A/N: Yay! This was actually on time! So, funny story. I got my brother to read the beginning of this chapter because he asked what I was doing and I thought what I had so far was pretty funny. So he read it. Then he choked on his soda, told me to keep writing, and walked away XD It was honestly the best thing about writing this chapter.
Chapter 3-Wedding Day
Of course Kazuto had to be late to his own wedding. It was typical, really. He should have seen it coming. His life was just a whole bunch of failures and mishaps all strung together like one big joke in an anime where the creator was ironically against his existence on purpose. That had to be it—the world just had to be against him because now he was finally going to marry the girl of his dreams and there's an accident in the middle of the fastest route to the courthouse.
"That's it," he stated dejectedly, head bowed and resting in his hands. "I officially hate my life. Please see to my funeral."
"You're not going to die," Andrew gave him a brief, amused smile before turning his eyes back on the road. "It looks like we'll just have to take a different route."
"But that's just it," Kazuto lamented. "The only other way to get there requires going around half the city which adds half an hour to our driving time. We're already pushing it as it is and Shino is going to kill me for being late to our own wedding. So yeah, make sure I have a decent coffin and that my life's work goes to someone willing to continue my legacy."
"You mean you want us to donate your videogames to some nerds in a lab?" Ryoutaro asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the backs of Andrew's seats.
"They're not videogames! They're computer programs and mechatronics schematics!"
"So nerd stuff," the thirty-year-old grinned, ruffling Kazuto's hair playfully. "Don't worry dude, I'm sure that as long as you actually get to your wedding, Shino won't rip your head off and feed you to wild dogs."
Kazuto sat up and leaned away from him and toward the window, obviously annoyed as he swiped at his hair to tame it again. "Yeah, she'll just feel gracious and rip off some other part of my body."
"Well at least we know which one it won't be. She might want kids in the future."
That made the Groom turn deep crimson, face flushed like a tomato and eyes wide as the other men in the car filled the car with loud laughter. Meanwhile, the car turned around and headed in the opposite direction, the three occupants in for a long ride full of sly comments, innuendos, and embarrassment.
When the courthouse finally came in sight, Kazuto thought he was home free.
Then he noticed the construction happening in the parking lot.
Now, he usually wasn't one to curse but—
"Fuck me to hell."
—because now they had to park down the street and the ceremony had technically started fifteen minutes ago.
And it was raining. In 2 degree weather (35 in Fahrenheit).
So, yeah, he ran through the freezing rain in his suit and tie to the courthouse.
He burst through the front doors panting, closely followed by Andrew and Ryoutaro who shut the double doors behind them and leaned there to catch their breaths.
"Last time… I trust you… with anything, Ryou!"
"Dude, at least we got here!"
"The Best Man's job is to get the Groom to his wedding one time. Not force him to wait as long as he can because he shouldn't have anything to worry about," Andrew stated pointedly.
"How was I supposed to know his wedding day was going to be cursed?!"
"It's not cursed," Kazuto sighed, straightening and collapsing the black umbrella Andrew had let him borrow. He leaned it against a nearby wall and turned to straighten out his suit. It was white—white slacks, white button-down shirt, white blazer— except for his vest, tie, and shoes which were gray. Honestly, all the light-colored clothing made him feel weird, but he supposed it made a bigger statement than if he had worn black, which was a common occurrence for him. "All these things just happened to take place and were out of our control."
"What? How can you not take this as a bad omen? They say that rain on your wedding day is bad luck!"
"Kazuto isn't one to believe in superstition," Andrew said from the wall, smirking across the room at said younger man. "And neither is Shino. Some rain certainly won't stop them from getting married and being happy."
A set of pounding footsteps brought their attention to the hallway. They turned they heads, catching sight of Asuna running down the hall and white high heels, the long, light blue skirt of her dress clutched in her hands to keep her from tripping over it.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, coming to a halt in the foyer. She looked around at them with intent, chestnut eyes. "We've been worrying about where you were."
"Sorry," Kazuto apologized sheepishly. "We were held up."
"Well, come on. Everyone's waiting."
The three men nodded, briskly making their way over to the bridesmaid and to the room where they would hold the ceremony. But as soon as Kazuto reached Asuna, her hand grabbed his arm. Surprised, he looked at her, wide eyes meeting her hesitant ones.
