Chapter 32

"Mo… I just didn't want you to be overwhelmed with all of the choices out there like my sister was." Kanae explained in their phone conversation. "So we all put it to a vote and narrowed down your choices to the top 3 to 5 of everything available to you. If you don't like any of them, let me know and we'll find it for you."

"Mōko, you shouldn't be wasting your time on all of this for me." Kyoko complained. She was touched that her friends had gathered everything together for the wedding and was sending her the results for her to pick from, but they had all done just too much.

"It's not a waste of time, Kyoko and I didn't do it all alone." She informed her. "Like I said, we just don't want you to have to stress out about it when you should be concentrating on filming."

Kyoko pouted into the phone. "So… If I have a particular design for my dress in mind, no one will be offended?"

Kanae chuckled. She wasn't sure if Juli would be or not, but Kyoko was the bride and what she says goes. "Of course not. Just email me a sketch of it and we'll find it for you, and if we can't find it we'll make it."

Kyoko furrowed her brow. "Just exactly who is this 'we' we're talking about here?" She was curious to know who was helping her plan her wedding so efficiently.

Kanae sighed out. She had to fess up sooner or later. "At first it was me and Sho, then Lory and your dad wanted to help out, then Juli and Kuu chimed in and it just kind of snowballed from there. Sho set up a website for everyone to submit their suggestions and ideas to and I was the one that delegated all of the responsibilities." She admitted quietly.

"Sho did?" She asked incredulously. Now that, she did not expect. Such a thing from him almost made her feel like she was living in another dimension.

Kanae laughed. "Yes, and he instigated a good portion of all of this." Kanae snitched on him with a smirk.

"Wow. I should thank him." She commented honestly.

Kanae snorted. "Whatever you do… don't do that. His ego's big enough as it is."

Kyoko giggled and agreed. She'd thanked him for his help in the past and it usually ended with him temporarily reverting to his overly-inflated Shotaro Fuwa ego. She had once thought that it was because he was a rock star at such a young age, but she soon found out that it was just the way he was and there was really no changing that aspect of him. One just had to accept it or step off.

Juli Hizuri had never once thought to be offended by the design ideas that Kanae had passed to her from Kyoko. In fact, she was very grateful. This entire time she felt like she'd been sketching with a blindfold on when it came to the clothing for the wedding. Once she saw the main dress, she became infinitely inspired and was so excited that she hadn't slept for 36 hours. Had Kuu not demanded that she stop and take a break, she could have easily gone on working for another 36. It finally felt right, not like she was designing for a stranger's wedding.

The size and scope of the elaborate wedding that their friends and family had planned for them really hadn't hit them until the day of. It's not that they didn't want to get married, they really did. They just hadn't anticipated all of the stress and rushing around. The day before had been calm, like the calm before a storm. The day of or the morning of, had been filled with hair dressers, makeup artists, people preparing both for their big ceremony. Shin had no idea how crazy things would get until his mother began to hyperventilate and she needed to slip out for a breath of fresh air. At that point he had snuck over to his father's side and found that good ole dad was having the same problem and idea. Which led to their little sprite following them. Only to discover that Mom and Dad were together at the gazebo, clinging to each other like sailors in a storm.

"It's not that I don't want to go through with this, Kuon… I'm just so wound up and nervous… I'm sorry." He heard her whimper.

Shin heard his father chuckle. "It's okay, Princess. I understand. We don't have to do this. We already have the license and it's not like we aren't the ones footing the bill for everything." He comforted.

She leaned her head on his shoulder as he wrapped her more tightly in his arms. "Won't they be disappointed or upset with us?"

He nodded. "That is true, but I'm sure they'll understand."

"Mom?" Shin called quietly. "Are you okay?" He asked a little worried.

"She's okay, Champ. Just having a little case of the nerves." Kuon explained.

"You still want to get married?" His little voice asked in hope, not really realizing that they already were, technically. They just hadn't had the extravagant ceremony everyone had a hand in planning.

Kyoko thought deeply for a moment and realized that this really wasn't for her, but for the people that loved and cared about her. Her son, for instance. The same little man that had been looking forward to this occasion even more than she and Kuon had.

