V could not forget the wedding even if he wanted to, especially not when the groom sent him a message every day to remind him that he would be playing for the ceremony. If he did not take into consideration that Mick might be having wedding jitters, he would have blocked the Beta’s number by now. In a rare moment of mercy, he even sent a message of assurance the day before. It was a simple ‘relax, it will be fine’ but it seemed to work, calming down Mick until 2 hours before the wedding. Thankfully, the day finally arrived and his phone could now be free from the incessant notifications.
He scanned his eyes around the venue once more. The small garden was casual, more of a backyard than anything. However, the hanging lanterns somehow brought out a romantic feeling. The guests were seated in a semi-circle with a wooden, circular table in the middle. Rose petals were scattered to form a path across the entrance to the table. A lone, metal goblet sat on top at the center of the table, the cup filled with wine.
As the pianist, V was facing everyone, the sunset behind his back. He stretched his hand over the piano keys to warm up his fingers, but he couldn’t get Echo’s face out of his mind.
The Alpha’s face was priceless when he told him that he would be leaving. It was almost comical, the way Echo’s dark eyes darted everywhere, stuttering a ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘did I do something wrong.’ If a stranger saw him fidgeting like that, they would think that V was breaking up with the poor Alpha, instead of informing him that he would be out of the house for a day.
He laughed to himself whenever he remembered the way relief visibly washed over Echo‘s face when he was told that V would just be attending a wedding, tension leaving his body as he slumped to the chair.
It was fun seeing the Alpha's stoic expression crack like that, it felt like payback for all the times he angered V.
V pushed the memory away when he saw someone signaling at him from the corner of the garden. As he started playing the familiar melody of a wedding march, the murmur of the crowd slowly dissipated.
Everyone turned their gaze to the entrance. Despite the two’s attempt at looking serious, everyone could see the way the corner of their lips curved. Only the couple knew how their stomach was filled with butterflies or how they kept squeezing each other’s hands while walking down the aisle.
Caoli and Mick walked together hand-in-hand, the former in a gorgeous indigo dress while the latter was in a matching embroidered formal shirt. The golden glow of the setting sun shone upon the tiny gems intricately woven on the fabric, twinkling with every step they took. Seeing this from the best view possible, V couldn’t help but note how the two were like galaxies making a home out of each other. A bubble of warmth slowly formed in his chest as he unconsciously mimicked the joyful expression on the couple’s face.
The two reached the table as the last note faded. Only when they stood opposite each other did they let go of their hands.
There was no need for an introduction - words that told how they were gathered to witness the union between two people - because everybody else knew that they were merely guests, outsiders deemed worthy to be present as Caoli and Mick pledged themselves to each other. It was a small, intimate wedding and those who were invited were the ones the couple felt truly close with.
After the two had enough of staring deeply at each other's eyes, it was Mick who moved first. He took the goblet in both of his hands and held it close to his chest.
“Caoli Herrera," he said, breath shaky but still smiling wide as ever. "I offer my everything to you: the light from the sun to guide your days, the peace from the moon to soothe your nights, the waves from the sea to tide your ways, the wind from the air to fill your sails, and the ground on the earth to shelter us together." The goblet turned half-full after Mick swigged most of the wine ungraciously. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before thrusting the cup to Caoli’s direction, rare determination evident in his eyes. "If you accept my blood, we shall be bound forever.”
Caoli took the goblet from his hands, and if her grip was any lighter, it would’ve slipped from how her hand shook. She was looking down, and although her expression was hidden, a small smile played on her lips.
"Michael Han," tears started threatening to fall from her eyes and she had to breathe deeply twice before the next words came out. "I, too, offer my everything to you: the light from the sun to guide your days, the peace from the moon to soothe your nights, the waves from the sea to tide your ways, the wind from the air to fill your sails, and the ground on the earth to shelter us together." She finished what was left of the wine before putting it back on the table. Taking a step closer and putting their foreheads against each other, she repeated the same words from earlier. "If you accept my blood, we shall be bound forever."
"I accept," they said at the same time, tightly hugging the other's arms with their foreheads still pressed together. "I offer you my heart, my future, my bond, and that in this life we shall be one - forevermore my partner, my mate. I offer you my everything and in your hands, I leave my fate."
