Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all characters in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that's the way it will stay unfortunately. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Dearly Beloved

Standing in front of the mirror as he made a last minute adjustment to his tie, Usagi couldn't help but wonder just what the hell his lover was up to. And the man was up to something, it was practically written all over Misaki's face in every language known to man. But at least whatever bizarre, weird plan the other man had cooked up was going to come to a head tonight, the writer reminded himself. Or at least he assumed it was since Misaki was ready to explode with nerves and whatever secrets he was keeping. Which suited him just fine, he hated when the other man kept things from him.

And at least his family wasn't involved, unless some of them had decided to follow them to Canada. Because knowing his family that was a possibility too.

Shoving a hand through his hair in an impatient, frustrated gesture, Usagi whipped around when he heard the sound of footsteps, indicating that Misaki had finally decided to come out of the bathroom.

His lover of five years had insisted he wear a special suit for wherever they were going tonight, and it seemed that his wasn't the only one the man had bought. Not that they were identical, but they were definitely similar and from the same designer. And miracle of all miracles, Misaki's tie wasn't remotely crooked.

Love swapped him, as it tended to do when Misaki was acting adorable and wired.

"No jumping me, you stupid pervert!" Misaki ordered, knowing that gleam in the man's eyes far too well. He was close to reaching his breaking point and he refused to have a mental breakdown this close to reaching his goal. "We have reservations!"

"And is wherever we're going this evening better than staying in and making love all night long?"

"Yes. So no touchie."

"If we're going to a Canadian anime convention focusing on that stupid manga artist you like so much then we're not only overly dressed but I will not be pleased…." The author's voice trailed off, but his meaning was clear.

Misaki shook his head, too nervous and agitated to care about the man's tone of voice so long as his lover wasn't jumping him and thus ruining all his plans. Plans he'd prematurely aged himself putting everything together, the cost so much that his poor little heart had constantly threatened to give out every time he thought about it. But it was for his lover and unfortunately fate had dictated that at the end of the day there wasn't much he wouldn't do for the perverted bastard.

Not that he was stupid enough to EVER let Usagi realize that.

So rather then get into an argument Misaki moved to get the door, swatting the older man's hands away when they reached for him. Opening it he walked out of the plush suite and motioned for the man to follow him out. "I have a surprise for you." He blurted out, hoping his voice wasn't as squeaky and nervous as it sounded to his ears. "I'll tell you about it when we get to our car. Okay?"

Forcing himself to behave, Usagi nodded since he wanted to know what the other man was up to.

Following Misaki over to the elevator the author wondered if part of the surprise had anything to do with why, when he'd asked the man what he wanted for Christmas, Misaki had answered that he wanted to go to Canada to celebrate the holiday. At the time he'd been thrilled that his lover was finally getting over his strange obsession with preventing him from spending large quantities of money on him, and hadn't questioned the reason behind it.

Now, two months later, he knew in his gut that the man had some sort of ulterior motive for his request, and hopefully he was about to find out what that motive was.

Reaching out Usagi twined their fingers together, grateful that the younger man would at least allow that much touching. When Misaki got all serious and secretive on him he couldn't help but worry like crazy, so the feel of the man's skin against his was reassuring and kept him from trying to force the other man into spilling while they were in the elevator and then the lobby.

And the surprises kept coming, Usagi thought when he saw that Misaki had arranged a limo to pick them up, really at a loss as to what was going on now.

So as soon as they were inside and the limo was moving he pounced, Usagi easily pinning the much smaller man down on the plush leather seating. Lowering his head he gave Misaki a hard, hot kiss, ridiculously turned on as always by the feel of the younger man's body squirming under his as his lover pretended to not want this as much as he did. There was still the matter of his surprise though, so Usagi lifted his head up a little so that Misaki's red lips were free to speak.

"DAMMIT! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I SPENT ON MY HAIR?! Stupid Usagi san!"

"Since I was waiting for you that would be a yes. Now spill."

It was so very, very tempting not to tell the perverted rabbit now, but the ride wasn't that long which meant he had a very limited space of time to ask his question before they arrived and things went from a little awkward to incredibly so.

And it was sort of right that he pop the question like this, while they were lying together after another demonstration of the fact that his lover had yet to learn any control or consideration where he was concerned. So Misaki didn't push the man away as he began to speak, his nerves showing in every syllable.

"Usagi san…you always say that you want me to stay with you forever. That's what you want, right?"

Suspicious of where this was going, especially since the man had stopped struggling, Usagi tipped his head to the side as he confirmed that that was so.

