"Alright," Marisa says, "let's run through it one more time just so we're on the same page."
Marisa and Sunshine are sitting under a tree behind the house. It's supposed to be a good simulation of how they'll be sitting tonight, when they go to something called a 'moon-viewing party.' Sunshine isn't sure that she understands why they need to have a party for it—she sees the moon almost every night, after all. She would ask, but it seems like understanding the other plan for tonight is more important.
Tonight, Marisa is going to ask Alice to marry her, and Sunshine is going to help. Apparently asking somebody to marry you is a lot harder than it sounds. They've been practicing for half the afternoon, and they still haven't perfected it.
Sunshine nods, and they all get into position. She scoots back, putting some room between herself and Marisa. Marisa tilts her head back and pretends really interested by something up in the sky.
Since Alice is not allowed to know the plan yet, the part of Alice is being played by Ichigo. She's sitting across from the two, next to a small stack of handwritten cards. Sunshine gestures to her, and Ichigo lifts the top card and hefts it over her head.
[THE MOON IS PRETTY TONIGHT], Ichigo-Alice says, in Marisa's handwriting.
"Uh-huh, it really is." Marisa lowers her gaze from the sky, looking down to Ichigo, and grins. "But not as pretty as you."
Ichigo squirms in place, a practiced motion meant to signal that 'Alice' is embarrassed.
"Hey, so." Marisa leans forward, and cups one of Ichigo's cheeks in her hand. Since Ichigo is just a doll, Marisa's hand threatens to wrap around her entire head. "Y'know, Alice, I've been thinkin'."
That's Sunshine's cue to start getting ready. She slips a hand into her pocket and finds the box with the ring in it, preparing to pull it out at a moment's notice.
Ichigo-Alice doesn't immediately respond to Marisa's statement. She's leaned over to the side, straining her tiny arms as she tries to grab the next card, but it's just out of reach. Sunshine nudges the cards closer, and Ichigo manages to snag one, then hold it up: [THINKING ABOUT WHAT?]
"Ah, uh, well." Marisa exhales slowly, calming herself for what comes next. This is the part that they've had to practice a lot. She leans forward and mimes giving Ichigo a kiss. When she pulls back, her smile looks a bit more genuine. "Should be pretty obvious, shouldn't it? I might be overdue for sayin' all of this, but sometimes it feels like, uh, like every day we spend together is better than the one before. There isn't anyone I'd rather spend the rest of my life with, Alice. So, I guess what I'm askin' is. I-is. Is. Um."
Sunshine tightens her grip on the box in her pocket. She's supposed to pull it out at the end of the question... but it looks like that isn't coming any time soon. "You cried again," she says, accusingly.
"M-mmhm." Marisa sniffles and dabs at her eyes. "Guess I'm pretty bad at this, huh?"
That part, Sunshine has no answer for. She's never seen anybody else propose, after all. Maybe this is normal.
Marisa shoots her a self-conscious smile through teary eyes. "Tell ya what. If that happens during the real thing, just pull the ring out anyway. I think she'll get the idea."
Sunshine nods. "Should we... keep going?"
"Yeah. Y-yeah. Just lemme..." Marisa wipes her eyes again, then turns back to Ichigo, loudly clearing her throat. "I guess what I'm asking is," she repeats, with her voice a bit louder, like she's trying to power past her own tears, "Alice... will you marry me?"
This is where Sunshine comes in. As Marisa builds up toward the question, she pulls the box out, then leans forward. By the time that Marisa finishes, Sunshine has the box outstretched toward Ichigo-Alice, and...
And she struggles with the lid. There's a little button on the top to release it, but it's sort of jammed. She frowns and wiggles it, pushing down on the lid and poking the button.
Marisa waits patiently.
Ichigo waits even more patiently. She's taken this proposal very well, staring up at Marisa with her blank little eyes.
"Um," Sunshine says, after a few more seconds. "The top..."
"Oh, uh." Marisa takes the box and gives the button a practiced push, followed by a tug to the lid. Once it's open she hands it back. "... maybe I'll leave it out of the box when we do this for real. Don't think Kourin built that thing to last."
Sunshine nods and picks up from where they left off in the script. She plucks the ring from the box and offers it to Ichigo. It looks just as pretty as it did the first time that she saw it, with all seven little gemstones sparkling in the light.
