Disclaimer: I own nothing but Aleksandrya. Everything else belongs to Mr. Kripke and the CW. I make no money from this publication. It is written strictly as not-for-profit entertainment.
Epilogue: The Wedding
Alek was as jittery as, well, a young bride. Bouncing around her room in Bobby's house, she could barely stand still. Today was the day. She was going to bind herself to Dean, more fully than any normal wedding could. Michael was performing the ceremony.
This wouldn't be like any normal wedding. They weren't just exchanging vows of fidelity and love. They would be literally binding their souls together. Very few humans had ever done this. No one in over a thousand years. Theliel assured them it would be alright. Alek had the sneaking suspicion that she and Dean were soul mates and the angel prince was just keeping that bit of information to himself.
"Aleksandrya Reyanne Winchester!" Anna cried, putting her hands on the young Halfling's shoulders and pushing her into the chair. "Calm down! You're working yourself into a tizzy for nothing!"
Alek gaped at her aunt. "For nothing? Are you kidding me? I'm getting married! Worse, I'm binding my soul! To Dean!"
Anna arched an eyebrow at her niece. "That's worse? What, have you decided that you don't love the boy after all?"
Alek rolled her eyes and debated how much trouble she'd get into if she smashed her face against the vanity. Probably a lot. Anna had spent about three hours with her "torture chest of pots and sticks" (as Alek had dubbed it), getting the bride's hair and makeup just right. "Of course not Aunt Anna. I'm just scared. Pre-wedding jitters. Pre-binding jitters. Shit."
Anna laughed and rubbed her niece's back comfortingly. "It'll be ok little one." She reassured. "This is just one more step in your life. Not the end of it."
"I know! I'm just…"
"Scared." Her father finished from the doorway, smiling in at the women. "We're about ready to start." He directed this toward Anna. "Can I have a few minutes alone with my daughter?"
Anna nodded, smiling at her brother. "Of course. I'll just go find my seat. Virgil is probably getting a little antsy as it is. Balthazar still glares at him on occasion and it makes him uncomfortable."
Qaphiel nodded distractedly, his eyes on his daughter. She looked beautiful today. For the first time he fully realized that she was no longer his little girl. In a matter of minutes, she'd be Dean Winchester's bonded wife. And she looked the part.
"Are you ready for this mea flos?" He asked, still propped against the doorway.
Alek stood from the chair and ran to give her father a hug. "As I'll ever be Daddy."
"You know this is the right thing to do, right Aleksandrya?"
Alek nodded. "I love Dean. That's not the problem. I'm just scared. This is a big step and it happened pretty quickly and…"
Her father's laughter cut her off. "It hardly happened quickly. This day has been almost two decades in the making." Alek looked at him, confused. Sighing Qaphiel sat his daughter on the bed, plopping next to her. "Mea flos, you may not have realized it, but you and Dean claimed each other the first day you met. He swore to protect you. You took his hand. You two have been bonded ever since. It changed over the years, from friendship and a mentor relationship to what you share now. But it wasn't some overnight thing."
Alek nodded slowly. "Ok Dad."
Qaphiel stood, pulling his daughter from the bed. "Come on. We're about to start. We need to get you downstairs." She followed her father out on shaky legs.
Downstairs, Dean and Sam were having a similar conversation. "I'm binding my soul to hers Sam!" Dean cried, bouncing around the living room where they were holding the wedding.
Sam stood back, watching his brother's nervous pacing with an amused grin. "Yep."
"My soul! My fucking soul! This isn't just give-a-ring-say-I-love-you-and-kiss shit! There's no way out of this!"
"Do you want out of this?" Sam asked practically, already knowing the answer.
Dean paused and stared at his little brother like he was nuts. "Of course not! But…."
"But you're scared." Sam finished. "So here's the real question… Are you scared enough to call this off?"
Dean collapsed into a chair. "No." He muttered dejectedly. "No. I'm not that scared."
"Then shut up, buck up, and step up." Sam said, chucking his brother on the shoulder. "You're getting married big brother."
AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM~AOTM
Dean's breath caught in his chest as he saw Alek come down the aisle. She had never looked more beautiful. He had to remember to thank Anna for whatever it was she had done.
His infantula was dressed in a simple white gown. The hem had what he recognized as the Enochian sigils for all the angels in the room, plus the astrological symbols for Taurus and Ares in honor of Bobby and Sam. If he looked closely, tucked into one of the folds and barely noticeable, he saw the symbol for the Marines, and he had to blink back tears. Even on their wedding day, Alek thought of a way to include his father. The symbols were all done in a deep pine green that matched the swath of cloth that ran from her waist to the floor as a train in the back.
In her hands she carried a bouquet of Calla lilies wrapped in… Dean had to blink back more tears. The bouquet was held together by their wristbands. The leather ones they wore almost constantly. Now he knew why he hadn't been able to find his that morning.
Her hair fell loose to her waist, and small bits of heather formed a crown about her head. Anna had done her makeup in light smoky colors, combined with a coal black outlining her eyes, making them shine. She was gorgeous. Her skirt came up a bit as she walked, exposing the ankle holster she wore, and Dean struggled not to laugh. Somehow that made it all better. It reinforced the fact that this was still Alek, his Alek. The girl he'd known and loved for twenty years. Just because she was all glammed up (and so was he) and they were about to irrevocably change their lives forever didn't mean they weren't the same people. They were just the same people, growing up.
Alek couldn't believe her eyes, looking at Dean. He'd always looked good in a suit. Hell, she always drooled over him in the Fed get-up, but this tux… Damn! Her eyes flitted around the room as she walked up the aisle. She hadn't wanted to choose between Bobby and her father so she'd opted to walk alone. Gabriel and Balthazar stood in for her bridesmaids and Sam and Castiel were Dean's groomsmen. All four men looked exceedingly handsome, but none of them could compare to Dean.
