Different Seasons: Fall- Part 1: Planning a Picture Book Wedding

A/N: Hi all! Welcome back to my faithful readers! I figured since I have such great momentum and a few chapters in the can I'd start posting this story as I write it instead of posting after it is complete. The virtue of this model is that it can be added to as the spirit strikes me- but for now it will span at least into summer of the next year as there are several important Sohma events to be celebrated between now and then.

We have reached Fall, beautiful Fall with its changing leaves, school buses and lots and lots of weddings; including the wedding of one of our favorite couples. This is the 5th and final part of the House Room arc. If you haven't read the rest of this series I highly recommend that you start with House Room 1: Spring is Coming. Or at least start at House Room 2: On the Road to Okinawa as it introduces a key character.

As always I do not own Fruits Basket

Tori Rekindles his Relationship with His Father

The rest of the summer was blissfully uneventful. Mayu and I set our wedding date, November 23rd, as it was seen by the family's matchmaker as particularly auspicious. It also was also before my final exams were likely to be scheduled so I could more easily get away. Plus the autumn leaves would be simply gorgeous on the compound making for wonderful photographs. We wouldn't be able to take our honeymoon until after the term was over, but given that we'd want to go somewhere warm, it wouldn't matter as the snow would be just as cold after term as it would be in November.

We also made the decision to have a Shinto ceremony instead of a more western ceremony. As Mayu's family wasn't religious, they weren't offended that she wanted to follow our traditions instead of taking more of a role in planning the wedding. They were waiting with baited breath to see the compound as they had been told stories about its grandiose nature. I only wished I had a direct connection to the compound as I would have liked to give them the opportunity to see it before they were smack dab in the middle of the festivities. I made a note to talk to Kureno about that.

The fact that we went to see the matchmaker and were going to be married in a traditional ceremony outside of the Sohma family's shrine instead of in a reception hall somewhere downtown made the day of several of my elderly relatives who held many fond memories of their own weddings long ago. And this in turn made my father very happy as it showed that I was making an effort to be a faithful son of the Sohma family. As the summer went on, I spent more and more time with my father, recapturing our relationship. We began taking tea at least once a week. Mayu even came a few times, although she also spent time with Kana, who was nearing her due date that October. My father was pleased that Mayu and I had decided to have a Shinto wedding. He greatly surprised me when he brought out his wedding album so that Mayu could see what a Sohma wedding was like. I had never seen it as he had avoided even mentioning my mother up until that summer. So I was quite honored that he was willing to share something so precious with me. My father smiled and said,

"I'm glad you have found someone who loves you. I know things were never easy. I know I didn't make them any easier."

"Thank you Father."

"Please, feel free to borrow the album. I would love you to share it with Mayu. Perhaps she will be inspired by it."

Thanking him for his generosity, I brought it home for Mayu to see. I too hoped that she would find inspiration for our wedding as it was very important for my father. Mayu instantly took to my mother's kimono. She looked at me and asked,

"Do you think Aya would object to making me a kimono like that?"

"I think that even if it meant a bit more work that he would be more than happy to oblige."

"I just feel bad that I'd be adding another thing to his plate during such a busy time for him."

I held her close and said a silent prayer that Aya would be willing as I was sure that the gesture would go far to heal broken ties.

Aya Mentally Prepares for the Big Sohma Wedding

Summer continued fairly uneventfully. Chris and Gure settled down into married life, making us all feel like we had bitten down on a cube of sugar any time we took dinner with them at the compound. Gure also made great headway on his book and his editor was thrilled. He said that the time they spent at the family's onsen helped him relax and focus on the subject. I imagined that Chris gave him much to think about as the two were completely smitten.

Mine and I took a trip to China to buy new silk to replace the fabric lost during the rainstorm. And I bought a special bolt of fabric tinted cherry blossom pink for my beautiful fairy princess. While we still intended to say our vows during the coming Hanami, it was nice to have the fabric on hand as it was a physical reminder of our intentions.

