Spreading Your Wings
Ch 37: Wedding Part I
Kelly and her father slowly walked up the stairs, with Kelly struggling to hold her dress up. Her father attempted to help her, but he was really only doing more damage than good. He was too nervous.
"Dad… it's okay…" Kelly whispered to him when they were halfway up the stairs. She saw that Brittany was constantly looking back to make sure her dress wasn't ripping or getting dirty.
"Right," he said, instantly dropping the part of the dress that he was holding, "Sorry. I don't really know what I'm doing."
"I know. It's okay. Jus' calm down, kay?" she said in a soothing voice, in hopes that her father would loosen up.
"Yeah… really, I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around," he said with a sheepish smile.
"No, it's okay, really," she said back with a smile. She took in her father's face and rugged beard. His hair was already graying, his face wrinkling somewhat. Had he always looked so old? He was only forty-six, and her mother was forty-two. They were somewhat young in American standards to be having a married daughter. But why did they seem so old to her?
Maybe it was because she had gotten so used to seeing younger looking faces in Demon World. That could have been it. But she didn't think so. It was because she was finally aware that she was the one growing up. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She wasn't the pessimistic loner that she had been when she and Hiei had first met. Time had changed her, and she was just beginning to see how it had changed her parents as well.
She took her father's hand and squeezed it.
"Daddy, I swear it's okay. Everything is okay," she said, before kissing his cheek as she had before.
"You haven't called me daddy since you were little," he said with a small smile.
"Yeah…" She shrugged. "Le's go."
He nodded and widened his smile, this time because he was amused that she had attempted to brush off the tender moment. He took her hand again and they climbed the rest of the stairs.
The stairs led to a doorway to an open room, behind the church. There were three sets of double door entrances into the main room of the church, and the center two were open. Music flowed out of the open entranceway and Kelly could see her youngest brother, Ryan, about to walk down the aisle. He was the ring bearer, and the only one in the wedding party that wasn't a teenager or older. At almost eleven years old, he smiled proudly at his oldest sister, then began his walk to the front of the church.
Brittany rushed over to Kelly and handed her her bouquet. The flowers were grown by Kurama, and were beautiful in Kelly's opinion. The centerpiece was a large lily with five petals, her favorite flower, and it was surrounded by various other flowers, some of which Kelly didn't even recognize. Kurama had definitely gone all out for her.
"Okay, stay here," Brittany told her, "They aren't allowed to see you until it's your turn. I'm gonna let down your train…"
Kelly felt the weight of the train fall and her veil was pulled over her face. Brittany then moved in front of her.
"Perfect," she said with a smile.
"Thank you, Brit… I couldn't have done this without you," Kelly said quietly, taking a hold of her best friend's hand.
"'Course, Kel. I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else."
Brittany squeezed Kelly's hand, then turned when she heard her name being called.
"Alright! My turn! See you in a few!"
Kelly nodded and she quickly went to Kurama's side. He kissed the top of her head as they linked arms, and then together, they processed down the aisle.
Kelly and her father waited patiently, standing arm in arm. Finally, the music changed.
"Alright, Sunshine," her father whispered, "Our turn."
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, nodded, and stepped forward. As she slowly came into view of all the people and demons that stood, she had the desire to run away. She was wearing a dress and make-up, and every pair of eyes was turned on her. It was her worst nightmare.
And then, she saw him.
Her breathing completely stopped, and, if it weren't for her father's arm pulling her forward, she would have ceased all movement in order to take in the sight before her.
Hiei stood at the altar in his suit, with Kurama just behind him, then Yusuke, Kuwabara, and T.J. Across from him was Brittany, Keiko, Yukina, and Katrina. But Kelly didn't see any of them. She saw only Hiei. That beautiful man standing there.
He continuously moved his hands, clenching and unclenching them, moving them to his front, swinging them around to his back. He really didn't know what to do with them. He felt stupid just standing there and he refused to look at the demons that stood on "his side." The one time he had, they had made faces at him.
He finally calmed when he saw Kelly start her walk down the aisle. His hands ceased their movements and hung limply at his side. He didn't care anymore. He was transfixed on the woman walking to him.
Kelly smiled when she saw his face. The emotions flickered across it, going too fast for her to understand them. And then, finally, he gave a half-smile and she saw that familiar look in his eyes. It was so ironic. Had someone told her two years ago that Hiei, cold, emotionless Hiei, would be getting married, she would have laughed in their faces. But there he was, standing at the altar, waiting for her, of all people. She was the one he had chosen.
