Two weeks later Izaya handed Shizuo the vows he had written. Shizuo read them carefully and was smiling broadly at the end.
"This is so…well, you."
"That just so happens to be the entire point of having personalized vows."
"Yeah. Guess I should write mine no."
"You haven't done so already?"
"I'm not too good at this kind of things."
Izaya rolled his eyes comically.
"Well, that is very you. Just go with the flow, you were never the kind to overthink as it is."
"Is that okay?"
Shizuo wanted to pick the right words. It seemed vitally important.
"Of course it is. Being wordy and long winded is my nature so it follows I'd plan ahead my intentions in pre-established vows. But you're nature is more to say what comes to mind so you should just go with that. That's a great rule of thumb, 'to thyself be true'. That kind of thing."
"At times I think you're too smart."
Shizuo allowed for a wide intellectual gap to exist between them. Izaya was too much of a thinker to contest it. But Izaya himself did not care for that attitude.
"Oy Shizu-chan, don't count yourself as stupid because you're not. I wish you'd not brood like you when there's something going on your mind, though. You do plenty of thinking yourself, people just miss it because you keep it all to yourself and they simply don't pay enough attention."
"Guess you really know me."
"As you pointed out, we go back a long time. Still…in my defense, and I never got around to it at the time, I didn't really believe that you meant it when you first told me you loved me."
Shizuo blinked.
"Really? That's weird. Since you're so good at reading people."
"So I am but one thing I have learned. You can't read your lover like you other people. One would think that being closer would make it easier but it's the exact opposite. And you're not one that is easy to figure out as it is. You're right in saying that I took kissing and sex as a joke at first but in all honesty I do not think I can be blamed completely for that. After all you are Heiwajima Shizuo, one fine day after a lot of brooding I'm sure you sort of jumped on me. I suppose this talk is long overdue as it is but it's worth having.
"I never saw it that way…you're right."
"'Actions speak louder than words, if I do it with him and then confess my feelings they'll be across', something like that?"
Shizuo smiled again and had to refrain from ruffling Izaya's hair.
"You really do know me well. But you had been thinking something like that as well."
"True. And maybe I don't know you well enough. I had no idea you wanted to marry. I should've seen it coming but hindsight is twenty twenty. Then again you do have a thing for springing things on me out of nowhere. I didn't see our first kiss coming either. Completely out of the blue."
It had happened in the rooftop of their school, freshman year, sundown bleeding in lowering shades of golden light tinged with red.
"But I had been thinking about it for a while."
"Ha, there's the rub. We need to improve our communication. I did catch you staring at me back then but I assumed you wanted to kill me. Again."
"I'm sorry for that but I'm glad that we see eye to eye now."
Izaya's eyes sparkled with that peculiar glint of mischievous glee that Shizuo could not resist.
"About that, I took the liberty of getting you a suit to wear for the wedding. Because there's no way I'm getting married to a guy who is wearing a bartender's outfit. No offense."
"Heh, none taking."
Izaya produced the suit from a closet.
"And in case you're wondering I won't be wearing a gown. Disappointed?"
"Not really. It's not like you'll be wearing it all that long anyway."
Izaya folded his arms and lifted and eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. I mean, this is you and me. The wedding night will be…you know."
"Extra kinky?"
"Pretty much."
"That's the reason why I don't want guests around. Later we can have some sort of party with everyone but that's later. Way too often married couples get all tangled in trying to please friends and relatives on weddings. Don't get me wrong, I love my sisters dearly but they'd take over the whole thing and I want it to be just about us."