CHAPTER 92:

Let's get married

Two weeks waiting for Kai to come back had felt like an eternity.

But two weeks to prepare a wedding had gone by in the blink of an eye.

The very moment the astronomers had made their calculations and pointed out a near date as a prosperous time for the two boys to get officially bound, Kai didn't think twice, and Jay didn't put up a fight either. Everyone else in the palace though wanted to strangle the impatient couple at least once during that span of time.

While it was going to be a small event, it was still a royal wedding, which meant that it had to follow certain standards. Servants and messengers were in a rush, working non-stop to get in contact with florists, decorators, musicians, priests, and Dareth as well! The poor tailor paled when he was told about the number of outfits he had to prepare in so little time. Luckily for him, the Walkers were quite the busybodies. Edna took no time to offer to help the man, it was her son's wedding after all, and given that they couldn't finance the ritual —Kai wouldn't have allowed them anyway— she wanted to be useful in one way or another.

Zane and the princess also played a big role in organizing everything. As the king, every decision that involved the wedding had to go through Kai first, which took away some of the time he usually spent on the Kingdom's matters... which resulted in the sovereign being swamped with a bunch of work.

The counselors, too, wanted to kill the young man. Some audiences and meetings had to be rushed, some others pushed a few weeks forward, messing up their schedules for the umpteenth time.

Not even Lloyd, Cole, and Jay avoided getting dragged into the mess —they weren't trying to avoid it in the first place. Cheating the bureaucratic system, they managed to approve some of the wedding stuff on their own, lessening Kai's already tight schedule. Honestly, the Maharaja couldn't care any less if the ribbons they used to tie up the flowers were crimson red or vermillion red.

••••••••••••

At last, the big day arrived.

The moment Kai had been wishing for since the very instant his eyes met Jay's.

He couldn't believe it was happening. After all they had gone through, after his many fuck-ups, Jay's heart had accepted him.

The monarch nervously paced around the bedroom, his fingertips pricked with excitement. He reached up to play with his hair, only to remember it had been put up in a bun under the ceremonial turban.

"Stop it, you're gonna ruin it," Cole spoke from the royal bed. "And you know I can't fix those things."

Kai groaned, deciding to keep his hands occupied with the many jewels that hung from his neck instead. He played with the beads of the necklaces, wrapping and unwrapping his fingers with them.

"I'm so fucking nervous."

Cole chuckled. "I don't see why, you've already done this three times."

"Technically it's only been two. We never did this stuff for our wedding," the Maharaja corrected his spouse.

"Yeah, because we couldn't be bothered with all this fancy crap," he laughed.

Kai didn't offer a reply, so Cole went on in his attempt to calm him.

"It will go well. Pythor isn't here to rain on our parade with his stupid ass comments."

As risky as it could be for the image of the crown to not host a big, public celebration, Kai thought he'd done the right thing by limiting the guest list to just the people that worked closest to him, people which he could trust to not make a scene, people who were completely okay with his desire to marry a man again. He'd had enough of assholes like Pythor on his weddings with Zane and Lloyd. Kai needed this day to be perfect; he owed it to Jay.

He kept walking around the bedroom, going from one side to the other. The ceremony would start soon, yet several minutes would still pass until he met with his new future husband at the wedding stage. With every second Kai grew more anxious.

"You know how it goes. A boring speech, go around the fire a few times, and it's done!" Cole said merrily. "Then cake and then…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but by the way his eyebrows wiggled in a smug expression Kai knew exactly what the big idiot had in mind.

Because the Maharaja was on the same page too.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" He cried out, irritated at its maximum. "I'm so horny," Kai confessed, taking a seat next to Cole on the bed.

"Well, that's not my fault."

No, it wasn't. Kai was aware of that. He'd been so busy over the past weeks that he hadn't had a moment to 'relax' with any of his lovers, favoring sleep rather than anything else. Although, truth be told, Kai did purposely waste a few chances that had come his way.

Overall, Jay appeared receptive to their gestures of affection, but Kai didn't want to pressure him in any way. The boy had taken a while to understand how he felt, and Kai would not rush Jay's way to full self-acceptance. He'd be there for him, hold Jay's hand during the journey, and advance at the pace the boy marked him.

At least that was what the Maharaja had been telling himself, but Kai had to admit he was starting to regret this —hopefully short— celibacy period… Because the sole mention of being intimate with Jay had his blood rushing down south dangerously!

Kai desired Jay so much. He couldn't help but imagine how pretty his future spouse would look on his bed, completely naked, his freckled skin flushed with the increase of temperature in his veins, voice cracking from the pleasure as he repeated Kai's name until...

