Description: Yugi, Ryou, and Jounouchi are getting married! But, when a wedding date interferes with their plans, some tough decisions will have to be made. Or…some hijinks will be instead. Will the gang be able to reconcile before they walk down the aisle?
Warning! Abusive relationship with no explicit scenes mentioned. Drama, romance, comedy. Multi-chapter. AU.
Rated: T for cursing, some violence, and law breaking.
Couples mentioned: Puzzleshipping (YamixYugi), Tendershipping (BakuraxRyou), and Puppyshipping (SetoxJounouchi)
Beta'd: NO ONE
Setting: Alternate universe
A/N: Welcome…to Wedding Wars and to Nanowrimo November 2015! I know I was supposed to upload this story yesterday, but I was kinda busy. Regardless, it's here today. This story was inspired by Bride Wars, an excellent movie that has not yet been exploited to its fullest capacity by me. As part of Nanowrimo, this story will be updated on Wednesdays, updating again on the 11th. That is, unless…this story is the most reviewed of the week? If you want an additional chapter next Sunday as well, review, review, review before Saturday at 11:59 EST. After then, no more reviews will be accepted for that week.
So, on that note, on with the story!
Disclaimer: Credit for Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs with Kazuki Takahashi and Bride Wars, with the story by Greg DePaul and the screenplay by June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, and Greg DePaul
The hall was decorated in rich blues and golds with white underlays. Candles gave off a soft light against the ornate golden pieces placed around the room. The flowers were hydrangea and tulips, a combination that never should have worked, yet did somehow. A soft orchestral tune was playing in the background and antique handkerchiefs had been provided in each seat to prevent any mascara runs on the faces of the old ladies in the room. The white folding chairs were packed and facing the front of the altar, filled with kind and admiring relatives. All in all, it was set to be a grand and beautiful wedding.
Except for the three men in white suits brawling in the middle of the aisle.
Screeching insults and growls were spewing out from the tangled bunch on the ground, each of them trying to fend another man while attacking the other. Ripping sounds and exclamations of pain also erupted sporadically from the group.
Family had already risen from their chairs and were torn from going over to break it up or whipping out their cameras to record the whole event.
"…Why are they doing this Seto?" The best man asked, phone already out and recording as he looked up to his brother in disbelief.
"…I don't even know anymore Mokuba," The groom answered with a sigh. "I should have seen the possibility of sabotage during the wedding as the next possible course of action though."
"Should we break them up?" A young woman on the other groom's side asked.
"No," One of Seto's other groomsmen ordered. "Just…let them do it."
Another man, not in a suit but in soft blue hospital scrubs snorted. "I didn't think it'd get this far."
Seto winced at another particularly loud shriek belting out from the still-fighting group. "I'm actually surprised it didn't come to this sooner."
"Wait," The best man interjected. "So…what exactly happened to those guys?!"
The groom shook his head. "That…is a very good question Mokuba…I suppose it started sometime last year…"
SIX MONTHS EARLIER:
The hall was decked in luxurious shades of gold, lavender, and white with cream accents. The tall ceilings offset the round tables crowded around the obviously rented dance floor, making it feel larger than it actually was. The food was bland and over seasoned, but the alcohol was abundant.
"One of its only saving graces, am I right?" One blond man remarked to the cluster gathered around him. The crowd laughed in response, tipping flutes of champagne into their mouths. "Come on, one of the best places in the world and you couldn't splurge a little more on the floral arrangements Anzu? You're courting trouble!"
The girl called Anzu laughed, nearly tipping her full glass onto her pure white satin gown. "Oh stop it Jounouchi! I expected Yugi, maybe, to be the wedding snob here, but not you! Just because you're dating one of the richest and most handsome men alive does not mean that everyone has the same loose fiscal practices!"
The man called Jounouchi simply laughed at the comment and clapped a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Alright, alright, I'll give it up for the night. To Anzu, everyone," The man's voice raised some, making the rest of the crowd mimic the raised glass in his hands. "May she live a long and happy life with Ryuuji. 'Cause, if one of my best friends says that she's not, I know where they live!"
