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Mondo had been planning this for weeks. Scratch that; months. He had been planning this for months. No, shit, that was wrong too. He had been planning this for years, actually. He had wanted to ask Ishimaru to marry him for such a long time, but there was always something in the way. There was a matter of timing and location and money and, most of all, Mondo’s nerves. That was the one problem that never went away. He had decided on a place: he’d propose at their home, maybe decorate it a little bit to make it more romantic. He didn’t want to do it someplace public because he wasn’t sure if he could handle asking something like that with so many people around, and he didn’t want to put all that pressure on Ishimaru. He’d propose to him when he arrived home from work. Ishimaru was a young politician with a promising future, but he worked long hours and was always home pretty late. Mondo worked as a carpenter and his workshop was at home, so he often found himself with spare time waiting on Ishimaru. As for money, they should be good for now. They both were paid well enough to own a small house and they could probably afford a small wedding if Ishimaru said yes.
That word put a pit in Mondo’s stomach. If. If Ishimaru said yes. If Ishimaru said no. There was so much uncertainty with it all. Mondo’s hand shook around the ring box in his pocket, and he took a deep breath. You can do this, Mondo, he thought. If he says no he says no then you’ll… you’ll deal with it. If he says yes… His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of Ishimaru saying yes. Would he really do it? They had been dating for years now, ever since their second year of high school. That was the longest anyone had ever stayed by his side except for Daiya. At this point, Mondo honestly couldn’t imagine life without Ishimaru. It wasn’t that he couldn’t live without him, or something like that. It’s just that… the nerd had been with him for years now, and imagining a world where he didn’t hear that booming voice constantly, where he didn’t get to smile and laugh with him, where he didn’t get to argue about tedious things like laundry and getting his feet off the furniture seemed surreal to him.
"Mondo, I’m home." Ishimaru shouted from the doorway. Mondo froze at the sound of his voice. Shit, maybe I’m not ready, Mondo thought. No, I’m fine. It’s too late to turn back now just don’t panic… don’t panic… "Mondo, where are you?"
"I’m, uh, in the livin’ room!" Mondo stammered. He couldn’t believe just how nervous and weak his voice sounded. He really needed to get it together before he completely blew it.
"So, I was thinking of-" Ishimaru stopped short when he reached the living room. The lights were turned off, and the room was illuminated by a bunch of candles Mondo had put all around the room. There was a trail of rose petals thrown across the floor in a completely unorganized fashion. Mondo stood by the coffee table, his hands buried in his pockets and his face beet-red.
"What is all this?" Ishimaru asked, eyeing the room curiously. He didn’t sound disgusted, but he certainly didn’t sound impressed.
"Uh, shit, do ya not like it or somethin’?" Mondo asked nervously. "Is it too cheesy? Shit, I’m sorry!"
"N-no, it’s fine, Mondo." Ishimaru replied. "I just… wasn’t expecting to come home to this."
"Okay, cool, uh…" Mondo nervously smiled at Ishimaru and gestured for Ishimaru to come forward. "Wanna, uh, join me or somethin’?"
"In a minute," Ishimaru replied, "I need to dress in something a little less formal and maybe take a bath before-"
"Fuck, I don’t care what you’re wearin’, I just!!" Mondo realized he was yelling and took a deep breath. "I just need to talk to ya, if that’s all right!!"
"Of course, Mondo!" Ishimaru dropped his briefcase and hurried over to Mondo’s side. "Is something the matter? Are you not feeling well?" He placed his hand on Mondo’s forehead. "You’re really hot. Do you have a fever?"
"I don’t have a fuckin’ fever!! I just really need to talk to you!!" Mondo shouted. "Please… This is, uh, really important." Ishimaru nodded and Mondo grabbed his hands and held them in his shaky ones.
"Mondo?" Ishimaru was beginning to blush a little, too. Even after dating for so long, Ishimaru still couldn’t be affectionate without blushing a little.
"Look, Kiyotaka, I’ve uh, been thinkin’, and…" Shit. Mondo could feel his thoughts and feelings blur and he had no idea just what the hell he was going to say. But he knew if he gave up now he’d probably never get the courage to do it again. "I… love ya a lot… like more than anythin’ else… I have for a really long time… I’m sure ya know that. And, uh, I wouldn’t mind spendin’ the rest of my life with ya, and…"
"Mondo, what are you…?" Ishimaru was staring at Mondo with wide eyes, his hands trembling a little bit. Mondo realized just then that he was supposed to be on his knee for this, right? He let go of Ishimaru’s hands and basically collapsed to the floor. "Mondo?!" Before Ishimaru could kneel down and ask him what was wrong, Mondo pulled out the ring box, opened it, and thrust it up at Ishimaru.
