Author's Note: I have to thank KittyViolet and Magik3 for explaining the different connotations for the diminutives Ilya and Yana for the full name of Illyana; specifically, as I understand it, the more correct diminutive for Illyana would be Ilya, with Yana being more of an Americanization. I am clearly NOT a Russian speaker, and I appreciate the clarification! As such, I'll explain why Kitty refers to her as Yana in my story, because in general I don't like retconning things.

I have also learned a LOT about Jewish weddings and ceremonies for this story. I do not and will never claim to be an expert on this subject, but it's amazed me to learn about the intricacies not only of the rituals of the traditional ceremony but also the language involved. Reading about many different approaches to incorporating these traditions and rituals into a same-sex ceremony has been quite eye-opening. I hope that Kitty and Illyana's ceremony does justice not only to the two characters, but also to the rich faith that is important to Kitty and to millions around the world. I sincerely hope no one is offended by Kitty and Illyana incorporating parts of a traditional Jewish ceremony, because they're doing it out of respect and love (and so am I).

This is a big chapter. Just warning you.

I do not own the X-Men comics/movies and I make no claims upon it or its characters. All these characters are used under the concept of Fair Use, and I make no profit or income from using any of them.

How Kitty Pryde Saved Illyana Rasputin's Soul (or Was It the Other Way Around?)

by Jo K.

Chapter 3: I Now Pronounce You

Looks like we made it

Look how far we've come now baby

We might've took the long way

But we knew we'd get there someday

They said, I bet they'll never make it

But look at us holding on

Still together, still going strong

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss goodnight

-Shania Twain, "You're Still the One"

—O—

—O—

THE DAY OF THE WEDDING

"Jesus, Kitty, stop fidgeting!" Rachel Grey snapped at her friend as she tried to get the brunette to stop pacing around the small trailer that had been set up for Kitty and her bridesmaids.

As it was, only Kitty's phasing ability had kept her white wedding gown from snagging and tearing on something as she walked back and forth, over and over, inside the small air-conditioned trailer set up on the lawn of the original Xavier School for Gifted Children in Westchester. Though no longer in use, the property was still kept up, and Kitty and Illyana had felt that no place would be more appropriate for their wedding than the very place where they fell in love.

"I'm sorry, Rach!" Kitty said harshly. In less than two hours, the wedding would be over, and Kitty Pryde would be Kitty Rasputin. "I-It's just, we barely had time to finish the rehearsal last night, due to us getting back late from that Pride parade in Russia, and then the dinner didn't go right, because the caterer had totally ignored our requirements with kosher and vegan choices, and, and then the tents weren't the right size, and—"

"Hey."

Kitty stopped abruptly at the sight of Jubilation Lee standing in front of her, her expression so fierce that her eyes were on the verge of turning red. "Um... Hey?" she said weakly.

"Chill the hell out, Kitty," Jubilee said. "Seriously. Or I'm going to have Elixir sedate you or something."

A stricken look crossed Kitty's face as something occurred to her.

"Oh, Jesus..." Rachel said, rolling her eyes and turning her back to Kitty and Jubilee.

"Jubes, if you're here already, then who's watching the guests?!" Kitty said frantically. "H-How do we know that someone that shouldn't be here hasn't snuck in? I thought you were—"

"I was. I am. Until Rachel psychically let me know that you were about to work yourself up into a fit, and that I needed to come on in here and get ready." The woman with short jet hair sighed. "Look, it was me or Laura. Which one of us do you think would be the better choice to try to calm you down?"

"She's watching the crowd?" Kitty asked, her nerves not exactly improved.

Jubilee nodded. "Don't worry, babe. Between Laura and Nico, they'll make sure no problems slip through. Forget yesterday. This day's going to go smooth as clockwork."

—O—

"Yeah, we're old teammates of Kitty!" said Peter Quill.

Despite his best charms and offering his brightest smile, the Guardian of the Galaxy was having no success getting past the dark-haired Laura Kinney, wearing a simple black evening dress (albeit barefoot) and her equally raven-haired girlfriend Nico Minoru, wearing a gothic lolita masterpiece of a dress that somehow combined a corset, yards of black satin and tulle and more laces than the shoe section at a department store.

"You're not on the guest list," Laura replied flatly. "And you have no invitation."

"I'm trying to tell you, Quill," grumbled Rocket, standing beside the human. "This is not one of your better ideas. And even your better ideas ain't that good."

"Shut up, Rocket," Peter said quickly to the side.

"I am Groot," rumbled a large tree-like creature standing behind the man and the raccoon-like biped.

"Yes, he is embarrassing himself," agreed Rocket. "Just give it up, Pete," the smaller mammal said, tugging on Quill's pant leg.

"No! We came a really really long way to be here for this, because she's an old teammate of ours!"

