Reaching For Heaven

Ugh, this took a lot longer to get up than I thought it would, mostly because everything has been really hectic lately. My grandma got her final surgery done, so I've been going over to her house every day after school, and I usually stay until 7:30 or 8. This past weekend, my dad's parents were in town, so I was busy spending time with them (my grandma bought me Brisingr!). Then, I went to the renaissance festival with my friend ChaoticKinkyCola, my mom, my grandma, and a whole bunch of other people. I bought a totally awesome cloak that I plan on using as my part of my Halloween costume (Happy Hollow-een to my fellow Bleach fans!). I was really sick for the past few days. I managed to get to the doctor's yesterday and found out that I have some weird sinus thing going on, so it makes my throat really sore, plus an ear infection in one ear, plus another ear infection starting in the other ear! Sounds like fun, huh? Oh, yeah, I'm just having a f#*ing ball!

Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you guys. Just the pain talking. No worries, I'm good. Anyways, onto the story!

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Chapter 3

"Okay, now try this one!"

"Laine, I'm gonna be sick! Can't we take a break?"

"No! We have to stay on schedule!"

Once Ari and Seto had gotten over the initial excitement of being engaged, they had started trying to figure out all of the details for the wedding. Laine had immediately volunteered to supervise everything, and they had readily agreed, only to realise much too late that her version of 'supervising' involved a complete takeover of all planning. And once she got started, there was no on to stop her.

"Three months," she told Seto and Ari one day, "is the perfect amount of time to get everything just right. So your wedding date is exactly three months from now."

"Laine! Didn't you even think about asking us first?!" Ari exclaimed. Seto stood behind her, glaring.

"No, and I already reserved the church!"

Now, a month later, it was officially 'Cake Day,' according to Laine's Schedule.

"Seriously, Laine, I don't think I can handle anymore."

"There's only a few more samples for you to try, and then it's Dragon-boy's turn!" the blonde replied cheerily.

Ari eyed the few remaining chunks of cake warily. Most of them had been normal, but a few had been so disgusting that it made her nauseous just to think about them. Until today, she had never known that there was such a thing as bubblegum cake with mint frosting.

Ari looked back up at her friend, eyes pleading. "Can't we just stop here? I already know my favorites, so I just have to run them by Seto when he gets home."

Laine sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. It would take too long to convince you to change your mind."

They both heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the hall, and moments later, Seto, long white trench coat, ice blue eyes, and naturally toned body, was there standing in the doorway. He set down the box he was carrying and in a few strides, he had crossed to Ari's side, circling his arms around her possesively.

"Hello, gorgeous," he greeted, smile dazzling.

Ari couldn't do anything but giggle helplessly. Ever since the day she had accepted his proposal, it had become almost physically impossible to keep them apart for long. Whenever they were in the same building, they were rarely more than a few inches away from each other, except, of course, at work. Even then, he would occasionally send her an

e-mail that always had an "I love you" hidden somewhere amongst the actual work.

If it was possible, Seto had started being even more protective than ever. When any guy so much as looked at Ari, he would stare them down, making an obvious point by wrapping one arm around her shoulders or waist. Ari thought that this was a bit much, but Seto would not be swayed.

Laine rolled her eyes, smirking at the two of them. "When you two are finished with this little love-fest, we still have some work to do." She looked at Seto. "Did you pick up the invitations?"

Seto carefully picked up the box he had set down and took off the lid. Inside was a stack of beautifully crafted invitations, each identical except for the names listed at the top. Creating a guest list was one of the few things Ari had actually been allowed to do on her own.

"Wow! These look great!" Ari exclaimed, picking them up one-by-one and laying them flat on the table.

The blonde puffed out her chest. "Would anything I do be less than absolutely perfect?"

"You could work on perfecting your people skills," Seto said bluntly, chuckling when she deflated.

"Aw, what would you know anyway, Mr. Fwooshy Coat! Start tasting some cake, so your mouth won't be able to flap around so much!"

She was preparing to start off on a long-winded rant when four invitations were suddenly thrust into her face.

