A Truly Happy Life - 3

"Are you prepared to show him?" Mary asked, touching up Kotone's make-up as she questioned the young woman.

"...Yeah. I hope he'll like it," Kotone grinned nervously, an expression opposite of what she wanted. It clashed with the uncaring goth persona that Mary is building with her make-up.

"Tsk tsk! Fanzer is all about you, you can see it in his eyes. You could strip naked and show yourself to him in the middle of an important conversation and he wouldn't reject you," Mary nodded to herself, lightly brushing aside Kotone's hair with her hand.

Kotone couldn't help but smile at such a statement.

-----

Fanzer was relaxing all on his own, before receiving a knock on his bedroom door. The knock was certainly Kotone's, so he was curious as to why she didn't just enter the room.

"Uh, you can just come in, Kotone," Fanzer told her, looking up towards his door in confusion.

There was silence for a moment before Kotone's stumbling and muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

"Could you come and open the door? Just for me?" Kotone asked, causing Fanzer to click his tongue before getting up from his spot. He opened the door to look up to Kotone.

His mouth hung open as he looked up from her feet all the way to the top of her head.

She was dressed in the school's uniform, black and simple as it was, it seemed different on Kotone. If anything, it was more form fitting.

Her black hair had one string of red in it, highlighting just how dark her hair truly was.

She tried to hold an uncaring expression, but small traces of excitement forced their way onto her face.

"How do you―" Kotone was interrupted by Fanzer smashing his lips into Kotone's. He pushed her up against a wall as he firmly held her hips.

They kissed back and forth for thirty seconds without halting. They lightly pulled away from one another, looking into one another's eyes for a moment before a smile came onto Kotone's face.

"My black lipstick is on you," She laughed lowly, breathing softly as she maintained eye contact with her shorter boyfriend.

"I must look fantastic, right?" Fanzer asked rhetorically, his eyes drifting to Kotone's lips as he spoke.

"You're so hard to not kiss all of the time, don't you know that?" Kotone asked as her finger trailed around Fanzer's back.

"Who said we can't kiss all the time?" Fanzer asked, giving Kotone a light peck before backing away again.

"You know that your kisses are too much. If we continue... this won't just end up as kissing," Kotone spoke, a soft moan escaping her lips as she lightly ran over Fanzer's lips with her tongue.

"What's the problem with that? It's not like today's gonna be busy..." Fanzer grinned, opening his mouth and allowing Kotone to start kissing him.

"When you say it like that, I don't feel like holding back...!" Kotone pushed Fanzer against the wall, flipping positions with him as she began to kiss him.

-----

Jumin and Asami were about to knock on the door but were suddenly stopped from doing so when they heard something slam. For a moment they though it was a disaster, possibly Emma coming back for revenge, so they quickly knocked on the door.

After a moment, a red and flushed Kotone opened the door.

"Oh, Jumin and Asami. What are―oh god―you doing here?" Kotone asked, smiling as she peaked her head out from behind the door.

They ignored Kotone's messy make-up, and flushed expression, allowing Asami to squeak out a question. They also tried their hardest to ignore Kotone's soft rocking back and forth.

"Is... Is Fanzer doing okay? We uh...." Asami couldn't finish as Kotone let out a soft moan, causing the orange-headed girl's face to become a dark red. Jumin began cracking up at the situation but tried to not laugh.

"Y'know what? We'll just uh... leave you guys to relax. I'm uh...." Jumin couldn't keep himself together and burst into laughter.

"We'll go! We will leave! Good job Fanzer, I'm proud of you!" Jumin laughed, turning away and preparing to walk away, only to bbe stopped by Fanzer's voice.

"Thank you, that's extra motivation for a homie!" He yelled, causing Kotone's face to turn a deep shade of red as she buried her face into her hands.

Jumin quickly grabbed the stunned Asami and ran off, leaving Fanzer and Kotone to close the door and continue their activities.

"Mary really did do a―oh my god―good job!" Kotone thought as she kissed Fanzer.

