Author's Note: As promised, here's a nice, cutesy, fluffy chapter to make up for that last one. It's not as well-written as my usual stuff, but I'm too impatient to wait for someone to beta it, and I do like the way the dialogue turned out.


Through the Years

Celty loved blizzards. Even if she insisted on working (not because she wanted to, but because it was part of her nature to push herself harder than necessary), Shinra wouldn't allow her to set foot outside during a snowstorm. It didn't really make sense for him to be concerned – she couldn't exactly catch a cold, and even if she were to get frostbite, it would heal immediately – but it was sweet of him to worry about her, and she was thankful to be getting a break.

Today was one of those glorious days, complete with blocked off roads and a lack of power. Some residents of the apartment had complained about not having a generator, but Celty was delighted to set fire to some scented candles and place them all over the residence, albeit somewhat jealous of normal couples that could eat together by candlelight. Oh, well, she shrugged. We can still just sit at the table and talk. Or type, in my case.

As Celty slipped her pale index finger into the tiny box, she realized that she had used up the last match. With a sigh of black fog, she set for the cupboard. However, upon opening the drawer and digging through the clutter, something caught her eye (figuratively speaking, of course) and pushed her search for a matchbox down on her list of priorities.

It was something she hadn't seen in eighteen years and hadn't thought about in at least five. The paper was somewhat torn and yellowed after years of confinement, but after brushing off some dust, she could still see the scribbled Crayola hues clearly.

"What'cha doin'?"

Shinra was now standing in the bedroom doorway, leaning forward curiously with his head pressed against the side.

Celty would have questioned his perfect timing if she weren't so use to this type of thing. She had admitted to herself years ago that the man had some type of ability to read her thoughts, as had been proven time and time again.

Look what I found!

The doctor walked up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder to see the discovery in her lap.

"Hey, I remember that! How old was I when I drew it? Six?"

I think so.

The two were now settled next to each other (and probably only minutes away from being on top of each other, smothering each other with cuddles) on their still unmade bed, examining the until then forgotten card. While Shinra could tell what Celty was thinking at all hours of the day, it rarely worked the other way around, but Celty was pretty sure her boyfriend was experiencing a mental flashback to the moment he had given her the card, as was she.


This particular day was also cold, though only an inch or two of snow dressed the ground. It would have been a decent day for Shinra to be outside making a snowman (The weird kid would probably make a headless one in her honour.), but a bad case of strep throat had left him imprisoned indoors for the past three days.

Celty was on her way to the couch with a bowl of microwaveable chicken noodle soup. But to her surprise, the boy was not lying lethargically in front of the TV watching cartoons as he had been earlier.

Before she had the chance to wonder what kind of trouble Shinra was getting into, a light tap on her back answered her question.

The Dullahan looked behind her to see a flushed face on top of a three-and-a-half-foot frame with its tiny hands behind its back. The hands came forward to reveal a piece of tablet paper folded in half.

"This is for you, Celty-san!" The first grader's soft voice was scratchy from swelling of the throat, and the sentence was punctuated with a cough, but his enthusiasm didn't waver.

Celty placed the bowl of soup on the coffee table and knelt down to gently remove the card from the boy's hands, smiling internally. The front of the card featured primitive drawings of a headless figure in a frilly white dress next to a noticeably taller man in a tuxedo. Scattered around the two were flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Inside, in messy, but completely legible, letters, it said, "Dear Celty, Happy Valentine's Day! I love you! Love, Shinra." The words were surrounded by at least fifty red hearts.

After closing the card, Celty reached for a nearby pad of paper and a ballpoint pen.

Is this a wedding dress?

She pointed to the disproportionate torso of the headless person.

"Yep," Shinra nodded vigorously like a bobblehead. "I was thinking, when I'm older, your body will still be the same age as it is now, so we can get married!"

Knowing better than to be unnerved by the fact that no normal six-year-old would think of that, Celty couldn't help but think that this was quite possibly the cutest thing she had ever witnessed, at least as far back as she could remember.

Thank you, Shinra. I love it

"You're we-" The child's reply was interrupted with a sneeze, reminding Celty of his current ailment.

Did you make this today? You're sick. You should have been resting.

"I'm sorry." Shinra lowered his head. "But it's Valentine's Day, and I had to give you something!"

It wasn't worth arguing. Shinra wasn't in tip-top physical condition, but he was happy, and that was probably more important. She supposed a hug would make him feel better than any medicine could.

Placing her hands behind his back and pulling him into her, she could see the boy smiling like he'd just received the hottest new toy. It didn't seem as if he was planning on letting go in the next month. Celty hesitantly pulled away, careful to do so slowly and gently in order to avoid breaking his little heart, and gripped the pen again.

Now, go eat your soup before it gets cold!


"Roger that!" The boy saluted, his huge grin still lingering, and sat down at the coffee table to slurp down his meal.

You were so adorable.

Celty wasn't sure when, but at some point in her reminiscence, she had subconsciously placed her neck and the area where her head would be on Shinra's chest.

"Hey!" The doctor pulled his arm tighter around her. "What's with the use of the past tense?"

Celty was sure her lover could see the eye roll that wasn't actually there, but she wouldn't deny that he had a point.

Fine, fine. You're still adorable now.

Shinra was now wearing a smile that said, "Aren't I sweet? Can't you see my halo?" The answer to the former was, of course, a big fat yes. Truthfully, he had only become cuter (and more childish) with age.

You know, you haven't changed a bit.

He wagged his finger at her teasingly. "Now, that's not true. As I predicted when making this card, I have surpassed you in height."

That really wasn't much of an accomplishment, seeing as Celty's height ended at her neck, but there was no reason to bring this up.

"And," he continued, that lovable idiotic smile of his expanding, "I love you even more now than I did back then."

You also say cornier things now than you did back then.

Shinra chuckled and pulled her in tighter. "Well, clearly, I'm doing something right. After twenty long years, I finally managed to win your heart. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean."

She knew very well what he meant, and he was certainly not mistaken in assuming that she returned his feelings. Wrapping her own arms around him as his were wrapped around her, she could feel heart-shaped puffs relentlessly pouring out of her neck.