Work Text:
Maki opened her eyes to the familiar sound of her alarm clock ringing. She turned around under her blanket and reached out to turn it off, glancing at the time on the clock face. It was seven in the morning, as usual. Something felt… off, though. Wasn't the space in the sheets to her left usually warmer?
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and turned around to look beside her. Just as she'd expected, Kaede was gone, her half of the blanket haphazardly tossed over the far edge of the bed. Maki furrowed her brows, confused, but a glance at the calendar on the bedside table reminded her what day it was. She smiled to herself―her girlfriend was usually the type to sleep in till late morning or noon, but given the occasion, of course she would be out of bed at this hour. She was probably extremely excited.
Maki took her phone from the nightstand, opening the group chat she shared with Kaede, Shuichi and Kaito.
[Monday, 6 July 2020; 7:03 a.m.]
maki: @detective-saihara @spacebro you two awake yet?
detective-saihara: yeah i am
detective-saihara: couldn't sleep at all last night lol
detective-saihara: kaito's still snoring tho
detective-saihara: kaede?
Maki looked up from her phone. There was no visible sign of the pianist, but she heard faint water sounds from the bathroom (and Kaede’s humming), which meant…
maki: she's showering.
As if on cue, the patter of water droplets against shower curtains trickled to a stop. Huh… Maki was pretty sure that was the shortest shower Kaede had taken ever since they moved in together. The corners of her lips twitched upwards in amusement.
[Monday, 6 July 2020; 7:05 a.m.]
maki: oh wait i heard the shower curtains open.
maki: she’s done.
kayaydayyy: Good morning guys!!!!! I’m sooo looking forward to today!!!
detective-saihara: yeah haha aren’t we all
kayaydayyy: :DDD
maki: kaede. get out of the bathroom. the sheets are getting cold.
kayaydayyy: Okayyy, jeez! Love you <333
maki: <3
Kaede walked out of the bathroom after a few minutes, dressed in a pastel pink nightgown and with her hair wrapped up in a fresh towel. Whether it was due to her girlfriend’s excitement or just the fact that she had just taken a hot shower, Maki didn’t know, but she found the blonde’s face absolutely radiant, her wide smile brighter than ever.
They hadn’t been together long, but already Maki found herself unable to imagine a day without Kaede by her side. Her joyful hugs that came far too often than she deserved them, her musical voice and laughter that rang like keys on a glockenspiel, her rosy cheeks and gentle hands that stroked her hair and cupped her face… it all warmed Maki’s heart in a way that she had never experienced before.
“You could’ve waited until you got out here to declare your undying love, Kaede. I’m right here, you know. It can’t have taken you that long to put on some clothes,” Maki glanced up with a wry smirk as Kaede approached their bed with jaunty, light steps. Vivace, she thought, reminded of the one time Kaede had decided to teach her musical terms.
The pianist climbed into bed, pouting. “Aww, but I missed you while I was in the shower!!! Have I ever told you how pretty you look when you’re asleep?”
Yes, a hundred times over, Maki thought. What had she ever done to deserve someone who had so much love for her?
Suddenly, Kaede took her by the shoulders and shook her excitedly. “Come on, Maki! Today’s the big day! I can’t believe it’s finally here!” Maki couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose that’s why you finally decided to get up before eleven o’clock for once.” Kaede pouted harder, making Maki laugh.
Today was the day Shuichi and Kaito went to pick out suits for their wedding. They’d begged Maki and Kaede to come along because they didn’t think they would be able to make a decision before sundown otherwise, on account of Shuichi being extremely indecisive and Kaito probably liking every single item the store had to offer. That being said, Maki and Kaede would have gone along regardless―what with Kaede’s concerts, Shuichi’s detective work and Kaito’s occasional space ventures, the four rarely had a spare moment to catch up. It would be just like their high school days, and despite not appearing ecstatic to the average observer, Maki was feeling quite eager.
