The Wedding of the Century Part II

"So, without further ado, let us help Wes to keep his promise to his little one…"

The room fell silent again, as everyone held their breath in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Thad could feel his heart swell as the moment that he had dreamed of for years, and had never expected to have happen, was now upon him. He looked at Wes, whose own face had taken on a dreamy expression as he too was lost in his thoughts of what was going to take place next. Then came something that neither of them had expected to happen; Sebastian got to his feet, and began to sing…

The words that he sung were those that had been sung by Thad himself at that first Warbler wedding reception that the group had attended together; at the moment at Nick and Jeff's reception when he had finally been certain that Wes loved him, and wanted nothing more than to be with him forever. It nearly reduced both of the grooms to tears as those words were sung out, thanks to that…

Did you ever see a dream walking? Well I did.

Did you ever hear a dream talking? Well I did.

Did you ever have a dream thrill you, with 'Will you be mine?'

Oh, it's so grand, and it's too, too divine!

Did you ever see a dream dancing? Well I did.

Did you ever see a dream romancing? Well I did.

Did you ever see heaven, right in your arms,

Saying, 'I love you, I do?'

Well the dream that was talking,

And the dream that was walking,

And the heaven in my arms was you!

The instrumental part of the song that followed those words was hummed by his fellow Warblers, the instruments mimed by the talented voices of the closest friends of the two grooms. When it came to an end, their was applause from around the room, a look of complete disbelief on Ollie's face, and tears in the eyes of both young men stood at the front.

"I believe that Thad sang the song that we just heard on the day that Nick and Jeff married each other," said Elizabeth, with a smile. "That was also the day when Wes finally kissed the young man that was his one true love. Unfortunately, that was also the night when fire, a gunman, faulty wiring, a thief, a murderous father and poinsettia plants nearly caused despair and destruction all round. In the end, it was a drunken driver that made for heartbreak. It would be nearly two days later before the news came that caused the world to fall apart. That was when his boys discovered that Wes had been given his wings, leaving Thad bereft. Today, however, we will be righting that wrong, and will bind together forever two soulmates. At this point in proceedings, I am of course compelled to ask if anyone objects to this union, but in this case, I don't feel the need to. So, let us begin…"

Thus began the marriage service, Elizabeth intoning words that they were all familiar with, having heard and said them before at their own weddings, or even just on the previous day. Then however she came to the vows, and there things were of necessity, a little different.

"Wesley Montgomery, do you take the mortal Thad Harwood as your husband and soulmate? Do you promise to love him, and only him, for the rest of eternity?"

"I do," responded Wes with conviction.

"And do you, Thad Harwood, take the angel Wesley Montgomery, to be your husband and soulmate? Do you promise to love him, and only him, for the remainder of your mortal existence, and then for all eternity in the angelic realms?"

"I do," replied Thad in a dreamy voice, a huge smile on his face.

Then Elizabeth had them take each other's hands, facing towards the other. "The union of true soulmates is the most precious bond that any of us can experience. So many of the people in this room have met theirs, and are now together, and will remain so, safe in the knowledge that when your time on earth is done, you will be reunited in the angelic realm in the next stage of your lives. It is the strength of that bond between these two men that allows us to witness this next moment. Wesley, as we discussed please…"

With a nod, Wes allowed his wings to re-emerge from his back, and then wrapped them carefully around himself and Thad. Ollie, by now sitting in a seat beside Michelle, blinked hard several times as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, not wanting to feel it was real, but not seeing it vanish either. Then Wes withdrew them, a smile on his face, and as they all watched, a glowing light enveloped Thad. Then he gasped, and suddenly the current Head Warbler also had a pair of wings, pale blue in colour, but with the same dark blue and red bands as Wes. That brought gasps from every corner of the room, some in wonder, but also a few in worry about why he had them now. Then slowly, in unison with Wes' own wings, Thad's began to flap, and he lifted off the floor, his hands still being firmly head by those of his soulmate…

Elizabeth's voice came to break the spell that had mesmerised the congregation. "Thad's wings will vanish again in a moment, as soon as his feet regain the floor. The wings that you see are those that he will gain when he comes to join his husband to be in the angelic realms; they are visible now as this moment of joint flight is a requirement for the bonding ceremonial in an angelic wedding…"

As they all absorbed Elizabeth's explanation, Thad's brief flight came to an end, and sure enough, as soon as the soles of his shoes hit the floor, his wings were gone again. "Oh Wessie!" exclaimed Thad. "I was flying! Really flying!"

