Chapter Text
Ren Amamiya was usually not the nervous type.
His friends would probably agree, to them he was their confident leader, who had guided them through fights and more.
Though unbeknownst to most of them, Ren Amamiya could actually feel nervous.
There have been a couple of times in his life when he had felt it and he could actually count them on his fingers.
The first, being the time he moved to Tokyo after receiving that court sentence that had changed his life forever. Moving to a new city by yourself would be an anxious experience for anyone really and for Ren it was like being told his life was now somewhere else. Though thanks for Sojiro’s gruff kindness and meeting the rest of the phantom thieves, life in the big city had really grown on him.
The second time Ren had felt that creeping sense of nervousness was during the night of the Casino heist. All their careful planning had led up to this moment, and Ren still had doubts when he was arrested by the police after purposely letting himself get ‘caught’ and letting the rest of the thieves use his capture to escape safely.
There were other moments in his life that he could recall that brought forth the same feeling of bone shaking worry.
The Yaldabaoth fight still brought him deep bone shaking shivers every now and then. To think he and his friends had stood up to a figure of terrifying god-like power and won.
Similarly, the battle with his therapist/doctor Maruki was something that also bothered him sometimes. Though his ideals were honest and good intentioned, Ren could not allow people to be trapped in a dream-like world forever, especially his friends who would be living in a world based on a lie created by Maruki’s power.
The last time a moment had brought him the uneasy feeling of nervousness was the night of his proposal to his then girlfriend, Sumire Yoshizawa. After weeks and weeks of careful planning, Ren had performed a breathtaking ice-skating routine inspired by a scene from ‘Yuri on Ice!’
Then he had popped the question to her, and though 99% of his heart at the time knew she would accept him with all her love, there was still that tiny 1% that doubted if she would have said yes.
Though those fears were entirely and utterly unfounded.
Even now, at this moment, considering where he was, it is almost comical to think that she would have said anything other than yes. He could practically recall those bright ruby eyes of hers as she opened her mouth to accept his proposal.
Despite all that, Ren felt nervous at this very moment.
He was standing in the waiting room of the chapel, feeling exhausted, excited and above all; nervous, he somehow felt all these things simultaneously.
Wearing a very fine tailored black suit, with a red tie, grey vest and a fitted white buttoned up shirt, he was a combination of gentlemanly charm and coolness. He looked himself over for the 30th time in the tall mirror set against the white walls of the waiting room, adjusting his hair, shifting his tie.
“You look fine Ren! Stop worrying so much!” A slightly annoyed but amused voice called out from a corner of the brightly lit room.
Morgana, Ren’s constant cat companion, leaped onto the nearby desk and sat himself down. Morgana was also dressed in a very well-made cat suit (courtesy of Haru) that was the same colour of Ren’s but with an added yellow silk scarf around his neck.
“There’s no need to be so nervous! You guys are practically made for each other!”
Ren shivered slightly, feeling a chill go down his spine as he thought about his fiancée, or rather soon to become wife, “All the more reason to be nervous…”
He took another look at himself in the mirror, “I guess it’s all this waiting, it’s killing me.” Ren adjusted his tie and turned himself around once more.
Morgana rolled his eyes, “And all this fidgeting isn’t going to make it any better.”
“He has a point y’know.” One of Ren’s oldest friends, Ryuji Sakamoto, had just entered the waiting from. A current professional athlete and ramen connoisseur, he grinned at his best friend who grimaced back at him. He too was sporting a similar suit to Ren’s, with a yellow tie that complimented his combed back hair quite well.
“I find doing something entirely unrelated helps with the nerves,” Ryuji recommended taking a look at Ren and brushing a wrinkle out of his suit.
Ren looked inquiringly at his friend, “How much longer are they going to be?”
“Anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes man, it’s always like this before the ceremony,” Ryuji replied shrugging, taking a seat on a nearby grey couch that was placed at the edge of the room.
Shortly after, Yusuke Kitagawa walked in. The lanky artist, now famous artist had not changed at all in the years Ren had known him. His suit was complimented by a navy-blue tie that paired well with his slightly dark blue hair. He took a moment to gaze upon Ren with artistic intent.
“How does the groom feel on his day of fate?” he asked Ren, smiling extravagantly at the raven-haired man.
“Like he’s about to throw up.”
