Let's Marry

by Owl

 

 

 

Premise Tags: MMORPG,

Game Reality, Wedding Ceremony,

Celebrities, Contracts, Pining,

Albino, Introvert, Beastkin,

Fanboying, Cold Love Interest.

Content Warnings: n/a.

 

 

 

Bloodless Sunset’s face twitched. He tried to keep his smile steady, but it was clearly wavering.

 

“It’s… pretty.”

 

He choked the words out, but no matter how hard he tried, it was rather useless when Free-Flowing River next to him looked as stiff as a statue. He couldn’t fault him.

 

The temple design was, nicely put, tacky.

 

“Right? I think so, too.” The GameMaster miraculously and completely missed the tone and facial expressions. “I was the one who designed it!”

 

Bloodless Sunset was seriously wondering if anyone except for her had seen the design.

 

Haven was a Full-VRMMORPG like out of the novel. It wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was a good bit more popular than all the others. The VR-capsule allowed the user to sink into the game, experiencing a world with lowered senses, and NPCs that were led by AIs additionally enhanced the game.

 

It was a bit of a mixture between the common western fantasy and some Chinese cultivation influences. The general races and classes were still the classics, however.

 

Bloodless Sunset, commonly called Bloody, was one of the first players and one of the people topping the leaderboard. Despite being a berserker, he had a variety of playstyles that made him a terrible enemy. The additional flexibility that his identity as one of the beastman race gave him only enhanced his adaptable playstyle.

 

The stoic person beside him was another top-tier player: The Ice Emperor, the best mage inside the game.

 

And because they were top-tier players, they had contracted as representatives of the game and thus were often allowed to give their comments during the development phases of new areas, dungeons and the like.

 

It wasn’t too surprising that they were called the faces of the game.

 

Bloody’s character was a wolf beastman, which distorted his features a bit and gave him a slightly rugged but still very handsome look. With fiery red hair and his dark eyes, he really was very attractive.

 

Not that he himself felt he could compare to Ice in any way.

 

The Ice Emperor was an elf, but Bloody knew from a photo he had seen of the real person that he somehow did manage to look like an elf in reality, too. The elven looks weren’t only a setting. 

 

His character’s hair was commonly long for a mage and blueish white, with his whole person giving off a cool aura. Ice was incredibly handsome, and despite being quiet he was very nice, just a bit awkward, but that was fine because Bloody knew when to stop pressing him, and anyway he was just awesome and playing with him was great-

 

“I believe it’s too flowery”, Ice shot down the GM directly and snapped Bloody out of his beginning lovesong. “The area is spring-themed, I understand that, but I don’t think that warrants the temple being so overgrown that I can’t even see stone anymore.”

 

… The temple was indeed so stuffed full of flowers that there was nothing solid to be seen. Which didn’t make it any better standing on a huge meadow; it just looked even… tackier.

 

The GM’s eyes widened. She looked genuinely shocked at his verdict, though not his directness. Ice didn’t talk a lot, so he didn’t have a habit of talking around an issue. “But isn’t it pretty?”

 

“No.” The word was blurted out before it could be stopped. Ice’s eyes wandered away. His shoulders were stiff and paired with his expression, it was easy to interpret it as him disliking the other person.

 

But Bloody knew that wasn’t the case.

 

Ice was simply… anxious. Actually anxious. Talking stressed him.

 

That was the information he had gathered over the last five years of watching Ice closely!

 

… Crazy how fast time had passed.

 

Yes, that was the “crazy” part, not the “watching” one, because even if he had stalker tendencies, that wasn’t something he was going to admit to himself and everyone in the guild who had wanted to comment on it had already been brutally shut up.

 

Contrary to the Ice Emperor, who was mostly a loner except for playing with Bloodless Sunset, the berserker had created his own guild years ago. It, too, was top-tier. Everything they did was.

 

The two of them were, without a doubt, professionals in this game.

 

Which was why they were allowed to be a bit arrogant, even when talking to GMs.

 

The girl, a bunny beastman whose whole equipment was obviously focused on looking cute, fidgeted around. “So… less flowers?”

 

Ice stiffly nodded but Bloody bobbed his head up and down like a chicken.

 

“Okay…” A bit disappointed, the GM pouted. Neither player could see what she was doing, but judging from her raised hands, she was doing something on her interface. “I’ve noted it down.”

 

“Was our opinion the only reason for coming here?” After clearing his throat, Bloody took the initiative to ask the question that he knew Ice wouldn’t ask. “We could have commented if you had sent us a picture.”

