Chapter Text
“Ruby, what keeps you up at night?”
Ruby thought quietly for a moment, fisting the bed sheets as she stared at Yoshiko. Then she spoke. “Nothing really, besides horror movies. Why do you ask?”
Yoshiko was silent. Then she sighed and whispered, “Sometimes, I think about whether or not I'm going to die alone. I think about how maybe one day, the people I love will get tired of me and leave me. And I stay awake, thinking about that.”
“Yoshi, you know I'll never leave you.”
“Ruby, I try to tell myself that. And I know logically, I think you'd never really do that to me. But deep down, I think I am destined to be alone, and one day, everyone will leave me for good.”
...
Yoshiko never thought that someone would love her. She told herself at first that it was because she was a fallen angel; a species that was ethereal yet cursed, someone who could never do mortal things such as having friends or having a partner due to her upbringing. But in reality, it was because she felt it wasn’t something she deserved. Having someone so close to her, someone who would support her no matter what, someone who wouldn’t judge her, was an idea both amazing but unrealistic to her. Would there truly be someone that would be there for her no matter what? She was so spontaneous and unordinary that she always assumed that no one else would be able to handle her, so for the longest time she shut out the idea that she could ever get someone to love her.
She fell in love, oh did she. She fell for the people who’d smile at her on the streets, the waitresses who would compliment her in a sweet voice, the classmates who would say hi to her in the hallways. She fell so easily for people that at times it almost hurt her. It wasn’t hard to find out she liked girls because her heart would flutter and her face would go red every time she saw a girl she liked. It hurt to love so much, especially when she thought that many of them wouldn’t like her back. She had a hard time accepting her feelings, using her fallen angel persona to justify that she maybe didn’t like these people and was just too unearthly for them. She couldn’t fall in love. She didn’t want to have her heart broken. She didn't want to have love, only for it to be stripped away from her.
That was until she met Kurosawa Ruby. A girl who, unlike most people, was supportive of her persona. Rather than walk away or deny it, she would ask her questions about it, and seemed genuinely interested. She was honest about her intrigue, and didn’t seem to hide anything from her, something that drew Yoshiko closer. Yoshiko realized after some time that like countless others, she had fallen for Ruby. She didn’t think much of it, and like usual denied her feelings to herself.
Then Ruby shocked her by confessing to her with a bouquet of red roses and tulips. It caught Yoshiko off guard, and at first she even thought it was a joke. The determined look on Ruby’s face, however, told her otherwise. That day became the first time she ever told anyone about her feelings for them, and also became the day that Ruby and Yoshiko became a couple.
Yoshiko thought she could never fall any harder for Ruby, but every conversation they had gave her even more reasons to love her. She fell for every small thing she did, like when her eyes brightened up at seeing something she loved, or when her cheeks went pink at any praise given to her. The way she scrunched her face when she put her pigtails up or how she could ramble on for hours about anything she loved. All those things made Yoshiko feel more and more affection for her girlfriend, which allowed her to slowly open up to her.
Ruby made Yoshiko want to be herself, a feeling she'd never thought she'd have with anyone. When she was around Ruby, she didn't just want to be Yohane, she also wanted to be Yoshiko. It was an amazing feeling. It made her feel more open and free than ever before, and it made Yoshiko want to stay with Ruby forever. There were times where Yoshiko felt that she didn’t deserve Ruby, and that one day she’d be alone once again. One day Ruby would just leave her. But each day she saw Ruby, those thoughts went out of her mind. She loved Ruby enough to forget about her own insecurities. So when Ruby proposed to Yoshiko with a beautiful ring, she couldn't dream of saying no.
Now here Yoshiko was, standing in front of a mirror in a large dress. The dress was purple, with black lace at the ends of the skirt and collar. It looked almost like her Yohane dress, except more formal and elegant looking. It was strapless with a v neck, which made her dress reveal her neck and collarbone. Her hair was up in a bun, decorated with lilacs and black roses. She wore jewelry on her neck and wrists, the sapphires and moonstones on the silver chains shining in the light. Behind her were her friends putting the final touches on her. You was busy stitching the last pieces of her dress together, stitching on loose pieces of lace, while Mari was spraying massive amounts of hairspray on her bun, making sure it stays up.
“Hey Yoshiko, you nervous?”, You asked through the pins in her mouth. There was a small hint of concern in her voice. Before Yoshiko could answer Mari spoke up.
“Of course she is! It's her big day after all.” She held the flowers onto her bun as she sprayed in heavy amounts. “It would be natural for her to be scared.”
“I-I’m not nervous”, Yoshiko responded. “A-A fallen angel is never nervous!” She attempted to be smug, but her smirk faltered.
Mari and You gave each other knowing looks, their eyebrows raised. Mari put a gently hand on Yoshiko’s shoulder. “Don't worry about anything. I bet Ruby is just as scared as you are. Everything will go perfect.” She winked smugly. “Since you know, I planned everything.”
