Breakfast Before Weddings

"Feeling better, Bliss?" Tyr laughed as he hugged his woman close to him. The two were sitting next to each other in the crowded restaurant instead of across from each other as was customary. The girl snuggled against him with a soft burp. She'd had a large order of eggs Benedict and a burger with fries. She'd never eaten so much at once; she was stuffed. Stuffed and ready for a nap. He jostled her gently with a tenderly amused look on his face.

"Ah ah ah, it's not time for sleeping, little one. We need to find a JP to marry us."

"Where would we find a JP?" Disi yawned and stretched herself awake.

"Leave that to me, little love," he said confidently. He paid for their meals and drove them to the government building downtown. It didn't take long to find a JP. The older woman frowned at the couple as she stressed the importance of taking marriage seriously.

"I can tell that you are deeply in love, but that won't last forever. You need to be aware of what marriage entails once the sex is done."

"We are very aware that sex is not the only part of the marriage, madam," Tyr said looking into his woman's mortified face. "Each of us comes from a couple whose marriage is still ongoing. We know what we're doing."

"Very well," the woman said skeptically. "Forgive me, but I always worry about the young ones like you two. I would hate to see you back here in six months looking for a divorce."

"Don't worry about us, Mrs Waverly. We know what we're doing," Disi said sincerely. The older woman stared at her hard before a small smile broke across her face.

"I suppose you do, don't you," June stated calmly. She performed the ceremony right there in her office, two employees playing the part of witnesses for the couple. After his vows, Tyr placed a simple band of tiny diamonds on her finger. Two amethysts bracketed the diamonds, completing the look. He then gave his woman a shiny new ring to give him. She barely paid attention to the generic words she was saying as she studied the beautiful ring. It was white gold like hers with a diagonal slash of tiny diamonds and amethysts across it. The ring matched hers perfectly, she sighed happily that this was really happening. This gorgeous man was about to be hers before the eyes of God and man.

"Will you cheat on me?" she asked abruptly after saying her vows.

"No, little one," he answered firmly.

"Will you abandon me when things get rough?"

"I am physically incapable of walking away from you. Our lives are bound together," he whispered, placing a firm hand on her stomach. "Even if it wasn't, there is a gravity to your personality that pulls me to you. I love you, Qudsiyya Adams. You belong to me. Always and completely. You don't have to be afraid, Bliss. You've captured my heart with a smile and a brave question. You will never be rid of me." There were hearts in the eyes of everyone who was witnessing their union. Tyr ignored the byplay and guided her hand to his so that she could place the ring on his finger. She shuddered happily at the intensity of his gaze and the love in his eyes as he watched her. The ring fit perfectly, of course it did. Disi smiled at her new mate as the JP continued talking. No matter what happened next, she was bound to this incredibly handsome man now. She'd just agreed to his claim body and soul. She was married to an alien! What would her mother say? What would her boss say?

"... I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." June finished her spiel on the sanctity of marriage and the commitment involved. Tyr Anasazi approached his bride confidently, licking his way into her open mouth and possessing her immediately. He didn't release her until she was a pliant, moaning heap in his arms. The judge and her female witnesses applauded wildly for the duration of the kiss.

"Ready to begin our new life together?" Tyr asked with a cocky grin at the dazed look in her eyes. Disi nodded, not trusting her voice.

... ...

Disi got a call from her mother on her cellphone on the way to her new home after the ceremony.

"Mama? Is everything alright?" she asked in a panic.

"I should be asking you that," the older woman said angrily. "I've been trying to reach you all day! You didn't call me this morning like you were supposed to." How a woman could relax and tense at the same time was anyone's guess. But Tyr noted that his bride managed it as she sat in his car. He decided to let this play out, transferring her call to the hands-free setting on his Jag. The paperwork was already in. According to this planet, she was as married as she was in Nylexon culture.

"I'm so sorry, Mama. I've been busy today. Tyr tracked me down last night and-"

"You mean the construction worker? The man that used you that night?" The sudden silence was deafening. Disi took a deep breath and jumped feet first into the argument.

"Turns out he didn't use me at all, Mama. He found me. I never intended to see him again, but he came back for me and we talked about everything. There was never any reason to fear. He wants my baby if I have one inside of me. But more importantly, he wants me! We just got married!"

