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“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant said. “You may now kiss the bride.”
The wedding bells rang for the couple in white. Cheers and applause erupted as the bride and groom leaned in to kiss, and finally came the perfect ending for the pair. Confetti shot from above and rained down on the reception.
Nene turned to Rui as the curtains closed, a brightness in her eyes as she exclaimed, “That was so good! Weddings are so pretty!”
Though Rui held much of the same excitement she did, it quickly changed into intrigue after Nene’s comment. “I wonder if I could… hmm…” He crossed his arms and squinted his eyes in thought.
“Eh? Could what?”
“Oh, nothing! I think the ending was executed really well! It was very… inspiring.” He chuckled to himself, which only made Nene more suspicious, but she chalked it up to Rui’s typical eccentricities.
Instead, she returned to looking at the stage as the curtains soon reopened, the cast taking their bows to the audience’s standing ovation. Though this was the second play that she’s watched alongside Rui, it felt as magical as The Little Mermaid felt—how the power of love can overcome any hardship. How love always finds its way back.
Too focused on the moment, she never noticed how Rui watched her adoringly, wanting to be the reason the stars shone in her eyes as well.
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
The following day, as Nene left the house with her mom to walk to elementary school, Rui was nowhere to be found. Typically, he would be waiting outside his house to walk with them to school. He rarely missed a day, and yet… There appeared to be a shadow moving around in his room’s tiny window from the door.
Nene’s mom clicked her tongue. “He must be under the weather. I’ll check with his parents later.” Nene didn’t think anything of it, either.
When she arrived at class later that day, she settled down with the other kids. As the teacher began taking attendance, Rui barged in through the door, soaked in sweat and breathless. “S-So… hah… sorry for being…” He leaned against the doorframe.
“Kamishiro, just… just take your seat. Don’t be a nuisance.” The teacher sighed, shaking her head.
Rui dragged himself to sit beside Nene, smiling sheepishly.
“Where were you?” Nene asked, light with concern.
Rui shrugged. “I had to… um. Fix something, yeah.”
“Fix what?”
“My bag?” Rui guessed. “It’s not really important anyway!”
He definitely had something planned, but Nene wasn’t really one to pry. It did, however, worry her. He was clearly keeping it a secret from her, but he’d never been one to hide secrets from her unless… it was a surprise for her.
The thought made her blush. She shook her head, throwing the thought right out of the classroom window.
“Kusanagi?” the teacher asked.
She raised her hand too quickly, Rui chuckled. “P-Present…!”
“Good. I guess that’s attendance. So, today we’re learning about…”
Everything else drowned away as Nene stared at her desk, observing every small groove and crack. Did Rui have a surprise for her? If so, what? Her heart raced, bunny-hopping in her chest at the thought. She glanced at him, hoping to read anything from his face. He was already turned to her. He blushed, then turned away to the chalkboard after getting caught.
Nene did the same.
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
Rui was possessed.
He dashed across the room, at once sticking decorations with a glue gun, and then moving on to rework a confetti cannon he may have purchased under his dad’s name (and possibly card, too.)
Everything needed to be perfect. Though he had nobody to prove himself to but himself, she remained in the back of his mind in everything he did. It was a feeling he couldn’t name, nothing he could properly describe except a strange wanting in his gut, an almost uncomfortably comfortable sensation—which scared him initially, but instead of letting it grow into anxiety, he let it guide him.
After a few hours of work, the preparations were done. All that was left to do…
He moved to the open garage door, looking at Nene’s bedroom window. Feeling mischievous, he took a small pebble from a bucket-full (yes, he had a bucket full of pebbles) and hurled it forwards.
Peering through, he could see her playing on a boxy-looking console, mashing the buttons furiously. He threw another pebble. She furrowed her brows, dismissing the sounds. Another one. She looked out the window and noticed Rui. She promptly paused her game and ran up to the window with a questioning look.
Rui grabbed a whiteboard from his desk and wrote something before presenting it to Nene.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Nene brightened. She ran off to get her whiteboard from her closet. She wrote,
JUST PLAYING
Pausing to think of a way to broach the subject, he soon wrote,
CAN YOU COME TO THE PLAYGROUND IN AN HOUR?
She raised a brow, writing,
WHY?
Winking, he wrote,
IT’S A SURPRISE!
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
Nene wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it surely wasn’t… this.
The monkey bars were turned into a makeshift altar—paper flowers around the bars, and on the sand leading to the altar in a path. Tears nearly welled in her eyelids at the display. “Rui, what… what is all of this?” she asked, turning to him.
“A wedding, of course!” He stood proudly with his fists on opposite sides of his waist. “Wait! I almost forgot!” Rui ran off to grab something hidden behind the altar, quickly returning with it in his hands.
“Here,” he said, presenting a veil made of plastic bags.
Nene didn’t know what to say or what to make of this. This felt like too much effort for her, someone so small… yet she couldn’t help but feel a big, sweeping adoration and appreciation for Rui. She donned the veil carefully, scared she might rip it.
Rui held his hand out for her, the widest grin on his face. Nene took it, reflecting a similar smile, and let him lead her to the altar. The morning sun draped the area and reflected in Nene’s eyes.
They stood opposite each other. Rui got on one knee, presenting a hex nut to her. “Kusanagi Nene,” he began, smiling, “could I have the honor of marrying you?”
She nodded without a second thought, hands folded in front of her mouth. He stood back up and carefully took one of her hands, slipping the nut into her ring finger. He continued to hold her hand, feeling her heartbeat from her wrist.
“Nene, will you take me as your husband?”
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
The blue sky seemed endless from where she stood. Over the altar of roses and peonies, the sea stretched beyond the horizon. Birds chirped from the rustling trees, and their friends stood by the sidelines in gowns and suits. Emu stood restless, almost bouncing in place. Tsukasa was completely on the verge of tears, dabbing a handkerchief at his eyes.
Nene smiled, dressed in a pristine white wedding dress that spilled down the steps to the altar. “Yes,” she answered. That was the only answer, after all this time.