A/N: Fun fact! I actually based this fic off an event that happened in my high school a few years ago! I had wanted to write about it for AGES, but I had to wait for the right ship first. And Puppyloveshipping just so happened to be the one ;3
"This is boring." Iris groaned, leaning over the makeshift table she and her best friend, Pip, where sitting behind. She gave the students who were milling around their booth (but not approaching, which was what they should have been doing) a heated glare. "How did we get stuck running this dumb place again?"
Pip smiled at the green haired girl, brushing a lock of her own unruly pink hair out of her eyes. "Because I was out sick and you were sleeping in class when the teacher assigned everything, remember?"
"So does that mean I can blame you for this?" Iris asked, turning her head to smile back at her. "Because we both know that I'm not going to blame myself."
"Sure." Pip said, knowing that Iris was mostly kidding. She knew that Iris would never blame her for getting sick on the same day that their class was planning their school festival assignments, she'd had no control over that. As for her not taking the blame herself, well… it was just one of the many things that Pip was willing to put up with.
"But seriously though, whose idea was it to set up a marriage booth?" Iris asked, her annoyance obvious with every word she was speaking. "It's the dumbest idea I've ever heard of!"
"I think one of the teachers who came up with it." Pip answered, reaching across the table for the small stack of 'marriage certificates' that they were given for their booth. According to the teacher who had assigned them here, they were to give these to the students who came over and have them sign the piece of paper to make the 'marriage' official. The stack was still pretty thick and they hadn't even had a single customer yet. And there was still a whole box of certificates at their feet that they were supposed to go through too.
"You think the teacher'll get mad if I break into the candy?" Iris asked, staring longingly at the box of Ring Pops that were the second part of the marriage deal. "I mean, it's not like anybody will miss just one, right?"
Pip wasn't so sure. After all, what if they somehow did get a few customers to come and they ran out of rings? "Didn't the teacher say we had to make sure that there was an even amount? So that all couples could get a ring."
"That's pretty discriminatory to anybody who wants to have a three-way marriage." Iris said, turning her crystal blue eyes from the candy to her friend. "Don't you think?"
"Um… maybe?" Pip said, though she didn't know anybody in Heartland Academy who was currently in a three-way relationship. There were a few friends of Iris' who seemed to be in one though, not that it was any of Pip's business. "Ah, but I think there are only couples in our school."
"Yeah, I guess everyone in school is pretty boring. How about this, if you snatched one too, the number would stay even…" Iris said, raising her eyebrows mischievously. "What do you say?"
Pip shook her head right away, sending her hair flying. "Iris! You know that we shouldn't steal school property!"
"It's just some candy, Pip." Iris said, amused at the other girl's reaction. She reached into the box and pulled out two Ring Pops "I'd hardly call it school property."
Pip fiddled with the end of her hair as Iris opened the first of the Ring Pops and slipped it onto her finger. "Iris, we're supposed to be managing the booth, not eating the candy…"
Iris stared at the Ring Pop on her finger for a second, as if she was admiring the way it looked on her finger, before she put it in her mouth and licked. She ignored Pip's disapproving look and grinned at her. "Mm, these are great. Are you sure you don't want the other one?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Pip answered. She watched as Iris shrugged and put the other Ring Pop into her bag. Pip smiled, thinking that at least Iris was being a little considerate, keeping the number even at least.
Pip looked out at the students who were walking around in front of their booth. She recognized most of them as the students from her grade, with a few second and third year upperclassmen wandering nearby. The other booths were doing fairly well in terms of traffic, and it seemed that only her and Iris's booth had no customers. It made her a little sad, but at the same time she was happy that the rest of her classmates were doing better than they were. She let her eyes wander over the familiar faces when suddenly one face in particular stood out, stopping her short.
Light blue hair that was almost in need of a haircut, warm gold eyes that looked like the could be rays from the sun, a smile that made her breath catch every time she saw it…. It could only be one person. Haruto Tenjo. He was walking in the direction of their booth with a couple of friends, laughing about something that Pip hadn't the slightest idea about, but it wasn't like she minded because he was laughing and it was such a great sound, like music, and she could listen to it forever…
"What's with that look on your face?" Iris asked, waving a hand across Pip's face, her expression a cross between concern and amusement. "You okay, Pip?"
