The Rest of Your Life Starts Right Now
By: Riley
Summary – On their wedding day Kendall and Riley celebrate the start of the rest of their lives.
Through all the years, Riley had never thought she would get to her wedding day. Sure, here and there she would write her name in her notebooks with the last name of her celebrity crush or her boyfriend at the time along with it. And, yes, she had a bit of an obsession with weddings when she was about eight years old and first knew what a wedding was. (Not that she didn't still like them; she thought two people declaring their love for each other in person to be 'pretty cool' and always had fun if the reception was a good party). But it was something she pushed away to the back of her mind, not putting too much thought into it.
Kendall, on the other hand, had been told since he was young that if he was going to be married it should be to his best friend. His mother and father had both told him that time and time again. For a while it had been true for them but then their fights increased and the inevitable separation came about and Kendall pushed the thought to the back of his mind. It was something he strived for, but it was never his obsession.
Throughout the time the two had known each other, a seven year friendship and relationship, marriage continued to stick at the back of their mind, coming forward more and more as time went on. Their eventual wedding seemed to be inevitable in some ways.
And their wedding day had finally arrived.
The morning of October 1st, Riley awoke with a big smile on her face. Her blue eyes fluttered open and she yawned for a minute. Then a quick glance at her watch reminded her what the day was to bring and she soon found she couldn't stop smiling. It had taken a lot for the wedding day to come about; cramming what should've been a long engagement into nine months of preparation with help from their friends and family (not to mention a moment where things had to be changed at the last minute, which was entirely a different story but made Riley love Kendall all the more). Not to mention working it around Kendall's hockey schedule and Riley's music schedule.
When she woke up that morning, wrapped up in Kendall's arms as he snored quietly—when not mumbling something in his sleep—Riley sat up and reached over, covering his eyes. The suddenly movement caused Kendall to jerk in surprise and start to sit up.
"What are you—?" He started to say.
"You can't see me before the wedding!" Riley cried. "It's bad luck!"
And Kendall's shoulders slumped as he listened to what his fiancée had to say. She could feel his eyelashes fluttering against her palms like butterfly kisses as he tried to blink away the sleep from his eyes. "Last I checked, a tank top and boxers isn't a wedding dress," he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. "And I thought you weren't superstitious."
"I'm not superstitious about a lot of things, boofhead. Tattoos and weddings are the only things I don't joke with, mate."
Then Kendall frowned, almost pouted as he finally woke up, understanding what she was saying. "Am I supposed to go all day with your hands over my eyes? Don't you need to use them for something?" With a flirtatious lift to his voice he tried to remove her hands from his face but found she was holding tightly onto him.
When Riley felt her hands starting to slip away she quickly dove under the covers, holding them to herself like a cocoon. She then started to laugh when she felt Kendall's hands moving over the blanket, trying to tickle her out from her own place of cover.
Kendall stopped his tickle torture and leaned back, resting his hands behind him. He blew his hair form his face and smirked down at the lump in their bed. "And what'll happen if I see my lovely fiancée before she becomes my lovely wife?"
"You'll induct a curse on your family that'll last for generations and ruin your crops for years to come," Riley replied.
A chuckle escaped Kendall's lips. He ran a hand over his face. "You do realize that within the next few hours that's going to be your family, too, right?."
"As far as I'm concerned you'd be the cursed one, Hockey-Head, not me," Riley teased.
"Why didn't you spend the night with the girls anyway?"
"Because I spent the entire weekend with them, I've found recently that I don't like to sleep alone, and Camille really doesn't like to sleep alone and no one wanted to share a bed with her and—"
"I get it," Kendall interrupted, holding up a hand.
Riley shifted over in the bed until she found an opening where she could at least stick her face out from the covers. "Now fuck off and let me get ready. We have to be there in a couple of hours."
"Have I ever told you you're the most charming woman I've ever met?" Kendall asked sarcastically. He laughed as Riley shot up her foot and tried to kick him in the side. He grabbed onto her foot and tickled it through the covers, causing her to fall apart into giggles all over again. "Fine, I'm going. The guys are waiting for me anyway." He leaned back over the bed and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later, Ruby. I love you."
"I love you, too," Riley replied. She waited until she heard Kendall gather his things and leave the room before wrestling herself out from her cocoon and sat up, smiling happily.
She brought a hand up to her cheek, surprised to find her face flushed unsure if it was from the entrapped heat under the covers or from her excitement of knowing she loved him, he loved her, and they would spend the rest of their lives together.
As Kendall straightened the bow-tie that sat around his neck, he stared at his reflection in the mirror almost in awe. The person looking back at him was obviously him; same hairstyle, same face, same formal clothes that rested on the more casual side, and yet with an expression of completely confidence on his face.
Or barely concealed nerves.
His hands shook, his armpits filled with sweat, his knees knocked (though he remembered Logan's repeated warning of not locking his knees), his stomach twisted, and part of him thought he was going to pass out. Or maybe it was the heat and humidity of the day. It was a bit more humid than he would've liked but at least they were able to have things work out the way they wanted ultimately. Kendall turned away from the mirror, dropping his hands from his neck as he let out a long breath.
