A True Lover's Embrace
Tomoe looked around the shrine shortly after speaking with Mikage. He had composed himself enough to be presentable for dinner. As he turned the corner into the kitchen and dining area, he was taken aback to see Kurama drinking sake with his housemates. He crossed his arms into his sleeves as he spoke.
"Why is this filthy tengu in our house?"
"Master Tomoe~~!" The wisps cheered in unison.
"Finally, we were worried you were gonna skip out on your own bachelor party!" The intoxicated tengu replied as he raised his glass to the fox.
"A bachelor party?" Tomoe asked.
"Yeah, since we've been all busy working on your wedding plans, we figured we'd have one last bang with our least favorite fox." Mizuki smirked as he took a small sip of his sake.
"Oh, is that so?" Tomoe looked over the small crowd of people surrounding the table.
"Indeed. Whether you like it or not, Tomoe. We're genuinely happy for your wedding. So, have a seat and have fun with our friends." Mikage smiled as he picked up a pickled radish from the central pot
"I believe you mean, people I tolerate, Mikage." Tomoe replied as he sat down in between Mikage and Mizuki, and facing the tengu and wisps.
"Oh, I can feel the love in this room now." Kurama scoffed. "I don't think you even know how to have fun, fox. Have a couple of drinks and chill out. You have the rest of your life to be a stick in the mud." He took a large gulp of his sake, finishing off the glass.
Tomoe scoffed as he grabbed a sake cup and Miakge filled it. "I'm NOT a stick in the mud." He drank the whole glass in one gulp and glared at the tengu across from him.
"Ooooh, Is that a challenge, fox boy?" Kurama smirked as he filled his glass with more beer.
"It's no challenge, because I'm winning." Tomoe smirked back.
"Oh dear." The wisps looked at each other.
-Lady Himemiko's Palace-
"Oh, this is way too much...I can't simply accept all this." Nanami looked at all the jewelry, fine robes, and treasure chests filled with pearls.
"Oh, it's a wedding gift! Please, accept them. I know weddings can be expensive and I know your honeymoon is a hot spring, right? Is it already paid off? You can use the pearls to pay off your debts and start off fresh!"
"But, its so much! I don't think we'll need all this. Besides, I don't wear that much jewelry, a-and I don't wear kimonos all that often..."
"At least take the pearls then! You can sell them and save for a home and your children!" Nanami's face went to a bright red color in seconds. Himemiko looked into Nanami's eyes. "You ARE planning on having children, right?"
"W-Well...umm...er..." Nanami was speechless. She looked away from her gaze. "W-we haven't talked about kids...besides I think we wanna enjoy being together before we add another life into the mix." Nanami spoke softly.
"Aw, how sweet. So, take the pearls! Please?" She plead with her flustered friend.
"I don't know...I'll have to ask Tomoe." She looked around for a nearby phone.
"Tomoe will love this present! This way if he doesn't get his job right away, you'll have something to fall back on." Himemiko stated as she shrugged.
"I don't know...I should really talk to him about this.." Nanami stood up.
"Nanami, I really don't think he'll answer right now. I overheard Mikage saying something about a bachelor party the other day. By now, they're all drunk off their butts."
"Really? Oh, well, I just hope he's having fun. But, I should really ask him about this gift. I'll call him in the morning. Please, don't let me forget." Nanami asked kindly.
"Of course. So, you excited for your wedding tomorrow?"
"Yes. I am. I'm also really nervous, but I know it's just wedding jitters." Nanami blushed slightly.
"Well, the main thing is that you're happy. That's all we ask for. Ok?" Himemiko said as she hugged Nanami tightly.
"Ok." Nanami smiled as she returned the hug.