 

“Ah, no…” The girl awkwardly laughed and scratched her cheek, her eyes wandering around. “Uh, you see… The upper management, that is, my boss tasked me to inquire about… About a job offer? An advertisement?”

 

“That… usually is sent to my manager or to Ice by mail. Why the different treatment today?” Bloody frowned and a sense of foreboding appeared, he just didn’t know whether good or bad.

 

“The offer is, uh…” She swallowed several times and began to fiddle with her hands. “You know how the new area here is supposed to open next month, right?”

 

Nods.

 

“And this temple here is the second of this type and the first in the east…”

 

More nods. There was a temple in another place, but that was all the way to the west of the map and people were whining about it.

 

“That’s why the management thought, wouldn’t it be nice to advertise the temple…” She paused and lowered her head.

 

The cogwheels turned.

 

The temple was, bluntly put, the only place to register marriage within the game, which had only been recently established due to its very complicated system of allowing certain physical contact with various restrictions of age and consent.

 

Now the GM was talking about advertising the new marriage temple… and had invited two people to talk about it.

 

Bloody choked on his spit and stopped breathing.

 

 

 

✿✿✿

 

 

 

 

The two top-tier players’ first meeting hadn’t been five but six years ago.

 

Xi Yang had named his character Bloodless Sunset after trying to think of something suitable but somewhat poetic. It ended up being embarrassing instead; berserker weren’t clean fighters, especially not beastmen who could also use their claws or teeth.

 

His friends had joined the game with him but Bloody, who was the only one without the need for a part-time job, played more than them. Often he’d have to fight alone, which was boring for a social butterfly like him.

 

He first met Free-Flowing River in front of a dungeon.

 

They had both gotten there without knowing you couldn’t start it without a party, and the mage was awkwardly stuck at the entrance, his hands clutching his staff.

 

Bloody had approached him and suggested working together. The mage had agreed after a long silence.

 

His first impression of the elven ice-mage was that the other was a pretentious brat. Ten minutes later, it was that he was a talented, skilled, intelligent pretentious brat.

 

By the end of the dungeon, he exchanged “pretentious brat” for “very awkward guy”.

 

He sent Free-Flowing River a friend invite but was rejected.

 

They met a month later.

 

For some reason, their levelling speed was similar, resulting in them often ending around the same areas and pairing up when useful. The more Bloody got to know the mage, the more he liked him. At some point, his friend request got accepted and Bloody stuck around all the time.

 

The Ice Emperor nickname was given to Free-Flowing River by the community, but only Bloody shortened it further to “Ice”.

 

Over time, Ice responded more and more to his messages. They had never met in reality, but Bloody had seen Jian Lin on a photo once. 

 

And only because Jian Lin was reflected in a window when he took a photo of his setup.

 

Xi Yang knew that as a person, he was the obsessive type with everything. He played obsessively, fought obsessively, stuck to people obsessively. Unsurprisingly, this got a tad bit worse when he started to develop a crush on an online friend.

 

When his real-life friends, who were in his guild, saw him interact with Ice the first time, they had nearly beaten him up afterwards. The verdict was going after their idol. To them, Bloody was painfully obvious.

 

To Ice he wasn’t.

 

Ice was an insecure, anxious person.

 

He probably didn’t think that someone might like him.

 

How he managed to become so insecure with the looks of a top model was something that Bloody had yet to find out. At least they had progressed enough to exchange phone numbers and although he couldn’t call, they exchanged voice messages and text messages.

 

Xi Yang was hoping for slow progress until he’d hit a wall, where he’d give up.

 

He didn’t want…

 

No, that was a lie, he was overjoyed about the advertisement suggestion, but he was worried about pushing Ice like this. Filming a marriage advertisement was kind of very direct. 

 

That they were guys wasn’t a problem. People liked that. But it was debatable whether Ice knew that they were the greatest ship of the gaming industry right now.

 

The GM had thankfully fled a short time after rattling down some general info on what they imagined the advertisement to look like. The left-behind players were rooted to the ground - Bloody had to turn his flushing face away, but Ice’s thoughts were as unreadable as always.

 

He simply looked blank.

 

Bloody tried his best to control his heavily thumping heart. The capsule transmitted it even into the game, making him a bit breathless just like it would in reality. He resisted the urge to touch his heated cheeks.

 

“I-” The word came out rough and uneven, so Bloody cleared his throat again. He faked calmness. “I’m fine with it. It pays well.” 

