One thing Hiei had noticed about being pregnant, ever since he started to show, was that whenever he was in a place filled with lots of humans, they would blurt out comments (sometimes very rude ones) and touch his belly, even though they were complete strangers. Hiei didn't know why they thought they had the right to invade his personal space or comment on his body just because he was pregnant, but he knew he didn't like it one bit, especially when the things they said were hurtful—everything from how huge he was getting to how sweaty he looked.
Needless to say, he didn't always understand their words, being in a foreign country and all, but he didn't need to speak English to understand how much attention his pregnant belly seemed to garner. Even if they didn't speak a word of Japanese, they'd come right up to Hiei and grab at his belly, like it wasn't even part of his body, a completely separate entity that felt nothing. And if the tourists did speak Hiei's language, they didn't hesitate to open their mouths and let their stupid words come right out, words that Hiei wished he couldn't understand. Just because he was pregnant didn't mean he had no feelings! On the contrary, ever since he got pregnant, he had significantly more feelings, not less, and they could be hard to control. To him, that was the worst thing about being pregnant, even more so than all-day sickness or gas or the baby on his bladder.
Kurama had no problem lecturing people on personal space and manners, but eventually, Yusuke came up with an even better idea: Hiei would just pretend to be a lot more hormonal and vicious than he actually was, so the tourists would be afraid to get near him. The rest of the gang actually found it quite amusing; if someone tried to get near, all Hiei had to do was stage a violent argument between him and one of his friends, and the belly-grabbers backed off so that they didn't get killed in the crossfire. It was definitely more effective, and Hiei was much less likely to walk away in tears.
It happened again when they were taking a day-long tour of Oahu on a bus, along with a bunch of other tourists. The bus would drive along, with the driver pointing out interesting sights, and every so often they would be allowed out to snap a few pictures (and, in Hiei's case, rush off to the nearest available bathroom), and then they were herded back onto the bus to drive to their next stop.
They had stopped by a sort of ridge overlooking the ocean, with a rail there to keep people from falling off. There were fish there, and the tour guide was handing out fish food to feed them. Hiei was watching Yukina and Kuwabara, leaning over the rail, laughing as they fed the fish. Hiei didn't particularly love Kuwabara, but Yukina clearly did; nothing made her so happy as being married to him. And since Yukina's happiness was Hiei's happiness, it was hard for him not to be supportive of their relationship. Hiei was even the one who had walked her down the aisle and given her away at her wedding; even now, he still remembered how she looked like a floating angel in her beautiful rosy-white taffeta dress and matching veil.
"Oh my gosh, you're enormous!"
Hiei was snapped back into reality by an elderly female tourist, accompanied by a man who looked to be about the same age, probably her husband. Without asking permission, of course, the man set both hands on Hiei's belly, apparently waiting to feel for kicks. The baby didn't cooperate.
"Hmm, the baby's not kicking," said the man, keeping his hands where they were, despite Hiei's squirming.
"That's surprising, considering it must be at least past the seventh month," added his wife. Hiei felt annoyed, embarrassed, and hurt, all at the same time. Not only did he not like to be touched, especially by strangers, but it was also hard sometimes to feel good about his body if people kept reminding him how gigantic he was getting.
"Maybe you've scared him," said Hiei angrily, but they didn't get the hint.
"I knew you were having a boy!" the woman cried delightedly, running her hand over the curve of Hiei's belly. Hiei was starting to sweat, feeling cornered, but that was when he heard a familiar voice in his ear.
"Hiei!" It was Yusuke. "I got that ice water you wanted."
That was his cue. Hiei spun around furiously, glaring at the glass of water.
"I wanted ice water NEAT, not ON THE ROCKS!" Hiei bellowed, and he soon felt his bandaged fist collide with the hard muscle of Yusuke's abs. Yusuke let out a yelp of pain (faked, of course), and collapsed onto the ground.
"OW!" Yusuke hollered, curling up into a ball. "OW! OW! OW!"
"I'm sorry, you two," said Kurama, walking up to them and setting one hand on Hiei's shoulder. "My beloved is a bit hormonal today."
