Brendon knew from the first moment he started considering the possibility of the two of them wedding and tying the metaphorical knot that Ryan would not be comfortable with baring his heart for the whole world to see- and though it wasn’t even the whole world, really, it was just their friends, maybe some friends of friends- but to someone like Ryan, it would be. And Brendon was okay with that. Brendon didn’t need to hear it all in some grand speech at the altar- in fact, that would feel wrong coming from Ryan, the hopeless romantic who, rather aptly, always chewed up the only words he ever really meant. Brendon [i]knew[/i] that Ryan loved him with his entire being, he didn’t need to be told in front of an audience- he didn’t even need to be told at all. Their strongest mutual confessions of love came along with the littlest things- Brendon resting his hand on Ryan’s thigh when he was driving (usually never the other way around, mostly because of Ryan’s half-recommendation, half-commandment, and Brendon’s awful driving) and Ryan resting his hand on top of that whenever he could; gentle kisses in the morning along skin bathed by the early golden glow of the sun; featherlight caresses of the jaw and cheek and gentle kisses to the corner of the mouth; embraces from behind, arms wrapped firmly around the waist and slow, familiar kisses pressed along the neck. They could be curled up, watching a movie, and Brendon could drift off. Ryan wouldn’t wake him, or even try to move. He’d stay with him until morning.

Brendon was a fan of grand gestures, like an elaborate ceremony, because he was romantic and exuberant and one might think those qualities would make an excellent wedding planner. Those traits, though, coupled with hyperactivity and a very short attention span, spelled otherwise, so Brendon provided a lot of the creative input, and Ryan’s job was sorting all of the business and technical side out and making sure Brendon’s vision was translated into real life. And it was. The ceremony was perfect- Ryan had given a sweet, concise and very short insight into their perfect little world, and Brendon knew there was so much he meant behind that that nobody else in the audience could even try to pick up on- and Brendon had, naturally, been a little more elaborate, his voice soft but more stable, sure of every word he said and by the end of it sounding longing, wistful, like he wished he could stay up there forever just telling Ryan exactly what he meant to him. But some emotions were so strong that they couldn’t be expressed by words alone, or even actions. So, he used his sweet speech and coupled it with a chaste, brief kiss at the altar, hoping the simplicity of it made it easy for Ryan to understand that Brendon loved him for than anything else in the world. The weight of that hit him first when he was standing there, gazing at the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen, and second when they had a brief moment of privacy after the ceremony and before the party to tangle together and make sure neither of them cried. That would be embarrassing.

So, there it was, the happiest day of their lives so far. When Brendon thought about it, he wasn’t sure why— they’d told eachother they loved eachother and kissed a thousand times before- but this whole marriage thing really was something. For a while, it had been more of a technical leap, the natural and almost compulsory next step of their relationship. Now, it was something more intimate, it spoke for something more, and Brendon was in love with love and everything about it. He got to call Ryan his husband- people called Ryan [i]Me Blake[/i], he couldn’t get over that- he woke up and next to him in bed lay his husband, his lover, his soulmate, and sometimes it overwhelmed him. But in the end, the truest love he felt was a soft, gentle feeling settling in his entire body, deep and resounding, from his heart and his gut all the way to the ends of his fingers. Love was a soft thing, he found, it wasn’t all passion and fire and grand gestures and intensity. The strongest love was feeling just as strong for someone when they were at their worst as when they were at their best. Love was an emotion just as fierce for someone when they were lazing around the house in their pyjamas as when they were dressed up perfectly in a suit. It was wonderful, and gentle, and Brendon couldn’t get enough of it. He couldn’t get enough of Ryan.

Luckily, he had their honeymoon to spend an extended period of time with his favourite person, uninterrupted, unhindered by responsibilities, in gorgeous Cape Town, in a Villa right by the sea. So, maybe it was a bit excessive- but they could afford it, so what did it matter? Brendon spent whole days just drifting around the pool, or stretched out on a deck chair, Ryan nearby at all times apparently reading this book that he’d been on the same page in for the last week or so. He thought he was slick. They were sitting close by the pool right then, listening to music quietly playing on shuffle, and Brendon rose to turn it off because he intended on catching his husband’s attention. [i]Interesting. I hope they ended up getting married. Seems like he was pretty happy.[/i] Brendon grinned, charmed. [b]”I hope so.”[/b] He then crossed over to the edge of the pool and slipped into the water, and Ryan was definitely staring at him, was he really dumb enough to think that Brendon didn’t notice? He spent a very short time swimming from one end to the next and then figured run wouldn’t come in without coaxing, so he climbed back out, and headed over to disturb Ryan’s ‘reading’. They automatically relaxed together, and Brendon kissed his neck gently, almost apologetic for taking his book and getting him a little wet, but not really.

[i]You’re right.[/i] Brendon nodded, confident and sure. [b]”I am. I’m also pretty. Look at me.”[/b] He turned Ryan’s head and kissed him just as Ryan held onto him tighter, and he intended to pull back to speak but he was rendered silent with surprise for a moment when Ryan abruptly stood up, Brendon still in his arms. He felt himself melt a little, pausing and letting his eyelids drop, looking up at him. [b]”I think I just fell in love with you again.”[/b] Well, maybe he jumped the gun a little there, because moments later, Ryan kissed him quick and then suddenly they were both in the water and Brendons eyes widened, clinging onto him, arms around his neck and his legs wrapping automatically around his waist like some kind of lemur. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them again. [b]”Y’know, you’re evil. But at least you’re in the pool now.”[/b] He ran his hands through his own damp hair and then draped his arms again over Ryan’s shoulders. [i]How about that? Sorry about the book. [/i]Brendon offered him a shrug, pressing a few absent kisses along the side of his face. [b]”I just hope it was a good one.”[/b]

[i]Thought it was a pretty good cover for me staring at you all day.[/i] Well, at least he was honest- but it wasn’t like Brendon already knew that this same dumb book had been Ryan’s cover the entire time they’d been at Cape Town. Brendon wasn’t as oblivious as he seemed, especially when it came to Ryan’s habits. He tilted his head, though, as if considering the ‘reveal’ that Ryan’s only real interest so far on their honeymoon had been Brendon and not some probably average book (everything that wasn’t Ryan’s writing was average to Brendon at this point), and then graced him simply with a kiss, smiling against his mouth before drawing back to frame his face with his hands. [b]”Why have you been staring at me?”[/b] A baited question. Brendon admittedly didn’t mind excessive compliments. It wasn’t a secret. [b]”And, what are your plans for this evening? It’s getting on in the afternoon.”[/b]