"Look, Peter," Nico began. "I'm not sure why you're not on the list, but—"

"Probably because you're an old boyfriend of hers!" said Rocket, a bit gleefully. Watching Quill squirm was more entertaining than he wanted to admit.

"OH!" said Nico, her lips puckering into an O-like shape.

"That answers that question," said Laura grimly. "Old boyfriends are definitely not allowed today."

"But Colossus is in there!" Peter said, gesturing toward Piotr Rasputin, wearing a formal tuxedo as he chatted with some of the guests already present on the lawn of the old original Xavier School.

"Colossus is here because he's the brother of one of the brides. That's the only reason, and that was a fight in itself," Laura said, her patience nearly gone.

Nico stepped forward, desperately wanting to avoid bloodshed today if at all possible. "Okay, last time," she said firmly. "You're not on the list, Peter. Sorry. I can't tell you why you're not on the list. You'd have to take that up with Kitty and Illyana. BUT you're not going to take that up with them today. It's their fucking wedding day. Have some respect. Send 'em a card or something."

Nico turned around and moved back behind the reception table.

"Look, I just wanted to tell her I'm happy f—"

The unmistakeable sound of adamantium blades snapping into position stopped Quill's words in his mouth, as he looked down at a very annoyed Laura Kinney, her claws now extended and her arms lightly curled in anticipation of a fight.

"Don't get any blood on your dress, hon," Nico said quietly.

"You can magic it out," Laura said flatly, her eyes locked with Peter's.

"Yeah, good point," replied Nico.

"Okay, it can wait," Quill said, quickly turning and walking away, nearly tripping over Rocket in the process.

"Jeez, Quill!" said Rocket. "Have some respect for your teammates!"

As Peter and Rocket walked away, the tree creature who was Groot gave a slow but friendly wave to Laura and Nico. The two women politely waved back. Then Groot turned and plodded after his friends.

"Traveled all this freaking way and can't even talk to her..." Quill could be heard saying as he was walking away.

"I tried to tell you this was a stupid idea," added Rocket, his voice carrying more clearly.

"I am Groot."

"Yes, a tasteful card congratulating them would have been a better idea. You just can't tell humans anything."

"I am Groot."

"Angela!"

Rocket and Groot stopped and looked ahead as Peter stopped to talk to Angela; the tall, powerful redhead was dressed in a form-fitting set of armor made of gleaming silver, and holding her hand was a lovely shorter woman who had straight shoulder-length hair of jet black and bright eyes of blue-gray in a shining white full-length gown. Standing behind them was a young woman who appeared to be just out of her teens, with long, straight black hair that fell halfway down her back, dressed in a shimmering green sheath of a dress.

"What're you doing here?" asked Quill, surprised to see his teammate and doubly surprised to see her with others.

"We were invited," said the shorter jet-haired woman, a cutting smile on her face.

"Sera, my love," said Angela, her long red hair blowing loose in the morning breeze, "these are some of my fellow Guardians. Peter Quill, Rocket, and Groot," the tall redhead said, indicating each member with an open hand. "Guardians, I am honored to introduce my mate, the lovely Lady Sera, and our daughter, Leah."

Angela and Sera moved aside to allow the petite girl with long, straight black hair and piercing green eyes to step forward, taking her place beside them. The girl smiled, but there was a sadness in her eyes that seemed immune to the expression on her face. Beside the young woman, a creature that looked somewhere between a wolf and a large dog stood, smoke and flickers of flame licking out from its maw as it yawned lazily.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies," Peter said smoothly, bowing and moving to take Sera's hand formally, only to stop a bit awkwardly when Sera refused to extend it to him.

"Only my wife or my family gets to kiss me," Sera said calmly. "That extends to my hands, too."

Peter smoothly smiled and retracted his hand, ignoring the very audible cackling behind him. Rocket wasn't the best at subtlety. "When did you two have time to raise a daughter?" he said, turning to the dark-haired young woman.

"It's a long story," said the girl, who extended her hand and allowed Peter to politely kiss her knuckles. "Nice to meet you, but we should probably get to our seats." There was a glum quality to her voice, a sadness that seemed to saturate each word she spoke.

"Leah," said Sera gently, and there was a softness in her tone that sounded thoroughly parental. "You didn't have to come for this, dear, truly."

Tears threatened to spill from the young woman's eyes, and quickly she stepped forward and leaned against Sera's chest. Immediately she was surrounded by not just Sera's arms, but also Angela's, who had turned and stepped closer to her wife and daughter to hold them both gently in her powerful arms.

The girl nodded against Sera's chest, ignoring the tears and eyeliner that would smudge her mom's gown. A bit of magic would remove the stain once they were done crying. "I had to be here," she said, her voice sad and strained. "It's not her, but part of it is her, you know? And I want her to be happy."

