Chapter Text
Ei is finally submitting her vacation request from work, under her mother’s request and Makoto’s near-threat, and Lumine’s written treatment plan for managing her stress.
Once she sends in her email, asking for three months’ worth of rest time, she finds an instant approval seconds later as if her sister had nothing better to do as president of their company than stare at her phone and wait for Ei to ask for time off. Having accomplished this Herculean task, Ei smiles and stretches in her chair before reaching for her drink, giving herself a mental pat on the back.
Then, Yae nearly gives her a heart attack as she walks into their apartment with a freshly delivered package in her arms.
She wasn’t supposed to find out about Ei’s gift until later that night.
Instead, she carries it into the kitchen, humming as she deposits the non-descript box onto the counter in front of Ei. “So, an early birthday present?”
Ei curses internally as she puts down her cup of tea. “No, it’s—“
Yae is already ripping apart the box, pausing only when she peers under the flaps. A sly smile slips onto her face. “Why, had I known you were so eager to replace the one we broke a week ago, I would have driven down to the shop and picked it up myself.”
“I was…hoping to begin my break with a bang?”
“And I’m more than happy to oblige.” Yae leans forward onto the counter, eyes growing half-lidded while Ei tries not to flush. Even after all these years, Yae could still get such a response from her. “Were you thinking of using this on me tonight?”
“Actually—“ Ei meets her gaze. “—I was thinking you’d be the one to use it…” Her voice grows husky—a trick she picked up from Yae—as she winks slowly “…on me.”
Yae stares for a long moment that Ei wonders if her brain froze before she snatches Ei’s wrist and the box, hauling them into the bedroom.
When Ei wakes up much later, she can tell she’s going to be sore. For days. Sitting up proves her right.
Yae sighs in her sleep, a happy smile on her face. Ei feels a warmth in her chest that compels her to reach out and gently brush the strands off of Yae’s cheek.
In some way, Ei is still getting used to this life of going to bed with Yae and waking up beside her for the most part, like she gets to live a dream she didn’t know she had.
Admittedly, in the time they spent together, the last two years felt like a frantic shuttle from graduation to instantly being slotted into the family company as her mother’s assistant. That’s not counting them also trying to move in together at a place in downtown Inazuma and Yae running her business quite successfully in her first year with the help of Nahida, Zhongli, and so on. Or Sara becoming Ei’s personal assistant or Shinobu getting a job as Yae’s second-in-command. Those are different stories in themselves, but Ei digresses.
Even after four years together, it still feels like a new experience each day. Like Yae perfectly inserted her way in Ei’s world, and Ei can’t imagine one without her.
If only there was some way that Ei could show Yae how touched she is to have her…
Ei yawns, pausing as something clicks in her head. The ring Yae had given to her years ago at Makoto’s engagement party that she keeps at her bedside table—she hasn’t quite accepted it. Maybe that should change.
Softly shaking Yae’s shoulder, Ei asks, “Why don’t we get married this year?”
“Huh?” Yae blinks, peering up from her pillow. She rubs her eye with one knuckle. “Yes, Ei, all the socks in the drawers are facing the same way.”
That is not what Ei meant, although the knowledge is deeply comforting. “No, not that. I was thinking that I never gave you a formal answer.” She clears her throat. “Yes.”
“…yes to socks?”
“Wha—no! Remember that time you proposed to me at Makoto’s party? Well, I’ve decided on my final answer. Do you want to marry me this year?”
Yae lets out a laugh when she stops at Ei’s expression. She instantly pushes herself up. “You’re serious.”
“I am. I was just thinking that you’ve done a tremendous amount of work on yourself to be the kind of person I can trust with my heart again.” Ei holds the covers to her chest. “In fact, you’ve already done that a long time ago.” She rubs her nape. “I’ve just been a bit slow on the uptake.”
