Control

On their wedding day, Seto and Joey sat at a table in one of the rooms inside the cathedral, passing a flask back and forth across the table. As much as Seto disliked sharing a drink with Joey, the fuzziness filling his head decided it was acceptable since alcohol would make the day easier. He regretted not starting this morning, before the pictures, but he planned to remedy that now to the best of his ability.

"You think it's too late for us to just elope?" Joey asked.

Seto wasn't given the chance to reply.

"The next time you leave this building will be hand in hand as husband and, well, husband. Think of what your mother would say if she heard you besmirching her efforts in your glorious—"

"Yeah, dad. It's a joke. We're staying put."

Gozaburo and Pegasus had been talking about everything but business on the opposite end of the room. Mokuba had been hanging around for the past half hour, but Serenity invited him to watch a movie with her down the hall. "It has Japanese subtitles and everything," she had said, which Seto translated for Mokuba.

There was a too large clock on the wall that Seto found himself glancing at every few minutes, tracking the hands as they moved closer toward "I do." Joey's gaze flickered up from time to time as well, only he sighed every time he saw how late it had gotten.

When the clock showed that only fifteen minutes remained, Pegasus stood and turned to Joey.

"Let's go for a walk."

Joey shrugged and reached for the flask, plucking it out of Seto's hand and taking a long drink. He shook it, likely to gauge how much remained, and then handed it back over.

"You can have the rest, lovebug. We'll get more later."

And Joey and Pegasus left the room.

Gozaburo took the seat where Joey had been, a disgusted turn on his lips.

"I would have assumed once they discovered you were straight, they would be less inclined to push this through," Gozaburo said. He leaned back in his seat, and his fingers brushed over his pocket, where Seto knew he kept cigars tucked away.

"His highness has known for a few days now. He seems to be under the impression that time will take care of my reluctance."

"His majesty will only let you work again under the condition that Kaiba Corporation begins to supply the United State with our technology."

Seto took another sip from the flask. "I assumed as much."

"I dislike this, Seto. There is something wrong with all this, aside from the glaringly apparent."

"They should have been offended with me," Seto agreed. No matter what his name or his father's monetary value, he wasn't royal. It had no impact on the Japanese government to send over Seto. The United States was giving up their crowned prince; Japan should have matched it.

"His majesty is insisting he had no say in the selection, but he is too accepting of you and too interested in your work."

"You think they chose me on purpose?"

"I think if this marriage was unwanted, they would have given you a chance to slip away."

Seto rested his jaw on his fist and stared at the door Pegasus and Joey had gone through. It made sense, although Seto would rather disregard the notion that the Americans actually wanted him, that there was some greater scheme going on that he had yet to be informed of, Seto knew that Gozaburo had a point. America just as easily could have picked a lesser royal when they heard that Seto was the best Japan had to offer, but they kept with their prince. That did make it seem like they wanted to keep Seto close.

"The prince hates me, or rather, my personality. I feel like he would have calmed down the hatred if there was a scheme."

"I never tell you about the internal workings of Kaiba Corporations, and I am certain that even a prince does not know what the king does behind closed doors."

The hands on the clock were ticking closer to the hour, and Seto knew there was a room full of people waiting to scrutinize him and insult him because he was unworthy of their prince. Seto had kept up with the press he had been receiving. People who had met Seto usually disliked him, but those who hadn't were typically indifferent. But most of the internet seemed to think they had a right to hate him. It didn't particularly bother Seto, since he could had strangers with little regard for how he came across, but disgust was one emotion he thought better than to let Mana capture.

"If I am not allowed to work, what am I allowed to do?"

"Smile when required. Keep your weight down. Open up for the prince."

"I doubt that is what the king told you."

"They seem to like the idea of you returning to school. I suppose it reflects poorly on their prince if their older, royal son is still studying, while the younger, Japanese nobody has already graduated."

"I suggested that. I am surprised that they are taking the idea seriously."

The door opened again and Pegasus walked back inside, leading a vacant Joey behind him. Instead of walking toward a seat, Joey closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall, gaze on the ground all the while. His tie had gotten crooked somewhere along the way, but Joey didn't make an effort to correct it.

It didn't take much longer before there was a knock on the door, and the wedding planner stepped inside.

"Places, gentlemen."