"What?" Pip blinked and felt the blood rush to her face. Her hands came up and she pressed them to her cheeks in an effort to hide her blush, but Iris had already seen and Pip quickly stuttered out, "I-I'm fine, what makes you a-ask, Iris?"
Iris looked over to where Pip had been staring and her eyes quickly zeroed in on Haruto. A sly smile came onto her face and she turned knowing eyes back to her friend. "Ah, so that's why you looked like you were about to melt~"
"I… I wasn't looking at him!" Pip squeaked, moving her hair in front of her face to in an effort to hide her burning cheeks better.
"Sure, and I definitely don't have a sweet tooth." Iris droned in a tone that suggested otherwise. It was a well known fact between the two of them that Pip had a crush on Haruto, but for some reason, Pip still tried to deny it while doing typical crush things like blatantly stare at him from across a room. Iris looked between her two best friends, taking note that Haruto was fast approaching them, and suddenly an idea popped into her head that could work out very well for both Pip AND their booth.
She stood up from her chair and started waving her arms over her head like a maniac while calling out Haruto's name, drawing the attention of everyone in the area. She didn't mind having the attention drawn to her like that though. In fact, it would actually play into her plan.
"Haruto! Haruto, over here!" She called out, grinning when Haruto looked up from his friends to stare at her. She kept waving at him until he said something to his friends and walked over to where she and Pip were.
"Iris, what are you doing?" Pip was whispering to her, her eyes wide and nervous as she watched Haruto approaching them. "Please stop!"
"No way." Iris whispered back, giving her a wink just before the blue haired boy reached them. "Hey there, Haruto!"
"Hey Iris." Haruto said, looking at her like he thought she was crazy. Which wasn't too far off, at least when it concerned her two best friends and their (non-existent) love life. He turned his eyes from her for a moment to smile at Pip. "Hey Pip."
"H-Hello, Haruto-kun." Pip murmured, keeping her eyes on the desk in front of her. Though he had smiled at her a lot of times before, seeing it up close never failed to make her stomach fill up with butterflies.
"Just where have you been hiding all day?" Iris asked, adding a hint of false irritation to her voice. "Do you have any idea how bored the two of us have been?"
"I was busy setting up the booths all morning, remember?" Haruto said, raising an eyebrow. "That was my assignment today. Is that why you were acting like a maniac just now, because you were bored?"
Iris rolled her eyes. "Please, that was nothing and you know it. However, my being bored does have something to do with why called you over."
"Really? And here I thought you just snapped from the pressure." Haruto said, grinning when Iris gave him a heated glare.
"I'll snap you in half." Iris muttered under her breath, low enough for Pip to overhear, but not loud enough for Haruto. She quickly put on an overly cheerful smile and asked in a voice that was almost as sweet as the candy on her finger, "Ahem, the reason I called you over is because we're in desperate need of some help. Haruto, how would you like to get married to Pip here?"
"What?!"
The exclamation didn't come from Haruto, however. It came from a very red-faced Pip, who quickly covered her mouth with both of her hands when she realized just how loud she had said that.
Haruto looked at her like he was worried about her outburst, but Iris spoke up before he could ask anything. "So how about it Haruto? Are you willing to help your two best friends in the whole world out? Our booth's got ZERO customers, and if you and Pip could just show them how cool one of our marriage ceremonies is, they'd definitely come and try it out."
"I-Iris, he doesn't want to get married to me." Pip told her, deliberately not looking in Haruto's direction. Her wide blue eyes clearly showed that she was nervous, though Iris could see that just underneath that she was secretly pleased at the idea.
"Of course he does." Iris said with conviction. "He's a good friend, and he wouldn't let us down. Would you, Haruto?"
Haruto smiled. "Do I really have a choice?"
