Prologue

"My dearest Skye,

Today is your wedding day. I know that you don't want your old dad snotting up that beautiful gown you've surely bought with all my money (jokes, jokes), so instead I'm writing this.

Today, I pledge to you to pull out the 'ole camcorder because I know the day is going to fly past.

The best days, with those you love most, always go the fastest.

Being your dad now for some twenty years, I've realized nothing is truer. Every ride with you in the car to school seemed like two minutes, Skype from college seemed to be seconds, dinners were moments. It always went so fast with you. Yesterday I taught you to ride a bike I think, is your knee still bleeding? That's how fast it seems.

Now, I suppose I won't be the most important guy in your life, but I hope you know you'll always be my girl (don't tell your mother).

I might be giving you away today, but I know you're going to the best person you could because I know he could never say no to you (heaven help if he did!). But, if you remember me, I'm always here too, if he's ever not around for your player two.

I'll keep my controller charged.

Love,

MaXfAcToR77

(Your Dad)

(Max)"

The Final Boss

"Uhh..." A thick flop of the blanket's edge draped over Nick's face, protecting him slightly from the sunshine sneaking through the bedroom curtains. His arm wriggled through the bedding, searching out for the familiar form that he always found somewhere through the piled fabric, but even as his fingers grazed the edge of the bed, he still found no one.

"Huh?" His eyelids twitched, slowly starting to wake to the realization that Skye wasn't in bed with him. His eyebrows started to squish together with rising confusion. He rolled, squishing his face into the pillowcase as he prepared to face the sting of the sun before letting his eyes fully open.

Still oscillating between open and squinted eyes, he flopped both legs out of bed and started on a memorized course towards the bathroom. "Where is she? Is it that late?" he mumbled to himself, really only making half audible sounds, "Wh... uh... Lul?"

Passing by the closet, Nick's path was broken by an unfamiliar black tendril that brushed his shoulder. His eyes pushed open, physically straining to lift the heavy lid to look up to see a sharp, ironed tuxedo hanging from the hook of their closet door.

A second passed of Nick staring at the item, eyes wide and unblinking as he tried to comprehend this new symbol in his half awoken state.

Another second passed as a hand rubbed over his eyes, groggily clearing away the night's grime as though the tuxedo was merely a strangely shaped eye booger confusing him, but after he'd rubbed at his sleep-tinged eyes, he still could see the tuxedo sitting there staring back at him with its neatly ironed collar and smooth, crisp slacks. It looked at him expectantly with the perfect, unmarred black expanse of its fabric. Nick looked back, eyes wide and confused.

Then, it hit him.

"Holy shit. It's my wedding day!"

Suddenly, his eyes were wide and unburdened. The groggy haze fell away instantly, leaving instead the impending pressure of nerves.

"Holy shit... It's my wedding day..." Now, he repeated himself, mulling over each word with widening eyes and a dazed look of minor panic in his face. "Am I ready for this? This is nuts right?" He started to mumble to himself, still sounding sort of like his tired self, when in fact his mind was simply racing too fast for his mouth to keep up. He looked at himself in the mirror as he babbled, eyeing his panicked, sleepy face with each hair atop his head spraying up into a million different directions.

"I've had like... a girlfriend. Marrying the first one, is that bad?" He started to pace through the room at a slow, ambling pace like a zombie racked with anxiety. He fidgeted with the bedsheet, spreading it over the mattress before he started to rub at his hair, racking his hand through it with rising nerves.

"I'm like... a baby. Should I get married so young? God, my mother is going to be there- Maybe I just... not-" He crossed back to the other side of the room, staring at the tuxedo like it had challenged him to a duel.

But, as he spun around with his hands rubbing his forehead in worried thought, his eyes fell onto the polaroid prints clipped onto the small wire light "stars" across their galaxy bedroom. Woven into the landscape of blackened purple hues were white splotches with Skye's face smiling beside his, pancakes spread across their bedding dumped right off the tray, their last Christmas tree covered in porgs with Skye at its base grinning in a matching onsie.

His hand fell from his forehead instead, just hanging at his side while his lips twitched up into a smile.

There was Skye, standing in front of the doors of a freshly painted GameStop, flashing him a thumbs up. She wore a classic, collared top that hugged around her spilling chest emblazoned with the familiar logo and a glowing smile. It was the first day they headed into their own store to manage.

There was both of them, squeezed into the bottom of the frame as Niagra Falls rushed behind them. They'd roadtripped there overnight, arriving exhausted and delighted. Skye's ears were wet with spray and Nick's face was streaked with the droplets from the famous falls.

There was their feet, tangled together beneath game controllers as they played the newest Destiny expansion just weeks before. Skye wore mismatched Mario and Zelda socks with one toe poking out because she adored them so. He wore brand new, matching Mario socks she'd bought him to match her favorite, worn out pair.

He just smiled. The questions stopped.

There wasn't a question.

His stomach still gave a nervous flutter, but Nick turned towards the bathroom with a glance towards all the length of wire without pictures yet.

"We'll be filling those soon-"

His hand curled onto the handle to the bathroom door, letting out a final sigh as he pushed into the space to prepare.

"I just better not cut myself shaving..."

***

"It's so weird to be back here-" Skye's eyes were already wide open from beneath her covers as she looked around her old bedroom. Her face furs were covered in a thick, nourishing goo that'd help smooth them before the big day. She could feel it drying on the ends of the hairs and starting to jut around in a million directions.

"Come on, time's up on that mask!" Kaylee's voice broke in from the bottom of the bed, where she bent over Skye's freshly painted nails with the tiny brush. "Wash it off, but don't smudge those! Seriously, it's your wedding day!"

"I know!" Skye let out a little squeal before she rolled out of the bed with her white satin robe fluttering around her thighs. Every part of her body felt coiffed and plucked into place from her freshly trimmed, shaped, and painted nails up to the tips of her ears that she'd had trimmed into an even spray of fluff. "I have never felt so manhandled in my life, by the way."

