Bits of Love, Lines of Code
Chapter 84 - 79 – “Where We Belong”

Chapter 84: Chapter 79 – “Where We Belong”

The Tokyo sky shimmered with the glow of a crisp afternoon. After nearly two months of travel and emotional healing, Ren and Aoi returned to the comforting walls of their countryside home—the same place Ren had secretly built with dreams of a quiet life, far from the chaos of corporate power plays and dangerous obsessions.

The wind rustled through the cornfield beyond their backyard. Birds chirped. Lucia hovered quietly near the kitchen window in standby mode.

Aoi placed her suitcase down and stretched her arms. "Home," she sighed, looking around with soft eyes. "It smells like your cologne and my shampoo."

Ren chuckled, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Exactly as it should be."

They hadn’t let go of each other much during their vacation. After the trauma and the terrifying brush with death, Aoi had grown more affectionate than ever. Not in a needy way, but in a way that radiated gratefulness—like she was holding onto a miracle.

Later that evening, in their bath together...

Steam curled around the edge of the deep soaking tub. Aoi sat between Ren’s legs, resting her head against his chest, her fingers drawing gentle lines over his arms.

"You’ve been quiet," she murmured, glancing up.

"I’ve just been... thinking," Ren said softly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"About what?"

He took a breath. "About work. About everything. I’m starting to think that maybe... I should leave my job eventually. Focus on what really matters. On you. On Lucia. On the tech I want to build for peace—not profit."

Aoi smiled, tilting her head. "That sounds like the dream we talked about. The one where you invent things in a countryside lab while I bring you tea in a summer dress."

Ren laughed quietly. "Exactly that."

"But not yet?" she asked gently.

He shook his head. "Not yet. There are still loose ends. And I want to finish a few things at the startup. But soon... yeah. Maybe sooner than we think."

Later that night — in bed...

Aoi lay on top of him, her arms draped around his shoulders as they whispered in the dark.

"Do you remember that villa in the Maldives?" she said.

"How could I forget?"

"That last night, I made a wish. I wished that we could freeze time right there. Just you and me and the sound of the waves."

Ren reached up and brushed his fingers down her spine. "Then let’s build a life that feels like that. Even here."

She looked down at him and whispered with an honest blush, "Ren... I want to be your wife in every way again tonight. Not just because I love you—but because I need to feel that I’m still yours. After everything."

He kissed her slowly. "You never stopped being mine. Let me show you."

And in the silence of their room, with moonlight pouring through the window and the AI Lucia gently shutting itself down in privacy mode, Ren and Aoi lost themselves in each other again—loving, laughing, healing.

The scars were still there, but they were learning to live beautifully with them.