Chapter Text
Weddings were not something that Gaien ever thought he would be a part of. Before Sterling, he’d had no friends, family… anything. So it was easy for him to fall into complete awe as he watched the chaos that built from him simply asking his wife if she would have a wedding with him, and her subsequent “yes.”. He’d never seen her so stressed, and it was worrying him. The way her Aunts and mother seemed to be snarling at each other and making demands of his wife… it left him as on edge as his other half.
Not to mention the growing instinct to protect her from everything and anything. He now sat in the kitchen of Candice’s house, ignoring the looks of disdain that he and Sterling were receiving because he refused to let her leave his lap. He was finally able to intake a breath without letting lose a growl as he buried his face in his bust. There was nothing sexual about it either, the softness and scent of his Mate being all he wished for. He could even tell that Sterling found comfort in running her hands over his fringe and mandible.
“Auntie, Gaien is a Turian! He isn’t Catholic so that’s why we can’t have a Catholic wedding!” begged the woman as she tried to get them to drop the idea of having Gaien convert.
“Then he can convert and get baptized! Sterling, Mejita, this is important!” insisted the eldest of the four sisters. “It’s already hard enough that he’s an alien and getting the church to recognize your marriage.”
“It doesn’t matter worth a Krogan’s ass if the church recognizes our marriage.” Hissed Gaien as he wrapped his arms tighter around his wife’s torso and turned his head so he could fix his angry lilac gaze at the aunts. “The Hierarchy and the Alliance military both recognize our marriage.” He then leaned back in his chair and looked at his wife, his large hand caressing her face.
“If I wasn’t such a selfish man I wouldn’t keep putting you through this Sterling… your family is never going to accept us. I’m not some rich human you can have offspring with…” he said gently before removing her from his lap and then standing. He bumped his head on the chandelier before sighing and holding the abused spot. “I agreed to a wedding because I thought you all would be good to Sterling and make it about her, and celebrate that this family’s only daughter was happy, tha-”
“Gaien…”
“No. Let me finish!” he snarled, “That she’s survived the ultimate hell, that she went off to defend all of the universe and you all in a war that had impossible odds…” he glared at Amelia in particular, “And all any of you can focus on at this moment is that I’m not the same religion, which I know stems from the fact none of you still approve that I’m not even Human.”
He began to flare up with anger, ready to begin yelling, however he felt the cool hand of his wife on his bicep and turned to look at her, his eyes softening. “Gaien, my beloved, I don’t have any problems with you not being human.”
“I know Sterling… I don’t care that you’re not turian.” He took her hands, “I love you. I’m bonded to you for eternity, happily so.”
“There’s a saying,” she started before smiling gently at him, “Their wedding, our marriage.”
He clicked at her curiously.
“It means that the family will forever make a fuss over something, but it means nothing as long as we love each other and promise to. They can have the wedding… but it’s our marriage that actually matters.” She looked at their hands as she laced their awkward fingers together. “And I think we’re pretty good at our marriage.”
He rumbled, pleased at the sensation of their fingers interlacing. “This wedding should be about you Sterling, not them. They don’t even have another family to Battle for traditions and such, not once has anyone asked me what I would like either.” He smirked at her softly, “And I’m okay with that… as long as you get to have something special for yourself.”
Sterling smiled up at him before she pulled her hands away and reached, her arms wrapping around his cowl. “Tell me what you’d like then Gaien. This is about you just as much as me. You are my family.”
He held her tightly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. “Honestly… I just want you. I want to see you light up and so happy that everything is the way YOU want it…”
“And?”
“…” he chuckled, “I want a hell of a lot of food, food I can eat… and I’d like for us to have our hands tied.”
She pressed her cheek against his mandible, “Explain?”
He exhaled, “It’s something they do in Turian weddings… We stand facing each other and the officiant or someone close to us says all the wishes and hopes for us they have. While they wrap our joined hands in a cord. They’re tying us together, praying that we have the happiness for us they dream for.” His voice was quiet, as the scene of him and Sterling having their hands tied together played in his head… he felt his chest ache at the sentimental meaning before he looked at her once more, “That’s… what I want with you.”
