Today was the day.
Today was finally the day.
Today was finally the day, and Enjolras was having a nervous breakdown.
The blonde let out a shaky breath as he looked into the mirror, adjusting his tie for the fifteenth time in the last two minutes. He then began to fiddle with his hair before dropping his hands back down to his tie as his breathing started to quicken.
"Calm down, Julian, it's just a wedding," Combeferre called from his place on the chaise lounge in Enjolras and Grantaire's living room, glancing over at his friend a few feet away. Enjolras nodded hurriedly at the man's reflection before moving to straighten his jacket, his palms beginning to sweat. His eyes widened and he began to tremble. Combeferre sighed before standing up, placing his hands on Enjolras' shoulders to steady his friend. "Julian. Stop freaking out."
"What if Sebastian has decided that he does not want to marry me?" Enjolras said in a rush. "What if he decided that he does not want to put up with a lifetime of protests and my rebellions against the patriarchy that our society is so brainwashed by? What if he has decided that we are just too dif—"
"Julian!" Combeferre exclaimed, spinning the twenty-nine-year-old around and shaking him briefly. "Calm. Down." He pulled Enjolras into a hug. "The love you have for Sebastian is indomitable. Sebastian loves you. He would not have agreed to marry you if a life with you was not what he desired." Combeferre rubbed at Enjolras' back, holding him close as the other boy gasped for breath. "Breathe."
Enjolras nodded, trying to steady his breathing. Several minutes later, Enjolras was finally able to speak. "Thanks," he breathed, still trembling lightly. He let out a breath before looking back at the mirror, at Combeferre's tan slacks, olive green shirt, chocolate vest and tie. Enjolras glanced over at his own reflection, studying it once more, trying to fix every aspect until he found it perfection. Enjolras himself was wearing tan slacks and a dark green dress shirt, chocolate tie. Grantaire and he had decided that the wedding was going to be reasonably casual. Neither of the men fancied the sumptuous values of the traditional wedding. Enjolras finally smiled after glancing at his watch, realizing that he was marrying the love of his life in a short few hours. "I can scarcely believe today is my wedding day," he admitted.
Combeferre laughed, smiling back as he clapped Enjolras on the back. "It took you long enough to get here. Eight years of pining, one of dating, two years of engagement. You guys deserve this," Combeferre said before hugging his friend again. "Are your vows finished?"
Enjolras nodded, pulling a neatly-folded sheet of white paper out of his back pocket, holding it up between his middle and index fingers before putting it back in his pocket. "I keep adding things onto them… I wrote them last week so that I would not worry about getting them done, but now I keep thinking of things that I need to say. I have rewritten my vows fifteen times since yesterday morning."
Combeferre chuckled, shaking his head. "You would."
XXXXX
Across town, Grantaire and Eponine were getting ready at the Combeferre household. Nicolas and Elodie (the ring bearer and flower girl, respectively) were dressed. Currently, the children were in the living room: Elodie on the dark blue couch, her older brother reading her a book from his place on the cushions next to her. Following the theme of the wedding, the children were dressed in green and brown. Nicolas was wearing tan trousers and a simple white dress shirt, green tie. Elodie, on the other hand, was wearing a sleeveless chocolate brown dress with a poufy skirt. She looked like a princess.
Grantaire was checking his phone every few minutes to see how much time had passed. Unlike Enjolras, Grantaire was not nervous at all. He was too excited to focus on feeling anything else. He was beaming, pacing around the house and twisting his ring around his finger. He had, as Enjolras had predicted, decided to wear his engagement ring as his eventual wedding ring. He was wearing dark brown slacks and a light green shirt, mirroring and countering his fiancé's. He had also added a tan vest to his ensemble, much like Combeferre.
As Grantaire circled back into the Eponine and Comebferre's bedroom, he clicked his phone again. "The more often you check, the slower time will go," Eponine called through the bathroom door.
Grantaire chuckled. "How do you know that I checked it? I could just be out here waiting to see a precious beauty such as yourself!"
"Because I know how impatient and agog you are to marry Julian!" Eponine responded, still through the door. She opened it, stepping out slowly. "How do I look?"