"You WHAT?"

"I know, right? It was all so sudden, but he insisted that we go to the Justice of the Peace immediately for my peace of mind."

"More likely to get his dick wet."

"Mother!"

"You are a very pious woman, Qudsiyya. He probably figured that out and decided to 'put a ring on it' so that you would put out. Remember what I taught you, Babygirl. Don't be a fool."

"I refuse to believe that all men think that way about women. And even if he does, it's too late to change it now. The paperwork is in. My last name is Anasazi now. We're actually headed to the Registry to submit that application now, so…"

"So you really didn't want your own family involved?"

"Mama, no one was there. We paid extra just for random staff members to witness the event. My friends weren't there. His friends weren't there. It was just the two of us."

"So you couldn't wait for some of us to be around before you tied the knot? Are you really that horny?"

"Mama! It's not like that at all! I didn't marry him just to sleep with him. I love him. We just clicked."

"You don't know him to love him. Don't you see what's happening here? He's the first guy to show interest in you. That doesn't mean it's 'forever', honey. There's still time to walk away from this. Just come home. Clear your head. You're making rash decisions based on a jumble of feelings right now. You need to take some time off work and come back to Philly. Can you do that for me, Babygirl? Can you come back to Philly for a week and spend time with your family?"

"If I come down there, he'll follow me, Mama. He's my husband now."

"I doubt he'll remember you after a week. If he's half as attractive as you say he is, he'll be off to his next conquest. You have four brothers. You know men have no staying power."

"And yet you've been married to one for twenty-seven years."

"Be careful, Babygirl. You're not privy to the inner workings of my marriage and you know very little about the world."

"I know more than you think I do, Mother. As for coming back to Philly, I'll discuss it with my husband and let you know."

"Does he really have that much control over you already?" the woman said snidely.

"It's not about control, it's about respect. If I'm having his baby, then we need to be able to coexist. I would want to know if he was about to skip the country with my child, so I give him the respect of informing him that I'm going home for a while. I also need to clear it with my boss and pack. Everything is changing right now and it's very confusing for me. But I trust that it's not just my hormones leading me down this path. I believe that the Lord hasn't abandoned me. It's been a rough couple of days, but I truly believe that this is my happy ending. And who knows, maybe I'll regret my decisions in time, but my heart and faith have always led me in the right direction."

Again, the silence was deafening as the mother absorbed her daughter's words. Clearly she had put some thought into this crazy decision of hers. "Okay, Babygirl. I'll look for your call when you have things worked out. Is there anything else you want to tell me about this 'talk' of yours?"

"No. Those were the highlights. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Now I really need to call my boss and let her know that I'm going home for a few weeks. I'll call you later, okay, Mama?"

"Alright, sweetheart. You take care of yourself and I'll talk to you later. God bless you."

"And you too, Mama. Bye." She hung up at that and looked over at her husband. "What do you think?"

"Did you have to lead with the marriage news?"

"Of course I did. Having it slip out during an argument is simply not an option. I'm not twelve anymore. As an adult, I take responsibility for my actions and while it's true that this is one of the biggest decisions I've ever made, I'm not ashamed of it. We're bound to each other; everybody needs to know that. And I really need to work on changing my name on all my official stuff. Or do I need to wait for the official marriage certificate to come in the mail?"

"We're counting our marriage in minutes, Bliss. As in twenty-seven. Give it some time before-"

"Twenty-seven," she suddenly burst out. At Tyr's strange look, she blushed. "I'm sorry. You haven't met my crazy gaming friends yet. We've been together for years. I'd better give them a call before I head to the States. Floyd would murder me if I left without telling him." His continued raised eyebrow caused her face to heat up dramatically. "What? If you didn't want crazy, you shouldn't have married me. I'm not going to change myself for you."

"Good girl," the Nylexon smiled, rubbing his hand through her dreads lovingly. "Shall we announce your nuptials on the unit, or did you want to just call?"

"Well, if I had my work badge, I would totally be down for showing up on the unit as a married woman. But I don't, so-"

"Then let's go get your work badge before I call the movers. We can do it right now and be at your job within the hour."

"You really wouldn't mind?" she asked quietly. Tyr smiled at his bride and kissed her forehead at the light.