Ichigo raises her final card overhead: [YES MARISA I WILL MARRY YOU *REALLY GAY CRYING*] Still holding the card, she reaches up with her other hand. The ring is way too big for her fingers, so she slides her arm through the hole and wears it like a bracelet.
A few seconds pass in silence.
Marisa gives an appraising nod. "I think that one went pretty good."
Sunshine isn't sure what makes a proposal good, apart from managing to say most of the words without crying, so she can't disagree. "Maybe, um." She hesitates. "If there were less words, um... you wouldn't cry as much."
"Nah. These things've gotta be flashy. … I mean, at least, I'm pretty sure. Most of this wedding stuff is from the outside, like your mom. That just means I'll get bonus points or something for figurin' it out, though."
Sunshine nods, looking from Ichigo to Marisa and back. "Um. What happens after?"
"After she takes the ring? Well, uh—"
Marisa is cut off by a shout from Alice, coming from the direction of the cottage. "Are you two almost ready to leave? Sunset is in half an hour."
"Yeah, be right in!" Marisa calls back, then looks down to Sunshine. "... right, gotta hurry. Uh. We've gotta hide the ring," she says, and takes it back from Ichigo. "Where should we put it? Somewhere you can pull it out quick when the time comes."
Sunshine frowns thoughtfully. She has to change clothes before they leave, so she can't just put it in her pockets. She can't have Ichigo carry it around in her hands, or Alice will see it.
After some thought, Sunshine leans forward and takes the ring from Marisa. She gestures Ichigo closer. Ichigo dutifully hovers up to eye level with her, and Sunshine pinches one of the many multicolored bows on the back of Ichigo's dress. She slides the two ends of it up through the ring, then releases them. The bow pops back out to its full size, both holding the ring around its base and concealing the ring beneath its bulk.
Marisa whistles appreciatively. "Good thinkin'. I knew I was making a good decision bringin' you in for this." She gives Sunshine a teasing pinch on the cheek, then asks, "Remember your cue?"
"Um... after you talk about the moon."
"And when do you give her the ring?"
"When you start crying."
"Or if I ask her to marry me."
Sunshine nods, but she doesn't expect that part to matter. Out of the seven practice runs they've done, Marisa didn't ever manage to make it to the end without crying.
"Good. This'll be a piece of cake." Grinning, Marisa leans in and gives Sunshine a kiss on the forehead. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get to work."
There's still a lot to do before the proposal, though. They're going to a party, after all. When Sunshine steps inside, dolls are hard at work in the kitchen, preparing a basket to take with them. Sunshine would like to help, but there's something even more important to take care of first. Together with Alice, she heads toward her room.
Sunshine has a brand new outfit to wear for this party. It's called a yukata. A yukata is kind of like a dress, but it's held on with a sash and harder to run in. On the other hand, it's so pretty that it almost makes up for that.
Yukata have patterns on them, and choosing one was very hard for Sunshine. It was almost as hard as picking Ichigo's name. Plus, the patterns that they had at the store were a lot more limited. She couldn't have a yukata with swords on it, or Jizo statues, or one with sweet potato plants, which Sunshine thinks are the cutest plants in her garden.
Instead, Sunshine's yukata is blue, and it's covered in pictures of cats and flowers. Sunshine hasn't met many cats, but it was the one she liked most.
She pulls it out, and Alice says, "Go ahead and get changed. I'll help you with the sash."
That's the other thing about yukata, too—they're kind of hard to put on, and she needs help with it. She's pretty sure that she and Ichigo could manage it together, but since Alice came with her, there's no reason to say no.
Even pulling the yukata on in the first place is harder than a dress, because there's a lot more cloth than her dress has. For a few seconds, Sunshine is lost inside of it, buried in cloth and fumbling around in the darkness. Finally, though, she finds the right holes and slips her arms through them, then pokes her head out. She still has to squirm around a few times before the yukata settles into place, hanging down around her.
"There you go." Alice kneels behind Sunshine and fusses over the outfit, smoothing it out with her fingers. Once she's satisfied, she lifts the sash to Sunshine's waist. As she pulls it back, she hesitantly asks, "Sunshine... do you know what it means when two people are married?"
That was a very strange question when Marisa asked it. Now, hearing it for the second time, it seems even stranger. Sunshine glances back to Alice, curious, but answers it. "Uh-huh."
