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Senku hadn’t imagined himself here.
Looking back on it, the probability of shaping the stone world back to its glory was rendered impossible—but, the chances were never zero, at least not for someone of Senku’s caliber. He held onto that sliver of hope, that tiny possibility, and walked forward with his head held high; he swore he'd restore the world he once knew.
Still.. Senku found it hard to believe he actually pulled through. He’s never tasted a victory more satisfying and exhilarating in his entire existence.
“A toast,” Gen began, clinking his glass with a miniature silver spoon to grab everyone’s attention. Once everyone settled down from their chatter, focusing on the esteemed mentalist, Gen cleared his throat—eyes darting to the happy couple sitting just across from him.
“Today, we are gathered around to celebrate the union of Senku Ishigami,” he tilted his glass toward the seemingly disinterested scientist, though the soft glimmer in those ruby red irises conveyed everything words couldn’t express, “and Ryusui Nanami.” Gen then shifted the cup toward the glowing captain, smiling softly.
“Dare I say.. Most of us already saw this coming? They were practically joined at the ip-hay.” Gen teased, drinking in the laughter that erupted within the crowd. He didn’t miss the scowl directed at him from Senku, though it softened just a few seconds later as Ryusui wrapped an arm around Senku’s waist, bringing him closer.
“Is this even necessary?” Senku whispers to his husband, arms crossed over his chest. “I have work to get back to, he’s just dragging this out.”
Ryusui softly chuckled, rubbing soothing circles against Senku’s hip bone. That small action was the only thing keeping Senku’s irritation at a low level. “Don’t be so unromantic, dear. It’s our wedding day after all.”
“You knew what you were marrying into from day one. I’m not the kind of person to do all that sappy shit,” Senku fired back, finishing his sentence with a huff. Ryusui paid no mind to him, not when his scientist was tucked comfortably into his side, his small hand resting over Ryusui’s where it rested on his waist. Such an uncharacteristic display of affection. Only for Ryusui Nanami.
He was truly the richest man in the world.
“…Without them, the world we know now wouldn’t have come to be. Their shared greed, ambition, and leadership led us to believe that anything is possible. That with the power of science there is truly no hardship that can’t be achieved,” Gen monologues. Hot tears slowly took their form in his eyes, threatening to fall past his eyelashes. He quickly blinks them away, masking his emotional vulnerability under a flawlessly crafted veneer of polite indifference. “If I can add on, the work was rutal-bay, most of you are lucky to have not started off as one of the Kingdom of Science’s first hundred citizens.”
Another round of laughter erupted, a few nodding their heads in agreement. Senku only rolled his eyes, his lips curled into his infamous smirk.
Gen lifted his champagne glass high, everyone else following shortly after. “To the happy couple! May their love be eternal and their happiness endless.” Gen shouted across the venue, throwing back his glass as the crowd cheered, filling the atmosphere with unfiltered joyous applause and energy.
Ryusui downed his champagne slowly, stealing a glance at his husband. Senku looked ethereal under the sun’s unrelenting glow, its light pooling around his frame in a perfect angle that the resemblance of a halo could be imagined just above his head.
An angel.
That’s what Senku was.
Senku had descended from the heavens above and shed light upon Ryusui’s once darkened world. Ryusui had conquered empires, oceans, and even the stars themselves but none of them came close to the treasure he had the honor of holding in his arms today—and for every rising sun to come. For once, Ryusui’s faith flickered for just a brief moment.
If a God did truly exist, then that God had blessed Ryusui with a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Senku’s body stiffened momentarily as he felt Ryusui’s fingers thread through his own, lifting it towards his lips to plant a tender kiss across his knuckles. His gaze flicked towards his captain, his smirk faltering into the tiniest hint of a raw smile.
“Ha? What’s with the sudden affection, Goldilocks?”
Ryusui let out a huff that nearly passed for a laugh, keeping his fingers interlocked with Senku’s as he shifted closer—at this rate, their bodies might as well fuse together.
“You do know married couples don’t need a reason to shower their spouse with love? Especially on their wedding day.”
“Tch. Don’t get smart on me. You know well enough that PDA—to a certain degree—isn’t exactly our, well, my thing. You don’t usually breach that boundary unless there’s some irrational thought in that idiot brain of yours.”
Ryusui threw his head back, unadulterated laughter spilling out of him this time. Once he was brought back down from his high, he leaned down to nuzzle his nose against Senku’s cheek in the form of a caress. Senku didn’t flinch or reject the affectionate act, in fact, leaning into it with a soft sigh. Then, he gave their joined hands a squeeze, signaling Ryusui to pour out every thought he was just having.
“Well, if you insist,” Ryusui says. He abruptly stood up, catching the attention of a few people nearby. With a reassuring smile, Ryusui encouraged their guests to continue with the festivity.
As Ryusui hauled Senku along with him, the two standing and walking into the open space, Sai approached Ryusui. He clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Brother. You don’t plan on leaving the reception, do you?”
“Why yes I am! Is that a problem?”
Sai’s half-smile dropped into a state of restrained shock. “Huh.. I expected you to dominate the dance floor with your partner before leaving. It’s unlike you to abandon flaunting your greatest achievement and staking your claim in front of hundreds of people—millions if we count the live stream.” Sai looked over at where Minami was broadcasting the event, narrating the story behind Ryusui and Senku’s relationship with pure enthusiasm and pride.
Ryusui shook his head, smiling fondly at his brother. “I suppose that is true to an extent,” he acknowledged, looking down at Senku who was barely paying attention to the conversation. “But… A treasure like him isn’t to be flaunted as if he were an object. Senku’s more than that—a brilliant mind to admire from afar and never conquer for its beauty cannot be bound by someone’s ownership. Doing so would only limit the endless possibilities that can arise with each experience and achievement. I… of all people would understand that.”