"We know far too well, sweet girl," Sera murmured, rubbing Leah's back comfortingly.

"We're proud of you, Leah," Angela said, her normally powerful voice gentle and soothing. "You're a brave young woman. We're here for you, whenever you need us."

Angela leaned her head against Leah and Sera as she held them both, her white and gold ribbons flowing through the air around them as if they were also embracing the small family. Angela glanced up, her solid white eyes meeting the gaze of Peter, Rocket and Groot. "We need a moment, please," she said, her voice quiet but firm.

"Sure, sure," Peter said, stepping back. "Let us know if we can help, okay?"

"Of course," Angela said quietly. Quill meant well. He truly did. He just didn't know when to stop sometimes, a trait possessed by most inhabitants of Midgard.

Rocket met Angela's gaze and nodded once. His own expression was sympathetic, which the Angel knew was impossible for him to fake. She smiled softly at him and bowed her head slowly in a gesture of both respect and thanks. The creature could be difficult to read at times, but he was always honest in his emotions.

A creaking noise made Sera open her eyes to see Groot towering over them as he carefully wrapped the three of them in his stiff but gentle embrace. "I am Groot," he said slowly, his voice barely more than a rustle of wind through leaves and branches.

Sera smiled and closed her eyes again, as even Angela fought back tears at Groot's heartfelt statement. Sera reached up and patted one of Groot's branches lovingly. "You're a gem, Groot," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "We love you, too."

—O—

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen a bride look so sexy and so terrifying at the same time," said Dani Moonstar as she adjusted one of the leather straps between the choker around Illyana's throat and the top of the blonde's black wedding dress.

"That does seem to be my thing," Illyana said, smiling as she looked at herself and her old teammate in the full-length mirror, the satin black of her gown and the bright yellow of Dani's toga-like dress contrasting with a visual pop. "Sexy and scary."

Dani nodded. "You do it well."

The sleeveless dress was elegant, a shiny black silk that fell just below her knees with slits along both sides to allow easy movement, with a top that stopped partway up her chest, enough to show the just the top of her breasts without being audacious or salacious. The back of the gown stopped just above Illyana's waist, leaving her back bare other than two slim braided straps that began at the sides of her hips and ran upward to attach to the gown's choker-style neck. Two more slim braided straps ran upward from the top of the dress in the front, traversing her collarbones to meet the thick black choker neck. Attached to the choker was a small silver pendant in the form of her and Kitty's sigil, the only form of adornment found on the gown.

A soft knock at the door of the dressing trailer being used by Illyana and her mixed crew of attendants drew the attention of Roberto, Sam and Doug, who were milling around the open space where the men's side and the women's side met in the center of the trailer. (Warlock was busy being Doug's suit). Sam looked at the others briefly before going to the door and opening it.

In the women's dressing area, Dani, Xi'an and Amara were all standing around Illyana, all of them happy to have a peaceful reason to be together again. It had been Amara's suggestion to use simple toga-inspired dresses of yellow for the bridesmaids to go with the black for the bridesmen, incorporating the two colors they had all worn for years as part of the New Mutants. Xi'an had added a black and yellow garter and ribbon over her prosthetic leg, highlighting the mechanical limb rather than hiding it. The men had black tuxedos with yellow vests and accents to match the color scheme, resulting in a striking appearance with them all together.

Soft tapping on the door to the women's section made the four women stop adjusting dresses and tweaking at hair.

"Hey, ladies, Yana?" came Sam's voice, opening the door slightly.

"Only Katya gets to call me that," Illyana replied, raising her voice a bit before softening it again. "When she does it, it reminds me of when I first met her, and how adorable she was, and how hard she tried to make me feel welcome and loved. When anyone else does it, it's being a lazy American."

Sam winced a bit. "Okay, point made. Anyway, ya'll got room for one more in there?"

Dani looked at Illyana. "Were we expecting another?" she asked.

Illyana shook her head at Dani. Dani moved to the door, her strong shoulders and arms accentuated by the toga's minimal top. She opened the door to reveal a small woman with very short, nearly shaved red hair, looking upward at the Native American with a look that mixed apprehension and hopefulness. "R-Rahne...?" Dani whispered.

The small Scot smiled, eyes wet with tears as she mumbled, "Is it too late?" with a voice that was hesitant and unsteady.

Dani blinked against the burning she felt in her own eyes as she held out her arms to let the slight woman throw herself against Dani's stronger frame. "It's never too late," Dani whispered as she hugged Rahne tightly, right before the two of them were wrapped in a joint embrace made up of women behind Dani and men behind Rahne (and a metamorphic pair of techno-organic arms hugging everyone at once).

