You& me, and our mate

ch 25; happily ever after

'

July the 7th, the wedding bells ring loudly in the small town.
And Knuckles looks nervously and excited toward the other side of the church.
The morbians on the row of benches in the church are staring at Knuckles for the moment.
It wasn't until the music started playing the traditional wedding intro that the morbians looked over the shoulders instead.
Mephiles walks nervously around the corner and enters with a bracelet of flowers around the left wrist. Instead of the traditional bouquet in the hands.
The hedgehog was dressed in black suit trousers, and a white shirt with a dark gray vest.

For a moment, it almost looks as if Mephiles either was about to faint or turn around and leave.
He starts trembling and swallows hardly where he looks up from the crowd of people and up at his soon-to-be husband.
The moment when he sees Knuckles smiling encouraging at him, the nervousness fades away. And everything feels natural.
Mephiles starts walking where he can't stop looking at the echidna.
The people around him disappeared in his world for the moment. And only Knuckles was in the world right now.

Right now, everything feels like a dream.
A life he didn't thought he would ever get and would deserve.
But here he is-... Walking down the aisle in the church. About to get married to someone who loves him.

It feels as if he is about to tear up and cry... But he doesn't. As simple tears aren't good enough to express the happiness he is feeling right now.

Mephiles walks up to Knuckles, where he turns toward him.
The music fades away, and the short silence gets interrupted by the priest.
The priest starts talking. Words Mephiles almost couldn't hear since nothing exists right now, except Knuckles.
Suddenly, Knuckles' lips start moving and forming words.
" I, Knuckles the echidna, promise to love and protect you. Nothing in the world will break us apart, and I will always stand by your side... Through sickness, sorrow, lust, and happiness... I will always support you since I love you, and from today, you will be my husband..." Knuckles says and puts a ring on Mephiles' finger.
Mephiles stares deeply into the other's eyes and repeats the same words. There he later slides a ring on Knuckles' finger, too.

The priest starts saying something Mephiles barely heard.
" And now-... You may kiss each others..."
Mephiles and Knuckles lean toward each others where they start kissing.
Even though they have shared many kisses before-... This one was even more magical, and it felt as if the air left him.
It wasn't until he finally heard the loud clapping from the crowd that he snapped out from the bubble where only he and Knuckles were part of.
Mephiles chuckles happily and looks out over familiar faces. Vanilla with cream and cheese. Espio, Charmy, and Vector. Sonic and Amy. Charles and Silver. Rouge and Tails. A few more. Including Knuckles' sister, Natasha, with her two children and her husband, a short furred cat.
Everyone are gathered there today to celebrate their wedding day. And nothing could be better than that...

***

The weather is perfect, and the party on the beach was a success.
Since Shadow didn't want to risk, Mephiles would get hated because they aren't as others... He only told the truth about them to few selected friends. Like Rouge, Vanilla, cream and cheese.
Around eleven in the evening, most of their friends start leaving the party and wishing them good luck in the future.
Only the few selected friends, including Charles, stayed at the beach.

Shadow didn't mind having a small crowd during the informal wedding. Only the promise of sharing the future with Knuckles was actually enough for him.

The moment when Shadow changed place with Mephiles, the crowd gathered where Charles started reading the traditional lines the priest usually said.
A few moments later, Charles clears the throat and looks asking at Knuckles, who holds Shadow's hands underneath the starry sky.
" Do you, Knuckles the echidna... Take Shadow the hedgehog as your husband, and promise to love and protect him no matter what?"