For months, Rowan thought he would remain calm on the big day. He was simply marrying the love of his life, a commitment he was more than ready to make. After all, a day without hearing the hero's voice would feel like torture. Death never scared him, but the idea of spending eternity as anything other than Matteo's husband was unbearable. Yet, he was nervous.

“You look very handsome,” Lynnie complimented him, while adjusting his tie so it lay perfectly on his chest, in line with the buttons on his shirt. She was wearing a long, light blue dress that hugged her figure, while her brown hair, curled into elegant waves, fell onto her bare back.

“Thanks,” he replied automatically before turning around to look at himself in the mirror again, for what must have been the tenth time in the last hour. He couldn't help it; he wanted to look perfect.

“Matteo will be touched when he sees you,” his maid of honor continued, knowing exactly what to say. She circled around him to stand by his side, and while hooking her arm through his, she gently rested her head on his shoulder, careful not to ruin her hairstyle or wrinkle his dark suit.

“I’m very proud of you,” she said, and this time her voice was more tender, almost intimate. The two of them usually teased each other, carrying on the banter from when they were kids. They saved conversations full of such emotion for special occasions.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he returned just as emotionally. He couldn't imagine her not being by his side on his big day. She was the Winter to his Torpedo, the Princess Snow to his Canary Boy. She was always there when he needed her, whether physically present or in his thoughts.

“I’m your something blue,” she remarked with humor in her voice.

She really was. As for the rest... His something new was the easiest to choose. One day, he and Matteo went to the mall and picked out a fragrance for each other to wear on their wedding day. However, finding something old and something borrowed wasn't so easy.

Rowan wasn't a big fan of traditions and thought he could do without them, but then his uncles surprised him. 

Casey was the one who took care of the "something old."

“Your dad wore it once,” he told him when he showed him the tie he held in his hands. “He wasn't a fan, so he put it in the closet after the wedding, and whenever your mom told him to wear it, he pretended he misplaced it and couldn't find it,” he explained. The simple dark brown tie wasn't a color the villain usually wore, but when he learned that it not only belonged to his dad but was worn on the day he married his mom, he couldn't imagine wearing any other one during his own wedding.

When it came to something borrowed, Max didn't even know he had taken care of it. In his case, it wasn't anything sentimental; he was just in the right place at the right time. A month before the wedding, Matteo had surprised Rowan with his idea to write their own vows. The villain was unsure at first, as he wasn't a man of many words, but then he agreed. So, while the hero was on patrol, he spent his evenings in the kitchen with paper and a pen, wanting to do it traditionally.

One evening, as he sat at the kitchen table in the dim light of the lamp, the pen decided to betray him and ran out of ink halfway through a sentence. Not that it mattered, as Rowan wasn't satisfied with what he had written anyway. Nevertheless, when Max sat down next to him and silently handed him a spare pen, the one he always carried with him, he took it and continued writing. His uncle was yet to take it back, and right now, it was safely in the pocket of the groom's jacket.

The vows were written, the suit was on, and the guests were waiting in the next room. All that remained was for him to walk down the aisle and stand beside his future husband.

"Five minutes," a voice reached him just after the sound of a door opening.

"Ready?" Lynnie asked at the same moment that two important men in his life entered the room.

"I hope you're not nervous," Casey noted, smiling at the sight of his nephew—likely enjoying the fact that, for once, he looked nervous too.

Finally, Max decided to save him from the questions and teasing, choosing a different tactic instead. "If it helps, I was with Matteo a moment ago, and he can't wait." His words immediately brought a smile to the villain’s lips.

"Me neither."

There was no reason for concern. They might not have had a traditional wedding, but they weren't a conventional couple either. Nothing could ruin their love, and even if something went wrong at the celebration, the villain was ready to brush it off. Still, he hoped their wedding would be perfect for Matteo’s sake.

“Shall we?” Max offered him his arm, and the foursome moved toward the doors, where the guests were waiting.