When Yae continues staring, Ei wonders if she’s blown it and said something she shouldn’t have. “Sorry if it’s too late—“
Yae tackles her, knocking Ei over and causing her to yelp. She buries her face into Ei’s shoulder, howling, and Ei is confused about how she broke Yae. She places a hand on Yae’s back. “Are you okay?”
Yae nods frantically before sitting back, wiping at her face. “I’ve been waiting for years.”
“…I know. Sorry about the delay.”
“No, take whatever time you need.” Yae grabs a tissue from a nearby box. “I just want to make sure you fully meant what you said. No take-backsies.”
Ei snorts. “We are not children.” A smile slips onto her face, regardless. “And yes, I meant it. No take-backsies.”
She wraps Yae’s pinky finger with one of her own,
recalling a silly way Makoto used to promise her things when they were kids. “You’re mine forever as long as you want to be.”
Yae leaps onto Ei, starting to sob again while Ei cuddles her in comfort.
Later, Ei walks out from her shower, toweling her hair. She looks at her phone that she left on the kitchen counter and finds it blowing up with congratulatory texts. “How does everyone know already?”
Yae pauses. “Well, I told Saiguu, and Saiguu told the city…”
Ah, that explains that.
Ei squints at the screen, noticing the repost on a popular social media website. “Whose username is ‘TheHottieBodyOni?”
Yae clicks on the post, and Itto’s grinning face pops up with him in a bodybuilder pose as his user photo. “Why am I not surprised?”
She scrolls down to his latest post which is a short—and loud—video of him screaming his excitement that his besties have finally overcome the eternity of the girlfriend zone and got hitched.
Ei raises an eyebrow. “What’s the girlfriend-zone?”
“Where I spent eternity, apparently.” Yae turns her phone off. “Well, might as well make it official since everyone knows already.” She typed a few words on her own account, making a new post before thinking for a bit and announcing that she would be taking a break for a while. “Done. Now, to start planning…”
Ei calls Makoto, who already knew because Saiguu bellowed out the news throughout their house. Zhongli also sent his congratulations since he heard it while making pancakes with the pool boy. After a vigorous session of thoroughly inspecting his work.
Ei doesn’t get why checking the pool requires so much showering, but to each their own.
Her mother and father are overjoyed when she calls them, offering a house they bought a couple of years ago in one of the wealthiest and safest neighborhoods as a wedding present. Ei expresses her appreciation and says she’ll discuss it with Yae before getting back to them. Recalling how stubborn her fiancee can be about paying for her own way, Ei expects her Yae to politely but firmly turn down the offer.
Yae ends up gripping her forearm so tightly, Ei swears she can see claw marks. “Do you know how much that property is worth?”
“But you threw such a fit the first time I suggested for me to pay the majority of the rent when you were trying to get your business off of the ground.”
“Yes, and I’ve had a change of heart since then. Get the damn house!”
Ei goes back and thanks her parents for the gift.
Makoto later texts Ei that she should meet up with Saiguu when Yae isn’t there to get some planning ideas for a surprise. Maybe get her distracted for a couple of hours. Ei nods, asking Makoto to pass on a message to meet in a couple of days while Ei takes care of Yae. She knows a sure-fire way to knock her out.
The first time she tries it, she finds Yae at her desk, scribbling away in an older-looking notebook, occasionally looking away with a dreamy expression on her face. When she asks what the latter was doing, Yae pauses and actually goes a bit pink, explaining that she was writing in her diary because she still can’t believe that one of the things she wanted most in her life had just happened to her. Shyly, she asks if Ei wanted to write something in the book with her.
So Ei reschedules meeting Saiguu for the day after.
She approaches Yae from behind as she appears to be typing on the computer. “What are you up to?”
Yae hums. “I forgot to send this report over to Nahida about 1st quarter revenue before I went on vacation, and then I’ll be around the house, reaching out to my contacts and wrapping up projects with them.” She turns, smiling before going back to her work. “But don’t worry. I’ll have lots of time for you afterwards. Unless you miss my attention and need it right now.”
“No, no. You go do your thing.”
