Chapter Text
The two work in companionable silence, the room quiet aside from the rhythmic chopping of a knife hitting a wooden board, the gurgle of water just before hitting the boiling point, and Kallen’s soft hums as she shapes the rice in her hands. Despite the odd (and potentially hazardous) sight of a Kaslana in the kitchen, Kallen has improved in strides thanks to Sakura’s patient tutelage. (The miko ensured that there was always a bucket of water nearby for emergencies after Higokumaru’s tail caught fire.)
Every now and then, Kallen steals glances at her lover, slicing vegetables with an intense focus and ease, graceful even without a katana. She bites her lip, trying not to stare too hard and be accused of ogling or anything. Sakura really looks so pretty doing just about anything. When she’s sweeping leaves from the shrine; training outside in the forest; even when she wakes up in the early morning - her long hair stuck out in all sorts of places like a pink hedgehog and still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She’s just lovely like that.
The Kaslana smiles at the image in her head, mind easily wandering to other places. What she would look like in a wedding gown? She glances back at the woman, mentally replacing her white and pink yukata with a beautiful white gown. It would be backless, with floral lace patterns, maybe shorter than a traditional dress should be, showing off her beautiful toned legs in thigh high tights, and of course with a garter-
“Kallen? Are you okay? Are you developing a fever?”
The silver haired maiden jumps in surprise, blinking three times to come back to her senses, concerned amethyst eyes meeting with her own aquamarine. Caught red handed!
Kallen quickly looks away, back to the familiar ball of rice in her hands, haphazardly sticking a piece of seaweed on it. Nevermind that it’s not as triangular as its brethren or that the seaweed is lopsided. “Yes! And n-no, I'm fine. Just some scattered thoughts is all!” She feels the burn of embarrassment on her cheeks.
After a round of soft chuckling, Sakura thankfully drops the topic and goes back to prepping their meal, moving on to skinning the white radish.
It gives Kallen time to regain control of her heartbeat. "Hey Sakura.."
The pink haired miko twitches an ear, glancing at her lover with a smile. "Yes?"
"I was just wondering…" Kallen bites her lip, uncharacteristically hesitant. "If we were to be wed, whose surname would be taken?"
Sakura pauses in her chopping and stares at Kallen curiously. Her heart skips a beat at the be wed part, but she ignores that for now, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Surname?"
Kallen nods. "Yes! Ok, how does this sound: Kallen Yae!"
Her face scrunches up in discontent. "First of all.. it would be Yae Kallen ." And you don't deserve to be soiled by the Yae name. She does not say that part aloud. "But, why would we exchange names?"
The European's face reddens in another blush. “It's a marriage tradition where I’m from. The bride takes the last name of the husband.”
A sly smile makes its way on Sakura’s lips, a twinkle of amusement in her violet eyes. “Ah. So I am the husband in this scenario?”
The Kaslana shakes her head, the blush deepening to her ears and neck. Now her mind conjures an image of Sakura in a dapper suit and it takes all of her willpower not to openly swoon at the idea. She’d be breathtaking, either way. But oh, how Kallen wishes she could stick her face into that bucket of emergency water. “Neither of us would technically be the husband! We’re both women!”
Sakura chuckles, she's found teasing Kallen to be a fun new pastime, and she’s getting surprisingly effective at it. “Are there any traditions for two women to be wed where you are from?” the cherry-haired miko asks with a tilt of her head.
“No…” Kallen averts her gaze as her expression darkens. Flashes of the suffering faces from her homeland flicker some somewhere behind her gaze. “The Church deems that a union outside of a man and woman sinful. They would have these sinners punished in terrible ways or even sentencing them to death.” She remembers having to protect two young men from a soldier's harassment, the fear in their eyes as he drew a sword, and the immediate relief when she subdued him. Her brows furrow in anger, her blue eyes burning with a righteous fury. “The men that run the Church are the same ones that would wage wars out of greed and power, kill innocents, and let their own people starve!” She's seen so much. Families torn apart. Mother's clutching onto their children, in one last embrace. She trembles, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. For all the lives she's saved, there were millions that continued to suffer.
Calm, steady hands wrap around her waist and Sakura rests her chin on her shoulder, her pink hair tickling the side of Kallen’s cheek, bringing her out of the whirlwind of memories. “The Church does not exist here. Nor do we exchange surnames.” Her hands trail down her arms to hold Kallen’s own, helping her save the rice from the paladin’s wrath and shape it into the proper form. “We would need to go to a * zashiki , write our names and present our offering to the gods. Then we drink from the sacred sake and a priest will pronounce our marriage.”
The tension flows out of her body like an estuary, grounded by the soothing tone in her voice and warm presence. She leans her head back against Sakura’s shoulder. “That sounds... Nice.” A small smile makes its way to her lips, imagining the ceremony the miko described. Sure, Yae Village has its faults, but in this regard Kallen would much rather this tradition than her own country’s.
They stay like that for a while, simply basking in the other's presence.
“Why the sudden question?” Sakura tilts her head, smiling against Kallen’s skin. “Are you proposing?”
She can feel the immediate reaction in Kallen’s body, at the rise in heat as she tenses. “No! I mean - not that I wouldn’t want to, I just-” she shakes her head, and takes a deep breath, gathering her thoughts into something coherent and turns in her arms, giving her a hopeful stare. “I would like to. One day, perhaps?”
Sakura tightens her hold around the shorter woman’s waist with a gentle smile. “Take your time.” She presses a kiss against her temple. “Besides, marriage is merely a formality. You are already mine, as I am yours.”
You are already mine, as I am yours. Kallen all but melts in her arms, burying her face against Sakura’s chest, listening to her heartbeat, slow and calm compared to the thundering in her own ribcage. Somehow this woman makes her so weak and yet, she has the strength to move mountains and carve Sakura’s name into the earth. Nothing compares to the present moment, to every moment with her.