"Oh, you do?"
Sunshine nods.
"Well, that's convenient, then." Alice goes silent for a few seconds as she focuses on tying the sash, pulling it into a big bow behind Sunshine's back. Half-teasingly, she adds, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if Marisa and I got married, right?"
Now Sunshine is even more suspicious. She shakes her head, but glances back again. "Um... why?"
Alice meets her eyes, but doesn't answer. She tugs at Sunshine's bow a few times, straightening it up and making it tighter, then smiles. "I have a big surprise for tonight. I'm sure that you'll like it, though."
Sunshine really wants to ask more questions, but Alice finishes fussing over her bow and stands up. "For now, though, can you pack up your things and get ready? We should leave soon."
The strangest thing about a moon-viewing party is that, apparently, they can't just do it at their house.
Sunshine can even already see the moon when she follows her parents outside and gets onto the broom behind Marisa. When they take off into the sky, she isn't even quite sure where they're going. It used to be that Sunshine had gone to so few places that she could guess their destination just based on the direction that they flew in while leaving home. Over the past few months, she's been to a lot more places, so that doesn't work anymore. It doesn't help that the one time Alice told her, she said that they would be going to 'Eientei,' which is a word that doesn't mean anything to Sunshine.
Whatever 'Eientei' is, it's pretty far away. The trip takes them all the way past the village, then further on. The fly over the big plain near the heart of Gensokyo, and Sunshine manages to spot both the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Hakurei Shrine off in the distance. They aren't headed toward either one, though. When a big forest of bamboo comes into view below, she gets a little suspicious. Soon, they approach a big clearing inside of it, and Sunshine becomes pretty sure that she knows where they're going.
They land in front of a now-familiar big building, and Sunshine stiffens up.
It turns out that 'Eientei' is the name of the place where she got buried in rabbits.
After a few seconds, Marisa glances back. "Gonna get off, kiddo?"
Sunshine is not going to get off of the broom. Not until she's sure that it's safe. She looks around the area, but doesn't see many rabbits. The house is surrounded by a big clearing, and there are already half a dozen groups scattered around it, lounging on blankets and talking. Reimu is in one of them. The strange maid from Patchouli's library is in another one. There are only a handful of rabbits, though, and they don't seem to be bothering the people on the ground. Even if they were, a few rabbits isn't enough to bury Sunshine. Plus, her parents are here this time.
After convincing herself that it's safe, Sunshine slides down.
"Hmm," Alice says, stepping up alongside them. A retinue of dolls follows behind her, carrying a picnic basket, a bottle of sake, and a folded blanket. "Do you mind if we get a spot by ourselves? I think I'd appreciate some privacy tonight."
"Y'know, I was just thinkin' the same thing," Marisa agrees. "Why don't we settle in by that tree over there?"
Alice is okay with that proposal. They walk over to the spot that Marisa had pointed out, and Alice steps over near the trunk of the tree, looking across the area thoughtfully.
"Please spread out the blanket here," she tells the dolls, gesturing toward the ground. "I'd like the basket in the middle, and you can pour two glasses of sake and one of juice. Once you're done, I'd like the Shanghais to stay nearby in case we need anything else, and the rest of you can wait under the tree. I think that should do it." She softly claps her hands together. "Please get to work."
Watching Alice direct the dolls is strange for Sunshine now. It does still make her a little jealous—if she tries helping out, Alice will probably stop her and explain, for the thousandth time, that Sunshine doesn't need to do the same work that all the other dolls do. More than that, though, it's frustrating. The instructions that Alice gives the dolls are long, and they somehow manage to be both redundant and missing some key information.
Sunshine could convey the same instructions much faster and quieter. A spreading gesture toward the ground would be enough to tell the dolls to spread out the blanket, with a quick tip of her hand to indicate which direction the corner of the blanket should be pointing. A gesture like picking something up and moving it, paired with a drawing-in gesture with her fingers, to express that everything else should go in the middle. Two fingers, a quick gesture like holding a cup, and the word 'sake.' One finger and the word 'juice.' The word 'Shanghai' and a gesture to direct them where to stand, then another gesture to convey separating the rest, followed by pointing them to where they should stay.
