February Prompt: Forever (Patreon)

February Prompt: Forever

Notes: Alright so I'm going to be catching up on prompts! Next is Echo going back to base after getting bit. It should be out in no more than 2 weeks. This is Kiena and Ava's wedding! And wedding night :D. Enjoy!

I was getting ready in one room of our cottage while Kiena dressed in another, preparing to enjoy a night we’d waited so long for: our wedding. We’d made so many of the preparations over the last month – even though it would be such a small and intimate ceremony – and it had been so easy that there’d been no stress or strife. It was as easy as loving Kiena always had been. But there was one thing that was still left unfinished.

It was Valenian custom to give a gift to your betrothed at your wedding. Often, families had heirlooms that they passed down through generations, and others had something special made for their beloved. Either way, it was something symbolic and thoughtful, something eternal. My gift for Kiena had yet to arrive. Kingston was supposed to send it days ago, but it wasn’t here, and every minute that went by without it left me more and more concerned.

A soft knock sounded on the door of our bedroom, and after I called, “Come in,” Bibbette entered and shut the door behind her.

She stopped just inside the entrance and stood there, looking me up and down with a proud smile as I flared the skirt of the dress that she’d made for me. It was a beautiful royal blue with a darker blue pattern woven in, and silver fabric peeked out from the open chest and a thin slit down the front of the skirt.

She gestured for me to turn in a circle, and I did as I asked shyly, “How do I look?”

I faced her again, and she put her hands to her cheeks before clasping them excitedly in front of her chest. “Would it be boastful of me to say you look stunning?” she asked.

“It would be no boast you hadn’t earned,” I laughed. I held out my arms, and she strode forward to give me a tight, motherly hug. “Thank you, Bib. The dress is beautiful.”

“I can’t wait until Kiena sees you,” she said with a grin. She paced over to a dresser and picked up a brush, asking, “May I do your hair?”

“Please,” I agreed.

We moved to the bed, where she sat on the end of it behind me while I took a seat on a trunk. We sat in silence for a few minutes, while she took to humming softly as she brushed my hair in a way that soothed my anxieties. Since the end of the war, and now that we’d had time to settle and simply start living again, she had become very much like a mother to me. It was something I didn’t realize I thought I’d never feel again, something I didn’t realize how much I needed.

“Bib?”

Though her humming stopped, the gentle strokes of the brush didn’t while she asked, “Yes, dear?”

“I haven’t gotten to thank you,” I told her.

She put the brush down as her fingers began to comb through my hair, collecting select parts to start putting up. “For what?”

“For being so kind to me, from the very beginning. For making me feel as loved as you do.”

One of her hands set against my temple, and she pressed a kiss to the top of my head before grooming her fingers back through my hair. She was quiet for a handful of thoughtful seconds, and then said, “Kiena always took on so much, probably more than I should’ve let her.” She let out a soft laugh. “As if I ever would’ve been able to stop her.” I laughed too. “My greatest wish for her has always been that she’d find someone to love and care for her the way she does for Nilson and me.” She stopped playing with my hair to set her hands on my shoulders. “But you see, it was selfish of me to want only that for her. And she found someone who doesn’t just love and care for her, but who’s also worthy of her depth of love and care.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and rested her cheek on the back of my head. “And so, Ava, it’d be impossible for me not to love you too.”

I reached up to set my hands on her forearms and return the hug as best I could, sniffling through the tears in my eyes. She squeezed me once and pressed another kiss to the back of my head, and then let go to continue humming and finish doing my hair.

There was another knock on the door a few moments later, and Nilson’s voice called, “Ava? Are you decent?”

“Come in, Nilson,” I told him.

He pushed open the door, noticing the way I smiled at his appearance and clicking his heels together, holding his arms out to his sides in presentation. He was wearing clean black trousers and a red tunic that was tucked in, and his long blond hair was parted and combed into a short knot at the back of his head.

“Hello, handsome!” I said happily.

He beamed and gave a proud bow, and then gestured toward the door. “You have a visitor.”

