Win Chivaaree
Bright pulled me closer into a tight hug and imprinted chaste kisses on my temple, eliciting a wide smile on my face as I wrapped my own arms around his waist. Just when we were both too fond of our small moment together, Film cleared her throat in the background making me whirl in her direction. Bright chuckled lightly from being interrupted and I shook my head in amusement before Film held my hand firmly. Though smiling, her eyes were still the same red just a moment earlier, when she ushered us into the private room.
The three of us made our way into the entrance of the biggest dining hall in the mansion but stopped us by the entrance, just behind a thin film of cloth that covered us. Despite the covering, I can clearly see the number of guests in the hall and for a moment, my anxiety spiked up making my knees tremble. Bright, grabbed my hand and placed a soft kiss on my knuckle sending warmth on my cheeks.
"Hmm, you okay bum-bum?" He asked and placed both hands on either side of my face, by now — my line of sight was only him, and once more, everything that occurred earlier dawned on me making me snuggle on his palm whilst pressing it against my cheek.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," I retorted earning a hum of approval from him, before receiving another one of his quick and gentle peck on my forehead.
After pulling myself together, and probably staying much closer to Bright than I already have been earlier - I gave Film a light nod. Keeping herself in check, she fixed her dress and her hair before giving both of us a warm embrace matched with her loud gush of air — probably calming her nerves, too. She pulled back and brings a palm against my cheek before holding my hand firmly.
"Okay, you two should wait here while I make some announcements outside to the guest. Once you hear me say the word, newlyweds, the two of you will make your way into the dining hall, okay? And give us the brightest and most genuine smile that you could offer us as we all welcome you with our loud cheers and applause," Film continued all the while joining her hands together as if cheering us.
"The formalities are long been done, and this is the time that you guys shake off all those feelings of nervousness and just be yourself. Have fun during the reception, mingle with the guests, laugh, and enjoy every single moment of it. Okay?"
"Okay," Bright and I both agreed and Film gave us a reassuring look before she finally made her way out of the room that we were in — and into the hall where we can hear faint cherry voices from our esteemed guests and loved ones. And soon, I felt the sensation of warm fingertips against my palm making me look up to Bright.
"I still can't believe that we're already married," Bright said in a voice that resounded so much joy and I brushed my fingertips against his own. "I don't know if I already said this, but you're so beautiful tonight, my husband."
The pink tainted my cheeks from the mere mention of the word husband, and my heart was full of wonderful emotions from that word alone. We were once strangers, turned into friends, and into lovers not only because we didn't have a choice since we're soulmates — but because we had loved each other even before knowing that we were. And now, we're husbands and that word gave off a different feel. It's a commitment that both of us had decided to become, and would continue to cultivate as we walk into our lives as husbands together. That our relationship, despite the many difficulties that we've been through became even stronger and firmer, centered on love and family that we both cherished and adored. On top of that, we both supported each other equally and would continue to do so since our futures were entangled with each other.
Before I could even have a chance to respond to whatever compliment he just said earlier, Film's voice echoed inside the hall matched with loud cheers, and that was our cue to go. I looped our fingers together before he proceeded to tighten his grip on my hand making me giggle, and him chuckling lightly. Dotingly, I raised our joined hands and kisses the back of his hand softly, smiled, and nudged his side playfully.
"So, husband, are we ready to go?"
With that twinkle in his eyes, my husband cupped my cheek and pressed his lips against mine quickly, and then pulled me lightly towards the door. By now, we were like little kids with our spontaneous breathy and gleeful laughs still holding each other's hand until we entered the dining hall. Loud shouts of joy, whistles, and cheering filled the whole space as we walked on the red carpet in the middle whilst waving our freehand to the guests.
The place was majestically astounding - it has a towering ceiling and grand architecture. Candles were alit everywhere they could be placed and it was magical. Elevated centerpieces with full floral arrangements created with hydrangea and roses and as many candles as the table could hold. Each arrangement contained leaves that are individually painted in gold to bring light and special touch that was subtly everywhere. The head table was full of low arrangements that were placed along with candles. And then there was a beautiful tonal floral wall to enhance the head table. A small round stage in the middle with our names printed beautifully with another set of flower set-ups making it compliment the whole look of the place.