Kaylee grinned. "Well, if you're getting married, we're limited to a certain kind of manhandling, so-" she winked, chuckling as Skye just rolled her eyes and continued into the bathroom to splash her face, carefully avoiding the piles of her hair, mid-styling atop her head. The hairs had been curled and set, but they wouldn't be released and finally styled until she was in her dress.

"Are you nervous?" Kaylee asked, voice vaguely serious as she started laying out Skye's pristine white garments across the bed.

"Absolutely, but I'm sure not as much as Nick-" she smirked. "I'd bet money he didn't know what day it was this morning. He probably freaked-" A chuckle left her lips before she looked up in the mirror at herself. She was nearly ready to head over to the country club to face their guests and the aisle.

She smiled, thinking now instead of their destination.

As though she read her mind, Kaylee chimed in. "I was so glad your mother finally helped this relationship some by snagging the country club locale-"

"I know!" Skye laughed, turning back into the bedroom with a final glance in the mirror. "Even my dad couldn't reserve the spot! It's so luxe!" she chuckled. "It's probably because it costs millions in landscaping to upkeep it."

"Well, I'm just glad the weather is perfect for it and that it's all going to go perfectly," she sighed before clapping her hands. "Now, chop chop. You've got to get into this thing so I can finish!"

Skye turned to the thing, looking up at her gown with wide eyes. Her mind filled with the flood of emotion she'd felt when they'd found the dress. It was so classic with a plain, crisp white shade the seemed to glow against the backdrop of her warm red and brown toned fur. The bodice was strapless and hugged tight to her chest while the dress flared out and down into a full, princess-esque skirt covered in layers of shimmering fabric.

Minutes later, Skye was wrestled into her full dress and Kaylee was in the midst of styling her waterfall of red curls in a half updo that'd spill down the center of her back but stay off her shoulders and face during the ceremony.

As she curled the pieces around Skye's face, carefully shaping the strands, a knock came at the door.

"It's only me!" Max called out, receiving Skye's welcome before he headed inside, already dressed in his own suit. He stopped just past the frame, staring at Skye in her gown. She'd gone a classic route with a strapless, tight fitted bodice that hugged her bosom before flaring out into a piled skirt covered in faint, glimmering shimmer. At her natural waist, where a band of embellished diamonds glittered out from the fabric, Skye brushed her finger over the tiniest anti-Priscilla element in the entire wedding: a tiny charm of engraved silver that had a tiny door that read, "All that's left is the choosing..." She smiled, meeting her dad's eyes. He'd had it added to her alterations since he'd paid for her gown of choice and when she found that tiny note, she'd known everything Max never really said. She knew he was looking forward to her future with Nick just as she was and he saw something beautiful ahead for them.

"You look... stunning-" Max finally said, smiling at the sight of his daughter no longer running around in boxer shorts with a Nerf gun, though last night might have been a different story. He smiled wider, just beaming. "All this time, I never knew you could clean up so well-"

"Dad!" Skye just laughed, leaning towards him as he came over so he could kiss her cheek.

Max smiled, but inside, he was flooded with thoughts. "To think," he thought to himself, "She could have ended up with Aiden instead..." He'd never seen her so happy, so bubbly with Aiden. But with Nick, every moment together had them laughing. He knew Nick was her person. For a moment, the thought that she might never have met that boy, that she'd have stumbled into a future with Aiden and missed out on this happiness, stung him. He hated to think he might have had a hand in pushing her towards that future, but instead he just smiled and waved his mimosa in the air slightly. "To the future, right?"

Skye leaned over, stealing a sip from his glass before Kaylee yanked her back into position to have her hair finished. "To a trip-free ceremony!"

"Amen!" Kaylee interjected, chuckling as she started to coat Skye's locks in hair spray.

"So, Kaylee," Max continued, "Is there a special girl in your life yet? Anyone showing you to the reception?"

Kaylee just chuckled. "I'm literally giving away the only one in a few hours-" She gently touched Skye's shoulder, smiling down at her friend. Max could see it, even now, the bond between the girls that they'd not long before finally told him about. "But, I'm hopeful that someone might be interested in a non-workaholic version of myself now! I mean, I still travel for work constantly, but I know that's not all that matters, finally-" She snickered a little. "I know it's coming, I just hope it's soon!"

Max smiled, giving the girl a kiss on her cheek too with the same warmth he had for Skye, his own daughter. "I trust you'll find someone as perfect for you as Nick is for Skye."

Kaylee met his eyes with a smile before she gave a playful wiggle of her brows. "What do you think?" She gestured down to Skye's hair, the curls all perfectly tamed into spilling ringlets down her back. "I think she's 100% ready for her wedding!"

Skye quickly moved to the full length mirror, staring at herself. Her dressed hugged her body in so tightly that her breasts were two perfect mounds of cleavage. She wore a chain slightly tight towards her throat but no other embellishments to compete with her piles of curled, red hair that shaped around her face and then fell down her back in a perfect dance.

"I think I actually agree-" She turned back, clasping her hands. "Thank you so much for all of this, Kaylee-"

"Oh don't mention it! I only had to get up before the crack of dawn to get ready myself to do all this for you!" She flashed a grin. "I just wish you were as easy as stepping into a tuxedo-"

"Oh, I don't know. Considering who's standing next to Nick at the altar, he won't be escaping that apartment without looking as perfect as me, actually... Probably better-"

***

"I t-think you've got to have gotten all the lint by now!" Nick's body shook slightly from the force of the lint roll rubbing up and down the back of his tuxedo. His arms in particular were aching from being held up and apart as someone worked behind him to get every bit of fluff off the jet black coat.

"It's good to go! Really is!" Nick whined, momentarily putting his arms down only to have them yanked back up. "Come on! We've got to get to my house to pick up my parents!"

"Now, now! As your best woman..." Pickles leaned over his shoulder, her bright yellow fur looking stark beside his coat, "I am going to ensure you look your best on the biggest day of your life!"

Nick just laughed, stealing the lint brush and turning around. "Well, thank you for that and for going against tradition today-" Despite his other male friends, Nick knew that to have anyone besides his true best friend as his 'best man' upon the altar would have been wrong. "Plus, all of this is thanks to you... I wouldn't have ever asked her out-"

"I know!" Pickles grinned, giving his collar a final fix. "It's about damn time you found someone and it couldn't have been a better person to find." She squinted at him, starting to fidget with a single strand of hair.