I half expected Kiena to walk through it, since she had to be finished getting ready by now. Instead, Kingston came in, his lips pulling into a huge smile the moment he saw me. “Ladies,” he greeted.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to hold back a grin, both of relief that he probably had my gift for Kiena and joy at his presence.

He looked offended that I didn’t know. “I’m here to marry you and Kiena, of course.”

“But the officiant,” I said in surprise.

“I sent her home,” he said amusedly.

Bibbette gave my shoulder a pat to let me know she’d finished my hair, so I got off the bed and paced over to give Kingston a grateful hug. “You didn’t have to.”

“I did,” he said when I let him go, passing a knowing smile at Bib, “for so many reasons.” He reached into one of his pockets and took out a small silk bag. “I also had to deliver this.”

“You found it!” I took it in earnest and pulled the top open, peering into it to see my gift for Kiena stowed inside. I sighed with relief and stored the pouch in a small pocket Bib had sown into the dress specifically for my gift.

“And had it crafted exactly as you described.” Kingston said. “Good?”

“Perfect,” I said, “absolutely perfect, thank you.”

“Well, then,” he clapped his hands, “where’s our other bride?”

“Anxious to be married,” Kiena said, poking her head around the doorway. She came in and set her hand on Kingston’s shoulder, teasing, “Better not let word get out, Your Majesty, or everyone will expect to be married by the king.”

“You’re right,” he said in feigned surprise, and then with equal seriousness, “you’ll all be taking vows of silence before the ceremony.”

Kiena clapped his shoulder and then looked at me, the warm smile on her face spreading as she looked me up and down. “Gods help me,” she murmured, holding out her hands for mine, “I must be the luckiest person in the world.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” I said, setting my hands in hers and spreading her arms outward so I could take in her attire as well.

She was wearing clean black trousers and a tunic that matched the royal blue of my dress. The tunic was adorned in silver silk threads around the neck and sleeves in the same pattern as the darker blues on my dress, and the crisscrossed strings from the open neckline to the center of her chest were also silver. The front of her hair on both sides was braided around to meet in the back, and there was a braid at the base of her skull that sat forward over her shoulder and had a matching silver thread weaved into it.

“I daresay you’ve outdone yourself, Bib,” I said.

“Aye,” Kiena agreed, her eyes giving me another sweep. She let go of my hands to cup my face and give me one tender kiss, and then said to everyone in the room, “Can we please be married now?”

Nilson cheered, “Let them marry so we can eat!”

“Alright,” Bibbette laughed, “let’s have a wedding.”

Kiena took my hand, her fingers locking with mine and giving a gentle squeeze as all of us exited the room. We left the cottage just as sunset started and took a small walk through our property with Kingston’s handful of guards following behind. We strolled to a small hill covered in flowers and shaded by a cluster of oak trees, but it wasn’t just flowers and trees anymore. It must’ve been Nilson and Bib who’d decorated, because there were two chairs set out with white ribbons threaded through them, and more ribbons that hung from branches fluttered on the breeze. There were bouquets of white flowers. They’d put out a small wooden platform, large enough for Kingston, Kiena, and me to stand on, and for the several candles that sat bare on the surface. There was another elaborate bunch of ribbons set on the front of the platform, and with the warm light from the candles and the setting sun, it had to be the most perfectly and quaintly gorgeous thing I’d ever seen.

Kiena didn’t let go of my hand as we stepped up onto the platform and faced each other. Kingston stood behind us and faced the chairs, where Nilson and Bibbette sat down. Kingston’s guards wandered off a little ways where they could keep watch without intruding, but I happened to glance past Kiena and found that we had another unexpected guest. The small cabin Kiena had allowed Silas to build on the property was in the distance, and he was sat on the porch. It was much too far for him to hear anything, but he could see, and I was content to pretend I hadn’t noticed so that he could witness the ceremony.

“Ready?” Kingston asked. Both Kiena and I nodded. He mirrored our nods, and took in a breath so he could begin speaking loudly as if to a larger audience. “On this special evening,” he started, “we’ve come together as witnesses of these two women committing to spend their lives together. To witness their vows to love each other no matter the circumstance, no matter the day, no matter the struggle. To witness their vows of devotion eternal, and to bring them our unconditional support as they take this pledge and their first joined steps.

