Chapter 33 - Birthday Delight

3.15.1205 - Tuesday

Rean nervously made his way to Towa's dorm room. This would be the first date they would go on as a couple, and he couldn't be any more nervous about it.

Rean had made sure to change into something far more casual. Instead of his usual Thors uniform, he was dressed in fairly basic attire. A simple red and white hooded sweater with casual black slacks. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was what he felt comfortable in.

"Hello? Towa? It's me Rean." Rean said as he knocked on Towa's door.

"One minute! Sorry!" Towa yelled from inside her room.

"Don't worry, take your time!" Rean yelled back.

Towa nervously took another look at herself in the mirror. She had wanted to wear something fancier, but her light green sundress was still in the wash. All she had available was her striped green shirt, black slacks, and pink hooded sweater. She wanted to wear the orange hooded sweater that Rean lent her back in Ymir, but she accidentally sent it, along with most of her other belongings, to her family since her time at Thors was coming to an end.

"I hope he likes it." Towa thought to herself as opened the door to meet with Rean.

"G-Good afternoon Rean. S-Shall we?" Towa greeted nervously.

"Of c-course!" Rean responded.

Seeing as it was Towa's birthday, Rean let her decide what they should do on their date.

Rean knew that it was weird not having a plan. But he knew Towa well enough to know that even though this was his idea, that she probably thought up her own plan anyway.

"You sure you want me to lead? I'm sure you had something in mind." Towa asked.

"Don't worry. I have something special planned for later, but for now I'll follow you wherever you go." Rean answered.

"Haha. If you say so." Towa responded.


The first stop of their date would be Keynes' Bookstore.

Rean and Towa went around to look for a certain book that she'd been meaning to buy for a while.

"Sorry if this isn't exactly the place you had in mind to go shopping with me." Towa said as she searched the lower shelves.

"Why would I mind? This seems like the type of place I would've expected to go shopping with you." Rean told her as he searched the top shelves.

"Haha. I suppose you got me there." Towa responded.

After a few minutes, Towa finally found the book she was looking for. It was a book all about military finances.

"Why a book on military finances?" Rean asked.

"Oh, I figured since I'll be traveling that it would be a good idea to take a long book to read over the course of the trip. Seeing as this is one of the things I'll be learning during my internships, I figured I'd read some more about it while out traveling." Towa answered.

"If you say so." Rean said as took the book out of her hands to go pay for it.

"W-Wait, you don't pay for it!" Towa yelled.

"Don't worry, consider it your first birthday gift!" Rean yelled back.

"Wait… first?" Towa thought to herself.

"Alright, where to now?" Rean asked as he returned with Towa's book in a bag.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Towa answered as she led him to their next destination.


Rean and Towa's next stop was Kirsche's Cafe & Inn.

They took a table for two outside so they could enjoy the weather while sitting down.

After making their orders, Rean and Towa began to discuss upcoming events.

"Wait, so are you going to have the entire dorm to yourself once everyone leaves? Aren't you going to get lonely? Why didn't you tell me before I sent our Mishy plush to my house? They could have kept you company." Towa asked.

"Don't worry, I can handle having such a large dorm all to myself. I know how to cook, do laundry, clean, sew, and all the other basic survival skills. Plus if I do start feeling lonely, Patrick and Alan told me the guest rooms in both dorms are always available." Rean replied.

"I suppose. Although I'll try to message you whenever I can." Towa continued.

"Hey, you're the one who's going to be touring Erebonia. I should be the one worried sick." Rean teased.

"Haha. Sorry, it's just a bit weird thinking about the fact that the moment we start dating we both end up getting separated." Towa explained.

"Don't worry. Captain Claire already told me that the government doesn't plan to send me out of Trista and Heimdallr for a long time." Rean assured her.

"Still, we should start looking over our schedules to see what days we can hang out together. I should start to be free around late October or early November." Towa told Rean.

"I don't think my instructors will mind if I miss a day or two. My quota for graduation should be met after a month of attendance. Granted, I'll try to go as many days as I can." Rean told her.

"You better attend your classes. I better not get a call from Principal Vandyke requesting me to drag you to your classes, because I'll do it." Towa teased.

"You're joking, right?" Rean asked.

"You better not risk it." Towa answered.

"Haha. I see…" Rean nervously responded.

It didn't take long for their orders to arrive. The two quietly ate their meals silently. Just like in Keynes' Bookstore, Rean paid for everything once they were done.

