Going to the Chapel

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

Chiban-chan:Don't count Takeru out. That's all I'm saying…

Inconnu: I've never been blamed for lack of sleep before. Ha, I wonder if Paris gave the ring back to Paris, considering the wedding is apparently off…

Starfish: I'm pretty sure there's some other wilkari's out there; you just have to actually look for them.

Nickygirl: Poof is good for weddings. One of my friends had a poofy dress for prom, and she could almost drown in it. Ha…college applications? Well, I sent one in so far…

Emily-is-strange: Your idea is exactly what I have in mind.

SaffireStarz: So how did you anticipate Yamato proposing?

Trio Wing: Hot tubs are awesome, unless there's a question on your Literature test referring to some character who got stuck in a hot tub and you're completely confused. Happened to me just the other day…long story there…

And thanks to: blondie121147, Yume-dream, outxofxemotions, Eiliriel, Only Secret, anxious, Ballet Kitty, scorpion05, Kuroi Black Nightingale, Wishinstahhz, Calare, and JyouraKoumi.

Chapter 3: Did Someone Say Party?

: 3 Months later August 2010:

"Of course, Atsuki-san. The band is very pleased you asked them to perform at the charity function. We will arrive on the seventeenth and meet you at the airport around three thirty. Thank you; have a nice day."

One phone call done, nearly ten more to return.

Life as a band manager is not easy. I would never say it was easy either. From the moment I started at this career a few years ago, I learned that the hard way. Everyone would think this is such a glamorous, easy job. I mean, look at the way the media portrays the rock star kind of life: sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Too bad they've got some high false image.

There's a lot of work that goes into planning things. While the guys are busy in the studio or just relaxing with a jam session, attempting to come up with new music—though I don't think they do a lot of working some of the time—I am stuck in my office. I've come to hate the mauve paint on the wall and would like nothing more than to chip it all away. My pens have all been chewed on in my more frantic of moments. Papers are organized and sorted by color, each color representing a different aspect of the band.

I've never been a really organized person. Takuya taught me that trick, though, the moment I began my apprenticeship. Color coding and planners are the best friends you will ever have in the world. There's so much that's required of me, so much one would never imagine existed.

Take today, for instance. In the past three and a half hours, I've scheduled one charity event, arranged two radio interviews, booked three weeks of hotel rooms and entered four new cities onto The Wolves' tour in six months.

I'm a beast I tell you.

But, that's only the business aspect of things. Mom has called me three times with wedding ideas, all revolving around her traditional Shinto plans. Mimi and Tracey have called me on hourly intervals—each rotating with the hour—about genius inspirations they have gotten. Yamato's mom e-mailed me regarding our engagement party next weekend. Apparently the place we chose to have it can't hold all the people we've invited. So I have to work on that too. And to top it off, Taichi text messaged me because he was bored and expected me to respond, even though I was in the middle of a very important web meeting with Takuya.

All this talk of planning our wedding—though Yamato and I haven't come close to deciding on a date—is starting to drive me insane! But we're fairly sure it's not going to be until at least a year or so from now. Imagine how crazy I'm going to be by then. Yama's not going to want to marry me then. He's going to think I'm some psychotic freak, drove insane by all this planning and organizing I have to do. But I'm going to blame it all on my friends and family. Yes, they're going to take the complete and total blame.

I know we asked for everyone's help, but it's really irritating when they'll just randomly call you up with this awesome suggestion. I think Tracey has a detailed list of every single thing she can think of for the wedding, down to the intricate designs on the kimono I may be wearing. And if we decide to go with a Western style wedding, she has this poofy gown picked out in reserve.

At first I was really looking forward to planning this and all, but now I dread thinking about it each day. It's starting to get on my nerves already. Will I even want to get married by the time there's only a month left till the actual day? I never thought planning a wedding could be so stressful. Actually, it probably wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't trying to juggle the whole managing the band gig and this on the same hand, twenty-four seven. Girls aren't supposed to work under these conditions.

I'll be the first to admit I haven't been my normal self lately. I've been a lot more sarcastic and cynical, even to the point of rude according to the guys. All these feelings of being overworked and frazzled are starting to get to me. I'm like the pop inside a glass bottle that's been shaken over and over, ready to explode when some unknowing person takes the lid off. Is it even legal for someone to be under this much stress?

