Love Me or Leave Me
The Middle
Oishi leaned over. "She's beautiful."
Eiji nodded. Saki had always been a pretty girl but today, in this moment, it was almost as if she was glowing. She looked like a weight had been lifted, that something that had been bothering her was gone. Eiji smiled to himself as he remembered their talk.
They were seated in the second row, behind Eiji's parents and aunt. His two brothers were on his left, Oishi to his right. Yumi would have been with them except Saki had asked the elder Kikumaru daughter to be the Maid of Honor. As for Eiji's two sister-in-laws, well, they'd both declined from attending to actual event in order to take care of their children, all of whom were honestly too young to expect to be able to sit through the event without causing some sort of problem.
Saki passed them.
A strange mixture of happiness and sadness fell across Eiji. Feeling like he was about to cry, Eiji reached over for his boyfriend with one hand, his other going to his brother Ken on his left. Both men accepted the redhead, Ken doing the same to his older brother, the four of them creating a strong chain. Eiji glanced at his brothers' faces. Kei was proud with a happy smile on his face.
"Do you, Kikumaru Saki, take Hinagami Shotaro to be your lawfully wedding husband through sickness and in health, through the good times and the bad, through fortune and misfortune until death do you part?"
Ken was smiling too but he seemed a little sad. Eiji understood. They loved Sho like a brother, and as he'd proven over the last day to be a really cool and thoughtful guy, but this was Saki.
"I do."
She was their sister and even though they were gaining a brother and a new niece or nephew, it kind of felt like they were saying goodbye.
"So why the pink dress?" Oishi asked at the reception. The wedding party had arrived back at Kei's place. Hungry, they'd went through a few speeches and eaten first but now everyone was relaxing. The dj was playing love songs that had some of the guests dancing. Sho's parents and Eiji's aunt were involved in a game of mahjong.
"Saki and Sho wanted a Christian wedding," Eiji explained as he sipped his champagne. "And that included a traditional white dress."
"I think I'm seeing the problem there."
"Yeah, Mom and Sho's family weren't too keen on that. I think Mom even yelled something about the wedding being an absolute failure if Saki wore the color of death. They wanted her to wear a happy color like red."
"And that's where the pink came from?"
"That's where the pink came from."
A couple of kids, probably around 10-12, ran by, giggling about something. Sho's brother chased after them, an annoyed look on his face as the children sprinted away.
"So, now that you've gotten to meet more than just a few members of my family, what do you think of them?" Eiji asked.
Oishi smiled. "They're nice people but I never doubted that. After all, they produced you."
"Okay, boys, no need to be lovey-dovey here," Yumi declared as she put an arm around each man. "It's picture time and we're being summoned." She directed them over to where Eiji's siblings and parents were gathered by the photographer.
"All the kids," Mameha directed her children. "All five of my babies."
"We're kind of not babies anymore," Ken pointed out as he stood between his two brothers, their sisters in front.
"Kikumaru Kenichi, close your mouth so you don't ruin my pictures," Mameha shot back. "And no funny faces either." It was an amusing sight, seeing the 27 year old man being scolded. Eiji had to try his best to keep from laughing, especially since his brother listened and did as he was told. It seemed that no matter how old they got, their mother's word was still the law.
"Children and signicant others," Mameha decided for the next picture.
"You know," Yumi said as she looked around, "I feel really alone." She pouted a little and Eiji glanced at their group, instantly getting what she was refering to. Saki and Sho were in the center of their group. In the back, behind the couple, were Eiji and Oishi. On either side of the Golden Pair was one of Eiji's brothers who had their respected wife in front of him. Poor Yumi stood squeezed in between Saki and Kei's wife, all alone.
"Well, if you ever took Minami up on his offer..." Eiji pointed out.
"He's my assistant," came the all too familiar reply. "I feel like that goes against some unspoken rule of conduct."
"Hush, all of you." Mameha gave her children a look. After a moments and the picture was taken, they broke free from their positions and wandered away. Eiji's sister-in-laws went in the house to check on their napping children and to relieve one of Saki's friends from child-care duty. Kei went over to his father and Saki and Sho went to speak to some friends, leaving Eiji with his boyfriend, his mother, Ken, and Yumi.
"I, for one, am perfectly fine with you still being single," Ken said as he rested his chin on his sister's shoulder. "I can't be losing all my little sisters just yet."
"But I am starting to wonder if there's a guy out there who can handle Yumi." Mameha shook her head.
"There is," Eiji pointed out. "She just won't give him a chance."
Oishi nodded in agreement. "Poor Minami-kun. He tries so hard..."
"And she always turns him down," Eiji finished.
"See, there is someone who likes her." Ken laughed, pulling away from his sister. "Besides, if Eiji could find a guy, I'm sure Yumi'll be just fine."
Eiji stared at his older brother. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Eh, nothing," the man shrugged, not noticing the dark look that had settled across Eiji's face. "It's just, I've never really been able to see you as the kind of person who'd settle down." Ken smiled at Oishi, "no offense to you or anything."
Eiji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew Ken was just joking but it hurt. His brother's words were hitting at a sore point for Eiji. He wanted to be angry. After all, Eiji was perfectly content with the idea of settling down with Oishi. It was Oishi who was the one who was stalling, the one who kept making Eiji wait. But Eiji was the one people assumed was the flighty one, the one holding them back. Eiji wanted to be angry but couldn't. He couldn't be mad on Saki's wedding day. It would simply hurt his big sister too much.
Opening his eyes, Eiji walked away without saying another word.
A/N: As always, I don't own anything in this story.
