Chapter 16

Wedding Bells

2 Months Later . . .

Mai's P.O.V

"What!?" I shout on the phone to the priest whom I'm calling right now. "But there has to be a way to reserve it this afternoon! Huh? Oh . . . I understand." From what the priest is telling me that it's already closed and he is not in the mood for holding mine and Reo's wedding there. "Alright. Have a nice day." I hang up and look at my lover with a sad face. Reo is sitting on the bed when she heard me calling.

"So, what did he say?" she asks.

"He's not gonna let us hold the wedding at the church downtown," I reply. "He . . . doesn't support gays or lesbians."

"That's too bad," Reo says. "Some people are like that, you know?"

"I guess so," I say, sighing. "And I bet no other church is gonna let us hold any wedding there."

"Now what are we gonna do?"

I rub my chin as I try to think hard for a moment. "Hmm." Just then, an idea pops in my head and pat Reo on the head. "See you later, Reo. Got a little work to do."

"Work? What do you mean?"

"Sorry, no time to explain. Gotta go!"

"Wait, Mai!"

Before she could say anything, I run out of the room, close the door and open my phone to call a few familiar people.

Reo's P.O.V

That stupid Mai! Sometimes, I just want to strangle that girl for keeping secrets from me! Anyways, I'd better not get in Mai's way from whatever the heck she's gonna do. For the time being, I'll just have to do something to spend the day. But what? The wedding Mai and I are planning on holding is starting late afternoon and I have to be ready, but since the church downtown won't accept Mai's request, I guess she's trying something else? I don't know. I had already brought my wedding dress, in which I showed to Mai that one time before planning our wedding. Though I would've loved to try it on, it wouldn't be really necessary to wear it just yet. I look over at the dress hanging on the door of my closet near my bed and smile. To be honest, I'm pretty excited that we're having our wedding today. After dealing with Matsuri, things have gotten better between us. I just hope I see her and Akiho-san at the wedding, if not, maybe later. I really want to know how she's doing after going to that institution.

Knock! Knock!

"Yes?" I call.

"Yoo-hoo!" a familiar cheerful voice says. "It's me! May I come in?"

Before I could answer, the door opens, revealing it to be Eris.

"What are you doing here?" I ask in disgust. "Did Mai just send you here?"

"Why, no, darling!" Eris replies as she hugs me. "I just wanted to see Reo before her wedding day! After all, I made something for you."

"Really?"

Eris hands me some roses, neatly wrapped with a bow attached in the middle. "See? Isn't it beautiful?"

"A bouquet?" I ask.

"Mm-hmm! I also made it for Mai-san, but since she's gone, I decided to give it to you first."

"Th-thanks." Though I hate to admit it, but Eris can sometimes be a very nice person.

All of a sudden, the older blonde grabs my hand. "Now then let's go."

I raise an eyebrow. "Go where?"

"Anywhere is fine!" Eris replies with a smile. "After all, it's been a while since we got to spend time together."

"Y-yes," I mutter.

"Great! Off we go!"

For some reason, I had changed my opinion on her.

Mai's P.O.V

"Yes, put it there, please," I say as I move my hand to where Yuuna-san and Nanami-san were putting the tables. "Yes. Perfect."

"Um, Mai-san?" a soft-spoken voice says from behind me.

"Yes?" I turn to notice Kaede-san holding some streamers. "Is there something you need?"

"I was just wondering . . . why are you holding the wedding at the entrance of St. Michael's?" Kaede-san asks.

I chuckle at the question. "Well, it's really simple actually. You see, it's the place where Reo had first confessed her love to me. And then, later on, after we graduated, I had proposed to her at the exact same spot. So, consider this the most memorable place that we should hold our wedding in."

Kaede-san smiles. "That's amazing. I had never thought about holding a wedding in here before."

"Why not? After a frustrating call with the priest downtown, I had no choice but to hold the wedding here."

Sara-san comes over with a happy smile on her face. "Mai-senpai, this is the most brilliant idea ever! Kaede-chan and I will be rooting for you and Reo-chan!"

"Thank you," I chuckle again.

"Hey, Sara," Kaede-san says as she hands her cousin the streamers. "Can you help me put up the rest of the streamers?"

"Sure thing!"

Sara-san happily takes them and runs off to wherever she can hang them up. I turn back to my old friend and smile at her.

