She was nervous.

Heck, more than nervous.

She was terrified.

The young woman has been through so much.  She beat death.  Quite literally.  Heroin addiction was on a whole other level of hell.  It was like being caught in this sick limbo of heaven and hell.  That always landed her and her lover chained down and locked up.  Never to be seen, never to be heard.  Never to be themselves ever again.

And, yet, despite it all, they pulled through.  They survived the cruel clutches of chemical dependency and moved on with their lives.  Of course the fear of relapse was still looming in the depths of their darkest nightmares.  That fear will, realistically, always be there.

But they had each other.

A shaky sigh rattled from her chest as her mother placed her veil over her head.  Staring at the reflection in the mirror before her, finally, a tiny smile cracked her gentle features.

"You're so beautiful, Demri," Kathleen whispered.  She rubbed her daughter's shoulders, tears of pride in her eyes as she looked in the mirror with her.

Kathleen was so unbelievably proud of her daughter.  Watching her progress and succeed was more than just admirable—it was inspiring.  Seeing her now, in a gorgeous white flowing gown, ready to walk down the aisle...it made her want to burst into tears of relief for Demri.  But she kept it inside, and instead let out a rattled breath of gratitude.

"I think I'm ready," Demri said as she turned away from her reflection.  She shared a look of excitement with Kathleen, her huge doe eyes only magnifying the feeling.  Before she could speak another word, her father slid through the door.

Dennis had a huge grin spread on his face when he took in his daughter in her wedding dress.  "Are you ready?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Demri nodded her head, her smile now growing to match her step father's cheeky grin.  "Yeah...yes, most definitely."

He took her hand in his, leading her down the halls of the cathedral.  And once the music commenced, Demri swore her heart was about to burst from her, it was pounding so hard.  She watched as her best friends, her bridesmaids, Rosheen and Mara started to walk down the aisle.  Then watched her mother walk down...

Demri was now shaking, knowing her and her father were about to enter the room.  And as they took each other's hands, they glided down with ease.  For some reason, she let out a small quiet laugh when she finally saw Layne.  It was weird seeing him in a suit unironically.  He looked so awkward standing there, and seeing Mike Starr, Jerry, and Sean standing near only made her giggle even more.  They were so quiet, but she could tell they were trying like hell to behave.

Her eyes slid over to see Rosheen and Mara in their beautiful light blue dresses, flowers in their hands.  Rosheen couldn't stop herself from giving her a thumbs up with a goofy grin, turning to see Mara was doing the same.  Demri laughed a little harder, though still quietly, her fear completely replaced with elation as she took everything in.

Dennis caught on to his daughter's amusement, gently squeezing her hand and laughing with her as they continued to walk down the aisle.  When they finally parted ways, he couldn't stop himself from crying as he watched his daughter step up to face Layne.

Layne wiggled his thick eyebrows at her goofily as he took her hands.  His eyes were far too animated, manic with excitement that they were doing this.  They were going through with it and they were healthy and happy.

Layne laughed a little when Demri wiggled her eyebrows back at him.  His face flushed pink, his ears ringing once the music stopped.

"Welcome everyone," the notary said with a smile.  "Demri and Layne have chosen you, those special and important to them, to witness and celebrate the beginning of their life together. Today, as we create this marriage, we also create a new bond and new sense of family—one that will undoubtedly include all who are present here today."

Demri glanced over at Layne's mother, Nancy.  She was lifting her glasses from her face, already dabbing at tears as she shared a look of kindness and approval with her soon to be daughter in law.  Turning to look at Layne's sister, she was shocked to see that the blonde was doing the same.

Liz and Demri had a very rocky relationship throughout these past few years.  During the battle, as Layne and Demri like to call it now.  The brunette never thought in her lifetime that Liz would accept her...and seeing it now, she at last broke.  Tears were running down her cheeks as she turned to look at Layne.  She smiled when she noticed he was crying, too.

The both of them were so overwhelmed with love, they could barely understand what the notary was saying.  All they could do was take this all in...take in the acceptance of their family.  Something they never thought they'd experience ever since they entered the goddamn battle.

"Layne," the notary announced, finally breaking the couple out of their trance.  "Do you take this woman to be your wife, to live
together in holy matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her
in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"

The vocalist's eyes further softened as they stayed latched on Demri's.  "I do."

"Demri," the notary said, nodding towards her.  He grinned when he saw her eyes quickly glance over at him.  "Do you take this man to be your husband, to live together in holy matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"

Demri nodded her head, laughter now exploding from her as her tears continued to trail down her cheeks.  "I do."

"Okay then.  Good," the notary stated in a goofy tone, causing others to laugh.  He nodded to the crowd behind the couple.  "Layne and Demri have chosen to take their love for each other and write their own vows."  He nodded over at the vocalist, inclining him to awkwardly rummage through his jacket pocket and pull out two notes.  He laughed nervously when he saw the note stamped "Demri", handing it to her so he could hold his own.

