Perfectly Imperfect, Together.

[Cyrus Daniels]

Cyrus Daniels was not a man who wasted time. Having had ten years stolen from him by a fundamentally flawed justice system, he had come to appreciate speed and efficiency much more than others. There was no such thing as moving too fast when you realised life was tragically finite and time infinitely precious.

Leila Somerville appreciated that Cyrus had spent less than half the time picking out his suit for the wedding that Vivienne had spent trying on dresses. Vivienne had been so paralysed by the notion of being a bad luck charm on her own wedding that she took absolutely no chances. She sent Shea and Warren with Leila and Cyrus to the specialist tailor, whilst she stayed behind to look online at wedding cakes on a list of sites Leila had recommended.

Leila had Vivienne’s remit and knew the dress he’d need to compliment. Cyrus stood in a forest green waistcoat and matching tie combination over a white shirt. A simple black jacket completed the look.

“Perfect,” Shea said, standing to his left with Leila. “She’ll die when she sees you in that, like.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah, trust me,” Warren gave an OK with his thumb and forefinger, on Cyrus’ right.

Cyrus smiled as he adjusted the tie in the mirror. Everybody knew the gays were known for their incredible fashion sense, so he took it as high praise that Warren approved his choice. This was also the first suit he’d ever worn in his life in which he wasn’t tormented by a persistent itch so this place really was incredible. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to really relax before he turned to Leila.

“I’ll take it.”

“Bonza! Now we just need to pick out the suits for the groomsmen.”

Warren and Shea took the lead in guiding Cyrus through the choices on offer, Shea was particularly careful to make sure that he only looked at styles which perfectly coordinated with the shade of emerald she’d picked out for the bridesmaids’ dresses. This focus narrowed his choices considerably which only expedited his decision as he settled on an emerald green and black shirt suit combination.

Unnoticed by the men, Shea felt slightly weak at the knees and a brief flutter in her heart as Warren modeled the suit and insisted she take a few pictures of him in it. One of which Shea dutifully sent to Vivienne for final approval.

The pink heart she got in return promptly sealed Warren’s decision and consequently Cyrus’.

***

There never seemed to be enough time for Vivienne. In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, they had returned to Europe. A week in Australia had not been anywhere near long enough for Vivienne, especially after she had seen the gorgeous waterfall that would be the backdrop for their ceremony in person. Photos hadn’t done Cyrus’ homeland justice.

The last decision Vivienne had made before reluctantly leaving Australia was the style of waterfall wedding cake she wanted, accented with the prettiest pink flowers she’d ever seen that was right on theme for her dream ceremony. The plane ride back to Germany had been taken up by Cyrus and Vivienne collaborating on a wedding playlist, a mix of the classics and some less conventional choices from Cyrus.

Cyrus had introduced Vivienne to the didgeridoo in person when they were sightseeing, and ever since she had developed a love for aboriginal nature and music, much to the surprise of Cyrus. He certainly never expected her to insist that they have some didgeridoos at their wedding, eager to fuse their different worlds together. Luckily, Leila knew just a band who would accommodate the fusion of styles they wanted, though they hadn’t come cheap. Vivienne in turn introduced him to her secret love of the Beatles.

They weren’t a band Cyrus was overly familiar with, a revelation that was almost sacrilegious to Shea and Warren, but when Vivienne had let Spotify shuffle determine which song Cyrus would hear from them, he found himself vibing with “All You Need Is Love” almost instantly, and so just like that they had ‘their song’ finally figured out.

Everything really was falling into place now, especially since Astrid’s little girl, Hope had agreed to be Vivienne’s flower girl. Vivienne was still wrestling with the best way to ask Damien Harper to be the ringbearer, whilst she cuddled in Cyrus’ embrace in a Berlin hotel room. He ran his fingers through her hair, and she almost purred. He could always relax her.

Cyrus saw her hesitate about calling Dean, nervous that Cyrus would react badly to her calling another man, especially one who had once seen her naked, but if she wanted Damien at the wedding, she had to get his father’s blessing. Her thumb hovered indecisively over the ‘Call’ button.

“Just bite the bullet, Kitten,” Cyrus said. “If he says no, we’ll find somebody else.”