Yusuke nodded, “Ah yes, I did read online that this was a common symptom for grooms on their wedding day, I have prepared some countermeasures to help you with this.”
“Oh, this should be good,” Ryuji said, a broad smile breaking across his face.
The blue haired artist reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Yusuke cleared his throat then started reading out from the list.
“I got this from a website that claimed to have helped previous grooms with their wedding days,” he explained as he looked at Ren.
“First, it is recommended to bring up similar or worse situations that make the groom feel at ease when comparing himself to the described scenarios.”
Morgana and Ryuji nodded. It was reasonable advice, though they were still sceptical if Yusuke could successfully put Ren at ease.
“Ahem now… imagine you are in a dark room, and you are presented with a blank canvas…”
“This sounds like the start of a riddle,” Ryuji muttered.
“Shh, I have a feeling I know where this is going,” Morgana said shaking his head.
Yusuke continued, “However you soon discover… you have no brushes or paint to fill the canvas with! Thus, you have to contain your bursting artistic craving! THE HORROR!”
…
Silence filled the room.
Ren blinked twice at his lanky friend.
Ryuji had covered his mouth with his entire first, trying his hardest to hold back a stream of laughter.
Morgana’s mouth was half open, in quiet exasperation at their eccentric friend.
“Oh… too horrible to imagine? Or was it not something you could relate to?” Yusuke asked the stunned room, his head tilted to one side in question.
“Let’s go with the latter Yusuke,” Ren said, trying to smile but feeling his face lock up from the nervousness he felt.
“Alright, no matter, I still have plenty of scenarios to go,” Yusuke straightened his tie and read the next line on the paper.
“Picture this, you are on a beach, carrying your painting canvas and art supplies when you suddenly spot a lobster, crawling along the sandy white shores of the beach!”
Yusuke closed his eyes and nodded to himself, picturing the scene perfectly in his mind.
“But, your hands are full with the art and supplies you carry, unless you drop your precious tools, you could never hope to catch that crustacean friend you see on the beach, and so you are forced to watch it retreat to its watery home, cursing yourself for not packing a more compact canvas to the beach!”
At this point, Ren, Ryuji and Morgana collectively burst out laughing. It was too much to contain for the three of them as they watched Yusuke explain this very detailed and probably real scenario to them.
“What’s wrong, has my story boosted your spirits?” Yusuke inquired, smiling slightly as he saw Ren’s amused expression.
Ren wiped away a tear of laughter from his eyes, “Yes Yusuke, you did excellently, I do feel much better now, thank you my friend.”
Yusuke shook his head.
“It was nothing Ren, truly.”
The friends all took a moment to smile at each other, they had come a long way from ‘normal’ high school boys all those years ago. And here they were, about to watch their leader marry one of their dear friends.
A small knock issued from the door of the room.
Sakura Sojiro appeared as he opened the door and stepped into the room. Ren was struck again by how suave he still looked even with the greying hair and beard. The tailored grey suit with a light pink coloured tie really brought him a complex presence, almost like his coffee. Sojiro broke into a small smile as he looked at the waiting group of men.
“Gentlemen, the bridal group is ready, you guys are supposed to step into the garden now.”
“This is it…” Ren muttered to himself.
Ryuji patted him hard on the back in reassurance. Similarly, Yusuke gently put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, nodding at their nervous leader. Morgana also nudged Ren’s legs in a familiar manner that made him involuntarily smile.
“Thank you all,” Ren then turned to Sojiro.
“Let’s go.”
With a resolute nod, they stepped through the door of the waiting room and followed Sojiro through the wide white halls to the garden.
“The guys are moving to the garden now; we’ll leave in about 5 minutes.”
Said Ann Takamaki, famous model and fashion designer. She carefully looked over the dress worn by a pretty red-haired girl one final time as she stood in front of the large wall-length mirror.
“She looks fine Ann-chan, stop fussing over her.”
Haru Okumura, CEO of Okumura foods and owner of ‘Simply Coffee’, a café chain that focused on homemade-style food and goods giggled as Ann once again checked the veil length, adjusting it slightly so it flowed better on the ground.
“Yes, and I do say she looks radiant,” Makoto Nijima, lead officer for the Shibuya Police force added, taking another look at the full dress of the bride.
“If I could rate her looks on a scale from 1 to 10 she would be 100! No maybe even more!” Futaba Sakura, extremely talented software coder and graphics art designer put in, bobbing her head in agreement.
