The sun was bright. The temperature was blissfully warm, and the air held the sweet smell of spring blossoms. Aerrow smiled at himself in the mirror and adjusted his tie. Then he looked outside and his smile widened. It was the perfect day for a celebration. And the sky knight wanted this day to be as perfect as it could be. He looked at his reflection again. The young man he saw in that mirror looked different from the 14-year-old teen he had once been. He was not a boy anymore, but a tall, strong young man of 20, wearing a brand new tuxedo and waiting impatiently for the moment he could say his vows.
Aerrow looked down at himself. This suit felt very different than his usual outfit. It wasn't as form-fitting, and the new fabric was smoother and of better quality. But it felt too loose for his liking. He preferred his snug, close-fitting uniform. But it didn't matter. Such a tiny discomfort wouldn't ruin the best day of his life. No way. Just then, something like a small, blue and furry ball of lightning leapt on him and started licking his face.
"Radarr!" Aerrow gasped between his laughter. "Stop! Okay! I'm happy to see you too!"
The sky monkey got off his best friend, only so that someone else could hug Aerrow, squeezing the life out of him.
"Aerrow!" a voice boomed. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks…Junko…" Aerrow managed to say. "Can you…let go…? It's…TOO TIGHT…!"
"Oh! Sorry!" the wallop said and let go.
"Dude!" another young man said, also embracing Aerrow, but not as tightly.
Aerrow laughed and hugged him back. He then pulled away and grinned at his best man.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Finn." he beamed at the sharpshooter.
The blond smiled back.
"I would never miss this for the world!" he said. "And the bachelor's party last night was awesome!"
Aerrow, Junko and Radarr all rolled their eyes. It was typical of Finn to mention the bachelor party.
"Anyway," Finn said. "We came to say that we're so happy for you!"
"Yeah!" Junko agreed. "I still can't believe that you're getting married!"
Aerrow beamed.
"I know." he said. "Even I find it hard to believe."
A bit of worry then clouded his face.
"I just hope I made the right choice."
"Of course you have!" Finn said, patting the sky knight on the shoulder. "You and Piper are perfect for each other! And you've been a class="FAtxtL" href="#" rel="nofollow"dating/a for a few years now, so now's definitely the right time! I'm surprised that you didn't make your move sooner."
Aerrow almost blushed. He had proposed to Piper only 2 weeks ago. They had just come back from a date when he asked her, and she had accepted in a heartbeat. He was snapped out of the memory when they all heard a cough. The young men and sky monkey turned to see Stork, dressed in a black tuxedo, standing in the doorway.
"If you're done reminiscing," he said. "The guests are all waiting for the groom to show up."
Aerrow chuckled and followed Stork outside, with Radarr at his side and followed by Finn and Junko.
…
In the bridal dressing room, Dove was putting the final touches in Piper's gown.
"Just one more stitch and…voila!" she said, stepping back from her handiwork.
Piper turned to face the mirror and gasped. Her friend had done her work well. The dark skinned girl wore a strapless white gown with an A-line skirt and a long, elegant train. Thousands of tiny pearls and sequins were sewn into the fabric in an intricate design of crystals and flowers. A thin, blue ribbon sash was tied at her waist, and on her wrist, she had on a blue bracelet decorated with tiny white crystals. Her sapphire hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, held back from her face by a blue headband with a small cluster of white flowers by her right ear. The veil that hung over her face and down her back was almost transparent, and reached a little ways past her fingertips.
"Dove…" Piper breathed, turning in front of the mirror. "It's…perfect. Thank you."
"But there's something missing!" Starling said with a twinkle.
They all looked at her. The interceptor reached into a drawer and took out a small thread on which hung a small, bright blue crystal.
"Yes, that's just the thing." Piper said as she tied it around her neck.
"Oh my goodness…" Perry said, her voice filled with emotion. "Piper, you look gorgeous!"
When Piper faced her sister, she saw that tears were falling from her eyes in steady streams. She, like the two other girls in the room, was wearing a lovely white dress with blue accents. It wasn't as intricate and detailed as Piper's dress, but very pretty nonetheless.
"Oh Perry!" Piper said, hugging her. "Please don't cry, because you're gonna make me cry!"
"And you'd all better save your tears for later!" Dove said, giggling.
Starling laughed with the rest of them, then looked at Piper.
"All right, are you ready for this?" she asked.
"I'm a little nervous." the bride confessed. "Okay, very nervous. I mean what if something goes wrong? What if Aerrow decides that he's not ready for this?"
Starling put a hand on Piper's shoulder.
"Firstly: nothing's going to go wrong. Everything's in place, everyone who's been invited is coming, and I even took the time to double-check everything yesterday AND this morning." she reassured her friend.
"And secondly: I know that boy pretty damn well. And he would NEVER leave you at the altar. Ever! Feel better?"
