Author's Note: Hey there! I'm back to the normal routine. Yay! This chapter is a little shorter than usually because this wedding is getting divided into three parts now instead of just two like I had originally thought. But it's a really good chapter so I hope you enjoy it. Big thanks to my Beta, Runadaemon, and everyone else who reads and reviews etc. You guys are awesome! Enjoy!
Chapter Eleven: Oh Dear(ly Beloved) Part Two
An enormous snow-white tent—which looked as though it were composed of several large tents—was pitched sturdily out on the sloping lawns. A wooden floor had been set up under about half of the area and the other half was dotted by round little tables complete with flower arrangements and chairs. The wedding staff, whom Kyouko had seen bustling about like mad barely an hour previously, were now standing solemnly with trays of appetizers and selections of wine.
Kyouko let the beautiful atmosphere overwhelm her and wash away the confusing emotions that had been assaulting her brain since the end of the ceremony. She was no longer one-hundred percent sure that her silly notions were entirely to blame. Sure, she was known for said "silly notions," but she had never had one quite like this and, well, it seemed unrealistic, even to her.
But then she was back to square one, wondering just what her sudden preoccupation with her senpai and his exceptionally good smell meant. And now that she thought about it, he had a very fine muscular physique. Lean but strong, and—just what was she thinking? Was there something in the water? But, oh yeah, she hadn't had any water. Maybe she needed water. Dehydration was making her go insane.
"Is something wrong?" Ren asked her. "You've been staring at the ground like it's a fancy dessert."
Kyouko's head snapped up like a spring. "I'm… I'm thirsty, I think," she muttered, somewhat incoherently. She was amazed that Ren seemed to understand what she said when he quickly found her a glass of water.
"Thanks," she said quietly and focused on the water. It was perfectly clear and she could easily see through to the grass beneath her feet. She looked up again and cleared her throat. "Which way is our table?"
"I think this is it," he said.
"Ha! You're sitting here too?" Hayate exclaimed, emerging from the crowd of guests with his pretty sister. "That's great! We barely got to talk earlier."
Kyouko nodded vigorously. "Yes, it's very good to see you, Hayate-kun."
Hanako nudged her brother pointedly. "Oh, right," he said sheepishly. "I haven't officially introduced my sister, Hanako. Hanako, this is the Mogami Kyouko and the Tsuruga Ren."
Kyouko blushed and Ren nodded politely. "We'd better sit down," Ren said. "I think there are some speeches coming." He held out a chair for her with true, gentlemanly decorum. Kyouko was looking the other way and sat in a different chair. Slightly put out, the actor sat down quickly and looked away, but his attention was caught rather rapidly by the cynical grumbles of the other Love Me member.
"I told you that our seats would be with Mogami and Tsuruga-san," Kanae complained loudly. "Did you believe me? No. And I had to walk around for an hour in high heels. Three INCH high heels!!" she finished, casting a devastating glower about the crowd.
The table, consisting of Kyouko, Ren, Hayate, his sister, and another older couple they didn't recognize, turned to witness the arrival of an intensely irritated Kanae and a mildly bemused Yashiro.
Kanae opened her mouth, presumably to continue her vengeful tirade, but was interrupted when Yashiro leaned close and, placing his hands on her shoulders, whispered something in her ear. The anger melted away from Kanae's features and was replaced by a subtle but most certainly genuine blush. She was in fact so distracted that she did not seem to notice that one of Yashiro's hands slid down her arm and took hold of her fingers.
Numbly, she let him guide her over to the table where she promptly sat down and studied her lap. Yashiro merely smiled smugly and began polite conversation with Hayate's sister, while Ren looked on with a mixture of both horror and awe.
'How… how did he do that?' he wondered. But perhaps the more pertinent question might have been "Can you teach me?"
Kyouko was having problems keeping herself from gaping at her best friend. Never, never had she seen Kanae take on such a flustered hue of red before. It was beyond her comprehension. And still more confusing was that Kanae had not uttered a single word since sitting down.