Grantaire smiled even wider, if that was possible. He stepped forward and held his hand out to the girl, twirling her around when she took it. "You look stunning, my dear."
In fact, stunning was an understatement. Eponine was dressed the same as her daughter, in a dark brown dress. Unlike Elodie, though, Eponine's dress was strapless, and the skirt had a green lace overlay. Eponine had her curled and in a side bun with a swig of baby's breath tucked into the fastener. She quickly placed her makeup bag and curling iron back under the sink before fully leaving the bathroom, coming over to hug Grantaire, dancing in her heels as she walked over, throwing her hands up in excitement. "You are getting married!"
"I know!" Grantaire exclaimed in response, throwing his hands up as well.
"Do you know what time it is?" Eponine teased after glancing at the clock on the wall. She laughed when Grantaire's hand twitched, desperate to check his phone again, as he was unable to read an analog clock. He resisted the urge, though, and shook his head. Eponine smiled again. "It is time to get you to the altar."
XXX
Enjolras stood behind a stonewall with his mother, waiting to walk down the aisle to Grantaire. They were staring at the sky, discussing the perfect weather for the outdoor wedding that was taking place next to the lake where Grantaire and Enjolras had admitted their feelings for one another so long ago. Orienne Enjolras had tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks as she looked at her son.
"My baby boy is getting married," Orienne cooed, running her hand down his arm, catching his fingers within her own. "My little Juli is all grown up." She moved forward to pull Enjolras into an embrace. She leaned her head on his shoulder before speaking again. "Your father would have been so proud of the man that you have become… he would have loved Sebastian." Orienne kissed her son's cheek, pointing up to bright blue sky. "He is watching from above, you know. He is with God himself, blessing this union between you and your beloved."
Tears began to form in Enjolras' eyes at his mother's words as he hugged her back. "Thank you, Maman," he whispered, kissing Orienne's cheek. Suddenly, the music began to play, the music that beckoned Enjolras and his mother to head down the aisle. Enjolras let out a breath, his hands starting to shake. "Well, this is it."
Orienne smiled before hugging her son quickly again before leading him back around the fence, to the end of the rows of folding chairs that held sixty-eight of Grantaire and Enjolras' closest friends and family members. Enjolras stared at the ground as he headed to his entrance, only looking up when Orienne and he had reached the beginning of the walkway. When Enjolras did finally raise his eyes, his breath caught in his throat. "Oh my," Enjolras breathed, his eyes wide.
At the end of the aisle stood Grantaire, Eponine, Combeferre, Nicolas, and Elodie. Eponine was Grantaire's Matron of Honor, just as Combeferre was Enjolras' Best Man. Enjolras was in his own world as he walked, barely taking notice of all the beaming faces around him. The blonde found himself unable to remove his eyes from where they had locked with his fiancé's, both men's faces splitting with the power of their smiles. It seemed like hours before Enjolras finally reached his lover but, in reality, it was a mere single minute to move from start to end.
When Enjolras and Orienne finally reached the front, Courfeyrac, who was officiating the wedding, began to speak. "Who gives this man to be married?" he asked, smiling at Orienne as Grantaire held out his hand, palm up.
"His mother does," Orienne responded, taking her son's hand and placing it over Grantaire's. At Courfeyrac's nod, Enjolras kissed his mother on the cheek before interlacing his fingers with Grantaire's and stepping towards the other man.
Courfeyrac cleared his throat before starting the ceremony. "About time," he stated, causing laughter to ring throughout the guests. Courfeyrac placed his hand over Enjolras and Grantaire's joined ones. "I know none of you expected Julian here to follow the traditional misogynistic idea of one man taking another human as property, so it should come as no surprise that I am the one talking up this ceremony. It should also be noted that Sebastian is probably—" Courfeyrac paused, putting his hand on Grantaire's shoulder for a moment before withdrawing it— "Okay, is, shaking with the anticipation of becoming Enjolras' husband. Therefore, I will make this ceremony quick. But first…"
Courfeyrac gestured for Jehan to come to the front of the aisle. He smiled at the auburn-haired man, winking at him as he spoke. "No wedding would be complete without the sexy hunk of man-meat that is my husband delivering some whimsical verse about love. Jehan, if you will?"