"What are these for?" she asked, taking them and staring, head cocked to one side.

Ari smiled. "Well, two of them are for your mom and dad, one is for your brother, and one is for you."

"Why would I need one? It's kind of a given that I'm coming."

"True, but since you're my maid of honor, I don't think it would be right to skip any formalities ." She paused for a secod, a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "Plus, I know you love to make scrap books, so why not add this to one of them?

The blonde snickered behind one hand. "You know me too well, my friend." Suddenly, her grin disappeared and her head snapped around to look at Seto. "Hey, why aren't you sampling cake? We're gonna fall behind schedule! Eat, for the love of God, eat!"

"Alright, calm down!" he said grabbing a fork and the nearest piece of cake.

"So, which one do you think we should order?" Ari asked when he had tried them all.

"I think I'm kind of partial to that one," he said, pointing at one that had been among her favorites.

"Okay, it's settled!" Laine crowed, punching numbers on her cellphone with one finger as she happily skipped out of the room.

Seto moved back to Ari's side, wrapping his arms around her waist. She laid her head on his chest, sighing contentedly.

"Sometime that girl has a little too much energy for her own good," he muttered.

Ari laughed and looked up at him. "Just be glad that she wasn't the one eating cake. We'd have to tie her down!"

He laughed heartily and looked down at her lovingly, and something caught her eye.

"Hey, you still have a bit of icing on your face."

"Really?" he asked, reaching up to brush it off."

But before he could reach it, and before he could stop her, Ari stood up on her tippytoes and...licked the bit of icing off of his cheek. For a few minutes, Seto just stared at her in stunned silence, and she felt heat rising rapidly to her cheeks. She thought that she had possibly been a little too forward, and was about to apologize, when he suddenly leaned back down, kissing her hungrily, pulling her body flush against his own in one swift movement. They had kissed like this before, but he had always been the one to instigate it. Never before had it been so urgent, needy, and filled to the brim with passion and love. Ari looped both arms around his neck, pulling him closer, shivering. She was lightheaded, and very glad for the support he was giving her. Had he not been holding her up, her already trembling legs would have given out completely. Seto seemed to know this, because he gently picked her up and set her back down on the counter so she had something to sit on.

He broke the kiss, and Ari began to protest, only to have her objections come out as a startled gasp when his mouth attached to her neck. She unconsciously tilted her head back, showing more skin. His hands were under her shirt, moving up her sides at a painstakingly slow pace, as if he was trying not to startle her. She could feel the heat coiling in her stomach, making her even dizzier than before. For someone who had never even had a girlfriend before he had met her, Seto was good at this.

Out of nowhere, a wooden spoon smacked him right in the head. He and Ari seperated immediately, one of them clutching his head with his hands, both of them flushed and out of breath. Laine stood beside them, arms crossed, foot tapping, spoon still firmly in hand.

"What they hell is wrong with you?!" Seto demanded.

"I am protecting my best friend's innocence!" the blonde announced proudly, glancing back at Ari, who was hastily pulling down the edges of her rumpled t-shirt and smoothing down her disheveled hair. "It's my responsibility, as maid of honor, to make sure that you-" She pointed at the other girl. "-keep your honor. You two have to stay at a strictly PG level." Laine stopped for a minute, smiling wickedly. At least until your honeymoon."

She cackled mercilessly when Ari blushed a deep crimson, only made worse by the laughter.

"Speaking of which, a honeymoon destination is something you guys have to pick. Can I trust you two alone for one night?"

"Where are you going?" Ari asked curiously.

She was shocked when Laine gave her a shy smile and blushed.

"Well, I've sort of got a date tonight."

"Oooo, is it with Bakura?" the brunette teased.

Laine nodded her head vigorously before running out of the kitchen, leaving a surprised, but very pleased, couple in her wake.

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This chapter was a bit shorter than I had hoped, but what can you do? I'm gonna start working on the next one soon as possible.

By the way, did anyone else know that 'Emo' is actually a real name for someone? I was looking up names for the characters in another story of mine, and I couldn't believe when I found that one! XD