"Of course I'll be your bridesmaid!"

"It will be a pleasure to plan your wedding!"

Ah, fate. How funny it can be sometimes, drawing people towards each other at alarming rates. How annoying it is, giving us feelings we can't even begin to comprehend. How kind it can be, letting us keep the people that mean the most to us. In the same way, fate is also cruel; tearing people apart for the sake of other fates, other destinies that are yet to become a reality.

It can be troublesome, heartbreaking, endearing, or memorable. Fate sometimes makes mistakes.

But luckily, this story is not one of these mistakes.

This story has a happy ending.

(*)

The first time they met, the back of her dress was zipped only halfway up; nearly exposing her bra.

"Wait!"

She turns around and looks at him, narrowed eyes suspiciously glaring up at him as he approaches. "Your... Ah... Your dress isn't zipped properly." He turns a bright shade of red, one that mimics her own, and she immediately reaches a hand behind her to try and zip it up herself.

"No. No, let me," he carefully zips up her dress, taking care not to nip at her skin. "There we go."

She sighs, a few black tendrils escaping her intricate hairdo. "Thanks. I mean it. Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be." She nods with her head towards an arch of white flowers, where a young woman in white stands eagerly at the entrance. "Bridesmaid duties."

Before he can reply, she gives him a small smile and she's off; just as quick as she appeared.

He never forgets her face.

(*)

The second time they meet, she's quite forgotten about the incident, while he's still recovering from the regret of not asking for her name. The reason for their second meeting is yet another wedding, but this time, he's at his wits end.

It is the rehearsal dinner and she's sitting on the bar, a glass of some fancy cocktail in her hand, only half-empty. The bride and groom-to-be talk with friends and family, smiling and laughing appropriately at jokes. She can't help but smile nostalgically at the groom, who was her lab partner in college. He was always happy with her. She didn't think twice before accepting to be a bridesmaid.

A burst of aggravated yells come from the kitchen, and she can't help but be surprised as a tall, handsome young man exits the kitchen, face red and fuming. He plops himself into a seat two stools away from her, and orders a Scotch. He seems a bit familiar to her, she just doesn't know why.

"Tough day?" she asks, and takes a sip of her cocktail.

He rolls his eyes, and she can't help but smile at the childish gesture. "You have no idea. I'm supposed to have the brides bouquet by now, but the florist mixed up the orders and now I have to wait until tomorrow to see if she gets it right. And don't even ask about the main course for tomorrow's reception. Don't. Ask."

She remains quiet, and remembers faintly that this is the wedding planner her friend hired for their special day. He's supposedly a very young, very successful young man, who started out late last year. Feeling a bit of pity for him, she brings out her keycard and gestures at the bartender. "His next shot's on me. Charge it to Room 312."

She hops off her stool and decides to retire early, since she needs to be up at nine tomorrow. "Good luck with your flowers," she quips. As he turns to face her, she gives him a small quirk of a smile, similar to the one she (unknowingly) gave him a few months ago, and before it can sink in, she disappears.

He ends up ordering two more shots.

(*)

The third time they meet, it is the next day, during the reception. He's glad to finally spot her among the seven bridesmaids in navy blue dresses (she's the shortest), and decides to approach her later in the evening.

He boldly steps up next to her as she watches the newly weds first dance, and she looks up in surprise. "Oh. It's you."

He feels a bit embarrassed. "I want to thank you for shouldering that Scotch," he says sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "You saw me at one of my low points, so it was kind of embarrassing for me."

She shakes her head. "It wasn't a big deal. I just assumed you were having a rough time. And trust me, I know the bride." She smirks. "I know how demanding she can be."

He laughs, the tension between them broken. "Can I repay you for that Scotch, though?"

She looks regretfully at the clock hung over the door. "I actually have to be somewhere. Rain check?"

He nods, although he's a bit disappointed. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" he jokes.

