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“Do you wanna grab some lunch after this?”
“Fuck yes, I’m starving. But first I wanna make one more stop, see if I can find a new pair of earrings at that jewelry shop we passed by earlier.”
Walking out of a boutique, a certain tall demon lady joins up with a certain sparkling gem, both with several paper bags in hand. “You got any specific restaurant in mind?” the demon asks as they walk and the gem nods her head enthusiastically.
“Yakiniku because meat and it’s an easy choice.”
“Valid. No complaints from me.”
After a long stressful week of recording and streaming, Advent were given a couple of days to rest. Tired of sleeping till noon and with nothing much to do at home, Nerissa and Biboo both decided to spend time together at a shopping street, going around buying whatever caught their eye.
As Nerissa aptly put it, ‘Retail therapy is the perfect remedy for a Jewelbird’.
Arriving at the jewelry store, Biboo immediately goes to take a seat at one of the stools near the entrance while Nerissa goes to look for the earring section. While she does so, she stumbles upon the ring section and she briefly begins skimming the many rings displayed out of curiosity.
“These are pretty…”
“Looking for a ring to finally propose to Shiori with?” Biboo says loudly from across the store. Nerissa huffs, clearing her throat as she snaps out of her daydream. “No. I was just looking through,” she protests but as she continues her way to the earring section, her cheeks are an unmistakable shade of red.
“No? So you’re not going to marry her?” the gem teases which earns her a hard glare from her friend.
“Of course I’m going to marry her. No one else but me so don’t get any ideas.” Biboo snickers, wholly unbothered while Nerissa goes on. “When I start looking for a ring for her, I’m definitely going to be more picky about it.”
The mood suddenly turns somber as she pauses for a moment. “Besides, I don’t think she’s ready for that yet.”
Saying it out loud no longer hurts Nerissa as much as it did in the beginning.
After all, it wasn’t the first time the thought has crossed her mind. Hell, she’s lost count the number of sleepless nights she’s had thinking about it. Questions like; ‘I wonder when she will be ready to marry me’ as well as ‘When she is, would she even want to marry me?’ just among the few that frequently circle her mind.
The answer she tells herself remains the same.
“I’ll just have to wait for the right time. Wait for her.” Nerissa takes a deep breath and exhales steadily. Yeah. I can wait for her.
“Huh, interesting you say that. I don’t think Shiori feels the same,” Biboo’s words pierce Nerissa’s ears like a fork scraping against a plate. Her brows furrow and she turns her attention towards Biboo who was looking at something else entirely.
“What? Why?”
“Isn’t that her over there?”
Deathly curious and unable to restrain herself, Nerissa abandons the earrings she was willing to sacrifice an early lunch for and makes her way towards Biboo to confirm what the latter was seeing. Lo and behold, it was indeed Shiori. No doubt about it, her hair made it almost impossible to mistake her even in a crowded place.
But that wasn’t only it. The Archiver didn’t appear to be alone.
“Yeah? That’s her shopping with Zeta, what a coincidence. What does that have to do with her thoughts on marriage?” Nerissa stresses.
Biboo gives her a look and points towards the store their fellow genmate just walked in. “Shopping for a wedding dress?”
That sets Nerissa off and it feels as though her heart stops beating for a second.
She thought Biboo was messing with her, but a single glance at the name of the store only serves to prove the gem right. They were in a wedding dress shop. A shop specializing in dresses for weddings that Shiori looked to be eagerly going through.
“I wonder what you would need a wedding dress for,” Biboo notes absentmindedly which causes the alarms in Nerissa’s head to blare all the more louder, telling of the impending doom. Bit by bit, the pieces start falling into place as Nerissa racks her brain for a possible answer.
“There isn’t any special occasion…” she mutters under her breath. “And I don’t remember her mentioning any either, she would’ve told me…”
Getting increasingly concerned with her friend’s near incoherent mumbling, Biboo calls out her name to no response. She tries again but still to no avail. Before the gem has a chance to attempt a third time, a loud scream forces her to cover her ears.
“I’VE NEVER PROPOSED TO HER EITHER!”
Disoriented from the sound, Biboo unfortunately isn’t given a chance to recover when feels a pair of hands grab her firmly by the shoulders then shake her like she was a salt shaker.
“What do I do Biboo?!”
“It’s just a wedding dress. You know how Shiori is, maybe it’s just for fashion,” Biboo groans.