Well, almost just like their high school days. Back at Hope’s Peak, Maki had harboured a significant crush on Kaito, and Shuichi on Kaede. The two pairs had dated for a while, and all four of them had formed a tight-knit friend group before realizing that each of them seemed to be attracted to one of the other members of the group. Maki still scrolled back to read a certain chain of direct messages between her and Kaito sometimes:
[Thursday, 19 November 2015; 12:02 a.m.]
maki: um. kaito.
spacebro: Yea whats up maki roll?
maki: …don’t hate me.
spacebro: Huh whyd i hate u?
maki: i. uh.
maki: i think i like kaede.
spacebro: Huh
spacebro: .
maki: kaito can you please say something.
spacebro: Thats great maki roll!
maki: w
maki: wait.
maki: why is that great.
maki: you do realize we’re dating each other. idiot.
spacebro: If u love Kaede then go get her!
spacebro: Ur my sidekick! im totally behind u :DD
spacebro: Also
spacebro: Uh
maki: what.
spacebro: I havent really figured this stuff out but
spacebro: I think im gay for shuichi???
maki: .
spacebro: Yea...dont really wanna tell him yet yknkow?
spacebro: But hey at least everything works out btwn us!!! were both gay! :D
maki: …cool.
From there, Kaito had encouraged Maki to confess to Kaede, and luckily, they soon found out that Shuichi also happened to have a thing for Kaito. Maki smiled fondly, remembering the sheer surprise and amusement they had all felt upon realizing such a massive coincidence. Had things gone wrong between them, Maki would never have been able to forgive herself.
Having been trained as an assassin since childhood, she had initially closed herself off from her classmates, deeming herself undeserving of friendship and compassion, not trusting herself not to betray them somehow. Eventually, though, Kaito managed to coax her out of her shell and convince her that she deserved to be happy, that she was worth it. Before long, he, along with Shuichi and Kaede, had become the best friends she’d ever had. She’d grown so close to them, she would have beat herself up to no end if her feelings for Kaede caused the four to grow apart.
They’d done so much for her these years, too. After they graduated from Hope’s Peak, the three of them had worked together to take down the assassin cult that had shrouded Maki’s childhood in darkness. Maki had protested fervently at first, (rightfully) fearful for their lives, but somehow they all succeeded and came out mostly unharmed, apart from a broken arm on Shuichi’s part and a bruise on Kaito’s cheek. They had both made a speedy recovery in the end, but not before Maki cried till her tear ducts ran dry, hugged all three of them tightly, and thanked them with all the sincerity she could muster.
Now, Maki worked at a small bookstore downtown. It was cozy, not too busy, and Maki enjoyed spending her afternoons sitting behind the counter with a mug of warm ginger tea in her hand and a book in her lap. Every so often, she visited her old orphanage and read stories to the children. She loved seeing the smiles on their faces and the sparkles in their eyes. They made her feel like she was a child again, sometimes.
At first, she would flinch whenever one of them tried to hold her hand or climb onto her lap, fearful of the murder methods that immediately flashed through her mind, how easy it would be to take one of her ponytails and strangle the child to death… But after years of living a normal, happy life, she was able to get rid of the memories that had haunted her for so long, and whenever the children’s bell-like laughter rang through the room, she laughed along with them.
Just then, a lighthearted poke on the tip of her nose brought her back to reality.
“Hey, what’re you thinking about, you silly bean?” Kaede giggled as she twirled a few strands of Maki’s dark hair in between her fingers. Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, are you thinking about our wedding? It’s so unfair for the boys to do it before us, you know?” She stopped herself at that, leaning backwards a little. “Oh, but it’s okay! We can do that when or if you feel comfortable with it! I was just thinking… we could hire a string ensemble to play Mendelssohn’s Octet in E Flat Major! I know, it’s not a piano piece, and it’s a bit of an unconventional choice for a wedding, but I like doing things a little differently sometimes, y’know? I heard the piece at a festival a few weeks ago and the tune’s been ringing in my mind ever since. The harmonies and melodies are so vibrant and lively; It’d be great!”
Maki felt her heart flutter as Kaede’s hands fluttered about like butterflies. She listened as Kaede excitedly rambled on and on about other classical music pieces that she liked, and with every lilt in the pianist’s voice, she felt her heart waltzing along to the rhythm. She didn’t know much about music, but whenever Kaede shared her love of music with her, the world around her melted away and she felt like nothing else mattered. She rested her finger on the tip of Kaede’s nose, causing the blonde to stop mid-sentence and blush. Maki smiled.
