Walking into Pegasus's house on Saturday, suitcase in hand, boxes being carried in around them, felt like new territory. The entryway echoed with the clack of steps, and a chill seemed to seep up from the marble floors.
Mokuba hovered at Seto's side. He wore his overloaded backpack, hands holding the straps, and shoulders somehow still able to hug his ears.
"It's really big," Mokuba whispered, but his voice carried.
"I'm not sure what room he has ready for you."
Seto shifted his box of computer parts to his left side, and tracked the movements of the movers upstairs. They knew which rooms were theirs.
"Follow the boxes?" Mokuba asked.
But they didn't have to. Pegasus came out from the adjoining sitting room, phone to his ear. But when he saw Seto, he ended the call.
"We really should have moved you in yesterday," he said. "We have to be at the courthouse soon."
"Is my suit upstairs?"
"In our room. But Mokuba, let's get you settled first. I think you'll like your room."
Mokuba smiled tightly, and checked with Seto before they followed Pegasus toward the winding staircase on the far side of the foyer. It spiraled up three floors, to an area of the house Seto had never been to.
"I put Seto's workspace across from your room," Pegasus said.
"Thank you."
"And it's right beside what's essentially my library overflow. A door in your room opens to it. It should be a good study space."
"It sounds nice."
Pegasus opened the second door on the left. It led to a bright room, with a large window on the far wall, boxed in by two built-in bookshelves. There was a padded window seat between them, but also a plush reading chair by the bed.
It was the massive fish tank across from the bed that grabbed their attention, and Mokuba took off his backpack while walking to it.
"There are turtles in here," Mokuba said. "They're actual turtles."
"I've been told they're sisters," Pegasus said. "And I'm sure Isono won't mind turtle-sitting for the times you join Seto and me on our world travels."
"They're mine?" Mokuba asked, only breaking his fixation on the tank to look at Pegasus for confirmation.
"All yours."
Mokuba smiled brightly and put a hand on the tank. Seto took in his excitement, and wished he felt the same about the wedding quickly looming over them. Instead of excitement, he was grateful for a small event. He caught a glance at the guest list the night before, and it consisted entirely of politicians. Most of them weren't even from Japan.
Pegasus took the box from Seto. "Let's put this in your office before we get dressed."
They left Mokuba as he was reaching into the tank, and went to the room across the hall. It was smaller than the bedroom, made to look even smaller by the U-shaped desk that filled most of it.
"It's a good space."
Pegasus set the box on the end of the desk. "i assumed you would like a place close to him, even if you'll mostly work at the other lab."
He at least appreciated having a space solely set aside for him. If he needed privacy, he had somewhere to go. He needed to find ways to customize it for his tastes.
"You really do think of everything."
"One of these days, you'll say it like you mean it," Pegasus said, and led Seto out of the room by his hand. They checked in on Mokuba, who had both turtles in his hands, before proceeding downstairs.
"I'll have to give you the full tour tomorrow," Pegasus said. "I don't fly out until Monday."
"I'll end up exploring anyway. Just point me to the kitchen and we'll be set."
"You're a simple man."
"Always the aim."
Pegasus's room, now Seto's, was four times the size of Mokuba's room. It centered around a large bed, with a den branched off where an easel was set up facing a wide window. Some of his paintings were hung around the room, and there was one of Seto in the outfit he'd worn at the art show. Beside it, there was a sculpture of a dragon.
"You liked that look," Seto said.
"You looked so comfortable. Your wavy hair is a delight."
Seto had always thought Pegasus preferred a more natural look. Seeing himself depicted like this cemented the idea.
"Your suit is hanging in the closet."
Seto went to the door Pegasus indicated. The closet was the size of Seto's office upstairs, and half of it stood empty. A few of the boxes Seto packed had already been stacked inside. The only item hanging on the left was a garment bag. Seto took it down and to the bed. He unzipped it slowly, although he already tried on the suit inside.
He would have preferred the suit black. Being considered the bride didn't sit right. They should have both been in black, or Pegasus in red. That would have matched their personality much more.
"What was your first wedding like?" Seto asked as he took the suit out of the bag.
Pegasus didn't respond for a few seconds.
"Not as grand as you may be thinking. I was much younger, just getting started. We spent as much on her dress as we did on everything else combined."
"You'll have to show me the photos sometime."
"One day," Pegasus said.
They dressed side-by-side, Seto stiff, trying to be discrete while making sure Pegasus wasn't staring. Seto only felt aware of the scars when other people could see them. All of them had healed. He wouldn't end up with any more.