"Oh come on! Do you think Kaylee is individually placing every red hair atop Skye's head?" Nick teased.

"She is! Because that's what your best woman does! We know things!" She rolled her eyes, giving him a final once over before she stepped back. "Holy shit, I think though... You're ready to go get married!"

***

"You know," Max twisted in his car seat as he spoke to buckle the belt across his lap. "I'm shocked you could drag yourself out of bed this morning Kaylee, after that party of yours last night. I swear you both dragged yourselves into the house at three AM!"

Skye gave a soft chuckle, her mind drifting back to her bachelorette party the night before.

"Nick isn't going crazy with his party, you have to promise... no strippers or anything. We've got to match the crazy level-" Skye raised a brow at her friend, waiting for Kaylee to consent to this planning.

She groaned dramatically, wilting her pointed ears and drooping both shoulders. "What? Come on! No strippers? But don't you... penis-riders like chiseled abs and little... junk pouches all stuffed with man meat?"

Skye rolled her eyes, chuckling. "No strippers!"

"Okay, you know what," Kayle spoke through cackling laughter. "I promise then. All men present will keep their clothes on, okay?"

"Perfect, that's all I ask"

***

"WooOooo! I'm going to get married, bitches!" Skye let out a howling woop as she raised her glass above her head, nearly sloshing the sparkling wine inside out onto her head. Her gathered friends all cheered along, laughing at her veiled antics.

"Okay ladies, okay! Let's not lose our security deposit on this room, huh?" Kaylee teased, chuckling as she slipped towards the door. "Actually, I'll be right back, 'kay?"

The rest of the room barely noticed as Kaylee slipped out the door to snag the surprise she had waiting for the finale of the bachelorette party. As the door closed behind her, the lights in the suite suddenly began to dim.

"What's happening?" Skye asked, looking up with wide, sparkling alcohol-tinged eyes.

Then, a microphone crackled to life with the speakers in the corners of the room starting up.

"Okay, everybody! We're all gathered here because we love this fluffy panda butt here, this tipsy-tipsy one right there!" Cheers wafted out from the room, even into the hallway where Kaylee had slipped to. "I can say that I am the happiest woman to see this lass get married off, but before we can do that we need to send you her with a bang! So, send in those supposedly sexy buff male dancers that are definitely *not* naked!"

The door swung open, revealing a set of four, scantily clad, muscular men with tiny, near bowties. As they headed out, music started to the beating sound of their footfalls. In front of them they pushed a massive, tiered cake until it sat right in front of Skye's awestruck face.

"What is all this?" she asked, still hearing Kaylee's voice through the speakers.

"Surprise! Are you ready for the GRAND surprise?!"

A chorus of cheers returned her question as Skye prepared for one of the men to approach her, but instead they stepped back away from the cake as a sudden explosion of frosting and cake chunks blew from the top of the cake as Kaylee burst forth from the confection with her bare breasts jiggling with falling sprinkles.

"Kaylee!?" Skye gasped, leaning back in her chair with sputtering laughter at the sight of her longtime friend and old lover bursting forth from the cake as naked as the day she was born, leaping forth with her hips shaking.

"I promised there would be no naked men..." She started to stalk forward, giggling a little as she sashayed her hips side to side, whisking her tail over the ground. "But I never said anything about myself keeping my clothes on, did I?"

"That's cheating!" Skye giggled, watching the girl's journey as she danced her way closer before rolling her hips teasingly over Skye's lap, skimming her bare bottom against the tops of the other girl's thighs before she pulled back and skittered away again, waggling her hips and tail as she went.

"I thought maybe before you get tied to a penis owner for the rest of your life, you could use a final reminder about what you're leaving behind!" Kaylee laughed, wagging her tail in the girl's face as she twirled around in her playful lapdance.

Skye laughed along, remembering all her antics in college as she laughed, drank, and sent off her final night unmarried.

***

At the same time, in a different car, Nick sat beside Pickles as they drove towards the venue with his mother babbling already in the backseat. Hoping to rescue him from her interrogation, Pickles cleared her throat.

"So! That party I planned last night, it was great right?" she interjected, voice lilting loudly to stop his mother's bubbly chatter.

"Oh! Yes! Tell us all about it!" Nick's mother moaned, gleefully finding a new source of information, but this time it was a topic Nick could actually talk about, versus her nerve-inducing wedding babble.

"It was exactly what I wanted. A chill night with my favorite friends, good, drinks, and pool-"

"We all conspired and rented out a whole pool hall so there was no bar scene, but still lots of games and then we just filled it up with food and drinks and what more could anyone want?" Pickles leaned back, grinning at their passengers as the conversation strung on, now with his mother inquiring about every one of his friends' welfare.

With a slight side eye, Nick grimaced, mouthing to his friend: "Are we there yet?"

***

"This is it, it's really happening! I'm going to get married-" Skye's eyes were wide and sparkling as she looked at Kaylee who stood beside her in a small tent off to the side of the outdoor wedding space. From her closest, oldest friend, her eyes shifted to the rest of her gathered bridesmaids who had now all arrived and awaited their times to walk. Her friends, Jolene, Amber, and Yumi alongside her cousin Teresa all stood together, fidgeting with their soft sage dresses and hair.

"You look beautiful," Teresa whispered, leaning into Skye's shoulder with a tender smile.

"Thanks, Terra," Skye bit at her lip, turning back towards the waiting audience.

All the guests were already gathered and seated, filling in the some fifty chairs with only a few open slots. Only their closest were gathered there and every face was familiar.

The space itself was beautiful, which was the entire reason Nick convinced Skye to give into Priscilla's demands for a 'normal' wedding if she secured them the spot to save her the embarrassment of some "geek fest" as she described with a scoff. Even the idea to have it outdoors had taken deliberation, but eventually they realized nothing else was better fitted to their style which was simplistic and elegant.