"KIYOTAKA WILL YOU FUCKIN’ MARRY ME?!" Mondo screamed. He didn’t look up at Ishimaru; he was too afraid of what his reaction would be. Did he really just yell ‘will you fuckin’ marry me’? What kind of proposal was that?
"…Yes." Ishimaru’s voice was barely above a whisper. Mondo snapped his head up in confusion.
"I’m sorry, what?" He asked.
"Yes… yes! Yes!!" Ishimaru’s eyes were welling up with tears that he didn’t bother to wipe away. Mondo stood up and grinned.
"What, ya mean it?!" He asked.
"Of course I do!!" Ishimaru cried. "I love you!" Mondo didn’t need to hear anymore. He wrapped his arms around Ishimaru and held him close, letting Ishimaru sob happily into his chest. Honestly, Mondo could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, too. He was so god damn sure that Ishimaru was going to say no, or hesitate, or walk out or… it didn’t matter now. What mattered was Ishimaru had said yes. He had actually said yes.
"Holy shit." Mondo said abruptly. "Ya… actually said yes."
"Yes, I did." Ishimaru said, smiling.
"Ya actually said yes!!"
"We’ve established this, Mondo." Ishimaru chuckled. He pulled away, but kept his hands in Mondo’s.
"Can I kiss ya?" Mondo asked.
"You don’t have to ask." Ishimaru replied. Mondo pulled Ishimaru close once more, and pressed his lips against Ishimaru’s gently. As they kissed, Mondo slid the ring onto Ishimaru’s left ring finger and didn’t separate until he was sure it was on. When they finally separated, Ishimaru took a good look at the ring on his finger while Mondo pressed kisses to his temple. It wasn’t too fancy; it was just a little golden band with a small diamond on top. But Ishimaru thought it was beautiful.
"Is it okay?" Mondo asked nervously.
"Yes, it’s wonderful!!" Ishimaru said. He gave Mondo a kiss on the cheek to reassure him. "But… what about the wedding?"
"What about it?"
"Did you have it planned out, or…?"
“‘Course I didn’t! I didn’t even know if you were gonna say yes!”
"Why wouldn’t I say yes?"
"W-well, uh…" Mondo wasn’t expecting that. "We’re supposed to plan it together."
"Okay… Wait a minute." Ishimaru suddenly looked startled.
"What is it?"
"Which one of us has to wear the dress?!" Ishimaru shouted.
"JESUS, NEITHER OF US HAVE TO WEAR A DRESS!!"
It took awhile, but Ishimaru and Mondo finally managed to organize a wedding. It took forever, considering how often their plans consisted of them nervously telling one another “whatever you wanna do is fine!” and “no, I insist, you choose!”. They kept the wedding small, only inviting a few friends from high school and some of the gang Mondo had kept in touch with over the years.
The closest either of them had gotten to dressing like “the bride” was Ishimaru in his white tux. But honestly, he just liked the color white. It reminded him of his old hall monitor uniform… he had worn it when he first met Mondo. Granted, they hated each other at the time, but at least that bitterness turned into something sweet.
Ishimaru walked down the aisle alone. He wasn’t upset about this. Well, it’s not that he wasn’t upset. He just knew that he’d be alone when this happened. His parents wouldn’t approve of his relationship with Mondo, so he had never told them about it. For all they knew, he was working hard to follow his goals and didn’t have time for romance. Still, it would have been nice if he had had someone to join him down the aisle… But, he figured, one must take the good with the bad, so he ignored it and stood up straight, walking towards Mondo with pride.
When he reached the altar, Ishimaru stood for a moment just staring at Mondo. He looked… absolutely lovely. His hair was down and was tied into a small ponytail. He had cleaned up and wore a nice, black tux. It was honestly the first time Ishimaru had seen Mondo in anything so nice, and it made his face flush a little bit.
"Hey." Mondo whispered, smiling at Ishimaru. "Ya look beautiful."
"Y-yeah, you too, Mondo!"
The ceremony was long, if Leon’s loud snoring was any indication. It took forever for the two of them to get through their vows. Ishimaru had prepared his a long time before, and had it all memorized. The only problem was he kept having to pause to wipe his eyes since he was crying so hard. Mondo, on the other hand, wasn’t prepared at all and stammered out his words whilst shouting loudly, and his vows mostly consisted of the phrase “I fuckin’ love ya”. It was a miracle the two of them ever managed to communicate with one another.
Finally, the words they had been waiting for were uttered: “You may kiss the groom.” Mondo ran his hand down Ishimaru’s cheek and wiped some of his tears away before tilting his head up and kissing him tenderly. Ishimaru cried into the kiss and hugged Mondo’s neck, holding him tightly.
