War Paint Chapter 37: The Wedding, a fosters fanfic

Chapter 37: The Wedding.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.

AN: FINALLY! The wedding chapter has arrived. Please leave lots of reviews. Also, in response to a review I received, I do not plan on ending this story any time soon. I have three new arcs I plan to introduce.

Connor's POV:

I stood staring at my reflection in the mirror, debating whether or not to shave.

I had to look perfect for today.

The day long awaited had finally arrived.

May 15th, 2020.

My wedding day.

Today was the day I would become the husband of one Jude Adams Foster.

Just thinking that sentence makes me want to squeal in unrestrained glee.

We woke up early this morning to loud knocking on the front door. We both got up to answer the door, and were ambushed by Brandon, Jesus, Jax, Taylor, Callie and Mariana.

"Okay, so here is how today is going to work." Callie started.

"We are going to take Jude with us, and get him ready at mommas' house." Mariana continued.

"We are going to stay here with you, and help you get ready here." Brandon said, motioning to himself Jax, and Jesus.

Jude and I had planned this down to the letter, and nodded our agreement. Jude went into our bedroom, got dressed, and returned. He place a kiss on my cheek and smiled at me.

"See you later." He said, before being whisked off by his sisters and our friend, leaving me alone with Brandon, Jesus and Jax.

"We only have about an hour and a half before we have to be at the beach." Jesus said, "So we have to hurry."

The first thing I did, was paint my nails the classic shade of blue. After they dried, I rushed into my room and pulled my tuxedo from the closet and dressed quickly. Brandon helped me tie my blue bowtie.

The whole time, a dopey smile was still plastered on my face.

"You excited?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah. Extremely." I said, turning to Jax, "You feeling okay? Bruises finally fade?"

He groaned and Jesus and Brandon laughed.

I was, of course, talking about my bachelor party a week previously.

Jax, as my best man, had thrown me a party at his new place. There was a lot of alcohol present. Every single person present had gotten paralytic drunk. The last thing I remembered from that night was taking a swig of Jägermeister and thinking the taste was nasty before switching to vodka. I woke up the next morning with no clothes on, no memory of the night before, and the apartment around me destroyed. Apparently, according to Castor, later that night I switched back to Jägermeister. Jägermeister is rumored to have a certain opiate in it that makes certain people really violent when they drink too much of it. According to everybody who could remember, Jax and I are two of those people. We ended up wrestling, which turned into a brawl that destroyed the apartment.

Jude wasn't very happy when he saw the pictures.

In fact I don't think I've ever seen him so pissed in his life.

The glare he gave me was enough to make men of weaker constitutions wet their pants and cry for their mothers.

In all fairness, Jude's bachelor party three days later, was just as nuts from what I can tell. Daria and Jax were acting as their designated driver. When they delivered Jude home at three in the morning, they were supporting him between them. He so drunk he couldn't stand up, and he looked to be passed out. I carried him, bridal style, to our bed and tucked him in. Daria and Jax told me that he was apparently the silliest person on the face of the Earth when he was drunk, and had passed out in the midst of a roaring fit of giggles on the floor of Daria's apartment.

I was glad that we had opted to have separate bachelor parties, because I knew for a fact that it would have ended badly if Jude is a silly drunk, and me an angry drunk. Angry people and silly people don't mix when they are inebriated.

Jude and I both got the riot act read to us by Stef, Lena, Mom and Dad as they lectured us about the danger of underage drinking. They said, that although they couldn't stop us, since we no longer live under their roofs, they strongly advised against doing it again. They didn't have to tell us twice. We both agreed to never drink that much again, even after we turned 21. Neither of us wanted to have to deal with the monstrosity of a hangover again, and to be honest I was a little scared of my drunken self. I didn't want to get hammered and hurt Jude by accident in a drunken stupor. I would never forgive myself.

"Yeah, they've faded." He said, "You ready to go, brother?"

I nodded, and we all walked out the door.

The next time I came back to this house, I would be a married man.

We got in the Chevelle and drove down to the beach next to Anchor Beach. Jude and I had chosen that as the place to have the wedding because it was the place where everything really started for us. Its where our friendship restarted. It's where we saved each other's lives.

When we arrived, most of the guests had already arrived. We made our way to the altar, and to our places next to my Uncle Evan, who stood there in his best suit, leaning on a cane to try to take some weight of his new prosthetic leg, which was top of the line but still ached some times. I looked at everybody assembled. In the front row, Mom and Dad sat next to each other, baby Andy sat nestled between them. They grinned at me through happy tears, and I returned the grin brightly.