“That’s a wedding dress! You don’t just buy that for no reason!” Nerissa emphasizes, her voice getting louder with every syllable. She pulls away from Biboo and runs a hand through her hair, panicked breaths causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly.
“How could this happen? I thought we had something special… Did she doubt me? Did I do something wrong… Maybe I didn’t show it enough… What if…”
Right as Biboo was able to finally gather her bearings, Nerissa is upon her again – somehow shaking her even more forcefully than before by the shoulders. “I have to win her back, Biboo – I have to find out who Shiori is getting married to!”
Biboo doesn’t even get a word out before Nerissa is barreling out the store, the strongest display of demon magic she has seen from the latter in literal months. “That went from zero to a hundred really quickly.” Picking up her bags and pulling out her phone, Biboo leisurely gets up to follow after Nerissa.
Back in the store, a jeweler hiding behind one of the display cases Nerissa was previously looking at lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank god they’re gone…”
***
“You know I’m kind of surprised, I used to always think Shiori would be the one in the suit.” For over the past five minutes, Biboo had been trying to start a conversation but like all her previous attempts, Nerissa gave no reply. She didn’t appear to even be listening – instead too focused on staring at Shiori through the store window to use any of her other senses.
“I think the other dress looked better…”
Currently the two were hidden behind a conveniently placed bush not too far away from the wedding store Shiori and Zeta were in. Despite the incredible hiding spot however, they weren’t exactly invisible to others. Several passersby had already shot them with weird looks.
Though Biboo didn’t really care and evidently neither did Nerissa, the gem still thinks Shiori would appreciate it if her two genmates didn’t end up on the front page of a newspaper or as a headline in the news.
“Nerissa I think we should get some disguises. Maybe some sunglasses, some hats and some masks, you know like those animes? We stand out too much.”
“The coloring on that dress would look so good with the other…” Nerissa whispers, none of what Biboo just said being heard at all. “Oh is she picking that one… no… no maybe the other… Wait–! They’re leaving! Quick follow them!” the demon exclaims.
Grabbing Biboo by the wrist, Nerissa drags her from one hiding spot to the other, staying out of sight whilst trailing after Shiori and Zeta. The gem was frankly surprised Shiori hadn’t seen or noticed them yet. It was no secret the Archiver had a sharp eye but then it occurred to Biboo that maybe Shiori has already seen them and, like always, will choose to reveal that bit of information when it benefits her.
Nerissa should’ve been aware of this too at the very least, but following the recurring trend that more and more people around her are starting to realize – when it comes to Shiori Novella, Nerissa Ravencroft tends to be more than just a little dense.
“Why are we doing this again?”
“To figure out who she’s marrying Biboo,” Nerissa hisses as she peers over the bench they were hiding behind. “Why don’t you just confront her and ask her?” Nerissa nearly doubles over at the suggestion as if her entire bloodline had been offended.
“She’s never told anyone about this Biboo, not even me. And you know how Shiori is, she’ll do anything to protect us from things that could hurt us. What if she’s getting coerced into marrying whoever this asshole is and is being forced not to tell anyone?”
Biboo had never seen such a leap in mental gymnastics before.
“That’s why I have to win her back with a grand gesture,” Nerissa puffs her chest like she had just said something profound and Biboo lets out a sigh. She supposes she couldn’t argue with that logic.
Though Shiori was generally a very simple girl, she was also a huge fan of knights in shining armor, charming princes and suave suitors. If Nerissa thought she could pull that off, then who was Biboo to stop her? She had tried her best anyway to little to no success.
“They’re moving again, come on this way. That store there.”
Another wedding dress store, a lot more grand than the previous one but with no windows to spy through. Nerissa clicks her tongue in dismay.
“Okay she’s in another store now. Why don’t we just walk in and casually ask her what she’s doing there like it’s a coincidence. That’ll get us some answers right?” Biboo says but like all her previous logical and perfectly sound ideas, Nerissa shoots it down in an instant.
“Then she’ll think I’m getting married to someone else! Why else would I walk into a wedding dress store?” Biboo resists the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. After this whole ordeal is over, the gem really needed to sit Nerissa down and talk about this behavior – preferably with Shiori around lest she implode on herself. Literally.
For now, she would have to persevere and accept whatever came her way with open arms.
“So what’s the plan?”
“I need a different approach… I always thought I’d have more time to plan this but desperate times call for desperate measures.” Nerissa’s eyes sharpen with a resolve Biboo has never seen before. It was almost terrifying. “No matter what happens, I’m going to be the one that stands at the altar with Shiori.”
