For Always, Forever

Vinny didn’t realize his keys were missing until halfway through the wedding. He was getting pretty bored – the minister was talking about a bunch of stuff he didn’t particularly care about – and he wanted to play with the little tiny Rubik’s cube keychain Matt had gotten him for Christmas. So he shuffled around in his pockets and came up empty. He hadn’t been paying much attention up until that point; let’s face it, he had been pretty drunk the night before and he was mostly looking forward to the reception. Because of this, he hadn’t noticed that one of the key members of the wedding party was missing; he hadn’t noticed the frantic way Matt was texting or the fact that Alex and Jack both looked severely pissed off and Zack looked... a little heartbroken and a little confused. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that Rian was missing – something not easily overlooked considering he was supposed to be Alex’s best man.

And if Vinny had been paying attention at the house when they were getting ready, he would have noticed Rian swiping first his car keys, and then his car, slipping silently out of the house while Alex was in the shower. He would have paid more attention to the tantrum Alex then threw once he realized Rian was missing, and he probably would’ve volunteered to stand in or something. Because if Rian skipped out on his best friend’s wedding, it had to be for something pretty important. He couldn’t figure out what it was, though; as far as Vinny could tell, Rian and Zack were in some sort of relationship, so everyone Rian needed to see that day should have been at the church. He craned his neck, peering at the faces in the crowd to figure out who else was missing. There were the guys from Cobra Starship, and the dudes from Sing It Loud and We the Kings... So shouldn’t Rian have been standing there letting Zack gaze adoringly at him, since they were M.F.E.O. or some shit?

He leaned over to whisper in Matt’s ear. “Matt,” he said, “What’s going on? Where’s Rian?”

Matt growled, “He’s going to be dead once I get my hands on him.”

Vinny said, “Oh.” He didn’t tell Matt that he was pretty sure Rian had his car, because he didn’t want to hear yet another lecture on responsible drinking and why he should keep track of important things like keys and his fucking vehicle. He craned his neck again, trying to find someone entertaining to watch. Where was Martin? It was always funny watching the lovestruck way he stared at Zack, like a little girl with her first crush. Then he realized: “Oh. Martin. Fuck.”

**

Rian was out of breath by the time he reached the terminal – just in time, as it turned out. They had just made the final boarding call. He scanned the crowd, looking for the now-familiar head of messy hair. “Martin,” he shouted. “Martin fucking Johnson!” He pushed through the crowd, grabbing onto Martin’s elbow. “I did not skip my best friend’s wedding to let you get on a fucking flight to Los Angeles.”

“What the fuck are you doing, Rian? Can’t you just accept the victory, or were you planning on rubbing it in my face a little more before I left?”

Rian shook his head. “If you leave now, it’s going to break Zack’s heart. I can’t let you do that.” He took a deep breath, hating what he was about to do. “I love Zack like a brother, okay? And I know that he cares about you a whole lot, so I can’t let one of the most important people in his life walk out of it without even saying goodbye. He doesn’t know, Martin. I got home before he was even awake and I found your note and I just... You can’t do this to him. He’s been through so much already, and I think...” He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “I think he needs to be with someone who really loves him unconditionally, and I don’t think I’m that person. It’s you, Martin. It’s always been you. I see the way you look at him. It’s like when he’s around you, it takes all the fucking air out of every room and he’s the only thing you see. He needs that. So please... Come back with me.”

Martin’s eyes were wide and scared. “You’re serious? You... you skipped the wedding just to stop me?”

“Correction: I committed grand theft auto, pretty much, lied to my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, skipped my best friends’ wedding, and got a three hundred dollar speeding ticket to stop you from leaving. And I would’ve been here sooner, except the cop that stopped me wanted a picture to show her daughter. Now, let’s get going before we miss the reception and Alex strangles the life right out of me,” he sighed.

“But I’m not even dressed,” Martin protested. “Everything I own is at the apartment and we don’t even have time to stop there; we’re not going to make it in time! And... what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

Rian guided him toward the doors. He’d left the car running, just in case. “I’m positive he does, Martin. You’re the one he needs, not me. He needs someone to be in love with him, not someone... someone like me. All I’ve done is make everything hell. I’m just tryin’ to make everything right, and I’m maybe a little afraid that it’s too late. So this is the best I can do; it’s going to suck, because I know that this is going to break Zack’s heart a little bit, so I’m trusting you to take care of his heart once this is done. I’ll take the heat from Alex and Jack.”

