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Running the back of a gloved hand over his brow, Akihiko shucks the sweat that has begun to gather there. The mechanical voice that’s been ushering everyone forward in the shadow-filled labyrinth prattles away above them all as monotonically as ever, though he himself can’t quite hear what it’s saying from his position at the edge of the crowd. Something about the last question Minato has to answer for this particular maze, he assumes. For a split second, he thinks he hears something about beef bowls, though that can’t be it.
Akihiko shuffles his feet, his dress shoes clacking against the solid floor as he takes in a deep breath to curb his impatience.
That turns out to be somewhat of a mistake, though.
The air in this “Group Date” maze is impossibly thick, clinging to his nose and sticking to his skin in a rather unpleasant manner. The first five minutes of having to force it down his lungs wasn’t so bad, but now the vaguely flowery-fruity scent is starting to give him a headache. It doesn’t help that the whole area seems to be covered in a layer of pink and glitter, as though trying desperately to invoke a feeling of “love” and “romance”.
(Privately, Akihiko thinks that glitter is the furthest thing from romantic. What’s so great about having it cling to your clothes? Once it’s there, you can never get it off.
Ever.)
Ignoring the increasing restlessness of the crowd (and the elbow to the gut he unfortunately received during all of the shuffling), he considers the pair of statuettes looming in front of them all; two teddy-bear-esque shapes trussed up in angel wings and something suspiciously like wedding garb. Alarm bells quietly ring in the back of Akihiko’s mind, but before he can even register why, the insipid mechanical choice croons above them all again.
“You have summoned your will and selected an answer,” it says, the syllables of the words grating over themselves. “This concludes your questioning. There are no correct answers, only the path you have chosen.”
…That definitely wasn’t ominous in the slightest.
“Well then…,” it continues. “The time has come to announce your destined partner.”
Akihiko sighs with some sort of relief, glad that the whole group date thing is almost over. He can’t help but wonder what the point of all of this was, though. There’s things to be doing and shadows to be beating. Not to mention that he’s already got a boyfriend, and this is just a whole waste of time.
The relief is short-lived, though.
All of the lights suddenly switch off, plunging the entire room into darkness. There are a couple of gasps and grumbles of dissent from the crowd; a sense of bated breath in the air. Akihiko himself brings his fists up, widening his stance into something more ready for a fight just in case.
A drumroll starts up from seemingly nowhere; no snare in sight. It echoes, ratcheting up the tension in the room as the volume gets higher and higher, right before spotlights begin to shine down on everyone. They swoop and swing in nonsensical patterns, bright enough to burn retinas and exacerbate flowery-fog-induced headaches. Akihiko throws up a hand in a meager attempt to block the light piercing his eyes, squinting.
It seems as though one of the spotlights made the mistake of landing on him.
“What’s this spotlight about?” he murmurs to himself. He hears the fabric of Shinji’s coat swish next to him as he shrugs with a grunt.
Minato spins around to face him from his position onstage, another yellow spotlight glaring harshly from where it had stopped on him as well. He opens his mouth as if to say something, and their eyes meet; Minato’s wide with something like panic, and Akihiko’s wider.
An ominous clunking noise echoes in the room alongside the cheers and murmurs from the crowd, right before the floor starts to shake. Akihiko’s eyes flick down to the checkered tiles in question, darting back up in time to see Minato jolt towards him, hand stretched out.
Before he can get in range, though, the floor opens up – some sort of trapdoor mechanism– and they both sink down, down, down.
Wind whistles past their ears as they fall, razing through their hair like fingers. Minato shimmies mid-air in a move not unlike a swimming stroke to reach him. He grips one of Akihiko’s wrists with a clammy palm, pulling him closer, cradling Akihiko’s head to his chest moments before they crash down onto earth. They land in a bundle of limbs, Akihiko awkwardly pressed to Minato while Minato sits partially in his lap.
“Ngh,” Akihiko grunts, taking a moment to recover from the fall. He peels himself away from Minato, a hand moving to rub at his backside, glaring upwards from whence they came. “Rude.”
Minato lets him go with an exhale of a laugh, moving his hand from the base of Akihiko’s skull to rest on his shoulder instead. His eyes dance with a hint of amusement, but the worry is clear on the lines of his face.
“I’m alright,” Akihiko answers before Minato even has the chance to ask. “You?”
“Peachy,” Minato replies. His eyes flick down, the amusement now visible in the twitch of his lips. “Lucky landing,” he says, squeezing the hand he has in his grip.