“Life and love are not always easy. Some days, love and patience take discipline. Some struggles may put you at odds, may test your patience, may burden your love. On this day of vows, Kiena, do you vow, each and every day for the rest of your life, to work at bringing forward the best of your character, both for yourself and your wife?”

Kiena smiled at me and said, “Yes.”

“And do you vow, Ava, each and every day for the rest of your life, to work at bringing forward the best of your character, both for yourself and your wife?”

I squeezed Kiena’s hand. “Yes.”

“Please join both hands,” Kingston instructed, and when we did, he finished, “and repeat your full vows.”

Kiena and I locked gazes, and repeated together the lines we’d studied and learned by heart: “I hereby vow to you, on this day and every day after, to never yield the strength of our bond. I vow to always work with you, to always consider your heart, your mind, your person, and to love you without condition. I pledge to you my heart and my life, and accept your pledge in return.”

“It is Valenian custom,” Kingston proceeded, “to present your spouse with a gift. A symbol of your love and consideration, and of the vows you’ve taken today. Kiena, do you have your gift?”

“Aye,” she said, and Kingston gestured from her to me. She reached into a pocket of her trousers and pulled out a chain necklace, with a steel dragon pendant on it that matched the one she always wore. “All the time we’ve known each other, I had a dagger. It was my father’s, and it helped protect us on our long journey to this moment. But we don’t need to fight to be together anymore, and so I had that dagger forged into this.” She cupped the pendant with her fingers. “I thought for a long time about the shape it should take… and I know the dragon is the symbol of my ancestors, but I wanted to share that with you. And the more I thought on that, the more I thought that dragons have always represented strength, and you, Ava, are the strongest person I’ve ever met.” She met my watery eyes and smiled. “Will you accept this gift, which I offer you with all the love in my heart?”

I nodded, trying to blink away the tears in my eyes as she reached up to place the pendant around my neck. Once she had, she cupped my face and brushed her thumb beneath my eye, giving me another warm, tender smile before dropping her hand.

“And now, Ava,” Kingston said, “do you have your gift?”

“I do,” I answered, and sniffled as I pulled the silk bag out of my dress. “Kiena, you have sacrificed more for me than I could’ve ever asked. You’ve already fulfilled your vows a lifetime over, and I don’t want a day to go by that you don’t know how grateful I am for you, and how deeply I love you. And while I shall endeavor every day for you to hear it from my lips, I also want you to have this.” I reached into the bag and retrieved the gold bow medallion, to be weaved into the grip of Kiena’s bow. “When my mother left Ronan, my father gave her a gold bracelet. From that bracelet came this.” I showed it to her, and she inhaled a shallow breath.

“That’s…” she whispered. “That’s my family crest.”

“It is,” I said, and couldn’t keep from grinning at the look of awe on her face. “I told you that I would be proud to take your name, just as you should be proud to bear this crest. Will you accept this gift, which I offer you with all the love in my heart?”

“Yes,” she said, eyes locked on the medallion as I placed it into her hand. When she finally managed to tear her gaze away, she pulled me into a hug, and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Friends and family,” Kingston said past our embrace, “it brings me immense joy to present to you this wedded couple, whose marriage is hereby sanctioned by the royal court of Valens, Ladies Kiena and Avarona Thaon.”

Bibbette and Nilson clapped, and when Kiena pulled back enough to find my lips with hers, kissing me with a grin on her face, Nilson jumped out of his seat and cheered.

“We’re married,” Kiena whispered when she stopped kissing me, still with the widest smile I’d ever seen.

“We are,” I said, setting my forehead against hers. “Finally.”

She laughed, and we turned toward our family. Kiena bowed playfully as Nilson continued to clap, and Kingston’s guards who had stood nearby were clapping too. Kiena grabbed my hand and pulled me off the platform to Nilson and Bib, and she let me go to hug her mother.

When they let go of each other, Bib grabbed one of each of our hands, smiling as happily as Kiena and me. “My darlings,” she beamed, “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, Bib,” I said, and wrapped her in an excited hug of my own.

“Can we eat?” Nilson exclaimed.

“Aye,” Kiena laughed. She grabbed him and, as difficult as it was becoming with how much he’d grown, hoisted him over her shoulder so his head was dangling at her back. “But we’ve got to find Haunt first. I’m sure she’s hungry for little boy…”

“Mum!” Nilson yelled through his laughter as Kiena carried him off. “Help! She’ll feed me to the wolf!”

“Ah yes,” Bib chuckled, “this time I’m sure she will.”

Kiena set him down after a few steps and held out her hand to me, and I took it, and we started our lovely walk back home as the sun cast its final rays of light over the horizon. Bib and Nilson’s cottage had smelled of food all day as the help we’d hired prepared a feast. As we neared home, the smell made me aware of just how hungry I’d become. Kingston and his guards followed us there, and we invited all of them in for food and ale and to celebrate with us.

It was exactly the kind of intimate evening we’d hoped for. We talked and laughed and drank and ate cake. Two musicians we’d borrowed from a tavern in town played lively music, and Kiena and I danced with each other, and with Bib and Nilson, and with Kingston. It was the best night of my life, and I could see on Kiena’s face that it was everything she wanted. It was everything I wanted as well. It was everything I once thought I’d never have. A home that felt like home, a wife that I loved more than anything and who loved me the same, a family that was just as happy for it as we were.

Nilson was the first of the night to tire. As we sat at the table talking, his head drooped against Bibbette’s shoulder, and before long he was snoring softly.

“I should put him to bed,” Bib mused.

“I’ll do it,” Kiena offered, as it seemed Kingston and her mother were enjoying each other’s company. “I believe we’ll turn in too.” Bibbette nodded, and Kiena stood. “Your Majesty,” she said to Kingston, who laughed and stood to hug her in parting.

While I thanked Kingston for coming and being the one to marry us, Kiena kissed her mother on the cheek and then scooped Nilson into her arms, carrying him to his bed in another room. When she returned, we said goodnight to everyone and she took my hand, leading me out so we could stroll to our own cottage nearby.

She swung my hand along at her side, happily repeating, “My wife,” over and over.

“I don’t believe you’re excited enough,” I teased.

She laughed and picked me up by the waist, spinning me in a circle as we reached home and setting me on the first step up to our door. “My wife,” she said again.

At eye level with her, I curled my arms around her neck and leaned in to kiss her, and then whispered against her lips, “Take your wife to bed.”

She pulled back enough so I could see the grin on her face, and said, “As you wish.” I let out a squeal when she hoisted me up, wrapping my legs around her hips so she could carry me through the door, across the cottage, and to our bedroom.

Our lips met the moment she set me on my feet, and it was such a joyful night that we’d waited so long for that it was almost like kissing her for the first time. She couldn’t pull me close enough, I couldn’t kiss her deep enough, and neither of us cared to breathe. In the midst of our kiss, Kiena reached between us, feeling around the front of my dress for the ties.

My laugh interrupted the moment as I said, “At the back, love.”

She gave an exaggerated sigh and set her forehead against mine. “Why must you torment me with dresses?”

“Teasing you is half the fun,” I giggled, pecking her gently on the lips.

She dragged her fingertips along my arm as she moved behind me, and then brushed my hair off my shoulder to expose my neck. Her lips landed below my ear as she undid the tie of my dress, and I hummed my consent while she trailed open pecks along the nape of my neck, loosening each cross of the strings one by one.

Once it was loose enough, she pushed it off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor to leave only my underdress, at which she laughed, “Of course.”

I reached up because the ties of it were at the front, but Kiena gently set her hand on mine, directing it away as she moved back around. As her fingers began to work the string of my last layer, her head dipped below my chin, and she pressed a kiss to my collarbone. And to the center of my chest. And to the top of my breast and the valley in between.

She undid the ties and let my garment drop, her eyes making a sweep of my bare body before meeting mine. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Still?” I asked playfully, cupping her face in my hands.

She smiled, angling her chin to kiss the palm of my hand. “Always.”

I couldn’t help but grin for a moment before pulling her back into a kiss. My lips didn’t leave hers until I had to separate to pull her tunic over her head, but they met again the moment it was discarded to the floor. I worked her belt as she stumbled to kick out of her boots and lead me back to the bed at the same time, and had it undone right as the backs of my thighs hit the mattress. I sat and pushed her trousers down her hips, leaving her lips to kiss her belly while she stepped out of her clothes.

And she stood there, watching me as my mouth explored the soft skin between her hips, and while my hand carved a teasing path up the inside of her thigh. Instead of ending that path between her legs, I trailed my fingers outward and up her hip, past her waist and around to her back as I set my chin on her stomach and looked up at her.

She took the cue and bent down to take my lips again with hers, kissing me deeply as we both scooted backwards up the bed. She laid comfortably over me, settling her hips between my legs as I wrapped them around her. And I was already lost to her. Lost to the taste of her and the way her tongue grazed mine. Lost to the weight of her and the press of her chest against mine. Lost to the movement of her hips on mine, and the friction against my core that was just a promise of pleasure to come.

I kissed her openly, my hands exploring her back while one of hers ran up and down my thigh, clutching to pull me close every time she ground against me. And it wasn’t just the familiar intimacy that already had my heart beating so hard I could feel the pulse between my legs. It was the newness of our title. My wife. It was our first night together being married – a night we’d both been waiting for with so much anticipation – and that was special. It was the reason my heart raced with more excitement than usual. The reason my stomach flipped every time she let out even the slightest of noises. The reason I couldn’t wait any longer to touch her.

I slid my hand from her back to her waist, and then between us until I reached between her legs. The moment she lifted enough for me to touch her, she released a hard breath against my lips, and it stuttered before she found the composure to kiss me again. But when she did, she fell off me onto her side and adjusted me to face her. She guided my hand back between her legs, and then pulled my knee over her hip, creating just enough space for her to reach down too.

Her fingers knew exactly where to go, and this position was perfect for her to touch me at the same time as I did her, and I could still reach her lips. She didn’t stop kissing me for a moment as her hand settled into a rhythm I loved, and it was perfect. Even though it was hard to focus on the movements of my own hand because of how good she felt, I knew it was the same for her. Her fingers stumbled every time she moaned, and her rhythm wavered with each hard breath against my lips.

But despite her distraction, her touch still left my head swimming. She was still grinding her hips against mine, rolling herself into my touch with every stroke of my fingers. And the fact that I was providing the same pleasure at the same time, the fact that I could still kiss her and lose myself in her taste, only made it more powerful. She could’ve been providing the barest touch, and I still would’ve felt the spikes of pleasure every time the rock of her hips got jagged. I still would’ve clenched under her touch every time her moan vibrated against my lips.

“I’m close,” I huffed into her mouth. I was barreling toward the end and I didn’t want to stop it.

She swallowed hard and nodded against my forehead, and even though it was all she managed in response, I knew what it meant. I focused on keeping the motion of my hand steady, focused on letting the waves of pleasure her fingers provided carry me to the end. And then I was there. I inhaled a sharp breath and whispered Kiena’s name. Her eyes met mine with all the warm, passionate intensity of her own climax, and we tipped over the edge together.

I whimpered against her lips as my hips bucked into her hand. Savored the way her eyes slammed shut as she moaned low in her throat. Rode the overwhelming pulses of climax through rush after rush of euphoria as I came against her fingers. Kiena’s fingers. My wife’s fingers.

When the highest part of the peak was over, her lips met mine once more, kissing me deeply and openly while we went through the rest and came down from it. And she kissed me for minutes more, pulling her hand out from between us to fondle my hip, trace my waist, caress my back.

Eventually I felt her lips thin against mine, and even though it seemed she tried her hardest not to let it stop us, I asked, “Why are you smiling?”

She pulled back enough to look at me, her smile spreading into a grin. “We’re married.”

I couldn’t help but return the grin, and scooted into her to wrap my arm around her waist and bury my face against her chest. “This is our forever.”

She wrapped her arm around me and squeezed me to her. “Forever,” she said, that smile still in her voice. She pressed a tender kiss to the top of my head, her body relaxing into mine as she held me. “Forever.”