"I... I know ye prob'ly don' want me here—" Rahne began, her weakened brogue currently intensified due to her nerves, only to be cut off by Dani stepping back and being replaced by Illyana, whose ice-blue eyes were wet with tears.

"Of course I want you here," Illyana said, her voice just above a whisper. "You were my teammate, and you were my friend."

Rahne's lower lip quivered briefly. "But... but I was so horrible to y' then! I said such things..."

Illyana gently took Rahne's upper arms, holding them carefully. "That wasn't just you speaking those things, Rahne. It was also all those people who raised you, who had forced that ugliness and bigotry into your head." Illyana smiled softly. "Just like the man who raised me forced things into my head, into my thoughts, that I never wanted either."

Illyana stared into Rahne's eyes, and even now she could see regret and shame in the diminutive Scot's eyes. "You have suffered so much, Rahne," Illyana said, her voice as soft and soothing as she could make it. "SO much. More than I ever did, and for much longer. Let us help you heal, now."

As thoughts of her forced slavery, the manipulation of her emotions, the experimentations performed on her, the birth and loss of her son, abandoning her teammates, her friends and even her own child overwhelmed her, Rahne broke down and cried. Dani quickly stepped forward and gathered Rahne into her arms once more, the others still in the group hug surrounding them.

"We're going to be here for you, Rahne," Dani whispered against the Scot's short red hair. "I'm going to be here for you. We're your friends, now and always, no matter what."

Rahne turned and wrapped her arms around Dani's neck, pulling close to her oldest friend. "I'm so sorry, Dani," Rahne said, only to be hushed by Dani's soft shushing. "I've ruined so many lives..."

"I will always be your friend, Rahne," Dani whispered into Rahne's ear. "No matter what."

"A-and... what if... I want... more?" Rahne whispered back, so softly that Dani wasn't even sure Rahne meant for her to hear it.

Dani smiled back. Because she loved Rahne, she would never take advantage of her, and with Rahne's perilously low self-esteem, what Dani was about to tell her had to be worded very carefully. "Then we can explore that later, after you've had time to heal, to recover, to find out what you really want in life. Right now you need stability, to find yourself again, and I'll be by your side the whole way. As your friend now, and as whatever we might grow to be in the future."

Dani felt Rahne squeeze her tightly, unable to say with words what she was trying to tell her emotionally. And then, she felt it, in her head, in a way she hadn't felt in years: I love you. Thank you for accepting me, after everything.

Dani smiled, no longer focused on fighting back tears and allowing them to come freely. Instead, she thought, I will ALWAYS accept you. Because I love you too.

Slowly the bridesmaids separated themselves and stood, after a few heavy minutes. Illyana was the last to step back, leaving just Rahne and Dani holding each other where they stood. The two of them slowly separated and turned to face Illyana.

"You're going to be one of my attendants today," Illyana said to the Scot, and the tone of her voice told Rahne that it wasn't a request.

"B-but m' dress!" the Scot said, plucking at the simple floral summer dress she was wearing.

Illyana reached out and touched the thin fabric with her right index finger. A spark of magic flashed into the dress, instantly turning it into a rich shade of yellow that matched the others. "Problem solved," the Russian said smugly.

"Does that work with makeup, too?" said Amara, wiping at her eyes and the remnants of her eyeliner and mascara.

Illyana smiled.

—O—

"Almost time," said Ororo, smiling with pride as she looked at Kitty in her wedding dress. It was all white silk and organza, the bustier top stopping below her collarbones and leaving her shoulders and arms bare while the skirt billowed out over her legs. The matching silver sigil for her and Illyana had been carefully sewn into a white lace choker that was around Kitty's throat, exposed and on display with her chestnut hair carefully done up and braided.

She and Illyana had ignored tradition and already seen each other earlier that day, when the bridal parties had spent several hours taking pictures around the grounds of the old Xavier School campus. It had been a unique experience, seeing the now-unused grounds and building that brought back a torrent of old memories for everyone involved, making the tedium of taking picture after picture more of an enjoyable experience for everyone, other than crickets getting in Amara's and Dani's dresses when they posed for photos in a section of long grass.

Kitty thought that her favorite pictures had been the ones the photographer had taken of her and Illyana in their old dormitory room. There had only been room for the two of them and the photographer in the small room anyway, but Kitty wouldn't have wanted anyone else in any photos taken there anyway. It had been her and Illyana's safe space, where they had become friends, fallen in love and dreamed of a future together in a world that would hopefully accept them. The room was mostly empty of furnishings now, but the familiar outlines and windows were more than enough for her and Illyana's minds to fill in the rest of the details from their teen years.

Now in only minutes the music would begin. Everyone was in position, the guests were mostly seated, and despite all she had been through over her life, Kitty was frazzled with anticipation and nerves.

