Hey everyone! This isn't a TBT chapter. It's a one-shot of Hao and Ivy's wedding day. I also have an important announcement. I will not be able to make any more major updates until Nov. 21st because I am in the school musical, and we have rehearsals everyday after school until 10:00. I hope you enjoy the one-shot! Thanks and see you on the 21st!
-Kara
Ivy Hao 3rd Person
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
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I seriously felt like I was about to faint. My pulse was rushing and my head was positively reeling. I was breathless as I stood in front of the mirror. It was just like before…sure the dress was different, and the man too…but it was just like the first time. I was getting cold feet again just thinking about it.
I remembered it like it had happened mere moments before the fact, but it had been almost two years since my first death, back when I was about to marry Yoh. All the sudden everything came rushing back to me:
Hao was so angry…Yoh too had a definite fiery look in his eyes. They were trying to kill each other over me. Hao had knocked Yoh to the ground, and was about to delve his flaming sword straight through Yoh's heart. I had gotten in the way.
I jumped as a sharp pain jolted my heart. Suddenly I was back in the present, standing in front of a dressing mirror in the basement of a church. My breath sped up and my skin grew clammy. I could almost feel the blood draining from my body and staining the pure white outfit I was wearing.
I gently ran my fingers through my hair. It hadn't changed in the past one and a half years; it was still the same coffee color and shoulder length. My eyes were the same two bottom-less pits of dark onyx, and my lips retained their devil's red hue; Anna had painted my nails to match for the special occasion. I turned and gauged my reflection in the cold glass. My gown was a little more covering than the one I had worn for Yoh, but not by much.
The skirt was floor length, but had a split up to the upper portion of my thigh. My top was skimpy as usual and looked like a white version of my normal red number. A few good inches of my stomach were showing. 'That's probably why he wanted me to wear this gown…' I had borrowed some jewelry from my elder Tao sister Jun, and Anna had lent me her white sandals.
Jun, Pilika, Tamao, Anna, and the Hanagumi had worked hard on my wardrobe and all the decorations and plans and things, so I didn't have to worry about anything. Somehow I still wasn't as calm as I should have been. Something was wrong, but I just couldn't put my finger on what.
I gave myself one last turn and inspected myself thoroughly. 'I wonder what Hao would think?' My eyes again fell upon the huge split up my thigh. 'Never mind. I know what Hao would think: "How long before I get to take that off of her!" Stupid pervert…' My cheeks noticeable reddened.
Suddenly it donned upon me. "I'm getting married…" I whispered to myself. 'And then I'll be his wife, and tonight he'll want to…Oh. My. GOD.'
I don't know how long I was out, but I woke up on the floor in my twin's arms. Jun and Pilika were helping to fan me, and Tamao was pressing a cold rag to my face.
"Ivy?" I blinked as Anna's voice broke through the blurry haze of unconsciousness. "Ivy." My sister called again from a world that seemed beyond my reach. My body just didn't seem to want to wake up.
"Wh-what?" I struggled to sit up on my own. My body felt weighed down by lead. My head seemed almost empty except for air, so I lay back down again until I could see straight. "What happened?"
Anna made a hand gesture to shoe everyone away so that we could be alone in private. "One minute we were getting you ready for your wedding, then the next you were on the floor, out cold. How do you feel?" She felt gently of my forehead and my cheeks.
"I can't do it Anna." I blurted out, trying my hand again at sitting up.
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"I can't get married to Hao." I quickly rephrased my statement.
"Don't be an idiot." My sister rolled her eyes and switched which hip she had baby Hana on. "You love him, he loves you, you'll get married, have kids, end of story."
My eyes widened in fear. "I can't."
Anna helped me get to my feet. "Don't be stupid. Any woman can do it; you're no exception. What do you think is going to be a problem?" She carefully straightened my dress.
"I can't. I'm sorry, but I just can't do this. I can't be his wife! It's sooo different from being his fiancée! I couldn't be a mother either. I have no clue how you do it Anna." I wrung my hands, trying to keep them from shaking.
