Starlit Nights
Sariah Loire
Chapitre Ten

Skip Beat! and its characters, locations, terms, etc, do not belong to me.

Juli may not have been a Hollywood star, but neither was Kuu, once upon a time. That didn't stop him from falling in love with her.

Two months later, when Juli's plane landed in California, Kuu was waiting at the airport with open arms. Ignoring the flashing of the paparazzo's cameras, Juli ran into Kuu's embrace as soon as she passed through customs. There was no reason to try and hide, half of the country knew why Kuu had stood in that airport terminal for the better part of an hour.

Hollywood star actor Kuu Hizuri and the international supermodel/up-and-coming designer Juli were getting married in five days.

Lory had a limo waiting for them outside of the airport, and they made a break for it as soon as they were out the doors. Laughing breathlessly, Juli waited until Kuu climbed in and shut the door before she threw herself back into his arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck so tightly he thought she would choke him. "I missed you."

"I missed you more, believe me." Kuu leaned back and kissed Juli long and soft, pulling away to run his hand down the side of her face. "I had to listen to a certain idiot the whole time, asking me questions about the wedding every day."

"Oh, I called Juli about it, too." Lory pulled out a cigar, lighting it with a golden LME-gilded lighter. He leaned back in his seat across from the couple. "Welcome back, by the way."

"Thank you, Lory." Juli smiled at the man, pulling her seatbelt on. "I've been trying to keep up with everything during the shows, but I've gotten a little behind. Are the flowers and food on track?"

"Of course, I took my only responsibilities very seriously." While Lory talked, Kuu had the feeling that the man was still slightly resenting the fact that he didn't get to use his many over-the-top ideas. "How is everything else coming along?"

"Well, the photographer's checked in today, everything's still set. We're renting that large church we had looked at, the one I sent you the address for, Lory." Juli was scanning her same planner, it was now well-worn and frayed around the edges. "Kuu, did you get a band?"

"Yes, and I've worked out security for the night. We just have to make sure that the guests remember to bring their invitations so they can get in." Kuu reached for his wallet and pulled out the card for the band, sliding it into Juli's hand. She tucked it away in her planner.

"My dress is being delivered to the church so that I don't have to worry about transporting it. Did you get your tux pressed, Kuu?"

"Twice." Kuu leaned over, gently closing the book on Juli's lap. "We've gone over this already today, three times before you left and once while you were on the plane." He smiled down at the woman, before kissing her cheek. "You haven't forgotten anything. It's all going to be perfect."

When the day of the wedding dawned, it was a gorgeous, sunny day.

Kuu was awake long before what anyone would consider normal. Especially given the fact that he had been up most of the night, talking over old times with Lory. Since Kuu would have never accepted a bachelor's party, even if he would have had more close friends than just Lory, the older man was happy to stay in.

Juli stayed in a hotel room for the night, as she had quit renting her Los Angeles apartment before she had ever gone to Paris. Some people in her position may have felt lonely or sad, with no family and her modeling friends not in town yet. But Juli was happily thinking about the ceremony, and practicing with her hair and makeup. She wanted everything perfect, to start her perfect life with Kuu.

And, as it to appease both bride and groom, the wedding did go perfectly. Not that it went according to plan, but they still both always thought of it as perfect.

It started early that morning, when Kuu woke Lory, telling him he was about to starve and had to eat right that moment. So they set out in Kuu's car and tried to get breakfast at a nearby shop. All of the televisions were broadcasting reports about the wedding that was to take place that day, and because of that, Kuu drew even more attention than normal. Lory managed to save the man from being mauled by crying fans, but he had the feeling that Kuu was upset about having to leave while the news broadcast was showing clips of Juli's runway shows.

They decided to try a drive-through, but when they saw that the paparazzi had followed them from the first shop, Kuu declared that he was going to cook instead, and with some fancy driving, they arrived safely to Kuu's apartment. And, of course, Kuu served enough food to feed everyone waiting outside with cameras, and managed to finish almost all of it off by himself.

Juli's morning was less hectic. She slept in, and when she finally decided to get up, she found her phone being barraged by calls from models and other designers who were on their way to Los Angeles. She soaked in the large bathtub while returning calls, and once she got out, her makeup and hair preparations began.

While Lory was complaining about the dullness of their plain black tuxedos, Kuu was once again rummaging through the kitchen. Lory was bemused at the man's nervous eating, but he kept it to himself. He had other things to attend to, after all.

Lory got dressed and announced his departure to the surprised Kuu. Explaining that he had to arrive early to help with last-minute arrangements seemed to add to Kuu's panicking, but he tried to assure the younger man that everything would go just as it should.

Both Juli and Lory arrived at the church within a half hour of each other, and Juli was surprised to see that everything looked perfectly normal. Kuu had warned him that the church would probably look more like a rainforest after Lory got through with it, but instead it looked very elegant. Juli thanked Lory for his help, and made her way to one of the side rooms of the church, where she would be getting ready.