"I'm glad both of you came," I say to her. "Even the rest of our friends from St. Michaels were able to come as well."

"I am honored to be here at your wedding day," Kaede-san says. "This is so exciting."

"It is," I say. "Though, it's a lot of hard work to prepare a wedding like this."

Kaede-san giggles softly. Then, her expression changes to a concerned look. "Wait a minute. Where can we get a priest? The wedding's no good without a priest."

I giggle and put a finger to my mouth. "I got it all covered."

Reo's P.O.V

Out in the Streets

"Come on, Reo!" Eris says cheerfully as she skips down the streets as I lag behind, putting my fists in my pockets. "Can we go home now? We've been walking for an hour now. I'm hungry, too!"

"Oh, don't worry!" Eris says. "I've got just the place for us to eat at."

We hurry over to a small sandwich restaurant and sit down at a table for two. After quickly ordering drinks, I sit there, lightly kicking my legs, trying to think of something proper to say, but nothing comes to mind.

"Having fun, Reo?" Eris asks.

"A little," I reply. "I just don't understand why you would want to spend time with me in the first place." Something's awfully suspicious about this and if Eris doesn't admit it now, I'm gonna make sure she's gonna learn her lesson.

"Oh, Reo, didn't I already tell you? It's been a while since we last spent time together, like at the amusement park that one time?"

"I mean, who told you to come here? Was it Mai?"

Eris's expression changes into a frown "No. No one told me to spend time with you. I'm being serious here."

"I'm being serious, too. So stop joking around."

"I'm not joking. I just happen to stop by here and thought about visiting and spending time with you. That's all."

I look at Eris to see that she is really being serious here. For some reason, I feel that she's not lying about it at all. Heck, with a serious expression like that, how could anyone tell that she's lying?

"I'm sorry."

"What for, Reo?"

"F-for not believing you from the start. To be honest, I was feeling kind of lonely since Mai left."

Eris smiles. "Aw, don't worry. You're not lonely anymore. And hey, if you start crying now, that wouldn't be proper for the wedding, is it?"

I gasp. "I wasn't crying! I just . . . got something in my eye, that's all!"

Eris just giggles. "Now who's the lier here?"

"Grr! Shut up!"

Mai's P.O.V

Back at St. Michael's

After checking everything, I smile at the progress we had made. It took over 2 and a half hours of setting the whole wedding up, including the cake that Kaede-san had kindly bought with Sara-san's help. I take a look around and notice that no one but my friends from St. Michaels already showed up. My siblings thankfully decided to come, including my parents, but Reo's parents. Oh, my gosh! Don't tell me they are not actually coming! This could be a problem here.

"What's wrong, Mai-san?" Shizuku-sama asks.

"Oh, I had told Reo's parents about the wedding we're holding and apparently they're not coming to see her," I reply. "What a stupid idea to call them."

"Are they still overseas?" Kaede-san asks.

"Yes. They said they were too busy with something and then hung up on me," I say. "What's up with that?"

"That's . . . really sad," Shizuku-sama says. "I hope they come."

I shrug. "Maybe not. I'm having a strange feeling that there's a reason that they're not coming."

"And that is?" Kaede-san asks.

"Our relationship," I answer with a serous expression.

Shizuku-sama and Kaede-sama gasp.

"Oh, my goodness!" Shizuku-sama says. "That's terrible!"

"Surely, Reo-san could explain all this, right?" Kaede-san says, trying for a positive approach. "I mean, if she does, then they might change their minds?"

I could only sigh. "I'm afraid that Reo's parents have the right to be really concerned for their daughter. They might even try to convince Reo to break up with me again." The thought of it makes me close to tears, but quickly shake it off. I would never want Reo to break up with me ever again after what we've been through the last time.

"Forget about her parents for now," Kaede-san says. "If they won't accept both of your relationship with each other, then that's just the way it is. Some people are like that. So what? You two love each other and that's all that matters."

I smile at my friend. "You're right. Time to focus on what's going on right now. And that's to prepare for the wedding."

"Good. Now that everything's set up, don't you think you should start changing soon?"

"Maybe in a couple minutes," I reply. "Besides, we've got two more hours until our official wedding starts."

"Alright."

I walk with Kaede-san around the place, talking with some of our other friends from St. Michaels and hope that Reo is doing okay.

