One Last Kiss

On the morning of Valentine’s Day, the day they’d chosen for their wedding, Ash woke up for the first time without his lover’s arms wrapped around him since they moved in together over two years ago. Jinxx’s wife of three and a-half months, Sammi Doll from the band My Satellite, insisted that, if they were far from traditional about everything else, she wanted them to be traditional in the groom not seeing his “bride” until he walked down the aisle when the ceremony started.

Since they refused to be traditional about everything else, right down to their vows, they both agreed that they’d go along with that, although it was quite reluctantly. It was obvious that neither of them were going to get any sleep the night before their wedding, as they’d already figured out that they couldn’t sleep without being in each other’s arms.

With a sigh, Ash sat up and rubbed his bloodshot eyes, then tossed the covers off his legs so he could get up. After the miscarriage he’d suffered in November, he hadn’t been quite the same, and having to attempt sleeping without Andy by his side this night past was pure torture. Tears welled up and began to roll down his face from longing to see his lover, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before that special moment came. They’d planned their wedding for early in the morning, not only because they were both early risers, but because it meant they’d get to see each other sooner rather than later.

He quickly wiped his tears and tried to will himself not to cry anymore, knowing that he’d already need Visine from his lack of sleep the night before. He’d also need a shit ton of concealer to hide the blotchiness of his skin from the crying and the dark circles around his eyes from the lack of sleep rather than the old war paint he’d used when Black Veil Brides first got started. There was no sense in making things worse by crying, especially when, on top of that, he’d be congested and sound sick while reciting his vows later if he allowed the tears to flow. A small smile graced his lips and he chuckled softly at the thought of sounding like he had a cold while reciting his vows from crying this morning.

“You ready for the ceremony, Ash?” Sammi asked a short while later. She and Jake’s girlfriend, Ella, were his Matron and Maid of Honor, respectively.

“More than,” he answered, nodding eagerly. “I love Andy so much.”

“We can tell,” she laughed, wrapping her arms around him. “Anyone watching the two of you together would have to be a special kind of stupid not to see how much you love him.”

“They’d have to be a special kind of stupid not to see how much Andy loves him,” Ella agreed.

“Jinxx ready to play best man?” he asked, allowing the wild child to set the black, onyx-encrusted tiara adorned with a black veil on his head. Being a male, he refused to wear a dress and certainly refused to wear white, but had agreed to identify himself as the bride, more or less, by wearing a black veil, which would be ironic since he was part of a band with that in its name.

“Yeah, he’s ready. Your grampa’s ready to walk you down the aisle, too,” she answered, nodding.

“Then let’s get a move on! I’m ready to be married!” Ash said excitedly.

“Certainly sounds like it,” the women laughed in unison, taking him out to the living room.

Sitting on the couch in his own suit, his Grampa Ray held his Grama Anita close to his side, patiently awaiting their grandson. They were just old-fashioned enough that it’d taken them a while to accept his sexuality, but once they had, they’d continued to love him as if he’d never opened his mouth. They’d realized that his sexuality was a part of who he was and that without it, he wouldn’t be the grandson they loved so dearly.

His grama covered her mouth as she gasped, her eyes widening and shedding a few tears as she took in his appearance. Even though he’d refused to wear a dress to his wedding, even though he was the “bride”, he was the epitome of beauty that they’d always known he could be. His black slacks weren’t as tight as his skinny jeans, but they were form-fitting enough to accentuate his slim waist, slightly curvy hips, and toned legs. His black dress shirt hugged his torso and accentuated his slightly-muscular figure, but didn’t give away that he had a six-pack body-builders would covet.

“Oh, Ashley…you look so beautiful,” she said, trying not to cry.

“If I weren’t aiming to look more effeminate than usual, I’d take that as an insult, Grama,” Ash chuckled, accepting her hug.

“Even still, you’re my grandson. I thought you were beautiful the day you were born,” Anita told him.

“I just wish Mom and Dad could be here,” he sighed softly.

“I know you do, son,” Ray chimed in, hugging him once his wife let him go. “But Dillon and Amaryllis are in a better place and looking down on you. They’d be proud of you.”

“Thanks, Grampa. You always know what to say to cheer me up when I start thinking about them,” the bassist said, his grin losing its sadness.

“It’s not a problem, Ashley,” he answered. “You ready to go get yourself hitched?”

“Of course! I love Andy with every fiber of my being!” he answered.

Nodding to Sammi and Ella, they prepared to leave the small apartment he’d shared with his fiancé since Sandra had quit the band. They were taking Ray’s Tahoe so they had room for everybody, especially considering that his car was too small. Even if it hadn’t been, Andy’d taken it when his Matron of Honor demanded that he go spend the night with her husband so they could use it when leaving for their honeymoon. He couldn’t help but think about how much fun they’d have pulling a burnout as they left the wedding.

