"It all feels so surreal," Ami daydreamed as she watched Amu transform into a normal girl into a goddess right before her eyes.
"If I remember correctly, aren't women getting married supposed to be pure white? Why isn't my dress a light pastel color or something?" Amu asked.
"Because you didn't do… it with your ex-husband," Ami shrugged, "You're still pure."
"But I don't feel all giddy like my first marriage," Amu whispered, remembering how happy she was for marrying Tadase and how her own family members kind of sensed that her high school sweetheart wouldn't be THE ONE for her.
"I guess you grow and learn out of your past," Ami smiled, putting a hand on Amu's, "I am not calling your two years marriage to Tadase a big mistake, but it was definitely an experience that you learned a bit from, right?"
"Yeah," Amu smiled. Somehow she was scared Ami would go onto a rant about this stupid mistake she made all those years back.
The door opened and there stood Rima and Yaya.
"I am going to have you leave the room, I gotta have alone time in order to work my magic on the bride," Rima adjusted her little toolkit that was tied around her waist. She was in her hairstylist mode.
"I'm going to do her nails!" Yaya held her hand up high, proudly displaying a few nail polish bottles for nail designs.
"Oh look, your friends are here to make you look dashing on your big day!" Ami smiled as she ran out the door to excuse herself.
"Everyone's emotional," Rima sighed, "If they keep this up I will start crying as well."
Amu laughed and hugged Rima. Yaya joined the group hug.
"You are extremely special and I am very happy you are here," Amu smiled, "All of you make today such a momentous day."
"That's it, you made me cry!" Rima whipped out a tissue, and blew her nose on it.
-x-
Ikuto was walking around in a little park near the church. So he was marrying Amu, this girl that had made him do crazy things.
"Hey man there you are! Been looking for you for ten minutes," Kuukai said as he caught up to Ikuto.
Ikuto rolled his eyes as he waited for the ginger headed boy to catch up to him.
"Do you think this is the right thing to do? Many people are telling me that I fell in love too fast," Ikuto said.
"So you're going to leave her? This is not what I signed up for," Kuukai glared.
"Do you think this is a right thing to do?" Ikuto asked.
"Do you love her?" Kuukai asked.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I do," Ikuto answered.
"Then it shouldn't matter if the world thinks it is right or wrong. Think about it, Ikuto. You and her were meant for each other. But you met when she was married and came to America just to help with her niece's wedding," Kuukai sadly smiled, "You understand her in many ways her ex-husband ever did."
For once, Ikuto felt like he could look at Kuukai and be astounded. Who knew that this boy who was always cheerful and carefree and happy-go-lucky could be so profound and deep when it came to the true definition of love.
"You sound as if you were talking from experience," Ikuto whispered.
Kuukai nodded, his eyes brimming with tears. He flashed out a hankie and blew his nose.
"Yeah, yep! This is her, the girl that stole my heart," Kuukai took a picture out of his front pocket of his suit and handed it to Ikuto.
It was a very pretty girl, though Ikuto thought Amu was more beautiful. She had a pair of dazzling amethyst eyes, a breathtaking smile (though Amu's was like the sun), hair in two high ponytail/pigtails. Around her slender figure, she had an aura of kindness and warmth radiating.
"Her name was Utau," Kuukai said.
"Was?" Ikuto asked the dreaded question, his throat lumping in horror.
"I loved her, so very much. I just didn't tell her. It turned out she loved me back. She thought I would never think of her that way so she committed suicide," Kuukai wiped some more tears away, "She and I could've been happy, it wouldn't have hurt to confess at the least. We were teenagers with our weak and fragile hearts so we were afraid of heartbreak. But now this dull ache at never telling her my feelings haunts me to this day."
"I'm so sorry," Ikuto whispered, and to tell the truth, he was. He didn't know how hard it would be for himself to live in a world without Amu's existence. He might as well as cower away from the world's problems and kill himself.
"It's fine. But the bottom line is never question the love you have for Amu. It is special in so many ways you might not understand now, but you will as years go by," Kuukai smiled as he took the picture back and carefully tucked it in his suit pocket.
"I love Amu so much and I will never let her go now," Ikuto whispered, touching Kuukai's shoulder, "Thank you for your support."
"Anything for the both of you," Kuukai whispered as he went inside.
-x-
"Oh it was just yesterday when you stumbled in my classroom, awkwardly bowing your head and introducing yourself to the class," Yuu sniffled as he wiped his snot.
Amu chuckled, "THE Japan."
"Oh!" Yuu broke into tears as he led Amu down the aisle.
"There there," Amu laughed as Yuu was getting too emotional to move fast enough. They almost stopped in the aisle because Yuu had to 'collect herself'.
Amu thought her mother in law would be furious with her for breaking it off with Tadase and marrying a mysterious person she met in America. But Kazuni had been one of the planners of the wedding. Kazuni had complimented her and Ikuto, commenting that their 'love was real'.
Amu looked ahead to the love of her life. While she should be worried about the mixed feelings people had about her marrying Ikuto so fast, it mattered that Ikuto saw her in a light that Tadase never did. When she and Tadase had met, he was so artificial (how could she have not noticed that). Tadase thought she had to lose weight or look like a cheerleader or not consume more than 600 calories a day like Angelina Jolie.
Tadase never saw her as a beautiful young lady. Ikuto did. A simple plain look of hers sent him in wonders, about the beautiful hues of her eyes, the uniqueness of her hair color (he had no room to argue with his blue hair), and how she was always putting others in front of her. He loved how she was such a nurturing person, and that warmed her heart.
Yuu began to sniffle like a big baby as he handed Amu over to Ikuto. Holding her hands in his, Ikuto could only imagine how Amu looked under the delicate veil.
