A/N: This was loosely inspired by a comic made of Rein and Shade. I managed to find a page translated to Italian so I translated that to English (it's the cover photo, but you can see a bigger version of it on Fine and Rein's tumblr "sunnyprincesses"). I couldn't understand the rest since it was in Japanese though, but I decided to make a one-shot inspired by it.
For the sake of this story Shade and Rein are already a couple and are sixteen.
Disclaimer: I do not own FBNFH.
*.*.*.*
"Shade! Isn't this the cutest outfit you've ever seen?" Rein asked when Shade arrived into the Sunny Palace's parlor room. He and Rein were going to go out on a date so he came to get her. Shade did not expect to be greeted by the sight of Rein twirling around… in a Moon Kingdom's Maid's dress…
Shade just stared at Rein in bewilderment, not being able to find his voice.
"Is something wrong?" Rein asked when she did not hear Shade respond to her question.
"I…You…Do you know what you're wearing right now?" Shade asked.
"A cute outfit!" Rein beamed, "I found it at this adorable little store here in the Sunny Kingdom! The shop owner told me they got it from someone who used to live in the Moon Kingdom!"
"Uh-huh…" Shade continued to stare at Rein who begun to twirl around again. She clearly did not realize it was a maid's dress form the Moon Kingdom. He knew that uniform was rather different than the newer ones the maids now wore, but come on! No matter how he looked at it you could definitely tell it was a maid's uniform from the Moon Kingdom!
"So then can we go now?" Rein went up to Shade and smiled. Since the date was going to end with them going to the Moon Kingdom to have dinner with his mother and sister he did not want them to see her in…that outfit, but she seemed to adore it so he did not want to tell her to go change (and he couldn't lie, she did look pretty cute in it).
Then he thought of something, "Alright, but there's another outfit I want you to wear for dinner with my mother and sister. I guarantee you it is ten times lovelier than the one you're wearing now."
"Really? Where is it? Can I see it?" Rein's face lit up. She always adored the outfits Shade gave her!
"It's still at the Moon Kingdom; you can change once we get there." Shade grinned.
"Oh, fine! Then let's hurry up and start our date!" Rein grabbed Shade's hand and pulled him out of the parlor room.
*.*.*.*
The first thing they did for their date was visit a candy shop in the Sunny Kingdom.
"They make the finest Sunny Drops here! Here, say 'aaah'!"
"Uh…aaahh…" Rein fed Shade a few pieces of the candy from the store. He remembered having some before when Fine gave him a few, but these were definitely a lot sweeter than he remembered. Although he is pretty sure Fine got them from this same candy shop. He wondered if perhaps the reason they tasted better were because Rein was feeding him this time…
"They're great right?" Rein asked.
"Yeah." Shade nodded.
"I know! We'll buy some for Milky too, I'm sure she'd love them!" Rein went back to the shop owner and asked for a couple more bags of the sweet treat.
'Speaking of Milky…' Shade thought back to a conversation he had with his sister.
*.*.*.*
"So when does Rein get to be my real big sis!?" Milky said the night before Shade and Rein's date.
"Huh?" Shade turned to look at his six year old sister.
Milky puffed out her cheeks. "Seriously? Don't you get what I'm asking?"
Shade sipped on his tea, an indication that he had no idea what Milky was trying to imply.
"When are you and Rein getting married? It's been years already and you're still not even engaged, hurry up!" Milky huffed.
"Mmph!" Shade choked on his tea and began to cough.
"Are you doing it the Sunny Kingdom way? I heard that it's mostly the princesses and queens of the Sunny Kingdom who ask their future husbands to marry them." Milky stated. She recalled Rein telling her about this the last time she came to visit. Rein even mentioned that her grandmother Lottie was the one to ask her grandfather True to marry her.
"No we're not doing it the…Sunny Kingdom way…I just don't think it's the right moment to ask yet." Shade said.
"Come ooooon!" Milky yelled in frustration, "I want Rein to be my real big sister already! I'm sure she's getting tired of waiting for you to ask her to marry you too!"
"We're fine the way we are now, we'll get engaged when we're good and ready…" Shade sighed.
"Ask her tomorrow! Tomorrow's the perfect time!" Milky said.
*.*.*.*
'Right she wants me to ask Rein to marry her…' Shade sighed, 'Hmm…well, I think I know one way to appease Milky for now…'
"Alright, I got them Shade. Let's go!" Rein came back up to Shade.
"Right." Shade and Rein left the shop, this time heading to Shade's air ship.
"We're going to your kingdom already? There's still plenty of time before dinner." Rein pointed out.