"You don't normally smile for pictures," Pegasus said.
"I don't take pictures."
"There are several of you on Mokuba's social media. You two took one the night of the art show, and you smiled for it."
Seto stepped into the slacks. "I'd had a good day."
"I like your smile."
"Is this a segue into asking me to smile for the wedding photos?"
"It would be a great favor to the photographer."
Seto didn't know how many pictures they would end up taking, but though he could manage smiling for at least fifteen minutes. How many pictures could they possibly need?
"I should make sure Mokuba is getting dressed," Seto said, knowing he'd be mentally consumed with the idea of having turtles as pets. He sent a text, mentioning Mokuba's suit was probably in his closet.
"Did he decide if he wanted to be your best man?"
"He doesn't want to stand in front of everyone," Seto said.
"Then he won't need to. We've got him a seat with Isono."
Seto would have preferred every member of his small circle of friends to have been invited. But he had to settle for half. Pegasus hadn't gotten over his jealousy of Ryou, and he still considered Isono and Fuguta as security alone. Isono only merited an invite so Mokuba wouldn't be alone.
It was something.
"Let me get your tie for you," Pegasus said when Seto went to tie his. Although Seto had been working complex knots since the adoption, he allowed Pegasus to take over.
"White certainly makes your eyes pop."
"You would say that about any color."
Pegasus knotted the tie snugly to Seto's throat. He held it there a moment before smoothing it out with a palm.
"Do you aspire to happiness?" Pegasus asked. He put too much effort in getting Seto's tie to sit just right.
"Not particularly."
"I hope you start," Pegasus said, meeting Seto's gaze. "You'll be afforded every opportunity."
Pegasus took both of Seto's hands.
"I know you never intended on marrying me, but we'll make it work."
"It won't take long to adjust," Seto said, because he didn't have another choice. Pegasus had known the moment he planned to leave, and that was before having a reason to place obvious security all around Seto. Now their finances would be tied together, even if Pegasus ended up added to Seto's accounts while Seto had access to none of Pegasus's.
He had custody of Mokuba.
"You'll be everything, Seto."
"Maybe I already am."
Pegasus smirked before pulling Seto close to kiss him. They kept it brief, then put on their jackets before going to get Mokuba.
He had his blue suit on with the tie hanging loose, sitting on the edge of the bed with the turtles beside him.
"Have you named them?" Seto asked.
"Not yet. I need to learn their personalities."
"You'll have plenty of time when we're back. If you put them in the tank, I'll get your tie."
Mokuba reluctantly picked them up. The two of them didn't seem to mind being carried around, and didn't seem to consider Mokuba a threat. He would have been heartbroken if they shrank away from him.
Seto bent to fix Mokuba's tie.
"Are you going to put your hair back?"
"Do I have to?"
Gozaburo would have made him.
"You don't."
Mokuba ran a hand through his hair, and shook his head. "I think I want it down."
"Then you can wear it down. It's always been a good look on you."
"Maybe we can convince Seto to grow out his, then we'll all match for family photos," Pegasus said.
Mokuba snorted a bit. "That'd be hilarious."
"We'll talk later about you sneaking pictures of me online," Seto said.
"Only good ones," Mokuba said, offering his pinky for a promise.
Seto shook it.
"Well, we should head to the courthouse. Isono is meeting us there."
"What time do you plan to have him bring Mokuba home?" Seto asked. They walked out of his room—Mokuba closed the door behind them, a habit by now—and they went back to the main floor, where the movers were still shuffling boxes around.
Croquet came forward. "The car is waiting for you, Master Crawford. Should we have a second car brought forward for Mokuba?"
"Youta can take him. We'll meet up at the courthouse."
"Is there a way he can get in around the press?" Seto asked. "I'd rather they didn't bombard him with attention."
"We'll be sure he isn't bothered."
"I'll see you there," Seto told Mokuba before hugging him goodbye. They held on a bit longer than they otherwise would have, because it wasn't just a wedding they were heading to, but an execution.
No matter how much happened, time would move the same. They only needed to make it through a few hours before they could try to adjust to this as their new life. The worst would be over by dinnertime.
Everyone who was going to the wedding loaded into the cars, but in Seto's car, they were mostly alone. Croquet drove and raised the privacy partition. Seto messed with a thumbnail while trying not to think too much about where they were heading toward.
"You're nervous."
"That's underselling my nerves somewhat," Seto said.