Tori and Mayu spent as much time with each other before they began work again and before we began preparing for "the big Sohma wedding." We were resigned that the whole affair would be huge and would fall mostly on our shoulders. To top it off, we received a request for an addition to the festivities that we hadn't expected, which was becoming increasingly common and on reflection. Thus it should have been expected. We took solace in the fact that the actual ceremony would be fairly small given that they they chose to have a Shinto wedding. We were also operating on the idea that their wedding ensembles were already made so that we could focus on the oncoming orders. This proved not to be a correct assumption.

Mine Soothes Mayu

I had been sitting at the front desk with Aya looking at the special orders we had received for bridal gowns (besides Spring, Fall was THE season for weddings) when we received an unexpected visit from Mayu.

She looked quite apologetic as if she thought her very presence in our shop would be a bother. (if she had been at all inclined to kawaii gestures she would have twiddled her fingers modestly) I took her hands gently, led her to the overstuffed armchair in our reception area and got her a cup of tea. We let her collect her thoughts and take in the calming warm liquid while we sat waiting patiently, talking in low voices about the dress we had been working on before she had come in.

She finally calmed and looked up at us with a request for her wedding.

Mayu Commissions a New Kimono

As Fall approached closer and closer, bringing my wedding to Tori closer and closer, my worries for the day had been increasing. To prepare me for the upcoming event, Tori had borrowed his father's wedding album. The pictures showed the intimate ceremony that had taken place at the Sohma family's shrine as well as the long day of dancing and eating and greeting that went along with the day. His mother had worn a formal kimono but it was nothing approaching the grandure of the kimono Aya had designed to fit the Edo period described in Gure's book. Seeing the long winding path to the hillside shrine I feared that I would never make it up in the tall shoes that were required to make the heavy fabric drape properly. Plus, spending the day in the heavy kimono didn't sound like a good day so I brought the picture of Tori's mother to Aya and Mine and said,

"You know I love the kimono you made for me for the fashion show, but I was hoping that you could make me a kimono for the ceremony. I'll still wear the more formal kimono for pictures. But I just don't think I could move in it for the ceremony.

Aya Is Most Happy to Oblige

I looked at the photo and was amazed to see my uncle smiling. Tori's mother had been so beautiful. It was a tragedy that she had passed on so young while giving birth to her son. But that was the way of the curse. I looked up at Mayu and said,

"Your wish is my command. You'll be a vision. I understand that the shoes can be a detriment, and the long train is a tripping hazard. We'll take photos in the Edo-style kimono and design a new one for you to wear for the ceremony."

I hugged her to make sure she knew I was fine about taking on her commission and then I brought her over to the table where I did consultations for clients. Pulling out my sketchpad, we discussed her new kimono. it would still be quite formal with multiple layers like the first, but would be made from white brocade with red piping along the edges and would have red under layers. I would also shorten the train to prevent her from falling or from someone traipsing on the hem. (I still hadn't gotten to fixing the dress Gure destroyed) Instead of a veil she would wear a traditional tsunokakushi or horn-hiding headdress that would cover an elaborately styled wig. Made out of the same brocade as the kimono, the headdress was said to hide the future wife's horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness. She liked it better than the other option which was a hood-like headdress that was meant to hide her face from everyone but Tori. She was afraid that it would cut off her peripheral vision, making it difficult to see.

"Plus," she said, "Tori's mom wore the tsunokakushi, so let's go with that option."

I did a quick sketch and we immediately saw how beautiful it would be. I added red maples in the background of the sketch to give us an idea of how it would look in situ and we were quite satisfied with the results. The family's shrine was ringed with Japanese maples that were such a vibrant red during the Fall. Her white kimono would simply pop against the red background as would our corresponding black kimonos. I was happy that most of us had already gone through many Sohma weddings so I woudn't need to make our kimonos. I would also need to make Tori's less elaborate ensemble, but not having to do an entire set would be great. I would see if I could find Mayu's parents and Chris kimonos to borrow. I had faith that the family would be most pleased with her decision.

I then had her get up on the pedestal and began the process of making a toile for the kimono while Mine looked through the back room for suitable material.

Mayu Is Excited

As Aya began creating the prototype for my wedding kimono, things became very real. I was feeling much better about the affair of course, but it was still The Big Sohma Wedding.

Aya asked, as he pinned,

"Do we have a date yet?"

