Justin shot up in bed at the sound of a loud booming noise. He sat still, tangled in the bedsheet and with his heart beating out of his chest.

Brian was sleeping soundly next to him, and Justin wasn’t sure how, because that noise should have awakened the dead.

Then he heard it – loud rapping against the window.

He jumped out of the bed and hurried to look outside, hoping it was his imagination. The sky was a dark gray and rain was pouring out of the heavy clouds.

“Brian!” Justin cried out, going to shake his man. “Wake up. Brian…”

Brian rolled on his other side, and Justin didn’t blame him. After how much they had drunk the previous night, combined with the E, and Justin making an impromptu visit to the toilet soon after getting in bed, it was obvious they were both tired.

But Justin hadn’t felt more awake and panicked in his life.

“Brian,” he insisted, shaking Brian's shoulder. “It’s raining buckets.”

“Call CNN.”

“Brian,” Justin said gently, leaving small kisses on Brian's cheek. “It’s our wedding today.”

Brian's eyes opened wide, and Justin had to laugh. “Is this some sign that we shouldn’t do this?”

“Don’t be…well, I was going to say a twat.” Justin sat next to Brian on the bed. “I don’t even want to check the backyard,” he mumbled into his hands.

“Rain on the wedding day should bring prosperity and happiness, or so I heard.”

“I’m not sure if I want to cry or laugh,” Justin admitted, glancing at Brian. “Shit. I bet that’s Emmett,” he said, when his phone started ringing.

Brian held Justin in place, as he leaned across the bed to get Justin's phone from his nightstand. “Yup.”

Justin grimaced, accepting the call and placing the phone on speaker. “Morning, Emmett.”

“Don’t freak out, baby! I have it under control. Hold on.” They could hear Emmett's muffled voice instructing someone to take the whole roll of whatever.

“How do you have it under control?” Brian asked, flopping on his back. “Are you going to tell God to stop the rain because Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor are getting married?”

“Brian, hi! I have a special tarpaulin for such unexpected situations.”

Brian held the phone to his mouth. “What the fuck do you plan on doing with that? We haven’t checked but I’ll bet the chairs and the arch stand have sunk into the mud.”

“I’m going to check,” Justin said hurriedly, grabbing a hoodie from the dresser and tugging it over his head. He had only boxer briefs and the hoodie, and he stepped into a pair of plastic slippers at the back door, before leaving the house.

He found Tank in the rocker, looking at how it was raining.

Justin grimaced, because there were muddy paw prints everywhere. Tank had probably adventured in the yard for his bathroom business.

“Oh, God.” Justin forgot about the trail of mud left behind by the dog, because their wedding set-up was a royal mess.

“What’s the damage?” Brian asked softly, joining him. He was only in his underwear with a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Justin waved to the white chairs and their drenched bow decorations, and how they were muddy and falling apart. The wedding arch was the only thing still standing at the end of aisle, which was no longer visible due to mud.

“Emmett is on his way. He promised to salvage the situation.”

Justin leaned into Brian's side. “I’m starting to agree with your idea from last night. We should elope.”

“After all this trouble?” Brian asked incredulously. “I remember the odds weren’t in Lindsay and Melanie’s favor, either, and Emmett pulled it off.”

Justin chewed on his lips, staring at the downpour. “I see no way out of this mess.”

His phone’s ringtone made him stare at Brian, as Brian took the phone out of his briefs. Justin grimaced, taking it.

“No pockets,” Brian laughed.

“Hi, Mom,” Justin accepted his mother’s call.

“Oh, honey! How are you?”

“Peachy. I’m on the back porch with Brian, enjoying the rain,” he said as sarcastically as possible.

“I’m sure it will stop until everyone arrives.”

“You should see the backyard. It’s a swamp.” Justin threw himself in the rocker next to Tank. “How’s Nick?”

“Sleeping. He didn’t even twitch when that big thunder shook the house,” Jennifer said, amused.

