Pandora's night sky was artificial, but the silence beneath it was real.
Parthivan stood on the balcony of the barracks, looking at the distant glow of ships leaving the capital. His promotion file lay unopened on the table behind him.
Pihu stepped out and stood beside him.
"You didn't open it," she said.
"I already know what's inside," Parthivan replied.
She waited.
"Senior officer rank," he continued. "Different battalion. Different sector."
Pihu's fingers tightened around the railing.
"That's what you always wanted."
Parthivan finally looked at her.
"I wanted to become strong enough to protect what matters," he said.
"I didn't know what that was until you stood next to me."
She let out a slow breath.
"If you stay back for me," she said, "you'll always be second."
He smiled faintly.
"Second isn't losing," he said. "It's choosing."
She turned toward him, eyes shining.
"Anderson will take your place."
"He already has," Parthivan said. "He's better than me."
"Then why does he follow you?" she asked.
Parthivan didn't answer.
Because Anderson obeyed strength.
But he believed in Parthivan's judgment.
The Night Before the Wedding
The barracks were quiet.
Tomorrow, they would be married.
Tonight, they were just two soldiers sitting on opposite beds, uniforms folded neatly beside them.
Pihu broke the silence.
"If Pandora calls tomorrow," she said, "we won't even get a honeymoon."
Parthivan laughed softly.
"Then we'll call the battlefield our honeymoon."
She smiled, then grew serious.
"Parth… if one day the universe asks you to choose between me and your duty…"
He stood and walked toward her.
"Don't ask questions that hurt you," he said gently.
"Answer it," she insisted.
He knelt in front of her, eyes steady.
"If the universe demands you as payment," he said,
"then the universe will learn what rebellion looks like."
Her breath hitched.
"That's not very soldier-like."
"I was human before I was a soldier," he replied.
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.
"Then tomorrow," she whispered, "let's be human together… before Pandora remembers us."
The Wedding
The ceremony was small.
No uniforms. No ranks. No announcements.
Just soft lights, quiet music, and people who mattered.
Parthivan stood waiting, wearing a simple dark suit, hands slightly tense. For the first time in years, there was no weapon at his side.
When Pihu walked in, the room fell silent.
Not because of rules.
Because she looked like she belonged nowhere else in the universe.
She smiled when she saw him, nervous and real.
He forgot every prepared thought.
They stood facing each other, close enough to feel each other breathe.
The priest cleared his throat and began, but the words passed like background noise.
Parthivan leaned in slightly.
"You're shaking," he whispered.
"So are you," she replied.
When it was time for vows, neither read from a script.
Pihu spoke first.
"I don't know what tomorrow holds," she said softly.
"Our lives are dangerous. Uncertain."
She met his eyes.
"But if the universe ever feels too big…
I want my hand to be the one you reach for."
Parthivan swallowed hard before answering.
"I've spent my life preparing for war," he said.
"I never learned how to prepare for this."
A small laugh rippled through the room.
"So I can't promise perfection," he continued.
"Only that I'll choose you—every day—no matter what the universe demands."
The priest smiled.
"By the bond you've chosen," he said,
"you are now husband and wife."
Applause broke out—soft, warm, human.
Pihu laughed as Parthivan pulled her into a hug instead of waiting.
"You ruined the order," she teased.
"I've been doing that since I met you," he said.
And for a moment—just a moment—
They were not soldiers.
Just two people who chose each other.
After the Wedding
Inside there bedroom, they lay beneath a transparent ceiling, stars moving slowly above them.
No armor. No weapons.
Just warmth and silence.
Pihu traced the scar on Parthivan's shoulder.
"Do you ever think we're selfish?" she asked.
"Choosing this… knowing what kind of world we live in?"
Parthivan covered her hand with his.
"The world takes enough from us," he said.
"Loving you is the only thing I ever took back."
She turned toward him.
"What if one day I become your weakness?"
He smiled, tired but sincere.
"Then I'll gladly be weak," he said.
"Because every strength I have came from protecting you."
She pressed her face into his chest.
"Promise me," she said quietly, her voice softer than before,
"that if one day I'm not beside you…"
Parthivan stiffened.
She lifted her head, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
"Promise me you'll live," she continued.
"Not just survive. Live until time itself comes for you."
He tried to speak. Nothing came out.
"Promise me," she said, her fingers tightening in his clothes,
"that you won't die on some battlefield."
"That no blade, no war, no order will be the end of you."
Parthivan's jaw trembled.
"Pihu—"
"Promise," she whispered. "Let death come gently. Naturally. When you're old and tired… not when you're brave."
She paused, her voice dropping even lower.
"And if you break this promise," she said,
"don't look for me after."
"I will never show you my face again."
He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to hers.
"You're asking me to do the hardest thing," he said hoarsely.
She smiled faintly.
"You've always been good at hard things."
Parthivan breathed in slowly, as if committing her presence to memory.
"If you're not with me," he said, voice steady but broken,
"then I'll carry you long enough for both of us."
He opened his eyes.
"I promise," he said.
"I won't fall in battle."
"I won't give war the satisfaction."
Tears slipped from her eyes as she laughed softly.
"That's a terrible promise for a soldier."
He tightened his arms around her.
"Then I'll be a terrible soldier," he replied,
"and a living husband."
And somewhere far away, Pandora prepared to remind them—
That promises made in love
were the most painful ones to keep.