Akoya paced the floor in Ibushi's room, a nervous habit of his, as he tried to sort out every thought going through his head at that moment. "There's no way we could pull off running away and eloping," he sighed. "No possible way."

"Maybe not alone," the other agreed, "but with the help of some of our friends, I'm sure we could. Think about it, Io and Ryuu can tell us where they went to be married. We're already of age. We could go on a fake vacation with Kinshiro under the excuse of a bachelor party, and elope right then and there. If we are already married by the time of the wedding, then there's no way I could possibly marry her, right?"

The younger of the two stopped pacing. "Slow down there, Arima. My brain can't process this information all at once. I agree with you on eloping, but do you really think we can pull it off without our families noticing?"

"Kinshiro owes me from back in high school, Akoya," Ibushi explained. "He had no right to refuse us. We will just leave with him, Atsushi, and En, and then we'll split from them at our destination. From there, we will elope and enjoy a few days as a married couple. We will then return with them as if nothing had happened."

"Sure, but what does that last part mean? What do you mean 'as if nothing happened'?"

"When the time comes for my wedding with Kana, there, in front of everyone else, I will pull out our marriage certificate at the altar and refuse to marry her on account of me being already married."

Akoya sucked in his breath and held it for a moment. "You do realize what you're saying, right? This whole plan is risky. What if we're being watched and can't get away from the other three? What if our families show up just as we're about to sign the marriage certificate? Not having a future married to you scares me, but knowing such a future was in my grasp and I failed to reach it scares me even more."

Ibushi walked over to his lover and held him in a reassuring embrace. "But how will we know it won't go according to plan if we don't give it a try?" he asked. "I'm just as scared as you are, but hope for success is all we have right now. So I have one thing to ask." He bent down on one knee, grasping Akoya's left hand between his own. "Akoya Gero, will you marry me?"

The younger man's heart pounded in his chest, thrumming up into his ears. How he'd waited for such a question, yet he didn't see it coming so suddenly like this. Either way, there was no way he could deny Ibushi the right to call him his husband. Even if the plan was risky, he knew in that exact moment it was something they needed to do. Together.

"Yes," he finally said, smiling with joy as his eyes became wet. "There is nothing more I want to do with my life in this current moment than to be your husband, Ibushi Arima. I'm yours if you'll have me."

Ibushi stood up and embraced his lover, kissing him deeply. So deeply, in fact, that Akoya had lost all feeling in his legs and he had to hold him up to keep his lover from falling to the floor. He scooped his new fiance into his arms and carried him to the bed. "How about we celebrate?"

Akoya was already unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm way ahead of you," he laughed. He kissed Ibushi once again and let himself be free to do as his heart pleased for the rest of the night.

.

"Wait, you're joking, right?" Kinshiro asked after Ibushi had told him of his plan. The two were sitting in Kinshiro's living room while Atsushi and En napped together in the bedroom. "You're serious about this, Arima?" He thought for a moment. "I mean, I suppose we could easily pull off your elopement and all. No one would ever suspect a thing, but pulling out your marriage certificate during your wedding with his sister? Are you insane?"

"Maybe I've finally lost it," Ibushi agreed, "but I can't deny myself what I really want. I can't marry Kana, not when Akoya is who I really want. My parents want connections to the Gero family, as they do with mine. No one said anything about which child I marry. And I want Akoya. How could I not? He was everything to me back in high school, and I've always regretted not confessing to him back then. I'm not going to lose my final chance to be with the man that I love."

The other man sighed. "You've got it bad, buddy." He rolled his green eyes. "Then again, this could actually work out for you. Unlike me, you only have Akoya whom you wish to marry. If I could have my say, I would have married both At-chan and En-chan years ago." He sighed once again. "It's just too bad that I can't even come out as gay like Ryuu and Io did. My family's pride and reputation are on the line."

"Don't you ever wish that we hadn't been born who we are? Sometimes I wish I had been born a commoner, along with Akoya. If we were, then how could anyone object to our marriages? Take Io and Ryuu for example. Ryuu's parents left behind money to his grandmother for his schooling, and Io is a self-made billionaire. Yet they still remain humbled by their commoner roots."

"But this is the only life I've ever known," Kinshiro quietly stated. "How could I ever bear to leave it all behind and become a penniless commoner? My parents could never accept me as I am. After all, I'm the one they depend on for an heir. But what if I am unable to provide one without adopting them? What would my family say to me passing on my inheritance to a child who wasn't born into the family?"

Ibushi considered his friend's words. Though he knew that was also what his parents wanted from him, there was no way that he could ever fulfill their expectations. Just the thought of him being with anyone but Akoya made him uncomfortable. Yet would that reality be best for his family? How could he just throw away what he wants in life just to bring an heir into his family? It didn't seem right.

He nodded. "I understand. It's a lot to think about, and I've always been so unsure of everything around me for most of my life. I mostly just followed orders since I was a young boy. But I'm sure about Akoya. I've been sure about him since high school. I'll be damned if I need to marry a woman because someone else decided my future for me, especially if I'm being forced to marry his sister."