“Yeah, it took me five minutes to wake Brian and tell him about the rain. It’s scary how much alike they are.”

Brian handed Justin his half-smoked cigarette, before he stepped off the porch into the rain.

“Uh, I’ll let you go. We have to see how we’ll fix the backyard before everyone arrives.”

“We’ll be there as soon as Nick wakes up,” she promised.

After hanging up, Justin went to the edge of the porch. “Brian, what are you doing?” he asked, half-amused, half-exasperated.

Brian stood close to the last row of chairs, tilting his head toward the sky and opening his arms. “Washing my sins,” he answered, laughing.

“Come back inside. You’re in undies and barefoot.”

“Undies,” Brian doubled over in laughter. “Join me.”

“I don’t think so. I’m going to start the coffee.”

“Don’t you want to kiss in the rain?” Brian teased, coming closer to where Justin stood. He took Justin's hands, pulling him away from the covered porch.

“It doesn’t look like it will stop any time soon,” Justin said thoughtfully, squinting around through the drops of rain hitting his eyelashes.

“Who cares?” Brian looped his arms around Justin's shoulders, leaning closer to kiss him with ardor.

Justin touched Brian's toned abdomen, getting lost in the kiss. It was not as romantic as he had expected from a kiss in the rain, what with all the water getting in his eyes and in their mouths, but Justin was shaken from the sweet moment by Brian grabbing his ass.

“Whoa, Stud. We have a wedding to prepare.”

“It’s already prepared, Justin.”

“How about that coffee and we change out of these drenched clothes?” Justin led him back inside the house.

Justin had only time to start the coffee machine, before Brian pulled him upstairs into the bathroom.

Justin found himself being divested of his hoodies and boxers, and dragged into the shower. He tried to protest when Brian turned him around, picking up the bar of soap.

“Emmett is on his way,” Justin reminded Brian, who was probing his ass with two soapy fingers.

“There’s no better way to start this day than a last fuck in the shower as bachelors.”

“Christ. All our fucks for the past week have been the last ones as bachelors,” Justin laughed.

“And they were all in different parts of the house, Kinnetik, Babylon…” Brian pressed his lips to the nape of Justin's neck. “I’m a strong believer that the way we celebrate our wedding day will dictate our marriage. Here’s to every day morning sex.”

“How about…every day sex only?”

Brian huffed, pushing two fingers into Justin, pumping them slowly. “Of course, there will be noon every day sex, after noon every day sex, evening every day sex, and of course, long hours deep into the night.”

“Of course,” Justin acknowledged, moaning and grabbing his erection. “I’ll hold you to your promise. You better stock up on Viagra.”

“You, twat! Are you complaining about my performance?” Brian asked mockingly.

“You’re still the Stud.”

#

Brian returned downstairs first, and was surprised to find Emmett and Drew in the kitchen.

“By all mean, break into our house,” he commented, tightening his silk bathrobe around his waist.

“Brian! We were beginning to wonder where the two of you were,” Emmett exclaimed.

“We had one last shower together as bachelors.”

“Sex before marriage?” Drew gasped mockingly.

Emmett whacked him on the ass with a dishtowel. “What did you do with Justin? Flushed him down the drain?”

Brian rolled his eyes, going to pour himself coffee. “He’s cleaning up.”

“Didn’t you just say you had a shower?” Emmett asked, confused.

“Shower sex,” Brian explained, rolling his eyes. “What the fuck happened to the sugar?”

Drew handed him the can, which he had taken to put in his own coffee.

Emmett clutched at his heart, and Brian winced. They hadn’t told anyone about dropping the condoms.

Justin chose that moment to appear in the kitchen, wearing only a pair of boxers and toweling his wet hair.

“Emmett,” he cried out. “When did you get here?”

Emmett turned to stare at Justin as if he hadn’t seen him in his whole life.

