"I can't believe my little brother is getting married before me."

Alex took the suit jacket as it was handed to him and put it on, grateful to have something to do with his hands, if only for a moment. Initially Gregory's offer of help had surprised him, but now he was glad of the company, his brother's presence dulling the nerves that were swirling in his stomach.

"Well, if you wanted to get married first, you should have done it sooner."

Greg scoffed as he grabbed the flower resting on the dresser, twirling it between his thumb and forefinger a few times as he waited for Alex to finish. The jacket was new, but it fit perfectly. Actually, the entire outfit was new, courtesy of Isobel Evans of course. The second Michael had announced him as his fiancé, she had wedding plans flying out of her ears, condensed timeline be damned. They didn't want to wait any longer and she had obviously been planning it in her mind for long enough to know exactly where to buy everything in the limited time they had given her. How she knew Alex's size though, he would never know.

Her support was heart-warming. In fact, the excitement radiating off all his friends at the thought of going to their wedding was something he never imagined he'd see. Liz, Maria, Kyle, they'd all pulled together to make it happen and he couldn't quite put into words how appreciative he was.

Asking Greg had been a shot in the dark, knowing full well that his brother was busy with his studies, but he shouldn't have been surprised to see him turn up at his doorstep. Not after everything they had been doing recently to make sure they were there for each other.

"Thank you." He said quietly. "For being here."

"Like I'd be anywhere else." Greg replied around the pin clenched between his teeth. Alex could have laughed at the determined look on his face, his brows pulled low in concentration as he tried to line the flower up perfectly above the jacket pocket. "You know Clay would be here if he could."

"And Flint?"

Greg was silent for a moment, taking a breath as he pinned the flower in place.

"…He'll come around eventually." He smiled sadly, his downcast eyes lifting to meet Alex's. "Us Manes men can be very stubborn when we want to be."

Alex scrunched his nose at the reminder of that age old saying and all the baggage that came with it. Well, maybe that won't include me for much longer, he kept to himself. Greg wasn't wrong though; they all had that stubborn streak in them.

And his had almost been his downfall not twenty-four hours ago.

"There. Perfect." Greg beamed, unable to resist straightening Alex's tie before directing him to the mirror.

Alex didn't know what he had expected. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd ever worn a suit before, there were occasions dating all the way back to high school where he'd had to don the formal attire. But looking at himself now, he felt the butterflies return in full force.

He looked…good.

He'd managed to style his unruly hair somewhat nicely, his skin no longer held the deathly pallor he had returned through the portal with and his suit, his wedding suit, sat perfectly atop his shoulders, all ready for the next chapter of his life.

He smiled cheekily as he spoke to Greg through the reflection.

"Is it bad that I kinda wish dad was here to see this."

"Yes." Greg gave him a pointed look, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Even if the look on his face would have been priceless."

"He's probably turning in his grave. Not only am I marrying a guy, I'm marrying an alien…" Alex trailed off slowly as a realisation suddenly slammed into him full force and Greg, observant as ever, instantly noticed the change in his brother's demeanour.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stepping closer.

"I'm getting married."

"…Yeah?"

"Like— this is actually happening." He couldn't hold back the nervous chuckle, nor the confused grin growing on his face. Greg clearly couldn't hold back the eye roll either.

"I didn't think this would ever happen." He continued after a moment, his voice almost a whisper as if the words were a closely guarded secret—one that he had never admitted to anyone out loud before. "And not just because I didn't think I was making it out of the pocket dimension. I just mean…"

He gulped, the words suddenly getting stuck in his throat. This moment right here had been an impossible daydream for so much of his life, for so many reasons. His father, his family, his own inability to let himself be happy. You name it, he faced it, but here he was, free of everything that had been holding him back.

He ran a gentle finger along the twisting flower petal, noticing how the white stood out against the dark gray of the suit, how it reminded him of Michael, his light in the dark through everything that had come before.

Greg squeezed his shoulder in silent understanding. Of course his brother didn't need to hear the end of his sentence. Though their father had targeted them in different ways, they had both lived through his torment and everything that had followed. Greg had witnessed Alex's decades long struggle to become his true self and though he hadn't been able to help much when they were younger, having his brother here now meant more than he could say.

"Come on," Greg patted him on the back just as he felt his eyes begin to water. He was already halfway out the room as he called back, "we don't want to leave your future husband waiting."

Husband.

Yeah, he liked the sound of that.