“Heh. If you two are done spouting nonsense, Ryusui and I will be taking our leave,” Senku finally spoke up, tugging Ryusui’s hand once.
Sai looked between them, sensing something brewing quietly. He was unsure of what but these two were off to talk it out, and he wasn’t going to be the one holding them back from that. He bid them farewell and stepped aside, already scanning for the next person to hold a conversation with.
Ryusui and Senku began their walk back to their shared home, offering polite thanks to bypassing citizens who offered their congratulations. It wasn’t a long distance, though Senku wished Ryusui had Francois retrieve them. The summer weather was quite unbearable these days.
Ryusui noticed his fatigue and halted. “Want me to carry you for the rest of this trip, my treasure?” He was already kneeling a fraction to hike Senku from the legs and onto his arms. Senku’s silence was answer enough, and in an instant, he found himself carried in a bridal-style manner.
Isn’t that just fitting?
Senku’s arms slid over Ryusui’s shoulders, comfortable and relaxed. “Savor this. It won’t happen again.”
Ryusui smiled into Senku’s hair, feeling as light as a feather as he held his greatest treasure in his arms. He secured his grip, a little tighter, and continued down the path toward their house.
____
Senku toed off his dress shoes, the ache in his feet pulsating with each step he took toward the bedroom. He stopped by the doorway, glancing over his shoulder to find his husband staring directly at him just a few feet away, his face stripped of the bravado he usually carried, and replaced with the look of a man who was prepared to offer the cosmos and more.
A shaky sigh slips past his lips, his gaze falling onto the floor. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Ryusui chuckles softly, closing the gap between them, and guiding Senku inside their room. “Do I need a reason to admire my husband?”
Senku remains silent, a soft gasp escaping him as he is pushed onto the soft cushion of the mattress.
“God… I lucked out, didn't I?” Ryusui continues, climbing over Senku’s lean frame, his hands mapping out his body with the kind of greed he’s only ever known. “You are nothing short of a gem—my gem. A beautiful, irreplaceable soul,” he whispers against Senku’s skin, brushing his lips over his navel.
“Uh..?” Senku was rendered speechless, a pink flush coloring his pale cheeks.
Ryusui locked his grip on Senku’s thighs, nosing the inside with a tenderness that borderlined obscene. He hummed, satisfied. “You have no idea just how dull my life was before meeting you,” he admits — his usually boisterous, confident voice falling into a quiet whisper. Ryusui then looks up at Senku, sliding his hands onto his waist. “I was rich in money, but poor in love. My affection had nowhere to go, nowhere to settle. Not a single soul found me worthy of calling me theirs.”
Senku blinked once, twice.
What the hell?
“No one… except you,” Ryusui murmurs with an exhale, his eyes watering dangerously fast. “You… who never wavered before an enemy despite all odds against you. You, who never allowed anyone to burn out that greedy flame to revive civilization to its prime. You, who swore off all romance but had graced me with the miracle of calling you mine.” A quick tear slid down his cheek, a few more following after.
“How did I get so lucky? I am a bastard, a greedy bastard that will stop at nothing to conquer my desires. I drove away so many people with only the slightest hint of my smile, a quick snap of my fingers. Everything about me was repulsive, so repulsive that I was apparently unworthy of love altogether. So, why? Why did you choose me? What did you see in me?”
A sob tore out of his chest, Ryusui pressing his face harder against Senku’s stomach to stifle the sound. However, a pair of trembling hands prevented him from hiding, cupping his face with a gentle care, it nearly caused Ryusui to fall apart completely.
“You shouldn’t talk about him like that.” Senku chides.
“What?”
“My husband,” Senku answers, “You shouldn’t talk about him like that.”
Ryusui frowns, confused. Before he can voice out that confusion, Senku continues. “You are greedy, yes. It may overwhelm others, but it’s that kind of greed that fuels science to advance. It is the driving force behind science.” He lifts Ryusui’s face closer to his, Ryusui towering over him completely as Senku keeps him in place. “I am not those other people, I am my own person. You keep up with me, and I keep up with you. That is precisely why I chose to spend the rest of my life with you. No one else can ever, ever come close because you… You are my fuel. I’m the science that helps the world advance and you are the greed that keeps that flame alive. We can’t exist without each other.” He finishes his speech with a light kiss, brushing his lips against Ryusui’s before pressing harder.
Ryusui gasps into his mouth, caught by surprise. He doesn’t take long to match Senku’s hunger, his tears escaping freely over the heartfelt confession. He can’t help the laugh that breaks out midway into their kiss, coaxing unfiltered laughter out of Senku as well.
Ryusui leans back after a moment, sliding his hands from Senku’s waist to his wrists. “God, I love you so fucking much.” He dives back in, peppering quick, small kisses onto Senku’s lips. They trail from his lips, to his cheeks, to his neck. They’re desperate reminders of his affection, though Senku didn’t really need them. Ryusui’s eyes were enough to reassure Senku of his place in Ryusui’s heart.
Senku, on a regular day, would scold Ryusui for setting up such a sappy, vulnerable atmosphere.
But…
It is their wedding day after all.
“I love you, too,” Senku whispers, sliding his hands out of Ryusui’s hold to catch Ryusui’s body in an embrace, his entire weight falling onto him.
“S-Shit! You’re heavy! Get off, get off—”
“Haha! But I desire more of your affection. You can’t say no to me, remember?”
“Ryusui—!”