I hit my head against my oak desk, knowing it was going to leave a red mark on my forehead. But I didn't care. This afternoon isn't looking any better, either. There's, unfortunately, no time for a break. I'd love to take some time off, but then I would be letting everyone down and not pulling my share. I knew what I was getting into when I signed onto this. Now I just have to deal with it.

And I can't let the paparazzi see me in this state. They're still hung up on the fact that Yamato Ishida is taken. Hello, there are other stories more important than our love life. They certainly didn't spend this much time talking about Demi and Ashton or Jennifer and Brad back in the day they were making headlines. With those other celebrities, it was like they made the news for a few weeks, maybe a month but with a little break in between. Our story is constant daily, always with some sort of new development.

And it's staring to drive us all mad!

"Okay, you need to find a nice comfy bed with a huge fluffy pillow, take a couple handfuls of sleeping pills and get some rest, Sor. I think it will do you a lot of good."

I glared at the blond who was slowly massaging my tired neck. He had entered the room, unbeknownst to me, while I was raging in my soliloquy of thoughts. And I had a feeling it would be a long time before he left.

"Go away," I groaned, lowering my head back to the desk.

He gave my neck a light squeeze before stopping the massage and taking a seat in the black leather chair on the other side of the desk. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"Go away,"

"Is it the band or the wedding? Come on; you know you want to tell me."

We both knew that and that no matter how many times I protested, I really didn't want him to leave and he wouldn't exit the room. "It's everything. I can survive one at a time but the two together are worse than hell freezing over."

"Then just concentrate on one, preferably the band. Sor, we have no idea when the wedding is going to be, other than sometime next year. Sure I'm thinking about it, but it's kind of hiding in the back corner of my mind at the moment."

"It would've been resting back there, but everyone keeps calling me with ideas and stuff. It's getting so annoying. And Mom's getting really anxious about us deciding what kind of wedding we want to have."

He raised an eyebrow. "There's more than one kind of wedding?"

"Traditional or Western."

"Oh," His mouth looked like it belonged on a goldfish. "I see the predicament. Well, I've got a suggestion."

"What's that? Elope and get all this crap out of the way?" I was kidding, and I hope he saw through my weak joke.

"If that's the case we're going to need to get a lot of alcohol and hire one of those corny Elvis impersonators." He joked right back. "No, the guys and I decided to take a break so we could get in some naps. How about you and I make up a list of the things that we want? Then you call up our pilot to fly you back home for a week or so in order to get these things figured out. You can work on the band and this stuff—it'll be easy to do both because you'll be in such close contact with Takuya and all our crazy friends."

"I don't know about the whole flying back thing, but I agree with your other idea. Your one good idea of the year."

"There's the Sora I know and love. But trust me, even if I have to pack all your clothes for you, you will end up being on a plane home…"


"I didn't think you were serious about the packing thing."

Yamato shrugged, handing me two overstuffed duffle bags. "What's all in here? Your vast supply of hair gel?"

He gave me the most innocent look he could muster. "I didn't know what to pack. I think I threw in a little bit of everything."

"Great…I'll force myself to stay inside all week, in that case."

"Well, if nothing else, I do know that you'll have a nice selection of lingerie to choose from…Ouch!"

My face burned as I slapped him on the arm. "That was a little uncalled for."

"Do I look like I care?" He pushed me towards the direction of the plane. "Now go on. Say hi to everyone and tell them I'll meet up with them right away."

"Obviously you will because we kind of have our Engagement Party next week."

He smirked at me, planting a firm, possessive kiss on my lips. "Be good; don't go ripping anyone's hair out or hurting any of our friends."

"That was uncalled for too. Maybe I should go so I can get away from you."

"You know you'll miss me."

"Barely,"

I pulled him down to me once more, giving him a sweet goodbye kiss. The rest of the band came over and after a handful of goodbyes, I was off—reluctantly—for Odaiba.

I knew the plane ride from Kyoto wouldn't be long, but I had some things to organize in the meantime. Yamato and I had discussed a lot and come to a few conclusions on what all we could do, none of them set in stone, though. And I would have a fun time trying to explain everything to the others.