All the bridesmaids nodded together.
“Thank you all, that means so much,” the red haired girl responded in turn, “you guys also look gorgeous!”
All the bridesmaids were wearing violet dresses that highlighted and complimented the bride’s dress perfectly.
“Are you feeling nervous?” Ann asked, looking the bride over again.
“No, not in the slightest.”
Futaba tilted her head to the side, “Really? How come?”
A small pause filled the room, before the bride spoke.
“Because I’ll be marrying someone I know I love with all my heart,” Sumire Yoshizawa replied serenely, though there was a small blush to her cheeks as she said this.
All the girls in the room squealed, they went over and hugged Sumire one by one.
A small knock was heard from the door leading out of the room.
Sae Nijima stepped in, wearing an elegant dress of black with silver lining.
“The groom and his best men have arrived at the garden, we should start making our way over there now,” she said smiling at the bridal group.
Sumire took a deep breath as Ann put the veil over her face. Makoto put her hand on Sumire’s reassuringly. Futaba gave a two thumbs-up and Ann nodded gently at the blushing bride.
“Let’s go,” Sumire said smiling widely.
It was nearly evening; the Tokyo sky was a mix of orange and dark blue as the sun began to set in the horizon. The faint twinkling of stars could be seen if you looked carefully at the night sky above and with the absence of any clouds, the view was clear and beautiful.
Ren and his group moved through the well-kept show garden. Plants, trees and bushes were all neatly kept here, each of them a vibrant colour ranging from green, to shades of yellow and red.
Finally, they came to a large clearing in the central garden. Here, a large white archway with entwining flowers curled around the structure. In front of it were white wooden chairs, placed in a semi-circle formation around the arch-way. In one corner of the garden a band was set up, currently playing a low jazz melody that created a relaxing mood.
The seats were already occupied with friends and family. As Ren made his way up to the archway, he spotted his many confidants already seated and talking amongst themselves. When he passed them by, they all smiled at him widely. He spotted Iwai and Kaoru in matching suits, sitting beside them were Kawakami and Tae. Many more were seated but Ren only got a brief glimpse of them as he passed the rows of chairs.
Ren heard a couple of kids shoutout in a quiet tone when they saw Morgana walking along the groom’s party, which made him smile. He also saw Sumire’s parents and the rest of her family, sitting next to his own. They were talking very animatedly and when they spotted the groom, they all smiled and waved.
Ren and his friends finally got to the archway, where they turned to face the assembled group of friends and family. He could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow as they took their position to the right side of the arch.
Sojiro walked towards them and stood in the middle of the arch as he was officiating the ceremony. He gave Ren a quick nod to which the young groom nodded back. Sojiro gestured to the band in the corner and they stopped their slow jazz song.
Gently, like the flow of a river, a slow piano melody started playing that seemed to soar throughout the garden area. Soon a cello joined in, carrying the song further out into the crowd. It was ‘Pachelbel's Canon in D’, a song recommended to Ren by Sojiro himself. Hearing it played out loud, its beautiful soaring melody filling his heart, Ren couldn’t help but feel like Sojiro had made the perfect recommendation.
The old barista cleared his throat and in clear voice said, “Please stand for the bride and her bridesmaids.”
The ensembled crowd stood up in one motion, all of them eyeing the entrance to the garden for the bridal party.
Soon enough, they entered. First came Ann, Makoto, Futaba and Haru. Ren couldn’t help but smile as he saw their violet dresses, which the girls had decided on as a group as it was one of Sumire’s favourite colours and a reference to her name.
Ren felt himself take in a sharp breath as Sumire entered the garden space. From the orange rays of sunlight, he could see the wedding dress clearly. It was a cream white colour that sparkled from the fading sunlight as if small diamonds were sewed into the fabric. With a long veil that hid her face and flowed behind her in a trailing stream, Ren immediately saw the dress resembled Sumire’s true persona, Ella.
As they made it halfway through the seats, Sumire’s father, Shinichi Yoshizawa stood up and joined her as part of the ceremony.
Sumire elegantly took her father’s hand and smiled at him. He returned the smile warmly, doing his best to hold himself together as he guided his daughter to the archway where Ren and his group were waiting.
The bridal party arrived at the arch-way, Sumire’s father stepped back and bowed to Ren who returned the bow deeply.
