Chapter 24

--Epilogue—

Three hectic months passed by, most of the attention toward another wedding for Tohru and Yuki for they wanted to get married as soon as possible. All the close Sohmas were invited along with Tohru's family and friends for the summer wedding at a Sohma private lake because the couple agreed to a small wedding.

Luckily, there was a lake house at the lake for the last minute preparations and people participating in the wedding to change. It was going to hold the food for the reception too.

It was mid-day and the ceremony was going to take place in a few minutes next to the lake and under a forest of blooming trees. Plastic pink covers were placed in the ceremony area over the dirt. White wooden chairs were seated in rows on two sides, leaving the middle open facing the clear blue mellow lake. Pink and blue flowers with silk clear ribbon decorated the ends of the rows. A little wooden podium was in the front for the priest to stand. Two white arches covered in fresh flowers and vines were planted the middle of the front and back of the ceremony area. A piano was placed in a corner of the area.

At the front, Yuki was already standing there with the priest anxiously to be one with his soulmate. The purple-eyed man couldn't lie that he had butterflies roaming in his stomach. Most of the guests were eyeing the front staring at him.

Finally, the music began and Yuki was itching to see Tohru in her white dress. First a little girl throwing rose petals in a pale pink dress and a little boy in a suit carrying the rings entered. Next was Ayame in a normal black suit (demanded by Yuki) and black dress shoes and Uo in a pale pink dress and white high heels, which she surprisingly wore willingly just for Tohru. After that were Kyo and Hana in the same outfit as the previous ones. Both the two girls carried a small bouquet of flowers.

Yuki held his breath as he saw a glimpse of white from the corner of the arch. The music changed to indicate that the bride's turn was up. Tohru, like Yuki, had butterflies in her stomach when she heard the music change. Taking a last deep breath, she walked slowly, clutching the roses tighter in her sweaty palms.

The silver hair man couldn't take his eyes off of the angel in front of him walking closer. Tohru's simple white dress designed by Ayame showed Tohru's curves but not cleavage and had ruffles for a little sleeve just beyond her shoulders. The dress had sparkles around the dress at the imprinted design. The dress was long and went to the ground, covering her feet. Her hair was simply straight with a white ribbon. No makeup was applied, but she did wear jewelry and white clear gloves that went to her elbows.

When Tohru reached the alter, Yuki whispered 'You look like an angel', which she immediately blushed.

Thirty minutes later…

"Do you, Yuki Sohma, take Tohru Honda to be your lawfully wedded wife through sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?" the minister, which happened to be a Sohma, asked, holding a book.

"I do."

"Do you Tohru Honda, take Yuki Sohma to be your lawfully wedded husband through sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?" he repeated, facing Tohru.

The turquoise eye girl stared at Yuki smiling, uttered, "I do."

"Now I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Yuki smiled and leaned over to place his lips on top of hers as they shared a passionate kiss.

"I love you," Tohru whispered once they broke away.

"I love you too." Yuki held her hand and they walked down the aisle together. They were one now and forever.

At the reception, the two clung onto each other as if one was going to die soon, but they had smiling faces of utter content. At a certain time, Tohru threw the bouquet which Uo and Hana both caught, and Kureno and Kazuma (who started dating Hana lately) stared in disbelief that it may be their wedding next.

"Uo-chan, Hana-chan! You two could have a double wedding!" Tohru exclaimed happily, walking toward them.

"Oh dear," Hana uttered.

"Whoever said I was getting married?" Uo shouted, crossing her arms.

"So you don't want to ever marry me?" Kureno asked in a mocking tone.

"Er…haha…I didn't mean it that way. I think it's just too soon if you ask me," Uo explained.

"I would have to agree with her." Hana nodded.

"Daddy, daddy, look at this!" a little girl of seven exclaimed, pointing to a chocolate cake with fresh red strawberries circumscribing the top. She was wearing a purple dress that went to her knees.

"Did Mommy make this?" a purple eye man asked, untying his tie and dropping his briefcase.

"I helped!" she replied proudly. The little girl had long brown hair like her mother's but inherited her father's purple eyes.

"It looks delicious. It wouldn't happen to be the strawberries I planted, would they?"

"Yup! I want to be a chef like Mommy when I grow up," the girl stated.

"Speaking of Mommy, Rika. Where is she?" Yuki asked, grinning.

"She's checking up on Ryu and after that she's helping Hikaru with his homework," Rika replied, flipping through a cookbook.

"Thanks, and I want to hear about your day later." Yuki gave Rika a peck on her forehead before heading to find his wife.

Within the ten years, they bought a two-story house in the suburbs after Tohru was pregnant with the third child. It was homey decorated by Tohru and the lively children atmosphere couldn't do anything but make parents smile and feel complete.

Yuki continued pursuing his lawyer career, but Tohru had to stop cooking at the restaurant and hire someone else as she took care of the kids but she still had a share of ownership at it. Both jobs were successful, making them debt-free.

