FOREWORD
I write a lot, but rarely post anything due to most of my stories being longer and not wanting to leave anything incomplete or unpolished before I post it. I actually managed to get this done because it was short and I just felt very passionate about GUN×SWORD after finishing it. The original ending was perfect as far as I'm concerned, implying what it needed to without unnecessary elaboration that didn't fit into the narrative, but I wanted to extend it in a way that dovetails the story's themes. I love GUN×SWORD because it's very predictable, but predictable in a way that's satisfying for the audience. It practically tells you what it's going to do, then sticks the landing. The combination of those two things is surprisingly rare. I wanted this story to feel predictable too, like something that could have been part of the series. I think the brilliance of its writing is that you're left knowing something like this happened, but it never actually has to show it. Yet still, something compelled me to write this. Call it my love letter to this series.
Artistic liberties were taken with the traditional order of a wedding procession. If something seems out of place, it's intentional.
I wasn't gonna get a new tux for today. Nah. That just wasn't me.
Yeah, mine was old and worn out. No amount of sewing or mending was gonna make it look like it did the first time I walked down the aisle. But it was important to me to wear it today. This tuxedo was made of love.
Elena... I wondered what she would think. If she was looking down on me from heaven, would she be envious that I was marrying someone else?
No. Not my sweet Elena. If she was watching, she would be happy for me. Happy I finally moved on.
I spent so long enraged that my dream had been taken away from me that I forgot I could still dream again. It felt good to kill Claw. Cathartic. But I felt empty afterward. Killing him didn't b Elena back.
It was a good thing I stumbled back into Wendy's life. What I did to deserve a woman like her I'll never know. Something just sort of clicked one day while I was bumming at her house. As much as I wanted Elena back, I wanted to love again too.
That old bastard talked about dreams as if you could only ever have one. That's not true, though, is it? Even if someone takes your dreams away, you can still have new dreams. It was something he could never understand.
And Wendy...
Yeah, Wendy was my dream now.
I wiped half a tear out of my eye. It was so unlike me. Van of the Dawn getting all sentimental on his wedding day? I snorted at myself.
Soft music wafted in through the church window. That was my cue. I straightened my hat and went outside.
It was outdoor reception. It had to be, because Dann was too tall to stand inside a church. Sure, it wasn't conventional for an Armor to be someone's best man, but he was my best man. Besides, Wendy spent forever making that huge bowtie for him. I wouldn't want to not use it.
Dann being front and center kinda made Carmen and Priscilla seem strange, even though they were just perfectly normal bridesmaids. I about half expected Joshua to join them, but he was in the aisles along with the rest.
I slowly walked down the aisle and turned around when I reached the altar. My heart pounded. The reception looked totally different, but it was hard to get over how familiar it felt. It had the same warm, inviting atmosphere. I could just picture Elena in her beautiful white dress, stained in her own blood. Smiling, even in death.
Then the bride's music started. Wendy stepped out of the church. For some reason, all of my stress just disappeared. Wendy just didn't feel like Elena at all. When I looked at her, I knew it was different this time. Everything was going to be fine. She walked to the music, gown flowing behind her. We stared deeply into each other's eyes, even though hers were obscured by her veil.
Had I finally let go...?
The music stopped. Wendy stood across from me. This was actually happening. I had to remind myself of that.
The priest droned on for what felt like forever. I didn't really bother to listen to him. It was just stuff I already knew — how we met, what drew us to each other, what marriage meant. I just focused on Wendy and that sheepish smile of hers. It hadn't changed after all these years.
I didn't catch a complete sentence that came out of the old priest's mouth until he said, "Do you, Van of the Dawn, take this woman, Wendy Garret to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Yeah. I do."
Why was I crying? I wasn't sobbing or anything; tears were just dripping down my cheeks. Wendy stood on the tips of her toes and wordlessly wiped them away. I smiled back at her.
"Do you, Wendy Garret, take this man, Van of the Dawn, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
I turned to the aisle hearing funny-sounding footsteps. Kameo was walking down it, some roses and our rings on top of his back. I didn't like the idea of a turtle being the ring bearer, but I couldn't have told Wendy "no". He stretched his neck out with his goofy turtle smile, making that strange noise he did. We took our rings from him and put them on each other's fingers one at a time.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
I gently lifted the wedding veil off her face. "Wendy... I love you," I said.
"I love you too, Van." She leaned in and whispered, "This is the happiest day of my life...!"
Her soft lips slid into mine. I didn't just have a dream now — I had a reality. I felt something warm stir inside of me as we kissed. It was like a flower had unfurled and bloomed inside my chest.
Our lips parted. Tears streaked down my face as I shouted to heaven: "Wendy! I LOVE YOU!"
Kameo was the first to walk back down the aisle. A single rose fell off his back and landed on the carpet. A song I'd never heard before, but somehow sounded familiar, started to play...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My beta reader, neosaiyanangel from Archive of Our Own. I was really lucky to find a beta who had actually seen the series, which tends to be a consistent struggle for me. They helped me with everything from phrasing to fixing a continuity mistake present in the first couple of drafts.