Blessed by Night

Malachi walked outside as the helicopter came closer.

His gaze was sharp enough to cut through metal. Serosh had appeared at his side bearing an equally fearsome look.

Though both of them quickly lost this ferocious demeanor when they realized exactly who was making this surprising and uninvited entrance.

"Is that..."

"Oh, god..."

"THEY COULDN'T KEEP A REAL ONE LOCKED DOWN FOREVER!" A voice yelled from afar.

Arias was hanging out the side of the airplane, laughing like a madman while in the tightest straitjacket that Malachi had ever seen.

He was grabbed roughly by the collar by someone and pulled back into the plane so that they could land without causing an incident.

When the plane finally made ground, Arias hopped out, but he was accompanied by Awena Brenham and a squad of prison guards armed to the teeth.

Also, a mysterious older woman was floating above them who none of them seemed to be able to see...

"Umm... What's all this?" Malachi gestured to Arias.

Before Awena could answer, he cut in first.

"It's like 'Orange is The New Black'! Do something strange for a prison guard, and you get free favors!"

Several outcries of denial swiftly came from the guards. Arias cackled like a madman.

Frustrated, Awena pulled out a roll of duct tape from her purse and smacked it across Arias' lips.

Malachi was honestly surprised that she hadn't done that on the ride over here...

"Anyway.." Awena slicked back her hair and resumed her formal, business-like posture. "We're trying out a new program. A year of good behavior for an hour outside. It's less messy than conjugal visits, that's for sure."

Malachi was at a loss.

Arias seemed to be smiling even underneath the tape. His eyes said: 'You didn't actually think I'd miss this, did you?'.

Leave it to Arias to find some sort of legal way to break out of jail.

However, Malachi couldn't help but feel like there was a bit more going on here.

He stared calculatively at Awena for a long time.

Granted, he didn't know this woman very well. But Joanne did. And she told him a lot about her.

Based on everything that he had heard, did he truly believe that this woman would, of her own accord, do something nice with no ulterior motive at all?

Especially for a criminal she didn't care for like Arias..?

He didn't know if he believed anyone was that nice. Let alone a government official.

"What's this, a prison break?"

Serana showed up outside to see what all of the commotion was about. Seeing Arias outdoors was definitely not what she would have expected.

Malachi rubbed the back of his neck, still unsure about the origin of this whole thing. "I guess we're having a few more guests in attendance."

Serana's face twitched. The veins in her forehead pushed against her skin.

"…So it's just fuck my seating chart, huh?"

-

The backyard had been transformed overnight.

Beautiful white decorations and flowers dotted every corner of the venue.

Arcs of sunlight shimmered across the surface of the water and reflected warmth onto the guests.

A bit of everyone was here. From Morgan, Crystal, and Emilia, all the way to Nyx and Aubrey, and even a few of the friends who had lived with them in the Nightfall base for a year.

All were in attendance for possibly the most untraditional wedding that had ever been held in America.

Malachi stood underneath the altar. Unlike his usual self, he was clearly very nervous and seemed like he was going to keel over at any moment.

Aisha, who stood by his side, had already vowed that she was never going to let him hear the end of it.

When the music began, nearly everyone in attendance could hear Mal's heartbeat perform its own drum solo.

Two little flower girls, both dressed in white, wandered down the aisle, hurling petals in the air as if this would be the most fun part of their day.

It warmed Malachi's heart to see them together and making nice for once. He just hoped it would last when they went to school tomorrow.

They came to the altar and stood right at Malachi's side. He ruffled their hair affectionately and felt his nerves calm by just a fraction.

That is, until the patio doors opened and a stream of women came trailing out together. Then all of the nerves just came rushing back.

The closer they got, the worse his nerves became.

He wasn't sure what he had done in his last life to earn this level of fortune, but there wasn't a day he didn't thank the stars above for it.

His entire life had changed into something truly incredible out of nowhere. And now, he was about to marry the loves of his life.

While it probably wouldn't change much about how they lived their day-to-day, the symbolic elevation of their relationship status was more than worth their combined weight in gold.

He was going to be a husband today. And then for the rest of his life.

Malachi didn't know when the ceremony started. He couldn't hear anything outside of his own heartbeat.

It wasn't until Camille nudged him on the leg that he realized everyone was looking at him. Including the deacon.

Embarrassment set in, and he just spouted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I-I do!"

Malachi didn't remember the last time that his voice sounded so shaky and full of anxiety. He wanted a do-over as soon as he spoke.

At first, surprise showed up on the girls' faces.

Then, they spontaneously burst into a fit of laughter.

"I just said you looked nice, honey, but it's good to know that you're so eager." Sei laughed as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Someone's a little nervous, huh?" Bianca smiled.

Malachi pretended he couldn't feel Ali's white hot gaze boring into the side of his head. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Nah, there's no reason for nerves." Anna said confidently. "We're just eight people, getting married, and... you all just so happen to be also getting married to my mom..."

"We agreed not to think about it until the bar opened." Joanne nodded firmly.

"Right, right."

All of them started wearing that same, awkward, wry smile.

None of them knew what they were doing.

Their relationships were awkward, unconventional, messy, and anyone who heard about it would look at them like they were seriously off their rocker.

But that was fine. No one had to understand.

All that mattered was that they would have each other. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.

Everything else? They could figure that out later.