"I know, but I want to make sure your outfit fits you perfectly with the right accessories and everything." Shade said.
"Is it really going to take that long?" Rein questioned.
"With how long you take to pick out accessories I'm sure it will." Shade smirked.
"Hmph! I don't take that long!" Rein huffed.
"Whatever you say." He laughed.
*.*.*.*
Arriving at the Moon Kingdom Shade hurriedly ushered Rein into his room. He did not want anyone to see her in that outfit and question it…
"Wait, here, I'll go get the outfit and all the accessories you can choose from." Shade said.
"Okay! Hurry back!" Rein smiled.
Shade left the room and went to the third floor of the Mon Palace. He went to a room with a beautifully detailed door. It was a golden door designed with intricate stars and a crescent moon. A woman, the first queen of the Moon Kingdom, was sitting on the crescent moon and holding a star in her hands. Going into the door he took out a dark purple strapless mermaid dress along with a light purple shawl. The bottom of the dress was decorated with beautiful yellow stars. He also began looking inside the some jewelry boxes in the room.
"I can't take them all with me so…which one of these has the most jewels Rein might be interested in?" Shade pondered.
Milky, who had been walking down the hall, overheard him and ran towards the open door. He wasn't supposed to be here yet! Did he ditch Rein? The nerve! Milky was going to yell at her brother, but she saw what he was carrying…the dress and shawl!
Milky beamed and changed directions, running towards Shade's room without a single word to him. Rein must be in his room right now!
"Big sister!" Milky barged into the room. Rein turned to look at Milky shocked by her sudden appearance.
"Oh, hello Milky!" Rein smiled when she recovered from shock.
"Big sis-what are you wearing?" Milky asked.
"I bought this outfit at a store in the Sunny Kingdom." Rein smiled.
"But that's a maid dress from the Moon Kingdom!" Milky said.
"…What?"
"Didn't brother tell you?"
"No, he didn't."
"Oh well…well let's forget that a moment! When's the wedding!?" Milky beamed.
"Wedding?" Rein quirked an eyebrow.
"Didn't my brother ask you to marry him? That's why he was getting the special dress out right! It's supposed to be worn by the woman my brother asked to be his future bride!"
"What!?"
"Eh? He…he didn't ask you to marry him? But the outfit was specifically made for you! Mama had it prepared 'cause she said he was sure he'd ask you!"
Rein took a moment to process everything…the outfit she was wearing was a maid's dress, Shade didn't tell her, apparently the new outfit he was going to give her is supposed to be worn by the person Shade is going to marry…
What bothered Rein the most right now was that Shade didn't tell her the truth about the maid's dress.
"Actually…yes! Yes we are getting married, but, he didn't ask me to marry him, I asked him!" Rein lied.
"Oh! So you really did do it the Sunny Kingdom way!" Milky smiled.
"Yes, that's right, but I also haven't officially proposed to him yet since I didn't give him the ring yet, I'll be doing that during the engagement ball, to make it more special."
"How cute!" Milky squealed, "So when is the wedding!?"
"In June of course, I've always wanted to be a June bride! But I have to talk to your mother beforehand too, but Shade wanted it to be a surprise for you so you can absolutely not say anything to him yet alright?"
"Alright!"
*.*.*.*
Shade came back a little after Milky left.
"Here's the dress. I brought this jewelry box too so you can pick the accessories you want to wear." Shade placed the dress and shawl beside Rein and handed her the jewelry box.
"Thanks!" Rein smiled. She began looking through the jewelry box. Rein picked out a golden tiara with a crescent moon on it along with star shaped earrings, "I think these will be fine! I'll change now, so could you wait outside?"
"Are you sure you don't want me to help undress you?" Shade smirked.
"Out!" Rein grabbed the pillow from his bed, getting ready to throw it at him. Shade hurried out of the room before she could.
*.*.*.*
Shade, Rein, Milky, and Moon Malia all sat down and ate dinner together. Malia and Milky looked very pleased.
'I was right this did make Milky happy. It should keep her from pestering me for a while. Although I'll have to explain alter that we're not engaged yet.' Shade thought, 'I just hope they won't mention anything to Rein, I'm sure she'd kill me…'
Luckily for Shade, she told Milky to keep quiet and Milky decided to pass along the message to her mother. The dinner was mostly filled with pleasant small talk.
After dinner Shade was going to take Rein home, but she asked him to wait a moment.
"I have to speak to your mother about something. Do you mind?" Rein asked.
"Uh, no, that's fine." Shade said.