My elder sister paused to examine me. A knowing smile slowly lit my sister's face in the smuggest, most condescending way possible. "You're afraid of finally giving him any."
"No! That's not it!" I tried not to faint again as she hit the nail on the head.
Somehow she knew she had gotten it exactly right. "You're afraid of how it'll effect your relationship, and you're scared that he'll treat you differently."
"Don't be stupid Anna!" I tried to deter her, but there was no stopping it now that she had begun.
"You're afraid that he'll lose interest once he's gotten your virginity." Suddenly she didn't sound like she was teasing me anymore. "You're petrified of going any further…You love him so much and you're scared of losing him after he gets what he wants. I can tell from your eyes that you're scared of not measuring up to his expectations after making him wait so long…"
My sister paused to look me over. She put an arm around my waist to support me. "Don't worry…if Hao is the kind of man I think he is, then he's never going to leave you. You've both fought too hard to not end up together now." Her warm smile clamed me some, but I was still worried. "I'll be back. I have to go check in with Yoh."
I nodded and sat down on the stool in front of the vanity. I was alone yet again. I was searching the room absent-mindedly for something to do when I spotted a door. Curiosity got the better of me and I got up and opened it. It led up a stairway to outside. My breath caught in my throat and I quickly shut the door to freedom.
"No." I firmly reprimanded myself. "I'm not running away from him again…" I cast a longing glance back at the door. 'Oh God Hao I'm sorry…' I quickly scribbled something on a scrap of paper and left it on the vanity table.
"Feeling better Hao?" I looked up at my younger twin with a gaze full of hatred. I returned to losing my lunch in the church restroom. "I'll take that as a no…"
Yoh looked down at me in pity. I wanted to slap him, but I felt too sick to even move without throwing up. "Tell me, are you hung over, or is this just nerves?" My little brother gazed half worrying, half teasing.
I got up and rinsed out my mouth. "Nerves. I didn't drink at all last night…unlike your stupid friends. I feel better now though…" Just as I had said this, another wave of nausea hit me.
"So much for better…" Yoh looked away, a slightly paler color than usual. "Are you sure you're up to this? You're really…tense. It's not really like you Hao. I'd have thought that you'd be happy to finally be getting married."
My stomach heaved at his last word. "Hao?" Yoh rest a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"I can't do it." I finally made up my mind.
"WHAT!" My mirror image looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
"You heard me. I can't marry her." I wiped off my mouth a second time and tried not to make eye contact with my younger sibling.
"Hao? What are you talking about! You love her! How can you give her up so easily!" The look of utter terror on my cute twin's face was slightly amusing.
"I just can't. Would it be really all that awful to stay engaged a few more months? Years even?" Yoh gaped at me like I was nuts.
"Who are you and what have you done with my perverted bastard of a big brother! Hao, you've been married before right? And you've been with hundreds of girls over your first two lifetimes, so what's the problem!"
"She's not some other girl, Yoh…she's Ivy…She's so young, not even 17 yet. Sure I've been married before and there have been other women, but those were all arranged or were just for fun! The whole object of those was to have some fun, and extend the family tree. I can't think about it that way when Ivy's the one I'm talking about. It's not the same…" My eyes lost focus and seemed to wander into the far corners of my mind.
"Are you saying that you can't…"
"Not with her. Sure I've pictured it at least a trillion times, but…it would be so awkward…I couldn't do anything to Ivy. I love her too much to risk hurting her. What if it doesn't work and we get divorced? I don't even want to imagine all the horrible things that can happen in a marriage! I don't know how you and Anna…never mind. She must be a completely different person though. I can't imagine having kids with Ivy…I mean, Ivy? PREGNANT? I just can't see it. I can't drag the both of us through this, so it's better not to marry her at all."
"Liar." Yoh easily called my bluff. "You want her so badly it scares you. Hao, nothing bad is going to happen. You're not going to get a divorce. Even if the marriage is a disaster, the both of you are too stubborn to give up on each other. Come on Aniki, Ivy is going to kill you if you back out on her now…She loves you…Hao?"
