“So, you want to get married?”
Kuta and Ret were sitting in front of Litvir’s desk, holding hands. Ret was a tad worried, but Kuta was fine.
“We do, yes.”
“Forever and ever, also forever?”
“Indeed. Retvik and I have decided that we want to spend eternity together.”
Litvir looked Kuta and Ret up and down, then smiled. “You both seem very happy, but Ret, little one, you seem nervous too.”
“I admittedly am a little nervous, Kyr Litvir. Getting married is on the long list of things I never thought I would experience, alongside being accidentally made immortal and getting kicked out of my universe.”
Litvir tilted his head to one side and eyed Ret some more. “That is fair. But you do not need to call me “Kyr”, Ret.”
“You are my superior though.”
“Maybe, but we do not need to stand on ceremony when it comes to casual conversations like this!” Litvir smiled. “However, I do want to know why you came to me to say you wanted to get married.”
Ret shrugged. “Some permission is required. Normally, I would not be able to propose because Kuta is a superior officer, but now we are equals, we can. It is also somewhat traditional to inform one’s closest friends and family.”
“I see. Are you asking permission?”
“No. I just felt that you, being Kuta’s only family, ought to know first… Well, uh, fourth, after Tenuk, Nyssi and Kayel. But you giving me your blessing to marry your twin sibling would mean a lot to me. And if we were still in our home universe, Kuta told me they wanted to ask Rethais and Relkir for their blessings too.”
“Cute…” Litvir smiled some more. “So, what sort of wedding are we looking at? I am unaware of what new-universe Rethans do for their weddings.”
“It is often rather simple,” Kuta explained. “We make a promise and blood oath to each other, then seal the deal by jumping into a body of water, where we believe that our blood mingles together then gets washed away, binding us until death parts us.”
“Hm, interesting. A much more literal interpretation of the binding of beings in marriage. Tell me more, little sibling! Who will we be inviting, and who does the ceremonial stuff?”
Ret frowned a little. “There were always two options. A captain from the 222nd Legion, or a superior officer.”
“If we were still in-universe, Retvik and I would most likely be married by a higher ranking General. Either the Vice General, Master of Generals, or a 10th Legion or lower General. Theoretically, the General of Rethan Heroes could also do the ceremony to bind us. The High General would not be able to marry us because they are Retvik’s sibling.”
Ret glanced at Kuta. “As it has to be someone above us, does that mean that Litvir cannot do the ceremony?”
“Indeed.”
Litvir just shrugged. “That is fine. When Elkay and Teekay got married, it was I who did the ceremony, because Retvik did not feel comfortable doing so. In your case? I probably not do the ceremony, it would be weird, and I do not think Retvik would want to do it either.”
“Kyr Arkay could do the ceremony though, yes?” Ret asked. “He is technically our superior.”
Kuta blinked, then smiled. “That is a good idea, actually. Even more so because Arkay got us together in the first place.”
“He did?”
Ret and Kuta glanced at each other.
“Admittedly, Arkay got us together by accident. After Arkay left me, I went to Palaestra to try and find him, as he had a home there, but his home was empty. I then walked to Retvik’s place to see if Arkay had been there at all, but Retvik and I… just spent the evening talking. Everything just clicked.”
“Well, I needed to get repatriated and removed from the Bloodline Traditions first, but Rethais and Relkir helped me with that. Ever since I got out of all that stupid exile stuff, Kuta and I have not been happier. Outside of the… many misadventures we also had.”
“Sounds like quite a story!”
“It is…” Kuta trailed off. “I just feel that our marriage will not be official.”
“That is not a problem at all!” Litvir grinned. “There is actually an official way to be married as Decay Lords. Admittedly, it is incredibly straight forward, and mostly just involved signing a piece of paper and dripping some blood on it in front of some witnesses, but we can build a more traditional Rethan wedding ceremony around the official paperwork.”
“Have you done this before?” Ret asked.
“Somewhat. When Elkay and Teekay got married, they used Skyavok traditions, but they all had a lovely time. We can do the same for you.”
Kuta opened their mouth to speak, then paused. “They used Skyavok traditions?”
“Yes. Elkay did not want to have an old-universe Rethan wedding.”
“Why?” Ret asked.
“Old-universe Rethan weddings are dull. We did not do anything fun outside of drinking.”
Ret shrugged. “Oh well. We have nice new-universe traditions now. But I would like to, at some point, go to a place to buy marriage daggers. And maybe a marriage ring to go with them.”
“Is there anyone you want to invite or do something for your wedding?” Litvir asked. “I do not know how large new-universe Rethan weddings are.”
Kuta glanced at Ret. Both of them tutted.
“Our weddings come in two sizes, tiny and huge. Kuta and I are certain we want a tiny wedding. Although, admittedly, we do not really have many guests.”
“Nor do we really want any.”
“Fair enough!” Litvir was still smiling. “Are there any positions or roles that you want? I am sure Arkay will happily do the ceremony for you, but you will also need some witnesses for the signing of the marriage certificate.”
Kuta glanced at Ret again. Ret shrugged again.
“We need to think about it all. The only thing we know for sure is that we want Tanos to be our blade-bearer.”
“Indeed. Ret and I have a lot to think about, but we mostly just wanted to know if getting married was even an option. I am glad it is.”
“Wonderful. Is there anything else you need right now?” Litvir queried.
“No, that is it for now!” Ret beamed. He and Kuta both stood up, then bowed slightly. “We have a lot of things we need to think about, together but in private.”
“Understandable!” Litvir smirked. “Go off and do some thinking. You both know where I am if you need me.”
“Thank you!” Kuta was also beaming. They grabbed Ret by the hand and headed to the door. “See you around, brother!”
“No worries, dear sibling.”
Litvir watched as the happy couple almost skipped out of the office. He then glanced at his work and sighed.
“I guess I have some thinking to do as well…”