"Haku, be serious."
"I am serious."
Her body locked up again, was this really happening? He moved out of arms reach and knelt down.
"Better?" he asked.
Her breath stopped. He took her hand.
"Chihiro Ogino, I don't have an elaborate speech planned out about how I will love you forever, because I don't intend on loving you for such a small amount of time. There is no, 'Till death do us part.' not even death can take away my love for you. I have a lot of plans, I want a family, a career, and my best friend by my side. Say you'll have me."
"Will it make the pain go away?"
He sighed and stood up. She felt stupid, it was the first thought that popped into her head, "Wait. I'm messing this up."
She drew in a long breath and held it, "Haku, when I said you could be with Mai, I lied. I didn't want you to feel obligated to be with me and only me. Let me finish," he had opened his mouth to say something, "It was a huge mistake, but when you were about to marry her, it was agony. Even though I was there, smiling, I wanted to scream, to shake you, to run...I'm really messing this up..."
She looked away from him, his face was twisted in confusion. Suddenly she felt his lips on hers, it was...indescribable, even though he had kissed her before, it was just them meeting again after a year. This, this was like...like she was in agony the entire time without knowing it. Like she had gotten numb to the pain of not having him. She didn't know it was there until it was gone. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips traveled from hers to her throat. She shivered, he had never done that before.
"Yes." she whispered.
"Really? You aren't just saying that to make the pain go away?"
"I am, but it's not your pain, it's mine."
She found his lips again and clung to him tighter than ever. As if she didn't want to let go, as if she would fight to stay with him, by his side.
"When?"
"Now."
"Now? What about your parents?"
"I don't want to wait, you are human after all." she teased.
"I can assure you Miss Ogino, that won't be a problem. After spending that much time in agony, everything in me refuses to do anything that'll bring it back."
"I think you just quoted Twilight..."
"What?"
"Nevermind. So now what?"
"Now, I can give into my body, throw you on the bed and we can have our way with each other," she blushed, "Or, we can go to dinner."
She considered her options, "I'm liking the sound of the first, but we should go with the second."
He laughed and took her hand, "Where to Future Mrs. Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi?"
She blushed again at her future name.
Later that night, after dinner, they caught a movie, then went back to her dorm. Her roomates were already there.
"Um, this is Haku." she said in a small voice to them, how could she explain him?
"The ex?"
"They were never ex's Ali, they never got together, he's the best friend."
"The one that dated the other girl?"
"You told them about me?" Haku asked with a grin.
"No." Chihiro said frowning.
"You left your laptop on, Marissa needed it for something and you wouldn't answer your phone so she could get permission. We read the story."
"Oh."
"Story?" Haku was intrigued.
"It's our story, but with some fantasy aspects."
"Such as?"
"You turn into a dragon and are controlled by a witch that runs a bathhouse." she said and giggled at his wink. Only they would ever know that her story wasn't a work of fiction.
"Was I a nice looking dragon?" he asked.
"Beautiful." she told him grinning, "Long, white scales, white fur on your face, whiskers, green fur down your back, brilliant green eyes."
"So, are you guys together?" Ali asked.
"We're engaged." Chihiro told her.
"WHAT?" the girls screamed, "You haven't even been together!"
"It's...complicated. We...um..."
"We were childhood sweethearts." he said quickly, "We promised to marry each other."
"So this isn't real?"
"Oh it is," Chihiro took over, "After I broke off his wedding, we were angry at each other. He wanted to try to fix things, so he went to my parents, they told him how to find me and now here he is. It's like everything else was a bad dream. We both realized that we don't want to be with anyone else but each other. So we aren't going to be." she told them.
"Can I be the maid of honor?" Ali asked.
"You both can be."
The girls squealed, causing Haku to laugh.
(six months later)
The day of the wedding was upon them. Chihiro had on a ballgown. It was fitted on top and decortated with beautiful beading that sparkled every time she moved, the skirt flared out at her waist and went down to the floor. She could barely walk in it, but it held a secret. The skirt could be ripped away to leave a short tutu like dress which was bright pink. The bodice was also able to be pulled off to reveal a pink bodice that went with the skirt. Her hair was in a complicated up do. With a pull of a pin, it would fall down in ringlets around her face. On her feet were simple flats, she would be barefoot at the reception anyway.