-----

2 years later.

"Hey Kotone, could you pass me the salt and pepper? This doesn't have the umph I'm going for," Fanzer lightly hummed to his girlfriend, who rose from her spot and silently passed him what he asked for.

A beautifully delicate smell wafted through the kitchen as Fanzer hummed to himself. Kotone sat in a chair with her head in her hands, silently looking at Fanzer as he cooked.

"Jeez, if you look so intensely, I might make a mistake," Fanzer grinned, blowing a kiss quickly towards Kotone before turning back to his food.

"Too bad, I guess you'll just have to be careful, huh?" Kotone teased, causing a grin to grow on Fanzer's face. He didn't look back at her as he responded.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're so mean to me. It truly must be a crime at this point," Fanzer shook his head from side to side, letting out an overdramatic sigh.

"Aww, do you want to cuddle and rewatch Naruto when you're done?" Kotone asked, causing the grin on Fanzer's face to grow even larger.

"Well... I suppose that would suffice," Fanzer stayed turned from Kotone in a futile effort to hide his impossibly large grin from her. She saw it but didn't say anything about it.

The food was beautifully created, but because it had to cool down before eating, Fanzer stuck it in the oven and excitedly pulled Kotone to the couch, laying down with her, putting a blanket over them both, and turning on Naruto from episode one.

"You know, now that we've been together for so long, I feel like I can finally say this. We're such a weird couple," Fanzer lightly hummed, softly pulling Kotone towards him.

"You think so?" Kotone scooted closer to Fanzer, her attention leaving the screen as soon as Fanzer began speaking.

"Mhm. We had a wacky meeting, a weirdly honest first date, and even had to deal with a crazy woman who kidnapped me. At least to me, it certainly feels like it's been a weird journey," Fanzer hummed, causing Kotone to lightly nod in response.

"When you put it like that, I think so too," Kotone lightly nodded before giving Fanzer a peck on the lips. "Still, we're here together, so we must've succeeded, right?"

"Yeah. We've succeeded. We'll only keep on succeeding in the future," Fanzer gave Kotone a peck on her cheek, getting into a comfortable position before continuing to watch Naruto.

A timer on Fanzer's phone eventually went off.

"Ugh, I loathe that sound," Kotone admitted, snuggling closer to Fanzer, trying to stop him from leaving.

"I do too. Still, we need to eat something before it gets too late. Now come on, let's get up," Fanzer began to rise from his spot, only for Kotone to let out a groan.

"Do we have to? Can't we just stay here forever?" Kotone pleaded, but Fanzer was steadfast in his ways.

"Remember, I made your favorite tonight. After we're done, we can come back, deal?" Fanzer looked at Kotone with a small smile, and she reluctantly nodded.

"Perfect, now come and eat!" Fanzer pulled Kotone off the couch, catching her despite the weight and height difference when she began to stumble.

"I only let you do that because you're you. If you were anyone else, I'd absolutely despise it," Kotone let out a loving sigh, contradicting her words.

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm me, huh?" Fanzer grinned, causing Kotone to nod.

He led her to the table, allowed her to sit down, and made both her and his plates before sitting down next to her.

They began eating and a few friends and family came up in conversation.

"Oh yeah, it's been a while since you graduated. Have you kept up with the track team at all?" Fanzer asked, stuffing his face with his very own food.

"Ah, well, we talk every now and then. They're still all very close," Kotone nodded before taking another bite of the heavenly food.

"Jumin and Asami are doing well, right? And Mary?" Kotone asked Fanzer, causing his head to bob up and down.

"I was certainly surprised to hear that Mary wanted to join our game night tomorrow, but I won't complain with catching up with an old friend," Fanzer chuckled as Kotone nodded.

"Yes, she's truly kind at the end of the day. I'm glad to have met her," Kotone nodded, bringing a truly proud smile to Fanzer's face.

"I'm glad you have other friends now too. Asami and Mary are good people," Fanzer hummed, shoveling another mouthful of food into his face.

