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Noe had somewhat been kidding when he’d offered elopement. He hadn’t expected Luca to blink and agree it was a fabulous idea.

Luca immediately ran to grab General Brahms because they needed another witness, urging Noe to meet him at the magistrate’s office. Which…fine? Noe did send a runner for Giric, though, as his best friend would have his head if he missed this.

It left him walking with Ren and kind of scratching his head.

“Second thoughts?” Ren asked.

“Er…not as such, just…” Noe shook his head, trying to sort this into actual words. “I realize Luca’s a man of action, the way he proposed told me as much, but he’s not one for pomp and ceremony, is he?”

“Ha, no. That he’s not. Also, there’s a reason why he and my husband are such good friends. Once they’ve decided on a course of action, there’s no stopping them. You can’t even slow them down. I eloped with Arman about two hours after he proposed.”

Noe almost tripped over thin air, his head whipping around to stare at his friend. “Are you serious?”

“It may have been less than that,” Ren mused, head tilting back as if consulting his inner memory. “Now, mind you, I’d known him for over six years at that point, so it wasn’t like I was being silly and diving into a relationship. But you see what I mean. Once he decided we should be married, I could no sooner halt the tide. Although we did a formal reception later to make up for friends and family missing it.”

“Haaaa…” Well, at least Noe knew what he was in for now.

“You did suggest elopment.”

“I was partially teasing. I mean, I’m not at all hesitant marrying him, I just feel like my head’s spinning at the sudden speed.”

“Which is fair.” Bumping shoulders with him, Ren encouraged, “Take a second to breathe. Also, I have to ask since Luca’s going to be excited tonight, but are you up for sex?”

“Well, to be honest, we’ve sort of not stopped? The first two weeks or so after the accident, I was mostly sleeping, but after that we kind of gently picked things up again.”

“That hard to keep your hands off him, eh?” Ren laughed outright.

“So, so hard.” Noe waggled his eyebrows in a ludicrous fashion, delighted when Ren only laughed harder.

Gay jokes were the best.

“I’m glad you two were creative enough to keep going. Now, change of topic. Since we’ll be neighbors, feel free to use my husband’s first name, too. He won’t mind at all. In fact, it will delight him. He’s the type to make friends slowly and then never let those friends go.”

The remainder of their walk passed quickly. When they arrived, the magistrate’s office wasn’t all that busy, and with Ren’s help, they were able to explain what they wanted to do. Noe filled in his part of the marriage registration form—as they had more than just a license to sign in Shiirei—and what he could of Luca’s before the man returned with Arman in tow. Giric was only a beat behind, looking winded from the sprint but relieved he’d made it.

Luca was all smiles as he came in. Arman was right on his heels with Sakura on his hip. Oh good, Noe was happy to see her here too. She also wore a smile stretching from ear to ear, clearly delighted to be part of a momentus occasion.

They were led into a side room that was probably more for meetings, then sat at a low table, with cushions offered to the witnesses. It was a very plain, empty space but away from curious onlookers, so Noe for one was grateful for it.

Especially since Giric seemed intent on leaning into his ear and asking, “Are you sure about this?”

“Actually my suggestion,” Noe murmured back.

“Ah-ha. Sex must be better than advertised, then.”

For that, he threw an elbow into Giric’s ribs, which only set his friend to snickering.

Magistrate Kato was a thin-faced man who seemed a bit nonplussed at marrying a same-sex couple, but not enough to stop him from doing his job. He regarded the two of them, double-checked his cheat sheet, and cleared his throat. “I do not normally perform wedding ceremonies for foreign people, but I have translated the vows as best I can. Please forgive any errors. Are you ready?”

“We are,” Luca promised him.

“Then repeat after me. This man, I marry.”

Luca took Noe’s hand in his, looking straight into his eyes with both love and resolve, a fierce determination blazing in them as he repeated, “This man, I marry.”