"I really wouldn't mind. Anything to keep your heart at ease, Bliss." They drove back to her apartment in comfortable silence, Disi snuggling against her man, when the girl suddenly sat up.

"Oh! What about your friends?" she exclaimed. "I've been so busy talking about my family and my friends that I haven't even considered yours."

Tyr chuckled at her thoughtfulness, giving her a one-armed hug as they pulled up to her apartment. "Don't worry about me, Bliss. I've already talked to my boss about this and - while he thinks I'm crazy to marry a woman I just met - he knows that it's my life. I applied for a month off for this endeavor so I have time to visit your family for two weeks after you go down there this week. Go ahead and get your work badge so we can go to your job. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we show up married." Disi did as she was told, excited to show off her rings and her husband. He was quite a catch after all. She thought about cleaning up the apartment since there were going to be movers in there, but besides the rumpled sheets, there was really nothing to clean. She'd been obsessively cleaning the apartment since Monday. Shuddering at just how down she'd been before Tyr showed back up in her life, she grabbed some extra paperwork, closed the door, and ran back to her husband.

Sensing her sudden discomfort, Tyr covered her lips gently, savoring the taste of her mouth as she moaned. Her brain dissolved into mush as she wrapped her arms around him and hummed against his tongue. The girl was smiling as he devoured her, and Tyr liked that best of all. He suckled her sweet mouth, wrapping her up in his arms. How he was going to be able to leave her side was anyone's guess. Maybe he could send his loyal spies to see the state of the empire before he jumped into declaring war on his cousin. In the meantime, he would enjoy his bride. Which he did. He kissed her passionately, until she shuddered her release in his arms. Ego stroked, he fastened her in before starting the car. Crossing the city with the flow of traffic, he eventually turned on the radio service to something slow and romantic. His wife went back to snuggling against him. The male had to marvel at her innocence.

"I chose well for you, did I not?" a familiar, haughty voice intruded on the peace of the car. He looked into the rearview mirror of the car to see Lliira in the form she chose to appear to mortals. She was a beautiful, young-looking woman. All painted like a porcelain doll, she had a mysterious smile and seemed quite pleased with herself.

"You wouldn't have had to choose a bride for me if you had left well enough alone," he ground out in annoyance. The goddess frowned.

"I believe you've been on this planet too long, young one. If you don't want to wake your woman I would suggest that you use your telepathy."

'Very well,' he answered with a mental sigh. 'My lady is entirely pleasing to me, Lady Lliira. But that doesn't answer my question. The question that you have never bothered to answer in the one-hundred twenty-five years I've been exiled to this dirt ball."

It was Lliira's turn to sigh. "Tyr, you have to understand. You were wanted in your time. Greatly desired and anticipated back then. But you are needed now. The Empire is faltering under the oppressive thumb of your false-hearted cousin. It's time for you to take your rightful place in the universe. With your wife and son by your side, you will be a wise and grounded ruler, something that you wouldn't have been before. And now that my power isn't tied up in the irrevocable incantation, I can help you with the occasional visit and blessing. For example, your bride will slow to match your age over the next year or so. She will never look a day over twenty-four. And your child will be as highly sought after as you are. Poor Qudsiyya will have her hands full between the two of you."

'I thank you, dear Lady. You say that I will have a son?' he asked slyly.

The goddess smiled happily. "And he is going to be so protective of his mother. As attached to her as- oh, Tyr. You always were a clever one," she chuckled. "No more info out of me. You've ruined the surprise for you and your wife!" Tyr laughed at the playful goddess, causing his woman to stir and yawn against him.

"What's funny?" Disi whispered sleepily against his shoulder. He smiled at the picture she made while she attempted to wake up, taking a hand off the wheel to caress her cheek and press her back against his arm.

"It was just something I heard, honey. Go back to sleep." She settled at that, slipping back into sleep. When Tyr looked back into the rearview mirror, Lliira was gone.

The girl was sleeping against him soundly by the time he reached the hospital where she worked. Taking the badge from her loose grip, he swiped them in and found a parking space. He then spent the next five minutes gently waking her up with soft caresses to her face. He smiled as her face scrunched up every time he touched her, then relaxed back into slumber. Goddess above, what a woman!