"Y-You don't have to if you don't want to." Pip was quick to say, grabbing a lock of her hair between her fingers and fiddling around with it. "Iris and I can handle this, a-and you must be tired from setting up everything, s-so you don't have to get m-m-married to me."
"No, it's okay." Haruto said, glancing down at the certificates and candy that the girls had set up earlier. "It looks like fun."
"There, it's settled!" Iris said, a hint of victory in her voice. Though she didn't let it show on her face, Iris was thrilled. She loved her friends more than almost anybody in the whole world, and she knew, since the moment that she had found out that Pip had a crush on him, that they two of them would be perfect for each other. And now she was going to see the two of them getting married! Sure, it was just a pretend middle school marriage, but it would be more than enough to sustain her until their actual wedding.
"I-I don't know." Pip stuttered, biting her lower lip as she peeked up at Haruto through her hair. "I mean, you and I are the ones running the booth, Iris. I don't know if we're even allowed to—"
"Pip, you have to do it!" Iris cried, wondering why the pink haired girl would want to worm her way out of this situation. Looked like it was time play the old guilt card. "If you don't, we won't make any money. And you don't want to disappoint the teachers who put their trust in us, do you?"
"W-Well, no…"
"And you'll make poor Haruto feel rejected." Iris said, standing up and reaching over the table to wrap an arm around Haruto's shoulder. "Rejecting his marriage proposal, that's cruel."
"I-I'm not rejecting… you were the one who—!" Pip stuttered.
"Iris, if she doesn't want to, you shouldn't force her." Haruto told her, noticing how uncomfortable Pip looked, though he didn't have any idea why.
So now the two of them were ganging up on her? Oh, this just meant that she had to bring out the big guns. She put on her best puppy-dog eyes and said in her most convincing voice. "Come on guys, please? I'm only thinking about what's for the best…"
Pip was a huge sucker for the puppy-dog eyes, and she could feel her resistance starting to falter. She let her hair fall in front of her face and bit her lip nervously again. "Um… I-I guess if Haruto-kun is okay with it…"
Iris tightened her grip around Haruto's shoulders and grinned widely. "You know he is. He already agreed to it. Right, Haruto-kun?"
"Yeah, I totally want to get married." Haruto nodded, straightening up and freeing himself from Iris's hold. He was glad that he had a growth spurt a few months ago, because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get out from under her near death-grip. "But only if you'll have me, Pip."
Pip's face froze at his words, and for a moment it seemed like her world stopped spinning. She knew that he was only asking if she was okay with a pretend marriage, but the way it sounded… well it was pretty nice to hear. Even better than hearing his laugh. She could feel her heart hammering hard in her chest as she nodded.
"Great, let's get started! Go stand next to him, Pip" Iris's smile brightened by quite a few notches, and she quickly nudged Pip to stand up when she didn't move (it wasn't at all easy to get up actually, Pip's knees felt closer to jelly than flesh and bone) so that they could stand next to each other on the other side of the booth. Iris gathered up the certificates that were in front of her and cleared her throat. "I'll be the priest who conducts this ceremony! So, uh… now what am I supposed to do?"
"Y-You have to make us s-sign the certificate first." Pip said, glancing up at Haruto and blushing up to her hairline when their eyes locked and he smiled at her. "Th-the vows are on the piece of paper the teacher gave us, r-remember Iris?"
"They are?" Iris asked, her eyebrows coming together as she handed Haruto the certificate and a pen. She didn't see any vows on the table in front of her. "I don't see it. Do you know where it is, Pip?"
She nodded and pointed to the box at her feet. "I left it on top of the box with the rest of the certificates."
"Gotcha." Iris said, reaching down and pulling the paper, which was exactly where Pip said it would be, as Haruto scrawled his messy signature on the certificate. She came up with the vows just as Haruto was sliding it over to Pip.
"Your turn." Haruto said cheerfully, handing over the pen.
"O-Okay." Pip stared down at the certificate and, before she could change her mind, quickly scribbled her full name in her neat handwritting. Staring down at their names together made her stomach start to flip around and she had to clasp her hands together to keep Haruto from noticing how much they were shaking.
