{"sf1_id":623808,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Rest of Our Lives, pt 1","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":5114,"posted_at":"2013-12-09T08:17:00.000Z","tags":["M/M","ninetales","wedding"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/623808-the-rest-of-our-lives-pt-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/623808","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=623808\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\"Soren,\nare you OK?\" \n\"Yeah,\nI'm fine,\" said Soren, not taking his eyes off of the road. \nEli\nplaced a hand gently on Soren's left arm, making sure that he could\nstill move the gear shift if he needed to. \"Sweetheart, you are not\nfine. Your fur is bristled and you're gripping the wheel so hard that\nyou're almost bending it. What's up?\"\"It's\nnothing, really,\" said Soren, shaking his head. \n\"Soren...\nis it about, well, August?\" \nSoren\ngave a tiny smile as he felt the warm metal on Eli's finger rub\nagainst his arm. He gave the smallest of laughs. \"Heh heh... no.\nI'm not worried about that at all, actually. It's just the trailer.\"\n\nEli\nnodded as he looked out the window. The Rocky Mountains were gliding\nby on silent wheels, peaks and valleys dyed brilliant shades of\nchromatic orange. The road itself was tiger striped as the\nsurrounding peaks cast stark shadows across the four lanes,\ncontrasting brilliantly with setting sun. \"Dammit, I forgot you\ndon't like heights. Find a place to pull over and let me drive for a\nwhile.\" \n\"No,\nit's fine,\" said Soren as he drummed a finger against the wheel.\n\"You drove almost all day yesterday. The guard rail is on the other\nside of the road anyway. My brain is just running away with me.\" \n\"About\nwhat's in the trailer? That's what's bothering you?\"\"That's\nit,\" said Soren. It was true. He had no reservations about the\nwedding. His wedding. Their\nwedding. No, this felt right!\nThis felt good! All of his anxieties were zeroed in on the\norange U-haul that their car was pulling. They didn't have that much\nstuff between them, really. They didn't even need a full sized moving\ntruck to fit all their stuff. But Soren rented the trailer anyway. He\npacked their car with his instruments, leaving the trailer for Eli's\nbest paintings and his grandmother's furniture. Soren just couldn't\ntrust the movers with those treasures. It was something he'd have to\ndo himself. There was no denying he was being paranoid, but Soren\njust couldn't get those nasty, irrational fears out of his head.But\nhad taking the U-haul been less stressful? Now instead of worrying\nabout movers mishandling valuables Soren was compulsively running all\nof the statistics he knew about the dangers of road travel. But they\nwere alone on the road now! There was nothing to crash into but the\nguard rail... dear god don't think about the guard rail.Eli's\nlight, musical voice jolted Soren out of his own mind. \"There's a\nrest area in a few miles. I wanna stretch my legs.\" \nSoren\nnodded silently, zeroing in on the road. \"Yeah... That's fine.\"\nThey drove the final minutes in silence. They pulled into the \"scenic\nvista\" that provided a magnificent view of the mountains. The\nmountain air was a refreshing kind of chilly that felt pleasing to\nwalk through but didn't cut through their warm fur or the fire in\ntheir bodies. \nEli\ngot out of the car and walked a few laps around the parking lot.\nSoren got out too, but all he did was check on the furniture in the\ntrailer. Soren jumped as Eli hugged him from behind. \"Soren, I'm\ndriving.\"Soren\ngrowled and shook his head. \"You don't need to do that, sweetie.\"Eli\nkissed Soren's cheek. \"I very much DO need to do that. Look at you.\nYour eyes are wide, you're all clammy, and you're shaking all over.\nYou don't need to drive just because I drove yesterday. Relax\nplease.\" \nSoren\nsighed in resignation. \"I... OK. You can drive. I can make up for\nit when we're out of the damn mountains.\" \n\"They\naren't all bad, the mountains,\" said Eli. \"Have you seen the view\nhere?\"\"I'm\nnot too interested,\" said Soren, firmly looking at the cliff walls.\n\nEli\nran his hands across Soren's hair.\"C'mon, sweetheart. I'll show\nyou.