Phoenix

Bonus

Essence's POV

I was surrounded by a world of white.

A symbol of purity, a virtue I've long forgotten the feel of.

The narrow carpet I walked down on was the only separator between my heels and the snow. On either sides of me rows of benches, elaborately festooned with fairy lights and an array of white petaled flowers, stretched towards the equally bejeweled altar.

The onlookers' hushed whispers filled the air with a buzz of excitement, but none of them matched the groom's jitters.

I spotted Florence Roosevelt standing at one of the front benches, wrapped in a white fur coat, beaming with pride as she stared up the isle with anticipation. This was the moment she'd been waiting for.

I continued down the carpet, past the grinning faces, and finally took up my spot by Mrs. Roosevelt and her son.

Phoenix offered me a smile. Though those molten ore eyes gleamed with excitement, a sort of despondency whirled behind that gleam, and his smile didn't quite reach them.

I took his hand in mine, both our fingers numb and cold, just as the music hushed the crowds' murmurs. Through our bound hands a mutual lament passed.

The double doors to the building I'd just exited drew open, and out emerged Georgio Roosevelt, grey and old but ecstatic, and Anaïs.

She looked gorgeous. Still one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen.

Her dress was simple and elegant, the tight fit of it flattering her complexion. Her hickory hair was tied back into a slightly disheveled low bun connecting the little braids forming a tiara around her head. And her eyes, the same amber eyes I'd just stared into moments ago, shone brighter than the early spring sun above us.

The rosiness of her cheeks sent me back 26 years ago, to the first time I'd held baby Anaïs in my arms the day Phoenix introduced me to his mother.

It'd been almost three decades since, and the man whose hand I held now still hadn't been titled "husband". And though we both agreed that there was no need for testimony to our love all those years ago, a pesky awareness that perhaps our non-committance had been brash lingered in the crevices of my ribcage.

Throughout the years we'd watched Ian and Destiny get married, then remarried to different people. We'd even attended Raven and Miles's non-conventional wedding then loitered in the waiting room of a hospital, at the edges of our seats, as Raven gave birth to her first daughter, then the second.

Yet here we were, almost fifty years old each, with no rings, no children, not even a pet.

The groom almost fainted at the sight of Phoenix's younger sister, and as Mr. Roosevelt nestled himself between his wife and I, chuckling, I pressed myself to Phoenix's side, absorbing the solid warmth of him which never failed to keep me afloat.

Phoenix's POV

The officiant's voice became a background noise to my thoughts.

Seeing my sister standing at the altar threw me back to the August after Essence's graduation, when I'd staged a mission only for her to find me on one knee instead of her alleged target.

The joy that followed was enough to make my heart combust. It all felt like a pipe dream consisting of golden sunsets, giddy wedding planning and fantastical future plans.
And though I'd grown used to anticipating things collapsing after a period of serenity, I refused to believe this was the calm before the storm.

An entire year passed in nothing but bliss, but a few days before the wedding, one of Essence's missions bit the dust and she was almost blown up to pieces.

Though she managed to keep all her limbs, a shrapnel lodged itself into her lower abdomen. She was left with damaged ovaries which lead to infertility.

After a year of high, everything went crashing.

Essence was hospitalized for four months, and after finding out the news we decided to call off the wedding instead of postponing it.

None of us was in the right state of mind, and it seems we've never fully recovered because all these decades later, and the wedding was still off.

Yes, part of us feels like we're missing out. Others agree. They call us "workaholics", completely oblivious to the demons that haunt us worse than any expected trauma that came with our occupation. Some even believe us damaged non-committals, but what Essence and I have was beyond empty promises and pretentious ceremonies.

The hardship we've endured, the love that refused to dim even as the candle of time burned slowly to the hilt, it was all worth more than anyone could begin to imagine.

I look at the woman Essence has become. As I take in the scars that embellished her skin, the sapphire eyes that, despite everything, still burned with an inextinguishable flame, the vows we secretly made to one another came alive under our skin.

Finally, the world came back into focus, and the officiant's voice floated crisper than the icy air around us.

I wrap my arms around my woman, a goddess of impeccable strength and beauty, and whisper the words along with the newly weds.

"Till death do us part."

She leans back into me, resting her hands atop mine.

"Till death do us part."

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AAAAAA OKAY, I couldn't hold myself back.

This chapter may be completely unnecessary and not expected but I just felt the need to write it.

This chapter is not meant to be sad, it's not meant to shatter any fantasy some may have imagined, it's meant to show that some things flourish in the dark.

I never envisioned Essence and Phoenix having children or getting married really, but I also never thought the reason behind it would be rather sad.

BUT!!! I feel like this chapter offers more closure than the last one. Can't believe my characters are old now. *sniff*

Anyways, do what you will with this chapter, I wrote it on a whim come I'm JusT iN a sIlLy GoOfY mOod.

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS RIDICULOUS STORY. I was off wattpad for a few months and I come back to find "Phoenix" is almost at 35 K. WHAT!?

I'm loving the comments and feedback I've received so far, you guys literally made my younger self's dream come true.

If you want to see more of me (lol), I'm working on a few stories, so you could check those out.

I hope I won't get trampled for this one...

_leftovers_ out! x