 

Ice’s blue eyes moved over to him, then lowered. His shoulders slumped the tiniest bit. Bloody waited patiently for him to speak up.

 

“I don’t… don’t want to fake a marriage with someone, even for an ad…” The words were whispered so quietly that if the berserker hadn’t been focused on Ice, he would have missed it.

 

Embarrassed, the tall mage turned his face away. His own cheeks held a reddish tint, obviously awkward to have admitted such a thing.

 

Bloody felt himself choke up again, both emotionally and literally. The expression was too endearing! That was so sweet! He totally supported that, even though it was a shame, but Ice being like this was perfect! He-

 

The capsule registered the speeding-up heart rate, emotional instability and the lack of breathing despite not being in combat and decisively kicked Bloody out of the game for safety reasons.

 

Xi Yang stared at the open capsule top for a good minute before he sat up with a shriek. In a panic, he searched for his phone and started a voice message.

 

“I’m so, so sorry! My capsule, uh, disconnected! I didn’t mean to leave like that!” Xi Yang was about to cry. Jian Lin was prone to overthinking, he was bound to misunderstand! “That… I think your view on the matter is really admirable and I can totally understand it!” … After all, I’d only agree because it’s you, as well!

 

Not like he could say the last sentence out loud.

 

The message was sent to the offline user. Xi Yang ruffled up his dyed red hair and groaned. “Please listen to the message…”

 

Going back online wasn’t possible. The cover had a happily blinking message saying “Please take a break for at least 30 minutes”, which translated to, “I refuse to start until 30 minutes are over”. He couldn’t enter the game right now.

 

Besides, Xi Yang had a feeling that the shocked Jian Lin would freak out at his untimely disconnection and also log out, out of discomfort.

 

Reality proved him right - his phone vibrated a mere three minutes later. It was only an “OK”, but getting an answer at all made Xi Yang exhale in relief. It meant that Jian Lin hadn’t misunderstood him.

 

Xi Yang kept on messing up his hair and finally stood up and out of the capsule. It was an expensive limited edition - the game’s development company had given it to him. He’d have never expected that he’d be a professional gamer one day, but here he was.

 

In time, he’d have to switch jobs, but that was why he was careful in saving a lot of the money he got. He didn’t need that much anyway considering he was living alone.

 

His flat was small but cozy, with all the necessary things. Admittedly, there was an embarrassing amount of Ice-Emperor-merchandise everywhere.

 

It was the company’s fault for creating so much.

 

There even was a company custom order of only ten figurines, of which both he and Jian Lin owned one. A carefully crafted design of the Ice Emperor and the Bloody berserker. The figurines were even supposed to be placed together, with Bloody as a close-combat fighter in front and Ice as a mage hiding behind him.

 

He stared at the figure of the mage who was clad in tones of blue and white. It did suit him a lot.

 

“I really want to see you in reality”, Xi Yang complained to himself and poked the cheek of the figurine. The image in the window had only revealed a striking resemblance to the elf, that was all.

 

But, judging from the conversations they had before, Jian Lin avoided going outside and human contact in general. That didn’t mean he had none, but he didn’t need and want much. Especially direct contact, face to face.

 

“Alright!” The young man straightened his back and took a deep breath. If he had time to waste, he might as well get something to eat!

 

Despite it being noon, it was still a tad bit early for most people to eat lunch, so Xi Yang had no problem finding a free space to sit down in a little diner. Today’s cold weather made it convenient for him to wear a thin scarf, and along with rather baggy clothing and framed glasses, he didn’t stand out too much.

 

The recent trend for dying your hair was especially helpful. He was far from being the only one with red hair.

 

Like this, he could comfortably eat despite the diner being a spot where many fans of Haven gathered. The screen on one of the walls even displayed some of the recent tournament battles.

 

Xi Yang pulled a face at the sight of them. To be honest, he couldn’t watch the battles without wanting to comment on all the stupid mistakes that were made. There was a good reason why the top players had their own league; they were a completely different level.

 

Especially the mages on screen made Xi Yang cringe.

 

Being a mage was hard. Their spells were strong, but the restrictions were heavy. Not only did you have to recite the incantation, you also had to manually memorize it and next to needing the appropriate amount of mana, also be able to control the magic.

 

That, Jian Lin had explained, was similar to trying to control a water hose with high pressure. You could let it run wild, but it was unlikely the stream would go where you would want it to.