“Against their own will”, You muttered. She wasn't wrong. When she found out her friends were getting married, Mari had insisted on giving them a large, western styled wedding. Despite small protests from the couple that they wanted something smaller, Mari went with her plan anyway. She glared at You before looking back at Yoshiko.
“Don't sweat it. Just relax.”
She patted her bun once before clapping her hands together. “Ah! You look so pretty! Shiny!”
Yoshiko looked at herself in the mirror, and tried to hide her smile. She didn't want to call herself a narcissist, but she did look really good. The dress suited her well, and showed off her best assets. You took out the pins in her mouth and stood up to look at Yoshiko, an impressed look on her face.
“Yoshiko does look good. I'm glad the dress turned out well”, You said in satisfaction.
“The dress is perfect. It works for me”, Yoshiko whispered shyly in reply. She remembered how long it took You just to choose the colors for her dress. It took months to get an overall design of the dress. In the end her hard work really paid off, and Yoshiko couldn't be more than happy with the results. “Um, t-thank you guys, for everything you've done.”
“Oh, our little girl is growing up.” Mari wiped away fake tears. “I'm so proud. You're becoming such a big girl.” Yoshiko rolled eyes before grabbing both of them into a hug.
“Careful, you don't want to mess up the dress before the ceremony has even started.” You broke away from the hug, and grabbed Yoshiko’s hand. “I think it's time to go out there, actually. Are you ready?”
Yoshiko nodded. “I think I'm ready.”
…
Yoshiko walked into the hall, the large doors opening up for her. Her black laced veil elegantly flowed down her shoulders. Holding her arm was Riko, her maid of honor, in a rather dashing suit with her hair up in a ponytail. The hall was decorated with large purple and white ribbons and balloons. There were flowers decorated everywhere on the windows; lilacs, roses, and candytuft. A large, golden chandelier was in the middle of the hall, shining brightly. Thanks to Mari’s evergrowing wealth, Yoshiko and Ruby could get a luxurious place to get married in.
She looked around and saw the faces of everyone near and dear to her. Her parents were there, her mother smiling brightly at her as she held her father’s hand. Her heart warmed at the sight of her mother beaming at her. She saw Ruby’s parents, who despite looking stern also looked proud and excited for their daughter’s marriage. Her friends, the bridesmaids, were under the wedding arch, all wearing purple and white dresses and holding the same flowers as the ones on the windowsill. Chika was fanning herself dramatically when she saw Yoshiko, and You rolled her eyes in response. Mari was excitedly waving at Yoshiko, while Kanan stood next to her, face dazzling. Hanamaru was jumping up and down at Yoshiko, grinning ear to ear.
Yoshiko felt her face grow warm and seeing everyone there, that she almost barely heard Riko’s words.
“Yocchan, you’re sweating.”
Yoshiko blinked in surprise, looking at Riko, and almost freaked out until she heard Riko chuckle quietly.
“I'm kidding, it's ok. I just want you to calm down. It's going to be fine. No need to be so tense, Yocchan.”
“Everyone keeps telling me the same thing. Is it really that obvious?”, Yoshiko said, a small frown forming on her face.
“Yocchan, your face has been red the whole day and you've been stuttering this entire time. You're nervous Everyone can see that.” The grip on her arm grew tighter. “Don't worry about anything. Ruby loves you. Nothing wrong will happen. Calm. Down.”
Yoshiko took a few deep breaths, trying to be as tranquil as possible. She felt herself physically relax. “T-Thank you Riri.” Riko just nodded in return. When they were at their destination, Yoshiko turned around to look at the crowd. Riko moved back with the rest of the bridesmaids, grabbing Chika’s waist and giggling with everyone else.
Wedding bells started to chime as the flower girls came out and threw petals everywhere, making them dance around in the hall. Immediately after came Ruby, looking down shyly as everyone gasped at her appearance. She was in a long, white dress, with frills and lace at the ends. Her dress was much more modest than Yoshiko’s, as it covered her collarbone and had long sleeves. She had long gold chains cover her neck and wrists, which were adorned with opals. A small crown rested on her head, which held up her veil. Her red hair was out, a sea of red flowing down to her chest. Holding her arm was Dia, who looked more proud of her sister than ever before.
Yoshiko held in her breath as she watched Ruby walk up to her. It was the first time she saw her in her wedding dress, and she was speechless. Ruby looked up and felt her jaw drop at the sight Yoshiko. When she was finally up with Yoshiko, they both turned around to look at each other.
“You look beautiful.”
“You look so pretty.”
They had both whispered to each other at the same time and blushed profoundly in response. Soon everything grew quiet as the officiant came out and started reading from his book. Yoshiko and Ruby kept giving each other glances of affection as he read, and occasionally their friends would snicker at something. After what felt like hours, it was time for the vows. The couple had decided to write their own speeches for the vows, since they wanted everything to be as sentimental as possible. Ruby started with hers. She straightened out her dress and fixed her posture as she started.