There was a string quartet on one side of the hall — two violin players, a viola player, and a cellist, playing my favorite song in the background making me pull my husband's hand lightly. Glancing at me, he offered a wink before looking back into the hall while I blushed from the sudden flirting making some of the personas giggle. Recovering from the flirting, I ran my eyes on the columns inside the hall and an impressively beautiful chandelier in warm white. The hall looks like it was straight from a magazine, with classic shapes and a timeless palette.
Everything was beautiful and the anxiousness that I had been feeling earlier had disappeared once I saw it. And Film, I must say, had made a great job with it and she stood true to her words that our wedding would be the best one that she'll ever plan.
My husband and I made our way to the rectangular table at the extremity where we sat side-by-side and faced our crowd. There were more round tables on one each side of our head table. On the right, Aegon, Maeve, Rose, and Clayton settled in together with the twins, Nanon and Prim, that were in their high chairs and waving at us cheekily. Zellie was also with them in a high chair, right next to Rose and an empty chair which I suppose was for Film when she's done with her part of the program. The opposite side was taken by our friends and their mates; Drake with Olive, Fenris with Zerah, Sky with Mark, Man with Type, Pear, Earn, Boss, and Chase who were all beaming too wide that it touched their ears.
Standing on a small glass podium, and the guests seated comfortably in their own seats, Film started to speak again on the microphone gaining everyone's attention. My husband scooted closer to me and wrapped my hand with his own hand making my heart flutter and I squeezed his hand tight whilst he squeezed back.
"Lovely ladies and gents, good evening. Tonight, before we enjoy the sumptuous meal that our grooms had specifically chosen for both of us, let's hear a few words from someone who is dear to both of the husbands. Let's all welcome, Sky Chivaaree."
By now, the rest of the guests were giving her applause as she stood up and walked towards the place, giving a light kiss on Film's cheek before standing on the podium. Sky smiled at both of us with a bit of mischief, thus making me mentally prepare myself for whatever she was about to expose.
"Good evening esteemed guests, my name is Sky Chivaaree, the younger sister of one of the males sitting at the front — the uglier one," she added while pointing at Bright who gave her a pout. Waves of light laughter filled the place and I shook my head in pure disagreement with that declaration right now.
'I beg to disagree, my husband is handsome.' I say in the mind-link, making the rest of them laugh louder and my husband glanced at me with the same teasing smile. Sky ignored my protest and carried on with her speech.
"On behalf of our family, thank you, everyone, for being here with us this evening and for allowing some of your precious time to witness the marriage of my brother and my best friend. Today marks the happiest day of our lives, as both of them finally tied the knot after being together for many years. To be honest, we were shocked when they announced to the family that they'll be getting married and that was three months ago — we're all very much joyful with the progress in their relationship. And before I continue with my speech, let's have a look at some of these wonderful photos of the newlyweds."
Sky ended and the light started to dim and on the white wall on one side of the place, a projection of still images appeared earning awes and gasps from the guest while I dipped my chin on my husband's shoulder, who then kissed the top of my head. It was photos of Bright and me when we were still babies until we grew up into us right now, and it had been fun to select those images actually — it had somehow been one of our bonding moments during the preparation.
A tiny Bright appeared on the wall, half-asleep and face covered with food which I assume was pumpkin puree because of the color. I chuckled lightly making my husband whirl at me and pinch my cheek lightly. He was so cute and his blue eyes were so round, his cheeks were likened to a chipmunk, and he was holding a spoon that never reached his mouth.
Soon, a mini-me appeared on the screen, messy thick black hair that almost touched my brows, and startled wide hazel eyes that stared at the camera, matched with my lips forming an o made my husband full-on chuckle.
"That's so cute," Sky awed and I shook my head because she had already seen all of the pictures beforehand since she's the one who made this video.
More pictures were projected on the white wall progressively, during our kindergarten years, and during the times that we were together during the holidays at the packhouse. There was even a photo of us sitting right next to each other, a smiling me next to a pouting Bright who was forced to take the picture. It went on until our grade school days, some photos were with our friends and some were with families. Until it progressed to middle school, high school, college, and until the present time — all the photos were now us being photographed separately.
At last, it was images of us together during our first date which were taken by Rose at home. I totally forgot that it existed not until it was time for us to pick some photos. And there were also pictures of us laughing next to each other about something that must have been too funny. Some of the photos were us looking like we were bickering on petty things and our awkward reconciliation. Candid shots of us just sitting next to each other, feeding each other, cooking together at the stove, and even images of us training were also shown in the video. Then a series of selfies that were mostly taken by me, since Bright isn't a man that does selfies unless he was forced to do so.
