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“Does it ever bother you?”
“Does what ever bother me?”
“The fact that we can’t get married.”
Trisha knew why the question had been asked. They were making their way back up the hill towards the white and green house, hand in hand as they meandered along under the influence of just a little bit too much champagne. Well, she was meandering along under the influence of champagne. Van’s unusualness meant that getting drunk wasn’t really possible for him no matter how much he imbibed, so he was perfectly capable of walking in a straight line, but since she was hanging onto him, he had ended up serpentining around just as much as she was.
It had been Sarah and Yuriy’s wedding day. Well, it was past midnight now so technically yesterday had been Sarah and Yuriy’s wedding day, but since Trisha was still wearing her bridesmaid’s dress and still had her somewhat wilted posy in the hand that was not holding Van’s, she was counting this as still the wedding day. Although everyone’s attention had rightly been centred on the happy couple for the majority of the day, there had been more than enough excited comments asking her when she and Van were going to tie the knot, especially after she had caught Sarah’s bouquet. It wasn’t a question that she minded; it was only natural for people to ask it of a young woman in a committed relationship. She just shrugged and said that it would happen when the time was right. She couldn’t exactly explain to everyone that Van didn’t legally exist so therefore trying to sign a register with him would be a tad difficult.
She thought about Van’s question. In all honesty, it didn’t bother her. In fact, she thought that it probably bothered Van more than it bothered her. He had lived a long life, and having a wife and a family had always been the ongoing dream of that long life, but he had never, until her, met someone he wanted to share that life with and create that family with. Now she was here, and he wanted them to be married and start a family, but the very fact of his exceedingly long life meant that they couldn’t.
“No,” she said eventually. “I mean, of course it would be nice to have a big party and a cake and wear a nice dress for a day, but that’s not the be all and end all of a relationship, is it? You love me, I love you, we know that we love each other. We don’t need to make vows in front of people to know that love and to trust in it.”
“I know. I suppose it’s not just the celebration of it all, or the ceremony. It’s more…” Van trailed off, no doubt trying to find the right words. For all his depth and breadth of knowledge on so many subjects, love and romance were things that he always felt himself woefully underprepared in. Trisha was more than happy to help him out whenever he was floundering like this.
“It’s a demonstration,” she said. “It shows everyone else what we already feel for each other. It makes those feelings public and proven.”
“Yes,” Van said. “Yes, I think that’s what I’m getting at.”
Trisha shrugged. “I don’t need that. I don’t need people’s approval. Goodness knows I’ve never sought it out before. I don’t need to feel or look respectable or traditional in that sense. All I care about is that I’m happy and respected in this life and in this relationship.” She paused at the garden gate, turning to face him and squeezing his hand. “And I know I am, so that’s all that matters.”
“I’m glad you feel that way.” He let them through the gate, but did not lead her up to the house just yet. “I think there’s a part of me that still wants to do something to commemorate our relationship though. Something that’s a symbol of the fact that we want this to last as long as possible.”
‘Forever’ was a word that did not sit well with Van, not when he still had not worked out how to regain his mortality. The thought that he could indeed last forever whilst knowing that she wouldn’t was a frightening one to him, and he avoided discussing it as much as he could.
“We can do that,” she said. “I mean, what is a wedding, really? If you want to get technical, then a marriage is just two people signing a document to say they’ll spend the rest of their lives together. It’s a cynical description, but that’s all it is. A wedding… A wedding is just two people saying that they’ll spend the rest of their lives together. It’s dressed up with fancy words and all the rest of the pomp and circumstance, but that’s all it is. And really, that’s all we need.” She smiled, slipping her arms around Van’s neck. “We can have our own little wedding right now, if you want. Right here in the garden.”
“Not right now,” Van said. “There should be a ring first, don’t you think?”
Trisha raised an eyebrow. “Well, a ring is usually traditional. Do you have a ring?”
“I can, if you give me a few minutes.” He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles before heading into the house, leaving Trisha standing in the garden under a bright full moon, the gentle breeze of a warm June night tugging at her hair. She had to smile to herself at the thought of having a wedding now, so spontaneously. So much planning had gone into Sarah’s big day, and she had always known that if she were ever to get married, it would be a much simpler affair. They definitely couldn’t get much simpler than this.
Van returned soon enough, holding a small pouch. She knew what it held; sand from the ruins of Xerxes. He had not taken anything with him when he had first fled the country all those centuries ago, but after he had left Xing and headed back West towards Amestris, he had made one final visit to the place he had once called home, and he had been carrying a piece of it around with him all this time. Despite everything that had happened there, and despite the fact that he would never call it home again, he could not let go of the fact that it had once been his home, and he had once been happy there.
Red alchemic lightning flickered over the pouch for a moment, and he reached inside to produce a ring, with a small clear stone set into it.
Trisha laughed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was magic, but I know enough about alchemy now to know that sand can be turned into glass if you know how.”
Van smiled. “You’re an excellent student.”
He got down on one knee, offering her the ring. “Will you be my wife, Trisha Elric?”
“As long as you’ll be my husband, Van Hohenheim.” She let him slip the ring onto her finger, and she admired it in the moonlight. “Well, that was easy.”
She pulled him to his feet, going in for a long kiss that he gave her readily. They weren’t married, not really, not in the eyes of any kind of law, but they were married in their own eyes, and that was all that mattered really, wasn’t it?