Edited by: ASaltedFish
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Ellery and Akimitsu's wedding ceremony was about to start.
All of the live broadcast cameras hovered and circled around the central hall, allowing all the netizens of the Zephyrus Galaxy to see the most anticipated wedding of the century.
Each country had at least two hovering cameras to watch the ceremony. They were small, so the guests were not bombarded with the moving cameras.
The central hall was the largest part of the castle, about the size of a football field. The guests entered and exited through the front entrance, which was decorated with red roses and black ribbons, the colors of the couple. It was common for a Guide/Sentinel wedding to be based off of their colors and quantum beasts, so Ellery went all out on the decorations.
Since there were a lot of guests, they used wooden pews to ensure that everyone could have a seat. Family and friends sat in the front, while the other guests took up the rest of the seating. For those who didn't have a seat, the wedding staff brought foldable chairs so they could watch the ceremony from a large screen set up on the front lawn outside. Still, for the guests, it was better to be at the wedding than it would be to watch it from a live stream!
All of the guests were seated, waiting for the grooms to arrive at the central hall.
"Attention, everyone!" The officiant with a floating mic said at the podium, placed between the bottoms of the staircases. It was a Sentinel woman in a dark blue suit and gray tie. She had her black hair up in a bun and wore gold glasses. If this weren't a wedding, she would look like a CEO about to attend a meeting.
The grooms would walk down the stairs opposite each other and meet at the podium with the officiant. The groomsman would follow, stopping on their designated spots on the steps.
"It is time for the ceremony. Please, mute your terminals so there are no disruptions."
Everyone did as they were told and looked at the two doors on the second floor that were still closed. The grooms were on the other side of each door, waiting for the officiant to cue them to enter the central hall.
After everyone settled down, the officiant started the ceremony, "Please welcome the grooms and their groomsmen."
Juniper opened the door for Ellery while Edros opened it for Akimitsu. Ellery and Akimitsu looked at each other for the first time all day. The two paused and admired one another before Juniper coughed.
When Juniper successfully got their attention, they realized everyone was staring at them and pretended that they were not enamored by how the other looked.
Ellery and Akimitsu walked down the stairs at the same time, with their groomsmen following. It was just like the rehearsal, so the groomsmen got to their spots on the stairs without messing up while Ellery and Akimitsu met at the podium.
"Ellery, you look so beautiful," Akimitsu said normally because he had a mic on him and everyone would hear him anyway.
"You look very handsome too, Akimitsu."
"So that's why you two were staring at each other! Admiring the other's beauty." Orin teased, making the audience laugh.
"Don't tease them too much. They haven't seen each other all day." A groomsman on Akimitsu's side replied joyfully.
Akimitsu also laughed along while holding on to Ellery's hands. "I truly am stunned by his beauty. On our first date, I thought I would stop breathing when I saw him."
Ellery's expression softened, "Do you remember when you found out we were highly compatible, you immediately asked me to marry you? I thought you were joking at first, but then realized you were serious."
"I don't regret it either."
The officiant smiled. "It seems we can skip to the vows since you two want to be together as soon as possible."
"No, no, do you your speech!" Akimitsu quickly stopped her. "We have to keep to the program."
"Okay!" The officiant nodded and started her speech. Everyone stayed silent as she spoke.
"We gather here today to witness the union between Ito Akimitsu and Ellery Aster. Their love has been inspiring to learn about. When the future of Mr. Aster was uncertain, they sought the help of the Beast God. Throughout the journey, Mr. Ito stayed by his side, even traveling through the galaxy with him to search for the Beast God. After being cured, the two solidified their relationship, ready to tackle the next journey of their life together.
"Now that they have decided to continue their life together, they must remember that love cannot hold a marriage together by itself. There needs to be loyalty, trust, communication, and work to keep a marriage going. It may get tough at times, but don't let your partner go to bed angry, confused, or upset. Even if you need to take some time to think about the conversation, reassure your partner and make sure they are secure in your relationship before resuming conversations to resolve arguments.