"Um… Kazuto. Could I talk to you for a minute?"
Slowly, the Groom's eyes widened. In stunned silence, he glanced over at Ryoutaro and Andrew, who were staring at him with alarm and questions in their eyes.
Swallowing, Kazuto glanced back at Asuna, who refused to meet his eyes and instead took to staring at the floor.
Seeing her like that, the young man sighed. Posture relaxing, he turned to the other males in the room, giving them an easy smile. "You guys go ahead. Tell Shino I had to fix my hair."
They stared at him a moment longer, then nodded, turned, and headed down the hall without them.
Kazuto looked back at Asuna again, and her hand dropped from her arm. She still refused to face him for a moment, and he gave her some time to gather herself before asking in a soft voice "What did you need to talk about."
She was quiet for a little longer.
"Well, it's just," she paused, hesitantly looking him in the eye. "You're getting married. And… and I just need to know something." She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and finally lifted her chin, back straight and air dignified. "I still have feelings for you," she began, making a pit form in Kazuto's stomach. "I can't let you get married to someone else with the possibility that we could still have a chance. I need to know, Kazuto, whether what we shared was fake, if it was just me and it was all in my head." Her expression was hard, guarded, but her eyes shone through, pleading with him. "Is this what you really want?"
For several, long seconds, Kazuto was struck dumb. He could only stare at her, her words buzzing around his head as he thought them over. He couldn't deny that he felt guilty about his relationship with Asuna, at least a little bit. In his point of view, they had been growing distant when they had broken up, and around that same time, he had been feeling less inclined to be with Asuna and had unconsciously taken the time to grow closer to Shino. Being with Asuna in the romantic capacity hadn't felt right to him anymore, and he had ended. He had had suspicions that Asuna had still wanted to be together… but for her sake, he had hoped she would have been able to move on.
"Asuna," he began, looking deep into her eyes. "I'm not in love with you anymore." He winced as he saw something shatter in her eyes, and he mentally kicked himself, praying his social skills would be adequate enough to get him through the rest of this without breaking her heart entirely.
Taking a deep breath, Kazuto reached down and took both of the girl's hands between his own.
"I may not be in love with you anymore, but I still love you," he continued, watching her eyes widen. "I need you to understand that I can't ever, and will never, hate you. You will always be important to me; you were there for me in SAO when I thought I was alone. You saved me, and I will owe you for the rest of my life. For that, you will always have a place in my heart. But," he paused, making sure he would say this right before continuing. "I'm not in love with you. I asked Shino to marry me, and honestly, I own that as the best thing I've ever done in my life. So yes, this is what I really want. Shino makes me happy, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her… And I hope that, one day, you can find someone to share that with too."
Her eyes were sparkling now, tears threatening to form, and Kazuto wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Tentatively, he took the handkerchief out of his breast pocket and handed it to her. She took it gingerly, dabbing at her eyes.
"What we had, it wasn't fake. It just… ended up not suiting us at some point."
Kazuto finished, watching her carefully. If he was honest, he was glad she had brought this to his attention before the wedding. It probably would have crushed her if she had waited before everything was finalized. This way, she could have closure and maybe finally move on because she deserved to be happy too.
Asuna took a shaky breath, folding the handkerchief carefully and handing it back to him. "Shino's a lucky girl," she stated, making Kazuto smile slightly. Asuna gave a small smile back. "I know I'm supposed to say this at the reception, but I wish you a happy life."
For a while, they simply looked at each other, the gravity of their choices and the present they had lead up to finally sinking in for both of them. Finally, they could settle at a comfortable distance away from each other, content and at peace.
"We should go," Asuna said, ending the silence. "They're still waiting. I'll head back first so no one asks questions."
"That's probably smart."
The woman smiled at him, turned in her heel and began to walk off, shoes clicking down the hallway until she opened a door and disappeared inside.
Taking a breath, Kazuto let his thoughts settle and exhaled again. Right. Now that that was over, he had to get married to a woman that was probably really pissed at him for being late to their wedding. It was one dangerous girl after another for him, wasn't it?
Patting down his hair one last time, Kazuto took another breath and followed after Asuna.