Jehan cleared his voice before beginning to speak. "'The Wondrous Moment of Our Meeting,' as written by Alexander Pushkin:
"The wondrous moment of our meeting...
Still I remember you appear
Before me like a vision fleeting,
A beauty's angel pure and clear.
In hopeless ennui surrounding
The worldly bustle, to my ear
For long your tender voice kept sounding,
For long in dreams came features dear.
Time passed. Unruly storms confounded
Old dreams, and I from year to year
Forgot how tender you had sounded,
Your heavenly features once so dear.
My backwoods days dragged slow and quiet -
Dull fence around, dark vault above -
Devoid of God and uninspired,
Devoid of tears, of fire, of love.
Sleep from my soul began retreating,
And here you once again appear
Before me like a vision fleeting,
A beauty's angel pure and clear.
In ecstasy my heart is beating,
Old joys for it anew revive;
Inspired and God-filled, it is greeting
The fire, and tears, and love alive."
When Jehan finished speaking, he bowed before turning and blowing his friends a kiss before heading back to his seat. Once Jehan was seated, Courfeyrac spoke again. "Damn. That boy has a way with words, even if it isn't his own. Love you, baby." He winked at Jehan again before turning back to Enjolras and Grantaire. "So. I figure that's enough of me commenting, yeah? How about we get to you two declaring your everlasting love, yada yada yada?" Chuckles rolled through again. Grantaire smiled at Enjolras, squeezing Enjolras' hands as both men nodded. Courfeyrac registered the nods before nodding himself. "Fabulous. Sebastian, you start."
Grantaire took a deep breath before beginning, locking his eyes back onto his fiancé's. "The first time that we ever talked, I was a soccer player who was barely passing my junior year of high school. You were…. I mean, you are, so beautiful. We met when Courfeyrac," he cocked his head towards the aforementioned man, "dragged me to one of your debate team-social justice merged club-thing that you had started your last year of high school, and were still in charge of even though you were in your first year of university. You were rating about the bureaucracy of education, and how students needed to be the ones in charge of what they wanted to learn as opposed to what was being forced down their throats."
Grantaire laughed. "I thought you were bat-shit crazy. Sexy as hell, but bat-shit nonetheless. I mocked you, saying education did not matter in the real world, that no one cared if you knew how to write a proper sonnet so long as you brought their company lots of money. Your eyes lit up, and you went off on my about the error of my cynical views. From that moment, I was hooked.
"Throughout the years, to say that we did not get along was quite the understatement and, no matter how much I loathed you at times, nothing you ever did was enough to make me question my feelings for you even the slightest bit. You could have tried to murder me, and I would have lied catatonic had you instructed me to do so.
"That day when you asked me to come to this park with you so that we could go on a run together, I was not sure what to expect. We had had very few civil conversations over the years, so I was expecting you to ridicule me about how my running shoes were made in a sweatshop overseas, or how my constant tripping off of the trail was destroying the plant life surrounding the pathway. I was so pleased to find that you were enjoying the run with me, that you were actually laughing with me, as opposed to at me. When we reached the lake, and you kissed me… I was shocked, to say the least. When you moaned at the kiss and murmered, 'God, I have wanted to do that for ages,' I thought that I had died and gone to heaven.
"It has been three and a half years since that kiss, and now we are getting married. Married, Julian. After today, you are stuck with me, forever." He smiled, running his thumb in a circle along the back of his lover's hand. "I get to spend eternity by your side, waking up to you every morning, knowing that I am who your heart beats for. I love you, so much, and I am so proud of everything that you have done in your life. I cannot wait to see where life takes us, and to see what else you manage to achieve."
By the time Grantaire had finished, his eyes were shining bright with unshed tears. Enjolras, on the other hand, had tears streaming down his cheeks. He tried to keep them in, but he just could not help it, he was beyond ecstatic that he was about to marry this perfect man. Enjolras gripped at Grantaire's hands tighter, his heart racing. God, Enjolras had never expected he would ever fall this much in love! Before Enjolras even knew what he was doing, he had pulled Grantaire into a embrace, hugging him tightly. He fisted the back of his partner's vest, kissing his neck lightly. From beside them, Enjolras heard a faint, "Enjolras, your vows?"