“It’s not that,” Vivienne held his gaze and spoke softly, “You know I love you. Dean meant nothing to me, the night meant nothing to me. If I could take it back I…”

Cyrus silenced her with a firm finger held against her lips.

“I know, Kitten. You don’t have to justify your past mistakes to me. I didn’t know you then, so I have no right to judge you for who you were. All I care about is who you are now. We all have a past we ain’t too proud of, but we’re moving past it one day at a time, right? So I’d rather focus on where we are going and not where we’ve been. And I’m going ta marry you, because you are mine now and forever. I don’t need to trust Dean, I need to trust you.”

Cyrus withdrew his finger and allowed her to speak again.

“And you do, don’t you?”

“I do yes,” Cyrus made a point of running a thumb along her silver Eternity collar. “Implicitly. I know you’d never betray me.”

“Never,” Vivienne purred, as she drew upon his reassurance to make the call. She left it on speaker. She had nothing to hide, no secrets. They shared a quick kiss whilst the line connected.

“Hello? Starlight?”

Vivienne let out a slight moan as she broke the kiss, “Hey, do you have Damien with you?”

“Yeah, why? What’s up?”

“Could you put him on, please? I have something important to ask him.”

“Hang on, I’ll get him.” Bluey barked in the background as Dean spoke loudly. “Damien! Aunt Viv is on the phone, she wants to talk to you!”

“Coming!” Damien sounded excited. Damien always sounded excited. Vivienne couldn’t help but smile. “Hello! Auntie Viv!” Damien seemed a little breathless, but happy to hear from her.

“Hey! So I’m getting married soon…”

“I know Dad told me, can I come?”

“Yes! Not only do I want you to come, but I want you to do a very special job at the wedding.”

“Me? Really? Wow! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart. I want you to look after the rings at the wedding for me and Cyrus, do you think you can do that for me?”

“Yes! Do I get to wear a suit like Dad?”

“He’s already picked one out for you to match.”

“Yay! Thank you!”

“My pleasure,” Vivienne smiled. “ And thank you too!”

“I can’t wait!”

“Me too,” Vivienne felt Cyrus’ lips against her neck. “I have to go, but I’ll see you soon.”

“Oh okay, bye!”

“Bye!”

The line disconnected as Cyrus ended the call and set Vivienne’s phone on the bedside table, whilst kissing her neck.

“Mmm, Darling. So I’ve been thinking about what you said about our huskies. And you’re right, it’s better to rehome them. Dawn has already offered to take them in.”

“Good girl,” Cyrus breathed, nibbling her ear. “It ain’t healthy ta keep gifts from somebody who caused ya so much heartache, pain and trauma.”

“Yeah, Xavier thought he could fix any mistake with a grand romantic gesture, but I couldn’t blame the dogs. It’s not their fault they were gifted by such an ass. Besides, I don’t think they’ll do well in the Australian weather anyway.”

“What?” Cyrus said. He pulled back slightly, as she touched his face softly, and looked deep into his soul.

“When we move there after the wedding,” Vivienne said. “You do want to move back home, don’t you?”

“But Warren said you’ve never lived outside the US, so I’m surprised ya wanna move to Oz. Away from your home.”

“Darling, you are my home. Besides, it’s beautiful. I know we were using this European tour to scout potential honeymoon destinations, but honestly after last week I think I want our honeymoon in Australia. Is that okay?”

“Yes, absolutely, Kitten,” Cyrus smiled. “Just surprised is all, nobody’s ever wanted to be a part of my world before.”

“I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, right now.”

“Even with everything people say about me, about how I’m wrong for you?”

“I know what they say, and I don’t care. You’re my choice, not theirs. They don’t know you like I do. They don’t love you like I do. I know you’re not your father, I know you’d never hurt our kids, or me. I know I’m safe and loved with you. I hope you feel the same about me.”

“I do,” Cyrus said. “I absolutely fucking do.”

Vivienne shivered and moved quickly to straddle his lap on the bed. She threw her arms around his neck and showed him that she meant everything she had just said with the deepest and most passionate kiss she’d ever shared with anybody. She’d never kissed anybody like she kissed Cyrus Daniels, the love of her damned life.

They were simply meant to be, perfectly imperfect together.