22. Jesse
JESSE
The morning of our wedding was as bright and sunny as always, the twin moons still looming impossibly large in the sky.
The manse was complete - at least, as complete as it could be without the stove and double door refrigerator and freezer we’d ordered from Earth along with the stained glass windows from the ecclesiastical guild in Wisconsin.
The clawfoot tubs, the shower stalls with glass and steel doors etched with sheaves of wheat, the bidet toilets made to look like old wall hung toilets unless you looked carefully, and the wall hung sinks with carved “wooden” legs and shelves beneath to hold extra hand towels had all been replicated and installed, as had the lighting and a homey mix of furniture of human and Dragonii styles for our private living quarters.
Well, except for all of the bedrooms. Those stood empty except for our master.
The guestroom in our wing would get its furnishings when the fancy stuff for the official business half of the house got done.
We hadn’t stayed in it yet, though yesterday evening Kiprr and Fethri had helped us move our clothes and other personal effects from our quarters aboard the corsair.
We’d managed to load most of it into the back of my truck, which, since its fuel source conversion made it legal to drive here, we’d used as a moving truck.
Johree had barely fit inside the cab and had declared that he was sticking to a flitter after this unless absolutely necessary, which made me laugh.
Our outfits for the wedding had remained aboard, along with the flowers for our lapels, so after getting up this morning and sharing a quick breakfast, we’d gone into our rooms and dressed.
I knew it wasn’t typical wedding protocol back on Earth, but I didn’t give two shits about that.
He was already mine just as I was his, except for the pretty words and the bite mark.
This was the first time I’d been with someone and not had sex from practically the lust at first sight moment.
The lack of it had not only given me a terrible case of blue balls, but gifted me a larger awareness of everything else about him.
Things like the way he smelled after a shower and after a long day, the way his eyes lit up and the way he simply seemed to somehow radiate actual joy when he let loose a laugh, the tenderness in his gaze whenever I caught him looking at me, and the naturalness of how we melted into each other while cuddling on the sofa.
Then there were his kisses - gentle, yet filled with a restrained hunger I could sense; ones which were more than quick pecks, so filled with easy, deep affection that I found myself wanting; and the last few nights, slow, languid ones accompanied by gentle touches to my head, shoulders and back that overcame my senses until all there was was him.
We always parted abruptly, me panting and his eyes intense, nostrils flaring, as he moved away and wished me a hurried good night before retreating to his room.
But not before I saw he’d well and truly joined me in the Great Blue Balls Club.
And it wasn’t just these physical things, either.
His kindness and genuine concern for every colonist and animal as he pored over the pieces of proposed legislation, his steadfast dedication to the rigid controls and thorough research before anything new was brought to the planet to avoid environmental damage no matter how minute it might seem, his thoughtfulness with individuals, whether it was going along with Bob to build what to him had to be a quite alien looking frontier town and an equally alien manse, just to make this new world feel familiar and comfortable to us humans who weren’t used to traipsing between planets and were still getting used to the sight of aliens walking among us, or wanting to see Buster go delirious with joy as he produced a new ball after he killed yet another squeaker in the one he’d been playing with, or he memorized how I took my coffee first thing in the morning and gamely tried new foods and beverages I loved, such as the sweet tea I preferred over pop and fried chicken which he proudly pointed out that we’d be able to eat unreplicated soon thanks to chickens arriving on New Haven.
I’d well and truly fallen hard and fast for the guy I’d been so certain at first was an algorithmic mistake.
I had no doubt that when I saw our wedding photos, there’d be big cartoony heart eyes popping out of my head when I was looking at him.
It was an overwhelming feeling, one that simmered under my skin, ready to boil over if he hadn’t shown enough restraint for the both of us.
Which, thank fuck, ends today. We just have to make it through the ceremony, accept some well wishes, and get through cutting the cake so it can be served to folks, and have our first dance before we can leave the party and go inside our new house to christen our brand new bed.
“Ready?” Johree’s voice asked me, breaking through my reverie.
I startled, realizing I’d been deep in my own head ever since we exited the ship and began the short walk to where the arch and chairs and everything else had been set up.
“Yeah, sorry.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Was just thinking about all the ways you made me fall in love with you.”
It sounded cheesy, but damn it, if there was a time to add some nacho-y goodness of an emotional truth bomb, this had to be it. I mean, come on, we were about to get married in front of billions of folks and spend the rest of our lives together.