"What if I'm not enough for her? What if—"
"Oh GOD Hao, is that what this is about! I swear, I will hold a gun to your head and force you to walk down that isle!" The seriousness of Yoh's voice scared me. "Now, go to the dressing room and get ready. I'll be in, in a minute. I have to go talk to Anna, but don't worry; everything will work out in the end." I nodded and did as he said.
'Maybe he's right…' My grip tightened on the doorknob. Chills shot up my spine. 'Or not…' I picked up a spare wedding program, wrote a brief apology, and stuck it to the door. Yoh would find it and give it to Ivy for me. I slipped out the back door with a heavy heart.
Out in the hallway Yoh and Anna were talking about the difficulties so far with their siblings' wedding. "Well, Ivy fainted. She's fine now, but she's convinced that she can't marry him."
"Hao's the same way…well except that he didn't faint. He's busy being sick to his stomach." Yoh bounced his son up and down and glanced fondly at his wife.
"Even our wedding wasn't this much of a disaster." Anna gently smoothed Hana's dirty blonde locks. The baby giggled in delight at all the attention.
Yoh smiled up at Anna. "They're just nervous." He easily shrugged off the tense situation. "They love each other too much, and they're started to second-guess themselves. They'll be fine."
Anna could only smile and shake her head at her husband. "Can you watch Hana? I need to go take care of Ivy. They'll get married even if I have to walk down the isle behind her with a loaded 9 mm."
"That's what I told Hao…well, sort of." Yoh resituated his son on his hip and turned to the men's dressing room. "I hope Hao's feeling better by now…"
The husband and wife returned to their respective dressing rooms, but ran out and almost crashed into each other seconds later. "ANNA!" "YOH!"
"He/She's gone!" They chorused, holding up matching apology notes.
Anna looked positively infuriated. "Really, do they plan these things! I swear they do this to annoy me!"
"What do we do?" Yoh awaited Anna's instructions.
"You go round up some of your friends to find Hao. I'll go rally the girls together to drag Ivy back here." Yoh nodded and set off to find his friends and his brother.
My heart was pounding in my ears, throbbing. I didn't want to leave him, but I was so scared. I looked back around the corner of the building to make sure no one would see me as I made a run for it. My breath was knocked out of me as I was thrust to the ground with a thud as someone nearly ran me over, tripping in the process. My whole body went stiff when I recognized who was lying on top of me.
I snuck out the back way and started running, glancing over my shoulder, making sure I wasn't being followed. I didn't see the object in my path, so I was startled as I collided headfirst and was thrown to the ground. I hadn't seen Ivy standing there.
I landed in a compromising position on top of her with my hands touching some places that she normally would have killed me for. Our mouths were millimeters from touching. Our eyes locked. Her lips quivered as she mumbled my name. She looked so scared…I couldn't really tell what she was afraid of, but her whispered utterance of 'Hao…' awoke something deep within me. I wanted her, more than I had ever wanted anything before. "Ivy…" I couldn't control the amount of lust leaking through in my voice. I knew I shouldn't have, but it didn't stop me from sliding my hand up her thigh.
Ivy hadn't resisted up until then. She hadn't objected to our closeness at all, but when I tried to make a move on her… "Hao!"
I pushed him off of me with all the force I could muster. I couldn't believe how close I had let him get. "Don't touch me like that, you pervert!" I shrieked, no longer scared, but reverting to my usual hardheaded, fiery self. I pouted, looking away from him. I didn't bother standing; he was still on the ground, and would probably sneak peeks up my dress if I did stand.
"I'm sorry." He too turned away from me, rising to a comfortable seated position instead of a pile on the pavement. "I didn't mean to…that is to say…I was just…" He stopped and started several more times, unsure of what to say. It struck me as odd; it was so uncommon for my fiancée to be so…genuinely nervous. "Ivy, please don't be mad; I can explain. I'm sorry."
