Vows

Elena's breath caught as she turned the band over in her fingers. The engraving caught the neon pulse of the Vegas strip—Always and Forever - I promise—and something in her chest cracked wide open.

Maybe he is fate.

This night is fate.

She looked up at Alexander, his Blue eyes still holding that strange, unguarded light, and she felt the truth of it settle into her bones. The champagne, the terrace, the impossible proposal—none of it made sense. And yet it made perfect sense.

She smiled at him.

Not the practiced smile she'd worn all night for her father's colleagues. Not the polite curve she'd been trained since childhood to deploy. A real smile. The kind that reached her eyes and softened her entire face.

"Always and forever," she repeated "I promise."

The bands went into his pocket. Her hand stayed in his. The door chimed behind them as they stepped back into the night, bound by platinum and the strangest certainty either had ever known.

The street pulsed with Vegas neon, but the space between them had gone quiet.

Alexander stopped mid-stride. Elena turned, confused, and found him already moving—down, one knee hitting the pavement without hesitation, the ring box already open in his hand. The emerald caught the light like a green star against the velvet.

"You're..." she started.

"Elena." His voice was raw, unguarded. "I don't know if this is the champagne or the stars or some chemical trick of the universe. But I know that when I look at you, I don't want to be careful anymore. I don't want to be strategic. I want to be yours." He smiled, soft and crooked. "I want to wake up tomorrow and every morning after and find you there. I want to build something real out of this beautiful, insane thing we've found."

Her hand flew to her mouth. Her mind screamed this is wrong, you don't know him, this is reckless.

But something deeper, something fierce, overrode the noise.

"Are you going to leave me kneeling here all night?" he asked, dry humor bleeding through. "Because I'm fine with that. The ground's warm. I've got good knees."

A laugh burst from her, bright and startled. "You're entirely too handsome to keep waiting on the dirty ground."

She stepped forward, extending her hand.

"So yes," she said, "Yes, I'll marry you."

He slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

"This is absurd," she whispered.

"and yet you said yes anyway."

"Yes. Absurdly, completely, absolutely yes I did." she laughed. He stood up pulled her close and kissed her soft and sweet. She gave in kissing him back.

They walked another ten minutes laughing before they stumbled onto a wedding chapel—a 24/7 neon-lit wedding chapel, its sign flickering pink and gold against the desert dark. A plastic Elvis swayed in the window, and the words "I DO, 24 HOURS A DAY" blazed above the door.

He stopped looking at the chapel. Elena stopped her eyes swept over to where his had landed. She was still holding his hand, the ring box warm in his pocket, her bare feet on the cold pavement where she'd abandoned her heels blocks ago.

"Alexander, no you just...Noo" she said laughing disbelievingly .

"What?" He smiled a nod of his head.

She followed his gaze again. The chapel pulsed with Vegas kitsch—red velvet ropes, a glowing cross, a sign advertising "Elvis Officiant – No Appointment Necessary."

He turned to her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking this is insane."

"Completely insane." he agreed laughing

"I'm thinking my father will disown me."

"Probably."

"I'm thinking.....I'm..." She laughed, dizzy and wild. "I'm thinking" she said trying to think again. Looking at him his eyes hopeful his smile radiant "That right now with you I just don't care."

He pulled her close, his mouth brushing her ear. "Then let's be insane together."

The bell above the door chimed as they pushed inside, still laughing, still breathless, still holding onto each other like the world had already fallen away.

The chapel was called The King's Little Chapel, and it smelled like old carpet and cheap roses. The officiant was a man in a white jumpsuit with sideburns that defied several ordinances.

"Dearly beloved," Elvis began, "we are gathered here tonight—"

Elena's hands were clasped in Alexander's. She'd lost her heels somewhere. Her dress was wrinkled. She couldn't stop smiling.

"I, Alexander James Bennett," he said, and his voice was steady, the words deliberate, "vow to protect you, to honor you, to stand beside you through whatever comes. I vow to be the man you deserve. I vow that this—" He lifted their joined hands. "—is the most real thing I've felt in years." He said placing the wedding band behind her engagement ring.

Elena's throat tightened. "I, Elena Natalia Voss, vow to stand with you. To never make you regret this. To be your partner, your ally, your—" She laughed her smile reaching her eyes "Your wife. God, your wife." She said softly placing the wedding band on his finger.

"By the power vested in me," Elvis said, grinning, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. you may now..." the officiant didn't get to finish his sentence. The words hung in the air like a blessing.

Alexander didn't wait. He stepped forward, one hand sliding into her hair, the other finding the small of her back, and he kissed her like the world was ending.

Not polite. Not tentative.

Soul-snatching.

Elena's knees buckled. His arm tightened, holding her upright as his tongue swept against hers, tasting champagne and forever and something electric she couldn't name. She made a sound—small, desperate, hungry —and her fingers curled into the lapels of his jacket, pulling him closer, needing him closer.

When he finally broke the kiss, she was gasping. Her lips were swollen. Her eyes were dark.

Elvis cleared his throat, adjusting his rhinestone collar. "Well, I was gonna say you can kiss the bride," he drawled, "but clearly y'all didn't need my permission." He grinned, clipboard tucked under his arm. "Maybe save the rest for the hotel room, yeah? This is a family establishment." he said handing the marriage license to Elena. She took it and put it in her purse without moving from his arms.

Elena laughed, breathless and wild, her forehead pressed against Alexander's chest. His heart hammered beneath her palm.

"Hotel room," she repeated, looking up at him.

"Hotel room," he agreed, voice rough.

They were out the door before Elvis could finish his congratulations.