Once everybody had piled into the Tahoe and gotten comfortable, Ash sandwiched between the younger women while his grandparents took the front seats, they headed out. He was so excited to see his fiancé again that his hands were shaking, but there was a bit of anxiety mixed in, too. As was typical on one’s wedding day, he was nervous about the possibility of something going wrong, his fiancé leaving him at the altar without a second thought, and various other things. Thankfully, Ella was able to use her sweet, caring personality to calm him down so he didn’t have a panic attack before the ceremony began, and Sammi then got his mind off the bad things by reminding him of their honeymoon destination.

“All right. Ready to go hide until we get our cue?” Ray asked, turning in the driver’s seat to look at them.

“I can’t wait to see Andy!” his grandson squealed, joy lighting up his eyes.

“We can tell, Ashley,” the bassist’s grama laughed, opening her door.

“Well, let’s get going. Jinxx just texted me and said they’re just about ready,” Sammi spoke up, slipping her phone into a pocket hidden in the folds of her skirt after turning it off.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” the other young woman agreed, slipping out of the back seat.

The quintet made their way into a small grove of palm trees that would hide them until their cue, considering that they’d chosen to get married on the beach. Jinxx soon made his way over and made sure they were ready, chuckling as his wife made a couple of last-minute touch-ups to the “bride’s” hair and makeup before pulling her into a kiss.

Now that everyone was ready, the multi-instrumentalist headed back to where everyone, including fellow musician Ronnie Radke of Falling in Reverse, waited. Andy was clearly wringing his hands as he waited by the altar, soon stopping as he took a deep breath. Moments later, the rest of their own band and Sandra walked into their little hiding place, ready to escort them down the aisle and to their places. Sandra was walking his grama down the aisle so she didn’t have to walk alone since his grampa was giving him away while Jake and Jinxx escorted their women down the aisle.

CC was going to be escorting his little cousin, Crissy, who was their flower girl. Since they had no ring bearer, he’d agreed to carry the little pillow their wedding bands had been loosely stitched to by Anita, even though he claimed it was degrading. Andy’s parents, Chris and Amy, were already waiting in their seats in the front row on the opposite side of the aisle from where his grandparents would wind up. Ash took a deep breath as they lined up, his bouquet of red and black roses and tiger lilies cradled in the crook of one elbow.

Being the eccentric, non-traditional couple they were, they refused to have The Wedding March played while the wedding party was making their way to their places. They also refused to have Here Comes the Bride played as the bassist made his way down the aisle. Instead, their song Rebel Love Song from their sophomore album, Set the World on Fire, would be played while the wedding party made their way to their places, but their song The Mortician’s Daughter from their debut album, We Stitch these Wounds, would be played as Ash made his way down the aisle. He barely contained a chuckle as he thought about how Andy’d been forced to call the song that, even though it was written about him, since they hadn’t come out publicly.

“Ready, son?” Ray asked, bringing his attention back to the present.

“More than,” he answered, nodding. He made sure he didn’t cause his tiara to fall or wind up sitting on top of his head lopsided.

“Then let’s go. Jeremy and Sammi are almost at the end of the aisle,” his grampa told him.

Ash had to take another deep breath as they took their place at the head of the aisle, waiting for the beginning strains of The Mortician’s Daughter, which would be their cue. Once they heard it, they began the slow walk down the red silk runner that covered the sand, a smile and a grin on their faces. The bassist felt tears rising up as he took in the sight of his fiancé in his suit standing before the altar, looking just as handsome as he ever had, even with his shorter hair.

As he watched his “bride” walk down the aisle on the arm of his grampa, Andy felt tears of his own well up and threaten to ruin his makeup. He’d never seen the older man looking as beautiful as he did right now, and hoped that beauty, and the sparkle in those chocolate-brown eyes, never faded. He didn’t think he’d ever be the same if that happened, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he were the cause.

Ray gave the younger man a glare and told him to take care of his grandson, as well as make sure his heart stayed intact, or he was going to be a mean man with a big stick as he handed him away. He gulped and promised to do his best to make sure he was loved and cared for, earning himself a tender smile from the older man as he turned and joined his wife in the front row. He and his “bride” turned to the officiator, their friend, fellow musician, and ordained minister, Ronnie Radke.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of this couple in unholy matrimony,” he began, looking between the couple at the crowd as they grabbed each other’s hands. “Love knows no bounds, and certainly doesn’t care about gender and sexuality. In the words of one of our dearest friends, Sandra Alva, ‘You fall in love with a person, not a gender’. Truer words couldn’t be said, Sandy.

“Anyway. it doesn’t matter if the couple being joined consists of two men, two women, or a man and a woman; marriage is a challenge that isn’t for the faint of heart. Are you both up to the challenge?”

“We are,” the “bride” and groom answered in unison.

“Who here gives this man away as the ‘bride’?” Ronnie asked, gesturing to Ash.

“His grandmother and I,” Ray answered after rising and helping his wife to her feet.

“If anyone here objects, speak now or forever hold your piece,” he said, a bit of a challenge lacing his words.