“I love you too, Kaede,” she said softly, cupping her girlfriend’s cheek in her palm. The pianist’s eyes widened, pure adoration flickering in her purple irises. “Come on, let’s get dressed. We shouldn’t keep those idiots waiting.”
❈＊✳⋆❂⋆✳＊❈
The four walked into the store together, and they couldn’t help but marvel at the endless variety of suits, wedding dresses, ball gowns, tailcoats… you name it. The store had pretty much everything any of them could think of in every colour imaginable, and the winding corridors that wove through the clothing racks made the place seem like a very extravagant maze.
“Man, we’re gonna be here all day!” Kaito exclaimed, eyes wide.
Shuichi laughed lightly, his arm linked through Kaito’s elbow. “Yeah, there’s so much of… everything. I don’t even know where to start.”
Kaede skipped up to the blue-haired detective’s side, putting her arm around his shoulder. “Hey, Shuichi, you’ve thought about what kind of suit you wanna get, right?”
“Ah, no- ” Shuichi replied, flustered. “Should I have done that? Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t think- ” His face grew redder by the second.
“Typical,” Maki said matter-of-factly, but not before letting a chuckle escape her lips. “You don’t have to apologize, stupid. It’s your wedding. If you screw it up, you’re the one who’s going to have to live with it for the rest of your life, not Kaede.”
Shuichi’s eyes widened, feigning indignation. “Maki! I am appalled.”
Kaito turned to face Maki, a mischievous light twinkling in his lilac eyes. “Now, Maki-Roll, don’t mess with my fiancé! If not, I guess I’ll just have to marry Kaede too and leave you without a girlfriend as punishment!”
Kaede immediately clutched Maki to her side fiercely while the brunette glared back at the astronaut, although she couldn’t keep her amusement out of her gaze. “That’s bullying.”
Faced with Maki’s glare, anyone else might have shut up instantly, but Kaito merely gave a self-satisfied grin. Soon enough, all four friends were in stitches, nearly knocking over a few clothing racks in the process.
Probably upon hearing their laughter, the shop owner peered out from behind a shelf and smiled upon seeing them. “Hello, you must be Mr. Momota and Mr. Saihara! And you’ve brought some friends along too, I see. Welcome! Come, take a seat!”
The four made themselves comfortable on a long ivory couch as the shop owner explained the process of picking out a suit and the options the store had to offer- not like they hadn’t already seen enough to know that the place was literally wedding heaven.
“So, what colours do you two like? A lot of guys come in looking for black or grey, but these few years we’ve gotten a lot of requests for colours like yellow, blue, purple, pink, green…” She spotted Kaito’s galaxy-patterned jacket and beamed. “Or if you’d like a special patterned fabric like your jacket, we can do that for you too! Just say the word and I’ll show you what choices we have!”
“Sure!” Kaito grinned at his fiancé. “What do you say, Shuichi?”
“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Shuichi replied, smiling, but a second later his brow furrowed. “Ah, although purple looks really flattering on you as well…” He blushed, dusting his cheeks a rosy pink. Of course―he’d always been smitten with Kaito’s warm lilac eyes, as Maki had once been. Looking at the two now, though, it was hard to imagine that they’d ever not been together, Maki thought as she watched the way Shuichi’s eyes shone whenever Kaito did so much as breathe.
Kaito’s voice broke through her train of thought. “Hey, Kaede, Maki-Roll! I know we asked you two to come with to help us pick stuff out ‘n all, but there’s still a lotta stuff we gotta discuss before we actually start tryin’ stuff on, and we don’t want you to get bored, y’know? So go walk around or somethin’! Explore the store!” He flashed them a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry, Shuichi ‘n I will be done before you know it!”
Kaede gave Kaito a playful shove. “Jeez, Kaito, if you wanted to be alone with Shuichi you could’ve just said so, you know!” Ignoring the embarrassed protests from the astronaut, she leaned excitedly towards Maki, her plum eyes widening with anticipation. “So what do you think, Maki?”
