Under the lights, the brilliant shades of pink and blue shining down on her, she was fucking maginficent. She was the type of beauty that all those poets his father loved wrote about. So wild and intense, like a wave crashing out to shore; all he wishes for now is that she will catch him in her cross hairs, hold him captive in her love. Let him be in her presence long enough to fully soak her in.

He crossed the room to get to her, pushing past the crush of bodys just to see her face, to make sure that she was aware of him.

"Hey!" He yelled over the music, she turned to look at him, her eyes wide, completely shocked that it was him. That he wasn't just a mirage anymore.

"Hey," she said back, just as loud. It was taking everything in him not to pull her close, to hold her as tight as he possibly could and not let go.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Waiting for you." she told him, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the dance floor.

They hadn't seen each other since the boat, him shaken to his core by her absence. Even in the midst of the most intense time of his life, he had time to miss her, time to mourn what he let die.

She had been more functional after everything, able to continue as if she was whole. Never once stopping to reflect on how he still holds her heart captive, her missing piece buried deep within him.

He caught her by surprise when he pulled her into a kiss, his hand in her hair, everything about him desperate and ruined. She wrapped her arms around his neck, marveling at how fast his hands moved from her hair to her waist.

"Let's get out of here," she said against his lips. He just nodded, guiding her out onto the street. The fall air hit her cheeks when they stepped outside, enough of a shock to make her laugh.

It was all so romantic, letting him sweep her away in his car, kissing her like it was his last day on earth in the back seat. She tried not to question it, instead choosing to lean into it, in to him. To love him like she was made to do.

Kendall was standing at the window, the moonlight illuminating his face, so exhausted, so relieved.

He was wearing his boxers and a t-shirt, she was wearing nothing but his sheets. A wine bottle sat forgotten on his dresser, music playing softly a few rooms over. It's a scene of intimacy, and joy. He finds his place next to her in bed, his arm snaking over her shoulder.

"You have no idea how much I-," he began, ready and willing to open up to her, expose the things he once tried so hard to hide. But instead cutting him off, whispering

"I know. I know, Ken."

He was at a loss for words after that, drowning in love for this woman, the woman who set him free all those months ago. Laying the truth out for him, halting whatever self doubt he couldn't shake. She's a gift he will never deserve, a blessing he didn't pray for.

"I want to marry you," he told her, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not, the words just falling from his lips. A deep desire he buried months ago hitting the air. "I want everyone to know about us, to have to deal with how much we love each other."

She laughed, she actually fucking laughed.

"Alright," she said, burying her head in his neck. "Fuck it, lets get married."

He looked at her, really looked at her. She was beaming, a real smile on her face. Not her high smile, not her dinner party smile, but a real smile.

"What?" he asked, utterly bewildered. "I wasn't being serious.."

"Yah, you were." she said, still grinning.

"Do you actually want to do this?" He put his head in his hands, trying to process the fact that she could be his wife, his great dream coming true.

"I do," she told him, "let's get married, Ken. Hell, let's do it tomorrow."

"We're really doing this?!" he was half asking half saying the words to make sure they were real.

She simply nodded, and he pulled her into an embrace so tight, he thought he might accidentally suffocate her.

"I love you, Kendall Roy."

"I love you too, Naomi Peirce.

The next few hours were filled with frantic calls to assistants and connections, trying to find a way to be married as soon as possible. They scheduled the ceremony for tomorrow, using the twenty-four hour waiting period to shop for outfits, and for Naomi to convince Tabitha to help her shop.

"You owe me one after what happened in Prague." was all she had to say to get Tabitha to come over and keep her "you've been together less than a year." comments at bay.

They spent the day shopping for wedding dresses. She tried on what felt like a million gorgeous white gowns, but none of them felt right. The floor length, lacy, pearl encrusted dresses made her feel so formal, so traditional, when this was anything but. And Tabitha was no help, she spent most of the shopping trips on her phone, texting men who were definitely not her future brother-in-law.

Finally, when she was about to give up and just wear an old sundress, she found the one. It was on the shorter side, hitting at her knees instead of her ankles, with a wrap detail at the bodice and thick pieces of sheer lace creating short sleeves. It took her breath away when she tried it on, her very own Cinderella gown.

"Tabitha," she said when she exited the dressing room. "What do you think?"

For the first time all day she looked up from her phone and smiled.

"It's perfect."

They were married at city hall, but it didn't matter, and she knew that it would never matter. The big fancy wedding her family had once dreamed of throwing her, the spectacle that would be made of their love was now long forgettern. All that matters is that he's standing in front of her, promising to love and cherish her until the day he dies, and she is saying the same.

Despite everything, they made it. They survived long enough to reap the rewards of their love. Two people who've had the courage to rise from the ashes, picking up the rubble of their old lives, using it to build something new.