Piper took a deep breath and nodded. Just in time too, for a head peaked around the doorway. It was Kaya, now 13 years old. Her black hair was in a neat braid instead of its usual wild ponytail, and her lacy white dress was covered in the design of flowers, which was extremely fitting for she was the flower girl of the occasion.
"It's time!" she said eagerly, then dashed off as quickly as she had appeared.
Dove handed Piper her bouquet, then the latter and her bridesmaids headed out the door.
…
Aerrow stood proudly next to the altar, beaming with happiness. Everything was perfect. The day was sunny, but not too hot or too cool, as though Mother Nature herself didn't want anything to interrupt this ceremony. The sky knight and Piper had decided to have their wedding outside surrounded by all their friends. And indeed, every sky knight was sitting there, along with all those who had helped the storm hawks in their adventures.
There was Wren, sitting at the front with Dove's older brother, Francois, and behind him was the female sky knight of the screaming queens holding hands with her husband, the sky knight of the buff buzzards. Rinjin was there, and so was Arygyn. Toward the back was Tritonn, with his brother at his right and a light blue-skinned female aquanosian whom Aerrow suspected was Tritonn's girlfriend at his left. Behind Tritonn was none other than Harrier, although, unlike everybody else, he didn't seem at all eager to be here. However, the rest of his team didn't share his opinion. They were all smiling broadly, and the girl of his team was even holding a handkerchief and sniffling quite a bit. The ultra-dudes had also come, along with the third-degree burners and the absolute zeroes.
Just then, the crowd's whisperings and mutterings silenced. Kaya came walking down the aisle holding a black and blue basket. Inside it were a bunch of pretty white flowers, which Kaya sprinkled before her. She was followed by Radarr. The sky monkey was walking on his hind legs instead of on all fours, for he was holding before him a light blue pillow on which were placed two silver rings. At first glance, they looked like simple silver rings, but if you looked more closely, you could see that they were engraved with intricate designs, which seemed to be carved with a knife the size of a needle. Radarr walked carefully, carrying his precious cargo, until he reached Aerrow's side.
Then, the blond musician struck up the bridal music. Everyone turned and gasped in wonder and admiration as they all saw Piper. Aerrow smiled upon seeing the lovely bride. And she was HIS bride! The thought made his grin grow an inch or two wider. Finally, she was facing him, her bridesmaids toward the side, looking on with misty eyes. The sky knight lifted the veil from Piper's face.
"You look beautiful." he whispered, so that only she could hear.
Piper blushed slightly.
"Thank you." she whispered back, before they all turned to face Stork.
The latter was conducting the ceremony, and a good thing that he was official enough to do so. The merb cleared his throat to be sure that everyone was paying attention, then began:
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Aerrow and Piper in holy matrimony. If anyone objects to this union, may they speak now in the next, um…" he checked his watch. "…5 seconds, or forever hold their peace."
Harrier opened his mouth and took a breath. He was about to say something when Stork interrupted him.
"Time's up!" he said. "Now, let us proceed with the rest of the ceremony."
He then continued:
"Piper, do you take Aerrow to be your husband, to love him, comfort him, honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, 'til death do you part?"
"I do." Piper said.
There was a chorus of "Awwww" in the crowd, and teary eyes got tearier. Stork smiled and addressed Aerrow:
"And do you, Aerrow, take Piper to be your wife, to love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, 'til death do you part?"
"I do." Aerrow said.
Those people with teary eyes covered their faces with their handkerchiefs. Then, everyone heard a sniffle and looked at Stork. Even Aerrow and Piper turned to the merb.
"What?" he asked. "It's…It's just allergies!" he claimed, despite the bride and groom smiling knowingly at him. "Anyhow…" he said with a cough. "May we have the rings please?"
Radarr chirped and held out the pillow with the rings. Aerrow and Piper each took one and put it on the ring finger of the other's left hand. Everyone; the guests, the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, the ring-bearer, the flower girl, Aerrow and Piper; all beamed at Stork's next words:
"And, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may k…"
He stopped when Piper threw her arms around Aerrow's neck, while his wrapped around her waist and the two shared a passionate kiss.
"Never mind." he mumbled as everyone exploded with noise.
The guests all cheered, and many people started to cry. Starling (to many people's surprise) cried and sobbed more than any of them, even more than Junko, and he practically had waterfalls running down his face. She cried so much, in fact, that Kaya had to give the interceptor her hanky when Starling's got too wet.
Aerrow felt his heart beating a mile a minute. It felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. This was the moment he had been waiting for months, perhaps years. And now, everything was perfect. He had everything he wanted: his health, his happiness, his friends, and best of all, Piper, his soul mate, his lover and now, his wife. They pulled away slowly as fireworks began crackling in the sky.
"I love you." he said softly to her.
She smiled.
"And I love you." she whispered back, kissing him again.
