He sits beneath the tree, enjoying the sun's warmth, legs stretched out before him. This tree, out of all the thousands of trees that ring the lake, is precious to him.

The reason is a secret now known only to him.

Because it had been a silly thing to do to a tree.

A silly, peasant thing to do, a thing that had taken her hours to convince him was absolutely necessary.

Carved into the bark with an awkwardly-wielded zanpakuto is a pair of names, a heart, and a message.

He reaches over his shoulder to touch it.

"Together forever."

Fin.

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I wanna thank everybody who read or commented on this little fic of mine! I just didn't say anything before 'cause I know nothing ruins an angsty fic like a peppy author's note at the end. And could y'all do me a favor and click that little blue box and tell me what you think 'o the completed project? I'm pretty darn new to writing fanfiction, so any feedback would be awesome. Thanks!