He snapped out of his temporary daze when she touched him, eyes locking on her hand on his. What was he thinking? Obviously the holidays did something to a person -- made them think things or get swept up in the moment. Because in that moment, he was almost pulled toward her by some unseen magnetic force. In that moment, he desired to be close to her -- to step in and eliminate the space between them. But thankfully for him, Lucy had pulled him back to awareness.

Because...anything more than casual flirting would complicate things, right? He had a position in the Shinsengumi to maintain (and a higher ranking position to obtain) -- Sougo couldn't afford the distractions.

"What kind of trump card is that?" He playfully belittled her. "Can I get a better one?"