We'd broken everything into organized lists and went from there by priority. Nothing was permanent, but it made me feel a lot better to have stuff somewhat taken care of.

Number one: what kind of wedding we want to have.

It seemed like Yama and I were both leaning towards the same idea. We had both grown up with at least one traditional Japanese parent hovering in our lives, both cases being our mothers. They'd immediately told us how delighted they'd be when we asked a Shinto priest to perform the ceremony.

Pleasing the parents is always a good thing, considering how long they have put up with us, but they have to keep in mind that we are adults. And the little fact that it happens to be our wedding.

There were certain elements of the Shinto wedding we liked. I knew there were things from it that had to be there for it to seem like a wedding to both Yamato and me. But at the same time, after spending a good deal of time in America and some of the western countries, we got a feel for another type of wedding style. We had both assimilated our tastes and likes. Touring around and taking in different cultures has refined some of our tastes. I feel more balanced, truthfully. It's like I have discovered some of the things hidden inside of me that I've always wondered about.

We both were pretty content with the idea of a wedding party and their attire. Our singer friend wore this huge ball of poof to her wedding, and quite honestly, I kind of fell in love with the mentality of it. How cool would it be to wear something like that for a few hours. Not too long. Just a few hours. But at the same time, ever since I was a little kid, I've dreamed of wearing an elaborately designed kimono that my mother made for me. That kind of puts me in a bind.

Yamato came up with the solution. "Why don't we get decked out in the Western style for the actual wedding, blending in a few traditional aspects? Then at the reception, we can change into our dress kimonos and more comfortable clothes."

His suggestion, the most obvious choice for blending the two cultures, proved to be the answer we were looking for. We'd have to sit down—much later—and make a more detailed list of things we would adapt from each.

After I convinced our parents and friends that this is what we wanted.

Number two: the date.

It's probably only one of the more important and necessary items of any wedding, but we pooled some ideas together. Every one of our friends began shouting out random dates from the moment we became engaged.

This was our primary goal. If we could figure out when we wanted the wedding to be, we would be able to know a timeline for when other things had to be figured out. It would give us some breathing room and make it easier on all of us. The only bad thing about choosing the date was trying to set a permanent date and, upon doing so, keeping it from the press.

We debated and argued. Neither of us was really certain on when we wanted to have it. He and I narrowed our field of choices down to a period of six months. Further debating—our yelling got so loud that we attracted the attention of the rest of the band—moved the cut to the summer months.

And finally, as neither Yamato nor I had a set date in which we were adamant about, we consulted our planner, looking for some Saturday night with no performances scheduled or amid a tour. Our choices came down to June 2 or August 27. June seemed so early. I mean, it's less than a year from now. Would we even be ready? And it was right before the guys' big "Unlimited" tour came out, ready to promote their soon-to-be new cd. Would it really be wise to have the wedding and honeymoon amid the chaos?

So that left us with August 27. The tour would wrap up for a two week break along that time, though there were various intervals and days slotted for entertainments. The day appeared perfect; we could hold everything then. Take a quick two-day honeymoon somewhere relaxing and peaceful. Maybe Hawaii? Or Australia would be cool. How about England? Maybe France? Mexico? Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. That's something we'll discuss later.

Apparently, though, August 27 is now our running date. Sure, we have to check it over with the others, but it's the date that just looks like it'll work. There's no romantic significance, no hidden meaning, no symbolic reference. It's just the day that works. But, if we do have the wedding on that Saturday, it will be a day of all those things.

I'm getting way to into this.

Now I just have to find a way to explain this to everyone else…


"So how did you three end up with this job?"

"Yamato forced me into it," Takeru grumbled from the driver's seat. "He seems to think I can do whatever he asks of me whenever. Nothing's changed since we were younger."

Takeru was being overly sarcastic, but I knew it was all in a joking manner. He and Yama got along better than any siblings I've ever met. Seriously, it's not supposed to be legal for two brothers to get along so well. But that didn't stop either of them for cracking jokes at the other's expense quite often.

"I'll make sure he gets you a really nice birthday present. Maybe he'll get you a new car or something like that. This thing looks ready to fall apart."

"Actually," a voice from the backseat piped up, "this is my car."

