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Everyone rose as the sweet sound of soft piano filled the air.
Clark stood beneath the archway, his breath stolen as his fiance and his surrogate father came around the corner of the manor.
Bruce and Alfred made their way up the aisle between the rows of people. Bruce had been hesitant to do this, worried that he would become overwhelmed by the audience, but he wasn’t.
His attention was focused solely on the man and the life ahead of him.
It was only moments before they reached Clark, Bruce extending his hand and stepping up to stand opposite his partner. Alfred stepped casually behind them, raising his hands to garner the attention of the guests.
As if all eyes hadn’t already been on them.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Alfred began. “I would like to welcome all of you, and thank you for coming today as we celebrate the union of Master Bruce Wayne and Master Clark Kent.”
Bruce, who had respectfully been looking at Alfred, smiled at Clark. Clark’s eyes were shining when he smiled back.
“For those of you closest to Master Bruce, for all intents and purposes, my son,” Alfred gestured and looked fondly to his right. “The following statement will come as no surprise to you. I was unsure if ever I’d see the day on which Master Bruce found someone, someone to love and cherish him, someone to know and appreciate him for everything that he is; someone to ease the pain and sorrow that he has had to endure, and bring light back into his life.”
He smiled softly.
“But,” Alfred continued, now turning his attention to Clark. “My doubts were belied by this young man; Master Clark, who stepped into my son’s life and changed it for the better.”
Clark glanced at Bruce, surprised to see his eyes wet with tears.
“I recall a time at which, several years ago, Master Bruce described Clark to me, referring to him as ‘a beacon.’ It was not until Master Clark began to frequent our home that I realized the irrefutable truth in that statement… Master Bruce was suddenly a different person than I had known; his steps were lighter, his ventures out into the world more common, and perhaps most shockingly, his smile much more frequently visible. At first I fretted, concerned that Master Bruce was changing himself for his new companion, but eventually I came to understand that this was not the case. Rather, I realized that the changes I was seeing were there because love brings out the best in us…”
Clark’s eyes, to his dismay, also began to fill.
“Master Clark presented himself as he was; intelligent, charismatic, and fiercely kind, in his own way reminding Master Bruce that those qualities that were in Master Clark were in him as well, and were something to be celebrated, not tucked away. It was not an instantaneous transition, but rather, it was as if Master Bruce was growing into his true self; a man moved by his past, but not unwilling to face the future; a man strengthened by love, and not afraid of it; a brave, honest, caring, and compassionate man.”
“Master Clark allowed Master Bruce to show him all of him; bear his soul to someone in a way he had never before, and be unafraid of abandonment. He showed my son that it was possible to be loved for all that he is, the good and the bad; and when the latter begins to surface and threatens to engulf him, Master Clark, indeed, shines like a beacon, and keeps him afloat.”
“Never, in my 58 years on this world, have I seen a pair more compatible, more suited for each other in every way, than the two men standing before you, and it is my honor and privilege to marry them today.”
Alfred looked to both of them.
“I believe that Masters Bruce and Clark would like to say a few words to each other as they exchange rings.”
They nodded, and Bruce cleared his throat.
“Before I begin,” he said, turning to Alfred. “I have to thank this man. Alfred, you have been more than a father to me all these years; my greatest ally, my most trusted confidant, and my closest friend. Clark’s pretty great,” he smiled. “But I have to acknowledge that I am the man I am today because of your guidance. I am so deeply grateful and incredibly fortunate to have you in my life.”
Alfred smiled softly again, laying a gentle hand on Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce nodded and turned to the man across from him.
“Clark…” he said, staring into his eyes. “Kal...where do I even begin?”
His own eyes were shining.
“ Never ,” Bruce paused. "Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be marrying anyone, much less the most amazing man in the world...in the universe. Never, would I have said that anything could make me as happy as you do...I still can’t find the words to explain the way you make me feel. I have, as Alfred so graciously mentioned, faced so much in my life; so much that I was unsure I would ever be able to recover from.”
“For the longest time, I allowed it to consume me. I focused only on the parts of my life that were wrong; as if aiming to fix something that could never be fixed...until you. Clark...my wonderful Clark...you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You helped me to embrace those parts of myself and channel them for good; for strength, and for happiness. You’ve seen every part of me, and I am so fortunate to be standing here today, next to you, about to officially call you mine. I want you for the rest of my life, as my companion, my partner, my husband, and my best friend.”
Alfred held out his hand, and from it, Bruce carefully took Clark’s ring.
“With this ring,” he said. “I give myself to you, to have and to hold, for the rest of our lives.”
Bruce slid the ring on Clark’s finger, and wiped a stray tear from his own eye and then from Clark’s.
Clark sniffled.
“I had this whole speech planned,” he breathed, quietly enough that nobody in the audience could hear. “And now, I’m so overwhelmed that I can’t remember a single word.”
Bruce and Alfred chuckled, and Clark began.
“Bruce Wayne,” he said. “My Bruce.”
He reached up and pressed his palm against Bruce’s face.
“I love you so much more than I thought it was possible to love someone. When I moved here, I was a country bumpkin who had no idea what he was doing...I lived in Metropolis for a few years, but still never felt I belonged; and I realize now that that was because I didn’t; I belonged here, in Gotham, with you.”
“All my life, I’ve hidden who I was. I’ve tried to suppress the parts of me that were different, for fear of being alienated. I compartmentalized my entire life, convinced that that was the only way I was ever going to get by… but you...you helped me see that I could merge all aspects of me, and in doing so, you made me the best version of myself; the happiest version of myself. I don’t feel lost anymore. I don’t feel like a stranger to this planet who only arrived here by happenstance, because I truly feel that somehow, someone, somewhere knew that you would be my home, and sent me to find you.”
Both men had tears in their eyes again.
“I’m so glad I did,” Clark continued, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’m so glad I found you, and that you are here, in my life now, and promising to be in it forever.”
Alfred held out his hand again, and Clark took Bruce’s ring.
“With this ring,” he said, smiling through his tears. “I give myself to you, to have and to hold, for the rest of our lives.”
He slipped the ring onto Bruce’s finger, as Alfred took the floor again.
“Master…” he started. His brow softened into a small smile as he dropped the formality. “Bruce, do you take Clark to be your husband, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love him faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live?”
“I do.” Bruce smiled.
“ Clark , do you take Bruce to be your husband, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love him faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live?”
“I do.” Clark smiled back.
Alfred brought his hands together. “Bruce and Clark, you have expressed your love to one another through the commitment and promises you have just made. You have kissed a thousand times, maybe more, I do not need to be corrected, but today the feeling is new. No longer simply partners and best friends, you have become husbands. This kiss is a promise.”
He gestured, then looked at them expectantly. Neither of them moved.
“Neither of you have required my permission to kiss the other before today, why do you require it now?”
Everyone laughed and cheered as Clark and Bruce shared a passionate kiss, intertwining their hands.
As they turned to walk together up the aisle and toward the back lawn for the reception, Alfred called behind them:
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the newly married Mr. and Mr. Kent-Wayne!”
Bruce smiled at his husband, his finger brushing against his new platinum ring.
Clark smiled back.