All little boys dream of their perfect wedding day - decked out in a dashing suit, hair perfectly coiffed, and perhaps, even a little teary-eyed in anticipation of getting married to their beloved.
So yes, Taiga had always imagined his wedding day differently. For one, he had not thought he’d start the morning tethering on the edge of a windowsill, debating his odds of surviving a fall of two floors. Surely, it wasn’t that high - humans had lived through worse. And he was desperate and foolish and feeling just the tiniest bit disposed to martyrdom. That would show his mother, for waking up one day and deciding it was time for her beautiful innocent baby boy to get hitched off to his betrothed… an arrangement that had been decided at birth, apparently.
“Oh Taiga, everyone knows about it. Your father, your aunts, your uncles, your fiance… Everyone’s expecting this marriage to happen,” she lamented, a handkerchief wiping at the dryness of her eyes.
“Except me,” he shouted, still wondering if this was a hidden prank show, still waiting for a host to pop out and scream “you’ve been PUNK’D!”
“Please Taiga, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Oh, is this hard for you, mother? Is it?” His voice got embarrassingly pitchy, but he couldn't care less. If there was one thing Taiga upheld above all else, it was the right to make his own mistakes. The right to fuck up his own life. Not giving others the honour of doing it for him.
One thing was for certain. He would not go down without a fight.
-
He went down without a fight. She was his mother after all, surely she had his best interests at heart… and a part of him still believed that this was simply an elaborate arranged marriage prank and who was he to deprive his audience of entertainment? Maybe he could make royalties off his appearance. Then he wouldn’t need to beg the university for one more chance at making it through his biology degree. No, they’d beg for him to attend, the rich, the handsome, the famous Kyomoto Taiga.
“Stand still son, you’re awfully twitchy,” the old man huffed, wrapping his measuring tape expertly around Taiga’s limbs and noting down measurements with just as much efficiency.
Taiga rolled his eyes, but stilled, eyeing himself in the mirror with appreciation. A little bend of the left leg to show off his assets. His audience needed to see his best angles after all.
“Taiga, for the hundredth time, you are not in a prank show,” his mother groaned from her perch, newspaper in one hand, an earl grey tea in another. “You can drop the act.”
“Mother, what is the world but a massive prank show? From which we play our parts from cradle to grave.”
“Theatre would have suited you better.”
“Yes, it would have, but you refused to pay for my tuition if I went into anything but a science, remember? Except political science, of course, it’s too, well, political, for you,” he shot back, arms waving in exasperation. Another huff from the old man.
“Your husband-to-be studied physics, dear, I wanted you to be on the same intellectual wavelength. You should be thanking me.”
The world stopped for an instant. Taiga took a deep breath.
“YOU HAVE BEEN PREPARING ME MY ENTIRE LIFE FOR THIS? WAS EVERYTHING A LIE?”
The tailor gave up and retreated. He’d make do with what he had. Just like, he supposed, his lord would have to make do with this specimen he was to soon marry.
-
“So, am I going to get to meet him?” Taiga asked, eyes wide as he took in his future home. Though “home” was doing the palace he found himself in a disservice. He had seen pictures of a French castle once, the interior all gilded and burgundy, and ivory and lush. This was almost halfway there. Maybe he could get used to this. This home was big enough that he could live out his days a hundred feet away from his husband. Then his husband would one day die of mysterious unforeseen circumstances and Taiga, the mourning widower, would inherit generations of wealth and the family dog.
“Oh mother!” He clutched her arms, “you do have my best interests at heart, after all!”
“Now, now,” she entangled herself, “go follow that maid over there. The ceremony will be an intimate affair, held in the ballroom here.”
Taiga nodded, still a little emotional over his mother’s deep-rooted affection for her only son, “When is it?”
“This afternoon.”
“You’re joking, we gave the tailor my measurements an hour ago.”
“The family wanted to expedite the process.”
Taiga nodded in understanding, “yes, he must be already very sick indeed.”