 

From the perspective of someone who was used to working with the Ice Emperor, whose incantations were like sirens’ songs and whose magic flowed like a gentle stream, the people on screen were…

 

Well.

 

That was why he got paid for advertising the game and they didn’t.

 

Xi Yang’s phone rang just as he finished his bowl of noodles. He fiddled it out of his pocket and accepted the call with one hand while putting on his earbuds with the other.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Xi Yang, it’s me.”

 

“Boss! My second most-beloved person in the world!” Xi Yang purred sweetly, earning a gag.

 

“Blergh. Don’t do that. Reserve that sweetness for the Ice Emperor.” The voice huffed. There was an undertone of laughter, but Xi Yang knew that the head of the marketing department was just that kind of person. “You were informed about our advertisement plans?”

 

“I was.” Xi Yang sighed wistfully. “I’d do it, but… Jian Lin doesn’t sound comfortable with it, and I’ll do whatever he does.”

 

“Then I have glorious news for you. Are you sitting?”

 

“I’m seated.”

 

“Do you have a backrest to lean against?”

 

“Uh, yes.”

 

“Holding anything?”

 

“A glass with soda.”

 

“Put it down.”

 

A quiet sound. “Put down.”

 

“Jian Lin’s coming to the company tomorrow to talk about another advertisement. He’s only staying for a couple of hours before leaving. Why don’t you coincidentally come over as well and see if you can convince him to shoot the temple ad with you?” Behind the other phone, a scholarly-looking man quickly leaned his head away from the speaker.

 

The squeak that escaped Xi Yang was loud enough to attract the attention of numerous people around. He slapped a hand in front of his mouth to stop himself from screaming.

 

The marketing head snorted in amusement at the indescribable noises and squeaks he could hear. “Don’t faint on me. Tomorrow at two o’clock, come to my office. Oh, and… don’t you dare make a scene. You know Jian Lin - if you overreact…”

 

“I won’t”, Xi Yang forced out breathlessly. Only after he somehow managed to say the two words did he remember that usually, breathing in made sense if you wanted to talk. He forcefully resumed his forgotten breathing.

 

He didn’t remember how he made it through the day and the next. He didn’t even remember how he was standing at all, or how he managed not to break out into delighted screams when the door finally opened.

 

The department head kept his iron grip on Xi Yang’s shoulder to make sure the young man wouldn’t dart forward. They had gotten the gentlest looking woman to deal with Jian Lin they had found, and he wasn’t going to risk Xi Yang stressing out his precious employee.

 

Jian Lin was focused on the secretary who was still thanking him for his cooperation as he walked out of the meeting room.

 

He only noticed Xi Yang when the door behind him closed.

 

Xi Yang’s first thought was, rather than anything else, that Jian Lin’s hair wasn’t dyed. It was beyond the usual white-blonde; it was basically near white, looking soft and fluffy. He had skin even fairer than the usual gaming addict’s, and his pale blue eyes held a tint of red.

 

Added to his features that were outlandishly handsome anyway, he truly looked like an elf.

 

And Xi Yang immediately had an answer why Jian Lin was likely so tense about going outside, and where his anxiety might stem from.

 

Jian Lin was an albino, and despite standing out being a trend, children especially could be very cruel when it came to dealing with those the slightest bit different.

 

When Jian Lin’s eyes met Xi Yang’s, he froze. His lips pursed nervously and he took half a step back out of instinct, his head lowering a bit. There was a short break between him opening his mouth to speak and actually saying something. “Bloody?”

 

“Yes!” Xi Yang beamed. Were it a comic, the secretary thought, the room would be drowning in hearts and roses. “Ice, finally I meet you! Did you have an appointment today? I had one too, but we have finished already.”

 

Jian Lin visibly relaxed when Xi Yang began to talk as usual, basically one-sidedly taking care of the conversation and making it more than obvious that he wanted to interact with Jian Lin.

 

That was something Xi Yang had quickly learned. When it came to Jian Lin, he never talked too much. The more often he offered to hold a conversation, the easier Jian Lin found it to pick up the topic when he actually wanted to talk. For Jian Lin, starting a conversation on his own always meant worrying that the other person did not want to talk at the moment and he was interrupting or even disturbing them.

 

“You’re taller than me, I didn’t know that! Ah, I guess it’s the beastman race? It did increase my height a bit…” Xi Yang squinted at the small gap of his and Jian Lin’s height. Was that okay? That was okay. As long as he didn’t have to tilt his head to stare at Jian Lin’s face, it was fine. “Have you eaten already? Do you want to eat together?”