"Skye, the only indoor places besides churches are big, empty halls that just get filled with satin and decorations to make them look decent... I know outside seems out of the norm for us, but unless we host the wedding on our own Minecraft server, I don't see us finding something better than this club!"

"Are you sure we can't do that?" Skye asked, making her eyes big and doe-like.

"It would be cheaper..."

"My mom wouldn't come."

"Nor mine."

"Why can't we do that?"

"You couldn't get a dress-"

"Not even to wear while we play?!"

"No."

"Plan's off."

Skye took in a long breath, looking out through the small window at the lined up chairs, each one with a sage green bow tied over the soft cream covers. The entire backyard space was in full bloom with massive weeping willows off to the edges of the open space, blocking out the sights and sounds of the rest of the world from this enclosed sanctuary. The aisle was carefully protected by a draped runner in a soft cream shade to match the chairs while greenery of eucalyptus ran along the space interspersed with soft lavender rose petals spilled by the honorary flower girl in Nick's not-at-all young sister as neither of them had a young family member they wished to invite to race down the aisle.

At the end, still empty for now before Nick's arrival, waited an arch of vines and blossoming flowers. Heavy greenery hung down from the overgrown arch, creating a backdrop of green with white flowers where Skye would soon stand.

"It's so beautiful..." Skye whispered, grabbing Kaylee's hand. "I just still can barely believe it."

***

With a soft chime, Nick gave a final glance at Pickles before she gave a little wave and headed to the end of the aisle, meeting with Kaylee there as they grabbed arms and headed up to their respective places on either side of the altar. Leading the way in front of them, the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids already headed up in their own neat pairs.

However, as the final pair reached the end of the aisle, Kaylee stepped off to her side while Pickles instead stepped up to the front and center, collecting a small book she'd stashed behind one of the spilling flower arrangements. She took a deep breath, looking down the aisle to the friend she would soon be marrying off to his bride.

"Ready, honey?" Max gave Skye's arm a squeeze, waiting as they watched Nick head down the aisle, stopping just at the end corner as he turned down to wait for his bride. The music rose with the sound of the familiar march while their guests eagerly stared down towards the tent.

"I guess it's time!" Skye gave her dad a final squeeze before he parted open the tent hiding them and they started up the aisle, arm in arm.

With each step, Skye's eyes locked onto Nick's. Her hand squeezed harder onto her dad's arm, feeling a sudden wave of emotion as she finally looked down that aisle and saw her fiancé instead of all the extras. The decor, the guests, the music, it all faded into the background as she laid her eyes on him. Instead, she suddenly saw every moment that led up to this one.

With each step, her mind flashed with the preparation. The venue visits, the cake tasting, the laughing over bad color choices, the snickering arguments over tiny details and everything that went into this wedding flashed in her mind.

Then, Skye remembered everything before; the proposal, their first Christmas together, their vacations, their morning routine... She suddenly saw everything at once and every memory seemed to have them laughing, smiling.

As Nick stared down the aisle, he instead saw even further back. That first moment, as his eyes fell onto her glimmering gown, he thought back to before they'd met. He remembered his Friday nights playing games with the guys or going to a bar and wondering if he would ever meet someone, if he even needed that in his life.

He could recall moments where he questioned the point of it all, the point of hunting for a mate. He got up and went to work, he came home and lounged with a game, he ate good food, he had fun. His life was fine. He was content. Why suffer to find a girl when everything was okay?

Then, he saw his Friday nights with Skye. He saw her smile over a game controller as she mocked his technique. He felt the warmth of her at his back while they slept. He felt the tickle of her hair on his neck before he left for work. He saw her hands on his on the handle of a grocery cart. He saw her woven into all those moments in life that he never knew needed improvement. He felt a rush of happiness and utter completion as he saw her step up to the aisle. His eyes were dry, but his heart was so full.

Skye felt a sudden aching warmth in her chest that brought wetness to the corner of each eye. She felt a squeeze on her arm as Max pulled her attention, nudging her. "Don't cry, you'll never make it through the ceremony if you cry now-" he whispered, smiling as they reached the end of the aisle.

He took both her hands, looking into his daughter's eyes with a warm, bittersweet smile. He gently nudged the charm in her gown's belt, smiling. "Remember, it's all doors. It's all new stuff from here and it's all going to be beautiful, all of your adventures..." He pulled his daughter into a small hug, kissing her cheek before he passed her hands to Nick's.

Nick pulled her closer to him, feeling her hovering in front of him, "You're beautiful," he whispered, staring into her full eyes as thought there wasn't a single other person in that garden.

"You're not so bad yourself-" she retorted. "Pickles did good."

As the couple faced each other, the canine cleared her throat and bought their attention to her. "Ready to get married, guys?" she smiled, flashing her teeth at two of her closest friends. "Because I didn't get ordained for nothin'!"

***

"Welcome everyone. We're gathered here today for the wedding of Nick and Skye. If you're in the wrong place, slip out now and we'll all laugh. You've all come here because this couple needs to be married. We've all seen them leading up to this. We've seen how well they go together, how perfect they are for each other, and now we'll finally see them formally come together as husband and wife.

So, welcome to everyone today. We all thank you for gathering here to act as witnesses for this ceremony."

***

In place of the usual religious script and readings, Pickles moved swiftly through a few secular notes and short readings to fill the space and allow Nick and Skye the time to just stare at each other. Neither of them heard a word she said until she suddenly spoke right to them.

"We've now come to the point where you two are going to say your vows. These vows are what will lead you into your life together, and they are what will keep you together in the future. No religious law or a civic law will keep you together, but instead your own dedication to each other.

Please, read your vows for each other."

Nick swallowed, feeling a sudden lump in his throat that he hadn't felt until just now.

"Skye," he felt his voice crackle at her name. He suddenly had to pause, breathing in a long breath as he squeezed her hands in his. "Skye, the woman of my dreams, the moon of my life, and my eternal co-op partner-" She smiled at him, chuckling gently.

"I take you to be my wife, from this day until my last. I vow to love you every hour of every day, especially on those days where we both get home from work feeling like death-" A chuckle murmured out from the crowd.

