Chapter Text
“Sorry, what?”
Nene was currently incapable of stringing together actual sentences that didn’t consist of inhumane screeching or half-intelligible demands and was, therefor, indisposed to actually reacting. She had both hands slapped firmly over her face. Hanako was left to fend for himself on this one.
They squeaked out a reply in unison, tinny voices mingling together, “We can feel your bond too, Honorable No. Seven! Thank you, thank you! Sweet, sweet wife!”
That was either his soul, or a cold breath leaving him in a wheeze. It floated away merrily from the truly horrifying amount of awkwardness in that scene, yikes.
The Mokke chittered happily at the both of them, probably ignoring the fact that neither of them were reacting in any way an actual married couple, or just thought that humans were just that weird. They all left with a spring to their hops, leaving Nene a pile of candy, a revelation, and a gob smacked husband (?!).
“H-Hanako-san...” she stuttered out, peeking out from between her fingers up at him. Heat rose to her face, burned the underside of her fingers.
Nene may have only known Hanako for a week, but she was pretty sure she was right when she thought that the flustered mess in front of her wasn’t the norm.
“I didn’t think it counted since we were both—” he gestured at the air between them, “Not fishes. And I’m dead. And you’re not.”
He spluttered for a little while there, grasping at the air every other second, “I—I’m sorry. But! But, look! It doesn’t count, y’know? There isn’t a certificate, right?!”
It seemed more like he was demanding an answer than giving it, but—
Nene stared up at him, hands slipping away from her face, “…Uhm.”
That stopped the half-garbled mess gushing out of him, made him stop and actually look at her and he looked away, to the side, one hand coming up to scratch at the back of his ear, “I am sorry. I really didn’t think it would count.”
He sighed, the hand behind his ear now tugging his cap down, “I know this isn’t exactly what you were dreaming of, but it doesn’t have to count if you don’t want it to.”
He was standing in front of her, hat in his hands and oh, he looked like a normal boy.
He smiled at her, then, and Nene thought, He’s right. This wasn’t exactly what she had wanted. She had wanted a tall prince, she wanted a snow white wedding dress and flowers to line the way to her happily ever after.
Hanako wasn’t even her type! And he was a ghost! Which really should have been the first point to make even in her mental space but—
“…it’s okay,” she said, softly, hands coming up to tug at Hanako’s sleeves, missing the way his breath hitched at the contact, “It…really wasn’t what I wanted. But—”
She swallowed, “You saved me, just now and when we first met. I don’t like cleaning bathrooms but,” she grinned, eyes creasing into happy little crescents, “I do appreciate all you’ve done for me!”
“S-So,” she continued on, “I’m…okay with this, for now. Until I can get married for real!” and it wasn’t until she was panting did she realize her voice had been growing in volume, finishing it off with a shout. She squirmed, “I don’t mind being friends.”
Hanako’s eyes were closed; face slightly turned away, and his voice was quiet, “Thank you.”
The grip she had on his clothes tightened, “…Hanako-kun,” she said, and his knees shook, let him fall on the floor in a graceless heap, ripped his eyes open and left him unable to tear his eyes away at the flush dusting her cheeks, “That way it sounds a little more like we’re friends, right?”
Hanako looked at the fingers gripping his clothes, the smile on her face, and thought:
Shit.