"So now that the legal stuff is taken care of, we can get to the fun part!" Iris said, watching as the students nearby began to pay attention to what was going on. She cleared her throat, trying not to show how much she was enjoying this. The huge smile on her face gave her away pretty quickly though. She began to read through the 'vows', making her voice a little deeper than usual to grant her some authority. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two wonderful people, my good friends Pip and Haruto. If there is anybody who is against this marriage, they can shut up right now because I will not stand for any interruptions."
"It doesn't say that." Pip said, leaning over the table to get a look at the paper. Iris leaned back herself, not letting her see it.
"Of course it does, now let me continue." She said, waiting until Pip moved back before she started again. "Ahem, now where was I? Oh right, now the bride and groom must take each other's hand and repeat these vows. Hold hands, guys."
Pip nearly yelped when she felt Haruto's hand close around hers. It wasn't like this was the first time they had ever held hands, but it was the first time that they had done so without entirely innocent intentions, like if one of them was scared or needed help keeping their balance. She felt her face heat up again.
Iris bit the inside of her cheek to keep the serious expression on her face. "Okay, now the vows. Please repeat after me, Haruto. 'I promise to stay with this person for the rest of my time in Heartland Academy, and only care for them.'"
"I promise to stay with this person for the rest of my time in Heartland Academy and only care for them." Haruto said, raising his eyebrows at how cheesy the lines were. Pip didn't blame him; she had only read through the vows once, and hadn't realized how lame they would sound when said out loud.
"Okay, now it's Pip's turn!" Iris said, seemingly unaffected by the vows' lameness. Then again, Pip was sure that she was having too much fun to notice. "Pip, repeat after me: 'I promise to stay with this person for the rest of my time in Heartland Academy, and only care for them.'"
"I… I promise to stay with this person for the rest of my time in Heartland Academy, a-and only care for them." Pip repeated, squeezing Haruto's fingers without realizing it. When he squeezed back, she had to swallow hard to keep her emotions in check.
"Now you have to place the rings on each other's fingers." Iris said, reaching into the box with the candy and handing one to each of them.
"You guys are going all out, aren't you?" Haruto asked, clearly having to hold back his laughter as he unwrapped his Ring Pop. "But it's kind of cute, I guess."
Pip missed the feel of his fingers as she struggled to get her own Ring Pop out. She was still fumbling with hers when Haruto reached over and helped her out. She thanked him when he handed her the cherry red Ring Pop.
Iris motioned for the two of them to place the rings on each other's fingers. Haruto grabbed Pip's hand again and slid the candy ring on her second left finger. It looked a little gaudy, but the very idea that Haruto was putting a ring on her finger, no matter that it was made out of sugar, made Pip's heart flutter and she couldn't help smiling. She took his left hand and slid her own Ring Pop onto his finger, wondering for just a second what it might be like in a few years, with a real ring instead.
"By the power vested in me by our first year homeroom teacher, I now declare you husband and wife." Iris said, her voice rising a few octaves from how excited she was. She didn't bother to keep her voice down when she said the last part. "You may now kiss the bride!"
"Th-The bride?!" Pip's face must have been the same color as the candy ring on Haruto's finger, she was blushing so hard. "Iris, it's supposed to say 'kiss each other's ring!'"
"Is it?" Iris asked, her expression way too innocent to be genuine. "Whoops, I must have read that wrong. But you have to obey what they priest says, don't you? Kiss your bride, Haruto~"
"Right… R-Right now?" Haruto asked, his face turning a light shade of pink. He looked around and saw that a lot of the students were staring at them. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly feeling so nervous.
"Yes. Right now." Iris said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. If she could get him to pull this off, she was going to be one happy matchmaker. "Go on, we're waiting."