Each of those photos on the screen was our precious memories together, whether it was taken while we were aware of it or taken sneakily by our friends — I hold it dearly in my heart. By now, I was just staring at the moving images and felt my husband's lips against my cheek making me glance at him, he then ran the pad of his thumb underneath my eyes. Making me realize that I was already crying, I wrapped my arms around his waist and he ran his fingers on the locks of my hair softly. And soon, the batches were pictures that were professionally taken before the wedding at the beach, park, woods, and by the lake — and what made it more wonderful was the fact that you'd see how much we were so comfortable with each other. Some of the images showed how we act when no one's around and it made it even more beautiful. We were both wearing our suits, except for the one at the beach because we were just lounging around on our casual articles of clothing. Everything looked so perfect, and soon, there were photos of us with the twins at the beach — making sandcastles, swimming with the twins in their floaters, us running around on the sand, and also rolling on the same sand together with our wide smiles.
Once the final images were projected, the light started to brighten up and Sky was ready to proceed with her speech. "Wow, those are very lovely images of our newlyweds and I guess we can all agree that the warmest photos were the ones with the twins, such a perfectly happy family," she said and everyone agreed by clapping their hands.
"I also like the photo where Bright was behind the wheels because he looks like he can drive — but to be honest, he doesn't know how to drive and we were grounded because of him. Bad boy!" She huffed playfully and the whole place erupted into loud peals of loud laughter, I did too. Bright pretended to roll his eyes at Sky who then reciprocated by her sticking her tongue out teasingly. I shook my head and snuggled closer to my husband, he then wrapped his hand over my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.
"I'm supposed to give you a speech about their love story but that would be boring," she added, and right now, there were ripples of loud laughter from the audience. "So, I'd tell you something based on my personal experience with my brother that happened a long time ago, I think when he was already in college and my best friend was still in high school. That was also the first time that they went to different schools. Okay, so here it goes," she cleared her throat.
"One night, I was in my room and preparing myself to sleep when I heard a faint knock on my door. I already know who it was because it was almost in the middle of the night, and I was pretty sure that it was not Mom or Dad, so it had to be Bright. I mean, he does that all the time, he checks up on me just to make sure that I wasn't binge-watching some shows, or he'd just ask me if I need anything — like a real good brother that he is." Sky smiled at Bright.
Turning to the audience once again, she continued. "I opened the door and true enough, it was him and he dragged me all the way to the kitchen. Lets me sit on the stool as he sat right across me with a pad of paper and a pen. I was questioning the whole thing because I'm pretty sure that I won't be willing to help him with his homework. But I was too shocked when I heard his request, and if my memory serves me right he said, 'Okay, tell me.' And I was like, 'Tell you what?', and he hesitantly answered me with, 'Tell me everything that he likes, favorite color, food, music, movie, ice cream flavor, shows, shirts, pants, everything.' I was dumbfounded and blinked a million times before finally asking him why? And what he said next made my heart happy, he said that he likes my best friend — scratch that, he loves my best friend."
Bright blushed while I grinned and brushed my lips on his cheek, earning a light ruffle on my hair. If only he knew, I did the same thing to Sky before — pestered her with questions after questions about Bright and everything that his brother likes. That's when I found out how he loved pumpkin pies and cookies, and how much he hated vanilla and pistachio but still baked ones with it.
"Since then, when he sees him whether at school or at home, Bright smiles the biggest one that I have seen him, and that only appears for my best friend," she paused and sniffed. "I know how my brother becomes cold to everyone else, but not to him, Bright would always emit this warmth towards him and it made me the happiest person in the entire world. Seeing my brother infatuated with my best friend, who had also been in love with my brother and did the exact same thing that Bright did."
I blushed and Bright raised his brows playfully with that smirk on his face, I huffed and poked his cheek making him giggle.
"But they were both very careful with each other and no one dared to confess. Not until my best friend reached his 18th birthday that Bright finally found the courage to admit to him how he feels. And my best friend, on the other hand, did the same thing and we all knew right there and then that they do have special feelings for each other. And we had been rooting for them for who knows how long, and had never stopped from supporting them with their decisions in life."