As Nerissa saunters away to commence her grand plan, Biboo mutters to herself, “This is getting out of beeping control…”
***
“We’re at the jeweler right now… yeah you can meet up with us after. Nerissa? She’s threatening to damn the jeweler to heck right now.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!”
Biboo doesn’t even consider deescalating the situation. She didn’t want to be caught up in whatever was happening there more so than she already was.
“I tried telling her to talk to Shiori but honestly I’ve given up on trying.” Glass shatters somewhere in the store but the gem pays it no mind. “Yeah sure I’ll send you the details. Yeah yeah… over and out.”
The gem pockets her phone right as Nerissa makes her way over, the demon pocketing something of her own. “Did you get it?” the gem asks and Nerissa presses her lips into a thin line, a ‘tsk’ slipping past her lips as she shakes her head.
“Not up to my standard but it’ll have to do. I’ll have to use it as a promise ring for now, I’ll get a better one later.”
Biboo hums, “So we’re still doing this?”
“Of course” Nerissa exclaims, all prior woes forgotten in an instant at the reminder of Shiori. “Hurry Biboo! My future wife awaits me!” while she galivants away, Biboo watches from behind with a small grin. You know, this might just work.
The plan was simple.
Biboo would keep an eye out for when Shiori and Zeta would leave the store while Nerissa would lie in wait for the perfect moment to strike. Admittedly the plan was too simple but Nerissa didn’t have the luxury of time so like everything else, it would have to do.
For the first couple of minutes, the world is dead to Nerissa – no amount of chatter, music or sound capable of pulling her out of her trance. The Demon of Sound accompanied by nothing else but the beat of her own heart and the stuttering in her breath.
For the next couple of minutes, the anxiety finally starts to kick in. Every doubt and uncertainty she’d tried so desperately to keep at bay with confidence and frivolousness constricting her chest like an unforgiving serpent hungry for its next meal.
Placing a hand over her chest, Nerissa takes a deep breath and her eyes flutter close. When she reopens them, it’s just in time to see Biboo frantically waving at her – the signal that meant Shiori and Zeta were on the move.
Nerissa starts scanning the crowd and it doesn’t take long until her eyes land on that familiar head of black and white hair in the distance. In her hand a paper bag, no doubt a wedding dress she had purchased from the store.
A wedding dress she’ll wear to OUR wedding Nerissa says to herself, brimming with pure conviction. She couldn’t afford to hesitate now, the opportune time to strike was now.
The setting was like something ripped straight out of a romance movie. The crowd parted just enough to give Nerissa the perfect view of Shiori right in the middle of the shopping street – her lips curled in that gentle smile of hers. The sun played its part as well, shining on her oh so softly that Nerissa commits the sight to memory.
Mustering all the courage she had, Nerissa calls out to her beloved Archiver. “Shiori!”
Shiori perks up, glancing around for a moment before her eyes meet Nerissa’s. “Rissa…?”
The demon makes her way towards Shiori with confident strides, hiding the way the small box in her pocket weighs down her every step. She balls her hands into fists to steel herself but when she reaches Shiori, the latter is the first to speak.
“What’s going on?” Shiori asks to which Nerissa lets out a half-hearted chuckle in response. Oh Shiori. She didn’t want to beat around the bush. Not any longer.
“Shiori, I know.”
The Archiver is the picture of confusion. Her brow raised and her head slightly tilted to one side. “Know… what exactly?”
“About the marriage.”
“Oh,” Shiori pauses, her eyes glancing down at the paper bag in her hand. “That. Yeah, what about it?” Nerissa feels her heart clench tightly in her chest but she doesn’t let that unmoor her. Rather, she presses onwards and lets the surge of courage course through her veins.
“I’m here to stop you,” she mumbles and Shiori’s face of confusion promptly evolves into one of bewilderment. “Stop me?”
Nerissa nods, taking a daring step forward and grabbing Shiori’s hand to place right above where her heart beats. It was beating so wildly, Nerissa wondered if Shiori could feel it but that would have to be answered at another time. It’s now or never.
