Oddly enough, instead of being horrified or anything like that, Yuki just openly stared at the man. God he was old. Then again, to almost every twelve year old everyone was old as dirt. She was supposed to marry that, though? This guy? He was like Yuri's age!
Wait… Yuri's age….
Yuri.
As if on cue, Yuri appeared, looking frazzled as he pushed his little ornamental crown up back atop his head. "Yuki- I'm so...rry." Mirai was standing up, still holding onto Yuki's wrist, watching the fellow blonde closely. Yuki did so as well, narrowing her eyes as she looked between the two men.
Around them, no one really seemed to notice the exchange going on. Most of the women were fanning themselves and gossiping about the men and high court life, and many of the men were wandering about to find ladies to dance with or Yuki's parents to greet. They were in their own little bubble, and in that bubble, Yuki came to quite the realization.
Mirai and Yuri would make one heck of a cute couple.
"Don't be sorry!" she finally chirped, wiggling her wrist in Mirai's grip. This caught his attention, and once he turned his eyes back down to her, she smiled. "Here, you can have this cupcake!" Yuki ignored the way Yuri's breath caught in his throat, knowing full well that her antics were "embarrassing" and "unladylike." She didn't care; she didn't want to be married in the first place, after all.
"Why, thank you." Mirai finally released Yuki's hand and took hold of the dessert. When he licked off the icing, he was not looking at Yuki, but rather had slipped his gaze back over to Yuri, smirking at the blond's obvious fluster. "To be treated so kindly already… might I ask the name of my betrothed's escort?"
"Oh- ah- um." Yuri swept himself into a deep bow at the waist, clearing his throat. "Yuri, Your Highness. I am Princess Yuki's elder brother."
As he straightened, Yuki held out the other treat to him, and Yuri accepted it with a gesture of thanks. "I'm glad you two seem to get along," she cheered, clapping her hands and ignoring the awkward feelings radiating off of Yuri. After all, Mirai seemed the picture of ease. "Now it's my turn-!"
Just as the little ball of sun turned to reach for a treat for herself, her outstretched hand was grasped once more by Mirai. "Your turn indeed," he crooned, all smooth voice and gestures. "For a dance?" Belatedly, though, he spoke his request. For that second, Yuki was pretty sure she saw his confident mask falter. It made her smile, though on the inside she wished she could have smirked instead. After all… no one really knew how to deal with a child that was not theirs -- especially after having to wed them in the soon to be future.
"Certainly," she said, nodding and using her free hand to bob a curtsy. "Please lead the way~" With her free hand grasping the cloth of her skirt, Yuki followed behind Mirai's great strides, almost needing to trot to keep up. Already she could imagine the pain she would be in later on after all of the dancing that was going to go on at this celebration. And to think! This was not even the actual wedding, either.
"Hmm, Your Highness is quite small, I did not think to factor that in." Mirai mused on this as he readjusted his grip, trying not to make Yuki reach too high and he himself not touch her still-flat chest even by a graze. Yuki found it pretty entertaining as she tried to adjust to dancing with a tall adult as well, and after a few moments she huffed a laugh, planting her hands on her hips.
"Why don't you dance with someone else in my stead?" she offered. "A… uhm… I think the word is proxy?"
For a moment, Mirai looked bemused by the suggestion. "...and who might your proxy be?" Brushing a stray lock of his hair over his face, he gazed over the crowds of people behind Yuki. Although it made her also want to look, Yuki knew she shouldn't. The attention should be on her, she supposed, and a husband who had eyes for others was normal she knew. "Your brother?" The grin on Mirai's face was teasing, looking down at Yuki humorously.
Yuki was startled, startled enough that she didn't even complain as Mirai easily lifted her up and planted her smaller feet on his, nodding to himself. "This will do," he said, guiding her hands to hold onto his arms and vice-versa. "Although I doubt this is how we should dance on our wedding day, hm?"
"R… Right," she said, her eyes wide as she stared at the fabric lint on Mirai's jacket, how the blue blended into the black so smoothly. Shamelessly throughout the dance, though, Yuki thought about Yuri in her place, on the receiving end of the teasing words and confident touches, and felt her cheeks go warm with delight.
Time to arrange for something by the wedding, then.