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“Shoes optional”
That was the sign that greeted Josuke, stuck in the sand next to a shoe rack, adorned in various dress shoes, including his mother’s wedges.
Funny enough, he didn’t spot a white pair of men’s shoes, knew that Rohan wouldn’t forgo his designer shoes for his wedding.
And if he wouldn’t, then neither would Josuke.
Next to the shoe rack was another display; two white baskets, the taller one bearing the sign, “Stay cool”, holding various parasols, the other little fans. Some had been taken, Josuke noted. The parasols and fans had been a good idea after all.
Although it wasn’t a particularly hot day, just warm. He looked up from the shoes and cooling items, felt the cool ocean breeze carry the heat off his suit clad shoulders. He looked ahead, saw many white chairs in the sand, the bearers all staring back at him. He suddenly felt nervous, looked away, at the white runner going between the two sides of chairs, leading up to an arch made of wooden poles, decorated in white fabric and countless flowers.
Tonio was standing at the podium, a smile on his face. Josuke remembered how odd it was to recruit him as their minister. It was he who had offered, one day at lunch, saying he was technically ordained, and could write a good speech. In the end, Josuke and Rohan both agreed that having Tonio be their minister was a far better idea than him being their caterer.
But beyond the crowd and his minister was Rohan, dressed in a white Gucci suit, his pen nib earrings dangling in the breeze. Josuke swallowed hard, his heart fluttering. This had to be perfect, not just because he remembered Rohan could be a perfectionist, but because he loved this man and wanted nothing but the best for him, including a picturesque wedding on the beach, the ocean in the background.
Taking in a deep breath, Josuke stepped forward. He walked along the runner, keeping his eyes forward, trying to focus only on Rohan and not on the guests, but his curiosity got the better of him.
Who had they invited?
Okuyasu was seated at the front, a large sea shell in his hands containing two rings stuck in sand. Having an adult man be their ring bearer was non-traditional, but a same-sex wedding in and of itself was non-traditional, they both decided, and didn’t care; Okuyasu was their friend and it only seemed right to have their close friend bring them their rings.
Koichi and Yukako were seated together. Offering them a quick glance, Josuke noticed that Koichi had parted with his shoes, Yukako, holding a parasol, hadn’t. He stifled a laugh, imagining her scoff upon reading the “Shoes optional” sign.
Jotaro was seated next to Joseph. Josuke wasn’t close to his father, even felt bad inviting him to travel at his age, but after mulling it over he decided it was only right.
His mother was seated far from Joseph, however. The condition was if Joseph was coming, he would go nowhere near Tomoko, and thus she was seated on opposite sides of him. He could see her lip quivering, saw her dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and suddenly felt the urge to cry. He blinked rapidly, remembering the conversation he had had with her leading up to this big event.
“I’m going to propose to Rohan,” he had told her one evening.
She had known they were together, supported them, but when she heard this, she didn’t know what to say at first. Then, the thought settled in, and she cried.
“My Josuke is growing up,” she wept. “He’s not a little boy anymore. He’s all grown up.”
He tried to let go of this memory for the moment, for the sake of keeping it together.
There were other guests; Mikitaka, Yuya, members of Rohan’s staff he deemed close enough to attend his wedding. So many people had come to attend this incredible moment between him and the man he loved.
But more importantly, step-by-step, he was walking closer to his soon-to-be husband, and his heart pounded harder with every step.
He was at the podium now, he and Rohan facing each other, the ocean waves in the background, the smell of the ocean in the air.
“Hi,” Josuke spoke meekly. “You look beautiful.”
Rohan’s smile widened. “So do you.”
There was a moment of silence between them, as they observed each other, dressed in white with accents of baby blue, Josuke’s signature pompadour perfect, Rohan wearing a matching headband. This was it. This was the next step in their relationship, and a big one at that. And it was just about to unfold.
Tonio cleared his throat, stepped toward the podium and adjusted the microphone.
“Welcome family, friends, and loved ones. We are gathered today to celebrate the union of Josuke and Rohan.”
Josuke grinned widely at Rohan. His heart fluttered. This was really happening. Rohan grinned back.
Tonio continued.
“We are all here to celebrate this commitment of love and to share the joy of Josuke and Rohan as they choose to spend their lives together.”
Josuke remembered how the possibility of forever became real to him when he first thought of proposing to Rohan, how it dizzied him, swept him off his feet. It did the same to Rohan, on a cliff side overlooking the ocean, having rode there on Rohan’s motorbike. Josuke on his knee, taking Rohan’s hands, asking him, “Will you marry me?” Rohan was shaken, silent, but with just a hint of tears in his eyes; it seemed he was accepting of this crazy idea as well, as he croaked out, “Yes, of course.”
“Josuke and Rohan, your marriage will be a lifelong oath to love, respect, trust, and honour each other through the good times and bad. A strong bond works in unison not only to nurture the best parts of your personalities, but to understand each other’s differences and flaws. You are committing to learn how to grow alongside one another while remembering to keep an open mind throughout your lives.”
Rohan stifled a laugh, Josuke noticed this. Getting over one another’s differences sure was tough, especially since they had a rough beginning. But the incident with Highway Star, wherein they both tried to save each other despite their pride, was the opening they both needed to learn to understand each other.
