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On the day of Kurt and Paul's wedding, the world appeared to relent, granting them a respite from its unyielding cruelty. The world that had treated them so cruelly finally blessing them with a beautiful day where the sun shone gently down without a cloud in the sky, a dreamy and gentle breeze swirling around them and ruffling their hair without being too cold, the birds chirping peacefully in the treetops above without being too loud.
Everything was so perfect, Kurt wouldn't change a single thing.
It was a small and intimate ceremony, which was to be expected with the nature of their relationship, but Paul and Kurt wouldn't have it any other way. They didn't need their families, they didn't need their once-called friends, they just needed each other. They were complete in each other's presence, unencumbered by the need for the approval of those who had not supported them over the years, unencumbered with the need for the validation of friends and family for the love they already knew was true, for the love that they had already devoted towards each other. Else had so kindly offered to act as the role of officiant, and they would be forever grateful, and the three of them was all that they needed for the perfect wedding. For all the people that mattered were present, and they needed nothing more.
In the beautiful and sprawling park where Kurt and Paul had spent countless hours wandering the various meandering paths, arm in arm or hand in hand, was where the pair would be wed. On the lush green banks of the lake that they had spent hours sat side by side upon, deep in conversation as they tossed peas and carrots to the cute ducks and geese that drifted across the tranquil surface, that was where they now stood. Together in the gentle shade cast by the trees that lined the serene lake, they looked at each other and knew that this was right. The park held many chapters of their love story, and it was the perfect place for the pair to exchange their vows, the perfect place to make official what they held in their hearts.
They were facing each other, bright and sincere smiles on each of their faces and deep love in their watering eyes, everything reflecting the vast love that had led them to where they now were, to who they had led each other to become. Else, in a simple dress and a bright smile, was stood between them with a short and concise script in her hands, ready to guide them through their vows.
Paul was just as handsome as the day Kurt had first set eyes on him, dressed in a nearly tailored black suit that perfectly accented his elegant and angular beauty, with violin-shaped cufflinks sparkles in the bright sunlight and a beautiful blue cornflower boutonnière adorned his lapel, the flower matching the beautiful azure sky above.
Kurt had a matching one in his own lapel, they had picked them together, they had picked them for each other.
With a nod from Paul and Kurt to signal they were ready, Else cleared her throat, looked down at the script she held, and began.
"Paul and Kurt, have you come voluntarily and with a ready heart to enter into marriage?"
"Yes," they answered in unison.
"Do you want to love and respect each other and remain faithful until death do you part?"
"Yes," Kurt and Paul answered, their voices in harmony, and Kurt felt his heart swell as he felt the truth held in Paul's answer, and he hoped Paul could hear the truth in his.
"You may exchange your vows," Else looked up from her script and motioned to Paul, who reached out and grabbed Kurt's hands with a loving smile.
"I take you," Paul started, his eyes wet as he smiled down at Kurt, their eyes locked in a silent promise to love each other for as long as they would live, "Kurt, as my husband. I promise to remain loyal to you in the good and bad days, in health and sickness. I promise to be here, for you, no matter what happens."
As Paul carefully slipped the simple, low-profile ring they had picked out together onto his finger, Kurt could see it in Paul's eyes, he could see the undeniable truth that was the fact that Paul's love surpassed the love and affection that the sky above bestowed on the stars that sparkled and gleamed, that Paul's love surpassed the love and devotion that the fish held for the sea.
Their love was a perfect reflection, as clear as a mirror. Paul loved Kurt as Kurt loved him.
"I take you, Paul," Kurt tightly gripped Paul's hand, fighting back the emotions that threatened to overflow as he spoke, "as my husband, and I promise to remain faithful to you in both the good and bad days, in both health and sickness. I will love and respect you until death do us part, and beyond that."
As Kurt returned Paul's earlier motions, slipping the ring he held onto his lover's digit, he meant every word of his vows, every last word. For every ounce of love that Paul poured into his words and expressions, Kurt reciprocated.
"You may now kiss," Else announced, stepping back slightly as Kurt and Paul reached out for each other, their hands intertwined tightly as they lost themselves in the others eyes. With a gentle movement that they had been imagining and waiting for for months, Paul leaned in towards Kurt, the taller man pulling him close as his eyelids fluttered shut and his lips graced Kurt's in a flawless kiss, a kiss that was as perfect and magical as Kurt had always dreamed it would be-
But... it wasn't.
When they kissed, under a blue sky that was now overcast and dreary, beside the still blue waters of the lake that mirrored the still heart of his beloved, as the blue cornflower pinned over Paul's heart wilted and decayed, their kiss was not a celebration of love. Their kiss, as salty tears fell from Kurt's eyes, was a lament for what could never be. Their lips met in a tender embrace, a fleeting moment of solace in a world devoid of color.
It could never be.
Kurt dreamt about a wedding a lot.
Kurt opened his eyes, sitting up in a bed that was cold and empty, in a room that was dark and hollow. As his teary eyes looked to the window, to the soft morning glow of the sunbeams shining through his window, all he saw was a dull and silent world - a bleak world that could not offer what Kurt desired, a world that had stolen Paul away with it's cruelty.The world outside his window was devoid of warmth, its once vibrant colors muted by the shadow of grief that now consumed him.
For the world had lost its color when Kurt lost Paul, when he had lost his other half.
A pair of blue cornflowers were settled in a vase on the windowsill, their petals beginning to wither as death crept up to claim the severed flowers, their leaves crisp and on the brink of falling to the ground.
A pile of wilted and crumbling cornflowers lay, discarded, on the windowsill beside the vase, waiting for the newest ones to join them.
Kurt would never pin a cornflower on Paul's wedding suit. Else would never read off the lines that would unite them in marriage. Paul and Kurt would never hold hands under a blue sky again, looking into each other's eyes with nothing but endless love as they were united forever, in a perfect ceremony.
For their wedding was destined to always just be a dream, a fantasy that was now permanently beyond reach, permanently a figment of his imagination.
Kurt loved Paul until death did them part, and then beyond.