Alexei laughed, reaching up to brush his knuckles over Sean’s cheek. “Not divorce you ever. Stuck with me always, Senichka.”
“Good.” Sean pulled off his engagement ring with a firm tug. “Then let’s go get married.”
Alexei pulled off his own ring and handed it to Sean, taking the platinum-and-diamond band in return. They’d opted not to get a second wedding band, content with the engagement rings they’d picked out months ago as symbols of their love. Instead, they would exchange the rings they already had at the altar. Alexei tucked Sean’s ring into his uniform pocket, patting the tiny shape where it settled out of sight.
Alexei reached for Sean’s hand, interlacing their fingers together. “Ready?”
Sean’s smile lit up his entire face. “Yeah.”
They left the study and made their way to the anteroom outside the pavilion’s double doors. A pair of estate workers stood on either side of the entrance, ready to open it when given the go-ahead. Alexei paused long enough to straighten Sean’s tie just a bit before retaking his hand.
Ready?Katie asked telepathically into their minds.
Ready, they replied back together.
I’m starting the music.
Alexei nodded at the estate workers, who immediately moved to grab the polished bronze door handles and open the doors as the music queued up. Alexei squeezed Sean’s hand as they stepped into the pavilion, the windows surrounding the area burnished with light from the setting sun.
Their friends and family stood on either side of the aisle, everyone turned to face the entrance. Lights in metal sconces flickered on the marble pillars scattered through the room and in clear vases lining the aisle on the floor. At the end of the aisle was a raised dais where the wedding party waited for them.
Greg stood in the center beneath an arch of white roses. Sean’s brothers stood on one side of the altar, while Kyle, Jamie, and Matthew stood on the other. Their wedding party was small, but meaningful, and Alexei wouldn’t have it any other way.
They walked down the aisle together to the sound of their chosen song filling the room, the classical music rich and beautiful. When they finally made it to the altar, they stepped up onto the dais together, never letting each other go. The song faded away, and everyone moved to retake their seats.
Alexei turned to face Sean, giving his hand another squeeze. They hadn’t let each other go yet, and he wasn’t about to start now.
Greg smiled at them before flicking the fingers of his right hand outward to activate the data rings he wore. Words flashed into existence in the air above his palm, the hologram glowing softly between his fingers. A small microphone hovered in the air before him, capable of picking up Greg’s voice and their own when it came time for them to speak.
“I want to welcome everyone here tonight for this joyous, special occasion where two lives will be joined together. I consider it an honor that I get to preside over the wedding of my son with the man he loves,” Greg began.
Alexei only half listened to the welcoming bit they’d agreed on. His version of the ceremony had been voted down—one needed more than vows and a kiss, according to his mother—and while he was grateful everyone had made it here tonight, he only had eyes for Sean.
“It has been a long, hard journey for Sean and Alexei, but they found their way to each other. The path forward is one they will walk together, with their friends and family by their side. Marriage is a joining of families, those we are born into, and those we choose. Sean and Alexei chose each other, and we are here to bear witness to a promise kept.”
Alexei never looked away from Sean’s eyes, vaguely following along to what Greg was saying. All he could think about was every morning after today where he’d wake up to his husband by his side.
“Will follow you anywhere,” Alexei promised when it came time to say his vows after Greg finished speaking. He held on to both of Sean’s hands like the lifeline they were, feeling as if nothing existed in the world but them. “Be by your side always. Not be whole without you, and don’t want to be. Make me best man because am with you. Love you forever, Senya.”
“I didn’t know I needed you until I met you, Lyosha. We’ve gone through a lot together, but we’re still here, and I’m not going anywhere without you. Where you are is where I’ll be,” Sean promised, his voice catching a little. “You’re stuck with me, for better and for worse.”
“Good. Am glad. Not give you up for anything.”
“Even if I say it’s your turn to fill in the paperwork for a change in relationship status?”
Alexei let out a thick laugh. “Do paperwork only for you.”
He’d do a metric ton of it if Sean asked him to. Sean rubbed his thumbs over the back of Alexei’s hands, smiling wide. “It must be love.”
“Why you think I marry you?” Alexei let go of Sean long enough to dig out the ring from his pocket. “Wear my ring forever,da?”
He lifted Sean’s left hand higher, sliding the cool band back where it belonged. Sean tightened his fingers over Alexei’s. “Forever sounds about right.”
Sean pulled Alexei’s ring out of his pocket, the gold and diamonds catching the light when he pushed it onto Alexei’s finger. Alexei smiled once his ring was back in place, the weight an anchor Alexei was never going to remove.
“I think we skipped a step,” Greg said with a soft chuckle.
“Lyosha has always been impatient,” Sean said with a teasing glint in his eyes.
