Only a few people came over from Japan from the wedding. Kyoya's parents, of course. His siblings and their families. Laney's grandparents. The former Host Club members and Reiko. And Ranka and Shima. Laney had been somewhat confused over the inclusion of the last two on the guest list, but Kyoya had just shrugged. "They're family," he had said. "Like the Shapiros are for you."
The rehearsal dinner included just about everyone invited to the wedding—a little over 50 people. Afterwards, most of the Johnson family, the host club, and a few of Laney's friends went to Barb Johnson's house for what Laney's father referred to as "the after-party." About eight or so people had brought instruments and had taken over the porch. Much to Kyoya's amusement, Tamaki had managed to dig up a tambourine and joined in on several of the songs.
After a while, Kyoya noticed Haruhi slip away from the porch. He followed after her. "Getting a little too loud?" he asked, as behind them the entire group was singing enthusiastically. He could hear Tamaki mixed in with the crowd: Dig a hole, dig a hole in the meadow, dig a hole in the cold, cold ground. Gotta dig me a hole in the meadow, for to lay my darlin' Corey down.
"Don't they sound a little too cheerful to be singing a song about someone who's dead?" Haruhi asked, a little moodily. She was still jet-lagged, and tended to grumpiness when tired.
Laney took over on the next verse: Last time I saw darlin' Corey, she had a dram glass in her hand. She was a-drinkin' away her troubles with a low-down gambling man. "These songs pretty much all end with someone dead," Kyoya explained. "Unless they're about Jesus. But even those songs tend to wind up with someone dead at the end, as often as not." He shrugged. "Come on; there's a bench down at the bottom of the garden around back if you want some peace and quiet." He led her down the brick path to a small bench surrounded by four o'clocks and datura, glowing white in the moonlight.
The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, listening to the music drifting down from the porch. The family was now singing some sort of riddle song, involving asking each other whether or not they would wear various colors. They could hear Laney singing Will you wear green, oh my dear, oh my dear, will you wear green Jennie Jenkins? Then Tamaki replied, in a confident baritone, No, I won't wear green, it's a shame to be seen, and everyone joined in on the refrain I'll buy me a fol-di-rol-di til-di-tol-di seek-a-double use-a-cozza roll to find me, Roll, Jennie Jenkins roll. From there, the colors got more and more outrageous as people struggled to formulate a rhyming reply.
Barb Johnson sang out: Will you wear puce, oh my dear, oh my dear. Will you wear puce Jennie Jenkins? Laney's voice answered, stretching out the first note for eight beats instead of the usual four: No, I won't wear puce, I think we better call a truce. Laughter drowned out the rest of the chorus. "She's quick," Kyoya remarked, not bothering to conceal a delighted grin.
"I can't see you married to anyone who wasn't." Haruhi said. "But Kyoya, are you sure about how fast you two are moving? It's not usually like you to jump in with both feet like this."
"That's a good point." Kyoya rose and started to walk back up to the house.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"To tell Laney the wedding's off, of course."
Haruhi stared at him, shocked. "I didn't mean … I'm not sure …"
Kyoya grinned. "You're not usually so gullible. I'm surprised you fell for that." He walked back and joined Haruhi on the bench again. "I know it's fast. But once I set my sights on a goal, have you ever known me to hold back?"
"No," Haruhi said thoughtfully. "Although I'm not sure how much Laney would enjoy being referred to as a goal."
"She'd probably have something to say on the subject." Kyoya laughed. "She has something to say about almost every subject, actually, but fortunately, she also can be incredibly diplomatic when needed."
"Sounds perfect for you."
"She is." Kyoya smiled to himself. "I always thought the most I could hope for in a wife would be mutual respect and friendship. Laney kind of blew all my expectations of what marriage could look like out of the water."
"In that case, I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy," Haruhi said gently. "You deserve it. So tell me, where are you two going for your honeymoon?"
"We compromised. One week in Shenandoah in a terrifyingly primitive cabin, and one week in Fiji like normal human beings. Then back to Japan for our Tokyo reception. We'll stay there until your wedding—probably heading to Okinawa for another week beforehand—and get back to Georgetown just barely in time for the first semester to start."
"Sounds hectic."
"Rather annoyingly so, yes. Laney had to wind up quitting her summer job at one of her father's labs to accommodate everything. She was less than pleased."
Haruhi frowned. "Is that why you agreed to go to Shenandoah? I thought you didn't enjoy hiking."
