Title: After The Sun Shined

Pairing: Emil x Marta

Rating: K

Disclaimer: ToS2 is not mine and I claim no ownership of the characters or plot.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who submitted their opinion on a wedding location! I got good feedback, so I wanted to integrate all the places that I could. One place got a lot of specific feedback. XD

Well, enjoy and I hope you all continue to support my story!

-START-

When Tenebrae returned to Emil's side after checking on Marta, he was surprised to see the blonde slouching in a wooden chair near the front door of the school house. Blinking, the Centurion swam through the air and landed on the ground, tilting his head at the strange sight. "Lord Emil, why are you sitting outside?"

"Raine put me in timeout," Emil said in dismay. "She said I can leave in half an hour."

"And you listened to her?"

"Well, yeah. She used her teacher voice, Tenebrae! You know how that freaks me out!" Emil said defensively. The Centurion used his tail to stifle a small laugh while Emil dipped his head in a slight amount of humiliation. Castagnier surrendered and resolved to ask Tenebrae about Marta's wedding gown. "So, how did shopping go?"

"You'll find Lady Marta's dress to be quite fetching, I believe," he said, lifting his nose into the air and staring right into the man's minty green eyes. "It's long, so somewhere indoors would be best. If you have an outdoor location, just make sure she would be able to move around easily and not trip over any obstacles."

Emil hummed in thought and considered Tenebrae's idea.

"Also," the Centurion continued with a swish of his tail, "Don't forget that you have to decide soon! The decorations need to be put up, and I also thought I'd bring up that you should also choose a location for the wedding reception."

"Can't the wedding and the reception be in the same place?"

"Are you having it in a large church?"

"…No."

"Then what do you think would be easiest?" he asked in his signature biting tone. Emil nodded began to nervously grind his palms together. There was so much to do that he wasn't sure if a month was going to be enough time. However, all he had to do was choose two places. If everyone did their jobs, then all the work would go over nicely.

"Well…we don't have too many people coming. Obviously Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Zelos, Sheena, Regal, Raine and Presea are coming, and so are my aunt and uncle. Marta wanted to invite her father and said that she would try and get him out of prison for a day to escort her to the altar. If that doesn't work, then Regal opted to do it. Sheena is summoning Ratatosk and Richter, but that's it. It's pretty intimate."

"Yes. I believe you should consider the Stone Dais and Altamira for either the wedding or reception. Oh, and don't forget Flanoir. That place is simply beautiful now that most of Decus' damage has been repaired."

"But they're pretty far apart!" Emil yelled, finding Tenebrae's suggestion hypocritical when he and Raine had been preaching about being logical and practical.

"Lord Emil, I'm going to give you a little lesson in something called atmosphere," Tenebrae said coolly. One of Emil's hands flew over his eyes in despair. He knew that he was about to hear one of Tenebrae's infamously lengthy speeches. "Don't you see? A wedding is a grand event! Therefore, you should have a grand location to match it. What location means the most to you and Lady Marta? That should be where the actual ceremony is held."

Castagnier thought about all the possibilities. He knew the location that mattered to him the most was Altamira's Bridge. Palmacoasta's Bridge was where they'd been reunited after sealing the demonic realm (it was also where he proposed), but the bridge in Altamira was where they had shared their first kiss. In a sense, that was where their love was finally official.

"The place that matters the most…is Altamira's Bridge," he decided finally, beaming as the right answer finally hit him. It was perfect. It was romantic, large and over-the top. Best of all, the location had a meaning behind it that would only enrich the feel of the wedding.

"Now," the Centurion continued with immense satisfaction, "Let's think about the reception. That's where everyone will meet after the wedding for food and drink. Also, everyone should be able to have somewhere to stay. The location should be lively, and yet homely with a feeling of intense whimsy."

Intense whimsy? That was a more difficult one for him to think about. He went through each location in his head and debated each one in detail. One place seemed to stand out in his mind more than others.

"How about Flanoir?" he proposed to Tenebrae, who seemed to be very pleased with his answer. "I know you were talking about the Stone Dais, but Flanoir has an inn where everyone can stay and it's so beautiful at night. I remember seeing it when I was going around the world before heading to seal the door."

"I remember that," Tenebrae recalled with a smirk. "I spent a lot of time with you that day, Lord Emil."

"So…do you think that's a good place?"

"It's not my wedding."

"I…I think it is the perfect place," Castagnier started with hesitation. Seconds later, he was certain. "No. I know it is. I want our reception to be in Flanoir."