\" Soren began to protest, but Eli grabbed Soren's hand. \"I\ndoubt we'll ever get to see this place again. We should take it in\nwhile we''re here. I won't let you fall, I promise.\" \nSoren\nsmiled and sighed, resignation in his voice. \"I... OK. Show me\nthen.\" Eli led them to the guard rail. The peaks and valleys were\ndyed a burning orange, and an evening mist hung around the air. It\nmade for a fiery ethereality\n that invoked both serenity and boundless\nenergy. After a minute, Eli vaulted over the guard rail. \nSoren\nhastily grasped Eli's arm. \"Eli, what are you doing?\" \nEli\nlaughed. \"Seriously Soren, there's eight feet of rock before the\ncliff. Come sit down. The view's much better from here.\" \nSoren\nstood stock straight, taking a step back. \"I like the view just\nfine on this side of the\nguard rail. I cannot see rationally how sitting on the guard rail\nchanges the view.\"\nEli\ngot up and turned around, offering his hand to Soren. \"It's not a\nrational thing, it's a feeling thing. Come sit down, sweetheart.\"\nShakily, Soren took Eli's hand and lifted one leg, then the other,\nover the guard rail. He gingerly sat down next to Eli. Eli put both\nof his arms around Soren's waist. \"You're not going to fall. I've\ngot you.\" \nThere\nwas a brief pause as Soren put an arm around Eli's shoulder. \"You're\nright. The view is different.\"\"I\ntold you,\" said Eli with a smile, resting his head on Soren's\nshoulder. \"It doesn't always have to make sense.\"Soren\nkissed Eli as they sat. \"Did I tell you I love you today, sweetie?\"\"No,\"\nsaid Eli. \"You told me four times. When we woke up, at breakfast,\nand twice in the car. Some days I wonder if you're afraid I'll\nforget.\"Soren\nheld Eli close to him \"Well, make it five. I love you Eli. Do you\nwanna take a picture before we go?\"\n\"I\nlove you too, Soren,\" said Eli, growling as he buried his face deep\ninto Soren's arms. \"And I'd love to. I think I even have the camera\nin my pocket somewhere.\" There was a brief pause as Eli rummaged in\nhis cargo shorts. \"Turn around. Let's get the vista behind us.\"\nRotating their position on the guard rail, Eli held the camera out\nand aimed backwards at them. Soren smiled widely, but Eli opted to\npose with a kiss of Soren's cheek. He got the shot on his first try,\nboth of them in the center of the frame with a good view of the fiery\npeaks behind them.Eli\nexamined the picture on the camera screen. \"I wish I had time to\npaint. Do you mind if I take a few scenic shots for later?\" \nSoren\ngot off the guard rail and fished for the keys in his pocket. \"Do\nyou want to sketch the scene too? I know you'd want to study the\nlight play in person.\" \n\"You\nknow me too well,\" Said Eli, walking to the Prius to fish his\nmedium sketch book out of this travel bag. \"Only if we have time.\"\n\nSoren\nfished two teas out of the cooler, offering one to Eli. \"We have\nplenty of time. Do you mind if I watch?\" \n\"Thanks,\nsweetie. And watch away.\" Eli sat down again on the guard rail,\npencil and book in hand. It took less than thirty minutes for him to\nfinish, smearing the markings with his fingers to imitate the mist. \nSoren\npeeked over Eli's shoulder. \"Try inking that when we get home. That\nmight work well on its own.\" \nEli\nkissed Soren's cheek again. \"Thanks, Soren. Are you almost ready to\ngo?\" \n\"I\nthink so.\"Eli\nheld out his hand. \"Keys, then.\" \nSoren\npassed the keys with a smile. \"Thanks. Sorry to make you drive so\nmuch.\" \nEli\nhugged Soren before getting into the driver seat. \"It's no big deal\nsweetheart. I love you.\"Soren\nsat down next to Eli, kissing him across the arm rest. \"I love you\ntoo. Let's go.\" \n\nSoren\nkept glancing about the kitchen, watching the goings on as the\ncaterers prepared for dinner. He was working in the kitchen, wearing\nnothing but gym shorts and a white tank. Eli was with him too,\nidentically dressed. Cake decoration was one of the few things Eli\ncould do in the kitchen without obliterating the final product. In\nfact he was much better than Soren. \n\"Soren,\nfocus on the cake please.\" \n\"I\nwas,\" said Soren, slightly defensively. \n\"No,\nyou weren't,\" said Eli, sternly but not angrily. \"You were\nlooking at the soup and thinking of about five different ways you or\nJeanne could have done it better. You are not cooking for all of our\nguests.