"What an odd thing to say, Haruhi. Hiking carries enormous appeal. Wandering around the woods in a giant circle, or even better, and my personal favorite, the out and back, in which you walk in a straight-ish line for a few miles, then turn around and walk back the exact same way you came. Such a charming lack of variety! And let us not forget possible exposure to sunstroke, heatstroke, biting insects, parasites, infectious disease, and, another of my personal favorites, coming upon another hapless hiker performing his or her bodily functions in the woods. No, altogether it sounds like the perfect honeymoon, doesn't it?"
"I can't believe she got you to agree," Haruhi laughed.
"Unfortunately, it seems Laney is all too aware of my partiality for her Virginia accent, and she occasionally uses it to rather devastating effect." Kyoya shook his head, but smiled. "She called me her sweet darlin' boy, and suddenly I found myself agreeing that a week in the mountains sounded delightful."
Haruhi smiled, too. "You've got it bad, haven't you?"
"A tidbit of information I trust you will keep to yourself."
"My lips are sealed," she agreed.
Laney's voice drifted down again, this time unaccompanied:
Black is the color of my true love's hair.
His face is like some rosy fair
The purest eyes and the strongest hands,
I love the ground on where he stands.
I love the ground on where he stands.
Kyoya looked back up at the house. "Go on," Haruhi smiled. "I can find my own way back."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, Kyoya, I'm fairly certain I can handle walking back to the giant house on my own," she said, shaking her head. "Just do me a favor and let Tamaki know where I am, please."
"Should I wait until he starts to panic?" Kyoya asked, grinning.
"I'll leave that up to you, but don't think the fact that it's your wedding day tomorrow is going to keep me from throwing you under the bus if you do." Haruhi grinned back.
Kyoya made his way back up to the house, noticing Hikaru and Jen slipping off into the woods as he did so. That's going to be trouble at some point, he thought. But he found he couldn't bring himself to be entirely bothered. Tomorrow was his wedding day, and right now all he wanted was to see his bride.
Kyoya waited silently at the bottom of the porch steps until Laney had finished her song. When she saw him waiting, she stood up. "All right, y'all, that's enough for me. I need to make sure I still have enough voice to speak my vows tomorrow." Various hoots and cheers followed her as she walked down to meet Kyoya. "Take a walk with me?"
"Of course," he agreed quickly, then called up to Tamaki. "Haruhi asked me to let you know she's down in the garden out back."
Tamaki smiled down at him. "I'll go get her in a bit."
Kyoya took Laney's hand as they walked. She started towards the woods, but Kyoya pulled her back. "Not that way." Laney shot him a questioning look, but he just said, "Let's walk down to the pond."
"All right." They walked in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company. The last two weeks had been so frantic that they'd barely had time to be alone together. When they reached the pond, they sat down in the soft grass, still holding hands.
"You're sure you're ready for this?" Laney asked him.
"Why do people keep asking me that?" Kyoya said, a bit irritably.
"Probably because we haven't even known each other five months," Laney reminded him. "Everyone thinks we're rushing it."
"Do you?"
Laney shrugged. "My parents got married after knowing each other two months. So I guess it's kind of a family tradition, rushing it."
"Laney," Kyoya reached out and turned her face towards his. "You're sure, right? We can take more time if you want. I don't care what anyone else thinks."
Laney smiled and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. "I know what I want, Kyoya. I want you. All of you; your arrogance, your gentleness, your confidence, your kindness, your quick wit. The way you panic when you think you're in over your head and the way you hide that panic. How you'll do anything in the world for the people who matter to you, and how you don't particularly give a shit what anyone else thinks. All of it. I love every last part of you. That's not going to change. I'm all in."
"Me too. I'm all in too," Kyoya said before kissing her.
The couple sat at the edge of the pond, talking quietly of nothing in particular. An owl ghosted by, and settled in an old cypress. The faint strains of music from the house were carried on the light breeze, interspersed with the songs of night insects and frogs. After a while, Laney rose regretfully. "We should get back."
Kyoya stood up, wrapping his arms around her. "Yes, I'd hate to ruin your reputation."
Laney kissed him lightly. "I don't know about you, but I've got kind of a busy day tomorrow."
"Now that you mention it, I think I do have one or two things on my agenda."
When they reached the back door, Kyoya kissed her again, slowly. "Last time I get to kiss Laney Johnson," he whispered.
"If you keep this up neither of us are going to be able to get any sleep at all tonight," Laney whispered back, even as she pressed her body closer to his.
Kyoya chuckled. "I like to take risks." He kissed her again, then stepped back. "See you tomorrow?"
Laney grinned at him, delight writ large across her face. "I'll be the one in white."
Author's Note: Thanks so much to bored411, DarkMagis74, and Sir Heroden for the favorites, and mutemuia for the review. As always, I did not write any of the songs (Darlin' Corey, Jennie Jenkins, and Black is the Color).