"Thanks! I'll go to your room once we're finished talking!" Rein went over to Malia and the two made their way away from the dining room. Shade decided to go back to his room and wait.
*.*.*.*
Rein finally finished speaking to Malia so Shade took her back home.
"What did you two talk about?" Shade asked.
"I was inviting her to a ball next week! You'll be coming too, right Shade? As my date of course!" Rein said.
"Of course." Shade said.
"Oh! But there's one thing too. I picked out this outfit for you and I want you to wear it during the ball!" Rein smiled.
"You picked an outfit for me?" Shade quirked his eyebrow.
"Yes! You've picked out outfits for me in the past before and you even gave me this beautiful purple dress! It's my turn to pick out and give you an outfit! You'll wear it won't you Shade? Please!" Rein batted her eyelashes.
"Alright I'll wear it." Shade agreed.
"Great! I can't wait to see you in it." Rein grinned. They finally arrived at the Sunny Kingdom. Rein gave Shade a quick peck on the lips before leaving the airship and going inside her palace.
*.*.*.*
It was finally the day of the ball and Malia insisted that they arrive at the Sunny Kingdom a little earlier than the time it was going to start. Malia, Milky, and Shade arrived at the Sunny Kingdom. They greeted King Truth and Queen Elsa before going their separate ways. Milky went to go hang out with Fine to give Shade and Rein some time together, Malia stayed with Truth and Elsa, and Shade, of course, went to go see Rein.
"Here's the outfit!" Rein said when Shade came into her room. She held out a dark blue suit embroidered with the Moon Kingdom symbol in gold thread. She handed it to Shade before picking up something else. This time it looked similar to a traditional Sunny Kingdom robe he had seen King Truth wear before during special events, but also…different at the same time. The robe was a light blue and embroidered on it in gold and orange thread was the symbol for the Sunny Kingdom.
"Wear this robe with the outfit tonight and this crown!" Rein handed him the robe and a crown normally worn by Sunny Kingdom princes.
"Isn't the crown I have on now fine?" Shade asked.
"I wore a Moon Kingdom tiara with the outfit you gave me so I want you to wear a Sunny Kingdom crown with this outfit. Please?" Rein asked.
"Alright, alright." Shade sighed.
"Thank you~! I'll wait outside for you to get dressed." Rein left the room and let Shade change.
*.*.*.*
Rein wore a big smile on her face after she saw Shade changed into his outfit, wearing the suit, crown, and, more importantly to Rein, the robe.
The two decided to have a walk in the gardens before the ball would start. Shade took the time to take a better look at what Rein was wearing. She was wearing a dark purple cheongsam embroidered on it was the symbol for the Sunny Kingdom in gold thread. Over it, she wore a traditional light purple robe embroidered with the symbol of the Moon Kingdom also in gold thread. The crown she wore today looked similar to the one her father wore with a blue gem at its center.
"You've been staring intently at me for a while, is something wrong?" Rein asked.
"No, not really, I was just thinking how beautiful you are." Shade smiled.
"You're quite dashing yourself!" Rein giggled, "Perhaps we should go inside now. We wouldn't want to be late, right?"
"Right." Shade and Rein headed into the ballroom.
Shade noticed something a little different about today's ball. Normally, when the guests first arrived they would greet Truth and Elsa right away then come and greet Rein and himself and Fine and her date, Bright. But this time the guests immediately went up to Rein and Shade.
What he found stranger, however, was that a few guests brought some small gifts. He was trying to piece together why this would be, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when Rein grabbed his hand, "My uncles and aunts have arrived; I want you to meet them."
Rein dragged Shade to her family members who all finally made their way inside the ballroom.
"I'm so glad you could all make it!" Two men were the first to approach Rein. One had red eyes and black hair, he was Oswald, the other looked almost like Truth, but he had purple hair similar to Shade's and golden eyes, he was Rumor.
"Long time no see, darling." Oswald hugged Rein, "Oh how you've grown! Perhaps a little too fast, I didn't expect to come visit you for this reason!"
"He's right; I just hope you'll be happy." Rumor brought his attention to Shade, "You must be Shade."
"Y-yes." Shade stuttered. Something about the way Rumor stared at him made him feel like he was staring into his very soul. Although he tried his best to meet the gaze head on, trying to hide any nervousness he may have been feeling.
"Dear me, his demeanor reminds me of Rumor when he was younger." A woman with white hair and purple eyes smiled at Shade, she was Nier, Rumor's wife.
"I don't see it." Rumor said.