Since Rowan had decided to have a best man and a maid of honor, the entrance and positions at the altar had to be adjusted slightly, but it was their wedding, so Rowan didn't ask anyone's permission—only the other groom's. Of course, the hero agreed to everything and, for a change he was the one who obediently listened to his every word.

The villain had time for one last deep breath before the first notes of Clair de Lune rang out. An amused smile automatically appeared on his face as he remembered how they had chosen this piece, and the last of his nervousness faded away. It was Matteo who had put it on the list of potential songs for the walk down the aisle, and Rowan had amusedly agreed once he learned the composer's name, claiming that “Debussy” was a perfect fit for a gay wedding.

The doors opened, and the villain got his first look at the people in the hall. Most were Matteo’s guests, but Rowan’s side wasn't empty either.

“Ready?” Max asked him one last time before they stepped forward together. Rowan didn’t answer; instead, he headed straight toward his future.

As he walked down the aisle, listening to the soft piano notes, the villain realized how unimaginably surreal this day felt. He never thought he could ever get this far. He never thought he’d be so lucky, but here he was.

His gaze briefly fell on the seats reserved for his “family.” He didn’t have as many guests as Matteo, but it didn’t matter at all. Seeing Cecil emotionally wiping his face, trying to act subtle as if he weren’t moved at all, made Rowan’s smile widen even more. Then he shifted his gaze to the person next to him. Logan’s smile was almost wider than his own. They had only spent three weeks together at university, but during that time they had become so close that he had introduced him to Lynnie, with whom he now fought over the title of his best friend.

The last person who had come to support him was Drew. The mobster hadn’t responded to the wedding invitation at first, but Rowan never doubted he would come. After all, without him, there wouldn't even be a wedding. He had been his family when he had no one else, and in the back of his mind, the villain still believed that Drew saw him that way too.

Max escorted the groom all the way to the altar, where he said goodbye with a hug and then moved to his seat in the first row next to Sawyer. The sidekick was the second member of the team who didn't have a role in the wedding, but he didn't mind at all. He mostly wanted to support both grooms, though Rowan suspected he was also enjoying the sight of Lynnie in her form-fitting dress.

After Rowan and Max, Casey and Lynnie appeared in the doorway. The heroine had her arm linked through Casey’s, while in her other hand, she held a small bouquet of irises. Rowan had let her choose the flowers herself, and she had taken the task far too seriously; a few weeks later, a detailed report on the meaning of blue irises had landed in the villain’s hands. Hope and good news—that was all Rowan needed to read.

If the villain thought Cecil couldn’t keep his tears in check, one look at his uncle walking toward him was enough to know he was in the same state. The only difference was that Casey couldn’t use a free hand to subtly wipe away the tear rolling down his face, which only stopped at the corner of his smiling mouth.

Their eyes met one last time before his best man and maid of honor took their places by his side.

Then it was the turn of Matteo’s wedding party.

Jonas and Ciara entered the hall together, her arm linked in his. While Lynnie wore a pale blue dress, the red-haired heroine had chosen pastel yellow, as it was the secondary color of Citadel’s hero suit.

When Rowan revealed his plans to have both a maid of honor and a best man, Matteo decided to match him and also chose two people to stand by his side at the altar. They had no other bridesmaids, nor any children to serve as ring bearers or flower girls. So, while Rowan had his uncle, Matteo chose his brother. And as for the maids of honor, the heroines they could always rely on were the obvious choice.

The villain didn't try to hide his lack of interest in the pair before shifting his gaze expectantly toward the doors.

All that remained was the main event.

Since their hero suits happened to be exact copies of traditional wedding colors, the villain and the hero had decided to follow tradition. Therefore, even though the blonde wasn't a bride, he chose to be the last one to enter the ceremony room.

The moment Rowan’s eyes fell on him, his breath hitched in his throat.

