One Year Later

Yuuhime left the escape room, the last paycheck she'd need for her gift to Xuan.

"Hey, Yuuhime!" Li Guang waved from her car. She'd asked her friends to come and help her pick out Xuan's gift.

"Thanks for helping me." Yuuhime said as she got in.

"Of course!" Norah said from the back seat, "what are friends for?"

Intisar grunted in agreement. Yuuhime's smile couldn't be contained.

"So, which jewelry shop you wanna go to?" Li Guang asked.

"Jewelry shop?" Norah asked, before here eyes lit up. "No. Way!!"

"Yes way!!" Yuuhime squealed. Norah was so jittery, that Intisar even caught a little bit of her excitement and started asking questions.

"Where are you gonna do it?"

"Estero Harbor, I'm thinking we're gonna get some treats at Asura's shop then play on the beach, and just as he's not expecting it, I'm going to propose!"

Norah clasped her hands together, "It's simply amazing! It fits your relationship perfectly."

"Do you need anyone to keep an eye out for..." Li Guang didn't say their names, but Yuuhime knew who she was referring to.

"We haven't seen either in almost a year," she said, "if they did decide to show up, we're more than ready to take them on now."

"Alright." Li Guang came to a stop at a shopping mall. They hopped out and went into it, looking around for the store.

***

"Do you like this one?" Leora asked, holding up a ring. Xuan shook his head. He, Ling, Lewis, and Leora went ring shopping once they found out he was going to propose to Yuuhime.

"That's a really big diamond." Xuan remarked.

"I have to agree," Lewis chuckled, "it might make Yuuhime fall over."

"Well, it has to be special." Leora said.

"I know, that's not it." Xuan looked around the expansive shop. His eyes landed on a particular ring. It had pink and orange flowers on it, the silver band curved like the sea. It was almost identical to the necklace Yuuhime lost on their ice cream date, which she was very sad about. The teller was just about to take it out when Xuan ran over.

"Excuse me, is that ring for sale?"

"Yes, do want it?"

"How much?"

"$100."

"Sheesh, is it really that bad?" Lewis glared down at the teller.

"No, it's not that, I swear!" The teller shook his head. "It was custom made by a couple years ago, but then their wedding got called off for one reason or another."

"And not a soul has bought it?" Xuan asked.

"No! No one thinks it's appropriate for weddings because of the names on it."

Xuan tilted his head. The teller held up the ring, the names "Wilhelm and Irene" carved on in beautiful cursive.

"That's too bad," Ling said, "it's really not a bad looking ring at all."

"If no one wants it, I'm just going to melt it so I can use it to make another ring." The teller said, turning to leave.

"Wait, I'll buy it." Xaun quickly said. His friends all looked at him, confused.

"Hm? Alright, but there's no way of removing the names."

"It's ok!" Xuan said, smiling. "It's perfect."

"Are you sure?" Lewis asked. "We could probably find a similar one somewhere else."

"It's ok, really. She'll love it."

Lewis nodded as the teller wrapped the ring in paper. Xuan paid for it and they left. The teller smiled after them, picking up his name tag he neglected to put on. In cursive, the name "Wilhelm" sat on a black backing.

***

"None of these rings are at all perfect!" Yuuhime huffed. Her friends were all around her, frowning.

"We can go somewhere else." Norah said.

"Yeah..." Yuuhime said. They were about to leave when she saw the teller, whose long hair covered her name tag, grabbing a ring that was only $100. The ring was silver, the pink and orange gemstones just like the ones from Wilhelm and Irene's necklace.

The teller must of seen her staring, for she said, "Has one finally caught your attention?"

"M-maybe." Yuuhime skipped over and looked at the ring. "Why is it only $100?"

"It's a custom no one wants." The teller said. "See, the names Wilhelm and Irene are on it."

Her eyes went wide. Her friend's did too, looking at each other.

"Can I buy it?" Yuuhime asked.

"If you really want to," the teller said, "I can get rid of the names if you want. It might take a month."

"No, I want to buy it as is."

The teller nodded and placed it in a box. She paid and they left. The teller smiled, flipping her hair out of the way of her name tag, that said Irene.

***

"Sunflower," Yuuhime ran to Xuan, panting but smiling.

"Yeah?" Xuan quickly stuffed the ring box into his pocket.

"Let's go to Estero Harbor today!"

"Alright, you came at the right time, I don't have anything going on."

"Yes! Wanna stop at Asura's then go to the beach?"

"Sure!"

The easy part was out of the way. Now they had to be patient. Yuuhime had specifically chosen this day to propose. Xuan, on the other hand, had no idea how or when he was going to propose. He was relieved when this opportunity fell right into his lap.

The drive to Estero Harbor was glorious. The weather was perfect. The sun gave way to soft light, making the nature outside their car seem even brighter. The sky was bright blue and the clouds were in just the right amount.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Leo asked as the two walked in, the door bell ringing as they entered. He smiled when he saw who it was.