"Which part has you uneasy?"
"I'd like to talk to him first."
"It isn't a good idea, Seto."
They'd discussed this too many times, talking each other in circles, both too adamant in their positions to give an inch. This was more important to Seto than most anything they'd come across before, and this one thing he couldn't sway Pegasus in at all.
"What could happen?"
"He'll poison your mind even further."
"You think he could convince me to convince you to commute his sentence?" Seto asked. "Or that me not sobbing over what he did means I'm weak-willed?"
"He held this power over you for ten years. You likely don't even realize it."
"And now I have the power over him."
Wanting to flaunt that wasn't wrong. Wanting closure didn't make Seto a victim. He didn't even remember the last thing they said to each other. Whatever it was, it wouldn't have carried any finality. Gozaburo didn't know that Pegasus was ready to kill Seto or that the wedding was forced.
All he would have known was that Seto won.
"It isn't wise."
"Even supervised?"
"Even then."
Seto was out of time to argue it. He angled away so he could look angry without Pegasus seeing, and give himself time to allow it to pass.
"I don't want the press to record me while you kill him."
"I'll make sure you're separate from them. They're vultures."
"Mokuba shouldn't have to be in the room," Seto said. "He can watch the livestream."
No one was allowed out of it. Seto was about to marry a man who the world had seen murder hundreds of people. He would murder hundreds more.
"It'll happen before the reception. And then we'll go sign the custody paperwork. Just a short detour."
The way Pegasus spoke made it sound so simple, like killing someone was just a blip on the radar, something to brush off without a second thought.
"Most couples would be excited on the morning of their wedding," Pegasus said.
"It's just unfortunate it has to happen at the same time," Seto said. "It's hard to think about each thing separately."
"We'll end up liking the reception more than the wedding at this rate," Pegasus said, and Seto laughed a bit.
"Just promise you won't bother introducing me to everyone. I can't be bothered to spend my own wedding learning the name of various politicians."
But that would end up being his life. If Pegasus wanted Seto to travel with him, he would need to know the name of the people they were meeting. After he graduated, he would end up studying their names and positions.
"We'll keep the greetings brief," Pegasus assured him. His voice was comforting, and despite the fact Seto was still angry with him for refusing to let him speak with Gozaburo, and Seto wondered if he could pick and choose the parts of Pegasus he wanted to accept as his reality. Compartmentalizing had always been a specialty of his.
"You know, I haven't paid much attention to how the press is handling the depiction of me," Seto said.
"We've been leaking bits of your personality to them," Pegasus said. "Driven, future-focused. They mostly debate whether your aspirations are too independent of me."
"When I have finished my projects, will I release them under my name, or build a company to hide where they originated?"
Pegasus rolled his eyes. "You aren't doing anything that would put any negative press on me. You'll use your name."
That brought up another point Seto hadn't wanted to ask about before now. He considered it when planning to run, and what running meant for the years of effort given to Gozaburo.
"What will my name be?"
"I intend for you to take mine," Pegasus said. "Not hyphenated or including Kaiba."
It was the last thing Seto wanted to hear, but he knew to Pegasus, it would make sense. Gozaburo was being executed, and Seto hadn't even been born with that name.
"How would you feel if I went back to Yagami?" Seto asked. "If I do end up starting a company, calling it Crawford-anything would be a conflict of interest. I'd rather make it on my own merits."
Pegasus considered it, taking in Seto's expression while he did. "You'll go by Crawford?"
"I will. Yagami for business only."
"You're preventing a PR nightmare years in advance. It's a good idea, so long as you publicly go by Crawford."
"I'll have to practice signing as Crawford Seto."
It didn't sound right. He couldn't pronounce it exactly right with his accent, and he already had to adapt to being Kaiba Seto.
"I'm sure you'll have it down in no time," Pegasus said. "It has a lovely ring to it."
When they turned down the street to the courthouse, the throng of press became immediately visible. They filled the sidewalks and had to be ushered out of the street to allow the procession through. They took pictures of the car despite the windows being tinted, and several of them tried to follow around the building to the back entrance. The security already stationed around the courthouse held them back.
"They won't be allowed inside, will they?"
"Definitely not," Pegasus said. "We'll have our official photographer, and then the cameras needed for the livestream. No more."
That made Seto a bit more confident, and he got out of the car first when they parked, surrounded by a shield of other cars. He checked that his tie was straight, just in case one of the cameras caught the perfect angle.