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Hiei shouted, slapping Kurama away. Then he crossed his muscular arms over his chest in a threatening way and calmly said to the couple, "You wanted something?"
"Um, congratulations," said the woman, and she and her husband scuttled away. As soon as they were gone, Yusuke got up from the ground. Yusuke seemed to genuinely find it funny, but Hiei had to force his face into a smile.
"Nice punch, Hiei," said Yusuke jovially, rubbing his abs. "You sure you haven't got a ball of lead in that fist?"
"No, just me," said Hiei, then turned to his husband, his hands on his belly. The baby was kicking again. "Do you think I'm enormous, Kurama?"
"Is that what they said?" Kurama asked, looking displeased.
"Don't let those assholes get to you, Hiei," said Yusuke. "They're probably just empty-nesters who don't have anything better to do than watch the Home Shopping Network as they bicker over who has to microwave dinner."
"Probably," Hiei agreed, but his heart was still heavy.
"For what it's worth, Hiei, I think you look perfect," said Kurama, slipping his hand into Hiei's. "Come on, it's time to get back on the tour bus."
After the three of them got back on the bus, they told the others what happened.
"I don't know who those people think they are," said Shizuru. "If I see a woman I think is pregnant, I never bring it up. I figure if she wants to talk about it, she will."
"If only everyone had that philosophy," said Hiei wistfully. "But most don't."
…
The night before the wedding, the squad got the chance to attend a hula concert, the reason being that Yukina wanted to take hula lessons, which of course meant that Kuwabara signed up with her, and tonight was the night of their performance.
Kurama had spent the day with Hiei so far; Hiei wanted to get a pregnancy massage at the hotel spa, but since you had to get naked, that wasn't happening, for obvious reasons. Instead, he had Kurama give him a massage, which was better anyway, because Kurama was allowed to touch Hiei in places a masseuse probably wasn't, and they were allowed to do something afterwards that a masseuse definitely wasn't. That was why they were late to dinner, and the hula concert was after dinner.
Throughout dinner, Yukina seemed excited, but Kuwabara was undoubtedly nervous. Keiko got up to go to the bathroom, and the other three girls went with her, leaving the guys alone at the table.
"I've got to confess, guys, I'm super nervous about being in the hula dance," Kuwabara told the table at large. "I didn't tell Yukina, because she's really good at it. But I suck, and I'm afraid she'll laugh at me."
"She won't," said Hiei. "But I probably will."
"I'm sure you're not as bad as you think," Kurama said encouragingly. "Besides, you're doing it for fun, right?"
"Yeah." Kuwabara nodded. "And for my beloved Yukina."
The waiter came by just then, interrupting their conversation, and they had to tell him to come back later because half of their group was in the bathroom. Kurama was still trying to make his friend feel better about the hula dancing when the girls came back, so they had to stop.
"Hi," said Yukina, sitting down. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Just how excited I am for the concert tonight!" Kuwabara didn't look to Kurama as if he was concealing his nervousness all that well, but Yukina didn't seem to question it.
"While you were gone, the waiter came by our table, but we just told him to come back later," Kurama said, to change the subject.
"Oh, thanks," said Keiko.
"Heads up, Hiei, obnoxious human at twelve o'clock," said Yusuke suddenly. Hiei was about to start fake-fighting with one of his friends, as was the custom, but this guy was too fast. Since the pregnant fire demon was sitting in the aisle, his maternal form was clear to see for everyone who walked past.
"That's quite a bump you've got there," said the man, poking it. "Want me to ask the waiter for a high chair, just in case?"
Kurama felt anger flare inside him when he saw tears beginning to fill Hiei's eyes, and he fully intended to tell this guy off. But to everyone's shock, Yukina beat him to it.
"Now you've made him upset!" she shouted, standing up and banging one fist on the table. "You're not going anywhere until you apologize to my brother!"
"Wait, he's a guy?" The man raised his eyebrows. "So he's not pregnant, just fat?"
Yukina seemed confused at first, but then she winced as the realization hit her. Kurama figured that, coming straight from Makai, she'd likely forgotten that human males couldn't get pregnant. But their bigger problem wasn't demon biology, it was Hiei. Now he seemed to be struggling both to keep his tears from spilling over and to get out of their booth.
