Chapter Text
After a moment of contemplating Zen; determining that he wishes to get to the bottom of this, sets off for the world of the living.
January 1st 2017
-Evening-
Zen's greeted by the orange of the sky at dusk as he arrives. It's cold, and he can see the fog of his breath upon exhaling.
"Hey, don't disappear on me like that." A voice calls out from behind him.
Zen turns to face the person calling out to him.
He’s surprised to find a woman standing in front of him who appears to be the splitting image of Rei, albeit much older. It must be a coincidence, but Zen still finds himself completely thrown off by it.
“Anyway we gotta get going if we wanna catch the next train.” The woman takes Zen's hand in her own gloved one and leads him towards the station.
The train pulls in just as the two arrive. Zen still finds himself confused, but somehow he can’t help but feel compelled to indulge her.
They sit side by side, and despite the lack of other passengers, the woman shuffles next to him so they're sitting shoulder to shoulder. He takes this moment to get a good look at her—her beautiful golden hair, her gorgeous brown eyes, her adorable smile. There's no doubt in Zen's mind this is Rei, but something still seems odd; he decides not to question it for now.
They pull into Okina station, and Rei leads the way through to a ramen shop, tucked away in through a winding alley. While the warm glow of the light within is inviting, the shop itself is wholly unremarkable. Zen can see the age starting to show on the worn lettering of the sign.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been here.” Rei remarks as they head in. “This place used to be my favourite back when we were in high school.”
The two sit down as Zen wracks his brain trying to remember any time he’s been here before. Wait, when they were in high school? Rei never attended high school; did she mean their time in the labyrinth?
Zen’s completely lost himself in thought by the time his order has arrived.
“I’ve gone ahead and ordered your favourite.” Rei says, her smile lighting up her face. In the warm light of the restaurant, she looks almost ethereal.
“Thank you.” Zen replies, unsure of what 'his favourite' actually entailed.
Rei chats with him idly about her memories of Inaba as they eat. Zen can’t find anything to add but has found himself thoroughly enjoying listening to her talk again, seeing her light up when she mentions something she particularly loves. It’s been years since he last spoke with her, but it feels like it may as well have been millenia.
It seems they have a shared history from Rei's perspective, and Zen can't help but feel saddened he couldn't be there to see it through himself.
The conversation comes to a lull, but it's a comfortable silence. Rei was right about the food; it’s probably one of the best meals he’s ever had, not that there’s been much competition.
“I can’t eat another bite.” Rei exclaims, pushing her bowl forward. Zen glances at it out of the corner of his eye, noticing her bowl was only half empty, then turns his gaze back to Rei.
Rei seems to notice the confusion on his face.
“What’s with that look? You know I've never been a big eater.”
The way Rei says that statement so casually makes Zen feel almost sick.
“It’s nothing.” Zen replies. “...I’m not hungry either. Let’s head out."
The train ride home is mostly quiet. The rhythmic rumbling of the tracks is comforting in its own way. Rei rests her head upon Zen's shoulder.
“Zen…” she starts. “I want you to remember we’re a team. I can see that you’re kind of nervous about moving back here, but you need to remember that you can talk to me about anything.”
Rei removes her gloves and takes his hand in her own, making little circles against his skin with her thumb. Zen finds himself relaxing.
“Of course, thank you, Rei.”
“I love you.”
Zen can’t remember if anyone’s ever said that to him. A strange feeling wells up in his chest.
“I love you too.”
It feels good to finally say it. He hopes she understands how much she means to him, even now.
The two return to comfortable silence. Zen’s eyes wander to Rei’s hand, and he notices for the first time the rings adorning her finger and suddenly becomes very aware of the matching one on his own. I suppose that’s what Rei meant when she mentioned they were a team. But still, marriage—the prospect seems daunting to him. He recalled the time Rei had mentioned getting married in the labyrinth; he hopes the day at least lived up to her expectations.
Zen's pulled out of his thoughts as the train reaches its last stop and the two depart and begin their trek home through the cold winter night.
As they walk, Rei takes them on a detour to the local shrine. “We didn't get to go earlier, so let's do it now!” Rei says. Zen gives her a small nod in agreement. Side by side, the two walk up to the shrine, ring the bell, bow, clap, and then pray.
Zen glances to his side and sees the determined look on her face, and in turn closes his own eyes and asks any higher power that's watching if they can give him the opportunity to protect Rei this time at least.
After they finish, Rei looks into his eyes and starts. “I know we moved in at a weird time, and I don't have the best experiences with this place, but if I'm being honest, I'm really excited to finally be back here with you.”
Rei grasps Zen's hand in her own
Zen gently squeezes Rei's hand.“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Zen leans down and the two exchange a quick kiss.
As they arrive in the dim light of the apartment, Zen can see the moving boxes yet to be unpacked. The walls are barren, as is the bookshelf in the far corner. The couch near the middle of the room looks worn and loved. The atmosphere is comfortable despite the sparse furnishings.
Exhausted from the day, Rei decides to retire early that night, and Zen finds himself joining her. He knows he needs to find out what’s going on but decides that it can wait until tomorrow.
As Zen slides into bed beside Rei, he's struck by how intimate this is. Holding Rei in his arms, feeling the warmth of her body, hearing her slow breaths in and out. Zen reminisces on their time back in the labyrinth.
He truly wanted to protect her, but in the end all the dangers were a result of his meddling. He can only hope this isn’t the case again; he doesn’t want to cause her further pain. Zen dwells on this as he feels himself drift away to sleep.