"Remember, the two of you cannot just put 50/50 into a relationship. You both need to put 100% into keeping your marriage alive. And be sure to take time for each other and make the other feel loved every day. Lastly, make sure there's something new each day that you like about your partner, big or small, to keep your love alive and strong. I could go on and on about relationships, so I will stop my advice here."
Akimitsu and Ellery thoughtfully listened to her advice and took it to heart.
From Ellery's experience with Leonard, his love could not keep their relationship afloat. As he kept putting effort into the relationship, he only felt emptier. He gradually lost sight of himself, stubbornly trying to get Leonard to love him even though he knew deep down that Leonard would never love him. Actually, that man could never love another person.
Ellery finally found someone who also put their 100% into a relationship. Sometimes he mourned his past self, wondering why he had been so blinded by Leonard when he could have found Akimitsu instead. But he couldn't dwell too much on the past.
As Juniper once told him, he needed to look into the future because the past was the past. He could not change what happened to him before, so he should look toward the future with Akimitsu, his family, and his friends.
"Now, please recite your vows!"
Ellery and Akimitsu wrote their vows themselves and didn't show anyone else. They kept them from each other like their outfits.
Just as rehearsed, Ellery said his vows first. "Akimitsu, when we first met, I thought you were cute with your straight-foward and clingy personality. I couldn't help but think that it was great that we had high compatibility, but even with high compatibility, would we be suited for each other romantically, emotionally, and mentally?
"As we got to know each other, I found that you were strong, protective, but also compassionate and gentle. Thankfully, I took a chance with you and now, I can't imagine my life without you. I promise to stay faithful to you, to communicate with you, and to always be there for you. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you…"
By the time Ellery finished his vows, Orin, Darya, and Juniper had tears in their eyes. Their tears were silent, but everyone knew that they were moved by Ellery's vows.
Not only that, Juniper felt relieved that Ellery's biggest wish came true. To marry someone he loved. And Akimitsu was richer, stronger, and overall better than Leonard. It was a relief that he was able to witness Ellery find the one he loved.
"Ellery…" Akimitsu was sobbing by this point, trying to say his vows, but all of his emotions hit him at the same time. "When we first met, I proposed to you after finding out we were compatible."
He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose, making the crowd laugh at his crying face. "I was half joking because we had just met, but after our first date, I knew that was not a joke, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.
"I had been worried that I was not strong enough to stand by your side, but I will make sure that I will do my best to protect you, even if I'm on my last breath; though I hope the two of us will grow old together, and that's what I will strive for. I promise to hold you close, comforting you when you are sad, celebrating with you when you are happy, and making sure that when you are angry, you will never have to worry if I am by your side or not."
Once he finished his vows, he tried to wipe his tears with his sleeves, but Ellery had already wiped his tears with his own handkerchief.
"You are crying so much, aren't you happy?"
"I am happy. I am so happy that the tears won't stop."
Once Akimitsu calmed down, the officiant smiled and said, "Now that the grooms have stated their vows, I pronounce you both as husbands! Congratulations to our newlyweds."
The audience clapped while Akimitsu picked Ellery up. He spun him around a couple of times and then kissed him, still holding Ellery up.
"Ellery, I love you," Akimitsu said in a voice that only Ellery could hear.
Ellery, who still had his eyes closed from the kiss, smiled and kissed him on the forehead, then on the lips. "I love you too, Akimitsu."
The two felt like they were the only ones there, forgetting that they had guests and a live broadcast audience watching them.
Juniper saw the happiness in Ellery and Akimitsu's faces and smiled brightly in their direction. Even if they couldn't see him, he didn't know how else to express his emotions because he couldn't run over to them yet.
After he was done looking at Ellery, he looked over at Edros, who was looking over at him. He didn't know how long Edros was staring at him, but he could see that his expression was gentle and dotting.
Edros mouthed, "Are you happy?"
Juniper nodded and said back, "I am happy."
Maybe getting married to the love of his life wasn't too bad.