Yoh pulled at his tie as he walked at a brisk pace down the hallway, glancing behind him to make sure no one had followed him.
He hated suits. He absolutely loathed them, if it was even possible for Asakura Yoh to loathe something. They were suffocating, and—
The sound of footsteps reached his ears, heels clicking on the wooden, carpeted floors, and he immediately rounded a corner, pressing his back against the wall and holding his breath as he waited for the intruders to move away.
One of them was his mother, he noted as three elegantly dressed women walked past him in a cloud of chatter and expensive perfume, praying that none of them would turn around and spot him trying to meld himself to the wall behind him.
Yes, he concluded; his mother, Tamao, and Pirika were the ones responsible for the way his heart was currently trying to burst out of his chest.
Waiting until they were out of sight, Yoh stuck his head back into the main corridor and peeked in the direction they had headed in, before breathing out, relieved. He pulled at his tie again and started back down the long hallway.
He hoped, with every fiber of his being, that Jun had left before them.
Thirty seconds later, he was standing in front of a large set of wooden double doors, staring up at them apprehensively.
For a long moment, he hesitated. Then he groaned, pulled at his tie again, and turned the doorknob without bothering to knock.
He stepped inside, looked up, and promptly forgot how to breathe.
There she was, standing at the other end of the room, next to the window. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes were wide, presumably at the unexpected sight of him. The sunlight that streamed in highlighted her pale skin and golden hair, making her seem almost ethereal.
In that moment, Yoh would have been easily swayed into believing that was exactly what she was.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, but her angry voice did nothing to break the spell she had unknowingly cast upon him. "You're not supposed to see me, Yoh!"
She was wearing a long, cream-colored dress, with white embellishments that were delicate and sophisticated at the same time, reflecting her personality better than anything she had ever put on. The gown was floor-length, had a small train in the back and a sweetheart neckline, clinging subtly to her body enough to show every delicate curve. Her blonde hair was styled in large, loose curls that fell over her graceful shoulders, half of it being pinned back to avoid it obscuring her beautiful face. Her honey eyes were darkened by make-up, her full lips peachy and glossy.
"A-Anna," he stammered, tripping over his own words.
He had known his fiancée for such a long time, had seen her both at her best and at her worst, in the mornings or in the evenings, he'd seen wearing make-up and he'd seen her not caring enough to even brush her hair, and the truth was that she was gorgeous all the time and in all circumstances—but, somehow, Yoh knew she'd never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that very moment.
"Yoh!" she yelled, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He blinked hard, once, twice, until his eyes refocused. "What are you doing here? I told you—you're not supposed—"
"I know, I know," he answered, raising his hands in the air. "I'm not supposed to see you until the wedding. It's bad luck. But, come on, you know I don't believe in that."
Anna scoffed. "Have you ever considered that maybe I did? Get out!"
The Asakura stubbornly stood his ground and shook his head, choosing instead to allow his eyes to roam over her perfect figure once more. "You look amazing," he whispered, sincerity pouring from his voice.
Her honey eyes softened. "…What do you want?" she asked, in a far gentler tone.
Yoh licked his lips. "I…" He stopped and shook his head. Running a nervous hand through his hair, he turned to close the door behind him, before crossing the room to reduce the distance between them. As much as he wanted, he didn't dare take her in his arms. This was a decision she would have to make without him swaying her in any way. "…Are we really doing this?"
Anna blinked, stupefied. "Excuse me?"
"Are we really doing this?" he repeated, brown eyes boring into hers, pleading with her to understand.
A furrow between her brows, the blonde took a small step back and swallowed before finding her voice to speak, "You don't want to marry me and you decided the best time to tell me was on our wedding day," she said, slowly, as if wanting to make sure she had the right idea.
Yoh rolled his eyes. "Of course not, Anna!" he exclaimed; the combination of nerves and the effort it took to find the right words exasperated him and quickly tired him out. "There's nothing in this world I want more than to marry you. You should know that."
"…But?" she prompted, raising her eyebrows.
"But… but not like this," he finally answered. "Have you looked outside? It's crazy. Just how many people are there out there?"
Slowly, Anna shrugged. "You're Shaman King. Of course people want to attend your wedding," she reasoned.
"That's exactly it!" he exclaimed. "All these people came here to see us both getting married because I am who I am and you are who you are and, somehow, that matters to them. But they don't know us, Anna. They don't."
Yoh wanted everything with Anna. He had always wanted everything with Anna. But that wasn't the issue.
And, slowly, understanding dawned in her eyes, as well.
Their entire relationship had been between them. It had developed slowly, but surely, and they had been the ones to place every single brick in its construction. There had never been a witness, no one to see the way he rested his head on her lap on every occasion he had, no one to see the way she shivered when he brushed her hair behind her ear, no one to see the perfect way her hand fit in his or the way her simple touch calmed him and grounded him more easily than anything ever did.
Some even had trouble seeing how much they loved each other—exactly because of how intimate their relationship was.
They didn't need to shout it at the top of their lungs. The two of them knew, they were sure of each other's feelings, and that was enough.
Neither of them minded having a big wedding. Neither had complained when the invitation list grew longer and longer. Both wanted their family and closest friends to be there. Both wanted the entire world to know they had overcome every obstacle life had put in their way and made it to where they were today because their love had been strong enough to guide them through everything.
But, at the same time, it wasn't them.
And shouldn't this be about exactly that—about them? Shouldn't they share this new stage of their relationship between them? They had been alone, having only each other for support for so long; having witnesses felt unnatural.
"Well, you should have thought of that before," she said. "There's nothing we can do about it now. We can't send all these people home because we've decided—"
"Of course we can," he interrupted in a serene tone.
Anna wanted to roll her eyes—until she noticed he was dead serious.
"Yoh," she drew out, slowly. "We can't."
"They won't be the ones to leave," he said. "We will."
"…You want to leave your own wedding?"
Closing the distance between them with small steps, Yoh shook his head while smiling gently. "My wedding isn't here. My wedding is with you—wherever you are."
Anna was, for once, speechless.
"Come on," he said, still smiling, as he extended a hand towards her. "Come with me."
She swallowed. "Yoh…"
"You know this is the right thing to do," he insisted gently.
"I do, but…" Leaving her sentence suspended in thin air, she shook her head. "I…"
Yoh's smile widened.
Anna wanted to glare at him, standing there with his warm, understanding eyes and stupid grin, almost mad at herself for making this so difficult when the conclusion was already so obvious and at him for knowing it.
Instead, she took his hand and never looked back. As it had always been and would always be.
Yoh and Anna got married two days later. She wore a short white dress and flowers in her hair, and as they held hands and repeated their vows in front of a nameless judge and two faceless witnesses, the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
A/N: Like so many others, I have no idea where this one came from. Haha!
You can see the wedding dress I described on Flickr and you can, of course, review! :)