The priest had said the intros (Sorry I am not Christian, so I do not want to offend Christians by getting the words wrong, as I understand religion and customs are a big thing not to be messed with and I hate getting things wrong!).
"Do you, Ikuto Tsukiyomi take Amu Hinamori to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asked.
"I do," Ikuto smiled gently.
"And do you, Amu Himaori, take Ikuto Tsukiyomi to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asked, looking at Amu this time.
"I do," Amu whispered, and honestly, she felt like she was falling in love all over again.
Ikuto first slipped a beautiful diamond wedding ring on Amu's left ring finger, smiling to himself how the wedding ring went to the equally beautiful engagement ring – both from him.
Amu slipped a simple gold band on Ikuto's left ring finger, admiring how Ikuto always loves simplicity.
"Speak now or forever hold your peace."
"I OBJECT THIS WEDDING!"
Ikuto and Amu look in horror to see Tadase, a mess of his former suit, standing at the end of the aisle, breathing heavily.
"How dare you just think you can get engaged when your husband is knocked out!" Tadase growls as he marches up the aisle.
"You said you would sign the divorce papers!" Amu yelled back.
"Don't you dare talk back to me, young lady!" Tadase slaps Amu across the face, and drags her down.
"Where are you taking my bride?!" Ikuto growls as he follows the two.
"Her prison in Japan. No one's getting married today!" Tadase smirks, yanking Amu roughly to his side.
"Um, there will be a wedding the wedding WILL continue," Rima stomped on Tadase's foot to make him lose his grip on Amu. Amu ran back into Ikuto's arms who hugged her against his chest.
"That's it you little brat…" Tadase raises his hand to slap Rima across the face with all of his strength, when he doesn't realize Rima was equipped with a secret weapon.
Rima swings out a… fire extinguisher? She bashes it across Tadase's head and smirks in victory when he falls to the floor, out like a light.
"Ooh boy, that's gonna leave a dent," Rima tsk's, kind of glad Kazuni gave her something to stop Tadase's stupid antics.
"Kiss the bride and seal the deal! What you waiting for?" Kuukai hooted through his hands.
"Nooooooooooooooo my little sparrow is getting married!" Yuu wailed.
Amu shook her head as she remembered that as the line her father would say all the time and her mother would calm her father down… with sweets.
Ikuto hooked his finger under Amu's chin and gently raised her head to look at him. Lifting the veil, he dipped down and captured her lips with his own.
The whole chapel broke out into cheers at the beautiful scene at the middle of the aisle.
-x-
Ikuto and Amu cut the cake and barely tried their first piece as a married couple before Yaya demanded her share of the towering cake.
Then at the reception, a slow dance broke out, Kuukai being the party DJ, declared it in honor of his best friend couple of the night, Amu and Ikuto.
Ikuto extended his hand to Amu and asked, "May I have this dance?"
"You may," Amu curtsied and accepted the outstretched hand.
As couples lined up and started walking to the dance floor after Amu and Ikuto, the music began to play.
"How is… the night so far?" Ikuto nervously smiled.
"Beautiful, because you made my dream come true," Amu smiled, the electronic lights making her hair look magenta instead of a bubblegum pink like it normally was.
"I'm glad, this came true. I'm glad you're happy," Ikuto smiled before brushing his hand across Amu's cheek.
"I wish I met you earlier," Amu sighed, "We wouldn't have been hurt like the way we were the past month."
"I know, but fate is weird, isn't it? We met in America for a meaning, we just have to find out," Ikuto said, "Things happen for a reason."
"I guess that reason is looks can really be deceiving," Amu sighed, "He just… he just… acted so nice and treated me so kindly and he won my parents' hearts. I didn't know he might have had some ulterior motive or something."
"Shh…" Ikuto said putting a finger to Amu's lips, silencing her, "This is our night. Let's talk about him later. For now, let's enjoy the moment."
[Time Skip]
After the dance was over and the gifts were opened, it was time for Amu to throw the bouquet. All the single girls swarmed into a screaming mob behind Amu, as she threw it over her head, not knowing who the bouquet went to.
No girl got the bouquet, unfortunately. Instead it landed in Kuukai's surprised hands.
"But I don't even have a girlfriend!" Kuukai yelled.
"Good luck! You need it in order to face what life's gonna throw your way!" Amu winked at Kuukai who kept repeating over and over that he wasn't a girl.
-x-
Three Months Later…
Amu and Ikuto were in the doctor's office. Apparently Amu had been having some weird food cravings and fatigue and every morning she would puke in the toilet.
"Mr. Tsukiyomi, it seems that your wife is pregnant," the doctor smiled at the shocked young man, "Congratulations."
Ikuto, shocked, walked over to his wife who was sitting on the patient bed, anxiously wringing her hands for the worst outcome.
"I-Ikuto? I-Is it that bad?" Amu stuttered. Tadase never supported her dream of having kids when she got married, so she was tricked into thinking it was a bad thing.
Ikuto knelt down to Amu's height and wrapped his hands around her waist, picked her up, and spun her around, laughing genuinely in happiness.
"It isn't bad! You're pregnant with my child and we will start a family!" Ikuto smiled.
"It's a good… thing?" Amu asked hesitantly.
"Of course it is! Why would you question that?"
Amu smiled, and rested her forehead against Ikuto's.
"No, nevermind. It's a good thing, and I am happy I will be able to start a family with you."
-x-
FINALMENTE
End notes: You imagine if it is a boy or girl. You imagine the looks and the name. You imagine what happens to them after this. You can imagine (if you want) who the godparents of the child will be. And you get to imagine who Kuukai will end up with.
Credits go to the wonderful 2012 movie, 'English Vinglish', for influencing this work of art. And credits go to Shugo Chara, as I own none of its characters.