“I wouldn’t say lucky,” Akihiko replies automatically without supplying much thought into his answer beforehand. “Your butt’s bony.”
Then his eyes widen for a second, a jolt of panic striking through his chest once he registers his words. He didn’t–
Thankfully, Minato didn’t seem to take any offense, if the minute shaking of his shoulders says anything. “Thought you liked my butt,” he teases.
Akihiko bristles, cheeks warming slightly at the accusation. “That’s because it’s attached to the rest of you!”
Minato truly does laugh now, a small puff of warm air. It tickles Akihiko’s cheek. “At least you don’t just want me for my body.”
Akihiko huffs at the insinuation, steadying Minato as he slides off of him and moves to stand up. “I want you for a lot of things.”
Minato blinks owlishly, looking up from where he’d been adjusting his headphones and dusting himself off. He still hasn’t let go of Akihiko’s hand.
“I mean!” Akihiko yelps. They’ve been together for quite a while, but it still feels awkward to admit his fondness out loud, especially directly to Minato’s face. “I, uh–”
Before Akihiko can think of what to say to remedy his poor choice of words, the mechanical voice from before sounds from above.
“It seems you have reached your destination,” it intones.
“That voice again…” Akihiko murmurs, effectively distracted by his blunder. He spins around slowly on his feet, trying to follow the noise to a source, but to no avail. Minato remains stationary, staring at the ground as he listens intently.
“This seems to be a path where lovers who meet their destined partners discuss their love for one another,” the voice narrates, staticky and garbled. “What could be waiting up ahead? You are free to step forth hand in hand, curiosity and fear in your hearts, or you can refrain.”
“Ugh,'' Akihiko grunts, feeling annoyed by the forcibly-imposed sidetracking. “All this stuff about destined partners and lovers… I thought we were focusing on finding a way out of these labyrinths.”
He looks over at Minato, who shrugs.
“Well, fine,” Akihiko continues. “At least he’s giving us the choice whether or not to move forward.” With a determined flourish to his voice, he stands up straighter. “Let’s remain calm and decide what to–”
“You are free to step forth, or refrain from doing so. These are your apparent options,” the mechanical voice interrupts. “Now, step forth.”
Akihiko points out with a grumble that that isn’t much of a choice. He hears Minato hum in agreement next to him, but their complaints fall on deaf, non-existent ears.
A moment of silence passes, and Akihiko sighs again. “Well then… I guess we’ll have to go forward.”
“It could be a trap,” Minato muses. He looks up at Akihiko with a questioning tint to his gaze.
“It very well could be,” Akihiko agrees. He looks up at Minato, meeting his expression with a searching one of his own.
The two of them stare at each other in silence for a moment, before Akihiko asks, “...Are we going to wait until everyone else shows up, then?”
He privately hopes that won’t be the case; this place is giving him the creeps and sitting and waiting has never been his strong suit. He’s self aware enough to admit at least that.
But Minato just smirks in response, the smallest possible upward twitch to his lips, and Akihiko shakes his head with a laugh after a moment.
“Right. Somehow I forgot who I was talking to,” he says. He feels a grin stretch over his face, a matching smile dawning over Minato’s.
“All right,” Akihiko all but yells, “Are you ready? Don’t let your guard down!”
With that, he steps forwards, jerking Minato along with him due to their conjoined hands.
“You can–” Akihiko coughs into his gloved fist. “You can let go of my hand now, you know.”
“Can’t,” Minato replies, face serene.
“Wh–”
“We’re glued together.”
Akihiko actually takes the time to investigate. He had just assumed that Minato had tangled their hands together as he often does, but it’s clear that that’s not the case; when Minato forces his own fingers apart mid-air, he can see that they’d both been glued together by the meat of their palms.
“Oh,” Akihiko says in an exhale of air.
“Maybe…” Minato hums, hand on his chin. “Take off your glove.”
After a moment of shuffling, he does. Minato wiggles his now free-fingers, though the limp glove is still glued to his palm. He looks up at Akihiko with a flicker of a smile as he reaches to tangle their hands together again, this time on purpose. His smile is softer than the one before, and Akihiko feels himself returning it almost automatically, face a little warm.
He’s helpless to it. Minato has such a sweet smile.
“Suddenly, all in attendance hear an announcement.”