Enjolras pulled back slightly so that he could lean his forehead against Grantaire's. Enjolras' voice quivered as he stared back into his heart's eyes. "I love you so much, Sebastian," he murmered, his voice quiet and intimate, and yet loud enough for all of the guests to hear what he was saying. Enjolras thought back over the vows he had written for a moment, before deciding that they were not true enough, that they did not truly represent just how deeply Enjolras' love for Grantaire ran, how much he needed him to survive. He started to speak from his heart, saying anything that came to mind regardless of how put-together it was or was not.
"You are my world," Enjolras began, peeling his hands away from Grantaire's in order to cup the brunet's face between them. Grantaire, in response, wrapped his arms around Enjolras' waist, pulling him closer. Enjolras continued to speak, the movement of his thumbs mimicking what Grantaire had been doing during his vows. "You taught me how to love. For so long, I was merely drifting, going from one rally to the next. I was so willing to give my life to every injustice in the world. You gave me a reason to want to live. You gave me a reason not to sacrifice myself for any and every cause. You gave me a reason to fight for me. The moment that you told me that you love me, I knew that I had to be more careful with how I went about my protests.
"When we were merely friends, there was nothing I had to live for, but when you told me that you love me too, I knew that I could not risk my life any longer. I would and will continue to fight for injustice, but I will always come home to you. You are my anchor, the only thing that keeps me in place when I am lost in the sea of my ideals, of the Utopia that I desire for all people."
Enjolras moved his hands to Grantaire's hair. "Sebastian, you are my everything. I cannot wait to officially start our lives together and see where the world takes us…"
Enjolras trailed off, lost in his lover's eyes as they stared at one another. They were jolted from their world when Courfeyrac cleared his throat. The men looked at him to see the man smiling widely at them. "Alright, you love each other. Do you both take each other as the man you will be tied to until you die?"
"I do."
"Fuck yes, I do!"
Courfeyrac chuckled at Grantaire's enthusiastic response, gesturing for the men to exchange rings. Both Enjolras and Grantaire had given their rings to Nicolas prior to the ceremony, and the young boy held the pillow out for the couple to take the rings. The men slid the rings onto each other's ring finger and, once the rings were on, Courfeyrac announced that it was time for the married couple to kiss. Grantaire cheered before pulling his new husband to him and kissing him deeply.
The duo broke apart a moment later, holding each other close once again. Cheers passed through the crowd as Grantaire smiled widely and grabbed Enjolras' hand, holding it up in the air. "We're fucking married!" he shouted at their friends and family, laughing and cheering more before kissing Enjolras again, spinning him in a circle.
The duo socialized with their guests for a few moments (until everyone had congratulated them) before Grantaire became to ancy and wait any longer. He grasped Enjolras' hand again before pulling him down the aisle, skipping in excitement as he pulled Enjolras with him "I am going to have sex with my new husband, we will see you all at the reception tonight!" Enjolras laughed as Grantaire pulled him to their car, pushing Enjolras in before jumping in himself, starting the car.
"Where are we going?" Enjolras asked, interlacing his fingers with his husband's as soon as the car had begun to move.
"Well, Mr. Enjolras-Grantaire," Grantaire responded, smiling, "my parents' house is close-by, remember? They have graciously donated their house to us until the reception. Maman figured that we would be too anxious to wait until late tonight to….what was the phrase that she used? Oh, yes! That we would be too excited and anxious to wait to 'consummate the union and express our bond to each other.'" Grantaire chuckled. "I don't know about you, but I intend to do just that."
Enjolras smiled again as he nodded, leaning over in his seat to press a kiss to Grantaire's temple. "That sounds perfect, Mr. Enjolras-Grantaire." He stretched his seatbelt so that he could lean his head on Grantaire's shoulder while he drove. "I love you." Enjolras stared up at the man.
Grantaire looked down, a smile on his face. "I love you too, my darling." He kissed Enjolras' forehead before turning his eyes back on the road , their lives together finally beginning.