"If you need to use the bathroom, Hiei, Kurama can take you," Keiko said, giving Kurama a pointed look. Kurama nodded in agreement, partly for moral support, but also because Hiei really was mobility-impaired at this point, at least to some extent. The walk went a lot faster with Kurama helping out, and before long, Hiei was sobbing over the sink, the other guys in the bathroom doing their best to avoid him. Kurama didn't think he'd ever felt so sorry for someone in all his life.
"You shouldn't take that man seriously, Hiei," he said, rubbing his husband's back. "You look great."
"Don't lie to me!" Hiei wailed. "I'm fat! I'm fat and moody and I stink and I can't walk and I can't even sneeze without pissing my pants!"
Okay, some of those things were true—most of them, in fact—but Kurama knew that now was not the time for brutal honesty. Instead, he took Hiei into his arms, still rubbing his back. One good thing about Hiei's pregnancy hormones was that he was more receptive to romantic but not particularly sexual gestures, such as cuddling or hand-holding or above-the-neck kisses.
"You're being too hard on yourself," Kurama insisted. "This changing figure just means that your body is doing its job, giving our son a safe place to grow until he's born. Remember that man who was so rude to you earlier? You're doing an amazing thing that he can't. While he's just another meaningless human, you're giving someone the gift of life."
Kurama had to give this speech to Hiei a lot. But it was worth it as he felt his husband begin to untense. The tears stopped, and soon Kurama was just holding Hiei's warm, soft, round body in his arms, his nose buried in the sweaty, thick black hair.
"Do you think he was jealous?" Hiei mumbled finally, his voice muffled by Kurama's clothing.
"Of course I do," said Kurama gently. "There's really no other explanation. Are you ready to head back out?"
Hiei nodded, and they separated. Kurama helped Hiei put some ice-cold water on his eyes to stop them from being all red and puffy, and they left the bathroom. When they got back to the table, everyone stopped talking abruptly.
"Are you feeling better, Hiei?" Yukina asked, her eyes wide and full of worry as Kurama slid into the booth. Hiei struggled a bit, but he finally got in, too.
"Yes," said Hiei, the slightest shadow of a smile on his face. "I don't have to listen to people like that. And thank you for standing up for me."
"You're my brother," she said, smiling, too. "I know you would have done the same for me."
"Well, I'd probably have knocked him senseless if you were the pregnant one and he was rude to you," said Hiei, "but you've got better self-control than I have."
"And you know, that's just the thing," said Keiko. "People always tell themselves things they would never say to someone they cared about. Hiei, you would never stand for people being so rude to Yukina, and you should value yourself just as much."
Kurama didn't think Keiko fully understood that Hiei had a hard time valuing himself as much as he valued Yukina (that was why he didn't want to tell her he was her brother). But Hiei agreed.
"Yes," he said. "I should."
The waiter came by again and they ordered their food, which was absolutely delicious. The waiter followed Shizuru's protocol; Hiei didn't mention the pregnancy, so neither did he. When they were leaving the restaurant, Hiei went to walk with Yukina, and the other three guys hung back.
"I've never seen Hiei like that before," Kuwabara said to the other two, still looking shocked. "You know, all…emotional and stuff."
"Well, the poor guy's pregnant," said Yusuke. "Give him a break."
…
Hiei ended up enjoying the hula concert more than he thought he would. Kuwabara was awful, just as he'd said, but for some reason, Hiei didn't feel like laughing at him. Yukina was a great dancer, looking like a real wahine, doing the hula in a coconut bra and grass skirt. Kuwabara also had a grass skirt, but no bra. Hiei wouldn't have done something like this to begin with, but he especially wouldn't do it now, with his newfound breasts barely fitting into the coconut bra, his large, naked belly hanging out into space, and…did they wear anything under those grass skirts?
Near the end of the concert, it started to rain, but the performers didn't seem to be bothered, and most of the concert-goers stayed. When it was done, all of those who had friends or family in the concert cheered extra loud. Then everyone went back to their hotels.