Way to ruin a moment, Akihiko frustratedly thinks. A pique of annoyance begins to gather in his gut. “What is it this time?” he groans.
“Up ahead, they see a bride and groom’s joyous commemorative photograph of love,” the voice prattles in something eerily similar to a reply.
Oh boy.
“They confer between them whether to look at it, or ignore it.”
Akihiko is genuinely considering doing the latter, but he knows it’s best to probably play along with the voice for now. They know too little about the situation they’ve landed themselves in to start going off-book.
“We probably don’t get a choice anyway,” Akihiko mutters darkly, voicing his additional thoughts, lips twisting into a frown.
Minato huffs out a laugh and it’s almost enough to get Akihiko laughing too, if not for how much the eerie atmosphere of the place was grating on his nerves. “Anyway. I don’t know what it is,” he says, “but let’s hurry up and look at it so we can be on our way.”
With that, they finally begin walking, shuffling towards what looks to be a painting on some sort of an easel. Eventually they get near enough to register the contents, which in actuality is a giant print of a photo. They take a moment to look, both of them standing in near silence.
Minato immediately bursts into wild, unrestrained laughter, letting go of Akihiko’s hand to clutch at his sides. Akihiko is momentarily ensnared by the rare and delightful sound before he peels his eyes away and finally gets a good look at the source of his boyfriend’s giggles.
It’s a giant picture of Minato and Akihiko, the former cradled in the latter’s arms in a bridal carry. Well, more accurately, it’s their faces plastered on some sort of wedding stock photo through the magic of a piss-poor editing job, complete with the wedding garb; Minato with a flowy white dress and Akihiko with a matching white suit. Their free hands join together to form a heart, and underneath it all, a tacky pink font reads Happy Wedding!
“What…” Akihiko feels his face scrunch up in curiosity more than shame. “What is this?” He turns to look over at Minato, who has bent over in laughter, hands on his knees. “Is this supposed to be a wedding…?”
Akihiko steps a little closer to get a better look, coincidentally getting closer to Minato in the process. “Marriage, huh…” He considers the idea delicately, turning it around in his mind to observe it from all sides.
He won’t lie to himself and refuse to admit that he hasn’t thought of the idea once or twice, in the few chance opportunities he’s had to even entertain thoughts of that variety. Living in the orphanage, taking care of Miki, and later, all the stuff with S.E.E.S… Akihiko hasn’t had very many chances to think of the future when so much of the present relentlessly demanded his time and effort. Now, standing in front of the commemorative photo, though…
The idea of someone promising to be there for him, to stand by his side, in sickness and in health, essentially forever…
Akihiko bites at his bottom lip, heat flooding his face as his heart rate speeds up. That sounds…
That sounds really nice.
Akihiko shakes himself, as if physically casting the thoughts away. He covers his face with a hand as though embarrassed. He’s really starting to overthink it now, isn’t he? No matter how lovely it sounds–
Minato’s voice derails him. He seems to have finally collected himself.
“I don’t think so,” he says, surprisingly firm.
Akihiko spins around to look at Minato, now embarrassed at his own reaction to the mere idea, and sees that the other boy hasn’t even turned around to look at him in return. He feels strangely indignant at the fact, almost bereft at Minato’s non-existent reaction. What Minato said, the way he said it-- Akihiko's sort of ashamed to admit it, but he's a little hurt. Is Minato that opposed to being married to him?
It’s that weird, unruly mix of emotions that makes him blurt, “Are you saying that there’s something wrong with me?”
Minato’s head snaps to look at him, visible eye widened in shock. After a moment, Akihiko mirrors him, surprised at his own outburst as well. The indignance melts away from him, leaving behind only embarrassment at how easily he jumped to conclusions, and to the defensive.
Minato blinks at him, still not moving to say anything. His eye dances around Akihiko’s face as though trying to extract the meaning behind his words, as though trying to read between the lines.
“W-well,” Akihiko feels strangely vulnerable at Minato’s gaze. A hand makes its way to the back of his head, rubbing at his nape as he turns away; he hates how exposed he feels now. He hates the red he just knows is dusting his cheeks.
He desperately attempts to barrel forwards, brushing past with a throwaway platitude. He doesn’t know what Minato’s thinking, after all. “You have a point… I doubt I’m fit to get married at all.” He winces internally at how… upset the words made him sound. He tries again with a more stable excuse, something he deems as less... unintentionally manipulative. “There might come a day I wish for an ordinary life… but that day won’t come anytime soon,” he settles with.