 

“My god, Bloody”, the department head sighed. “Let him breathe for a second. Ice Emperor, if he’s getting too troublesome, you can tell us.”

 

Jian Lin twitched and then hurriedly shook his head like a rattle drum. “It’s fine…”

 

It was a bit amusing. Jian Lin’s face had a naturally stern look, so if he pursed his lips in thought or because he was nervous, he looked even more stoic. Paired with his slightly monotone voice and his habit of not speaking too much, he came across as a true incarnation of his nickname.

 

… All of that was nonsense.

 

“I haven’t eaten yet”, he belatedly replied to Xi Yang’s question. “We can eat together.”

 

“Cool”, Xi Yang almost sang. “Awesome!”

 

His head jerked around, staring at the department head who flinched away in surprise.

 

“Can we leave? Are you done?” His voice had a tone of threatening, as if he was planning on jumping at the man’s throat if he kept Xi Yang away from Jian Lin for another second.

 

“We’re done. Thank you for coming, Jian Lin. have a nice meal.” The man gave a kind smile and said his goodbyes.

 

Jian Lin followed behind Xi Yang with his head lowered. He stared mostly at the ground as he walked, his fingers twitching whenever people on the street laughed too loudly nearby. Xi Yang clenched his own fingers into a fist to keep himself from grabbing the other man’s hand.

 

“Are you fine with fast food?” Xi Yang tried to distract him and pointed at a nearby store. The smell of french fries was attracting him.

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Okay, then let’s go there!”

 

Xi Yang happily babbled away as they stood in the line. Jian Lin stared at the menu, deciding on what he wanted. Once it was their turn, Xi Yang swiftly ordered and Jian Lin followed.

 

“Would you like your burger to be spicy?”, the woman said in a professional tone, already typing away at the order.

 

“Yes”, Jian Lin responded instantly. Xi Yang watched how his friend’s pale eyes suddenly turned blank, his expression frozen, and lips awkwardly parted.

 

“No way, I want a bite too. Please delete the spicy, after all”, Xi Yang quickly told the woman, who paused but nodded with a professional smile and changed the information. Only about a minute later did they have their food ready.

 

“Thank you”, Jian Lin mumbled.

 

“No worries, no worries”, Xi Yang purred, patting his shoulder. “I’m always willing to help. Let’s get a quiet corner so we can talk, okay?”

 

The other looked relieved at the suggestion. He took the seat to the wall, without any window behind him, and finally exhaled.

 

“How long are you gonna stay? Where do you live?” Xi Yang could hardly concentrate on his chicken nuggets.

 

“I live in Z City”, Jian Lin quietly replied as he chewed on his fries. “It’s about four hours by train. I’m staying in a hotel for tonight and will be going back home tomorrow.”

 

“Oh…” Xi Yang’s shoulder slumped. “That’s too bad… I was hoping to spend some time with you. It’s the first time we met!”

 

Jian Lin looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, I’m… not too good with travelling and meeting people.”

 

“We could use video-chat”, the red-haired youth happily suggested. “How about that?”

 

“Isn’t the game kind of like video-chat?”

 

“It’s not the same.” Unhappy, he blew up his cheeks. “I like spending time with Ice, but I also want to spend time with Jian Lin.”

 

The expression of the anxious man was somewhere in the middle of being happy and being uncertain. Xi Yang wasn’t sure if it was because he was being doubted or because he didn’t know how to respond.

 

“By the way, uhm, about the advertisement…” Xi Yang paused to let Jian Lin eat his burger and likewise tried to focus a bit on his own meal before it got cold. He still continued his chopped sentences here and there. “I can understand your view, really. I just thought it would be nice because the outfits are great - have you seen them? - and they’re adding limited pets on top and uh, well…”

 

Xi Yang laughed sheepishly. “I… don’t exactly think I’ll have another chance of marrying in the game.”

 

“Why not? You’re famous and popular, I’m sure most people would be happy to become your spouse in-game.”  

 

“Aren’t you the same? Just being famous doesn’t mean that there is someone among those people who I’d wanna marry. Not even for a game.” He finished his nuggets and sighed deeply. “It’s a shame about all those partner dungeons…”

 

“I’m…” Jian Lin needed a while to speak. “That ad is… embarrassing. The marriage ceremony is-”

 

An actual ceremony.

 

The game hadn’t pulled any punches: From speaking a vow to exchanging a special accessory item in the form of a ring, ending with a kiss. Only if that was done would the NPC acknowledge the couple as married, and you couldn’t cheat it either.

