Kita has never been to a wedding before.

Weddings, generally speaking, are for the upper class. Most common people can't afford them, and the only people of that status that Kita knows, are the royal family. He figured the first wedding he'd go to would be the one between Alexis' sister and her boyfriend. Not his own.

Throughout the entire week, Kita spends the majority of his time with the wedding planner. He's not completely sure what Alexis does during this time, though he's pretty sure the guy is just touching up on the little things, when it comes to ruling the empire. He's been trained to take the throne his entire life, so he's more than ready. There are still a few smaller things that Eve needs to ensure first, though.

Kita doesn't know much about that. He leaves almost all of the decisions to the wedding planner, assuming the lady would know more about this than himself. He also just doesn't trust himself with decision making, right now. The only thing he weighed in on was the fact that this is not taking place in a church. No thank you.

Kita's essentially been in a constant state of freaking the fuck out, ever since that fateful night when he and Alexis agreed to all this.

That fateful night when Kita figured out what he'd become. When he realized that he was essentially completely fucked, it was just a matter of when.

Kita has tried not to think about it, has tried to focus on other things. However, he's had a really hard time sleeping at night. Maybe it's the fact that this is the first time he's living somewhere that's not his childhood home, above The Remedy. Maybe it's all the recent changes messing with the routine he's had for almost his entire life. Maybe it's the fact that he's a vampire, about to marry the most famous and successful hunter of his time. There's no telling.

All he knows is that he can't sleep. He sneaks out at night to go get blood sometimes, and he thinks he does a decent job of doing so. His speed is starting to kick in—all his abilities are—so it makes it easier. Still, the sneaking around also isn't helping with his sleep schedule. Granted, vampires don't need as much rest as humans, which he learned from another book he snuck from the castle library at one point. So, it doesn't affect his daily life too much.

It does take a toll on his physical appearance, though.

"Oh my goodness. Honey, are you alright?"

It is now Sunday. AKA, the dreaded day of Kita's wedding. To say he's nervous is an understatement. His only solace is the fact that it's not sunny outside, mostly overcast, which he was worried about. Then again, he still has everything else to stress over.

Similar to just about every other characteristic of born vampires, turned vampires don't experience anything to the same extent. Kita can still go in the sun, just not for long. Luckily, not only is it cloudy, but it's also approaching the evening.

They're setting everything up for the wedding, and Kita hasn't seen Alexis all day. Honestly, he's hardly seen the guy throughout this entire week. Everyone has been so busy planning the wedding, Kita included, though not by choice. It honestly went by far too fast.

There is a woman doing his makeup right now, and the wedding itself starts in a little over an hour. They're almost done setting up, and then the guests will arrive, and then Kita will walk the aisle, and then he and Alexis will have to—

Kita is kind of freaking out. He can't blame the woman for her concern. "I'm okay."

"Well you look like a raccoon," she says, referring to the circles under his eyes. If it was up to Kita, he wouldn't be wearing makeup for this in the first place. However, the woman insisted it would make him look better in the newspapers. She said it would bring out his eyes, and generally pronounce his features more. Since he's so pale, she'd told him, it was recommended.

"Thanks," Kita replies dryly. The woman looks like she wants to roll her eyes, clearly growing impatient with his lack of enthusiasm about this. People have surprisingly been treating Kita with much more respect, as of late. He was expecting more ridicule, due to his bloodline. When Eve said she'd take care of it, she wasn't lying.

"I'd expect more excitement," the woman remarks, pulling his skin a bit as she continues applying the makeup. "It's your wedding day, after all."

Damn, she has a point. Kita should not be in such a shitty mood. Luckily, the reason behind it is pretty normal. Although, the reason behind the reason isn't. "I'm nervous."

The lady makes a clicking sound with her tongue, giving him a soft, comforting smile. "Of course you are, you're getting married. Who wouldn't be?"

She has a point, but at the same time, she also doesn't completely understand. She couldn't. Anybody would be nervous to get married, no matter who it was to, but not to the extent Kita is. Kita feels like he's going to pass out any second, hasn't been able to relax all week. It's ripping him apart, this secret, his future, Alexis. The uncertainty of it all threatens to drive him mad.

"I'm a commoner," Kita settles on, wanting to give her some idea of how big of a deal this is. "Marrying a prince, so many things could go wrong—"

"Yet nothing will," the woman interrupts, before getting started on his hair. Kita wishes he could believe her. Wishes he could be in denial, could convince himself everything will be fine. Unfortunately, since the day he was born, he was plagued with a pessimistic realism. A brutally honest mindset.

There is no good ending to this.

The next hour drags on excruciatingly, yet also goes way too fast. Before Kita knows it, he's standing in front of a mirror. He's never been dressed up like this before, not even for the fancy events Alexis would drag him to.

Kita's hair is styled, more neat than he's ever seen it. Every flaw on his face is covered up, he looks healthier than ever. The eye makeup is subtle, but it does its job. Every decent feature he has is accentuated, but not to the point where it's obvious. From afar, it would be difficult to tell he's wearing makeup at all.

Despite looking better than he ever has in his life, Kita has never felt worse.

"You ready?" Kita hears from behind himself. He turns to find his mom waiting there, a smile on her face. Kita does his best to match it.

He doesn't even talk, just nods, and then he's leaving the safety of the room he's been in for the past two hours. His mother is escorting him up some stairs, and there isn't anyone around. That is, until they enter the garden.

There are a lot of people.

Kita has never seen this many people in one place, not in his entire life. Not even on The Remedy's busiest night of the week, when there's a line out the door. The place is full, several people standing. The flashes of the cameras from afar do nothing to ease Kita's nerves.