Raucous laughter followed his toothy grin and the tinkling sound of glass resounded in the ballroom. Jounouchi swallowed another swig before making the trek to the buffet he had been eyeing earlier. He grinned when he spotted some familiar faces and sidled up to an all too familiar companion with snow white hair. "Too sentimental?" He quietly murmured into his drink.
"Not much more so than usual," The other replied, making no effort to disguise their discussion. "I'm sure she appreciated the thought regardless."
Jounouchi frowned at the room. "I guess. But, come on, you gotta be seeing it too."
"The tacky? Everywhere."
Jounouchi snorted. "Have you seen the kitsch they're stuffing in the gift bags?"
The man turned to him, doe brown eyes wide. "Kitschy gift bags?!" He sputtered, looking astonished at the notion.
Jounouchi nodded. "Rice. With a poem. That he wrote that somehow Silverstein copied so many years before."
The white haired man winced and turned away. "Oh lord," He groaned. "The caretaker is going to hate that decision."
"Don't I know it."
"Well, at least we don't have to pick up after it."
Jounouchi laughed. "Why don't we just say it?"
The white haired man shook his head with a wide grin. "Without Yugi here? It just wouldn't be right."
"What wouldn't be right without me?" A third voice interjected. Both men turned to see their long term friend Yugi Mutou slip through the crowd, making a beeline for the two by the buffet. He waved, with his other arm wrapped around the left of his old college boyfriend, Ito Katashi. The wiry man towered over Yugi, about the same size as Jounouchi had been since freshman year of their high school, with bright red hair and bottle green irises. Yugi was wearing a big grin reaching all the way to his violet purple eyes with a healthy flush decorating his pale cheeks. "Sorry, Katashi and I were dancing. Leave it to Anzu to play the one song that I have to dance like a crazy idiot to."
"I bet that's why the DJ had it on the playlist," The white haired man offered.
Yugi shook his head and patted Ito's arm. "Grab us some cake?" He purred, biting his lip just so that made Katashi roll his eyes.
"Okay, fine, but only if we go home after the next dance."
"Deal." Yugi patted his arm, sending him off. He sidled in between his friends. "So, what're we berating now Ryou?"
"Apparently there's rice in the gift bags," The white-haired man immediately added, grinning at Yugi's astonished face.
"Oh god, all the dead pigeons…"
"In her defense, maybe she didn't know that rice and cutesy handwritten poems cause vomiting and premature death in pigeons and singles over thirty," Jounouchi joked, bringing the three into a round of laughter.
"Oh man, the caretaker's really gonna hate that decision." Yugi shook his head.
"That's what Ryou said!" Jounouchi remarked.
Ryou shook his head. "Ahh…and the slideshow of their baby pictures, depicting what their baby will look like at three years old. Ulch."
"Some people like stuff like that though," Yugi defended.
"Not me and Toshio," Ryou remarked. "Toshio and I show our love in other ways than using a stupid computer program to figure out what our babies will look like."
"…So you tried it," Jounouchi teased.
Ryou sighed angrily. "How can he and I make such an ugly thing?! Am I just that unattractive?!" He harrumphed, bringing another round of laughter to the trio.
Yugi giggled, wiping a tear from his eyes. "Should we just call it boys?"
"All together now!" Jounouchi chirped. "It ain't June—"
"And it ain't The Grand," The three friends recited, clinking their glasses together. A meaningful look was shared between the three friends, taking a moment to remember their personal creed.
The three boys thought back to when they had first met, at The Grand hotel in Domino City. The three boys had been all together on that same day in June, with their three separate families, with Jounouchi and Ryou with their mothers and sisters and Yugi with his grandfather and mother enjoying tea time. The three boys slipped away, only to stumble on a lovely wedding happening in another ball room at the same time.