 

One of the reasons for this was that marrying would unlock a number of things that were locked for the common player for various reasons.

 

For example, it was impossible to touch another person’s private regions. You’d be stopped three or four centimetres before it by a translucent wall. This was disabled for married couples.

 

… Although you’d still get a punishment if your partner’s reactions showed signs of unwillingness to your touch. It was a pretty complicated consent system.

 

Staging the wedding wasn’t exactly staging it. The plan was for them to go through the ceremony and break up right afterwards. The NPC would have the data wiped, to ensure he wouldn’t remember the ceremony later and complain about their quick break-up if either of them wanted to marry again.

 

That meant that essentially the advertisement was planned to be showing their full ceremony.

 

He could understand why Jian Lin thought it was incredibly embarrassing. He’d have shared the thought if his partner was anyone else. But given the circumstances, his embarrassment was thrown out of the window by a childish desire to have a cheesy, sparkly wedding with the guy he had a terrible crush on.

 

Jian Lin closed his eyes for a while, his lips pursed. “You’d like taking it?”

 

“Kiiiiindaaa”, Xi Yang dragged the word, trying hard not to sound too excited about it. He probably failed.

 

“You don’t think it’s an issue to film it with me? Won’t people think it’s weird?” 

 

Xi Yang stared at him for a while and decided that if it would heighten the chance even the tiniest bit, he might as well reveal their CP to Jian Lin. This way, he could immediately be mental support if Jian Lin freaked out.

 

“Not exactly”, he said and pulled out his phone. He found the social media fansites for the “Red Snow CP” and made sure to scroll to a corner with non-explicit, cute fanart. Then he switched seats to be next to Jian Lin and held his phone between them. “Look here.”

 

The number of likes and comments below the fanart said a lot. As did the amount of fanart. Or the number of members of the club.

 

Or the dedication put into fanfictions with tens of thousands of words, the comics, the gifs of their player characters…

 

Jian Lin’s eyes became as round as the moon. His mouth agape, he stared at all the things he had never seen before while Xi Yang was fighting with himself to not click the heart on an especially cute fanart but wait until he was at home and could switch to his non-official account.

 

But the picture was really adorable! It was the Ice Emperor and Bloody in chibi versions, with Bloody trying to hold onto an orc and Ice running after him in a panic. That was a situation that had actually happened during their early days.

 

It took Xi Yang a while to realize that Jian Lin had not moved or made a single sound since quite some time. Worried that he might have broken the other’s worldview or something, he put his phone into standby and looked up at Jian Lin’s face.

 

The pale skin colour was so red it could have been dripping blood. From his cheeks over his nose, all the way to his ears, Jian Lin was blushing brightly. 

 

Confusion, embarrassment and surprise were written all over his face, but disgust or discomfort was nowhere to be seen.

 

Xi Yang thought that if he had a tail, it would have wagged like crazy at the sight.

 

It was too bad that reality didn’t have a discreet screenshot function like Haven did.

 

“You didn’t know about that, did you?”, he probed carefully.

 

Jian Lin shook his head, his soft hair going flying. “I-I’ve never s-seen any of this…”

 

Which was a miracle and likely the hard work of the company. Because, honestly, the Red Snow CP was everywhere. Even during competitions, you might have people comment on it when either the names of the Ice Emperor or Bloody fell.

 

“So, yeah-” Xi Yang laughed lightly and rubbed his neck. “Rather than people thinking of it as weird, I’m pretty sure we were suggested for this ad because people would go nuts over it. They love literally anything we do together. You can’t imagine how many messages I get, asking me why I haven’t dragged you into my guild yet to lead it together.”

 

He stopped for a moment and cleared his throat.

 

“Which I absolutely would try if I didn’t know you don’t want to be part of a guild and feel more comfortable playing without one.”

 

“I mean, I know about shipping and everything, but I never thought I’d be part of one...” Jian Lin’s face slowly regained its usual paleness. “I-I’m sorry…”

 

“Huh? What for?”

 

Xi Yang’s face was just short of turning into one huge question mark. He tried to catch Jian Lin’s gaze, but the other tilted his head away. “Being paired with me like this must be uncomfortable.”

 

Xi Yang, whose side account was one of the top contributors for screenshots and gifs from the game, bit his tongue to stop himself from breaking out into highly suspicious laughter. “It’s not a problem. Really, if anything, I’d be worried that you will start avoiding me because of this. I know you’re not that fond of attention.”

