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All things considered, it really was a beautiful wedding. From the meals to the decor, every last aspect had been handpicked with such care and precision that the end-result had no choice but to be undoubtedly perfect. Whether the marriage was valid or not, Illumi Zoldyck would never be caught dead attending a less-than-flawless ceremony. That much was never in question.
As it happens, Illumi had never pictured himself getting married at all. He’d never taken much interest in women, so growing up he’d always assumed love just wasn’t for him. He supposes that’s still true, seeing as the word “love” was nowhere to be found in their prenuptial agreement. It had been unexpected, sure, and the thought of committing to the man in question was not exactly a pleasant one; but he couldn’t picture himself agreeing to do this with anyone else. The mutual respect the two men shared for one another was perhaps the closest either of them would ever get to something like love. Although the situation was never ideal nor anticipated, it isn’t exactly terrible.
So it had been decided, they would partake in the tedious ceremony and suffer through the endless list of family traditions to put on a public appearance. Few knew the true nature of their relationship and they were content to keep it that way. It was almost a year of preparations leading up to one exhausting day and then the two of them would be free to enjoy each other’s company until, someday, one of them died by the other’s hands. Very romantic when you think about it, or so Hisoka had insisted.
The ceremony hadn’t been too bad. They put on quite a good show, although there were some unconvinced faces in the audience. It was a crowd strictly limited to the very exclusive invite list the two of them(mainly Illumi) had put together and then handed to Silva to approve. It somehow feels like a larger bunch now, as Illumi sits at the reception, watching their guests chat back and forth about how lovely the ceremony was and how truly happy they were for the couple. He makes no attempt to join them, perfectly fine observing as his now-husband entertains the room for him.
His mother, who it seems hasn’t stopped sobbing since they announced the engagement, suddenly seems brighter than he’s ever seen her. She clings to his father’s arm, Kalluto by their side, as they repeat the same speech to each person who approaches them of how incredibly “proud” they are of their son, and how happy they are to have Hisoka in the family. It’s an act, and an obvious one at that, but he respected the gesture nonetheless. He’d much rather have them fake smiles than sulk all evening. If things get too boring, Kikyo will likely find something to make a scene about.
Killua, who didn’t want to be there in the first place, looks like he just witnessed a murder for the first time. He sits at his own table in the corner, accompanied by his friend that Illumi wouldn’t have invited had Hisoka not begged him to. Gon seems to be trying to cheer him up while the pale-haired boy stares daggers into the tiled floor. The poor kid had made every attempt possible to try and convince his oldest brother to call off the wedding, and he was clearly unhappy with the new addition to his family. Illumi makes sure to keep an extra close eye on that one, making sure he doesn’t try to sneak out of the room when no one’s looking.
Milluki seems to have already tapped out of the ceremony, eyes glued to his DS as he zones out at one of the tables. Illumi can’t really blame him, seeing as he’s doing the same thing(minus the electronics). Alluka was only permitted to attend for a very strict amount of monitored time. For now, she accompanies Killua and Gon, looking unbothered by her older brother’s misery. Zeno is elsewhere, no doubt entertaining some of the guests with stories that may or may not be true. And—
Ah, yes.
Glancing around the room, Illumi’s eyes finally land on the newest member of the Zoldyck family. Looking as dazzling as ever, he appears to be chatting up a storm with the leader of the Phantom Troupe, one of his few personal invites. Truth be told, Illumi had only eventually agreed to the addition because he hadn’t expected Chrollo to actually show up. Yet here he is, in the flesh, standing dangerously close to one of the grooms. Hisoka in particular seems to be having the time of his life, talking animatedly with his eyes locked on the man before him.
Typical.
It shouldn’t bother him, in fact he can’t figure out why it might. Their marriage isn’t real, nor is their proclaimed love for one another. Their contract states clearly that Hisoka is still allowed to have any sort of relations he likes with anyone he chooses. The same extends to Illumi, not that he would ever feel the urge to utilize such a privilege. Bottom line is, he not only agreed to, but encouraged Hisoka to have other relationships. The strange man craves a lot of attention and Illumi is busy most of the time; the thought of having to put up with yet another responsibility(let alone a personal one), seemed tiring to him. And it’s not like Hisoka would seek his approval for such things regardless, so this situation worked out best for the both of them. And in any case, their union was far from genuine so it shouldn’t bother either of them.
Still, the fact that he’s doing this at their wedding reception…Illumi elects to ignore it, downing the rest of his drink.
Hisoka notices him staring, eyes flickering over to meet his’ for only the briefest of moments. There’s a flash of surprise, as if he’d temporarily forgotten there was another groom here. Then a glint, eyes narrowing as the corner of his mouth twitches upward. He leans in to say something to Chrollo and then makes his way over to the table at which Illumi is currently sitting.
He’s reluctant to admit it, but Hisoka did clean up rather nicely for the occasion(not that he would have expected anything less). His suit hugs his body in all the right places and his hair looks softer than usual. The knowing smile he always wears hasn’t left his face, a detail that has been ticking Illumi off all evening. It’s as if he’s completely unfazed by this whole affair-even though he’s the reason any of this is happening in the first place. His eyes stay sharp, like he knows something everyone else here doesn’t. It’s irritating to no end in all the right ways.