Brian place his cup behind him on the counter, and went to place a hand on Emmett's shoulder. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. Instead on commenting on the obvious, get busy with your tarpaulin.”

“Right. Of course. Drewsy, I name you my personal assistant.” Emmett took Drew’s hand, leading him out through the back door.

“What was that?” Justin frowned, pouring coffee in his own mug.

“Emmett just found out we’re into barebacking.”

Justin choked on his gulp of coffee. “You told him?”

“I had no idea it was a national secret. Besides, I didn’t mean to. It slipped.”

Justin snorted, taking another sip of his coffee, looking through his allergy pills. “Fuck. I’m out of Zyrtec.”

“How did that happen?” Brian wondered.

“I was sure I had a full box. What are the chances I die on our wedding day?”

“Don’t be a twat. I’ll go and get your goddamn pills.”

Justin smiled widely, kissing his lips. “The prescription is in my wallet. I’m going to get dressed and help Emmett.”

“Be careful. Stray clear of dust and whatever might trigger your allergies,” Brian warned, as they walked upstairs to get changed.

#

When Justin joined Emmett outside, the rain had subsided, but it still fell mercilessly, with no intent to stop any time soon.

“Where did Brian go with his bike?” Emmett demanded.

Justin knew how Brian loved to take his bike for a spin every now and then, but he rarely had the time and occasion to do it.

“He’s off to get some of my allergy pills,” Justin explained. “What are you trying to do?”

He stared curiously at the poles stuck in the mud around the make-shift aisle. The tarpaulin was half tied to some of them, while Drew worked on tying it to the other half.

“It’s not aesthetically nice, but instead of having…” Emmett broke off, when a gust of wind made all of Drew’s hard work collapse on top of the arch and the chairs.

“Maybe Brian is right, and this is a sign we shouldn’t get married.”

“Shush!” Emmett spun around several times, before he stopped and clapped excitedly. “I know! What do you have in the stables?”

“Are you kidding me?” Justin groaned. “Do you want Brian to have an aneurysm?”

“The barn?” Emmett suggested.

“For now it’s empty, spare a couple of paintings I’ve been working on.”

“Can I see it?”

“It’s ugly as fuck, Emmett.”

“Let me be the judge of that. Drew, baby, come with us,” he called over his shoulder.

They worked on decluttering the barn and they were moving the chairs inside when Michael arrived with his mother and Carl.

“Hey, guys!” He waved over the roof of his car. “What are you doing?”

“Hey,” Justin said, joining their guests. “We’re redecorating. We’re showing Mother Nature nothing can stop this wedding from happening.”

“And now you are getting married in the barn?” Debbie asked, laughing.

“I see no other option,” Justin mumbled. “Believe me, I’m not thrilled with this change of plans.” He glared toward the sky, silently wishing for the rain to stop.

“Well, lucky for you, I have my dress all packed. I had a feeling you’d need help,” Debbie said softly, pulling him in a tight hug. “Where’s Brian?”

“In town, running an errand. We’re almost done. You should head inside,” Justin explained, before he returned to where Emmett and Drew were carrying the arch inside the barn.

The flowers wrapped around the wooden structure looked like they had seen better days. Justin felt like he was about to start crying when he stopped at the barn doors. And they would be anguish and angry tears.

“All done, baby!” Emmett clapped, beaming at him. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Don’t start crying.” He hurried to Justin and hugged him tightly. “Shh. Trust me. You will still have a fabulous wedding. I just need to make a phone call.”

“Come on.” Drew steered Justin inside the house, while Emmett stayed back, pulling his phone out.

“This is fucked up,” Justin muttered.

“If I’ve learned something from being witness to several weddings and parties planned by Emmett, you have to trust him. Even if it looks like the end of the world, he still makes sure everything is perfect and everyone is having a good time,” Drew said gently.

“I know, Drew. From the first time Brian proposed to me, we both envisioned the wedding in the spot everything was set. Now…I don’t know how to feel about this change,” Justin admitted.