When he opened the door to the courtroom, he was met with thirty people standing around the room, all dressed formally and talking in subdued voices. They formed an aisle down the middle, leading to the front of the room where the actually ceremony would take place. Standing there with obvious order were five people all dressed according to a common theme. Keiko, Rika and Asuna stood in their matching bridesmaid's dresses, all pale-blue with white shoes and accessories. Ryoutaro stood on the other side of the aisle, gray tux and white button-down neatly pressed and blue tie tucked between.
But Kazuto barely glanced at them before locking eyes on the fifth person.
Shino stood in the exact center, watching and waiting for him patiently. She wore a long, floor-length wedding dress as back as the night. It had a heart neckline and thin, lacy shoulder straps that complimented her collar bones. The dress was form-fitting along her torso, accentuating her curves as it cinched in at her waist and gradually flowed out to her feet. In her hands, she held a bouquet of blue Periwinkles and Forget Me Nots, sprigs of that latter adorning her hair.
She was absolutely beautiful.
Kazuto barely noticed the other people grow quiet as he walked toward her, feet carrying him of their own accord toward her awaiting gaze.
She gave him a small smirk as he walked up to her. "You know, the Bride is the one that's supposed to walk down the aisle, not the Groom."
Kazuto didn't answer. Instead, he walked right up to her, slid an arm around her waist, and kissed her. Surprised, Shino gasped, but soon relaxed into his arms, hands resting against his chest and still holding the bouquet as she kissed him back.
A few whistles came from the audience, but neither seemed to notice until they had broken apart, foreheads resting against each other.
Shino looked up at Kazuto with wide eyes, chest heaving in small pants. "Kazuto… what was that?"
"You're perfect" was his simple answer, and it made her cheeks turn pink and her heart skip a beat.
"Well. That was some kiss." The two turned their head and looked at the Best Man, who was smirking at them like he was amused, but seemed just as surprised as the both of them. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to save that for after the "I do's" but, you know, before is just as good I guess."
"Someone's impatient," the Maid of Honor added impishly. "It would probably be a good idea to hurry up and finish this ceremony before you two eat each other."
Laughter sounded from the crowd, making Kazuto's cheeks color as well as he loosened his grip on Shino. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, but only looked at the girl in his arms. "We were held up. I'm sure you heard the story already."
"It's ok," his Bride condoned, smiling softly at him. "I only got here about ten minutes ago."
"Oh, thank god," he groaned, head coming to rest on her shoulder. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought for sure you were going to kill me for being late."
"Of course not," Shino said matter-of-factly. "I might want kids in the future."
There was a beat of silence before Kazuto looked at her. Then he glared over at Ryoutaro who was doing a poor job at hiding his laughter. "Bastard."
Andrew and Ryou laughed openly after that, and Shino gave a little chuckle before grabbing Kazuto's attention again.
"Come on. Everyone's been waiting for us to get here so they can actually watch us get married."
"Right," Kazuto sighed, moving back so his hands rested on her waist. "You look great, by the way."
"So I gathered," Shino said with a roll of her eyes. "You don't look bad yourself. White suits you." The Groom gave a small grunt as Shino plucked a Periwinkle from her bouquet. "Here, a little splash of color." She placed the flower into his lapel, both of them looking to admire her work.
"I feel so pretty."
Shino laughed, and Kazuto felt a warm glow under the Periwinkle.
"So, ready to finally get married?"
Kazuto smiled. Turning, he faced the "alter" and caught sight of Asuna. She gave him a small smile, and he smiled wider in turn. "Yeah. Let's get this started."
The two faced their officiator, who was an older man with graying hair. He smiled at them warmly, and they began the rest of their lives.
It may have taken a long time to get to that point, but the ceremony itself wasn't very long. It was a short, simple rite as neither of them wanted anything too extravagant. The official said a few words, they said their vows, and then they signed their names on a sheet of paper along with the signatures of those designated as the witnesses to the union. Really, the wedding was rather plain, and that was how they preferred it.
The reception was what they really needed to worry about.
Honestly. They should have had the foresight not to stock alcohol.
"Yuh gis er sssoooooo lucky!" Ryoutaro slurred from across the white-clothed table, arms slung across the top with a bottle of sake in one hand. "I h… haven' even 'ad a steady gurlfriend'n years! Don' screw it up!"