As they finished their vows, they brought a thumb to swipe over their left chest, right above the heart. They pushed that thumb to each other's lips before swiping it between the eyebrows, finishing the ancient ritual V had so far only seen twice in his life.
Caoli and Mick hugged each other again, the both of them crying. They kissed like they were the only people in the world amidst the guests' cheers and applause, whispering ‘I love you’ to each other. V spied Mick’s parents and Caoli’s younger sister shedding tears of their own, no doubt as touched as he was.
The whole ceremony, from walking down the aisle to the vows, did not take longer than 15 minutes, but V swore it was the most beautiful scene he saw in his life. He might not have been to a lot of weddings, mostly because his elder brothers were all single and that his parents both came from a single-child household, but the significance of the ceremony was not lost on him. He read about it from a book once, about how the wedding rituals of today were an imitation of the blood compact from ancient times, and never forgot. The younger him found it incredibly romantic how people who had zero relation with each other could forge a bond like that, especially since it was from a time before secondary genders. Nowadays, alpha-omega couples would simply register their names after pair-bonding, not bothering in the least about a ceremony like this. V had no judgment for couples who decided to do it that way, it was their lives anyway, but he couldn’t deny that if he was ever to find a mate, he would like to have a wedding like this.
He looked on as the guests gave their congratulations and he was too absorbed that he didn't notice his family was approaching him. Although the Mu Hen family would very much like to be in full attendance, only Via and Trey had the free time to do so.
“I remember your dad and I’s wedding.” V jumped upon hearing his mother’s voice so close by, but the matriarch acted like she didn’t see anything as she continued. “Your dad was bawling like a baby, you should’ve seen it. I didn’t think we would get to finish our vows that day.” Although her words were teasing, her tone was affectionate.
“I can’t really picture Dad crying,” Trey said from V’s other side. He was holding a glass of wine V was ninety-nine percent sure Trey grabbed as soon as the vows were over. “In fact, I can’t picture his younger face at all.”
Both Via and V turned to the third oldest child upon hearing that, giving Trey incredulous looks. It was V who voiced out the thought the pair shared. “Do you not look at yourself in the mirror?”
“Hm? Why?” Trey asked in between taking sips.
V had to stare at his brother and wondered, not for the first time, if he was an idiot. The Alpha was a spitting image of their father, after all. Both had milk-tea brown eyes and a face that held no lies. If only Gene did not have graying hair or crow’s feet from years of smiling, then the older man could pass off as his son’s twin.
“Nothing.” V sighed, deciding not to bother with Three anymore. The cure for stupidity was not yet invented anyway.
Via giggled upon seeing her sons’ interaction, earning a confused look from the older one. V sighed again when Trey repeated his question.
“I’m glad the crisis was averted.” Via changed the topic with this, causing V to start sweating bullets. “We were quite upset at not seeing you, but I guess it can’t be helped since Cao-Cao needed help with the wedding.”
V felt the familiar twinge of guilt pool at the pit of his stomach. He lied to his family and used his best friend’s name to escape from them, and now it was coming back to haunt him. He forced a laugh, mouth dry. “Ha-ha, yeah. I’m glad too.”
V saw the look of suspicion his brother gave him but he refused to meet Trey’s eyes and ignored him instead. That wine bar looked so enticing at this moment, even if it was only to get out of this situation.
“By the way, I heard from Iver that you weren’t home when he visited.” His Mom’s words made the panic that was bubbling inside V grow.
Trey’s attention was successfully diverted by this. “You weren’t? Why?”
With his mother and brother’s tag-team, V was put at a disadvantage. While he used all his brainpower to come up with an excuse, he was cursing his fourth brother in his head, silently vowing the beat the bad habit of dropping unannounced out of Four.
Just as he was stumbling with his words, a familiar face popped in the Omega’s mind, a face he had been seeing from the moment he woke up recently. “I got a job,” V said in what he hoped was a natural expression, lying with his eyes wide open. “My company requires me to live in the dorms.” He saw that his brother was frowning so he quickly added, “But only for a while, until after training, I suppose.”
“That’s great, honey!” Via hugged his son upon hearing that he got a job, elated after recalling how horrible V’s last employer was.
However, Trey was not appeased. Still frowning, he asked, “Really? Where?”
V could only grit his teeth and hope that after digging himself a grave, his new roommate would not mind his answer. “Quina Corporation.”
