Chapter Text
Like most little girls, Lena dreamed about her wedding day. But as she got older… there was less excitement in the matter. She would more than likely marry for the sake of her family after all. Her marriage would be arranged, as she’d seen happen countless times around her. Thoughts of marrying for anything other than status and politics felt like a far away dream.
But then… things changed, and Lena fell in love.
Suddenly, a whole new world of possibilities opened up. But the most important part was the groom waiting at the altar. No matter how her imagination changed, that part would always stay the same.
Yes… her handsome fiancé. And right now, what Lena wanted most was to see him.
~~~
Shin was slightly slow to wake up that morning. He'd stayed up later than he should’ve on the previous night. For a few minutes after waking, he actually managed to forget the events of yesterday. He went straight for the drawer where he kept the ring–the same way he did every morning since he purchased it. He nearly panicked when it wasn’t there.
And then… Shin remembered. He only hoped he remembered correctly, and hadn’t dreamed it up.
He quickly dressed and headed into the hallway… and there was the proof, right before him, that yes, it was all real.
“Good morning!” Lena beamed–on her finger, the ring glinted, not lost, right where it belonged.
“Good morning.” Said Shin, stepping up and putting his hand on her waist–drawing her in for a kiss.
Lena laughed against his lips, sliding her arms around his shoulders.
“Well someone is in a good mood.”
He smiled, resting his forehead against hers.
“Can you blame me? With everything that happened yesterday… I’m still waiting to wake up.”
Lena pecked his lips again.
“Its not a dream, silly–here, let me show you.”
Their lips met again, and then again as their bodies melted into each other— celebrating the events of yesterday anew–until…
“Good morning love birds. Congrats and all but maybe take it somewhere that doesn’t block the hallway.” Said Raiden as he brushed past them, casting a smirk over his shoulder.
Shin rolled his eyes. Lena laughed as she rested her head against his neck.
“Before we plan anything… we should really get our own place.” He muttered.
“Good idea.” Said Lena, laughing again. “We’ll add it to the to-do list.”
She pulled him by the hand as they went into the dining room, all the while Shin was thinking about how easily he was able to say those words… and how lovely she looked with the ring glinting from her finger.
~~~
The chatter at the table shifted quickly into wedding talk once Shin and Lena arrived. To be perfectly honest, he found himself a bit lost, but he tried his best to engage. Listening to Lena talk about it made him happy.
“So… when is the wedding going to be?” Kurena asked.
“I’m not sure yet. We haven’t had the chance to talk about it.” Lena laughed. “There’s a lot of things to sort out. I’m excited to get married, but I’m not in a rush.”
She smiled at Shin, squeezing his hand. He felt his heart jump just at the mere thought of her, and now he’d get to marry her? It felt unreal, too good to be true.
And yet… seeing as it was happening before his eyes… Why waste time denying it?
~~~
Shin had an extra spring in his step when he returned to work. The elderly owner of the bookstore noticed it quickly.
“Looking extra bright today, Shinei.” he said as Shin tied his apron, “Did something good happen over the weekend?”
“You could say that…”
The old man was thrilled to hear the news. He offered to order a big lunch to celebrate–even said Shin could invite Lena over for it if he wished. Which he was happy to accept.
They chatted during lunch, and for a bit more after while Shin stocked the shelves. Once again, he found himself slightly lost as Lena answered numerous wedding related questions asked by the store owner. But he did his best to pay attention and make mental notes of the things that seemed to excite her most.
Cake… dress… honeymoon…
The honeymoon bit especially caught his attention. A long vacation… just the two of them…
“Have you considered where you’ll go?” The store owner asked.
“Not yet. Hmm… Shin, where would you want to go?” Lena saying his name pulled his wandering mind back into place.
“Me?” He was more keen on going along with what she wanted, but…
“Yes, silly.” Lena smiled, “This is your wedding and honeymoon too! What do you think? No pressure of course, I know how it is.”
Shin tilted his head, trying to think it over as he sliced up the now empty box.
“I think… it would be nice to keep our promise to see the sea.”
It was the only dream he knew how to have, so it was only natural that’s where his mind went.
And maybe it was the right answer (if there was one) because Lena beamed.
“That’s a wonderful idea! And maybe we can travel to other places too, check some things off the list!” Her excitement began to build. She took hold of his hands.
“We wanted to go to all the places we couldn’t before.” She said, “The places obscured by war… maybe this is our chance!”
“That sounds…amazing.” Said Shin, and he meant it, truly.
“But before we can plan that… There are a lot of other things we need to plan.” Lena said. “When you get off work today, do you think you’ll be up to going over some of it?”
“Of course.”
“Wonderful! Okay I’ll let you get back to work, see you later.” She kissed his cheek, but before she could walk away he caught her wrist.
“I think you missed,” he smiled. Lena rolled her eyes.
“Really? That’s so cheesy.”
But… she smiled when she said it, and she still granted his request by kissing his lips anyway.
The store owner smiled, nudging Shin after Lena left.
“Things seem to be going well with the two of you.”
“Yeah…” Shin said softly, his mind clearly elsewhere.