Yet another shock from the older Asakura twin. 'What's he talking about? Why is he apologizing? I'm the one who's leaving. Did Anna show him my note?' My train of thought froze between junctions as I felt Hao gently stroking my hair. It was a gesture full of longing. Longing for forgiveness and…something else I couldn't, or didn't want to place at the moment. He was still waiting for me to say something. In truth, I had absent-mindedly almost forgotten he was there.
The pouting look on my face dissolved as I looked into his eyes. "I'm…not mad… I'm just scared."
"Of what?" He lowered his voice, getting lost in our extended period of eye contact. I might have been just imagining it, but I think he was slowly inching closer to me the entire time. All of the sudden I found our lips melting together in a soft kiss. He tried to deepen it, but I, being in no mood, pulled away.
"How can you kiss me like that after the letter…?" I of course was talking about my letter to him, but he had not gotten it yet, so he assumed I was talking about his letter to me, which I hadn't gotten either. Needless to say, neither of us knew that the other had been having second thoughts about the marriage, so as the conversation played out, we both assumed it was our own, individual fault.
"Ivy…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean it like that…I…it's my fault."
I looked up at him in utter confusion. "Wait…I specifically said that it wasn't your fault."
My statement only seemed to confuse things more. Hao blinked twice, staring at me like I was crazy. "When did you say that?"
"In my letter to you, you idiot." I hit him playfully on the top of his head.
"Your letter!"
"Yes! My letter telling you that I couldn't marry you!" I stopped abruptly at his puzzled expression. "You did get the letter…didn't you?"
Hao slowly shook his head. "I guess you didn't get my letter either…"
I shook my head at an equally slow pace. "What exactly did this letter of yours say Hao?"
"Wait…why can't you marry me?" Hao completely ignored my question and kept asking ones of his own.
"I just can't!" I shouted hostilely. "Now what was your letter about!"
"I said I couldn't marry you either." He answered solemnly and rose to his feet, offering his hand to help me up. My fiancée led me over to a bench in the chapel garden and we sat down to talk.
I don't know why, but it hurt me when he said that he couldn't marry me. It shouldn't have mattered what he thought since I didn't want to marry him either, but something in me hurt when he said that. 'Am I having second thoughts about not marrying him?'
I led her to a bench in the chapel garden and we sat down to try to talk things out. I was really regretting writing that letter. "Ivy, I'm really sorry to put you through all of this, but I've changed my mind again. I do want to marry you."
She cocked her head to the side as sat considering me for a moment before opening her mouth. "What made you change your mind?"
I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Seeing you in that dress."
Of course I was teasing—well at least, sort of teasing—but, Ivy must have taken me seriously because she pulled forcibly away from me and whipped her hand across my face in a smart smack. "You bastard! Is that all you want me for! To sleep with! You said you were in love with me!" The sixteen-year-old looked about ready to tear my insides out.
"Ivy, relax! I was just joking!" I hastily backed away from the demoness, scared for my life.
She didn't reply. I had a bad feeling that she was giving me the silent treatment. Ivy had completely turned her back to me, not allowing me to see her face. My tone softened and I tried to put a hand on her shoulder. "Ivy…" She pulled away, not letting me touch her. "Ivy, please…I didn't mean it." She absolutely refused to respond. "Damn it Ivy, why do you have to be so difficult!" I couldn't help but raise my voice at her. She did this all the time just to annoy me, and it worked every single time.
It was only then that her sobs became audible. My temper died instantly and a tremendous guilt replaced it. I got up and kneeled in front of her. She didn't bother trying to hide her tears from me. Her beautiful dark eyes were turning a faint red color, and her cheeks were already tearstained. "I'm not being difficult!" She snapped back through tears.
"Oh Ivy, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—"
"—Oh, DIDN'T you!" I knew then that I had unleashed Hell's wrath upon myself.
I gripped her hands loosely, but held them like a lifeline. "Ivy, please?" Begging was the only thing I could think of that might save my life. I hadn't seen Ivy this mad before.
"Oh just leave me alone!" She stood and started to walk off, ripping her hands away from mine.
