Elkay shuddered briefly as he made his way down the stairs, towards where everyone was sitting, watching and wating. By his side was his brother Retvik, who had kindly offered to walk him down the aisle. In front of them was Tahvra, the adorable little Vohra who had taken the role of ‘Sparkler’, and was throwing petals and glitter out before them as they walked.
There weren’t that many guests, but there were enough to witness this ceremony. Elkay and Retvik followed Tahvra towards the crowd, tip-toeing over the flowers that had been scattered around. With an ever so slightly nervous smile, Elkay gripped his bouquet tightly, then adjusted his veil slightly, focusing on the path ahead. As he saw Teekay, his husband-to-be standing at the front waiting for him though, Elkay picked up his pace, being careful to not trip over Tahvra. Thankfully, Tahvra moved to one side to avoid that.
As they reached the front of the ceremonial area, Retvik gave Elkay a quick hug, then took Elkay’s hand and placed it in Teekay’s open hand, before backing off and sitting down with the other guests. Elkay was wearing white, Teekay was wearing black, so Retvik, wearing his nicest gold armour, did look a bit off, but no one really minded.
To Teekay’s side were Eksi and Kaytee, his groomsmaids, on guard, ready to defend the couple-to-be from any threats, and also holding traditional partnership daggers. To Elkay’s side was Elksia, holding a large, grey box with two gold chain necklaces in it, both of which had a small, round medallion on the bottom. Head of them was Litvir, wearing handmade ceremonial Voidpriest garbs in white, black and pink, and by Litvir’s side were Phovos, Tenuk and Akah, all wearing grey suits, who were acting as witnesses to the signing of Teekay and Elkay’s marriage certificates.
Once everything was in place, Litvir raised his hand, and everyone fell silent.
“Gentlevok, ladies and lords, today, we have come together to witness the union between blissfully happy lovers!” Litvir was doing his best not to slur his words. Despite having it explained to him in the rehearsals, he didn’t understand why he had to be drunk to perform this ceremony. “Standing here before us we have two utterly wonderful people. Shocktrooper Teekay, our husband-to-be, and Unender Elkay, our wife-to-be. Through many a hardship, Teekay and Elkay have fought hard for each other, they love each other dearly, and, today, they will bind themselves together, legally becoming a perfect couple, coming together in an almost holy and utterly perfect partnership…”
Litvir paused briefly, then smiled. Teekay and Elkay smiled too.
“I know I said perfect twice there, but, seriously, these two really are perfect for each other. The cutest little couple I have ever seen. Anyway, before we begin the signing proper, Teekay and Elkay, you both have words for each other, your partnership promises. Teekay, please state your promise of permanent love to your partner to be.”
Teekay shifted his weight, then turned slightly, so he was directly facing Elkay.
“Elkay, my wonderful angel, my beautiful demon. It may have been hard for us to come out of our shells, but we finally made it. We made it together. Our love has survived the death of a universe, the slavery of a Life Goddess, the trials of the Decay Lords. There’s very little that can stop us. Although we’ve made our promises together in the past, I want to make a true and final promise to you. Through good health and ill health, through the ups and downs, through the twists and turns, I promise to love you, to be by your side. Forever and ever, also forever. I love you, Elkay. I love you more than anything. Also that smirk you are trying to hide right now is really fucking cute.”
Elkay couldn’t help but snort in amusement. There was a hint of laughter everywhere else too.
“That was wonderful and touching, thank you, Teekay!” Litvir exclaimed. “Elkay, please, state your promise of permanent love. Although, before you do so, I ought to point out that, firstly, I am drunk and secondly, please excuse how more… concise Elkay’s promise is. Turns out Amalgam Mimics are somewhat permanently bound to their promises, and we do not want Elkay to, uh, hurt himself. Anyway, please, go ahead.”
Elkay smiled some more, then took a deep breath.