"Oh um...." Kotone hesitated before continuing, causing Fanzer to look up to her with confused eyes.

"What's up?"

"So, your mother is going to join us tomorrow? What if she doesn't like me?" Kotone asked, looking down at her plate nervously.

Fanzer was silent for a moment.

"I talk about you all the time, and I already sent pictures of us together so... I don't think there's anything for her to be surprised about," Fanzer sheepishly laughed, causing Kotone's head to jerk up.

"You've talked to her about us! That's...!" Kotone's eyes lit up.

"I love you, duh I talked to her about us. She's an interesting woman. Tomorrow will be an interesting clash of people," Fanzer admitted, nodding wisely as he thought about the group of diverse personalities.

"Oh. My mom'll meet yours. That's... oooh. That's.... a thing," Fanzer sucked in air through his teeth as he remembered just who his mother was and who Kazane was.

"I'll tell my mom to behave before she gets here," Kotone told Fanzer, who shook his head at such a comment.

"No, it's okay. The clash of personalities would happen eventually. It's better to get it out of the way now than for it to worry us later," Fanzer nodded, wiping away the layer of sweat that built up on his forehead.

"Okay. But for now, let's worry about tomorrow, tomorrow," Kotone recommended, gesturing towards the couch. "I think it's about time to continue cuddling, as you promised."

"Yes ma'am," The duo walked to the couch, hand in hand, before Kotone suddenly stopped in place.

"Hm? What's up?" Before Fanzer knew it, Kotone had lowered herself down to one knee, surprising him beyond belief.

"I love you. You complete me, you make me better. I know it's more normal for men to do this, but since when has our relationship ever been normal? I may not have a ring for you just yet but... Fanzer Yukihira, will you marry me?" Kotone asked, her hand trembling as she held onto Fanzer's.

"Y'know, you took the words right out of my mouth. In fact, I'll ask this: Kotone Endou, will you marry me?" Fanzer got down onto one knee as well, meeting Kotone's gaze with his own.

"Holy shit, I really love you," Kotone pounced on Fanzer, rolling onto the floor with him lovingly.

"I really love you too."

-----

"I'm Fanzer Yukihira. And here I am. It's a moment that I didn't dare to dream about."

As people started flooding his home, Fanzer looked at the situation with a genuinely happy gaze.

Jumin, Asami, Mary, and Kotone all laughing and making jokes with one another. Kazane and his mother jollily drinking with one another like they'd been friends for decades. Then, things would switch up right in front of his very eyes. Jumin would be talking to his mother about himself, telling her how he'd been since she'd been gone. Kazane would beat Asami, Kotone, and Mary in Jenga, playing with skill that could only be acquired through age. Then they'd all play Uno together, laughing, cursing, and yelling all the same.

"I'm happy. I'm not afraid, I don't feel dissatisfied, and I'm not worrying."

The group gestured for him to join as they played Monopoly, but he'd wait. He just wanted to watch for a moment. He wanted this moment to last forever.

"I'm not a fighter, or some crazy rich maniac. I'm not the most well-known or least known. I don't think that a bad thing."

Fanzer gave into the gestures and began walking over to the group.

"I don't know what the future holds, but...."

Fanzer sat down next to Kotone with a cocky grin on his face.

"Alright, who's ready to lose?!"

He took Kotone's hand and raised it up high.

"We're the best team here, so we're not losing anytime soon!"

"If I'm with Kotone, I think I'll be able to handle it."

"It's been 2 years, 152 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes, and 22 seconds since I met Kotone. I know I've said it in my head and in text messages, but I have to say it out loud now."

"I love you. I think... I think we've been destined to be together."

Kotone smiled, pecking Fanzer on his lips.

"Definitely."

The End.

Fanzer and Kotone couldn't ignore the eyes on the back of their heads, despite how much they wanted to.

"Oh Fanzer. Oh Kotone. I love you both. I won't let anyone take you from me. I'll keep you safe, no matter what," Emma giggled, looking through the window at Kotone and Fanzer as she held her blushing face in her hands.