home to you: a blackbear fanfiction

the wedding

     On the morning of May 5th, it was excruciatingly hot outside, the sun welcoming another warm Los Angeles summer. I spent the early hours of the day on phone calls with family and friends that had arrived in town in the last few days. Matthew was still asleep, his steady breathing a reassuring sound. While on a nagging phone call with my mother, I rushed around the cramped hospital room, packing a suitcase with the things I needed to bring to the church to get ready for the big day.
     "Yes mom, I'm fine. Amber and Taylor are going to help me get dressed. The hair and makeup lady will be there at 11:00; I spoke to her last night. Okay I'll see you then. Love you too, bye."
     Only seconds after I hung up the phone, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I said, struggling to zip my overly-full suitcase. TJ walked in the door, a backpack on his back and his tuxedo in hand. My face lit up and I opened my arms to embrace him.
"Hey!"
"Hey girl, you ready for your special day?"
"Hell yeah I am. Thanks for being here."
"Of course, anything for my sister-in-law."
"Mat's had a rough couple of days and he's been sleeping a lot. As long as you have him at the venue by noon, everything should be fine."
"Okay, thank you Ashton." There was a sense of sincerity in his voice that I was not used to, and it made me uneasy.
     "For giving him another chance. You have no idea what this means to him." TJ was a caring sibling, and had the kind of compassion and patience that I could only dream of having.
      "Of course, he's my soulmate. I couldn't imagine walking down the aisle towards anyone else." We shared a moment of silence, each offering a small smile to the other in gratitude of all that we had gone through to help Matthew in the past months, and how somehow all of that chaos had led us to this day. We bid farewell and I headed off to the venue, walking away from my fiancé for the last time before we would be a married couple.
Within the hour I was sitting in front of a vanity, a young woman with a deep southern accent tugging painfully at my hair as my bridesmaids surrounded me, chatting about their dresses and the flowers. My mother cared far more than I did about everything being perfect, and she rushed around with a sense of urgency, asking questions to waiters and groomsmen and warning my siblings to sit down and behave. She was making me nervous, as she often did, but it was with good intentions. She loved me, and sometimes I believed she loved Matthew even more, and she wanted our wedding to be everything we had both imagined.
By the time I was prepared to walk down the aisle, I was filled with nerves and excitement. It all felt so real, and I hid a smile as I linked arms with my father and walked through the wooden double doors. Mat was at the end of the aisle, sitting in a wheelchair with a look of pride on his face. He hadn't walked in weeks, and his tux appeared to be too big, but he was as attractive as he had ever been. My dad gave me a kiss on the cheek and left me there to admire my husband to be. I grabbed Mat's cold hands, focused on him instead of what the preacher was saying. It came time for the vows, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that despite his sickness, he had prepared something. He cleared his throat and began.
"Ashton, I have loved you from the night that I met you. You are my best friend, my caretaker, and the love of my life. I never believed that I would be lucky enough to know someone and love someone so strong, intelligent, and passionate. Through all of these years and all that we've been through, it's always been you. You make me better everyday, and I am so proud to be your husband. You push me to be the best lover, the best musician, and the best version of myself. I'm so thankful that we have come back together and made it to this day. I promise to love you and be loyal to you for the rest of my life, however long that may be."
I removed my hands from his to wipe my tears, allowing a short break before I started my vows.
"Matthew, I choose you, in sickness and in health, though these days it has mostly been sickness. I chose you when you wanted to make music your career and we were living in a one-bedroom apartment struggling to make ends meet. I believed in you always, and was so happy to see you succeed. I've followed you through everything, and will follow you through whatever the future brings. Your talent and thoughtfulness continue to amaze me everyday, and I am so excited for our life together. I love you, I have always loved you, and I will always love you."
With that, the preacher asked for anyone who had objections to our marriage to speak. Our friends and family, who had followed our love story for the past five years, were all so shocked that we had made it to this pointless that none of them could object. The preacher nodded with satisfaction, and announced "You may now kiss the bride." I bent down and our lips touched, connecting us in marriage forever.