Noe felt his heart seize up. As simple as those words had been, Noe felt them. His heart pounded from the emotion, butterflies in his stomach. His entire being felt the impact of them, and he was wonderfully overwhelmed for a moment as sheer happiness swept through him.

“No matter their health,” Luca repeated, his deep voice soft and sincere. “I will love this person. Respect this person. Console this person. Help this person. Until death, with loyalty, I swear.”

Luca meant every word of it—Noe knew this without a shadow of doubt. Luca would hold to his vow until their dying breaths, and the only thing Noe could do was give every bit of that love and loyalty back to his husband in return.

Noe’s own voice shook a little, overwhelmed with all the love he felt for this man. He kept his eyes locked on Luca’s as he repeated the vows. “This man, I marry. No matter their health. I will love this person. Respect this person. Console this person. Help this person. Until death, with loyalty, I swear.”

The magistrate didn’t say you could kiss the groom, which they would in Scovia, but Luca leaned in and lightly kissed him anyway. Then they lifted each other’s wedding bands and kissed them without removing them—an acknowledgment they were there.

Magistrate Kato slid a paper toward them. “I made up a marriage certificate for you to carry back. Please sign it and pay the fee and then you are officially married.”

Noe beamed so hard his cheeks hurt, but he couldn’t seem to stop. It was wonderful to finally have those vows between them. “Thank you, Kato-sama.”

“Yes, thank you,” Luca tacked on.

Magistrate Kato seemed pleased to have the whole business done and immediately stood. “You are both welcome. If you need a copy of the registration to take with you, let me know.”

“We will, thank you.”

Luca helped Noe up, then turned to Ren, Arman, Sakura, and Giric. “Thank you for being witnesses. We’ll do a proper dinner party later so everyone can celebrate with us. Right now, I’m taking the rest of the day off to be with Noe.”

From Ren’s naughty expression, he knew precisely why but didn’t tease them for it. “If Noe needs to take tomorrow off to recover, we’ll understand.”

Noe sniffed at this. “Like I can’t take it. And have, repeatedly.”

Giric about busted, trying to hold a laugh in. Ren didn’t bother, cackling outright.

The second they separated from the other four, Noe’s brain slid even further into naughty-land. Their first attempt at doing fun things while accomodating his healing ribs and arm had gone very well. Only one false start, really. Surely on his wedding day they could be intimate again?

Luca leaned in to murmur against his ear, “I think we will not leave the room much at all today. Why don’t we start with some rimming, hmm?”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Noe breathed. For a previously straight man, Luca had latched on to several things Noe absolutely loved, rimming being one of them. His whole body was immediately on board with this idea.

The ryokan wasn’t actually that far, only three streets over, but it felt like an eternity getting there. Noe toed off his shoes and practically ran to their room the second they breached the foyer, which amused Luca, judging by his snicker.

Noe yanked him in after Luca closed their room’s door, hauling the taller man down into an ardent kiss. A kiss Luca returned with just as much fervor, both of them feeding off each other’s energy, trying to give as good as they got. They both tugged at clothes, impatient, although Luca took more care than Noe. Then again, he had two working hands.

It was such a relief to get jackets and shirts off, all thrown carelessly aside. Noe had no spare attention for clothing just then. He shivered as Luca’s mouth trailed down over his neck, eyes slipping closed; he did love it when Luca got his mouth on him.

Voice going deeper and rougher, Luca spoke like a caress against his skin, “Why don’t you lie down on your side on the bed?”

He really was going to rim Noe, then. Thrilled, he immediately nodded, turned, and scrambled for the right position. Well, tried. Hard to maneuever into it with only one working arm and ribs that went ouch for no apparent reason.

Luca helped settle him, then shifted Noe’s leg up, propping it on pillows, which did take some of the strain off his ribs. Ooh, that was comfy. Luca only levered up enough to snag the bottle of oil before returning to Noe, trailing hot kisses down his back, those blunt-tipped fingers grasping Noe’s cheeks and spreading them.

