Disclaimer: I do not own Young Riders or any of the characters. Just taking them for a ride.
A/N: Story will be told from the POV's of different characters. I will let you know who it is when I switch to a new one.
I can't believe how nervous I am. I'm excited, happy, thrilled, scared to death, today I am marrying the man I love. I had never thought this day would come. Rachel is with me right now, she's helping me fix my hair. She's trying to make my short hair look feminine. I don't really care what she does with it. Emma comes in the room to see if we are almost ready. I still can't believe that Emma and Sam have come all this way just for the wedding. My brother and sister had arrived with them. Emma and Sam had surprised me by picking them up on the way here, I know I have my husband to be to thank for that.
I'm finally ready; Emma and Rachel take my hands and lead me to where the wedding was to take place. We weren't getting married in a church but instead we were getting married on the open prairie. It was just a small gathering of our family and a few friends from town. Not that many, we weren't the most popular of people in Rock Creek after all, and plus most of them had thought I was a guy until my engagement was announced. There had been a lot of shocked people the first time they had seen me in a skirt.
We have finally arrived at the wedding site; I see all my friends and family gathered around. Teaspoon was standing in front of my groom; he was to perform the ceremony. I looked at my husband-to-be; he had never looked so handsome. I still can't believe we are getting married. I've reached him now; his beautiful eyes meeting mine, his perfect smile making my heart melt. Oh how I love this man. Teaspoon is saying the words, joining us as husband and wife. We exchange the rings, but before we were told to kiss I heard another voice speaking in a tongue I couldn't understand but knew right away what language it was. It was Kiowa. I looked down at my hand joined with my soon to be husband. A beaded cloth had been wrapped around our joined hands.
I looked over to see an older Indian man standing where Teaspoon had just been. I knew right away who it was. It was Buck's brother Red Bear. I looked back up into the eyes of the man I love, those beautiful brown eyes that could only belong to Buck. Just as Buck was leaning down to kiss me I woke up, my eyes huge. I sat up in bed and looked around. I was back in the bunkhouse; the other guys were fast asleep. All except Buck, he was sitting up in his bed with an expression on his face that I'm sure matched my own. It had just been a dream but it felt so real.
Buck's POV
I can't believe I'm getting married today. I can't believe I have found a woman who loves all of me, not just my white side or just my Kiowa side, but my whole self. A woman who saw past the color of my skin to see my spirit. I have already dressed in my very best buckskins. I am wearing a traditional Kiowa wedding costume. I'm wearing my long hair flowing down my back except for one section that is braided and wrapped in fur; I've tied an eagle feather to it as well. We are having a dual wedding ceremony. Teaspoon will perform a ceremony to make our marriage legal in the white world and my brother Red Bear is going to perform a Kiowa ceremony so my marriage is recognized in the Kiowa world. I would be bound to my bride in both worlds I belonged to.
Ike and Noah come in to see if I am ready yet. I am, so with my two friends I head to the spot I would marry the woman of my dreams. All of our family and friends are gathered already, including Sam and Emma. I'm touched they came all this way to see us married. It wasn't a very big wedding party, after all we weren't the most popular of people, and I was a half breed. I am starting to get nervous, what is taking so long? I hear the murmurs of my family as my bride arrives.
I look up and meet her eyes. She is so beautiful. How did I get this lucky? As soon as she reaches me we join hands. Teaspoon performs the white ceremony and then moves aside for my brother to take his place. Red Bear starts speaking in Kiowa as he wraps our joined hands in a beaded cloth, marrying us. Just as I was leaning down to kiss my bride…Lou, I woke up.
I sit straight up in bed, my eyes going wide. I look around to see I am back in the bunkhouse; it had only been a dream. I look across from me; Lou is sitting up in her bunk, a look identical to mine on her face. Could it be? Had we really just shared a vision of the future? A future of us together? I nod my head towards the door and silently slip out of my bunk, Lou follows. I lead the way to the barn where we could talk without being overheard or seen, we were in our long johns after all.
Once inside the barn I turn towards Lou, she is visibly shaking. "Lou are you ok?" I ask placing my hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. Her eyes were filled with confusion, "Buck I just dreamed about my wedding." "Don't all girls dream about their weddings?" I teased trying to lighten the mood. But really I was just as confused as her, had she had the same dream as me? "This was different Buck, this felt so real. It was like it was really happening. I could hear the birds singing, I could smell the wildflowers that Rachel had put in my hair, and I could even feel the hand of my husband to be holding mine." Lou said in wonder. "And that's a bad thing?" I asked. Lou gave me a half grin, "Buck I wasn't marrying who I thought I would be." I started smiling, I just knew we had shared the same dream, it had been a vision.
"Who was it Lou?" I asked as I raised a hand to her face gently touching her cheek. Lou looked embarrassed as she said, "You." I chuckled. "What is funny about that Buck?' Lou asked slightly irritated. I shook my head, "Nothing. I just found it amusing that I had the exact same dream as you. You looked beautiful in that white doeskin dress by the way." Lou's eyes got huge as she realized we had shared the same dream. "What does this mean Buck? Why did we have the same dream?" I gave her a soft smile, 'I don't think it was a dream Lou. I believe we have shared a vision of the future. My people believe that when two people share something like this its destiny. The spirits are guiding them down the path they must follow. Our destiny appears to be joined together; it would seem we are meant to be together."
Lou's POV
I was having a hard time believing this. When I realized that Buck truly did have the same dream as me, I was floored. When he explained that his people believed what we shared was a vision of the future, I was unnerved. He called it destiny that we were meant to be together. I didn't want to be with someone who was only with me because he thought the spirits were saying we were meant to be together. I wanted Buck to want to be with me because he loved me. Wait why did I want Buck to love me? I was still in love with Kid, wasn't I?
As I started thinking about it, I realized how close Buck and I had always been. Buck would go out of his way to do little things for me, like taking care of lightning after I got back from a run or always taking the reins from me and tying my horse to the hitching post. He would occasionally give me friendly touches, his hand resting on my shoulder, arm, or back. His eyes speaking to me without words, a smile always at the ready just for me. I realized I had always cherished those quick caresses and stolen looks. I realized I had fallen in love with Buck a long time ago, but Buck wasn't talking about love he was talking about destiny.
"Buck I don't care what the spirits are saying. I'm not marrying anybody unless it's for love, destiny or not." I said as I started to move away. Buck's hand on my arm stopped me. He turned me around to face him. His hands going to the sides of my face as he brought his lips to mine in a sweet kiss. It was just a quick brush of his mouth against mine but it made my heart feel like it was going to explode. After he pulled back, I saw in his eyes what he had been trying to tell me since the very first day. Buck loved me. "Buck?" I said shyly. Buck gave me a soft smile. "If I told you I have loved you from the very first day I met you, would you believe me?" I grinned, "Didn't you think I was a boy?" Buck laughed, "Not for a minute. I've known all along you were a girl; I've loved you all along. I want to marry you, not because the spirits gave us a vision of our future together but because I love you. Could you marry me for love?"
I could feel tears in my eyes, "Are you asking me to marry you Buck?" Buck gave me a breathtaking smile, "yes, but only if you love me too." I gave Buck a huge smile as I stepped closer to him, my arms going around his neck. "Yes, I will marry you Buck because I love you too. I have for a long time." Buck gave me that beautiful smile of his before he put his arms around behind my back and pulled me against his chest. His mouth claimed mine in our second kiss. My heart soared from the love that was shared in that kiss. We spent the rest of the evening talking in the barn until sometime in the early morning hours I drifted to sleep in Buck's arms.