Hiei was exhausted, and Kurama had to help him to the hotel room. In fact, everyone seemed tired except Shizuru and Botan, who were both nervous and excited for their wedding tomorrow. Jin and Touya were going to attend, though they weren't staying in Hawaii for longer than that day.
However tired they were, Kurama and Hiei obviously weren't tired enough that night that they didn't have sex, and Hiei always felt more confident and attractive after he did it with Kurama. Both of them got a good sleep, even though Hiei had to always sleep on his side now, and on Valentine's Day morning, Hiei woke up to the glorious heavenly Hawaiian sunshine.
"Tomorrow we're all flying out except the newlyweds," he said, as Kurama gave him a good morning kiss. "How should we enjoy our second-to-last morning in Hawaii?"
"I can think of a way," said Kurama, and they were late to breakfast again.
In the afternoon, everyone got cleaned up for the wedding. In a traditional Makaian wedding, the bride and groom entered separately and walked up to the stage at the same time with their respective attendants, exchanging vows with each other. In a human one, the bride would walk down the aisle to the altar, usually with her father and the maid-of-honor, preceded by all the bridesmaids. Shizuru and Botan did a mix of this; Shizuru waited at the altar in a women's tuxedo, which looked perfect on her, and her attendant, Keiko, was right by her side. Botan wasn't going to have anyone walk her up the aisle, but her own attendant, Yukina, would be right behind her.
Shizuru was wearing a tuxedo, but Keiko was wearing a dress (the two attendants had been allowed to pick their own outfits). It was an outfit that looked good on Keiko. Her dress was violet, tighter and held up by straps at the top, with a huge puffy skirt fringed by white eyelet lace. You couldn't see her shoes under the puffy, floor-length skirt, but they must have been heels or at least wedges, because she looked a little taller.
Besides his own, Hiei had been to two weddings so far—Yukina's wedding to Kuwabara, and Yusuke's wedding to Keiko. Both of those times, and at his wedding, people were always crying in the audience, and he'd always thought that was silly. True, he had gotten a bit choked up when he gave Yukina away to Kuwabara at her wedding, but who wouldn't? That was back when he was still engaged to Mukuro, but she hadn't gone to the wedding. He'd been a groomsman, just like Kurama, and Yusuke was best man. But they'd let him walk Yukina up the aisle before he took his place next to Kurama.
When they finally got up to the altar, Botan took her place as maid-of-honor, and Hiei paused, Yukina still hanging on his arm. Kuwabara was smiling at Yukina as if she was the only woman in all three worlds.
"Yukina…" Hiei took a breath to make his voice steady. "Only a few years ago, we met for the first time…I can't believe I'm holding your arm, walking you up the aisle. To…to start your brand-new married life with Kuwabara."
Hiei coughed, hoping this wouldn't get embarrassing.
"Don't think of it as losing a sister, Hiei," Yukina said softly as he let go of her arm. "Think of it as gaining a brother."
Hiei glanced at Kuwabara, and he could tell everyone was waiting with bated breath, especially those who knew of the friction between the two.
"Hn," said Hiei, giving Kuwabara the ghost of a smile. "Welcome to our family."
The look of shock on Kuwabara's face was unbelievable, but then he grinned. Hiei looked to his left at the groomsmen; they were all smiling, too, though Kurama seemed to be beaming the most out of all of them. The bridesmaids were all wiping their eyes.
"You break her heart, I break your jaw," Hiei continued, to laughter from the audience. "Take good care of her for me."
"With my life, brother-in-law," Kuwabara replied gallantly as he bowed.
"I love you, Hiei," Yukina whispered, kissing him on the forehead.
"I love you too, Yukina," Hiei whispered back, and she smiled too, as her brother took his place among the other groomsmen.
"Hiei," said Kurama's voice from somewhere far away.
"What?" Hiei realized tears were in his eyes again.
"What's wrong?" Kurama asked, handing his beloved a tissue. "The wedding hasn't started yet."
"It's nothing," Hiei sniffled, and Kurama gave him a kiss. Now the only couple in their friend group that wasn't engaged or married was Jin and Touya, but they didn't look to be heading anywhere near that direction.