"There's nothing I'd want to see, nothing I'd want to do or experience without you next to me to share it with and no matter what happens from here on out, I'm just glad I found the courage to ask you out on that very first day-" Pickles smirked from her place centered in front of them, nudging his elbow softly.

"I had no idea how perfect my life would become, but now I know it's going to be even more perfect. I love you, Skye-" he squeezed her hand gently, staring at her as she squeezed back much tighter.

"Nick," she paused, taking a long breath. "I take you to be my husband, with no reservations. Before I met you, my impending marriage was full of reservations and concerns that I justified or convinced myself were just nerves or something I'd grow to love or adjust to, but since meeting you I've realized that nerves are merely a fluttering feeling of excitement in the stomach, not a nauseating worry for the future. I've realized that my future can literally fill me with childlike excitement like it's Christmas morning every day. I've realized that being myself can be possible and loved and that there is in fact someone who will love even the largest of nerds. Then, I realized I *was* that person because you might be a bigger nerd than I am."

She squeezed his hands tighter. "You tell me all the time that you're so thankful you met me and you act as though I'm out of your league-" the crowd chuckled, Kaylee especially snickered. "But in fact, I'm just as thankful I met you and for that insane courage to change my life to be with you. You bring joy into my life every day and I want that for every day for the rest of my life-"

Pickles gave a soft cough, clearing the lump gathering in her own throat as she shifted to Kaylee. "May I have the rings please?" The leopardess handed the small, sparkling bands over as Pickles carefully passed them onto their respective person, first Nick.

"Nick, do you, with this ring, take Skye to be your wife to love and cherish for the rest of your days?"

Nick lifted his chin, meeting first his friend's eyes and then his bride's. "I do."

Then, with a gentle push, Skye slid his band onto his finger, squeezing his fingers in her own before adjusting so they could the repeat the process for her.

"Skye, do you, with this ring, take Nick to be your husband to love and beat at head-to-head games for the rest of your days?" Pickles smirked, avoiding Priscilla's eyes in the crowd as she instead looked to Skye.

She didn't hesitate a moment. "I do!"

Nick copied her, sliding her band onto her finger with a final squeeze before they clasped hands together, eagerly awaiting the next step.

"Well, Nick-" Pickles looked from one to the other. "Skye-"

"I now, with the power given to me through an online course, pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!"

Partway through her sentence, Skye pulled Nick to her, leaning up into his mouth just as he turned down to her. As Pickles finished giving them permission, the two were already in the midst of a long, lingering kiss.

Then, cheers erupted out from their gathered guests, soft clapping intermixed in their whooping excitement.

As they broke back apart, the two turned towards their guests Nick raised a hand into the air in a fist bump, grinning broadly. "We did it!"

Skye looked at him, breaking out a grin of her own as she squeezed his opposite hand. "We're married!"

With a skip forward, the two dashed down the center aisle back over the petals and past all their quests out to the waiting limousine, Skye's request, that would take them to their reception.

***

The limousine stopped with an idling pause in front of their reception hall. Skye grabbed Nick's hand, eagerly tugging. "Are you ready?" She was squirming with excitement to see the event awaiting them. While their ceremony had been beautiful and traditional, their reception was set to be entirely different.

Their guests lingered outside the doors, waiting to meet and greet with the couple before the room was revealed to them all in the same moment. Nick lingered back a moment, just holding Skye back from the car door and taking in the moment of all his favorite people waiting for him, waiting for them both to go into a night he knew would go much too fast.

"Come on! Come on!" Skye yanked on his arm, pushing at the car door and struggling with the volume of her skirt around her feet. "Why do you want to torture your wife?!" She teased him until he finally opened the door for her, letting her come spilling out from the limousine with her skirt tumbling out around her legs.

Cheers welcomed them from their waiting family and friends as they approached, hands reaching out as each person wanted to say their congratulations.

"I'm so happy for you two!"

"Beautiful! Skye, you look beautiful!"

"Nick! I still can't believe it!"

As Nick and Skye reached the end of the line of greeters, Pickles and Kaylee each stepped up to either of the two double doors to the large, rented space. They met each other's eyes, silently affirming they were ready for the reveal. Then, with a flourish, they pulled back the doors and welcomed everyone into the world the wedding party had created for everyone.

The first thing anyone noticed was a massive archway settled just inside the entryway with a banner stretched from left to right and tiny shelves down each of the sides filled with different colored, vaguely glowing cocktails.

The banner welcomed them in, inviting all to "Pick your poison for Nick and Skye's arcade!" Beyond the arch, most of the room was dimly lit, but with lights projected onto the black curtained ceilings and walls and light spilling out from tables and screens scattered across the massive space that typically held much larger parties than the some sixty people currently inside.

"Welcome all!" Kaylee announced, waving her hands. As people continued to shuffle in, the ultraviolet lights struck onto the white of Skye's gown and she instantly started to glow alongside the other white details weaved through the room that came to life under the lighting.

"Holy!" Skye's grandmother gasped. "You're glowing!"

"Awh, thanks, Granny!"

"No! Really! You're glowing!"

People started to wander out into the space, finding the tables all glowing with lighted orbs in the center around clustered glass containers. Instead of name cards, people found glow sticks alongside small chocolate-molded controllers and hand-decorated D20 shaped cookies waiting to go home with hungover guests at the end of the night.

Electronic music started to hum to life as the beckoning shape of the dance floor lit the center of the room while games down the main walls of the room started to hum and lit up as well.

Like a child suddenly set loose in a candy store, Skye's eyes were wide and frantically turning left to right, unsure where to fall. "Should we... head to the dance floor?" Nick asked, looking at his new wife with an expectant hand, but the red panda seemed frozen in front of it all.

"Nick, I just... it's everything I thought it'd be."

"Bit better than decorating it to look like a Gamestop, huh?" Nick asked, pouting slightly as he recalled his own original and unsurprisingly lame idea.

She just looked at him, rolling her eyes. "I'm the cool one in this relationship, just remember that when you suggest things."

Nick grinned, "As you wish."

"And don't quote my favorite movies to me-"

"As you wish."

"NICK!"

