Chapter Text
The ceremony wasn't set to start until two in the afternoon, but it was seven in the morning when Xander had woken up. It was the time Xander would normally be at work, but he was almost always in bed by ten, and last night they had been up until after midnight doing some of the last-minute preparations. There was still all the decorating to do today. It was seven now, and Xander took deep breaths and enjoyed the time he had to himself while finishing up his third cup of coffee and reading the news on his phone before heading out to the hotel. They only had nine months of quiet left if things went well. He was sitting in bed, and Laslow lay sleeping beside him. He had helped out the night before, but Xander assured him he could sleep in and show up a couple of hours later.
Their suits hung on the back of the bedroom door. Ryouma and he were going to wear just a black and white kimono and suit with embellishments matching their respective sisters. Camilla and Elise were going to wear navy gowns, while Hinoka and Sakura would wear red patterned kimonos. Elise had even dyed her normally pink streaks to stunning azure blue to not clash. Sophie was going to be a flower girl, wearing a blue and red dress and Xander and Ryouma were going to hold their brother's rings for their spouse since Shiro was too young to be a ring bearer. Everything was made by Oboro, who had been diligently working on everything since the engagement party.
Laslow had picked out a cool grey suit that matched his dark silver hair, with a white dress shirt, and tie that matched Xander. Xander thought he looked quite sharp in that suit, and couldn't wait to show off his boyfriend at the reception. They had been diligently practicing their partner dancing with Leo, Takumi, Ryouma, and his wife Scarlet at Olivia's dance studio at least twice a week for the last few of months and he was actually excited to dance at a formal event for once.
His last cup coffee finished, Xander kissed Laslow’s forehead and got himself out of bed. He smelled of flowery bubble bath they had used last night when they got home. Xander didn't put his suit on yet, it'd be better to put it on at the banquet hall everyone was getting ready at. He didn't want to incur the wrath of Oboro if it got wrinkled.
The sun was actually shining this summer morning for once and Xander was in incredibly glad everything was taking place inside. Not that Leo would have allowed it to be outside anyways, he burned so easily that an hour of sun exposure was enough to turn him completely red with sunblock on. Xander too sunburned easily, but never as bad his brother.
The drive downtown was relatively easy this early on a Saturday morning, and it only took him twenty minutes to get there from his house in the suburbs. The wedding was being held at a small hotel banquet hall and guests would able to spend the night without worrying about a way home after a night of drinking. It was going to be a small wedding of about sixty guests, since neither groom enjoyed large gatherings, with more friends and their families than extended family members.
Xander arrived at the hotel to find almost everyone had arrived and most preparations were done. Elise was guiding the chair placement for the ceremony with Ryouma, Camila was working on placing decorations with Hinoka, and Sakura was setting up a couple of things needed for the ceremony. Sakura had opted out of officiating as a shrine maiden, preferring to enjoy the ceremony at her brother’s side however they would be incorporating a Hoshidan tradition into the ceremony that Sakura would lead. They were all so busy they hadn't even noticed he had arrived.
Wondering where he should put his suit, he approached Elise, who had organised nearly everything with help from Camilla. “Xander, you finally made it! Where's Laslow?”
“I let him sleep in and he'll be here later. We worked him pretty hard last night. Where should I put my suit?”
“If you go back through the doors and turn left there's a large room where we'll be getting ready. You can hang it in there. After I'll need you to help out Camilla and Hinoka with decorations. Oh and here's the two key cards to your hotel room for tonight,” Elise pulled the plastic cards out of a purse at her feet, and turned back to Ryouma. “Move that row back a little! No one's going to have leg room!”
Xander left the two to their work and set out for the dressing room, only to find Oboro doing last-minute touch ups on Takumi’s kimono. It was bright, made with a deep red, gold, and white crane pattern and belted with a navy blue obi. It was the base for the decorative theme of the wedding. Takumi had insisted on something simple, but Oboro wouldn't have a word of it. Leo had opted for a simple navy blue suit, with a tie made from the same silk as Takumi’s kimono. As much as Takumi had complained about how much he was going to stand out next to Leo's simple outfit, Leo told Xander that Takumi actually loved the attention that he was getting from his family for the wedding.