Shizuru normally wore her long hair down, but for her wedding, it was in a French braid with a small black bow that matched her suit, giving the normally-masculine outfit a feminine touch. Keiko was holding a bouquet of flowers from Kurama's garden. Shizuru had her eyes on the door of the event room, waiting for Botan.
And then, finally, the music got louder, grander. Everyone stood up. The bride was walking down the aisle.
Botan's dress was sleeveless and backless, though the front part of the dress came up to her neck. The skirt was huge, loose, tiers of fluffy white material cascading all the way down to her feet, with white roses mixed in. Her hair was in a braid, like Shizuru's, but tied with a white scrunchie that matched her wedding dress, including the roses. She was also wearing white gloves. Hiei wasn't exactly the best of friends with Botan, but he did think she looked nice.
Not as nice as Yukina, though, he added to himself, thinking that his sister looked beautiful as well. Her mint-green hair, longer than it had been since she and Hiei first met, was styled on top of her head and held with a fancy light-blue comb. Her dress was a sheath dress, shades of blue and green, seemingly changing color as she walked, and adorned with silver tassels at the bottom. Yukina and Botan were both holding bouquets, like Keiko.
Shizuru and Botan looked so happy and in love when reciting their vows, and Hiei was annoyed to find that his eyes were filling with tears—just like the people he'd scoffed at during all the other weddings he'd attended. How embarrassing! What was wrong with him, anyway? He didn't want to cry again. But he couldn't help it. He wiped his eyes and sniffed, and that was when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Kurama was smiling at him, holding a fresh tissue. Hiei nodded his thanks and wiped his eyes and nose, then stuck it into his pocket.
"As is the custom," Keiko recited, "the couple will now exchange their rings."
Hiei and Kurama watched as the attendants handed over the rings, and Shizuru and Botan silently but gently placed the wedding rings on each other's hands.
"As is the custom," Yukina added, "the couple will exchange their final wedding vows."
"Will you, Shizuru Kuwabara, take me forever and ever as your lawfully wedded wife?" asked Botan, as they held each other's hands.
"I do," Shizuru replied. "Will you, Botan, take me forever and ever as your lawfully wedded wife?"
Botan didn't say anything for a moment. And then, to everyone's surprise, she stood up slightly, placed her hands on Shizuru's cheeks, and gave her a big, passionate kiss right on the lips. When the kiss finally ended, her eyes were shining, and Shizuru was grinning.
"Does that answer your question?" asked Botan, a little cheekily.
"Yes," said Shizuru, beginning to laugh a little. "Yes, it does."
"As is the custom," said Keiko, though she couldn't hide a smile either, "the couple will exchange their first kiss of marriage."
"Again," Yukina ad-libbed, and everyone laughed.
Shizuru and Botan kissed once more, and everyone cheered. Once they separated, Shizuru took Botan's arm and they proceeded back down the aisle as a newly married couple.
When it came to Makaian weddings, usually there was a feast first, then the ceremony, then a huge party with lots of dancing and music. Anyone who wanted to could show up, and the more demons there were, the wilder the party got. Shizuru and Botan, though, decided to have the ceremony first, then combine the feast and party. They also said it was fine for Kurama and Hiei to leave after the ceremony as long as they stuck around for the toasts. Hiei was glad, seeing that he wasn't in the mood or physical shape for dancing, and the celebratory food would likely set off his aversions.
There was a little bit of time to socialize before it was time to do the toasts, because the food was being set up currently. Jin and Touya managed to track Hiei and Kurama down, with Touya gushing about how romantic the wedding was and how he and Hiei were really getting to be "belly buddies," which made Hiei want to bash the icy bastard's face in, but he restrained himself.
Although the wedding party was wearing human dress clothes (a tuxedo, a wedding dress, and two bridesmaid's dresses), the stated attire for guests was to wear either fancy human clothes or, as was standard for traditional Makaian weddings, a kimono in the colors of your demon clan. And if you didn't have a clan or tribe, you could wear one in any color you wanted. Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara all opted for the tuxedo; needless to say, Hiei wore a kimono, not just because he'd rather do it the demon way, but because it accommodated his pregnant body so much more. Because of his new figure, he wore a kimono especially made for pregnant women, and he was wearing the maternity obi Shiori got for him. Most of those in attendance were demons, anyway, so the majority of the audience was wearing kimonos, all of many different colors. Hiei fit right in with his black one.