“What are you mumbling on about?”
“Nothing. No, that’s all well and good. So, when will I meet him? Or the family?”
“At the wedding, of course.”
-
The suit fit him well, a deep navy colour that complimented his pale skin. Despite his reservations, the hair and makeup artist insisted on dabbing some rouge on his lips and lining his eyes with brown. Fine, Taiga would do his part and look pretty as a picture. As long as his future husband did his, by promptly passing away after the wedding.
“Is the…” Taiga paused, realizing he had no way of referring to his husband-to-be in less than an hour, “is he… old? Or sick?”
The maid looked up from where she was tucking in the bedding.
“His lordship, sir? Oh, no, no. He is as young and healthy as a prize-winning stallion. Not to worry sir, for I daresay you shall spend many, many, many, long decades with his company.”
-
So, there he was, tethering on a windowsill. This was where he drew the line - only he got to fuck up his life by making poor choices.
“If this is a hidden prank show, reveal yourself now, or I will jump and your ratings will plummet!” He shouted, his complaints carried off into the wind.
Fuck this shit, Taiga thought to himself, closing his eyes. It was now or never. He dangled a foot off the ledge–
“Hey, hey! Don’t jump!”
Taiga opened an eye, curious that someone had spotted the runaway bride after all.
“Will you catch me?” He asked the man below.
“What? No, you’re insane! Don’t jump! Take the stairs!”
“So you won’t catch me?”
“No,” he could see the panic growing in the man’s voice, “it’s not that! Just don’t do anything crazy, there’s better ways of–”
Taiga landed right into the man’s hastily outstretched arms before the force of the fall took them both down. They tumbled for a second before Taiga landed on the side closest to the ground. He had expected that to hurt a lot more, but instead his head felt gently cushioned.
The man above him, with the gentle eyes, laughed. They were close enough that their breaths intermingled and a moment later, Taiga laughed, too. This was ridiculous, wasn’t it?
“Thank you,” he whispered once they managed to untangle. He brushed off the grass from his expensive suit - he needed to sell it on the dark market to make enough money to survive as a runaway after all. “Do you have a name? Or do I need to jump off at least 4 floors to get that out of you?”
“No more jumping off floors,” the man shook his head, though he was amused. The lifted corner of his mouth gave it away, “I’m Meguro Ren.”
“Ren, then. You can call me Taiga,” he held out his hand and they shook on it like proper gentlemen.
“So, Taiga, if I may be so forward, why the urgent need to jump out of a window?”
“To escape,” Taiga answered.
Ren looked curious, “From what?”
“My fiance.”
“Ah,” the man’s face lit up, “Well, that would be my brother, I suppose.”
Taiga smiled back, until his eyes landed on Ren's wrist, “Oh my god, you’re wearing a rolex?”
Ren followed his gaze and shook his head, “No it’s not a rolex–”
He looked up just in time to see Taiga making a mad dash towards the fence, blond hair and lithe limbs flailing in the mid-summer afternoon breeze. He smiled. Well, this was bound to be an interesting vacation after all.
Taiga turned to the priest, droning on about health and happiness and marriage, tears welling up instantly. He sniffed prettily, dabbing at his eyes. It was all happening so quickly - for one, singular, glorious moment there, Taiga thought he had done it… He had escaped. Freedom was just one fence away. And then security descended upon him and no amount of thrashing would convince them to unhand him this instance or they would be hearing from his attorney.
He’d been marched right into the ballroom, barely getting enough time to admire the ornate florals or lavishly dressed guests, before being deposited at the head of the altar. Out of the corner of his eye, he’d caught his mother flashing two thumbs up and so, he did what any mature yet scorned adult male would do: he stuck his tongue out at her.
The priest had reached the end of his sermon and was looking at him expectantly, “Well. Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Taiga sniffed some more, managing a nod in between. He’d Google how to poison a healthy-as-a-prize-stallion-husband without drawing suspicion later.
