A/N: Here's what I've wanted to upload for a long time: the wedding chapter! I love weddings and I wanted to make up for the wait, so I have a nice long chapter here for you. Enjoy, and please don't forget to review! :)

Chapter Three: I Belong to You

I couldn't believe it. After waiting for four years, here I was getting ready for my wedding day. I had woken up that morning feeling more nervous than I'd felt in my entire life, but I was also incredibly excited.

That morning I had discovered the meaning of the word "insanity". I had invited everyone in the wedding party to my house to get ready for the ceremony, and the house was in total chaos. For the most part the guys weren't that bad, but the girls were a different story. We had two hair stylists and a makeup artist on site, as well as Mrs. Hitachiin to help us get dressed if we needed it.

"Oh no!" Haruhi exclaimed from the room that the bridesmaids had chosen for themselves. "Val, some of the jewels fell out of the brooch!"

"Stop right there!" Mrs. Hitachiin rushed in with some jewel glue and I followed to see Haruhi, still dressed in her normal clothes, struggling to relocate the missing jewels on the floor. Once they were all found, we managed to get them glued back on in a matter of minutes. Fortunately the dress looked exactly like it was supposed to: strapless, floor-length, and light gold in color with an intricate crystal brooch placed at the center of the empire waist in the front.

"I'm so sorry." Haruhi sighed once we were sure the crystals wouldn't fall off again.

"Don't worry, this is nothing. You should see some of the things I have to deal with before fashion shows, those are nightmares." Mrs. Hitachiin reassured her.

Back in my room I got into my dress and put my headpiece on. My hair had already been styled into the French twist I'd wanted to wear, so I didn't need to worry about tracking down one of the stylists to do it.

"Knock, knock." I turned around and saw that my dad was standing in the doorway. He was wearing a classic tuxedo with a long black tie, which had a white rose tucked into the jacket's lapel.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you look, honey." Dad said with a proud smile on his face.

"I just can't get over the fact that Mrs. Hitachiin made this dress for me, I can't thank her enough." I smiled back. "Dad, ever since I began my relationship with Kaoru, I'd been dreaming that this day would come, because I could tell right from the start that he was the one I was meant to be with. Do you still approve of him and I getting married, though?"

"Absolutely." Dad hugged me. "Honey, Kaoru is every bit what most men wish they were."

I smirked. "You have any other obvious facts you'd like to share with me, Dad?"

"None right now." He laughed and then his tone turned a bit more serious. "Valerie, I know it wasn't easy for you to get to this point, but you managed to get through it okay. I'm just happy that Kaoru was able to earn your trust. Now that the two of you are getting married, I have the feeling you're going to be happier knowing he'll be there for you for the rest of your life."

"Amen to that." I nodded with a smile. "Well, I have to finish getting ready, so I'll see you later."

"Okay, honey. I love you."

When he left, I sat down and sighed. I couldn't bring myself to say so to Dad, but at that moment I wished my mom was still alive to see the wedding. I felt a few tears escape, but I carefully wiped them away as I didn't want my makeup to smudge. I wanted to enjoy myself that day so I had to focus on the positives, which greatly outnumbered the negatives. Not five minutes after Dad left, someone else knocked on the door. "It's open!"

This time Hikaru came in. He was wearing the outfit all of the groomsmen were wearing: a tuxedo with the jacket, pants and shoes in black while the shirt was white and the vest and tie were the same shade of gold as the bridesmaids' dresses. In his lapel was an orange rose to match the bouquet of orange roses the bridesmaids and I were carrying.

"I just wanted to stop by and say hello to my future sister-in-law." Hikaru smiled.

"So, no hard feelings about your brother getting married to me?" I asked.

"None whatsoever." He nodded. "Hey Valerie, can I be honest with you? It's nothing bad, before you ask."

"Sure you can." I nodded. "What is it?"

Hikaru took my hands in his. "I just wanted to say that I think it's great that you and Kaoru are getting married. You're both absolutely perfect for each other, if you ask me."

"Thank you." I smiled in relief. "That's actually really good to hear."

He smiled back. "I mean it. As close as he and I are, we both knew that someday there would be someone that one of us would fall in love with. Kaoru just happened to be the first to fall in love, and I couldn't have asked for a better match for Kaoru than you."

"Thanks, Hikaru."

"Any time, honey." He gave my cheek a kiss as we shared a hug. "Now, let's get you downstairs. We're all waiting for you down in the foyer."