Their marriage is fake, not that that statement requires any reiteration. Their marriage is fake, therefore it does not need to be consummated. It was fully within Illumi’s right to never lay a non-violent finger on that man. And yet…
“Tired already? I’m disappointed. I know you can put on a happy face for a little while longer.”
The taller man opts to make himself right at home, half-sitting on Illumi’s chair and half-on his lap. His arms are wrapped around his shoulders, face covered in an amusement that could easily be mistaken for adoration. Illumi has never been the affectionate type, but he has learned to tolerate it from Hisoka. A small tactic used to make their infatuation look more believable. Patience from a Zoldyck might as well be a love confession.
Hisoka leans in closer, mouth by his ear. “Smile, they’re watching.”
Illumi allows himself another glance at the crowd and, sure enough, some faces have turned to admire their open display of affection. Killua looks like he’s about to throw up.
“You know I’ve never been fond of these occasions,” Illumi states, eyes still on the crowd.
Hisoka notices this deflection and grabs the other man’s chin, turning his head so that their eyes meet. So demanding. It makes Illumi want to shove a needle through that hand.
“Yes but you look so lovely in that tux, I thought for sure you’d allow me one last dance before you turn in for the night.”
It’s only two hours into the reception and they both know they’re nowhere near “turning in for the night” but Illumi takes the bait anyways, rising with Hisoka to take the other man’s hand. The redhead looks satisfied with this, which doesn’t do much to ease Illumi’s annoyance.
People from every corner watch them as they waltz around the room, feigning infatuation. Up close, their faces pose clear challenges to one another, eyes asking, “How long can you keep this up?” Hisoka dances like it’s a fight, wagering his partner’s skill-level while still showing off. But there is no fight between the two of them, no battles of wit or capability. They are both aware that they are a perfect match for one another in more ways than one. For once, Hisoka can enjoy the prescience of a worthy opponent without his interest beginning and ending at the fight; and Illumi can appreciate having a rare individual that he can almost call a friend.
“I must hand it to your family, this really is a splendid ceremony,” Hisoka compliments casually.
“They’re your family too now,” Illumi reminds him, feeling no meaning behind the words.
“Well,” the clown laughs lightly, “only in name.”
And he has to remind himself, yet again, that that’s all this is. An act, a con, a charade. Hisoka married him for nothing more than fun and Illumi agreed only because of the money. Although he did consider the proposal to be quite the game-changer at first, that is where his amusement with this arrangement ends. Their relationship could never be plagued by a thing like love, something which neither of them have the capacity for. They would both be weak to fall for such delusions.
More importantly, this is temporary. Whether it be in 5 months or 50 years, Illumi is going to kill Hisoka one day. He has no idea how he’ll do it yet, or what he’ll say in his final moments as a married man, but he knows it’s going to happen. They both agreed to it, it’s what this whole affair was founded upon. Illumi marries Hisoka so that the clown can have his fun and in return he gets to kill him and take his money. He’s never going back on that and he knows Hisoka would be ever-so disappointed if he were to hesitate before taking his life.
The two of them have a give-and-take relationship, that’s all it is. No one said it couldn’t be interesting, but that is all it will ever be. Hisoka has proudly proclaimed himself to be the one exception to Illumi’s need to control every last thing and person close to him; and rather Illumi resents that or not is irrelevant. He’s already getting what he wants out of this arrangement, there’s no need to ask for more. He could, in theory, tell Hisoka not to flirt with other people. He could tell him to never leave the house, to stay strictly by his side until Illumi gets bored of him, to not even look at anyone who didn’t wear his ring. He could even put a needle in his head, but it wouldn’t work. Hisoka is too independent, too uncontrollable even to someone like Illumi. Perhaps that’s why they were drawn to each other, they both presented not only a challenge, but a break to the other. If Hisoka were controllable, Illumi probably wouldn’t have given the man a second glance.
It’s a hard thing to wrap his head around, to understand why he allowed such a wildcard to get so close to him. Perhaps Hisoka isn’t the only one who likes to keep things interesting.
The song ends, and the pink-haired man presses a soft kiss to the top of Illumi’s hand before pulling away.
“For better or worse,” he grins, and Illumi does plan on wiping that smug look off of his face later.
He lets him disappear into the crowd for now, distracting himself by talking to the guests. It appears Gon is now trying to cheer Killua up with cake, but he’s not budging. Alluka takes it instead, looking confused when she receives a glare from the blue-eyed boy. Illumi ignores them without turning a total blind eye, briefly scanning the room to see where Hisoka ended up. He’s talking to Silva and Kikyo, who look very uncomfortable with whatever it is he’s saying.
In a few hours, the ceremony will be over, but the act won’t. They’ll have to continue this for sometime, and Illumi can’t say he’s really given much thought to what all that entails for the two of them. Being here now, in this moment, almost feels surreal to him. It feels like a prolonged event, like something he should have known was coming. In short, it feels like this was inevitable; like Hisoka was inevitable. Illumi was never the type to indulge these kinds of dynamics but Hisoka was not the type to let someone go once he had his sights set on them. An unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
He supposes he’ll have to deal with it for now though. Being Hisoka’s husband can’t be too bad after all, there are sure to be some benefits. He watches him now out of the corner of his eye, making certain that he can’t get too far without Illumi knowing where he is. If he’s going to be made to put up with Hisoka’s antics, the redhead will surely have to do the same. From now on, it will always be like this, the two of them going back and forth until they kill each other.
‘Til death would they part.