Hiei was sitting in a collapsible chair while Kurama stood by him and they greeted people who walked past. At first, they had been walking around and mingling, but Hiei's entire body began to ache, so he sat down, along with a promise that he and Kurama could go in the hot tub later that night. Kurama was rubbing Hiei's back when Yomi walked past, wearing a blood-red kimono.
"I was hoping I would have a chance to speak with you today, Kurama," he said, turning to face them (obviously, it was his nose that had aided him with that). "Hiei, I must say that the baby is in excellent health. Not only does it have very strong youki, but the heartbeat is stable and it's moving a lot."
"Well, that's good to know," said Kurama. "But what did you want to talk about?"
"The business, of course," Yomi replied. "I set up a table in the back for people to buy some of your products. I already hired some workers."
"Yomi, we weren't going to officially start the business until March," Kurama said sternly. "It's still the middle of February. Do you want to lose your share?"
Hiei couldn't help but feel a little aroused just then, because he loved hearing Kurama use that assertive tone of voice. The more he heard Kurama talking to Yomi, the more he couldn't wait to get to the hot tub so he could tear the clothes from his husband's body, run his fingers over that soft skin, play with thick, silky red hair, breathe in the wonderful scent of roses…and then they could express their love for each other in the hot water, like they had on their first Hawaiian vacation. And no mess to clean up!
Yomi suddenly turned around to face Hiei's direction, and Hiei realized that even though the blind demon might not be able to see what was happening to Hiei, he could probably smell when someone was aroused. Hiei was embarrassed, but luckily, Kurama brought the topic back to the business, even though Hiei did find it boring.
"Hey."
Hiei looked over to see Mukuro standing next to him, wearing an orange-and-white kimono.
"Oh," said Hiei. "Hi."
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
"Not that good." Hiei sighed. "Being pregnant is rough."
"But at least Kurama is staying home with you, instead of moving to Makai for the business," she said, shrugging. "I'm 99% sure that's why he's allowing Yomi to help, anyway, because although Yomi might have been a good King, he is not a good businessman. I'm doing most of the work."
"Really?" said Hiei, raising his eyebrows. "Doesn't that get boring?"
"Miserably so, but I'm good at it." Mukuro shrugged. "I guess it works, because Yomi's exactly the opposite. I think he's in over his head, but he helps keep my morale up."
"I'm still surprised you two are together," said Hiei. "I mean…you used to hate each other."
"We used to be political rivals, that's all it was," she corrected. "Once there was nothing to fight over anymore, we found we got on pretty well. We're excited for the wedding in August. And you can bring your baby. Did you find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Yeah, it's a boy," said Hiei, rubbing his belly fondly. "For the entire wedding, he's been very active. It's like he knows it's an important day."
"Smart kid." Mukuro glanced down at Hiei, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Listen, Hiei, do you mind if I…you know…?"
"Oh." Hiei felt his face flush, but there wasn't really any reason why she couldn't feel the baby kick. "Um…sure. Most people don't even ask first."
Mukuro hesitated, though, her hand wavering near Hiei's baby bump.
"If you're going to do it, do it," Hiei said shortly. "He's not going to jump out and bite you."
Hiei didn't know where to put his hands, so he kept them at his sides, clinging to the chair as if he was about to blast off. Mukuro touched his belly gingerly with one hand, as if she was afraid it would burn her, but Hiei did his best to stay still, and she soon had both hands firmly on the bump. By her facial expression, Hiei could tell that she felt the kicks.
"That's amazing," said Mukuro, taking her hands off his belly. "You really feel that all day long?"
"Most of the time, yes," Hiei replied, setting one hand on his belly again. It seemed that most of the time he just couldn't keep his hands away. "It's a little less during the day, and the doctor says that's because my movements rock him to sleep. But I know he can feel my heartbeat, and he's always close to me."
Hiei tried to adjust himself in the seat, but he winced as he felt that familiar pain in his back and hips. What he wouldn't give to be in the hot tub right now…
"But there's also pain, as you can see," he continued. "Pain, and a few other symptoms that I don't really want to get into right now, but the worst part is that I can't seem to control the way I act. It's like someone else is in control of how I feel."