“Nonsense. You can come and sit beside me if you want to.” Yae perks. “In fact, you can even look at last year’s projections and net profit statements with me. It won’t take long at all.”
Ei bites her lip, realizing that she would have to employ a high level distraction strategy to pull her fiancée away. At the very least, she needs to save herself from what sounds like a horrifying paperwork session.
Leaning forward, she whispers into Yae’s ear, “Seems like you have your hands full, and, coincidentally—“ She slips her hands under Yae’s shirt, who instantly stops. “—so do I.”
Yae’s breathing stops as she stares blankly at her screen, not having noticed that she has unintentionally moved her right hand over on the keyboard and was now typing gibberish. Her voice comes out lower and huskier. “Did you need something, darling?”
Ei responds by running her tongue slowly over the back of Yae’s ear while squeezing her preoccupied hands. “Maybe some attention.”
Yae swallows. Her following words sound pained, like she’s dragging her soul across gravel. “Can you hold on? I need to send this to Nahida.”
She’s really on this work thing. Maybe Ei doesn’t need to continue with Plan A. “Are you going to take a while and be completely immersed in it?”
“Please.” Yae looks over, eyes half-lidded and grinning in a nearly primal way as she runs her gaze all over Ei. “Fifteen minutes tops. If you can wait that long, I’m all yours for as long as you want.”
That’s not a long enough distraction. Makoto said a couple of hours. Okay, gotta hop to Plan B.
Ei turns Yae around, chair and all, and climbs into her lap, flipping her hair back in the way she knows Yae likes. “Might be too long to keep my hands out of your pants.”
She leans down and presses kisses along Yae’s neck, her jaw. The latter moans in a soft, vulnerable way with each touch while Yae’s hips increasingly buck against her own. Ei could feel heat pooling in her belly as her own kisses become more demanding, her breathing more ragged. She means to distract Yae, but Ei seems to have sidetracked herself. Oh, well.
Sitting up, Ei pulls off her shirt, tossing it to the side. “I think you’d be a lot happier if you helped me take the rest off.”
Yae seems very interested in the proposition, considering how intensely she’s staring at Ei’s chest. Especially since Ei decided to forego a bra. She glances over at the computer and then back at Ei’s front. “You really can’t wait a few minutes? Besides, you can’t get into my pants like this.”
“Mmm…good point.” Ei unbuttons the top button of her jeans with one hand while taking Yae’s hand with the other and slipping it down the front of pants down between her legs. By Yae’s sudden inhale, both from the touch and the soft groan slipping from Ei’s mouth, Ei predicts that she’s close to her breaking point. “Guess you need to be in mine instead.”
Ei grinds down deliberately and slowly. Repeatedly. She’s starting to get distracted from her own plan. “I’d prefer…” She nips Yae’s bottom lip. “…if you get me done first.”
Yae’s pupils blow to dark discs. Her breathing is ragged, and Ei can see her visibly swallow as she drags her gaze from roaming Ei’s body to her screen. “I’m…trying…to…be…more…disciplined.”
Of all the times for Yae to care about improving her work ethic.
Ei makes eye contact as she pushes two of Yae’s fingers inside.
That does the trick.
The next thing she knows, she’s being half-pushed, half-carried backwards towards the bedroom with Yae wearing a feral expression.
An hour or so later, Ei rises from beside a slumbering Yae, mentally patting herself on the back and walking slightly funny as she showers and gets changed to meet Saiguu at a nearby cafe.
Saiguu’s halfway through her matcha latte when Ei shows up. “There you are! I waited almost a whole five minutes for you.”
Ei apologizes while mentally thanking Makoto for recommending her to tell Saiguu to meet fifteen minutes earlier than the actual time. “I appreciate you meeting with me today.”
Eyeing her, Saiguu snorts. “All these years, and you’re still so damn formal and polite. It’s a good thing the kid finds it such a turn on for some reason. You got that whole reserved-and-mysterious-lonely-weirdo that seems to have her dropping her panties faster than Venti drops his professional responsibilities.”
