Well school started, but I worked hard to finish this as fast as possible for you guys. It makes me smile to see your reviews and reactions to my chapters, so thanks! Things start to get a little more serious here...almost. Psh, forget Japanese weddings. Len and Miku get a Western wedding 'cause that's the only wedding I know xD

Part 2, Scene 2

~The Day We Got Married~

I stared at her, straight into her eyes, though I didn't overlook the necklace that hung around her neck. I could almost hear my own heartbeat. She was smiling, so I smiled too.

"We are gathered here today..."

I looked at the wedding oficiant and tried to stay calm and listen to the words he was saying.

"...to join together Len Kagamine and Miku Hatsune in matrimony; which is an honourable and solemn estate and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly."

In my current state, I was having trouble following the words, but I already knew what to do, so I just looked back to Miku for comfort. Her smile had dimmed slightly, becoming more solemn as we respected the words of the officiant. Into this estate these two persons present come now to be joined.

"If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

There was silence. I looked over at the small crowd, made up of past Vocaloid members I had known, family, and Rin's friends that she had insisted should come.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

I looked out at Miku's parents, whom I had only met recently, having never met them before Miku moved away. Thankfully, they seemed extremely happy that Miku had found someone that would make her really happy.

Together, they said, "We do."

"Then the bride is given away."

It seemed kind of weird to say it like that, but then I realized that Miku's parents had just given Miku to me...she was mine if I wanted her.

I looked back at the officiant, and he was looking to me. "Len, do you take Miku for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy state of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I said, and realized with a smile how that answer could imply I was already doing so.

The officiant turned to Miku. "Miku, do you take Len for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy state of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," came Miku's joyful reply.

The officiant once again turned to me. "Please repeat after me. 'I, Len Kagamine...' "

"I, Len Kagamine..."

" 'take you, Miku Hatsune, to be my wedded wife."

"take you, Miku Hatsune, to be my wedded wife." I was getting shaky now, not with fear, but with excitement and happiness.

" 'It is the greatest desire of my heart...' "

" 'to be faithful to you and to love you always...' "

" 'seeking to meet your every need...' "

" 'desiring to help you in every way...' "

" 'listening to you...' "

" 'encouraging you...' "

" 'comforting you, and standing by your side...' "

" 'in whatever circumstances may face us in the years ahead.' "

" 'I will respect you, honor you, and strive for harmony in our marriage,' "

" 'with a quiet and gentle spirit.' "

When I finally finished my vow, I began to listen to Miku repeat the same thing, and I felt myself blushing at the sincerity of her words. When I had said the vows, I already knew what they meant; I had read them before, approved of them, and here I was just trying not to mess up. But when Miku said it, I began to think about it again, and found myself believing I could do my best for someone like Miku.

The vows ended, and Miku's ring was brought forward and given to me. The officiant began to speak again. "May this ring be blessed so he who gives it and she who wears it abide in peace, and continue in love until life's end."

I smiled at Miku, and she held out her hand for me to put the ring on. "With this ring, thee I wed. Wear it as a symbol of love and commitment."

The same process was repeated, and Miku gently slid my ring onto my finger, and as she spoke the words, a part of me was able to relax. We were almost done. Miku really did feel the same way about me as I did about her. She really did love me.

And I love her.

The officiant went through the next couple of minutes talking about our marriage, and to be honest, I couldn't pay attention. I was too absorbed in Miku's smile, in her genuine features, and I hoped my expression displayed the same.

"...Now, you may kiss the bride."

I didn't really have to look at the officiant to know he was talking to me. I gladly did as I was told, and heard the officiant start to speak as I pulled away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the loving couple, Mr. and Mrs. Kagamine."

Polite applause was heard from the gathering, and I hugged Miku on impulse, relieved that it had all happened.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. The wedding reception, the little conversations to catch up with old friends, eating, [not] dancing. It seemed like it had only been five minutes when Miku and I found ourselves leaving for our honeymoon.

"We're married now," Miku said, grinning at me when we finally boarded our plane to Hawaii.

"Yeah," I said, still trying to take a hold of the concept myself.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, shouldn't we have some sort of plan? Like, should you get a job? Should we buy a new house of just live in the one you live in?"

I sighed. "You know, I think the point of a honeymoon is to get away from the problems and enjoy each other's company without any worries," I said.

"But I was also wondering..." she continued, her voice quieter. Then she shook her head, as if telling the thought to go away. "Never mind."

I looked over at her, and she seemed sad. I thought about asking her to speak her thought, but then I knew she'd be the kind of person to say something like, 'no, I already said never mind.' So instead, I tried to change the subject. At least a little bit.

"What did you think you would be doing when you grew up? Like, ten years ago, when you were at the height of your fame. What did you picture yourself doing?"

Miku blushed slightly and smiled to herself. "I don't think anything I pictured ten years ago could be as wonderful as what really happened," she asnwered. "What about you?" she asked, looking at me.

"...To be honest, I didn't think everybody would move away. I know I should have known things can't stay the same forever, but I didn't want to accept that. I guess that's why I had such a hard time when it really did happen."

"Oh..." Miku said. "Well, I mean, now you're happy at least, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah."

Miku turned back to face the seat in front of her. "Do you think anyone here knows who we are?" she asked.

I thought about that for a moment. "Maybe. It has been a while."

"How long? Eight-ish years ago was when our group broke up, right? I was twenty..." Miku said.

"Yeah, and I was nineteen, and my parents made me go to college," I said, recallling the day I thought would be the last I ever saw of Miku, and everyone else for that matter.