"And your wings were every bit as beautiful as I knew they would be, my little one," Wes replied…

Ollie meanwhile was wondering what on earth he had eaten or inadvertently taken to be having such a strange dream; a few rows back, Dante and Lachlan sat side by side in total silence, their eyes and their mouths wide open…

When the two grooms had finally composed themselves again after their adventure in flight, Elizabeth moved on to the next part of the ceremony. "It is now the point in the ceremony when the exchange of rings takes place. The rings they will exchange were crafted for them by the finest jewellers in the heavenly realms, in a design that is unique to the two grooms. They consist of two bands of metal, gold and platinum, woven together in a plait, set with ruby, sapphire and emerald. Those first two stones represent the colours of Dalton Academy, where these two soulmates first met; the green represents the first shoots of a new life together, as well as the countryside that surrounds this building. The two entwined bands represent the lives of these two young men, linked forever for all of eternity."

At that point Finn stepped forward, having been waiting quietly on the sidelines until then. He carried a tray on which the two identical rings were laid. Standing in front of the two grooms, Wes took the ring that was nearest to him in his hand and waited as Thad did the same. Then they turned to each other, and in an almost synchronised move, they slid the ring carefully onto the other's ring finger. Then in unison, said the words that everyone had expected. "With this ring, I thee wed. I pledge to love, honour and cherish you for all eternity, never to be parted. They will represent our bond, and the eternal brotherhood that we are part of; they also show the commitment that we have made this day, to our friends and the world at large."

Thad smiled as he felt the weight of the ring on his finger, and relished its presence, in the knowledge that as soon as the ceremony was over he would have to take it off again, so that his brother did not wonder, so that those outside the close circle of friends did not query why he was now wearing a wedding ring. He would place it onto a chain that he would wear round his neck at all times, never allowing it to leave his body for a moment…

He looked up then at Wes, his eyes growing moist as he awaited the official confirmation of what he already knew; that they were married. To his surprise, Wes cleared his throat, and turned to speak to them all. "Before we reach the moment that we are all waiting for, my dear friends, I have an announcement to make which will place a whole new context on the events of today. This ceremony is the culmination of a dream for both myself and Thad, one we felt would never happen. In normal circumstances, there is one other thing that happens after these ceremonies, as the Sterling-Duvals, the Karofsky-Smythes, the Harper-Gilberts and the Pierce-Lopezs can all confirm. For us, that change is not a possibility, as Thad has to remain to the world outside this room a bachelor, and therefore cannot, as he would wish, take my name. If he did so, many would question if he was insane. Therefore, I have chosen the only possible solution to ensure that our bond is recognisable at once; I am asking for permission to take my husband's name instead, and become known from now on as Wes Harwood."

As gasps rang out around the room, only Elizabeth's eyes did not widen, as Wes had asked her for permission to make the move. She would however pretend not to have known, also at his request. David too looked startled, but his initial shock soon turned into a smile as he thought how wonderful his best friend was proving himself once more. As for Thad, he just began to shake his head. "You really don't have to do that Wessie; I am quite content for us to remain as we are for now, and become Thad Montgomery in time. That is the change I have always wanted, so whilst I appreciate the gesture you are making, it is unnecessary."

Wes smiled, then said, "It is necessary for me though, my little one. We can share so little in our situation, and this sharing of a surname is the one thing I can give you. So please, let me do this."