“Teekay, my precious gem of stability and love, my anchor, my second pair of wings. You saved my life, you lifted me up when I was down, you took me in when no one else cared. For that, I made myself honour-bound to you. I promised to protect you with my life. Today, I renew that promise to you. Teekay, I promise that I will protect you to the best of my ability, for as long as we are together. I promise I will remain by your side, for as long as I can manage. I promise that I will love you, forever. No matter what happens to us, our love will be eternal. I love you, Teekay.” Elkay paused, before taking another deep breath. “I really hope I did not just screw that up.”
Teekay shrugged, then grinned. “Sounded great to me, babe.”
Litvir nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Elkay. Now, both of you, do you both agree to love each other, to live for each other, through the mud and the sand, until death parts you both?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. Shocktrooper Teekay, Unender Elkay, please sign your names here on this official document.”
Teekay signed first, writing his Decay Lord code name, followed by his alphanumeric name, his common name and a small symbol that combined his alphanumeric name and his old Ksa insignia. Elkay signed similarly, writing his code name, his first name and his full, double-barrelled surname, followed by a signature.
Litvir then turned to the three witnesses. “Formtwister Tenuk, Lifetaker Phovos, Shattershield Akah, do you witness and honour the union and the promises presented before you?”
“Yep!”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
“Wonderful. Please, witnesses, sign your names here on the nice little lines.”
Each witness stepped forward and did as asked, with Tenuk going first, Phovos going second and Akah going last, before stepping back.
“Ohh, fancy signature, Akah!” Litvir beamed as he inspected everyone’s names, checking that everything was correct.
“Uh, thanks.”
“Anyway!” Litvir grinned some more, then turned to the two groomsmaids by Teekay’s side. “Please, my little armoured friends, can you pass me the two partnership daggers?”
Eksi bowed, then handed Litvir two diamond-shaped blades, both of which had two ribbons tied around the handles, one orange ribbon, one green ribbon. Litvir immediately handed the daggers to Teekay and Elkay.
“Shocktrooper Teekay, Unender Elkay, please use these blades to draw each other’s blood, to mark yourselves upon this certificate.”
Teekay and Elkay turned to face each other once more. Teekay held out his left hand and allowed Elkay to gently run his dagger across the tip of his little finger, before dabbing the now bleeding finger onto the marriage certificate, before licking away any excess blood. Elkay then held out his hand so that Teekay could do the same, but it took a couple of attempts to draw blood, because Elkay kept on healing too quickly.
Once their blood had been sealed, Litvir took the daggers away and handed them back to Eksi, who wrapped the blades in a silver fabric and cleaned the blood off them.
“As one of the two leaders of the Thantir Decay Lord Sect, aligned to Deathven, by the power that has been vested in me, I shall now sign this document, permanently sealing your union.”
Teekay and Elkay both watched as Litvir signed the marriage certificate, using a signature that was almost stupidly fancy. Satisfied with his work, Litvir then dragged Elksia over and removed the golden necklaces from the box she was holding. He struggled with the clasps briefly, but Litvir eventually managed to get the necklaces around Teekay and Elkay’s necks.
“Congratulations, you are now husband and wife, wife and husband, true partners, bound in a perfect union!” Litvir loudly proclaimed. “You may now seal the deal and kiss each other. Preferably in as sexy a manner as possible.”
Elkay and Teekay both laughed. Teekay then leaped into Elkay’s arms and forced his tongue into Elkay’s mouth, kissing him deeply. Elkay held Teekay tightly, refusing to let go.
As they kissed and embraced, Litvir nodded to Tahvra, who cheerfully set off some cute little fireworks, causing an explosion of glitter. Everyone climbed to their feet and applauded the happy couple.
“Hey, Elkay, babe?” Teekay whispered as he briefly pulled away to catch his breath.
“Yes, my dearest?”
“You’re my wife now. Isn’t that great?”
Elkay snickered. “And you are my husband now! It is wonderful!”
“You want to get drunk and eat tons of cake with me?”
“Of course.”
The grin Teekay pulled, that look etched itself into Elkay’s memory. They had never been happier. As far as Elkay was concerned, right now, everything was perfect.
“I love you, Teekay. Forever.”
“I love you too, Elkay. Forever.”
