By Zephyria 
It’s never easy to find someone in an airport that’s always bustling with people coming and going. But it’s different when there are special circumstances. Koi couldn’t contain his excitement as he hurriedly got out of the car and headed to the private waiting room, his pace quickening involuntarily.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been to the airport, hasn’t it?”
Ariel asked, practically running to keep up with Koi’s pace. Koi nodded, trying to slow down.
“Yeah, I came alone back then.”
“It must feel different.”
Koi chuckled at Ariel’s words. Recalling that time, the current situation felt like a dream. He had only wished to be able to meet Ashley.
Now he’s preparing to marry Ash.
And they’re even having a baby already. A baby between them, and the fact that he was an omega, it was all a series of surprising events. He was at a loss as to how to explain it to his friends, but thankfully, Ariel took care of that too. Everyone was shocked to hear about Koi’s hidden trait, but they conveyed their strong loyalty and sisterhood, saying, “No matter what, we’re still sisters!” Thinking about that warmed his heart, and the excitement made him impatient again.
Finally, he arrived at the door and was about to grab the handle when Koi turned around and saw Ariel catching her breath as she approached. Feeling belatedly sorry, Koi stood there and waited for Ariel to get closer before asking.
“Are you okay? Sorry, I walked too fast.”
“No, I’m fine. I guess I’m out of shape, I need to build some muscle.”
Ariel said with a smile, then subtly gestured with her eyes.
“Open it, hurry.”
“Ah, okay.”
Koi nodded briefly and opened the door. Immediately, the noise of chattering girls poured out, and beyond the wide-open door, the scene he had been anticipating unfolded.
The spacious waiting room was filled with his Cheerleader team friends and the former ice hockey team guys, all chatting boisterously. They had coordinated their schedules to take the same flight to the East Coast. Whew, Koi took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
“Hey guys, welcome!”
With that, all eyes focused on him at once, and everyone cheered and rushed towards Koi.
“Koi, Koi!”
“Koi, thanks for inviting us! It’s been so long!”
“Al, it’s been ages!”
“Where’s Ash? Did you come alone?”
Koi was overwhelmed by the words pouring out from everywhere. Thinking that he needed to guide them to the accommodation first, he roughly finished the greetings and came out of the airport.
“Wowwww!”
Everyone gasped in unison at the sight of the limousine bus that had appeared in front of them, waiting at the designated spot. Koi scratched his head awkwardly and said.
“Ariel said a bus would be better since there are so many people…”
“Let’s go, everyone get on!”
Before he could finish speaking, his friends scrambled onto the bus. Only after everyone was seated and all the luggage was loaded did the bus finally depart.
“Oh my god! It feels just like going to an away game in high school!”
Someone shouted, and cheers erupted from everywhere. Bill, who was sitting in the front, stood up and waved his fist at everyone, shouting.
“Buffalo, Buffalo!”
“Buffalooo!”
The cheers made his ears ring. They continued to sing fight songs and dance in their seats, maintaining the excited atmosphere.
“Look at that building! Wow, I’m actually seeing it in person!”
“Wow, look at that! Can we go out separately later? We have to walk the streets!”
“I have so many places saved, I’m going to visit them all!”
“Great, let’s make a list, there’s bound to be a lot of overlap!”
“I’m gonna leave today, I wanna be a part of it…”
Everyone started singing along to the song that someone had started. Koi felt his mind go blank, but he couldn’t help but smile. Everyone had finally gathered.
* * *
The hotel that Ashley had booked was in the heart of the city. Thanks to renting out an entire floor, the group was assigned two people per room. On the first day, they gathered at a bar in the city and drank heavily, catching up on old times. Ashley joined them after work, close to 9 o’clock. As soon as he appeared at the entrance, his friends started shouting as if they had been waiting for him.
“Ash!”
“You bastard, the best lawyer in the East!”
“No, the universe’s top lawyer representing America!”
“Cheers!”
Everyone cheered from here and there, raising their glasses. Ashley paused at the sight of his friends making a mess, then shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.
“What is all this? Seriously.”
He sighed, but his friends didn’t care. They had more important business.
“You bastard, how dare you deceive us all this time?”
One guy put his arm around Ashley’s neck from behind, and another joined in.
“You’ve been dating Koi since then, but you kept it a secret from all of us! We can’t just let this slide.”
“Drink, drink!”
The guys roared. Ariel whispered to Koi, who was flustered.
“Those guys, they’ve turned back into gorillas.”
As soon as he heard those words, Koi burst out laughing. Well, Ash doesn’t get drunk. Thinking that made him feel relieved, and his expression softened. Ashley seemed to have the same thought, as he frowned and then sighed.
“These bastards, really.”
Ashley muttered as if lamenting, then suddenly took off his suit jacket and hooked his finger on his tie, pulling it down. This was as good as a signal that he was going to join in. Amidst the roaring gorillas, he took a large beer glass and drank it all down without stopping.
“Woooaaaah!”
“He did it, he did it!”
“As expected of Ashley Miller! The leader of the gorillas!”
“Who’s a gorilla, you son of a bitch.”
Ashley scolded in a rough voice, but everyone just burst out laughing. Seeing Koi approach Ashley and affectionately embrace each other, Ariel, who had caught the right timing, stood up, raised a beer bottle, and shouted.
“Alright, everyone, let’s all make a toast. First of all, to Ashley Miller and Conor Niles for inviting us all like this, thank you so much.”
She put one hand on her chest and expressed her sincere gratitude, then looked around at the eyes focused on her and said.
“For the two of you who are getting married soon, let’s make the best wedding ever. Ash and Koi, congratulations!”
“Congratulations Ash!”
“Koi, Ash, you guys look so good together!”
“Congratulationaaaations!”
Koi was overwhelmed by the pouring congratulations and could only repeat, “Thank you, thank you.” Suddenly, the memory of when he first came to the East Coast came back to him. He couldn’t have imagined that such a happy day would come.
Feeling a tingling in his nose, Koi sniffled, and Ashley asked from above his head.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
He was surprised and grateful for Ashley’s concern, who had noticed his condition right away even in this chaotic situation, but he also felt sorry. Feeling like he was ruining the mood for no reason, Koi hurriedly shook his head and replied.
“It’s just, I’m too happy.”
Ashley frowned briefly, as if to say, ‘You’re crying over this?’ But Koi couldn’t hide his overflowing joy and smiled brightly.
As time passed, the group split up, with the Cheerleader team taking a table with Koi, and the ice hockey team taking a table with Ashley. Leaving behind the boisterous noise of the ice hockey team, the Cheerleader team began to seriously discuss the wedding.
“You’re getting the dress fitted tomorrow?”
“The design is already decided. We just need to adjust the size.”
“If Al chose it, it’s definitely good. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey, but is it really a C brand? And are you really giving it to us?”
Ariel nodded in response to someone’s question.
“She said the dresses for the after-party are also gifts. Right, Koi?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Koi said shyly.
“You can each choose your own after-party dress. Take a look at the designs tomorrow while you’re getting the Bridesmaid dresses fitted.”
“Thank you, this is my first time with a C product! I’ll treasure it forever!”
“Me too, me too!”
He was happily watching his sisters cheer when suddenly the vice-captain spoke up.
“But aren’t you having a bachelor party?”