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Standing before Ichigo was an outdoor market littered with wooden stalls shaped like tiny cubed homes. At the front of each stall was an opening with a counter to sell a variety of items for the holidays. The tops of the cubicles were covered in white from last night’s snowfall.
Along the pathways were poles wrapped in bright Christmas lights of red and green, and blue and white. Groups of families and teenagers roamed through the streets, leaving a stampede of footprints in the snow. The place looked like a miniature winter town nestled within a snow globe.
In a rush to get to shopping, Ichigo had forgotten a hat, leaving her ears exposed to the cold. At the very least, her thick, pink coat provided much warmth despite constricting her arm movement.
Suddenly, her scarf wrapped around her neck sidled its way up her face to cover her eyes.
“Guess who.” A voice said. Even with her eyes seeing only dark, they rolled upwards.
“Har har. Like I wouldn’t recognize that annoying voice.” She yanked the scarf back down to her neck and turned to face the perpetrator. Yes, it was indeed her favorite blonde haired and blue eyed person.
“Hm. I swear I would’ve fooled you,” Ryou said dryly. “Anyways, how do you always weasel your way into finding me?”
“Me? I was here first.”
“I’ve been here for at least five minutes. You just got here.”
“Maybe you knew I was going to be here, so you made sure to get here before me. So you’re the one who’s always finding me,” she rambled.
“Aren’t you cold?” Ryou interrupted, gesturing to her skirt.
“I have insulated fleece lined leggings.” Ichigo extended a leg up from the ground and brandished the material towards him.
“Why bother with the skirt at all then?” He tugged at the hem of the skirt in emphasis.
“Because it’s cute!” She swung her leg to kick the back of Ryou’s knee. Unfortunately, Ichigo’s kick was no match for Ryou’s deeply honed reflexes. He deflected her leg with lightning speed, pushing it away with an arm. Then, he pointed in the distance before them.
“Look. It’s that boy you like. I think he’s been watching us for a while.” Ichigo yelped, rushing to hide behind Ryou.
"He can't see me like this!"
“Relax. I was joking. He’s not here.” She cast him a hard glare and straightened her skirt. "You almost sound scared of him.”
"What? I'm not scared. What do I have to be scared of? He's the kindest, sweetest boy I have ever met. He’s perfect in every way possible.” The words tumbled from her lips in a frenzied rush.
"If he is so kind, why must you always put on an act for him?"
"I'm not putting on an act," she snapped. "I just— he likes me that way."
"Subdued, demure, and one dimensional?"
" No . He likes me because I'm like him."
"...Sweet and kind?" Ryou asked, clearly skeptical.
"Yes. Exactly that.”
He took a step towards her. Then he cupped her jaw with his hand, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes.
"I think we both know you're not as innocent as you pretend to be." The depth in his voice sent a pool of warmth to her stomach. Ryou leaned down to her face, the tip of his nose nearly brushing her. What was happening to her? Ichigo’s breath grew shallow and her eyes flicked back and forth from his half lidded gaze down to his lips. In response, her own eyes began to flutter shut.
Thwack. Her eyes burst open at the sudden pinch of pain on her forehead.
"Ow!" Ryou had flicked her forehead. Ichigo curled her hands into fists, hoping that her furious heat of a blush was disguised as fury rather than embarrassment. It was an issue, this relationship between the two of them. Always bordering on banter and bickering, dangerously veering into flirtation. No, this was flirtation. For God’s sake, they had nearly kissed, and she was willing .
"You asshole!" She promptly brought the heel of her shoe onto his foot. Ryou stumbled back and away from her stomping feet.
"As I said,” he winced through gritted teeth. “Not so innocent or sweet."
“I can be,” she grumbled.
“That’s the thing, Ichigo. Of course you can be kind and caring, but you’re so much more than that. You’re headstrong, you’re brave, and funny.”
“You think I’m funny?”
“Yes. All of the other girls say so too.” Ichigo had never thought of herself as a particularly entertaining nor funny person. At least, not around Aoyama.
“Here’s a word of advice. If you love someone, you shouldn’t be afraid to be who you are. You shouldn’t have to act like a different person or hide parts of yourself away for fear of shame or rejection.” He spoke softly now, his voice kind instead of taunting.
“I don’t want to be too much,” she confessed.
“Never apologize for who you are, Ichigo.” She stared at the toes of her boots, scuffing them against the snow. His words rang true. Despite how hard she had tried to suppress her anxiety, sorrow, irritation, or any other negative emotion, she knew that who she was with Aoyama was not genuine. The admission however, did not make her feel any better.