\" \nSoren\nlaughed. \"You're right. You're always right.\" Soren did his best\nto focus back in on the cake. It had four glorious layers, a\nblack-brown mountain of chocolatey glory. They had forgone the\ntraditional white cake. Soren always claimed it was a sin that\nwedding cakes looked pretty but tasted terrible, so he made the thing\nhimself. It had been an all day endeavor to make this masterpiece.\nDark chocolate cake and icing, garnished with an abstract spiral\npattern of blue, red, and green. Eli was doing most of the details,\nand it was turning out absolutely gorgeous. \nSoren\nstepped back to admire his half of the cake. It wasn't as neat as\nEli's side, but it was very, very close. Maybe it was because his\nhand was shaking in anticipation the whole time. The differences were\ntoo small to noticed by anyone not intimately familiar with the\ncake's creation, and it would be cut soon enough anyway. \nSoren\ngave the smallest of jumps as there was a knock on the kitchen door.\n\"Hey,\" said a familiar voice behind him. Slender, white and black\nstriped arms wrapped around Soren. He felt himself relax in the\nembrace of his childhood friend. Sasha looked around the kitchen.\n\"I'm surprised you aren't doing all the cooking yourself.\" \n\"God\nknows he tried,\" chuckled Eli, crouching to get a close up of the\nlowest layer of the cake. \"Good to see you.\" \n\"I\ncame for an in person congratulations,\" said Sasha. \"Am I in the\nway?\" \n\"No,\"\nsaid Soren. \"We're almost done here anyway.\" \nSasha\nlooked up at the towering cake. She inhaled deeply through her nose.\n\"Wow... that looks gorgeous. And delicious for that matter. The\nsmell is almost intoxicating. Did you get a top for it?\" \n\"No,\"\nsaid Eli. \"We didn't really find one that fit our cake's desired\naesthetic. There was someone who would have made a custom one, but he\nhad too many requests to meet ours in time. We didn't find out about\nhim until too late.\" \nSasha\nchuckled. \"I knew Soren would go for a chocolate wedding cake. I\nwanted to give you your wedding gift early.\" She pulled out a small\nblack box. \"Have a proper top to your cake.\"Soren\npicked up the figurine with care. \"Oh, wow... Sasha, how did you\nmake this?\" The figurine wasn't a single figure but two. It\ndepicted the two of them, Soren and Eli, in each other's arms, their\ntails wrapped around each other. Soren shook the figurine by a\nfraction. There was a tiny tick as ceramic pieces clacked\ntogether. \"It's... in two pieces? How'd you get them to fit\ntogether?\" \n\"Some\nreally tricky kiln work,\" said Sasha, smiling in pride. \"Go on,\nput it on top.\" \nSasha\nsmiled wider as Soren passed it to Eli, who caressed it with his\nthumb. Taking it gingerly, he placed it neatly at the apex of the\ncake. \"Wow Sasha, you've really improved your work. How many tries\ndid it take to keep the figurine's separate? And how did your last\nmeeting with Alexi go?\" \n\"Seven\ntimes,\" said Sasha with a wince. \"And Alexi got my first auction\nset up! But I'm not here to talk about me. This is your wedding, not\nmy soapbox to push my sculpting. I'm glad you liked the top. It's the\nbest thing I could think of, to be honest.\"Eli\nhopped off the chair he was perched on to hug Sasha, Soren shortly\njoining in. \"It's perfect. And you've gotten so much better since\nwe last saw you.\" \n\"It\nhasn't been that long,\" said Sasha her voice awkwardly muffled\nbeneath the arms of the two foxes. \"It's been only four months.\"\n\n\"So\nwhat,\" said Eli. \"You've gotten better, and you gave us a really\nbeautiful piece. Take a complement, hun.\" \n\"Hark\nwho's talking,\" scoffed Sasha. \"But you're welcome. I guess I\nshould be getting ready soon. You two should too. I still can't\nbelieve you made me your best.... girl, I guess.\" Sasha smirked,\nbut there was mirth behind it. \"Aren't guys supposed to pick\nanother male for that position?\" \n\"What,\nare you complaining,\" asked Soren, mimicking her wry smile. \n\"No,\"\nsaid Sasha. \"I'm honored, to be honest. It's just a bit\nnontraditional. That's all.\" \nEli\nkissed Soren on the cheek. \"I think this whole affair is thoroughly\nnontraditional.