Hanging his suit on a hook, Xander left without a word to Oboro. She looked stressed and Xander figured it would be better to not stop her for a distraction. Returning to the hall, he joined Camilla and Hinoka, who were hanging the thousand painstakingly folded paper cranes. Their colours matched Takumi’s kimono, in red, gold, white, and navy, all in metallic paper, and it took them months to fold the thousand that would be hanging as a large backdrop to the couple as they said their vows.
“Elise told me to come help you two, where should I start?”
Camilla waved to a couple of boxes to the side, “could you put candles in each of those lanterns? They're going to line the aisle. Don't worry about the tops of them, the florists are going to be putting in a lotus and we'll light the candles around one.”
Xander complied, thinking as he did the repetitive task. There were about eighty little lanterns to fill. Weddings were so much work, and this was a small wedding. He wasn't even one of the grooms and he felt so busy over the last few months. He had thought about asking Laslow to marry him, as they had been together almost nine years now, but was all the fuss worth it? Neither he or Laslow had really talked about getting married, and the idea of being legally bound to each other seems like it should be the next step. It would definitely make things a lot easier when it came to the process of adopting--which had already begun, they were just going to wait until after the wedding excitement had died down to annouce it. If they wanted to get married for the adoption they had roughly nine months. They had even picked out names already: Siegbert for a boy, and Soleil for a girl. Xander smiled to himself as he thought about the family he was finally going to have himself, but was being married a necessary part of that? He had doubts about what kind of father he would be, as he only had an example of what not to do, but Laslow had assured him he would be a great father. You basically raised Leo and Elise and they turned out great he had said, and Xander couldn't help but believe him, despite sending Elise to live with Camilla.
Xander’s thoughts were interrupted by phone call from Laslow informing him he was just about on his way.
“Can I talk to you when you get here?” Xander asked hastily.
“Sure, what about?”
“I can't say over the phone.”
“Okay fine, I'll just worry the entire way there" Xander could hear the eye roll in his voice.
“It's nothing bad, I promise. I'll see you soon, love you Laslow.”
“See you, love you too.”
Finishing the candles, he set them gently along the red rug that Ryouma had set out for the aisle, making sure they were all even. He didn't need Elise on his case. It was ten and everything was starting to come together. The wall of cranes had been completed and was reflecting the light coming through the windows, painting the room an array of colors. The chairs were arranged neatly in sets of six, with thirty on each side of the aisle. In front of the cranes, slightly to the right, was a small table with a white tablecloth that held a bottle of saké, and three cups in red, navy, and gold. That was the Hoshidan tradition that was going to be incorporated into the ceremony. Xander couldn't remember the name for it offhand, but they were going to drink from each cup three times each. Wedding documents to sign were also laid on the table, as that occurred right after the sake ceremony.
Camilla and Hinoka were hanging paper lanterns from fishing line that had been weaved back and forth across the ceiling. They put small LED candles in them and had already turned them on so it wouldn't be a hassle later. Everyone had gotten everything done so fast he felt guilty his only contribution was the glass lanterns.
“Is there anything else to set up?” Xander asked Elise, while still admiring the room.
“Nope! You can relax until the florists arrive. Us girls and Takumi are going to begin getting ready at eleven, so just get into your suit at noon and you'll be fine! You should grab yourself something to eat while you can.”
Xander sighed, he should have slept in with Laslow, even if he was the best man. He head back to the hotel lobby to wait for his boyfriend, scrolling through his news feed mindlessly as he sat on a bench, keeping an eye out for that familiar silver hair. He was nervous, he had rashly asked Laslow to speak, but he had no idea how to actually broach the topic he wanted to casually. This was neither the time or the place, but asking Laslow to ignore it would make him worry about him, and Xander couldn't lie to him, so was stuck now.
Spotting the silver hair, Xander went to greet his lover, giving him a quick kiss. Laslow had also not worn his suit here, and had it folded over his arms and looked well rested. “I'll take you to our room where you can get changed,” Xander gave Laslow his copy of the key card, “and we can talk up there too,” he added quietly.