She walked down the aisle, slowly. The wind was still that day, and the sun was hidden behind a few fluffy white clouds. Chihiro had gotten a wedding surprise, the Twins of Life had allowed her friends from the Spirit World to go see the wedding. They looked different, Boh was an actual baby, Zeniba and Yubaba were normal sized instead of huge women, Kamaji had two arms instead of six. The soot balls had morphed together to form a little black dog, and No Face was human. She smiled when she saw him, after she rounded the corner and he became the center of her attention.
"If anyone has any objections why these two should not wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." The minister said as the ceremony progressed.
Chihiro was nervous. She knew Mai was there, the girl had come to see her the day before, asking permission to be there. It was an awkward conversation.
"So I hear you're getting married." Mai had said.
Chihiro could only nod, Haku was in the other room, at Chihiro's request, she needed to face Mai alone.
"Congrats." the female had said.
There was an awkward silence, a lot of feet shuffling, throat clearing, and gulping.
"Can I come?" Mai broke the silence.
"Wha?"
"To your wedding, we were friends in high school..."
Chihiro remembered what Haku had said about why he knew that Mai wasn't the right one for him. As if reading her thoughts, Mai spoke up again.
"I was angry...and hurt...why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Oh right. 'Mai, you can't marry Haku because I love him.' yah, that would have ended well." Chihiro answered sarcastically.
"Ok, I see your point. But I also see the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. You both move together, you steal glances in his direction, like now for instance. Even when he and I were together, he would still steal glances at you."
"Really?"
"It drove me crazy, but I didn't want to be the jealous girlfriend."
Chihiro had allowed Mai to come, now she wondered if she should have. The female was watching Haku, frowning, it made Chihiro uncomfortable as she stood looking at everyone. Finally there was no response and the wedding commenced. Chihiro was barely able to whisper, "I do." Haku said it loudly. He kissed her softly, just like their first kiss. It was hesitant and sweet. She smiled through it and kept smiling when it was over.
On the way to the reception, Chihiro sat in the limo with her new husband and her wedding party. They decided to take pictures before the sun was down, making them an hour late. When they arrived, to a giant fanfare, the food had already been served. Before the wedding dance, the girls had planned a surprise for the guests and Haku. He had no idea how Chihiro's dress was designed.
Dancing to Time of My Life, Chihiro was slow dancing with one of her bride's maids who was dressed as a boy. Before the chorus went through the second time, the girl "accidentally" pulled on the part of the bodice that came off, Haku looked at Chihiro in surprise and she winked at him. Just as the song sped up, she was spun towards him. Her partner grabbed the bottom of the skirt and pulled off the heavy thing revealing the short pink tutu dress below. Haku caught her as the song morphed into their song.
"I have died every day waiting for you,
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more.
All along I believed I would find you.
Time has led your heart to be and I will love you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more."
After the reception, they headed to their destination, the bathhouse. Another gift. They were allowed to spend their honeymoon in the Spirit World for as long as they wished. Chihiro was excited about it. After being pampered for a bit, she and Haku retired to a house that had been set aside for them. Haku had flown them there on his dragon shape. When they landed, both became awkward.
Chihiro decided she needed another bath. She was just sitting in the hot water in the huge tub when she heard a knock on the door. Knowing it could only be Haku she called, "Come in." She hid her body self consciously in the murky water. Haku walked in and gulped when he saw her.
"Um, I got, uh, worried about you." he sputtered out.
Chihiro saw his awkwardness and couldn't help but giggle. It made her feel more confident knowing that they were both scared stiff about their wedding night.
"Why don't you join me?" she asked him.
"Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything." she told him.
He undressed slowly, giving her time to change her mind. She blushed when she saw him there nude, but moved over to let him in. As soon as he did climb in, she moved closer to him. Heat was visible on her face and she leaned over to kiss him.
It was like a spark, within a minute he was carrying her from the tub to the room and they were entwining on the bed.
It was perfect. Everything had led to that very moment. It was just her and Haku. Her nerves felt as if they were on fire. She let out small gasps as his lips roamed over her body.
When they were finished, she lay there in a haze, any doubt she had, any pain that may have lingered was gone. She was his, and he was hers, and nothing would change that.