Black and White
Plot Summary- Aster and Zane tie the knot, but when anything can go wrong, it tends to.
Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-gi-oh Gx or its characters. Or any of the songs mentioned in this fic.
Chapter 4: The Reception
Zane's POV
After the ceremony, Aster and I accepted blessing from all our guests. The more closely related family members (pretty much all of my relatives) came up first, followed by our friends and distant relatives. Among this group was the recently-turned 18 year old Louisa Duncan, whom I introduced to my ecstatic mother for the first time. Echo, who had brought a date with her to the wedding (not Adrian much to Aster's relief). And Layla with a man I assumed to be her husband, Harvey Reed. For an awkward moment, I had to explain to Aster just how I had come across Layla again. He didn't seem mad—in fact, I think he was more with Atticus than anyone else.
"I think Atticus needs to be punished." Aster said in a low voice as we were walking out of the church. Our reception was outside where a D.J. stage was set up as well as a buffet dinner. For once, no one was trying to pull me away to look at something, or asking Aster his opinion on an insignificant wedding decoration. People allowed—and even expected us to be together.
I nodded in agreement. "But the question is how?"
"Not now." He stated simply, resting his arm through mine. "We'll get him after the honeymoon... when he's not suspecting it."
"I never realized you were so devious."
"Well, no one messes with my husband and gets away with it." The name rolled off the tongue so easily, it was almost like he had been waiting for months to address me as such. And to be honest, for all my nervous energy, I loved the way the word sounded.
During dinner speeches were made on our behalf. Sartorius went into a short but sweet speech about how much he loved and cared for Aster as a childhood friend. However, just when I thought the speech was over, Sartorius added something else.
"I also wanted to say something about Aster's father…Silas Phoenix, who passed away ten years ago." Aster's eyes widened at the mention of his father—I guess he hadn't been expecting this. "I never knew him in person but from what Aster has said to me, and what I have seen in my own research—he would have been very proud of his son and would have welcomed Zane into his family with open arms. I'm sorry you'll never get the chance to hear him say it in person but…Just know that it's true."
Aster smiled and mouthed a thank you to his old friend. Sartorius smiled back and took his seat again. Syrus was too nervous to speak on behalf of my best man so…Who better to do it than Atticus. Mainly, he talked about all the stuff we did as teenagers and made a few jokes at our expense…but unexpectedly, he actually said something kind of heart-warming.
"The cool thing about Zane and Aster is, well… Let's face facts, the world has been less than kind to both of them, but have they ever given up? Nope. They stand up, stronger than they were before. I mean, come on, how many times have they spit in the face of death? They're going to give this thing all they have and I know they'll make it because hey, separately, they're a force of their own reckoning. But together they can do anything, and not hell or high water can stop them…"
"Now then, where's the D.J.? It's time to get this party started and we can't get on the dance floor until the grooms have danced!" Atticus's last comment was accompanied by cheers and clapping. Well, who were we to deny the crowd?
We stood up and made our way to the temporary dance floor. Aster and I weren't great dancers—in fact, we had told each other time and time again that this would probably be the only time we'd dance. But a slow dance seemed easy enough—I took his left hand into my right one and wrapped my free arm around his body. He rested his right hand on my shoulder. We remained still until the music started—Look After You by The Fray.
If I don't say this now I will surely break Oh, oh,
As I'm leaving the one I want to take
Forgive the urgency but hurry up and wait
My heart has started to separate
Be my baby
Ohhhhh
Oh, oh
Be my baby
I'll look after you
Aster looked up so that he could speak to me face to face. "So, I now own the soul of Zane Truesdale…I wonder what I should do with it."
"Not a whole lot of it left." I told him with an amused tone. "But yeah, it's all yours now."
Aster laughed. "You know, you're lucky I'm already in love with you…You market yourself terribly."
There now, steady love, so few come and don't go Oh, oh
Will you won't you, be the one I'll always know
When I'm losing my control, the city spins around
You're the only one who knows, you slow it down
Be my baby
Ohhhhhh
Oh, oh
Be my Baby
I'll look after you
And I'll look after you
"Don't look now, but your mom is tearing up." Aster said as he glanced behind me. We turned so I could see that my mom was in fact crying at the sight of Aster and I.
"She does that. You should have seen her when she met Louisa. I think she was just happy to meet a sane Duncan."