\" \nSoren\nchuckled. \"That it is. Besides, who cares about tradition? You've\nbeen my best friend since I was seven. And you're thoroughly\nresponsible for why this whole thing has happened. You introduced us,\nremember?\" \n\"I\nremember,\" said Sasha, punching Soren on the arm. \"I also\nremember thinking that you'd never pick up on Eli. When he told me\nthat you were dating I thought he was pulling my tail.\" \n\"Better\nlate than never,\" said Eli, kissing Soren again. \"I wanna finish\na few details on the cake. Go get dressed sweetheart.\"Soren\nand Sasha left the kitchen together, the hummed melody of Electric\nDaisy Violin audible through the kitchen's clamor. \"By the way,\"\nsaid Sasha, walking casually through the hotel hallways. \"Who\npicked out the dresses for me and Minerva?\" \n\"I\ndid,\" said Soren, slightly awkwardly. \"Is it that bad?\" \n\"No,\"\nsaid Sasha. \"I thought it was you. Eli would have gone for\nsomething more color intense than chic black. It's nice. It's elegant\nand simple. Eli would have probably gotten something with neon yellow\nor something.\" Sasha rolled her eyes in faux disgust. \n\"Eli\nwanted to be in a wedding dress,\" said Soren, matter-of-factly. \"He\nlooked good in it, too.\"Sasha\ngrinned, \"Oh I bet he could rock a bridal gown. He dressed in drag\nfor Halloween freshman year. I introduced you guys about two weeks\nlater.\" There was a pause as they walked in silence for a bit.\nSasha smiled again. \"Look at you. I don't think I've ever seen you\nthis happy.\" \n\"It's\na nice change,\" said Soren. Abruptly, he hugged Sasha again.\n\"Thanks for being here. I know it was a pain to fly out here.\" \nSasha\nlooked bemused. \"Pain? It's a privilege. And it's my best friend's\nwedding! What kind of person would I be if I skipped out on that\nbecause travel plans can be difficult? Go get dressed, lover boy.\"\nShe gave Soren a push before slipping into her hotel room. \nChuckling\nto himself, Soren found his and Eli's changing room. They had checked\nout every room in that vintage hotel for their guests, but their new\napartment was so close to here that it was stupid for them to take a\nroom themselves. They\nwere nice rooms though, and not your cut and paste hotel rooms\neither. Each room had its own unique theme, furniture, and color\nscheme. They all held\na slice of San Francisco history. It really hadn't been a huge\nexpense either. \nChanging\nout of his athletic shorts, Soren slipped into his gun-metal gray\ntuxedo pants, notching the belt around his waist. He smiled as he\nclipped his belt two notches tighter than a few months ago. He hadn't\nlooked this good since high school. Who would have thought swing\ndance was such a good work out? \nA\nbrisk knock on the door jolted Soren out of his musings. Grabbing a\nclean undershirt, he pulled it over his head as he answered the door.\nHis smile wiped away in an instant as he saw who was standing in\nfront of him. Short and squat was his father, Simon, an old\nTyphlosion whose black body was fading to grey. His mother, Noel,\nhung demurely from Simon's arm. She was built like her eldest son:\ntall, gangly, but with beige fur that had faded to chalk white in\nage. And then there was Chris, taller even than Soren, powerful,\nstanding back but with quills out and flaming. \nSoren\ndesperately tried to keep it casual. \"So I guess you guys did get\nthat invitation, eh? We thought you weren't coming. Why didn't you\nRSVP?\"\"We\ngot the invitation,\" said Simon, sternly. \"We need to talk.\"Soren\nsighed. \"Let's go somewhere private. Let's not embarrass\nourselves.\" Simon glowered, but followed Soren into a secluded\nstairwell. There was a pause that was thicker than water before Soren\nbroke the silence. \"You guys are here really early. How can I help\nyou?\" \nNoel\nspoke softly, her voice faltering a bit. \"Soren... We're really\nworried about you.\" \n\"Worried\nabout me,\" said Soren incredulously. \"You're-\" \n\"Do\nnot interrupt,\" ordered Simon. There was another heavy pause,\npunctuated by a noise Soren couldn't identify. \n\"Soren\nwe're worried about you. When you left the house, well, words were\nsaid, and well, none of us were going to budge then. So we decided to\ntake our hands off and let you come back when you were ready.