A/N: I'm posting early, because I have to go out of town for a family emergency. I hope this chapter makes you laugh.
Yoshi paced back and forth across his bedroom, while Star sat on the end of his bed with a bemused expression. It had been two weeks since the others had returned home from Neutrino. To say the stress level in the lair was at max was a drastic understatement. No one spoke much, except in low tones. And although Kala had asked they not treat her differently, everyone was walking on eggshells around her. Something had to give. There had to be some semblance of normalcy returned to their home.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?"
Yoshi glanced up at Star and for an instant his nerve wavered. Then he set his jaw. "Yes."
She frowned. "But-"
"I know! Aunt Kala is sick! But that's the exact reason we should do this now. It will take some of the attention off her and make her feel…," he waved a hand in the air for the lack of a better expression, "normal. Plus, I want her here to see us get married."
Star stood and stepped close to him. Her smile was gentle as she ran her hands down his arms. "Okay, then let's go."
He gave a determined nod. "We've waited long enough." He smirked. "I've made you wait long enough."
Her smile broadened as she slipped her arms around his neck. "I've told you already. I'll always be here waiting for you."
He grinned as he dipped his head to capture her mouth in a crushing kiss. "Come on." He took her hand and led her down the stairs to the kitchen, where he knew his parents were on dish duty.
They entered the large kitchen to find it a little more crowded than they'd expected. At the center island sat Leo, Jamie and Don each with a mug in hand. Sarah meanwhile stood on the opposite side, preparing what appeared to be some type of desert for the next day. At the sink, washing and drying were Cat and Raph. No one was speaking, all deep in their own thoughts. But it seemed the brothers were drawing comfort from each other's presence.
Yoshi stopped in the doorway, reluctant to disturb that comfort. Star's grip tightened on his hand and he finally cleared his throat. "Um, there's somethin' I – we – want to tell you guys." Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to turn and look at the couple. Yoshi felt his palms begin to sweat and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "We, uh, wanna get married."
No one in the room seemed particularly surprised by this news. Cat cocked an eyebrow at Star. "You're sure you're ready?"
Star nodded with a smile. "Yes."
Raph began to chuckle. "Took you damn long enough."
Yoshi blinked. "What?"
Raph's chuckle increased. "I knew that first day you introduced her to us. Figured it'd be sooner than this though."
"Cut the kid a break, Raph. It took Kaz two years." Leo took a sip of his tea with a small smile.
Donnie suddenly snapped his fingers. "Hey, doesn't this mean I win?" His face lit up and Sarah snickered. "Yeah, it's been less than a year. I do win!"
"No, you don't!" Raph folded his arms.
"Yes! Yes, I do!" Don began to laugh. "You said six months, Leo said a year and a half, and Mikey said a year. I said ten to twelve months tops!"
Leo's small smile turned into a grin. "He's got you there, bro."
Raph snorted. "Whatever, it still don't count!"
It was Cat's turn to chuckle. "You might as well bite the bullet and accept defeat, tough guy. I don't think you're getting out of this one."
Yoshi and Star exchanged a look. His brow furrowed. "Wait a minute! You guys were betting on us!"
"Yep! And I just won a week of control of the TV!" Donnie continued to grin broadly.
"Aw, come on, Don. There was a game I wanted to watch this weekend." Raph groused.
Don smirked. "Sorry, bro. No take backs. Right, Leo?"
Leo chuckled. "No take backs."
Don continued to tease his irritated brother. "Maybe April would let you watch it on her TV." Raph snorted and Don grinned at his spouse. "What do you want to watch, love?"
She smiled back. "Ooh, I think a Star Trek marathon is in order!"
"First old, then new?"
"Definitely!"
Jamie grinned. "That sounds fun!" Beside her Leo smiled, but refrained from comment.
Raph rolled his eyes. "Uhg, somebody put me out of my misery."
"Uh, so what about us?" Yoshi asked.
"When do you want to do the ceremony?" Leo took another drink of his tea.
Star glanced up at Yoshi. "We were hoping soon."
Leo glanced at the calendar on the wall. "How about tomorrow?"
The couple shrugged and Star leaned into Yoshi. "That sounds good to me."
Sarah suddenly stopped stirring the bowl in front of her and turned to look at them. "What were you planning on wearing?"