"M…. Moko-san?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she whispered harshly. Kyouko had to strain her ears to catch the words.
"Okay," Kyouko said slowly. What could Yashiro have possibly said to do this to her best friend. It was another query to add to her growing list of questions and concerns. Weddings, she decided, were most definitely weird.
A ripple of excitement shook through the crowd when the band picked up their instruments to play. Most of the guests were, quite logically, members of showbiz and the chance to party without the threat of the paparazzi was overwhelmingly thrilling. Kyouko had already spotted one of the older LME veterans, who had a reputation for drinking more than he ought, making a beeline for the bar.
"I owe you a dance," Ren said, tapping her slightly so she jumped.
"Huh?" she said dumbly.
"I'm your date after all," he replied.
"Oh, right," Kyouko said.
Kyouko felt her heart palpitate nervously again as Ren took her hand and guided her smoothly to the wooden dance floor. What was this sensation and why couldn't she control it? She pondered the issue furiously. Perhaps… perhaps she could overcome it through acting? It seemed rather silly at first thought, but if she was trying to find herself through acting why couldn't she control herself through it as well? Perhaps the two were even one and the same.
She thought hard for a moment. She struggled. She fought. But nothing in her career prepared her to handle this sort of circumstance. Kyouko might have fallen into a deep, dark depression, but that would have to wait, because more important things were about to happen. For example, she was about to discover that she truly loved dancing.
Ren spun Kyouko around rapidly, smiling openly and genuinely. Her joy and laughter was infectious. For a moment he could pretend that there were no complications in life—that he didn't have a damaging past, family issues, and most importantly that restraining age difference. He could almost even make believe that they were together.
"I had no idea dancing was so much fun," Kyouko gasped as she spun back towards Ren. He grinned and was about to reply when—
"Could I cut in?"
Hayate and Hanako appeared next to them in an instant, the young actor looking innocently expectant. Ren opened his mouth to carefully and politely refuse, but Kyouko beat him to it. "Of course."
And so, Kyouko was swept away and Ren found himself forcing a smile and dancing with Hanako.
"They're so cute, aren't they?" Hanako said.
"What?"
Hanako gave him a weird look before elaborating. "Hayate and Kyouko-chan. I think Hayate likes her." Ren felt his stomach drop and lurch unpleasantly. "He won't tell me anything about it," she continued. "But whenever he's home Hayate goes on and on about how amazing an actress Kyouko-chan is and how much he respects her. It's only a matter of time really."
"Only a matter of time until what?" Ren asked.
He was rewarded with another weird look. "Until Hayate asks Kyouko-chan out," she replied patronizingly. "And why wouldn't she say yes? I mean look at him! There's a reason he's been given a lead role already."
Ren cleared his throat. "You'll have to excuse me for a moment," he said suddenly. "I'm feeling rather parched."
About a few yards away, where Yashiro was dancing with a partially recovered Kanae, the manager looked on with worry. Especially because if Kyouko didn't act quickly, Ren would be in a foul mood for an obnoxiously long time.
"Is there something wrong, Kyouko-chan?" Hayate asked. His eyes were wide and searching in a way that reminded Kyouko of puppies. "You keep looking over my shoulder."
"Huh? No, nothing… it's just… nothing." Kyouko felt her cheeks going red with embarrassment, but her eyes continued to dart over Hayate's shoulder, following the progress of Ren as he left Hanako and sat down at their table with a wine glass in one hand and an inscrutable look of brooding on his face.
That look worried her deeply, though she could not exactly explain why. Her emotions seemed more intense and complicated compared to the other times she had worried about Ren—far worse than when he was having trouble with Katsuki in Dark Moon.
"Um, I think I see Moko-san and I need to tell her something," she lied (badly). "Do you mind if I—"
"Go ahead," Hayate interrupted. He watched her run off and disappear in the sea of people.
