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Bells and the chipper of birds could be heard along with chatter that felt just too uptight. Dantsu Flame found herself in the back of a church, watching people and umas alike chat among themselves with smiles too off putting and postures too forced. They would converse in a formally manner, smile when paparazzi took pictures, gave offhand comments that could destroy ties. Everything felt passively hostile.
And despite that, everything of both the place and people felt fashionably rich: expensive jewelry, high quality dresses and suits, top notch decor; it was lavishly blinding. It was all too much for Dantsu especially with the given situation at hand.
It was like her heart tighten more as time passed, her mind absent of the figures passing by. Yet, her mind wasn't fully blank, it couldn't, and it was all to the people she sat with just on a side room at the back of the church.
"Where is she? It's been more than ten minutes! Even Flora didn't take this long on her wedding."
"Yeah! This is very unlike an Agnes. Such impression she is leaving for us..."
"Such a rebellious girl. This man will certainly put her in her place!"
"If it worked for her mother than it can for this brat too."
The bridesmaids, the bride's aunts and cousins, were genuinely the worst people to be around. If only their other two friends could come: none of them except her kept in contact since retiring and leaving Tracen.
It was weird, honestly, on how they found each other again. Dantsu tried to get her to interact with the others, but the wounds are still there. No matter how cold she seemed, her friend cared as much as the other two do. Hopefully.
"You."
Dantsu was pulled out of her train of thought and turned to look at the transmitter. It was a woman who looked like she had too much face surgery and graying long straight hair tied into a braid. "You were her rival, right?"
Play it cool Dantsu, "Yes, I was!"
The woman took a good look of her, her eyes searching the poor young woman up and down as if she were prey. "Go get her. She isn't letting anybody in, and we have all come to the conclusion that she won't let anyone in except you."
The younger's eyes widened as the dozen of bridesmaids nodded at the older woman's words. "I- I can try-"
"Good. Hurry up." She pushed pulled Dantsu up and pushed her towards a wooden door. "The wedding can't be delayed. Get. Her. Out."
Her steps hesitated as she approached the door. She had no courage, but the judgmental stares that stabbed behind her back gave her the final push.
She gave a knock, then two, forming into a distinct rhythm so recognizable a voice called out to let her in.
She fiddle with the doorknob before fully emerging into the other room and swiftly closed the door. Looking up, amber met red.
By the quarters far side stood the bride in all her former glory: her once messy and greasy brown locks were tied into a graceful braided bun covered by a long veil that fell back all the way down past the floor; her left ear was decorated in a silky white cover with diamond patterns and a band of silver gems; her blindfully white off shoulder that extended to cover her entire arm like a long glove, a corset dress ornate with rocky beads arranged as spirals and leaves covered all the way down her long skirt that poofed on every end with cloth patterns that resembled flowers; and makeup that looked so luxurious yet didn't hide the downcast of the bride's eyes.
"Tachyon-chan... you look so beautiful."
Words couldn't accurately describe what she is seeing before her, and if there was, it be too inappropriate to say in this setting. She lost.
The bride, Tachyon, forced a smile that has lost it's facade. To Dantsu, no amounts of makeup could hide the apathetic hollowness her friend emitted. "Ah, Dantsu. How lovely to see you." her voice couldn't have sound more dull, ripped away from her once theatrical sound.
They stared at each other for seconds longer, taking in each others' presence. Dantsu then moved closer to her, arms wrapping around her friend's waist as her eyes searched the sea of red. Tachyon's eyes are a void of endless mystery that hid many truths between the lines. This time, her eyes couldn't be more honest and spoke to her clearly how she felt; despair.
"You don't have to do this Taki…" her forehead pressed onto her friend's. It wasn't common for Tachyon to be this touchy, especially when she's overwhelmed. And yet, there she was, letting herself be held by her rival turned friend.
A hand squeezed her toned arms, "Dantsu, have you been working out?"
Dantsu's face immediately turned red, her heart pumped at light's speed, her eyes flying anywhere to settle but not to the person she held. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips, "There's just some habits that never leave, I guess."
The hand squeezed tighter as red eyes observed Dantsu's biceps with clinical precision. "Fascinating, to think you have so much fat and yet contain so much toned muscle in your forearms despite physical strain from racing past your body's capacities! Have you worked on your legs too?-"
A firm knock disrupted the bride's rambling.
"Oh. Today is my wedding, isn't it?"
The pink uma sadly sighed, "Yes, Taki, it is your wedding."
They were back at staring at each other. Tachyon's eyes would drift from her eyes to her lips as if she was forming a thought. Her voice poured out her last bits of vulnerability, "Dantsu, do you trust me?"