I nodded and I saw the wedding party's eyes light up when they saw me come down the stairs. I blushed but I managed to laugh it off.

"Val, you look so pretty right now." Katie smiled.

"Yeah, I think Kaoru's going to fall in love with you all over again." Haruhi nodded. I could tell she was fantasizing about getting married to Tamaki, which I thought was really cute. A month after my graduation Tamaki and Haruhi had finally gotten engaged at a dinner party of his. He told Haruhi it was another one of our reunions, but the rest of us all knew he was going to propose that night because he'd told us that was why he was having the dinner in the first place. It was a long time coming, but seeing her face when she saw the engagement ring he'd gotten her and hearing her say yes was worth the wait.

"Thanks, you guys." I grinned. "So, is everyone ready?" When they said they were we piled into our respective limos and drove off to the church, with excited butterflies dancing in my stomach the whole way there.

The ceremony was beautiful. Everything happened when it was supposed to, and Kaoru and I both remembered the vows that we had personally written for each other. Finally, it was time for the best part of the whole ceremony.

"By the power vested in me," the minister smiled, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kaoru, you may kiss your bride."

Kaoru took me in his arms and we shared our first married kiss, complete with him dipping me a little with our guests and wedding party applauding and cheering for us.

"Congratulations, you two." Mrs. Hitachiin gave each of us a hug after the ceremony had ended. The other guests had already left, but our immediate families were joining us for some private time before we left the church. "Welcome to the family, dear."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Hitachiin." I smiled.

"No, from now on I'll have none of that 'Mrs. Hitachiin' nonsense. You're part of our family now, so call me Mom." Hearing that I felt a couple tears escape, but for once I was crying because I was happy. I can't tell you how good it felt to have a mother figure in my life again.

Eventually we both got into our limo and headed to the reception. The guests were already there, anticipating our arrival so that the partying could start.

"Well, here we are." I smiled at my husband. "Together forever."

"Forever and always." He smiled back and kissed me again. "I love you."

I couldn't have asked for a better reception following the ceremony. The ballroom was stunningly decorated in the white and gold theme we had chosen and the chefs had outdone themselves with the dinner they had prepared. The guests were in awe of the ballroom's décor, and all throughout the reception I kept hearing them talk about how great they thought the dinner was.

When the time came for the garter toss and the bouquet toss, all of the guests cracked up when Katie caught the bouquet and Kyoya caught the garter. They both just stared at each other before joining in with the laughter around them. I secretly hoped that this would help encourage them to finally tie the knot.

Halfway through dinner, it was time for the speeches. Mr. and Mrs. Hitachiin had both welcomed me into their family and congratulated Kaoru on choosing me for his wife. My dad then took his turn, saying that while my mom wasn't alive to see that day, he was sure she would've been really proud of Kaoru being my husband, saying that he was just the kind of man she would have wanted me to be with. Since we're being honest I got a little misty-eyed at the end, and Dad and I shared a long hug as the rest of the guests applauded.

Right when the dinner ended, it was time for Kaoru and I to share our first dance. This was something I had been nervous about because I knew so many people would be watching us, but I relaxed when I felt Kaoru's hand on my waist and saw the kind smile he was giving me. The dance itself was set to "Everything" by Michael Buble. It was upbeat and fun to dance to, but the message of the lyrics was clear: no matter what life threw our way, we were still the perfect match for each other. After our dance ended we walked around talking with the guests for a while, who were all eagerly waiting their turns to give us their congratulations and well-wishes. Once all that was done Kaoru and I joined the wedding party and our former classmates who had been invited to the wedding on the dance floor while the older adults talked amongst themselves.

"Look at them." I sighed. Haruhi and I were sitting at one of the tables, taking a break from dancing and watching some of our former classmates dance. Kaoru was hanging out with Hikaru and Tamaki, and Katie was talking to Kyoya someplace. "Can you believe that some of them have babies on the way already? I just hope Kaoru and I will be just as lucky."

"It'll be great once the two of you start planning a family," Haruhi nodded, "but you two should really just enjoy your time as newlyweds and adjust to married life first."

"Yeah, you have a point there Haruhi. I mean, I'm not even sure I'm ready for kids yet." I smiled. "But then again, you're always right about stuff."

"I guess you could say that." Haruhi laughed. "By the way, where did Katie go?"

"Val! Haruhi!" Katie ran over to us, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she showed us her right hand. "Look at this!" An emerald ring graced her slender fourth finger. "Kyoya just proposed!"