***

"You twoo!" Pickles dashed over to the couple, carting over two glowing crowns of carefully connected glowsticks; one in a blue and green pointed crown for Nick's head and another more like a red-rose tiara for Skye's. "Are you about ready for the first dance? People are going to leap for the donut bar soon if we don't give them some direction!"

"I think... I think we are!" Skye smiled, looking over at Nick with her ears flicking about in a happy dance while her lips curled up. He nodded, agreeing.

"Oh goodie!" Pickles dashed off, her own tail flickering behind her as she headed to the microphone, waiting patiently to start talking right between two songs.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the reception which is like the wedding's sequel, now with alcohol!" Cheers erupted from the tables, especially that with Skye's prudish family which had her brows rising. "I'm happy to be the one to introduce our couple for the first time ever! They've searched their feelings! He loves her and she knows it! The circle is now complete! Please all raise your lightsabers, or glasses if you're lame, and welcome Skye and Nick! May the Force be with them as our applause is now!"

Then, beneath the hum of slapping hands, the chords of their first dance song began to play until Rick Astley made his fateful promise never to give you up. Nick pulled Skye's waist in close, barely hearing the camera's flashing around them as they danced and he felt the girl's fur against his own skin for what felt like the first time all over again.

"You look magical," Nick murmured, pulling Skye closer until he thought her skirts might trip him, but he didn't care.

She leaned into him, folding right into the shape of him as they swung around. "Oh come on, I'm a rogue though, through and through-"

Nick grinned. Skye could feel his lips curled against her cheek. "Of course. Let's try again-" He paused, letting a few beats of just the music fill the space before he cleared his throat. "Skye, you look absolutely untrustworthy tonight-"

"Mmm, I love it when you sweet talk me-"

***

"Should we get a drink?" Nick panted, stepping off the dance floor as Skye skipped after, heaving her skirt up a bit off the ground to free her legs enough to hurry after him.

"Yes! I'm parched!"

"Which cocktail is best?" Nick asked her, eyeing the different concoctions both already prepared and stacked around the multi-height table and the large pitches marked "Health" and "Mana" with empty glasses on standby.

"Actually, I have something special for you to drink-" Skye grabbed his hand, giving an eager shimmy as she lead Nick towards the line of rented arcade cabinets, where nestled between Pacman and Hydro Thunder was a familiar glowing green vending machine.

"Is that... is that a Mountain Dew-only vending machine...?"

"Uh huh."

"With every flavor?"

"Uh huh."

"That doesn't require money?"

Skye just held out a fist full of quarters, smirking a bit.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I married you."

***

"So, Kaylee... how does it feel? No one tripped during the ceremony, neither of our charges got cold feet, I think... it's a success, huh?" Pickles grinned over at her counterpart across one of the standing tables. Her plate was filled with cheese from the bar while Kaylee's oozed with buffalo wing sauce.

"Honestly, I'm shocked we made it."

"I think we deserve a toast to ourselves,"

"I couldn't agree more." Kaylee flicked her long speckled tail, laughing.

Pickles ushered for one of the wandering waiters, a petite wolf girl who skipped over with her empty tray and a full grin. Her nametag read Liya. "Hiya!" said Liya. "What can I get you two?"

"Give me the Self-Harming Grenade..." Pickles smirked down at the cocktail menu, rolling her eyes. "It's only fitting."

"Can I actually get a coffee?" Kaylee met the girl's striking blue eyes, noticing how they gleaned in the dim lights. "I'm dying for some caffeine."

The girl nodded, spinning on her heels with a flick of her tail. "You got it!"

***

"Uhm... what are we supposed to do with this?" Priscilla turned up her nose as she picked up the glowstick from her plate as though it was a used tampon, pinching the end between two nails and looking partially away from it.

"It's a glowstick!" Skye's cousin interjected, smiling nervously as she grabbed her own, twisting it into the necklace it made and sealing it around her neck.

Priscilla didn't even speak. She just stared at the girl with abject horror, thinking how the glowing green clashed with the green sage of her dress.

Then, with a small cough, she looked up. "I need a drink."

***

"Oh, you are going down!" Max looked over at Skye across the cabinet. His large hands already closed around the control stick with a few test wiggles. "I am a PacMan champion."

Skye just shook her head. "Someday, Dad. The grasshopper always overtakes the master-"

Max clicked his tongue with disapproval, locking his eyes onto the start screen. "What do we say to death, dear child? Not today.... Not today!"

***

"Pickles! What in the hell are you doing?" Nick came around a corner to see the familiar canine standing on top of a cardboard box leaning her ear against a kitchen door. When he said her name she jumped, nearly toppling right off.

"Shhh! You'll ruin it!"

"What are you doing?!" he repeated, waving his hands.

"Your mom has been in there for twenty minutes-"

"Oh God."

"She's asking the chef where his mother went to college right now-"

***

Terra's eyes scanned over the tablescape with a smile. The classic arcade theme fit her cousin so well. Then, her eyes fell onto the centerpiece filled with Legos and a small sign: "Please, due to budget cuts, build your own centerpiece."

"Oh my God. It's on."

***

"Can I have your attention please, everybody?" Kaylee's voice interjected over the loudspeakers, breaking up the music. A chorus of childlike groans came from the game section from a group of Nick's fully grown, male friends who all instantly, instinctively moaned: "But, Mooom!" before realizing what was happening and blushing violently.

"It's time to cut the cake!" A waiter wheeled in a fresh tray with a squared tiered cake. Each side was decorated with a different classic game in the bright colors of arcade aesthetic while atop the final tier were tiny, pixel versions of both Nick and Skye with a respective weapon each, back to back in a battle pose.

Skye instantly grabbed for her knife, looking over at Nick with a smirk.

"You can't shove the cake in my face. We are going to cut it and feed it to each other like normal, civilized beings-"

"You know who you married right?"

"I know that's-"

"Like, you didn't make a mistake and marry your normal girlfriend, right?"

"Skye, I-"

"Nick! Get your knife so I can squish cake in your face in front of all our friends!"

He sighed, grabbing for his small cutting knife before they each took to the cake, helping each other to make the small, initial slices into the side. Cheers and cameras were in a frenzy behind them, but their focus was on the duel about to occur.

