Hide smiled at his beloved Kaneki. The ghoul stood at his side, silently. Just behind them, the iconic tower and bright blue sky created a picturesque view.
"Today, two hearts will be joined forever in the bonds of marriage. As I understand it,you've both written your own vows to each other." The man in front of them said. "At this time, I'd invite you to read them, we'll start with you,Hide" Hide briefly glanced down at the paper in his hand.
"Kaneki, when I first saw you, I knew that you would be an important part of my life. I didn't quite understand how at the time,but I knew there 's something special about you. It was almost like..I knew we needed each other. You keep telling me that I'm your rock and that you need me. What you don't see is that I need you just as much. How can I put this… If the beating of my heart was a drum, you'd be the rhythm it's looking for. You have always been everything to me. I promise to always protect you,to love you completely and unconditionally. I will stand by you. I will always be there to remind you of just how beautiful you are and I will never let you fall. Unfortunately, as much as I want to, I know I won't be able to give you everything you want in life, but I will promise to make sure you have everything you need..until forever ends. I say that because..most people say til death, but if there's something after this life, When we both get there, I hope that our love would be strong enough to last beyond our time here and into the next existence. I'll always be here in good times and bad no matter what. I will cherish you, take care of you and be at your side through whatever life may throw at us." Hide folded the page, placing it in his jacket pocket.
"Kaneki, if you would, please read yours" The ghoul drew in a breath before glancing at his own paper.
"Hide, I never thought I'd find someone that could love me. Someone who really knows me with all my flaws and imperfections of which there are many and still be so willing to stand with me. Through my life, I've been shattered. Like a puzzle that's missing it's pieces, always incomplete you showed me how beautiful a puzzle can be even if parts were missing. You taught me that I could be loved and you gave a reason to keep going, you gave me something to believe in. You became more than just a best friend to me, you're my rock, my safe place, my home. I promise to always love you,to support you, to be someone you can depend on and to be the kind of husband you can be proud of. you'll always know how much you mean to me. You take my hand and shield me when I can't handle things and I really hope there is something after this because I couldn't imagine even an afterlife without you. We have to face the fact, my entire world would fall apart without you. You hold me together. " Kaneki paused, wiping away a tear from his eyes.
Hide grinned.
"It'll be awesome...you know what that means don't you, we'll be ghost husbands,floating around, scaring the crap out everyone..." Kaneki chuckled.
"It's little things that..." Kaneki laughed. "But I do want you to know that you're my world and I love you so much."
"Hide, place the ring on Kaneki's finger please." The man instructed. Hide took the small object from his pocket and slid it onto the ghoul's hand.
"Kaneki, please place the ring on Hide's finger." Kaneki did as he was told.
"Wonderful, you have pledged your hearts and lives to each other, for eternity...and beyond . It's my pleasure to pronounce you both married. You may kiss your husband." Hide pulled Kaneki close to him, pressing his lips to the ghoul's.
"Did we really just do that?" Kaneki asked, resting his forehead against Hide's.
"Yeah. You're stuck with me now...not that you weren't before but...you're even more stuck now."
"I wouldn't want it any other way." Kaneki said softly.
"That was beautiful." Akira said, turning to Amon. "We should write our vows."
"What did you get me into, Nagachika?" Amon grumbled, glaring at Hide.
"Sorry." Hide replied, feeling Kaneki rest his head on his shoulder.
"They have a strange way of doing things in France."Reye commented. "When we got married they used our first names. He called Hide by his first-"
"I dropped Ken." Kaneki replied. "When we went to get the paperwork for the wedding. Not many people call me that and honestly I've never been fond of it. Officially my name is Kaneki Nagachika. I think it sounds better anyway. More interesting at least."
"We went back and forth on it at first." Hide added " I told him to do whatever made him happy but asked him to give some thought to taking my last name. It doesn't matter to me if he changed his or kept it the same and added mine, because He's still my Kaneki. Whatever he calls himself, he's my heart."
"That's real cute." Reye said shaking his head. "Almost makes you sick. He teased.
"Yeah. Thanks for bringing it in." Amon shot a sideways glance to the newlyweds.
"Koutarou,don't blame them. Think about it for a minute. Wouldn't it be more personal and intimate if we came up with our own promises to each other, I'm interested in seeing what you come up with." The blonde woman turned to Hide and Kaneki.
"Did you two know what the other was going to say?" Kaneki shook his head.
"We decided it should be a surprise. Hide thought it would be more romantic that way and I have to say, it was. He definitely put a lot of thought into it. It means everything to me because I know that every word is true. That's the way to start life together, giving each other all the words you have in your heart for them."
Amon stood from his chair with a sigh.
"I appreciate you all giving up your day off to help out, but we should get started." Reye nodded.
"What's the plan, Boss?"
"With the wedding only months away, we need to move quickly. We split into two groups, group one is with Akira, we're meeting a few more people later this afternoon. We'll meet up here later. Akira and I be keeping in touch and we'll report on our progress. The teams depend on Eye-"
"Kaneki." Hide reminded sternly.
"Right, old habits." Amon replied. "My apologies, Kaneki."
"Kaneki," Akira said. " You and I have built something of a strange friendship. I'm grateful for it. You've become the closest friend I have, I'd like to take you with me. I believe your honesty will be an asset in today's activities. We'll be meeting with Ai and Cana, you've met them briefly."
"With your permission, I'd like to take Hide with me. Reye and Misora will be with us. I promise you'll have him back this evening." Amon said. Kaneki looked to his husband with concern.
"It's going to be okay. I have my phone, and the battery pack to keep it charged. You brought yours, right?" The ghoul nodded.
"You call me if you need to, but I think this will be good for us." Hide said, reaching out to Kaneki. "I love you, but we have to get over this. It's just gonna drive us crazy. Remember talking about that?"
"Yeah. I know that sometimes we're going to have to be apart, it's still really hard." Hide kissed his forehead lovingly.
"I know it is. I'm coming back to you. It's not like it was that night, Kaneki. It's a better, happier situation and we got this." Kaneki tightened his grip on Hide, resting his head on the blond human's shoulder.
"Okay." The ghoul murmured.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You can go."
"You're good with-"
"No. But I'll try to be. "
"Hey, look at me." Hide requested softly. Kaneki lifted his head to meet his gaze. "I'm so proud of you." The human pressed his lips to Kaneki's briefly before the two pulled away.
"You go help Akira, have some fun while you're at it, okay, for me?"
"I'll try...for you." Kaneki confirmed.
"There's one more thing we need to ask from you two." Amon added.
"Sure. what is it?" Hide asked.
"Akira and I have been thinking, like she said, the four of us have developed a friendship over the course of Kaneki's sickness and working with you both so closely on our project, Hide, I'd appreciate it if you would stand in as best man." Akira bowed her head.
"I always thought that when I got married, my father would be there to walk me down the aisle. Unfortunately, he's not here. I know it's asking a lot, but Kaneki, if you could step in and take on that responsibility, as well as being...the one to help me plan everything, I'd consider it a personal favor and-"
"Of course.'kaneki answered. "Anything we can do to help." guilt gripped his heart as he thought of how painful it must have been for her. Akira embraced him.
"Thank you." She said sincerely. He could sense that it was going to be a long process, but he couldn't possibly refuse.