Kaia was crying, which was strange for Addy. Her mom was one of the strongest people she knew. She very rarely saw her mom crying, and when she did, it was always a bit unnerving. Addy didn't really know what to do about it. "It's ok, mom," Addy said nervously, gently resting her hand on her mom's shoulder. 

Kaia nodded, wiping her tears shakily. New ones fell down her face immediately. "I'm sorry, baby." 

"I'm not a baby," Addy protested. 

"That's why I'm crying," Kaia admitted. She looked up at her daughter. They were in Adelaide's room, surrounded by three mirrors. Addy stood before her mother, feeling a bit stiff and uncomfortable. Kaia sat in a creaky chair, watching her daughter slip away from her childhood. It was strange how momentous moments like this one could make Kaia feel sad and happy at the same time. But for Addy, she was only happy. 

"I know, mom. You knew this was coming, though." 

Kaia stood, approaching her daughter and holding her beautiful face. Addy's hair was wild. Jaeda had woven silver beads into Addy's hair. She wore a simple chain that fell to her clavicle and a subtle smile on her lips. When Kaia had helped her daughter into the dress for the ceremony, the same one that Kaia had once worn years before, it made her nostalgic. She remembered how confused and nervous she'd felt that day, how the only she understood was how desperately she wanted to stay close to Kaleb. And then she was just Luna and that was that. 

But Addy, thank goodness, was not confused at all. Kaia caressed the side of her daughter's face. "Addy, I'm so proud of you. You know that, right?" 

"I know." She thumped into an embrace, nearly knocking the wind out of Kaia. Addy grinned as her mom chuckled. 

Kaia felt the future tickling the corners of consciousness, but she was largely concerned with the past at that moment. "I knew you were going to shine even when you were just a baby," Kaia said quietly, petting her daughter's golden hair. "You used to smile so brightly, so widely. And you were always so clear about what you wanted. That's never really gone away, and I'm grateful for that." 

Addy looked up at her mother's face. Kaia looked down. She saw the bits of herself reflected in her daughter, but also the bits of Kaleb and the bits of someone else entirely, pieces of the magnificent person Addy had grown up to be. "You'll take the world by storm. I have pity for anyone who tries to get in your way," Kaia said, laughing. 

Addy laughed, too. Then, unexpectedly, Addy started crying. "I'm..." Addy was surprised herself. She hadn't expected to cry today. This was a happy day, she was certain of that. But maybe it was so happy that she needed to cry to give her smile a break. It was so happy that some of her sheer joy had to overflow into what might seem like other emotions to the ignorant bystander. "I don't know," Addy managed.  

"What is it, baby?" Kaia asked, concerned. For once, Addy didn't mind being reminded that she had once been and somehow always would be her mother's child. 

"I've been waiting for today for so long, to be wearing this dress and talking to you like this. I love you," Addy said. "Mom."

Kaia smiled and her tears started anew. "I love you, too. But so does Al, and if I keep you here any longer, he may come blazing in here looking for you." 

Addy choke-laughed, still getting over the tears. "I wouldn't put it past him." 

"You've certainly influenced him, haven't you? I'm trying to imagine him doing that before all this happened." 

Addy shook her head. "No, he would gently tap on the door and whisper 'Excuse me, Addy? Are you ready? The Pack is waiting so w-we'--"

Kaia gently slapped her daughter's arm. "He would not stutter." 

"Ok, fine. I'll give him that. But the whisper part was accurate," Addy said. "I'm certain." 

Kaia nodded. "Ok, ok. Are you ready, Addy?" 

Suddenly, Addy froze. She had almost forgotten what was about to happen. It had been the only thing on her mind while she was tugging the dress on and Jaeda was chattering in her ear excitedly while messing with her hair. Somehow, lightly talking with her mom had let her forget about it for a second. Now, diving back into it, it became real again. "I'm ready," Addy said, but an unfamiliar feeling was lurking in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't quite tell what it was. 

She smoothed her dress down. The shimmering silver and silky red were even more beautiful that she remembered them to be. She used to sneak peaks at this same dress when she was younger, wondering if she would ever wear it like her mother had, like her grandmother had. Addy smiled to herself. "I'm definitely ready." 