"Thank you for making sure the weather cooperated," Kitty said to Ororo suddenly, blurting out anything to break the cycle of worry her mind was threatening to spill into.

Ororo smiled. "I honestly didn't have to do a thing," she said. "The weather itself wanted this day to be perfect for you." She looked stunning in her sunflower yellow gown, her dark skin contrasting the bright color in a way that words couldn't do justice.

"You're going to be fine, Kitty," said Jubilee, now in her own yellow dress. "Nice choice of colors for your bridesmaids, by the way," she added with a smirk. "Almost makes up for this being a daytime wedding outside."

"Stand still," Rachel said, adding a bit more SPF 100 sunscreen to Jubilee's neck and back. "We don't want you bursting into flame during the ceremony." She wasn't as pleased with the yellow of their dresses, but she was willing to put up with it for Kitty.

"Lin Li helped out with the animals, too," Jubilee added, referring to her student who had chosen the name Nature Girl. "Li's a sweet kid."

"I noticed she now feels comfortable enough to speak sometimes," Kitty said. "That says a lot about you as a teacher and mentor, Jubes. We all thought she was mute until you got her to open up."

"Jubilee's grown a lot," added Patsy Walker, in her own yellow dress. Unlike Rachel, she had pulled off wearing yellow as a redhead for years, so she had no problem with the bright color. She and Jennifer Walters had met Kitty through Jubilee over a year ago, and the two of them had had Kitty, Illyana and Jubilee over several times since then. "Being a mom has really been good for her."

Kitty had asked Jen to be a bridesmaid as well, but the attorney had politely declined, stating that someone needed to keep Jubilee's son Shogo during the ceremony. Kitty was fairly sure it also had to do with Jen still mentally and emotionally recovering from nearly dying at the hands of Thanos, but neither her nor Patsy had spoken about that as a possible reason. It was what it was, and Kitty was just happy that Patsy and Jen were both alive and able to be there for the wedding.

Doreen Green walked over and smiled at Kitty. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl had been ecstatic when Kitty had asked her and her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe to be bridesmaids, and the bright yellow ribbon around Tippy-Toe's neck had been carefully dyed (using eco-friendly dyes) to match the color of the bridesmaids' dresses. "I'm happy for you, Kitty," Doreen said.

Kitty and Doreen had met through Roberto's U. team, hitting it off immediately over their mutual love of computers and programming. Doreen and Tippy-Toe had known Kitty the shortest amount of time of all her bridesmaids, but with the new Xavier School being in Central Park, the two of them wound up spending a significant amount of time on the school's campus on weekends and after Doreen's classes were over. They had both immediately embraced Illyana not just as Kitty's girlfriend but as a friend of their own; that had been a touching gesture the Russian wasn't used to, and it had made a strong impression with Illyana and Kitty both.

"Thank you, Doreen," Kitty said, smiling slightly up at her friend. "And thank you too, Tippy-Toe," she added, reaching out and gently scratching the squirrel on her head.

Tippy-Toe chattered happily as she lifted her head into the scratching.

"She says that she's never been a bridesmaid in a human wedding before," Doreen said pleasantly, pausing for another brief chitter. "And that it's her honor to be here with you for this."

"The honor's mine as well," Kitty replied proudly.

The last bridesmaid stood beside the window, staring outside at the large gathering of people now seated or moving toward their seats. Her green skin made for an intriguing contrast with the yellow dress, particularly with her neck exposed and her black hair done up into an updo to match the other bridesmaids.

"You're awfully quiet, Gamora," Kitty said, walking over to the tall woman. "I know you hate wearing dresses and aren't a big fan of Earth, but I appreciate you being here for this."

Gamora turned and looked down at her former teammate. Her eyes slid over Kitty's face and gown before she allowed herself a tiny smile. "You look very... formal," she said. "Elegant, I suppose."

Kitty smiled. "High praise," she said, teasingly. "I know I wasn't with the Guardians for very long, but you were a good friend to me, even when you thought I was another annoying Earther."

Gamora took Kitty's hand, carefully holding it in her own with a tenderness that belied the fact that she could crush steel in that same hand. "You were an annoying Earther," Gamora said quietly, getting a soft laugh from Kitty. "But you were also brave, intelligent and trustworthy." The green-skinned woman took a moment to admire Kitty before continuing. "You earned my respect as a warrior, and as a leader. And... you earned my friendship as well."

Kitty stepped forward, carefully hugging arguably the most lethal woman in the universe.

"I am honored to join this team of your bride-maids," Gamora said quietly. "Even if I will be quite relieved when I can finally remove this Earth garment."

"Too rough on your delicate skin?" asked Kitty, trying not to mess up her hair as she leaned against her friend.

"Exactly. It itches."