But Ei is just being herself?
“Anyway, how’d ya get her to let you off the leash?”
Ei assumes she’s talking about meeting Saiguu alone. “She’s sleeping right now. Miko has this thing where after several rounds of…uh…intimacy, she falls into a deep sleep, like some sort of sex coma—“
Saiguu spits out her coffee. “Ew! Don’t tell me that about my baby girl! Changing topics now!”
She squints. “Speaking of which, you’re sitting funny. What’s wrong? Too much partying in the concha? Hammering in the clam? F—“
“That isn’t relevant.” Ei feels her face burn. “Back to the topic—“
“Too much hee-hawing in the hoo-ha, got it.”
“…anyway, I asked you to be here, because I…wanted to ask you what I could do to pleasantly surprise Yae at our wedding.”
“Have some freaking fun on the dance floor would be one. I don’t think I’ve even seen you do the shopping cart.”
And Gods-be-willing, it will stay that way. “Aside for that, any other ideas?”
Saiguu huffs, “What are you asking me for? All I’m good for is pumping out erotica and banging your sister. Sometimes while reading my erotica.”
Ei shudders and tries to delete the last few seconds from her memory. “I just…wanted to do right by Miko, and since you’re the closest thing to a parental figure in her life—“
“Ah.” The lights go on in Saiguu’s eyes. “The old-asking-for-permission-to-marry-my-girl bit, huh? Well, I have to say—“ She glances down briefly, pressing her lips together. “—that you’re the best damn thing that has ever happened to her, and if you ever break her heart, you don’t have to worry about me. The kid will get you first.”
Ei nods. “I expect nothing less.”
“Anyway, I figured I’m not gonna be much help unless you need help writing stuff, but call me if you do!”
“I appreciate the offer.” Ei checks the time before getting up, wincing slightly. “I should go. Miko’s likely waking up soon, and she gets pretty needy from the se—“
“LALALALALALALALA!”
As expected, when Ei returns home, Yae is just starting to wake. She pushes herself onto her elbows from the bed, blinking blearily and letting out a whine for cuddles. Ei sits beside her, and Yae nuzzles into her hip as Ei runs her fingers through her fiancée’s disheveled hair.
Yae sighs, “So much for the quarterly report. Not that I’m complaining about the break.”
Ei feels slightly guilty. “Can you say that something came up?”
“Oh, I can.” Yae turns over into her lap, stretching. “But Nahida is surprisingly sassy for someone who hasn’t hit puberty yet.” She pitches her voice high, mimicking Nahida’s matter-of-fact tone. “‘I understand that you’re dedicated to your womanly duties, but it might be a bit much to attend to them every hour, on the hour.’”
Ei’s face feels like it’s on fire. “She didn’t really say that, did she?”
Yae tilts her head, peering up curiously. “Would it make you feel better if I said no?”
Ei covers her face. Now, she can’t look that little girl in the eyes at her parents’ next annual gathering.
“By the way,” Yae pulls herself upwards, leaning into Ei with a grin, “what was that about? You’re not usually so persistent in propositioning me. Not that I mind.”
“I was…celebrating our engagement.”
Yae laughs. “Well, I wouldn’t complain if we celebrated like that more often.”
Ei feels a bead of sweat slide down her nape at the thought. “Let’s put that as a maybe.” She changes the topic. “So, did you get a chance to look over different venue options for the ceremony?”
They spend the next few weeks planning for their big day while scrambling from various shenanigans that they seem inexplicably drawn into. Ei and Yae both want a small wedding, but their numbers are different. Ei was thinking of ten people while Yae’s estimates were closer to 200.
After waking up and picking herself off the floor, Ei suggests to a worried Yae that they compromise and pick a figure that is between that range. Luckily, they settled on 40, which Ei could deal with. She didn’t want a gigantic ceremony like Makoto’s and Zhongli’s wedding event, which was held across two countries for nearly a month. Rumours say some of the guests are still celebrating to this day.