Joey and Seto exchanged a look, both obvious in their discomfort of having to go through with the ceremony. Joey hadn't seemed as upset before leaving with his father, but now had difficulty holding the eye contact with Seto. Whatever Pegasus had told him on their walk must have rattled him.

They were herded down toward the sanctuary that was anything but, filled to capacity with Americans who hated Seto and the few Japanese delegates who had forced him into this. Mokuba's face was the only friendly one, and he was standing off to the side with Serenity, a translator application opened on his phone, converting Mokuba's speech into automated, computerized tones.

Gozaburo walked over and took the phone away, getting a small protest from Mokuba that was hardly an actual whine. The wedding was about to start, so it wasn't like he could carry it down the aisle with him.

Miho got them into their order, leading off with Pegasus who would walk Cecilia and Serenity to their seats in the front, and then head back to escort Joey down. There was the grandparent procession, none of whom Seto had been introduced to or been given a second glance by.

Seto would walk down with Gozaburo and Mokuba, escorting his father to a seat with the Japanese delegates and taking a spot up front with Mokuba. Joey and Pegasus would head down last, which Joey had greatly protested since he wasn't "the bride" in all this, Seto was. The wedding planner insisted that walking down last meant his had the more important role, and Seto was not going to argue in Joey's defense.

The music started.

Joey lost his cool and turned to Pegasus, but Pegasus just responded by shaking his head and putting a hand on Joey's shoulder, whispering something that Seto couldn't hear. Joey's head shook, but Pegasus kept whispering until Seto's husband-to-be calmed down enough to get his mother and sister through the doors and down the aisle.

That meant that Seto's wedding had started and within a few minutes, he would have to publicly announce that he was willing to marry the ignorant prince with whom he shared a mutual hatred. It was moving too quickly and Seto's turn to walk to his unfortunate doom was nearing.

Mokuba slipped into space beside Seto and grabbed his hand.

"If it helps," Mokuba said, leaning up close to Seto so he could talk quietly. "You will get to annoy a lot of people at once."

It made Seto smile, although faintly. Mokuba was trying to help, even if his help wasn't particularly wanted.

Miho gave Seto a signal when it was time for him to start walking. He hesitated for just a moment, long enough for a flash of panic to make its way across her face. All of the wedding guests were standing, looking back at Seto and waiting for him to start moving.

It was Gozaburo who took the first step, and since Seto had to walk down with him, it prompted Seto into motion. Mokuba kept up with Seto, and they headed down the aisle to some instrumental music Seto didn't recognize.

Seot kept his gaze straight ahead and made it a point not to look at anyone in the standing crowd. He kept his face neutral since Mana was up near the officiant, snapping photographs that would be spread throughout the world. It would be too much to try to look happy, but Seto could settle with bored.

He did, however, make a point of ignore Ushio, who had a seat on the row with Gozaburo. He blamed Ushio for everything, even more than Joey or the emperor. After Chicago, Seto had hoped to never see the man again.

Seto and Gozaburo both inclined their heads as Gozaburo took his seat, neither wanting to show any sentiment at the occasion. Some acknowledgement was expected, and they settled for the minimum.

Seto and Mokuba took their places up at the altar and looked back for Joey to walk down with Pegasus. Pegasus had an expression appropriate for pictures, but when Seto and Joey's gazes met, Seto knew they were both too close to sprinting for an exit.

Unlikely Seto, Joey gave Pegasus a touch more sentiment, a hug and a shaky smile, before stepping up across from Seto. The officiant signaled for everyone else to sit, and then for Seto and Joey to face each other.

"Marriage is our way for two people to come together, to become who they were truly meant to be. We have invited all of you—" he said, gesturing out to the crowd whom neither Seto nor Joey turned to look at. "—brothers, sisters, allies, and future allies to take part in this day. The two of you coming together, taking the step needed to heal two broken nations—"

That statement caused a disturbance through the crowd, likely from people who didn't want to think of their nation as broken. Joey's shoulders straightened out, but he continued to hold Seto's gaze. Seto hoped he was uncomfortable having to lift his chin just to meet his eyes.

"—and that is why these two will remain a symbol for hope—" the officiant was saying. Seto missed why exactly the marriage of two people who hated each other was hopeful and was glad he did. "—for the future together, our future together."

At least he hadn't mentioned love. Some of Joey's requests had gotten through.

