Mizuki felt grumpy about the ever increasing list of people who couldn't be left out of the upcoming wedding, not to mention rituals that the older people were certain they would regret skipping.

If Sora had been the one asking for the changes she would have agreed in a heartbeat, but when the alterations were being 'suggested' by grandparents and so forth, they felt like impositions. She hoped that none of her own assumptions about what was 'normal' for a wedding had increased the complexity of her sisters' weddings.

She also felt uneasy, for less defined reasons. As though she were forgetting something important.

She didn't really feel like she was getting to see much more of Sora, but she did spend more time on her schoolwork, now that she wasn't working part time. Since she hadn't been doing badly in the first place, there wasn't much immediately obvious improvement in her grades, but she also spent some of the extra time reviewing for her college placement tests.

--

It wasn't until someone asked Mizuki if she had heard about the disappearance of the senpai that she had dated in her first year, that the uneasy feeling coalesced into something with reasons behind it.

Somehow she had assumed that the police, or at least some judicial notification of some sort, would notify her of when he had been caught. She didn't know how to respond to the questions, so she simply answered honestly, that she hadn't heard anything since the previous rumors about him.

After she contacted the police station that she had reported her side of the incident to, to ask if he'd been caught yet, she regretted it with her whole heart. The person she spoke with dismissed her inquiry without answering it. The officers who contacted her the next day were decidedly hostile about it, but their questions told her that they hadn't.

Mizuki insisted stiffly, "There was a rumor going around school that he had vanished, so I thought maybe he was already in jail."

"Maybe you have a phone number for him," the officer suggested bitingly.

Mizuki knew the distress she felt, as she recited a number that she hadn't used in years, was irrational. She doubted that it was giving them anything that they hadn't already had either, but refusing to give them the number would have felt like she was obstructing their search. She wished she had never contacted the station.

--

When the call finally ended, she felt ridiculously exhausted and stressed. When her phone emitted the tone that indicated it had received a message from Sora a moment later, she gazed at it blankly. When she realized that she was considering trying to hide her distress from him, and how she would feel if he did that, she called him.

"Hey, too complicated?" he asked.

"I haven't read your message yet," she admitted tremulously.

"Mizuki? What's wrong then?" he asked with alarm.

She couldn't help laughing, despite the tears that were trickling from the corners of her eyes. "I love you Sora," she informed him.

"I love you too," he assured her.

She explained about the rumors and her attempt to contact the police. "I just wondered why I hadn't heard anything," she explained defensively.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"That…" he hesitated and ran a hand through his hair. "Actually, as annoying as it might feel, I'm glad that they seem riled up about it," he admitted. "I was afraid that they'd just let him go if he stayed out of reach for a while, since you're okay."

She didn't know how to respond to that. Even if she was okay now, the assault had hurt her in ways that she might never entirely recover from. It was kind of horrifying to realize that Sora was right, and she should be glad that anyone had cared enough to be suspicious.

Mizuki finally took a moment to read the message Sora had sent her and grimaced. "This outline you sent is no more complicated than Shizu-nee-chan's reception menu was," she assured him tiredly.

Sora frowned, and asked, "Do you want to cancel it?"

"What? No!" she blurted.

"Not getting married," he replied with amusement. "But the," he waved his hands, "event?"

She was really tempted for a moment. It felt so complicated. His expression on her small screen told her that he felt like it was complicated too, even though the outline he had sent told her that he was actually dealing with it all pretty well.

"Why does life have to be so complicated?" she grumbled.

"I've never been able to answer that," he admitted.

Mizuki snorted, and suggested teasingly, "So I shouldn't expect to learn the answer to that within the next decade?"

Sora blinked in surprise, and then raised an eyebrow. "Not from me anyway," he agreed a little warily.

She grinned at him and asked, "Can we just… skip everything that other people think we'll regret skipping, and invite everyone who wants to come?"

"The worst of both?" he asked wryly.

"Not if you think it'll be the worst," she replied. "Nevermind, then this is…"

"I don't mind Mizuki," Sora interrupted. "Like you keep telling me, I don't care what we do, as long as you're the one I'm marrying."

"I'm sorry," Mizuki apologized.

"Don't…" he began.

This time she interrupted, "I thought that I didn't care what we did, but the more things people want to pile onto the 'necessary' list, the more irritated I've felt. I don't want to skip anything that you feel is necessary, but I'd really like to skip everything else. Except I don't want anyone to feel left out."

Sora started to laugh as she finished. "Then we'll go ahead and invite them all, and just submit the online form as we originally planned?"

"Yes?" she agreed questioningly.

"Will we buy them drinks?" he asked laughingly.

"Sure," she agreed.

"My wife won't be old enough," Sora murmured with less amusement.

"Maybe we could borrow the equipment to serve milkshakes," Mizuki suggested.

"Borrow from?" he asked.

She blinked this time, and then waved her hands. "Tooru's family. Nevermind."

Sora narrowed his eyes, but then shrugged. "Go ahead, if you've forgiven him."

Mizuki asked uncertainly, "You won't mind?"

"I'm the idiot who went to my ex-girlfriend's wedding," he replied dryly.

"Did she invite you?" Mizuki asked uncomfortably.

"Yes," he said shortly.

She didn't know what to say. She couldn't imagine inviting an ex-boyfriend, even though she had assumed for a moment that her ex-childhood friend's family would naturally help her out. Since they had resumed exchanging greetings at school, maybe he wasn't even an ex-friend anymore.

After a moment she asked even more hesitantly, "Do you have any exes you would actually like to invite?"

Sora blinked at her and then laughed. "There are a number that I'm still friends with, I suppose. Do you want me to invite them?"

"I want you to invite anyone you'd like to invite," Mizuki insisted without hesitation.

It had somehow never occurred to her that Sora had friends that he had dated before, but the idea felt natural, once presented. He had pushed her away when he had separated from her, but he had also encouraged her to reconnect with her own friends, regardless of their gender.

"I love you," he informed her with a familiar grin.

"I'm counting on that," she replied teasingly.

He laughed.