That would give the dolls the same instructions more quickly. Plus, it would give them all the information they need. As it is, it isn't clear whether the dolls should turn the blanket in a specific way, or just where the Shanghai dolls should wait when they're done. Specifics are very important, because the dolls can't ask questions or talk to each other to make group decisions.
Sunshine would still say 'please' at the end, though. It's important to be polite.
Even with Alice's slightly clumsy instructions, the other dolls manage well enough, with only a minimum of confusion. Once everything is ready, the non-Shanghai dolls wander off, and the Shanghais toddle over, one by one, to stand alongside the edge of the blanket.
"Handy." Marisa takes a seat on the blanket and lifts her cup.
Sunshine follows her example. Marisa is looking up toward the moon, so Sunshine does that too, sipping at her juice.
Back when she was tiny, Sunshine spent a lot of time looking at the moon. There wasn't much else to do during the night back before she needed to sleep. The moon still looks like Sunshine remembers, so she still isn't sure why they had to come to Eientei to watch it.
Like she's done dozens of times before, she squints and tries to take a really close look at it. No matter how hard she stares, though, she can't see a single moon rabbit, let alone any buildings or big lakes. Alice has told her that's because the moon is really far away, but Sunshine still has her doubts. No matter how high they fly on the broom, she can always still see buildings and lakes below them.
"It's lovely tonight," Alice says, taking a seat next to them.
"Mmhm," Marisa says. "It's a good night for this stuff. No clouds or anything."
Alice talked about the moon being pretty. That's basically Sunshine's cue. She beckons Ichigo closer, and gets ready to pull the ring out at a moment's notice.
Marisa doesn't continue on the script, though. After a few seconds, she notices Sunshine's position and lets out a slightly nervous laugh. Leaning forward, she gently pushes Sunshine's arm down. "A-ah, hey, kiddo, why don't you go ahead and have a snack? We're gonna be here a while."
She sort of stresses that last part. Sunshine isn't sure why, but it seems obvious that the proposal isn't happening just yet. Instead, she directs Ichigo to grab her a snack, then settles in to watch the moon.
"Hmm, and do you see that brighter one?" Alice points to the sky, and carefully inclines her finger toward the dot in question.
Sunshine nods. She's sitting in Alice's lap, so it's easy to see where she's pointing.
"That one is actually another planet, named Venus."
Sunshine hadn't known that there were other planets, but she doesn't see any reason why not. She squints at it, but there isn't really much to see. It just looks like another little point of light in the sky. "Are there rabbits on it?"
"I don't think there are, no."
That makes sense, Sunshine supposes. The moon is a thousand times bigger than the tiny little dot that is Venus. There probably isn't much room for Venus rabbits.
"Yeah, but check this out." Marisa leans in against them, jabbing her own finger into the sky. "Right next to it, see this kinda circle of stars right here? And then there's a line, and it leads down to this bit right here."
Marisa traces it all out with her fingers, but it doesn't look like much to Sunshine. She still nods.
"That's a constellation called 'Cetus.' It's supposed to be shaped like a sea monster."
Even knowing what it's supposed to be, Sunshine isn't sure that she sees it. Just kind of two boxes linked with a line. And... "Um. What's a sea monster?"
"Uh." It's obvious that Marisa hadn't been expecting this question. "... it's a monster that lives in the sea, I guess. Like a youkai."
"They're big, long fish monsters that eat people," Alice says, and gives Sunshine a reassuring squeeze around the waist. "But you don't need to worry about them. Nobody has seen a cetus in centuries, and they only live in the ocean, anyway."
That's kind of reassuring, but also disappointing. Sunshine's parents tell her lots of stories about evil dragons, and sea monsters, and such, but they all live elsewhere. If all of the monsters live somewhere else, what things are left for a hero to fight? There are youkai, of course, but it seems like a lot of youkai, like Narumi or Rinnosuke, are nice. Having dragons and sea monsters around would make things a lot simpler.
"Huh," Marisa says. "I always figured they were, like... big, evil kappa. I mean, underwater monsters and all."
"I'm afraid not, dear."
"Yeah, but the constellation even looks like one, see?" Marisa starts tracing it out again. "Up here is the head, and there's—"
She's cut off by another figure stepping into position in front of them, eclipsing half of the sky. Backlit by the moon, Sunshine can't see much of their face, but they sound friendly as they say, "Good evening. I hope that you're all enjoying the party?"