—O—

As the music swelled to life, people started to quieten somewhat. There were still a few making their way to their seats, and the classical music continued for a few minutes to allow those guests to be seated. It made for quite a sight, with a few of the guests present wearing their usual superhero outfits (like Spiderman, his wife Spinneret and their daughter Spiderling), but most of them dressed in civilian clothes ranging from simple, like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, to formal and elegant, like Janet van Dyne and Stephen Strange. Even Victor von Doom was present, attired in a stylish tuxedo and seated beside Nico Minoru, Laura Kinney and Gabrielle Kinney.

Some changes had been made to the traditional Jewish ceremony, following a discussion between Kitty, Illyana and the rabbi they had asked to perform the ceremony. The rabbi who had led Kitty's synagogue growing up would have been her first choice, but he had died a few years ago. As a result, Kitty had asked the rabbi for the synagogue she currently attended in Manhattan to perform the ceremony, explaining that it was going to be an unusual ceremony to say the least, and he had gladly accepted.

Despite tradition, Kitty had been insistent that there be no chuppah canopy for the ceremony. She and Illyana had already started building their home together over a year ago, and as such Kitty felt there was no need for the traditional wedding canopy to symbolize that concept. Illyana had already presented Kitty with her ring with their betrothal months ago, but without two witnesses as customarily required. Illyana had offered to do it again in the presence of witnesses, but Kitty had firmly (and loudly) stated it had been an incredibly sweet, heartfelt proposal and that she wasn't going to take the ring that meant so much to her off her finger just so Illyana could present it again in front of others. Eventually Illyana wound up conjuring an image of the moment from her and Kitty's memories, showing it to the rabbi and their wedding planner, and the rabbi had deemed that as fulfilling the requirement for witnesses.

The ketubah, the formal marriage contract between Kitty and Illyana, had been signed that morning, in the presence of the rabbi, Dani and Ororo. They had spent several weeks getting it just right, in terms of wording and appearance before the final copy had been printed in preparation for signature. It had turned out to be fairly equal in terms of pledges and commitments, which was exactly at how Kitty and Illyana had wanted it.

Some of the ceremony had been streamlined, eliminating the bride circling the groom (or other bride, in this case), although Illyana had insisted on keeping the ceremony of breaking the glass; she understood the importance of recognizing sorrow and loss even while embracing love and joy, and she and Kitty had decided to both perform the ceremony together when the time came.

The rabbi made his way to the front of the assembly, standing in front of the simple wooden arch Lin Li had assembled from fallen sticks and branches, as the music began to change, rising in intensity and changing tune. After a signal from the rabbi, the attendants began to file in.

First came Roberto daCosta, walking with Doreen Green and Tippy-Toe. They were all smiles as they steadily paced down the simple grass of the aisle between the rows of folding chairs, each chair covered with a sheath of white fabric.

Next to enter were Doug Ramsey (still wearing Warlock) and Gamora, both looking properly formal other than the occasional sensor or head extruded from Doug's black jacket, as they slowly made their way down the aisle. Gamora was still wearing her regular boots; she was willing to wear the movement-restricting dress, but she had drawn the line at the ridiculous footwear the Earth women were wearing.

After Doug and Gamora came Sam Guthrie and Jubilee, both smiling as Jubilee held Sam's elbow proudly while they entered. Her sunscreen was holding up nicely despite the warmth of the sun, and Sam was careful to take shorter steps to match Jubilee's shorter legs.

Amara and Patsy came next, with Amara smiling and taking Patsy's arm as they walked down the aisle together, a gesture that caused a light titter of laughter to quickly spread throughout the assembled guests.

Xi'an and Rachel followed them, with Xi'an likewise taking Rachel's arm rather than the other way around. They proudly smiled and walked down the aisle, Xi'an's mechanical leg handling the uneven terrain as smoothly as they had practiced the night before. Rachel was prepared to use her telekinesis to steady Xi'an should she stumble, but it proved unnecessary.

Dani and Ororo stepped into the aisle, but then Dani turned to looked behind her. Hesitantly, Rahne stepped forward in her newly yellow dress, taking Dani's hand. The shorter woman blushed as she did so, and Dani knew that the two of them had much to talk about later after the wedding, but for now the two of them chastely held hands as they stepped forward, meeting Ororo.

The older woman and former headmaster of the Xavier School looked surprised momentarily before she quickly recovered and smiled at her two former students. "I'm glad you're here, Rahne," Ororo said before she and Dani turned to face the crowd and the rabbi waiting down the aisle ahead of them, with Dani taking Ororo's arm with her right hand while continuing to hold Rahne's hand with her left. The three of them fought to restrain their racing hearts, Ororo's due to the unexpected surprise of the entire New Mutants team being represented here today and Dani's and Rahne's for reasons even more full and complicated. Together the three of them began their slow walk down the aisle toward the wooden archway marking the centerpiece of the ceremony. It was a moment of loveliness, elegant and traditional as the entire assembly breathlessly waited for the two brides.