Reo's P.O.V

At the apartment

Eris and I had a good time back at the restaurant. Both of us had some sub-sandwiches with almost everything on it, which tasted great. After that, we took a stroll through the park, watching some fountains, feeding the birds and sitting on the bench while having a little talk together. And then, I had decided to go back to the apartment to rest up a little before the wedding. But . . . some things were on my mind as we were spending time together. And I wanted to talk about it with Eris a little. As both of us sit on my bed, I look down at the floor, trying to find something to say to her, but nothing comes to mind at first.

Eris takes notice of my troubled expression. "Are you okay, Reo? You look kind of sad."

"Actually, I'm kind of thinking about some things," I admit.

"Is it about the wedding?"

"No. It's about what Mai and I had been going through since our engagement."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

I nod and tell her everything that happened. I tell her about Matsuri and how she wants to steal me from Mai because of one reason: I resemble her best friend, Akiho, and that she was in love with her ever since they were childhood friends. I tell her about the break up, how we had dealt with it, and our reunion. For some reason, telling her all this makes my eyes go close to tears. I try to wipe them off even though it keeps on coming. It's so sad having to remember all of what Mai and I have been going through since Matsuri started this whole mess. And Eris understood everything I am telling her right now.

"I'm so sorry for both of you," she says. "I had no idea that you two had a hard time dealing with this girl. Is everything alright now?"

"Yes," I reply as I wipe one tear off. "Although, Matsuri is in a mental institution, and I don't know if she's gonna come to my wedding."

"Well, even if she doesn't come, I'm sure she'll come and visit you," Eris assures me. "And hopefully, that institution had changed her."

"I hope so," I say.

"Now then, isn't it time for you to get dressed?" Eris checks her watch, which says 3:45. "You'll be late for your wedding if you don't."

"But I still don't know where we should hold our wedding," I say. "Mai hasn't even contacted me, yet."

"I can take you there," Eris says. "Just wait and see."

My eyes widen as I begin to realize something. I stand up and point my finger at her. "I KNEW IT! YOU REALLY ARE BEHIND ALL THIS! OH, GUESS WHO'S PAYING FOR THIS!?"

Eris only giggles. "Don't worry. It's just to surprise you, silly. Mai-san is truly a genius after all."

"Grr! One day, I'm gonna get even with her!"

"Yes, yes. Now, go get dressed. We wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting."

"Fine." I stand up, grab the wedding dress and start changing.

About 10 minutes later, I come out of the bathroom and show Eris the dress. She beams as she clasps her hands together.

"Aw, you look so cute in that wedding dress!" she squeals.

"Quiet, you!" I growl. "Let's just go." I hold out my hand as I turn away. "W-want to lead the way?"

"I certainly will!" Eris gently takes my hand, like a man would with another girl. "And off to the wedding we go!"

It took about 15 minutes until Eris stops to our destination.

"We're here!" she says.

I look up to notice the path to our old school, St. Michaels. And up ahead, there were rows of chairs, streamers, tables spread around and food neatly prepared on a large table next to the tables. Upon the path, in front of the rows of chairs, stands my beloved Mai, dressed in a tuxedo, for some strange reason. I raise an eyebrow for a bit because she looks a little weird in that, but giggle softly at the same time. Despite her looking so ridiculous in that outfit, I think she looks great. I look over and notice Takako-sensei playing the piano. Before me are Mai's siblings, Daichi and Hana. They let me and Eris pass by and then, with me slightly looking back, Hana proceeds to throw some flower petals from side to side with Daichi with the wedding rings.

Eris lets me walk the rest of the way as she goes over to Shizuku-sama and happily waves at me with her girlfriend shyly smiling at me. I continue walking until I get to the arch where Mai is under beautiful flowers. She smiles at me as I smile back at her. Glancing to my right, all of our friends from St. Michaels and a few other guests all sit in front of me, smiling. Kaede-san is waving at me while Sara-san is practically nearly crying from all this. Risa-san and Miya-san were behind them and Risa-san whispers, "Go, Reo-sama!" Runa-san and Rena-sensei were behind them and Rena-sensei just gave me the thumbs up. Runa-san just grins while crossing her arms. I see Nanami-san sitting behind them, but where's Yuuna-san? Did she not come?

I turn around and see Yuuna-san dressed in a pastor's outfit and smiles at the both of us. "Good evening," she whispers and winks at me.

My eyes widen at what I just saw. Yuuna-san is the . . . pastor? I then shrug it off, thinking that this is okay since the other stupid priest doesn't really want us to hold a wedding at their church. As the music stops, everyone sits down while Yuuna-san opens the book and begins her speech. My mind blocks some of her words out as I think about what we might do after we're married. We might stay at the same apartment for the time being and when we make enough money, maybe have a honeymoon at someplace special? Whatever it may be, I just know that we're gonna have a really good life.

I turn to Yuuna-san as soon as she called my name. "Do you, Reo Kawamura, take Mai Sawaguchi, as your beloved wife? To have and to hold, and in sickness and in health . . . for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I say, simply.

"Mai-san?"

"I do," Mai says, smiling at me.

Yuuna-san nods as she looks up at Daichi. "It's time for the ring exchange."

Mai's younger brother slowly walks up to Mai and holds up the rings before her. Mai gently takes out one of them, takes my hand and holds up the wedding ring. "Reo," she whispers. "With this ring, I thy wed." She then inserts the ring into my ring finger.

I do the same for Mai's. "With this ring, I wed thee." As I insert the ring to Mai's ring finger, my beloved smiles at me. I can't help but smile back while feeling my face go warm.

As both of us turn to Yuuna-san, we wait for those final words. The final words that would make the wedding and our memories last a lifetime.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Both of us turn, lean in and press our lips together, making everyone go nuts. I wrap my arms around her as we continue to kiss for about 10 more seconds. We then turn to the crowd as we see them keep on cheering, practically popping poppers and stuff. This is really the moment no one is ever gonna forget . . . ever. And I think I already know the reason why Mai had held this wedding here at St. Michaels. To make it long story short, I think it's the most memorable place since Mai and I first met and I had confessed at the exact same place. That's why Mai decided to hold the wedding here . . . to make it one last memory of this place with something very special that will last a lifetime.

"Time for the bouquet toss!"

Yuuna-san got changed a minute ago, now wearing in a maroon colored dress. All of the girls were gathered around, trying to push each other out of the way while preparing to catch the flowers. I turn around, throw the flowers behind me and swiftly turn around to see who might catch it. Some of the girls toppled over from trying to jump for it. Suddenly, a swift hand perfectly catches it and I look over to see how it is. When the girls back away, Eris is the one who had caught it.

"Oh, my!" Eris says. "I guess Shizuku and I will be the next married couple!"

Shizuku-sama's face turns bright red. "W-what are you saying? I-I don't think I'm ready for it, y-yet."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Eris hugs her tightly. "After all, I love you." She kisses her lightly on the cheek.

"E-Erisu!"

Everyone laughs and proceeds to start the wedding party. Loud music starts playing and most people start dancing with their partners. Mai and I walk to the center and gently take each other's hand and start slow dancing to the calming music. My face goes hot as I turn away to hide my blush while dancing with my beloved.

"Hey, Reo," Mai says.

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking . . . what do you want to do since we're married like this?"

"A-anything is fine. I mean, you were the one who chose this place to hold our wedding in."

Mai giggles. "I know. But just to be fair, I want you to choose on how we can spend our lives. So . . . any thoughts?"

As we keep on dancing, I hesitate to think about it. Then, I just rest my head on Mai's chest and say softly, "Actually, I was thinking of going on a . . . honeymoon, to someplace that we've never been to."

"Hmm . . . good idea," Mai says. "If we make enough money, maybe we can afford it. But for now, I think being together with you is enough for me."

I look up at her and smile. "Oh, Mai. I'm so glad we're able to do this."

"Well, I couldn't have done it with that help of Kaede-san and Yuuna-san," Mai says. "If it hadn't been for them, I would've given up. I would've thought that Matsuri is gonna take you away forever. But my love for you had never stopped. Not even after Matsuri purposely broke us up. Now, our dreams have finally come true."

"Mai . . ." I whisper. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Reo."

We stop dancing, press our lips together as the music stops. This is the moment I shall never forget. Both of us are married and happily together for the rest of our lives. By that time, after enjoying some food and taking some time cutting the cake, the party starts to slow down. The sun is setting and some people are starting to leave. Almost all of our friends from St. Michael's are gone except for Kaede-san, Sara-san and Yuuna-san and Nanami-san, who were happy to help us clean up. It took about a half-hour for us to clear everything up and when that's done, we happily say good-bye to each other and head home.

**Epilogue**

A few days later, I tell Mai that I'm gonna take a stroll outside for a bit. When she says, "Okay." I proceed to walk out in my usual summer outfit and smell the fresh air. I smile as I walk over to a nearby bench and sit on it, looking up at the sky. Yes, this day has been the best day I have ever had. I shall never forget this day for as long as I shall live. Mai even took a selfie of us at the same wedding day just before we left. I take out my phone and tap the button where it says, camera, go to the pictures section and click on it. It enlarges the picture of the two of us on our wedding, smiling. I start to smile myself as I feel my face go warm. This I shall keep for as long as I shall live as well.

"Reo-sama?" a familiar voice says.

I look up to see Matsuri with her friend, Akiho-san, holding hands. And they are smiling at me. I stand up, smiling and run over to hug the silver haired girl.

"Matsuri!" I say. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Heh, long time no see," she says, giggling. "So . . . how does it feel to get married . . . Reo Sawaguchi?"

I laugh softly. "Um . . . pretty good. And it's kind of weird with the whole name change thing. But, I'll get used to it soon."

Akiho-san giggles. "Congratulations, Reo-san."

"Thank you," I say to her. "Say, how are you two doing? When did Matsuri get out of the institution?"

"Oh, a couple days ago," Akiho-san says. "She had really changed when they released her. She is no longer the crazy girl you used to see."

"That's great," I say. "And I take that you two are a couple as well?"

"Yup," Matsuri says, linking arms with her best friend. "We're just starting to date today. Then, I thought about you, so I wanted to talk with you to see how you were doing. I had heard about you two getting married as well, so congratulations."

"Thank you very much," I say.

"And I'm so sorry for the way I acted back then," Matsuri apologizes. "I didn't know what I was thinking until the two of you told me. Now, Aki-chan and I are a couple since I took that institution."

"Well, next time, try to learn more self-control," I scold her. "No one wants a crazy, overly obsessive girl who wants to separate one's lovers. No offense."

"Non-taken," Matsuri says. "Anyways, congratulations again on your wedding." She puts out her hand. "So . . . let's be friends from now on, right?"

I smile as I gently grip hers. "Absolutely. Friends."

We shake on it and let go.

"Well then, Aki-chan and I should better get going," Matsuri says. "Hope to see you soon. I wish both of you great happiness."

I smile as I wave at the two. As they leave, I take a look at the wedding ring that Mai had given me on our wedding day. A small smile creeps on my face as I examine it. Now that Mai and I are married, nothing can tear us apart. We are a happy married couple and Matsuri is cured from her mental illness. With that in mind, I start to walk back to my apartment, with the wind gently blowing at me, causing my hair to sway gracefully.

"Mai . . . thank you and I love you."

A/N: First off, I would like to offer a huge thank you to each and one of you for sticking with me. It's been a long hard journey since July, but I got through it just fine. And just as I promised, I would finish this before Christmas! ;) Also, it's like all of you just read my mind! I actually had the same idea as you guys did in your reviews! I was really surprised to see those! XD So, thank you! All of you! Your reviews and suggestions had kept me going through this story. To be honest, I didn't really want this story to end either, but hey, some stories have to end in some way. Hehe! I really had no idea that this story would get this many reviews for Sono Hanabira fanfiction!

Also, some of you were asking me to write a Christmas special dedicated to this fanfic itself. Um . . . I may or may not get to it since I'm gonna be busy for a few days or so. So . . . I can't promise you if I'm ever gonna write something like this, not to disappoint any of you or anything.

Also . . . a sequel? Some of you may ask that after this chapter. Actually, I'm planning on doing that some time after Christmas season, whenever that may be. The only thing I can tell you is that it involves Reo's parents and Reo planning to have a child. Science babies, isn't it? Hehe! So, I may write another sequel if you guys would like me to. Post some suggestions on your reviews if you'd like.

Again, thank you very, very much for staying by my side. It means so much to me and I hope to see all of you reviewers again on my next Mai x Reo story. Feel free to give out any questions, or concerns and don't forget to review! For one last time that is! ;)