A/N: Hi again. I finished early and didn't feel like editing for weeks, so here you have it. Now might be a good time to mention that I only recently got up to date in the manga, so this story spins off from where I stopped reading, which is before Kazehaya's career interview. Oh, and English is my 3rd language, so I make a few mistakes. Thank you for all the favs, follows and reviews! They keep me writing and you guys are incredibly sweet :)

Chapter 6

Sawako was nowhere to be found over the heads of all the party guests. People were chatting, eating and congratulating the young couple all over. Shouta had been separated from his wife a while ago, when some old friends of his dragged him away and was now searching for her. They had invited friends and family and some colleagues they were close with for the housewarming, and so far it was going great. It was a nice warm day in July, and Sawako had suggested they throw the party out in the backyard. It was big enough for all the guests they had invited, and Shouta would much rather spend his time outside. They had set up a buffet at one side in the garden complete with food, drinks and assorted deserts.

At the moment, Shouta was looking all over the place for the familiar head of black hair, but she was nowhere to be seen. Deciding that she must have been with some of the guest, Shouta made his way over to his mother. She and Touta were standing off to the side, arguing by the looks of it. Touta was looking smug as always while his mother seemed slightly distressed.

"What's he done now, Mom?" Shouta asked as he joined them.

"When am I going to have grandchildren Shouta?" She huffed angrily, taking her oldest son by surprise.

"Ch-ch-children?" He choked on the drink he had grabbed on the way over, his face turning beet-red. Touta guffawed and slapped his hand against his thigh.

"Yes!" She sounded absolutely miffed. Touta, who had been sniggering up until now, shot his brother an amused look and turned back to their mother.

"See, Mom? He can't even say the word, without blushing. You might have to wait till I have children before you become a grandma." The smug look returned to his face, but anyone would have been able to detect the twinkle in his eyes. After all, Touta's favorite pastime was jesting Shouta.

"Shut up brat. Like you'd even get that far with your girl." Shouta, who had now regained his composure, ruffled his brother's hair, making him squirm. Something Shouta loved to do. "Speaking of which, does he even have a girlfriend or did he just make her up?" The older Kazehaya turned to their mother.

"You know, he hasn't brought her home yet, so I'm not quite sure." Mrs. Kazehaya, with an evil glint in her eyes, started pestering him about it. Shouta breathed a sigh of relief, having successfully diverted the attention away from him and children. It wasn't that the thought hadn't crossed his mind before, but he and Sawako were so young. He wasn't sure that they were ready to shoulder the responsibility of being parents.

"Where's Sawako? I haven't seen her around?" His mom's question snapped him out of his thoughts. Before he could answer, a flicker of black moved into his peripheral vision. "Right here!" Sawako chirped, grabbing onto his arm. She flashed a bright smile at him and engaged his mother and Touta in conversation. Shouta used the time to stare lovingly at her. She was stunning with her hair set in a braided bun, wearing a yellow sundress. The yellow brought out the brown in her eyes and Shouta felt mesmerized. Light, warmth and love radiated off of her. It wasn't until he felt her tug at his hand that he noticed that they were alone.

"Where did Mom and Touta go?" He asked sheepishly, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. Sawako chuckled and swatted his arm playfully. "Pay attention." It was hard for him to do, when his wife was looking so gorgeous.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" He breathed and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips.

"Only 23 times, but who's counting?" She teased and leaned up to peck his lips. He had been a right sweetheart all day, and it warmed Sawako's heart. Shouta had always been a very private person. He had only just started showing this side of him in front of others, and Sawako cherished it. It had taken him so long to come out of his shell, and she couldn't be more proud of him.

"Where were you? I was looking for you." Shouta asked her with a small pout. He had been congratulated, teased – and harassed if you counted his mother in – all by himself.