Last to enter were the flower girl, Gabby Kinney, and the ringbearer, Lockheed. The tiny purple dragon perched upon Gabby's right shoulder, the two brassy wedding rings, crafted from the same mystical blend of metals as Kitty's engagement ring, tied to his tail by soft yellow ribbons. Gabby slowly walked down the aisle, tossing petals that had been collected from flowers that had donated them after being asked politely by Lin Li. The result was a collection of petals encompassing a multitude of varying hues and shades that stood out on the otherwise plain grass.

—O—

Illyana walked out to the song "Devil's Child."

—O—

There was some momentary confusion in the crowd about whether or not they were supposed to stand as Illyana slowly walked forward in her black dress, her blonde hair straight, long and loose and her hands free, but the guests collectively came to an agreement to stand by the time Illyana was halfway down the aisle, which the Russian woman found endlessly amusing.

—O—

When the rock music stopped and the powerful strains of the traditional wedding march began, every set of eyes in the assembly turned to see Kitty walk in.

Like Illyana, she walked alone; her father was long dead, and her mother, dead to her.

She smiled as she carefully held her bouquet, such as it was. It consisted of just four long-stemmed flowers, a red rose, a yellow rose, a white rose, and a strikingly unusual flower with a long back stem, a rose-like bloom and petals that seemed to smolder as their colors shifted from red to orange to yellow like the embers of a fire. The red rose represented the romantic love between Kitty and Illyana, the yellow rose the love of their friendship and the white rose the innocence and purity of their feelings for each other; the other flower, which Illyana had named the ember rose, was a magical flower the blonde had cultivated in Limbo over the last decade. Today it stood for the mystical part of their relationship, both their soulbond and an indication of how Limbo was now a second home to both of them, forever bound not just to Illyana but to Kitty as well.

But from the moment she stepped into the aisle by herself, Kitty's eyes were fixed squarely upon the woman she loved, standing ahead of her, her long, straight blonde hair shining in the late morning sunlight, looking and smiling that radiant smile that she only ever shared with Kitty.

This was real. This was finally happening.

Kitty began to walk down the aisle, smiling despite the tears escaping from her eyes.

She had lost herself along the path of her life, more than once. Sometimes it had been because someone had pushed her off the path, other times it had been her wandering off due to curiosity or infatuation, and a few times she had just deliberately walked away from what had always felt easy, what had felt comforting, what had felt right, and she had no reasons for why she had done something like that. And sometimes there had been no choice at all but to leave that path, when she had chosen to sacrifice herself to save others, to save everyone. To save THE one, the woman she would always love. Because Illyana deserved to live, to find happiness, even if that meant Kitty had to die for her.

And now, despite everything that had pulled them apart over the last decade and a half, Kitty got to live for her, for the only person who had ever made everything feel right in her world.

Kitty never looked away from Illyana as she quickly walked the length of the aisle, notably faster than they had practiced. Only a hint of a smile reflected in an upturned corner of the blonde's mouth, but to Kitty it was clearly obvious that Illyana found her bride's eagerness as adorable as it was funny.

As Kitty took Illyana's hand, shifting her bouquet to her right hand, the two of them looked at each other. "I think I've wasted enough time over the years," Kitty whispered to her best friend, who looked back at her with bright blue eyes brimming with their own tears of happiness, and as Kitty continued, her voice grew louder. "I want to be your wife now. I want to say these vows, make these pledges, in front of our friends and the family we've made for ourselves, and then I want to dance with you, and I want to cut into our wedding cake with you, and I want to be able to tell everybody that I'm Katherine Anne Rasputin, wife of the beautiful Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin."

Illyana smiled and lifted Kitty's left hand to her lips, gently kissing it. "Then we should get on with it, I suppose," the blonde said pleasantly, which prompted a soft wave of laughter from the guests and attendants.

The two of them looked at the middle-aged rabbi, who politely nodded back toward them. It was unusual for him to do so little at a wedding, but he understood that this was no ordinary wedding on many levels. He had grown to like the quiet, shy but intelligent Kitty since the Xavier School had relocated to New York, and he had been honored when she and her girlfriend had asked him to officiate their wedding.

"We are here today to witness the union of Katherine Anne Pryde and Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin," the older man said, a happy smile on his face. With a friendly voice, the dark-bearded man continued, "Today's ceremony mixes elements of the traditional Jewish marriage with a more interfaith ceremony. Some of the most important parts of the marriage have already occurred prior to this ceremony, including the proposal and the ketubah. The proposal has already been made, with the engagement ring offered by Illyana and accepted by Katherine as part of their betrothal. The ketubah has been agreed upon and signed by both brides, affirming their pledges and their commitments to each other and to their union. Now our two brides will recite their vows to each other and exchange rings as another lasting symbol of their union."