Lory waited until the doors closed behind her, and he clapped his hands. Three dozen men and women filed into the room, awaiting the orders of their employer. Lory set to work explaining to them what he wanted, and how it was to be done.

"You've got your orders, now get to it."

"So, why did they order this much food? I heard the wedding's only for their close guests, not to the public." The workers for the catering service were busy preparing food and filling plates. Talking amongst themselves was usually the only way to keep busy, but this time there was at least five times the amount of work.

"Don't ask me, they must be serious fans of leftovers. But I'd tell the cook to slow down a little on the second round, they won't be needing it."

It was forty-five minutes before the ceremony started, and Kuu's stomach had kicked itself into high-gear. The more he thought about the wedding, the more excited he got, and that just made him hungry. Well, hungrier. He had run out of food at his apartment, so after getting dressed, he had made his way to the church.

Weaving through the wild vines of flowers had been a feat, and finding Lory was more like a jungle expedition, but he had eventually spotted the man. He was viewing the flora display with a small smile of approval on his face. "Boss, please don't tell me the actual room we're having the ceremony in looks like this."

Lory turned, as if he was just noticing Kuu. His face instantly changed, as if about to start up his pouting again. "No, Juli made me calm it down inside there."

"She was fine with the rest of this, then?"

Lory shrugged, folding his arms. "She can't come this far out, people would see her."

Kuu chuckled, straightening his tie. "Forgiveness rather than permission. Got it." He looked around, seeing guests entering the church. "Do you think they have any of the food ready yet? I'm starved."

"I told them to start preparing early." Lory patted the man on his back with a knowing smile. "I'll show you the way. Besides, you don't want to be under the flowers in a few minutes, you'll get wet."

"Boss, please tell me you didn't set up sprinklers in a church."

"I have to keep them alive until after the ceremony, don't I?"

They found their way to the reception hall, and within a few minutes, the caterers were rushing to tell the cooks to continue with their original plans of cooking two rounds of food. And they were hoping that the two rounds would be enough to make the famous star, who apparently had a black hole for a stomach, satisfied.

The ceremony was beautiful, though no one would have used the word 'traditional' to describe it. Kuu stood on his own at the altar, and Juli was led down the aisle by Lory, who returned to his seat after she was safely with Kuu in front of the minister.

Kuu had wanted Lory to be his best man, but when Lory proposed the idea of having only the bride and groom in the wedding party, both had accepted it. Not that they would have noticed, once the wedding started they only had eyes for each other.

Afterward, when people asked Kuu about the ceremony, he told them that he had stared into an angel's face for a half hour and didn't quite remember what had happened. Thankfully, Lory was able to fill in some of the gaps for the love struck man.

Lory had hired trumpeters to help the band with announcing Juli's arrival through the doors. And since there were no flower girls, he of course had to have flower petals fall upon them from special containers in the ceiling.

Juli's voice was smooth and clear as she spoke her vows, though her eyes were bright with tears. Kuu stumbled on his words once, Lory figured it was from watching Juli instead of thinking of what he was supposed to say. But they made it through without any major slip-up, and exchanged their rings.

When Kuu slid the ring on Juli's hand, he whispered something to her that made her well-held tears spill onto her face, accompanied by a beautiful smile. And when Juli's small fingers slid the ring on Kuu's hand, he looked suspiciously close to tears himself.

When the minister announced the smiling couple as 'Mr. and Mrs. Kuu Hizuri', doves were released, flowers once again descended from the ceiling, and fireworks went off outside the church while the two kissed a sweet and short kiss. The newlyweds walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm, until they got to the last row of pews. Kuu then captured Juli in another kiss that lasted several moments longer than the first, before they escaped out the doors.

Lory ring-leaded the reception until Kuu and Juli made their appearance, at which most of the crowd started cheering and catcalling. Neither of them minded, they were together forever now, that was all that mattered to them.

Before the night got too late, Lory pulled Kuu aside and stuck out his hand. The man reached out to shake it, when Lory lightly hit his arm. "No, you fool, give me your pager." Kuu looked puzzled, but handed it over. "I already confiscated Juli's. Now go collect your bride, I have a limo waiting for you outside. It'll take you to the airport, and my jet will take you to the place I personally picked. I'm the only one who knows where you're going, so don't worry about having to avoid paparazzi."

Kuu reached out an arm and hugged the man, years of friendship evident in his voice when he finally spoke. "Thanks, Boss. Not just for this, but for everything you've done for me over the years." He pulled back, a hand still gripping Lory's shoulder. "None of this would have happened without you."

"You don't owe me any thanks, Kuu, as long as you agree to one thing."

"What's that, Boss?"

"I don't want to hear about the honeymoon."

Well, they're married now, and so begins the reign of Hizuri love. This story was really only to write about their meeting/becoming a couple, so I only suspect one more chapitre. I can't end this without writing about a certain bouncing baby boy.

Sari*