alright, this is technically the last chapter of this story. the epilogue is just an addition i put in to close out both this story and Facing Your Inner Demons... but anyways, thanks to MoonlitSorrow, i have 200 review! thanks so much to everyone who ever reviewed and helped me make it this far! i have over fifty more reviews than i did for Facing Your Inner Demons and i never even thought id make it that far to begin with. it means so much to me thanks a bunch.

at the end of the epilogue, ill leave an author's not telling you of how id like to repay all of you! hopefully, you'll use it if you want...

disclaimer: i dont own the song You're My Best Friend by Queen, or the lyrics to Songbird by Fleetwood Mac

Spreading Your Wings

Ch 38: Wedding Part II

Cameras flashed and people whispered as Kelly and Hiei got in position for their first dance as husband and wife. Kelly rested her head on Hiei's shoulder and closed her eyes. She hadn't worn heels, so she was still the same height as he was.

And then, the music started. The familiar beat and then the drums. Kelly's head shot up and she looked at Hiei with wide eyes.

He smirked and whispered into her ear, "I knew you wouldn't take this song from your parents even though you would have wanted to. I asked them and they said they would be happy if we used it."

She gave a wide smile, held him closer, and quickly kissed him.

"Thank you," she whispered back. She saw him nod, then she placed her head back on his shoulder and they began to sway and spin in time to You're My Best Friend. Their wedding song and Hiei's first gift to his new wife. It really was the perfect song for them. They were lucky enough to marry thier best friend.

She gave a small and content sigh. It was worth letting him pick out the song after all. Besides, she had gotten to pick out the play list for the DJ to play. It was a win-win situation after all.

"Of course it was," Hiei said, matter-of-factly.

"Shut it. Don' ruin the moment," she said tersely, though she smiled, "You always do that."

"What can I say? I've never been one for 'moments'."

"You're ridiculous."

"No, that word is reserved to describe you."

"Whatever. Oh my gosh, only you could make fun of someone while dancing with them!" She gave a breathy laugh into his shoulder, then nuzzled against the skin of his neck.

Hiei said nothing. He only smirked and continued concentrating on staying in time with the music. Honestly, he should have just let her lead, but he refused. He knew she didn't care anyway. She preferred it this way.

"Kelly?" he tentatively asked as a thought came to mind.

"Hmmm?"

She looked up when he didn't say anything. She was surprised by the look on his face. He seemed embarrassed, annoyed, nervous, and hesitant all at once.

She smiled, "Whatever it is, thank you."

He looked at her in surprise.

"You always look like that when you try to say something sentimental to me," she explained, "You're not very good at that. But…" She laid her head back on his shoulder. "I don't mind."

He gave another smirk, but he was determined. He tilted his head and whispered into her ear, "You look beautiful."

There, he knew he could do it.

He felt the kiss on his neck and then her wide smile. And then he heard another, "Thank you."

He nodded, then the two remained in silence for the rest of the song, completely content where they were.

The wedding party then shared their dance when the song had ended. Then it was the bride's dance with her father and then the fun music started; Kelly's play list.

Hiei and Kurama watched from afar as their matches danced together. Mukuro, Kelly's squad, Shizuru and her boyfriend, Genkai, and several humans joined the two on the sidelines to watch the crowd on the dance floor, but it was the two in the center that gained everyone's attention. Kelly and Brittany simply stole the spotlight.

"I have to say, Kurama," a voice sounded from behind the red-head, "I approve in your choice of a potential mate."

Kurama turned in surprise to see Yomi and Shura standing behind him.

"Yomi! You made it."

"Yes. I'm late, but I did manage to make it. Shura insisted that we come," Yomi answered, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Well, she invited us!" Shura protested, "It was nice of her to do that so it would be nice of us to show up."

Yomi chuckled. "You just wanted to see her," he accused his son, "He's been infatuated with her since the end of their fight."

"I am not!" the young demon argued, "She's my friend! Father, you're going to get Hiei mad at me!"