"You make me feel unsmart. All I did was go teach little kids."

"That's not a bad thing," I said, trying not to let Miku make me feel guilty for no reason. "Those kids loved you."

After we had formally gotten engaged, Miku had temporarily stepped down from her job as kindergarten music teacher so that she could get adjusted to a new life. I had been there when she said goodbye to her students, and they really did adore her. It made me feel lucky to have her.

"Besides," I continued. "It's not like going to school did me any good. I didn't get a job."

"Why didn't you?" Miku asked, sounding suddenly curious.

"I..." I stopped without even starting my thought, because quite honestly, I didn't know how to explain it. "After we all separated, and Rin moved out, I didn't want to accept that my career was over. I didn't want to accept that I would ever have to do anything other than sing, because I grew to enjoy it so much. It was with good intentions at first that I stuck to singing for small groups once in a while, but then I just kept digging my hole deeper and deeper, and couldn't bring myself to face reality, even though Rin did try her hardest to help."

Miku didn't say anything, so I looked over at her, and saw that she was facing me again, smiling. "I guess that explains why you seemed rude when we met in the parking lot. I thought you had changed, and I wanted to give up, but I knew the old Len had to be in there somewhere..." she said, a distant look in her eyes.

She refocused on me. "And then you saw this," she pointed to her necklace, "and I saw it again. I saw the shy Len, sometimes a bit slow, but always with good intentions," she said, her smile growing.

"So I haven't changed?" I asked, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Of course you've changed," Miku assured me. "You got taller, for starters," she said with a giggle. Then her tone became more serious. "I'm not sure I can describe it...but you just...became an adult, I guess."

"Well so did you," I said. A very attractive adult.

"I wish. I don't feel like one," she said regretfully. "I still feel like a kid. Is that just me?" she asked.

"No, I feel like that too," I admit. "I always saw people older than me and just assumed that they were so far ahead of me, but I guess maybe they all feel like this, but then they're forced to accept their age and that's when they really feel like adults."

"Hm. I don't know," Miku said thoughtfully. "Do you think now that we're married, we'll feel more like adults?"

I looked at her incredulously. "Really? You think the pair of us would act like adults?"

She laughed and I had to smile at her. "I guess not," she said. "Being married makes me feel secure, like I can never be pulled away from you again, but being married to you makes me feel like it's just a best-friend-for-life relationship with an official vow and everything," she said, still laughing.

That was a nice thought. I hadn't been sure about it before, if Miku really thought of me as a good friend, because no matter how many times she genuinely smiled at me or started conversations with me, part of me doubted that anyone like her would actually want to be that close to me. Yet when she spoke the words like that, happiness filled me, and I wished I could reassure her that I felt the exact same way, yet the words wouldn't come out of my mouth.

"Yeah," I said, resorting to simple agreement.

Miku had stopped giggling and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Len," she said quietly, closing her eyes.

"Hm?"

"You'll always be with me, right?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied, not believing in any alternative. I looked down to see Miku with her eyes still closed, a gentle smile on her face. Deciding she was probably trying to sleep, I tentatively rested my cheek on her head and closed my eyes well. I felt her fingers reach for mine, and I truly felt as happy as I could possibly be.

Some time later, I awoke to the end of the flight. The next bit of time was spent navigating through the airport, taking a trip to the grocery store to buy some food, and finally heading to the hotel Miku and I would be staying at. At that point, I felt invincible. Nothing could bring my mood down.

I turned on my phone and was surprised to see a message in my inbox once we were comfortably unpacked in the hotel.

"From: Rin

GET SOME ;D"

"What does it say?" Miku asked, trying to peek at the phone's screen.

"Uhh, nothing," I said, aware that my cheeks were turning red. "Rin's just being...Rin."

"Oh, okay," Miku said cheerfully, apparently refreshed by the nap. Her facial expression changed to one of resolution in a split second. "I should make something for dinner," she said unexpectedly.

It dawned on me that I had been cooking my own meals for years, and curiosity rose up inside of me at the thought of how well Miku could cook. I had never experienced it firsthand, but I really hoped she hadn't learned from Rin.

She selected her ingredients from our shopping bags and I watched in mild interest as she attempted to cook with the portable appliances I had brought. I lost track of time, but when the result came about, I had to bite my tongue.

It wasn't that it was bad, it was just that, well, I knew I could do better.

However, I decided to save that thought for later. For all I knew, Miku enjoyed cooking and was trying her hardest, so I kept my mouth shut about it as we ate together. After all, I didn't want to spoil the week over something so silly.

After we had finished dinner and taken showers, Miku made an announcement. "I want you to play my guessing game," she said. "You have until the end of the week to guess, but you get bonus points for solving it sooner," she said.

I gave her a funny look. "That's an odd thing to say so suddenly," I said.

She paid no attention to my remark. "It's simple. Guess what I'm thinking."

"How am I supposed to do that?" I asked. "You could be thinking anything, and it could change."

Miku looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, it's a commonly recurring thought, and I told you, you have until the end of the week," she said, nodding.

I decided Miku was serious, so I tried to think of what she would be thinking. "I really have no clue," I said.

Miku seemed disappointed, but she shrugged. "Well, you can guess later, I guess."

I started to say something, but was cut off by Miku stepping forward abruptly and kissing me. It only took me a second to respond.

It's not like I object to that game.

Later

"I love you," I whispered to Miku in the dark.

"Ha, you guessed what I was thinking," she whispered back.

There you have it. Now you get to guess what the next chapter is about...

Up next:

The Day We Could Never Forget