They each plucked up their small sample of cake, readying it in their hands. Skye's eyes met Nick's. She glowed with mischief. She nearly seemed to have the flashing red like a video game enemy around her. She showed her teeth with a sneering smirk.

"Are you ready for the rest of your life, Nick?" she whispered, hefting up her frosting-heavy slice.

Nick countered by raising his own, steadying his resolve.

"Eat it! Eat it!" A voice eagerly chanted, tinged with the hiccups of too many cocktails already.

Skye made her move, going forward with her cake chunk. Nick mirrored her, zooming his towards her mouth. She veered up as the frosting made impact with her muzzle, redirecting her hand blindly and smearing frosting right up the side of Nick's face and over top of his eye as he smushed his cake into the side of her mouth, dropping the rest out of sudden surprise.

"I'm blinded!"

"I'm victorious!"

Skye licked frosting from her mouth and grinned at him, showing her little fangs. "You've been bested, Nikola!"

***

"Uhm, waiter! Yes, little waiter boy-" Priscilla gave a little hiccup, covering her mouth coyly. "Please, bring me another of Rum and Nuka Cola!"

A voice off to the side announced the start of a fresh round of Guitar Hero competitions starting. Priscilla perked up. Her eyes spun around as she adjusted her fur stole and stomped towards the blasting rock music. "I think I would like to do some heroics!"

***

Nick hunched forward. Blood rushed through his body madly, he could feel it all coursing at top speeds. He heard every pound of his heart like the beat of a drum at the side of his head. He clenched his hand harder, straining with tension before his hand swung out, smacking the puck right into the opposite goal with a clattering sound.

"Ah ha! Another victory for Nick!" Nick pumped his hands in the air, watching another relative slink away from the air hockey table with a look of shame.

"Who dares step up against the wedding's champion?!"

***

"So far awayyyyy, we wait for the day! For the lives all so wasted and gone-" With a flicker of the plastic keys momentarily pausing, Priscilla whipped her fur wrap off her shoulders and threw it down dramatically to the floor.

"We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days! Through the fire and the flames we carry on!" She spun around, falling to her knees as she worked the keys, banging her head through the air as all her carefully contained hair began to fly around her head madly.

Skye looked up from where she stood by the nearby PacMan. Her eyes went wide. "Holy shit. Dad is that mom?"

Max looked up, eyes going double the size of his daughter's. He gulped. "Did someone give that woman tequila!?"

***

"So, do you work a lot of weddings?" Kaylee leaned over the open bar counter, locking eyes with the silvery wolf girl who gave a soft giggle.

"Yeah, they are popular here."

"So, you work a lot, but have you ever had your own?" Kaylee gave a flick of her tail, flashing her sharp fans in a bright grin.

The wolf giggled coyly, shaking her head as she pushed Kaylee a fresh cup of coffee. "That's the good stuff in there, not the stuff we serve to guests. It's our own, waitress stash-"

"Oh, you are a woman after my heart-"

***

"Well, well, well-" Skye wiped her hands as if to get rid of dust. "PacMan wasn't your strong suit, was it, master?" She smirked up at her dad who just shook his head.

"It was a lucky run for you-"

"Five times in a row!?"

"Again, let's go again."

"Let's switch to give you a fighting chance, Mario Kart?"

"Oh, you're on, grasshopper-"

***

"Ooh! Oh!" A sudden clatter of silvery kitchenware broke Kaylee's concentration and her held pulled up as she ran her arm over her dripping lips. "Shush, girl. You're going to alert the entire kitchen staff!"

Liya just blushed fiercely, rolling her hips to tempt the leopardess with what hid just beneath her skirt once more. "Oh, it's nearly serving time. No one will notice!"

Kaylee grinned, squeezing onto the soft meat of the girl's thighs as she leaned back down over the swollen nub of her clit. "If you insist, you're the one who works here..."

***

"So you beat your dad at PacMan?"

Skye leaned into his shoulder, starting to sway to the shifting beat of the song. "Mhm, and Mario Kart-"

Nick pulled her tighter, kissing the top of her head as they swayed through the dance floor. "I love you so much,"

"That won't stop me from beating you next."

***

"Come on! You got the moves! You can do it! Left, left, right!" Pickles was bouncing on the familiar soft pad of Dance, Dance Revolution coaching Nick's mom on the opposite side. With every new step, the woman seemed to stumble into place, but somehow as unnatural as she looked, she had the top score.

"Nick! Your mother is secretly a DDR junkie!"

As Pickles glanced over her shoulder, she saw Nick creeping up with his phone out, camera running.

"Yeah! Yeah! Go! Your got this! Double stomp! Jump! Both feet on both sides! Yeah! Yeah!"

Nick stared, eyes wide. "I thought this would be funny, but I think I'm horrified."

***

"Mm..." Kaylee wandered back into the reception with her nose rich with the other girl's scent. She sniffed softly as she walked, checking her fingers as well for the clinging, earthy smell.

"Hey! What were you doing in kitchen? Were you stealing samples?" A chef demanded at the sight of her, waving a finger.

"Oh! No, no!" She raised her coffee mug, now refilled with fresh, steaming brew. "I was just getting some... honey!" She grinned to herself, tipping her nose down into the caffeinated broth and fingering the small strip of paper in her pocket, knowing the phone number scrabbled onto it could come in handy.

"No more going in kitchen! Dinner is ready in the hall!"

"Oh goodie, just what a girl needs!" Kaylee skipped forward. "A fuck and a steak!"

***

"A round on me for all the losers!" Priscilla waved her hand at the waiter.

"Uh, it's an open bar, ma'am..."

"I will pay whatever the price is! Victory Fists for us all!"

"The Flaming Fists of Glory cocktail?"

"Yes! Fist me, dammit!" Priscilla yelped, waving her plastic guitar. "I have won the Hero game and now I must celebrate!"

***

"Uh, Terra.... What is that?" Skye's eyes fell onto the center of her cousin's table which was being overtaken by a massive, multicolored dragon while the place settings and plates were stacked on a pulled out chair.