He cleared his throat, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.  "I'm used to performing in front of crowds," Layne announced.  "But I'm nervous as fu—" he stopped himself from cursing, laughing with everyone.  He blushed, fidgeting in his suit.  "I'm very nervous," he corrected himself.  He turned to Demri, his bright blue eyes glimmering with adoration.  "Because this isn't a performance.  This isn't me, goofing off on stage with Mike and friends," he turned to grin over at his groomsmen.  "Though I do love doing that," he admitted with a shrug.  "And I've made good money doing it, too," he went on with a shy laugh.

A sigh escaped him.  He lifted the sheet of paper where he had written his own vows.  But looking at it now, he couldn't read it.  And he didn't want to.  He crumpled up the piece of paper and shoved it back into his jacket pocket.  "I've written vows, but I'd rather tell this from the heart," he turned back to Demri and took her hands in his.  "Demri, I love you more than anything.  I've loved you since the moment we met at that store."  He couldn't fight his tears, his hands now shaking.  He grinned a little when Demri gave him a quick squeeze to calm him down.  "You're a trip.  You'd think you'd be all dainty and sweet by looking at you...but you're the exact opposite.  You're loud, you're crazy as hell—" he stopped himself again, his eyes widening when he realized he just said 'hell' in church. 

Demri broke down laughing, nodding at him to continue.  Her eyes filled with tears when his expression further softened.  His brows knitted together, trying to stop himself from crying too hard.

"You're unapologetically you," Layne continued.  "And I never will let you go.  No matter what happens.  If you fall, I fall with you.  And if you fly, I'll be right by your side.  Because I can't live without you."

Layne quickly reached a hand up to wipe the tears from his eyes.  He looked at everyone in front of them.  "Is someone cutting onions in here or what?"  He giggled.  He laughed even harder when everyone else did, nodding over at Demri to let her know he was finished.

Demri looked at the sheet of paper she had in her hand.  She scoffed at it dramatically and tossed it behind her, laughing.  "I can't read my vows either," she said aloud.  Her huge doe eyes met Layne's once more.  "We've been through so much together.  We've had our ups...and we DEFINITELY had our downs..." she paused, her eyes sliding back to look at her mother and father.  They were both crying.  "We shouldn't even be here.  It's amazing that we're here, in the flesh."  Demri glanced over at Liz, tearing up all over again.  "I would say that it's luck, but that makes this too simple.  And it's not.  Without your family and mine, we wouldn't be here."  Demri looked back at Layne.  He was crying even more and nodding in agreement to what she was saying.  "It's a miracle that we're alive.  But our love...it has kept us here.  Our love saved us.  Without you, I wouldn't make it.  And I believe you feel the same about me."

Demri's hands squeezed Layne's when he started to cry harder.  She choked back a sob.  "I vow to spend the rest of my life with you," she said, her voice quivering.  "The downs will come.  I know they will, but if we could survive what we did together, we can do anything."

She stopped herself, turning to the notary to let him know that she was finished stating her vows.

"Layne and Demri, you may exchange your rings now," the notary stated with a smile.

The vocalist got Demri's wedding ring out and placed it on her finger.  Demri got his out and did the same.

"I give you this ring as a token," Layne said, repeating after the notary.  He couldn't stop himself from holding Demri's hands again, his eyes gleaming.  "And pledge of our constant faith and abiding love."

"Okay," the notary went on, smirking.  He glanced down and noticed Demri and Layne were already back to holding hands.  "You've already joined hands...but join hands."

Everyone laughed as Layne and Demri dramatically let go of each other's hands and then grabbed them again.

"By virtue of the authority vested in
me under the laws of the State of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The notary announced with pride.  He nodded over at Layne.  "You may kiss the bride."

Layne pulled Demri's veil away from her face and immediately wrapped his arms around her small waist.  He picked her up and kissed her, grinning as he felt her hug her short legs around his hips.  The now married couple laughed when Sean let out a loud whistle.  They both knew the man had been dying to make SOME kind of noise all day.

They continued to kiss, hearing the clapping and cheers.

The cheers of joy of this day.

Not only of this day, but of their lives.

Lives that, from the bottom of their hearts, were beginning to slowly lose hope in.  A lot of them were petrified for Layne and Demri.  Worried that they wouldn't make it out alive, that they wouldn't recover from this.

And here they are.  Sober for well over a year.  Productive and kind, just like they used to be before the poison took control of those horrible years of their lives. 

They are here and now, newly wedded, and ready for the next chapter of their lives....

**********************^

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's been a hot minute since I've started a brand new fanfic.  I'm talking since (if my memory serves me right) 2016 / 2017.  So, please tread lightly.

ALSO I'm not used to writing happy stuff.  I'm happy with taking people to Depress-A-Me Street.

So this has been...different for me to write lol.  Definitely out of my comfort zone.

I've always day dreamed about Layne and Demri getting clean and following through with getting married.  There's not many fanfics out there that involve both Layne and Demri, and I DEFINITELY have not seen one like this yet.

So, I decided to say FOOK EEEET and write it myself 😂

Hope you enjoyed this and didn't find it too corny 😆 ❤️

PEEEAAAACEEE BEEEEECH

☮️ ✌🏻 ❤️