"I trust you to the three goddesses and back Taki."
They let each other go, hands lingering seconds too long. To think that her dear friend with eyes once covered in emptiness now melted in yearning, it was all too much.
With one last lingering look they took their leave and soon put in position for the ceremony to begin.
Each bridesmaid walked slowly and deliberately with the groomsmen arms interlocked with their's. Dantsu was second to last to walk down the isle with who it seemed as uncomfortable as she was, walking stiffly arm in arm as stares fell upon them. Every step felt like a sentence worth unspoken as people whispered among themselves as paparazzi and wedding photographers alike took blinding pictures at the scene.
As they reached the end they awkwardly parted ways as the last pair walked down the isle.
Soon, the groom appeared with his parents. He wasn't very distinguishable from an everyday man: he was lanky wearing an everyday suit with a flower pinned on his suit's pocket, his hair short and neatly brushed, and carried himself with such confidence as he lavished in the luxury he was being surrounded with. Truly, he knew what he was getting into.
Lastly, her lovely Tachyon appeared in all her veiled glory as they music changed, her arms interlocked with her parents. Her mother was shorter, carrying a forced smile and a careful stride just like her daughter. She looked just like Tachyon with eyes so kind, yet carried some type of sorrow all the way till she reached the end of the aisle and forcefully was pulled from Tachyon by her husband; a tall and bulky man that gripped his wife too hard for comfort. She could see a bruise forming.
The wedding went like a flashing light and yet felt gruesomely long, from the prayers to the tea ceremony to more prayers, it got exhausting quickly. It wasn't long before they reached the I dos. Immediately, Dantsu saw how Tachyon's demeanor shifted from lifeless to mischievousness.
"Will you Toru Ena, have this accomplished uma from this day forward to be your wedded wife, to live together in the sacred state of matrimony?"
A tear escaped the grooms eyes as he looked at his bride's eyes. "I do."
"Will you Agnes Tachyon, have this man from this day forward to be your wedded husband, to live together in the sacred state of matrimony?"
She was silent for a moment, then looked back at Dantsu and have her a very well known smile that once caused fear back in Tracen. Oh no.
Tachyon looked back at the groom, and with her smile widening by the second, she didn't stutter. "I don't."
Silence.
Then, chaos.
The crowd immediately erupted in confusion and outrage. Tachyon's mom, once sorrowfully silent, stared at her daughter in disbelief as her husband cussed her daughter out.
The groom stared in absolute horror as she let go of his hands and swiftly made her way towards her beloved bridesmaid, "Would you do the honor and run with me one last time, my dear rival?"
A hand stretched towards Dantsu, and all came into a sudden stop. The world around her moved in slow motion as the crowd questioned and the ones closest trying to grab the defiant bride away.
The way Tachyon's eyes looked so defiant, so rebellious, so alive; it was exhilarating.
Her heart pounced heavily in her chest. This was it.
Dantsu, with a now found confidence, lifted her love in a bridal carry and away she ran. Past the bridal party, past the parents and crowd, away from the helpless groom. Nobody could catch up against a professional runner, much less an uma. Tackling the church's door open, a sound signaled her start.
Dantsu's feat felt like they were on the turf once again, now in form of pavement. Cheers could be heard from the stands; all voices filled with anger, surprise, and confusion. The competition moved with all their might, no car could catch up to the beats of a drum the uma's steps were.
Her body burned in adrenaline and heat, her legs roared in pain it almost made her stop, but just one look at her smiling and laughing bride kept her legs moving. Her legs ran on muscle memory, her grip well put under her love as she had her arms around her neck, she smiled like this was truly a race she could win.
There was no destination, they were too far from home in a barely recognizable city. Soon she reached a temporary finish line in a corner cafe.
The cafe was very cozy looking with all the wooden furniture and green-matcha decor. In front of them were many sorts of desserts on display and right beside the cashier table with a fluffy calico cat resting on top. Behind that table, were coffee machines, cups, mugs, and a stunned cashier. Who looked familiar. Very familiar. Too familiar for comfort.
Shit.
The runaway bride and bridesmaid stared at the cashier one, two, three, too many seconds long. The grip that held her neck tightened and could feel how she uncomfortably shuffled under the ghostly cashier's stare.
"Hey Cafe, can I borrow your-" a bay uma emerged from the back only to also stare at the umas in front of them.
There was silence, a very uncomfortable one. Neither of the four wanted to speak, all with their own questions to be answered, and answers with no intentions of being truthful. Truly, a wonderful reunion.
The cafe was now prematurely closed with four people still inside. Those people being umas, umas who once knew each other, umas who they had rivalries with, umas with a bridge burned between them.
