"Hey, you. Didn't go see the grooms?" Elliot turned to look at his wife as she took her place next to him.
He smiled, "Wouldn't that be a bit unconventional, seeing that I'm an ex to both of them?" He asked and Chaewon laughed.
"Since when have any of us ever been conventional, especially you and me?" She asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Elliot shrugged, "I suppose you're right. But who would I threaten? Both of them? I could probably tell them both not to ever hurt each other or I'll hurt them but I suppose it would be quite funny, having me telling both of them. Either way, isn't your cue going to be coming up pretty soon?"
Chaewon sighed, "I can't believe they put me as bride's mother, even though we don't have a bride for one, and two, I'm literally only four years older than him," She looked down, "I wish we could have found his actual parents. For him and Lumina. At least so that they could have closure on whether they're dead or not…"
Elliot let out a breath, "Me too, Chae. But we'll do with what we've got now. Xander was happy enough to have you fill the role. Besides, do we really know anyone else that could fill it?" Elliot gestured around, and raised his eyebrow, "Huh, actually, it's been quite a while since we've seen some of these people. Wait, is that…"
"Yeah. I don't think Kaedan actually knows they're here," Chaewon nodded, "Ariyasul Sunami. I don't know how Xander managed to find them again but I suppose just hearing that it was Kaedan's wedding was enough to make them come out of hiding. They disappeared after Wyran's death. I don't blame them…Kaedan will probably be really happy to see his brother's partner here."
Elliot nodded, "And I suppose those three with the baby are the people the kids invited earlier today?"
Chaewon sighed, "I was wary at first, but they really do seem to just be good people from the city. Harmless enough. Besides, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have a cake, so I suppose we do owe it to them."
They were both cut off as the music began.
Elliot smiled at his wife, "I suppose that's your cue, Go get 'em, bride's mother," He grinned.
Chaewon rolled her eyes, "I'll get you back for that," She muttered before making her way to the aisle. She looked back for a moment and smiled as Elliot blew her a kiss and waved to her. As she slowly made her way down the path, She could see most of the people had already been seated except for the group of people who were going to be part of the procession. She took her place at the altar and watched as the doors opened to the house.
Watching Kaedan step out, followed closely by Owen and Mina, was actually quite nostalgic. Chaewon and Elliot's wedding had been smaller than this, even though this was quite small for the fact that it was a marriage between royalty and someone of generally high status. But Kaedan looked excited, almost bouncing with energy, a little bit nervous, and so, so, so happy.
Chaewon was glad that they got to have this, too.
As Kaedan reached the altar with Owen and Mina standing next to him, she leaned over and whispered, "I cannot believe you two really did rock-paper-scissors for who would be walking down the aisle and who would be at the altar. As expected of members of the Idiot Crew Part Two."
"Shut up, Miss 'Proposed on the spot in the middle of a fight', you're no better than us," Kaedan whispered back, but he was smiling.
The rest of the group slowly started making their way out, mostly paired up in different ways. Hyunwoo with Risále, Bella with Fenix, and Leon with Elliot. As they took their seats in the front row, the music began to swell as the last few of the processions made their way out. Val and Nia had also just done rock-paper-scissors to see who would be the flower girl and who would be the ring bearer. Nia won, and so she ended up being the ring bearer. The two of them made their way down the aisle, and Chaewon smiled a little when she saw that Val's arm was linked with Nia's.
Finally, the door opened and out stepped Xander, a red and gold veil covering his face as Lumina held his hand. As his closest living relative, of course, she was going to take the place of walking him down the aisle.
Chaewon could hear Kaedan's breath catch, "He's so beautiful. God, I'm so lucky I got to marry him," He whispered.
"He hasn't even taken off the veil yet, give it a second!" Owen whispered back.
"It's useless, he's down so bad," Mina couldn't keep the fond smile off her face though.
Xander stopped by the steps, and Lumina turned to give him a hug, whispering something to him. Faintly, through the slight transparency of the veil, Chaewon thought she saw him smile as he said something back to her, squeezing her hands for a moment before stepping up. Lumina looked up at Kaedan.
"Take care of him, alright? I'm trusting you," She said, but after all these years, she didn't have any doubts that Kaedan would ever hurt Xander.
"I will. Always," Kaedan nodded back to her, smiling.
The officiant began the normal wedding speech, Chaewon herself was familiar with this and she was sure that Kaedan and Xander were familiar enough to not be paying attention to his words at all.
…Yeah, no, the two were staring at each other.
"Hi," Kaedan whispered,
"Hi, future husband," Xander teased back.