“Shiorin, from the moment we first met, I’ve managed to fall in love with you over and over again–”
Shiori’s eyes widened, slowly coming to realize the situation she was in. “Rissa–”
“I love how gentle you are, how reliable you are. How much you take care of not only me but everyone around you. There aren’t simply enough words in this universe to describe how much I love every part of you–”
“Rissa, wait, listen–”
“Your eyes are the treasure a raven like me can only dream of. A salvation every other demon in hell would envy me for. I treasure every moment we have and in all the universes you visit, I’d do anything to be there with you–”
“Thank you Rissa but–”
“But I can’t, so that leads me to ask you Shiorin, at least in this universe…”
Getting down on one knee, her heart hammering against her chest, Nerissa presents the ring and says those four words; “Will you marry me?”
A beat and then another.
Every second that passes is agonizing for Nerissa – all her fears taking root the longer Shiori doesn’t respond. It’s like her life was flashing before her eyes and distantly she wonders if a demon could experience death more than once.
But that doesn’t happen because Shiori is taking the ring and Nerissa feels the closest she’s ever been to heaven before it’s immediately beaten out by the next words the Archiver says to her; “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Nerissa wants to leap up and down in joy, wants to gather Shiori up in her arms and kiss her senseless but the latter is quicker, already dragging her up to pull her into a tender kiss. Nerissa accepts it wholeheartedly. She doesn’t even register all the cheers around them, too focused on Shiori and the feeling of the other’s lips on hers.
“I love you Shiorin,” Nerissa says as soon as they pull away and Shiori giggles, light and airy like the birdsongs the demon adores at early dawn. “I can tell,” she teases before giving Nerissa one more peck for good measure. “I love you too.”
As the cheer dies down and adrenaline wears off, Nerissa notices the knowing look becoming more and more apparent on Shiori’s face.
“What?”
“So there wasn’t someone coincidentally following me and Zeta around with a pair of horns like yours.” Nerissa laughs sheepishly as she not so subtly avoids Shiori’s gaze. “...I wanted to know who you were marrying.”
She brings up Shiori’s hand still holding on to the ring and kisses her knuckles, the gesture seeping with reverence. “I promise I’ll get you a better one as soon as I can.”
Shiori hums, not seeming to mind one bit. “Alright, but I do have something to tell you Rissa. It’s really important.”
“What is it?”
The Archiver proceeds to lean in close, her breath tickling the shell of Nerissa’s ear and sending shivers down the demon’s spine. Her grip on the front of Nerissa’s collar is strong as she whispers, “I was never getting married to anyone in the first place.”
Nerissa pulls away, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What? But the wedding dress– why else would you buy one?”
The Archiver snickers as she holds up the offending paper bag, giving it a little spin. “This is for the marriage voice packs. Remember those? They wanted me in a dress for the cover so I had to go out and buy one with Zeta.”
The demon blinks.
She had completely forgotten about that. Working on those was the whole reason they were given a break in the first place.
“So you weren’t…”
“Nope!” Shiori chirps, popping the p. “Don’t worry though Rissa, I’ll give you a second chance to propose. I don’t mind waiting for however long it takes.”
“So you would be down to marry me…?” Nerissa mutters, looking at Shiori like she was a cat caught out in the rain and Shiori sighs fondly, a smile flickering across her face. “I said yes the first time, didn't I?”
That seems to fill Nerissa with all the confidence she needs, standing a little taller and with a certain fire lit behind her red eyes. “Well be prepared, Shiori. I’m going to sweep you off your feet next time, you won’t even know what hit you.”
Shiori doubts that. Subtly and Nerissa weren’t two words you’d often use in the same sentence together but the Archiver dare not say that out loud. Besides, if it would make Nerissa happy, she’ll play along.
“Well I guess I better look forward to it then.”
“You should! Oh and you still have to wear that ring. So no one knows to take you.”
Another fond sigh of exasperation. “Whatever you say Rissa.”
***
“To a job well done Agent Zeta!”
“A job well done Agent Biboo!”
The two clink their glasses of apple juice together before taking a sip. After a long, tiring day, Zeta and Biboo were at the yakiniku place the gem had suggested to Nerissa before everything had gone down.
Shiori and Nerissa were there also, just a table away in their own little world while Biboo and Zeta were chilling with each other.
“Now you can tell people you’re a successful agent,” Biboo says and the agent across from her smiles. “Thank you for the opportunity. I was starting to get worried when you didn’t come in with Nerissa at the first store.”
Biboo laughs, eyeing Nerissa from the corner of her eye as she takes another sip of her apple juice. “Yeah, at least it worked out in the end. Guess we can finally expect an actual marriage ceremony soon.”
“And we can take all the credit.”
They both share a grin and spend the rest of the day congratulating themselves for their hard-earned success.
__________________________________________________
Fin.