author's note: I got more than a few requests for AsbelxCheria, so here's something I wrote a month or two ago and published just on tumblr. It's not much, but I liked it.

Dedicated to sidefury, who initially requested it, in exchange for drawing awesome futatsu boshi fanart and happily indulging in my favorite crack pairing of MalikxFourier. Yesssss.

okaerinasai
("welcome home")

She stands on the front lawn of the Lhant manor, her hands clasped tight to her chest, her body so rigid that she can hardly breathe. She has stood here, in this same place, many times before; as a child she stood in this place and gazed, dumbfounded, at the home that towered above her - Asbel's house - wondering what it would be like to live there. It is a familiar sight, this manor, but this time is different.

She swallows, hard, her throat dry, her hands clutching even tighter together. She is nervous and does not know what to expect. Her feet brought her to this place as if guided by some mysterious force lingering in the heavens, her body moving despite her will and the voice in her mind that screamed for her to get away, that she wasn't ready. But she is ready, in her heart. She has been ready for years. But now that she is here...

What do I say? she wonders. "I'm ready to live with you, Asbel"? Is that it?

It isn't as simple as that, is it?

She has grown up wondering what it would be like to live in this manor, with its maids and butlers, by the side of the man who watches over Lhant. There has only ever been one scenario in her mind, as far as her future is concerned: that she would marry Asbel, become his wife, the mother of his children, the new Lady of Lhant. And it wasn't out of desire for power, or because she was too naive to let go of her childhood daydreaming of love and marriage.

It's because, she thinks to herself, her chest warming with the words that rush through her mind, I love him. I have always loved him. I can't love anyone else.

But, Asbel, I...

But standing here, on the lawn of the manor, about to take that step toward her future, Cheria feels a startling uncertainty. What if he has changed his mind? What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if Sophie doesn't want me anymore? What if -

The front door creaks open and she starts, her eyes growing wide. After a moment Sophie looks out at her with a curious expression, blinking once, twice, three times, until she turns from the door with a flood of lavender hair trailing behind her. "Asbel," Cheria hears her say, first softly, then with more urgency, "Asbel. Asbel... Asbel!"

"What is it?"

"It's Cheria."

As terrified as the sound of Asbel Lhant's voice makes her, Cheria cannot help but smile as she hears a scuffle inside the entrance of the house, followed by the door being thrown open. Asbel bolts onto the front step, staring at her as if she is a ghost, his mouth hanging wide open. She wants to stop smiling but she can't, because even in the midst of her fear, her uncertainty, his disbelief is one of the most wonderful things she has ever seen -

"Cheria?" His voice is quiet but it still crosses the distance between them, arrives at her ears with a warmth that makes her shiver. "Are you..."

He doesn't need to finish his question, because she knows what he is asking. She swallows again, nodding once, slowly, her eyes falling to the grass beneath her feet. "If," she speaks, uncertainly, "you and Sophie... still want me, Asbel, then - "

In an instant he has crossed the lawn to her, thrown his arms around her, and pulled her close in an embrace so strong that all of the breath is knocked out of her. She gasps for air before realizing that he is staring down at her with a brilliant smile, his eyes shining. At that moment her doubt is washed away in an instant, only to be replaced by the sudden urge to cry. She is able to resist for only a moment before the feeling overwhelms her and she buries her head in his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. He laughs at her, softly, but this time - just this once - she isn't angry at him for it.

"Welcome home, Cheria," he says, and it is all she has ever wanted to hear, the only thing she needs, and for the first time since Asbel Lhant left seven years ago to become a knight, Cheria Barnes feels complete.