My Aunt Caroline sat next to them, with Julius and Uncle David sitting next to her. Albus sat next to David, and gave me a smile and a thumbs up when we made eye contact. Grandma Madeline and Grandpa Alexander sat next to them, both looking happy. Stef and Lena sat next to them, and I notice with pride that my grandpa, formerly one of the most homophobic people I knew to exist, was chatting happily with Stef and Lena, who sat next to them.

Everything was in place. I turned and hugged my uncle.

"Thank you. For everything." I said.

"You never have to thank me for anything." He said.

Then the music started. I broke the embrace and turned around.

Jude was being escorted up the aisle by his dad, who looked as though he was only seconds away from bursting into tears.

Jude looked beautiful. He was dressed in the same ensemble as me, a classic black tuxedo, with a blue bowtie and a blue flower in his breast pocket. His long hair was free from its customary pony-tail and fell gently to his shoulders, framing his face. As he reached me, he grinned widely, which I returned with a grin of my own. Donald hugged his son close.

"I am so proud of you." Donald said.

Jude hugged him back tightly.

"Thanks dad." He said.

Donald wrapped me in a hug.

"Take care of my boy." He said.

"Always." I said, turning back to Jude, "You look amazing."

"So do you." Jude said.

Evan cleared his throat as the music stopped and everybody took their seats.

"Dearly beloved," Evan said, "We are gathered here today in the sight of god, to celebrate the joining of these two men in holy matrimony."

Jude and I tuned out my Uncles words and got lost in each other's eyes. We didn't even notice him stop speaking ten minutes later until Brandon and Jax poked us each in the back to bring us back to our senses.

"The couple have written their own vows, and will read them now." Evan said.

"When I was young, living in San Francisco," I started, "I had a friend. I met him my first day of preschool. We did everything together, he and I. Inseparable. Then, about halfway through kindergarten, he disappeared. Never knew what happened to him, but I missed him more than you could imagine. Years passed, friends came and go, and it seemed like my life had started to disintegrate around me. My parents got divorced. I got depressed, and sunk."

I smiled and took Jude hand in mine.

"Then, one day, at my lowest, unknown to the both of us, I met a boy named Jude." I said, smiling at him, "I had no idea, that he was my childhood friend returned to unknowingly save my life."

Jude smiled at me, and I smiled back, staring into his eyes.

"Jude, I have been imagining this day for a long time." I said, "In the beginning, I thought it was a pipe dream. With my dad the way he was back then about gay people, I always thought the notion of being with you was a flight of fancy. But... here we are. It's been seven years, since the day I re-met you. Six and a bit since we started dating. I remember the moment we decided to be boyfriends. It's a moment I'll never forget, laying scared in a hospital bed, begging for forgiveness for treating you the way I did. After you left, when I went to sleep, I dreamt about today."

Tears started to flow from my eyes.

"We rebuilt each other from the ground up, you and I." I said, "We've fought to be where we are right now. We've faced trials that would make others wilt in minutes, and we made it through to the other side in one piece, still by each other's side, still madly in love. I love everything about you, Jude. I love your smile. I love the cute way your eyes scrunch when you smile really wide, and the breathless way you laugh when you find something really funny. I love how the first thing you do in the morning after I brush my teeth is kiss me. I love how safe you make me feel. I can't go a single day without hearing your beautiful voice, seeing your beautiful face. I never have been able to go to long without seeing you, and I never have to worry about that again. Today, I am the happiest man on Earth. I promise you, that I will always love you, JJ. I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you happy, everything I can to make you feel loved. With this ring, I make you that promise."

I slid the ring onto his finger.

"Connor." He said, wiping a tear away, "There is a moment in everybody's life. A moment when you realize you are right where you belong, where you were always meant to be. That moment for me, was the first time you ever held me in your arms. You were the first person besides my family that made me feel safe. The first person that made me feel loved, wanted, needed. You took a chance on me, a kid you THOUGHT you'd never met (There was some scattered laughter in the audience at this), and you made me feel like everything in the world was going to be okay, when all I had known for many years was suffering, disappointment and pain."

He paused to wipe more tears away.

"It was a rocky road to get to this moment." He continued, "We helped each other recover from our traumas. We had to literally walk through hails of bullets to be here, and as nuts as it sounds, I wouldn't trade a single moment. I promise that I will always be there for you when you need me. I will love you forever, and as we grow old together, I know that love will only strengthen. With this ring, I make you that promise."

He slid the ring onto my finger.

"Do you, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, take this man, Connor Alexander Stevens, to be your lawful wedded husband?" Evan asked.

"I do."

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

Evan turned to me.

"Do you, Connor Alexander Stevens, take this man, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do." I said, my smile so wide I could barely talk.