Maki shrugged, but took the pianist’s hand in hers and got up from the couch. In truth, she knew Kaede had been eyeing a lot of the wedding dresses on the store’s website ever since Kaito and Shuichi had decided to come here, and so was more than happy to indulge her. (Oh, what wouldn’t she give to see Kaede’s smile light up the entire world.) With a cheery wave in the guys’ direction from Kaede, the two headed off into the maze of colours and fabric.
❈＊✳⋆❂⋆✳＊❈
They walked through aisle after aisle, admiring every variety of gown along the way. Kaede skipped excitedly from rack to rack, commenting on every little detail, whereas Maki trailed behind her contentedly. The way her girlfriend danced across the corridor was just like the way her fingers danced across piano keys—with passion, grace and joy so contagious it painted smiles upon the faces of anyone in the room.
Maki admired that aspect of her girlfriend so much―she hadn’t been able to tell her this, on account of her never being very good at expressing her love in words, but she had always thought Kaede’s graceful movements and cheerful steps were one of the most beautiful things about her. Of course, being a trained assassin, Maki was undeniably agile and light-footed, but she didn’t much care for that part of herself. Those skills were used for sneaking around and ambushing targets, not for making people smile. She wished, bitterly, that she had the ability to conjure happiness in other people just by being herself.
Watching Kaede now, Maki felt as if her heart was doing fairy dances in circles. The way Kaede's golden hair fluttered in the breeze, the way she hummed sweet-sounding tunes as she walked, the way her hands swung at her sides… Maki didn’t deserve her, and yet…
And yet… Kaede had always told Maki that she deserved the world. She still had a hard time believing that, but maybe, just maybe, she was entitled to a little bit of happiness.
She picked up her pace and caught up with Kaede just as the blonde turned around to face her. “Hey, Maki! Look at this cute dress I found! It reminds me of Saint-Saëns’ Wedding Cake!” Kaede held up a seashell-white empress-waist dress laden with rose-coloured pearls. The bottom of the dress was bell-shaped, with little heart-shaped decorations lined round the hem in delicate lace. “So, what do you think?”
Normally, Maki would’ve found the hearts too tacky, but for Kaede, they were…
“Perfect,” she said as she watched Kaede’s expression light up like a thousand stars in the night sky. (Maki had picked up her love for stars and constellations from Kaito, but she loved spending nights alone on the rooftop with Kaede, stargazing and talking about anything that came to mind. The stars really reminded Maki of her.)
“You really think so?” Maki nodded, earning her a quick peck on the cheek from Kaede. She blushed. That still took some time getting used to. “Oh, yeah! I have a surprise for you, Maki!”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Follow me!” Kaede moved purposefully through the rows of fabric, eventually stopping at a random clothes rack. “I spotted this while you were back there daydreaming! You look so cute when you’re thinking, Maki.” She giggled, pulling out a sleek white gown. “See? You’d look so beautiful in this!”
Maki inspected the dress. It was about calf-length in front but longer in the back, the hem trailing on the ground. It had long, thin sleeves woven in satin and lace with beautiful floral patterns. The cut was simple, yet elegant, and Maki didn’t want to picture herself in it, didn’t dare, for fear that she would ruin it all, ruin this moment of bliss that she was in, didn’t think the moment could ever belong to her, but for a moment she couldn’t resist the temptation, and…
It was perfect. She would be perfect.
She stood, staring at the dress wordlessly as a tear graced the corner of her eye. She moved to wipe it away, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion, but before she could even lift a hand, Kaede had cupped the brunette’s face in her own.
“Maki, what’s wrong?” she asked gently. “I’m sorry if I upsetted you, I just- I thought it would be nice to look at wedding dresses together, you know? But if you’re not comfortable with taking our relationship that far, I’m totally okay with that!” She took Maki’s cold hands in hers and looked her in the eye, sincerity overflowing in her voice. “I just want you to be happy, okay?”