"I guess that is true," sighed Thad, "and so I agree, but only if we do so in a compromise situation. You become Wes Harwood, and do so until the day that I die and am able to join you in the heavenly realms. On that day, at that hour, you revert back and I become Thad Montgomery. Of course, I don't know if that is even possible, or would create too much confusion…"

Elizabeth looked at them both, and then, shaking her head, said, "It is a very unusual request, but then again, everything about this ceremony so far has been unusual! I can see no reason to stop you from doing this, as it is clearly what you both wish." The two grooms nodded, and with the matter resolved to their mutual satisfaction, they could move on to the final conclusion…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, in the sight of all of us gathered here today, Wesley and Thad have made an eternal commitment to each other; a promise to love and be faithful to each other until the end of time. The bond that they already share as soulmates is only strengthened by their marriage, a decision that will keep them united through the face of any challenge that they find. These two young men suffered the most grievous of losses when Wesley was taken to the heavenly realms so young, just hours after they made their commitment to each other public. This day has gone some way to healing that loss, and although they will have to continue to live apart, they now have a guarantee of eternity together. Therefore, with the authority of the angelic council I formally declare that they are husbands, linked forever by the words of this ceremony and their love for each other. Please join with me in congratulating our newlyweds, the Harwoods…"

There was a momentary silence before the room erupted in cheers and applause; all of them could hear Santana whistling in the cacophony of sound, joined in the end by Sebastian. Ollie found himself getting to his feet next to his wife, clapping with the rest; confused, he turned to her and said, "This is the craziest dream I have ever had; in fact, maybe I have actually banged my head and this is concussion."

"Oh trust me that this is just a dream," Michelle replied, "but if it wasn't, this would also be the happiest day in your little brother's life. Look at his face; he looks younger and his smile is so radiant. The sadness that has been in his eyes since the day that I first met him has evaporated. He is the boy that my cousin fell in love with again; he is Wes' little one… When you wake up, it will just be his birthday, and he will look happy, but deep inside, you know he will still be so sad…"

Michelle broke off what she was saying as she became aware that the noise level in the room had dropped as Elizabeth held up her hand to quieten them all. "It would appear that there is something missing right now; something that our newlyweds have forgotten all about. It is an age old tradition for a newly married couple to do something at the exact moment that their union is confirmed. So, if they do not mind, I think that we all need them to kiss…"

"Too right we do!" shouted David. "I am sure that my fellow best man will concur."

Ollie looked around, and said, "Well, yes, a wedding is not complete if the happy couple haven't kissed.

With a nod of agreement from Elizabeth, Wes took Thad into his arms, and kissed him exactly as he had done on that night in Penn Station almost nine years ago. All of them heard Thad whimper as the kiss deepened and the sparks began to flare. Eventually their lips parted, and the whole room chuckled as they heard Thad say softly to his husband, "Definitely worth the wait…"

With the final act of the ceremony now over, people rose from their seats to congratulate the new couple first hand. David was the first to do so, pulling them into a tight three way hug, as happy as the two of them were at this unexpected turn of events. He held them so long that Mercedes was forced to actually prise him off them before a riot started. Whilst some were eager, others were content to wait their turn, including Mitch, who realised now that he was the last of the group collectively known as Wes' Boys to be officially single in the eyes of the law; indeed, only Seth of all the others in the group was now single, and that was down to his medical condition. He knew though that his day would come; he and Gideon might well be the last to marry, assuming that their relationship continued to thrive, but that would only serve to make the day all the more special.

Nearby, Elliott was also holding back, as he looked at the two dazed and confused boys sitting next to him. Dante and Lachlan had gone through a whole set of emotions as they had reacted to what they were seeing, and had concluded that they must have been given spiked drinks or something, because this was all just plain weird. The flying angels, the glowing lights, none of that could possibly be real. Yet it all still felt too real to be a dream, and in any case, it wasn't as if they were asleep.