At the reception, Mondo and Ishimaru danced together, as was customary. However, Mondo had two left feet and kept stepping on Ishimaru’s toes. Ishimaru tried to ignore it, and the two danced very slowly so Mondo wouldn’t mess up as much.
"Shit, Kiyotaka, how’re you so good at this?" Mondo asked, obviously aggravated.
"You’re over-thinking it, Mondo." Ishimaru responded. "Just step with the music, all right?" Mondo sighed and tried to do as he was told, and stepped on Ishimaru’s foot again. "Ow!"
"Shit, I’m sorry!" Mondo said. "We can stop if ya like, okay?"
"We cannot. It’s only the first dance, Mondo. We can leave in a bit." Mondo groaned in frustration but kept going anyways. "Say, Mondo… is this really okay?"
"What?" Mondo asked.
"This whole marriage thing. Is this… really okay with you?"
“‘Course it is!” Mondo interrupted. “I was the one who proposed to ya, right?”
"No, I mean, are you okay with taking my name?" Ishimaru asked nervously. "Because I understand if you don’t want to be Mondo Ishimaru and-"
"That’s what you’re worried about?" Mondo asked. "Babe, it’s fine. I know how much it means to ya."
"But Daiya-"
"Will always be my brother." Mondo stated. "The Ishimaru name means a lot to ya and I’m not gonna take it away, got it?" He kissed Ishimaru’s forehead as a sign of reassurance.
"Mondo… thank you. For everything." Ishimaru sniffled.
"Hey, don’t start cryin’ again." Mondo said. "Leon’s gonna come over here and make fun of us…"
After the reception was over, Mondo carried Ishimaru back to the bedroom, much to Ishimaru’s discontent.
"Why do you have to carry me?" Ishimaru complained.
"Because that’s what people do at weddings." Mondo replied.
"Well, why couldn’t I carry you?"
"Can ya even carry me?" Ishimaru paused for a moment and sighed. After he had graduated high school and set off to follow his political dreams, he had gotten more and more busy and honestly didn’t work out as much anymore. He was still strong; he was sure of it! But chances are Mondo the carpenter, who spent his days building and carrying heavy furniture, was stronger than him.
"I guess you’re right."
"Damn straight I am." Mondo said. "Also, I owe ya for steppin’ on your feet so many times." When they got inside, he laid Ishimaru on the bed.
"Mondo!" Ishimaru protested. "Don’t put me on the bed! I still have my shoes on and I need to get this suit off and-"
"That won’t be a problem." Mondo muttered before kissing Ishimaru. He held Ishimaru’s hands and pressed them into the mattress, holding him down. Their tongues tangled together, and Mondo bit down on Ishimaru’s bottom lip, earning a gasp before parting their mouths. They stared at each other for a moment, their faces flushed as they caught their breaths.
"Uh, shit, sorry, I…" Mondo said, "I shoulda asked ya first." He loosened his grip on Ishimaru’s hands. "Sorry if I freaked ya out, uh… I just thought maybe we could, uh, if you’re okay with it I mean-" Ishimaru cut him off with another kiss and smiled.
"It’s fine, Mondo." Ishimaru said. "You don’t have to get freaked out around me so much…" He stroked Mondo’s cheek gently with his left hand. "We’re married now, right?"
"Yeah… yeah! We are, huh?" Mondo pulled Ishimaru’s hand off and kissed it. "Fuck, I love you."
"I love you too, Mondo." And with that, Mondo kissed him again.
Ishimaru lay beside Mondo, his back pressed against Mondo’s bare chest. He was exhausted from the long day (and night) but couldn’t bring himself to sleep just yet. Mondo’s arms were wrapped around his stomach, holding him snugly while he pressed soft kisses to the dark hickies on Ishimaru’s neck. It was comfortable; Ishimaru had never felt warmer and more at peace than he did right now in Mondo’s strong arms. He stared at the ring on his left hand for a long time, just admiring it.
"Hey, Kiyo," Mondo whispered in between kisses, "where did ya wanna go for our honeymoon?"
"Hhm?" Ishimaru replied groggily. "I don’t know."
"Oh come on, ya always have some idea." Mondo complained.
"Well, maybe… someplace warm…" He yawned and placed his left hand on Mondo’s, their rings clanking as he did so. "With a nice beach…"
"Ya like the beach?"
"It’s pretty… but never been…" Ishimaru mumbled.
"We can decide later." Mondo said. "Ya tired, baby?"
"Mmm-hmm…" Ishimaru replied.
"Go to bed, Kiyotaka." Mondo said, nuzzling the back of his head. "I love ya."
"Me too…" Ishimaru trailed off as he began to snore quietly. Mondo grinned and kissed Ishimaru once more, before nodding off himself.
He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with him.