Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

SIXTEEN

Four months later, we were engaged.

Kunsel had proposed to me about two months ago at Goblin's Bar. It might not have been the most romantic place for most people, but it was special to us. It was where we had first met. He had taken me there to celebrate my twenty-first birthday. I should've suspected something was up, what with how much more nicely he had dressed than usual as well as how nervous he had seemed. But I had just been happy to have him there with me that night.

After dinner, Kunsel had handed me the box almost shyly, wishing me a happy birthday as we had sat at our usual table, the piano's music filling the air with its sweet melody. I hadn't known what my gift was at first, though my heart had sped up on seeing how small it was. My eyes had gotten as big as my plate when I'd opened it up and caught sight of the ring. The diamond had glittered in the light, and I knew it must've taken a lot of paychecks for Kunsel to have afforded it.

Of course I'd said yes when he had dropped to one knee and asked me the question. I was beaming the whole time, and after he had taken the ring out of the box and had slid it onto my finger, I had kissed him long and deep, my lips pressing fiercely against his, thanking him both with words and with my tongue. Along with a night of sizzling passion when we'd finally gotten back to my place.

We hadn't been able to keep our engagement a secret for very long, and it had since become the talk of the town, tons of reporters gushing left and right about how "an ordinary young soldier had won the heart of one of Midgar's newest and biggest stars." They had just loved going on about it, and if I had thought it was hard for us to go places without being noticed before, it was even tougher now. It seemed like there was always a camera around. We weren't surprised, though.

Over the past year, both my acting career and my relationship with Kunsel had kept on growing. I was having the time of my life, happy as could be, and as more time had passed without any sign that my father knew where I was or that Scarlet had recognized me, I started to feel as if I'd finally left them behind. So as Kunsel and I busied ourselves with planning our wedding, I put them out of my mind.

We had agreed on a private ceremony, just a few close friends, and we'd decided to get married in the spring. That was six months away. It gave us a good amount of time to get everything ready without it being too long a wait. Andrea had insisted on personally designing my dress, and I couldn't wait to see what he'd come up with. It was all so exciting, the preparations, the decisions, and the simple realization that this was really happening. I had to remind myself it wasn't a dream, and I snuck a glance at my ring whenever I got a chance.

"So, what about our honeymoon?" Kunsel asked. "Any ideas?"

We were walking slowly down the streets of Sector 8 late one night after I'd finished that evening's show. We held hands, took in the warm autumn air, and strolled along. I thought about his question, and when I did, I knew what I wanted to do. Bumping into Marissa at that cafe in Sector 4 a few months ago had given me the idea.

Now she was on the short list of friends and family to invite to the wedding, much to her delight. And as I walked with Kunsel that night, I thought of what Marissa had told me about the nice vacation her late husband had taken her on for their anniversary when we had both still been working at Shinra together.

"Costa del Sol," I smiled.

Kunsel laughed. "Never been there, but I hear it's a nice place."

I nodded. "Marissa said once that I should go there someday. And a honeymoon at the beach sounds perfect to me."

"I think I like that idea," he agreed.

"So, you're still not gonna tell Zack about us? That you're marrying Midgar's sweetheart?"