Several demons laughed while Hiei smirked, eyeing Shura curiously. The boy only blushed in embarrassment, and kept his gaze downwards. His father always did this to him. He really didn't like Kelly that way. He only admired her…

He looked up when he heard Hiei's satisfied "Hn." He had forgotten that the fire demon could read minds. Perhaps it was a good thing in this case.

"Shura! You came!"

Everyone turned when Kelly's voice sounded from above the noise in the crowd. She made her way through the people and demons and then quickly hugged her newest friend.

"I'm glad you were able to make it! I knew you had said that it was only a maybe…" she said, looking up at Yomi.

"Yes, well Shura made sure that my afternoon was all cleared. I'm sorry we missed the actual ceremony," Yomi said with a smile.

"Nah, it's all good," Kelly said with a shake of her head, "A king's busy, ya know?"

"All too well," he answered with a nod, his smile still upon his face.

"But this is good! You can meet Brittany before she even goes to Demon World!" she said excitedly before turning to go back to the dance floor, "I'll go get her!"

"Wait! Kelly! You should prepare her…" Kurama trailed off as Kelly's form disappeared in the crowd. He gave a sigh and turned to Yomi. "I had planned on bringing her to Gandara within the next month to meet you and get her used to the idea of being immersed in a life of demons. I had wanted her to be more aware of demon customs first before she met you."

"Kurama, do you really think I would scare her off or judge her so harshly? Not even in your thousands years as Youko did you meet a woman whom you talked of so much," Yomi said, another smile on his face.

"Perhaps not…"

"But you wanted her to impress me."

Kurama gave a sheepish smile.

"But tell me," Yomi continued, "What do you plan on doing with her life span?"

"Yes, I would like to know that too," Hiei added.

Kurama looked to make sure that Kelly and his girlfriend weren't coming yet before saying, "I most likely will grow old as a human and when I die, I will go back to being just Youko, without Brittany. I have spoken to Koenma and he is willing to reincarnate her into a demon after she dies, should she agree to it. She doesn't know about it yet. She's not even nineteen yet. She's not thinking that far ahead in advance."

"Koenma really agreed to that?" Yomi asked in surprise.

"Being part of the Rekai Tentei had its advantages. I believe Yusuke and Keiko, and Kuwabara and Yukina are discussing means of a longer lifespan with him as well," Kurama answered.

He turned when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Brittany and Kelly broke free of the crowd and Brittany walked to Kurama's side with Kelly still next to her.

Kurama took her hand and motioned to Yomi and Shura. "Brittany, this is Yomi and his son Shura. I've told you about Yomi…"

"Yes," she answered with a nod and a smile. She held out her hand, already knowing that the blind demon would know it was there. "It's an honor to finally meet you. Kurama's told me a lot about you."

Yomi took her hand saying, "The honor is all mine. Kurama talked most highly of you to me. I've been anxious to meet the woman to tame my old friend Youko."

"I wouldn't say I tamed Youko," Brittany muttered after they had released their grasps on each other's hands.

Kelly and Yomi laughed while Kurama's face turned slightly red.

"Well you guys talk," Kelly said, moving to stand beside Hiei, "Unfortunately, Hiei and I have bride and groom duties. It's time to start making our rounds. I think I saw Koenma, Botan, Ayame, and George somewhere…"

She tugged on Hiei's hand, waved goodbye to her friends, then the two disappeared into the crowd. She almost sighed in relief. She was glad Yomi and Brittany had finally met. It seemed like the two would get along too. A great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Hiei smirked at her obvious relief. He didn't even have to read her mind to know it. Knowing she was okay, he mentally prepared himself for the next few hours. They had almost made it to the first table when a voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

"Alright, everyone. I've been told that the bride is going to come and sing a song for us all," the DJ announced.

"What?"

Hiei looked over at her disbelieving face. He smirked then nudged her forward. "Go."

"No. Way."

"C'mon, Kelz," Yusuke's voice came from the speakers now, "Get over her!"