It’s a sad thought, but it’s a realistic one nonetheless. They still have to get out of this labyrinth, and once they get out of here, they still have to deal with scaling Tartarus and all of the things that entails.
The truth didn’t sound any better out loud, though. Akihiko desperately wracks his brain for a way to recover the conversation, but his thoughts turn up distressingly blank.
Throughout all of this, Minato still says nothing. He does shuffle over, though, face still troublingly calm. Akihiko’s got no read on what he’s thinking, and it's making him a little embarrassed at how easily this whole marriage thing got to him. He feels the compulsion to deflect, to deny, deny, deny, though he technically hadn’t explicitly admitted to anything.
Minato’s inching closer and closer, face now alight with something like realization, and Akihiko panics in their shared silence, the only real noise being the gaudy loop of wedding music and the sound of their own breaths.
Well, shuddering gasps of air, more in Akihiko’s case.
Minato finally decides to put him out of his misery and speaks. “I didn’t–” he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I said that wrong.”
“You’re not unfit,” he says, voice soft. “Nothing’s wrong with you.”
“I get if… you don’t want to. I just–” Minato squeezes Akihiko’s palm, then rubs his thumb over the knuckles of his hand in a gentle caress. “I should have said ‘not now’ or ‘not yet.’”
Minato looks up at him through his lashes, face firm, but gentle with his conviction. A splash of pink feathers across the bridge of his nose, gathering faintly on his cheeks. Despite it, he still looks determined as he turns over Akihiko’s palm and re-threads their fingers together.
“Not ‘never’,” he reaffirms.
Akihiko’s breath hitches.
Minato’s face is open and honest; not something Akihiko’s gotten used to yet. Minato himself is still getting used to it, to his newfound attempts at transparency.
And now it’s Minato’s turn to rub at his neck in embarrassment, nose scrunching with a cute little twist. “Marriage. It sounds nice.”
Akihiko’s hand twitches in his boyfriend’s hold. The words won’t come to him.
“Sorry…” Minato squeezes his hand once before letting go, the rare display of vulnerability apparently getting to him. He scratches at his cheek as he quickly moves along. “... If you’re uncomfortable,” he continues, “I didn’t–”
Akihiko darts forwards to grab Minato’s hand, crushing the knuckles together. “I’m comfortable,” he blurts. “I am very comfortable. I am the most comfortable anyone’s ever been.”
Minato muffles a laugh in his shoulder, eye squinting with his smile.
“I just…” Akihiko recovers from his outburst, feeling an interesting mix of mortification and utter content. “I…”
Minato looks at him so damn warmly, waiting for him to gather his words. The burst of affection Akihiko feels for him is just…
…Indescribable.
“I–” he starts.
“You are free to step forth, or refrain from doing so.”
“--I really, really hate that voice,” Akihiko continues through the interruption, teeth grit in a butchered parody of a pleasant smile.
Minato laughs, gentler this time, and the sound is just as enchanting as the first time Akihiko heard it. Soft, breathy. Chiming through the air like tinkling bells.
Akihiko shakes his head, grumbling under his breath. He tries to continue, still not quite sure how to phrase his words, when something interrupts him again. This time, though, it’s internal. His throat suddenly feels tight, voice thickening in a clump.
Minato slips his hand further down in Akihiko’s now-loosened grip, tangling their fingers together and squeezing them gently. His face is a charming shade of light pink.
“I know,” Minato says. “It’s okay.”
“I really–” Akihiko starts, again. I really love you, he wants to say.
Minato thumbs over the knuckles of Akihiko’s hand again, laughter sweet on his breath. “Yeah.”
I really love you, too.
Static cuts through the air. “Now, step forward,” the voice above says.
“I am going to throttle that machine,” Akihiko grumbles.
Minato steps forwards, pulling Akihiko along with him. “I’ll watch,” he says, as the distance between the commemorative photo increases.
After a moment of walking in comfortable silence, Akihiko finds himself saying, “You have to admit, though. That photo was pretty absurd.”
Minato hums his agreement.
“The photoshop job was horrible.”
A huff of laughter.
“Really, really bad.”
“I liked it,” Minato hums.
Akihiko side-eyes him.
“I need a copy,” Minato tugs at his school uniform blazer, playfully avoiding Akihiko’s gaze. “For my wall.”
Akihiko aggressively shakes the hand he’s holding. Minato is undisturbed by this.