"Wait! Hold on!" I quickly got to my feet to follow after her. "I love you…"
She halted mid-step with her back to me. "I love you too." I thought that maybe she had reconsidered the marriage; I was filled with a renewed sense of hope. Unfortunately she kept talking. "But why do you want to marry me? Is it just so that you can finally sleep with me? Is that what all this is about?"
"That's not it at all. You mean more to me than that…" I tried to talk my way out of it. I really did want more from her than that. Actually I was still pretty scared to take that much from her. "Ivy, please don't go…I really am being sincere."
"Why did you ask me to marry you in the first place Hao?" Ivy retook her seat on the bench and waited for my reply.
"I..." I sat next to her and our eyes locked. "God you're beautiful." I couldn't help but kiss her passionately.
She broke away from me yet again. "Use your words to tell me you love me, not your body."
"Am I suddenly not allowed to kiss you?" I responded in a semi-hostile manner.
"Just answer the question! Why did you propose in the first place!" Ivy was obviously fed up, and I wasn't making it any easier.
I looked her in the eye and spoke from my heart, "I don't know."
"What!" I was going to get slapped again or worse if I didn't say something quickly.
"I mean that I don't know how to say it." I made a hasty save. "I can't express with words why I want to marry you. Is it a crime to be so in love with someone that you want to keep them for yourself? I don't want any other man to be able to get his hands on you." Her faint smile was encouragement for me to keep going. "I can't describe how I feel about you…I can't put into words how happy I am just being able to wake up with you in my arms every morning…. I want you to be happy Ivy, so if I can't make you happy, I want you to be with someone who can." It was an old trick, and I had used it several times before. If you pretended to give them up so that they could be happy, they would instantly melt into you.
"Really? You'd let me be with someone else if they'd make me happier?" Ivy looked me over, seriously considering my offer. "That's so sweet of you Hao! You know I have had my eye on Lyserg for awhile…"
My eyes widened and the side of my mouth twitched. "Please tell me that you're not serious."
I smiled broadly and laughed at his reaction. "You are soooo gullible!"
A look of immense relief overtook Hao's face, but it was soon replaced by annoyance. "Come here you!" He grabbed me around the waist and trapped me underneath him, lying me down on the bench.
"Hao!" I screeched, not liking the position we were in.
"Ivy…" He forced his mouth upon mine and I couldn't do anything about it; soon the kiss had gotten way out of control.
"I thought I'd find you here." A disdainful, yet feminine voice interrupted our make out session. I blushed heavily as Hao pulled away, smiling brightly at my sister.
"Hello Anna." My fiancée greeted, still on top of me.
My twin glowered spitefully. "Hello Hao. I see you've changed your mind about the marriage yet again?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did." Hao got up and helped me to my feet.
"So it was just nerves." Yoh appeared behind Anna with baby Hana bouncing up and down in his arms.
Hao nodded at his little brother. "If she'll have me, I'd marry Ivy in a second." He turned expectantly at me.
A small congregation of people had been following close behind Anna and Yoh, and they arrived in time to stare at me, waiting for my answer.
"Ivy?" Anna coaxed.
"I…" I didn't trust my voice to convey my feelings. Every single eye in the place was on me, and even though Hao had changed his mind and wanted to marry me, I still felt the same; I couldn't marry him. Yes, I loved him, but I couldn't bring myself to go through with marriage. I was too afraid. "…can't." I looked away from him in shame.
A small gasp escaped from the crowd. A shadow of a smile appeared on Hao's lips. He gestured for the crowd to leave us, and only Yoh and Anna stayed behind to watch from a distance at the edge of the garden.
"Is there a reason why you don't want to marry me?" Hao whispered seductively in my ear, encircling me in his embrace from behind.
I closed my eyes and let myself be comforted by his warmth. It was January first, and the wind blew cold through the trees. "It's not that I don't want to…it's that I'm afraid to." Snow lightly began to fall.
"Are you crying Ivy?" He mumbled, lightly playing with strands of my hair. "It can't rain since it's well below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it can snow…"
"I'm not…crying." I choked back my tears.
"What are you afraid of?" His calm, sultry voice lulled me into a sense of security.
"I don't know." I lied.
