Words You Wouldn't Say

Mike had never hated himself more than when he left Max alone days before he was supposed to graduate.

Besides that, he'd never missed someone so much or thought about them as often. Being with Anna, attempting to scrape together a relationship out of what was meant to be a fling, it hadn't made up for losing what he'd had with Max.

When Chester had brought Max to his home, his heart had stopped. He looked stick thin and he hadn't really aged but he was still just as breathtakingly beautiful as Mike remembered him. He had laughed and smiled with Rob and Joe and Mike had been aching just to reach out and touch him, hold him, but he knew he couldn't. Max wasn't his to hold anymore.

But then he was. He didn't pull away from Mike like he thought the younger man would. He leaned into him for comfort. He kissed back when Mike took that surge forward, praying he didn't get the rejection he deserved. He needed Mike as much as Mike needed him, and they molded together like they were always meant to be.

And everyone loved him. His parents had always loved him, his brother and his friends loved him, even Anna opened up to him. Otis had taken to him like a moth to flame. Mike liked to say he didn't believe in fate, but he did. Leaving Max only to come back to him after they'd matured and developed could only have been worked out by some higher power.

He thought about all of this as he fixed the cuff-links on his sleeves. Chester was attempting to fix his tie, but after a while he threw up his hands and made a frustrated noise, causing Mike to chuckle. Brad stepped up in his place, fixing the tie easily. He thanked the man and turned toward the mirror, giving himself a once-over before glancing at the others nervously.

"Do you think Max is okay?"

"Worried he's going to get cold feet?" Phoenix teased. Mike bit his lip and Phoenix's expression dropped.

"He's not going to get cold feet," Chester said, patting Mike's shoulders.

"Yeah, he would've done it by now," Joe said, reclining in his chair.

"Max is an all or nothing kind of guy," Rob said thoughtfully, tying his shoes before standing. Chester slipped out of the room and Talinda stepped in, Teddy in her arms.

"Ooh look Teddy," she said with a smile, bringing him closer to Mike. "Your other daddy's all dressed up and ready to go."

"Is Max not ready?" Mike said nervously. Talinda giggled slightly.

"Relax, Mike," she said. "Everything's fine, and it's all going according to plan." He breathed through his nose and nodded as Chester stepped back into the room, whistling lowly.

"You should see him, Mike." He winked. "If I wasn't tied down..." Talinda smacked his arm and he laughed, and Mike smiled fondly, trying to mask his anxiety. His fingers twisted together and Brad smacked at them.

"Stop," he warned. "It's going to start in a few more minutes."

"I better get Teddy to grandma," Talinda said, hurrying out of the room. Mike watched her, chewing on his lip, and Chester grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at the other.

"You and Max have been ready for this since that day you saved him from the bully," he said. Mike was about to ask which one when Chester gave him a glare. "Don't sass me, boy." Mike chuckled, pulling Chester's hand away. "You're gonna get married and everyone's gonna clap and it's gonna be fine."

"There's a lot of people," Rob commented, glancing out of the door and into the hall of waiting people. Mike glanced over his shoulder, seeing some of the band's acquaintances mixed among their family and friends.

"Why did Talinda invite the Letos?" he asked absently, but Chester pulled him away, adjusting his tie and pulling on his jacket to make sure everything was in place.

"Ready to get married?" Chester asked, grinning at him.

"I've been married before," Mike reminded him.

"Yeah, but that was like, a test run," Chester said, still grinning. "This is the real deal. Man you love and everything." Mike smiled slightly.

"Let's do it." Chester whooped and they all stepped out of the room, taking their spots at the altar. Mike shuffled his feet anxiously and smiled at Otis, who was sitting on his mother's lap. Max's mother was holding Teddy, rocking him gently to keep him asleep.

After a while, the wedding march began to play, and the wives of Mike's bandmates led the way down the aisle. Max brought up the rear, smiling, and Mike lost all of his breath once again, feeling like his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

This was it. This was the man he was going to share everything with for the rest of his life.

He reached the altar and smiled, his hand slipping into Mike's almost automatically. Mike smiled at him, resisting the urge to pull him in and kiss him until he was as breathless as Mike felt. The ceremony began, and they each said their vows, slipping rings onto each others' fingers. When the minister told them to kiss, Mike took Max's face in both of his hands and pulled him close, kissing him as hard as he could, hoping to convey how much he loved him in that one kiss. He heard Chester whooping behind him as everyone else cheered at a normal volume and he smiled against Max's lips. The other man laughed softly and pressed another, quick kiss to Mike's lips.

The reception happened immediately after. Nearly everyone that had gone to the ceremony went to the reception, congratulating the married couple before mingling with each other. Mike thanked them all, holding onto a piece of Max at all times, never too far from him. Every time he looked around, he was reminded of the color of Max's eyes, which made him want to hold his now-husband again.

Max disappeared while Mike was talking to the Leto brothers, who congratulated him and clapped him on the back. He thanked them and looked around, spying Max talking to his mother and sister. He stepped over and surprised him from behind, smiling when Max jumped a little and pouted as if Mike had told him he couldn't have ice cream for dessert.

"Don't surprise me like that," he mumbled, and Mike laughed, saying hi to his family before pulling him toward the dance floor to dance. Max smiled softly and let him, slipping into an easy rhythm with him.

"I'm surprised you let Talinda invite all these people," he said as they began to dance. Max shrugged slightly.

"The more the merrier, right?" Isaiah and Jaime pushed past them and Otis tottered after them, followed by a worried Tyler. Mike smiled slightly and looked at Max, who was watching him with a loving expression on his face.

"I've said this before," Max said, "but I'm so glad Chester brought you to my house that day." Max smiled softly.

"I know." He pressed his forehead to Mike's before smiling and pulling away slightly. "Take off your ring." Mike's eyebrow lifted and he pulled his hands away from Max's hips, pulling off his ring as Max did the same. Max lifted them both for Mike to see that in both rings there sat a red line all the way around. "Some cultures believe that soulmates are tied together by red string. No matter how far they go from each other, no matter how tangled up the string becomes, they will always find their way back to one another."

Mike smiled fondly, looking between his new husband and the rings. "It's perfect," he said quietly. They slipped their rings back onto their fingers and Mike pulled Max closer. "No matter what, I always am and always will be yours."

They danced for a while longer before coming to a standstill in the middle of the dance floor. Mike had never felt more content than he did right now, holding Max in his arms, enjoying everything that he was.

They didn't even notice that the party had gone silent; even the music had stopped. When Mike realized that no one was making a sound, he looked up and around to find everyone staring at them. He felt the tips of his ears go red and heard Max hum.

Their gazes met and Max smiled, slow and sure, before pressing his lips to Mike's and kissing him like nothing else in the world mattered.

And in that moment, nothing else did.