“I need it edited, too…” he continues. He leans over and tugs Akihiko down gently by their joined hands, voice almost nothing more than a whisper in Akihiko’s ear.
“You’d look cuter in the dress.”
Akihiko sputters, flush overtaking his face as he jolts away. Minato lets him move freely, smiling innocently.
“Especially if your cheeks get all red like that,” Minato almost sing-songs.
“You–” Akihiko swipes for him.
Minato dodges, letting go of Akihiko’s hand to run forwards. Akihiko chases after him, the both of them running under the heart-shaped arches ahead.
Akihiko feels laughter bubbling up from his chest as he darts forwards, warming him from the inside out.
He…
He really loves Minato.
From there it dissolves into a butchered game of something like tag, where Akihiko darts after his boyfriend in a playful attempt to catch him. They run for an appropriate amount of time, before Minato suddenly stops and Akihiko stiltedly bumps into him. Akihiko grips him by the shoulders to steady him, laughing breathlessly as he does.
“Guess all of that running in Tartarus paid off,” Akihiko says, while catching his breath. He squeezes Minato’s shoulders quickly before he steps away and lets go, taking in the area where they ended up in.
It seems like they’ve found themselves in front of two white, heavy-looking doors; the entrance to a church-like building, of all things. Akihiko supposes it’s on brand, considering how hard the maze is pushing the marriage theme. He can’t help but wonder about the logistics, though.
“How did they manage to cram a whole church inside here?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t question it,” Minato says, despite sounding just as baffled as Akihiko feels.
And of course, right on cue, the robotic voice speaks again. “The long-awaited moment has come. The bride and groom are finally about to enter,” it says.
“More of this bride and groom stuff, ” Akihiko mumbles under his breath. He shoots a glance over at Minato. “They’re really pushing this, huh?”
“The last moment of hesitation has arrived before you are to be wed.”
The look Minato gives Akihiko at the robotic voice’s exclamation is nothing short of both exasperated and amused. “I think we have to go in, if we want to leave,” he says.
Akihiko sighs. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
They open the doors together, hands settling over the carved designs and pushing them open by shifting their body weights.
The wood creaks ominously, doors parting to reveal nothing other than a fully decked-out wedding reception. A sapphire blue carpet adorns the walkway, cutting an aisle between the oak pews. Flower petals rain down like confetti, scattering across the edges of the venue, and tinting the air with a sweet scent. Lush curtains cover beautiful stained glass windows, which bathe the room in jeweled light as the artificial sun from outside shines through them.
It’s truly beautiful. Akihiko is struck by how… official it looks; speechless for just a moment.
The speechlessness doesn’t last long, though. He opens his mouth to speak, realizing that his lack of words might be revealing too much. “They…” he starts, unsure of what to say but determined to come out of the situation with a scrap of dignity, “They really pulled out all of the stops for this, huh?”
Minato doesn’t seem to care much about Akihiko’s dignity, though, if the way he shuffles behind his boyfriend means anything.
“What’re you…” Akihiko twists around to look at him, eyes widening as Minato reaches for him. He swings his arms around Minato’s neck to balance himself as he is suddenly lifted from the ground into his arms in a bridal carry, of all things. “Are you under a confusion spell?” He squawks, red flooding to his cheeks. “What are you doing!?”
“Me?” The grin Minato gives him in return is catlike, before he paints on an expression of exaggerated innocence. “I’m carrying my husband through the threshold.”
Akihiko blinks at him, speechless, while he is carried down the blue carpet. His cheeks feel warm enough to cook pancakes on.
It’s just– Minato said it so nonchalantly, with little to no emotion in his voice, but the truth is… he’s nearly brimming with it. The little things give him away; the tongue poking at his teeth as he smiles cheekily, the mirth hiding behind the flushed apples of his cheeks, the absolute joy that seeps from the softness of his gaze… it’s those little things that make Akihiko continue to freefall into love. It’s those little things that make him flush, that make him feel real, like he’s something tangible and something alive–
“Too much?” Minato’s expression turns vaguely sheepish, Akihiko’s silence apparently causing him to double-think his actions. He falters in his next step, as if worried that he pushed too far too soon, and turns to look at Akihiko with a soft and understanding expression.
“Sorry. I can–”
“Now, enter the reception together!”
Minato jumps at the sound of the stupid mechanical voice, unintentionally squeezing Akihiko and tucking him even closer to his chest. The sound of it snaps Akihiko out of his shocked and dazed silence.