Ei figures she can handle anything that isn’t that. And as long as there are no bright lights, loud music, or strong perfume smells.
Yae nods as she takes notes. “So, after we get married at the nunnery, where would you like to go for our honeymoon?”
Ei ponders over the thought. “You can pick. I know you were looking forward to picking a place the most.”
Yae looks up, softening. “I’ll make it a nice surprise for you.” She gets up, shaking her head with a smile. “C’mon, you need to meet your sister in an hour.”
They drive over to the wedding district—a collection of shops geared towards dresses, tuxedos, gigantic cakes, flowers, and all other items somehow related to the act of signing an official piece of paper.
After parking and waiting in front of the designated store, Ei and Yae watch Makoto get dropped off by Zhongli and Saiguu in a fancy-looking dark sedan. Makoto clambers out, turning around as Zhongli leans over to give her a goodbye kiss. He then gets shoved aside by Saiguu who pulls herself out of the backseat to give Makoto her own goodbye kiss, which is so dirty that Ei has to look away in embarrassment while Yae wolf-whistles.
“And to think that I’m the one marrying the normal twin after all,” Yae muses while Ei elbows her. “All right, I should get off to do my own shopping.”
She kisses Ei briefly, which the latter is grateful for after watching Makoto lip lock two separate people, before waving and heading off.
Ei is also weirded out that she’s the more conventional twin between the pair. She’s always accepted herself as being highly eccentric, but apparently, that doesn’t come close to Makoto.
Makoto hums as she drifts over, a dreamy look in her eyes. Her expression turns into a slight scowl when she arrives in front of Ei and sees her face. “Oh, you’re marrying the former college bicycle. You don’t get to judge.”
“Wait.” Ei scans her phone for that file with comebacks Yae wrote for whenever Makoto insulted her while she wasn’t there. “Miko would say she was more of a college connoisseur. She was looking for the right bicyclist—one that could ride her all night, every night.”
Her brows furrow. “I don’t get it.”
Makoto clearly does with how disgusted she looks. “You can ask her what she meant. I was just here to help you pick an outfit. Now, I’ve got to delete my memory of the last few seconds too.” She shudders before pressing forward into the doors of what looks like a really fancy wedding dress boutique.
Ei follows behind.
…and realizes moments later that she’s in over her head.
She freezes on the spot at the sight of the endless rows of dresses hanging off mannequins—the first column alone being various shades of off-white that baffle Ei if they’re anything more than “ivory” or “cream”. The textures alone seem like a nightmare much less the thought of picking something and it ending up maddeningly itchy.
“Come here.” Makoto takes her arm and steers her towards a less overwhelming corner of the store, sporting only a few dresses on a rack. “You lasted more than five seconds. That’s progress.”
Ei takes a moment to breathe as Makoto’s brows furrow in thought, examining the white chiffon dress with far too many frills. “Well, if you’ve been dating Yae, you’re definitely not a virgin any more so this one is inappropriate. Speaking of which, I should grab Yae a black one.”
“Not so loud!” Ei desperately whispers as the store clerks turn their head to listen in. “Please, just pick something for me, and let’s get out of here. I don’t want to get into an awkward situation.”
“Ei, your friends are all weirdos. It’s too late.” Makoto hums as she examines the rest of the dress on the rack. “Hmm…I think a custom outfit might suit you better. I know someone who could help.”
“Anything will do. Everything else here is…”
Whipping around, Ei feels helpless under the onslaught of so much bright clothing. “I don’t know what to pick. I need a top.” She yanks out her phone. “I should call Miko.”
“Mmm…she strikes me as more of a bottom.” Makoto plucks a black and purple outfit off of the rack. “How about this one?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. I think these are your colours.”
One of the store clerks lurches towards them between the gap in the clothing racks, bright smile and perfectly straightened hair nearly making Ei jump on the spot. “Are you finding everything all right?”