"How many people will actually be in the room while we say our vows?" Seto asked, walking hand in hand with Pegasus up the back steps.
"Fifty-two. The fifty I invited, plus Isono and Mokuba."
"But it will be televised?"
"Yes," Pegasus said. "But the vows are pre-written, just a straightforward repeat-after-me."
Seto nodded, and they went back down the halls Seto had visited a few times before. Gozaburo hadn't worked from this building, but he still took meetings here, and had Seto bring him paperwork from home on occasion. It would have been much more fitting to kill him in the Governor's Office, but less convenient.
The courtroom hardly looked like one. The walls had been draped with fabric to cover the wood finish, and the rows were lined with roses and ivy. Some didn't think courtroom lighting tended to be this soft, and as he walked toward the front of the room, noticed more rows had been added in front of the divide that typically separated the lawyers from the crowd.
"What do you think?" Pegasus asked.
"It's better than I expected. I was imagining a standard courtroom."
"It's like you hardly know me."
That was true, but pointing out on their wedding day wouldn't do anything for either of them. Seto ran his hand down the pews he passed, and tried to play out the ceremony before it happened. He hadn't seen a copy of the vows yet. The wedding was Americanized for Pegasus's sake, and aside from reading a few articles about how those weddings typically proceeded, there was little he could do to prepare.
Pegasus came to the front with him.
"It won't be that much change," Pegasus said. "In the grand scheme of things, not much will change."
"Only for the better."
In theory, Seto knew it was true. Gozaburo couldn't threaten Mokuba, couldn't hurt Seto. Seto wasn't being pressured to spy, putting his life on the line for it. Aside from that, the only changes would be their housing and some additional security.
And being married to a dictator.
"Did you ever imagine your wedding?" Pegasus asked.
"Not really. It didn't seem like a possibility, at least while I lived with Gozaburo. Even after that, it would have just brought someone else into his world."
"Men like him shouldn't have children."
"I'd agree with that."
And if Seto had known what Gozaburo was like when he visited the orphanage, he would have waited. He and Ryou could have found a way to get by and provide for Mokuba. Ryou had managed on his own.
They stood across from each other, in the same positions they would be in just an hour from now. There would be an officiant between them then, and a room full of strangers staring. Seto tried to imagine it, to prepare for it without having to move. He mentally prepared to school his expression, debating already whether he should look happy. It would be expected.
Seto did like to defy expectations.
"They'll start letting people take their seat soon," Pegasus said. "We should go wait in privacy."
"Will Mokuba wait with us?"
"I thought we could use a moment to ourselves."
Pegasus led Seto out through a side door to an office he'd clearly commandeered. There were drinks and snacks set up, and two leather armchairs waiting. Pegasus went straight to pour himself a drink, and Seto wondered if he'd brought a toothbrush. Otherwise, their wedding kiss would taste of brandy.
"What will we do with our time alone?" Seto asked.
Pegasus put down the bottle, and instead of sitting on the chair across from Seto, sat on the arm of Seto's chair. He handed Seto the glass, watching until he'd taken a sip of it.
"I have my own vows to give you in private."
"We aren't doing vows during the ceremony?"
"Not these. These, we promise only each other."
Seto let Pegasus take back the glass, and tried not to look too concerned when Pegasus worked a folded piece of paper out of his breast pocket. Finishing off the drink in one smooth motion, Pegasus put it aside to unfold the vows.
"Seto," Pegasus began, "I promise to encourage your creativity and the pursuit of your passions. I promise to guide you through your dreams and through our lifetime together. I promise to partner with you through whatever we take on. To be your support and defense. I promise to be your sanctuary, and that together, we'll conquer anything that comes our way."
Seto made himself smile, which he thought was good practice for the pictures that would come later. He hadn't thought to prepare anything for his vows.
But that turned out not to be a concern, because Pegasus offered him the paper.
"I wrote yours for you."
Maybe he should have been more grateful for it. Seto took the paper and skimmed over what Pegasus had typed. These weren't even an afterthought.
"Pegasus, thank you for choosing me," Seto said, voice heavy and deep. "For loving me through my worst while seeing me as my best. For never giving up on me and for fighting when no one else would. I promise to always stay at your side, to truly partner with you, to confide in you for everything."
There was no promise of love in either set of vows. Seto's offer to broach the topic again felt noticeable between them, and when he put the paper in his lap, he met Pegasus's gaze. A question lingered behind it that Seto thought better left unspoken.
"I would have written some if I knew we were exchanging them."