"Mood swings?"
"Probably," said Hiei. "Whatever it is, it's the most awful part of pregnancy by far."
Kurama and Yomi walked over at that moment, and Hiei was relieved that they were done talking about the business for now.
"They're starting the toasts now," said Yomi. "We had better get going."
"Sure. See you around, Hiei," said Mukuro, holding her arm out to Yomi, and the two of them headed off to one of the dining tables. Kurama held out both hands, and Hiei, with quite a bit of effort, got up off the chair. It was so embarrassing how all these things that had once been easy were now almost impossible to do without help.
"I want to go, Kurama," Hiei whined. Not only was he in pain, but he was exhausted as well, and he was starting to feel a little cranky again.
"We just have to stick around for the toasts, honey, and then we can leave, I promise," Kurama whispered in his ear as they headed for their table.
"All right! Now that everyone's here, we can start the toasts," said Shizuru, as Kurama helped Hiei into his seat, then sat down himself. "Then you guys can head out, we don't mind."
"Thank you for understanding," said Kurama.
"Oh, no problem!" Botan grinned. "We wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable, Hiei."
Hiei just glared at her. Didn't she know he was already uncomfortable? But any possible scene was prevented by Keiko tapping a fork on a glass of champagne.
"I would just like to say," she began, as everyone quieted down, "that being Shizuru Kuwabara's attendant today is the highest honor. Shizuru and I met when my husband and her brother were competing in a tournament. From the beginning, she was always a source of calm for me, keeping her head no matter how hectic the situation became. On my wedding day, she was a wonderful maid-of-honor. She's one of my best friends, and I know that she and Botan have a lifetime of happiness awaiting them. Thank you."
Keiko sat down neatly as the other guests clapped. She really was good at public speaking. There was silence for a moment, but then Keiko gestured to Yukina, who stood up, biting her lip.
"Botan and I met at the Dark Tournament, too," she began, but her voice was shaking, out of either emotion or nervousness. "And…and I hope she and Shizuru are very happy, because this wedding was so romantic, and…oh no!"
Yukina, in all her dislike of public speaking, had accidentally knocked over a glass of champagne, shattering it, the liquid spreading steadily over the tablecloth. She looked humiliated, but that was when Kuwabara stood up, one arm around her shoulder.
"I-I think what Yukina is trying to say," he told the audience, "is that when you're married to someone you really love, every day is special. Nothing makes me happier than to wake up beside my beloved every morning, to take walks with her, to kiss her, to eat dinner with her at night. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, because the way you know you really love someone is if you can't imagine spending the rest of your life without them. I know my sister and Botan will feel this kind of happiness too, when they're married. And that's from both me, and Botan's attendant, my beloved Yukina. Right?"
Yukina nodded, looking relieved, and hugged him. Everyone clapped.
"Don't worry about the tablecloth," said Shizuru.
"Kazuma, did you prepare a whole speech just in case I messed mine up?" Yukina asked, holding onto his hands.
"No, baby, I had it all here in my heart," Kuwabara said. She giggled, and they kissed.
There were a few more toasts. Kurama had given one at every other wedding so far, but he didn't at this one, probably because it only would have dragged out the time Hiei had to spend there. Once everything was finished, it was finally time to go. Congratulations were exchanged, so were some hugs on Kurama's part, and then Shizuru and Botan were officially married.
Hiei had been feeling the weight very hard, so the hot tub felt miraculous. It wasn't any surprise what he and Kurama did in there, on their last Hawaiian night.
"Thanks for putting up with all my crap, Kurama," Hiei mumbled, burying his face in his husband's chest. This was one of his "closeness" times, when all he wanted was for someone to cuddle and hold him. Luckily, Kurama seemed to have been waiting for this moment for years, and he was more than willing to comply.
"Oh, honey, it's not crap," said Kurama softly, kissing Hiei's head. "I love you, and I want to help you in any way I can. You're doing a wonderful thing for our family."
Our family. Hiei smiled at the thought.
TO BE CONTINUED…