"So…." And now Misaki cleared his throat, his determination not to screw this up gleaming in his dark eyes as he got the words out without stuttering. "So then would you marry me?"

Shocked dumb Usagi stared down at the younger man in disbelief, unable to believe what he'd just been asked. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that his lover would want to marry him, much less the fact that Misaki was so ignorant about the laws that he actually thought they could even get married in the first place. There were only eleven countries in the world where men were-they were in Canada. They were in one of the eleven countries that recognized and performed legal gay marriages.

It was Usagi's voice that trembled now as he braced himself up on one hand, reaching out with the other to cup his beloved's cheek. "Misaki. Are we…getting married tonight?"

"We are unless you say no."

The rest of Misaki's explanation was cut off by Usagi's lips once again descending to capture his.

)

Ten minutes later the two men exited the limo looking a little mushed, but Misaki had managed to hold the man off long enough to prevent the older man from screwing his brains out in the car by explaining that there was going to be an important part of the wedding that the other man had to be aware of. Usagi had immediately agreed to the plan once he'd been filled in and Misaki had managed to text a message to his lover's friend before Usagi could completely kiss him into a pile of hormonal mush.

Walking through the doors of the building Usagi and Misaki were immediately pounced on by the former's editor, who was all but dancing as she gave them both big hugs of congratulations. She'd been in on the plans of course, she informed her favorite writer, and had been helping Misaki set everything up for weeks now. She had their corsages and she assured them that she'd looked over everything before coming out to wait for them and everything was too perfect for words.

Once their corsages had been pinned into place Aikawa assured Usagi that his favorite bear Satsuki san had been smuggled out of the hotel suite and was currently sitting at the front with his future nephew taking good care of it for him.

Waving aside his thanks Aikawa pulled out her beeper when it went off, reading it quickly before turning her attention back to them. "Okay, everyone's here and your best men are ready to get into position when I give the signal. Do you two need more than a couple minutes?" She knew Misaki had sprung this all on his soon to be husband, but she understood why he'd done it even though Usami had to be reeling still.

Lord only knew what kind of bear themed extravaganza the man would have insisted on HAD he known ahead of time.

"Ready." Misaki told her, his voice cracking just a little with nerves as he automatically reached out and laced his fingers with Usagi's again, wanting the reassurance of his lover's touch.

Bringing their joined hands to his lips Usagi kissed Misaki's knuckles before turning his head to meet his editor's mushy gaze, having no idea of the beauty of the smile that was now on his lips. "We're ready when they are."

"Then let's get this show on the road."

)

The room was large and airy, tastefully decorated for the season with the white chairs set out draped in sheer silver while red and white flowers and candles were artfully placed throughout the room. Large windows at the front showed the snow falling gently outside, the three steps leading up to that point marked with potted poinsettias joined by fairy lights.

And best of all was the friends and family who all rose from their seats when Misaki and Usagi entered and began their walk down the aisle.

As Misaki had explained on the way to their destination, all their loved ones and family had contributed to make their big day a success. Knowing their habit of going over the top Misaki had put his lover's brother and father in charge of getting everyone from Japan to Canada in lieu of wedding presents, his own brother paying for the decorations and hall at his insistence. Kaoruko had taken on the assignment of seeing to the supper that was going to be served after the ceremony and the wedding cake, and Mizuki had handled a lot of the minor details by coming to the country early to smooth the way.

Waiting for the two men at the top of the short flight of stairs were their best men, Hiroki and Takahiro standing across from each other. The former nodded at the approaching couple with a small smile, the latter wore a huge grin that threatened to split his face if it got any bigger.

"Thank you, both of you." Usagi said softly, his gratitude and love for them showing in his eyes as he looked at his two best friends.

Both men waved the thanks off, too choked up by their own emotions to say much of anything anyway. Takahiro couldn't believe his little brother was all grown up and getting married, to Usagi too, but he was so happy for them both he thought he might burst. And Hiroki knew what was to come after the exchange of vows, and therefore was too nervous to speak a word.

Clearing his throat the officiate for the ceremony drew everyone's attention to him, the older man smiling at them with a jolliness that could have made him Santa Claus if not for the lack of beard and big tummy.

He also spoke Japanese, and charmingly soon had everyone in place and quiet as he began the ceremony.

Neither groom would remember later that part, both too nervous and lost in the memories of their life together so far. But when it came to their vows both would never forget a second, the two men speaking their promises to each other in voices that rang with strength and love for the other.

The rings Misaki had paid for himself gleamed shiny and new on their ring fingers, placed there by their beloved as an eternal symbol of their love for the other. That their marriage wouldn't be recognized in their home country didn't matter. They would have the rings to remind them and everyone else that the law could think whatever it liked, but they knew differently.