She vaguely heard whispers coming from either side of her, but she ignored them. She barely even felt her father rub her arm. None of it mattered now. She was almost there, with him.
She could feel her eyes start to water. She had come so far, and been through so much to get to this point. She was getting married. Married! She had never been one for fantasies of white weddings, lacey dresses, and a perfect husband. She had never even imagined that she would get married. And then, when she was experimented on and turned into a half-demon, those fantasies were completely nonexistent. She had thought it wasn't even an option anymore. She had thought no one would want someone like her.
But that man standing there did. He wanted her, loved her, couldn't live without her. Her whole life was worth it now. All the pain was worth it. He took all the pain away. And she would do the same for him. She would make his entire life worth it. She would take all his pain away, heal him, make him see the world in a better light. She would give him all the love he deserved, and had never received. Together, they would make it.
When she finally reached the end of the aisle, she sadly tore her attention away from Hiei, and turned to her father.
"I love you, Sunshine," he whispered to her before kissing her cheek.
"I love you too, dad. Always will," she whispered back, quickly hugging him.
He nodded, a smile on his face, then went to stand with his wife. Kelly turned to find Hiei already there. She took the arm he offered and gave a slight nod at his questioning gaze.
-You're doing fine.- she told him through their link.
She saw his small nod in return, then he walked her to the altar. He was trying to remember everything the others had taught him about weddings. He had even been subjected to video after video of wedding footage. It had been torture, but everyone had assured him that it would be worth it. All he knew was that they had better have been right.
When they reached the altar, Hiei slowly lifted the veil that covered Kelly's face and placed it so that it covered her hair instead. She smiled at him, to which he responded with his half-smile again, then the two turned to the altar. A local minister and Mukuro stood there. The minister was there to make the marriage official in Human World, while Mukuro was there to do the same for Demon World.
Kelly had informed the rest of her family of her demon side. They were surprised, but like Yukina had said in her visit with her brother and sister, demons were slowly making themselves known to humans. Kelly had basically exposed her entire hometown and family to demons, and though they were uneasy around Kelly's friends, they had grown to accept them.
Kelly handed her bouquet to Brittany, then turned back to the minister and Mukuro. She resisted the urge to laugh. The contrast between the two was so odd, but she was relieved that the minister was so calm standing next to Mukuro. He had been informed of her position in Demon World, so he knew how powerful she was, yet he seemed fine.
Mukuro smirked at Kelly, knowing what the girl had been thinking. She gave her own smirk back, then turned to the minister who had begun the ceremony.
The ceremony itself had elements of both demon and human weddings. There was the traditional vows, the rings, and such, but there was also a demon oath, and a ruler's blessings (the reason that Mukuro's presence was necessary). And then finally…
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the minister announced, "You may kiss the bride."
Hiei smirked. He had been waiting through the whole damn ceremony for this moment. He pulled Kelly against him and gave her a heated kiss, not caring in the least that they had an entire church full of people as an audience. Kelly smirked into the kiss, then quickly kissed back.
Hiei reluctantly pulled back and took in his wife's flushed face.
"We can leave now, right?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she said with a laugh.
"Good." And with that, he pulled her down the aisle, the bride's maids and groom's men following behind them.
"Now we go to the reception," Kelly said, above the roar coming from the humans and demons in the pews.
"I forgot about that," Hiei grumbled. His annoyance very apparent on his face.
"C'mon. The reception is the fun part," she said as she elbowed him playfully.
"No, I heard that after the reception was the fun part," he said back, catching her arm and pulling her to him.
"After…? But noth- Oh." She stopped her sentence when she realized what he was referring to. "You're worse than Kurama! I swear, guys are ruled by their hormones!"
Hiei chuckled, then led her to the trolley that would take them to the reception hall in Philadelphia. He helped her up into it, holding her dress while she muttered under her breath about how stupid wearing a dress was.
The two spent most of the trolley ride trying to ignore the others who were teasing them. Finally, Kelly snapped and yelled at them all, saying that all she wanted was to take a nap and they wouldn't shut up long enough to let her have one. They only laughed at her and continued with their noise, though now it was not directed at her or Hiei. She sighed in defeat and leaned into her husband, closing her eyes. Hiei smirked and closed his own eyes, preparing himself for the long night ahead of him.
It took a little less than an hour to get to the hotel in Philly that housed the reception hall for the wedding. Kelly had surprisingly slept for most of the ride. She was a light sleeper, but she had been so tired from preparations for the wedding that nothing could wake her up. She had barely gotten sleep the night before. She had slept alone in her human home, having been practically kidnapped the morning before by Delia and surpisingly Mukuro as well. Hiei hadn't been happy either, but with eleven other S-class demons and one S-class energy level human standing in his way, he really didn't have much of a choice.