"Rean, just because it's my birthday doesn't mean you have to pay for everything we do you know." Towa told him when he returned from paying.

"I know. I just want to help make one of your last days at Thors memorable." Rean explained.

"Rean, I'm perfectly happy just spending my birthday with you. In fact, didn't you say earlier that you had something planned for later? I think I want to see what you have planned now." Towa responded.

"If you say so. Please wait here while I go pick it up from George's lab." Rean said.

With that, Rean made his way back to Thors. Towa wasn't really sure what he had planned, but she definitely was excited.


After a few minutes Rean returned with his orbal bike.

"I figured it would be nice to go out for a ride. What do you think?" Rean asked.

"Oh, I'd love to." Towa responded.

Towa quickly made her way to Rean's orbal bike and took a seat inside the sidecar.

"Oh this was where you left my book. You don't mind if I start reading it while you drive?" Towa said as she picked up her book.

"Go right ahead." Rean answered.

Once Rean saw that Towa was ready, he started up his orbal bike and made his way down the same road they went on all the way back in August.


The ride was mostly silent.

Rean did his best to make the ride go as smoothly as possible for Towa. According to Angelica and George this was one of the few things that usually helped her relax, especially while he was away. So he wanted to drive her one last time before she graduated.

Even though Towa spent most of the ride reading the first chapter of her book, she couldn't get over the fact that Rean was driving her again. She appreciated Angelica's efforts, but there was nothing like having Rean drive her around the outskirts of Trista again. She was surprised by how well Rean had improved since August. She figured he must've gotten some practice while off the Courageous during the Civil War.

Rean kept on going until he saw Heimdallr off in the horizon.

"Alright, I think it's time we head back." Rean said as he carefully turned the orbal bike around.

"You sure? I think it might be a good idea to take a quick break." Towa said.

"Pretty sure that's what we did last time." Rean joked.

They both quickly noticed the same tree and hill they had rested on back in August.

"Heehee. What a coincidence." Towa said.

Rean quickly parked the orbal bike, and helped Towa out of the sidecar.

The two made their way up the hill, and just like before, the tree they were leaning on gave them a nice shade to rest under.

"So how's your birthday been? I doubt I was the first person to congratulate you." Rean asked.

"Well first thing in the morning, Angie and George surprised me with breakfast in bed, then I got a call from my family, and then during lunch you and Class VII surprised me with a small cake." Towa listed off.

"Why am I not surprised that Angelica and George did that for you?" Rean commented.

"I might be biased, but this is definitely the highlight of my day." Towa admitted.

"R-Really?" Rean asked.

"I mean, this is our first date as a couple. So I guess that's more than enough to make me happy. I'm looking forward to going on more once my tour is done. I imagine that this was your gift for me?" Towa continued.

"Not necessarily, but I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying this date as much as I am." Rean answered.

Before Towa knew it Rean pulled out a small wrapped box from his red uniform coat.

"This is your gift Towa. Happy birthday." Rean told Towa as he handed her the small box.

"Rean… T-Thank you." Towa said as she took the small box.

Towa carefully unwrapped it, and then slowly opened the box. She was mesmerized by the ribbon inside. It was a simple turquoise ribbon with yellow trimmings. Upon further inspection, she confirmed that it was a fairly long ribbon. She could probably wear it as a tie if she wanted to.

"Do you like it?" Rean shyly asked.

"I don't like it. I love it!" Towa answered before leaning in to give Rean a hug.

"Haha. Glad you liked it." Rean responded as he did his best to breathe. He'd forgotten how tight Towa's hugs could get.

Towa quickly undid her light blue ribbon and tied her hair with the turquoise ribbon instead.

"How do I look?" Towa asked.

Rean wasn't really sure how to answer, she looked the same as ever. Only difference now was that Towa was wearing the turquoise ribbon he had gifted her instead of her usual light blue one.

"Just as great as you usually do." Rean answered.

"Why do I feel like you'd say that no matter what I wear." Towa joked.

"It's not my fault it's true." Rean teased.

The two shared a laugh while Towa undid the turquoise ribbon and tied her light blue one back on. She wanted to keep Rean's gift in as nice of condition as she could.

"Should we head back now?" Rean asked.

"Yeah." Towa answered.

The two quickly returned to Rean's orbal bike.