Sky paused and ran her sight on the guests before she carried on with her speech. "And that best friend of mine that had captured my dear brother's heart is none other than, Win." She whirled in my direction and waved her hand at me. "Win, say hi." Though embarrassed and having full-on blushed by her little play, I waved my hand awkwardly amidst the masses of loud laughter from the audience, there were even some who were whistling and cheering. Bright was also giggling as much earning him a faint slap on the side of his arm, making me jut my lips out and him pinching my nose lightly.
"I mean, there isn't anyone here that doesn't know who Win is, right? It's just nice to see him getting flustered and blushing cause he's cute," Sky giggled and everyone else does the same thing before I chuckled lightly from amusement. Truly, having Sky talk for us was worth it and she did deserve it because of all the years that she had spent being our cupid and messenger. Sky shook her head and lets out a gush of air through her mouth, back to being serious once more and running her eyes in the crowd again whilst nodding lightly.
"And I know how obvious it is to all of us the amount of love and doting that they have for each other and that we all can see that they are each others' tower of strength and no one could ever change that. The subtle forms of affection for each other, the care that they showed to each other, and even the fact that Win still blushes with Bright's simple ways of letting him know that he is adored — it is obvious that they are still really into each other. And to the innermost corners of my heart, I am glad to be able to see them still behaving the same way that they did back then when we were teenagers up until now. It had grown and had been nurtured really well, but it never once lacked nor disappeared despite the many hardships and struggles that they've been to. They've achieved the kind of love that everyone wants in this world, and that is a beautiful and imperfect one, but pure and innocent all the same — a form of doting that a lot of people seek, but only a few attain."
Sky paused once more and whirled in our direction with that lovely beam on her lips, eyes sparkling ever so beautifully, and a glow of emotions on her gorgeous face.
"Bright and Win, even if I don't say this, I know that you'd still be doing it because you two are precious but still, I'd say it — please continue to love and take care of each other, especially now that you have the twins. Show them the love that they deserve, and the kind of love that you wish for them to have and cultivate in their hearts. Whatever happens, we would all still be rooting for your relationship to continue growing, and to be abundantly blessed with all that you need from this day forward," she smiled and I nodded before turning her attention back to the crowd.
"Let's all raise our glasses of champagne and toast for their undying love for each other from the past, in the present, and into the future — to infinity and beyond," Sky held her goblet up in the air and everyone did the same thing, smiling and cheering. She cast a glance at us, Bright and I grabbed our own goblets and followed her lead before we heard the clanking of glasses against each other.
Bright stared at me dotingly, kissed my cheek softly, then clinked our glasses before taking minute sips from the same glass. The small bubbles that were once on the goblet were now playing against my palate, allowing me to enjoy the euphoric taste of the liquid. Before I could even react, Bright had cupped my chin with his fingers and pressed his lips against mine, giving me the same amount of euphoria from my champagne — only his kiss was way better. He pulled away and there was more cheering from the crowd making me burst into of wave of light laughter, and Bright waved his hand around with the same gleeful expression.
Sky left the podium after I sent her my gratefulness from her heart-warming speech through the mind-link which was responded with a nod. Film was already on the small stage in the middle of the hall, a mic in her hand and everyone was now settling themselves back in their seats to listen to whatever she was about to say.
"Sky, thank you for your speech. Well, I know that everyone is very much eager to experience the wondrous taste of the lovely dinner that we prepared — but we still have another surprise. And this time, it's from one of our newlyweds who made sure that I don't say anything because how would it be a surprise if I tell it, yeah?" She conversed with the crowd who gave her a big yes and head nodding.
"Bright," she mentioned making me look at my husband questioningly. "The floor is yours."
Bright shifted closer to imprint a peck on my forehead, snapping me out of my shock as he pulled me up together with him all the way to the small stage in the middle of the hall where Film was earlier. He made me sit on the chair that I never noticed was there as one of the waiters handed him a guitar, and a stand for a microphone making me cover my face momentarily. The amount of blush that I wanted to not appear on my cheeks had long been warming my face — and I know very well that I had been blushing profusely especially when my husband winked at me. Bright sat on the chair opposite to mine, his hand against the redwood neck of the instrument as he started to pluck on the strings that sent wondrous vibrations in my heart.
"My dear husband, this is for you."
To be continued.