He had planned to kiss her in their apartment on Christmas Eve, in the seclusion of their shared living space, where it was cozy and warm and private.

He did not plan on a spontaneous kiss out in the city. He wasn't a spontaneous person by nature and preferred to have a well-thought-out plan to acting at random.

But on Christmas Eve, they took an evening walk to see the lights.

The expressions on her face were wonderful to watch; the joy and happiness as she pointed out the twinkling lights in trees and across bridges, or little Christmas trees in apartments, lighting up otherwise dark windows. It was as if she had never seen them before, when he knew perfectly well that she had - she had been reborn, after all.

Ioryogi was particularly annoyed at the fact that she was acting as if she'd never seen Christmas lights. At a moment when there were no other people around them, he finally made a noise that sounded like feh before jumping out of her purse and darting into the nearby bushes.

"Ioryogi-san! Where are you going? Don't you want to see the lights?" she called after him, clearly startled by his actions.

"No! I'll catch up with you later," he snapped, and he disappeared.

"Don't worry about him," Kiyokazu said quickly, squeezing her fingers and gently lacing his into hers.

She nodded sadly and said, "I don't know why he doesn't enjoy them."

"I'm sure he does. Maybe he just wants to visit friends."

"Maybe so."

He didn't voice the opinion that perhaps Ioryogi had disappeared yet again to give them time alone.

He still didn't plan on being spontaneous, though.

It wasn't until they were almost back to their apartment, crossing through a small, otherwise empty park, that he acted without thought. She was pointing out how the little fountain looked so pretty all lit up from within, even though it was always like that and not just at Christmas, when he realized they were quite alone and the park was deserted. She turned that bright smile to him and it took his breath away.

Without thinking, he cupped her face and leaned down quickly to kiss her before she could pull away. His lips brushed hers, soft and breathless; he felt the way she stiffened in surprise, followed by the wonderful way she leaned towards him, trying to kiss him more deeply. Her fingers curled around the lapels of his coat and his hand shifted to cup the back of her neck. The kiss melted into something warmer, something with a touch more heat, and abruptly, Kiyokazu wrenched away, gasping slightly. If he wasn't careful, he would get ahead of himself. When he met her gaze, he realized her face was flushed and her pupils dilated. She tried to pull him down again, instinctively - but he caught her hands and pulled her into a hug.

"No, not here," he murmured against her hair. "It's too exposed. I should have waited..."

She shook her head fiercely. "I'm glad you did. I've wanted to for so long..." Her fingers clenched into the fabric of his coat, her forehead rested against his chest, and she whispered, "It was so much better than reading about it or hearing the other girls talk about it... Kiyo-kun..."

He couldn't help but smile. He could understand how that felt, he thought. It had been his first time, too.