His response was one of those achingly beautiful smiles he only gave to me.
His eyes shifted, the pupils looking more reptilian for a moment, which was something I’d discovered they did in times of heightened emotion.
The scent of cedar and ash I associated with him grew stronger as he replied, “How could I not fall irrevocably for you as well? I was made to be yours from the moment the cosmos gifted their stardust to create me within my mother’s womb, just as you were for me. ”
My eyes welled up. “Damn it, you’re going to make me cry, and I’ll look all splotchy on camera!”
He chuckled softly as I furiously blinked them back, accepting a soft handkerchief from the ambassador who was here to escort me down the aisle in place of my father.
Not to give me away, because no sir, I was no one’s to do so with, but to symbolize the journey I’d taken to get from Earth to New Haven, which I’d made damned certain the press office had put out when releasing teasers about today’s event.
“Thanks,” I said, handing it back.
He shook his head. “Keep it. You might need it later.”
I stuffed it into my trouser pocket, then, hating the way it balled up so it ruined the perfect line of my pants, I pulled it back out and hurriedly folded it into a more or less neat square before putting it back with more care.
There. That’s better.
We’d reached our destination now, and I could see the cambots in the rear, flying behind and slightly to the sides of the guests, all of them people we actually knew - Kaelor, the captain of the corsair, the ambassador’s aide, and several colonists we saw nearly every day.
Some of the cambots belonged to official media outlet of the Dragonii Empire, the rest to dignitaries from Earth and beyond, chosen by the protocol office for political reasons.
I handed Buster’s leash to Kiprr, who took it with a smile.
Johree’s tail unwound itself from my leg a split second before he strode forward regally, a gentle breeze ruffling his long locks, Fethri alongside him as his best man, wearing his official dress uniform which also featured a short cape.
My mate’s white morning suit stood stark against the gold of his skin and scales, the blue of his sash making his eyes pop.
I knew that right now, my fairytale-looking alien prince was making me the envy of an entire galaxy.
I smirked. Too damned bad. He’s mine. All mine.
Johree came to a stop at the carpet runner that began at the end of the row of chairs.
Bob’s voice rang out.
“If everyone will please stand.”
The guests all stood as Bob began to play the traditional Dragonii wedding song as a hologram of the Dragonii High Priestess solidified under the arch, thanks to a hidden doodad the techy guys from the ship’s engineering had placed amongst the roses.
There were more of them hidden there too, which flared to life, so that the King and Prince Consort now stood off to the side, a small table before them holding a cushion which held the small circlet of a crown that would be placed upon my head after we said our vows.
Fethri and Johree reached the arch, and Fethri stepped off to the side, opposite of their Majesties. Johree turned to face the aisle and time stood still as I drank him in and Elvis began softly crooning Can’t Help Falling in Love.
The ambassador gave me a look of concern as I remained glued in place, no doubt thinking I was suffering from stage fright as all eyes had now turned to me.
I licked my lips and gave him a quick nod to let him know I was okay.
I’d simply been struck by the perfection of the moment stretching before me, the one I’d never thought I’d wanted but now couldn’t imagine never having.
I stepped forward, glad for the presence of the ambassador beside me to keep me grounded enough that I could walk at a dignified pace instead of rushing forward like a loon.
I could tell Johree knew that too, as he gave me that beautiful smile again, the one just for me and this time filled with gentle amusement.
“Hi,” I whispered as I reached him and the ambassador joined Fethri’s side.
“Hi there,” he replied equally as soft, taking my hand.
I became aware just then that the music hadn’t stopped, and I looked back down the aisle.
I let out a laugh of delight as Buster padded sedately beside Kiprr with a cushion secured to his harness, a ring box perched upon it.
Then they reached us, and I ruffled Buster’s ears fondly as the music stopped.
Kiprr grinned at me unrepentantly, pleased as punch for the surprise he’d sprung on me, as he stepped back to join Fethri and the ambassador, trying to tug Buster to his side again.
It was futile, though, and several people laughed as Buster point blank refused to go, choosing instead to plunk down onto the floor at our feet.
“Leave him,” Johree told him, and he nodded, handing me the end of the leash, which I placed around my left wrist, knowing Buster wasn’t going to go anywhere.
The High Priestess cleared her throat, and we turned to face her, hand in hand.