I got the names Lianne and Derrick Cartman off South Park. Please go ahead and picture them as the fatass marrying his crackwhore mother. That's what I was going for, wuhhahahahaha. Nah, kidding, I'm just awkward when it comes to OC's, also I feel like most people perceive cross-over characters to be less annoying than true OC's, they're like fun little cameos. Some of you may have noticed how I used the name of Will's MILF from "the inbetweeners" for the biology teacher like 10 chapters back.
-x-x-x
This is actually England(Part 2)
I took public transport to pick up Wyatt at Heathrow airport. It was a massive mistake! The World Championship attracted a lot of attention in their hosting cities. London was no different. I had hoped to blend in amongst the masses but it didn't take long until I was recognised and surrounded by a flock of beyblading enthusiasts who wanted to get their picture taken. Despite me having taken the precautions of dressing up in what Wyatt affectionately referred to as my "sex offender outfit": black hoodie and sun glasses. It used to be easy to avoid being in people's photos but now everyone had cameraphones! I generally don't like being in pictures, no matter who takes them. That's probably why I had felt so uncomfortable in the photobooth with Wyatt that time.
Allowing a group of girls to take their duckface shots with me (dressed like a proper creep) resulted in me missing my train. I had to wait a full half hour for the next one to arrive. Of course I intended to go hide somewhere but a new group of people approached me, and so on. I ended up spending the whole half hour posing tough in pictures (I never know what to do with my arms, so I always cross them, Dad says it makes me look like a pimp) and signing paper, clothes, body-parts... someone even asked me to sign a Stephen King novel!
When I finally got onto the train the whole process repeated itself.
I arrived at the airport exhausted and socially drained! I did not even get a chance to text Wyatt to tell him I'd be late. Rude. He was cleared through customs much faster than the average passenger because it was the hub of his father's airline, so he had been waiting in the arrival hall for extra long.
When I spotted him, I caught myself thinking he looked quite sweet like that, sitting on his suitcase, staring off into nothingness. Well, he was my man. I smiled. I had finally made him my boyfriend, I still couldn't believe it.
I decided to sneak up from behind and give him a scare. I softly and as creepishly as possible put my hands on his shoulders, startling him enough to slip off the suitcase he was sitting on, landing on his bum. I laughed.
So did he.
"Fuck you Kai, you scared the living shit out of me." He said with a wide grin on his face.
Must be really happy to see me, I thought contently. Well, so was I.
"Happy Birthday, sucker."I said.
I reached out my hand to help him up and then pulled him into a brief hug. We already had people's eyes on us after our little horseplay, and it was very possible that someone in the crowd recognised me, but I did not care. I hadn't seen Wyatt in few days, and those had been quite stressful. The worries about not being able to clear customs when entering other countries had been keeping me up at night. All I wanted was to feel the comfort of his body. That probably made me sound like some needy, lovesick fool, but despite popular belief, I do have emotions. In fact, I have a lot of them, I just don't know how to tackle them, they're overwhelming, so most of the times, I chose to avoid them.
"Let's get a cab." Wyatt decided. "I've been sitting on that plane for so long, I'm too tired to deal with public transport."
"Hey, you were flying first class! Your seat was probably more comfortable than our beds at school." I teased him and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Spoiled little brat."
"We can take the train, if you prefer." Wyatt offered.
"I'm just messing with you, silly. Everyone recognised me on the train, it sucked. I much prefer a cab."
Now Wyatt was smiling.
"Let me take your suitcase." I said, it seemed like the proper boyfriend thing to do.
"No, I can carry it!" He insisted. "It would look weird if you carry it, wouldn't it?"
"I don't care."
"Kai, I'm a man too, I've got this."
"I didn't mean to insult your, eh, masculinity." I said, flustered.
Wyatt's expression softened and he blushed.
"I'm just messing with you, silly." He mimicked my words. Then he threw his suitcase at me. It was surprisingly light. "Carry it, if you want it so badly. There's almost nothing in it."
"Hn, you take it."
-x-x-x-
Wyatt had hailed himself a company cab from his father's airline. It was not painted in the obnoxious company colours, but sleek and black, with tinted windows and one of those privacy panels in between the driver's seat and the passenger compartment. These features got Wyatt all riled up.
"I've been wanting to give you a kiss ever since I saw at the terminal." he told me when we were both seated.
I pushed him away. "Not here."
"But he can't see anything." Wyatt protested.
