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Linka had almost been reduced to tears when she realised how prepared Wheeler was. The rings, he had told her, had been sitting in his bedside table since their return to Hope Island. And he had even gone so far as to ask Ma-Ti to marry them.
"Years ago," Ma-Ti had said with a sly grin. "But yes, Wheeler, I can do it. Your marriage will be binding so long as there are witnesses."
Wheeler looked around now at his 'witnesses'. Kwame was steering the geo-cruiser gently towards the landing pad on Hope Island. Gi was stretched across the aisle, giggling softly with Linka, who seemed to be defining the meaning of both calm and radiant.
Ma-Ti was gazing down at the peaks of The Crystal Chamber, shimmering in the pale moonlight.
And Wheeler's mother, Kitty, sat opposite her son, watching him with a gentle smile on her face, seemingly unfazed that she had been flown from Seattle, to New York, and then to Hope Island to watch her son's spontaneous wedding ceremony.
The flight to Hope Island had seemed short. There was not much chatter – but the air had been full of a tense excitement that was not unpleasant. Gi had been agitated, squirming in her seat and grinning to herself, unbearably excited at the thought of Wheeler and Linka finally getting married. She was a little disappointed that things were going to be done so simply – she had secretly been looking forward to the process of helping Linka organise her big day – but now that the moment had arrived, she didn't wish for anything to happen any differently.
The geo-cruiser landed with a slight bump, and everyone jumped down and headed for the beach – a silent decision they had all seemed to make together.
"Ma-Ti, will you call Gaia, please?" Linka asked softly. She had abandoned her shoes in favour of bare feet, and everyone quickly followed suit.
Wheeler bent his head to Linka's. "You sure about this, babe?" he whispered. "If you want anyone else here, we can wait..."
"Nyet, Wheeler," she answered, smiling up at him. "I do not want to wait anymore."
"You're all back a little earlier than I expected," Gaia said, walking down to them.
The Planeteers smiled at her and she smiled back at them, already knowing exactly why they had returned. She moved to stand beside Wheeler's mother, who was taking everything in her stride and remaining perfectly calm.
Wheeler felt as though he had two mothers present, and he smiled to himself.
"There's one person missing," he said suddenly, turning to Kwame.
The African man look baffled for a split second, and then grinned in understanding. "Then, let our powers combine," he said. "Earth."
Five beams of light shot above the beach towards the moon, which was a thin crescent in the sky above them. There was a bright flash, like a brilliant firework, and the Planeteers watched sedately as Captain Planet formed and announced himself.
He paused, looking about himself in confusion. "What's the problem, Planeteers?"
"No problem, Cap," Wheeler answered, grinning. "Linka and I wanted to invite you to our wedding."
Cap landed heavily on the beach with a broad smile, indicating unlimited agreement.
In the years to come, when Wheeler looked back upon the moment he and Linka finally became husband and wife, he'd remember scarce, insignificant details rather than the seemingly important ones.
He would fail to remember exactly what he said – or what she said to him. He would fail to remember anything Ma-Ti said, except for I now pronounce you man and wife. He'd fail to remember what anyone said to him in the hours after the impromptu midnight ceremony.
But he would remember the little things. Like the way Linka's slender hands felt as he held them, or the way the moon made her hair look like spun silver. The way he felt when she looked up at him, her green eyes wide and pretty and full of happiness. He would remember the way the blood pulsed through his body as he tried to find words strong enough to express his love for her. He would remember that he smiled when she said Nicholas Jordan Armstrong, and she smiled when he managed to pronounce Polina Mikhailovna Vetrova without stumbling. He would remember the tremendous flutter of joy in his stomach as she slipped the ring onto his finger.
And he would remember that even with cheers and joy being exclaimed around them, when he kissed his wife it felt like it was only the two of them, and he had never been so happy in his life.
x*x
"Happy?" Wheeler asked softly.
She smiled, not wanting to move. "Da," she murmured. "I have never been happier than I am right now."
He kissed her gently and rested his cheek on the top of her head, watching the reflection of the moon in the water.