"November 23. The matchmaker said it was auspicious and Tori said it likely wouldn't conflict with his final exams.

"Well, given that's a day that is especially auspicious for weddings, most of the orders we've gotten in are for that date. But you're family, so we will make it work."

It really felt real now. I had a kimono commissioned. I had a date. All I had to do was get into the headspace of the Big Sohma Wedding and all would be PERFECT! I hugged Aya for being a wonderful future brother-in-law and he hugged me back. Whispering he said,

"Remember that Tori is someone who takes care of everyone else before himself. Please take care of him."

I kissed him on the cheek and said,

"I will Aya, I will."

Mine Observes

I was so excited watching Aya so engaged with planning for Mayu's wedding. He often looked up, showed his sketch to Mayu while smiling and Mayu smiled back, pointing out what she particularly liked about his drawing. It was the happiest I had seen him when thinking about the upcoming nuptials. I left the two alone and went to see what we had in the way of white brocade and red silk. I also put a message on our phone apologizing that we couldn't take any more special orders as we had an upcoming joyous family event.

Tori is Happy Mayu is Happy

When Mayu got home she was all smiles.

"I can't wait until you see my wedding kimono! I hope you'll love it. And I hope your father loves it."

"Well ultimately the most important thing is that you're happy. But I can almost guarantee that my father will be pleased. He's already completely over the moon that we've taken the traditional route for our marriage. And I'm happy that you're happy."

"I love Aya's design. It isn't exactly like your Mother's kimono. We thought that it should be a little different, but I think it's enough of a nod to it that those who knew her will recognize it and appreciate the gesture. I'm glad that your father's happy. It's been wonderful watching you reconnect with him. I always felt bad that your relationship was so stunted."

"And are your family happy about our choice to be married at the compound?"

"I can't keep my mom and dad from showing every patron who comes into the store our photo from Okinawa! They tell everyone that I'm marrying a doctor from a rich and powerful family. It's cute but somewhat embarrassing. But I'm really starting to feel good about the wedding. I feel like I'm floating on cloud nine."

Mayu Is Swept Off Her Feet (Lemon)

He smiled and said,

"Yes, it looks like you could suddenly take flight!"

And with that he swept me up off my feet and spun me around. I shrieked with laughter as the two of us were caught up in the happiness of the moment. I felt almost as if I were still under Kureno's spell. He then danced with me in his arms into our bedroom, divested me of my clothes and proceeded to worship my body. Starting from the top, there wasn't an inch of my body that didn't receive his rapt attention. He especially lavished attention on my breasts, taking the nipples in his mouth and gently sucking and nipping at them. I moaned as electricity radiated through my body. He then moved down my body, ever lower. When he finally reached my center, and his tongue entered me I was launched into the heights of passion. As he brought me over he looked up into my eyes and they were filled with such love and devotion. For not the first time I felt myself feeling that I was the luckiest woman in the world.

Tori's Efforts are Appreciated

As I held Mayu close I whispered,

"I'm the luckiest man alive tonight."

As she recovered from her passion I held her close. She then reciprocated, following my lead, she explored my body until finally taking me into her mouth. She brought me over in an instant and we were soon ready for the second round. I entered her from above and thrust into her hard and fast. She screamed my name out loud and I was spurred onward. Folding her nearly in half (we had started taking yoga and she was making marked strides in her flexibility) her moans and shouts of pleasure filled our room. She crested but as I held back I brought her back up again and she experienced another orgasm.

Mayu is Completed Sated

We collapsed into a pile of limbs as the final throes of passion rocketed through us. I smiled at him, completely sated, and said,

"I guess the couples yoga classes are starting to pay off?"

"Yes, soon enough you'll be able to tie yourself into a pretzel."

"If that translates to orgasms like tonight, I'll keep up with my lessons."

He kissed my forehead and, after grabbing a quick supper, we collapsed into bed and slept. I dreamed about the many happy years I would have with Tori I had to look forward to. It was a most happy thought indeed.

A/N: So as you may have guessed, Fall will focus on Tori and Mayu's wedding. While the others will play rolls, this is their story, and they deserve it as it has been a while coming. Please R and R and as always, I remain, Acta!