The rest of the ceremony took under five minutes. It was another of Joey's requests being fulfilled. After exchanging rings and offering vague vows that seemed to amount only to staying together, the officiant pronounced them as married, then gave a too-enthusiastic, "You may now kiss your husband."

There was a moment of pause when Seto and Joey both checked with each other. The kiss shouldn't have been part of the ceremony and gratefully, it didn't see Joey had been the person to sneak it back in. It didn't make it any easier to lean it, to touch their lips together for only a second, long enough to seal the treaty and not a moment more.

The applause that followed was too slow and sparse. The officiant directed everyone across the street to the reception hall while Seto and Joey went back down the aisle, married this time, and they ducked back into the room where they had waited.

"You know that wasn't my doing," Joey said.

"I concluded as much."

"Bet it was Dad. Reeks of his wedding fog."

Joey dropped into one of the chairs and rubbed the back of his hand under his nose. It was the hand with the ring.

Seto was too frustrated to sit, so he leaned against the wall that didn't face the window, crossed his arms, and glared at the television mounted to the wall. His own ring weighed down on his hand and thoughts. Certainly if everyone knew they were married, he didn't need a ring to prove anything.

A few minutes of silence later, the officiant came in with both families. Mokuba ran to Seto and hugged him, gaining a disproving glare from Gozaburo. Joey got a much brighter response from his family and a handful of teasing from Serenity.

"We just need to sign the license before you run off to the reception."

"I'd rather run off to the honeymoon," Joey muttered. Seto almost agreed.

But they moved to the table with the marriage license and Joey filled out his section first, his signature a scrawl of lines that didn't resemble his name, other than one bit Seto thought was probably the J. Seto's own second took less time since he couldn't fill out as many of the spaces. He hesitated over the signature, having to remind himself that nonsense about this being for the greater good, then signed a strikingly neat, Kaiba Seto, in English, followed by the kanji.

"You're still signin' it backward."

Seto chose not to argue in front of their families. It was a signature, which at least was legible.

It took half an hour for the guests to clear out of the church, which left both families sitting in the small room for the duration. Mokuba insisted on taking a picture for his social media avatar, mimicking Seto's straight face. It got a half smile from Seto that resulted in the picture Mokuba actually wanted. And finally, they were given the instruction to make their way across the street. Mokuba and Gozaburo took one of the limousines, Pegasus and Cecelia another, and Seto and Joey the last.

Loosening his tie was tempting, but the ride wouldn't be long enough for Seto to get any benefit from it. So Seto settled for staring out the window, handing the flask back to Joey when he asked for it.

"Needs a refill," Joey complained, although he had told Seto to finish it.

"There is no alcohol in here?"

Joey snorted. "Like they'd risk us getting wasted before we have to actually talk to people."

Maybe in the limo after the reception. Otherwise, Seto could probably convince Joey to convince the driver to stop.

They didn't talk the rest of the way to the reception hall, and Miho stopped them when they went inside, letting Pegasus know he could make the announcement, the first introduction as a married couple. She had them walk in together as Pegasus was saying their names, which seemed pointless since neither had made any changes, and then directed them over to the family.

The room was packed full, and someone had sneaked flowers into the decor.

Mokuba hugged Seto again and Serenity did the same to Joey, and then checked with Seto to make sure she could do the same. He allowed it, and caught Mana snapping pictures from a few meters over. Pegasus and Cecelia did the same, then stepped back, holding hands.

"You made it through," Serenity teased.

"Mostly. We've still got a whole lot of talking to do here," Joey said, glancing around at everyone staring his way. "How long do Seto and I have to stay before we can head out?"

"You won't have a receiving line," Miho told them. Her clipboard was in hand, and she paused to listen to something from her earpiece, pressing it closer over the buzz of voices in the room. "The after party is set up. So once everyone has eaten, they can head in."

"What about we just stay for the food, then skedaddle?"

Pegasus shook his head. "It's your reception, your party. You don't seriously expect to leave halfway through."

"It'd be nice. Back me up on this, Seto."

"I doubt they will see it our way."

Joey pointed. "See that? Our way. You're not going to put a dagger in the first thing we've agreed on, are you?"

No one gave the argument any attention. Instead, they moved on to the order of the evening, excusing Serenity and Mokuba to go up to the main table to wait on their meal. They both had their phones out, but Pegasus, Cecelia, and Gozaburo were too distracted to notice.