They stepped into the kitchen where Michael was pouring coffee in one cup.

“Where’s Ben?” Justin asked, attempting to distract himself or he might burst into tears.

“At the airport to pick the girls and the children. Since they missed the scheduled flight yesterday evening…” Michael trialed off.

“Right.” Justin slumped in one of the chairs, gripping his hairs with his fingers.

“Honey, we all know how important that setting was for you, but no one could have foreseen this summer rain,” Debbie whispered, rubbing his shoulders. “The weatherman didn’t say anything about rain in Pittsburgh at the news last night.”

“We’re not in Pittsburgh, Debbie. We’re in fucking West Virginia.”

“Twenty minutes away from Pittsburgh,” Carl joined their conversation. “You have to trust Emmett in rethinking the whole arrangement.”

“Everyone keeps saying I have to trust Emmett. I DO!” Justin yelled, standing up so fast his chair toppled over.

“Hold your declarations for the minister,” Brian said, entering the kitchen. He was covered in mud from head to toes, holding his helmet in one hand. He retrieved a paper bag from inside his leather jacket. “Here you go.”

“My hero.” Justin hurried to take his meds from his fiancé, and kissed him softly.

“Now, I need another shower. By the way, I passed three cars heading here. Ben, Jennifer, and Daphne are going to arrive in the next few minutes.”

“Go, shower,” Debbie urged him, watching him with emotion regarding the exchange between the lovebirds.

“I’ll be right back,” Justin said over his shoulder, following Brian up the stairs.

“We’ll never hear the end of it if you want round two,” Brian joked.

Justin caught Brian's muddy wrist. “Emmett decided to move the venue to the barn. I thought you should know.”

Brian winced. “Yiiha.”

“Ha ha,” Justin huffed.

“Go and greet our guests,” Brian said, nudging Justin back down the stairs when the doorbell rang.

#

“Relax, would you?” Ben nudged Justin, rubbing his back.

Justin rubbed his sweaty palms over his pants, shuffling from foot to foot on the back porch. “Where is Brian?”

“You know he likes to show up late. Michael wanted to talk to him alone before the ceremony,” Ben reminded him, gently.

Justin stared at the back door, sighing loudly. “This is not how I envisioned today, at all.”

“Look at the bright side. It has stopped raining.” Ben waved to the clear sky.

“And we have changed the make-shift aisle once again. At least, we found good use for Emmett's tarpaulin.” He stared at the backyard, covered in the green tarpaulin so no one would dirty their clothes and shoes from the muddy grass.

“Hold your pants, we’re here,” Brian said hurriedly, coming through the door.

Justin noticed both Brian and Michael had misty eyes, and he was curious what they had talked about.

“We’ll go ahead and let everyone know you’re coming,” Michael offered.

Brian made a show to grab Justin's dick over his pants. “Quick. Let’s get close to coming then.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Behave.”

Brian made some weird hand gesture, between the sign of cross and Scout’s honor. “Cross my heart, swear to die.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the correct saying,” Justin said thoughtfully, but he chuckled, nonetheless.

“Don’t take forever,” Michael warned, taking Ben’s hand and leading him to the rows of chairs where their friends and family were waiting for the much anticipated wedding.

“Are you nervous?” Brian asked softly, interlacing his fingers with Justin's.

“I shouldn’t have wasted that E last night. I need it more now. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so anxious.”

“What the fuck for? We’re getting married, not about to perform some crazy sexual act in front of everyone.”

Justin snorted, squeezing Brian's fingers. “This whole day has been a roller-coaster. I’m ready to be done with it.”

Brian led him down the stairs slowly, “We never had it easy, Sunshine. Why should our wedding day be any different?”

“Here’s to many years of easy,” Justin mumbled. “Oh, God. We’re doing this.” He took a few deep breaths when he spotted everyone seated in their chairs, waiting for them to arrive.

“Oh, look.” Brian pointed toward the sky above the first line of trees to their right. “God approves, after all.”