The Maharaja pinched himself on the arm as hard as he could to stop the rowdy thoughts. He could not be popping a boner right that moment.

Cole noticed how Kai's face scrunched up with discomfort and chuckled lightly, but it was enough to drive the monarch's attention back on him.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I've never seen you like this. It's adorable."

"You wouldn't find it so funny if it were you in my shoes!"

"Yeah… Luckily, I'm not."

Kai stared at his husband with curiosity.

"You… Did you…? With Lloyd or Zane?"

"Perhaps," Cole smirked in return.

"W-What?! When?! I thought you were all busy too!"

Cole just laughed again, not letting out any sort of hint.

"Ugh! You know what? I don't even want to know. I don't need that kind of details right now." The Maharaja rubbed a hand down his face, thinking about these guys having sex was not advisable in his situation.

Cole wrapped an arm around him and kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry, your dry spell is ending tonight," he teased —or at least Kai took it as that.

"Don't be so sure," he mumbled back.

Cole looked at him with what seemed to be a mix of surprise and amusement. "Have you not seen the way Jay looks at you? He's just as eager to lie naked on this bed with his sexy king."

Cole had lowered his voice, letting his words fall in a whisper into Kai's ear.

"Cole... You're not helping me at all with that…" The Maharaja had meant to sound authoritarian, but he wasn't sure he'd successfully managed it in the end.

"Oh… would you like me to help in some other way?" The royal spouse's hand slithered down to Kai's thigh.

Nope, he hadn't sounded convincing at all.

"Cole… We're both already dressed…" Kai tried again, but his voice trembled as he couldn't help but focus on the feeling of Cole's hand, so close to his crotch, squeezing gently.

"So? I'm sure we can find a way to not leave any traces on these pretty outfits..."

Kai moaned not-so-discreetly when he felt Cole's lips on his neck, leaving teasing kisses over his already scalding skin.

Maybe they could… Just something quick… And then...

"No!" He yelped, jumping away from the bed like a scaredy-cat. "No!" He pointed an accusing finger at Cole. "Back off, Mr. Kinky! You can't fool me with your brawny charm!"

Cole laughed out loud.

"I was just trying to get you to relax!"

"Your idea of 'relaxation' is quite inconvenient right now!" Kai scolded him again.

As if on cue, and to prove Kai's reasoning, someone knocked on the door. The Maharaja quickly went to open it while his husband was still trying to contain his laughter.

"Hello!" Nya appeared on the other side.

Kai couldn't believe that, for once, he was glad his sister had interrupted them.

"I see you still haven't lost your head," she teased him innocently.

Ugh… Nevermind.

"Is it time already?" Kai asked and the princess nodded in response.

"You can come down at any moment and we'll get started."

"Pretty please!" The Maharaja cried out, exiting the room and comically glaring back at his spouse.

"Are you coming too, Cole?" Nya asked the boy.

Still obviously entertained by Kai's stern attempt at remaining 'pure' until the ceremony, Cole rose from the bed and approached them.

"I think I'm going to pay Jay one last visit."

"Well, make it quick. I don't wanna have to wait too long," Kai advised, authoritarian, then proceeded to walk away with his sister.

"Don't worry. I've got plenty of experience at quickies…"

The Maharaja froze on the spot and more shivers went down his spine as his body had the instinct to react at Cole's sexual teasing. However, he took a deep breath, turned to look at the boy and said, "I swear you'll pay for this!"

Cole laughed, Nya remained unfazed at their exchange; she got used to this sort of dirty banter years ago. It was nothing new.

The two siblings resumed their march and made their way downstairs and out to the garden, where the ceremonial stage and wedding tent waited for the soon-to-be couple.

••••••••••••

The past weeks had been tough, stressful. Jay had discovered a whole new level of commotion.

Given how enormous the royal residence was, it had always been difficult to stumble into a large number of servants and workers that often. Now though, they paced the halls, going back and forth, transporting things, passing messages through all the staff as they made sure everything was ready for the ceremony. It made Jay nervous too, for he knew how special that day was meant to be for the royal family.

"Everything will be fine." Edna rubbed her son's back.

"I hope so," Jay responded with a small voice.

"Of course it will, son!" Ed insisted. "I made sure the structures were steady, nothing should fall in on you."

Jay chuckled at his dad's constructor mindset. The young man wasn't worried about that, his anxiety was about everything in general. Destiny had proved to always come for him when Jay least expected it, adding dramatic twists to his life.

