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The door to the changing room bursts open and Minako strolls in, fully dressed in her wedding attire, with an enormous grin that makes the sun look like a candle in comparison. A panicked Fuuka and an agitated Yukari are right behind her, the former flailing like a fish out of water and the latter screeching about her train, for fuck's sake, Minako, you let it drag the whole way and it's going to get all dirty! Two out of the four men in the room freeze like criminals caught in the act; the third, Minato, continues his slow methodical knotting of Shinjiro's bowtie and very purposely ignores his twin. Shinjiro, the fourth (and (former) spotlight of the room), merely massages the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb and wishes he had an aspirin or five.
"I thought you were supposed to surprise each other!" Junpei interjects incredulously, completely forgetting that this is Minako Arisato and not only is her patience practically nonexistent, but she does what she wants. "And isn't that taboo in some cultures? For the groom to see the bride's dress before the wedding?"
"W-we tried to stop her..." Fuuka says apologetically.
"And we went through all of that already," Yukari interjects, rubbing her temples with an exasperated sigh. "But she didn't feel like waiting, and we didn't feel like fighting her and accidentally tearing the dress."
Her tone practically bleeds Mitsuru paid for it.
Meanwhile, the woman in question parades to the center of the room, bright eyes surveying the men's attires with hands clasped together in excitement. "Aww, you guys look so handsome! I can't believe you actually went and bought matching suits! They're adorable!"
"We were going to buy our own according to the color scheme, but Mitsuru...insisted that we match," Akihiko replies with a barely veiled shudder. "Speaking of which, the dress looks great, Minako."
"Yeah," Minato adds, finally turning around and smiling at his twin. "It's beautiful on you, sis. You can stop sucking in your stomach for us now."
"Hey!" Minako crosses her arms and pouts, but her smile quickly returns. "You never comment on a woman's weight before her wedding, you insensitive asshole."
"You did binge on the complementary eclairs that the planner brought, though," Yukari mentions pointedly.
"Ehh, no big deal. I have a fast metabolism."
Shinjiro kind of wants to die. For real this time.
"Whatever, Yuka-tan. Senpai doesn't care." Minako waltzes over to Shinjiro and wraps her arms around his neck with a small smirk. "Right, tough guy? You'll still love me if I get all roly-poly and have to ride in one of those motor scooters, won't you?"
"So long as you eat your vegetables and don't whine to me about it at night," he responds sarcastically. She laughs and stands on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips.
"You guys," Fuuka whispers.
"Hey, where's everyone else? I thought we were all going to try our stuff on together," Junpei asks.
"Mitsuru's with the planner. Aigis, Ken and Koromaru are her personal slaves for the day," Minato responds. "Ken called me. He said that something came up, so they've been running errands all morning for her."
"Oh. Jeez, that sucks ass."
"As much as trying to get Shinji into his suit?" Akihiko rubs his temples. "I thought we were going to be here for hours."
Yukari snorts. "Oh, please. It couldn't have been anywhere near as bad as being stuck with her the whole time. I don't think she's taking this seriously at all. She got bored during rehearsal and - wait, you were there, right?"
"No? What - "
"You guys!" Fuuka whispers again, this time much more urgently, and the conversers take stock of the situation and run for the exit.
"You're such a bridezilla," Shinjiro faintly hears Minato say to Yukari, very matter-of-factly, as the group scrambles out of the room. "And it's not even your wedding. We're never getting married."
"Oh, go to hell - " The door clicks shut, cutting off the rest of her scathing response -
And they're alone.
"I don't know why you want to marry a dead man," he says for the umpteenth time as she adjusts his bowtie (because, God, Minato can't properly do a bowtie to save his life and Akihiko and Junpei can't do it at all, so they're not much better). She rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically, putting her hands on his shoulders.
"You're starting this up again already? How many times have we argued about this, now?"
"I just want to remind you of what you're getting into while you can still change your mind." While you can still go back, and find somebody who won't hurt you as badly as I will. She sighs again, and gives him a dirty look.
"I'm not going to change my mind," she says stubbornly. One of her hands moves down to intertwine with his own as she steps backwards, and they begin spinning in slow circles around the changing room. "I know exactly what I'm getting into. But I don't care. I want to be with you, Shinjiro."
Shinjiro looks away, and spots them pass by in the mirror at the far corner of the room. They look like any other (almost) newlywed couple on the planet, and it's strange - it's strange because it reminds him of the self-indulgent dreams he used to have, the ones that left him waking up in a cold sweat and trying to forget about them because of how wrong he felt - knew they were. The ones that he thought would always remain dreams.
Absently, he says, "We've been through a lot, haven't we?"
"Through hell and back. But it was worth it, for this moment."
(He thinks of hospitals. He thinks of the antiseptic smell and white tiles and hospital beds and tiny pale bodies in papery green gowns, and seemingly endless comas and the steady beep of the heart monitor of a teenaged girl he sat by day in and day out as he prayed to whatever gods were listening for her to wake up, wake up, wake up.)
"I don't want to hurt you," he finally relents, looking back at her. They've stopped now, in the center of the room. "I already did once. I don't want you to cry again because of me. You deserve better."
(It was easy to take for granted, when it was the other way around.)
Minako gently touches his cheek. She's still smiling, but her eyes are sad.
"It's okay. I'm scared, too."
"Now that's hard to believe," he drawls, and she puffs her cheeks out before her lips curve into a grin, more radiant than ever.
"We'll be fine. I love you, Shinjiro." She presses her lips against his and smudges her lipstick all over, and they kiss again and again and again and it's everything he's ever dreamed of and more,
"I love you too, Minako," he murmurs against her mouth.
(Except this is real, and he has no regrets.)