Turning to Elliott, Dante whispered, "Is this a dream, because I know that one of the two grooms is dead, and the other has just grown a pair of wings and flown up in the air…"

"Today is whatever you think it was," replied Elliott. "In life, you have to believe in whatever you want to; I believe in angels and in an afterlife, so yeah, all of this really did just happen in my opinion…"

Dante looked even more confused then, but Lachlan nodded, and said sagely, "Whatever it was, it was the most interesting gay wedding I have attended in my life to date, and I wouldn't mind a ceremony like that of my own some day, when or if I get married…"

Dante smiled, and took his boyfriend's hand. "Yeah, a day like this for our wedding would be pretty cool…"

With time not on their side, once all the congratulations had been done, it was time to bring the wedding to a close, and return to the day just being a birthday party for Thad. Michelle had finally managed to get Ollie to congratulate both of the grooms, and that done, she had gently guided him out of the room, heading back up the stairs to the little room that he had been sleeping in before, not without protests from her husband. "I should really be staying down there, getting ready for the reception. Plus I need to make a speech, as it is expected… But then again, I don't have one written, so I will need to make some notes at least. So maybe I should go back to the room, not to sleep or anything, but to search for and find the notes I must have made for the speech…"

Michelle nodded, and got him back to the room. "I will look for your notes; you do look tired, and forty winks won't hurt. Go and lie down and have a quick cat nap."

Ollie tried to protest, but all of a sudden he felt exhausted, so he took off his shoes, and lay down on the bed again. In just a few moments, he fell back asleep, and Michelle smiled. All she needed to do now was get him back out of the wedding suit and into the clothes he had been wearing before, but she could count on some angelic help in achieving that…

Meanwhile, Elliott had escorted Dante and Lachlan back to the Junior Commons, and saw them settled back onto the couch they had been sitting on before the ceremony. "I thought that the party was starting soon?" asked Dante. "If it is, shouldn't we be heading back?"

"Go back? But the two of you haven't been anywhere to go back to. This is all just a dream," said Elliott kindly.

"How can you be sure of that?" came the immediate reply.

"Well…" began Elliott, but he was swiftly cut off by Lachlan.

"Dante, we just a man getting married to an angel; that man then grew wings and flew. That doesn't happen in real life. This is either a dream, or some kind of drug induced trip. Humans just cannot marry dead people, at least, not in a ceremony like that…"

"Well, yes, that is true, but it all seemed very real."

"I tell you what; if Mr Harwood is wearing that wedding ring when we get to his party, if all of his friends that were with him in the Warblers are dressed in their school uniform, if the room is still decorated in exactly the same way, and Elliott is still dressed the way he is, then I will concede that it was all real and it happened; if not, then it was a dream. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Still, if this was a dream, then it wasn't a bad one at all. Everyone was smiling so much, and were so happy…" Dante's voice trailed off as he yawned, and then, along with his boyfriend, he closed his eyes and fell back into the slumber he had been in before the wedding.

Elliott smiled, then headed out, knowing that they would not stir now until he returned to the room to get them. He now had to go and remove all traces of his Starchild make up, and turn himself back into plain old Elliott Harper-Gilbert. And he had to be thorough; just a spot of anything Starchild on his person would have those two boys smelling a rat…

Back in the auditorium, the rest of the guests had finished offering the grooms their congratulations, and had made their way back to their seats to await another wedding tradition; the best man's speech. There would only be one of them on this occasion, given that Ollie was now fast asleep again, but that did not matter. On the dais, Thad and Wes now sat side by side, hands still clasped together, as David made his way to the podium…

"Well, this is a speech I thought I would never get the opportunity to make, and to be honest, that thought has always left me a little heartbroken. Now, as you are all aware, I am no great fan of public speaking, but this is an exception that I am more than happy to make. Wes has been my best friend since he came to look after me after my own big brother died; they had been close friends, and he had always insisted that I be included in their activities. With Simon gone, I needed someone to look out for me, and he knew that he was the one to do that, but as an equal, not a big brother substitute. We were together then until the day he left Dalton for college, more or less; the exception was his freshman year here at the Academy, when his family did all that they could to try and split us up. They couldn't have hoped to succeed…"

"It was his idea that I should go to UCLA with Thad, and in the process he gave me another best friend. I am grateful that he did, as without him, I would have fallen apart such a short time later; then again, Thad would have too had he not had me there to look out for him as he suffered a huge loss. Of course, we handled it differently when Wes left us. I fell apart, whilst Thad put on a very convincing front, that nearly ended in tragedy in this very room… Today though is not for dwelling on that past. I am sure that Mercedes will forgive me if I say that this is the happiest day of my life so far. It is proof that miracles can occur; that promises made can be kept. That is all down to the generosity of a quite remarkable woman, whom we all thank from the bottom of our hearts. Thanks to her, we finally, officially, have Thes!"