"I do," I looked Jude in the eyes, "Always."

"By the power vested in me by the state of California," Evan said, "I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the groom."

I wrapped my arms around Jude's waist and pulled him close and place my lips to his, and even after seven years, I couldn't stop the shiver that it caused. The world around us faded away, the clapping and applause of the wedding guests fading into the background, and it was just me and him. My arms holding him. My lips on his. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him even closer, deepening the kiss. As we pulled apart, we stood there, foreheads touching, and stared into each other's eyes.

"I am proud to introduce, for the very first time, Mr's Jude and Connor Adams-Foster." Evan said, "Now if everybody would join us for the reception at Stef and Lena's house, we can start this party."

Jude and I laughed at his joke, and we walked back down the aisle, smiling, our arms wrapped around each other's waists, holding each other close. When we reached the Chevelle we got in and I started the engine. I turned in my seat, and looked at my new husband. My heart fluttered.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too." He said.

We learned in for a quick kiss. After we separated, I drove us to the Fosters house for the reception.

It took about twenty minutes for everybody to arrive. Jude and I took our places at the head of the table set up in the back yard, and everybody else took their places as well.

Jax stood up and clinked his fork against the side of his glass and everybody was quiet.

"Okay, time for the speeches." He said, "What can I say about you two that hasn't already been said? First, Jude. I remember the day I met him. WAY back in seventh grade. I sat with him and Connor at lunch a few times. I stopped when Connor, being the frightful closet case that he was at the time, was making out with my current girlfriend Daria, his ex, in front of us. At first impression, Jude seemed like he was simply Connor's funny sidekick who spent almost every waking moment at his side. But when you know what to look for, you could tell that it was more than that. I met Connor when he moved here in third grade. We became friends quickly, and I can safely claim that I know him better than everybody but Jude, and his mom and dad."

He turned and smirked at me.

"I already suspected, of course, that Jude was crushing on Connor." Jax continued, "I knew for a fact that Connor was crushing on him back. I knew him well enough to be able to tell. Didn't hurt that he was painfully obvious about it."

I chuckled, nodding.

"Every time Jude would enter the room, Connor would light up like a Christmas tree." Jax said, "When he thought nobody was looking, he would stare at him with this dopey little smile on his face. He would talk about him nonstop, bouncing in his seat like an excited puppy the whole time."

Jude and several others laughed.

"But all kidding aside," Jax said, "I am so happy for you two. You deserve this more than anybody in the world, and I wish you both the best of luck in the future. You are both my brothers, and I love you both more than you'll ever know. To Jude and Connor."

He raised his glass and drained it. Brandon stood next.

"When I first met my little brother," He said bluntly, "I ended up having a gun waved around in my face by his lunatic foster father. Then I fell for his sister."

Jude snorted.

"I'm actually surprised he picked me as his best man." He continued, "With all the trouble I caused when he first arrived."

Snickering.

"Um. I'm not really good at speeches, in case you haven't noticed already." Brandon said, "I am so happy for you both. I couldn't imagine a better person to marry my little brother. Connor, you've been a part of my family for years already, and I am proud to finally be able to officially call you my brother in law."

He raised his glass and toasted us.

My dad stood next.

"When I first met Jude... or well, the second time anyway, since I didn't know it was him," Dad said, "My first thought was to ask myself why the hell Connor had became friends with him. After Jude demanded entrance to see Connor after he was shot, I asked myself who this punk thought he was. Looking back on it now, I know. It took me a long time to come terms with their relationship. It took me a long time, too long, to see that their relationship was something to be treasured, something to be protected. I am proud to call you my son, Connor. I am proud, to call your husband my son too."

Jude and I stood and gave him a hug.

"Thanks dad." I said.

"I love you both. Never forget that." He said after we pulled out of the hug.

After all the speeches were finished and Jude and I had cut the cake, Uncle Evan stood back up.

"Now, it's time for the first dance." Evan said.

The music started. It was mine and Jude's song. Matt Alber's cover of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". It was the song that played the first time we ever slow danced together, all those years ago. I rose from my eat and offered my hand to Jude.

"Do you wanna dance?" I asked, mirroring my actions from Jude and my first ever dance.

"I'd love to." He said, and took my hand, allowing himself to be led out into the middle of the yard.

As we stood there, surrounded by our family and friends, holding each other in a loving embrace, swaying gently from side to side with our bright future together on the horizon, Jude and I both were right where we belonged. In each other's arms.

AN#2: Okay, so that's the wedding chapter. With this chapter, the story breaks the 100,000 word barrier. Hope you guys liked it. Please leave lots of reviews, and thanks for reading.