Star looked down at herself. "Just my regular clothes."
Cat eyed Sarah. "Don't get any bright ideas. She can wear whatever she wants."
"Just because you did the wedding ceremony in jeans and a t-shirt, doesn't mean she has to." Sarah pointed out.
Cat put her hands on her hips. "Hey!"
Jamie ignored her protest. She was already taken by the idea. "Yes! We could go shopping!"
Cat turned to Star and waved her hands. "Don't do it! They'll make you wear a dress and girlify you!"
Sarah was also ignoring them now as she turned to Jamie. "Mira and Ona will want to come too!" She turned to Don. "You can watch Katsu for a few hours tomorrow, can't you?"
Star frowned looking from Cat's slightly frantic expression to the others, who were already planning her wedding for her. "I don't think-"
"Sure." Don agreed readily.
"We can do a bit of rearranging while you're gone too, so we can have a proper ceremony." Leo interjected.
"Mikey and April could decorate." Sarah continued. "Kala too, if she's feeling okay."
Star could see this was looking like it might get out of control. They'd gone from a simple wedding ceremony like Yoshi had described to decorating and rearrange furniture and going dress shopping. She waved her own hands in the air this time. "Wait!" Everyone looked at her with curiosity. For the first time in weeks, Star didn't see sadness in their eyes. Yoshi had been right. His family needed this as a distraction and even a bit of normalcy. She sighed inwardly. She had to give them this. "I am not wearing one of those princess looking things."
Kaz slumped further into his chair. How had he been talked into this? That's right, he'd volunteered! What had he been thinking! Ugh! I didn't realize there were so many wedding dresses on the planet! He let out an audible groan as Star appeared in yet another dress.
Beside him, Ona elbowed him. "Kaz!" She half hissed.
He rolled his eyes. "What! This is like number ten or eleven already!" He folded his arms with a huff. "Believe me, Yoshi don't care what she's wearing as long as he can take it off – fast." He muttered.
On his other side Cat snorted. "Kaz!" She couldn't exactly argue with him though. Her own wedding night had ended in quite a bit of damaged clothing. She glanced at Star. "She better get something cheap."
Star sighed as she looked at herself in the three mirrors surrounding her. She hadn't been into this to begin with and now she was bored out of her mind. They all looked the same to her and she was really beginning to long for her jeans and t-shirt. She met Cat's gaze in the mirror and gave her a pleading look. The older woman just put her hands up in defeat. Star could almost hear her say, "I told you so."
Star let out another sigh as Sarah, Jamie, and Mira circled her, each giving commentary on the current dress.
"It's too short."
"No, it's too long."
"It doesn't sit right on her shoulders."
"Stop messing with the straps, Mira! They're fine!"
"Maybe she needs heels."
"Oh or boots!"
Jamie snapped her fingers. "We forgot all about a veil!"
Ona giggled as Star's face scrunched in the mirror's reflection. "I'm so glad we got married at the farmhouse. I think I got off easy."
Cat snickered. "It's a hundred times worse when April's with them."
"That's it!" Star snapped suddenly. "Enough! I'll pick what I'll wear! And that's that!" Everyone stared as she stormed off the little platform into the retail part of the store. Several minutes later she returned with a red strapless dress that looked two sizes too small for her.
Jamie's eyes widened. "You're not serious, are you?"
Sarah tilted her head. "But it's a bride's maid dress."
"And it's not white or even off-white." Mira pointed out.
Star's hopeful expression dropped and Cat half growled as she got up. She'd had enough of this. "Alright, that's it." She stepped around the others to put an arm around Star's shoulders. "She can wear whatever she wants. It's her ceremony, not yours." She gave the others a hard glare, that elicited several muttered apologies. "As a matter of fact," she turned her gaze on her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, "you don't even have to buy anything." Star's expression brightened and she hugged Cat. It was really nice to finally have someone take up for her.
"Star?" The group turned to find a young brunette standing behind them. The girl grinned. "It is you! I haven't seen you around in a long time! You seemed to just drop off the face of the Earth!"
"Amber!" Star released Cat to embrace her old friend. "It's so good to see you!"
Amber stepped back to look at Star in the wedding dress. "I saw you through the window. Are you getting married?"
Star couldn't help the broad grin. "Yes."
Amber looked hurt. "And you didn't invite me?"
"Well, uh, it's a private ceremony."
Amber glanced past her at the seven people inside the dressing area. "Doesn't seem all that private to me."
"Oh, this is my fiancé's family." She smiled at Cat over her shoulder. "My family."
A smile crept across Amber's face. "I'm happy for you. Well, will I get to meet the lucky guy eventually?"
"You already kind of did. He's the guy from the arcade."
Amber raised a brow. "The big guy you were flirting with." Star nodded and Amber smirked. "Whoa, he was a hottie!"
Behind them Kaz busted out laughing. Amber glanced over her friend's shoulder at him. Mira waved a hand at her. "Just ignore him, the rest of us do."
"Hey!" Kaz protested.
Amber chuckled. "Well, I've got to go. But you call me so I can meet the guy in person."
Star waved after her. "I will."
Jamie glanced at her watch. "It's almost time to go. What do you want to do Star? It is really your decision. We just got carried away."
Star looked down at the dress she was wearing, then the one in her hand, and lastly to the dressing room that still had her street clothes in it. She gave a determined nod as she made her decision.
April rolled her eyes while Kala giggled at Mikey's antics. He was being particularly silly today. He'd volunteered to make celebration pizzas, but apparently his other job at the moment was making Kala laugh. She sat at the kitchen island as he danced back and forth tossing the pizza dough high into the air. The catching of the dough, however, was proving to be very entertaining. Half of it ended up on his head while the others came out just perfect. Kala knew he was pretending to mess up the ones that landed on him, which only made her smile more. He had been doing his best to keep her spirits up. And it just made her love him more.
April watched the couple with amusement. The more Kala laughed the brighter Mikey's eyes became and the more he played around. She couldn't help but laugh as well. It was good to see them both happy and relaxed for a change. Things had been so tense around there lately that this wedding ceremony seemed to be timed just right.
In the next room, the others were readying the dojo. A small table had been brought in and on it Leo set the three saké cups. He had performed several of these ceremonies now and he recalled each with fondness. Mira had been a very calm bride, while Kaz had been excitable, and Yoshi as it turned out was a nervous pacer. Glancing towards the back of the room, he could see his nephew cross the room turn and re-cross it.
Raph chuckled as he set the candles beside the saké cups. "I think he's gonna wear a hole in the mats."
Leo chuckled as well. "I seem to remember Cat telling me you did something similar before you gave your sudden announcement."
Raph snorted, but his eyes danced with the memory. "Nah, I was cool, bro."
"Sure you were, tough guy."
Raph nearly jumped. He spun to find Cat right behind him. He hadn't heard her come in. She grinned up at him. He smirked. "Yeah, though I didn't mind the lesson that followed."
She laughed, then leaned up to kiss him softly. "Later." It was Raph's turn to grin as she strolled away from him towards Yoshi. He smiled as he watched his wife try to calm down their anxious son.
Leo placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "He'll be fine as long as he doesn't throw up." Raph laughed as the others began to file into the room, taking their seats in the rows of cushions that lined the floor. It wasn't long before everyone, except Star was present.
Cat had managed to calm Yoshi down somewhat. He was now waiting just outside the dojo doors, wondering what was taking Star so long. Footsteps behind him made him turn. His mouth hung open. How was it possible for someone to look so incredible? Star smiled at him and his skin felt like it caught fire.
She was dressed in a tight red strapless dress that made her pale skin glow. Her short hair was pulled back with a metal clip that resembled a rose. Knee-high black leather boots adorned her feet and legs. Yoshi's pulse soared as she approached him. The pale blue of her eyes held the same challenge they had the day they'd met. "What's the matter, big guy?" Her smirk made him shiver all over. But when she placed her hand lightly on his plastron, he thought he was going to go insane. Every nerve ending in his body was firing off all at once. It was like a fireworks show going on inside him.
Yoshi licked his lips, trying desperately to remember what he was supposed to be doing. The box in his hand was the only thing that brought him back to his senses. Working his mouth a few more times, he finally managed words. "You are so beautiful."
A sudden pink blush tinted her cheeks, making him catch his breath. "Should we go inside?"
He nodded, words now completely lost to him. Taking her hand they stepped through the door into their new future.
A/N: The next chapter is the last one! Don't forget those fantastic reviews!