THE MOMENT
"It's not even the cake that's the problem...," Minerva said quietly. She stood at the altar next to her soon-to-be husband, Ruin. He wore a black suit that glowed with a golden aura. A large ethereal skull seemed to be in a constant state of disintegration. Golden particles fell down around him like rain but, they maintained the skull-like shape.
Minerva had a black tiara atop her head that also glowed with golden light. She had a smaller golden skull floating just above her head. The pair were waiting for someone to show up and marry them. The extra time they had up there gave Minerva time to think. Her day had been a whirlwind filled with trials and as much as she loved Ruin, the stresses of the day wore her patience thin.
She had been ready to put all the stresses behind her when she finally saw him; they spent the day apart to avoid each other in their wedding outfits. But, when they finally saw each other, the only thing Minerva noticed was the giant cake disintegrating next to him. Several layers of chocolate fell apart into white dust while Ruin stood there.
"...The cake's already been replaced. I thought you had more control over your ability," she said.
"I do," was all he said.
"So, it wasn't you that ruined that cake?" she asked. All the guests were lost in their own conversation and the couple could talk openly as long as they kept it to a whisper.
"It was," he said. Except, Minerva noticed a faint proud playfulness in his words.
"Did you do it on purpose?" she asked.
"Kind of...," Ruin replied.
"What? Why?" Minerva asked. Ruin took a look around at all the guests to make sure they were still far away.
"It was the closest, biggest, non-vital thing," he said.
"Non-vital? What, like you needed to disintegrate something?" Ruin nodded silently.
"Why?" Minerva asked. On one hand, she'd never asked that question more than in the past few minutes. On the other hand, she really needed to know before they were married; she was thankful for the extra time. Ruin tilted his head at her and narrowed his eyes; then, he gave her a familiar, goofy grin that she fell in love with.
"You really don't know?" he asked.
"I really don't know," she nodded.
"Do you remember when I disintegrated the wall that first night?" he asked.
"Yeah...," she nodded. Minerva had to dig for the memory a bit; but, it was there. However, the more she searched, the more she realized just how often he was disintegrating things for seemingly no reason. "...what about it?" she asked.
"What about the next night?" he asked. "I ruined that dresser."
"..and the next night..," she said. She came to the conclusion that most nights they were together, something got ruined. She was surprised she hadn't noticed it before, but usually, she was too caught up in the moment to pay attention. Ruin nodded.
"Notice a pattern?" he asked. Now that she knew there was one, it wasn't hard to piece it together. It only ever happened when they were alone. Once she knew what the trigger was, she couldn't help but blush. Although, the pattern she discovered did not match with their crowded wedding.
"But, why here?!" she asked. Ruin grinned and winked.
"You look absolutely amazing tonight," he said.