"Aww! Finally!" I hugged my best friend. "I'm so happy for you, girl!"

Haruhi brought over three glasses of champagne for each of us and proposed a toast. "Here's to our friendship, the men in our lives, and our promising futures."

"Can I get everyone's attention, please?" Kaoru asked, speaking into the microphone that had been used during the speeches. The party was winding down and people were getting ready to leave. "Before anyone leaves, there's a gift I want to present to Valerie in front of you all." Everyone gathered around the dance floor and I went over to stand with my husband. "Valerie, remember when I told you I had that I was putting together that secret wedding present for you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well…" He smiled and held out a small white box. "I think you're going to like this."

I opened the box and saw two keys attached to a key ring that had a white bow tied around it. There was a tag tied to the key ring that read "Welcome Home." I put two and two together, and I almost dropped the box out of shock.

"You bought us a house?" I exclaimed. Given by the gasps and excited comments from the guests and wedding party I could tell nobody had expected this.

"I sure did." He grinned. "And it's brand new too; I had it custom-built for us."

"Kaoru, I…I don't know what to say!" I gave him a kiss. I couldn't believe he had gotten me something like that! When the wedding reception was over, the guests followed us outside and waved goodbye to us as we drove to our new house.

The mansion Kaoru had bought us was unbelievable. It was two stories tall and painted a reddish-brown color. The black front doors had white pillars supporting the archway above it, and the windows and second-floor balconies at the front were also white. As for the interior it was luxurious but very comfortable, so in other words it was nice without being stuffy in the sense that it felt like a museum rather than a home. There was a living room, a kitchen, a family room, a balcony in the back overlooking a large garden, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a master bedroom with an adjacent bathroom.

Celebrating our marriage wasn't over for us just yet, however. Karou and I were going to spend a couple of days in the new house before flying to Mykonos, Greece for our honeymoon. I was really looking forward to it: the warmth, the beaches, the food…it was going to be great.

Feeling a bit tired I had gone into the bathroom and emerged with my hair down and wearing my cream silk robe, which was firmly tied in place. Underneath the robe, however, I was wearing the beautiful sleepwear that Hikaru had bought and Mrs. Hitachiin had given me in his place at my bridal shower. According to the note that had come with it, he'd bought them so that I could wear them to "take care of business on the wedding night", which had made me blush and my girlfriends laugh and whoop. I shook my head, smiling at the memory.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, wrapping his arms around me.

"Oh, I'm just a little tired from today." I smiled at my husband. "Today was really fun. It was a great day for a wedding, so I can't complain."

"Neither can I. I had a great time today and I got married to the most wonderful woman in the world."

I giggled. I never got tired of hearing Kaoru's words of affection. "So what've you got planned for the rest of tonight?"

"Well, I decided that I'd spend it with my wife, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is."

"Besides," Kaoru grinned mischievously. "I thought we'd have a little fun upstairs."

I smirked, got off the couch and ran off. "Only if you beat me to the bedroom!"

Laughing, we ran up the up the stairs and down the hall to where our master bedroom was. When I could see the door to our bedroom, I was just a foot away from the door when Kaoru cut in front of me and halted at the door with a very satisfied smirk on his face.

"Ha, I got here first!" He laughed.

"Curse you." I pouted.

"Aw, you know I love you."

"Yeah, you'd better because we are married, after all."

"Valerie, getting married to you is something I'll never regret, I promise." He kissed me softly on the lips. Once I was fully distracted by the kiss, Kaoru scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom, setting me down on the bed. I then noticed that he was examining me, kind of like the way an art dealer inspects a new painting.

"What?" I asked.

"Aren't you going to let me see what's underneath that?" Kaoru pointed to the robe.

I smirked. "I was hoping you'd ask that." I pulled off the robe to reveal the sleepwear: a pale pink baby doll nightgown. The straps and the skirt hem were trimmed in white lace and I was wearing a pair of pale pink briefs underneath. "How do I look?"

"Absolutely gorgeous." He grinned. "You do know that I'm being extremely patient and not accusing you of stalling, right?"

"Yes I do, in fact. You just have to wait a little longer." I made my way to the bedroom door to close it, making sure I swung my hips as I walked to tease him a little bit.

"Okay, that does it. I can't wait anymore." Kaoru groaned.

"Just a little longer." I shut the door before rejoining him.

Kaoru took my hands and pulled me onto the bed with a purely evil smile. "Now then, Mrs. Hitachiin…"

What happened after those words were spoken? I'll leave that to your imagination.