Title: Silence (For Once)
Pairing: Akira/Tokito
Word Count: 928
Rating: K+ (?)
Notes: Wowow, another one already? I guess 5 AM is my most productive writing time...
Warnings: Fluff. Possible OOC-ness because of it. Also, watch out for an Author's Note at the end (: I did some research, but if I've made any mistakes, please correct me.
*OH! Note as well that this is part of my headcanon where they haven't stopped traveling around the world together for five years. (:

The marriage was a quiet one. Unusual for the two, as it almost seemed they were only capable of loud sarcasm and sly mockery. But for one night, off the coast of Portugal where the cold sea rushed to meet their feet and the land carried them far from home, for one full moon they were silent.

It wasn't a planned occasion—far from it, in fact. He had no ring for her, nor she for him, but they both agreed that such sentiments would only interfere with their lifestyle. So he fashioned the North Star out of ice as well as he could remember it and slid it onto her left ring finger. And she, after quickly scouring the beach in the falling darkness, racking her brain, and finally running back to their lodgings to retrieve something, returned with an object in her hands.

"I wasn't going to give it to you 'til I was satisfied with it, but for what it is, it works," she mumbled with a shrug, holding out the black sheath. His fingers skimmed over the expensive leather and unsheathed a dagger the size of his forearm. The blade was fine and smooth, with his name etched carefully at its base. Even above the noises of the night, he could hear the blade with a life of its own, singing with the waves, echoing. His eyebrows furrowed at how much this must have cost her, how long it must have taken. This was likely why she'd skipped breakfast for weeks and suddenly suggested they sew up their clothes instead of buying new ones.

"Tokito—" he began, but she sheathed the sword for him and took him by the wrists.

Leading him to the blackness that was both the water and the horizon, where she could see as much as he could, she grumbled, "Shut up and marry me already." He laughed at the same time the water crashed against stone. Later, she would recall that as one of her favorite sounds in the world. The sea was far from gentle that night, and jutting rocks braved the vast sky, barely outlined by the distant moonlight. Overhead, birds shaded in blacks and greys circled and disappeared, and for a night so insignificant and so ordinary, Tokito thought it was beautiful. Although she could hardly see him in the darkness, she had memorized much of how he looked after five years of traveling together, and she imagined now that he was not looking at her but listening to her. Feeling her beside him. Leaning close to his solid form, she whispered, "What are we waiting for?" She doubted he could hear her over the ocean, but he did in that annoying way that always proved her wrong. He heard her and he kissed her cold forehead and maybe she didn't mind so much that he was always proving her wrong.

"Are you wearing your wedding dress?" he smirked at her, but the mocking tone in his voice was swept away by the wind. His hands found her waist. Burying his face where her grown-out hair met the curve of her neck, he mused into the darkness of his sight and his surroundings, "Is this what they mean by not seeing the bride before the ceremony?" He could feel the smile forming on her lips and he was certain she could feel his as well.

They weren't too sure of what they were doing. Over the years, they'd learned too many customs, attended too many weddings for strangers and festivities they could not fully understand. But they did the best they could, messing up every custom at their own whims and trailing along the ever-shifting contours of the waves lapping up against the shore. Together, they scattered dried myrtle leaves into the water and accidentally lost the glass bottles they were supposed to break. He tied small bells to her wrists so that every time she pulled him close she was keeping his demons away. She wreathed red string around his fingers until his were tangled with hers and for once the fate she read in the stars was happiness. As they scooped up shells to fill their pockets, a sudden, wild rain began to pound the sand and their skin like drums. He was used to the chill of the wind and the water, and they were nothing compared to his ice. But under his hands, her body trembled despite her will to act otherwise.

"Come on," he murmured, feeling her shivering skin and the grains of rough sand between her fingers. "There's one more tradition we can try."

Warmth spread through her body as she sat beside him, her hands burning wonderfully against the hot guinomi of sake. She sipped the warm alcohol again, a pleasure she'd never truly appreciated until now, then passed it to him. Sighing, she leaned her damp head against his and glanced at her now bare ring finger. Sometime during their unconventional wedding, the ring must have melted away. Frowning slightly, she mumbled, "Akira?"

"Hm?" he hummed around his first sip of sake.

"I gave you a dagger." She paused, and his muscles tensed fractionally. Exhaling again, she muttered, "Could you, y'know, at least give me something that lasts?"

He turned to her, his frown matching hers. Feigning shocked hurt, he retorted, "My love isn't enough?" Before she could scoff at him, he pulled her in and kissed her, and he made sure it lasted.

For all the silence, their rented room had never been so happily content.

A/N: List of wedding traditions used:

Not seeing the bride- (no mention of culture of origin)
Myrtle leaves- Welsh
Breaking glass- Italian
Ringing bells to scare evil away- Irish
Red string of fate- Chinese
Shells and drums- African
Rain on wedding day- Hindu
First sips of sake as husband and wife- Japanese

So, unfortunately, FF won't allow me to link the sources I used for the cultural wedding traditions I used in this story. If you'd like to check it out or just find out which customs belong to which regions, I have it listed on my LJ account. Just type in s24t. before the livejournal URL. (:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! (: