(a/n: the pic is what I imagine whenever I write about kuron^^)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pinterest.com/amp/pin/401875966732688166/

Keith

[Several months later]

The ceremony was going to be perfect. True, it had been a little short notice (well, actually very short notice). Also true, I was scared out of my mind. But I knew that, even still, it would be perfect.

A little more than two months ago, when Lance and I had been snug in our apartment, working things out in the Midworld, Lux had paid us a visit.

"I think it's only appropriate that we have a ceremony," she'd said in reference to Lance and I finally being together.

We'd both thought that she'd meant a wedding and, although she had initially intended it to only be a little get-together where we said vows and whatnot, she was perfectly happy turning the whole thing into a big affair, complete with cake.

I'd never seen a real wedding, let alone planned one, but she and Lance worked themselves up into this happy frenzy. Lance had kissed my brow and smiled, telling me that he'd handle everything, before he and Lux were whisked up to the Upperworld.

Since then, Lance had been anxiously excited, planning this and that and the other thing and, frankly, I felt useless, but as I tried to help out more and more, I began to realize how much it meant to him.

Lance was a romantic, I knew that. He liked big gestures and passion, which I could certainly respect, even if it wasn't totally my own style. I regulated the progress of the planning via the questions he asked me. It started with the big questions, like where I wanted the ceremony to be, where I wanted to honeymoon, who I wanted to invite, and then got more and more nitpicky, down to the flowers and cake and time.

I knew that Lance still felt guilty about me taking the Trials- he saw it as me giving up a part of myself for him, but I insisted that it didn't change anything besides the amount of time I could spend in the Underworld. And he didn't understand that I would give anything to be with him.

After passing the Trials, I'd felt like everything I knew to be my own emotions changed. Everything got more intense. My anger, my sadness, my guilt, it all became so much more clear instead of the muddled mess it had been before. And with those emotions came so many new feelings that I'd never known to exist. Passion as I kissed Lance, kindness as I understood my father and his own emotions, and, of course, love.

Waking up next to Lance that morning after the Trials, I'd pressed a hand to my chest and felt the rhythmic beat below my palm. And looking down at the angel, I'd felt a flood of happiness and affection that caught me off-guard. Unfortunately, I started crying, and Lance freaked out, thinking that he'd done something wrong.

But he had done the opposite. Lance had saved me. He'd cared for me and understood me and forgiven me over and over and to him, I owed everything. He'd set me free and I couldn't put it into words how much it meant to me. That morning and every morning since I'd told him I'd loved him because I could and I did.

Yes, I was still moody and blunt and sometimes a bit dark, but I was able to find a sincere side of me, a part of me that had been hidden.

Anyway, back to the wedding. Or ceremony. Or whatever it was. I knew that mortals usually waited years of being in a relationship together to get married, but Lux had insisted that the ceremony was definitely not a traditional wedding.

"You are prophesied to be together, but if anything happens and you two decide to break apart or stop being together, you're free to do that. The ceremony is a symbolic gesture that shows that you'll always be bonded, not specifically by a romantic relationship. It could've just been a friendship."

I tried not to dwell on the meaning of the ceremony too much until it was actually getting close to the date, which happened to be at the end of the summer, the beginning of autumn. Lance and Lux grew more and more flustered the closer the ceremony drew, so I tried to help out as much as possible.

The save-the-dates were sent out as a formality (we were only inviting three mortals, but it was customary), and then the invitations. We invited our friends from our journeys in the Midworld- Allura, the floral shop owner, who Lance had asked to be our florist, and of course, Hunk and Shay, and then Pidge, Rover, and Coran from the SAL.

We also invited Acxa and the rest of her team by request of Dad, as well as Krolia, who I'd never met but insisted on inviting because she was my sort-of mother. Then our parents, the Twins, Matt and Adam, few more of Lance's siblings and the Blade. Dad had warmed up to Lance considerably and, whenever we went to visit (always less than three days at a time, for Lance), I was happy to see the two of them playing chess or cracking jokes.

The Twins and Matt and Adam still hadn't reunited, so Lance and I were kind of excited to see how they'd react when they'd see each other at the wedding, but Dad was resentful. I knew why- the Twins and Lance's brothers were meant to be together, just like Lance and I had, and he didn't want to lose them. But, thankfully, Dad was opening up to new ideas.

He'd recruited Acxa and her team to the Blade- the first mortal members- and he had slowly been introducing Lotor to life in the Underworld. Lotor turned out to actually be a pretty nice guy after he was given a few stern talking-to's and some much-needed attention and affection, but I still had a grudge against him after what had happened in the Trials, even if it wasn't actually him.

Dad and I talked about how I would totally be open to some new siblings if he was up to it, but he'd declined, telling me that he actually wanted to try repairing his relationship with Lux before he tried anything new. This surprised me and, honestly, I kind of hoped that the two of them might actually work things out. Again, I was relieved to the max that Lance and I were in no way related, even if our parents might one day fall in love again.