I could hear the smirk in his voice as he teased, "I could just read your mind…"
"Please don't!" I begged, yearning for some shred of privacy.
"Then tell me." He was manipulating me again.
I hesitated only for a moment before I gave in to his request. "Fine, bully. I don't want things to change between us once we're married…I love you, and I don't want to lose you. Married seems so different from being engaged…I don't want our relationship to be different."
I held her tighter and bits and pieces of her thoughts slipped into my mind unintentionally. She was afraid that she would be a disappointment, that I would easily tire of her, that I might become over run with my Shaman King powers and attempt to destroy the world. She was scared that I might become a sex-driven maniac and might start cheating on her. She was afraid that she might get pregnant. She was afraid of being a mother. She was afraid of being a wife. All sorts of silly fears were flowing through her brain.
"Ivy, you can't be afraid forever." I turned her to face me. Her trembling, dark eyes widened in awe, or maybe it was fear, of me. "I was afraid of the same things when I wrote that apology note to you telling you that I couldn't marry you, but now I'm not scared anymore. Ivy, once I saw you today, something inside of me told me that everything would be all right. Nothing bad can happen because we both love each other. You don't have to be scared anymore. I'll take care of you." I kissed her lightly on the forehead and walked away.
I called after him, dazed from either his speech or the kiss. "Where are you going!"
He replied over his shoulder, not exactly looking at me. "Inside where it's warm. If you hadn't noticed, it's freezing out here. If you want, you can follow me and we can get married; if not, you could always stay out here. Either way I'll be waiting at the alter for you. Whether or not you stand me up is up to you."
Hao, Yoh, and Anna disappeared into the Church, leaving me standing out in the snow.
A young man in a black tuxedo stood before the alter of a Shaman Church. He fidgeted some, occasionally looking down at his watch. He played absent-mindedly with a lock of his long crimson-brown hair. He had been waiting for well over two hours, but it looked as if his patience had been in vain.
The church candles had been burning the whole time, and had been reduced to inches of melted wax and short wicks. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and it was getting cold inside the stone Church building. Surprisingly, none of the wedding guests had left yet even after hours of unproductive waiting. The groom refused to give up hope that his bride would show.
"Hao?" The groom's twin hesitantly place a hand on his brother's shoulder.
The older Asakura twin looked up, his eyes full of weariness. "Just a little longer Yoh. Please?"
The Best Man looked with pity on his elder brother. "All right. We can wait another fifteen minutes."
"Thank you." Hao smiled, exhausted, but keeping up a good mask.
Anna looked spitefully up at a nearby clock. Her husband sat down next to her in the pew and picked up their son. "He's still convinced that she's coming isn't he?"
Yoh nodded as he cuddled Hana. "Yeah, I have a feeling that he won't move until she shows up, even if he has to wait a couple more years." Baby Hana cooed inquisitively at his father's depressed tone.
"Yes, Hao's really stubborn like that isn't he?" A blue-haired, Ainu woman with a baby sat down on the other side of Yoh.
"Hello Pilika." Anna greeted.
"Hello." The girl smiled cheerfully among the gloom of the Church. "I hope you don't mind if baby Akira and I sit here. Akira and Hana always get along so well when they have their play dates."
"We don't mind at all." Yoh smiled kindly at his friend, Ren's, wife. Hana threw a pacifier at Akira and laughed exuberantly. The Tao baby seemed to glare back at his friend.
Elsewhere in the Church, a gang of gothic chicks was talking to the groom-to-be. The peppy red-haired one bounced up and down gleefully. In truth, she was very happy that Hao didn't seem to be getting married any time soon. "Cheer up Hao-sama! If Ivy doesn't show up, you could always marry me instead. I'll be a good wife! Plus, you wouldn't want to waste the Church booking and the decorations, and since all these people are already here…"
"Mari thinks that Macchi should shut up." The blonde carrying a demented doll spoke up. "Master Hao should marry Mari instead. Mari will be an obedient wife. She will be soooo much better than either Macchi or Ivy could."
"I think you're both being idiots." A puff of cigarette smoke wafted in from behind them. "Can't you see that Hao has no intension of marrying unless Ivy gets her butt in here today!" Kanna carefully balanced her newborn baby daughter on her hip with one hand and smoked heavily, holding a cigarette in the other hand. "God it's been a terrible nine months without a smoke."
"Thanks Kanna." The depressed fire-wielder faked a smile in the blue-haired smoker's direction.
"Poor Hao." A little Jack Russell Terrier ran around at Hao's feet, clearly getting restless from hours of nothing but sitting still. "Maybe we should all go home and get some hot coco? Or maybe if we went for a run in the park to get rid of some of the tension in this room?"
"Silly dog knows nothing of what is good for Master Hao." A small African child glared at the puppy. "Is master okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine Opacho; thank you." Hao sent a genuine smile towards his youngest follower.
"No you're not." The gruff voice of Luca thundered from behind. "I knew you shouldn't have fallen for this girl. She's breaking your heart again!"
"Don't say that Luca." Hao firmly reprimanded his father figure. "I have a feeling that she'll show up."
Luca rolled his eyes and grimaced at Hao's optimistic attitude. "Yes Hao, it's called 'false hope'."
Any further conversing was brought to a halt as the wedding march struck up, and a young woman in a powdery white gown entered, escorted by her elder brother, Tao Ren.
Everyone gaped in surprise as the snowy angel walked down the isle. The wedding party took their places with looks of suspenseful excitement on their faces. Ren led Ivy up to the alter, and Luca looked completely perplexed. Hao looked expectantly at his eldest follower.
Luca blinked twice before uncertainly beginning the wedding. "Um…W-who gives this woman in holy matrimony?"
"I do." Ren presented Ivy, handing her off gently to Hao. Under his breath, the Tao whispered "You better take care of my baby sister bastard or I'll hunt you down and castrate you."
Hao ignored Ren's comment as he whispered to Ivy. "I'm glad you came. I knew you would."
The veiled beauty, her face already red from the cold outdoors, flushed even more. "I'm sorry that I'm so late. I should have—"
"—It's okay…Better late than never." He winked seductively and she reddened.
It was a lovely wedding, really. Nothing else went wrong after the bride and groom had gotten over their cold feet. Soon the evening's fiasco was over and the reception went well. The newlyweds retired to their hotel room.
It was late at night when the reception finally ended and we got checked into the hotel room. I collapsed on the bed without bothering to take a look around. "I'm exhausted…"
"You look beautiful." My new husband lay down beside me, removing his shirt and jacket.
"Thanks, but I don't believe you." I yawned closing my eyes.
"You always look beautiful." My eyes snapped open as he got on top of me, straddling my hips.
I could hardly breath as memories of the times he had tried to rape me came flooding back. "H-hao…"
"Yes?" He nipped lightly at the base of my neck. "Is there a problem?"
"Y-yes." I looked sideways away from him.
He let out a frustrated breath and got off of me, sitting beside me on the bed. "Ivy…we're married."
"I know." I too sat up, but I turned my back to him.
"You're still scared…" He pulled me up against him and ruffled my hair.
"I'm sorry…" I mumbled into his neck, resting my head on his shoulder.
"You don't have to be. Don't feel obliged to sleep with me just because you're my wife." He said it so softly that I couldn't tell if it was irony or sarcasm in his voice.
"I'm sorry…I shouldn't be so…but I really am sorry Hao."
"It really is nothing to be scared of…It's like…chess." He stumbled over his words to find a suitable analogy.
"Chess?" I echoed.
"Yes. Chess. If I move here…" He placed his hand on the back of my dress, gently tugging on the zipper.
"Then I move…here?" I slowly moved my hand to touch his pants zipper.
"Exactly." He kissed me full on the lips. "Love you."
"Love you too." I pushed him down on the bed and got on top of him. "Pinned ya!" I winked slyly.
He rolled me over so I was the one on bottom. "Oh really?"
"Fine. You win. Maybe it won't be so bad after all." I pulled him down for another kiss as he unzipped my dress.