“No, it’s alright!” He presses a palm over Minato’s chest without thinking, in an attempt to reassure him. “Really, it’s…” he continues, suddenly much quieter than before. He leans in to brush his forehead against Minato’s, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “It’s nice.”
“Mmm.” Minato nudges his nose against Akihiko’s, looking at him from under his lashes. “Yeah.” He’s smiling again, eyes like crescents, and Akihiko seriously will never get used to being on the receiving end of those looks, no matter how many times it happens.
“You must vow your unwavering love for each other in sickness and in health. Now, vow your love!” The mechanical voice above them croons again, but the two of them are determined to not let it ruin the moment. Akihiko himself barely even registered the demand, enraptured by the soft look on his boyfriend’s face. He wouldn’t have cared about it at all, if not for Minato laughing and following the voice’s prompting.
“Not yet,” Minato says. He says it, and it sounds like a reassurance, like a goal, like a promise.
“But not never,” Akihiko finishes. It sounds like a confirmation, like something to look forward to, like the future.
Looking at Minato then, at the brightness of his face, the adoration pouring from his very being– it makes something warm unfurl in Akihiko’s chest, something soft like little bubbles of sweet carbonated soda. It fills him up with excitement, with pure joy, and it’s what spurs him into grabbing Minato’s tie and tugging him into a kiss.
Minato jumps again with surprise at the feeling of Akihiko’s soft lips pressed against his, eyes widening before fluttering shut with a sigh. A sigh that sounds like weight has finally been taken off of his shoulders for the first time in his life.
He laughs, giggles, really; nothing but pure exhilaration in the sound, lips stretching into a smile that ruins the kiss in the best way possible. He breaks it for less than a second, and presses close again right away, like he can’t stand to be apart.
This time their lips slot together properly.
Akihiko slides a gloved hand up the graceful line of Minato’s neck as their breaths mingle together, feeling a pulse fluttering right under the thin layer of skin. He traces it to the junction of Minato’s jaw; to his cheek, which he cups without any correspondence from his brain. His thumb strokes over the curve of it, painting warmth there in delicate strokes.
The kiss is soft. Chaste. Gentle.
So gentle it aches.
Minato nips at Akihiko’s bottom lip, soothing over the sting with his tongue; asking for Akihiko to open his mouth, asking for permission.
Akihiko gives it to him.
Minato’s tongue is thick, wet. Slides in, fills Akihiko’s mouth perfectly, licks into it like it's lined with sugar.
Akihiko sucks in a breath, hand sliding to Minato’s hair and tugging on it like he needs to hold onto something. His eyes slip open the barest amount, unseeing and unable to focus; as dysfunctional as his lungs have already become.
The kiss suddenly breaks with a quiet noise, a wet click in the air.
Minato huffs a laugh again, and really, this is the most Akihiko’s ever heard the noise in a single day. Minato looks at his boyfriend, eyes pooling with pure warmth; mouth wet and pinkish-red, soft like the petal of a rose.
“Wow,” Minato murmurs, and his face twists into an expression that would look near-tears, if it weren’t for the smile that ruins it, the smile that makes dimples poke out from the softness of his cheeks.
Akihiko inexplicably feels close to tears himself. He doesn’t know why– he’s not upset. Not because of Minato. Never because of Minato.
Minato, who traces Akihiko’s nose with his. Minato, who nips at the lobe of Akihiko's ear. Minato, who presses kisses to his cheeks, to his eyelids, to the button of his nose, to the parted softness of his lips– pressing love there, smoothing it down over his skin like a warm blanket, murmuring I love you, I love you, I love you like it’s a precious little secret just between the two of them.
A secret Akihiko echoes right back at him when he seals their lips together and steals Minato’s breath away just one more time.
It only ends because of the mechanical voice once again, because of course it does.
“Congratulations,” it buzzes, lifeless and cold, “--to the happy couple. Enjoy the venue as you please.”
Minato cackles evilly, head thrown back, while Akihiko mumbles threats under the smile he tries to force down. “That machine’s days are numbered,” he promises. “I don’t care, I will beat up that thing before we get out of here.”
Minato shakes his head with a smile, but he doesn’t disagree. He just continues forward with Akihiko in his arms, heading towards the end of the walkway.
As though it was an afterthought, he asks, “Do you want me to put you down?”
“No,” Akihiko immediately says.