Sumire and the girls took their position to the left of the arch. Ren could have sworn he saw Sumire give him a quick smile, though with her veil it was hard to say.
Sojiro looked at the two groups smiling with pride, then spoke up.
“Honoured family and friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two kindred souls, Ren Amamiya and Sumire Yoshizawa.”
He paused for a moment before continuing on.
“As someone who has seen these two grow not only as people, but as treasured friends and partners, I can say with all my heart that this ceremony is but a small step in their lives, knowing that they have many more moments to share with not only us but with each other.”
Ren quickly wiped the moistness from his eyes. He quickly looked around and saw Ryuji was busy rubbing his eyes hard. Yusuke calmly wiped the tears from his own eyes, similar to Morgana.
Sumire did her best to hold back the warm emotion she felt, she heard faint sniffles from Ann as Haru handed her handkerchief over to the blonde women, with Makoto and Futaba patting Ann comfortingly.
“Now then, I believe the groom and bride have prepared wedding vows to each other.” Sojiro stepped back as Ren and Sumire walked forwards to each other.
As their eyes met, even through the veil, Ren could tell Sumire was blushing furiously but smiling all the same.
Ryuji and Ann both stepped forward after them with a small scroll which they handed their respective bride and groom.
Ren unfolded his first and began to read out loud in a clear voice.
“Sumire Yoshizawa, you’re the most beautiful and kind-hearted person I know. From the moment I met you I knew you were special, you’ve come into my life since that day in Shujin and charmed the heart right out of me.”
Ren took another deep breath.
“You’ve been carrying such heavy burdens from such a young age, even when you nearly faltered, you stood up and kept going. Something I had always admired about you Sumire was not only your strength but your honesty and your kindness.”
He looked up and found her ruby eyes on him.
“I want to let you know that you no longer have to carry those burdens alone, I will always be there when you need me, through whatever troubles we face, we’ll face them together.”
Ren rolled the scroll up, he no longer needed to read its words, as all the things he needed to say were right in his heart.
“As I once said before, I hope to prove my devotion to you through our love and so I’ll continue loving you till the very end, forever and always Sumire.”
Applause filled the garden as Ren finished his vows. Now it was Sumire’s turn to do her best to hold back her tears. She took a long breath and unrolled her own scroll.
“Ren Amamiya, you’re the loveable cool but kind thief that stole my heart, I never imagined someone like you would come into my life and sweep me off my feet. Your confidence, support and compassion has helped me so many times I’ve lost count.”
Her eyes met his own and she saw he was smiling gently at her.
“I want you to know that I will also carry your burdens with you, and I know that as long as we have each other, everything will be just fine.”
Sumire rolled her scroll up, the rest of what she wanted to say was already so clear in her own heart.
“Forever and always, I will love you for the rest of all time, Ren.”
Applause once again sounded from the crowd as the bride and groom finished their vows. Ren and Sumire’s eyes met once more and unspoken words passed between them. As Sojiro stepped forward, Ren saw him quickly wipe his eyes with one of his hands.
“Now then, for the legal part of this ceremony.” A small laugh filled the crowd as Sojiro pulled out a small handbook.
“To all gathered here today, please bear witness to the union of these two people, who are about to be joined together through love and life.”
“Please bring out the rings,” he said, gesturing to Futaba and Yusuke.
Futaba presented Sumire her ring and Yusuke presented Ren his.
Sojiro turned to Ren.
“Do you, Rem Amamiya, take Sumire Yoshizawa to be your lawful wedded wife?”
Ren nodded confidently “I do.”
He stepped forward with his ring and put it on Sumire’s finger.
Sojiro turned to Sumire.
“Now do you, Sumire Yoshizawa, take Ren Amamiya to be your lawful wedded husband?”
Sumire smiled radiantly “I do.”
It was her turn to step forward, she slowly slipped the ring on Ren’s finger.
With a satisfied smile Sojiro turned to the gathered group of family and friends.
“I now announce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.”
Ren felt he was caught off guard, even though he knew this part was coming. He slowly stepped towards Sumire and gently softly lifted her veil. He finally got to see her face clearly. Her glowing ruby eyes seemed to be smiling at him as he looked at her.
Almost as if in a trance, both of them leaned in and their lips met as Ren pulled Sumire into his embrace.
Loud celebratory cheers erupted from the crowd though to the couple it was a dim faded noise. The only focus they had was on each other.