Author's Note: Here's for Day 6 - Angst, something I'm used to.


One Week of Danger

we used to look good
in black and white

.

.

He took a long drag from his cigarette, half of it already done. He kept it inside for a while, allowing the heat and the substance to circulate his insides. He looked around the balcony of the quaint church, never thought such place would exist in the middle of nowhere of Osaka. He wasn't surprised the couple found this place though - they did travel quite a lot.

He relished the cold, fresh air that came rare back down the city, before breathing out. A white cloud formed on front of him, then disappeared shortly.

"I, Takaishi Takeru, vow to take Yagami Hikari as my.." heard Yamato. He sighed, smiled afterwards. He still found it odd that they decided to hitch Western-style. Knowing Takeru and Hikari, they always romanticize traditional marriages and customs. Then again, it'd be more costly, he remembered. If it was his own wedding though, he would absolutely go for the traditional one. It seems more unique and special nowadays, and Mimi would have -

He took another puff of his cigarette, leaned on the brick walls of the church. He almost forgot that the whole thing was all over now. His chest started to constrict.

His head dashed to where he heard a soft crack on the leaves. Mimi's sudden appearance almost made him swallow his drag. She came from where the garden flowers grew, in her white shift dress that came just above her knees. She wore her hair in a messy bun, finished with a red-wine lipstick. He immediately looked away.

"Do you have another one?" Mimi immediately felt that she was not welcome, judging from his 'what-are-you-looking-at' expression on his face. She thought it fitted him, along with his all-onyx-black suit. She leaned on the wall as well, just right next to him.

"Sure," he answered briefly, inhaling his smoke as he went through his coat, getting one of his sticks. He remembered he only brought three with him, and now he only had two left.

"Thanks." she said, immediately taking the cigarette from him. Putting it between her lips, she leaned in to his face, just close enough to light her cigarette with his.

He could not help but steal a glance, her eyes looking downward as she tries to get some of his light. Fucking tease, thought Yamato, very much aware of their proximity. When she finally got her light, he immediately pulled, his head facing another direction. He could remember how they always used to do that. Used to.

Only when he suddenly pulled away did Mimi notice what she had just done. She looked at the other direction as well, taking a whiff off of her cigarette. Seven Stars, she thought, taking note that he still smokes the same brand.

She exhaled, a trail of white smoke coming out of her mouth.

"What are you doing out here, best man?" she asked lightly, attempting for small talk.

"Just taking a break."

"Tired? Worried?"

"A little of both."

She didn't pry any further, sensing he was not in the right mood.

The whole time they were enveloped with nothing but Takeru's and Hikari's voices, reciting their wedding vows. The silence lasted until they a few minutes before the ceremony ends.

"Do you, Takaishi Takeru, take Yagami Hikari as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Weird, isn't it?" she managed a chuckle, looking down to her white stilettos and her red-polished toenails.

He smirked, glimpsed at her, then breathed out the last of his cigarette. He just heard Takeru say 'I do'.

"Yeah. It is." He put the stick's light off with the heel of his shoe, then rested his hands inside his pockets.

"This could have been us.. last year," Mimi said it very bravely, but her eyes were starting to betray her as they watered. "Do you sometimes wish we could have.." she trailed off, can no longer continue on for it was starting to hurt again. She returned the cigarette back to her lips, this time taking a longer draw.

"And do you, Yagami Hikari, take Takaishi Takeru to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

And before they could even hear Hikari, Yamato managed to swiftly reply, in all honesty. "Yeah. I do."

He leaned in, lighting up the last cigarette he brought with him through hers. The smell of nicotine and flowers mixed up in his nostrils, a familiar scent that he was used to when she was still his. It still dazed him and it took him a while to pull away. He swore he almost kissed her.

When he did finally pull away, the church bells started to chime. Yamato watched Mimi slowly walk back inside. She threw her cigarette in a trash bin, then disappeared from the corner, out of his sight.

He starts to hear cheers coming from inside. It reminded him that he should go back as well, but decided to stay out just until he finishes his stick. He took another long drag, with all the hope he'd stop hurting.