"Y-yeah, Onii-chan!" Suguha added from the other side, cheeks a light crimson. "And you… you b-better listen here, bub. Hic!—you better take rel—re—really good care of Shino or so help me I'll—hic!—I'll… doooo something, you'll see!"
"Sugu," Kazuto sighed. "I'm right here. That's a cactus."
"Shh!" She hissed, swatting at his arm, not even glancing at him. "I'm trying to tell him something important! Onii-chan, yoouuu hear me?! Shino-san is really good for you… don't l-look so green! Just man up!"
"How many has she had?" Shino whispered to her husband, leaning over his shoulder.
He sighed again. "Three glasses of Champaign."
"…Wow."
"If you think that's bad, you should see Keiko," Rika snickered. Her hand gestured to the far wall, and the three of them glanced over. The younger girl was currently passed out beside Asuna, who was grimacing and rubbing her back in sympathy. "She's knocked out and she only had two."
"What… is wrong with our group of friends?" Kazuto asked. "Is it too much to just want normal? Is it really?"
"Yep!" Rika grinned. "You should know by now, Kazuto, that we're anything but normal. I mean, we do know you."
"Gee, thanks."
"Ow!" Suguha suddenly exclaimed, cradling her finger. "Onii-chan! That hurt! Why did you do that?"
"Sugu! You don't touch the cactus! Here, let me see," he said, taking her hand in his and inspecting it.
The younger Kirigaya pouted, then her attention suddenly zoomed in on something across the room. "The cat people have come for us."
"Um, Suguha-san," Shinichi (or Recon as he was known in ALO) began hesitantly. "We're not in-game right now?"
Briefly, Shino looked in the direction her new sister-in-law was staring. Just where exactly had she gotten cat people from?
"You should be fine," Kazuto said as he wrapped a napkin around her small cut. "It's not very deep."
"Do you think it's about time we sent people home?" Shino asked, leaning close to him to be heard in the noise of multiple conversations overlapping each other.
"That might be best," her husband sighed. "Come on, Sugu. Let's take you home." He moved to take her arm and lift her up.
"No, I can get up myself!" she protested. Then immediately almost fell of the table and had to slam her palm onto the table to steady herself.
Kazuto felt a sweat drop form on his neck. If this was only what getting Sugu home would be like, he didn't want to imagine everyone else.
"Oh, come on, man. We goin' home now?!" Ryoutaro suddenly shouted way too loudly and draped himself over Kazuto. "We was just startin' tuh have fun!"
"You reek of booze," the younger male stated blandly, wrinkling his nose and attempting to get the man off of him.
"Come on, Ryou." Suddenly Andrew was there along with his wife, and he pulled the redhead up into a standing position. "Kazuto and Shino have a honeymoon to get to."
"Shit, what time is it?!" Kazuto cursed, eyes suddenly wide.
"Time for us to leave," Shino answered, eyes one the clock above the front door.
"You should go," Andrew said to them. "Those of us who had the sense to stay sober will help getting everyone home safe."
"Great. Thanks," Kazuto said, relief flooding through him. If this mess could be left to someone else, then maybe they could catch the—
"No, wait! I wanna say goodbye!" Suguha interjected.
"But you don't have to come to the—"
"I said I want to!" she demanded, eyes practically burning with determination and a warning that if he made one wrong move it was over.
"Ooo! I do too!" Ryoutaro added, looking excited. "We hafta send ya off!"
"Uh, well…" Kazuto began, but he saw the looks in their eyes and knew getting rid of them was easier said than done.
"We'll have to change quickly then," Shino sighed. She grimaced at him, then rushed off to change out of her dress.
Kazuto sighed. So it looks like they had to babysit all the way to the train station.
A/N: So, this thing with Asuna. I feel like I have this habit to automatically hate any characters who get in the way of my OTPs simply on principle and not for any actual reason. Which is totally unfair. Asuna is a good character (if you conveniently forget certain parts of the anime) and I should really judge her on that and not the fact that she's in the way of Shino and Kazuto being canon. And even if Kazuto did break up with her, I feel like he would still try to be good to her and keep her in his life because they did endure one of the darkest times of their lives together. So, yeah, I hope you understand my point of view.
Next chapter is the honeymoon!
