Forever and Always

Chapter 1

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MATURE THEMES AND HEAVY DDLB CONTENT. 

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If you had told Max he would sitting on a dais waiting for his future husband to be brought to him to be bonded by the laws of matrimony..He would of laughed in your face and recommended you check in at the nearest mental institution because you would have had to be downright psychotic to even suggest such a thing.  

And yet, here he was, in that exact same position. He let out a heavy breath. "Can this just be over already! Dammit, why are these things always so long! I feel like I've lost half my life just waiting for this fool to arrive!" Max thought as he sighed heavily once again and let out an annoyed huff.

Max wasn't a very patient man. If he could have it his way, he would have slipped the priest some extra cash to skip over any unnecessary rituals, or at least chant the mantras faster. But if he could really have it his way, he wouldn't even be in this position at all.

Max became fidgety. He was just about to nudge his mother and ask where the so-called "blushing groom" was when..

The atmosphere in Grand Temple changed. Everyone felt it. The temple, which was only a few minutes ago, a bustling venue filled with busy guests, talking loudly and having a merry time, had now fell hush as the sound of the *santoor began to play.

Max heard the soft melody and raised his attention to the entrance of the marriage hall within the temple. A young man, his future husband, was being escorted to the dais by his sister and another temple official. Max watched the boy closely as he made his way to the dais, where the pandit or head priest who served as the marriage officiant and Max's immediate family were seated.

"I never noticed how small he is.." Max thought, "And so skinny.." Max scowled. "Seriously! One strong wind during typhoon season, and this kid would be airbourne."

As his future partner approached his seated position, the boy immediately fell to his knees and bowed to the priest. He then turned to Max and did the same. It was a sign of respect to bow to one's husband during the beginning of the marriage ceremony. As the boy slowly came up from the bow, his eyes caught Max's dark brown orbs. Max was stunned. He hadn't expected to see what he saw in the boy's eyes... Yearning.

Max's POV.

"What the hell was that?" I thought, completely taken aback by the look in his eyes. "What did I just see? Maybe it was a mistake... but why the hell did this kid look at me like he had just seen one of the gods?"

"That look.. it was so hard to place.. desire?, longing?, need?.. but why?"I barely know this kid. What would possess him to look at me that way?" I wondered. My attention was pulled to the priest who began chanting yet another set of  marriage mantras. The pandit held out his hand, and I cupped my left hand under my right to receive the offering he had given me and ate it slowly. As I chewed slowly on the sweet mix of nuts and seeds that made up the consecrated offering, I took the liberty of scanning the scene in front of me.

The pandit sat in front of the sacred fire burning at the center in a steel *hawan kund. When the priest would chant and say a special sanskrit word everyone would throw a little bit of samagri, which was a special mix of dried roots, leaves, herbs and flower petals, into the hawan kund.

On the priest's left sat my family; my mom,  dad, and younger brother as well as my grandfather. My family, who were dressed in their finest, were smiling broadly, happy at the events taking place. My younger brother was especially excited, his grin evident on his face. I gave him a tight-lipped smile when I saw the cause of his grin.

On the priest's left, sat the boy's family or at least the people who served as his family. Two temple officials, one I recognized as Pema, the official that served as the young man's mother, next to her, the boy's older sister who wore a grin matching my brother's. In fact, that was why everyone was happy, not because I was getting married but because my baby brother now had the official go-ahead to begin his own marital life.

I stole a glance at my soon to be partner and was taken aback to find him staring right back at me. I furrowed my brows and gave him a quizzical look. The boy, who sat demurely, lowered his gaze and bowed his head. "Wait a minute!!! Was he blushing?" I thought. "Huh? What the hell is up with this kid?" I expected scowls of anger, eyes of fire, and maybe even tears, but I found none of that. It was almost as if..as if..he was happy to be getting married to me.

"Impossible! Given the circumstances of our sudden engagement  to each other, I know for sure this kid is playing at something!" "MONEY!! That's gotta be it! He sees me as his ticket out of poverty. Crafty kid," I nodded my head knowingly. "I'm on to you and your little game!"

Third person POV:

Max didn't know just how wrong he was in his sudden judgment of his future husband, in fact he was way off, because little did he know the tiny young man that sat across from him on the marriage dais held a secret that he would never in a million years ever fathom, but he was going to find out soon, slowly but surely, the boy would turn his life upside down.
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*hawan kund - a deep square shaped container used like a fire pit for prayer rituals in South East Asia.

*Santoor - a trapezoid shaped, stringed instrument.  

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please leave a comment or like if you wish.