My cheeks were as red as my hair as Takeru did everything he could not to laugh. Willis and Kari were sitting in the back seat—for what reason I had yet to find out—and the other blond looked pretty offended at my comment. "I'm sorry; I was just…"

I saw Kari mouth the words "don't dig yourself into a deeper hole" in the review mirror and decided to change the subject.

As fast humanly possible.

"So why am I graced with the honor of your guys' presence as well? Did you miss me as much as Takeru did—but won't admit?"

"He's dropping us off at the southern end of the airport so we can get on a flight back to my hometown to visit my parents."

Willis still isn't too happy with me from the looks of things. Hikari nudged him playfully. "Takeru decided he'd be nice enough and not make us walk."

"What'd they have to pay you?" I questioned the driver.

"I did it out of the goodness of my little heart," he sarcastically mumbled, at this time, it was very evident that he purposely said that. The air in the car was thick. The tension was higher than Taichi's plate full of food anytime we went to a buffet.

"Isn't this your spot?"

Kari gave me a thankful look. "Yes it is. Willis, we'd better hurry so we don't miss our flight. Takeru, can you tell my mom that I'll call her the minute we get to Will's parents' place?"

He only responded with a nod, probably not trusting himself to speak. But I didn't blame him. I could see through everything and was pretty amazed the others couldn't.

"Have fun you two. It was nice catching up with you both again." I politely greeted, hoping to make amends with the blond. He didn't say anything to me but waved in Takeru's direction. We waited until they had gotten their bags and began to head towards the main doors.

"That was one of the most awkward moments in my life."

"I think you're being a little too dramatic." Takeru put the car in drive, heading out the exit ramp and back towards Odaiba.

I shook my head indignantly. "The only time that even comes close to that is when the band decided they needed an extra practice session, and they kind of walked in on your brother and me…"

"Too much information!" He removed his hands from the wheel for a brief second, covering his ears. "You just corrupted my innocent mind."

My face now rivaled some ripe tomatoes, ready to be made into ketchup. "We weren't doing that. We hadn't gotten that far."

"I don't even want to know about your sex life with my brother, Sor. I love you to death, but there's a line. And don't even think about crossing it."

"I'm just going to change the subject and pretend I never mentioned it. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. So what do you want to talk about?"

"You and Hikari,"

He accidentally stomped on the break, jerking us both forward, his body hitting the horn and causing it to blast at a car going the other direction. Takeru quickly regained control and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "There's nothing between Kari and me. She's been with Willis for half a year. They're happy together."

"But are you happy for them?" I provoked.

"If Kari's happy, than so am I. I'll admit I was always hoping we'd turn out the same as you and Yama. I mean, our story is so similar it's scary. But…something never click. She never saw me in the same light that I saw her. I've tried dating others, but they're just not the same as she is. She gets me better than anyone. It's just the way it is."

His pure unconditional love for her shone through, and I wanted nothing more than to record that conversation and play it for Kari. I put my hand on my future brother-in-law's arm. "Don't give up hope, Takeru. Sitting here now, I just felt there was something missing from their relationship, something that's going to take Hikari a little while to realize. From what I've been told, Willis is a great guy. But sometimes great guys fall for the wrong girls and great girls fall for the wrong great guy. If it was meant to work out, Takeru, it will. You may just have to give it some more time. I probably would tell anyone else to get over their feelings, because usually, pining away will do no good. But you're a special case. I know what you feel for Hikari is true. It's not some confused case of feelings. If you two are destined to be together, which I'm pretty sure is the case, something will bring you together. It's just a matter of time..."


"I call this meeting of W.O.W. to order."

I stared at Mimi and Tracey curiously, having no idea what they were talking about. "Okay, does one of you want to fill me in on what's going on because I'm pretty sure I'm lost."

Mom, Natsuko Takaishi, Tracey, Mimi and I were all gathered in the backroom of Mom's flower shop, enjoying some tea and, apparently, present for a meeting of W.O.W., whatever that is. "W.O.W. stands for Working On the Wedding, silly!" Mimi exclaimed. "We're going to get a lot of things done today. All of us took off some time from our busy schedules so we could help."

"And we didn't invite any of the guys because, well, face it, do you really think they know a lot about planning a wedding?" Natsuko shrugged her shoulders at her comment.

