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It's possible that Xanxus should have thought things through a little more. What, between the lack of time, the pain, the fury, the sleep deprivation. Maybe, perhaps, he made a mistake somewhere down the line. It's possible. And yet it wouldn't be the first time Xanxus created a brand new ritual under similar conditions and all of those worked out just fine. Maybe with some interesting side effects but fine, in the end.
Fuck, his head is killing him. Xanxus struggles up to his knees, dropping down to the ground with his back against a piece of rubble and his legs crossed. "Shit," he curses, gritting his teeth. There was only one chance to interrupt the ritual, however and Xanxus isn't about to regret having taken it. That little Sawada shit is many things but Vongola Decimo shouldn't be one of them, not when the title should belong to Xanxus. No matter what Timoteo or anybody says. ‘What does blood matter, in the end?’ Xanxus had thought, ‘it can be changed’.
That is the line of thought that sent Xanxus into research mode because blood can be changed, Timoteo himself proved that when he made sure Xanxus was Vongola enough to be able to tap into the family magick. If Xanxus hadn't been also down with a fever he might not have simply skimmed the important information of his research tomes and then all of this could have been avoided, somehow. Maybe.
"Marriage? Really?" Sawada whines in exasperation, "this is probably the weirdest proposal I've ever had."
"It's not a proposal," Hana deadpans, "you are married. This got hijacked into a marriage ceremony."
So Xanxus's idea of using the similarities between a marriage ceremony and the promise of alliance of the inheritance ceremony wasn't entirely thought out. In his defense, it's also what's needed for blood adoption. Which is what he was trying to fucking accomplish. If his head wasn't killing him, he'd say as much, as it is he blinks his eyes open and glowers at the remnants of the ceremonial room. There's rubble everywhere, stone, herbs and candle wax just plastered all over the place. Fuck, at least there's a good reason for his ears to be ringing.
Xanxus snorts and all the attention in the room focuses on him, he can feel the worried vibrations travelling through the marital bond. Sawada bites his lip, looks him over with a blush and then stares up at the ceiling. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," Xanxus rolls his eyes, regrets it immediately and then snarls. "What the fuck is your problem?"
The tutor's amused hum is Xanxus's only warning that shit went even worse than he was expecting. "Congratulations," Reborn offers, lips twitching in amusement, "Xanxus of the Varia, you have been reborn as a daughter of Vongola. The lawfully wedded wife of Vongola's Heir."
One piece at the time. Xanxus thinks that through, daughter? Well some of the source material he used did say something about carrying on the family legacy but Xanxus hadn't thought of it in the literal way more in the reputation sort of way. But ok, devil is in the details, Xanxus can sort of see how the whole new uterus came to be. He shouldn’t have just skimmed those pages. Noted. Rebirth? Xanxus snorts, for fuck's sake. He looks down and yep, sure enough, that's a fully functioning female body.
A naked female body because rebirth rituals can be pesky like that. Fuck. Xanxus reaches up with one hand, brazing himself against the rubble and pulling himself up until he's standing on wobbly legs. "Fuck it." Xanxus doesn't even give a shit anymore.
"I think it's very romantic," Kyoko offers, shuffling amongst the destroyed items of the altar. "Dino, would you give Xanxus some privacy please?"
That gets Sawada moving. "Stop ogling my wife!" Sawada begins pushing everybody out the door, ignoring the groans of protests and Dino's embarrassed apologies. "Ok," Sawada huffs, slamming what's left of the door closed and taking the fabric Kyoko slips between the cracks with a murmured 'thank you'. "Alright," he turns to Xanxus, gently covering him up, "I had no idea we were getting married so I don't have any ceremonial gifts, I'm so sorry!"
It's almost impossible not to roll his eyes but Xanxus manages somehow, more interested in poking the newly marital bond than in any ceremonial gifts. Sawada seems to take his silence in stride, however. He holds Xanxus up by the hip, pressing him against his chest. It's a surprisingly comfortable position to be in, especially since magick thrums happily at their closeness. Xanxus hums, crossing his arms around Sawada's shoulders and can’t help chuckling in tired amusement when the guy blushes at Xanxus's new breasts pressing against him.