"You're not having a receiving line, so you'll need to go around to all the tables," Miho said.

"Two minutes minimum at each table," Cecelia told them. "Most of your guests traveled a long way to be here."

"So did my husband. Doesn't his opinion count?"

"Joey," Cecelia started, lips raised in a tested smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Just wanted to complain a bit."

"Maybe not so close to the guests," she said.

Seto caught himself spinning the ring with his thumb and relaxed his hand. The ring might as well have been a brand, which considering how heavy his hand felt, Seto might have preferred. At least then he wouldn't be able to feel it so constantly.

"Let's go," Joey said. He grabbed Seto's sleeve to lead him over to the first table, dropping it when he made his introduction. "Mr. President sir, I'm so glad you could make it."

The man he introduced Seto to was old, short, and might have had the craziest hair Seto had ever seen if not for the two men sitting beside him. They all wore it in a similar style, sticking up in an absurd number of points, at the younger two had colored theirs to match, black, red, and yellow.

"Seto, this is Lord Muto, the Earl of Canada and his grandsons, Yami and Yugi. They're my cousins."

"Pleasure to meet you," Seto said, already starting the count to one hundred and twenty. The last thing in the world he needed was more of Joey's family to tolerate.

"A lovely ceremony," Solomon said, arching back in his seat to look up at Joey. "Very green."

"You can thank Ma for that one. She's got the eye for design; we were just there to say the magic words."

"I'm sure your father had plenty of input."

Joey snorted and put his hand on the back on Solomon's chair, making the entire conversation suddenly feel more intimate, more personal. All the malice toward Seto was gone, and the show he was putting on nearly flawless.

"You're telling me. Took us ages to convince him not to cover the sanctuary in baby's breath."

The youngest of the men, Yugi, grinned. "You would have loved telling that story for years."

Joey laughed naturally and brushed back his bangs. "Whatever you say, Yug. But I'm thinking I can be real content with the almost of the story."

Yami turned his attention to Seto. "I'm glad to see your family was able to attend."

"It was a pleasant surprise."

"You didn't know they were coming?" Yugi asked. "How come?"

"I sort of planned to surprise him with it," Joey said, like it had been done out of some show of affection. "I think it turned out as a good surprise, don't you?"

The count was up to a minute, and Seto focused on the positive of being halfway done rather than the fact he had just answered that question. "I do."

"Your brother and your sister seem to get along well," Solomon observed, looking behind them to the table where Serenity and Mokuba were sitting together, a phone out between them. "They don't share a language?"

"I'm sure Ren's translating on her phone. But yeah, they've been hanging out all day. It's nice to see my little sis and bro are friendly. It'll make reunions a blast."

Just half a minute left of this, Seto told himself, and then on to the next table, hopefully with more interesting occupants.

"We visit fairly often," Yami told Seto, "So when you don't have a room of people to greet, we'll be able to talk in greater detail."

"I'd love to hear about Japan," Yugi added.

"Of course," Seto said, more out of politeness and distraction. Getting to know these two wasn't high on his priority list, and he doubted that was going to change under any condition.

Joey went twenty-three seconds over the minimum talking to the other people at the table, insignificant enough Seto didn't bother with their names. He did his part for Mana by keeping his expression light, staying close enough to Joey they could be in the same shot, and smiling when he was introduced. The majority of people they spoke to across the next few tables were mostly interested in Joey, although a few chatted with Seto when they found out he spoke English.

"Oh yeah," Joey had said when someone questioned it, "Seto's very smart. Graduated college at nineteen, wasn't it?"

"It was."

"Nineteen. Basically a genius here."

And, as it turned out, the getting to know each other quizzes came into play. Having to talk about the two of them as a couple, and what the other was up to with all these changes around, having set answers allowed the conversation to flow as smoothly as it could have been expected to.

They reached the table with Ushio and the other Japanese representatives about halfway through, and Joey nudged Seto forward. "This one's all you."

Two minutes with the people who dragged Seto to this hell. It was basically small talk like Seto had been forced to carry on in business meetings, only he would enjoy this even less.

He greeted them with an impolite bow. "Ushio-san."

"Kaiba-san. What a lovely ceremony."

"You saw it carried through. Does this mean you can return to Japan?"

"It does. We are on the same flight as your father."