\" \nSoren\nopened his mouth again to begin saying \"What if I didn't want to\ncome back?!\" but was cut off by his father again. \"DO not\ninterrupt, Soren.\" \nNoel\nignored the interruptions. \"You were looking for a job, and that\nwas fine, but...\" \nSimon\nspoke in clipped tones. \"Chris ran into you in town, in the company\nof another male. And you said you were living with him. And that you\nkissed him in public. And now this?! You have-\"Noel\nspoke with a forced softness, vainly attempting to ease the tension.\n\"We understand you're insecure about talking to girls, Soren, and\nI'm sure that... Eli feels the same way too. But you've let your\nanxieties run away from you for too long. Soren-\" \nSoren\ncouldn't contain himself. \"If you gave a damn about my anxieties\nyou wouldn't have told me to 'get over myself' after Jeanne died and\nI was a nervous wreck. If you-\" \nSimon\ncut Soren off, speaking louder. \"Just because the two of you are\nunable to talk to females doesn't mean you can enter sexual relations\nwith each other. You-\"Soren\nwas fuming. \"Stop right there!\" \n\"Do\nNOT interrupt me,\" shouted Simon, his voice echoing throughout the\nstairwell. \"Just because you two are insecure about dating females\ndoes not mean you can enter a sexual relationship with each other.\nYou have let your insecurities run away with you and you need help.\"\n\nSoren\ngritted his teeth. \"Are you... I don't believe it! YOU came here,\nTODAY to tell me-\" \n\"There's\nthis wonderful place,\" said Noel, raising her own voice in a vain\nattempt to control the situation. \"in Texas. You can learn to\ncontrol your... urges.\" \nSparks\nwere beginning to form along Soren's wrists. \"So, you are telling\nme, that you came here, today, to give me an ultimatum. And that\nultimatum is to leave Eli at the altar to go to... straight camp? For\nwhat? For you? The people who told me I was broken for liking\nother males? You're asking me to walk away from the love of my life\nfor you?\" \nNoel\nspoke in placating tones. You can bring Eli too. You'd be allowed to\nstay friends, just not,\" Noel whispered the last word, barely able\nto pronounce the syllables. \"boyfriends.\"\n\"Let\nme get this straight. You want me to leave Eli at the altar, to go to\nstraight camp, for the people who cast me out for not thinking like\nthem, just because you think gay sex is gross? Hell, you think sex in\ngeneral is gross. Here I am, a sinning gay atheist, when right in\nfront of me I have proof of a miracle. How could people like you, in\nyour sad, sexless marriage ever have produced two kids without\nimmaculate conception?\" \nNoel\nput her hand to her mouth, but Simon flared his quills. They hadn't\nlost their color even in age. \"How dare you attack us? We're\nattempting to save your soul, and you spit in our faces.\" \n\"What\nif I don't want my soul saved. I don't believe in your religion.\nNeither does Eli for that matter. So can you stop thinking about gawd\nfor a moment? What if your parents asked you to walk away from each\nother after years of being together? On the day of your wedding no\nless? Think about that for a moment.\" \n\"It\ndoesn't matter,\" said Simon. \"Our marriage is sacred in the eyes\nof God. Your union is about to drench you both in sin. We're trying\nto-\"Sparks\nran up Soren's arm, growing to a more intense shade of sky blue. \"I\nDON'T CARE ABOUT SIN! I CARE ABOUT ELI! DO YOU-\" \n\"DO!\nNOT! INTERUPT! ME,\" roared Simon. His voice echoed throughout the\nstairwell, punctuated again by... something. Soren's eyes swept\nacross his family. Noel looked shocked, Simon fuming, and Chris was\ncovering his mouth with his hands. Dammit he was laughing. Soren's\ntemper flared as Simon continued to shout. \"listen to me!\nHow dare you-\"\"NO,\"\nroared Soren. Sparks erupted into blue flames. \"No, you\nlisten! I don't care about your damn gawd. I don't give a damn about\nsin or righteousness! Can you stop obsessing about gawd for a\ndamn minute and think? Or are you so insecure in your beliefs that\nyou need your son to believe the same bullshit you do to\nvalidate yourselves in your socially accepted bigotry?