They had watched with awe and surprise as the bride and groom were married, love shining in their faces the moment they locked eyes, forgetting the rest of the world around them. It was that morning that the three boys fell in love with the love those two had shared, and the beautiful wedding the two of them had shared that morning in June.
And so, the three boys made the heartwarming promise to one day be married to the ones they loved and they would do so there at The Grand in June. Not only did the memory become a treasured moment in their hearts, it also created a friendship that lasted until well into their late twenties.
"…God, I can't believe it's been twenty years already…" Ryou murmured, looking into his glass.
"No one misses your mom more than we do," Jounouchi offered. He wrapped an arm around his white-haired friend's shoulder, completely missing the slight flinch. "She was everything to me and my sis."
Yugi nodded. "We need to do it again sometime. Maybe we could meet up later this week and have tea again?"
"Yeah!" Jounouchi agreed. "And then after, I totally have a ton of old clothes I need to get rid of, maybe you guys could take 'em off my hands for me?"
Ryou laughed. "Sure, I'd like that. But, why are you getting rid of your old clothes?"
"Ahh, ever since I moved in with Seto, we're running out of space. We figured out there's some stuff that has been clogging our closet, and it's mostly clothes and old junk." Jounouchi shrugged. "I just thought you guys might like the chance to get some nice stuff for free?" He winked at the two of them, both laughing in response.
"We are going to see you this week, right Ryou? No flaking?" Yugi urged.
Ryou laughed. "Of course not! Even dying patients can't keep me away from the nice stuff in Seto's closet. Toshio said I need to get some more nice stuff."
Jounouchi grinned at the confirmation. "Speakin' of Prince Charming," he pointed to the dark haired man now leaning over to press a kiss to Ryou's cheek. The white-haired man giggled and leaned into the possessive arm wrapping around his shoulders. "We are gonna see Ryou this week to do some spring cleaning from my boyfriend's closet, right?"
Toshio's ebony black eyes focused on the blond. He chuckled and clapped a hand on the white-haired man's shoulder. "Of course," He retorted. "I've been eyeing Seto's collection for years. I'm very eager to see what Ryou brings home for us."
The group laughed as Toshio pulled Ryou away toward the dance floor.
The white-haired man lay his arms around the other's shoulders. "...I've been wondering where you've been all night..." He purred. "I've been getting lonely all by myself."
"As long as you were waiting for me, that's all that matters."
Ryou giggled, nuzzling his face into Toshio's neck. "Always."
WW
Monday morning, Jounouchi flew through his routine. He kissed his boyfriend awake, devoured the fluffy waffles one of the maids brought for him to eat, and dressed in his favorite blue suit to get to Industrial Illusions Inc. before nine. He felt more energized than normal, even as he sucked at the coffee his assistant Miho had brought him. "Talk to me Honda," He announced, striding through the glass doors of his workplace.
His coworker (aka underling) Honda Hiroto shuffled through the stacks of paperwork in his arms. "Well, the proposal for the new policies are still being written as we speak. The staff said they should have it to you before your afternoon meeting with the partners and then you can offer any other suggestions-"
"Have them get it to me in an hour, the meeting got moved up to five minutes from now. I expect perfection since they've had a week to work on this. Tell them anything less and I'll find someone who can." He handed the file back to the underling. "Thanks Honda, that'll be all."
"Yes sir." The tall brunet rushed out of the office to follow the order as the silver haired girl that was hired as his assistant knocked onto the door and entered. Nosaka Miho was his very brilliant and well-organized assistant (better than he ever could be), nicknamed Ribbon by the pale yellow ribbon she often had wound into her hair. She placed several stacks of paperwork onto his desk, along with a bright red apple.
"Hey Ribbon, " Jounouchi greeted. "I know I've got that meeting in five, but you got any other news for me?"
She nodded. "Your partner, Mr. Kaiba asked me to inform you that he and his brother will be home late tonight so he would like your friends to take the night to have fun at the bar. I've set up a reservation at Kame for you and your friends and sister."