And then they were being declared partners for life, with the promise of a life together that would never end.

)

After Misaki and Usagi exchanged their first kiss as each other's husband, the kiss a very long and passionate one until Misaki's sense of public decency had him whacking the rabbit upside the head lightly and reminding him that they were in public! This of course had everyone laughing and eventually the two couldn't help but grin at each other like idiots before finally remembering the second part of the day's events. Memories restored the two moved off to the side with Usagi holding his husband tightly against his chest as the officiate took that as a cue to announce that they would now begin the second exchanging of vows.

Swallowing hard at his cue Hiroki moved around the lovebirds and walked over to stand where his best friend had been standing moments before. And once there he turned to look at the front row where his own lover had been asked to sit under the guise of helping Misaki's sister-in-law oversee her two boys.

"Nowaki, get up here."

"He means you, Nowaki san." Kajimara pointed out with a wide smile, lifting her youngest son onto her lap since the boy's seat would shortly be occupied. "Better get up there before he explodes." According to her brother in law the man had a very short fuse.

Too stunned to think, Nowaki slowly got out of his seat and then made his way up the short stairs to stand in front of his lover, his face slack with shock and his inability to process what was going on here. He didn't even notice his adopted parents appearing from their position in the back to move to the front to watch their only child get married.

"If I'd asked you before now you would have freaked, overthought it all a zillion times, and insisted on waiting until we'd reach whatever latest milestone you've created in that stupid, idiotic brain of yours." Hiroki informed the taller man, glaring at him as he just dared the love of his life to refuse to go through with this. "I bought the rings from the joint account we set up together so you paid for this as much as I did and everyone's here and staring so you damn well better say yes because if you embarrass me by saying no I'll…I'll…it'll be really, really bad if you do!"

Still trying to process Nowaki glanced over at the people watching with various degrees of amusement, only now becoming aware of the presence of their parents, the friends he spent time with in the park or at his jobs. Everyone was smiling and giving him signs of approval to hurry up and accept.

Turning back to his lover, who looked ready to explode, Nowaki sighed the man's name and then leaned in to kiss him, centering them both even as the amused officiate informed them that they were supposed to do that after he took their pledges.

Drawing back Nowaki framed Hiroki's face between his large hands, his love all over his face for everyone to see. "You're sure about this, Hiro san?"

"It was my idea, wasn't it?!" Well actually it had been the kid's idea, but he'd agreed with it and that was what was important, Hiroki told himself, still a little embarrassed that Akihiko's boy toy had been the one to think of this as a way of finally getting Nowaki to realize they were going to be together for life no matter where they were in their lives and careers.

Grinning, Nowaki bowed his head in acknowledgement and then turned to the man standing in front of them. "I would very much like to marry my Hiro san, thank you."

"I thought as much." Was the older man's response. "So once again, we have gathered here to witness the marriage between these two men."

)

A Week Later

Walking into the office Hiroki ignored the fact that the son of the former head of their department was currently sitting in his own boss's lap. After all this time he was used to it, and he'd reached the point where he could find some amusement in the way his so called superior tended to freak out when he was caught in such compromising situations while Shinobu kun just gave him an annoyed look for interrupting them.

The kid had serious balls.

Realizing that he was sputtering like an idiot, Miyagi forced himself to take a calming breath, gently removing his lover from his lap before coming over to slap his colleague on the shoulder as he pretended what had just happened hadn't. "So you're back from the Great White North, huh? What did you bring me?"

Rolling his eyes Hiroki raised the shopping bag he held in his left hand. "Though why I had to bring you anything is-what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Both older men stared at Shinobu, the young man having inserted himself between them and latched his fingers onto Hiroki's raised wrist before either of them realized what he intended to do.

"What the hell is this?! You bastard! Nowaki loves you with all his-HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?!"

Miyagi spotted the ring just as Hiroki curtly informed the man that he'd married Nowaki, not some woman, so the boy was to quit yelling before he gave him something to yell about. And they'd gotten married in Canada, Hiroki added since that was likely to be the next question, and that country allowed such things, not that it was any of his business.

While his older lover reeled from the news Shinobu slowly turned his head to study Miyagi with a gleam coming into his eyes.

"You know, I hear that certain parts of Australia are in the planning stages to legalize gay marriage over there…and you said you wouldn't mind going there with me so that I could show you around, Miyagi."

And so, while Miyagi visibly paled, Shinobu started to plot and plan in earnest. They were fated to be together always after all.

The End