"Of course you don't." Niya smirked, she was Oswald's wife, Niya had blonde hair and gray eyes.
"Eh, so long as he treats my niece well I don't really care if he's like my brother. Besides doesn't this mean she'll achieve her childhood dream?" Falsity giggled. She was a woman with orange hair and pink eyes.
"Yes I suppose so." Rein giggled along with her aunt.
Shade was confused. What were they talking about?
"Rein, what-" Shade was going to ask what they were talking about, but Rein cut him off.
"Shade I have to make an announcement, come with me." He was once again dragged by Rein, this time to the platform at the center of the ballroom.
Rein brought the attention to them and everyone in the ballroom went quiet and stared at Shade and Rein. Shade figured she was going to start talking to them, but instead she turned to face Shade.
"I think it's about time we officially did this." Rein smiled at him. Shade quirked an eyebrow, what was she talking about? Rein took out a small box revealing a golden ring with an intricate design of the Sunny Kingdom's symbol in it.
"Will you marry me, Shade?" Rein asked. It took Shade a few minutes to process what was happening and once he realized that Rein proposed to him his entire face went red. He placed his right hand over his mouth.
Shade had always assumed he would be the one proposing not the other way around, but he would be lying if he said this didn't make him strangely ecstatic. He never thought he would be this happy being proposed to.
However, in his happiness, he could not find his voice so instead of saying anything he just fervently nodded his head for his reply. Everyone in the ballroom erupted into cheers as Rein slipped the ring onto Shade's left ring finger.
Truth went up to the platform and made an announcement as the cheers died down, "Ladies and gentleman, the future Queen and King-Consort of the Sunny Kingdom!"
The ballroom, once again, erupted in cheers.
*.*.*.*
Shade and Rein received congratulations from everyone in the ballroom. After no one came up to them anymore they decided to go to the balcony for a while. Rein placed her hands on the railing and looked up at the stars in the sky.
"Is it just me or do the stars seem a little brighter tonight?" Rein smiled, "What do you think Shade?"
Rein looked over to her new fiancée. However it seems as if he did not hear a single word she said as he was just staring at the ring on his finger, smiling.
"Pfft…It seems like I was incorrect to assume you would be throwing a fit about me proposing to you." Rein stifled a giggle.
"H-hey…" Shade frowned and blushed, "…It's not like I'm not bothered by it, I mean it's a little embarrassing that you had to propose to me, but…it was a nice feeling hearing you propose to me suddenly...I didn't expect you to ask in front of so many people."
"Hmmm…so then you didn't notice?"
"Notice what?"
"I think it was obvious with the way the guests were acting and the gifts some of them brought. This was an engagement ball for us. As far as everyone else was concerned we were already engaged."
"…What?"
"I thought you did a lot of research on the Sunny kingdom before. It's Sunny Royalty tradition for the engaged couple to wear robes embroidered with their fiancée's Kingdom's symbol. The robe itself is a symbol of me asking you to marry me. That robe is the official 'engagement ring'. So, technically, I asked you to marry me when the two of us were alone.
"By the way," Rein continued "in Milky, Malia, and everyone else's case they assume we've been engaged since last week since I found out about the outfits, I told them that partly as my own roundabout way to get back at you."
"Y-you mean…"
"Yup, I can't believe you didn't tell me it was a maid's dress! And I can't believe you didn't tell me the outfit was for me to wear once we get engaged! But I suppose its fine, thanks to that we finally got engaged. Honestly, I should've just proposed sooner, I couldn't believe that Fine and Bright had gotten engaged before us when they only started officially dating two years after us!"
"Yeah you should've proposed sooner." Shade smirked, "But I think that maid's dress looked cute on you."
"Oh?" Rein smiled mischievously, "Perhaps I'll bring it along with us on our honeymoon. I'm going to assume your offer from the night we had dinner with your family still stands? The dress is a little difficult to get out of alone."
Shade blushed, he would always make jokes like that, but he never knew Rein had it in her.
"Now then let's go back inside, Shade, the sooner we get this ball over with the sooner we can get to our wedding day and our honeymoon night~!"
Rein giggled as she made her way back into the ballroom.
Shade could already feel his face heating up even more, he never expected Rein to actually tease back.
Shade got the feeling that, from this day onward, Rein was going to be getting back at him for all the teasing he's been doing since they were children.
He looked back at the engagement ring on his finger. Shade also repositioned the robe so it was a little tighter on him.
"I guess that's a small price to pay for this happiness though." Shade made his way into the ballroom once again. He made his way to Rein and linked arms with her.
Truly, tonight was the start of a happy life together.