Not a soul in the crowd stirred, much less spoke up.

“All right. We begin now with the vows, which they chose to write for themselves,” the other vocalist said, turning to the “bride”.

“Andrew Dennis Biersack…words can’t possibly begin to describe how much I love you, and what you mean to me. You came into my life at a time when I desperately needed someone to understand, respect, love, and care about me, but I was too stubborn to admit it. You finished the healing of my shattered heart and taught me how to love again; for that, I can’t thank you enough.

“I want you by my side and in my arms for the rest of my breathing days. I want to share this life with you while building one that has been but a childhood dream of mine. We’ve been on a roller coaster ride the past couple years between our careers, which we get to live our dreams through together, and our relationship, which has had its ups and downs, to be certain. I make this vow today to remain loving and loyal, and will do everything humanly possible to make sure that happens,” Ash said, concluding his vows.

“Ashley Abrocket Purdy…such eloquent vows that I’m not sure how to top them,” his fiancé chuckled, a lone tear streaming down his cheek. “You’re the love of my life, the apple of my eye, and the sun my solar system orbits around. There was something about you that made me know at an instinctive level that I had to have you in my life, eventually as my husband, the day we met. I was just too scared to ask you out, but you took care of that for me.

“I decided to step up and turn the tables when I asked you to marry me, and today’s the day we finally get to do that. Sure, it’s just a couple of pieces of metal and a piece of paper making it legal, but either way, I couldn’t see me living a happy life without you in it—and my arms. I want you by my side until we draw our final breaths, and I’ll do everything humanly possible and then some to make sure that happens.”

“So beautiful, guys,” Ronnie said, grinning at them as they tried not to bawl like babies. “Anyway…moving on. Do you, Ashley, promise to love Andrew forever and ever, if you’re sick or healthy, famous or shunned, through Murphy’s Law?”

“I do,” the bassist answered, nodding vigorously.

“Do you, Andrew, promise to love Ashley forever and ever, if you’re sick or healthy, famous or shunned, through Murphy’s Law?” he asked, turning to the groom.

“I do,” Andy answered, nodding as his basement-deep voice carried on the wind.

“Do you have the rings?” the other vocalist asked.

The groom turned to CC, who’d walked up to stand beside him, and broke the stitch holding their bejeweled wedding bands onto the pillow the drummer held.

“Ashley, in placing this ring on Andrew’s finger you are now consecrated as man and husband from this day forward. What vow have you for him?”

“Andrew, take this ring and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love for the rest of my life. I have chosen you to be my husband to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live,” Ash said as he slipped the onyx-embedded silver wedding band onto the younger man’s finger.

“Andrew, in placing this ring on Ashley’s finger you are now consecrated as man and husband from this day forward. What vow have you for him?”

“Ashley, take this ring and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love for the rest of my life. I have chosen you to be my husband to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live,” Andy repeated, slipping a tourmaline-embedded silver wedding band picked to match his engagement ring onto the older man’s finger.

“Now you will feel no pain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you,” Ronnie said, this being his ending speech of the ceremony.

“Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness. And may your days be good and long upon this earth. So by the power vested in me by your deity of choice and the State of California, I now pronounce you man and husband. Andrew, you may kiss your ‘bride’. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Mr. and Mr. Biersack.”

Andy immediately flipped his black veil up over the silver tiara resting atop his head and pulled him close. With his arms wrapped around his waist, the older man’s around his new husband’s wrapped around his neck, their love and vows were sealed with a sweet, but passionate kiss. The crowd of family and friends leapt to their feet and broke into an uproar of cheering and applause, a few wolf whistles being heard from their crazy bandmates and their wives. The newly wedded couple blushed but grinned as they took off down the aisle to Ash’s Mustang, which they immediately hopped into.

Having decided to forego a reception since neither of them were patient enough to wait that long, they were headed straight to LAX to catch the flight taking them to their honeymoon destination. Their luggage was already loaded into the trunk, courtesy of Jake, Ella, Jinxx, and Sammi, who threw birdseed at them as they took off. The couple grinned at them happily and waved out the windows before Andy stomped the clutch while stomping the gas, too. He let out a wild cry as he let out the clutch and pulled a perfect burnout, making his new husband cheer for him. Their happiness at finally being married was infectious, and no one could resist the grins that stretched their faces as they plastered themselves to their kissers.

Once at the airport, the newly weds went through the security measures they were far too used to and got checked in. With their luggage taken off to be loaded onto the plane, they waited the short amount of time for their boarding call before boarding the plane. Even though they were still in their suits, sans Ash’s tiara, which was stuffed in his carry-on, they were too excited to begin their new life together to care. All that mattered was that they had each other and were happy.

Notes

I have to give a shoutout to one of my favorite authors and biggest inspirations, Sloan Christopher. Part of the wedding vows in this chapter are either from or largely inspired by a scene from her book, Dangerous Obsession. Thanks for sparking my love of reading and writing, and being such a big inspiration for me, Sloan!
~Cyn