♔

Al felt surprisingly steady. He had been bathing in his nervousness all morning, but as soon as he'd stepped into the ballroom he'd felt all of it fall away. He was surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him. He was there to give his heart to his best friend, the woman he loved, had always loved, would always love. He realized as soon as that heavy door groaned open and he saw his face reflected in the familiar mirrors that he had no reason to be nervous. 

Everything was finally falling into place. This was how it was supposed to be, and he knew that. 

"Al," Lion said, launching from the crowd and latching onto his little brother. He spoke in a jokingly demonstrative, gushing tone. "Oh my gosh. My little boy, all grown up. Look at you now in your little suit!" Al knew that his brother was really milking the situation. They'd talked before the ceremony had even started, and now here he was again, trying to make Al uncomfortable in front of everyone. 

Al strangely wasn't embarrassed, though. He was used to Lion being Lion. Al patted his brother's back. "Lion, you're being dumb." 

Lion eased up and rested a hand on Al's shoulder. The genuine, sincere expression of fondness on his brother's face surprised Al. "You turned out ok, huh?" 

Al nodded. "Thanks to you guys." Cole approached them, smiling in that mysterious way that always made Al feel like he'd really done something right, worked hard, and earned that smile. It meant something more than just a smile. "I do mean it. Thank you for everything you've done. From the start until the end," Al said, looking at the two people who had watched over him the closest and helped him the most as long as he could remember. 

Cole nodded and pulled Al closer by his head, kissing his forehead. "Remember today, kid. It's an important one." 

"I don't think Addy would ever let me forget," Al said. "I'll see you after." 

"Al," Lion said quickly, catching his brother before he left them. "If later you..." Al's stomach sank. "If your body isn't ok, I told Addy to come get us. Is that alright?" 

Al clenched his jaw. He hated the idea that he needed to rely on people's help, that his body might never really work properly. He was trying to come to terms with it, but it was still all so new. "Yeah, that's ok. I'll take the pill, too." 

"You haven't taken it yet?" Lion balked. 

Al groaned. "I'll take it after. I don't want to be loopy for this. I want to remember it. I want it to be vivid. Pain medication would steal that from me. I would go through a little pain to remember her face exactly as it is." 

"It's not a little pain, it's a lot," Lion mumbled. 

Cole stepped between them. "Go up there, Al. Do what you want. Be you." Al smiled and nodded, glad to be supported. Lion still looked a bit anxious, but Al knew that Cole would calm him down. They'd be ok. 

Al approached Kaleb, who was standing with his back straight and his hands behind his back. Kaleb looked at him as he got closer. "Ready?" 

Al nodded. "More than ever, actually. I don't feel nervous, somehow." 

"I was nervous," Kaleb said with a half smile. 

"No. The great Kaleb? Nervous?" Al exclaimed, feigning shock. 

Kaleb nodded. "Oh yeah. Just look at her," Kaleb said, gesturing to Kaia as the Luna walked down the aisle to join them. "Who wouldn't be nervous?" 

"Who's nervous?" Kaia asked as she joined them. "Hello, idiot." Al smiled. He knew that 'idiot' meant 'love.' She kissed Kaleb quickly before turning her curious eyes on Al. "Are you nervous?" 

He shook his head. "No. Kaleb was for your ceremony." 

"Oh, that's so cute," Kaia said, smiling and looking up at her mate. 

"That's all I ever wanted to be. Cute," Kaleb deadpanned. 

"Hey, I felt like I was going to throw up that day. Gosh, that was so long ago," Kaia said, leaning against Kaleb's arm and nudging his ribcage with her elbow. "Remember how grumpy you used to be all the time?" Al smiled. He knew that Kaleb could be grumpy sometimes, but all the time? He figured that Kaia had rubbed off on Kaleb just as much as Addy had rubbed off on him. 

"Oh, come on. Sh," he said, kissing her again. He nodded to his left. "Go take your place, Moon. I'll find you after." Kaia gave one last coy smile, nodding, and winked at Al as she left. 

Al laughed a little. "You're really different when you're together."

"So are you when you're with Addy," Kaleb pointed out. 

"I can't wait. I feel like my feet are about to lift off of the ground and I'll float away. I always feel like that these days," Al said. His muscles felt tight with excitement. He knew that the transformation awaited him, but he felt that it would be worth it. Kissing Addy. He closed his eyes for a half second, bathing in anticipation. It was driving his mind crazy. "Where is she? When are we starting?" 

"Soon, I imagine. Kaia's here already, so...you should probably wait outside. Tradition and all." Al's skin tingled. The room suddenly felt warmer. Everyone hushed. Al nodded urgently, slipping out the door. His heartbeat had accelerated. 

Al knew before he even saw her. She was close. It was insane to him that he could sense such a thing so clearly. He just knew she was there. Her silly, brave, beautiful, wild self had such an effect on him even through walls. It made Al laugh. 

"It's about time, right? Is that what you're thinking?" Jaeda said, stirring Al from his stupor. 

Al nodded. "Something like that." 

"I'm happy for you. She's waiting for you, future Luna," Jaeda said, slapping his back. "Say the word." 

"Please, open the door. I've been waiting my whole life," Al exhaled. Jaeda smiled. 

The heavy doors opened slowly, revealing Addy to him gradually. And then there she was, standing in front of him beside her father. The silver of the dress drifted around her. The studded pearls shined like her eyes. The vibrant, royal, shining red of the dress matched her lips, the lips that Al just wanted to come closer. He ached. 

He watched her take a little step closer to him, probably forgetting that she was supposed to stay put. He hadn't seen her all day, and it took everything in him not to sprint towards her, pick her up, and swing her around. He did his best to walk slowly, but found that the best he could do was a brisk speed walk. 

As soon as he was within earshot, Addy laughed and lightly said, "You look good in a suit." 

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen," Al blurted. 

Addy went quiet and her face turned bright red. "I'm..." She blinked rapidly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Al said, nodding. 

Addy smiled up at Al. She leaned forward slightly and whispered, "I'm nervous. I think this feeling is nervousness." 

"I'm not," Al whispered back.

She smiled and took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. Al watched as her eyelashes flickered against her cheeks. He reached out and took her hand, and she looked up at him. She held on to him tightly. Al had never known Addy to be genuinely nervous before. The last time she was this anxious was when she was getting a shot at a check-up and she was seven. But Al couldn't blame her. This was the whole Pack. This was their future. He just had a cure for nerves, and it was right in front of him. He leaned closer so that his lips were right beside her ear. "I'm not nervous because it's you," he whispered. 

Her shaking hand steadied slowly. He couldn't stop staring at her. Eventually, her initial embarrassment faded and she sunk into his gaze, letting him drink her in openly. He forgot about the rest of the Pack. He forgot about the entire ceremony until Addy's expression changed. "I swear," she said.

Al blinked. Pledging themselves to the Pack. Oh, right. "I swear."

"Adelaide," Kaleb said. He took a deep breath. Al wasn't sure if he was the only one who noticed, but there was a slight tremor to Kaleb's voice. "Give your heart."

"Albert." She took another breath. "I decided that this moment would come when I was five years old. I don't have a hint of my mom's mind reading but I somehow knew even as a little kid that I would end up with you. You pronounced me your Queen and I decided you would be my King right then and there. I didn't understand what it really meant, but I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." 

"So here we are. I suppose I finally got what I wanted...as usual." The Pack laughed, but Al barely heard them. All he heard were Addy's words. He felt them, really felt them. It was as if by he speaking them, she delicately painted them onto his skin, changing who he was, how he saw himself reflected in the mirrors hanging on the walls. 

"Because you are what I want, more than anything I've ever wanted before. You are the kindest, bravest, gentlest, most understanding, wisest person I've ever met. I've thought a lot about what I would say on this day, in these moments. I knew that it would be important, that I wanted to say something that would capture what I feel entirely. But I realized that there isn't anything I could say that would possibly get even close." 