"I mean." Marisa pulls her finger back. "It's a pretty good moon. I'd give it a solid eight outta ten."
"Oh, I'm glad." The figure leans back, and Sunshine gets her first good look at her. She has really, really long black hair, and she's wearing a pink and red robe. She's really pretty and delicate-looking, kind of like Alice.
And she isn't alone, either. Next to her is a rabbit-lady in a suit, with hair that's almost as long, carrying a platter piled high with round, white, squishy-looking things.
This is kind of weird, but Alice doesn't seem to mind. "Good evening," she says, "and thank you for inviting us. I don't think you've met Sunshine? And Sunshine, this is..."
She starts gesturing up to the pair, then pauses, looking slightly uncertain.
Marisa does too. "Oh. This might be weird, huh?"
The black-haired woman frowns. "Oh, 'weird'? How so?"
"Well..." Marisa looks to Sunshine. "Uh, y'know how the Eternal Night incident is your favorite story?"
Sunshine nods.
"This is, uh. The moon rabbit," Marisa gestures toward her. "And the princess."
"Reisen Udongein Inaba and Kaguya Houraisan," Alice translates.
Sunshine stares up at them, wide-eyed. She's heard the story about her parents fighting the two of them dozens of times. After that, meeting them does feel a little strange. They don't look anything like Sunshine's drawings of them, either. Drawing-Kaguya always has a crown and a big red fiery Robe of the Fire Rat. Drawing-Reisen wears a dress and has scary glowing red eyes that cover half of her face.
Actual Reisen's eyes aren't glowing right now, and she looks kind of embarrassed.
Kaguya, on the other hand, doesn't seem the slightest bit perturbed. She smiles down to Sunshine, bowing. "Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sunshine. It's always nice to meet a fan."
Reisen butts in, seeming a bit eager to change the topic. "Would you like any dango? The rabbits made too much mochi today. Master just sort of wants it gone."
Alice eyes it. "Is it...?"
"It's rabbit mochi but not, er, rabbit mochi," Reisen explains, tugging at her tie and looking slightly ashamed of herself. "They've already tired themselves out."
"Oh! Then certainly, thank you."
Reisen crouches down, passing out dango to the three of them. Sunshine has to scoot out of Alice's lap to give her room to eat, and inspects the dango before she does so. It's soft and squishy and just a little moist. It also smells pretty sweet. After Alice and Marisa start eating, she lifts it up and takes a bite of her own.
It's very good. Sunshine has tasted a lot of sweet things—candy and pastries and berries and apples and red bean paste—but this doesn't quite taste like any of them. It's really soft, though, softer than any cake that Sunshine has ever had. She stiffens up in surprise for just a moment before taking a second bite, and a third. Even though she started eating after both of her parents, she finishes first.
Kaguya holds a hand to her mouth, covering it with a draped sleeve as she laughs softly. "I'd almost forgotten how adorable children are. I still haven't seen many since I returned to the Earth." She leans in closer. "Would you like another, Sunshine?"
Sunshine nods.
Kaguya glances to Reisen. "Inaba, if you would?"
Reisen offers Sunshine another dango, and Sunshine digs in. The second one is almost even better than the first one. Now that she knows what to expect, she can pace herself a little more. It still disappears pretty quickly.
The sight leaves Kaguya smiling. "Oh, this is kind of fun! Inaba, could you give her a—"
"It, er," Alice interrupts, "would probably be better if she doesn't eat half a plate of dango tonight."
"Not unless you want her to run around bouncin' off the walls like those rabbits," Marisa agrees.
Sunshine sort of pouts.
Kaguya does, too. Unlike Sunshine, though, she rebounds quickly. "I'm sure a little more wouldn't hurt, though?"
"... a little more would be fine," Alice concedes.
Kaguya nods. Rather than requesting that Reisen handle it this time, though, she turns to the platter herself. Taking a dango in each hand, she bends down and offers them both to Sunshine, with a smile that almost dares her parents to protest.
The moon-viewing is interrupted by half an hour of playing.