"Wonderful!" the Centurion cheered. If he had been a human, he would have been clapping his hands and applauding the young man. "Alright. Now we only have one more location to go. This one is very important Lord Emil, so please give it your upmost consideration.

"One more place?" Emil asked blankly, not knowing what Tenebrae was talking about. "But we already have a place for the ceremony and after party…so what else is left?"

"Why, the honeymoon location, of course."

"H-Honeymoon?" Emil squeaked, turning a little red. Well, a honeymoon wasn't technically part of the wedding, but he did have to think about it. Knowing how brash Marta was, she'd want to rush to the honeymoon location the day after the wedding. It's not that he wasn't okay with that. He just had no idea where the best location would be.

"Well…Marta wouldn't be wearing a wedding dress…so we could go somewhere a little more rural and quiet."

"Yes. You mentioned the Asgardian Stone Dais earlier, but you didn't choose it for the wedding or for the reception. Why?"

"Well…Asgard is nice and it's beautiful, but we don't really have many special memories there. But…"

"But what?" the Centurion insisted, wanting to learn about what the young lord was thinking of. "Wasn't it the first place where you two held hands as a couple? It was also where you both meant Colette. That was the day your journey as a team really began."

After Tenebrae spoke, a light of realization flicked across the blond man's visage and the location took on a new and suddenly more important meaning in his eyes. Tenebrae was right. After Emil and Marta had joined forces in Luin, Asgard was their first destination as a team. It was also where they'd meant Colette. She hadn't only been vital to the journey or World Regeneration years before where Mithos attempted to transform her into the vessel for Martel's spirit, but she had helped them immensely on their own journey. Accepting Colette had been a major milestone in Marta's life. The town itself was nice, but not overly glamorous or showy. In a sense, it was almost like a tranquil resort.

"Perhaps Asgard would be the best place for our honeymoon," he contemplated aloud, humming in thought. "But Marta never asked me to pick out a spot for the honeymoon. She only asked me to think about the location for the actual wedding. What if she already has her heart set on a place?"

"While I adore Lady Marta, she does not have a penchant for thinking far ahead," Tenebrae said curtly. Emil almost thought it would be rude to laugh, but he couldn't disagree. He loved Marta, but Tenebrae's statement was awfully true.

"You know that Marta's a hopeless romantic, right?" Emil asked with a chuckle, stroking Tenebrae's head and scratching him affectionately between his ears. "It wouldn't surprise me if she already had an idea."

Before Tenebrae had a chance to reply, the sound of a creaking door came from the other side of the building. The silver-haired professor stepped around the corner kindly, her glossed lips smiling at the young man gently. Emil was prepared to be scolded again, but Raine didn't say a word for a minute or so. The half-elf sat beside Emil and beamed at him apologetically.

"R-Raine? What is it?"

"I happened to have a talk with Marta a few days ago," she chimed like a songbird. "It was when she was inviting me to help her go dress shopping. I asked her if she had any idea about what she wanted to do afterwards, and do you know what she told me?"

The man shook his head. Raine stole his tan hand in her porcelain grip and squeezed it tenderly.

"She told me that she didn't care about what happened afterwards, as long as you were with her. When I asked her about her honeymoon out of curiosity, she giggled and told me that it didn't matter where they went. As long as she could hold your hand and stare into the eyes of her husband, she didn't have a preference. That was the most romantic thing to her. That's what she told me anyways."

Even when he heard the words from someone else's mouth, they still lifted his heart to immeasurable heights. It was impossible to describe how he felt at that moment. Smirking confidently, he looked at Raine squarely and squeezed her hand in turn.

"Raine, may I be excused?"

"Of course you may."

"I need to see Lloyd and the others. Are they all still in Meltokio?"

"They should be," Raine said with a small shrug. "If you have any extra room, I'll fly over there with you."

To be honest, Emil was very happy that Raine was coming along with him to see everybody. After all, he wanted her to be involved in the process as well. She was so much wiser than he was. Even when she was on the journey to regenerate the world, she was much more mature than he could ever be, no matter how old he became.

"Thank you, Raine."

"Not at all," she said with a kindly smile. "But if I hear one more word about your intimacy with Marta, I'll have to hit you again, understand?"

She winked at him playfully and he nodded, scratching his head in embarrassment. Both of them made their way to the front of town where his rheaird was parked. Both climbed aboard and sailed towards the former Tethe'allan city to break the good news to their anxious peers. Tenebrae followed behind swiftly, chuckling the entire way.

Truly, it was the first time a mortal ceremony had really made him excited.

