"Eh? You got me something too, Umi?"
"Of course I did. It's not right for me to just get something from you and give you nothing in return."
What Umi took out of her pajama pocket was, just like mine, a small box whose contents I could roughly guess.
"Merry Christmas, Maki."
"Thank you, Umi… Can I open it now?"
"Of course."
When I slowly opened it, there was a sparkling ring, just like before.
It's quite simple compared to the one I gave Umi, but while it's understated, the material is wonderful and looks like I could wear it for years.
"......"
"......"
""…Hehehe.""
We were so much in sync that we both bursted out laughing at the same time.
Since we're so alike, it would be weirder if we didn't end up together.
I don't know if the two of us are really connected by the red string of fate or whatever.
[Note: The "red string of fate" (運命の赤い糸, unmei no akai ito) is an East Asian belief, particularly common in Japan, that two people destined to be together are invisibly connected by a red thread tied around their fingers. No matter how far apart they are or how their lives diverge, the string will eventually draw them together.]
But we were such a perfectly matched lovey-dovey couple that we didn't care about fate.
"When you went out to buy a present, Maki, I actually went to choose one with Nakamura-san too. And we bought them at the same store."
"We just missed each other… could it be that you also anticipated this to some extent, Umi…"
"I didn't expect you to propose, though… Maki, I'll put it on for you too."
"Oh, yeah."
Normally, it'd be worn on the index finger instead of the ring finger… but luckily, our finger sizes were almost the same, so it fits my left ring finger perfectly.
…I'm filled with a great sense of happiness, but I have to be prepared for everyone to be completely exasperated with us after this, and for them to tease us relentlessly for the rest of this year and into the next.
Well, that's beside the point.
"…Umi."
"…Maki."
"Um… well then, shall we turn off the lights soon?"
"…Hehe."
"I-I'm turning them off."
"......"
As if in reply, Umi hugged me clingingly.
Umi's soft chest, her smooth skin, her white neck, are right in front of my eyes.
I'm excited, of course, and my body seemed to be ready in response, but my heart was surprisingly calm, and my chest felt warm and fuzzy.
"Hey, Maki."
"Y-yeah."
"Let's be really happy from now on, okay?"
"…Yeah, together forever from now on."
I turned off the lights with the remote, and in the pitch black, Umi and I laid down on the bed, pressed tightly together.
"Umi, well then…"
"Yeah. Come here."
The Christmas night for just the two of us passed by slowly, quietly.