Seto didn't care. "I am glad to hear it. Have you met my husband?" He paused for the full effect of his tone to be conveyed, and to gesture to Joey so Joey knew he was being referred to. "No? This is Prince Joey."

Ushio stood to bow, then offered his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, your highness. I am Tetsu Ushio."

"You know Seto?" Joey asked. "He hasn't mentioned you."

If Seto didn't hate Joey so much, he might have smirked.

"We have not been acquainted long," Ushio said. "I merely helped him with his trip over."

Joey looked at Seto and grinned. "So he's the one. Makes sense. I can see it."

"Yes, well, I understand we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, Kaiba-san—"

"It's actually 'Your highness' now," Joey said. "Or I guess whatever the appropriate honorific is."

"But actually, we have other tables to greet," Seto said. "I hope your flight is as comfortable as mine was."

They turned their backs on the table and walked to the next, and Joey's raised lip, very slight, held Seto's attention. He found, just this once, he didn't mind presenting the united front.

Two tables later and Joey stopped Seto with a hand on his arm. "Remember how I told you about Dartz and Alister?" he asked in a whisper, lips hardly moving.

"I recall."

"Redhead at two o'clock is Alister. So, fair warning."

"I can pretend not to speak English."

"As much as I'd get a kick out of that, let's just two minutes them and be done. It's our wedding day. We shouldn't have to deal with douches."

Seto agreed and they made their way over, and like all the other tables, Joey greeted them with a smile and a "So glad you were able to make it."

It was easier to pretend Alister wasn't glaring through Seto. And a lot of the time he wasn't, but past Seto toward Gozaburo. He should have been staring at the Japanese representatives. They were much more likely to have been behind the attacks Alister took issue with.

"How could we miss?" Dartz said, standing to offer a hand to Joey, then to Seto with the address, "Your highness."

He was the first person to have used the title toward Seto, so Seto responded in like with a simple, "Duke."

"You've been making so many introductions," Dartz said. "It took me months to learn everyone's name."

"I am a quick study," Seto said.

"I wouldn't doubt him knowing everyone already," Joey said. "Seto's got an impressive memory."

That had been one of the facts from the forced game. They were making good use of them so far, and as far as Seto was concerned, had made a decent show of looking like an actual couple.

"Your reception is no place for a quiz, but that might be an interesting test to give him later on," Dartz told Joey.

"Maybe we'll make some time for it," Joey said. They were going on their honeymoon later on. And while being quizzed on names was more preferable to what he knew they would be doing, Joey probably didn't feel the same.

"Your highness, these are some of my colleagues, Rafael, Valon, and Alister." He gestured to each man as he spoke, then introduced the other four men at the table, people Joey hadn't warned Seto about in advance.

Seto dipped his head in a mock bow since it wasn't feasible to walk around the table to shake everyone's hand. It also gave him a moment where he didn't need to look at anyone, a moment to close his eyes and remind himself they were almost done with all this.

With all the wedding things. They were not done with the situation at all.

"Unfortunately we can't stay to talk. Seto and I have to make sure we get to Niagara at a decent time."

"Of course. Best wishes in your union."

The others at the table, except Alister, gave the same sentiment, and that was a good enough sign for Seto and Joey to walk away, working as quickly as they could through the rest of the tables, just as most people were finishing their main course. They had declined the suggestion of cutting their cake, so the servers would handle that, leaving Joey and Seto to join their family at the main table and start on their own meals.

Joey seemed to have just about as much of an appetite as Seto. They both picked at their food, Seto mostly determined to finish at least half of a plate so he could drink more in the limo, and Joey managed a bit more.

Mokuba and Serenity sat to Seto's left, Joey his right, and Pegasus, Cecelia, and Gozaburo Joey's right. Listening to Serenity and Mokuba try to use the other person's language brought a smile to Seto's expression, and he gave most of his attention to them rather than the room whose attention was on him.

Joey's elbow bumped into Seto's side, so he glanced over.

"We're almost done," Joey mouthed. The words were hard to distinguish through the grin.

Just the cake and the party left. All the worst was over.

All the worst of the wedding, at least.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget you can follow me on tumblr, bellamy-taft. Some of the upcoming chapters won't be posted in full here, so the link to the complete version will be found on my tumblr.

You can expect an update on Sunday, April 2nd!