"Well, Yamato did…"

Tracey rolled her eyes. "Taichi wanted to come so badly. I had to do everything I could to get him to stay at his apartment."

"Koushiro would have run screaming in the other direction if I asked him to come. He wants to be involved but not plan things."

Mom refilled all our glasses with some green tea. "Haruhiko insisted that I write everything down in outline form and give it to him to study. Honestly, he never takes a break from his teacher mode, even for his only child's wedding."

"Hiroaki called me the other night and just asked that we not rack up too high a bill."

So much for W.O.W. This had turned into a gossip party with these crazy women around me doing all the talking. I couldn't get in a word about anything around them. The subject started with boyfriends and husbands, drifting towards the love triangle of Takeru, Hikari and Willis, finally settling—a good two hours later—on the wedding.

But did I get a say in anything?

"The kimono should be pale blue with some blue, purple and pink flowers on it," Natsuko insisted.

"I know this great Shinto priest," Mom tried to switch the subject. "He performed all these weddings on my mother's side of the family…"

"…what colors should our kimonos be?"

"Do you think I should find a pink one or would it be too much?"

Hell no.

"Hey, guys!" I yelled out. Nothing. "Guys! WOULD YOU ALL STOP TALKING?"

I'm sure Yamato heard me in Kyoto. At least my call succeeded in doing what I wanted it to. The four women around me ceased their conversations, all focusing their attention on me and what I had to say.

It was about damn time.

"I don't want to sound all bitchy, but do I get some sort of say on what's going on? Yama and I talked about some things, and I'd like to share them all with you guys." They all looked at me like I was crazy. Too bad they have no idea how they look. "Yamato and I chose a date or at least we have an idea for one."

"Did you pick my birthday?"

"You chose your grandfather's death date, right?"

"Hiroaki's going to be so happy!"

"How soon is it?"

"Can you all calm down?" I cried out. My temper was like a storm that was slowly growing in strength and ferocity. I was a tiger ready to attack my prey. They have absolutely no idea that they are driving me to a mental institute with every word they say. These four are like wedding czars. Why couldn't they let the guys be here? Or Kari at least? She would have tried to keep them in line. Do they not realize it's my wedding, and Yamato and I have some say in it? "We didn't select any of those dates. We couldn't really find one that held a lot of significance the way it is. So we decided to make a day mean something. And the date has to agree with our schedule, so we're not overwhelmed. August 27, 2011 is what we came up with."

The whole room was dead silent. It was quieter than a funeral home. In all my life and in the rest of my life, I would never hear Mimi and Tracey silent for such a long time.

Suddenly, though…

"Oh my God! It's so cute how you guys are going to make a new memory." Tracey gushed.

Mimi's pink curls bounced as she enthusiastically nodded her head. "I agree. And summer weddings are so totally in. There's so much you can do with them."

I really need to find some new friends.

"That's an important step, honey. I think it's a good idea to have things separate from any other day. It'll mean more to you in the future if that's the case. We'll check our schedules to make sure it works, but I think it's a good idea to have." Mom wrapped her arm around me.

"And if nothing else," Natsuko pointed out, "it's not a date that'll draw the paparazzi's attention. They'll be calculating a bunch of things, trying to figure out the date. If it's something kind of unexpected, then you have a better chance of fooling them."

I definitely had to agree with her. I mean, the paparazzi is bad enough on a day to day basis. Look at all the damage they did and do to celebrity weddings: Britney and Kevin, Brad and Jennifer—obviously before they split—and all their other rumors about who is supposedly getting married. Seriously, there are some things that need to be kept quiet. A wedding is more of a private affair in a sense that it's for people you know. I can't exactly say I want millions of people watching me say "I do" to Yamato, particularly with a bunch of cameras in the background. Can't say I'm up for the whole Bachelor thing where the girl and guy invited the world to watch their wedding years ago. That's not my cup of tea, and I know Yama would wholeheartedly agree.

One issue out of the way, though. They took it better than I thought. The easy one is out of the way. Now it's time for the big one.

"And Yama and I came to one other really important decision."