"Yeah, but he can still hear us. Also, that's disgusting, people probably have sex in these all the time." I reminded him.
Wyatt sighed. "Okay then." he said.
For the next five minutes we sat next to each other in silence. He was staring out of his window and I was staring out of mine and at him, and back out of my window, until I couldn't handle the awkwardness any more. I was with Wyatt, this was supposed to be my safe-space, I didn't want to make it uncomfortable between us. I put my hand on his, he flinched.
"Hey, it's not you, I'm just not a very PDA-type of person. I just want you to know that, okay." I told him.
He smiled, making me breathe out in relief.
"That's okay, even back when I was just a fan I would have never expected the great Kai to be the flashy type, I guess."
I could not tell whether he was being sarcastic or not. So I just nodded.
"I'm not a flashy person. But I do really, really like you."
Wyatt laughed. He probably thought that I was being obtuse.
"I'm serious." I assured him.
Wyatt rolled his eyes.
"Sometimes your anxiety can get a little overbearing, I'm flying out here all the way to see you, which means I have to see my family too, because they live here, and I'm putting up with all that for you so it is slightly off-putting when you freak out when I try to kiss you in a cab with tainted windows."
Suddenly, I no longer felt justified. He was right. I couldn't expect him to remain ashamed of our sexuality forever. So I nodded. Wyatt seemed to realise that his speech had hit me in the right spots.
"Oh Kiki, I'm so sorry, the stupid plane ride tired me out, I always get snappy after flights."
It was true now that he mentioned it. Last time I had seen him get off a flight he had showed up drunk at Takao's place and heavily overused the F-work.
Maybe I wasn't that off-putting after all. I leaned over to him and kissed him softly. We still hadn't made out that often so every kiss was somewhat scary and exciting. Did I love him? I wondered. Nah, we were both too young to even judge such a thing, plus we hadn't been together for all that long anyway. However, I did know that I never wanted to feel anything remotely close to this with anyone but Wyatt. I also knew I didn't want to lose him, ever. So maybe that wasn't love but a deep care and desire, but what's the big difference, really?
"Marry me." I muttered as I pulled him into a hug.
I didn't really mean to say the words that had just come out of my mouth. But Wyatt jerked back in surprise and shock. He stared at me with wide open eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I was just thinking out loud."
Not like that made it sound better. I turned away in shame. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. I had proposed to him. How would I ever regain my street cred after that?
"I don't know what came over me, Ray's and Mariah's marriage must have been on my mind. I'm sorry."
Wyatt was still staring at me. Finally he said something. "You really like me that much?"
I nodded.
"Really? You look at me and dig the package enough to marry it?"
I nodded again. Personally, I thought he was a badass. Way more confident in his skin and assertive of what he wanted out of life, than I would ever be.
He now smiled brighter and wider than ever before.
"Then sure, I'll marry you, Kai."
Wait, didn't I retract my proposal? Well, it didn't matter because I did want him. And having him forever would be great. Really great actually. Thinking about it put a content smile on my face.
"Okay, it's decided, let's get married someday."
"How about right now?' Wyatt suggested. 'This is England after all, that means I can marry you at 16, we just need your Dad's permission."
"Wow, today?" I stuttered.
"Will you reassure me, show me you really want to be with me, long for me?
His request rang distant. It took me a moment to get my head out of the clouds. I don't think I ever truly did. I believe I acted on impulse alone.
"You know what, yes! Let's do it!"
"Great." Wyatt said, smiling like a kid in a candy factory.
I couldn't believe how he could be so calm about this when I was shaking on the inside.
"Wait, are you sure you want me? You know I will never be the type you can drag along to meet new people and make small talk with, nor will enjoy clubbing or raves. And I'll always be bitter and quick to judge people." I reminded him.
"Meh, I'm over parties." Then he rolled down the panel to the driver. "Take us to the courthouse, please."
In that moment I felt exhilarating happiness, the kind where you cannot believe how lucky you are, or that this is really happening to you. I couldn't believe there was a person willing to deal with all my stupid thoughts and paranoias.
"I wouldn't want you to be any other way, Kai."
-x-x-x-
When we arrived at the courthouse there was only one couple ahead of us. Lianne and Derrick Cartman would prove to become very important people in our lives, but at that point, we had no idea. They had known each other for under a week and had decided to elope because Lianne wanted to prove to her parents that she was an adult and able to make her own decisions or some jazz. Her speech wasn't really that impressive because she was chewing gum and playing on her phone the entire time. This chick was a bimbo and her husband was a tool.
