to support himself.

"I'm just glad you're happy." He smiled down at her, absentmindedly tracing a pattern on her stomach with his fingers. After a moment, he reached toward her neck. "What necklace are you wearing?" His fingers pulled the silver chain back until he could see the purple gem hanging from it. Immediately, his face lit up.

"You noticed," Christie said. She sat up, her fingers brushing his as she held the gem away from her breast. He played with it between his fingers, letting the light shine through it to create a shadow on her collarbone.

"You haven't worn it in a while," he said. "I wasn't sure you still liked it."

"I love it too much," Christie assured him. "I didn't want it to get broken or lost, so I didn't wear it when I was in town for a while. But it makes me happy, so I wore it today." She sat up all the way, shifting so that her legs were splayed out to her side and she was directly facing him.

"Mm," Alak murmured. "A good gift, then."

"Everything you've given me has been amazing, Alak, even the things that aren't material. I can't think of anything else that I want from you."

Alak looked at her directly, his lilac eyes meeting her own. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek and leaned toward her, and before Christie realized what he was doing his lips were touching hers.

His mouth was incredibly soft on hers, shaping around her lips in the most natural way. She parted her lips and kissed him back, the feeling of kissing him more pleasurable than she would have imagined. Her hands rested gently on his knee as he tipped her chin up with his other hand, moving his moth from her lips to place a small kiss on the side of her neck. Christie smiled, opening her eyes as he leaned down to peck her lips once more, and then he pulled away.

"As I understand it, first kisses on this world are a big deal?" he whispered, placing his forehead against hers as he wound his hands through hers.

She nodded but stayed silent, content to sit calmly with him in this beautiful place. The sounds of the forest around them filled her senses. There were birds chirping in the trees, and the soft buzzing of insects, and the warm smell of the sunlight and the grass and the flowers. And she knew, without a doubt, that she would remember this moment forever.

"I love you," Alak said suddenly. He drew away from her to look into her eyes. "I hope you know that."

Christie's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been expecting him to say it, and his words made her feel warm and fuzzy in her heart, as though she was reliving her happiest memories and best dreams all at once.

"I love you too," she said. She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, and then untangled her fingers from his and pushed herself off of the ground.

"But if you don't get home, I'll be loving a dead woman?" Alak guessed, and his joke made her laugh.

"Exactly." She helped to pull him up and then leaned back down to gather the few fruits back into the basked. She picked up his knife as well, wiping it off with the soft cloth of her dress before putting it back into its sheath. "You know, you made this day a thousand times better just by being with me."

Alak embraced her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and he took the basket and knife from her before beginning to walk back toward Defiance and its shining business that stuck out from the growing darkness.

"I love being with you," Alak told her. "If you didn't know it before, you know it now." He grasped her hand with his again. "Now, come on. Let's get you home, birthday girl."

All right, that's it! Hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think