\" \nThere\nwas a long pause, Soren's voice amplified by the echo-y staircase,\nleaving a ringing in everyone's ears. Simon was livid, his hands\nclenched, his quills flared. \"So you will not change your mind?\nThis is your final decision?\" \n\"Yes,\"\nsaid Soren, standing taller than the others, his fists clenched. \"I\nwon't leave Eli.\"Simon\ngave but the smallest hesitation. \"Then... you are no longer part\nof this family. We ask you to change your surname, or else we will\ntake legal action. Have a good life.\" \nSoren\nwas unfazed. \"Fine, then. I'd wish you the same, but my parents\ntaught me not to lie. Piss off. Guests should be coming soon.\"Noel\nclapped her hands to her mouth again, but Simon just gritted his\nteeth. \"Also, as you are no longer a Saul, the inheritance you\nreceived from Jeanne is no longer rightfully yours. You are to return\nthe instruments and furniture you have received from her back to us.\"\n\nSoren\nwas again unmoved. \"Why are you still here? If you want to take\nlegal action, come back to me with a lawyer. Now go away. I have a\nlot on my hands right now. Go on, leave. I don't want you to\nembarrass the other guests by being here.\" Soren flicked his hands\nat them, motioning towards the exit at the bottom of the stairs. He\nstared pointedly for a long, tense minute. At the end of that minute\nNoel and Simon turned to leave. They walked slowly, but didn't look\nback. There was a clatter as the exit door banged shut behind him. \nChris\nstill remained, leaning back against the railing. His face was\nneutral, his dark eyes staring back into his brother's blue ones.\n\"Well, what are you still doing here,\" asked Soren, his arms\ncrossed, his tails briskly brushing back and forth against the ground\nin a jerky, arrhythmic swish.\"How\nmany people did you invite here,\" asked Chris, his tone uncolored. \nSoren\nkept his voice as calm as possible, despite the previous conflict.\n\"All of Eli's family, Aly, some friends from college and home.\"\n\nChris\npaused. \"And how many people are working to set this event up?\" \n\"I\ndunno,\" said Soren, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.\n\"Why are you asking me this?\"Chris\nbegan to pace, leaving his perch on the railing. \"I'm just curious\nis all. I want to know how many people are supporting this endeavor.\nI just wanted to know how many people are showing up to participate\nin this hideous event, to encourage and congratulate you and your\nsinful mockery of a mat-\" \nThere\nwas a series of crashes as the heel of Soren's paw collided with\nChris' stomach, sending him head over heels down the stairs. A light,\nechoy clatter supplemented the heavy crashes as Chris' horn-rimmed\nglasses bounced down the stairs with him. There was a series of\ncrunches as his quills snapped against the stairs. \nSoren\nand Chris had fought, really fought, only three times in their\nchildhoods. Chris had evolved earlier than Soren, and was for a long\ntime physically stronger, but Soren had won all three times. Those\nquills may be blazing hot, but if they broke, they would cause\nexcruciating pain, even if they grew back in minutes. Chris could\npull his tails all day, but the fight was over the moment Soren\nsnapped a quill. Now more quills than Soren could count were\nscattered across the stairwell, their burning reds fading to gray as\nthey turned to ash. \nSoren\nleapt down the stairs three at a time, picking Chris up by his shirt\nand slamming him into the wall. There was another sickening crunch as\nmore quills snapped. Soren put his face inches from Chris'. He was\nsavagely pleased to see Chris was afraid. He wasn't just afraid, he\nwas mortally terrified. Soren shook Chris, sliding him up the wall,\ncracking more quills and lifting him off his feet. Chris began to say\n\"Soren, what the Hell are you-\" but his voice silenced as Soren\nslammed him against the wall. \n\"YOU,\"\nshouted Soren. \"I had hope for you. I had hope that maybe, by some\nunlikely miracle you wouldn't turn out like them! But you're just as\ndevout, just as arrogant, just as self-righteous. And do you know\nwhat's worse? You're fucking proud. You're proud that you're\njust like them. Now I don't give two shits what you think about me,\nbut don't you ever insult Eli in front of me! Got it?