They stayed quiet for a moment as the truth settled into her.
“Thank you, Ryou,” she finally said.
"Aren't you here to buy Christmas gifts?” he reminded her. “Let's have a look around." Ryou glanced at her free hand before jerking his head to the stalls for her to follow. It was a subtle, quick glance, but Ichigo took it as a sign of his hesitance.
Ryou being shy? How unbecoming of him, she thought. She reached out and grabbed his hand, to which he raised a brow.
"So I won't get lost," she said haughtily with an upturned nose.
"And you keep my hand warm. A fair trade,” Ryou smiled.
They strolled past a stall wafting strong scents of chocolate and roasted nuts down the path.
“Ooh! Hot chocolate.” Before Ichigo could speak further, Ryou gave her a curt nod, and flecks of snow slid from his blonde hair onto her cheeks.
“Wait here.” He left her standing against a candy cane post and jogged to the nearby concession stand. When he returned, a cup was in his hand. It was decorated with a sketch of a snowman with a tophat and cane standing beside a Christmas tree.
Ryou held out the cup to her. Steam rose from the hot chocolate, its heat melting the bits of snow scattered across her cheeks. Ichigo gladly cupped the warmth between her palms.
“Sorry,” Ryou muttered. With the pad of his thumbs, he gently swiped the moisture from her cheeks and nose. With the sensation of his fingers upon her face, delicate and gentle against her skin, her body grew still. Unconsciously, she held her breath.
“Hello?” Ryou pinched the tip of her cold nose with his fingers. Ichigo shook her head to clear her mind from her daze and sipped from the cup to disguise her lapse in sensibility. Then, she scalded her tongue and lips from the burning heat.
"It's hot," he said.
"You could have warned me," she whined with her tongue hanging from her lips.
"I thought the steam and hot cup was obvious enough," he jibed.
"Why don't I bring this hot chocolate to your lips and pour it down your throat, see how you like it.”
"Ah, but if you’re the one pouring it, I might enjoy it.”
"Prove it.” Ichigo brought the cup to his lips. He took a sip, then winced from the heat.
“Delicious,” he said, blowing a fog of breath in the cold air. A few drops of hot chocolate dribbled down his chin. On impulse and on a brain suddenly devoid of proper judgment, Ichigo went on her tiptoes to swipe her tongue against his skin to lick the drippings. It was a step, a leap into the dangerous territory she had cautioned herself of.
Ryou blinked at her with wide eyes. She wrung her hands together, her heart bursting with anxiety as she awaited his response. No words were said. Should I apologize? Was that too forward? What was I thinking? I clearly was not thinking, doing something like that.
Instead of addressing her act upon her intrusive thought, he pulled her down the path along a line of stalls. She trotted behind his long strides, lightly bounding across the snow to place her steps into his footprints. They slowed to a warmly lit stand with racks of headwear hanging from its sides and sweaters laid across the counter.
Ryou pulled a red Santa hat from its hook and placed it upon her head. He brushed his lips against the shell of her ear before pulling back and shimmying the sides of the hat to cover her cold ears. Now she was the one at a loss for words.
“Your ears are very cold,” he stated. At his nonchalant tone, Ichigo at last came to her senses.
“I’ll choose one for you too.” She pulled off a headband with brown reindeer antlers and clumsily shoved it on his head. He shook his head side to side to make the bells upon the antlers jingle.
“Since I’m Santa and you’re a reindeer, I’m in charge of you now,” Ichigo declared after they departed from the stall.
“Oh yeah? Well I’m going to riot for workers rights since you overwork the reindeer for low wages,” Ryou countered.
“Maybe if you were a better reindeer I would pay you more.”
“You sound a lot like me right now,” he said, hooking her arm around his own.
“At least you’re self aware,” she replied in a light tone. For all of her complaints about Ryou's teasing and choosing to pick on her, she enjoyed the banter. It was actually fun being able to joke and tease Ryou the way he did her. It was a freedom and joy to unabashedly express herself with no constraint.
Ichigo slowed her steps until she stopped in her tracks, pulling Ryou to a stop with her. Then, she let out a laugh.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I was just thinking about your advice.” And how it was exactly as he described it. You didn’t hide yourself with someone you loved. During the time he had spent with her here, Ichigo had not needed to worry about being seen as likable . Ryou, it seemed, liked her as she was. Annoying, stubborn, rambunctious, and everything in between.
“Was I right?” he asked. As he stood there, his hair disheveled from the messy placement of the antlers and, his figure backlit by the blur of twinkling blue fairy lights, Ichigo's lips spread into a wide smile.
“You always are.”