"It's better this way. I didn't want to put any more on your plate."
Considering everything hanging over him, a set of vows he could have looked up didn't register. Seto could have copy and pasted them. What were the chances Pegasus would actually check?
High, now that Seto thought about it.
"Eventually, I'll stop being surprised that you think of everything."
"Eventually," Pegasus agreed. "Even if it takes fifty years together. You'll accept it."
"You'll have more than enough opportunities to show me," Seto said, and stood. He took the glass Pegasus had set aside, and topped it off. He hadn't gotten a chance to smoke that morning, and wouldn't for the rest of the day. He was feeling the effects of it.
It was just the need to smoke.
Nothing else.
"What were you planning to do in Finland?"
"I genuinely don't know," Seto said, and leaned against the desk. He hadn't even brought his cigarettes, but his hand twitched toward his pocket as if he could pull one out.
"You've never struck me as someone who planned things halfway."
"It wasn't my plan."
He had assumed that Bakura would arrange work for him, or that they'd give him a small stipend to get started, leaving Seto to find his own work. He could have freelanced with the right paperwork, and Bakura said the paperwork would have been as legitimate as possible.
"What would you have wanted to do?"
"Carry on with what I'm working on now. I would have had to change it enough Gozaburo couldn't identify it if I ever released it to the public."
"And you would have had Ryou."
"And that," Seto said, and finished off the brandy. "Do you have friends?"
"Not like you do."
Isono and Fuguta weren't friends as much as family, but Seto could have said the same thing about Ryou. He guessed that after long enough, friends weren't considered anything else. After what all they had faced together, all Ryou had gotten Seto through, the line of friend and family was fuzzy and unimportant.
"It can't be easy to keep in touch with people with your schedule or position."
"That's true. You never know who is only with you for information."
Seto rolled his eyes. "You're getting a lot of use out of that."
"It's well deserved."
Whether it was wasn't the point. Pegasus couldn't expect to have a relatively happy relationship when holding Seto's actions against him. At some point, Pegasus's comments would stop promoting guilt and only bring irritation.
How much could Seto argue?
"Do you want me to apologize every time you reference it?" Seto asked. "Because I will."
Anything for the sake of peace in their home.
"No, there's no need for that. One day we'll put it behind us. Maybe once you've told me everything you've passed along."
Seto didn't let himself drink anymore, but went to find the bathroom to rinse out his mouth. He assumed they were borrowing a judge's office, and found a small bathroom attached. He counted the number of swishes to have something to do.
"Is the wedding planner going to come find us when it's time?" Seto asked. He leaned against the door frame, cautious of wrinkling his suit.
"She is. I imagine it won't be too much longer now," Pegasus said, and checked his watch. "Let's go ahead and sign the certificate."
It took a call to bring in the certificate and the official. Croquet came in with him and served as a witness for the documentation. One signature was all it took on Seto's part, and something so simple was what officially married them. It wasn't the vows they told each other, or the ones they would read from a script in half an hour, but this single sheet of paper lying on the table between them.
"Did you bring the paperwork to change Seto's name?" Pegasus asked, and because this had clearly been planned, they had.
Before the ceremony even began, Seto was a Crawford.
"Do you plan to change Mokuba's name too?"
"I hadn't planned on it," Pegasus said. "Do you want him to take my name?"
It came with benefits, but Mokuba wouldn't want it. Without it, he stood a chance at being able to grow into his own person. He could make the Kaiba name mean something apart from Gozaburo, and the work Seto had put into the name wouldn't have been in vain.
"He and I haven't talked about it. We can after."
"Tomorrow," Pegasus said. "Or maybe Monday. You and I will need to get in as much of a honeymoon as we can."
Once the certificate had been signed, time started moving more quickly. The wedding planner came in, introduced herself, and sped them through the build up to the main event. Seto did as he was told, pocketed the ring and assured her he would smile for pictures. Pegasus must have warned her Seto tended not to.
Neither of them would walk down the aisle, which had been something Seto worried about when he first saw the white suit. Pegasus had no family to escort to their seats, and the easiest option was to have them both walk up together. The officiant would give them cues to follow.
Things would run smoothly, and she would hear nothing less.
Music played from outside the door, and Seto closed his eyes. They were married already, and going through a ceremony wouldn't make that any more real. Seto wanted to make the best of this. Pegasus did care about him, at least. If anything, he took solace in the fact Gozaburo hadn't cared about Seto even once.
