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Three days after he married Malos, Jin found himself arriving in Indol for the first time in a very long time. Malos had made him a promise close to a year ago now, and there was no better time than today to fulfil it. It would be risky, and it might get them banned from Indol for life, but it would be so worth it.
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Jin said. He couldn’t decide whether he was incredibly afraid or incredibly excited, or maybe it was a bit of both. He felt shaky but also he kept laughing about it. Even the concept of it was amazing, knowing how offensive it would be to so many of the people in Indol.
“It’s probably the best thing we could possibly do with these visas,” Malos said. “Hey, when we get kicked out once and for all, I’ll tell you some stuff about Indol. There are certainly a few interesting things to say.”
“I’m intrigued…” Jin carefully kept his face as calm as possible, not wanting to draw any undue attention to himself. He couldn’t even hold Malos’ hand here- it was safest to just look like normal travellers here on a pilgrimage or whatever, at least right up until they had to do what they needed to do. “You don’t think anyone will recognise us?”
“They might,” Malos said with a sigh, “but they don’t have any proof. Our visas say we’re from Mor Ardain, after all.”
“I’m not sure how convincing it is to say I’m from Mor Ardain,” Jin said with a chuckle. “Ugh, I hate this place. All the holy stuff creeps me out. I just don’t get on with it.”
“The big statues can sense the gay,” Malos said in a low voice. “If we came here at night, they’d come to life and eat you for being a sinner.” He was clearly struggling not to laugh, and Jin found himself grinning as well. Someone in robes glared at him, and he quickly schooled his face back into a more appropriately sullen look.
“We’re going to piss them off so much,” Jin whispered. This was honestly sort of exciting. He shouldn’t be hyped for probably getting arrested, seeing as same sex public affection was illegal in Indol, especially in the Sanctum, but he was. It was probably the best way to get arrested ever. And the fine they’d probably end up having to pay was totally worth it.
Once they’d got through the less salubrious parts of Indol, things suddenly got even more intimidating. Great gleaming marble spires loomed on all the buildings, and there seemed to be a children’s choir singing somewhere, although Jin couldn’t spot them from here. “This feels vaguely like something out of a horror movie,” he murmured.
“I’m not sure what kind of horror movies you’ve been watching,” Malos said. “Are you sure you haven’t just been watching religious films and getting the wrong vibes?” Jin just shrugged. There were lots of monks around and he was getting nervous. “You’re sure you want to do this? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“No, I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “They’re only monks. They aren’t suddenly going to start attacking us with swords.” Probably not, at least. Who knew with monks? They could be hiding anything under those robes of theirs.
“I mean getting arrested,” Malos said. “They’re not kind to people who literally break the law. We’re going to be deported and I don’t imagine they’re very nice about this kind of thing.”
“They’re not,” Jin affirmed. “But it’s okay. If they hurt us then they’re not doing their image any favours. We’re on our honeymoon, after all, sharing a powerful moment as a couple in a meaningful place or something.”
“True. I suppose the public is very much on our side right now. Hey, maybe we’ll make the national news.” Malos stopped, looking up at the steps to the Sanctum. “So, where exactly do you want to do this?”
“Well according to the schedule, the Praetor comes out of his area in about ten minutes from now. The crowd will be large at first, so I thought we should wait until the tourists thin a bit so he’ll definitely see it,” Jin said.
“Mhm. Let’s get a good spot right in the middle of this place, so he’ll be looking right at us.” Malos pulled him off, and Jin followed, his mild nerves thoroughly counteracted by the thought of the look on the Praetor’s face when he saw what was going on in his own city.
They waited ten minutes, and right on schedule, the man who represented pretty much everything Jin hated stepped out of his fancy marble palace. Jin didn't even want to think about the amount of money that cost and how many homeless gay kids could be housed using the money that the Praetorium spent every year. It made him sick, but he held his tongue and kept his fists clenched tightly at his side, waiting for the crowd to thin. It did so, after about five minutes, and Malos turned to him with a decidedly mischievous look in his eyes.
“Now seems like as good a time as any,” Jin said, leaning over to pull Malos into a kiss. Not just any old kiss- this one was as obvious and showy as they could possibly make it. If Amalthus was going to see them, Jin wanted to cause maximum shock.
The reaction was almost instantaneous. The crowd, which had previously been friendly if a little too solemn, suddenly became angry. There were no sympathetic glances thrown their way, only anger. Jin didn't care, though, because when he looked up, the Praetor was looking directly at them with horror on his face. Good. He pulled away from Malos, and upon taking a more thorough look around, he could see the shock on some people’s faces turning to amusement. Most people, though, still looked pretty angry.
“I think perhaps we should get out of here,” Malos said. Jin nodded, but he couldn’t resist waving cheerily to Amalthus before grabbing Malos’ hand and making a hasty retreat away from the Sanctum.
“I can’t believe they haven’t arrested us already,” Jin said, as they walked very, very quickly in the direction of more crowded and less holy areas. “I was sure they would. I thought they’d send us on the next ship out of here.”
“So did I,” Malos said, a thoughtful frown on his face. “I imagine it’s because of my connections. I’ll explain it in a bit, when we’re away from prying ears.”
“Maybe they don’t want to make martyrs out of us,” Jin mused. “We’re such public figures, it would be on the news everywhere if we got arrested. Well- I’m not complaining, if that’s the case. More time for us to enjoy our honeymoon…”
“I don’t think we want to stay here too much longer, though,” Malos said. “I never liked it here, even if I speak the language. Almost everywhere else on Alrest is more relaxed than this. And they definitely wouldn’t let us book a hotel room with only one bed, so it’s not like we can stay the night.”
“Unless we push the beds together.” Jin laughed. “Imagine how annoyed they’d get if they heard us having sex. Especially if we’d already paid for the room, so they wouldn’t be able to kick us out.”
“I am not having sex with you on Indol,” Malos said, shoving him lightly. “Come on. Let’s just get on the quickest ship out of here before they change their minds about arresting us.”