Then, there's Alexis.

He's standing at the very end, a minister next to him, and Kita's never seen such a visibly happy expression on his face. Alexis was always so rough and unforgiving, always impassive and neutral in public scenarios. It makes Kita feel better, but not enough for him to make eye contact much longer than a few seconds.

Before Kita knows it, he's standing directly in front of Alexis. He can't make eye contact at all, and the minister begins the introduction, which doesn't take too long. Alexis and Kita didn't really write their vows, it was mostly done by Eve, wanting them to be as believable as possible. She ensured their approval, and Kita changed nothing.

So, the vows don't stand out to him. They're pretty much the same for both, just phrased differently, and Kita's heart is pounding through it all. He knows what's coming, and he can't relax. What if something goes wrong?

Kita finally makes eye contact with Alexis when the guy is putting a ring on his finger, only solidifying it all even more. Kita looks down at the ring, which in itself probably cost more than everything that's ever been purchased for him, throughout his entire life, combined. It looks like a band of obsidian and diamond, but he can't be sure. He's not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to these things.

"You may now kiss as a sign of your union."

Kita seriously feels like he's going to pass out. He can't remember a moment in his life where time moved so slow. He just stares up into Alexis' silver eyes, and he's known the guy long enough to read the look on his face. Eyebrows raised, gaze soft. Are you sure? Is this okay?

Kita nods, probably unnoticeable by anyone aside from the officiant, and then Alexis is leaning down. Time moves in slow motion as he gets closer, and Kita has to close his eyes or otherwise risk losing consciousness. Soon enough, their lips are meeting, and Kita reaches a shaky hand up to grasp the side of his best friend's—his best fucking friend's, he reminds himself—face.

It doesn't last long. Kita hasn't seen a single wedding in his time, but he does have common knowledge. He's pretty sure wedding kisses don't last for hardly a full second. There's only time for maybe one or two pictures before Alexis is pulling away.

Kita shouldn't be surprised. Alexis, this entire time, has been so concerned about his limits. He didn't want to push Kita too far, didn't want to risk upsetting him. It shouldn't be particularly shocking that he would risk believability for Kita's comfort.

However, in Kita's mind, that defeats the entire purpose. People aren't supposed to know it's platonic. Alexis said it himself: they have to be convincing.

So, several seconds after Alexis breaks contact, Kita is reaching up with his other hand and pulling him back down.

This time, Kita is the one to meet their lips together, and he does so with more force than Alexis did. He has a hand on each side of Alexis' face, and he kisses him like he fucking means it, because that's the whole point. Alexis seems to not expect it, making a surprised noise, reaching down and resting a hand on Kita's waist.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kita registers the sound of cheering and clapping. He also hears several more camera clicks, seeing the flashes despite his closed eyes. However, he's not really focusing on that.

Alexis tastes really good. He also smells really good. The contact feels so... right, Kita finds himself frozen for a moment. He's never felt anything like this, he's never kissed someone, he's been so busy his entire life with the pub and not being a disappointment. He never put much thought into these things.

It's the only thing on his mind now, though, as he tilts his head. This deepens the kiss, which results in Alexis squeezing his waist slightly. It's not to the point where their mouths are open or their tongues touch or anything, although Kita would not be opposed to that.

For a split second, Kita finds himself wishing they weren't in public. Wishing they weren't in such a setting, so maybe there'd be a chance of pushing his luck further.

After about five long seconds, Kita finally releases Alexis. He pulls away, eyelids fluttering open. He finds Alexis already staring at him wide eyed, and Kita's never seen such an expression on his face before. Today has given him a lot of firsts, that's for sure. When he releases Alexis, the guy still doesn't move.

Kita's mouth is open, slightly out of breath from both nerves and the sheer heat behind that kiss, which was undeniable. He reaches up and wipes his mouth, eyes lingering on the frozen, tense, shocked and slightly flushed prince, before he turns his gaze to the crowd.

Sure enough, everyone is cheering, laughing, they're all happy. Music is playing, and Kita looks at his parents. His mom is smiling, dad not so much. Then, he lays his eyes on Eve.

Her eyebrows are slightly furrowed, eyes wide, staring directly at Kita. She does not look happy at all. Kita, for once, finds himself not giving a fuck. Kita, for once, feels somewhat satisfied. He'd probably feel more satisfied if and Alexis were still—

Wow, Kita might need to do some introspection, later.

Now that it's over, Kita finds himself feeling somewhat flustered and shy. Wow, did he really just do that? Obviously he had a very good reason, but still. He's never been that forward, he's always been such a laid back, uncaring person. Why does he suddenly... care?

Kita can't look at Alexis, now that his actions are really catching up with him. He feels that he should actually put some distance between the two of them, if anything. This is partially because he is now feeling awkward, but also because the urge to do it again is almost overwhelming. He wouldn't have an excuse for that, so he walks toward his parents, his mother pulling him into a hug.

As the woman holds him, Kita's eyes scan over the crowd. Its not long before they land on one particular spot—well, one particular person, more like.

Evander.

Kita watches as the guy holds up his hand, and in it, there's a pocket watch. He nods his head to the west, in the general direction of the market, and somehow, Kita knows exactly what he's saying. They need to meet.

Instead of bothering that with any sort of acknowledgement, Kita closes his eyes, appreciating the embrace of his mother. He doesn't know how often he will see her after this, so he should really bask in the contact and warmth for as long as he can.

When Kita opens his eyes again, Evander is gone.