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The chapel stood at the edge of a black lake where moonlight touched the water like silver dust. It had been abandoned for centuries—old stone covered in ivy, stained-glass windows fractured with age—but emir had spent months restoring every broken piece because owen once softly admitted he always dreamed of being married somewhere beautiful.
And emir remembered everything owen ever said.
Candles floated in the air like tiny stars, casting warm golden light across rows of velvet-lined pews. Dark roses climbed the pillars alongside white lilies, blending both of their worlds together—owen’s softer elegance and wmir’s darker intensity. Outside, snow fell gently despite it being spring, as if the universe itself wanted to make the day unforgettable.
Owen stood in a private room near the altar, staring at himself in the mirror with trembling hands.
He wore ivory embroidered silk layered with silver detailing across the chest, the fabric cascading elegantly around the prosthetic attached to his left leg. For years, owen had hidden his injury, ashamed of what had been taken from him. The loss of his leg had once made him feel broken… like no one could ever truly see him as beautiful again.
But today?
Today he looked ethereal.
His white-blond hair was pinned back delicately, and a lace veil rested behind him like falling mist.
Still, his breathing shook.
“What if I ruin this?” Owen whispered.
Behind him, his closest friend adjusted his veil and smiled softly.
“Owen.”
He looked up.
“Emir looked at you when you had nothing but pain in your eyes and still saw a future with you in it. You could crawl down that aisle and that man would still cry over how beautiful you are.”
Owen laughed through tears.
“That was dramatic.”
“You’re marrying Emir. Drama is expected.”
That earned a genuine laugh.
Meanwhile—
Emir was an absolute disaster.
He stood at the altar in a fitted black suit embroidered with gold threading that resembled vines wrapping around his arms. His hands shook violently.
“Breathe,” his best man muttered.
“I am breathing.”
“You look like you're about to pass out.”
“I might.”
“For battle?”
Emir stared blankly.
“I have fought armies.”
“For diplomacy?”
“I negotiated peace treaties.”
“For literal death?”
Emir narrowed his eyes.
“I killed him.”
His best man blinked.
“Okay... and yet you're panicking because?”
Emir’s gaze moved toward the chapel doors.
“Because he’s about to walk toward me and choose me forever.”
The music began.
The doors opened.
And emir forgot how to breathe entirely.
Owen stood at the entrance looking like something heaven had handcrafted with careful hands. The candlelight kissed his skin, his veil flowed behind him, and tears already filled his eyes as he stared at Emir.
Emir immediately began crying.
Not graceful tears.
Full silent devastation.
His best man whispered, “Oh wow. You folded instantly.”
Emir ignored him and stepped forward before owen could walk the full aisle.
Tradition could wait.
Gasps and laughter filled the chapel as emir crossed the room, stopping directly in front of owen.
“You weren’t supposed to come to me yet,” Owen whispered through tears.
Emir gently took his hands.
“I have waited for you through wars, grief, nightmares, and years of believing I would never deserve this kind of love.”
His voice cracked.
“I refuse to waste another second standing apart from you.”
Owen burst into tears.
“That was unfairly romantic.”
“I know.”
Emir carefully lifted Owen into his arms despite his protests.
“Emir!”
“You said your leg hurt.”
“I can still walk!”
“Yes.”
Emir kissed his forehead.
“But I want to carry you.”
And so he did.
He carried owen down the aisle while their guests laughed, cried, and cheered.
At the altar, emir gently set him down and pressed one final kiss to his knuckles.
The vows were spoken under candlelight.
Owen went first, voice trembling.
“You found me when I thought my life was over. When I was grieving the body I lost... the person I used to be... you never treated me like I was fragile. You loved every broken piece of me until I realized I was never broken at all.”
Emir was already crying again.
Owen smiled tearfully.
“You are my safest place. My greatest adventure. My home.”
Then Emir spoke.
“I have lived a life drenched in blood and violence. I thought love would be soft enough to disappear from my hands.”
He gently touched owen’s face.
“But then I met you.”
He leaned his forehead against owen’s.
“And suddenly forever didn’t feel long enough.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the chapel.
When the officiant smiled and said—
“You may kiss your husband.”
Emir kissed owen like he was something sacred.
Slow.
Tender.
Reverent.
The chapel erupted into applause.
As they exited, snow still falling around them, emir pulled owen close beneath the night sky.
“Are you happy?” Emir whispered.
Owen looked at their wedding rings glimmering under moonlight.
At the man who had loved him through his darkest days.
At the future waiting for them.
And smiled.
“I think this is what happily ever after feels like.”
Emir kissed him again as snow fell around them like blessings from the stars above.
And for the first time in both their lives—
nothing hurt.
Only love remained.