"Pin-sensei called. He had been visiting a friend of his and missed his train, so he couldn't make it." She informed him. They had both looked forward to seeing him again, but he had been impossible to catch. Sawako had gotten his number from Ryu's dad, whom he still called from time to time, and had invited him to their housewarming.

"Oh. I had hoped to see him today." Shouta frowned and looked away. Sawako knew he wanted to see Pin again and was just hiding his disappointment. She wanted to cheer him up, but stopped herself. She realized that it seemed like Pin was avoiding Shouta on purpose, and she couldn't help, but feel a twinge of sadness at the thought. She liked to believe in people, but maybe she was wrong about this? Maybe Pin really didn't want to see him? Shouta must have seen her troubled expression for she found him pressing his lips to her forehead.

"No biggie. I'll hunt him down when he returns." He promised with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"We'll lend you a hand." The couple looked behind them and found their friends with identical grins on their faces.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Shouta whistled at Chizu and Ayane, the former's cheeks reddening and the latter sticking out her tongue. They both looked great in their outfits, Ayane in her cocktail dress and Chizu in her floral printed dress. "You look great!" Ryu nodded, stealing a glance at his girlfriend.

"Why, thank you Shouta." The brunette smirked. Chizu, who had been silent up till now, made a noise halfway between a sob and gasp, and turned to the Kazehayas with teary eyes.

"What's wrong Chizu-chan?" Sawako looked at Ayane, who shrugged and started rubbing Chizu's back.

"This is your housewarming!" She squeaked and grabbed hold of Ayane's arm for support.

"Um, yeah?" Shouta was slightly confused. What did his party have to do with Chizu's tears?

"You bought a house! A real house!" Chizu started in a rush. Ryu grabbed hold of her waist and steadied her, as she started flailing. "And you're already married! Soon, there will be little Kazehaya babies running around all over the place!" She hiccupped and turned to look at Ayane. "And you! You're leaving for work again tomorrow! Don't you see? We're adults now. It's not the same anymore…" Her lower lip trembled a bit, but she stood her ground. She refused to cry, no matter how sad it was that they no longer were children. The others stared at her in shock. Ayane felt bad for having to go back to her internship. Ryu tried to figure out why Chizu was behaving like this. Shouta wondered why everyone was thinking about babies. Sawako tried not to laugh at the irony of the most childish of friends admitting that they were grown up.

"How much did you drink Chizuru?" Ryu asked from behind her. He had her tucked into his side and was rocking her back and forth ever so slightly.

"A little bit." She sniffled, "Maybe a little more than that." She added as a whisper.

"A little too much, if you ask me." Ryu rolled his eyes, but still held on to her firmly.

"Chizu-chan, are you afraid that you'll be left behind?" Sawako asked with a soft smile. She stepped closer to her friend and grabbed her hand. "No." She answered, but averted her eyes. A dead give-away.

"Ayane-chan will only be gone for a few days. Shouta and I will be right here, where you and Ryu-kun can reach us easily. And can you imagine our babies running around, calling you Aunt Chizu?" Sawako asked with a light chuckle. "Before you know it, you'll have children of your own and then we'll all be one big family!" Sawako wouldn't normally bring up children, seeing as she and Shouta hadn't talked about that yet, and Ryu still hadn't proposed to her, but in Chizu's slightly tipsy state, it would definitely distract her. She'd probably forget in a few minutes anyway.

"Aunt Chizu makes me sound old." She muttered and dried her eyes, before flashing them a bright smile. "Fine, I'll grow up. But I won't stop having fun." She promised and freed herself from Ryu's hold, making her way over to the buffet.

The four adults watched her retreating back with a mixture of feelings. She was right. They had grown up. No longer were they students, who could kick back and enjoy their time. They were each busy with their jobs and lives, but that didn't keep them from spending time together. The fact that it had been the dense Chizuru, who pointed it out, made them realize that she was indeed right. It wasn't the same anymore, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"You should ask her soon." Ayane remarked and turned to Ryu, who was gazing at his girlfriend. Sawako nodded her agreement a second later and Shouta kept quiet. He knew Ryu would ask her to marry him, when the time was right. There was no need to rush it.

"Hn." He grunted and set off after Chizu.

"He's hopeless." The brunette sighed and watched the other couple. Sawako seemed pensive and Shouta was just staring at her.

"I think he's taking his time on purpose." Sawako started, "To treasure his time with Chizu-chan and to offer her an escape of some sort." The young woman looked at her two friends by the buffet and saw the love for each other in their eyes.

"Escape?" Her friend raised a brow in question.

"Even if two people love each other, it doesn't always work out." Sawako had been referring to the circumstances of her own wedding, but there had been a hidden message in it as well. She locked eyes with Shouta, but could still see Ayane stiffen from the corner of her eyes. She wanted the brunette to stop beating herself up over her breakup. It had been almost five weeks now, and she had slowly started smiling again, but healing took a long time, and Sawako would help her all the way.

Shouta, who was now looking fondly at her, raised his hand and cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking her soft skin. Most of his father's family had been against his relationship with Sawako when they found out at a family gathering. They had wanted him to marry a girl of their liking. When they ordered him to break things off with Sawako, he snapped. All he remembered after that was chaos. People were shouting left and right, insults were thrown back and forth. In the end, he had left and proposed to Sawako. He had already made up his mind about marrying her, but he no longer saw a point in waiting. He loved her too much to let someone else decide for him. His parents and brother already approved of Sawako, and he didn't care about the rest.

After that, the Kazehayas stopped speaking to their family for a while. Sawako had felt very bad about the feud between the families, and had tried to mend the rift between them. At first she was shunned by Shouta's relatives, but she had kept on trying. Both parties were stubborn, and no one wanted to take the first step and talk it over. When some of them softened towards her, she convinced them that Shouta should be free to make his own decisions. His life wasn't theirs to toy with. Sawako had never been hostile towards anyone, but she must have said something deep and meaningful. The very next day, Shouta's grandparents had called and extended the olive branch. Shouta and Sawako had still gotten married the following fall. A lot earlier than they had imagined, but they hadn't regretted it for a single instance.

Shouta let go of Sawako's cheek and turned his attention to Ayane. The brunette had started frowning and he could almost see the gears turning in her head. She was trying to decipher what Sawako had told her. Shouta knew, she still felt guilty, but he agreed with his wife. It was time Ayane started piecing herself back together. Before he could offer her his wisdom, Chizu came charging at them with a new drink in hand, followed closely by Ryu. He grabbed Chizu's free hand and pulled her to a halt.

"I got you a drink Ayane-chan!" She slurred and offered her friend the beverage, not realizing Ryu was keeping her from moving forward. She only ever referred to the brunette as "Ayane-chan" when she was drunk or teasing her. Ayane stared at the glass in front of her and burst into laughter. For Chizu to remember that Ayane needed cheering – in a drunken state no less – was incredibly sweet. She took the glass from her hand, still laughing, and wrapped her free arm around Chizu.

"Thank you." She had to wipe away tears of laughter. Maybe she had had a few too many drinks already. She didn't care. She took a swig of her drink and turned Chizu in the direction of the house.

"Let's get you sobered up Chizu-bear. You calling me 'Ayane-chan' is creeping me out." She winked at Sawako knowing Chizu hated the nickname.

"You promised not to call me that!" The blonde all but shrieked. Sawako let out a laugh and followed her friends inside, hearing them bicker. She would never grow tired of watching them.

A/N: I can just imagine Chizu being extremely blunt when drunk. She was fun to write. All right, now you know how Kazehaya and Sawako got married. You've been the best readers ever, and you deserved to find out now! I hope you weren't expecting something more dramatical. I'm not very good at writing drama, but I'm practicing! Next, we'll meet Pin for a tearful reunion! Bye! (=w=)/