Dango doesn't quite give Sunshine the urgent, irrepressible sort of energy that more sugary sweets do, but it still leaves her energetic enough that she doesn't feel like sitting around. Instead, Alice takes her to a mostly empty area of the clearing, and they play a game that they've done a few times before. It's sort of like Tag. Sunshine runs around, and Alice directs a small group of string-controlled dolls as they try to corral her for long enough to catch her. It isn't as fun as the dragon game, but it tires her out a lot more quickly. It's also, unlike the dragon game, a game that Alice can play. By the time that Sunshine has burnt the edge off of her energy, they have a small crowd of onlookers, several of them tipsily cheering Sunshine on.
The encouragement pushes Sunshine further than she might normally go. By the time she gives up and lets one of the dolls tag her, she's more than willing to concede and go relax. She follows Alice back to the blanket, where she flops down and takes a few sips of juice.
Marisa smirks over at her. "Tired you out, huh?"
"I'd blame Suika, personally," Alice says.
"Is that who was shouting, 'you go kid, kick her ass'?"
"Among other things."
"Just be glad she didn't start throwin' stuff."
"I'm very glad."
Alice reaches back to grab the bottle of sake, and casually tops off her and Marisa's glasses. Sipping it, they settle in to watch the moon, side by side.
Now that Sunshine is less energetic, she likes this a bit more. The moon is big and full, and she can see all of the stars, too. The view is pretty enough that she doesn't even bother looking for hidden moon rabbit cities.
Things are quieter now, too. Cheering for Sunshine seems to have calmed down the more energetic party-goers. Now, most of them have retreated back to their individual corners of the clearing. It's filled with soft conversation and the sounds of youkai rabbits playing somewhere in the distance. A few late spring cicadas hum in the distances.
A falling star flashes across the sky, and they talk about it for a few minutes.
A rabbit wanders past on its way to wherever it's sleeping tonight.
A night sparrow chirps in the distance.
That, though, is all that happens for fifteen minutes.
Sunshine is just starting to worry that she might fall asleep when Alice breaks the silence. "Mmh." She sort of sighs, like she's reluctant to ruin the moment. "Dear, while we're here there's... something I'd like to say to you."
"Huh? I mean, uh. Actually, there was somethin' I was wanting to bring up too." Marisa shoots Sunshine a quick, pointed glance. "But, first. Don't you think the moon's really pretty tonight?"
Sunshine perks up. Maybe Marisa got tired of waiting for Alice to comment on the moon and decided to take matters into her own hands? She beckons Ichigo closer, and starts debating the stealthiest way to pull the ring out.
In response to the question, Alice leans over and kisses Marisa's cheek. "And there's nobody I'd rather be sharing it with."
That isn't how Alice was supposed to respond at all. Now Sunshine isn't sure what to do.
Marisa seems kind of surprised by this, too. "A-ah, yeah, it's just, I was thinkin'—"
"I've been doing a lot of thinking, too." Alice's tone—somewhere between serious and teasing—seems to just shut Marisa down. She presses another kiss to Marisa's cheek before pulling away, putting some space between the two of them. She reaches down and takes Marisa's hand, lifting it up between the two of them and giving it a warm squeeze, stroking her thumb against the back.
"And I've been meaning to talk to you about it for ages, but... tonight is the night. Do you know, Marisa... a while ago I tried to picture what my life would be like if you weren't in it, and I... couldn't. I just couldn't. I know that we've been a... pair for some time now, but these past few months, living with you, have been some of the happiest of my life. I could never go back. You're just... that important to me."
"I. Uh," Marisa stammers. "Funny you mention that, 'cuz—"
Alice silences her with a soft shake of her head. She leans in for another kiss—this time on the lips, long, soft, and slow—and gives her hand another squeeze. When she pulls back, her cheeks are red and there are tears brimming in her eyes, but she's smiling. "You're the woman that I love, the other mother of my child, and you've always been there even when I've tried to push you away. I. I, er." Alice's tears are flowing more quickly now, and she pauses to sniffle. As she does so, though, she reaches behind her. One of the attendant Shanghai dolls hovers forward to push something into her hand. "I'm a fool for waiting this long to ask, but..."
She raises her hand. Even in the moonlight, Sunshine can see a ring glittering in it. "Marisa Kirisame, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Marisa stares at the ring, somewhere between dumbstruck and outraged. The flow of tears running down her face just seems to be getting quicker by the second. She scrunches her face up, fighting against them, and blurts out, "Th-that's not fair! I practiced n' everything!"