"Ssssh, no talking about crazy relatives at our wedding." He whispered into my ear like a divine secret. "It's our day."
If ever there was a doubt Oh, oh
My love she leans into me
This most assuredly counts
She says most assuredly
Be my baby
I'll look after you
After You
Oh, oh
Be my baby
Ohhhhh
"We're getting a mixed review actually; how many people do you think have attended a gay wedding?" I said, letting my hand fall behind his neck. "A lot of my cousins uncomfortable. My guess is they've never seen two men dance together before."
"And since when have you cared about what other people think?" Aster asked, closing his eyes at the comfort of the new touch.
I shrugged. "I don't… Honestly, it's more amusing than anything else."
"Good, because I don't think we're ever going to stop getting looks." He spoke calmly. "After all, if two years ago, someone had told me I would be getting married to you—I would have given them a similar look"
"Good point." I said with a laugh.
It's always have and never hold
You've begun to feel like home
What's mine is yours to leave or take
What's mine is yours to make your own
The dance was so calm and relaxed—it felt like the entire world was at peace. At least on the outside it did. On the inside, I could feel the emotions swirl and crash between us. Both of us perhaps believing it to be too good to be true. But dreams could never be so vivid—so happy.
"I love you…" I found myself whispering.
He opened his eyes and looked up—looking more tranquil then a sleeping baby. "I love you too."
The words had been exchanged so often, yet they had never once lost their meaning. From the first moment we said them, we continued to do so and now would until the day we both died. Not only that—we would show and feel it every day as well.
And I looked forward to every moment—hell, I needed it.
Oh, oh
Be my baby
Ohhhhh
Oh, oh
Be my baby
I'll look after you
The end of the music was over-whelmed by applause. Broken from our bubble, Aster and I bowed and removed ourselves from the dance floor. Atticus then proudly declared—that it was time to party.
Aster's POV
Other various wedding traditions proceeded after the first dance. Zane and I were then forced to cut the cake and feed it to each other. We then served it to all our guests before another—less thrilling for me anyway—tradition came up.
"Okay single ladies!" Atticus shouted into the microphone. Since when did he become the MC of this wedding? "It's time for the… white-wearing groom to throw his corsage! So get your asses out there before there's hell to pay."
I rolled my eyes and had Zane help me unpin the corsage. I walked back to the dance floor. Alexis, Sirena, Echo, Louisa, and Blair Flannigan were among the people I recognized. There were a few people I figured to be Zane's relatives and others that I figured must have worked under me at some point. I turned away. "Ready?"
"Just throw it!" An impatient Blair yelled. I tossed the corsage behind me and turned to see the group grabbing for it—surprisingly, Sirena reigned victorious.
She blushed as Alexis wrapped an arm around her. I grinned—did I see wedding bells in their foreseeable future? Well… Honestly, probably not. Sirena wasn't a huge supporter of traditional marriage and Alexis seemed too free-spirited for the ideals of marriage. Then again, both arguments could have been used for Zane and I.
"And now!" Atticus said just as I was about to step off the dance floor. I peered around to see that a chair was being placed by Jaden with a smile. Oh—joy—it's time for that tradition. "It's time for the groom in black to feel up—I mean, take off the garder off the white groom."
I thought maybe Zane would feel some kind of embarrassment—instead, he looked happy. I guess I could blame that on a week of abstinence. Well, if that's how he wanted it.
"Alright then." I said flatly. I walked over to the chair, but didn't sit on it. Instead, I put my right leg up on the chair and offered my baffled husband a grin. "Come get it."
Zane fought to keep his cool—he strode over and kneeled down on one knee. His hand drifted up and under the fabric of my pants—causing more howls and whistles from our friends than I would have cared for. His hand deliberately went over the lacy fabric—I've never seen him so content to be a pervert in front of our friends.
"Hmmm, it should be here somewhere…"He said, pretending to be confused. I rolled my eyes. "But where?"
His touches were giving me goose bumps. Okay, so it's been a long week for me too. "Get it off now, unless you want to give these people a show they'll never forget."
He pretended to consider it and laughed. He pulled the garder off and raised it up for all to see. I put my leg down, trying to hide my blush. Zane watched me with a burning look as he twirled the garder around his fingers. The single men filed their way to the dance floor. Atticus sprung off the stage and ran to the front—determined to be the one who catches it.