Except for one, "So, I guess you are wondering what happened-"
"Yeah Dantsu. No shit," The bay uma spat. Her figure radiated aggression and pure confusion. "Why the fuck are both of y'all in wedding attire, sweating like you ran a multi continental marathon three times in a row, and crashed here in the cafe?"
A chuckle escaped the pink uma, "Long story, but to summarize Tachyon and I ran away from her wedding!"
Beats of silence passed. They aggressive uma now looking in between the two of them with more confusion than anger. Her partner on the other hand took one long sip of her cat coffee mug, settled it down on the polished wooden table, and stared at the intruders.
"I did hear of your engagement Tachyon-san," her voice was steady, calm, yet had tinges of bitterness on the way she directed herself at the uma in front of her. "Though I am not surprised it wasn't out of your own volition, it did in that you ran away from it."
The bride made no move to speak, only stared deep into the cashier's eyes. Her body was once again removed from the livelihood it once had, holding her bridesmaid's hand tightly. She didn't blink, not once; however it did not deter nor disturb the other.
The cafe felt like it was stripped away from it's comfy ambiance, the temperature seemingly dropping into the negatives. Really, the only living being who was comfortable was the calico cat that rubbed around the bay uma's legs.
Dantsu sighed, she couldn't keep this going. One wrong move and hell could break loose, "W- we can leave if you want Cafe-chan," she couldn't help but nervously chuckle, "I get that our presence can be intruding so we can lea-"
"No, Dantsu. Stay... It may be the only chance we get." She immediately knew what she was talking about. Cafe directed her view back at the bride after taking another long sip. Cold pale yellow stared deep into defiant blood red. "Why did you run?"
"Cause I didn't want to be wed-"
"No. Why did you run from us?"
"That's classified information, you know."
Cafe's unmoving facade shook at her old friend's stubborn stance. "You truly did not change one bit."
"Same goes to you Cafe-san: cold, annoyingly mysterious, and equally as stubborn."
Their companions looked at each other as tensions grew hot. Dantsu couldn't help but whisper at the uma in front of her, "Pokke, should we separate them? The use of honorifics between these two is making me nervous."
Pocket whispered back, "Give it a second. One will break any moment now."
A stare down between the old friends entered a stalemate. Neither would let go of their sights.
Eventually, the icy cold started to melt, "Look… we just want to know why you left without saying anything. I may not forgive for the time being, but closure would help."
The other's eyes softened by just a fraction. She didn't want to say anything, but a squeeze in her interlocked hand pushed her to the edge, "I was forced to do physical therapy and traveled abroad to study." Her gaze traveled from Cafe, her oldest friend and rival who endured her eccentrics; Pocket, a rival turned friend who she left in the dust; Dantsu, the ever unchanging kind soul that their rivalry did nothing to change the warmth she would give to her. "I didn't say anything, cause it wasn't for you to know."
"Liar."
"I know."
A soft sigh left Cafe as her partner gently rubbed her back with the cat now laying on her lap. She softened at the sight, gently smiling while the other brightly smiled back. She directed her attention back at the other two, letting one last sigh leave her. "Our loft is on top of the cafe, we have an extra room we could lend to you two…"
Dantsu's eyes brightened up, "Ca- Cafe?!? Um- I mean, we wouldn't want to intrude-"
"Thanks for your hospitality Cafe-san, we wont bother for long." The pink uma gave Tachyon a look, yet the other smiled right back at her.
Pocket's eyes narrowed, "This isn't over you two! We'll meet after dinner, got it?"
"Of course Jiggle Baguette. Yay."
"Ah, Hey!"
After being directed to their quarters an given some fresh clothes, Tachyon took no time to waste. She tossed her veil and ripped the ear cover away, leaving the other woman agape. It wasn't long before the runaway bride started to have problems removing her corset.
Dantsu waisted no time, she gently untangled the corset's lace that clearly suppressed the other's breathing. Afterwards, she wrapped her arms around her companion's naked waist, enjoying the now skin to skin contact that was once impeded by the barriers of fabric. The other leaned back at her beloved's bare chest and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Dantsu…"
"Hm? What for?"
"For saving me." She slightly opened her eyes and directed her gaze to a mirror postulated just above the wooden dresser. The mirror reflected their warm nude embrace, "I wouldn't know where I would be without you."
Her love's words settled deep into her heart and gently caressed her hips. "And I wouldn't know where I would be without you Taki."
Words were left unsaid, but their hearts knew.
Dantsu planted a kiss between Tachyon's ears, "I love you, Agnes Tachyon."
"I love you too, Dantsu Flame."