At first, Josuke wanted to only get along with Rohan for Koichi’s sake. But Rohan grew on him, and he grew on Rohan. Before they knew it, they were friends, then lovers.
Tonio continued to talk as Josuke grew lost in both Rohan’s green eyes, in his thoughts. He wasn’t sure when exactly he was in love with Rohan. He knew when he grew attracted to him; one day having coffee with him, catching a glimpse of his lips, and thinking about how kissable they were.
Perhaps he realized he was in love with Rohan after their first kiss. They were both drunk, Rohan far drunker.
“Josuke, you’re actually kinda handsome,” Rohan slurred out as Josuke attempted to walk him home.
He wasn’t sure what to say. He managed a flustered, “Me?!”
“I like you a lot,” Rohan said. “Like, a lot.”
Josuke didn’t have time to answer this, as Rohan threw himself at Josuke and kissed him hard.
His heart practically exploded. His face became an inferno. He was rooted to the spot.
“...You are creating a new home where love, trust, and loyalty are the foundation.”
The next day, nursing a hangover, Josuke found he couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss, remembered thinking he wished he could kiss Rohan more, wished he could voice these feelings to him.
So, he visited Rohan’s house, saw he was also unwell, and rather embarrassed.
They sat on his couch, talked about the previous night, and summoning all of his courage, Josuke said, “I like you too. A lot. And I want to kiss you more.”
Rohan was dumbfounded by this; he blushed hard, and this made Josuke’s heart pound.
“Well, uh...” Rohan stuttered, “like I said, I... I like you too. So uh... we could kiss more if you want.”
And so, slowly and awkwardly, they leaned towards each other, and kissed.
“...Marriage is far from easy, but from what we have all seen in the two of you, I know your relationship will last.”
Josuke nodded at Rohan. If they could get over a bitter hatred of one another, only to fall in love with each other, then Tonio was right.
“Now, Josuke and Rohan, please join hands.”
Gently, they held each other’s hands.
“Josuke Higashikata, do you take Rohan Kishibe to be your husband?”
Josuke’s smile grew wider. At first, he was afraid of fumbling his words somehow and embarrassing himself in front of his loved ones, but now the crowd seemed to have vanished. It was just him and Rohan with Tonio’s voice in the background.
“I do.”
“Rohan Kishibe, do you take Josuke Higashikata to be your husband?”
Rohan’s smile seemed to shine in the sun, his eyes sparkled.
“I do.”
They tightened each other’s grips in excitement.
From the corner of his eye, Josuke saw Tonio wave, then Okuyasu approached the couple. He noticed his expression, his smile taking up all of his face, like he was bursting with words, but knew he had to keep them to himself until after the ceremony.
“Your rings represent this oath to one another. The never-ending circle is a symbol of an infinite, unbreakable love.”
Tonio turned to Josuke.
“Josuke, take this ring and place it on Rohan’s finger.”
Josuke plucked the ring from out of the shell, a gold band with little diamonds all around it.
Josuke remembered the line he had practised so many times.
“Rohan, I give you this ring as a symbol of the eternal oath I have made to you today.”
He slid the ring up Rohan’s finger, his hand shaking the whole time.
Rohan took a moment to admire the ring on his hand before plucking Josuke’s ring from the shell.
“Josuke, I give you this ring as a symbol of the eternal oath I have made to you today.”
He placed the ring on Josuke’s finger, and Josuke found it cute that his hand also trembled.
Josuke heard a sniffle from the crowd, knew it was his mother, and suddenly his eyes welled up with tears.
Tonio spoke up.
“Having pledged your love and promise to one another today in front of your loved ones, and by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands.”
The tears poured down Josuke’s cheeks. He blinked away the fogginess in his vision and saw tears budding in Rohan’s eyes.
“You may now kiss.”
Immediately, Josuke pulled Rohan close to him by the hands, wrapped his arms around him, and kissed him. He felt Rohan melt into him, hold him by the waist, and kiss him back.
The crowd erupted into applause.
Josuke and Rohan separated. Rohan put a hand to Josuke’s cheek, thumbing away the tears.
“You’re so silly,” he chuckled.
“I love you, idiot,” Josuke croaked.
Rohan smiled wider. “I love you too.”
There would be so much to follow; they would have their photos taken, there would be so much eating and drinking, hugs from his mother and friends, a gorgeous white and blue cake, and so much more.
They had found heart shaped sparklers on the internet and were planning on lighting them when it was dark. They would dance under the stars, go home to all of their gifts, and probably be too tired to change out of their suits; they would likely collapse into bed as they were.
After their wedding, of course, there was that wonderful, unpredictable forever they had promised each other. They would have to take care of each other when they were sick, cook and clean together, do mundane things like filing taxes together, and of course they would fight and make up a lot.
Looking at Rohan trying his best to not cry, Josuke laughed. He was so grateful to call this strange, perfectionist, handsome manga artist his husband.
They leaned into each other, pressed their foreheads together, taking a moment to appreciate each other before facing the crowd.
For now, all there existed was each other, and the eternal oath they had made to each other.