Hanako sidled over and leaned her elbow on his shoulder. "So… you were ditched too, huh?" she said casually.
Hayate gave her a sideways glance. "Nah, Kyouko-chan just needed to talk to her friend," he said.
"Did she promise to come back?" Hanako asked shrewdly.
"…No."
"I thought so."
"What do you mean?"
Hanako gave him her well-practiced weird look. "Some day you'll learn," she replied.
Kyouko was flushed when she sat down next to Ren and interrupted his dark thoughts. "I think I need some air," she said offhandedly, trying to channel her inner Bou.
Ren looked down at her, having a hard time keeping the expression of awe and wonder off of his face. There was just something… magical… about her and even his own insecurities seemed trivial when he was in her presence. "Then let's step outside," he replied, standing up. He gently placed his arm around her, cupping her elbow, and guided her onto the lawn.
"Even if it's a tent, isn't it still technically outside?" she wondered aloud.
Ren shrugged. "I'm not sure that sort of tent qualifies. I think President Takerada assisted the decoration planners. Or perhaps he and Sakura-san are related?"
Kyouko laughed, her anxieties melting away in the chill air. Their pace was slow since her heels kept sinking into the soft grass where the night air had already swept a generous layer of dew. She was tempted to remove them, but walking barefoot in wet grass didn't appeal to her either.
The music was slowly starting to fade away. They could still make out the beat of the drum set, but guitars were already lost to their ears.
The sloping lawn grew darker the further they went forcing them to travel slow enough not to fall or stumble in the moonlight. The mystical quality of the night seemed to surround them.
The forest loomed like a black fence in front of them and they slipped casually amongst the trees. It was nice there. A soft, piney scent floated in and out of the branches and a few leaves crunched underfoot.
The grass bounced spryly beneath her heels. The pointed stilettos didn't sink beneath the trees like they had on their way across the lawn. Kyouko breathed deeply, letting the air rush into her lungs. She turned around and was surprised by how far away the twinkling lights of the wedding reception were. The warmth of the celebration was inviting, but not as much as the sparkling glow of moonlight in the trees.
"It's beautiful here," she whispered to Ren.
"It is," he replied.
She turned to see him silhouetted beautifully in the night. They were closer than she had thought. "Weddings are… they're nice," she said after awhile. "I like them," Kyouko decided.
Ren sighed. "I don't."
"Eh, why don't you like weddings, Tsuruga-san?"
He licked his lips. "They remind me of things I would like to do, but I can't," he said. He was probably saying too much, but he couldn't stop himself. Not when she was looking at him so earnestly, so beautifully, so…
"What do you mean? What do you want to do?" He closed his eyes for a moment, his expression pained. Kyouko became alarmed and reached out towards him. "Tsuruga-san?"
He took her outstretched hand in his and slowly closed the little distance between them. Kyouko backed into a tree. "Ts-Tsuruga-san?" she whispered.
"I want to—" He couldn't finish his sentence; he merely pressed his lips against hers.
Kyouko was surprised. It was all she could think of to describe her emotions, but it certainly didn't seem sufficient. This kiss was so different from when Ren had given her "lessons" for Duty Binds Us. It was stronger than the sweet and simple kiss she had needed for the opening credits with Hayate.
She was having difficulty putting words to the desire she felt roiling within her as Ren pulled her closer against him. Kyouko reached up tentatively to stroke his hair, but the action seemed to have broken some sort of spell.
Ren stiffened and pulled away from her roughly. "I—" He choked on his words. "I'm sorry." He turned and fled, leaving Kyouko staring after him.
Slowly, she put a hand up to her lips. They tingled. "Ts… Tsuruga… Ren," she whispered. She stumbled a little to the edge of the tree line. Ren's dark shape disappeared in the night as he sprinted down the sloping lawns. Suddenly the party seemed much farther away and night air was no longer mystical but cold and lonely.