“Yes,” Ei squeaks before calming herself down, “I’m just getting some ideas for what to wear on…”
Makoto finishes when she sees Ei’s brain randomly blip, “Her wedding day, of course. We were thinking some darker colours like purples and blacks might suit her better.”
The clerk frowns but quickly nods. “It’s a bit unconventional, but we can see if we have something in stock and—“ She squints at Makoto before glancing between her and Ei. “Oh! Raiden Makoto and a twin sister! We took the same class back in university. Remember modern Inazuman literature?”
Ei does. She took notes for a quarter of Makoto’s classes for that course when the latter was off sick. Or staying up late and making out with girls. Whatever she did in her free time. Ei’s not sure she knows anymore. “Was that the one with the really stern professor who didn’t like people missing class?”
“Yes, I’m surprised you know about him.” The clerk raises her eyebrows before covering her mouth to muffle a laugh. “There was this really funny girl who would snooze in the back and hit on all of the female TAs whenever they got within five feet of her. And she got more than a few numbers.”
…Ei thinks she knows whom she’s talking about.
“I think her name was—“
“Yae Miko.” Ei clears her throat. “She’s my fiancée.”
The store clerk stares in disbelief, suddenly stiffening. “Yae Miko is getting married? Yae-My-Other-Ride-is-Your-Girlfriend-Miko?”
“Did you know her…personally?” Ei cringes internally, hoping fervently that the answer is no. “I mean, were you acquainted in a s—“
Makoto cuts in. “Why are you so surprised?” She studies the blonde clerk. “You don’t seem like her type.”
The clerk scoffs. “I just thought she’d end up frontlining some magazine about Hooters one day.” She glances at Ei. “No offence.”
Ei replies, “She’s actually a very successful entrepreneur now with her own international chain of publishing houses—“
“THE DORM skan* IS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN?!”
“I would prefer it if you didn’t call her a—“
Makoto takes Ei’s arm and begins to lead them out. “I think we’re good. Thank you for your service.”
Once they’ve left the store, Ei turns around, ready to head in and correct the clerk when Makoto sighs and continues dragging her forward. “Don’t bother. Someone like her already made up their mind about Miko, and trying to open a closed door is not a good use of your time. Anyway, let me figure out what dress you should wear. I know the gist of what you like.”
“Do you need my size?”
“Y’know, I think I might be able to ballpark it.” Makoto winks. “C’mon, there’s a dessert shop around the corner that you’ll like. You can tell me how the wedding planning is going.”
Three crème brûlée taiyakis later, Makoto has Ei spilling out all of her frustration and worries with the intricate details of the event. There’s so much to think about that Ei has been soliciting input from her friends.
Lumine suggested a particular kind of flower for the hall. Yae doesn’t want Inteyvats littering the tables since the scent would be overwhelming for Ei.
Itto asked about getting an-all-you-can-eat buffet. Yae doesn’t want a buffet. Mostly for the same reasons above.
Shenhe proposed a fancy, pyrotechnical ring of fire around the wedding cake for awe. Yae doesn’t want a gigantic ring of fire, particularly close to the open bar. Upon further consideration, Ei agrees with her.
Venti texted, offering a congratulation as well as a personal performance that highlights his newest release, “It’s Raining Venti.” To her horror, Yae looks like she’s considering it.
Yae straight-up vetoed Saiguu’s flagrant request for an emotional support goat at the wedding while Ei was busy researching what kind of pen it would need.
At some point, she ends up visiting her sister’s office to talk about current laboratory results and ends up lamenting the amount of details going into planning. Makoto nods along, expressing sympathy and shoving the lab reports under a pile of other paperwork that she ignores.
Ei sighs, rubbing her temples and checking her group chat labeled “Aspiring Wedding Planners,” which is mostly composed of her friends from university.
The last exchange of messages has Lumine asking if there were any other ideas that might make Ei’s and Yae’s day special. Shenhe proposes a public blood pact.
Makoto reads over Ei’s shoulder before reaching over to promptly delete Shenhe from the chat. “I’m making the executive decision to move this person onto a different project.”