The silver hair father walked quickly up the stairs and to a blue room with oak drawers, a closet door, a bookcase, and a rocking chair. The bed lay in a corner of the room where a little toddler of three slept quietly and peacefully in his play clothes. He had his father's silver hair and both his parents' eye color depending on the time of day or the amount of light. Then Tohru came out of the bathroom adjoining the room with a usual smile, wearing a pale blue, long sleeve dress that went to her knees.

The parent's eyes met, and Tohru walked over to Yuki to leave the room.

Once the door snap shut, Yuki gave Tohru a kiss and she returned it.

"How was your day, Yuki?" the brunette hair woman asked.

"Tiring. A client went crazy when we lost and then I got piled up with a few clients at once. I'm just good to be home." Yuki put his arm around his wife. "And your day?"

"Oh, just the usual."

"How's Ryu doing," Yuki indicated through the door.

"Sleeping like a baby. We went to the park and he played and tired himself out. He's very energetic."

"Mom! When are you going to help me with my homework?" a tenacious ten year-old-boy shouted through the house.

"Hikaru! Don't shout in the house, especially when Ryu is sleeping!" Yuki scolded a boy wearing baggy jeans and a T-shirt when they reached the end of the stairs.

"Hey Dad. When did you get home?" The oldest of the three kids, he had his dad's silver hair and mom's turquoise eyes.

"A few moments ago. Now, what homework do you need help on?" Yuki asked calmly and caringly.

"History."

"Yuki, you wouldn't mind helping him, do you?" Tohru cut in. "I know you're probably tired, but I have to finish making dinner so when Kyo, Kagura, Uo, Kureno, Hana, and Kazuma come, they won't have to wait."

"That's right. Today's the first Friday of the month." Yuki stood contemplating on a plan. It was Friday, so that meant Hikaru had the weekend to do it. "Why don't you do your history homework sometime this week. It's not every day that your aunts and uncles come over."

"Will our cousins come?" Hikaru asked excitedly, forgetting his homework.

"Of course!" Tohru replied, heading to the kitchen with her little helper ready.

In an hour later, the doorbell rang and echoed through the whole house, waking up little Ryu who was a little confused.

Hikaru dashed to the door first and slammed the door open revealing the three couples and their children.

"Hey Hikaru," an eleven year-old-boy said, entering. He had orange hair and brown eyes and was wearing comfortable baggy cargo pants and a red shirt.

"Hi Sato. I got a new video game, wanna check it out?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah!"

"Hey, I want to go too!" whined a girl of nine. She had her mother's brown hair, but her father's orange eyes. Unlike Rika, she was more of a tomboy and loved wearing jeans and a tee.

"Sorry Yuri. No girls allowed," Sato sneered.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Sato, let her play," Kagura ordered in a 'don't mess with me' voice.

"Fine…" And the three went to the game room.

Then, Tohru appeared with Rika. Both of them had just washed their hands to greet the guest.

"I'm glad you guys could come! Come in!" Tohru chirped, ushering them in to the living room.

"Hey Tohru, do you think I can put Kyoko somewhere while she's sleeping?" Uo asked, pointing to a lump of brown hair and blue eyes peeking through a mass of red blankets of eight months.

"Why don't you put her in Ryu's room? He just woke up, Tohru," Yuki entered, carrying the three-year-old in his arms.

"Okay. I'll show you the way."

These past ten years, much has happened. Hana and Uo had a double wedding, but it took place five years after Tohru's wedding. All of the couples had kids except for Hana and Kazuma because they didn't want any.

"Uncle Yuki! Uncle Yuki!" yelled another seven-year-old, but she had brown hair and orange-brown eyes. The opposite of her older sister yet more like Rika, she wore a skirt and nice blouse.

"Can we play with Ryu?" chimed Rika and Kimi.

"Sure, but be nice and careful," Yuki uttered in an alerting tone.

"You too, Kimi," Kyo demanded. He was still a karate teacher but at a new dojo, closer to his family.

"I hope Tohru made a lot of food," Kazuma spoke up after all the kids left. He was still the same man, but older with white hair blooming in. "It's better than anything I can cook."

"I'm sure she has. The last time we came over here, she had so much leftovers that we all could carry a takeout box," Kureno reminded. He now worked with Yuki to help his cases. The pay was good and they got along because of the wives.

"That is like Tohru though to make sure we have more than enough," Hana remarked. She was the same and still wore black mostly since she felt comfortable in them. The white wedding dress was a pain to her but no one made fun of her or at least had the nerve.

When Uo and Tohru went down the stairs and to the group of adults, they began chatting about new news. Life was good and peaceful for everyone now as they feel complete.

"Mom! Yuri broke my Playstation!" bellowed Hikaru.

"What?" Kagura fumed, her eyes glinting red.

"Yuri, get down here this instant!" Kyo screamed, his fist clenching tightly.

"But they wouldn't let me play!" she whined.

Okay…maybe not that peaceful but at least they were free to do whatever they wanted and live happily ever after.

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Author's Note: Surprise? I am just like all of you readers who are reading this. Thanks to XxBaByKaGoMexX, I felt like writing an epilogue. I guess you got me on a good writing mood because I finally got my little spark of writing back after my long school-year no writing break. But this chapter wasn't even that great so forgive me.