“Y-Yoshi”, she said with a stutter. She played with her hands as she looked down. “W-When I first met you all those years ago, I thought you were amazing. I loved how confident you acted in yourself and how cool you acted around others. It was something that I admired, truth be told. But I noticed there was also another side to you, one that you didn't want to show people. You weren't just Yohane, you were something more than that. And...I wanted to find that side of you, so, so badly. I think that's what made me fall for you the first time, seeing those small moments of you showing a different side to yourself.” She looked back up at Yoshiko. Her face was shining.
“I didn't expect you to say yes to my confession, since you seemed way too cool for me, but when you did I was so happy! And ever since then I’ve loved spending time with you. Every little moment spent with you makes me the happiest person on Earth, and even if you’re sometimes hopeless when it comes to romance, I still think you’re a wonderful partner.” Ruby’s eyes started getting teary, but she held herself together. She kept her voice stable as she finished her speech. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Tsushima Yoshiko, I want to be your wife. I love you.” Ruby smiled up at Yoshiko, fondness in her eyes. Yoshiko smiled back warmly, before starting her own speech.
“Um, uh…” She coughed awkwardly, looking away. “Um, I’m not really good at this romantic shit.” The room burst with laughter, and even Yoshiko laughed quietly at her words.
“But um, Ruby, you showed me something that I thought I’d never have. Back in highschool, when I was really dumb and young, you didn’t talk down to me. You didn’t treat me like I was weird, or dumb, or any different. You respected me, which was new to me. You were interested in what I liked, which was also new. I felt comfortable around you. Like I could say anything to you and you wouldn’t think any different of me. That’s why I fell for you.”
“I thought you didn’t feel the same way until you confessed to me. I’m going to be honest, I was so shocked that I thought at first you were joking. But when I realized you were genuine, I felt...felt...felt something deep for you. It was love, Ruby. I fell in love with you for the second time. I didn’t even know that was possible, but it happened. And then I kept falling for you, over and over again. And each time I fell, I fell hard. And…” She thought about how to continue, but there was so much to say. Too much to say. Ruby had changed her life so much. She improved it, made it worth living. There were so many things she did, so many amazing things. And now Ruby was now going to be hers forever.
Ruby was going to be hers forever.
There would be no chance of Ruby leaving anymore. All those terrible thoughts she had in the past about being alone, about everyone leaving her, were now going to be gone forever. Because she’d have Ruby. Ruby would be by her side for everything, because she was going to be her wife, her eternal partner. Yoshiko wasn’t going to be alone. She wasn’t going to be lonely. She wasn’t going to die alone. She would be with someone else for the rest of her life. The thought hit her hard, and she put her hand over her mouth and started to sob into it. Thick tears rolled down her cheek as she looked down. She cried out the former darkness in her heart out and replaced it with a new unfamiliar yet welcome warmth.
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, and then felt wetness on her chest. Ruby had grabbed her into a hug, and was now sobbing as well. Her grip on Yoshiko was hard yet gentle and loving. The couple stood there, hugging each other as they cried with everything they had. Soon, Ruby broke away, and wiped the tears off Yoshiko. The other couldn't hide her small smile as she wiped Ruby’s.
“Jeez, that was a mess.” Yoshiko’s voice was strained and quiet. She chuckled as she wiped the rest of her tears away. “Kurosawa Ruby, I know I'm totally useless when it comes to romance and I know that I'm not very good at words, but I'm so glad to be with you. I’m so happy that I’m becoming your wife. I love you, Ruby.” She finally finished her speech, and left the hall completely speechless. There wasn't a single dry eye. Everyone had been crying at both their speeches, but it seemed Yoshiko’s sudden tears had struck a chord with many.
After a few moments of blissful silence, the ring bearer came and brought the rings to the couple. The officiant spoke as they both got their rings. They both looked at each other, fiery red meeting sky blue, nothing but pure, undying love in their eyes.
“Do you, Tsushima Yoshiko, take Kurosawa Ruby as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Kurosawa Ruby, take Tsushima Yoshiko as your lawfully wedded wife.”
“I do.”
There was not a single sound of hesitation in each of their voices, both the most confident they've ever been in their lives.
“You may now kis-”
Before the officiant could finish, Ruby jumped on Yoshiko and captured her lips with her own. Yoshiko wrapped her arms around Ruby’s neck, pulling her closer. When they broke apart, they laughed loudly as they twirled each other around, their hands on each other's waists. The hall became immensely loud, filled with tears and laughter, emotions of happiness and happiness filling the room. Yoshiko’s mother was hugging her husband hard, her face shining with happiness. The bridesmaids were all sniffling but grinning widely. Mari was the loudest crier, holding onto Kanan as she sobbed hysterically into her.
Through all the commotion, Ruby went to Yoshiko’s ears and whispered.
“You’re such a dork, Yoshi.” Yoshiko didn't hold back her grin as she grabbed Ruby's cheeks and pulled her face to her own.
"But now I'm your dork."