Why I learned so much about this couple you may ask?
Well, they asked us to be their witnesses and they ended up being ours. See in England you need two witnesses to assert that you willingly committed to marrying a partner.
Wyatt and I took the elevator up to the third floor of the Windsor courthouse, where the registrars office was located. I might sound a little mushy, but the Windsor courthouse was not an overly repulsive place to get married at. It was a historic old building overlooking the Windsor castle. Though, it had nasty white plastic flooring, typical of government buildings.
We just exited the elevator when this couple came running towards us. Derrick wearing baggy pants and a counterfeit Burberry cap (I doubt Burberry even makes caps, come to think of it) and his fiancée in bright neon pink plastic leggings and a faux fur jacket. I'm not normally too observant of clothing, but these two looked so much like chavs it was ridiculous.
"Oy, you're savin' our lives, boyas!" Derrick grunted. "See, my bae and I want to get married, but these tarts at the registration won't let us do it without a witness. You guys wouldn't mind right?"
We had totally forgot about needing witnesses ourselves. So I nodded and asked them if they would return the favour by being ours.
Derrick gave us a somewhat repulsed look once he put one and one together but Lianne just kept on chatting on how cool she thought it was and how she couldn't wait to post about it on her MySpace page so that everyone knew how open minded she was. She dictated her new status to us.
"At the courthouse about to marry a gay couple. FTW."
I gave Wyatt a confused look. "What is she saying?"
"It's some internet thing." he said, sounding unsure of himself.
It made me feel better about my own lack of awareness that he had no clue either. We seemed to be in the minority. Almost every kid at school had a cell phone these days. Was this the future of humanity? Would our generation be defined by phones and the internet? I sure hoped not.
Our wedding proceeded rather un-ceremonially. Halfway through, I had to call up my father in order to get him to fax his approval. It was a really annoying phone call, because he just wanted to discuss it, with it being a major decision and all, and I just wanted him to shut up and fax the damn paper.
"Getting married? I can't exactly say I approve, -considering your age. I really don't want you to regret this Kai."
"You always say you did a ton of mistakes in your life, so shouldn't I be allowed to risk potentially making some of my own?" I argued.
"Divorce is a messy process and a nasty battle for the most part. I think you and Wyatt should just continue enjoying each other's presence in the innocent, pure way you have up until now. Live in the moment. You're not going to stay high school sweethearts forever after all. Serious relationships require commitment, work and worries, they suck the fun out."
It's not that he wasn't making any good points, I believe he was, and under normal circumstances I would have acted more rational. I had always been proud of my level-headed thinking. But like every high school couple, I was convinced that we would be staying together until the very end. I knew very well this wouldn't apply to the majority of us, but in my teenage disposition I was absolutely convinced that Wyatt and I would be the exception to the rule.
So I told my father: "Dad, I hear your advice and all, but I really just want to be a little crazy and enjoy my youth. If it turns sour we can worry about that later, but right now, I want to get married to him and have a good time."
"You know you can have a good time without being married, statistically speaking a better time, even."
Of course he wasn't too keen on me getting hitched. He was in the process of getting a divorce after all.
"Dad, call me naïve, but I honestly believe that Wyatt and I are going to make it. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing this."
Really there was no doubt in my mind that I would ever date anyone other than Wyatt, nor did I want to. He was kind, caring, funny, and cocky enough to give me a little bit of a hard time, which kept things interesting! He was skilled in the areas that I lacked. He could pick up a lively conversation with anyone he met. In my opinion he was pretty sweet on the eye too, with the dark hair, dark eyes and slightly tan skin. He wasn't exactly overly macho or sexy or as toned as all the bladers I worked with, but I didn't need that. If anything, I liked how different Wyatt was to those guys. Both in personality and physique. It felt refreshing, and it took a lot of pressure off. I never had to feel like I had to show off or be competitive with him. He was all that I wanted, and all that Kai Hiwatari needed from a partner.
"I think, I'll be very happy with him in the long run." I reassured my father.
He sighed.
"Fine, I've always wanted you to get a chance to live a little, so who am I to stop you. Tell Wyatt I welcome him to the family."
That was pretty much what my father wanted for me in a nutshell. For me to go wild, make mistakes but enjoy the journey to the fullest, just like he did. But that was not quite my thing, I might take risks, but they were calculated. Marrying Wyatt might be spontaneous and a little crazy, but I wouldn't do it if I wasn't convinced we were a good match.