~~~
To do list;
1: Find an apartment
2: Find a venue/pick a date
3: Dress shopping
4: Flowers and decorations
5: Cake and food
And so the list carried on, Lena had apparently been doing some research while Shin was at work. It seemed wedding planning was a very in-depth process.
“I’d like to get an apartment and move before anything else.” Lena said, “But we should also be looking into getting a house, eventually.”
“Right.”
Somewhere with a bit more privacy would be very much welcome.
The apartment would be where they tested out living on their own(together…) It would be where they planned the future. But the house… would be where they lived that future.
Thinking that far out…slightly boggled his mind. Lena seemed to notice the change in his expression, because she reached across the dining table to squeeze his hand.
“We can take this slow.” She said gently, so perceptive, so patient, so…kind.
“Thank you, but I’m alright.”
“Just tell me if you feel overwhelmed, okay?”
“I will.”
Shin was still adjusting to the idea of the future, it was true. But…the one certainty was sitting before him now, the one aspect of his life he wanted to be forever.
That would serve as motivation. He could face anything with her at his side.
“Let’s look at some of those apartment listings you found, yeah?” He said, standing up and moving to sit next to her, rather than across.
“Right… I liked this one!” She said, opening the website.
~~~
They put wedding planning on hold while in the midst of their apartment hunt–to save them both from becoming overwhelmed. Two months of looking and applying passed, until they reluctantly accepted help from Ernst.
“You are going to have a lot on your plates. Allow me to help with this, at the very least.”
Move in day came in the blink of an eye after that.Their friends all offered to help, but Shin and Lena only had a room of possessions each. Even after they fully finished moving in… the apartment was still nearly barren.
It was a whirlwind of chatter and laughter and teasing—along with some congratulations for being the first to move out. Until most of the work was done, and they all stood by the door… a strange feeling washing over each and every one of them.
“Try not to burn the place down with those non-existent cooking skills.” Said Raiden.
“Yeah, gotta say I’m kinda worried. Glad you won’t be making out in the hallway anymore, though.” Theo smirked.
“I’m happy for you two. Take care of yourselves.” Said Anju.
“I’m glad we won’t have to see you making sappy eyes at each other all the time… but not having you around will be weird…” Said Kurena.
“Yeah yeah…” said Shin, but he smiled. It really was strange…
Anju hugged Shin–pulling the other three into it. They stayed that way for a moment.
It wasn’t a goodbye, but it was a big change. Not waking up and seeing them would be an adjustment… but it just meant they were growing up, and moving forward. It would happen to all of them, Shin was simply the first to take that step.
And just as suddenly as it all began, the moment ended… leaving Shin and Lena standing alone in the apartment–their apartment.
“So… what now?” Lena asked.
“Maybe… figure out what to do for dinner?”
“The fridge is empty, we need to figure out grocery shopping.” Lena chuckled weakly.
“Then I guess we’ll order something.”
“Sounds good.”
And so some time later…. The two of them sat on the floor (because they didn’t have a couch or table yet) eating their ordered dinner. The apartment was near empty, and Shin was awash in strange feelings, but… the conversation was pleasant, and the future… was oh so bright.
“Tomorrow…” Said Lena, “you're off right? We need to go shopping, and I think the bed frame and couch are being delivered.”
“I have to put the bed frame together, right? I can handle that.”
“Thank you.” Lena smiled, “Busy day tomorrow, we should get some sleep.”
And so they blew up an air mattress, and got themselves settled–in the warmth of the other’s arms, of course.
“This just got real for me. Is that weird?” Shin asked.
“Not at all.” Said Lena, “There are so many exciting things ahead for us, I think I might have trouble sleeping tonight thinking about all of it.” She giggled.
“So will I… so if you want to share what you’re thinking, I wouldn’t mind in the least–not that I would anyway.” He kissed her forehead.
That night they slept very little, lost in talk of dreams for tomorrow–leaving little room for actual dreams, but they didn’t mind.
~~~
The next day was a busy one; they went grocery shopping, which took ages as they were buying an entire pantry–and in the end, they still managed to miss some things, which they then had to order. After that, Shin worked on assembling the bedframe while Lena unpacked and set up for Tp to finally join them in the apartment–and Shin joined her when he finished. Then they had to figure out how the washing machine worked–chores kept popping up one after the other.
By the end of the day, they were exhausted, slumping onto the newly delivered couch with a collective sigh.
“Do you think… Teresa is making dinner yet?” Lena asked.
“I’m sure she is... at Ernst’s place. Unfortunately for us…”
“Oh right, that’s on us now.” Lena chuckled weakly.
They straightened up, turning to face each other.
“Well… we better get on it.” She said, “do you want me to…?”
“No, we can do it together. Something simple.”
They made a simple, half premade meal, eating on the couch rather than the floor this time–an improvement from yesterday.
“We already made progress… first the apartment, then the wedding and honeymoon–then the house….” Lena lifted her fist in determination, he couldn’t help but smile at the endearing gesture.
“Right… and then forever.”
“Excaty! We can handle this ‘being adults’ thing if that’s our reward.” She smiled at him, so full of warmth and affection–all for him, of all people.
It was a miracle he could never understand… but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He would face any unknown, any challenge, if he could stay with her just like this.