They were standing in the shallows, letting the waves roll gently over their feet. Linka was holding her dress up against her knees with one hand, her free arm wrapped tightly around Wheeler's waist. Further down the beach they could still hear music and laughter – mostly Gi, as Kwame and Ma-Ti took turns spinning her around the makeshift dance-floor of firm sand on the shore.
"I think it's going to take a few days for this to sink in," he sighed dreamily. "When I woke up this morning, marriage wasn't the first thing on my mind."
Linka giggled softly. "It was not on my mind either. Things have been – the past few weeks..." She sighed and shook her head. "It is nice to have something wonderful happen," she said, hugging him tightly.
He kissed her gently. "I know what you mean," he murmured.
"It has been so hard," she whispered, tears springing to her eyes. "I am not sure what I would have done if you were not here with me..."
"Well for a start, you wouldn't be fighting giant rats beneath New York City," Wheeler said, smiling gently at her. "You'd be in London, an amazing environmental investigator. One success after another."
"Nyet," she said, choking out a small laugh and smiling up at him. "I would still be miserable because I would be wondering where you were, and if you were happy, and if you thought of me sometimes. Mishka and I would be no different to how we are now, and I would still be working for Robert and trying to have my achievements recognised."
"Oh, that moron," Wheeler muttered darkly. "Never mind him, babe." He took her hand and backed away from the waterline, leading her with a smile. "So you've got yourself a handsome Fire Planeteer for a husband, now," he said. "Do you really want to waste time talking about work and sad stuff?"
"Nyet," she said, smiling and letting him lead her. "There are other things I would rather be doing."
He scooped her up into his arms with a growl. "I hope I'm one of them."
She laughed helplessly, throwing her head back, and he spun her so the stars above her swirled together and made her delightfully dizzy.
x*x
"So, Yankee," Linka sighed, kissing his bare shoulder, "Did you think, when we met all those years ago, that we would end up married one day?"
"Well when I was 17, marriage wasn't really on my mind," he admitted, twining his fingers with hers. "Sex was."
She laughed and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat slow, his breath already starting to even out and deepen. "And did you expect it to be like that?" she asked, tugging the sheet over them so it covered their sweat-gleaming bodies loosely.
"Imagination wasn't good enough," he said, running his fingers down her spine. He rolled slowly and covered her body again, kissing the pulse in her neck and brushing his lips over her collarbone. "Even when you're here with me it feels like a dream," he sighed, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her to his chest.
"A good dream," she said, smiling up at him.
"A very good dream." He kissed the end of her nose. "So do you feel like you've married below your means?"
She laughed and shook her head, pressing her forehead into the curve of his neck and his shoulder. "Nyet. I feel as though everything is just as it should be."
"Yeah?"
"Mm." She flattened her hands against his ribs, feeling his breath expand his chest when he drew in a sigh.
"I've always loved you, you know," he mumbled into her skin. "Even before I really recognised what love was. I always knew you were the only girl for me. Right from that first moment."
She kissed his cheek, smiling.
"And you just thought I was an idiot," he said, pulling back slightly and regarding her with a look that attempted to appear wounded.
"I still think that, sometimes," she said, raising her eyebrow in response.
He laughed and nuzzled her nose with his own. "I think I'm in trouble. I've married you and you're too smart and quick and pretty and you've got me helpless for the rest of my life."
She broke free of his hold and kissed him firmly. "I will look after you," she promised. "Power will not go to my head."
He chuckled and sank back into the mattress, untangling himself from her arms and legs and finding his pillow waiting for him. "I can't believe we didn't sort this out when we left Hope Island," he yawned, referring to their last day before the five-year break.
She reddened. "I know. I was just afraid of changing things between us and having it go wrong."
"I know." He traced a light touch up her arm. "Feel okay about it now though?"
She smiled. "Da, I do not think things will go wrong now."
He smiled and kept his fingers sliding along her bare skin. He could hear the waves coasting in and washing up on the beach. The sound was soothing and familiar and he realised how exhausted he was. He could feel Linka's lashes moving sleepily against his skin.
"Hey, babe?" he murmured drowsily, closing his eyes.
"Mm?"
"Thanks for marrying me."
She giggled and shifted, planting a soft kiss on his mouth and stroking his hair. "You are welcome, Yankee," she whispered.
XX