He looked at himself in the mirror of the vanity. He was dressed, hair and make-up ready after a lot of hours of preparation. He was only a few steps away from linking his life to Kai's.

Please, please, just give me a break today, he prayed internally.

Jay jumped when there was a knock on the door, but he relaxed as soon as he saw Cole's figure coming in.

"How's everything going here? Having any second thoughts?" Cole joked.

"Gosh, no!" Jay exclaimed. He was not chickening out now. Nor ever.

"Are you sure? I can sneak you out without anyone knowing."

Cole kept teasing, pulling out several cackles and giggles from the Walker family. The ex-warrior's eyes landed on Edna. He grabbed the woman's hands and had her open her arms to admire her outfit.

"Edna, you look beautiful!" Cole commented as he made her spin around slowly. The long skirt and sari spreading like a fan with the motions. "You too, Mr. W." Cole said to the man, who laughed at the nickname.

"I feel so strange in these…" Edna confessed, looking down on the flashy dress. "I don't want to outshine the protagonists of the event."

"Hey, you're not outshining anyone. We are all equals in this house," Cole told her, taking Edna's small hands in his and giving them a kiss. "You both deserve this. You are the sweetest and most loving persons I have seen in my whole life. And trust me, I've met a lot of people. I know a kind heart when I see it."

The woman's cheeks flushed.

"And you…" Cole suddenly said, letting go of Edna and focussing on Jay. He walked closer to the boy and made him stand up from the stool. "Wow! You look freaking amazing too! You're like… like a star! So radiant and handsome!"

Jay blushed under the compliments. Cole, Lloyd, and Zane had already seen Jay several times that day as the boy prettied up, and during each visit, Cole had made sure to let Jay know how beautiful the boy found him in his wedding outfit. The only person who had no idea what Jay looked like yet was the Maharaja. Along with Dareth, they all had vowed to keep it a secret from the monarch, to make the moment of truth even more special.

"Kai is gonna fall off his seat as soon he sees you."

"Well, I hope there will be a lot of cushions on that stage, I don't wanna become a widower before I even get married!" Jay joked back, laughing along with Cole as the other boy made him spin and sway with him around the room, diverted by the many jewels that twinkled as Jay moved.

The gingerhead soon felt eyes on him. When he turned around he found his parents watching them with a big, pleased smile on their faces.

Jay stopped in his tracks.

"W-What?" He asked.

"Look at you." Edna reached out a hand to caress her son's cheek. "Months ago you were barely able to say out loud that you were in love with a boy, but now…"

Jay felt his face heating up in a matter of seconds.

"We're so proud of you, jaybird." Edna brought him in for a hug.

"M-Mom…!"

"Indeed," Ed commented, walking closer to them and putting his arms around the two. "You have found such beautiful persons to spend your life with. It's not easy to do that these days. I don't even understand how you feared they wouldn't take you back in the blink of an eye!"

"Dad…!" Jay's face shone a bright red.

How was it his parents always found a way to turn the tables and embarrass him one way or another?

Suddenly an extra pair of limbs surrounded him. Cole had joined their embrace.

"I don't get it either. It's not like he didn't steal our hearts from day one!"

Jay groaned and hung his head forward, trying to hide his now tomato-like face. Apparently, Cole had learned the art of showing him up as well.

"By the way, we should get going. Kai is already on his way to the garden," Cole said as they all pulled away to let the poor boy breathe.

"Oh, of course! You can't be late to your own wedding, honey!" Edna exclaimed.

Jay shivered. His stomach knotted tight. He probably looked ridiculous shaking as badly as he did, but he couldn't help it. The excitement in his veins was becoming hard to process.

Someone took his hand. Cole looked at Jay with tender eyes; the same loving gaze the boy had always displayed when looking his way.

What would have Jay done without this man? Had he not come across Cole, Jay might have needed a lot more time to accept who he truly was —if he ever did. Cole had been extremely patient with Jay, even though he had been as interested as the Maharaja to get the boy to join their family. Jay could see it now; the underlying passion hidden in those chocolate irises.

"Ready?" Cole asked softly.

Jay took a moment to reply.

"Let's get married," he said with a convincing nod of his head.

Author's Note:

Heyo! Hope you're enjoying the story! We're one step closer to the end.

I just thought about this recently because someone asked me on Tumblr, but if any of you would like to make fanart of my stories feel free to! I'd love to see it! ^w^

Make sure to tag me! You'll find my Twitter, Instagram, and Deviantart linked on my profile.