Morning arrived with the gentle ringing of Wayrest's church bell.
Sunlight poured through the inn's windows, chasing away the last traces of dawn.
Haruto slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Sakura standing by the window, tying her hair into a loose ponytail.
She caught his reflection in the glass.
"Good morning."
Haruto smiled.
"...Good morning, wife."
Sakura paused.
Then looked at him over her shoulder.
"...You've never called me that before."
"I know."
"How does it feel?"
He thought for a moment.
"...Nice."
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
"...It does."
For a while, neither said anything.
The silence wasn't awkward.
It was comfortable.
The kind of silence they'd imagined sharing after getting married.
Back on Earth...
They never got the chance.
---
After breakfast, they stepped into the lively streets of Wayrest.
The town had fully awakened.
Shopkeepers greeted familiar customers.
Travelers prepared their wagons.
Children chased each other between market stalls while exhausted parents pretended they weren't watching.
Haruto stretched his arms.
"So..."
"So?"
"What do married people usually do?"
Sakura laughed.
"I have no idea."
"You don't?"
"I've only been married for..." She pretended to count on her fingers. "...Two days."
Haruto sighed dramatically.
"You're no help."
"I wasn't aware I was hired."
"I'd like to file a complaint."
"Please take a number."
"There are numbers?"
"There are now."
They both laughed.
An elderly woman selling apples watched them with an amused smile.
"You two are newlyweds."
Haruto blinked.
"Is it that obvious?"
The woman nodded.
"You smile with your eyes."
Sakura looked down shyly.
Haruto scratched his cheek.
"...I guess we do."
---
As they wandered deeper into town, they passed a small fountain in the center of the square.
A young man stood beside it, nervously fixing his collar.
Across from him, a young woman smiled patiently.
"So..."
The young man cleared his throat.
"Where would you like to go for our first date?"
"I don't mind."
"No, no."
He shook his head.
"I invited you."
"I should decide."
The girl giggled.
"You've been thinking about this all week."
"I know!"
"It's harder than I expected!"
The couple walked away, still playfully arguing.
Haruto and Sakura watched them disappear into the crowd.
Neither spoke for several moments.
Then Haruto quietly said,
"...We never got one."
Sakura looked at him.
"Our first date?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Our first date..."
He smiled softly.
"...As husband and wife."
She froze.
It was such a simple sentence.
Yet it carried the weight of everything they had lost.
They had dated for years.
Studied together.
Walked home together.
Celebrated birthdays.
Shared dreams about the future.
Then...
They got married.
And that same night...
Tomorrow never came.
Sakura slowly reached for his hand.
"So..."
She smiled.
"Would you like to take your wife on her first date?"
Haruto smiled back.
"I'd love to."
---
Their date began with absolutely no plan.
Haruto insisted that good dates were supposed to be spontaneous.
Five minutes later, he admitted he had no idea where to go.
"I thought you had a plan."
"I had confidence."
"Those aren't the same thing."
"They sounded similar."
Sakura laughed.
"They're really not."
The first place they stopped was a tiny bakery.
The smell of fresh bread drifted into the street.
Haruto bought two pastries.
As they walked away, Sakura casually reached over...
...and stole a bite from his.
He looked down at the missing corner.
"...Excuse me."
She looked innocent.
"What?"
"You stole my pastry."
"I sampled it."
"You have your own."
"I needed something to compare it to."
Haruto stared at her.
"That's exactly what you used to say when you stole my fries."
"I never stole them."
"You absolutely did."
"I was protecting you."
"From what?"
"Too much oil."
"You ate the oily part."
"I made sacrifices."
Haruto couldn't help laughing.
"You haven't changed at all."
"Neither have you."
"And that's a good thing."
"It is."
---
They wandered wherever the streets carried them.
A musician played an old melody near the bridge.
They stayed until the song ended.
A little girl sold handmade flower crowns.
Haruto bought one without hesitation.
Sakura blinked.
"You bought flowers."
"They're technically flowers."
"They're technically weeds."
"They're beautiful weeds."
He carefully placed the flower crown on her head.
"There."
She touched it gently.
"...How do I look?"
Haruto answered without even thinking.
"My wife."
Sakura smiled so brightly that even the little girl giggled.
"I think she likes it," the child whispered.
"I think so too," Haruto replied.
---
By late afternoon, they found themselves sitting on a grassy hill overlooking Wayrest.
The town shimmered beneath the golden light of sunset.
For a long while, they simply watched.
Haruto broke the silence.
"I'm sorry."
Sakura looked at him.
"For what?"
"I always imagined our first day as husband and wife."
He smiled sheepishly.
"I pictured a honeymoon."
"A little house."
"A kitchen."
"You reading while I drew."
He chuckled.
"I never imagined another world."
Sakura rested her head on his shoulder.
"I didn't either."
Another quiet moment passed.
Then she whispered,
"...But we're here now."
Haruto intertwined his fingers with hers.
"Yeah."
"We are."
The wind gently rustled the grass around them.
"I used to think happiness had to be something extraordinary."
He looked at the town below.
"Now..."
"I think it's just this."
Sakura squeezed his hand.
"Sitting beside you?"
"No."
He smiled.
"Knowing I get to wake up beside you tomorrow."
Her eyes softened.
For the first time since the night they died...
Tomorrow didn't feel like a promise they had lost.
It felt like one they could finally keep.
Together.