It was early summer in the late evening. The air was warm, and unmoving. The lights of the city shone a warm tone of yellow, and faint music could be heard at every street corner as various shops welcomed its guests with instrumental melodies of upbeat popular folk songs. The main island was known for its deeply rooted culture, and it was very welcoming to tourists.
She was wearing a slate satin flared dress and had matching matching heels. She wore a tiny black purse across her waist. She was standing in front of a local bistro, waiting for her date. She was playing with her silver hair, which was in a french braid except for two tendrils of hair on both sides of her head that framed her face. Hey ebony glasses started falling, so she pushed them up to line them up with her crimson eyes so she could see properly. Thoughts were firing off in her head constantly.
What if he doesn't like my hair? Does this dress make me look fat? Am I too dressed up? What if something comes up and he doesn't show up? What if he finds someone prettier? Should I just walk away now? No, no. No, that'd be bad. Wh-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. She jumped at the touch, spinning around on the toes of her heels to see who broke her thought process. Her cheeks reddened as she saw her date standing before her. He was wearing an unbuttoned black blazer over a crimson scoop neck shirt. He was also wearing slate colored chinos over his black combat boots. To complete his look he had pink and black two toned hair. The top of his hair was a flamingo pink while the sides and back were dyed black.
"Hey there, Zeph!" He chimed. He inspected his date thoroughly, but when their eyes met they started blushing. He ran his right hand through his hair and looked away from his date while he shoved his other hand into his pocket, fiddling around with something in his pocket. "You look absolutely riveting tonight, Zephyra."
Zephyra folded her hands in front of he. A smile crossed her lips. "You look quite dashing yourself, Kai." Kai flattened out the front of his blazer, a suave grin replacing his sheepish smile. "Now don't go getting cocky!" She said, taking a step forward. "Are you ready to go in?"
"Oh, yeah, our reservation awaits us, m'lady!" Kai held out his arm to Zephyra, and she took it. The two walked into the bistro together, and saw a man waiting at the front for their arrival. "Hello, my good man! Reservation for two."
"What's the name on the reservation, sir?" The employee spoke.
"Cr-"
"Oerba Yun, Cross" Kai had cut off Zephyra, following with a smile to match her huffed face.
"Ah yes, right this way." He started to walk but immediately stopped himself. "Wait a moment, you rented out the entire restaurant. Where would you two like to sit?"
Zephyra looked around and then looked at Kai. Anyplace seemed well enough in her eyes. Kai looked at Zephyra and met those crimson eyes with his own emerald eyes that had a certain spark to them.
"In your opinion, Mr…" Kai had started to speak, but trailed off as he realized he had no idea how to inform the employee attempting to seat him.
"Farron. Riku Farron. Please continue."
"Alright, Mr. Riku Farron, where, in this little establishment of yours, do you believe has the best lighting?"
"I know just the spot, if you two will follow me." Riku said before he grabbed a pair of menus and led the couple to the far end of the bistro, where one of the street lights shone perfectly through a window on a table, making it stand out from all the rest. "What would you like to drink?"
"I'll have an ice water, no lemon." Zephyra said as she sat down in the chair Kai pulled out for her.
"You guys have root beer?" Kai piped up after a moment of contemplating.
"Yes, yes we do." Riku said, writing the drinks order down on his little notepad he pulled out from his black apron. Kai silently gloated, something that made Zephyra giggle. "Alright, I'll go grab those and be right back. Take all the time you need with ordering food."
"Thank you kindly, Riku Farron!" Kai called, waving vigorously at the waiter. He sighed and turned back to the his date sitting across the table from him. In that moment his eyes were glued in place. He couldn't move them even if he wanted to. "Uh, hey. Zeph…"
"What is it, Kai?"
"I know I joke a lot, about most things" Kai paused for a moment. "Okay I joke about everything, but what I said earlier? I meant that, with everything in my gut. You are… I have no words. Like I look at you almost every day, and when I do I think you're just the most beautiful creature to have walked this planet. But right now? Right here? You're on a whole other level."
Something is really off with him right now. He never gets like this.
"Kai, is everything alright?" Zephyra asked.
"It's just… I want you to know how thankful I am that I get to wake up every single day and know that you're in my life. I know it's really dumb and out of place for who I am to get all sappy, but Skylar told me that the best way to explain to someone how you feel is to just let it all out until you can find the right words, and I figure you'll never know until I tell you." Kai started laughing nervously.