\"Chris\nattempted to reply, but he still had no air to speak as he was\npressed into the wall by Soren's arms, returned to their former power\nby hours of intense dance sessions with Eli. All he could do was\ngurgle. \nWith\na violent jerk, Soren unpinned Chris and threw him to the floor. \"Get\nout.\" Soren turned to walk up the stairs. He didn't look back as he\nheard Chris scrabble across the floor for his glasses, gasping as\nbreath slowly returned to his lungs. Soren left the stairwell, not\nlooking back. He drifted back to his changing room in a haze of red\nfury letting the door slam behind him. \nSoren\nsat in front of the mirror in the changing room, staring blindly at\nhis own reflection. Soren was jolted out of his fuming as Eli slipped\ninto the room. \"Heya, why aren't you dressed?\" \nSoren\nlooked up, but was unable to meet Eli's eyes. \"Eli, I... I uh...\"\n\nEli\nput an arm on Soren's shoulder. \"Soren, tell me what's wrong.\nPlease. And don't deny it. Something is wrong.\" \nSoren\ntook a deep breath. \"Eli... I can't tell you today. I promise I'll\ntell you, but not today. Please not today of all days.\" He got up\nand held Eli in his arms. \"I don't want to spoil our special day.\"Eli\nkissed Soren. \"Promise me you'll tell me later.\"\"I\npromise,\" said Soren. \"I promise I'll tell you everything. I love\nyou Eli.\" \n\"I\nlove you too,\" said Eli, laying his cheek on Soren's shoulder.\n\"Let's get ready sweetie. We have a big day ahead of us.\"\"I\nknow,\" said Soren, rubbing Eli's slender shoulders. \"I can't\nwait. C'mon, let's get you in that suit.\" \n\nThe\nhours flew by in a haze. Soren lost count of how many times he\ngreeted guests, said hello, accepted a congratulations. Friends and\nfamily were pouring in from across the country. Well, pouring in\nimplied a lot of people. Eli and Soren hadn't invited too many\npeople. They wanted to keep it modest. All of Eli's family was there\nalready, and most of their friends were here or on their way. \nSoren\nfelt like everyone was here too early, actually. Soren was becoming\nmore and more nervous. His knees were shaking, his stomach churning\ndespite the fact that he skipped lunch. Or perhaps it was because of\nthat. He retreated to their dressing room. He had an hour before all\nthe things would start. Things... that was a weird word to describe\nhis wedding. Why was he so damn jumpy?Eli\nentered the dressing room, fidgeting in his black tuxedo. Soren\nsmiled, standing up to embrace Eli. Soren felt some of his anxieties\nmelt away for a moment as he held Eli and was held himself. \"Are\nyou nervous?\" asked Eli. \n\"You\nknow the answer,\" laughed Soren, kissing Eli on the cheek. \n\"I\nam too, if it makes you feel any better,\" smile Eli. The two sat\ndown in chairs across from each other, holding hands. \"It's such a\nfunny thing to be nervous about, isn't it?\" \n\"Mmhmm,\"\nnodded Soren, rubbing his thumbs across Eli's upturned palms. \"I'm\nexcited too... I think it's actually because I'm so excited that I'm\nso nervous. Your tie's crooked, sweetheart.\" Soren scooted forward\non his chair, reaching for the sky blue bow tie that Eli had around\nhis neck. With a neat tug Soren righted the lopsided tie. He smiled\nagain. Eli looked so perfect, despite the fact he hated formal\nclothes. \n\"Thanks,\nsweetie,\" said Eli, kissing Soren as they sat. \"You didn't eat\nlunch, did you?\"\"How\ncould you tell?\" \n\"Cause\nI can hear your stomach from here,\" laughed Eli. \"Do you want me\nto find you something?\" \n\"I\ncan wait till dinner. I should go check on the setup, actually.\"\nSoren moved as though to stand up, but he felt Eli grab his shoulders\nand pushed him back down \n\"You\nare waiting right here,\" said Eli. \"We hired people to cater. We\nhired people to set up the reception. Relax, dear, please.\"\"Will\nyou wait with me?\"\"Of\ncourse.\" Eli sat down on Soren's lap. Smiling, Soren gently wrapped\nhis arms around Eli's waist, resting his muzzle on the crook of Eli's\nshoulder. \n\n\"It's\nalmost time,\" said Soren, checking Eli's watch from over his\nshoulders.Eli\nneatly got off of Soren's lap, turning on his heel and offering a\nhand to Soren. \"You ready?\"Soren\ntook the hand, smiling as he stood. \"As ready as I'll ever be.\"\"Then\nlet's go.\" \n\n"}