Haruto hesitantly nodded, his face flushing bright red. He turned to face Pip, who was currently hiding her face in her hair again and laughed nervously. "I guess we have to do what the priest says…"
Pip nodded, but she didn't move her hair away. She was so nervous, she thought she might faint on the spot. What if Haruto didn't like kissing her? She had never kissed anyone before (not that Haruto had either, but…) so she didn't have any experience in that department. What if she did it wrong? What if it ruined their friendship and then they couldn't hang out anymore? That would be the worst thing, because even though she liked him as more than a friend, she wanted more than anything to be his friend forever. Oh god, she couldn't do this. Not yet. She wasn't ready! But Haruto was leaning in already, and Pip was too nervous to even close her eyes…
His pressed his lips to her forehead for a brief second before he moved away, his face burning. "Th-There, now it's official."
Pip blinked, taking a moment to realize what had happened. He'd just kissed her forehead. Oh… She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved that he had gone for a innocent forehead kiss like that, but what she was sure of was that his lips had felt really, really soft.
Iris had to struggle very hard not to let out a frustrated cry at how dumb he was for being so chaste. Somehow she managed to hold it in, and instead clapped her hands cheerfully. "Congratulations newlyweds!"
All of a sudden, the area surrounding the booth was filled with applause. All three of them looked up to see that the students that had been hanging around were clapping at the little 'ceremony' that had just taken place, and a few of them were even approaching.
"That was so cute! Can you marry me and my boyfriend next?" A second year girl asked, holding hands with a boy wearing the third year uniform.
"I want to get married too!" A first year student that Pip recognized from the class next to hers said, jumping up and down excitedly. "Are we allowed to marry friends?"
"Of course, Haruto and Pip just got married." The girl next to her said.
"Anybody can get married!" Iris quickly said, partly because this would give them as much business as possible, and partly because she didn't like that this girl was so quick to label Pip and Haruto as 'just friends'. "All you need is a little cash and I'll perform the ceremony for you right away!"
As people started bringing out their money, Pip and Haruto stepped aside to let them get to Iris. When they were a few feet away, Pip could feel Haruto's eyes on her, and she had to keep her eyes on the crowd in front of them to stop herself from getting flustered. She said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Th-Thank you for your help, Haruto-kun. You've really helped us out."
"No problem. It was, uh, a lot of fun getting married to you." Haruto said, sounding a little nervous too. Pip gathered up all the courage she had in her and peeked up at his face. His cheeks were still pink, but he was smiling that same easygoing smile that she loved so much. It filled her with comfort and she hesitantly returned the smile.
"So… do you want to keep the certificate?" Haruto asked, holding out the piece of paper that made their marriage official. "Because, uh, if you don't want it then… "
"Then what?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Then I'll keep it." Haruto murmured, averting his eyes from her face.
Pip blinked, wondering if she had heard him right. He wanted to keep it? She couldn't help bringing her hands up to move her hair in front of her face, hiding her bright red face a little. "Um, y-you can keep it. I-If you really want it."
"Yeah, I want it." Haruto said, folding the certificate a few times and putting it into his pocket. He looked like he was about to say something else, but Iris's voice cut in before he could.
"Pip, I'm going to need a little help here!" The green haired girl said, looking like she was starting to get overwhelmed at the amount of people approaching the booth. She must not have noticed the moment that she was interrupting, or she wouldn't have said anything.
"Looks like you two are going to be busy for a while." Haruto said, letting his eyes travel down the sudden line that had formed. "I should let you get back to it huh?"
"Yeah, I shouldn't make Iris deal with all those customers by herself." Pip said, glancing over at the scene and noting that she could really use some help.
"I'll see you after school, okay?" Haruto said, putting his arms around her for a quick hug before waving goodbye and walking away.
Pip hurried back into the booth and took her seat next to Iris. She quickly started handing out certificates to the people waiting while Iris handed a couple Ring Pops to the students she was currently dealing with.
"I guess it's not going to be boring anymore." Pip said, biting back a smile when Iris's expression soured.
"I almost regret it." Iris muttered under her breath, as the couple in front of her placed the rings on their fingers. "But I got you and Haruto married, so it was worth it."
Pip looked down at the candy ring that was still on her finger and let out a happy sigh. "Y-Yeah, it kind of is. Thank you, Iris."
"It was my pleasure." Iris said, giving her best friend a quick grin before she put her attention back to her customers. "You may now kiss each other's rings. Congratulations you two!"