𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 || 敵の旦那様 (𝐁𝐋) ✔ [COMPLETE]

82. A Silent Promise

Fu Lin felt a vague sense of dreariness as the low light drifting from the withering ashes of the incense flame greeted his fluttering lashes. Haoran sat up straight, noticing the miniscule movement and leant into the bed, his long strands of hair tickling Fu Lin's eyes awake.

Haoran felt Fu Lin's breath increase rapidly and immediately got to his side, brushing his hair away.

Fu Lin abruptly opened his eyes. Haoran gazed at him. He seemed struck by fear... "Fu Lin, what happened—"

Before he could get the question out, Fu Lin had pulled him into a feverish kiss. Haoran's eyes widened at the abruptness of the action, but he slowly caved in, crawling onto the bed along with Fu Lin. An intense surge of delirium overtook them, as Fu Lin touched, felt and drowned in Haoran; his legs bringing Haoran a step closer and his lips devouring the taste of Haoran with every nip and bite. They relished lips until it was scabbed and when they finally parted; their eyes held nothing but raw, real desire.

"Haoran," Fu Lin panted. "Marry me. Right now."

"Now—"

"Now." Fu Lin kissed him again, the indulgence painfully sweet, damning and aching with every word he spoke. "Please marry me now. Not any other day," He seemed breathless, "Right now."

"But it's midnight..."

"I know." He kissed Haoran again and again until he had had enough. "I know that very well," and yet it wasn't enough. "I just..." His voice broke suddenly, "She dared to marry you..."

Haoran looked at his eyes that were filled with gleaming tears as he continued, "She... dared to marry you and I... cannot–"

"Alright," Haoran embraced him. "Alright. Let's get married. Right now."

And that was how an unprecedented wedding invitation arrived in the middle of the night at the Military camp. The first to arrive on the scene was Bing Ze, and he met the couple at the Red Pavilion that was supposed to be taken down the next day. He had brought with him a barrel of rice wine and some broken music instruments that he almost dropped at the sight of Fu Lin and Haoran.

"You both!" He pointed his finger at the both of them accusingly, "The audacity to marry in your night clothes! The unthinkable monstrosity! How will you face your ancestors in such flimsy clothing? You will not marry like this, not while this Bing Ze is alive."

He then got to work and ordered a servant he brought with him to bring the wedding dress Haoran wore during the day.

"No," Fu Lin objected. "Not that dress."

"Why not?" whined Bing Ze. "It's the one he wore to both your and Jing Hui's ceremonies."

Fu Lin's eyes spewed fire at this. "I said, that dress isn't necessary. I'd rather he stay in his night robes, they look good on him."

Troubled, pained but also shocked that someone would select a nightgown over a formal dressing dress Bing Ze whisked Fu Lin away, telling, "At least one of you has to look good!"

The next to arrive was Jiang and while he came on foot with no servants around him and consequently less drama, Haoran found himself staring strangely at the items hanging from his hand.

"What's that?" Haoran asked, narrowing his eyes. "Uh... fish?"

"I can very well see that," His voice came out in icy shards due to sheer incredulity, "I'm asking why you have such unpleasant, smelly ornaments on you while you attend a wedding."

"For food," Jiang said simply, "A wedding without food is as good as it is not happening- this fish is what makes your wedding worth it."

However, that was not the end of infuriation for Haoran on his wedding day because the one who arrived next had come with something even more useless; papers.

Shen Yue smiled at Haoran. "I just thought that the pavilion wouldn't look very nice with how they tried to dislodge it today. So I thought maybe we could make some paper cranes as decoration...."

Shen Yue immediately shut up, looking at the deadly expression on Haoran's face. But secretly resolved to make those cranes.

When Bing Ze brought forward, the result of his handiwork—a dressed up Fu Lin—to conclude that it was comical was an understatement. Fu Lin was still in his prison robes and still looked as malnourished as ever; this time with an added touch of a red veil over his head and shades of red rouge latched on his face here and there.

A while later, the Emperor's jovial voice greeted the group, "I hope my presence is not a bother?"

And so the most disgraceful wedding ceremony of the decade took place; one groom in prison clothes with rolls of bandages rolling off of him, looking slightly beat up and malnourished, while another was in his nightgown with dark circles under his eyes.

But even so, as Haoran gazed at Fu Lin whose eyes sparkled under the wedding lanterns of the night and face that coveted the lightest tinge of blushes; Haoran felt he wouldn't mind dying right then and there.

That is what he had; what he felt for Fu Lin was something much more profound than love; than even life.

As his fingers around Fu Lin entwined, the priest chanted his blessings and concluded the rites of marriage calling in for the Burning ceremony to take place. The ritual was heartless and cruel and almost always painful.

But when Fu Lin smiled through his tears at the burning; searing pain, Haoran could no longer take it.

He lifted Fu in the air and sealed their lips in a ravenous kiss.

The crowd cheered except for Bing Ze, who began crying at the sight of his 'grown son' and Jiang, who wanted to throw up the fish he ate.

A silent promise; a wordless plea of eternity was the Kiss. And when they parted lips the blazing sun had arisen through the dusky.

The End.

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