Xanxus wakes up hours later, still achy but feeling better. He's dressed in a nightgown, comfortably stretched under a heavy blanket. Xanxus recognizes the energy in it, healing magick: thick, powerful and warm. He stretches, peeking at the room from between the blankets he’s hidden under. It’s the heir’s room, Xanxus recognizes it for the runes decorating the walls, the protective wards guarding it.
Good, Xanxus thinks, humming smugly. His energy expands, unfurling around the room, lazy and content. This is his now, his. He’s halfway sitting, the thick blanket covering his lap and deciding what he’s keeping and what he’s throwing out when Sawada’s sigh makes him look over to the desk. Sawada’s face is blank, roaming over Xanxus’s aura almost clinically, “I’m glad you’re doing better.” Xanxus prods the marital bond on instinct and finds himself blocked. “Do what you want,” Tsunayoshi nods at the shelf Xanxus was eyeing, stands up and leaves, the door clicking softly behind him.
Squalo appears by Xanxus’s side, translucent body leaning against the wooden support for the bed’s canopy. “I fucking told you to be careful.”
“Fuck off, shark,” Xanxus snarls, petting Bester’s fur and forcing himself to stand on shaky legs. “What the fuck was that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, shitty boss,” Squalo rolls his eyes, gesturing around the room. “Who doesn’t love their wife waking up in their bed and throwing ‘oh good, I got the job. Now let me throw all his shit out’ vibes right after the ceremony.”
“That’s ok,” Lussuria appears, just out of reach of Squalo and immediately diving for the closet. “You’re gorgeous, boss. You’ll pull him back.”
Except that, for all that they share rooms, Tsunayoshi is impossible to pin down. Xanxus is pretty sure that his husband is sleeping in the chair because he wakes up with the man’s energy lingering in the room but no warmth in his bed. Their bed. Their fucking marital bed. Ironically enough. How fucking Sawada does it is beyond him, Xanxus isn’t usually a light sleeper but he somehow doesn’t wake when Sawada comes or when he leaves.
“This is bullshit,” he huffs, throwing the damn herbs over the desk and dropping in the bed with frustration. How is Sawada so good at blocking him? He can’t get so much as a peep out of their bond. He’s one more concerned witch away from jinxing the asshole. If he’s offered one more ritual for lust and fertility, he’s going to blow his fucking top. He rolls over, ignoring Belphegor shimmering into existence but spitting out Bester’s fur when the liger drops on top of him.
“The prince thinks,” his storm element peers down at him in wonderment, “that the Queen’s Consort is hurt.”
Xanxus ignores the admiration in it, choosing instead to frown at the ceiling. Hurt? Why? Yes, their relationship wasn’t advanced enough for marriage but it hadn’t been bad either. And Sawada had always known that Xanxus wanted his position, that he was going to fight for it if necessary. And yet… Xanxus makes a face. Tsunayoshi doesn’t know Xanxus had not meant it to be a marriage ceremony but an adoption one.
All Tsunayoshi knows is that Xanxus crashed his inheritance ceremony, forcibly changed it into a marriage one and then woke up in Tsunayoshi’s bed feeling smugly possessive and with every intention to make the place his own. It paints their entire relationship in a rather sinister light. Shit, Xanxus winces, covering his face with one arm. Squalo isn’t going to help, not when he was against the idea from the beginning. Or he isn’t going to help yet, when Xanxus hasn’t suffered enough for his amusement.
Not that Tsunayoshi would think to doubt his stupid conclusions, not when coming from Vongola. Vongola has been pushing Sawada one way or the other from the start, throwing him aside when he wasn’t necessary and then ripping him from his coven when he was, forcing the familial bond on him like Tsunayoshi owed it. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think Xanxus had done the same, not with his pathetic self-esteem.
Fuck it, Xanxus is going to do something stupid. He’s going to do something very stupid but that’s ok. Tsunayoshi spends every night in their room and the signs will be noticeable enough for a healer of his talent. Xanxus stands up, ruffling through the herbs and picking carefully.
“Ushishishi,” Belphegor floats closer, eyeing the ingredients. “Are you going to hex him?”