"Cool. What else?"
"Dr. Bakura called after you asked me to make sure he would be coming by this afternoon and he confirmed he would be doing so."
"Awesome. Well, if that's all, I've got a meeting to meet." Jounouchi joked stood from his desk and moved toward the door, his assistant in tow.
"Also," he added. "Can you call up the people who've been sending the wrong lunch order and make sure they know for the last time that I'm on a diet and the next time they send me freakin sweets in the bag, I'm gonna get really nasty to deal with. And, get the Korean associates on the phone and make sure they're doing their part to make sure I2 stays on top in the electronics division. Tell them don't make me call them to make sure."
"Right away sir. Here are the briefs you asked for," Miho handed the confidential documents and Jounouchi took them as if they were previous commodities. "Good luck with your presentation sir."
"Thanks Ribbon. I'll let you know."
Jounouchi quickly went through his presentation, impressing the associates as usual. He sat back into his chair, sucking on the mug of coffee Miho had slipped to him midway through, watching his stone-faced associates and boss, Maximillion Pegasus, deliberate the merits of his presentation. He knew he already had a slam dunk by Mr. Pegasus already; ever since the two had met nearly a year ago, the two were of one mind. Anything that Jounouchi developed, Pegasus was the first to back and all of his decisions.
Finally, one of the men that Jounouchi knew as one of his bitter rivals amongst the office turned, giving Jounouchi and their boss a sour look. "Forgive me, Mr. Pegasus, if we sound hesitant to quickly agree to this plan. This is a risky endeavor and the higher-ups may not be ready to jump so quickly into such a decision."
Mr. Pegasus chuckled, clapping a hand onto Jounouchi's shoulder. "Mr. Jounouchi graduated top of his class at Tokyo University and came to us with high recommendations. I trust his opinion and hope that you gentlemen can do the same."
"But you see our concern-"
"Gentlemen," Jounouchi cut in. "I get it, it is risky. Probably not something you would really be interested in. I mean, frankly, if I had the chance to make over half of a million dollars rather than losing a quarter of a mil, I guess I could understand that. I suppose we can speak to-"
"No! No!" The other men interrupted. "…We…want to make this deal."
Jounouchi grinned. "Of course you do gentlemen. And don't worry, your money is safe with us."
Mr. Pegasus pulled out a long pen from his pocket, clicked it, and slid it over to the others. He and Jounouchi shared a triumphant grin as the others bent over and signed the documents in front of them dolefully.
WW
Dr. Ryou Bakura had had many opportunities open for him after graduation. He had multiple offers overseas as well in remote areas of the country that were in desperate need of medical care. His specialty in cardiology left a lot of people clamoring at his door for his help.
However, after the sudden death of his father and at his college boyfriend's behest, Ryou had decided to return to Domino and his friends. His specialty changed to general surgery and he spent a great deal of his time attending to patients in the geriatric department.
Not that he disliked them. He enjoyed the occasional surgery, but the part that he really disliked was telling families. He tended to leave that to the nurses, as Toshio had requested.
The only trouble he ever had was with Bakura Wakahisa. Never mind that the cheeky nurse had the same name as him, but most of his patients frequently confused the two of them because of their distinctive styles. Wakahisa had long silver white tresses like he did, with sharp, terse brown irises like his own. His features were more sharply defined than Ryou's were, and many of the other female doctors and nurses thought that he was much more masculine than Ryou was (not that he cared much anyway, Toshio appreciated his more feminine appearance just fine) and he tended to have a despicable personality when he spoke with Ryou.
But of course, if it was anyone else but him, Wakahisa was beloved and considered a treasured member of the staff.
Currently, Dr. Ryou scowled at the favored nurse, conversing with one of the long term child patients in the cancer ward, the two of them chatting about something Ryou couldn't place. What really irked him, he realized, was the soft look on the nurse's face as they talked and he absently placing the IV into the patient's arm. It was the same sort of care that Ryou attempted to emulate every day but no one ever responded to it as much as patients did to Wakahisa.