She rolls her eyes. "Trust me. If I was trying to get rid of you, you'd know." She pauses, lost in thought. "You know what, I'll just..." she reaches for a napkin, and furrows her brow as she searches for a pen in her purse. She scrawls a number on the tissue, and a name. "Call me."

He looks at the napkin she so hurriedly thrust into his hands, and he smiles. GoGo. It suits her.

In the buzz of all the post-wedding excitement and clean up, and due to the fact that he wore a jacket with no pockets, he ends up losing the napkin.

He stays up staring at his ceiling, wondering how much more fate is going to tease him.

(*)

She doesn't know his name until a good two months after their previous encounter. GoGo's slightly miffed that he didn't call her, but brushes it off. She's too old to be bothered by some guy who promised her a drink and ended up not buying her one. She doesn't care. At least, that's what she tells herself.

Another one of her friends is getting married, and GoGo will (again) be a bridesmaid. The bride to be and the bridesmaids all gather in a coffee shop to talk about the wedding, discussing various elements of the grand ceremony. In all honesty, GoGo's practically in some other dimension until she hears a valuable tidbit of information.

"-was planning on hiring the guy from Happy Endings but he's on vacation with his family, so I'll have to settle for that old geezer."

"Oh, hush. He's not as attractive as that young wedding planner, but he is good at his work," another bridesmaid teases.

Her ears perk up.

"Are we talking about Happy Endings?" A bridesmaid chirps. "Oh, he is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Tadashi's a dream come true. Made everything perfect. You were one of the bridesmaids at my cousins' wedding, right, GoGo?"

"Yeah," GoGo replies, still mildly interested in this new piece of information.

Tadashi.

(*)

The next time they meet, Tadashi is back doing what he does best, and is working out his planner when he suddenly receives a barrage of desperate messages from a new client.

Mr. Hamada? Can you please come over to La Roux dress shop? It's a complete disaster here! I know I told you I could handle the dress fittings on my own, but now, I'm starting to regret that. I have no idea what the seamstress is going on about, my bridesmaids are arguing over colors, an attendant just insulted my Maid of Honor, and my own dress makes me look like a fat mermaid. SOS.

Good wedding planner that he is, Tadashi immediately drops everything he's doing, and heads over to La Roux. Luckily, it's only two blocks away and he reaches the dress store in record time...

And steps into a whirlwind.

"What do you mean I should be looking for dresses in a kid's store?!"

The wedding planner's eyes open wide at the sight in front of him - his client, stuffed into a dress he hopes and prays she doesn't pick, surrounded by squabbling bridesmaids holding dresses in different shades of yellow, and GoGo, short as she is, glowering at a poor, presumably tactless assistant, who's holding up a roll of measuring tape as if it was a shield.

He clears his throat, and everyone looks at him, arguments forgotten. He misses the look of relief on the bride-to-be's face and nearly bursts out laughing at the look on GoGo's face. Man, she's really pretty. "Okay, everyone, let's all take a deep breath. Mara," he says in an endearing tone, as the bridesmaids part like the Red Sea did for Moses. "That dress isn't really the one you want, is it? Let's get you in another one." As he ushers his client to a dressing room, grabbing a random dress off the rack, he turns to her bridesmaids. "Ladies. Lemon yellow is a no, gold is also a no, and so are creamy yellows. I thought we agreed on a sunshine-y sort of yellow?"

The group starts to nod in assent, mumbling about how sunshine yellow is actually a really attractive color, and then he turns to GoGo. "And as for you two," he says, a mock-stern look on his face for the attendant. "Not a really nice thing to say," he clucks.

The attendant flushes. "W-Well, sir, I was merely stating the truth. The store doesn't carry dresses that can be altered to her size-"

"Well then, you could have just said that instead of blatantly telling me to go to search for dresses at the same spot all the flower girls are getting their dresses!" GoGo protests, balling her fists.