A warm smile adorned the priest’s face for a second before he turned to the laptop perched on the stool beside Taiga.
“And you, my lord, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“Yes,” a tinny voice boomed from the speakers. Taiga swore he could hear oceanic waves in the background, “now– really– go. Signal– not great out here.”
And then silence. Taiga wailed harder as the guests broke to mingle – sure, he wanted his husband six feet under but to think the man did not even have the courtesy to show up to his own wedding? Was this even a legally binding marriage? Conducted over FaceTime?
“Oh wow, you look happy,” Ren materialized before him. While his appearance was glacial, the concern in his voice was apparent.
Taiga could only hiccup in response.
“I am happy, of course,” he crooned, sarcasm lacing his every word, “happily wedded to the love of my life! Who couldn’t even bother to show up by the way. A waste of makeup.”
Ren laughed, “To be fair, he wanted to make it back in time, just happened to misjudge how long sailing can actually take. And for what it’s worth, it wasn’t a waste - you look very pretty.”
“Flirting with your brother-in-law on his wedding day… What would your brother think?”
“Half-brother,” Ren corrected, as if the distinction made all the difference. Perhaps, it did - Taiga had no idea how the family dynamics worked around here.
“Maybe I should have been married to you instead,” Taiga shrugged.
“Maybe so.”
-
The rest of the day passed by unremarkably. Ren introduced Taiga to the family - the matriarch was a version of his mother, but an accomplished one. Taiga learned she had taken the family export business and turned it into a global enterprise while pregnant with her son, Ren. He also learned that his husband was from the first wife, who had passed away in childbirth. The father was a lord, so the title would go to his first son, Taiga’s husband. The mother was a shrewd businesswoman, so the business would go to her son, Taiga’s brother-in-law. Or at least that’s what Taiga deduced in the minute long conversation they had.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, child, I do hope you like it here,” Kaori Meguro was already walking away, the train of her fuchsia dress trailing behind her, “and don’t mind too much that he didn’t show up. He has a habit of not being there when you need him most.”
The mood was somber when he turned to face Ren.
“Shall we get out of here?”
Taiga smiled, for the first time all night, “As far as possible.”
-
“I said far, not a minute away!” Taiga groaned as he walked onto the rooftop. The moon was high in the sky, shining brightly, flanked by stars and constellations. It felt unfair, that the night was so glorious when he felt so wretched.
“You are the single most important person in this house today, I can’t be caught sneaking you out.”
Taiga rolled his eyes, settling on the lone bench and drawing his knees close for warmth. He had abandoned his suit jacket at one point during the endless mingling and never managed to recover it. A moment later, he felt a blazer being draped over his shoulders.
“Are you into constellations much, Taiga?” Ren asked, moving to sit beside him.
Taiga was acutely aware of the presence beside him, the heat he radiated.
“No. They never made much sense to me,” he whispered, pointing to the smattering of stars, “it just all looks very random.”
He was about to withdraw his hand when he felt another on his, gently guiding his movements, until his fingers pointed to a particular section of the sky.
“The bright star there. The ones behind it like a tail. Do you see those Taiga?”
“Yes,” he breathed. He lied, he saw nothing but tiny, little, sparkly stars. He pulled the blazer closer to him - it smelled of jasmine and wood and grass.
Ren nodded, and when he spoke again, Taiga could have sworn he heard an aching sadness to his voice, “Yes. That’s the Big Dipper. How fitting.”
It was well past midnight when Ren finally walked Taiga to his bedroom, ignoring the latter’s protests and insistence that he could stay up longer and wasn’t sleepy at all.
Well, that was a battle lost. Arguing with Ren was like arguing with a wall, but even a wall could be more lenient, Taiga thought. He yawned, stopping midway as he realized that would basically prove Ren correct and he was too stubborn to admit defeat.
Instead his yawn turned to a sigh as they approached the door. This would be the first night he’d spend here, he realized, a bit woefully. His wedding day was over, just as suddenly as it had begun.