She examines Ei’s face, frowning as her gaze lingers on the dark bags underneath her sister’s eyes. She adds softly, “And I’m making another decision to take on your half of planning for the wedding for you. With your permission, of course.”
“Please. I could really use the help.” Ei rubs at her face. “I still need to contact some caterers, get estimates, book the wedding venue, find flowers that Yae likes, send personalized invites to each and every guest—“
“Why don’t you let me and your fiancée handle that?” Makoto thinks for a bit. “We probably should loop in Sara too.”
“But she’s my assistant at work, not for personal things.”
“Ei, she’s your friend. Anyway, it’s in her nature to take this hot mess of a planning session and straighten out the details into neat Excel columns for her own peace of mind.” Makoto shakes her head. “You can work on your vows instead.”
“But shouldn’t I—“
“Please. We want both brides to stay sane by the time of the ceremony. Yae seems to be fine. She’s completely at ease with scheming—I mean, planning.”
EI doesn’t argue with that. “But what do I say? I mean…I’m starting to wonder if it was a good idea to propose in the first place. What if…is this the right thing to do?”
“The right thing for what?”
“To make Miko happy.”
“Ei, you’re not responsible for that. She is. All you can do is add to her happiness.” Makoto tilts her head. “Besides, short of you almost marrying someone else, I haven’t seen her seriously upset with you. What’s really going on?”
“I—“ Ei’s throat tightens, the words caught like boulders trying to squeeze through a narrow tunnel. “—I’m not sure. When I think of what happens after getting married, it just all gets hot here. Frantic.” She taps her chest. “Like I just want to get away from the thought.” From what might or might happen. “It’s intense enough that I’m having second thoughts about moving forward with everything.”
Her sister softens. She gently lays a hand on Ei’s and squeezes. “It sounds like you have some things to work through, and taking some time to process them is the right thing to do right now. Yae has an amazing capacity to forgive you of many things. Leaving her at the altar is not one of them.”
She lifts her hand. “If you have any concerns, you need to talk to her now before the event. It is one of those speak-now-or-forever-hold-your-peace kind of things, yeah?”
Ei looks miserably at her feet.
Makoto claps her sister on the back. “You’re probably overthinking it. Now, go write up them wonder vows. Also, it might help to go speak to a professional therapist.”
Getting the words from her thoughts to the paper feels like pulling out teeth—agonizing, slow, coming in bits and pieces and never in a flow like Ei wants.
After a few days of researching, asking her friends, and writing out multiple versions, Ei finds out that she can get writer’s block even if she’s not a writer.
Great. Just great. She had one job and—
She needs to talk to someone about this. What was that last part that Makoto said?
She books a time with her therapist, grabbing the last scheduled slot of the day in case the session goes overtime. And it does.
Lumine hums as she wraps up her notes on her clipboard. “Lots of progress. This is great.” She puts Ei’s file away in her cabinet and turns back to her, leaning forward with her fingers laced together. “Okay, I’m off-the-clock. Wanna grab a tea or something and just chat as friends?”
“This is crazy,” Ei mutters, dropping her head onto the small, wooden table after they find a seat at a nearby cafe. “I feel like my social situation always feels chaotic. Maybe it’s just me.”
“Nope, it’s definitely a mess. I needed to make a flowchart to keep track of your different relationships and what’s happening to them.”
Glad to know it isn’t Ei. “Is that normal?”
“Normal is relative.” Lumine studies Ei. “How have you been feeling with everything that’s going on?”
Nauseous. Confused. Frustrated. Stressed. Happy. Afraid, but of what? “I have complex feelings. No doubt, I need to reason out all of these emotions until I display only the socially appropriate ones that are expected—really?”
Lumine swats Ei on the head with a rolled up newspaper before dropping her tool on the table. She pauses when she sees Ei staring. “Sorry, force of habit. Anyway, back to the wedding. Did you guys get to chat about the more serious aspects of marriage? Children? Finances? Accidental spousal death?”