Tadashi purses his lips and ducks out of the conversation, picking out four other dresses. "Mara!" He calls out while setting the dresses on a hanger. "I'll be back in ten minutes - your Maid of Honor doesn't have any dresses in her size in this store, so I'll just accompany her to one of my regulars," he says.

"Oh, not a problem, Tadashi," a relieved Mara says from behind the door. "I'm so glad you're here. You handled that like a pro."

He smiles. "Just doing my job." He then goes back to the front of the store, where GoGo's tersely sitting on a chair. "Come on, GoGo." If she's surprised at him calling her by her first name, she doesn't show it. "I know a guy who has the perfect dress for you. Let's go."

She follows him outside, and is silent for a few minutes. "Funny how we always seem to meet because of weddings," he finally states, hands in his pockets. GoGo makes a small noise at the back of her throat, and he winces. "Okay, I'm sorry for not calling you. I, uh... I kinda lost your number."

She snorts. "I figured. Typical of a busy guy like you," she comments, trying to keep up with his pace. "So. Your friend. Is he good?"

"My best friend, actually," he admits. "Wasabi's been in the business for a long time, specializing in haute couture. That's why I knew he'd be perfect for you."

Her eyes pop. "Haute couture?"

"Well, I don't mean you're actually going to be wearing haute couture. I mean that he's good at people of all different sizes, which is why I know he'll have a good dress for you," he told her, extremely cautious of not using the words 'small' or 'short'.

"Oh." She's comfortable again, as they walk in silence on the sidewalks of San Francisco.

"So... Maid of Honor?"

She smirks. "I can't always be a bridesmaid, you know."

He laughs, and the sound of it is music to her ears. "I had a feeling you'd evolve, one of these days. Like a Pokemon."

His smile is infectious, and she can't help but smile back. "I was pretty shocked myself."

They reach a store four blocks away, the words, 'Wasabi's Works' on a beautiful, hand painted sign. "Just tell him I sent you. I sent him an email while we were still in the store, he probably has it by now. I'd love to accompany you inside, but my client..." he leaves the sentence unfinished, and she nods understandably.

"It's all right," she nods, and looks back up at the store. "If he's as nice as you, I can handle myself." Before she can say a farewell, Tadashi reaches into his pocket and grabs at his phone.

"Hey." He chuckles nervously. "I got it wrong the first time, since you kinda caught me off guard, but... Can I ask for your number? Again?" After a pause, he continues. "I promise. This time, I can't lose your number."

She smiles wryly and takes his phone from him, entering in her digits. "I'll take your word for that," she replies, handing his phone back. "I'm looking forward to that Scotch."

It is a new beginning.

(*)

They dance around the word 'dating' because they both feel it isn't the right word. However, it doesn't stop their friends from teasing them endlessly.

"The wedding planner and the perpetual bridesmaid," GoGo's friend, Honey Lemon, would sing out. "You two are made for each other!"

"Shut up, it's nothing serious," GoGo would reply dismissively, waving a hand.

"It's funny how both of you are so completely surrounded by love that you ended up together," Tadashi's little brother Hiro would chime in.

"Shut it, Hiro," Tadashi would reply.

(*)

Tadashi and GoGo find themselves at the same wedding yet again, for the second time since they've started dating. "I'm going to die in a bridesmaid dress," she quips at him during a dinner date, to which he just laughs at.

This specific wedding is Tadashi's Aunt Cass' wedding; GoGo is yet again a bridesmaid, but the new addition to the formula is Tadashi's groomsman status. In complete deja-vu fashion, she passes in front of him in a light blue dress, and he reaches out to stop her.

"Your dress isn't zipped right," he whispers, and she blushes, turning around so he can help her. "Are you doing this on purpose?" he teases, sliding the zipper up her back.

She turns around and socks him on the arm. "Don't get so full of yourself, Hamada," she snarls, and stalks away from him.

He rubs his shoulder, wincing in pain, but can't help but smile at her retreating back.