She grinned. "So I brought this." She raised her arm and held a red tulip between them. "You're always giving me flowers, so I thought I'd give you one for a change. It's nothing special, just a small gesture. But it's a reminder that I love you. Even after the flower wilts, I'll bring you a new one to remind you that I'm always thinking of you, that there's a large room in my heart just for you. I built it when I was five and it's quite indestructible."

She tucked the flower into Al's suit pocket so that just the tips of the soft petals peaked out from behind the silver fabric. Al wanted to cry. Addy was everything. "That is my heart," she said, placing her steady hand on his chest. 

"Addy, you're my heart," Al said immediately. He couldn't really control it. "I-I know that maybe I should be more well-spoken or composed right now, but after everything you just said to me I don't think I'll ever find my composure again." She laughed. "So bear with me, I guess."

"I've watched over you for almost my whole life. I think about that sometimes, about how significant that is. We've been together nearly as long as I've been alive. As soon as I saw you, I knew that you were precious, that you were probably the most important person in the world. I was just a kid then, too, but like you said, I knew somehow that we were going to be close from the beginning. Whatever the mysterious center of who I am is, it's a color that complements yours, a sound that resonates with yours."

"I've struggled with belonging for a long time. I always felt as though I needed to earn people's affection, as though I had to try to anticipate what they wanted from me so that they would want to keep me around." Addy's hand touched the side of his face quickly, softly. "But with you, I never felt that way. Because all you ever wanted from me was me. Together with your wild, crazy self I am the freest man on earth." 

"I understand now that surviving is different from living, that being safe is different from being happy. Whenever I'm with you, I feel joy and I'm taken back to our field of wildflowers. I am both incredibly proud and extremely lucky to be your Luna. That," Al said, placing his hand in her chest, "is my heart."

"Can I finally kiss him now?" Addy asked loudly. She hopped a little bit on her toes.

Kaleb laughed lightly. "Seal it, Adelaide."

Al had expected her to jump on him the way she'd been bouncing up and down, but as soon as the time had come her face sobered. Her body stilled. She pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his middle. Addy arched her neck, her face so close that their noses touched. She smiled, bringing her lovely red lips close and pulling them away again ever so slightly as though she were dangling a ruby apple before him. It was a game, one that Al would play. 

He didn't move, let her tantalize him. Somehow, he relished it. He thought all he'd want was to kiss her, and he still did. But once he did, everything would change. That wasn't a bad thing, but even if it was a beginning it was also an end. But Al was ready for the beginning, for a new bloom in spring, for a spark turned bonfire that would keep them warm for the rest of their lives. 

He surprised her, leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers. What was left of the world fell away. One after the other, Al's senses came alive. It was like he'd been living his whole life with his eyes closed and his hands pressed tightly over his ears. He was shedding his old, monochrome self to become something stronger, brighter, and better. 

All he saw was the scarlet of Addy tulip, of her dress, of her soft lips as they moved against his. All he heard was the tumultuous sound of her heartbeat, the gentle babble of the brook where their new lives seeped through the cracks in their old ones, and the eternal whispers of the wind through their field which sat quietly waiting for them always. All he tasted was the sweetness of her mouth, the sensation of which was so new he could compare it to nothing he'd ever experienced before; he knew only that it was desperation he felt when he tasted it to remember it, fill up on it, taste it more and more the way he desperately gulped air after being underwater too long or drank water at three in the morning when his thirst stirred him from a long sleep. He felt her smile against his lips, and all he heard was her ringing laughter like a distant bicycle bell or the first birdsong you hear when you wake up well rested and ready for whatever the day might bring. 

Because it didn't matter what that day brought, what the future held. They would always have that kiss. Maybe he was imagining it, but Al could have sworn he felt the weight of the tulip in his pocket. 

Thank you for your patience, everyone! I know it's been a while, but I've been both busy and confronting some mental health stuff. Take my word for it that you would not have enjoyed what I wrote during that time. But don't worry! I'm back and feeling confident, so here we are! I knew I owed you a conclusion to this story, and I do hope that you enjoyed it. These characters will always be precious to me, and if they are to you, too, then I've done something right. Have a good day, all. ~M