Matteo was always gorgeous, but today, as he walked toward him, he was a sight to behold. His mother stood by his side, and it was immediately clear who he had inherited his beauty from, but Rowan paid her no attention. Every millimeter of his being was focused solely on his future husband.

A few final steps and suddenly the blond superhero and his mother were standing right in front of him.

“Look after him for me,” Matteo’s mother instructed in a low voice, and Rowan replied with a smile, “I will,” before taking the hero’s hand from her and drawing him closer so they stood face-to-face.

Matteo couldn’t take his eyes off him. Rowan could see it in the way his gaze flickered all over him, but it always returned up to lock onto his eyes. That was when they felt closest to one another.

Their hands joined as one, and as they held on, the music faded and the guests took their seats.

“Dear friends and family, I welcome you today to witness the union of Rowan and Matteo in marriage. Today we celebrate their story, their courage, and their determination to love one another with all their hearts,” the officiant began his speech. “Marriage is more than a commitment. It is a journey. Sometimes it is bumpy, sometimes winding, and at other times straight. Yet it always leads where we need it most. Today, Rowan and Matteo promise that whatever their journey brings, they will walk it together,” he continued.

The villain felt his palms start to sweat, knowing what was about to follow, but if the hero noticed, he didn’t show it. He continued to look at him with unabashed certainty and a smile on his lips.

“Rowan and Matteo have prepared their own vows,” the officiant stated, and out of the corner of his eye, Rowan noticed the surprise on Jonas’s and Ciara’s faces. The only person who knew they wouldn’t be speaking rehearsed phrases was Max, and Rowan was quite surprised they had managed to keep it a secret until now.

“Rowan, you may begin.” That was his cue.

So many crumpled papers, so many crossed-out sentences… The villain had wanted his words to be perfect, but now, standing here, he suddenly forgot everything he had written and decided to speak from the heart instead.

“Matteo,” he addressed his beloved. “You showed me that life is worth living, and that I can still have hope. You changed me for the better without me even realizing it. When I first met you, I knew you would change something in my life, but I didn't know what. Back then, I only focused on how handsome you are. Today, I know you are so much more. You are the person who believes everyone deserves the same chance. The person everyone knows they can always turn to. You are the one who has enough kindness to share and just as much strength. Your determination is something I will always admire about you. You are eternally fascinating to me, and I love every part of you. Thanks to you, I’ve learned to love without fear, and I know what it means to have a family again. I will be forever in your debt, and so I promise that I will always be by your side, that I will love you more every day than the last, and that I will be the best version of myself for you, because you deserve nothing less.”

His voice was thick with suppressed tears, but he had no intention of letting them win and smoothly finished his speech. By the end, he had no doubt his eyes were glistening just as much as the blue ones directly in front of him.

“Matteo,” the officiant prompted the hero, but he didn’t react immediately, even though the man told him, “It’s your turn.”

The blonde visibly shuddered, trying to regain his stability, and after taking a deep breath, he gave his future husband one last smile before he began to speak.

“Rowan, you showed me that the world isn’t just black and white. I thought I could always tell right from wrong, but you showed me the true meaning of those words. Just as you opened my eyes, you opened my heart. From the beginning, I knew that what I feel whenever I’m with you is something I would never find with anyone else. You were always the only one for me. You are my soulmate, and I was prepared to wait for you as long as it took. People might call me a hero, but you are mine. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side, and I know it will be an adventure. But together, we can handle anything that comes our way. That I promise you, my partner-in-crime.”

The radiant smiles that remained on both grooms' lips after his words could only be eclipsed by one thing.

The exchange of rings was a blur to the villain. He knew he took the gold band from Casey’s hands and that, luckily, he placed the ring on the blonde’s correct finger, but that was all. He only fully came to his senses when he heard: “You may kiss.”

As his lips met Matteo’s, applause and enthusiastic cheers erupted throughout the room. However, he paid attention to only one thing—his lawful husband.