At the first hot breath from Luca’s mouth, Noe instinctively grabbed the edge of a pillow and held on. Then he felt the brush of Luca’s slick tongue and a shudder of pure desire shot up his spine. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. A soft cry escaped him as Luca started tongue fucking him—a gentle, hot glide that turned his world end over end.

Luca could rim him until nightfall as far as Noe was concerned, but his husband was apparently impatient for closer contact. He pulled his mouth free, replacing it with a slick finger, and that felt amazingly good, too. Luca lightly nipped at his ass, which felt like marking, and why did it feel good as well? Noe shuddered, panting for breath now, torn between reveling in the feeling and craving a harder nip.

A second finger joined the first, stretching wider, and Noe threw a hand blindly back. He felt Luca’s silky hair under his fingers and tried to grab without pulling. He was on edge, needing more, and tried to urge Luca up. “Luca—just— ha —just fuck me already.”

Luca slid upward, and Noe felt his hand commandeered for a moment as his husband knelt next to him. Noe twisted as much as his ribs allowed to wrap fingers around Luca’s length. He needed no encouragement to get Luca good and hard. Luca thrust a little into his hand, eyes slipping closed for a moment. Then he reached down for the oil once more, pouring it over his length even as Noe worked the shaft. It spilled onto Noe’s hip some, but he didn’t care. It was entirely too hot just as a visual alone.

Perhaps Luca shared that feeling, as he abruptly stopped Noe’s hand. “Too much.”

Before Noe could formulate words, Luca shifted behind him, easing into position. Noe’s poor ribs couldn’t take anything fast or athletic right now, but slow and steady seemed doable. Noe breathed, trying not to clench as Luca pressed his well-endowed cock into him. Luca had prepared him well, but there was still a moment of burn, which Noe absolutely did not mind, as he quite liked that soft bite of pain. The second Luca was fully seated, he paused, giving them both a moment to adjust.

“All right?” he breathed against Noe’s temple.

“Perfect,” Noe answered, grabbing the back of Luca’s thigh with his unijured hand. “Move.”

Something that might have been a soft chuckle grazed Noe’s skin. Luca moved, nothing more than a gentle rocking back and forth, which felt sublime. Noe wasn’t in a rush today, and while he did love hard and heavy sex, today wasn’t about that. This moment was nothing more than them connecting as a married couple, with the promise of decades stretching out ahead of them.

Gentle as it was, the consistent grazing against his prostate built up in Noe’s system. His head started to thrash a little, his body so overwhelmed with stimulation that he needed some kind of release. His hand fell automatically to his own dick, which had been growing harder with each thrust, but Luca’s hand shifted his off, taking over. His still-oiled hand felt blissful on Noe’s cock, and he gave a mangled groan of relief and pleasure as Luca’s long fingers started working him.

The dual pleasure quickly proved too much. Noe gave a strangled shout as his climax ripped through him, darkness eating at his vision, his head growing light and disconnected as he came hard all over Luca’s fingers. He might have blacked out for a second. Luca’s fingers stayed lightly wrapped around his spent cock, but he had latched on to Noe’s neck at some point, and he sucked hard on the skin even as he kept thrusting, chasing his own pleasure.

Noe was more than sensitized but didn’t complain as Luca fucked him for another minute. He felt it when Luca tipped over the edge, the man groaning against his skin, hips moving erratically for a thrust or three before he abruptly stilled.

They both lay there for a long moment, panting and catching their breath. A warm afterglow swept through Noe, and admittedly, the idea of falling asleep just like this with Luca wrapped around him strongly appealed. Or would, if he didn’t know for sure they’d wake up sticky and adhered to each other.

As perfect as this moment was, Noe felt like it needed one more thing. “Luca?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

He felt the answering smile as Luca kissed his neck. “And I love you.”

After all that had happened today, Noe would never doubt his love again.