Somers raised an eyebrow, but his eyes were still full, and he kept having to wipe them clear.

“I plan on only kissing my husband in the future,” Hazard said with a shrug.

“Well,” Somers said, the corner of his mouth trembling. “Let’s go make some changes.”

“No music?” Hazard asked as they walked down the aisle.

“I could ask them if they have Death Cab for Cutie.”

“Fine,” Hazard said. “I will throw this shirt away when we get home.”

“No,” Somers pled, dragging out the vowel. “I like imagining skinny emo Emery Hazard.”

“Straight into the trash.”

“Please don’t.”

“You’d probably pull it out again,” Hazard said, more to himself. “I should probably burn it, just to be safe.”

And then they had reached Wesley, who was still smiling at them.

“John-Henry, it’s good to see you.”

“Hi, Wesley.”

“Emery, hi.”

“Hello.”

“I understand no one is being given away.”

Somers looked like he was about to answer, but Hazard decided to field this one. “Of course not. Giving away the bride reinforces patriarchy, and, of course, neither of us is a bride, and we’re also both grown-ass adults who are perfectly capable of making our own decisions based on love, mutual respect, and flowcharts. I don’t need anyone to give me away like a piece of chattel, as part of a pact to strengthen a family alliance, or—” He had to pause to take a breath here; his brain had slipped a gear, and he was having a hard time stopping.

Somers rested a hand lightly on his back, and Hazard managed to swallow the rest.

“That was very sweet, bunny,” Hazard’s mother said.

Blood rushed into Hazard’s face, and he very deliberately did not meet Somers’s eyes.

“Lacking any chattel,” Wesley said, “we can move on to the good stuff. We’re here today to join these two men in holy matrimony.”

Hazard narrowed his eyes at the word holy.

“Uh,” Wesley said, working a finger along his collar, “marriage always takes place as part of a community. We’re grateful for the support and love of the people who are here today, and we’d like to ask if anyone has a legitimate reason why these two men should not be wed, that they speak now or forever hold their peace.”

When no one spoke, some of the tension in Hazard’s shoulders eased.

“John-Henry, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer I do.”

“I do,” Somers said, glancing up at Hazard, his eyes full of tears again.

“Emery, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer I do.”