Things had to get better. Seto wasn't setting aside all his morals for nothing.
Pegasus took Seto's hand, and together, they walked to the front of the room, not looking once toward the crowd of people and swarm of cameras. Seto once looked away from Pegasus, and he only did long enough to find Mokuba, seated on the front row. He gave him a reassuring smile, and returned to watching Pegasus.
They held hands while standing across from each other, and Seto only half-listened to the officiant. There was talk of promises and endearment, of a life they would build together, for the progress and betterment of the people around them. The speech must have been written by a member of Pegasus's PR team, because propaganda was heavily worked into every other sentence.
Seto kept his expression even, and thought if he focused hard enough, he could imagine someone else in front of him with white hair and brown eyes. That expression would offer better pictures, and Pegasus wouldn't think to ask why.
Seto's vows went first, simple, predictable, and almost verbatim what Seto had read online during his wedding research. He expected the vow to love Pegasus through everything, and repeated it without pause. Everyone watching assumed they already gave each other those sentiments already.
Who got married without loving each other?
Pegasus gave Seto's hands a light squeeze while offering him the vows back. The room was otherwise silent, to the point Seto felt he could hear the buzz of electricity from the cameras. It was in his head. He knew his mind was searching anywhere it could for stimulation.
He kept his attention split between listening to the end of the ceremony and focusing on the crowd. He couldn't pick out any whispers, any shuffling, any indication they weren't listening raptly. Seto wondered what the punishment would be for causing a distraction. Would the world seeing it and judging be enough?
"You may now kiss your partner."
Partner was an odd word choice, Seto thought as they leaned in. Pegasus put gentle fingers on one side of Seto's face like so often did, but Seto noted he touched the side of Seto's face that the cameras couldn't see. It would give the best photos for the press release.
The audience clapped politely, and Pegasus turned to smile for them. Seto thought it would look better to stay focused on Pegasus, and as long as he didn't turn to them, he wouldn't have to deal with Mokuba's expression.
The next few minutes were all a blur of pleasantries and smiles, none of which Seto gave any mind to. Their reception was more of a formal meet and greet, not a dinner. But the wedding photos would all be in here, where the flowers provided the perfect backdrop, so the politicians funneled out to wait. Seto stayed beside Pegasus, getting used the being seen and not heard.
He couldn't be that upset by it. It was better to stay silent than bother with formalities.
The photographer lead them around and posed them. Pegasus's mood stayed light, joking with her and teasing Seto about his smile. Pegasus's own never left his face, and he clung to Seto's side happily.
But the more time that passed, the more awareness leveled that before the reception, Gozaburo would die. He would die without Seto getting the final word. Would a glance across the room be enough to gloat?
"Let's get a few more before moving on," Pegasus said, and tugged Seto by the hand to sit side by side on one of the pews. They angled in to each other, linking their hands in their lap, and with their heads turned in to talk under their breath, letting the photographer take her shots.
"You're getting anxious again," Pegasus said, tracing a circle around one of Seto's knuckles.
"It's a big moment."
"I'll do all I can to soften the blow."
Letting Seto have a final conversation would give him something to look forward to. Instead, he would stand aside and letting Pegasus finish off a decades-long battle Seto had been perfectly capable of handling on his own.
He had kept Mokuba safe. No one else could have managed that.
"The nerves will pass. Then I'll just be nervous about making bad first impressions with all the world's foremost leaders."
Pegasus laughed, touching their foreheads together. Seto heard several shutter clicks, so he didn't look up. He let her get all the photographs she needed, even when she paused to adjust the lighting. If Seto focused, he could tune her out, and imagine Pegasus's feelings for him were genuine. If he imagined that long enough, maybe he could manifest it.
"Are you ready?" Pegasus asked, once the photographer assured them she had every picture they would need. Seto felt certain that Pegasus would paint any poses he thought were missing from their final wedding album. Pegasus liked Seto in white.
"As I'll ever be."
Pegasus kissed him and dragged out the moment. The quiet settled between them while they prepared to walk to Gozaburo's execution. The finality absorbed Seto's thoughts, and he listened to his blood pulse in his ears.
This was the end of his fight. Seto had to accept this as the end so he could move on to better pursuits.
They walked side by side, hands brushing with every step, a constant reminder of what he was walking into. He assumed they already had Gozaburo waiting, at the other end of the courthouse to create the semblance of a divide between the wedding and funeral. It made the path in front of them longer than it needed to be, and Seto's anxiety built with every step.