They both turned their attention back to the officiant as he began to address them, speaking of their responsibilities to each other as each others' husbands.
"Alexander and Kaedan will mark their transition as a couple not only by celebrating the love between themselves, but by also celebrating the love between all of us—Including the love of their parents, siblings, extended family, and best friends. Without that love, today would be far less joyous," The officiant said, "And now, for the vows. Kaedan Hernandez, if you will?"
Kaedan took a deep breath, "Firstly, I want to say…I never thought this day would come. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think I could have not been in love with Alex, but I didn't think I'd get to have a wedding day. It was always going to be us, I know that. But I didn't think we'd get this chance. And I'm so grateful to everyone that let us have this chance, and to everyone that could be here. Because there's nothing I want more than to let everyone know that this amazing, kind, strong, intelligent, sweet man in front of me is going to be my husband," He turned to Xander, "We've been through so much shit together, and trust me, if you told me six years ago that I was going to be marrying Alexander Liu, I probably would have brought out my whip. It says a lot about what we've become. And I've fucked up, dear God, I fucked up in the past, and I hurt you, and I regret it so much."
Xander's smile turned a little somber as he mouthed, "I would never blame you for it, Kae."
"I know you don't blame me for it, as much as I deserve it. But you've given me another chance, and I swear to you," Kaedan looked at him, determination in his eyes, "I won't mess this up. I will treasure you, and love you, always. I knew I was in love with you the moment you stood up to my family and risked a goddamn criminal sentencing for me—Which is still quite unbelievable, honestly, since I acted like I hated your guts. I think it was quite obvious to everyone who knew me back then that I was in denial—"
"Clearly," Mina muttered, and Kaedan glared at her.
"As I was saying," He said pointedly, "It took me long enough to realize I was in love with you. And even if it seemed like it, I never stopped being in love with you. Not even when I thought you betrayed me. And you've forgiven me for doubting you, I know you have. But for the longest time," Kaedan took a deep breath, "I didn't forgive myself. I was angry at myself for hurting you, for not understanding. I didn't even know if I deserved you. But as some people who I am only for now willing to admit are kind of intelligent told me," He looked over to Mina and Owen, "It's about time I forgive myself and let go. So, Alexander Guocheng Liu. Will you please do me the honor of being my husband?"
There was a beat of silence, and then the roar of applause as Xander raised his hands under the veil, wiping at his eyes, "Fuck, baby, how am I supposed to say my vows if you make me cry like this?" He laughed, partially choked by a sob. Behind them, Kaedan could see Lumina, Mina, and Owen doing their best not to cry.
"You're not supposed to," Kaedan responded, just as choked up, "You're supposed to just say yes to marrying me."
Xander laughed again, before collecting himself, "I will. But first," He turned to the officiant, "I assume, it's my turn to say my vows, no?" As the officiant nodded, Xander turned back, "Wonderful. Okay. As Kaedan said, I didn't think we'd get to have this day. Or, well, me specifically. I don't think I ever expected to live to have one. I think I'd dreamed of it when I was young. That…Stopped pretty quickly after I ended up joining the White Lotus," He laughed a bit sadly, "Even when I started seeing people, it was never meant to last. Elliot is current proof of that—Yes, you Elliot, who else would I be talking about, idiot?" Xander scoffed as Elliot pointed at himself, "Anyways, I never thought about having a long-lasting relationship. It was too dangerous. And then, you happened, Kaedan. You and Wyran walked into my office with the case, and the first thing I thought when I saw you was 'Wow, he does not want to be here' and the second was 'Wow, he's really handsome'. I don't think I'd ever met a person who seemed so ticked off by my presence when I hadn't done anything. And then, of course, after finding out more about you, the situation, and then the Summer Solstice Ball. Oh, the Summer Solstice Ball. Yeah, I was in love with you before that, but I think that was when I entirely accepted it. We…Don't need to go into detail about what happened then—"
"None of us need that, we figured it out when you both ran off and didn't come back, let's skip that, please," Lumina added.
"Shut up, A'Li," Xander said, but there was no venom to his voice, "That was a night I will never forget. We were idiots back then, really, I should have asked you right then and there to be with me. Of course, we did things the unconventional way, took us a bit longer to actually get together. And it was wonderful. And then," Xander looked down, "Everything went wrong. It was okay for you to see me as the bad guy for a little while, as long as I could protect you for a little longer. I never expected you to forgive me. I really did think this was going to be like my other relationships, that this wouldn't last. And it would be my fault. But to my surprise, you decided to try again with me. I'm so glad you decided not to give up on us."
Kaedan smiled softly, "If anything, I'm glad you decided to take me back, even after everything that happened."