It irked him.
"If you break that pen, you'll be replacing it," Toshio warned, making Ryou turn. He brightened when he realized it was the chief of surgery and boyfriend lounging against the nurse's station alongside Ryou. "Just because I'm the boss doesn't mean we can afford to buy pens just because you can't confront Wakahisa."
Ryou rolled his eyes back to the nurse, grumbling when Wakahisa began a fencing match with the child. "Oh please, it's just me he has a problem with. If he really has one with me, he should be coming to me about it."
Toshio snorted. "Like I really want a guy like him coming up to you whenever he wants. Relax, I'll talk to him," Toshio slid the paperwork back into place and pulled Ryou up to look at him. "Just promise me you'll finish the paperwork for Yama and head home, you look tired."
Ryou smiled. "But, I was going to Jou's today, remember? You wanted me to grab some of Seto's old silk shirts and some sweaters for your father. Plus, my friends haven't seen me in so long."
"You saw them yesterday."
"After a month long break," Ryou argued. He waited patiently as Toshio sighed.
Finally, the other smiled. "I suppose I can share you," Toshio relented. "But, only one drink tonight, alright? Home straight after it's over."
Ryou giggled, pecking the other doctor on the lips and grabbing the chart for another patient. "Thank you love!" He called over his shoulder before taking off for his last patient of the day.
He slowed to a walk as he read over the extensive medical history, including the recent stroke that had left him paraplegic. He frowned, coming to a complete stop. Poor Osamu, he mused. There was no other family present and he was in a locked-in syndrome coma, which meant that he was fully awake with nothing but his eye muscles able to function until he died with no other family to watch over him.
Ryou sighed and walked through the door.
Wakahisa had apparently beat him to it, looking up from his place bent over Yama's form. His eyes were closed, deep in sleep with morphine in an IV drip at his side. The nurse dragged his glare back to the patient, placing his stethoscope against the unconscious man's chest.
Ryou scowled, flipping through the chart in a huff. "...Vitals?"
"...Stable."
Ryou glared at the chart as he dutifully recorded. "Pulse?"
"86."
Ryou scratched it down. "Are you avoiding me?"
"Absolutely."
Ryou slammed down the clipboard. "And why the hell is that?!" He snarled.
Wakahisa put a finger to his lips. "Just because he's comatose now doesn't mean he can't still hear. Learn to grow a heart Rabbit, and maybe I'll give a damn about whatever you have to say to me."
Ryou stiffened. "I do care about him!"
"Oh yeah?" Wakahisa questioned. "What's the guy's name?"
The doctor froze, trying to search his memory for an answer. "…Yama."
Wakahisa shook his head. "Yama's in the wing down the hall, under a medical coma. This is Kenta Kenichi. His wife passed less than a month ago and he came in displaying a stroke. He fell into a coma after late last night, at 23:47." Wakahisa narrowed his eyes. "Instead of playing doctor to a bunch of patients you don't give a damn about, just go bounce in your boyfriend's lap and leave all the rest of us the hell alone." He snapped his own clipboard shut and smacked Ryou's arm with it.
"I'm dead serious," He warned. "To you and them, they're just patients. But to me, these people are people. I'm sick and tired of you doing the frickin' minimum and relying on your boy toy to solve the rest. Everyone else may want to tiptoe around you, but I don't play that shit." Wakahisa huffed, brushing past Ryou so hard that he almost felt against the doorframe, leaving him standing in Kenta's room gaping, absolutely speechless.
WW
"He's just an asshole." The blond lawyer remarked as they grabbed their hot coffees. Behind them, the traffic buzzed behind as they waited for Yugi to show up. "He's pissed that you're in so good with the hospital staff and board, so he's gotta be taking it out on you. Just give me five minutes alone with the guy and I'll teach him a lesson."