"I'm gonna kill him," she hissed. She then turned to quickly make her exit, but Hiei stopped her.

"Go," he repeated.

"Nuh-uh."

"Onna."

"Nope."

"Let's go, Silver Girl!"

Kelly yelped as she was rudely slung over Chu's shoulder who then began to make his way to the DJ station where a microphone was waiting for her.

"PUT ME DOWN, CHU! PUT ME DOWN! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. People laughed at her while Hiei followed behind them, a smirk on his face. Really, he should have been mad that another male had so rudely picked his mate up and carried her in such a way, but... it was quite funny.

"No can do, love. You gotta give a ripper of a performance before ya can leave this place," Chu said calmly as he placed her on the DJ table. He shoved a microphone into her hand, but stayed close in case she tried to make a run for it. Hiei stayed in the crowd, just in case she got past Chu.

Kelly opened her mouth to protest, but she stopped when she heard several cheers fill the room.

"C'mon, Silver Girl!"

"Le's go, Sunshine!"

"Sing, Kelz!"

"Let's hear you, Commander!"

-Sing for us, songbird.-

Her eyes widened as Hiei's voice rang clear in her head. She felt the heat rush to her face. Had he really just called her songbird? She gave a small smile, and closed her watering eyes.

The notes of a piano could be heard and several more cheers arose because they knew the notes came not from the DJ station, but from Kelly.

"For you, therell be no more crying,
For you, the sun will be shining,
And I feel that when Im with you,
Its alright, I know its right

"To you, Ill give the world
To you, Ill never be cold
cause I feel that when Im with you,
Its alright, I know its right"

Nobody spoke as the piano and Kelly's voice filled their ears. The song was beautiful, to say the least. And most knew, Kelly was singing for only one person…

"And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before.

"And I wish you all the love in the world,
But most of all, I wish it from myself.

"And the songbirds keep singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before, like never before.
Like never before…"

The piano slowly died out and Kelly opened her eyes. The demons and humans erupted with clapping and cheering. Kelly blushed profusely, gave a small wave, then made a dash for the door to the small garden outside the hotel.

Hiei was already waiting for her.

"I can't believe you made me do that," she said angrily to him.

"I didn't make you do anything," he said smugly.

She sighed in defeat and sat down on a bench, placing her elbows on the back and leaning her head to rest against it so that she was looking up at the stars. She felt Hiei sit next to her and saw him lean back to look up with her.

"'Member when we used to do this all the time?" she asked with a wide smile, never looking away from the starry sky stretched out above her.

"Hn. Of course."

"It seems like years ago, doesn't it?"

"Yes. A distant lifetime."

"Yeah… We were really diff'rent back then."

"Are we all that different now?"

"Yes… and no." She shrugged.

"Would you change anything?" Hiei asked her suddenly.

"No. I like the way things turned out… Would you?"

"…I don't know."

She sighed. "I don't think you should want to."

"Hn."

She smiled at his answer. "Hey, Hiei?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not afraid anymore."

He smirked. "I know."

"I've got too much to look forward to ta be afraid. In truth, I'm excited."

"Good." His smirk stretched to be a smile. He would definitely work his hardest to give her years of excitement. She wouldn't be disappointed. Never again.

She gave a soft giggle and then looked away from the stars and moved over on the bench so that she could lean into her husband and mate. He too sat up and then circled his arms around her.

"Bring on the world and life, I'm ready," she whispered, "More ready then I've ever been."

He chuckled, causing her to smile into his shoulder.

"The world won't hurt us anymore, Hiei. I know it."

"Yes, I know too."

She nodded and sat up. She cupped his cheek, as he pulled on her waist. Their lips and bodies met and didn't separated for quite some time.

When they finally pulled away, Kelly rested her forehead against Hiei's.

"I love you."

"I know… I love you too."

The smile she gave him lit up her face. He couldn't resist pushing her backwards and continuing with their earlier kissing.