They wouldn't pay an inkling of attention to me before but now they were all eyes, as if I had said that if they paid perfect attention to me, I'd reward them with a million dollars each. Dream on, ladies. "What is it, Sor?"

Deep breath. This probably won't get the same reaction as the other. "We've decided what kind of wedding we want." No one said anything, and I knew they were all waiting for my words. "We want to combine a lot of the elements of a traditional Shinto wedding with that of a Western Christian wedding." I looked around; no reaction. I better keep talking before they can say anything. "We both grew up surrounded by our Japanese roots, and words can't say how important they are to us. But we've also experienced so much traveling around and touring. The other cultures and traditions have slowly been blending into us as well. It just wouldn't be right not to include both."

Did they not hear me or something? There was no reaction from anyone. This really isn't the way I planned it. I was expecting to have my head ripped off while getting yelled at. "Sora, if that's the way you and Yamato want things, we really cannot argue with you. You are adults, well suited to make your own decisions." Natsuko was the first to regain her voice. "I don't know if the idea of a wedding like that really appeals to me, but I have a feeling it will grow on me the more I think about it. And I will do whatever I can to help you out."

I changed my mind: there is one sane person in this room besides me!

"It's really hard to see this with you, Sor." Tracey mused. "You were the one who wanted to be all traditional for that prom thing. But as you said, you guys have seen a lot since going off with The Wolves. I think it's cool that this is what you want to do. And imagine what we can do with this. You'll be wearing one of those gigantic poofy dresses. And can't you see Yamato in a tux again? This is going to be so cool!"

Her support wasn't really unexpected. Tracey is good about seeing the good through the uncertain at all times. She can be a little pessimistic sometimes, but most of the time she means well. And this is one of them.

"Don't you have groomsmen and bridesmaids and stuff with the Christian weddings?" I nodded at Mimi's question. "This is going to be so fun to plan! I can see us all walking down the aisle in dresses and suits. And think of all the flowers that'll be surrounding us. And once you decide what kinds of traditional elements are going to be there, it'll be even neater. I think you should change into this really beautiful kimono sometime during the reception party."

Same idea I had, but I think I'll explain them to everyone once I've gotten Mom's opinion.

She had been silent, a far cry from the other three who were now all gossiping about the location of the wedding. I caught her eye, motioning for her to stand up and meet me by the door so we could talk away from the chattering crows.

"So?"

I couldn't read her eyes or expression. My mother was so good at hiding them when she wanted to. I had learned to decipher most people's masks, but to this day, I can't figure out my mother's.

"I understand that you're mad at me, Mom, but…"

"I'm not mad at you, Sora. I'm just a little disappointed you chose to have it this way. I can see where you're coming from, though. I just always assumed we would keep the tradition in our family. It's been that way for such a long time; it's a shame to see it end like that. Ever since you were born, I've been envisioning your wedding day. And when you finally found Yamato, I was certain he was the one. I could see things so clearly in my mind's eye: how stunning you'd look in a kimono, the creases on the Shinto priest's face, you and Yamato drinking the sake and all the other traditional things. It's going to be so hard to adjust to this new idea, but I will make an effort. Natsuko was right, Sora. It is your wedding. You and Yamato have the right to decide. And we will accept your choice."

I knew she wasn't intentionally sending me into a guilt trip. Mom would never do that. She was the one I got all my traditional things from. We both felt very strong ties to our roots and never wanted to forget them.

"Thank you, Mom. But keep in mind this won't be exactly like a Western wedding. Yama and I want to preserve as many of the Shinto traditions as we possibly can. No one will probably expect the way the wedding turns out, so we're going to have a lot of planning to do. And I want you to be involved as much as you can."

She smiled at me, wrapping me into a hug. "Of course, Sora. Don't expect any different." She released me, turning to the door now. "I'm going to go get some more green tea. We may need it, the rate this is going."

As she opened the door, she hit a bump. "Ouch!"

Mom and I glanced at each other, unsure of what was awaiting us on the other side of the door. Cautiously, she pushed it open again, revealing a pissed off Taichi. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't you warn me before you opened up the door?" He clutched his arm. "I'm going to have a bruise."

"Why are you out here?"

"Tracey wouldn't let me come; so I decided to come eavesdrop and figure out what was going to happen on my own…"


"I'm getting nervous."