**

The speeches were over – hell, the night was basically over – when Martin snuck in through the back door of the hall. Alex and Jack were already drunk, slow-dancing to a Celine Dion song and making out; Vinny was having an in-depth conversation with a can of soda and a bottle of rye whiskey. Rian was nowhere to be seen. His stomach was essentially a tangle of nerves; Rian had told him to go home, shower and change while he ‘took care of everything’. He’d thrown on the cleanest-looking shirt he could find, but he still felt horribly underdressed. So he stood there, paralyzed, until he saw Rian coming. “Hey,” said Rian.

“Hey. This is crazy, I can’t do this,” Martin babbled. “Why did I let you talk me into this? This is a horrible, horrible idea and I am just asking to get my heart broken by doing this.”

“I meant what I said earlier,” Rian told him, giving him a little shove. “Now go talk to him. ‘Cause otherwise, I’m just going to look like an even bigger asshole for ditching Alex and Jack’s wedding and breaking up with Zack for no reason. I didn’t tell him you’re here, by the way; I told him I convinced you to stay a few more days so you could pack. So now, you are going to go and tell Zack how you feel, and then the two of you are going to slow dance, and it’s going to be so fucking cute it makes me sick. Okay?”

Martin took a deep breath and walked slowly into the hall. No one really noticed; there was too much alcohol in everyone’s systems for them to remember much past the name of the person they planned on sleeping with that night. Zack was sitting off by himself, looking thoroughly depressed. Rian had been right about one thing; as soon as he saw Zack it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. He pushed his way through the drunken mass and made his way over to the blonde, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously. Was Rian fucking insane? This was the worst plan ever.

“Hey,” he said nervously, shoving his hands in his pockets so Zack wouldn’t see them shaking.

Zack looked up at him, obviously surprised. “Martin – wh-what are you doing here, Rian said... Alex and Jack almost killed him on sight, he skipped... He skipped the entire day.”

Martin blushed, trying to keep the words in order before speaking. “He wouldn’t have missed anything if he hadn’t decided to get all noble and shit and gone on a kamikaze rescue mission to keep me from flying back to L.A. this afternoon.” It was hard to form words, even, because Zack looked absolutely gorgeous in his suit. “So. Uh. I – Did, uh...? Rian and I, we. We talked about what would happen after I got here, but I don’t know... I don’t know how much he told you about anything.”

“I thought you were with John Oh.” The sadness in Zack’s voice nearly broke Martin’s heart. “I mean, I saw you with him last night and I just thought...”

Martin shook his head. “Jack set me up with him. I told him it was a bad idea, but he never listens. I’m, um, interested in somebody else...” he said awkwardly. “And I’m just hoping I didn’t fuck it up completely by running away, ‘cause that would really suck considering a pretty good friend of mine sacrificed his own feelings so I could be happy.” He cleared his throat. “Will you, uh... will you dance with me?”

“But it’s a slow song,” Zack said. “You should dance with someone you really care about during a slow song.”

“So if you dance with me, I will be.” It was difficult to say who was blushing harder as Martin took Zack by the hand and led him to the dance floor, pulling him close. “I’m sorry I was so dumb and jealous,” Martin said. “Then I was just really scared, and... Yeah. Please forgive me?”

Zack smiled shyly. “I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem,” he whispered, connecting their lips. It was just like the first time they had kissed: soft, sweet and pretty much perfect. Martin made a mental note to get Rian something really fucking awesome, because this was the best gift anyone had ever given him. A muffin basket definitely wouldn’t cut it this time. When they finally broke apart, Martin snuck a peek over Zack’s shoulder at the happy couple. They were totally oblivious to everything happening around them, lost in their own little world. He had to admit, he was a bit jealous of that, but he was also confident that, given time, he and Zack might become the same way.

It had been a hell of a year, really. First Alex had gotten sick, which had prompted Jack to man up and tell Alex how he felt; then, once it seemed like things were finally getting better, Zack had gotten sick and everything had gone crazy with the whole stupid love triangle. The wedding had almost gotten ruined, and there had almost been a mutiny when Matt found out that Vinny had been stupid enough to lose his both keys and car. Yet somehow, it had all worked out; everyone was there at Alex and Jack’s wedding reception, and the best part? Well, the best part was that he not only got to keep Zack, but to go home with him at the end of the night. So everything was going to be okay after all.