Ren moved first, opening the door and stepping into the threshold.
“What a gentleman,” Taiga whispered, mostly to himself, lids heavy with sleep. It was only after he’d taken five steps that he noticed his room was exceptionally… Red.
Beside him, Ren cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable as the realization dawned that this room had been very much styled as a, well, wedding night fantasy. Bouquets of fresh roses adorned every open surface, petals spread across floors and the bed, heart balloons, chocolates, wines, the works.
“Taiga, I had no idea–”
“Oh! Is this for me? It’s wonderful! I’ve never gotten roses before.”
Ren stopped and stared. Taiga didn’t seem disgusted or uneasy, instead he hopped around the room, smelling each bouquet and taking it all in with the curiosity of a kid let loose in a candy shop. Ren just watched, until Taiga stopped by his bed, poking at the mattress as if he didn’t trust it before deciding he did and promptly jumping into it.
He sure likes jumping into things. Or people, he thought, bemused.
“This entire bed is for me? It’s so fucking huge - I’ve never had a bed this big.”
“I’m glad you like it, I should be heading out now…”
“Wait!” Taiga sat up on the bed so quickly, Ren would’ve thought he was electrocuted. He seemed nervous, as if choosing his next words carefully, “do you want to stay with me… on this bed…?”
Ren’s heart stopped. He supposed they had gotten quite comfortable over the past twelve hours, but to do this would be madness. It would go against all societal laws, familial ties, would be waging war in this very home–
“...We could use it like a trampoline. It seems very bouncy!”
There was a long pause.
“Ren? Do you think it’s rude of me to jump on this bed? I suppose it is your family home and it would be rude of me to–”
“No! Let’s jump on the bed.”
-
His head landed on the pillow with a soft thud as he gasped for air.
“This was fun, we should do it again sometime,” Taiga managed to say once his heartbeat evened out.
“Hmmm? Yeah, we should,” Ren responded, setting a pillow up against the headboard before leaning back. He was less physically winded but just as tired; having to entertain his brother-in-law was proving to be more demanding than he could have anticipated.
“It’s funny,” he said after a moment, the thought having been on his mind for a while, “that you agreed to this marriage so easily.”
He had meant it to be a light-hearted quip, but he could feel Taiga’s mood darken. The mirth disappeared from his golden brown eyes, and Ren knew then that he had overstepped.
“It felt like I had no choice. Why is this whole family so obsessed with me, anyways?” He asked, his tone dry, “Why me? Why was it so important that I be married to him?”
“You really don’t know?”
“You think my mother would have explained such things to me?”
“Well… Yes,” Ren sighed. No wonder Taiga seemed so restless, so lost. He was perhaps the only one who had no clue at all.
“Our father’s lineage comes from that of renowned oracles. They see things that come true. Might seem hard to believe, but we’ve served kings, presidents, and celebrities through the centuries… Our father’s gift was particularly strong. When his first son was born, he could not sleep for days because the visions were unbearable. Conveying to him that there was already someone on this earth that was meant for his son. Meant so powerfully for him that to deprive them of each other would be the ruin of both. So, he traveled across Japan until he found your parents. Only when he laid eyes on you did the visions stop. So, a promise was made and that is what brought you here.”
He turned to Taiga, who had managed to listen to the entire spiel with remarkable patience and silence, only to find the man bent over, head buried in a silk pillow, stifling laughter.
“O-Oh… Oh god, this is good,” he uttered between giggles, “This all happened because your father didn’t go see a doctor for his insomnia? Or a psychologist?” More giggles.
“I know it sounds like madness–”
“No, no, what is madness is that my mother agreed to this. When I was just a baby? And to hide it from me for my entire life… and when she sees me struggling through higher education, instead of reaching out to help, she drops me off to a house in the middle of nowhere and makes me someone else’s problem. Do you know what today just made me realize?”
A strange calm had come over Taiga by now, “I am like that first born child given up by their mother in the fairytales. I have no one.”
Ren just listened, not having the heart to correct him – to clarify that in the fairytales, the mother never wanted to give her baby up, that she fought and fought against the demon himself to ensure her child would stay her’s. But, in Taiga’s case, there was no mother who fought for him.
-
It was two in the morning when Ren finally slipped out of the room, the day having taken a toll on him. The pair had spent the rest of the night chatting while preparing for bed. In between brushing their teeth (Ren would have to replace his brother’s new brush later), he learned that Taiga was an only child, his parents having divorced when he was only seven. So, he felt truly indebted to his mother, for being the parent who stayed, who worked an assortment of menial jobs to ensure he was well-fed, clothed, and never left wanting for anything. She herself had grown up in wealth that disappeared overnight when her own father filed for bankruptcy and then abandoned his children and wife without so much as a goodbye. She retained those fanciful habits she’d grown up with, even while barely scraping together a living as an adult.
“Which is why I wanted to be the smart STEM kid who would make a shit ton of money, so she’d never have to work again,” he mumbled, toothbrush in mouth. “But as it turns out, I am very, very, dumb.”
Ren sat on the toilet seat while Taiga showered, piecing together the rest of the story over the roaring of the water. Taiga struggled throughout university, not having the aptitude for sciences or the skill for standardized examinations. The more he tried, the worst he failed, flunking out of most courses by his second year. He tried again, failed, tried again, failed. He gave up trying and continued to fail, being put on academic probation and brought to the dean’s office with the simple suggestion to consider dropping out altogether.
“And so then, my mother sits me down and tells me I am going to get married – could you pass the conditioner please?”
As Taiga changed into his pajamas and settled into bed, wet strands of blond hair soaking the red silk pillows beneath (not that Ren noticed!), he finished off his tale.
“Here I am, twenty-six and a complete academic failure. You asked me earlier how I agreed to this marriage so easily, but is it truly so unimaginable? Don’t people marry for the sake of their families all the time?” He turned to Meguro, gaze curious, “Isn’t that why my husband agreed also? To fulfill a promise to his father, just as I am fulfilling a debt to my mother.”
Now here he was, heading back to his room, feeling a mixture of fervent emotions he had put aside most of his life. He knew his family to be capable of great cruelty, but to take an unknowing young man and flip his life upside down over an old, dead man’s dreams was wicked. The prophecy could go fuck itself.
He reached for his phone, dialing his assistant in Paris.
“Leo? Move my flight out to next week, please. Yes, I know it’s in four hours, but an urgent matter came up.”
Despite his reservations, Taiga slept deeply and peacefully, one of the best nights of his life if he was being honest. He could get used to the king bed and silk sheets lifestyle – it suited him well. He awoke to the chirping of birds, feeling much like a Disney princess, as he threw aside his blanket and stretched his arms wide.
The sunlight filtered in, highlighting the bedroom golden. From the corner of his eye, Taiga spotted the back of an attendant setting up his breakfast. Ren had told him last night that he could expect breakfast in bed – the family only ate the dinner meal together, anyways.
Taiga crawled his way to the other side of the bed, wondering whether they had brought up scones and clotted cream, as Ren promised they would, when the man started to unbutton his shirt.
This cannot be happening! He thought, panic building inside his chest. I know I am irresistible but –
The man dropped the shirt off his shoulder, exposing skin, and Taiga screamed. In response, the man turned around, alarmed, and Taiga barely registered his confused expression before clocking him right in the face.
This time, they both screamed.
-
Ren rushed into Taiga’s room, heart beating wildly at the sound of Taiga’s anguished screams, only to stop short at the scene before him.
Taiga, on his bed, clutching his blankets like a protective shield, and a man bent over in pain, his nose clearly bleeding.
“Ren!” his blond drama queen wailed, “this servant was undressing himself in my room! And worst of all, there are no scones!”
Ren stifled a laugh which earned him a glare, “Taiga, I see you have met your husband, my brother, the most esteemed and currently, bleeding all over his carpet, Matsumura Hokuto.”
Taiga gasped, looking at the man before him with a mixture of apology and regret for a second before his gaze turned cold.
“That’s for leaving me alone at the altar.”
-
“You punched me! In the face!”
“You didn’t announce who you were!”
“Because you punched me in the face before I could!”
“Who just shows up to a room at the crack of dawn without warning? Of course I’d punch you!”
“This is my room! And how did you have no idea what I – ouch – looked like? I am your husband – did you not look up my Instagram? Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn?”
Taiga appeared equally offended and culpable, “Well… No. I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“To know what the person you’re married to looks like?” Hokuto asked, horrified.
They were sitting on the edge of the bed, having been left together (with a first aid kit) to “get to know each other” by Ren.
“I know now,” Taiga sighed, reaching out to brush the bangs from Hokuto’s face so he could have better access as he cleaned the blood.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” Hokuto winced, eyes shut in pain, “you weren’t really gifted with a gentle touch, huh?”
“If you wanted a gentle touch, you should have married a nurse,” Taiga retorted, but he eased the pressure.
“They were fresh out of nurses unfortunately. And my new Egyptian cotton shirt, it’s ruined.”
“Oh yeah, there’s no saving that. Charge it to my husband’s account, he’s rich.”
“I’ve heard handsome, as well.”
Taiga paused, making a show of assessing the man in front of him, “Debatable.”
Hokuto laughed in response, which pleased Taiga more than it should have. He had decided last night he’d keep a cordial relationship with his husband, and propose they go about their lives in their own way, retaining a marriage in name only. After all, Hokuto had also been just a baby when their parents made this disturbing arrangement. Why should they spend the rest of their lives paying for their parents’ mistakes?
At least his mother did make a handsome mistake – it was not debatable in any court of law in any country in the world that Hokuto was handsome. He simply was, even when brought to his knees in pain. Wonderfully voluminous raven hair, dark, playful eyes, and warm tan skin – he was the beautiful summation of a hundred beautiful parts.
“What are you thinking about?”
Taiga looked up to meet his husband’s eyes, flushing despite specifically telling his body to not react, to be cool.
“Breakfast,” he whispered in what he hoped was a nonchalant way.
“Oh,” Hokuto blinked, before leaning in, “because I was thinking about how we haven’t gotten around to spending our wedding night together yet…”
This time, the entire house reverberated as Hokuto screamed in pain.
The two men ate breakfast in complete silence, punctuated only by the occasional clatter of steel against porcelain. Taiga got up slightly to reach for the butter and his husband visibly flinched in response.
“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” he rolled his eyes, languidly spreading butter on his croissant.
“You’ve already punched me. Twice.”
“Because you’re a bit of a pervert, aren’t you? Sneaking into my room at night. Suggesting we do weird things.”
It was Hokuto’s turn to roll his eyes, “sorry for assuming I could treat you like, well, my husband.”
Taiga narrowed his eyes, pointing the sharp end of his butter knife at Hokuto’s throat, “Let’s get one thing straight. We are not a married couple in terms other than by law. Which means we don’t sleep together. Don’t touch me –”
“Even if you’re falling off a cliff and I am the only person around to pull you up?”
“Exactly, just leave me to plummet to my painful end.”
“Noted,” Hokuto’s smile was dry, “death is preferable to being touched by me. Lovely.”
Taiga was about to enthusiastically agree when Ren entered, looking a touch more put together in his three-piece gray tailored suit.
“Your mother wanted to meet you, Taiga, before she heads out,” he relayed the news, a hint of regret colouring his dark eyes. Based on their conversation the night before, he knew the other man would be disappointed.
So, he was slightly taken aback when Taiga nodded, a bright smile plastered on his face, before promptly heading out.
He turned back to Hokuto collapsing onto the bed, groaning in pain, “Ah, this mattress is so comfortable.”
“I know–” Ren responded before abruptly stopping. Hokuto’s head turned to face him so fast, Ren got whiplash just watching him.
“Wait, how would you know?!”
-
“You will be so happy here, Taiga,” his mother cooed, smoothing out his blond hair with a gentle, practiced touch. “And if not happy, at least you will be very rich.”
“Oh great, I can wipe my tears with wads of cash.”
“Listen, Taiga. I know you think I am a bad mother. But, I wanted a better life for you. And this man, your husband, he will adore you like no other. This whole family will. They’ve grown up believing you are the answer to all their prayers. That you’ll bring hope and fortune to them. So, they will treat you like royalty… You can do anything you want in this home, Taiga. You won’t ever suffer.”
Taiga looked at his mother, a bit sadly, “a gilded cage is still a cage though, isn’t it?”
“A gilded cage is better than freedom tinged with blood and sweat, trust me,” his mother responded, a nostalgic tinge in those warm brown eyes, so much like his own, that he was taken aback for a moment.
“I came all this way because I trusted you,” his vision blurred and he hated the way his voice shook when he spoke. For a second, he let himself bask in the thought his mother would comfort him with a heartfelt hug and words of reassurance. That this was all a joke that had gone on too long and of course, he could come home with her. But all he got was one gentle squeeze of the shoulder and she was off, not sparing a single glance back.
So, Taiga turned around, walking aimlessly towards a destination he could not name, tears threatening to spill over. It wasn’t until he felt himself bump into a study figure, a familiar gray suit, that the tears spilled over. The man on the other end just held him gently until he stopped.
-
“Your suit is all wet. I’m sorry,” Taiga sniffled, trying to wipe at the mess he’d made of Ren’s clothes with his sleeves. He'd basically treated the man like a giant handkerchief.
Ren put a hand on his wrist to stop him, but his voice was filled with a tenderness Taiga was not used to hearing, “It’s okay. Dry cleaning exists.”
They sat on the floor in the main library, backs against a bookcase threatening to collapse under the weight of the sheer knowledge it held.
“Do you have a preordained soulmate too?”
“Hmmm… Yes,” Ren spoke slowly, surprised by the question, but not opposed to talking about it. Taiga knew it to be irrational, but the thought sent a spark of jealousy into his heart. “But they do not yet know it.”
“Why?”
“They are already in a relationship with someone. I wouldn’t want to get in the way. Besides, we have a rule in the family, that we don’t show up to someone’s door and suggest they break up with their lover just because I am actually their destiny.”
“But it wasn’t pre-arranged? Like myself and your brother.”
Ren smiled, a bit bitterly, “it might surprise you, but you two are the exception, not the rule. Usually the men and women of this family go out and get to know their soulmates like normal people before marrying them.”
“Lucky me.”
-
Ren left Taiga to snoop around the library - he was enchanted by the collection of playwrights and had already taken out several books he wanted to read. As he turned the corner, he was greeted coldly by his older half-brother.
With arms crossed and dark eyes devoid of any emotion, Hokuto was every bit the picture of the unsympathetic lord his father had trained him to be. He must have witnessed everything, Ren supposed, including the part where he guided a weeping Taiga into the safety of the library, away from prying eyes.
“Ren, I am perfectly capable of looking after my own husband.”
“Oh? Jealous he didn’t come running into your arms?”
“Why are you even bothering? You have your own fate, and I have mine. We both know this.”
“Fates are not absolute, we both know this.”
Hokuto chuckled, as if in disbelief over what he was hearing, “so, this is it? You want to change your fate to mine?”
“No, I will take my fate as it is,” Ren started to walk away, pausing for a moment, “but you should be careful, anyways. You can’t manipulate him into loving you like you do with your business deals.”
He did not see his brother’s wry grin or hear his hushed response.
“What is marriage if not a business deal?”
“Let’s get one thing straight. We are not a married couple. We are playing as a married couple to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.”
Back in their room, Taiga stood at the foot of the bed Hokuto currently sat on, finger pointing accusingly at his husband, eyes shooting daggers.