Her cousin spun around, holding a screaming princess sculpted out of pink and peach bricks in her hands.

"How many tables did you steal Legos from?"

"Maybe all of them..."

***

"So, did you get that cute girl's number?" Skye asked, nudging her friend's shoulder with a smirk.

Kaylee just chuckled, leaning in and kissing Skye's cheek so that her fragrant muzzle rubbed up to the girl's nose.

"Oh! Man! Nasty! Did you just rub pussy juices on me to prove your prowess!?" Skye swatted her shoulder.

"I mean, I also got her number..."

"You're terrible."

"You're one to talk."

"Hey now, it's my wedding day!"

"Mm, doesn't mean I don't know what you sound like when you cum for the fifteenth time in a row-"

Skye swatted her, "My mother and husband are RIGHT there!"

"Your mother is hammered and Nick is a pervert." Kaylee chuckled, patting Skye's shoulder. "Don't worry, eventually I will tire of tormenting you, my friend. It's just not today-"

She started to walk off, but leaned back at the final second with a whisper. "It won't be tomorrow either!"

***

"Why will no one play air hockey with me?" Nick whined, looking at Pickles with wide eyes and a pout as he finished the final slice of his steaming filet mignon.

"No one wants to play because you keep winning!"

"But that's why I WANT to play! It's my wedding day!"

"That only works if you're a pretty bride."

"Am I not pretty?!"

***

"Safe travels tomorrow morning!"

"Have fun tonight!"

"Not too much!"

"Congratulations!"

Nick and Skye dashed out of the reception finally, pelted with rice and well wishes in equal proportions as they headed towards their ride that'd take them back home to their apartment for the consummation they'd been waiting for.

Skye's hair had tumbled out of its styled pile atop her head, but her cheeks with glowing with her laughing smile.

Nick had lost his tuxedo coat somewhere, but he had a small plastic trophy in his pocket proclaiming he'd won air hockey for the night.

They both headed into the car, laughing and holding tight to each other's hands, exhausted and shocked the day was already ending.

***

"I can't believe it, we're married! We're really married!" Skye leaned into Nick's shoulder in the back of their limousine. The fun from their reception still lingered over her in a cloud, but now in the quiet calm of their ride, she couldn't help but just want the night to last on a bit longer.

"Can you believe it?" Nick looked back over to her, grinning broadly. His cheeks were aching after the entire night of smiling. He pulled his arm tighter around the panda's shoulder as she leaned into him. The poofing layers of her skirt filled most of the backseat, spilling over his feet and covering them in a haze of white

"My feet hurt, my thumbs ache... that was the best night ever-"

"Let's get married more often," Nick chuckled.

Skye met his eyes. She smiled up at him and snuggled into his side more. The soft fuzz surrounding her muzzle tickled at his neck as she leaned in close. "Let's not. Let's never get married again, huh? I don't think there's any upgrades for the models I got, so I'll stick with this one."

"Classic games are the best anyways-" Nick tipped his nose towards her hair, breathing in the smell of her from the way her perfume mixed with her shampoo and made this perfect cocktail of Skye.

Skye jolted back to look at him with a fierce stare, "Did you just call me old?"

"I-I would never!"

"That's what I thought," Skye smirked, looking up through the sunroof to the stars sparkling above. It seemed like a mere hour ago she'd seen the sunrise while Kaylee started in on her beautification. "It went so fast."

"Yeah, but this is just the beginning after all."

Skye smiled, tipping her head into his as they watched the sky shift above them, twinkling and streaking with a shooting star. "You're right. This is just the start of it all."

Epilogue

The two continued to snuggle together in the back of the car, almost able to forget that through the privacy glass there was a driver up front. Their eyes stared out together at the night falling around them, not needing to look at the other one to appreciate them by their side.

Nick leaned his chin down till it nested atop Skye's hair, now starting to wilt slightly from its perfect styling into just loose waves freed from their constraints. She pressed her chin down against his chest for support while her nose and muzzle rubbed against his bare neck, tickling him with her short whiskers.

As they drove, they passed by the sparkling river that was starting to glow with reflected moonlight.

They passed clubs that both of them were thankful to never have to venture into for the strange mating dance of singledom. Skye snuggled a bit tighter into Nick's chest, fighting the volume of her dress as she did. "Mm-"

They cruised through a small residential area with most houses already dim and sleeping.

But, what caught their eyes most of all was a familiar brick shop with a glowing red sign.

"Hey, look. Our original GameStop-" Nick pointed it out in the distance, smiling with the distant, but starkly fresh memory of that first moment meeting Skye. When he'd been struck by her red hair and filled with nerves. He'd never thought that moment of insane courage would lead him to this moment here.

"Hey!" Skye leaned towards the driver. "Can you actually go there instead? The GameStop?"

"Ma'am, it is closed. It is very late." The driver chuckled and didn't change course, but Skye just chuckled her own little snicker and flashed Nick an all too familiar toothy grin.

"Yeah, I know. Just go there, please."

"Are you sure?" He checked once more, looking back at the gown-garbed woman in the back seat to see if perhaps she seemed too drunk to be making requests, but she just gave him a little smile and nodded, "Very sure! Thank you!"

The limousine slowly pulled over to the empty parking lot with only a single car just pulling out, surely the keyholder finally going home to his own video games to play, not to sell. Skye gave the car a lingering glance as she grabbed Nick's hand.

He raised a brow, looking at her with a confused stare. "What are you up to?" he whispered, but she only smiled and waited until their limousine started to pull away and they were left standing in dress and tux in front of the dead, locked up store. She did a little shimmy that rolled her bare shoulders back and jostled her full, straining breasts inside her gown, pulling Nick along behind her as she held up her phone, flashing him a message.

"Heya! Do a favor for the 'ole manager, turn off the cameras so I can do some maintenance on them later, 'kay? And leave the key in that passcode box?"

Nick just smiled, hurrying up his following pace as he rushed after the girl in the shimmering white gown and the flowing red hair, thinking to himself that he'd spend the rest of his life doing just that: following her into trouble.

He didn't want it any other way.

The Beginning