The next thing Kendall knew he was walking up to the altar, smiling to his friend and family as they sat in the rows of chairs that created aisles along the sand. Behind the altar waves crashed along the sand adding an ambience to the warm day. A gentle breeze blew as he went.
He cleared his throat and turned towards the back of the beach where his best friends came down the aisle with members of the bridal party; James and Jo, Logan and Camille, Carlos and Stephanie, Dak and Rhuben, Patrick and his baby sister, Noah and Lizzie, then Sydney walking his mother down the sandy aisle to sit in the first row.
Then Riley's sister-in-law-Brittany, came down the aisle as a make-shift flower girl. With a basket gently held over her pregnant belly, Brittany gently tossed petals of sunflowers and daisies on the ground, in lieu of the niece that was still a few months away from being born.
Finally, the music started to indicate the bride coming down the aisle and Kendall took another deep breath. He lifted his gaze and watched as Riley walked gracefully towards him, arm-in-arm with her adoptive father, Ronan, and her eldest brother, Julius flanking her sides. As she walked towards him, holding onto a bouquet of daisies with two golden wattles in the center—to represent her deceased parents—Kendall felt he was falling in love with her all over again. Her hair was pulled back into a braided chignon festooned with light pink flowers, emphasizing the short fitted white dress with a red sash tied around her waist.
Finally, she reached the altar, where Ronan and Julius both gave her a kiss on the cheek before retreating, and stepped up next to Kendall, smiling the biggest and brightest smile he'd ever seen from her.
Opening his mouth, Kendall licked his lips and swallowed twice before being able to whisper, "You look so beautiful."
"Thank you," she whispered back, her lips starting to pull into a smirk.
The ceremony moved so fast it was as if Kendall blinked and it was over. When it was time for him to read his vows, he listened as the preacher asked, "Do you, Kendall, take Rilandon to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Kendall said confidently, keeping his eyes on her.
"And do you Rilandon, take Kendall to be your lawfully wedded husband, tohave and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Riley said as confidently.
"At this time the bride and groom would like to read their own vows," the preacher stated. He motioned for Kendall to start.
Kendall carefully pulled a folded up sheet of paper out of his pocket and cleared his throat before saying loudly so all could hear, "From first meeting at sixteen year old to becoming best friends facing the odds together…" Kendall stopped, already feeling a lump form in his throat as tears came to his eyes. "To becoming lovers to supporting each other within our careers, to being able to play around like kids like no one's watching…and being able to take every nickname you throw my way," he paused to allowed his friends to laugh to themselves, making Riley chuckle as well. "All of these things and many more are what make me want to make a promise to you. I promise as long as I'm alive you'll never be alone, you'll never question if you're beautiful, you'll never doubt if you're worthy, and you'll never wonder if you're loved. You're my Angel, my soul mate, my best friend." His voice broke as the tears finally fell. He reached up and wiped them away. "And I hope I can continue to be the man you've made me become."
Kendall put the paper away and waited for Riley's turn.
She turned to Rhuben, who handed her the folded up paper from within her own bouquet and opened it, starting to read. "There aren't many things I believe in, but the one thing I believe wholeheartedly is that I was destined to meet you; that I was destined to love you, that I was destined to share my life with you. As much as I love my mum and dad and as much as I miss them…" She paused for a moment, blinking back her own tears. It took a minute for her to calm down. "I reckon I wouldn't have met you without their help. Despite being annoyed at first because you wouldn't leave me alone,"—this time she paused for everyone to laugh—"You understand me better than anyone else. You believe in me better than anyone else. You support me better than anyone else. And, you put up with me better than anyone else. You're my absolute best friend and I truly don't know what I'd do without you. I promise to encourage your passion and to nurture your dreams because through them your soul shines and you truly are my boofhead, my Hockey-Head, and my superstar."
Finally, Kendall and Riley took their rings from James (After it was passed to him from Logan to Carlos first to make sure all three of his best men were involved in some way) and Rhuben and placed them on each other's ring fingers, the preacher said, "With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."
Hands shaking of happiness, Kendall wiped his palms on the sides of his slacks before taking a step forward. He gently framed his hands on Riley's face and lowered his face to hers as she leaned hers up to his.
The two kissed passionately as their friends and family cheered.
"I am pleased to announce for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall and Riley Knight!"
Riley reached out and grasped Kendall's hand tightly in hers, squeezing it firmly as the two headed back up the sandy aisle, ready for their reception in a rented out barn, ready to party, ready to start the rest of their lives.
THE END
A/N: And there you have it. Today is the day of Kendall's and Riley's wedding (as well as the anniversary of their first date) and I needed to do a one-shot for it as the show ended in 2013 and they were 19 in that season, so this is in showverse real-time.
If/when it appears in a multi-chapter story it'd be more fleshed out (and possibly some things changed) than what was shown here. Mostly in terms of showing their friends and families' reactions throughout the day and what not.
I hope you all enjoyed it.
Cheers,
-Riles
