Chappie Two. MaRe.
Have fun.
For many, weddings are a joy, something to be celebrated.
This, you could say, wasn't one of them.
...At least, not for two being married.
"You should tell him Ray."
A sigh.
"What good would it do Mariah? I'm getting married today."
"But not by choice."
"Does it matter?"
She gripped his hands with hers and glared at him defiantly.
"Yes. It does... Ray, I love you. I don't want you to do this to yourself."
"I love you too Mariah."
"Yes, you do. As a sister. Not as a girlfriend and especially not as a wife."
"...Mariah. That's your family out there. My family. Our village. They're all expecting us..."
"I don't care! I can't watch you do this! I can't let you lose your chance at love just because of an agreement made before we were even born!'
Ray sighed again. "I don't have much of a choice do I?"
She saw the tears.
"Ray..."
"Could I have a couple of minutes?"
"...Of course." With a final comforting touch to his shoulder, she left.
And Ray slumped down in his chair, and cried.
The music seemed deafening.
His fate was soon to be sealed.
And he kept wondering what that odd expectant look on the Elder's face was.
He could hear the priest's voice dimly in the back of his mind. Heard Mariah speak...It was almost time.
Very few noticed the doors open slightly to admit a man.
Blonde hair flickered in the corner of his view.
And he found he couldn't breathe.
No...He couldn't be...
Mariah was grinning, the Elder...
She just shrugged and gave him a straight look as if saying, 'It's your decision Ray. What happens next is up to you.'
"Do you Ray, take Mariah to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, for as long as you both shall live?"
And there was the question that would decide his future.
He looked to Max.
He was sweating, probably from rushing here, his face was strained with a forced smile, and his eyes...
Dear lord his eyes.
That pained hopeless look would haunt him for a long time later.
"I..."
He saw his parents, they were looking at him oddly, wondering why he was hesitating.
His eyes locked with Max's.
"I...can't."
He ignored the gasps of shock and Mariah's happy smile.
He was only focused on the confused face of Max as he walked down the aisle to him.
"Max." He was so close he could smell the blonde's familiar scent.
Ocean, and light. It was fitting, since he was his light.
"R...Ray?" He voice was whisper-soft and his eye's shone with a flicker of hope.
He lightly brushed his cheek with his fingertips, before leaning in to kiss him.
"Max. Oh god, Maxie."
He wiped at the blonde's tears, mindless of his own.
"Ray..."
"I love you Maxie. So much. Oh god I love you." He placed tender kisses over every inch of the boy's face, before kissing him again, passionate and anything but gentle.
He missed Mariah's sad yet still content look as she watched him. He was happy, so she was...
He missed the Elder's look of pride, as he finally took a chance, and got what he wanted.
He missed his parents, as they smiled tenderly at him. He looked so happy, just like he was before. He looked like himself again.
He missed it all, lost in the perfection of Max's lips.