Disclaimer: Skip Beat nor its characters belong to me, they belong to the forever teasing and always mischievous mangaka Yoshiki Nakamura.

The Wedding

She walked down the aisle, her steps those of a panther but her dress, makeup and hair of a princess just about to live her dream. The obvious incoherence of it all the more present in her sweet smiling expression, but only the ones really astute and observant would notice the mischievous and predator-like shine in her beautiful smoky gray eyes as she looked at the groom. Sadly, for all those sitting at the groom´s side, he was oblivious to it all as he smiled back at his bride, so incredibly happy that one could almost watch as sparks shone brightly in his brown deep chocolate eyes.

Stares locked on each other, groom and bride held hands before turning to the priest, her hands slipping from his to take place in his right arm gently hugging it a little closer than needed causing his cheeks to turn pink and her smile to become a little more crooked, but never enough to alert neither the priest nor the others present about the wolf in a sheep´s skin just about to get her treat. Inside her head, she counted from 100 to one with all the patience in the world until, finally the priest got to the good part of his speech, the one directed at her…

"Do you accept him, in good and bad, in sickness and in health?"

Her eyes didn´t even move from the old and crinkly man as she answered in a sweet and soft voice her agreement to lastly smile that one smile reserved for only one person in the whole world and that, she was sure, was the cherry at the top that absolutely made the act convincing enough to get just what she wanted. The old man couldn´t even finish the phrase of "if there is anyone in this place who opposes this marriage…" when a deep masculine voice grabbed almost everyone´s attention

"SETSUKA!" the rage clear in his tone made all, except one, recoil under the possibility of being at the end of it, just then, when nobody was looking at her because of the man´s distraction, did she allowed her smug smile surface. The reason? With all those years of knowing him under her belt she was more than able to hear his desperation and panic for what they truly were, no real rage was ever present in his voice when directed at her and they both knew this was no exception to the rule.

Not quite ready to drop the farce, she placed her mask were it formerly was and, very slowly, turned around to face the man whose voice was still making echo all across the big and bright gothic style white church. He was dressed in a neat black smoking with matching tie and shoes, his black hair in its usual style almost covering his gray burning eyes that seeked with fervor emotions other than bliss and love in her now perfect mask.

For a moment, the thought of letting all the pretenses drop and run into his arms went through her head but as soon as it happened flashes of him being with another in a sweet embrace, then hand in hand and finally kissing were all she needed to firm her resolve, oh no, there was no way he was getting away with just this. Head tilting slightly to the side in an innocent and cute way she let her big expressive eyes do the job for her, watching as the strong man, that she knew almost all her life, crumbled to pieces one by one as the seconds ticked by….and, just for the sadistic fun of it, decided to answer.

"Yes? Big Brother" For a fleeting second she felt bad about his undoing, his fists simply couldn´t get any whiter and by now not even she could see his eyes, but as he fell to his knees in the expensive fabric that covered the floor and tears poured down his perfectly chiseled and handsome face she knew that, without this, she wouldn´t be able to forgive him for what he did to her…to them, he needed to despair worse than she did, any less and her bitter persona would never let her lay down her pride just so she could let him return to her.

"Please don´t do this…" he brokenly spoke, just loud enough for her to hear and the rest to wonder, quite the spectacle indeed. Soft steps sounded as she approached the normally intimidating large man, now reduced to almost nothing, until she was right in front of him, for a change looking down on him in every sense of the word.

"Why not? We are, after all, just siblings and, when your little sister finds a man that loves her, it is only right that you would support me, us, with all you´ve got…you know…for my happiness" she said with a lyrical quality in her voice and an angelical smile while she raised his chin so she could clearly see his eyes drain of life just enough to, finally, steal from his lips what she had always dreamed to hear from him.

"Because you are mine Setsu, so no other man can have you, and I am yours, so no woman can ever hold my heart as completely as you have, ever." It is quite funny how the roles of two people can reverse so completely and the words stay the very same…or, as they so eloquently say, how payback is a bitch.

So right then, as their eyes connected and she looked at the pathetic state he was in, a real loving smile took place in her face and, with an elegance characteristic of her, she threw her bouquet of flowers to the confused groom, grabbed Cain´s face gently between both her hands and kissed, right on the lips, the stupid and handsome man that she called brother. The kiss, fast and light, to simply get across her message "all is well and forgiven". With that, she hugged him for all the she was worth receiving the same amount of enthusiasm, if not a little more due to his desperation, on his part.

"Don´t you dare make me do this again stupid" she whispered softly through the fabric of his shirt as she pressed her face to his chest, effectively falling to her knees, the small bit of hurt and rage clear only to his ears and eyes as little tears ran down her cheeks, brows furrowed and eyes tightly closed. At that moment, watching the same vulnerability in her visage, he finally let his eyes soften and his lips stretch with a warm emotion.

"Never" He readily answered hiding his face in her hair and inhaling her sweet scent, and just like the heavy weight of his despair lifted from his shoulders his senses also returned, bringing him back to the scandalized whispers and outraged sounds of the people that were part of their surroundings.

Thus, eyes taking in all collateral damage of his sister´s evil scheme and the furious groom, Cain did what he should have done since the start of all this insanity; strong and muscular arms took the slender body of the female in his embrace and lifted her princess style to, then, stand from his knees and get out of the church with the, now happily laughing, runaway bride as the angry family of the groom glared daggers at them but abstained from approaching out of fear for the imposingly terrifying male.

"Having fun Setsu?" He asked his little sister in his smooth baritone with great amusement tinting voice and a dangerous smirk spreading across his face.

"You have no idea. I always wanted to do this but never had the opportunity to, until now" she answered with the most mischievous smile that he had ever seen in a female and eyes glittering as the two brightest jewels, her face the most beautifully evil.

"Let´s just hope that the rest of your fantasies won´t cause me as much of a heart attack as this one, my little minx" He stated resigned and exasperated looking but with an impossible to miss fondness in his being, eliciting a light chuckle and a swift kiss in the cheek from his eternal companion.

"No promises" was the last thing that escaped her lips before she completely snuggled into him, no shame or decorum stopping her from the clear show of affection despite their public surroundings and, without a doubt, Cain knew that he wouldn´t have it any other way.