Ryou chuckled, blowing onto his coffee. "I thought your fighting days were behind you?" At the sheepish shrug, he shook his head. "Believe me, everyone keeps saying that I should just ignore him. But I can't help it, there's just something about him that gets me mad. Like, crazy mad. I don't know what it is."
"Seto and I used to be that way, too," Jounouchi murmured. "…Well, we still kinda are actually. The only difference is we use sex to wear each other out instead of the other way now."
Ryou shuddered. "Ulch, like I would want to be anywhere near a bed with that ass. Hopefully I can ignore him until Toshio gets me the promotion he keeps talking about."
"Oh cool, you're gonna get promoted? Good for you, bro." Jounouchi narrowed his eyes, looking across the street and waved. "There's Yug now. School must have let out kind of late."
"Remind me again, why did he become a teacher?" Ryou questioned.
"Not sure." Jounouchi waved the smaller man over. "Hey, Yug, why did you become a teacher again?"
"Ugh, believe me, I don't even remember myself." Yugi gratefully took the coffee Ryou offered. "I have this super annoying girl always getting me to do her stuff for her. Today, she got me to take her cheerleading practices for the rest of the year even though she's the advisor and her Saturday detentions."
"Ugh, sounds horrid," Ryou agreed. The trio began their trek back to Jounouchi's home, continuing to chat, even as they entered the large house.
"Wow, did you guys do some redecorating or something?" Yugi questioned, giving his coat over to the servant by the door.
Jounouchi beamed. "Seto figured since I was moving in that I should get to make some decorating decisions along with him and Mokuba." He gestured to the grand hall, decorated a modern slate gray with black and white accents. He grinned as his friends continued to admire the surroundings. "It's only been a couple months, but I think I did a lot, right Jeeves?" He turned to one of the servants, holding up his hand for a high-five. The servant only glanced in his direction before moving on. "Come on, the storage upstairs should have some stuff."
Jounouchi had only been living in the house for only a few months, but his new wardrobe that had been purchased with Seto's credit card had taken up more than half of the storage in the master bedroom. The room was dark black and gray, with red and cobalt blue accents sporadically placed around the room. The bed was remade from the way Jounouchi had left it this morning, but as he had requested, the main closet remained untouched for his friends and he to pick through without trouble.
After a few hours of languid searching, the trio had slowed their hunting, sitting on the ground and looking over their hauls.
"So, what are you gonna do about your stubborn nurse?" Yugi asked.
Ryou shrugged. "I could probably see if Toshio could find something to get the guy transferred elsewhere. Or, better yet, fired and sent somewhere else so I don't have to deal with him again. Wakahisa's such a freakin' good nurse though; always by the book."
"I'm actually kind of surprised you know him by name." Yugi remarked. "Do you know any of the other nurses' names?"
Ryou shook his head. "How do you know this teacher's name?"
Yugi rolled his eyes, folding a shirt he had grabbed. "Rebecca Hawkins. Not only is she an annoying prick, she's had a crush on me for years now. So whenever she's not trying to get me to do stuff for her, she's trying to get into my pants."
"Ughh," Jounouchi groaned sympathetically. "But she knows you're gay, right?"
"If I wasn't before, my balls shriveled up the moment she started hitting on me." Yugi announced.
Jounouchi shook his head, happening to look up into the tallest parts of the closet. "Oh, hey, Seto must've thrown some stuff up here too. I almost missed it; I hate that he's taller than me sometimes."
"Oh, well, let's check it out," Yugi offered.
Jounouchi nodded, standing on the tips of his toes to reach the several sweaters stashed in the tallest built-ins. "Oh hey, I think some of these are from when Seto was a little ki—"
A small thunk reverberated in the large room as the three friends watched a little silver-blue box fall from the folded sweaters onto the lush gray carpet at Jounouchi's feet. And any woman or gay man within a thousand mile radius could recognize the box from a mile away.
It was a Tiffany box.
A/N: Read and review.