I'd been a week. A week since all of Shinra's fears of losing the love of his life had vanished, and everything felt right. A week of waking up to soft kisses to his cheek in the morning, and ginger kisses on the forehead goodnight. Her cold fingertips always lulled him to sleep as she traced frozen circles onto his back, her chilled toes brushed against his legs when she moved them to get comfortable within the pile of blankets. (Which mostly involved her curled up against his chest, wrapped in his arms contently.)
He was eager to hear her voice for the first time, and asked her to speak on multiple occasions throughout those seven days. She just shook her head, drawing her eyebrows together sternly. This was also often paired with a prompt smack to the shoulder, or something within that category. He knew very well that she would speak when she felt comfortable, and she wasn't quite ready yet. But Shinra still found it an honor to look into those beautiful eyes of hers and spot her emotions, it was much easier than before. Of course, he stopped pressing her buttons and waited with the utmost anticipation. To anyone who didn't know the situation, he'd seem like a father who was overly excited to hear his child's first words, hoping they'd be something along the lines of "dada". It was all he could think about, and he wondered if her voice would sound the same as he'd imagined it when he read the messages when they were on the glowing screen of a cell phone.
When she did finally speak, they were curled up in the blankets on the couch together on a stormy Saturday night, the only thing lighting the apartment was the television. Of course, one blanket wasn't enough for the woman, and she reached for her phone, intending to ask if he'd be bothered if she got another blanket. (She knew very well he wouldn't be. He never was.) It then quickly came to her attention that the object was across the room, sitting on the dining room table, much like a toddler's forgotten toy. She took in a deep breath, staying silent for a moment before her mouth opened with an intake of air.
"Shinra do you-" Her voice was soft, and smooth, (Just as Shinra had imagined.) and she had a thick accent, due to the fact she hadn't spoken since she was in Ireland. She turned to look at him as she asked the question and paused mid-sentence.
The silence throughout the apartment was deafening, Celty guessed the man had paused the movie when he'd heard her speak. Was it really that big of a deal? To Shinra, it was the biggest deal in the world. He watched her eyes flick left and right as she looked at his face. Before he knew it, tears were welling up in his eyes, spilling over and leaving wet trails down his cheeks. In one smooth movement, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a strong embrace.
Small droplets made wet spots on the Dullahan's pink button-up shirt, and Shinra mumbled an apology before he composed himself enough to speak, "Sorry about that." His smile was bright as he looked at his bride-to-be, "I just wasn't prepared to hear you speak so sudden, is all." He wiped a few tears from his cheeks, laughing a little.
The Dullahan simply shook her head, laughing softly, a grin spread across her face. At that moment, Shinra wondered what it'd be like to kiss her. It'd been years of wondering, and the possibility was finally there, and he hadn't taken any action. He was nervous, in all honesty, when he thought about it his palms got clammy and he felt nervous. The man was going on thirty and had still never experienced the feeling of a kiss from someone he genuinely loved, as his heart had been set on Celty for twenty five years of his life. The thought made his stomach lurch and stuck nervous thoughts into his head as he watched Celty smiling.
He didn't dare try anything. He knew exactly where that would lead, and he didn't want that to happen, having had enough jabs to the ribs by the woman. There were many things going through the man's mind before everything was interrupted with a soft hand to his shoulder.
"Shinra, I was going to ask if you'd mind if I went and got another blanket." Celty tilted her head, questioning, and her hair brushing over her shoulders and curling up at the ends. She focused on the words she spoke, her eyebrows drawing together as her mouth formed the sentence. Her accent made a few words sound a bit mispronounced, but he understood her just fine, and he understood that it was her first time speaking Japanese.
Shinra nodded, moving his arms from around her waist to allow her to move from the couch. Celty placed her hands on the cushion and pushed herself up, standing and padding her way into their bedroom, before walking out with a large comforter. Peeking out from behind the large blanket, she smiled at the doctor sheepishly before lowering herself back into her spot next to him and lying the mass of fabric and fluff across the both of them. She brought her knees to her chest before leaning onto the other, nestling her head comfortably on his chest as his arms snaked around her waist once again. Before pressing the play button on the remote, he pressed a small kiss to her forehead, and squeezed her closer for a moment.
The movie then began playing (It had been Celty's pick that night, so it was a SciFi, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.), and Celty's eyes were glued to the screen, filled with awe (And what seemed like fear- Shinra always wondered why she watched these movies if she was so afraid.). Within twenty minutes, Celty had fallen asleep on him, her arms fallen limp across his chest. Looking down at her, with heavy, tired eyes, he carefully moved her arms and slowly got up off of the couch. Careful not to wake her, Shinra picked her up, bridal-style, and brought her into the bedroom, lying her on the bed (along with the large mass of blankets.). Once she was comfortably on the bed, she curled back up with her knees close to her chest once again, and Shinra crawled in next to her, pulling her close and taking the blankets from the ball they were in. Once they were situated and even on the bed, he fell asleep next to Celty, snoring softly.