It wasn't long before Kano broke away from the kiss and as he did, he kept his eyes closed and tensed his muscles, preparing for the inevitable consequence of his rash decision. Underneath his usual façade, he could feel his face burning. Surprisingly a few moments passed without impact, and he dared to let his eyes flutter halfway open, wondering what her reaction would be. However, no sooner had he done so before arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him back towards the green-haired girl next to him. Again their lips met and the static that flowed through the blond on impact caused him to melt into the girl's arms, wrapping his own around her waist lightly. Her lips were soft and the smell of her shampoo intoxicated Kano.

The kiss was innocent but tinged with a sense of desperation that Kano was sure came mostly from his side of the interaction and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. All at once, the blond felt himself lost to anything but the green-haired girl's movements. It didn't last very long but her taste caused his thoughts to jumble together.

One moment he swore he could see his thoughts being painted in blues and purples, deep shades that swirled around each other as if they were stuck in a waltz of their own but the next moment he could feel sparks wherever she touched him.

As their lips parted, Kano could feel her warm breath was just as shallow as his own as it ghosted across his skin; he slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with the sight of hers half-lidded and her cheeks flushed a bright shade—an image that he couldn't recall ever having seen before and that caused his emotions to go haywire. After taking a minute to catch his breath, he spoke again but this time the blond kept his voice hushed.

"Now what?" The words were barely louder than a whisper but in the stillness between the two, they seemed to resonate. The girl only shrugged, eyes still nearly closed and semi-distant. As she sat before him, a stark contrast to her leader self, she looked so vulnerable and open that the sight took Shuuya's breath away.

"Do we need to figure that out right now..?" Just as quietly as he'd asked, she responded, tugging lightly at his collar where her hands sat, subtly letting him know of that she was just as selfish as he was and that the conversation was to be put on halt. A wave of relief swept over him and without reasoning through it and further—otherwise he'd overthink it—Shuuya took the hint and brought his lips back to hers, a newfound fire simmering behind the touch. As her lips moved on his, some force drew them together and he moved closer, resting his weight on his elbows while they became more comfortable. Their bodies pressed against each other and the warmth—her warmth—spread through every fiber of his being. At some point, having repositioned to be above her, Shuuya could feel as she greedily drew him closer but he still worried, that he might be resting too much on her frame but as he tried to move away slightly, she carefully wrapped her leg around his and brought him back to where he had been.

Her grasp on him tightened and in that moment, he couldn't think of anytime he'd felt safer than he did in the jade-haired girl's arms right then; time moved slowly as they kissed and before he knew it the two had split apart for breath. He could feel her heartbeat as they sat there and he knew that surely she could feel his heartbeat just as strongly as she pulled him back again to continue the exchange.

As though he could transfer the feelings to her, Shuuya poured his emotions—ten-years having been bottled up—into the kiss and with every motion, Tsubomi responded with her own. It was inevitable, the air seemed to say, that they would end up like this, and each movement seemed to reaffirm this idea with the naturalness in which it came. Even as they separated for air, they both continued to pull back to the embrace, growing steadily more heated as the temperature of the room rose around them.

Neither had ever experienced anything like the kisses they shared and for that instant, all of the hardships and trials that had previously scarred their persons dissipated into nothingness—the two broken halves making a perfectly imperfect soul. The longer the two stayed in contact, the hungrier Shuuya found himself becoming; he felt as though her touch alone had fixed some part of himself and that feeling was what caused him to pull away from the kiss.

His breathing ragged, Shuuya finally pulled away, resting his forehead on the girl's shoulder and loosening his grasp around her waist. Tsubomi leaned her head back and the blond could feel as she too attempted to regain whatever sense of composure she could. In a way, the scene could be taken as comical (what with the way these two had been together for so long but only now would they truly say they were together) but Shuuya couldn't bring himself to laugh; instead, he carefully lifted himself slightly—not wanting to burden his companion too much with his weight—and shifted to bury his face in her neck. The passion of the kiss still coursed through his body and he found himself wanting to say the three words that could change everything but the lingering panic was also still there.

The television droned on quietly still but he knew she'd heard him when he spoke by the way he could feel her tense.

"Tsubomi?" he inquired softly, "Is it okay for me to say I love you…?" After a short pause, she responded with a weak chuckle, her hand finding its way to softly mess with his hair.

"Only if it's alright for me to say it too…"

A/N: Well, it's late but Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas to everyone who has followed Road Trip up to this point but especially to a good friend of mine who I'd like this to kinda be dedicated to (I guess that's the right word?)

I apologize first for not having updated for a very long time. I've had an interesting year and I'll just say that I'm glad to see 2016 ending! Secondly, directed to my good friend, thank you very much for being a support through this all and for being a wonderful Kido. I hope to continue to become better so that I don't worry you as much!

Either way, I hope everyone has/had a wonderful holiday season and hopefully you'll continue to look forward to and support my stories.