Ei nods, thinking about the conversations she and Yae had over the years regarding these topics. Yae had cut Ei off with a sharp ‘No’ if Ei asked if she could remarry in the event she lost Yae. Yae told Ei that she better not have ‘bequeathed’ her to Makoto if Ei goes early. Ei had secretly crossed that off of her list.
“We talked about whatever we could over the last two years. It helped to have your third-party perspective on things.”
“It was my pleasure.” Lumine smiles. “You guys have come a long way since that first couple’s counselling session.”
That had been awkward.
Once Lumine finished her Master’s and started accepting clients, Ei signed her and Yae up immediately. The atmosphere at their assessment was ice cold with Yae staring at Lumine with a blank expression and a frost around her that could frighten glaciers. Probably shouldn’t have asked about how Yae feels about previous women who have gone on dates with Ei.
Yae bristled when Lumine noticed and asked about the hostile energy coming from her. “I still haven’t forgiven you, Blondie. Remember that time you went on a practice date with her two years ago?”
Lumine nodded and jotted down her observations. “…excellent memory…tendency to hold long grudges. Okay, we’ll work on that.”
Ei shakes her head to bring herself out of the memory. “I can’t express the depth of my gratitude for your perspective and patience with us.”
Lumine waves her off. “Don’t mention it. You helped me get my book launched and promoted. I didn’t think that Idiots in Love would be such a bestseller.”
Neither did Ei. She sweated a bit upon seeing Lumine’s book on Yae’s bookshelves for weeks, the items rapidly going out of stock and having to be reordered. Not because she wasn’t happy for her friend, but because she hoped people wouldn’t put two-and-two together about Lumine’s case studies of her friends “Kei” and “Sae” and their communication issues.
“Anyway…” Lumine threads her fingers together. “Your sister asked me to keep you company…as well as keep an eye on your mental health,” she quickly mutters the last part before clearing her throat. “Makoto mentioned that you were under a lot of stress.”
Ei sags into her chair, nearly nodding off. “Lots of things to do. Miko’s taken on most of the work. Happy to take a break for a bit from her business. Working with Makoto now.”
A thought occurs, and Ei sits up, slapping her palms on the table. “She has been hanging around her a lot now. What if she’s planning to leave me for my more attractive sister?”
Lumine looks at her. “You seriously need more sleep.”
“It’s been constant work on my vows for a while,” Ei sighs, pulling some sheets out of her bag and pushing them over. “I’ve written down some ideas from other friends, though I’m starting to question the wisdom of the idea. Could you look at them?”
Lumine starts reading from the top. “‘Yae is hot—like mega hot. Like so hot that I’ve seen girls practically drop their panties while waiting in line behind her. And I’m hot too, though in a brooding yet nerdy kind of way. And yet I’m not as hot as I could be. If only I was smaller and more into writing and more sensitive about providing support and empathy for big buff hotties’ feelings—’
“I don’t even need to guess who this is.” She crosses out the line with a fine pen. “Next.”
Kokomi wrote something about having happy, long lives together with many adventures and exciting stories. Sara said Yae wasn’t bad and that Ei could have done worse.
Lumine nods as she reads along, keeping Kokomi’s lines while blacking out Sara’s.
Ayaka wished them many years of joy and lasting love. Zhongli and the pool boy, for some reason, hope that they would enjoy the sensual pleasures of the world around them and the depths of each other’s bodies, minds, and souls. Makoto mentions a lifetime of blessings and long-lived friendships while vaguely threatening Yae with an eternity alone should she break Ei’s heart.
Lumine squints at the final words on the sheet. “‘Yae Miko has two joys in life that are my pleasure to meet: getting paid and getting laid, and not necessarily in that order’?”
“Shenhe added that.”
“Okay.” She gingerly puts the paper down. “How about you ask someone else to look over it? Do you know anyone who is good with words?”
Saiguu is technically a professional writer. And she did offer. “I can ask Yae’s aunt.”
“Dear gods. Let me know how it goes.”