"We'll do it," Kinshiro stated. "We're going to go on vacation together. En, Atsushi, and I will cover for you. If anyone I know deserves their happy ending, it's you." He took a deep breath. "You'll be at risk of disownment. You know that, right?"

Ibushi nodded. "For him, I'd give up everything."

"Then count us into your plan. That's all the confirmation I needed. Let's get you two married. We'll disguise it as a bachelor party for you. No one would ever think to question a weekend vacation with friends to celebrate your last few weeks as a bachelor, right?"

"I couldn't ask for better friends."

.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" Ryuu laughed once Ibushi finished telling him of his elopement plan. "You have more balls than I do! Please tell me I get to be at the wedding when you do it!"

"Only if you tell me about the elopement spots you know of that marry same-sex couples."

"You drive a hard bargain," Ryuu commented. "But I've got you. There are some that are nearer and some that are further. It all depends on how far you're planning to travel. I will tell you, though, Io and I eloped to Hawaii. That's the best one I can recommend."

"Hawaii, huh?" he thought aloud. "I think Akoya would like that." Ibushi thought for a moment. "I think Kinshiro would be down as well. He, En, and Atsushi love going to Hawaii." He made a fist and slammed it down into the palm of his other hand. "This is perfect! It's really going to happen!"

Io walked into the room, carrying a disgruntled Sakura. "Ryuu, she's trying to draw on the walls again. I've tried everything, but she won't listen. Can you take over, please?" He looked worn out from trying to reason with a toddler. "She listens better to you anyway."

With a groan, Ryuu stood up and walked over to his husband. In one swift movement, he snatched up their daughter and carried her to another room. Moments later, the sound of her wailing echoed down the hall into the living room.

"She hates it when Ryuu is stern with her," Io explained. "I swear he didn't lay a hand on her. We don't do that in our house."

"Oh, I never thought anything of it. Toddlers are quite the emotional ones, aren't they? Then again, being so small must be tough." Ibushi's mind then began to wander to a distant future when he and Akoya had a toddler of their own. Would they be like Sakura?

Ryuu brought Sakura into the room with him. She was clinging to his hand as if it was the only thing keeping her on her feet. He stopped them in front of Io. "What is it that you wanted to tell Daddy?"

Struggling to speak through her tears, Sakura managed to wail out. "I'm sorry, Daddy! I won't do it again! I promise! No more!"

Io knelt down and hugged the toddler. "I'm not mad at you, Sakura. It just upsets me when you don't listen. Make sure to always wear your listening ears, okay? I love you, my sweet princess." He kissed the top of her head and smiled.

Ibushi watched the whole scene, feeling a pang in his heart. Why did he feel a sense of longing? Did he wish to be a parent as well? He'd never given the idea much thought, but he knew that being with Akoya had inspired him to many new things. If it was with his beloved, he felt he could even raise a child like Io and Ryuu.

"I couldn't help but listen in a little," Io sheepishly admitted. "I'm so excited for you and Akoya, and I would have to agree with Ryuu on Hawaii! It would work perfectly for you because you'll be out of the country, but you'll also be on a believable vacation. Even your family will think that you're bonding with you soon-to-be "brother-in-law". I can't think of any plan that would work better, especially after remembering that Kinshiro, En, and Atsushi all go there together at least twice a year. It's the perfect disguise for an elopement. I'll even look up for information for the place where Ryuu and I got married. Make sure to send pictures!"

For the second time that day, Ibushi felt truly blessed to have the friends that he had.

.

The following night, Akoya sat with Ibushi on the sofa in his lover's room. "You really came up with a full plan with the help of the others?" he asked, trying to tone down his excitement should everything go wrong between that moment and their marriage. "It's so detailed that there's no way it can fail. I should've known you'd save the day." He leaned over and kissed his lover's cheek. "I'll never stop believing in you."

"You'd better not," Ibushi laughed. "If you didn't believe in me, then I wouldn't have the strength to believe in myself. You're the only person who truly matters to me. Your opinions are the only ones that matter to me. Akoya Gero, I'm so madly in love with you that I can't stand the thought of not sharing my life with you." He leaned forward and pecked the other man's lips. "I don't want a life without you by my side. And I never, ever want to fall in love with or marry someone else."

"You're pretty good at flattery, Arima, you know that?" Akoya batted his eyes at him. "But can you follow up each and every word as you said them? Your plan seems pretty flawless and foolproof. Once we are married, we will have nothing more to worry about, will we? What a life of bliss awaits! And it's only just out of our reach! It's maddening!" He balled his hands into fists. "How much longer must we wait?"

"Kinshiro is going to get back to me within the next few days with a date. After that, it's all smooth sailing. We will be married in no time." He grabbed Akoya's hand and gently kissed the back of it. "It's only a matter of time now, my love. And then our dreams may come true." He sighed and placed a hand on his lover's thigh. "But how I wish time would hurry up."

The pink-haired man laughed. "You took the words right from my mouth." He stood up and moved to straddled Ibushi's lap, facing his lover. He cupped his lover's face in his hands as he sighed out happily. "Right now, our future is just a waiting game. Before we know it, the day will come."

"And when it comes, our future will begin."

Akoya passionately kissed Ibushi. "And there's no one else I'd rather have a future with. I'll count down the days."