Xander took Kaedan's hands in his, "Kaedan, you did something that I thought no one would do. You took one look at a cold-blooded assassin and you weren't afraid. You fell in love with that assassin, regardless of his crimes. More than that, you didn't just love the assassin, you loved the man who was trapped behind the title of an assassin. You found the traumatized boy behind all of it and told him it was alright, that it wasn't his fault. Something that not many other people had told him. Not enough people. You convinced him that he was worthy of being loved like this, and god, I couldn't be happier that it was you. So, Kaedan Hernandez, I would be honored to be your husband, if only you'll be mine too."
There was a moment of silence once again before Kaedan sniffled, "I really want to kiss you right now, you know that?" He said, wiping away his tears.
"Well," Xander laughed, a bit choked up, "The feeling is mutual, just so you know."
Most of the people were already crying, the entirety of their group was practically in tears aside from Chaewon and Elliot, who were just watching their friends fondly.
The officiant waited for everyone to quiet down before he spoke again, "Do you, Kaedan Ryal Hernandez, take Alexander Guocheng Liu to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad times, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Kaedan responded, no hesitation in his voice.
The officiant turned to Xander, "Do you, Alexander Guocheng Liu, take Kaedan Ryal Hernandez to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad times, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?
"I do," Xander responded, no hesitation in his voice.
There were many cheers again and the officiant looked amused, "The ceremony isn't over quite yet, just give me a little longer and I assure you, you will see these two married today."
"Today would be nice, thank you," Kaedan added.
"Well, then, I will continue. Will the ring bearer please step forward?" Nia stepped forward, the rings held in the velvet case, "A ring is a circle, an unbroken, infinite loop. It will represent your infinite love and devotion to each other. It will represent your union together in this life. When you see these rings, remember this moment, and be reminded of your commitment and love for one another. Kaedan, place the ring on Alexander's finger and repeat after me," The officiant said the line that Kaedan had memorized over and over again.
Kaedan took the ring—They'd decided to use their engagement rings as their wedding rings since they'd gotten quite attached to them—And slid it onto Xander's finger, "Alex, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever," Then, he pulled Xander's hand up and gently pressed a kiss to it.
"Flirt," Xander murmured fondly.
"Just returning the favor," Kaedan responded, smiling.
Xander shook his head, laughing a bit. The officiant cleared his throat, "Today, gentlemen. People appreciate the flirting, but we would like to see the ceremony finished today," The two men nodded, "And now…Alexander, place the ring on Kaedan's finger and repeat after me."
Xander took the ring from the box and gently took Kaedan's hand. He kissed it, before sliding the ring onto his finger, looking into his eyes through the veil, "Kaedan, my king, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever."
"Competitive idiots," Mina sniffled.
"Shut up, Mina," Owen elbowed her, also sniffling.
Xander and Kaedan turned to the officiant, as he began speaking, "Now, for the three formal bows," Kaedan hadn't wanted this wedding to erase parts of Xander's heritage, so they'd agreed to mix a typical wedding for Kaedan's side and include some of the important parts of a traditional Chinese wedding for Xander's side, "The first bow, towards the Heaven and the Earth."
Mina, Lumina, Owen, and Chaewon moved away from the altar to give Kaedan and Xander room to move onto their knees and perform the first bow.
"The second bow is to the ancestors and relatives of the wedded," The officiant continued. This had worried Kaedan since this was primarily meant to show respect to one's parents, but Kaedan had absolutely no intent of doing that for his own. That was when Lumina had stepped in, telling him that since he was marrying Xander, he could just bow to the other man's parents instead of Kaedan's own. Mina had added that he could bow to Wyran instead of his parents. As he bowed, with Xander next to him, he kept that thought in his mind.
They completed the second bow and then turned to face each other, knowing what was coming next.
"The final bow is to each other," The officiant queued, and the two men followed, bowing to each other, Xander still keeping the veil over his face.
As they stood up, the officiant spoke again, a smile on his face, "Before these witnesses, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have now sealed this pledge with your wedding rings. By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss the groom!"
Kaedan wasted no time, reaching out and lifting the veil off of Xander's head to meet his husband's eyes, and his breath caught, "You're gorgeous," He said airily.
"And you're mine," Xander grinned, before cupping Kaedan's face in his hands and pulling him into a kiss. Kaedan smiled against his lips, his hands wrapping around Xander's waist without hesitation. The cheers erupted around them.
Kaedan pulled away, "Hello, husband," He grinned.
"Hello to you too, husband dearest," Xander whispered, kissing him again.