"Er." Alice stares back at her. "... what?"
"I-I'm not gonna lose that easy! Lemme show you how it's done." Marisa drags a sleeve across her eyes to wipe away the worst of the tears, then sets her jaw, resolute. She snatches Alice's hand up again, meeting her gaze almost defiantly. "Alice, you're prettier than the moon, and... and livin' with you just keeps getting better... and... and, uh.'' Her sniffling comes back with a vengeance. She trails off, her cheeks reddening, and just sort of squeaks out, "n' I love you, and..."
Marisa waves toward Sunshine with her free hand, like she's asking for help.
Oh. Sunshine does remember this from their planning. If Marisa breaks down crying, she's supposed to intervene, after all. She already has her fingers on the ring, hidden on Ichigo's dress. After plucking it free, she practically dives forward, offering it up to Alice.
It's Alice's turn to look stunned this time. She stares down at it. "O-oh," she stammers, as her own eyes flood with tears, "I, I see."
News spreads through the party quickly.
There's a long, long line of people wanting to leave congratulations on the new engagement. Then, there's a general buzz of activity. A few people hang around for extended conversation, and almost manage to drag Alice and Marisa into a night-long drinking party. Throughout it all, there are so, so many questions: When will the wedding be? Who actually asked first? This whole thing isn't a joke, is it?
Eventually, though, a few pointed suggestions are enough to convince the stragglers to give the new fiancées some privacy.
Once again, it's Alice, Marisa, Sunshine, and the moon.
Or three of those, at least. Sunshine drifted off almost an hour ago. She's curled up in Alice's lap, resting against her chest.
Marisa slides in against Alice's back, looping her arms around the two in a hug and resting her head on Alice's shoulder. It leaves the both of them in a perfect position to watch the moon. After the flurry of congratulations and questions, it's a welcome reprieve.
Alice turns her head to give Marisa a peck on the cheek. "Comfy?"
"I mean, I would've rather buried my face in your boobs, but Sunshine beat me to it. This isn't a bad spot, though."
Normally, Alice would probably reprimand Marisa for a comment like that. Tonight, she lets it slip with a soft hum of acknowledgement, and runs her fingers through Sunshine's hair.
For about the fifth time tonight, Marisa pulls out her brand new ring and admires it. She tilts it side to side a few times, watching how the jewels catch the light. There are five stones in all—from the outside in, some kind of black stone, what she knows for sure is yellow topaz, and a slightly larger diamond. It does fit her style pretty well, she has to admit. Visually, at least. Materially, Marisa has only ever owned two other rings, briefly, before she sold them to a jeweler who doesn't ask too many questions. She thinks she'll be holding on to this one.
"Do you like it?" Alice asks, softly, to avoid waking Sunshine.
"Yep. I do."
"If you twist it and speak a command word, it's enchanted to project a defensive barrier. Remind me to demonstrate tomorrow."
"... oh, jeez, that's cool. Now I feel dumb that I didn't even think of enchantments. But, counterpoint: Yours is a rainbow. That's gotta count for something."
"It very much does."
Alice reaches over with her own ring-bearing hand, taking Marisa's and interlacing their fingers. For a few seconds, they're both much more interested in looking at the two rings glittering in the moonlight than they are in looking at the moon itself.
"... I just realized," Marisa says. "We're supposed to, like, formally give each other rings at the wedding, right?"
"Mmhm."
"How's that work? Are those ones just fakes, or are we supposed to swap back until then, or...?"
"Oh. Er. I'm... not actually sure."
"Wedding rings're an outside world thing, though. If you don't know, I definitely don't."
"It might surprise you to learn that I've never been married before, dear." Alice yawns softly, leaning back against Marisa and putting more weight on her. There's a long series of lazy kisses before she says, "I have a proposal about that."
"Ah, you're kinda late. Proposals were like an hour ago."
Tonight's events have built up enough goodwill for Alice to let that joke, too, pass by her without comment. "I'm from the outside world, but barely know how these things work out there. You're from the human village, but aren't very concerned about their expectations. Let's just... do this our own way."
"Makin' it up as we go, huh?"
"Something like that."
"Never expected you to be so easygoing about it."
"Mmh." Alice presses another quick kiss to Marisa's cheek. "Maybe you've rubbed off on me."