10. Holiday Interlude

We had set a date of February 14th for our ceremony. That gave everyone plenty of time to RSVP, as well as to procure a venue and make all the little plans.

I had just returned from a planning session with Haruka, which had gone quite smoothly, I'm happy to say. Haruka was taking her duties as planner seriously, but she was also keeping me honest, and demanding my input on everything. And I knew that she was also asking Natsuki questions about her preferences, as well.

I came home to our shared apartment to a rather shocking sight. Natsuki was wearing a cable-knit sweater-dress, a light blue color, black leggings, and was sashaying about the apartment happily, hanging flocked garland on the windows and humming a familiar song, though I couldn't recall the lyrics right away.

This was tremendously jarring for me. While I have never deigned to use the appellation of "masculine" to describe Natsuki, with her love of stuffed animals, real animals, and delicate, frilly lingerie, I had never known her to be one to sashay. Brood? Yes. Sulk? From time to time. Glare? She had patented her own version. Sashay daintily? This was alien behavior as far as I was concerned. And humming? I was seriously tempted to seize her and demand to know who she was and what she had done with my Natsuki.

Thankfully, that impulse passed when she noticed me, and gave me that soft smile that could only be hers. Relieved that it was genuinely my Natsuki, I let out a small sigh of relief as she returned her attention to hanging the garland.

"I had not known that you would be in a festive mood," I opined.

She shrugged, without turning, "I mean, it's not something I've done in the past. But…well, District One is gone. I've got no vengeance to plan. I've got no enemies to spy on or thwart. I've got a girlfriend who wants to spend the rest of her life with me, for which I'm entirely game. Seems like it's time to try some new things. And I used to love Christmas as a kid, so…"

"To try something new, a return to the old?" I posited, not quite teasing, but keeping my options open.

"Yep," she confirmed, reaching for a set of lights. She resumed humming the tune, which was infuriatingly familiar, but I couldn't place the lyrics!

And then I noticed that she was standing under a sprig of leaves with white berries and a red bow, which had clearly been placed above the window earlier. Recognizing the significance of that plant, I quietly approached her, wrapping my arms around her. As I did, I suddenly recalled the lyrics of the song, which I began to sing melodically as I turned her to face me.

"I really can't stay…" I try to be as melodious as possible.

"Baby it's cold outside…" Natsuki returns with a smile.

"Okay, I'm sold!" I scoop her up in my arms, kissing her passionately under the mistletoe.

Natsuki laughed as I broke the kiss, "Idiot. We'll never be able to perform that as a duet if you do that."

"As a duet?" I blink.

"We've been cordially invited by one Mai Tokiha to go to Christmas Karaoke. Since you and I are a couple, I thought, hey, why not a duet?"

Oh, this girl. This amazing, wonderful girl. What on earth am I going to do with her? Well, besides the obvious.

Natsuki seemed to sense where my thoughts were going…probably due to where I was actively carrying her, "Down girl. The decorations won't hang themselves."

"Ikezu!" I pout, but I return her to her feet.

"It'll go faster if you help," She suggested. Well, never let it be said that I'm unreasonable. I'm sure we set a record for decorating an apartment.

Which led to Natsuki and myself, unadorned save for a blanket around the two of us, and a red and gold ribbon that I had playfully tied into a bow in her hair, looking into one another's eyes, smiling.

"And what does Natsuki want for Christmas?" I grin at her.

"Well," she looked thoughtful, then grinned, "I've been kinda naughty, I think. I mean, I just unwrapped my gift and everything, and it's not even the 25th yet."

I had to giggle, "Oh, but I am hardly innocent of that, myself. Aside from which, Natsuki is a gift I prefer to unwrap daily, so I feel I should give her something else for Christmas."

"I've got everything I want, Shizuru," She leaned forward, kissing me, "So whatever you want to do, I'll be happy. Just so long as it's not the tea of the month club."

"Is that what Natsuki has gotten for me?" I grin.

"You'd see that one coming a mile away," She said, gently flicking my forehead, "No, I have something a little different in mind for you."

We dress for dinner, and then after our meal we rehearse the song as a duet. I have to focus not to break character. Natsuki suggested we switch roles, with her being the one doing the traditionally female part, but I shake my head. Too many people seem to feel that I am in control of the relationship, and that is a disservice to Natsuki. What's more, playing the pursuer, even for a song, reminds me too much of when I lost control of myself. And besides, it's nice to be the girl sought after, once in awhile.

The day of the Karaoke party arrives. Mikoto does her best rendition of Jingle Bells. Mai gives us a stunning, and somewhat forceful, rendition of Silver Bells. Nao does a song titled Santa, Baby, with a Santa costume and performance that would definitely earn her a place on the naughty list. Midori, having consumed her share, as well as that of those of us too young to imbibe, did a rather…jumbled version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Shiho did her take of All I Want For Christmas is You, while crawling all over Yuiichi Tate, much to Mai's consternation. Yukino and Haruka did an interesting take, doing two songs that shared one tune. Haruka sang What Child Is This?, whilst Yukino performed the lyrics to Greenesleeves. The two had clearly rehearsed, as they managed to execute it beautifully. Haruka didn't slip into one of her malapropers at any time. Sister Yukariko was not in attendance, having her own child to attend to. Akane and Kazuya were interested in spending the day with just the two of them, a plan echoed by Takumi Tokiha and Akira Okuzaki (the paperwork that had to be filled out to smooth things over when she was revealed to be a girl…), and Fumi, as always, had kept to herself.

Natsuki and I performed our duet to much applause, even a grudging thumbs up from Haruka.

Then Natsuki and I decided to walk the streets of Fuuka to look at the Christmas lights.

We paused by a bridge over a riverwalk, and Natsuki cleared her throat.

"Um…Merry Christmas, Shizuru. I…hope you like it."

I opened the box, curiously, and found, to my surprise, a flower shaped brooch crafted of silver petals and gold center. The flower was a common daisy, and there was an inscription in gold on the petals. It read "They're doing their best to bloom before they die."

I closed my eyes, smiling, "My first words to you?"

"And the flower that started it all," Natsuki confirmed.

She pinned the brooch to my blouse, smiling.

"Then this," I produced a box, "Is for you, Natuski."

She opened the box to find crystal with an image etched into it. The image was one she knew well. It was a photograph of her, as a small girl, with her parents on either side of her and a Great Schnauzer sitting next to her. Her sole copy of this picture had been badly burned in the accident that had left her mother dead and her comatose for a time. As it happened, her father had a copy of the same picture, and it was intact. Borrowing that, I had this crystal made up for her.

"There is a special base back at the apartment," I said, "Which will allow you to illuminate it."

She smiled softly, "Thank you, Shizuru."

"Merry Christmas, Natsuki."

"Merry Christmas, Shizuru," she replied.

We held onto each other for warmth on the way home, where we could chase away the chill with cocoa and each other.

A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone.