[KHR] Maid-of-Honor
This one- shot does not have any direct connection with the rest of the other one- shots or the main "T.R.R.o.R."(... I think...; " Apologies For the Five-Minute Blame Game" is not related to this although if you like to think so, you're welcome to your interpretation.) But I guess it could be called an AU within an AU, if that makes sense... I wanted to try writing something where I don't need to research anything... for a change. 8P (More like I just want to drop down on the ground (never mind how dusty it is) and sleep... fucking jetlag) It isn't so detailed or as explicit as my other works because I'm feeling very Belphegor- ish. (As in lazy, evil, a genius and ultimately sadistic... I think I've been watching "Kill Bill", "Children of the Corn", "Silent Hill", and other bloody films a little too much... And so I shall dub this post as the "Why I should NEVER be allowed to write for the romance genre/ How I shall get myself ostracized from the general/het fandom." one- shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own. So leave me alone... I'm going to sleeeep...
Warning: Use of OCs and mentions of OCs. OOC-ness, insinuations... Cheeeeeeese... and as usual, CRACK. Written by a jetlagged zombie, so expect incoherence. I might be forgetting something else because this is mostly un-beta-ed... because I can't think very straight right now.
Maid-of-Honor
Written: Tuesday, January 06, 2009, 07:51:49 AM
Edited: February 15, 2009, 10:23:10 PM
Updated: May 18, 2009, 09:27:52 AM
STANDBY FOR TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010
Time: 12:00:00 NN
Location: Vongola Underground Base, Namimori City, Japan
Note: To be further analyzed to predict patterns of events from the First Generation up to the present.
Archive Summary: Record of alternative timeline for the Vongola's Tenth Generation Guardians.
Archive File Status: Downloading 59.95935846 percent complete...
BEGIN TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010
Butterflies were the messengers this time. In some way, their appearance made the whole affair seem even more romantic.
That's what she thought while he translated for her the information they brought him.
"Are you paying attention?"
Oh, of course she was, she assured him... Though she was lost in a little daydream of her own for a bit… What was he saying again?
He didn't sigh or admonish her, rather his face practically never changed (though that was not the point). But he repeated the news to her anyway.
After listening to him, she thought that it was about time... and she never felt so proud of him. She jumped out of her seat and eagerly inquired where she could find him: she absolutely must speak to him about this!
Then butterflies, it seemed, had then added another bit of information: crumpled up paper balls made out of scrapped security proposal plans were used as replacements for a bouquet of flowers... and something else. "What was the last part again?"
A piece of yarn. He translated.
"... Why did he have yarn on him in the first place?"
It wasn't his. Apparently the only available material for an improvised one was a piece stolen from the Guardian of Storm's box weapon's ball of yarn (its current favorite plaything whenever its master chose to ignore it while he was working), cut to an acceptable length using the Guardian of Rain's katana (thus another sacrilege to the Shigure Souen Ryu's esteemed blade was committed). Static electricity care of the Guardian of Thunder's flame made it stiffen so it could be folded into a circlet shape and held together with a bandage strip from the Guardian of Sun's personal stash.
Did she say she felt proud? Considering his context, perhaps it could pass off as romantic... But of course, to her: just that was not good enough.
'Men.' She thought, infuriated, as she went off in search of him to give him a piece of her mind. She unfortunately didn't bother to wait for him to give her directions to where he could be found.
It took her almost the whole morning: There must have been a memo (ordering to delay her in speaking to him, perhaps) released among the sggaristas because there seemed to be more requests for love advice than usual.
And if she didn't know any better, there must've have been an epidemic of love-sickness of some sort.
"Succubi," Volante had muttered under his breath as his idea of a detailed explanation.
... Well, "Succubi" was plenty enough of an explanation to her thanks to the fiasco involving it some time ago. Besides... the fact that he was wearing a gas mask and goggles and guarding the corridor to the sggaristas' quarters to prevent anyone from going in was more than enough evidence that it was something not to be taken lightly.
"Please stay away from the barracks for the meantime, Signorina. I'm quite sure he will not appreciate numerous marriage proposals piling up on his desk from the branch families."
And he then politely directed her to the direction of the office.
She paid no heed to the suit and shirt ensemble sitting in a little pile near the doorway. Instead, she noticed the commotion in it: inside was the capo she wanted to see, harassing one of his subordinates into putting on a particularly frilly, ribbon- laden, mauve- pink chiffon dress (which looked rather horrendous on the poor, good-looking boy, in her personal opinion).
She forewent knocking on the open door and immediately confronted him: What did he think he was doing? She deserves better than paper balls and a piece of yarn! He should get her real roses and a real ring.
What was she doing here? And it was an emergency; her plane was going to leave in an hour and a half...! He was also working under a budget and a time limit... Wait a minute, how did she find out all about it?
News travels faster in the Vongola grapevine; faster than the CCC program that he had so arrogantly prided himself on for mostly developing... And he was in the mafia; he could make better conditions for a more romantic proposal at the snap of his fingers; what kind of a pathetic excuse was 'her plane was leaving in an hour and a half'?
And he could have stopped her from leaving if he wanted to... Or even followed her himself for that matter. That definitely was much more romantic... She paused; a smile slowly began to take over the infuriated expression on her face when she saw the backs of his ears had turned pink... Her mood then began shifting from indignant to an entirely different emotion...
"... Wouldn't you think so?" She smiled as a teasing manner of lighting his fuse.
"Romantic?" He spat. He took the bait, she decided triumphantly. He was just too fun to tease: It must have appeared to him to be the most inexcusable idea; to chase after her when they both kept themselves in an almost unreasonable distance physical personal distance in public to prevent rival mafia from discovering their true relationship.
She supposed that was how he showed that he loved her; by physically distancing himself from her and vice- versa to protect each other from the hazards their positions brought each other.
It was obviously unconventional and rather lonely though in her opinion. (She wondered how their living arrangements would be like after the wedding; was she moving in or were they keeping the same arrangement as when he was still courting her, if 'courting' is the right word to describe it... It looked more of a political marriage or a marriage of convenience to anyone who wasn't aware of the history culminating into this whirlwind romance.)
"Why not?" She smiled. 'What they have is a "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" kind of love story,' she rationalized to herself but didn't say out loud. Knowing him, he would probably accuse her of "watching too many chick flicks with Haru and the Tenth's Signora on 'Girls' Night Out'." ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a 'chick flick' in his opinion, apparently.)
"And leave the Vongola administration short of manpower?" He frowned in response. He didn't think so. And he wasn't one to oppose his Boss' orders for a personal affair. He'd spent years of his life establishing that fact.
Then he stopped: Wait, this isn't about how he proposed to his fiancée, was it?
She wanted something from him; he continued suspiciously, still not turning around and look at her while talking. (Then he stuck out his foot to trip the younger Mafioso trying to wiggle out of the mauve-pink dress and kept him in place by stepping on the frumpy skirt. "Stay put, Toph!" He scolded.)
So get straight to the point: what exactly did she want from him?
She wanted to be in charge of the cake for occasion… She actually came looking for him because she wanted to know which flavor they would like; she could make for them chocolate, vanilla: "How about a tropical- themed one?" She teased. "With all sorts of fruits on the icing? Mangos, kiwis, pineapple-"
His face suddenly matched the mauve- pink dress the unlucky sggarista (who had somehow become ignored in the background all throughout their conversation) was half- wearing- half- having- a- losing- battle- with. It seemed that his capo was too embarrassed to have her make a cake because he then adamantly refused her offer.
Naturally, she insisted: It was the very least she could do for him. She wanted to help in the preparations since she wasn't able to intervene in time to make his proposal more romantic...
"And an occasion such as this needs something made wi-"
He cut her off by hotly demanding for her to leave his office.
When he looked to the side, he found a pile of discarded ribbons, mauve- pink chiffon and his subordinate missing (and as could be seen by the clothes also being missing from their original place on the floor).
Apparently Christopher (who seemed to be looking a little pale and feverish again) had managed to sneak out while they were still talking...
He frowned and briskly strode out of the room to search for him.
She herself frowned and followed him closely, still trying to negotiate with him into letting her help in the planning and preparations: Why he was using a male subordinate (albeit a very good- looking one... though a bit on the slender side; that young boy needed nourishment; he must have been underfed in his former place of employment before he was ordered to transfer out. She would see to it herself that he had a decent meal later. He retorted that he didn't want his best negotiator bedridden just before the Tenth's peace talks started later this week,) as a replacement for a mannequin to model for the bridesmaids' dresses was beyond her.
She surmised aloud that he must have promised himself something ridiculous like...
... Like...
... Like not looking at another woman while his fiancée was away, he snapped in response.
Well, if he needed someone to model for the female members of the bridal entourage's dresses, why didn't he just ask her? He wasn't going to be unfaithful to his fiancée if he was looking at her while she was away, she teased him.
He nearly tripped on his own feet. From where she was standing, he looked a little green and she assumed it was just nerves: The realization that he was going to get married must have finally sunk in.
So she decided to give him some moral support; it was given that she should do so: she warned him not to get cold feet and assured him she would be with him every step of the way...
"Love is what matters the most after all."
It's an upset stomach he was more worried about! He would rather she wasn't in the way, all the way! "And put something on, damn it!" He almost shouted at her, carefully keeping his eyes anywhere but on her as he turned the corner, toward the experimental laboratories...
Then a powerful explosion resonated abruptly from the third one near the end of the corridor.
Muttering a curse in what sounded like a garble of Japanese and Italian, he switched on the exhausts by way of a button located on the wall beside him. Then he stopped Kyousuke (who had just run out of one of the laboratories, frantically waving orange smoke away from his face) to interrogate him for Christopher's whereabouts; unfortunately, he had caught hold of the younger Mafioso too suddenly while he wasn't looking... thus causing him to stumble. As a result, the sggarista accidentally spilt the contents of the large beaker he was carrying all over his superior.
She stifled her laughter when she saw that he had gotten a face- full of Kyousuke's latest experiment... or project... or whatever he had been tasked to do that day.
"What... is this orange gunk?" He asked a little too calmly as he inspected the colloidal substance that had splattered onto his face, hair and suit... He looked down at himself and tried to wipe his fingers on what little dry space on his handkerchief was left.
Kyousuke fidgeted for a bit. "Uhm... Signore said... I- I- It's supposedly a... uhm... a..."
"Just spit it out."
"It's supposed to be a sex change formula, Sir."
"... What?" He jerked his head to look up from his clothes and to gape at the younger Mafioso...
Kyousuke then laughed a bit awkwardly and tried to explain: He got a request from another capo to check out a substance stolen from a minor mafia family: But he wasn't certain if it worked as he had only just started on it a few minutes ago... He hadn't been able to test it on a hamster or lab rat yet to confirm if it was as the capo said it was...
Reportedly, it was supposed to change the gender of any living mammal it came in direct physical contact with (which was why he was wearing a protective suit, gear and everything...)
And… Actually, he was just going to try and get permission from the Tenth to test it out on a living thing… but since he, his superior, was here already, he might as well just ask him since he was practically a high authority in the family anyway besides the Tenth...
"You know how he is about animal testing..." He trailed off lamely when he looked up at his superior's face. "Uhm... But... hey, if it actually works, it's not like it's going to affect your married life all that much, right? You aren't planning on having any kids of your own, right?" He then put on cheery grin to try and keep things friendly. "I mean, it's her after all..."
Then he stopped. She decided that he must have seen that the older man's eyes had been narrowed into a vindictive stare. Although she couldn't tell if that was the case since he kept his back to her. It was just a feeling on her part.
... Although Kyousuke seemed to have decided that that moment was signal for him to start running for his life.
The older Mafioso then gave chase, shouting and swearing furiously at the top of his lungs: "You-! IDIOT! It DOESN'T work that way! Stop running, Kagakusha, and come here so I can FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
She could still hear the sound of their Italian leather shoes pounding on the metal floor and echoing throughout the corridor... followed by explosions and the sound of barking when the pursuing party presumably collided with Isamu ("Jyuu-! No! Jyuu- Stop! That tickles! Ah-! Ahahahahahaaa...!").
From the ruckus, she could easily surmise that even more chaos had erupted... Needless to say, it would be a while a little while before he would be in a better, more negotiable mood in letting her help with the preparations.
She bent down to catch Hachirou (who yipped once in surprise when she picked it up), and walked over to the confusion. She decided that she would help him in catching both Christopher and Kyousuke...
But on the condition that she would have a part in the wedding plans.
All because she believed that he was, for the most part, incapable of being romantic under ordinary circumstances.
Almost three months later, most of the Vongola's main administration based in Japan was making frantic arrangements and preparations.
The Uragano Boss had suddenly come to call: he came to give his blessings ("Hopefully," Antonio corrected.) and to meet with ("And hopefully approve of," Antonio added again) his future "adoptive daughter-in-law". (Antonio supplied once more: "He wants a cute great granddaughter to come out of this. Gee... You sure have a lot of pressure on you now that you're a mafia bo-OWW! AAA- ACK!"
Ryuunosuke, in a rare moment of consideration for him (or maybe he had also gotten pissed off from listening to his fellow sggarista's commentary) twisted the cord of Antonio's headphones around his neck to shut him up. It seemed that he had noticed that his capo was planning to move in to strangle the hacker himself.)
She suggested that they have dinner in a restaurant... followed by a litany of other "romantic" locations that he thought was too numerous to list in his agenda.
Rather than listening to her suggestions, he told her to get out of his office.
He wanted to speak with his fiancée alone regarding the matter and discuss with her some other related things... Rules a mafia wife must obey, she surmised.
She gave them a knowing look, and then bade him to "behave himself" until after the formalities.
That's plenty of time for him to show off his performance in the be-
"Get the Hell out here". He snapped at her, almost growling.
She giggled at the sight of the blushing bride-to-be and the irritated boy, no; he is no longer a boy.
He is now a man...
Oh, how it seemed like only yesterday that they were children, that she played short duet pieces with him on the piano; that they played 'house' and pranks on the servants and their father's subordinates and held tea parties with her dolls (with him unwillingly wearing a frilly dress that she'd forced on him... Oh... so that's where he got the idea for the dress he forced on Toph a few months ago... No wonder the style looked rather familiar).
She couldn't resist giving one last peek at them from behind the door. ('To make sure the young ones behaved themselves,' she thought.)
But she saw that they were only poring over the account books and discussing who would sit next to whom in the dinner party for later that night.
How boring, she thought. But they looked very cute as a young couple.
It seemed she wasn't going to see any open public display of affection between them for now... Although she did see a faint smile on his lips as he listened to her talk… He seemed perfectly contented with just being beside her after having not seen her for quite a long time. Who was to say that she didn't also wish for that kind of happiness for herself?
The entire thing may well be a political marriage of sorts; a gambit to reunite all the smaller families within the mafia... but she was quite sure that he was marrying her because he did love her: That warm tender gaze he had been giving the lovely young woman beside him as they went over the account books surely meant something, right? She thought before she quietly closed the door.
She looked beautiful, she told her. The eye shadow set off the color of her eye... And she had such soft, lovely hair... He must have liked that about her; was that what attracted him? (She just assumed that that was the case because she remembered his real mother had long hair…)
"She speaks Italian." One of the capos (who was there taking pictures of the bride's make- up process) supplied.
"In EXTREMELY beautiful Italiano, he said." Another one (who was apparently there for no reason other than heckling the groom, who should be in the room across the hall... perhaps he had made mistake but hung around either way?) supplied jokingly.
"He thinks she's gorgeous."
"He doesn't want her out of his sight ever."
"Finally something he's crazy about that's NOT a box weapon." Both men then snickered between themselves appreciatively. She was tempted to roll her eyes at their antics while; the bride herself looked rather embarrassed as she listened to the two older men. But she told the younger woman to ignore them.
"Their turn will come," she declared with a tone of finality.
Then she bade them to leave the room; she was going to help the bride put on her bridal garter next.
… And she was quite sure he was NOT going to appreciate the two men seeing what was up his pretty bride's skirt before he did... And any part of her legs higher than her knees is exclusively for his eyes only now...
The young bride flushed furiously when she heard her and fiddled with the ends of the lacy gloves covering her fingertips as she watched her proceed to kick the two of them out... ("We're not stupid enough to risk both their wrath." The one taking pictures laughed as she made to swat him with her purse, his quick reflexes enabling him to dodge.) But they both wished the bride good luck and then took their leave. But before he left, the shorter of the two pressed a small box into her hands: "That's from Hana; she said to tell you to wear it tonight." Then he gave her a knowing, roguish wink.
"Ten stars rated by yours truly: It'll kill him; he's got a thing for black after all."
She frowned at the improper insinuations and dragged him away from the young lady by the back of his suit jacket's collar... Then she bodily threw him out. ("THAT WAS EXTREMELY HARSH TO THE MAX!!!")
When she shut the door, she heard the two men begin their joint- heckling in the groom's room just across the hall. ("Here's a little pre-wedding present from me." She could hear one of them laughing. Apparently, the groom had been presented with a small box of his own.
"What the Hell is this? I don't have a cold!"
"Ahahaha...! From what Senpai's been telling me, I think you'll definitely need a lot of tissue tonight!"
"You're both idiots...! What do I need this much tissue for?!"
"You'll see, you'll see!"
"Believe me; I needed five boxes of the stuff when she showed me what she got her! I got the most EXTREME nosebleed!!!")
She then helped her put on the garter... and handed her the bouquet (which she fully intended to catch during the wedding reception later)... She smiled and thanked her for being their maid-of-honors; he didn't know whom else to ask on almost- short notice…
She smiled back and replied that it was her groom's promise to her.
"And you may call me 'Aneki' now. After today... you'll be my younger sister."
After a couple of blinks in surprise, her soon-to-be sister thanked her warmly, her lovely smile proving her to be the happiest bride there could ever be. Then their conversation turned to the rest of the bridal entourage: so who was going to give her away? He refused to let her in on choosing the members of the bridal entourage.
"The Consigliore," he replied for her from behind them.
She supposed that was to be expected... But: Who was going to give him away?
"Doctor Satomi." He supplied promptly.
Well, she definitely preferred her over another doctor they were (unfortunately) acquainted with.
Wait, wait, wait a minute! What was he doing here?
He wasn't supposed to be in here in the first place...!
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!" She scolded and made to push him out. He appeared to hesitate momentarily before firmly steeling himself and scowling at her.
"Who still believes in that?" He then snorted, side- stepped her and pushed her out of the dressing room. Then he swung the door closed but not entirely shut. It seemed that he had something to speak to abut with his fiancée again... Judging from the urgency in his tone, it was apparently it was something work- related again.
She hoped that it wasn't a plan to suddenly postpone the wedding so she hung outside the door to peek and eavesdrop… She could hear them talking... Although it was not the romantic 'I- am- the- luckiest- man- alive- to- be- marrying- you' kind of talk she was hoping for…
As always with him, it always had something to do with their work: was she alright with putting the honeymoon on hold? There was yet another gathering in the Vongola mafia's administration's schedule; their attendance was required again... He had just received word that the Uragano boss had agreed that his splinter group would recognize again the authority of the Vongola over it... IF the wedding pushed through, that is... Uragano was rather eccentric, but this way was definitely a more peaceful method of settling the quarrel; no matter how unconventional... It was still his job to settle the quarrels in the Family before they reached the Boss' level.
All in all: It wasn't only their marriage that would be taking place today. The family would be making a marriage at the same time; the main Family's hopes of reuniting all the smaller families and splinter factions were all riding on both their signatures marking a legitimate marriage contract.
('Didn't that make her seem like a princess,' she thought, amused, as she listened to them from behind the door.)
But he assured her that the success of the wedding ceremony wasn't only about for the sake of the Famiglia's internal politics.
Although... he sounded rather awkward and uncertain as he said his piece; almost as if he were afraid she would take everything the wrong way.
Through the crack in the doorway, she watched her place a finger on his lips to silence him: It would be alright, she heard her assure him: She was part of the Family as well; she knew her role... and of course the Family came first. Mafia law dictated that the Famiglia came above everything else.
... Even him.
And she understood that much too well enough as a member of the Family and a soon-to-be mafia wife; he didn't have to worry about her part for her as well.
She saw him breathe a sigh of relief and heard him promise her that no matter what happened, the wedding would continue. He wasn't going to embarrass anyone by getting cold feet: Even if a storm blew out the ornate stained glass window over the altar... even if the Cavallone Boss (who would be attending with a number of his subordinates anyway) upset the wedding cake... (He went on to list several ridiculous and highly unlikely scenarios): he would still want to marry her today.
Outside the room, she could only shake her head and feel embarrassed for him: when alone with the woman he loved, he could be so corny...
But she supposed that could be considered romantic for him.
Finally deciding she wasn't interested to know if he would still marry his bride even if a reptilian mountain god demolished the wedding cake instead of the Cavallone Boss, she then decided to inspect the food to be served in the reception later.
She just felt that there just weren't enough appetizers and dessert laid out for the guests. But she kept in mind that the younger women (namely Kyoko, Haru, Hana, Chrome and I-Pin) might need her help in touching up their make-up later before the ceremony started. So she made plans to return to the bridal dressing room much later.
Everything had been going so smoothly.
All the families concerned were in attendance and the entire church was laden with fragrant floral arrangements. Everything was perfect. She had even espied Shamal sobbing in a corner: It was most likely that Doctor Satomi must have given him a good one in the family jewels; she was sitting beside him (to keep a leash on him perhaps) with her arms crossed and wearing a rather accomplished smile on her beautifully made up face.
They made it through a good deal of the ceremony without a problem, or an explosion going off... or any of the guests from various major, middling and minor factions of the Family trying to kill each other...
When they arrived at the signing of the marriage contract, he suddenly took a bullet to the chest. There was no time to activate box weapons or pull out any other weapon: he had seen an assassin's silhouette, positioned behind the stained glass window behind the altar...
... And he instinctively acted to protect his best man.
She had heard the bride scream when she saw the two of them tumble down the steps before the altar after the first shots were fired. She had seen a ribbon of red fly from his heart... seemingly springing toward the bride to reach out to pull him back... She had tried to catch him before he fell.
But she couldn't get to him in time.
Instead, the pure white of her bridal gown and veil was sprinkled and spattered with dark red.
Then several shots followed the first round, raining on the carpet, on the altar and around them... The civilian guests ducked in the pews themselves if they were not forced to hit the ground by their mafia counterparts. Those who had been able to activate box weapons immediately tried to create barriers against the bullets if their flames types allowed it. The bride had also dropped to the ground, her lace-gloved hands covering her head. However, the shots weren't concentrated on her.
Either way, she shielded her and herself with the spare wedding cakes she had made in case the original was some way or another damaged before the reception.
The lone teenage Guardian hurriedly rushed to usher out the Boss' wife and the other female guests away from the chaos into the corridor beyond the main chapel. She could hear loud protests from one young lady, shrieking that her fiancé was still in the line of fire. Immediately, a tall man with a pompadour (who attended the ceremony as a proxy for another guest) came to the teenage boy's aid and forcibly pulled her into a side room where the other women and civilians were made to take shelter in.
Some of the armed Mafiosi returned fire to the where the first shots had come from: at the large stained glass window behind the altar. Colored glass shattered and rained over them, broken saints and angels seemingly falling from the heavens. She forcibly pulled her sister-in-law to-be back when she saw her try to move toward the groom, pulling her long veil over them to act as a net to make as much of the stained glass fragments bounce off them.
With the gunfire still ringing in her ears, she looked beyond the translucent fabric and saw him stubbornly continuing to shield his best man. The back of his jacket was fast growing to resemble a heat-distorted cheese grater. The still intact image of the Archangel Gabriel on what remained of the stained glass window was riddled with holes in his chest after the sound of gunshots and return fire from the body guards rang through the chapel.
And then finally, the shooting stopped.
Those who were left of the assembly sprung to their feet in uproar and distress; the civilians either curious or panicked and the members of the mafia furious and vindictive. All the capos present immediately moved to organize their squads and apprehend the source of the shooting, as well as implement damage control and check on the civilian guests.
The best man gave orders from the floor, for his men to apprehend the assassin... or perhaps assassins, they had to find out how many there were, while he tried to stop the blood from the groom's chest with the bunched up fabric of his suit jacket. He'd laid him on his back or the groom had rolled off him when the shooting stopped; she wasn't sure… and found a packet of tissue in the groom's jacket pocket, but even that wasn't enough to stop the blood.
"Breathe, don't go to sleep," she heard him say.
"Hey! Can you hear me?"
From her place, she could see his chest heaving in an unsteady rhythm; could hear his labored gasps, his chokes as blood climbed his throat to trickle from the corners of his lips.
She saw the bride was in shock. She could see her trembling, staring at the dark red blooming like roses on her veil and dress. Then she saw her shakily tear the veil off with her gloved hands, heard her cry out his name and run down the steps of the altar to fall to her knees beside him... She watched her gather him up in her arms, cradling him, trembling and trying to wake him and imploring him to stay with her. Blood from his back and his chest pooled around him and began soaking a good part of her expensive wedding dress.
She heard him whisper a name weakly, the bride's perhaps, and watched his pale fingers shakily reach up to touch her face. She quickly grasped his hand and held it between her delicate lace- gloved hands. She was sure, judging from the evident fear in the younger woman's face, that she could feel his strength slowly but surely draining.
Keep talking to him; keep him awake until an ambulance arrives, she heard one of the capos say when he came up to them to see how he was.
She saw that he had knelt down to inspect the hole in his heart, the one created by the first bullet: A direct hit.
The capo frowned.
"Oi, stay with us, alright?" He told him, trying to keep his worry from showing in his voice. Then he stood and pulled the best man aside.
That's a special bullet. He could smell something acidic; probably laced with a poison of some kind; no wonder he's growing weak so fast. And considering the number of bullets he got in his back... He'll be dead in minutes; what does the best man want to do about it?
Acidic. Acidic. A poison was eating away at his heart, inside his body... Slowly killing him painfully while he was bleeding to death.
Hearing that, she finally rushed over herself, almost crying, scolding; calling him a careless fool. "You foolish, reckless, stupid, stupid, stupid boy...!"
"... Sh- shu...t... up," she heard him murmur weakly. But she could see that he was still trying to breathe, slipping in and out of consciousness fast.
He was in obvious pain.
What was the best man going to do?
She heard him give the capo his orders: That assassin must be found; there had to be a way to counter that special bullet... Where was that damn ambulance? He then swore. Wait, where are Shamal and Kagakusha?
Or the Guardian of Sun?
"Went to chase after the assassin; they're in the fifth block by now."
"Tell them to get back here on the double; have someone bring Kagakusha's equipment and supplies from the base. Get Ryuunosuke or Volante-"
"But there's not enough time...!"
"I don't fucking care!" Then they suddenly heard the sounds of painful gasping and seizing. The best man rushed back to the groom. "Hang in there! Don't give up!" "
... Nnngghh..."
It hurt to watch, to see his face in cold sweat. The poison's effects had become stronger, she could tell, and he was loosing too much blood.
"Help me up," he hoarsely asked his bride and best man. She could see the once pristine white shirt had a large patch of crimson; the back of it was reduced to wet, red tatters along with his suit jacket.
"No, you stay still," the best man started to scold.
Then suddenly he stopped.
She followed his eyes and saw that he was staring back at resolved and solemn gaze: one he knew that he couldn't bring himself to argue against.
She knew that he felt that it would be cruel of him to refuse those eyes and deny his friend of what he wished to do with what was left of his time.
"I made a promise... to so many... and to myself... so please... help me up,"
Deciding she couldn't just sit by, she then stood up, intending to pursue the assassin. Angry tears had formed in her eyes and were threatening to fall and ruin her mascara. She resolved to herself that she would bring back that antidote-
"Wait," He called to her.
She stopped; stunned at what she was seeing. He was looking straight at her; he was looking.
Looking.
How was he doing that? After avoiding her all this time, he was finally actually looking at her:
"Forgive me..."
Was he trying to make amends? The stupid...!
She dropped to her knees beside him and enveloped him in a tight embrace, not caring if the blood from his heart and on his shirt soiled her gown and her hands. She heard him make a noise of pain when she moved him. She heard him choke once; presumably from the blood climbing his throat again. His sweat felt cold; she could feel it through her gloves.
She couldn't bear it... couldn't bear to see him suffering at a time like this: He didn't deserve this, she thought as pressed her forehead to his… He was supposed to be happy! A few of her tears fell onto his face. Her make- up was now ruined. She tried to stop the blood with her shawl; the best man's coat was too soaked with his blood to be of any use by now. She could feel his heartbeat with her hand underneath the sheer fabric and his cotton shirt. She didn't want to believe it... But it was growing deathly weak.
"Don't talk like that," she scolded him. "Don't you dare die, you stupid boy. Don't you dare die and leave her; I'll never forgive you if you do...!" She knew words were painfully unreasonable. But she hated to think of it: For all the power his position in the family held, he definitely had no control over this.
"... That's... nnn... none of... your- ahh! business..." He forced himself to retort. He was still defiant, she thought; she prayed he would be able to defy the end itself.
She laid a tender kiss on his cheek and returned him to his bride's arms. Looking back to that moment, it was a romantic way to die. But she did not wish for it to happen to him. She never, ever wished it for it to happen to him...
She told him to lie back down and stay still until an ambulance arrived.
"Just do as she says," the best man half-ordered, half-pleaded. "You can make it; just don't strain yourself-"
He shook his head weakly. "I can't... hhhhh... leave things... like... aaargh-! like this..." He protested hoarsely, forcing his weakening arms to push himself upright after she tried to lay him back down on the ground.
She watched him gently place one bloody hand on the lower front of the bodice piece of the bride's gown. They saw his eyes, mournful, regretful... She heard him whisper hoarsely: "I'm sorry... that it's the least… I can do now... I promised... no matter what happens... I would marry you today... didn't I? But even… if I don't… make it, do you still… want… to marry me...? And be… with me- even… after death do us part?"
She wanted to cry when she listened to him speak to her.
"I do."
They heard the priest quickly and solemnly pronounce them 'husband and wife'. She, the best man and the newly wedded couple stared at him in surprise: They'd forgotten he was still there. As a matter of fact, he was lying on his stomach beside them, his Bible acting as a protective cover for his head.
"Haa... hand me... tha-that contract..." He rasped. She reluctantly passed him the parchment paper and choked back her tears as she watched him strain to sign his name (beside the bride's) in his own blood.
"Give her... my mother's name," she heard him murmur quietly to his (now) wife when he finished.
An awkward pause came from her… and then: "... 'He'... 'He' says to tell you it's a boy." She told him quietly, hesitantly. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten about the deadly pain he was going through and stared.
The best man uneasily looked between them and gave a hushed order for someone to check if the Uragano Boss would still honor their end of the bargain... He still did marry her after all, "no matter what the circumstances".
But she saw he didn't even have the strength to visibly act completely indignant. "That..." (Oh, he did. Even until now, he still couldn't accept defeat against 'him'): "Ugh... Didn't we agree... you wouldn't tell me... before...?"
"I'm sorry." She murmured in a small voice, tenderly tucking a lock of hair behind his ear... In a strange sense, he looked just as handsome like that despite his condition. (At the same time, she could see him trembling slightly with more agonizing pain from where she sat… She could see it in his shaking fingers and slowly dulling eyes that he was beginning to slip away from them.)
He gave her a wan smile in return for the gesture. Then his eyes turned to his friend: "It has... been... an honor... Thank you." The best man nodded grimly to him; not shedding any tears: He was still a boss and he needed to look like he was in control. He knew he would understand... But it was still obvious to all of them that it hurt him to act in such a way.
Then he sighed; a quiet "Forgive me", caressed her cheek with a blood- speckled hand, his fingers trembling with pain and adorned with dark, silver rings. He whispered to her: "Ti amo..." and his new wife bent over him to kiss him softly on the lips.
She wondered what she was thinking, if she could taste his blood in that kiss... What he could he be thinking as his head rested on his bride's lap, his head cradled in her blood- stained arms, looking up at her beautiful, tear-stricken face upside down and with the knowledge of what he was leaving behind...? What were his regrets? His wishes? His dreams? Was he perhaps thinking of a future that could have been, or should have been? There was so much more that she didn't know about him; she only realized now how much of strangers they really were…
Too little time… Too many regrets… They all watched him close his eyes; blood still trailing from a corner of his lips… and saw that not a breath of air would pass through them afterwards.
She heard her let out a loud, choked sob and pleaded for him to wake; cupping his face in her hands, crying his name, again and again. The capos and the sggaristas who witnessed the scene bent their heads in respectful mourning. The best man tried to force back his own tears, wanting to openly mourn as well. But most of the Family was still there; he still had to appear like he was still in control... His most trusted man's passing was like the aftermath of a tempest: all it left was devastation.
With that, she then stood up. She broke off the high heels of her shoes and tore a long slit on the skirt of her gown. "Where are you going?" The best man suddenly asked her, almost angrily. Honestly, she didn't like that cold tone in his voice; it didn't suit him at all... But even then, she felt cold and angry as well.
"You don't need to ask where I'm going," came her bitter reply. She looked over to the bride: It seemed that she was she was ready to rise from her place on the floor. "I can't let you come with me." She told her firmly, stopping her by kneeling down beside her. She then placed her hand over the bloody hand print he'd left on her bridal gown, over her navel. It was rather odd to think that there was another life right underneath that tragic blood red mark, growing and living in the midst of emptiness inside: "You know you can't come with me."
She was going to carry out her vendetta herself, for them: for the sake of love.
She then looked down and caressed his cooling cheek tenderly one last time, remembering and regretting that she would no longer see his smile: the carefree and happy one she remembered in childhood, long lost in his years of lonely wanderings and disappointments, only recently regained when he finally let himself freely fall in love… Then she wiped the mascara-mixed tear from the corner of the young widow's eye; promising to herself to exact vengeance on the family responsible for stealing away her beloved on what should be the happiest day of her life too soon...
And no one, not even the best man, should stop her. It was evident to all those who could see the red on her dress and her hands: Her dear, most precious brother's blood was her war paint.
TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010 DISCONNECTED
A/N: Pfft- This is what I end up with after watching "A Walk to Remember" and "Kill Bill" all at the same time while trying to get myself to sleep off jet lag. I wrote the draft in January but only managed to really polish it off recently.
"Maid-of-Honor"?: -shrug- "Maid-of-honor", "Made of honor" and Mafiosi also known as "men of honor". See my messed up logic?
The one- shot is also titled "Making a Marriage and Taking to the Mattresses" if anyone wants to know... (It also had the working title of "War Paint") "Making a marriage" in mafia slang means joining two mafia families together. "Taking to the mattresses" means "going to war" or a fight with another mafia.
It's AU again; writing like this looked like a pretty good idea at the time. (Just like that time with Lambo and Gokudera Junior/ "Haya- two".)
But I don't know whether to laugh or go bang my head on the wall for fucking up this attempt at romance... Though I don't I think I could be any more blatant with the pairing I used. XD
... I think I left quite a lot of clues in this... and it seems people love making guessing games out of my stories so I didn't make a lot of notes this time; I'll leave this one up to reader's imaginations and interpretations. Originally, it was in the bride's perspective... and had... -le gasp!- lemon... But because it looked too long, I decided to reword everything to be told in the maid-of-honor's POV instead, at the same time getting rid of the lemon to keep the rating 'T'. XD Putting the lemon in there would have to change the rating to 'M'… And I don't want to make my one-shots all rated 'M'.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith": is a chick-flick, he thinks. LOL. But it would be pretty cool if the pairing worked that way.
Butterflies: Symbolize being "reborn" apparently. Too tired to double- check.
Hurricane 59 Roster: Some people wanted to see more of Kyousuke so I put him in here again. I also put in some of his fellow sggaristas, although not a lot of detail on them just yet. I'm not done with their respective one- shots AKA Tsuna's (mis)adventures on the road to becoming a real boss and Gokudera's slow but gradual development into the cool, suave- looking TYL version that I have so much fun giving Hell in "T.R.R.o.R." and killing off in my AUs. -shot-
Kagakusha Kyousuke (again): Hey, if he could create an organic chemical compound that's compatible with a GPS system, who's to say that he can't figure out the components of a "sex change formula"? Although, we have to remember not all of his experiments are successful...
Christopher/"Toph": I won't be surprised if nobody remembers Toph because he wasn't discussed in detail. To refresh your memory, he's Kyousuke's room mate AKA the guy whose arm Yamamoto broke while playing baseball. Physical feature- wise, he's a good-looking guy. Personality- wise... let's just say he's very quiet and a little shy for now.
"Isamu": "Hachirou's" trainer and master
"Antonio": Mentioned him already in the one- shot Kyousuke first appeared. He's the H59's "best hacker" and usually wears headphones.
"Ryuunosuke": Kyousuke's cousin. The one he looks just like "in the back"; he usually gives his capo trouble on purpose rather than actually helping him.
"Volante": Italian for "flying". His job has to do with transportation mostly.
The Bride: Oh, yeah... The "bride's" characteristics and description are partly taken from " Twenty Questions..." (I swear it was all coincidence, but everything just fell into place perfectly so why the heck not?), and she's not an original character of mine... She's from the canon cast. Ahohohoho... XD EDIT: Go read " Code of Silence". Right nao.
Disclaimer: I don't own. So leave me alone... I'm going to sleeeep...
Warning: Use of OCs and mentions of OCs. OOC-ness, insinuations... Cheeeeeeese... and as usual, CRACK. Written by a jetlagged zombie, so expect incoherence. I might be forgetting something else because this is mostly un-beta-ed... because I can't think very straight right now.
Maid-of-Honor
Written: Tuesday, January 06, 2009, 07:51:49 AM
Edited: February 15, 2009, 10:23:10 PM
Updated: May 18, 2009, 09:27:52 AM
STANDBY FOR TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010
Time: 12:00:00 NN
Location: Vongola Underground Base, Namimori City, Japan
Note: To be further analyzed to predict patterns of events from the First Generation up to the present.
Archive Summary: Record of alternative timeline for the Vongola's Tenth Generation Guardians.
Archive File Status: Downloading 59.95935846 percent complete...
BEGIN TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010
Butterflies were the messengers this time. In some way, their appearance made the whole affair seem even more romantic.
That's what she thought while he translated for her the information they brought him.
"Are you paying attention?"
Oh, of course she was, she assured him... Though she was lost in a little daydream of her own for a bit… What was he saying again?
He didn't sigh or admonish her, rather his face practically never changed (though that was not the point). But he repeated the news to her anyway.
After listening to him, she thought that it was about time... and she never felt so proud of him. She jumped out of her seat and eagerly inquired where she could find him: she absolutely must speak to him about this!
Then butterflies, it seemed, had then added another bit of information: crumpled up paper balls made out of scrapped security proposal plans were used as replacements for a bouquet of flowers... and something else. "What was the last part again?"
A piece of yarn. He translated.
"... Why did he have yarn on him in the first place?"
It wasn't his. Apparently the only available material for an improvised one was a piece stolen from the Guardian of Storm's box weapon's ball of yarn (its current favorite plaything whenever its master chose to ignore it while he was working), cut to an acceptable length using the Guardian of Rain's katana (thus another sacrilege to the Shigure Souen Ryu's esteemed blade was committed). Static electricity care of the Guardian of Thunder's flame made it stiffen so it could be folded into a circlet shape and held together with a bandage strip from the Guardian of Sun's personal stash.
Did she say she felt proud? Considering his context, perhaps it could pass off as romantic... But of course, to her: just that was not good enough.
'Men.' She thought, infuriated, as she went off in search of him to give him a piece of her mind. She unfortunately didn't bother to wait for him to give her directions to where he could be found.
It took her almost the whole morning: There must have been a memo (ordering to delay her in speaking to him, perhaps) released among the sggaristas because there seemed to be more requests for love advice than usual.
And if she didn't know any better, there must've have been an epidemic of love-sickness of some sort.
"Succubi," Volante had muttered under his breath as his idea of a detailed explanation.
... Well, "Succubi" was plenty enough of an explanation to her thanks to the fiasco involving it some time ago. Besides... the fact that he was wearing a gas mask and goggles and guarding the corridor to the sggaristas' quarters to prevent anyone from going in was more than enough evidence that it was something not to be taken lightly.
"Please stay away from the barracks for the meantime, Signorina. I'm quite sure he will not appreciate numerous marriage proposals piling up on his desk from the branch families."
And he then politely directed her to the direction of the office.
She paid no heed to the suit and shirt ensemble sitting in a little pile near the doorway. Instead, she noticed the commotion in it: inside was the capo she wanted to see, harassing one of his subordinates into putting on a particularly frilly, ribbon- laden, mauve- pink chiffon dress (which looked rather horrendous on the poor, good-looking boy, in her personal opinion).
She forewent knocking on the open door and immediately confronted him: What did he think he was doing? She deserves better than paper balls and a piece of yarn! He should get her real roses and a real ring.
What was she doing here? And it was an emergency; her plane was going to leave in an hour and a half...! He was also working under a budget and a time limit... Wait a minute, how did she find out all about it?
News travels faster in the Vongola grapevine; faster than the CCC program that he had so arrogantly prided himself on for mostly developing... And he was in the mafia; he could make better conditions for a more romantic proposal at the snap of his fingers; what kind of a pathetic excuse was 'her plane was leaving in an hour and a half'?
And he could have stopped her from leaving if he wanted to... Or even followed her himself for that matter. That definitely was much more romantic... She paused; a smile slowly began to take over the infuriated expression on her face when she saw the backs of his ears had turned pink... Her mood then began shifting from indignant to an entirely different emotion...
"... Wouldn't you think so?" She smiled as a teasing manner of lighting his fuse.
"Romantic?" He spat. He took the bait, she decided triumphantly. He was just too fun to tease: It must have appeared to him to be the most inexcusable idea; to chase after her when they both kept themselves in an almost unreasonable distance physical personal distance in public to prevent rival mafia from discovering their true relationship.
She supposed that was how he showed that he loved her; by physically distancing himself from her and vice- versa to protect each other from the hazards their positions brought each other.
It was obviously unconventional and rather lonely though in her opinion. (She wondered how their living arrangements would be like after the wedding; was she moving in or were they keeping the same arrangement as when he was still courting her, if 'courting' is the right word to describe it... It looked more of a political marriage or a marriage of convenience to anyone who wasn't aware of the history culminating into this whirlwind romance.)
"Why not?" She smiled. 'What they have is a "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" kind of love story,' she rationalized to herself but didn't say out loud. Knowing him, he would probably accuse her of "watching too many chick flicks with Haru and the Tenth's Signora on 'Girls' Night Out'." ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a 'chick flick' in his opinion, apparently.)
"And leave the Vongola administration short of manpower?" He frowned in response. He didn't think so. And he wasn't one to oppose his Boss' orders for a personal affair. He'd spent years of his life establishing that fact.
Then he stopped: Wait, this isn't about how he proposed to his fiancée, was it?
She wanted something from him; he continued suspiciously, still not turning around and look at her while talking. (Then he stuck out his foot to trip the younger Mafioso trying to wiggle out of the mauve-pink dress and kept him in place by stepping on the frumpy skirt. "Stay put, Toph!" He scolded.)
So get straight to the point: what exactly did she want from him?
She wanted to be in charge of the cake for occasion… She actually came looking for him because she wanted to know which flavor they would like; she could make for them chocolate, vanilla: "How about a tropical- themed one?" She teased. "With all sorts of fruits on the icing? Mangos, kiwis, pineapple-"
His face suddenly matched the mauve- pink dress the unlucky sggarista (who had somehow become ignored in the background all throughout their conversation) was half- wearing- half- having- a- losing- battle- with. It seemed that his capo was too embarrassed to have her make a cake because he then adamantly refused her offer.
Naturally, she insisted: It was the very least she could do for him. She wanted to help in the preparations since she wasn't able to intervene in time to make his proposal more romantic...
"And an occasion such as this needs something made wi-"
He cut her off by hotly demanding for her to leave his office.
When he looked to the side, he found a pile of discarded ribbons, mauve- pink chiffon and his subordinate missing (and as could be seen by the clothes also being missing from their original place on the floor).
Apparently Christopher (who seemed to be looking a little pale and feverish again) had managed to sneak out while they were still talking...
He frowned and briskly strode out of the room to search for him.
She herself frowned and followed him closely, still trying to negotiate with him into letting her help in the planning and preparations: Why he was using a male subordinate (albeit a very good- looking one... though a bit on the slender side; that young boy needed nourishment; he must have been underfed in his former place of employment before he was ordered to transfer out. She would see to it herself that he had a decent meal later. He retorted that he didn't want his best negotiator bedridden just before the Tenth's peace talks started later this week,) as a replacement for a mannequin to model for the bridesmaids' dresses was beyond her.
She surmised aloud that he must have promised himself something ridiculous like...
... Like...
... Like not looking at another woman while his fiancée was away, he snapped in response.
Well, if he needed someone to model for the female members of the bridal entourage's dresses, why didn't he just ask her? He wasn't going to be unfaithful to his fiancée if he was looking at her while she was away, she teased him.
He nearly tripped on his own feet. From where she was standing, he looked a little green and she assumed it was just nerves: The realization that he was going to get married must have finally sunk in.
So she decided to give him some moral support; it was given that she should do so: she warned him not to get cold feet and assured him she would be with him every step of the way...
"Love is what matters the most after all."
It's an upset stomach he was more worried about! He would rather she wasn't in the way, all the way! "And put something on, damn it!" He almost shouted at her, carefully keeping his eyes anywhere but on her as he turned the corner, toward the experimental laboratories...
Then a powerful explosion resonated abruptly from the third one near the end of the corridor.
Muttering a curse in what sounded like a garble of Japanese and Italian, he switched on the exhausts by way of a button located on the wall beside him. Then he stopped Kyousuke (who had just run out of one of the laboratories, frantically waving orange smoke away from his face) to interrogate him for Christopher's whereabouts; unfortunately, he had caught hold of the younger Mafioso too suddenly while he wasn't looking... thus causing him to stumble. As a result, the sggarista accidentally spilt the contents of the large beaker he was carrying all over his superior.
She stifled her laughter when she saw that he had gotten a face- full of Kyousuke's latest experiment... or project... or whatever he had been tasked to do that day.
"What... is this orange gunk?" He asked a little too calmly as he inspected the colloidal substance that had splattered onto his face, hair and suit... He looked down at himself and tried to wipe his fingers on what little dry space on his handkerchief was left.
Kyousuke fidgeted for a bit. "Uhm... Signore said... I- I- It's supposedly a... uhm... a..."
"Just spit it out."
"It's supposed to be a sex change formula, Sir."
"... What?" He jerked his head to look up from his clothes and to gape at the younger Mafioso...
Kyousuke then laughed a bit awkwardly and tried to explain: He got a request from another capo to check out a substance stolen from a minor mafia family: But he wasn't certain if it worked as he had only just started on it a few minutes ago... He hadn't been able to test it on a hamster or lab rat yet to confirm if it was as the capo said it was...
Reportedly, it was supposed to change the gender of any living mammal it came in direct physical contact with (which was why he was wearing a protective suit, gear and everything...)
And… Actually, he was just going to try and get permission from the Tenth to test it out on a living thing… but since he, his superior, was here already, he might as well just ask him since he was practically a high authority in the family anyway besides the Tenth...
"You know how he is about animal testing..." He trailed off lamely when he looked up at his superior's face. "Uhm... But... hey, if it actually works, it's not like it's going to affect your married life all that much, right? You aren't planning on having any kids of your own, right?" He then put on cheery grin to try and keep things friendly. "I mean, it's her after all..."
Then he stopped. She decided that he must have seen that the older man's eyes had been narrowed into a vindictive stare. Although she couldn't tell if that was the case since he kept his back to her. It was just a feeling on her part.
... Although Kyousuke seemed to have decided that that moment was signal for him to start running for his life.
The older Mafioso then gave chase, shouting and swearing furiously at the top of his lungs: "You-! IDIOT! It DOESN'T work that way! Stop running, Kagakusha, and come here so I can FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
She could still hear the sound of their Italian leather shoes pounding on the metal floor and echoing throughout the corridor... followed by explosions and the sound of barking when the pursuing party presumably collided with Isamu ("Jyuu-! No! Jyuu- Stop! That tickles! Ah-! Ahahahahahaaa...!").
From the ruckus, she could easily surmise that even more chaos had erupted... Needless to say, it would be a while a little while before he would be in a better, more negotiable mood in letting her help with the preparations.
She bent down to catch Hachirou (who yipped once in surprise when she picked it up), and walked over to the confusion. She decided that she would help him in catching both Christopher and Kyousuke...
But on the condition that she would have a part in the wedding plans.
All because she believed that he was, for the most part, incapable of being romantic under ordinary circumstances.
Almost three months later, most of the Vongola's main administration based in Japan was making frantic arrangements and preparations.
The Uragano Boss had suddenly come to call: he came to give his blessings ("Hopefully," Antonio corrected.) and to meet with ("And hopefully approve of," Antonio added again) his future "adoptive daughter-in-law". (Antonio supplied once more: "He wants a cute great granddaughter to come out of this. Gee... You sure have a lot of pressure on you now that you're a mafia bo-OWW! AAA- ACK!"
Ryuunosuke, in a rare moment of consideration for him (or maybe he had also gotten pissed off from listening to his fellow sggarista's commentary) twisted the cord of Antonio's headphones around his neck to shut him up. It seemed that he had noticed that his capo was planning to move in to strangle the hacker himself.)
She suggested that they have dinner in a restaurant... followed by a litany of other "romantic" locations that he thought was too numerous to list in his agenda.
Rather than listening to her suggestions, he told her to get out of his office.
He wanted to speak with his fiancée alone regarding the matter and discuss with her some other related things... Rules a mafia wife must obey, she surmised.
She gave them a knowing look, and then bade him to "behave himself" until after the formalities.
That's plenty of time for him to show off his performance in the be-
"Get the Hell out here". He snapped at her, almost growling.
She giggled at the sight of the blushing bride-to-be and the irritated boy, no; he is no longer a boy.
He is now a man...
Oh, how it seemed like only yesterday that they were children, that she played short duet pieces with him on the piano; that they played 'house' and pranks on the servants and their father's subordinates and held tea parties with her dolls (with him unwillingly wearing a frilly dress that she'd forced on him... Oh... so that's where he got the idea for the dress he forced on Toph a few months ago... No wonder the style looked rather familiar).
She couldn't resist giving one last peek at them from behind the door. ('To make sure the young ones behaved themselves,' she thought.)
But she saw that they were only poring over the account books and discussing who would sit next to whom in the dinner party for later that night.
How boring, she thought. But they looked very cute as a young couple.
It seemed she wasn't going to see any open public display of affection between them for now... Although she did see a faint smile on his lips as he listened to her talk… He seemed perfectly contented with just being beside her after having not seen her for quite a long time. Who was to say that she didn't also wish for that kind of happiness for herself?
The entire thing may well be a political marriage of sorts; a gambit to reunite all the smaller families within the mafia... but she was quite sure that he was marrying her because he did love her: That warm tender gaze he had been giving the lovely young woman beside him as they went over the account books surely meant something, right? She thought before she quietly closed the door.
She looked beautiful, she told her. The eye shadow set off the color of her eye... And she had such soft, lovely hair... He must have liked that about her; was that what attracted him? (She just assumed that that was the case because she remembered his real mother had long hair…)
"She speaks Italian." One of the capos (who was there taking pictures of the bride's make- up process) supplied.
"In EXTREMELY beautiful Italiano, he said." Another one (who was apparently there for no reason other than heckling the groom, who should be in the room across the hall... perhaps he had made mistake but hung around either way?) supplied jokingly.
"He thinks she's gorgeous."
"He doesn't want her out of his sight ever."
"Finally something he's crazy about that's NOT a box weapon." Both men then snickered between themselves appreciatively. She was tempted to roll her eyes at their antics while; the bride herself looked rather embarrassed as she listened to the two older men. But she told the younger woman to ignore them.
"Their turn will come," she declared with a tone of finality.
Then she bade them to leave the room; she was going to help the bride put on her bridal garter next.
… And she was quite sure he was NOT going to appreciate the two men seeing what was up his pretty bride's skirt before he did... And any part of her legs higher than her knees is exclusively for his eyes only now...
The young bride flushed furiously when she heard her and fiddled with the ends of the lacy gloves covering her fingertips as she watched her proceed to kick the two of them out... ("We're not stupid enough to risk both their wrath." The one taking pictures laughed as she made to swat him with her purse, his quick reflexes enabling him to dodge.) But they both wished the bride good luck and then took their leave. But before he left, the shorter of the two pressed a small box into her hands: "That's from Hana; she said to tell you to wear it tonight." Then he gave her a knowing, roguish wink.
"Ten stars rated by yours truly: It'll kill him; he's got a thing for black after all."
She frowned at the improper insinuations and dragged him away from the young lady by the back of his suit jacket's collar... Then she bodily threw him out. ("THAT WAS EXTREMELY HARSH TO THE MAX!!!")
When she shut the door, she heard the two men begin their joint- heckling in the groom's room just across the hall. ("Here's a little pre-wedding present from me." She could hear one of them laughing. Apparently, the groom had been presented with a small box of his own.
"What the Hell is this? I don't have a cold!"
"Ahahaha...! From what Senpai's been telling me, I think you'll definitely need a lot of tissue tonight!"
"You're both idiots...! What do I need this much tissue for?!"
"You'll see, you'll see!"
"Believe me; I needed five boxes of the stuff when she showed me what she got her! I got the most EXTREME nosebleed!!!")
She then helped her put on the garter... and handed her the bouquet (which she fully intended to catch during the wedding reception later)... She smiled and thanked her for being their maid-of-honors; he didn't know whom else to ask on almost- short notice…
She smiled back and replied that it was her groom's promise to her.
"And you may call me 'Aneki' now. After today... you'll be my younger sister."
After a couple of blinks in surprise, her soon-to-be sister thanked her warmly, her lovely smile proving her to be the happiest bride there could ever be. Then their conversation turned to the rest of the bridal entourage: so who was going to give her away? He refused to let her in on choosing the members of the bridal entourage.
"The Consigliore," he replied for her from behind them.
She supposed that was to be expected... But: Who was going to give him away?
"Doctor Satomi." He supplied promptly.
Well, she definitely preferred her over another doctor they were (unfortunately) acquainted with.
Wait, wait, wait a minute! What was he doing here?
He wasn't supposed to be in here in the first place...!
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!" She scolded and made to push him out. He appeared to hesitate momentarily before firmly steeling himself and scowling at her.
"Who still believes in that?" He then snorted, side- stepped her and pushed her out of the dressing room. Then he swung the door closed but not entirely shut. It seemed that he had something to speak to abut with his fiancée again... Judging from the urgency in his tone, it was apparently it was something work- related again.
She hoped that it wasn't a plan to suddenly postpone the wedding so she hung outside the door to peek and eavesdrop… She could hear them talking... Although it was not the romantic 'I- am- the- luckiest- man- alive- to- be- marrying- you' kind of talk she was hoping for…
As always with him, it always had something to do with their work: was she alright with putting the honeymoon on hold? There was yet another gathering in the Vongola mafia's administration's schedule; their attendance was required again... He had just received word that the Uragano boss had agreed that his splinter group would recognize again the authority of the Vongola over it... IF the wedding pushed through, that is... Uragano was rather eccentric, but this way was definitely a more peaceful method of settling the quarrel; no matter how unconventional... It was still his job to settle the quarrels in the Family before they reached the Boss' level.
All in all: It wasn't only their marriage that would be taking place today. The family would be making a marriage at the same time; the main Family's hopes of reuniting all the smaller families and splinter factions were all riding on both their signatures marking a legitimate marriage contract.
('Didn't that make her seem like a princess,' she thought, amused, as she listened to them from behind the door.)
But he assured her that the success of the wedding ceremony wasn't only about for the sake of the Famiglia's internal politics.
Although... he sounded rather awkward and uncertain as he said his piece; almost as if he were afraid she would take everything the wrong way.
Through the crack in the doorway, she watched her place a finger on his lips to silence him: It would be alright, she heard her assure him: She was part of the Family as well; she knew her role... and of course the Family came first. Mafia law dictated that the Famiglia came above everything else.
... Even him.
And she understood that much too well enough as a member of the Family and a soon-to-be mafia wife; he didn't have to worry about her part for her as well.
She saw him breathe a sigh of relief and heard him promise her that no matter what happened, the wedding would continue. He wasn't going to embarrass anyone by getting cold feet: Even if a storm blew out the ornate stained glass window over the altar... even if the Cavallone Boss (who would be attending with a number of his subordinates anyway) upset the wedding cake... (He went on to list several ridiculous and highly unlikely scenarios): he would still want to marry her today.
Outside the room, she could only shake her head and feel embarrassed for him: when alone with the woman he loved, he could be so corny...
But she supposed that could be considered romantic for him.
Finally deciding she wasn't interested to know if he would still marry his bride even if a reptilian mountain god demolished the wedding cake instead of the Cavallone Boss, she then decided to inspect the food to be served in the reception later.
She just felt that there just weren't enough appetizers and dessert laid out for the guests. But she kept in mind that the younger women (namely Kyoko, Haru, Hana, Chrome and I-Pin) might need her help in touching up their make-up later before the ceremony started. So she made plans to return to the bridal dressing room much later.
Everything had been going so smoothly.
All the families concerned were in attendance and the entire church was laden with fragrant floral arrangements. Everything was perfect. She had even espied Shamal sobbing in a corner: It was most likely that Doctor Satomi must have given him a good one in the family jewels; she was sitting beside him (to keep a leash on him perhaps) with her arms crossed and wearing a rather accomplished smile on her beautifully made up face.
They made it through a good deal of the ceremony without a problem, or an explosion going off... or any of the guests from various major, middling and minor factions of the Family trying to kill each other...
When they arrived at the signing of the marriage contract, he suddenly took a bullet to the chest. There was no time to activate box weapons or pull out any other weapon: he had seen an assassin's silhouette, positioned behind the stained glass window behind the altar...
... And he instinctively acted to protect his best man.
She had heard the bride scream when she saw the two of them tumble down the steps before the altar after the first shots were fired. She had seen a ribbon of red fly from his heart... seemingly springing toward the bride to reach out to pull him back... She had tried to catch him before he fell.
But she couldn't get to him in time.
Instead, the pure white of her bridal gown and veil was sprinkled and spattered with dark red.
Then several shots followed the first round, raining on the carpet, on the altar and around them... The civilian guests ducked in the pews themselves if they were not forced to hit the ground by their mafia counterparts. Those who had been able to activate box weapons immediately tried to create barriers against the bullets if their flames types allowed it. The bride had also dropped to the ground, her lace-gloved hands covering her head. However, the shots weren't concentrated on her.
Either way, she shielded her and herself with the spare wedding cakes she had made in case the original was some way or another damaged before the reception.
The lone teenage Guardian hurriedly rushed to usher out the Boss' wife and the other female guests away from the chaos into the corridor beyond the main chapel. She could hear loud protests from one young lady, shrieking that her fiancé was still in the line of fire. Immediately, a tall man with a pompadour (who attended the ceremony as a proxy for another guest) came to the teenage boy's aid and forcibly pulled her into a side room where the other women and civilians were made to take shelter in.
Some of the armed Mafiosi returned fire to the where the first shots had come from: at the large stained glass window behind the altar. Colored glass shattered and rained over them, broken saints and angels seemingly falling from the heavens. She forcibly pulled her sister-in-law to-be back when she saw her try to move toward the groom, pulling her long veil over them to act as a net to make as much of the stained glass fragments bounce off them.
With the gunfire still ringing in her ears, she looked beyond the translucent fabric and saw him stubbornly continuing to shield his best man. The back of his jacket was fast growing to resemble a heat-distorted cheese grater. The still intact image of the Archangel Gabriel on what remained of the stained glass window was riddled with holes in his chest after the sound of gunshots and return fire from the body guards rang through the chapel.
And then finally, the shooting stopped.
Those who were left of the assembly sprung to their feet in uproar and distress; the civilians either curious or panicked and the members of the mafia furious and vindictive. All the capos present immediately moved to organize their squads and apprehend the source of the shooting, as well as implement damage control and check on the civilian guests.
The best man gave orders from the floor, for his men to apprehend the assassin... or perhaps assassins, they had to find out how many there were, while he tried to stop the blood from the groom's chest with the bunched up fabric of his suit jacket. He'd laid him on his back or the groom had rolled off him when the shooting stopped; she wasn't sure… and found a packet of tissue in the groom's jacket pocket, but even that wasn't enough to stop the blood.
"Breathe, don't go to sleep," she heard him say.
"Hey! Can you hear me?"
From her place, she could see his chest heaving in an unsteady rhythm; could hear his labored gasps, his chokes as blood climbed his throat to trickle from the corners of his lips.
She saw the bride was in shock. She could see her trembling, staring at the dark red blooming like roses on her veil and dress. Then she saw her shakily tear the veil off with her gloved hands, heard her cry out his name and run down the steps of the altar to fall to her knees beside him... She watched her gather him up in her arms, cradling him, trembling and trying to wake him and imploring him to stay with her. Blood from his back and his chest pooled around him and began soaking a good part of her expensive wedding dress.
She heard him whisper a name weakly, the bride's perhaps, and watched his pale fingers shakily reach up to touch her face. She quickly grasped his hand and held it between her delicate lace- gloved hands. She was sure, judging from the evident fear in the younger woman's face, that she could feel his strength slowly but surely draining.
Keep talking to him; keep him awake until an ambulance arrives, she heard one of the capos say when he came up to them to see how he was.
She saw that he had knelt down to inspect the hole in his heart, the one created by the first bullet: A direct hit.
The capo frowned.
"Oi, stay with us, alright?" He told him, trying to keep his worry from showing in his voice. Then he stood and pulled the best man aside.
That's a special bullet. He could smell something acidic; probably laced with a poison of some kind; no wonder he's growing weak so fast. And considering the number of bullets he got in his back... He'll be dead in minutes; what does the best man want to do about it?
Acidic. Acidic. A poison was eating away at his heart, inside his body... Slowly killing him painfully while he was bleeding to death.
Hearing that, she finally rushed over herself, almost crying, scolding; calling him a careless fool. "You foolish, reckless, stupid, stupid, stupid boy...!"
"... Sh- shu...t... up," she heard him murmur weakly. But she could see that he was still trying to breathe, slipping in and out of consciousness fast.
He was in obvious pain.
What was the best man going to do?
She heard him give the capo his orders: That assassin must be found; there had to be a way to counter that special bullet... Where was that damn ambulance? He then swore. Wait, where are Shamal and Kagakusha?
Or the Guardian of Sun?
"Went to chase after the assassin; they're in the fifth block by now."
"Tell them to get back here on the double; have someone bring Kagakusha's equipment and supplies from the base. Get Ryuunosuke or Volante-"
"But there's not enough time...!"
"I don't fucking care!" Then they suddenly heard the sounds of painful gasping and seizing. The best man rushed back to the groom. "Hang in there! Don't give up!" "
... Nnngghh..."
It hurt to watch, to see his face in cold sweat. The poison's effects had become stronger, she could tell, and he was loosing too much blood.
"Help me up," he hoarsely asked his bride and best man. She could see the once pristine white shirt had a large patch of crimson; the back of it was reduced to wet, red tatters along with his suit jacket.
"No, you stay still," the best man started to scold.
Then suddenly he stopped.
She followed his eyes and saw that he was staring back at resolved and solemn gaze: one he knew that he couldn't bring himself to argue against.
She knew that he felt that it would be cruel of him to refuse those eyes and deny his friend of what he wished to do with what was left of his time.
"I made a promise... to so many... and to myself... so please... help me up,"
Deciding she couldn't just sit by, she then stood up, intending to pursue the assassin. Angry tears had formed in her eyes and were threatening to fall and ruin her mascara. She resolved to herself that she would bring back that antidote-
"Wait," He called to her.
She stopped; stunned at what she was seeing. He was looking straight at her; he was looking.
Looking.
How was he doing that? After avoiding her all this time, he was finally actually looking at her:
"Forgive me..."
Was he trying to make amends? The stupid...!
She dropped to her knees beside him and enveloped him in a tight embrace, not caring if the blood from his heart and on his shirt soiled her gown and her hands. She heard him make a noise of pain when she moved him. She heard him choke once; presumably from the blood climbing his throat again. His sweat felt cold; she could feel it through her gloves.
She couldn't bear it... couldn't bear to see him suffering at a time like this: He didn't deserve this, she thought as pressed her forehead to his… He was supposed to be happy! A few of her tears fell onto his face. Her make- up was now ruined. She tried to stop the blood with her shawl; the best man's coat was too soaked with his blood to be of any use by now. She could feel his heartbeat with her hand underneath the sheer fabric and his cotton shirt. She didn't want to believe it... But it was growing deathly weak.
"Don't talk like that," she scolded him. "Don't you dare die, you stupid boy. Don't you dare die and leave her; I'll never forgive you if you do...!" She knew words were painfully unreasonable. But she hated to think of it: For all the power his position in the family held, he definitely had no control over this.
"... That's... nnn... none of... your- ahh! business..." He forced himself to retort. He was still defiant, she thought; she prayed he would be able to defy the end itself.
She laid a tender kiss on his cheek and returned him to his bride's arms. Looking back to that moment, it was a romantic way to die. But she did not wish for it to happen to him. She never, ever wished it for it to happen to him...
She told him to lie back down and stay still until an ambulance arrived.
"Just do as she says," the best man half-ordered, half-pleaded. "You can make it; just don't strain yourself-"
He shook his head weakly. "I can't... hhhhh... leave things... like... aaargh-! like this..." He protested hoarsely, forcing his weakening arms to push himself upright after she tried to lay him back down on the ground.
She watched him gently place one bloody hand on the lower front of the bodice piece of the bride's gown. They saw his eyes, mournful, regretful... She heard him whisper hoarsely: "I'm sorry... that it's the least… I can do now... I promised... no matter what happens... I would marry you today... didn't I? But even… if I don't… make it, do you still… want… to marry me...? And be… with me- even… after death do us part?"
She wanted to cry when she listened to him speak to her.
"I do."
They heard the priest quickly and solemnly pronounce them 'husband and wife'. She, the best man and the newly wedded couple stared at him in surprise: They'd forgotten he was still there. As a matter of fact, he was lying on his stomach beside them, his Bible acting as a protective cover for his head.
"Haa... hand me... tha-that contract..." He rasped. She reluctantly passed him the parchment paper and choked back her tears as she watched him strain to sign his name (beside the bride's) in his own blood.
"Give her... my mother's name," she heard him murmur quietly to his (now) wife when he finished.
An awkward pause came from her… and then: "... 'He'... 'He' says to tell you it's a boy." She told him quietly, hesitantly. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten about the deadly pain he was going through and stared.
The best man uneasily looked between them and gave a hushed order for someone to check if the Uragano Boss would still honor their end of the bargain... He still did marry her after all, "no matter what the circumstances".
But she saw he didn't even have the strength to visibly act completely indignant. "That..." (Oh, he did. Even until now, he still couldn't accept defeat against 'him'): "Ugh... Didn't we agree... you wouldn't tell me... before...?"
"I'm sorry." She murmured in a small voice, tenderly tucking a lock of hair behind his ear... In a strange sense, he looked just as handsome like that despite his condition. (At the same time, she could see him trembling slightly with more agonizing pain from where she sat… She could see it in his shaking fingers and slowly dulling eyes that he was beginning to slip away from them.)
He gave her a wan smile in return for the gesture. Then his eyes turned to his friend: "It has... been... an honor... Thank you." The best man nodded grimly to him; not shedding any tears: He was still a boss and he needed to look like he was in control. He knew he would understand... But it was still obvious to all of them that it hurt him to act in such a way.
Then he sighed; a quiet "Forgive me", caressed her cheek with a blood- speckled hand, his fingers trembling with pain and adorned with dark, silver rings. He whispered to her: "Ti amo..." and his new wife bent over him to kiss him softly on the lips.
She wondered what she was thinking, if she could taste his blood in that kiss... What he could he be thinking as his head rested on his bride's lap, his head cradled in her blood- stained arms, looking up at her beautiful, tear-stricken face upside down and with the knowledge of what he was leaving behind...? What were his regrets? His wishes? His dreams? Was he perhaps thinking of a future that could have been, or should have been? There was so much more that she didn't know about him; she only realized now how much of strangers they really were…
Too little time… Too many regrets… They all watched him close his eyes; blood still trailing from a corner of his lips… and saw that not a breath of air would pass through them afterwards.
She heard her let out a loud, choked sob and pleaded for him to wake; cupping his face in her hands, crying his name, again and again. The capos and the sggaristas who witnessed the scene bent their heads in respectful mourning. The best man tried to force back his own tears, wanting to openly mourn as well. But most of the Family was still there; he still had to appear like he was still in control... His most trusted man's passing was like the aftermath of a tempest: all it left was devastation.
With that, she then stood up. She broke off the high heels of her shoes and tore a long slit on the skirt of her gown. "Where are you going?" The best man suddenly asked her, almost angrily. Honestly, she didn't like that cold tone in his voice; it didn't suit him at all... But even then, she felt cold and angry as well.
"You don't need to ask where I'm going," came her bitter reply. She looked over to the bride: It seemed that she was she was ready to rise from her place on the floor. "I can't let you come with me." She told her firmly, stopping her by kneeling down beside her. She then placed her hand over the bloody hand print he'd left on her bridal gown, over her navel. It was rather odd to think that there was another life right underneath that tragic blood red mark, growing and living in the midst of emptiness inside: "You know you can't come with me."
She was going to carry out her vendetta herself, for them: for the sake of love.
She then looked down and caressed his cooling cheek tenderly one last time, remembering and regretting that she would no longer see his smile: the carefree and happy one she remembered in childhood, long lost in his years of lonely wanderings and disappointments, only recently regained when he finally let himself freely fall in love… Then she wiped the mascara-mixed tear from the corner of the young widow's eye; promising to herself to exact vengeance on the family responsible for stealing away her beloved on what should be the happiest day of her life too soon...
And no one, not even the best man, should stop her. It was evident to all those who could see the red on her dress and her hands: Her dear, most precious brother's blood was her war paint.
TRANSMISSION OF DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVE FILE 010 DISCONNECTED
A/N: Pfft- This is what I end up with after watching "A Walk to Remember" and "Kill Bill" all at the same time while trying to get myself to sleep off jet lag. I wrote the draft in January but only managed to really polish it off recently.
"Maid-of-Honor"?: -shrug- "Maid-of-honor", "Made of honor" and Mafiosi also known as "men of honor". See my messed up logic?
The one- shot is also titled "Making a Marriage and Taking to the Mattresses" if anyone wants to know... (It also had the working title of "War Paint") "Making a marriage" in mafia slang means joining two mafia families together. "Taking to the mattresses" means "going to war" or a fight with another mafia.
It's AU again; writing like this looked like a pretty good idea at the time. (Just like that time with Lambo and Gokudera Junior/ "Haya- two".)
But I don't know whether to laugh or go bang my head on the wall for fucking up this attempt at romance... Though I don't I think I could be any more blatant with the pairing I used. XD
... I think I left quite a lot of clues in this... and it seems people love making guessing games out of my stories so I didn't make a lot of notes this time; I'll leave this one up to reader's imaginations and interpretations. Originally, it was in the bride's perspective... and had... -le gasp!- lemon... But because it looked too long, I decided to reword everything to be told in the maid-of-honor's POV instead, at the same time getting rid of the lemon to keep the rating 'T'. XD Putting the lemon in there would have to change the rating to 'M'… And I don't want to make my one-shots all rated 'M'.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith": is a chick-flick, he thinks. LOL. But it would be pretty cool if the pairing worked that way.
Butterflies: Symbolize being "reborn" apparently. Too tired to double- check.
Hurricane 59 Roster: Some people wanted to see more of Kyousuke so I put him in here again. I also put in some of his fellow sggaristas, although not a lot of detail on them just yet. I'm not done with their respective one- shots AKA Tsuna's (mis)adventures on the road to becoming a real boss and Gokudera's slow but gradual development into the cool, suave- looking TYL version that I have so much fun giving Hell in "T.R.R.o.R." and killing off in my AUs. -shot-
Kagakusha Kyousuke (again): Hey, if he could create an organic chemical compound that's compatible with a GPS system, who's to say that he can't figure out the components of a "sex change formula"? Although, we have to remember not all of his experiments are successful...
Christopher/"Toph": I won't be surprised if nobody remembers Toph because he wasn't discussed in detail. To refresh your memory, he's Kyousuke's room mate AKA the guy whose arm Yamamoto broke while playing baseball. Physical feature- wise, he's a good-looking guy. Personality- wise... let's just say he's very quiet and a little shy for now.
"Isamu": "Hachirou's" trainer and master
"Antonio": Mentioned him already in the one- shot Kyousuke first appeared. He's the H59's "best hacker" and usually wears headphones.
"Ryuunosuke": Kyousuke's cousin. The one he looks just like "in the back"; he usually gives his capo trouble on purpose rather than actually helping him.
"Volante": Italian for "flying". His job has to do with transportation mostly.
The Bride: Oh, yeah... The "bride's" characteristics and description are partly taken from " Twenty Questions..." (I swear it was all coincidence, but everything just fell into place perfectly so why the heck not?), and she's not an original character of mine... She's from the canon cast. Ahohohoho... XD EDIT: Go read " Code of Silence". Right nao.