"Oerba Yun Kai, are you getting nervous?" Zephyra said, tilting her head down and looking above her glasses. She laughed a little, herself. "Kai I don't think it's dumb at all. I-it means a lot to me that you want to show that you care." Her cheeks reddened worse with every word. She folded her hands in front of her on the tabletop. "I just want you to know that I feel the same way about you. When I wake up in the morning, you're the first thing on my mind. I have not been this happy in a long time."
Kai reached out and grabbed one of her hands with his own. "Me too, Zeph, me too."
Suddenly Riku appeared with the drinks. He set them down and then pulled out his notepad once more. "Have you decided what you'd like to be eating tonight?"
Kai sighed and planted his forehead on the table, muffling a 'no'. Zephyra started giggling, which turned into full on laughter. After she calmed herself she took a deep breath .
"No, Riku, we haven't. We'll need a bit more time, please!"
"Not a problem at all." Riku said nonchalantly as he shoved the notepad back in his apron and headed once more towards the kitchen. "I'll be back in a few more minutes."
The couple took some time and glanced over the menu. Kai decided to order steak while Zephyra settled for lobster. The two chatted about various things while sipping on their drinks, informing Riku of their decision when he eventually made his way back to the table. Twenty minutes later, their food arrived.
"Woah," Kai said. "This looks amazing!" He quickly cut a piece off and took a bite. "The color, the smell, the flavor! It's amazing!" Kai had a huge smile on his face. "How's your food, Zeph?"
Zephyra didn't respond, and was staring at Kai's steak. She hadn't even touched her food. In reality, she wanted to get the steak, but she was afraid it'd look strange if she did, so she went with the lobster. Ironically enough, Kai wanted to order the lobster, but didn't want to look like a wimp in front of Zephyra, so he ordered a steak and was playing it up. He didn't even like steak.
Zephyra looked down at her food and quickly grabbed a piece with her fork. "It's, uhm. It's wonderful!" Zephyra liked lobster, but it was no steak. "It's got a wonderful color, and it smells delightful, with matching taste to accompany it as well!"
Kai squinted at his date, and then at the plates each of them had. It wasn't long before the connection was made in his head. He quickly snatched both plates and switched them, so he had the lobster and Zephyra had the steak. Both of their eyes lit up once the plates hit their side of table. The two began to devour the delicious food before them, talking and laughing the rest of the night. Riku returned shortly after both of them had picked their plates clean of food.
"Alright, well your bill was paid in advance, as you know, so feel free head out whenever you feel comfortable. If you need anything from me, I'll be over by the entrance. Don't hesitate to ask for anything."
"Alright, thanks!" Kai said with a smile. After Riku left his eyes went back to his date. "Big tip?"
Zephyra smiled at the question. "Big tip, indeed."
The two started laughing once more. "Alright, are you ready to leave?" Kai asked? "Because I could really use a nap." Zephyra nodded and the two started heading for the exit. "Well, Mr. Farron, you were an excellent waiter. Thank you for the service!" The two walked out and stepped back into the warm air. "Hey, Zephyra, what's that over there?" Kai said, pointing towards the end of the block.
Zephyra looked but saw nothing. The streets were empty, not even cars driving on the road. She turned back to find Kai kneeling. She jumped and squeaked, her heart was racing. The two head been dating for years now, but this was so unexpected!
"Sorry, my laces came undone!" Kai started chuckling as he was trying to quickly tie his laces back, fumbling a bit.
I'm glad I'm not going to have a heart attack, but at the same time… I'm disappointed it's not what I thought it was. I really wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with you, Kai…
Kai finished tying the laces of his boots and then shoved his left hand in his pants pocket pulling something out. It was a little black box. He pulled it open and held it out towards Zephyra. Inside of it was a diamond engagement ring, the gem being the same color as Zephyra's eyes.
"Zephyra Cross, I have been in love with you for years, and in that time all I've asked you for is your time. So now I'll ask you once more for your time. Not just right now, but for the rest of our lives. Will you become my wife?"
Zephyra's face felt tingly, and her whole body felt warm. She felt like she was inside a dream. The man of said dreams was asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. He was down on one knee, vulnerable, giving her his heart and begging her to keep it safe. There was only one answer.
"Oh my goodness, Kai! I-I don't know what to say! Yes! Of course, yes! I'll be your wife!" She threw her arms around Kai as he stood up, holding her and spinning in circles
Tears of joy filled both of their eyes as they stood there, holding each other.
"You've just made me this happiest man in the universe, Zephyra." Kai whispered as he held her tighter.
The two connected foreheads and stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity.
I'm asking for your time because I don't have enough time in this world to love you. There will never be enough time to love you. I want to grow old with you. I want to be with you forever.