Pegasus stopped with him outside the door to offer a warning, "The cameras will already be set up. Isono is sitting with Mokuba in the next room, where they'll watch the stream."
"And none of the cameras will be on me?"
"Anyone who puts out a video of picture of you doing will be met with a life sentence," Pegasus assured him. "We'll make this one quick."
"Is he already in there?"
"He is. I thought you would want to move on from it quickly."
What Seto wanted was the final word, but getting it over with would have to suffice.
"I'm ready."
As he could ever be.
Pegasus opened the door, and everyone in the room moved to stare. Seto kept his head up, and checked to be certain none of the cameras turned with them. There was a path leading up among the reporters, and Pegasus walked Seto up the center.
At the front of the room, Gozaburo stood proudly, hands cuffed in front of him. He glowered at Seto, unwavering. Seto didn't back down either, but recognized this was the reason he wanted the last shot at a conversation. Gozaburo would die thinking that he was going down in the right. Seto broke the rules of their game.
In his eyes, Seto cheated.
Seto stayed where he was, standing in the midst of the reporters who had all been warned about panning their cameras to him. Pegasus left him with a comforting squeeze on his arm, and went to take his place at the front of the room. When he stopped walking, Seto heard phones buzzing all around the room.
The livestreams never lasted long.
"Kaiba Gozaburo has been charged and convicted with accounts of child abuse, assault and battery, and directly threatening violence against a member of my immediate family. On these accounts, he's been sentenced to death."
No one spoke—No one moved while Pegasus took the gun off the table. In every execution Seto had been made to watch, the person convicted faced Pegasus, but Gozaburo never turned from Seto. They held eye contact through each of Pegasus's movements, through the last breaths Gozaburo would take, and through the sharp ring of the shot.
Gozaburo fell with a thud.
"Before you end the recording," Pegasus said, setting down the gun casually, as if he hadn't just ended a man's life, "I have a statement to make."
Seto pulled his gaze off Gozaburo's still body to look at Pegasus, who addressed him, not the cameras.
"After several conversations with my husband, Seto, I've come to realize that many people see these streams as promoting violence. In my aim to have us all obtain peace, this sends the wrong message. Kaiba Gozaburo's death will be the last done in the manner, and from here out, all executions will be done through lethal injection. The only part broadcast will be the reading of the charges."
For a few seconds, Seto didn't think he had heard him correctly. He never asked Pegasus to change his method of sentencing, only expressed a negative view on violence. This change actually meant something, and would help a majority of people. Seto wanted to be grateful for it, but Gozaburo was dead on the floor ten feet from him.
Gozaburo was dead. It was almost shocking how little fanfare came along with it. Gozaburo tortured Seto for a decade, and now he was dead. Something so monumental should have more build up. Seto had a week to prepare and it still felt too soon.
He thought he was free.
It didn't feel like it.
Pegasus came back to Seto, and took his hand. "Let's go take a few minutes," he said, and led him away from the cameras. Seto shouldn't have, but he looked back in time to see four men bring a stretcher for the body. Gozaburo was limp when they lifted him.
Once in the hall, alone and safe from the reporters, Seto closed his eyes and let Pegasus pull him where he needed to go. He replayed the image of Gozaburo toppling again and again, telling himself each time he replayed it, that would be the time he accepted it was real
It was over.
Why didn't it feel over?
"What are you thinking?" Pegasus asked.
"Too much."
"Would it help to stop in to see Mokuba first?"
"I think so."
Pegasus opened a door, and Seto opened his eyes. Mokuba was sitting with Isono in an empty courtroom, and looked to Seto with red eyes.
"Hey, Niisama."
The charges proved what Seto had been trying to hide from Mokuba for years. He had never fully hid the truth, but for the charges to be worthy of execution, Mokuba must have known how severe it was. One day, when all this had settled, they would talk about it.
Seto sat on the other side of Mokuba to put an arm around him. Mokuba leaned against him, and they took a few minutes to sit in silence. Mokuba's breaths shook, but they slowly evened out.
"I'm sorry he did that," Mokuba said. "We should have—"
"There wasn't any more we could have done. Being adopted is the only reason we got to stay together."
That was easier than accepting a harder path would have led to better results. Maybe they would have missed meals, worn clothing that didn't fit and had been passed down time and again, constantly had to prove to social workers that they had every right to fight for each other, but they could have been happy through it all.
Seto would live with the burden of his choice. Not Mokuba.
"I thought I'd feel better," Mokuba said.