"Hi, Leo!" Yuuhime waved.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

"We're here for sweets," Xuan said, sitting by Yuuhime, "obviously."

"Obviously!" Leo laughed. "The usual?"

"Actually," Yuuhime said, "can we have a parfait? To share."

"You're in luck, I just made one." He slid a strawberry parfait onto their table. "It's in the house!"

"Hey, thanks a bunch!" Xuan said, smiling. Leo winked at Yuuhime, who smiled. She'd told Leo they were coming, and they were going to share a parfait, but she had no idea he'd be willing to make one just for them so they could have it right away.

"There you two are!" Asura flew out, a big smile on her face. "Are you here on a date?"

She laughed at their red faces.

"It's been a year and you're still embarrassed?"

"When you announce it like that, yeah!" Yuuhime said, smiling.

"Would you like to hear a story?"

"Sure!" Xuan said. He had found a love for her stories, always excited when she told her fantastical tales. Yuuhime thought it was adorable, but he wouldn't admit he was excited every time.

"Yuuhime has heard this one, but you haven't." Asura said, winking at her.

"Is it Wilhelm and Irene?" Yuuhime asked.

"Yes!"

Xuan was shocked. Those were the names on the ring he picked out! What a coincidence!

Asura told her story. Xuan's eyes glistened, Yuuhime's heart fluttered. Their sad story still had its effect, and once Asura was done, the parfait was too.

"I heard Leo gave you it for free." Asura raised her eyebrows.

"We can pay if you want us to." Xuan offered.

"Hahaha! Never," Asura folded her arms, "you're fine, have fun now."

They thanked her and left, waving.

"Never do that again." Asura said to Leo once they were far away.

"Fine, mom."

Their next stop was the beach. It was crowded there, but that was ok with them. They found a less crowded area, where the sand was too hot for kids and the water was too shallow for surfers. They wore their swimsuits under their clothes, so pulling off their tops and bottoms revealed their matching swimsuits.

"It feels so good!" Yuuhime sighed, feeling the sand between her toes. Xuan smiled, running to the water, then splashing her with it.

"Eek! Hah!" Yuuhime giggled and splashed him back, and soon they were in a water fight.

"It's so cold!" Yuuhime laughed, the water making her hair stick to her face.

"Come here, I'll warm you up." Xuan said. He gave her a bear hug, snuggling her. She hugged back, sneaking a kiss on his chest.

"Ack! Your lips are cold!" He yelped. She giggled and kicked water up.

"Hold still, sunflower!" She giggled as he ran away. She chased him, making grabby hands.

"Noooo! You're too cold. Go dry off!"

"Hmmm...nope!"

Eventually, they were pooped out. They lay together on the beach, watching the clouds move slowly along.

"How about a hike?" Yuuhime suddenly said.

"To where?"

"That one place, when we got ice cream for the first time."

"Oooh, yeah. Sounds good."

They were off. Yuuhime made sure the ring was still in her pocket, and it was. Pleased, she walked proudly.

"You're in a good mood." He said. He was too, this was the perfect opportunity to propose.

"I'm just happy to spend the day with you."

He blushed a little, smiling. "I am too."

They passed a patch of flowers, orange and pink. No red or purple flowers were around anymore. It really was just them now, and that made them happy.

Soon, they were at the cliff. The breeze made Yuuhime shiver, so she leaned on Xuan. They stared out at the sea, silently listening to the waves. Seagulls cawed, flying together in harmony. The grass hugged their feet, begging them to stay for just a bit longer.

"Yuuhime?" Xuan broke the silence after a long time.

"Yes?"

"You should know you mean the world to me. No, you mean more." He looked at her, a soft smile on his lips. Yuuhime looked back, a confused look on her face. He stepped back, fishing for something in his pocket. When he bent down, her heart skipped a beat.

"Will you...marry me?"

When what he said registered in her head, she fell to her knees and pulled out her ring.

"Will you?"

They stared at each other in astonishment, before hugging the other tightly, weeping.

"Yes!"

***

The wedding was everything they wanted. Light pink and light orange flowers decorated the otherwise white scene.

Yuuhime in her dress and Xuan in his bow tie, they could hardly focus on anything else.

The reception was very small, only their closest friends, remaining family, and a priest were there. The after party, though, was another story.

The night was a flash of fun and joy. Xuan and Yuuhime wished it would last forever, but when they got home, they fell into their bed in exhaustion. 

"Is it really over?" Yuuhime asked aloud.

"I guess." Xuan replied, pulling off his bow tie. Yuuhime sighed, hugging his back. 

"What now?"

"Well...there's lots of decisions that need to be made, like if we want this to be pubic, what our living situation will be..."

"Kids?" She suddenly asked. He blinked then smiled, rubbing his neck.

"I dunno. We don't need to make any decisions now."

"Yeah, I guess."

"But we'll have each other, so we'll never have to make them alone."

They smiled at each other. Those words rang true for the rest of their lives, together as one, together as lovers.

~The End~