The two female demons had brought Kelly to her family's house in Human World where Brittany, Keiko, Yukina and even Botan and Shizuru were waiting for her. A littler over twenty-four hours later, on a sunny March afternoon, she was married.
After having basically the entire wedding party wake her, Kelly exited the trolley along with everyone else, with her being not too particularly happy with her rude awakening. They were led to a private room where they were told they had to wait to make their entrances. Of course, Kelly's patience soon wore out, so T.J. whipped out his hand-held game and gave it to her, telling her to quit her whining. The good thing? It worked.
"Onna, we're allowed to go in now," Hiei told her after about a half an hour of waiting.
"Huh?" she so intelligently asked as she quickly looked up from her game.
"They're announcing us," he answered as he looked over at Katrina and T.J.'s retreating forms. The double doors to the hall were open and Kelly could hear clapping coming from the other side.
"Oh," she said, disappointedly, "But I was just about to beat Bowser and get back Princess Peach."
"What?!"
She sighed and turned off her game. "Never mind." She checked to make sure her train was secure and her veil was straight. "Alright. Ready."
She watched as Brittany and Kurama walked through and then the doors were shut. Kelly pulled Hiei forward, knowing what was coming.
"All right, jus' this, then the dance… you're still not going to tell me what song you chose, are you?"
He smirked. "No. That was part of our deal."
She scowled. She should never have agreed to it. Hiei's one stipulation to getting married was that he was to choose their wedding song, and she wasn't allowed to know what it was until the their first dance as husband and wife. Kelly had been shocked at first. It was the only part of planning for the wedding that she was looking forward to and she couldn't believe that Hiei would take that away from her. He had only smirked at this comment and told her it would be worth it.
She heard their names come from the other side of the door, and she took a deep breath. "Okay, whatever. You owe me."
"No, I don't," he said, his smirk widening slightly.
Had the doors not opened at that exact moment, she would have given a retort. Instead, she turned forward and walked forth with Hiei, a small nervous smile on her face. Lights flashed as pictured were taken, and the people of the room clapped and cheered.
Kelly giggled nervously and gripped Hiei's arm tighter. She was already not liking this.
-You're going to cut off my circulation.- Came Hiei's voice in her head.
She instantly loosened her grip. -I'm sorry.-
-Onna…-
-Oh, right. I'm working on it. I swear.-
She heard his grunt and she finally gave a genuine smile. She looked at his face and saw his smirk and that he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes. She gave a small laugh, then turned her attention back to the table that was just ahead of them.
They went and took their places, with Kelly sitting next to Kurama, then Hiei next to her and Brittany.
"We eat soon, right?" Hiei asked Kelly quietly.
She giggled and nodded. Truth be told, she was hungry herself. Just as she hadn't slept much, she hadn't eaten anything in a while either. She had been too nervous. She blamed her mother for passing on her anxiety problems to her daughter.
The food came and went. People talked animatedly. Kelly was happy to see demons and humans together. Her parents had tried their hardest to introduce the demons to those humans that would be most comfortable around them.
What made her even more happy was the fact that during dinner, Hiei and Brittany had full conversations with each other. It wasn't just a polite hello, or a comment about Kelly's conversation with one of them. They were actually talking. Her two best friends were learning to include each other, getting to know each other. Though Hiei's sentences were short, Kelly knew he was trying hard for her.
The cake was finally brought out and the two cut it. Kelly surprised Hiei by smearing a piece on his face. Of course, he couldn't be made the fool, so he smeared his own piece over her face. But she loved it. She was happy he was going along with everything.
The cake was slowly distributed to everyone. When they had all gotten a piece of cake, Kurama stood up before they could eat it. He gave his speech as best man, making Kelly and many other people cry. He, above basically all the others present, knew how much his two friends deserved each other. How much they were made for each other. How much they actually loved each other, even if they didn't always show it. His speech truly touched Kelly. Even Hiei had given Kurama a nod of thanks when he sat down. It was Hiei's way of showing that he too had been affected by his friend's words. Well, as affected as he can be by sentimental speeches.
And finally…
"Will the bride and groom please come down to the dance floor to share their first dance as husband and wife?" the D.J.'s voice sounded from the speakers.
Kelly smiled, while Hiei smirked. He knew that she was only anxious to hear the song he had picked out.
Together, they walked to dance floor, where all eyes were on them.