 

The only reason why Jian Lin participated in ads and the like at all was that he never saw people’s reactions to it. He was famous in the game anyway, but the players knew of his temperament and kept a distance. They didn’t bother him. The effect of the ads was completely separate from his reality.

 

“I’m not but, I’m not going to avoid you”, Jian Lin said slowly. He looked surprisingly guilty for someone who had absolutely nothing to do with the CP forming.

 

Xi Yang knew. Because one of the main reasons for its forming was him sticking to the Ice Emperor and that being tolerated. They simply looked good together and worked well together, so everyone liked their bromance, but the shipping aspect stemmed from his behaviour.

 

The young man buried his face in his hands. He felt a bit bad about all of it. Could he truly continue to try and convince Jian Lin to film this kind of script?

 

… His hesitation vanished after five seconds.

 

Hell yes he could.

 

“Well, if we did the ad, then maybe we could stay married for as long as it’s convenient. We’d have the extra boost of playing together, we could get into the partner dungeons, we could use the special teleport items…” Xi Yang tried to entice him with what he knew worked best - the advantages inside the game. “Thinking like this, no one will take it too seriously, it’s only a game-”

 

A hurt expression appeared on Jian Lin’s face for half a second. He pressed his lips together. “I won’t marry you if it’s not serious.”

 

…

 

… Mmmh?

 

All ambiguity of that statement aside when people didn’t know it was about a game...

 

“Wait… So if it’s done seriously, you’d do it?” Xi Yang narrowed his eyes like a beast ready to pounce its prey. “Is that the problem? The only one?”

 

Jian Lin looked like he was ready to jump out of the window. Not too much damage would be done since they were on the ground floor, but he did look ready to dart at any second. Including throwing the table as a distraction and screaming an apology right afterwards.

 

“Ah- Eh-” Jian Lin stuttered a couple of half-finished words or sounds, unable to form a coherent sentence.

 

Staring at the person who he had been watching for years now, Xi Yang felt his mind empty out. He slowly unlocked his phone, switched to his side account and pulled the fan club back up. Displaying his own participation in it to Jian Lin, 

he said slowly: “Because, seriously, if not being serious is the only thing keeping you away from me…”

 

He swallowed the rest of the sentence.

 

It would have been nice if it had been something sweet or romantic like, “I will convince you that I’m serious!”

 

But in fact, it was a “I will drag you to the company and demand for them to lend us two capsules, throw you inside, start up the game and marry you right away.”

 

Anyway, the best time for threats of that kind was “never”.

 

“Wh-... You’re part of it?”

 

“I’m not sure if you haven’t noticed, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t. So to prove my words in the best way possible…”

 

What was shame? Nothing. He certainly had none.

 

Xi Yang started a group call with his friends and guildmates. They answered quickly and in confusion - they knew he was meeting up with Jian Lin today, and were slightly worried their boss might go insane.

 

“Boss, what’s up?”

 

“Jian Lin is getting something to eat”, Xi Yang said with fake urgency, as if he only had a limited amount of time to speak. “Guys, how obvious am I? I don’t want to scare him!”

 

“God, Boss, control yourself! Don’t do anything illegal!”

 

“Boss, remember to not jump him!”

 

“Try to breathe in slowly, then pause, then breathe out slowly! Calm yourself down!”

 

“Nah, ‘s all useless. You fuckin’ obvious.”

 

“Shut up. Boss, don’t worry too much, if the Ice Emperor hasn’t noticed in the game, he won’t notice outside. Just… don’t be worse than usual.”

 

“Okay. He’s coming back! Bye!” he hung up without another word.

 

Pointing at his phone with “See?” written all over his face, he continued to stare at Jian Lin whose face had gone back to being red.

 

“You-”

 

“I really, really, really do like you, so if you don’t mind, can we pleaaaase do that ad and stay married? I promise I won’t bother you too much, but I’d be really happy just doing the ceremony!” Xi Yang whined, letting his heart speak. “I’d still like it best if I was allowed to bother you much more, including in reality, but I’m a nice guy! I won’t do anything you don’t like, so can’t we do this? Please? I want to wear the limited couple clothes and get the rings for the advertisement and get the title of being your husband!”

 

“I don’t think this is the right place to talk about this”, Jian Lin croaked out, leaning out of the way.

 

Xi Yang was tempted to declare that he didn’t give a shit, but that was too mean.

 

He straightened back up in his seat, making space for Jian Lin again after having leaned in much too far. “Then please think about it on your way home, okay?”