“And what are these mutually beneficial outcomes?” Hokuto asked drily.
“I get access to the Matsumura family funds and you get, well,” Taiga lips curved into a smug expression unlike any Hokuto had ever seen, “a really pretty husband.”
“Is this really pretty husband in the room with us right now?”
In response, a pillow was hurtled swiftly in Hokuto’s direction, which he barely managed to avoid. His pretty husband also had a petty temper and a solid aim, it appeared. By the time he managed to gather his bearings, he found that Taiga had appeared uncomfortably close, as if sizing him up.
“Let’s establish some ground rules–”
“By all means.”
“Number one. We do not sleep together.”
“I call the bed.”
“No, I call the bed.”
“But I already called the bed.”
“I can’t sleep on the couch! I’m delicate!” Taiga pouted, and Hokuto had to resist the urge to give in - he was a sucker for adorable antics as it turned out.
“How about we build a barrier of pillows? It is a king size bed, we can both fit and not risk touching each other,” he suggested instead.
“Touching… Which brings me to rule number two. No touching or displays of affection, unless we’re in public. And no kissing ever.”
“Agreed.”
“And rule number three. No falling in love.”
“No falling in love? With you? Oh god, that’s too hard, Taiga, go easy on me,” the sarcasm in Hokuto’s dripped like honey, and he could see just how annoyed the reaction it elicited in the other man was.
“For your information, I am very loveable,” his husband responded, arms crossed.
“I shall do my best to resist the temptation then,” Hokuto reached out to put his arms on Taiga’s shoulders. At some point in their heated debate, they had moved rather close, enough for Hokuto to make out the dark flecks in Taiga’s eyes, the soft curve of his lashes, the dusting of pink across his cheeks.
He expected his husband to react quickly, to dash away angrily while yelling profanities at Hokuto. What he did not expect was a hand reaching out to rest against his cheek, cool against the heat of his skin.
“You just broke rule number two,” Taiga whispered into the space between them. Hokuto swore he could hear a heartbeat that was not his own in the ensuing silence.
He should have looked away. He should have moved away. But, he did neither of those things, his gaze remained steadfast and if anything, he leaned into Taiga’s touch.
“And so did you, so I guess we’re even,” he whispered, just as quietly, afraid to disturb the tranquility of this shared moment.
It was Taiga who moved first, retracting his hand and stepping back until Hokuto’s arms naturally fell off his shoulders. The momentary illusion shattered and they were back to playing pretend.
“Do I get a rule too?” Hokuto asked finally, breaking the silence.
Taiga narrowed his eyes, as if weighing Hokuto's intentions, but eventually shrugged, “Fine, but only one.”
“How benevolent of you. Rule number four. We can’t see other people.”
-
“I didn’t take him to be the jealous type,” Taiga giggled on the phone to his childhood friend.
“Wait - hold the fuck up. I’m still at the part where YOU GOT MARRIED WITHOUT TELLING ME? I wasn’t even invited to your wedding! Taiga, what the HELL? Tell me this is a new script you’re testing out for a theater play,” Juri’s voice was shrill to the point Taiga had to hold his phone away from his ear.
A few more minutes of raging later, Juri finally calmed down to the point that Taiga could continue, “Juri, trust me, I thought I was basically recording the newest PUNK’d episode. As it turned out, my mother quite literally promised me in marriage to this rich dude and it all happened so fast. There was a priest and I was saying “I do,” and before you know it, I was married. I barely had time to think, believe it or not.”
“I don’t find that hard to believe Taiga, you barely think at the best of times.”
“How rude! I was just about to invite you over to visit. Bring Shintaro too.”
“Now that your Highness has commanded us to come over, we’ll be right over! I had my final exam tomorrow, but you know what? I’ll call the Dean up and cancel, who needs to graduate and find a job to support themselves anyways?”
Taiga missed the heavy dose of sarcasm at the other end of the line, “Oh Juri, I knew you could be counted on! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!”