(*)

There are a good many other weddings they attend together as the years go by; GoGo as a bridesmaid, Tadashi as the wedding planner. They're known quite widely around San Francisco, and people who hire Tadashi have taken it upon themselves to have GoGo as a bridesmaid, despite not knowing the latter. Whether she accepts or not is up to her, as she doesn't like being a bridesmaid for complete strangers.

Tadashi and GoGo are a package deal to some, and while Tadashi finds it cute, GoGo finds it slightly annoying.

(*)

Although it doesn't happen right away, the two eventually find themselves in love. The road was peppered with arguments, full of potholes and misjudgments, hugs and kisses. Weddings were their 'thing', weddings bells, the soundtrack of their life. The union of others, so ironically played a central role in their own relationship; these moments were moments they shared, forming a special, unique bond between the two. And finally, after four years, they reach the pinnacle of their weddings, the wedding of all weddings, the climax of their relationship.

Tadashi hears a knock on the door, and he pauses in the middle of fixing his bow tie. "Come in!" he calls out, and he hears a familiar sigh of relief behind the door. "GoGo?" Curiosity piqued, he walks over to the door, but before he can open it, he hears her palms hitting the door.

"No, don't open the door!" she squeaks, a very un-GoGo-like sound. "It's bad luck."

He fights a smile. "If you walked all the way from across the hotel just to knock at my door, you were probably prepared for me to see you anyway," he teases, and he feels her eyes glaring holes at him through the door. "What's so important, hm?"

"I just..." she pauses, and he can hear her forehead slightly bump against the door. "I just wanted to make sure you were still there."

His hear swells, and he actually twists the doorknob open. Her response is a firm grip on her side. "I told you," she hisses. "Bad. Luck."

"Okay, okay," he placates her, stepping away from the door. His voice softens. "Of course I'm still here. You didn't think I would run out on you, hm?"

"... No."

"Okay, good." He smiles. "I'll see you later, okay? I love you."

There's a long silence at the other end, and he wonders if she just left, wedding jitters getting the best of her. But he's surprised when the door opens, and she rushes into his arms, hugging him. She's a vision in white, and he barely has time to really look at her before she runs away and disappears behind the door. "I needed that," she says from the other side of the door. "I think you did, too."

(*)

The last time they meet as Leiko Tanaka and Tadashi Hamada, they are on opposite sides of an aisle that seems to be a mile long.

She's radiant, in a dress that fits her; a sleeveless dress of white satin and a Chinese collar, holding a bouquet of her favorite flowers, eyes only on her soon-to-be husband.

He's striking, in a crisp suit of white, the epitome of cleanness, dangerously close to tears as he sees his beautiful soon-to-be wife walking slowly up the aisle.

She finally reaches him, one step too many, and both of them can't help it; they kiss the moment they're next to each other and everyone in attendance makes cooing noises at them. The wedding official sighs, but has an easy smile on his face. "Now wait just a second, you too. We're only just about to get started!"

The weddings rites pass by in a blur, vows memorized and clumsily repeated, rings exchanged. They kiss for the second time that day, and time stands still; he's perfect, she's perfect. Their relationship isn't, never will be, but comes pretty damn close.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

(*)

I have no words for this. I just. Agh. This is my favorite one shot to date. :')

This might count as a companion fic to Pancakes and Punches, only since this is intended to be a complete different AU, and Pancakes and Punches is more of the same setting-ish kind of thing, I'm not going to officially name it as the companion fic?

I know I keep apologizing for not keeping up to date on different fics, but I just can't help myself! It's just that when I'm on writer's block, and I get an idea for something, I just have to write it right away. And I was inspired by a lot of things; unashamedly - the TV series My Fair Wedding. I got a bit teary eyed during one episode, and I was like, 'Hey. What if Tadashi's a wedding planner, and keeps bumping into GoGo, who will forever be a bridesmaid?'

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did while writing this. Read and review, because I really do love hearing what you guys love about certain fics!

Ciao!