Her family sat around her in rows of chairs. She'd even relented and allowed Raphael, Uriel, and Zachariah to come, under strict orders that if anything fishy were to happen, Gabriel had free reign to do as he wished. Remembering the look on Michael's face as a hyper Gabriel had attacked him, all three angels were suitably subdued and kept shooting fearful glances to the little archangel standing at the front of the room. Alek had to resist the urge to laugh.
The angels of love and lust sat at the front on Dean's side, smiling brightly, their mission accomplished. After Alek and Dean had finally emerged from the cabin, three weeks later, they had trapped everyone, including Duma and Sam, in a circle of holy fire for two days, tossing over water and sandwiches when needed. Now the angels agreed to stay out of their lives in any capacity that wasn't family related.
Duma sat in the very front row, eyes never leaving Sam. The two were almost sickening in the sweetness, but Sam was happier than she'd ever seen him, and Alek had to appreciate Duma for that. Bobby sat next to the violet-eyed angel, Ellen at his side, eyes suspiciously shiny. Ellen was openly crying. Unbeknownst to either the bride or groom, Jo had attempted to come. A very angry Samuel Winchester and his boyfriend halted her before she made it past the front step. Jo was somewhere in Antarctica at present. Duma promised Ellen he'd return her after the happy couple left for their honeymoon.
Michael stood at the very front of the room, wings spread wide, smiling at her gently. He had been honored when she and Dean had asked him to perform the ceremony and felt even more so now. Seeing the happiness that radiated throughout the room, and feeling the peaceful bliss that rolled from his niece and the green-eyes hunter in waves, was for better than anything he'd ever experienced in heaven. He was created to be a protector, but, until that very moment, he doubted he'd ever realized what that truly meant.
Alek stepped up next to Dean and shakily passed her bouquet to Balthazar. Turning, she faced her fiancé and entwined their hands. Dean gave her a reassuring smile, and the love that poured from his eyes immediately put her at ease. At that moment, staring into her soon-to-be-husband's eyes, she couldn't remember why she'd been so nervous. Neither could he.
"Are you ready?" Michael whispered to the couple, and Alek and Dean nodded in unison. The archangel smiled at them and cleared his throat to begin.
"I'm not going to start with the traditional 'Dearly Beloved' speech. Considering the two souls I'm bonding here today, it seems inappropriate." Michael began, earning him rolling chuckles from around the room. "Instead, I'd like to say this. Today two of the most stubborn, sarcastic, snarky, impatient, annoyingly frustrating and incredibly acerbic people have chosen to be bound together. Instead of a traditional marriage, they have chosen to literally lash their souls together, insuring that were one goes, the other follows, even unto death. With this ritual, these two beings who love each other and each of us as fiercely as they fight the evil that imbues the world cannot be separated even by Death or Creation. They do not need to promise each other to stay strong and true through sickness, health, riches, poorness, good times, or bad, because with what they have chosen to do, they will not have a choice. And I have never seen two humans more happy to do so. They have already gone through the best and worse times a couple can share, all without ever actually being a couple. Today, they will merely confirm what has been known for years. Despite their protests, lollygagging, and stubborn refusal to see what was right in front of their eyes, Aleksandrya and Dean are, at their cores, nothing more than one soul split into two bodies. Today they will remedy that and begin life as the single entity they've needed to be since day one. Father save us all…" More laughter. "That being said, let us begin.
"Aleksandrya Reyanne Winchester," Michael began, piercing her with the steely blue eyes of his vessel, "do you agree to bind your soul to Dean Jason Winchester's? Do you agree to feel as he feels, live as he lives, and die as he dies? Do you agree to follow him for the rest of your days on this earth, and, when your time is up, do you agree to share your heaven with him?"
Alek smiled at Michael and at Dean. "I agree."
Michael nodded. "Dean Jason Winchester. Do you agree to bind your soul to Aleksandrya Reyanne Winchester's? Do you agree to feel as she feels, live as she lives, and die as she dies? Do you agree to follow her for the rest of your days on this earth, and, when your time is up, do you agree to share your heaven with her?"
"I agree." Dean sound, his voice loud and clear.
"Do the witness agree to this bonding?" Michael asked, speaking to the crowd. A resounding "Aye" rushed through the room. Smiling, the archangel turned his attention back to the couple in front of him. "Please give me your hands."
Alek and Dean reached out, palms up. Grabbing a small silver knife, Michael made a small cut in each palm and pressed their hands back together. A light golden glow emanated from the clasped hands. "With the sharing of blood, you share your bodies. May I see your other hands?"
Awkwardly, they brought their other hands forward. Michael slid identical silver bands on their fingers. The rings glowed a silvery blue for a moment before seeming to melt into their skin. Both Dean and Alek knew they could never be removed. "With these rings, you give an outward sign of your bond, forsaking all others and leaving no one but each of you. You may now kiss your wife, Dean."
Dean didn't hesitate. Entwining their fingers, he pulled Alek to him, giving her a deep, drugging kiss that blocked the rest of the world out. A purple glow, shot through with sparks of green, encased them.
"With this kiss, you seal your souls." Michael finished solemnly, smiling at the couple in front of him. The room broke out into applause as they finally came up for air, both laughing giddily.
"You're stuck with me forever now." Dean murmured, laying his forehead against his wife's.
"It goes both ways sweetheart." Alek reminded him, her silver eyes twinkling.
Dean pulled her into a hard hug, thankful for the purple cloud that still surrounded them and kept their family at bay. "Somehow, infantula, I think I can live with that."