"Come on Zane! Over here!" Atticus yelled. Zane sling-shot the garder into the crowd of single men. There was significantly less argument than there was for the corsage. Unexplainably, Chazz had ended up with the garder. Syrus paled at the sight and quickly scurried away from the group. Chazz, with a panicked look on his face threw it to Atticus and followed Syrus. "Yes! Look Zane! Yusuke and I are the next to get married!"
"Actually Atti, tradition says that you and Sirena would be getting married." Yusuke explained, wrapping his arms around Atticus. His boyfriend gave him a confused look.
"But…she's a girl…So we're going to pretend you caught the corsage."
After that little episode, everyone continued to dance on the dance floor. Zane and I watched and made conversation with our guests. We didn't spend a lot of time alone, but we were never apart for a moment, which was nice enough for the time being.
The wedding eventually started dying down. People were thanking us and starting to leave. After enough people left, we started cleaning up the place. This was the first time my new husband and I had been separated since the ceremony. When I asked around for him, Atticus said that Blair had pulled him off to the side—and that Louisa was going to speak to him shortly after.
"Oh okay…" I said with a sigh. The reception was almost packed for the most part. The chairs and tables were being loaded, the leftover food was packed and donated to local charities, the D.J. had been paid, and the garbage had been kept to a minimum. All we were really waiting for was the dance floor to be taken apart and sent back to the entertainment company it came from. "Well, we're almost done anyway…"
"And then it's off to your honeymoon, right?" Atticus said a little too excitedly while waving the garder in his hand.
"I knew I should have skipped that tradition… And actually, we're spending the night at the hotel and leaving tomorrow morning for our honeymoon."
"Well, you're still going to do what my sister calls the maritals, right?" I was about to tell Atticus that it was none of his business, when my husband returned from his conversations. He looked about how I felt—tired and ready to rest.
"Hey Hero, I asked Syrus if he could make sure the dance floor is taken care of so… We go ahead and go back to our hotel." He said wrapping an arm around me. Atticus clicked his tongue, to which I rolled my eyes.
"Great, let's go before Atticus wants to come with us." Atticus gave me a strange look and put his hands on his hips.
"I wouldn't want to come watch you guys do it… I'll just go find Yusuke, and rock my own socks off." Damn, that wasn't a metal picture I needed. "You two have fun though… In Jesse's words, have lots of careless, renewed love sex!"
"What?" I said suddenly, Zane just turned me around and walked me away. I couldn't miss the mixed look of terror and humor.
"Never mind, let's just get out of here."
()
"Finally..." I relaxed across the hotel bed and sighed. My aching muscles were crying out in relief as I stretched. I was even having an inward battle as to whether or not I wanted to change into something more comfortable.
Before I could resolve it, Zane crawled over me, pressing his lips to my neck and then nuzzled my chin afterwards.
I half-groaned, half-chuckled. "You're in the mood now?"
"Aster, I've been in the mood for days now—you can't expect me to wait another night." He said with hunger as he attacked my lips. Well, he was making it difficult to say no.
"But aren't you exhausted? Or even tired or…." His lower body grinded against mine and that was all the convincing I needed. I kissed him back; nipping at his lips and tugging at his jacket.
After forcing the jacket off, I moved us so that his head was resting against the pillows and so I was on top. I pulled away so that I could take off my own jacket.
"Are you ready to make love with your husband for the first time?" When he didn't answer, I looked down on him. "Zane?"
I couldn't believe my eyes—he was fast asleep! Looking so calm and peaceful that I wasn't sure if I should be aggravated or moved. I sighed—well; I guess it was better to wait until tomorrow.
I kissed his forehead and got off of him and got myself ready for bed. When I returned, I got under the covers. Zane stirred for a moment before muttering. "Wait…did I miss something?"
"No, but you should probably change out of your suit." I whispered, feeling the effects of sleep pull me down. He sighed and got up to change and brush his teeth. I was half asleep when he returned and got himself under the covers. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. The warm embrace of my husband was enough to make me fall asleep.
"We'll make up for it tomorrow..." He whispered into my ear. I smiled and brought his hand closer to my face.
"Oh believe me, we'll make up for it and more—I love you."
And just before the world went black, I heard. "I love you too."