Her tender gaze relaxed him, “Then that’s what we’ll have.” She grinned at him before standing on her toes to press her nose bridge against his. Oh, how he loved it when she did that.
Later, the Turian male sat back in a recliner as he half listened to Sterling, who had gained some of her fire, battle with her family over the preliminary plans to the wedding. The majority of his focus now was homed in on the screen of his omni-tool.
A few weeks ago he had joined a forum on inter-species couples, and in specific the forum he followed was turian and human relationships. He’d never been someone Social, but he had found that with having Sterling in his life, he was slowly gaining the confidence to make friends.
He was friends with the couple humans he worked with, with a Krogan that also worked with them at times. Or at least, he thought they were friends, on occasion they convinced him to join them for drinks and food after work. If he wasn’t too desperate to get back to Sterling, he often went. She never questioned him anyways, a simple “Okay, have fun babe.” Was all Sterling ever said when he told her he was going to be late.
Maybe it was because she was so supportive of him having friends? She had Eva and Mina after all…
Either way, he was finding that there were more than he could have imagined for people in his situation. Being that of a Male Turian, who was involved with a Female human…
It was strange, he admitted it, turians and humans did still hold some animosity towards eachother…
He clicked his mandibles in thought before reading over the messages that had came in while he was lost in thought.
VerdiGreen008 – Sometimes it’s amazing how something so tiny and squishy can be scarier than a reaper….
Iluvcallibrations – Tell me about it, I’ve been with my girlfriend for almost 5 years now, she never ceases to amaze me.
SaboteurReyes – I wish I could say the same, however I was stranded on a moon for over two months with my Wife, I watched her fist fight a brute to death… It’s no longer a surprise when she scares me. I just wish she could summon up that same fire with her Family.
Iluvcallibrations – Still having issues in paradise?
SaboteurReyes – Yeah, it’s like they just suck the life right out of her. Plus now they’re refusing to recognize our relationship and marriage unless we have a wedding…
VerdiGreen008 – Weddings are fun!
VerdiGreen008 – I guess? I don’t know, the last one I went to was my cousin’s and My Girlfriend handled most of the talking… I’ve never been good in those situations.
SaboteurReyes – I don’t have anyone to invite really, I have like three work friends… and that’s it… AND they are trying to make me convert to Catholicism…
Iluvcallibrations – That’s rough bud… Are you going to?
SaboteurReyes – No! And my wife put her foot down and is still fighting them for me to not have to. I just feel bad that she would have to have a half empty ceremony…
Iluvcallibrations – I’ll come. I mean… My Lady and I could use some time on solid ground, so could our crew. A wedding is a good excuse for that, plus I know she’ll be excited.
VerdiGreen008 – My Girl and I can come too, if you don’t mind that is. We’re all friends anyways, three turian guys who all date Human women… and have lived to tell the tales.
Iluvcallibrations – HA!
SaboteurReyes – LMFAO!
VerdiGreen008 – It’s True! Look, we all fought in the reaper war… I still say that is nothing compared to navigating a human woman when she has her cycle. At least Turian women it’s a designated time twice a year. Our lovely ladies get something like that every month!
SaboteurReyes – I feel you, And… Yeah… It would be really great if you guys could come…
Iluvcallibrations – Fair warning, I come with around fifteen people… It’s not just me and my woman, it’s a whole ship.
SaboteurReyes – Looking forward to it!
Gaien couldn’t believe his luck… He had people to come to his wedding once the date was set. His heart was a flutter, and his face cracked into a wide turian grin as he got up from his chair and hurried to his wife, hugging her from behind, and ignoring the complaints of her relatives as he showed her the screen on his omni-tool.
Sterling took a moment to read, before she broke into laugher and turned in his grip, “That’s great babe!” she cheered for him as she held his face and pecked at his mouth plates. “I’m so happy for you.”