 

Jian Lin stared at the table and, after what felt like an eternity, gave a nervous nod.

 

 

✿✿✿

 

 

 

The GM had almost been scared away by the ferocity with which Bloody jumped at her the moment she appeared. 

 

Although there was an inventory, it had limited space and weight restrictions, and most things had to be carried directly on your body. If the system had allowed it, Bloody would have torn off her clothes to check for the things that she, according to logic, would honestly be carrying in her inventory…

 

“Gimme”, he demanded with a dark voice and the GM, with tears in her eyes, threw the items at him. Squeaking, Bloody caught them.

 

The Ice Emperor watched the scene from the side without any expression on his face. He was used to Bloody acting overboard. It was a bit embarrassing what he was acting like this for, but he was mentally convincing himself that it was excitement about the huge payment they’d get for the ad rather than the meaning of the items.

 

Bloody handed him the set of clothing with a smile so bright, it was blinding.

 

There was no need to truly change into them, as equipping was enough.

 

With Haven being set in a world that was a mixture of all kinds of cultures, the groom’s clothes came in all kinds of design. This time they had created one for Bloody and Ice specifically - something like cultivator’s robes with more western influences.

 

The fabric was white like snow and glittering under the sun, giving them an ethereal look as they wore it. Honestly speaking, the design suited Ice better than Bloody, but they had made adjustments for the beastman to not look unrefined in the elegant clothes.

 

If Ice’s design was more following an eastern influence, then Bloody’s was more western. It looked much better with his messy hair and furry ears.

 

Now if only Bloody wasn’t hopping up and down with a gleeful giggle. “You look great! It looks perfect on you!”

 

Ice hummed a reply and tugged at the clothes.

 

He didn’t know why he agreed. He was feeling uncertain about everything and couldn’t tell his own feelings. He only knew that he liked being with Bloody and he liked seeing him smile. For now, it was just a game. For now, there was nothing more than a game and some additional video-chats.

 

At least until he had figured things out.

 

Until then, the followers of the Red Snow CP would have more than enough to squeal and shriek about.

 

“I’ve given the rings to the NPC already”, the GM said quietly, making sure she had a good bit of distance to Bloody. “The script is basically going through the ceremony. Once everything is done, we can cancel-”

 

“No need”, Bloody declared cheerfully.

 

A short silence ensued, in which the GM decided to stop staring at Bloody and instead looked at Ice.

 

“No need”, Ice confirmed after a moment of hesitation that came across as him wondering if it was worth the effort to answer.

 

The GM, in awe as usual about how cool and collected the Ice Emperor was, did not realize for a second about what that confirmation meant. When the realization sank in, she gaped. “... Huh?”

 

“We will keep the marriage!” Bloody jumped closer to Ice and nuzzled his head against the other. The Ice Emperor stood as calmly as if he was enduring the declarations of love from a very large pet.

 

The GM’s eye twitched.

 

…

 

And she could not talk about this until the advertisement was out!!! She wasn’t allowed!!! Her CP was actually marrying but she wasn’t allowed to talk about it!!! AAAAH!!!

 

Bloody could read on her face that she was dying to ask if the continued marriage would be only for the benefits of the status, or for other reasons. He definitely wouldn’t answer - he himself would like to know, but he had to be patient.

 

One way or another, once the advertisement aired, he could place the title of “Ice Emperor’s Husband” over his head!

 

… Yes, it wasn’t his player name, but the nickname. Most people weren’t aware of their actual player names. That’s how powerful the nicknames were.

 

“Can we start?”, Bloody begged, reaching forward and tugging at Ice’s fingertips. He didn’t dare do much more, and Ice accepted the gesture. He responded by turning and taking a step towards the temple.

 

In the midst of a sea of blooming flowers, a stone temple stood, overgrown with ivy. A gentle breeze was drawing waves over the grass as two people slowly approached the man standing in front of the temple, their hands intertwined.

 

The priest spoke with his soft voice, a serene but sweet atmosphere falling over the scene.

 

The GM stood at the side, biting her arm to keep herself from screaming and crying.

 

When the couple leaned in for the kiss to confirm and finish the ceremony, ten invisible cameras filmed the scene from all angles.

 

Four of them were from the GM, in preparation for the advertisement and her own enjoyment.

 

Five were from Bloody, who was already looking forward to watching the ceremony again.

 

And the last one…

 

Certainly belonged to neither of the two.

 

 

✿

 

Author's Account:

Owl (SH).