Speaking of which, Dad finally told me how he and Missus met and, ironically, it was on the shore of Samoa. So, naturally, since Lance and I had visited the island too, we agreed that it would be nice to have the ceremony there. It had deep roots within our history and it meant that Hunk and Shay wouldn't have to travel and Hunk could cater.

I'd requested the venue, but Lance was insistent that we honeymoon in Greece, which was fine by me. He'd gotten this dreamy look in his eyes at the thought and I just couldn't possibly say no to him.

Lance and Hunk had secretly handled catering because they wanted to 'surprise me' with the food, but I'm sure that Lance had talked with Dad about what I liked best, so I wasn't worried. Two of Dad's only requests for the wedding were 'nothing too frilly', which I found hilarious, along with 'something interesting with the cake', which was understandable.

Dad, like me, didn't want a ceremony that was all white and pretty and plain - I wanted a mix of our two worlds, something raw that showed that the ride hadn't been all sweet and no sour. I think Lance understood.

As the day grew closer and closer, Lance and I had to make the tough decision of what to do with the three mortals that were attending the wedding. We talked with Missus and Dad and decided that, in order for everyone to be comfortable, we'd tell them the truth. Lance spent a week with Allura, getting to know her and finding out if it really was best to tell her and, not surprisingly, they got along really well.

Lance told me that Allura had been confused at first, thinking that Lance was going crazy, but when he'd shown her his wings, she'd finally understood and promised that our secret was safe with her. I couldn't wait to meet her again.

With Hunk and Shay, it was harder for Lance. Hunk was his best friend and he didn't want Hunk to feel betrayed that Lance hadn't told him sooner. But, as I knew he would, the Samoan was incredibly supportive, as was Shay, and even excited.

Lance had explained how wide-eyed Hunk had gotten at the thought of meeting the King of the Underworld and the Queen of the Upperworld and had immediately gotten into a cooking frenzy, desperate to impress our parents with his cooking. I knew he would.

The ceremony drew closer and, soon enough, it was the night before. Lance was surprisingly calm, claiming with a smile that he needed his beauty rest for the next day and that stress would give him wrinkles, but I was a little bit disappointed when he told me that he'd be spending the night in the Upperworld.

"It's not good for the groom to see the groom before the wedding," he'd protested at my pout.

"But it's not tomorrow yet," I'd said, kissing his jaw, his nose, his chin.

"It will be in a few hours, dummy," Lance had sighed, smiling.

I'd frowned. "You're sure you can't stay?"

Lance had rolled his eyes. "You know that I want to, but we'll be spending every night together on our honeymoon." My cheeks had burned bright red as Lance laughed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he'd said before kissing me slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he'd waved goodbye and walked out of our little apartment.

"Bright and early," I'd said aloud, reminding myself that I still needed to prep everyone down in the Underworld. I'd then headed down there myself, only to be met by a bachelor party hosted by the Twins and the Blade. It had been... crazy.

Now, it was the morning of the wedding and I was, quite honestly, freaking the fuck out. The Underworld was in a calm chaos as Shiro and Kuron wrapped up the last of their sorting by the Gates and the Blades fidgeted with their grey suits and gold ties.

Dad and I were in the throne room, soon to be joined by the Twins.

"I'm proud of you, son," Dad said quietly, something I'd never thought I'd hear him say, especially after the Trials.

He turned towards me, wearing an all-black suit with velvet lapels and a light gold kerchief tucked in his breast pocket. His black hair was slicked back in an effortless swoop and he had his horns on display, a rare occasion. Dads horns were like bulls- protruding from his temples. They looked like hot coals- black and shot with red and gold and he looked even more kingly when they were out.

I looked down at what Dad was holding. A crown. "What's that?" I asked hesitantly.

Dad chuckled. "An heirloom. Something to remind you that, no matter what nasty things I may have said, you're always my son and you're always the Prince of the Underworld, heartbeat or not."

My heart swelled with emotion. "Dad..." I started, but didn't have the words to finish. He looked a little uncomfortable, so I cracked a smile. "What's going on here? Sentimentality?"

Dad looked relieved and I took the crown from him. I turned to look in the mirror and lifted the crown to rest gently on my head. It had weight to it, but it was gorgeously crafted, so I expected it.

The crown was pure black and looked to be made with small antlers, shards of obsidian and moonstones nestled between the prongs. Five points rose from the front edge of the headpiece, spirals that ended in crescents that mimicked the phases of the moon. It felt comfortable and powerful on my head, nestled neatly atop my messy hair.

I released my horns (did they look suddenly longer, larger?) and they rose to frame the crown, their tips transferring from black to red. Dad straightened my tie- we were wearing nearly identical suits, except I wore a white tie, and I realized, standing in the mirror next to him, how alike we looked. Father had the handsomeness of a 1950's actor, all suave and sly, while I had the "interesting" combination of messy black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes.

Even now, Dad looked more like an older brother than a father, as he liked appearing as a young man more than someone more his age. But I could still see the resemblance. Dad clapped me on the shoulder and smiled.

"Let's go get 'em, tiger. Yeet."