Much like before, the ride was silent. Although this time Towa didn't spend the ride reading, instead she kept on staring at Rean.

Rean could sense Towa staring at him. He wasn't sure if he'd done something to anger her.

"I-I didn't do something to make you mad have I?" Rean nervously asked.

"Oh, I should've known that you could've sensed me staring at you. Don't worry, you've done nothing to make me mad. I was just curious about something." Towa admitted.

"What is it?" Rean asked.

"I was wondering if you secretly planned to rest on the hill again. I know it was my suggestion, but it is rather strange how you decided to turn around at the exact same place we did last time." Towa continued.

"You caught me." Rean admitted.

"You're going to have to try harder if you think you can hide anything from me, Rean." Towa teased.

"Duly noted. I'll see what I can come up with for our next date." Rean commented.

"Oh, you're already thinking about our next date? I doubt that won't happen for a few more months though." Towa responded.

"Got to have something to look forward to while you're away." Rean continued.

They both suddenly remembered what they needed to do if they wanted their relationship to be seen as official. They still needed to get their families' blessings.

"You've just remembered to huh?" Towa asked.

"Yeah, we still need to let our families know." Rean commented.

"We also need to get House Rogner's permission considering you're the son of a noble family in Nortia Province." Towa pointed.

"We should probably wait until you're back from your tour to arrange a meeting with them." Rean continued.

"Good idea." Towa responded.

"Still, this doesn't mean that we aren't a couple already. We just aren't starting the proper courting process yet." Rean said in an attempt to reassure Towa of their current relationship status.

"Courting? I hadn't realized that you planned to marry me this early into our relationship." Towa teased.

"You know what I mean. S-Still that is usually how the courting process ends." Rean responded as he felt his face getting red.

Towa couldn't help but notice Rean's face staying red for the duration of the ride back.


Once they were back in Trista, Rean walked Towa to her dorm room after parking his orbal bike in George's lab.

"Thank you Rean. Today was great." Towa said before opening the door to her room.

"It was my pleasure. Happy birthday Towa. Sweet dreams." Rean said.

With that the two shared one last kiss for the night, before Towa closed her door to prepare for the next day, and Rean made his way back to his dorm.


3.25.1205 - Friday (Departure Day)

Class VII, Angelica, George, and Towa's graduation came and went.

Sara and Sharon surprised everyone with a last minute party in the Class VII Dorm before they departed.

It was a rather sobering experience for Rean seeing as every hour people would leave the dorm to catch their trains. Gaius, Emma, Celine, Sara, and Fie were the first to leave due to how far away they lived. Then Angelica, George, Laura, Jusis, Alisa, and Sharon left to make it home before nightfall. Now it was time for Elliot, Machias, Millium and Towa to leave.

Towa watched from the boarding platform as Elliot, Machias, and Millium got inside the train. Despite Heimdallr being so close to Trista, they all agreed to go together before it got dark.

"Well, I suppose this is going to be goodbye for a while." Rean said as he made it to the boarding platform.

"Yeah, but only for a while. You didn't have to come see me off you know." Towa responded.

"Haha. What are you talking about? I came here to see everyone off." Rean lied.

"Aw, come here you big softy." Towa said before putting her arms around Rean.

The two shared one last hug before Towa boarded the train.

Rean waved off everyone as the train started moving. And before he knew it, the train was out of sight.

After a few minutes Rean returned to the Class VII Dorm. It was strange to see the dorm so empty, he'd grown rather accustomed to all the mayhem that went about inside.

After a quick shower, Rean put on his pajamas and laid down on his bed. He was ready to go to sleep, but then he felt his Arcus unit vibrating underneath his pillow.

"Oh I got a new message. It's probably Elise or mom." Rean said to himself as pulled out his Arcus Unit.

Rean was rather surprised to see that it was a message from Towa.

"Hi Rean, I just wanted to let you know that I'm back home! Goodnight. P.S. Mishy also wanted to say hello." Towa wrote.

Included in Towa's message was a photo she had taken with her Arcus unit. It was a picture of her dressed in her pajamas holding their Mishy plush in bed.

"Goodnight you two." Rean messaged back.

With that, Rean put back his Arcus unit under his pillow. He looked forward to the next day, knowing full well that with each passing day the sooner he'd be able to reunite with Towa.


Author's Note

Thus the Cold Steel II Arc has come to an end. Hope you all enjoyed it! I look forward to the Cold Steel III Arc!

Preview