“No, I- ” a tear ran down Maki’s cheek, “it’s not that. I know I don’t say this a lot, but… Kaede, I love you so much, and I’d gladly marry you. It’s just…” she took a deep breath. “The idea of commitment, ‘forever’, an eternal vow, all that… it’s kind of intimidating.” She stared at Kaede’s hands, not wanting to meet her gaze. “I wasn’t… meant to love. And even though I’ve managed to do that now, there’s always a lingering fear that somehow, I’ll let you down, or betray you, or something bad will happen to you because of me. Like, you’ll die or something, and it’ll be my fault. I don’t want to do anything that will change what we have now,” she frowned at the floor, “I guess. It’s too perfect. I’ve lost so much in life that I can recover from, but… I can’t afford to let you give your whole life to me only for me to lose you. You shouldn’t.” More tears were escaping now. Maki didn’t think she’d ever said so much at once. Emotions were so annoying, and she was an idiot. She was such an idiot. Now Kaede would think she didn’t want to marry her, and that wasn’t true at all, because she did, so much, but she just had to ruin it. Now here she was, crying over a stupid dress, life, love, and everything else, because Kaede can’t-
Kaede threw her arms around Maki’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly. The hug caught Maki off guard―it wasn’t like they never hugged; Kaede gave her loving embraces every morning and night, and sometimes they would hold an arm around one another as they watched a movie together or if one of them had had a bad day, but this one… Maki felt the force of Kaede’s hands against her back as they held Maki close, saw the way Kaede’s eyes were squeezed shut with intense emotion, and she felt the embrace, felt the pain that she’d caused herself in the past by not allowing herself to love amplified tenfold; felt the sadness that hung in Kaede’s deep breaths because she cared about her far too much even though Maki kept telling her not to-
But she also felt the immense love that Kaede had for her, a love that had kept them together through even the worst of times; a love that had encouraged Maki, thawed her ice-cold soul and made her smile and laugh; a love that, no matter what Maki did, no matter who she was, would never give up on her. She felt the sheer happiness that Kaede felt, that they were together, that they were here, and suddenly she realized that she didn’t have to be afraid of the future. No matter what she chose, no matter what kinds of crazy, convoluted turns life threw at them, no matter what happened,
Kaede would be there. She’d always be right here for her, and everything would be okay.
Everything would be okay.
After what seemed like a long, long while, Maki’s sobs ceased and Kaede gingerly pulled away from the hug, once again taking Maki’s hand in her own. She gave a small, shy smile, one that somehow touched Maki’s heart more than all the others that had come before it. “Hey, Maki? You know… No matter what you say, I’m never going to let go. You’re my whole world, don’t you know that? No matter what happens, I still believe in you, so you should believe in yourself too, okay? Let’s just keep moving forward, together. I’ll be right here by your side, even if you’re scared! What do you say?”
“… You’re as stupid as you were when I first met you,” Maki said, blushing fiercely, and leaned over to kiss her girlfriend. It was an action she had never initiated before, but… she figured she could have her moment, she thought as she grabbed the back of Kaede’s head and pulled her in. She couldn’t help but smirk when Kaede’s eyes popped wide open in utter surprise.
This was definitely worth it.
When they finally pulled away from the kiss, Kaede glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped loudly. “It’s half past four already?! We’ve been here so much longer than we meant to… Jeez, how do you think Kaito and Shuichi are doing? Do you think they’re already done?” She grabbed Maki’s shoulders. “What if they left without us? That wouldn’t be very nice of them…” she said, pouting.
Maki scoffed in amusement. “No chance. They’re probably sitting there bantering over cufflinks or something stupid like that.”
“Oh, yeah? You wanna bet on that?” Kaede grinned, pumping her fists in front of her chest. “Race you back to the room!” She then disappeared between two clothing racks, leaving Maki in her wake. As if Kaede could ever beat her in a race. Maki darted off after her.
Naturally, Maki arrived first, and was faced with a tired but pleased-looking Shuichi holding an extremely charming navy blue suit, as well as Kaito standing there with the same old idiotic grin on his face.
“Maki-Roll, you’re just in time!” He held up his hands on both sides of him, each holding a suit. “So, plum or amethyst?”