"How are you doing, Nowaki?" Miyagi asked, firmly patting Nowaki's shoulder and fondly shaking him. Nowaki turned around, his face chalky white and his hands trembling as he gripped his champagne glass.

"Well, I still feel like I'm going to vomit all over the place, I can't remember my vows for the life of me, my tie is strangling me, and this champagne tastes like ass. And not Hiro-san's ass, either. More like an old man ass. Maybe yours."

Nowaki adjusted his bowtie for the umpteenth time as Miyagi threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh boy," Miyagi sighed. He playfully smacked Nowaki's arm. "You've just got some pre-wedding anxiety. You'll do fine."

"If I told everyone that I just wanted to put the ring on his finger, then carry him away to have a plethora of sex, do you think they'd be pissed?"

"Nowaki, just relax. If you did that, you'd unleash the wrath of the entire extended Kamijou family onto you. You'd be dead before you could touch a hair on Kamijou's head."

"That doesn't help," Nowaki groaned.

"Come on, kid. You're starting to sound as pessimistic as Kamijou. Stop worrying."

"Nn…" Nowaki whined, running a sweaty hand through his hair. Miyagi sighed and took Nowaki by the shoulder. He beckoned for Nowaki to lean closer.

"You didn't hear this from me," Miyagi whispered into Nowaki's ear. "But rumor has it that Kamijou will be extraordinarily beautiful tonight."

Nowaki perked up.

"What does he look like? Is he dressed in white? A dress? Tuxedo?" Nowaki asked rapidly. Miyagi chuckled.

"Sorry, Nowaki. I don't know any more than you do. I called Shinobu to ask about his whereabouts, and I overheard them squealing about how handsome Kamijou was," Miyagi explained. Nowaki pouted. "See? Look how eager you are. Deep down, you're completely ready for this. And as I've been telling you all day, I promise you that everything will make sense when you see Kamijou walking down the aisle."

"Mmm…" Nowaki hummed doubtfully.

"You'll see," Miyagi said.

And then he left, leaving Nowaki stranded with a too-tight bow tie and an empty champagne flute.


Nowaki shuffled nervously, his entire body positively aching with the amount that he was trembling. He was fully aware that Akihiko and Miyagi were right behind him, slightly angled to allow pictures to be taken of all three men, but it still didn't help his nervousness. Nowaki swallowed audibly, his mouth as dry as ashes. His eyes flicked towards the priest, who was standing to his right with a book in the crook of his arm.

The room, Nowaki had to admit, was beautiful. White was absolutely everywhere, with blue decorations hanging from every wall. The aisle was also white and lined with posts. The posts were connected by ivy that coiled around wires that hung between each post, leaving the aisle free.

And on either side of the aisle, all staring up at Nowaki with those menacing brows of theirs, was the entire Kamijou family. Several of Nowaki's guests were dotted around the seats as well, but they were hard to spot in the sea of glares. Nowaki had to remind himself that it was just the way that their brows were shaped, but his shoulders still hunched as he practically hyperventilated.

Nowaki's gaze snapped to Tomoko as she entered through a side door and took a seat in the front row of the right side of the room. She waved giddily up at Nowaki. Nowaki's heart could only start to pound. If Tomoko was in the community center, so was Hiroki.

And as if on cue, everyone started glancing over their shoulders and murmuring to each other. Nowaki could only pick up one phrase:

The bridegroom is in the building.

Without warning, the pianist sitting at the piano began playing, making Nowaki nearly jump out of his skin. He felt a quick, comforting pat on the back. He couldn't tell if it was from Akihiko or Miyagi, but he didn't care. His eyes were transfixed on the double doors that were being held open by two ushers. Nowaki clasped his hands behind his back and squeezed, the bones of his hand creaking in protest.

The leaders of the wedding processional were Misaki and little Hitomi, who was dressed in a little baby blue dress. Misaki was balancing Hitomi on his hip with one arm as he held a basket for her in his free hand. Hitomi squealed as she reached in, squeezed a handful of flowers in her fist, and hurled the blue petals at the floor. Misaki's chest swelled with pride as the audience chortled. A few flashes from cameras lit up the room, and Hitomi cooed as she experimentally put a petal in her mouth.

"Ah, no," Misaki murmured, stopping in the middle of the aisle to pry the petal out of Hitomi's mouth. She whined, earning a few laughs and 'How adorable's from the crowd. Misaki rushed the rest of the way, shaking the basket to sprinkle a few more flowers on the floor so he didn't hold up the rest of the processional. He dropped off Hitomi with Katina, who was already waiting in the front row beside Tomoko with three baby seats to her left. Fuyumi and Eiji were in two of them, sleeping soundly as they suckled on identical blue pacifiers.

Misaki came to a stop behind the spot where Hiroki soon would be, the thought making Nowaki's heart throb up against the base of his throat. He looked down at the floor in a desperate attempt to run through his vows one more time.

The next two were Shinobu and young Kyohei, who appeared to be around five years old. He grinned widely as he got his picture taken. He held the pillow bearing the rings proudly out in front of him. Shinobu kept a guiding hand on his back to prevent him from running too far ahead. Nowaki stared at the child, willing him not to drop the precious rings. However, as they got closer to the altar, he noticed that the rings were safely tied to the pillow with little blue ribbons.

Good call, Shinobu, Nowaki thought with relief, his hunched shoulders relaxing slightly. Shinobu led Kyohei behind Nowaki, where Miyagi and Akihiko were waiting. They murmured their requests for the rings, then knelt down in front of the boy to untie the rings from the pillow. Miyagi took the gold ring, Hiroki's, and Akihiko took the silver ring, Nowaki's. Shinobu then smiled and escorted Kyohei to his mother, whom he beamed at as he ducked under the ivy railing to jump into his mother's lap.

When Shinobu walked up to stand beside Misaki and put his hands behind his back, Nowaki wavered, his vision momentarily becoming blurry. He had never been so nervous and anxious in his life. Blood roared in his ears, molten heat coursed through his body, and perspiration gathering at his hairline threatened to drip down onto his brow.

The song being played onto the piano suddenly switched keys, notifying everyone of Hiroki's turn to walk down the aisle. All bodies turned to face the double doors, and everyone went absolutely silent as the pianist continued to play. Nowaki panted and reached up to tug at his strangling bowtie. He returned his hands to his back, but could hardly hold them with all of the sweat that covered them.

Two figures appeared in the shadows of the door, turned the corner, and walked into the light.

Nowaki's clasped hands suddenly went limp and separated, his arms flopping back to hang uselessly at his sides. His breath hitched, and a chemical flooded into his brain that he had never felt before. He could suddenly see things clearly. The sweat halted just above his forehead, and the heat fled from his body to be replaced by chills. His hands stopped trembling.

There he was, his father at his side to escort him down the aisle. His beauty was beyond Nowaki's wildest dreams, and all images of him in a wedding dress were suddenly wiped from his mind. The entire room was emptied. There were no Kamijou family members glowering up at him from the audience, no more camera flashes in his face, no more overwhelming wedding decorations on the walls. It was all gone, and all Nowaki could see, or ever hope to see, was none other than his Hiro-san.

Ever so slowly, a wavering smile spread on Nowaki's face.

And everything in his world was right.