She pulled him to her. "Of course we do, Baby. Mommy was just a little nervous, just like your father said."

Kuon smiled softly. He couldn't have done it better himself. There was no denying that he was definitely their son and he had a very good hold on things. "I should probably get back in there before they think I ran off." He chuckled giving his two favorite people a kiss on their cheeks. "Unless… Unless you'd like to send everyone a text on the way to the airport." He gave a sly smile.

She reached up and pulled him back down for a quick chaste kiss and sighed. "No… I'm fine now. We should do this or we're going to disappoint a lot of people that care about us." She told him with a quick glance at Shin.

Kuon nodded in understanding. "Alright my queen, I'll see you at the altar."

She smiled softly as he walked back into the venue, a legitimate castle that had been rented for the occasion. The owner was a big fan of the pair and was excited that they were holding their wedding in his castle that had been shipped over from Europe and put back together piece by piece on his own property in Japan.

Shin held out his hand. "Come on, Mom." He smiled. "I'll take you back."

She pulled him into a tight hug. "I love you, my sweet little prince. Thank you." She kissed his cheek.

He honestly didn't know what he did, but if she felt better, he was okay with it. He helped her gather up the long train of her dress and helped carry it.

When the trio returned to their respective rooms, there was honest to goodness chaos. Their friends and family had firmly believed that they had bolted. Kuu had gone to look for Kuon and Ushio had gone to look for Kyoko, both practically wanting to strangle their children if they had actually left without letting anyone know. When the bride and groom returned, it was like a big bubble just popped and let out all of the stress that everyone had been experiencing.

The pair were inwardly thanking all the gods that they didn't leave early for their honeymoon, with their son in tow, like they were seriously considering as they sat cuddling in the gazebo. They were also thanking their son for arriving when he did, otherwise there really wouldn't have been a wedding or a reception afterward and they would have had a whole host of angry people blowing up their phones for at least a month. That is, if they were still willing to talk to them after something like that.

Kuon really hadn't seen the complete ensemble his bride wore when they met before the ceremony, and her dress had been partially covered by a long white cloak with faux-fox fur trim. Lace, pearls, silk, sparkling crystals, and gold thread dazzled. Her complete look would have made any royal princess gnash her teeth in envy. He had to admit, the look completely suited her and he definitely didn't mind his matching suit that made him look like a prince.

There was a brief moment before the ceremony where both he and Kyoko had been of the same mind, all stressed out and just wanting to hop into a taxi with their son to run from all of the hustle and bustle, but then out came Shin looking for him. He was their lifeline in all of this and made both realize that this wasn't for them, it was for him, it was for all their friends, and their families. They had all been waiting for so long for he and Kyoko to get their acts together, and they had all worked so hard to put everything together for them with a minimal amount of stress to them. They literally only had to pick what they wanted and everything else was done for them. It would have been very ungrateful and a shame to just leave like that and run off, the more he thought on it.

So, now he was standing at the altar, watching as his beautiful, stunning, amazing, gorgeous, lovely queen approached he and their son, to take her place and give her vows with him. So much was said and many beautiful memories were revealed to those around them. Most knew quite a bit, but they honestly didn't know about them meeting when they were small children. Sho and his parents had suspected, but it was never confirmed until that moment. He shook his head when he realized exactly how foolish he'd been when he was younger and was glad that Aki saw through him. Juli and Kuu were also a bit shocked and now understood Kyoko's reactions to their and Kuon's behavior in the past. No point in crying over spilled milk though and now they were all on good terms. Kanae, Chiorin, and Erika were just relieved that the ordeal of getting this pair together was finally over. Otherwise they wouldn't be standing there wearing bridesmaid's dresses, they would be wearing prison garments after they'd killed at least one of them out of anger and frustration.

Lory and Ushio were both crying. Their babies had finally grown and taken over their own lives. Honestly? They were both suffering from something akin to empty nest syndrome. They felt that now that Kuon and Kyoko had each other so completely, they wouldn't be needed anymore. Silly things, they would always need them. Kuon would always need "Uncle" Lory and Kyoko would always need her Daddy.