Minato grins at him. “No?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Akihiko presses a palm to Minato’s chest in a fond facsimile of a shove. “I just want to see how long you can hold me for. You're strong.”
“Hm, alright.” Minato shifts Akihiko in his arms a bit, letting out a puff of air.
Moments later, Minato’s eyes light up at something he sees up ahead.
“Is that… wedding cake?”
Yukari darts across the flower field as fast as her legs can carry her, bow bouncing on her hip. She sprints in the direction of a huge building covered in spires, ducking underneath arches that stick from the ground that are, inexplicably, in the shape of hearts. In her ear, Fuuka desperately shoots out some directions.
“I’m getting some faint readings right past those doors, Yukari! Be careful!”
Everyone has been working overtime to find Minato and Akihiko’s locations ever since they disappeared through the trapdoors in the Group Date labyrinth. In the terrifying and confusing moments that had followed their immediate disappearance, everyone had agreed to split up and cover as much ground as possible.
With not a moment to lose, Yukari slides through a small door on the side of the building. She hastily makes her way through the hallways, past the additional doors, finally bursting her way into a large auditorium space.
For a split second she thinks the room’s empty, and lifts a hand to turn on the comm and let Fuuka know it was a false alarm, that the readings were off, but then she hears someone laugh.
She immediately darts to the shadows and pulls out her evoker.
“Aren’t you full? This is your third slice,” someone says. It sounds like Sanada-senpai, but she’s never heard him sound so…
… fond.
“Don’t care,” someone else says, voice also familiar. “It’s good.”
Yukari turns the corner and sees, of all baffling things, Minato holding Akihiko in his arms in something like a bridal carry.
Akihiko himself is holding a plate with a half-eaten slice of cake on it. Yukari can only see Minato’s face from her position tucked away in the corner, but he looks positively enamoured.
The way Akihiko sighs affectionately, but with a twinge of fond exasperation, tells her that if she could see his face too, it would mirror Minato’s with a similar expression.
Yukari coughs into her fist.
Akihiko jumps a little at the noise Yukari made, but Minato seems to be as unflappable as ever.
“Oh,” he says, as if just acknowledging the other presence in the room. He looks up and nods at Yukari. “Hi,” he offers, utterly unaffected.
“...What are you two doing?” Yukari has the nerve to ask. The curiosity outweighs any reservations of the fear of getting too much information, despite knowing that sometimes it’s better to just not ask questions with these two. Especially Minato.
Akihiko lifts up the fork, feeding some of the cake to Minato, who immediately opens his mouth. “Taking note of Minato’s physical endurance,” he says.
Minato chews, then swallows. “There’s cake. Vanilla.” He flicks his chin over to the table next to them, which, what do ya know. There’s an entire wedding cake prime for eating just sitting there.
“Want some?” he asks.
“You know what?” Yukari slides her evoker back in the holster, inching closer to the table. “Fine. But you guys are explaining this to the others, not me.”
Yukari cuts herself a generous slice from the top layer of the cake, lips twitching with a smile when she sees the miniature figurines of Minato and Akihiko dressed in wedding suits, holding hands.
She lifts a forkful of cake to her lips, chews, swallows. It’s vanilla, like Minato said; likely french. The frosting is rich and creamy, but not too sweet. It really is delicious.
She wonders if Minato and Akihiko will have a cake like this at their real wedding.
Minato flicks his chin at her mid-chew. “Good, right?”
Yukari laughs. “Very.”
Akihiko hums in agreement before addressing Minato. “There’s some frosting on your face,” he says.
“Oh.” Minato blinks owlishly. “Where?”
“Let me help.” Akihiko leans in close to him, hand outstretched.
Rather than let him get rid of the smudge of frosting on his cheek, Minato darts forwards to kiss him unapologetically.
“Ugh,” Yukari says with a smile, swiping the frosting off of her own mouth. “Guys, listen, I’m happy for you and all, but I’d like it if you didn’t try to consummate your marriage right in front of me.”
Akihiko tears himself away from the kiss, sputtering and turning red, while Minato stares at him fondly.
Yukari can’t help but laugh at their antics. She reaches up to her earpiece with one hand, cake held securely in the other.
“Fuuka?” She starts. “Yeah, I found them, they’re okay. Listen, there’s a whole wedding going on down here–- yeah, I know, it’s completely random, but listen–- tell the others to come down over here, okay? These two are adorable, and the cake’s seriously delicious.”