Once my father sent in his approval all we had to do was sign some documents. It was excitingly easy, which was nice, after all the hardship we had gone through to get to this point in the first place. Marrying Wyatt felt nice, that's the best way to put it, like everything had fallen perfectly into place for me, and I could be happy. It gave me a soothing, comforting feeling in my stomach.
"Are either of you interested in changing your last name?" the courthouse clerk asked us.
"I'll take his." Wyatt and I both said at the same moment.
Then we looked at each other and laughed. The clerk let out an irritated groan.
"Hm, slightly unusual, kinda goes against the point, you'd want to have the same one so that people would know you're married." the clerk reminded us.
"I want an alias." I confessed. "Nobody would know the name Kai Smithwright. I shouldn't have any problem entering countries."
Wyatt nodded in agreement. "Wyatt Hiwatari sounds badass doesn't it? We can still sign our old names, right? This would just be for the occasional restaurant reservation, where we'd want to stay anonymous."
"You are aware of the fact that it would be written on all official documents, so this isn't exactly for messing around." the courthouse clerk informed us. He probably viewed us as dumb children at this point. "You can still change your mind later."
Wyatt and I looked at each other and nodded. "Might as well then."
The clerk just rolled his eyes. "Both of you?"
We giggled. "Yes, it would be a little awkward if only one of us did, wouldn't it?" Wyatt said.
I agreed, I didn't want it to be Mr and Mr Smithwright, that would be a little emasculating. I was cool with marrying my boyfriend but I had to draw the line somewhere.
"Then we just need your witnesses to sign here and you're all done."
Lianne and Derrick came forwards and did as told.
"Congrats! Ya' boys are a real' cute couple." Lianne told us, while adjusting her cleavage in her bra and loudly chewing gum.
Not exactly how I would have imagined my first congratulations to be but hey. I just got married to Wyatt! He now was officially my man, I didn't just call him that. I felt very happy so I put my arm around Wyatt, and politely thanked her.
"Ya want a photo?" she asked.
"That would be very kind." Wyatt replied.
I had to grin, it was no surprise at all, he loved keeping photos, it was more shocking that he hadn't already asked.
She pulled out her phone and we posed for the shot.
"You should hold up your wedding certificate." She suggested.
And so came about the one and only photo of our "wedding" that is in existence. It has me, with my arm around his shoulder and him holding his around my waist, -with the certificate in his other arm, like a diploma. We are both smiling very awkwardly, yet happy. Both wearing street clothes. The background shows the unromantic view of clerks running around doing office work, superimposed before a window with an unspectacular view of the west wall of Windsor castle. If it wasn't for the certificate you would not know what we were doing.
However, the picture worked as a metaphor for our entire relationship. Really we were just two very young, odd boys thrown into the mix together, doing grown-up things with a distinctive lack of grace or order. But that's exactly how I liked it.
-x-x-x-
We took the company car back to the hotel. This time I let him kiss me, I did not care if anyone could see us, it was our wedding day after all. We went straight to my team's suite. I was somewhat excited to tell them, if not nervous as fuck. At least Takao already knew about our relationship, I had no idea how Max, Ray and Kenny would react. Especially since Ray was expecting to be meeting my girlfriend. However, nobody was in the room, so we dumped Wyatt's stuff and discussed what to do.
"Wanna use the jacuzzi in the spa room and try to use my Japanese fake ID to order some Champagne from room service, it might actually work here."
I had totally forgotten about him having one, funny enough it had been the cause of our first argument, which felt like ages ago.
"You are 18 now, silly. You are legal to drink." I reminded him.
The spa room was empty, no surprise really, the majority of the hotel had been booked by the BBA and people were more likely training rather than relaxing. I would not normally take a break like this, so soon before the start of the tournament, but I was very confident in my abilities and this was my wedding day after all. I wasn't scheduled to blade because of my hand anyway, so I just wanted to relax with my man.
We made out for a while. The waiter ended up walking in on us when he brought us the Champagne, but for once, I didn't care about PDA. I didn't care about Wyatt getting drunk either, even though he ordered a second bottle pretty soon after receiving the first one. What a bloody drunk! But he was my drunk. Today I just wanted to have fun.
"To us and a happy marriage." he toasted.
I raised my glass.
"Cheers to that!"