For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls“OMG, Gen-chan, look, look, look”

Hardly does Gentaro have time to question Hifumi before he shoves a phone into his face, a pair of unfamiliar figures dressed in black and white on the screen. Arm in arm, eyes only for each other, they descend the steps of the chapel in a cascade of blossoms and cheers — but even brighter than this idyllic image is Hifumi himself.

“A client of mine got married the other day,” Hifumi answers his unspoken query, stars sparkling in his golden hues. Gentaro's stomach churns — out of adoration, out of dread. "She just sent me the pics"

“Oh, is that so” Gentaro says with as much interest that he'll allow himself. "Best wishes to her and her spouse."

“Uh-huh They'd been planning the wedding for aaages and finally got to tie the knot after a bunch of setbacks They went with a trad-modern mix for their theme, isn't that cool She — my client, I mean — she's kinda like you, actually, old-fashioned and stuff…”

As talking is one of Hifumi's many talents, so does he talk. Never has Gentaro been more grateful that he can ramble on and on without a reply, the details of that joyous occasion crackling into static noise. If only the same could be said of the photo he stares at. The couple's exuberance taunts him with a fortune that he cannot have, their intimacy reminding him of an indulgence that he must eventually give up. He does not begrudge them, no, although their insouciance might’ve stirred up unruly feelings that he'd prefer to keep under lock and key.

“Wouldn't it be nice if our wedding was like this” Hifumi asks, dragging him back to unforgiving reality.

Gentaro's breath hitches. “Excuse me”

“Like, when we get married, do you wanna do something like this”

Here should be where Gentaro's heart sings, soars, takes off into the skies; here should be the happiest moment of his life. Fortunate, isn't he, that Shinjuku's number one host fantasizes of spending forever after with /him/. Many a woman would kill to be in his place, many more would die. Out of everyone in the world, he's won the devotion of the most wonderful man there is — a miracle that's transcended spite and ire.

And yet, “I do” weighs as heavily as a lie.

Frustration festers inside him. That’s what Gentaro will call the cold that freezes over him, at least. Lovers they may be, but that arrogance of Hifumi's never fails to aggravate him. How dare he finalize this future for him How dare he write their ending in his stead How dare he offer him hope

Perhaps crueler than this impossible dream is that Hifumi's proposal comes from his genuine soul — for it's not that Gentaro can't see it, but rather that he can picture it exactly as he says.

A chapel adorned in violet and gold, this place where they are to be united. In the front stands Ramuda and Dice, knowing smirks on their lips, but proud as proud can be nonetheless; and by his side is his dear brother, once again awake, teasing him for fate’s twists as he walks him down the aisle. The distance between the entrance and the altar stretches on for an eternity, especially when his beloved is within reach. As radiant as the sun, as glorious as the heavens, there awaits Hifumi with a smile that words can capture not.

But the one whom Hifumi waits for is Yumeno Gentaro — not the one who wears their mask. The one whom Hifumi loves is the eccentric author, not the phantom who plays that role.

Indeed, such a scene doesn't exist for someone who isn't real. He could articulate that flight of fancy, pen it with liters of ink, pray for it with every fiber of his being, but that won't change the fact there will be no Yumeno Gentaro once they've completed their duties.

Why he ever accepted Hifumi's confession, he hasn't the faintest clue. Or rather, that's a reason he won't admit out loud. He'd known that a relationship would be destined for doom, that they’ll both have to suffer the consequences for growing attached, and yet still he's committed the mistake of falling for the enemy — for a man blissfully unaware of the burdens he's inherited. Ironic how he's always chiding Hifumi for being an impulsive idiot when he's as selfish as him.

Breaking ties would be easier had he not learned how kind Hifumi is, how much love he holds within him; spurning this connection would be no challenge had Hifumi continued to look down on him with contempt, remained that beast he'd set to slay. But the truth of the matter is that Hifumi deserves better than more pain — and as an author, he has the power to present him a scenario where he doesn’t need to suffer another broken heart.

So instead of bitterness, instead of sorrow, instead of ruin, Gentaro tells him, “It would be nice, yes.”

And he returns to his manuscript, all while ignoring the way Hifumi's gaze burns into him. Hifumi's disappointment, they decide, is a problem for the Yumeno Gentaro who will no longer be.