Yamato rubbed my knee lightly. "We'll be fine, baby. Everyone here is just really excited."

I looked around the room we had booked for our engagement party. People littered the dance floor and tables, all talking amongst themselves. Or drinking. "And some are just flat-out hammered."

He pulled me closer to him. "They just are anxious to find out when the wedding's going to be."

"Even though we're not going to announce the date."

"They'll get over it. It'll just give them something to look forward to."

I caught Takuya's eye. "Yama, it's time."

We both shakily stood from the head table where we'd been sitting with our families and closest friends. The party had been kicking for the past few hours, and we promised everyone that we'd make an announcement at 11:45. And now, it's time.

Yamato led me up to the platform Takuya had set up the night before. It was five days since our meeting of W.O.W. Only a select handful of people, besides the ones present that day, knew what our plans were. Hikari had been informed immediately when she got back. I debated telling Willis, who apparently got over whatever grudge he had against me, but decided it was better not to. He'd find out eventually and show up if he and Hikari were still together.

If.

Takuya and the other three Wolves obviously knew. They were the first people I told, after giving Yamato the go ahead. After discovering Taichi, we let him into the meeting. He wasn't a lot of help, but he did succeed in keeping the mood light. Takeru, Koushiro, my father and Yamato's dad were the only other ones who found out. We want to keep things light for now. Keep things at a bare minimum. The longer we can protect things, the longer our secret is safe from the paparazzi.

"As promised, Yamato and Sora will be announcing some things everyone has been waiting for. Go ahead you two." Takuya grinned at us, handing me the microphone.

I stared out at the crowd of people, unsure of what to say. Yama gave me a reassuring nudge. Come on, Takenouchi. You can get through this. You only have to disappoint a hundred or so people. Piece of cake. "Um, Yama and I want to thank you all for coming here. It really means a lot to both of us. Well, as we promised, we're going to reveal a little bit about our wedding to you all gathered here today."

I paused and decided I'd said enough. Yamato looked a little disheveled as I handed him the microphone. He can be the bearer of bad news. He's the cute one; they won't mind it as much if it comes from him instead of me.

"As Sora said," he paused, trying to figure out what to say, "We have some things figured out. At the moment, we have an idea for the date." Faces became very anxious. "But we are choosing not to reveal it as of yet. It will be on the invitations, whenever they are sent out. We have our reasoning for doing this. I know you all were waiting to hear what we had to say about this, and I'm sorry we're kind of letting you down. But I can say that the wedding will be sometime before December of next year. And also, Sora and I have decided to hold a mixture of a Shinto wedding and Western style one based off some of our personal beliefs. I know we didn't give you guys a lot of solid information, but you will find out eventually. Despite all this, we'd really like to thank you guys for supporting us and standing through it all with us."

He lowered the microphone. Silence covered the air. But it ended as Taichi and Tracey began hollering and cheering enthusiastically. Yama grinned at me as the crowd below us joined in the applause. "KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"

Our friends started up the chant and soon it was joined by everyone present. I looked at the blond. "Can't go up against that one."

"I think I'll have to agree."

We met in the middle in a sweet, semi-passionate kiss. His familiar lips nipped at mine, tasting the strawberry lip gloss on them as I could later taste it in his mouth. "Mmmh…love you." I mumbled as I ended the kiss.

"Love you too…"

The roller coaster ride had just started. With all this support, maybe things will start to be less overwhelming. Or, in typical fashion, I will have absolutely no idea what I've gotten myself into. I'm betting it'll be the latter. The next few months are going to be very interesting. So join us on the ride. It's just started. And we haven't even begun to hit the bumps or hills. Hang on; it'll be a wild ride…

A/N: Long chapter for how long it took me to get it out. Sorry about that. I'm hoping that I'll be back on some sort of schedule by November or December at the earliest. I'm trying my best people, keep that in mind. At the moment, I'm trying to condense Artistic Differences into a 5-6 page story for my Literature class, so that's taking up a lot of my time. We'll just have to see what happens. Thanks for the patience guys. Please review and let me know what you think. Now I gotta go leave for a college visit and tend to my injuries from soccer.

Until next time, here's a bit of a previewof next chapter. It's The One with all the Dresses

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