"We'll be okay. Any day now."
Eventually, all these nerves would pass and Seto and Mokuba could figure out where to go from here. Pegasus would never turn into Gozaburo. Seto trusted that. The only threat that might come there was would be external.
Something about that felt normal.
Pegasus gave them a few minutes more to sit together, then cleared his throat. "We have people waiting, Seto."
"Do you want Mokuba at the reception?" Isono asked.
"Not if he doesn't feel up to it. I'm sure it will just be an hour or so of small talk and pleasantries."
Mokuba said he would prefer to go home, although, it took him a second to say home. They were surrounded by adjustments now, and a new home was just another thing on the list.
Seto went with Pegasus first to fill out the paperwork giving Pegasus custody, and then to the reception hall, which was really just the lobby of the building, decorated similarly to how the courtroom had been. There were tables set up with refreshments, and the chatter was bright, as if they hadn't all just watched Gozaburo's death.
Pegasus linked arms with Seto and together, they made the rounds. Seto didn't let his emotions show, and answered any statement directed at him politely. His place moving forward would be on Pegasus's arm, and this was good practice for it. He knew no one would ever try hurting him in front of Pegasus, not so much as a passing insult.
He could be more confident with it.
They all had come simply to offer their support and to maintain pretenses. More than half of them didn't speak any Japanese, so Pegasus held most conversations in English. Seto followed along as well as he could and smiled when he didn't. He really needed to devote some time to learning the language since it was Pegasus's first.
Pegasus caught on to the language barrier and translated some, but nothing he said truly needed translating. They were all incredibly happy Pegasus found someone. They all wished the best for their future. They all assured Pegasus of their own commitment to peace.
Seto got jittery the longer the small talk went on, thinking more about nicotine than anything that had happened so far that day. He almost welcomed the distraction from his thoughts replaying the execution, or thoughts belittling him for his new family name. He could go home, because Pegasus's house was his home, and smoke. It was one thing about his life that would stay the same.
They had to make the rounds more than once, and Seto remained constantly aware of the photographer, circling the room to get the perfect photograph of Pegasus and every foreign leader in attendance. Those pictures would end up under the headline of every news article released tomorrow.
"I think it's time we went home," Pegasus said. "Get you settled in."
Seto nodded and didn't comment when it took another fifteen minutes to finally leave. Croquet came to escort them to the waiting line of cars, and when they made it behind the safety of the tinted windows, Seto loosened his tie.
"If you ever decide you want something grander than that, say the word and we'll throw the greatest vow renewal you've ever seen."
Seto rolled his eyes. "I think I'm too swamped in formalities to even consider it now. Maybe in ten years."
"We'll take it easy tonight. I think we've had enough excitement for a while now."
Pegasus hummed to himself while they rode back to the house, clearly content despite the blood on his hands. Croquet kept the radio at a low volume, only barely audible through the privacy partition. It was a different melody to Pegasus's.
At home, Pegasus led Seto back to the sitting room where he'd forced Seto to watch the recording of the execution. There was a fire going despite the warmer weather, and they sat together on the couch facing it.
"You made it through," Pegasus said. The fire crackled and a pop drew Seto's gaze to it. The heat didn't quite make it to them with how low it burned, and something made Seto shiver. It was just withdrawal. Giving it a physical explanation made it easier to accept, rather than associate it with anything emotional.
Pegasus must have noticed, because he guided Seto down to lie down. His head fit comfortably in Pegasus's lap, almost familiar at this point although they had only done this twice. Pegasus ran soft fingers through Seto's hair, in calming, repetitive motions. He focused on the gentle stroking through his hair and told himself Pegasus meant to convey affection with the touch. On their wedding night, that belief came readily enough."We should have changed first," Seto said, staring at the fire.
"I like you in the suit."
It was the only source of discomfort in his current position. Loosening his tie helped somewhat, but he should have undone the top two buttons.
"I need to start learning English soon."
Pegasus never let his fingers stop.
"Would you have learned Finnish?"
"I would have," Seto said. There was no point in pretending Seto had ever been anything else. Seto set the terms of the beginning of their relationship, and Pegasus set them from here out.
"I don't blame you, you know," Pegasus said. Seto closed his eyes to listen. "You were sheltered in his home, so how could I hold your naivety against you?"
Seto shivered again, and Pegasus put his other hand on his arm.
"The world is a dark place, Seto," Pegasus went on, and then, with a smile in his voice, added, "Thankfully, I always win."
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing.