Justin stared amazed at the rainbow, and tears filled his eyes. “It’s breathtaking.”

“It’s all right,” Brian whispered, leaning closer to kiss Justin's cheek.

They walked slowly, between the rows holding their guests. Michael and Ben greeted them at the wedding arch, where the minister was standing. The white flowers in the arch had been replaced with fresh ones, all thanks to Emmett.

“Don’t drop your hand. I might faint,” Justin said urgently.

“I promise to catch you,” Brian joked.

They took their spots, and true to his words, Brian kept Justin's right hand in his.

Justin dared a peek at the people in the closest chairs, and saw his mother and Debbie openly crying. Nick was next to Gus, staring at them with a big smile on his face. Molly was on the second row, focused on her son, who was standing on her husband’s lap, babbling loudly. Daphne was on the other side of the aisle, smiling with tears at them.

Justin grinned back at her, remembering a time when he had told her how he was going to marry Brian.

And he was about to get tied down forever to the man of his dreams.

The minister started talking, welcoming everyone to their wedding ceremony, and Justin turned his eyes to Brian. He shouldn’t have been surprised to find Brian watching him with that soft look, that Justin had grown to know. It had taken him a while to understand, it was Brian's way to express his love for Justin without saying the words.

Justin got choked on his words as he repeated after the minister, and he was moved when Brian had to clear his throat twice before he could speak clearly.

“I also want to add something else,” Brian said before the minister could ask for the rings.

“It’s too late to change your mind,” Michael teased, amused.

Brian didn’t pay any attention to his best friend, as he kept his eyes on Justin. “I want to tell everyone how lucky I got the night I met Justin.” He glanced at their guests. “Of course, I didn’t know it at the time. I didn’t even know to appreciate Justin, for the longest time. I had to lose him several times to fully understand I had fallen irrevocably in love with him.”

Justin realized holding his tears was a losing battle, when he heard Brian's speech.

Brian returned his eyes on Justin, smiling softly. “I promise to give you the best moments of your life and to always show you how much I love you, Justin.”

Justin could feel his lips trembling. He knew it was the perfect moment for his own speech, only if he could speak. “I love you, too, Brian,” he managed to choke out. “I had this eloquent speech prepared,” he added, chuckling along with their guests. He chewed on his lower lip. “Uh, sometimes it felt like I was trying to climb a mountain which got higher and more difficult to escalate, but everyone knows how stubborn I am. Right now, I feel like I have succeeded in climbing the highest mountain.”

“Write that down, Cynthia. Climbing Mount Kinney,” Brian said toward his secretary and friend. “Very eloquent, Sunshine.”

Justin laughed. “Right, and despite how you try to turn everything into a joke and avoid feelings, I know what a big heart you have. And I know I can always count on you to be there, no matter what. You’ve always been my rock.”

Brian smiled, taking Justin's other hand, and squeezing both of them.

“Extremely beautiful words,” the minister chimed in. “Do you have anything else to add?”

They both shook their heads, lost in each other’s eyes, full of love and promises.

“May I have the rings?” the man asked, looking between Michael and Ben.

But, Nick sprung to his feet, and almost skipped to the elevated area where they stood. He beamed at both his daddies, then handed the minister the box.

Justin realized in that moment why he had felt so anxious the whole day. He wasn’t wearing the ring, because Brian had insisted they should do this properly.

The rest of the ceremony flew by, and Justin felt whole again when Brian slipped his wedding band on his finger. When it was time to share their first married kiss, Brian wrapped both arms around him, pecking his lips.

Justin held him in place, opening his mouth, because for unknown reasons Brian had turned into a prude. Thankfully, Brian returned the kiss, dipping a hand to palm Justin's ass.

“Young eyes,” Ben said in warning, but everyone laughed.

“Later,” Brian whispered against Justin's lips.

“Not much later,” Justin whispered back, keeping their lips pressed together.