XOXOXOXOXO

Sebastian was cleaning the windows of the Wilder household when he happened to catch a glimpse of some metallic sailing near their lawn. Smiling, he rushed downstairs to fetch his master.

"Master Zelos," the man said anxiously as his gesticulated his gloved hands out to the lawn. "I believe your other two companions have arrived."

Everyone was gathered in the parlor of the mansion and could see Emil and Raine landing the machines gracefully. Everyone instantly ran out to greet them. Genis, who was extremely excited to see his sister after an entire day of dress shopping, was the first to sprint out the door and greet them. "Hey Sis! Hey Emil! How are you both?"

Both gave a chipper reply when the sound of someone clearing their throat came from overhead. Genis looked up and saw Tenebrae looking rather neglected. He laughed and said with compassion, "And how are you, Tenebrae?"

"Very well until you ignored me," the Centurion said as he floated weightlessly down to the ground and stood beside his master. Emil smiled down at him and scanned over the crowd of intelligent and strong people that were helping him with his wedding. He felt incredibly humble and undeserving, but he didn't dare apologize. Instead, he thanked them graciously. After a few minutes of excited chatter, Emil noticed there was a face missing from the crowd.

"Where's Marta?"

"She's upstairs taking a bath," said Presea with a small smile. "So…Emil…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you decided?" Lloyd asked, almost jumping up and down. "I really want to know! So…can you tell us?"

When the blond nodded, Sheena was the first to lean in and ask, pushing all the other curious listeners out of the way. "So, where do we all need to be next month?"

"The wedding will be at Altamira's Bridge at sundown and the reception will be at Flanoir."

Everyone seemed to approve. Out from the crowd, a single hand rose into the air and caught Emil's attention. Colette apparently had a question and was raising her hand to be called on. Raine chuckled and pointed to her amidst her talkative comrades.

"Yes, Colette?"

"Where will your honeymoon be?" she asked with a sweet smile. That was a little odd. Emil would have expected Zelos to be the first one to ask about the honeymoon. When he said it would be in Asgard, said man groaned. He said Emil should have chosen a livelier, party city with more attractive women and swimsuits.

Typical Zelos, Emil thought to himself as Sheena swiftly inserted her foot into his gut.

"Have you all decided on positions yet?" Regal asked curiously. "I mean, there aren't many people coming…so how will the ceremony play out?"

Emil chuckled and declared that they'd already decided upon the positions a while back. Castagnier had been waiting for the right moment to tell them and, with everyone currently riled up, he decided now would be the perfect timing. Lloyd was his best man, Genis and Presea would be the flower bearers, Regal and Raine would hold the rings and Sheena was the main bridesmaid who was in charge of also holding Marta's dress as she walked down the aisle. Regal would also escort Marta if her father, Brute, couldn't be released from jail.

Then there was the bombshell.

"Zelos…Colette," he began slowly, smiling and turning to the two Chosens. "Marta and I talked about it and…would it be possible for you both to perform our wedding ceremony?"

Colette lit up like a firework and Zelos was actually speechless for a few moments.

"W-Woah…Bud #2…are you sure?" the redhead asked the blond, who answered his question with a confident nod.

"Zelos and I are going to be the ones to marry you both?" Colette asked, her cerulean eyes gleaming with pure joy. "Are you sure? Oh wow…this is amazing! Y-Yeah, I'll do it!"

"Ah hell, I'll do it too," Wilder replied with a clench of his fist. "Alright! Now comes the real scramble to get things done!"

"We can do it," Lloyd said as he threw his arm around Emil's shoulder. "We've already proven that we can do anything as a group, but this could be our most difficult challenge since Mithos!" he said, causing everyone to laugh in camaraderie.

Everyone was so busy rejoicing on the lawn that they didn't notice Marta watching them from the upstairs window. She'd finished her bath half an hour earlier and was dressed in a silk nightgown with her wet hair pulled back messily. Watching everyone smiling faces almost made her forget about what had just happened moments earlier. She sighed deeply and closed the curtains.

All of a sudden, tears came to her eyes. She didn't know if they were tears of joy or fright. Shivering, she took one last look in the sink. Just to be sure, she picked up the object again and stared at it for another few moments.

"Emil…" she whispered, smiling through her tears. She remembered their last night together fondly. "I can't thank you enough…"

She put the positive pregnancy test in the trash and resolved to go get dressed and meet the others downstairs.

-END-

Wow…it's a boring chapter. I'm sorry…but this was just all the stuff that needed to be explained before the big day. After things, things will pick up a lot!

Hope you enjoyed! R&R if you have the time! Thanks again to all my dedicated readers for your constant support.