“No,” Xanxus rolls his eyes. “I’m going to inconvenience myself.” A moment of silence and then, “don’t tell Squalo. Shitty shark would snitch.” It’s more of a blatant attempt of starting a conversation than any real harmful thing.
Belphegor just shrugs, amused to see suffering, no matter it’s origin.
Hours later finds Xanxus suffering through the worst fever he’s ever had. He curls up miserably under the thick blanket Tsunayoshi had given him the first night, waiting patiently. The cold hand on his forehead is almost a blessing, he’s aware that Tsunayoshi let him trap him, too. As sluggish as he is, there’s no way Tsunayoshi couldn’t escape him but it’s also true that this soft-hearted idiot would even think about denying Xanxus when he’s sick.
“What did you do?” Tsunayoshi sounds exasperated.
“Small jinx,” Xanxus sighs, pulling him closer. “Couldn’t find you.”
“So you made yourself bait,” his husband pulls back but Xanxus doesn’t let him go. “I’m trying to see what you used.”
“No,” Xanxus pulls him into the bed, curling up on his side. “I wanted an adoption ritual,” he points to where his notes should be. “I wanted,” he yawns. “Hey!” But Tsunayoshi lulls him to sleep all the same. Fucker, so this is how.
Next time he wakes up, Xanxus is trapped. Not chained by any means but unable to leave the bed. He casts a look around, takes stock of his elements all caged inside a salt circle before he finally catches Tsunayoshi staring him down, arms crossed and back pressed against the wall. “You want me to believe,” he starts, almost calm but brimming with fury. “That you fucked up blood magick?”
He’s got a point, of course. It is Xanxus’s speciality but Xanxus had been reckless and frantic, far too careless. He wets his lips, resisting the urge to squirm. It’s entirely out of place but he’s distracted. This is the first time since Tsunayoshi left that Xanxus has any sort of feedback from their bond and for all that it thrums with anger and betrayal, this is also the first time Xanxus has ever felt Tsunayoshi’s power sharpened like a blade. It’s appealing, in a way Xanxus hadn’t been expecting.
“Well?” Power surges, deadly in its intent.
Two things happen at the same time, Xanxus shivers and Squalo pales before he starts babbling, pleading explanations without order or actual pronunciation. Tsunayoshi waves his hand and Squalo falls silent, lips moving but no sound coming out. Xanxus crosses his legs, looking up at his husband from under his bangs. So Xanxus takes a risk, opening the bond on his side too and letting Tsunayoshi see.
It earns him a slow blink. “Really?” Tsunayoshi drags a hand through his hair. “Really? Arousal? Xanxus, what the fuck.”
“I like deadly,” Xanxus shrugs, smug at having somewhat derailed the conversation. “And I did, fuck up, I mean. Timoteo changed my blood, just enough to make me Vongola enough for our ancestral magick. I wanted a little more. Not enough to be your sibling or anything but enough to be eligible.”
Tsunayoshi opens his mouth, closes it and then slumps. “Xanxus, Timoteo didn’t change your blood. You’ve always been Vongola enough for that, he just recognized you as a member of his coven.” When he sees Xanxus confusion, he grumbles, covering his face with one arm before letting it drop. “You’re Vongola, just nowhere near the line of succession. His line was rejected during the rituals, our ancestors do not appreciate his actions. That’s why your brothers were rejected. And when they forced it, well…”
“They died,” Xanxus stares.
“Yeah,” Tsunayoshi nods, lips pressed thinly together. “They died.” He eyes Xanxus, the visible confusion in his face, the stirrings of grief in his aura and sighs. “You really did fuck up.”
Xanxus would protest if a wave of Tsunayoshi’s hand didn’t leave him free. Xanxus lifts one hand, beckoning his husband to him and pulling him into the bed as soon as he can manage. Tsunayoshi hums, hugging Xanxus closer, “I’m sorry. I should have asked.”
“Ah,” Xanxus snorts. “We’re even now. I did explode your ceremony.”
“I don’t know,” Tsunayoshi teases, angling his lips for a kiss, “I’ve been told it was very romantic.”
Deciding to kiss him instead of acknowledging that idiocy, Xanxus pulls him closer still, hugging his husband with both arms around his shoulders and one leg on his hip. “And yet, we haven’t had a wedding night.”
“My bad.”