David paused as there was a round of applause, and a few cheers, then laughter. "The hardest part of today is the fact that I want to proclaim that they are married from the rooftops, but I can't. In just a few minutes, we will all be helping to remove any trace that this wedding took place from this room, and ourselves. Whilst the physical signs will go, though, we will all know that we witnessed it; we will all know that Wes is now a Harwood, on a temporary basis. I am sure that we will all bear witness to little moments between two men that are now husbands; things we know only occur between spouses. It won't be a perfect marriage at first, of course; there is a great divide between them, one that can only be surmounted and crossed many years from now when Thad passes away. However, when we too pass, we will be able to see what we all wish to; a devoted and loving couple, together for all eternity, deep in love. Okay, so enough from me; just remember this. Today, when we are celebrating at the birthday party, we are marking a wedding. And that this is the happiest day in the lives of Wes and Thad."

David smiled, then left the podium, and they all knew that the wedding was over. The party broke up almost at once; whilst some ran off to change into different clothes, others began to remove decorations, eliminating every sign of the events they had just seen. They in turn would go and change when the others returned. In the midst of all the activity though, Thad sat where he was with Wes at his side; neither of them wanted to move, just wanted to linger a while longer with the man they loved, their new husband. Their wedding day had come and now was gone. The change in their lives had to be hidden away, kept in their hearts alone. Amongst the joy that they were now a couple, that left just a hint of sadness, particularly for Thad, who had to hide it from his own brother…

Eventually though Wes had to loosen his hold on Thad; by now they were alone in the auditorium, and had a casual visitor walked in, they would have seen only a member of staff resting in a chair on the dais. "Much as I hate to lose you from my arms, my dear, beautiful husband, it is time for you to go and get changed out of that suit. Your brother will not be held in the dream state much longer, and if he finds you here, in the wedding suit he just saw, wearing that buttonhole, well it could be very messy to explain. However, before you go, there is one thing I need to do." Thad watched as Wes delved into the pocket of his own suit, and pulled out a box, which he opened to reveal a fine gold chain. "I bought this and had it blessed when the rings were; it is therefore as much a symbol of our marriage as the rings we are wearing, and therefore, as long as you are wearing it, everyone in the angelic realm at least will know that we are together. When I place this around your neck, the clasp on it will seal, and you will not be able to remove it until the day you join me in the angelic realm. Your ring will hang from it, the ultimate symbol of our union."

Thad sighed, and said, "I am so jealous of you though Wes; you are able to wear your ring on your finger forever now. I know that I can't, and why, but it all seems so darn unfair. This will be the way it is for the two of us for decades; snatched moments when we are both free…"

"After which we will have all of eternity together, stretching on forever. We will be young forever too then, and not have the prospect of death and separation looming up on us ever again. I wish I could be with you now as well, and I would be if it was at all possible, but we both know there is only one way that will happen, and that is not something I will allow to happen yet. It is not your time, and I dread the day that it is, even though it will be the start of our eternal happiness. I want and need for you to have a long life first."

"I will try my best to ensure that, but as you well know, such things are not decided by us, but by those in authority above." Wes nodded, then took the chain from the box, before gently sliding the ring off Thad's finger. He put the chain through it, then hung it round his husband's neck. As promised, the moment he closed the clasp, it sealed. That done, Thad smiled at him, then said, "You know, the people that aren't here today will wonder what has changed within me; why instead of trying to forget that it is my birthday, I now see it as the most important date of all on the calendar. It will puzzle them, that much I do know…"

Those words said, Thad leant over and kissed his husband again, long and passionately, then with a smile, he headed off to his little apartment to get changed for the party…