As Kitty handed her slender bouquet to Ororo, Illyana took both of Kitty's hands and held them as they turned to face each other. Lockheed quickly flew behind the rabbi, hovering in front of Dani so that she could untie the ribbon holding Kitty's ring. The ribbon holding Illyana's ring to Lockheed's tail had a thin black strip looped around it, so they could tell the two similarly-sized rings apart. Once Dani had the correct ring for Illyana to put on Kitty's finger, Lockheed quickly flitted behind the rabbi to Ororo, so she could retrieve Kitty's ring for Illyana.

"Katherine Anne Pryde," Illyana said, her voice surprisingly calm despite the emotions swirling inside her. "I love you with all of my body, with all of my heart, with all of my mind, and with all of my soul. All that I have, I give to you. I will love you, protect you, care for you, respect you, support you and stand by you forever. Will you have me for your wife?"

Kitty's eyes blinked several times, trying futilely to shed the tears that kept coming. "Yes," she said firmly. "I will."

Illyana carefully took Kitty's left hand and slid the wedding band on her finger. "With this ring, I hereby take you, Katherine Anne Pryde, as my wife. For now, for forever, I am bound to you as you are bound to me, joined in body, mind and soul by our love for each other."

Kitty shivered as she felt the new ring throb to life on her finger, with a matching pulse from the engagement band adjacent to it. The two rings were the same color, both made from the same blend of metals and blood from both of them, although the etchings on the wedding bands didn't appear quite as intricate as those on the engagement ring.

Before Illyana could retract her hands, Kitty grabbed them with both of her own, holding and squeezing them as she beamed, staring into her beautiful bride's blue eyes for long seconds. During that time both of them sniffled, smirked and smiled at each other as they just held each other's hands while they battled for control of their emotions.

Finally Kitty relaxed her grip, wiping at her eyes with the fingers of her right hand. She very nearly apologized out of habit for crying, just stopping herself when she remembered Illyana telling her last night that any tears during the wedding would be tears of joy, and as such they should be celebrated, not regretted. She felt the warmth deep inside her, the sensation of love and understanding that came from Illyana through their soulbond, and she savored it as she sent as much back toward her mate as possible.

She shook as she tried to calm herself. Unfortunately, Illyana's own unsettled emotions weren't helping much at the moment.

"Breathe," she heard whispered behind her.

Ororo. Bless her.

Kitty took a deep breath, taking it in, slowly letting it out. She looked at Illyana, who simply stood there in front of her, trying to remain fairly still despite her own internal jitteriness. But before she could speak, she felt a nudge against her left hand, followed by a light swell of laughter from the wedding guests.

Kitty looked down to see Lockheed, adorable in his yellow bow, hovering next to her hand as his little wings fluttered rapidly. Held carefully in his maw was Illyana's ring, a semicircle of the brassy metal visible where it poked out of his little mouth. "Thank you, Lockheed," she said with a smile as she opened her hand, letting the little dragon carefully place the ring in her palm before he flew back behind Kitty, perching on Ororo's shoulder this time.

Kitty looked back up to see Illyana, tears running down her cheeks, smiling with pride at her. "We—" she began, only to stop abruptly before taking a breath, focusing on Illyana's now-curious eyes, and beginning again. "We're not the typical married couple," Kitty said. "And that's okay. We are who we are, and I love who we are."

She reached out and took the fingers of Illyana's hands, lifted them up as she held them in her own grip. "Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin," she said, trying to enunciate clearly despite the tightness in her throat, "I love you with all of my body, with all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my soul. All that I have, I give to you, as you have given to me. I will love you, protect you, respect you, care for you, support and stand by you forever." She smiled through the tears both of them were crying. "W-Will you have me for your wife?"

Illyana smiled and squeezed Kitty's hands. "I will," she said. "Forever."

Kitty let Illyana's hands go, opening the clasped fingers of her own right hand so she could retrieve Illyana's wedding band. She lifted Illyana's left hand and looked into her bride's glistening eyes as she said, "With this ring, I hereby take you, Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin, as my wife. For now, for forever, I am bound to you as you are bound to me, joined in body, mind and soul by our love for each other." She slid the ring on Illyana's ring finger, feeling the surge of magic beneath her fingertips as the ring settled into place around Illyana's finger.

"I love you," Kitty breathed out.

Illyana blinked and smiled. "I love you too," she replied softly.

The rabbi said, "One of the most lovely parts of the wedding ceremony is the sheva brachot, the seven blessings. First I will read them in Hebrew, then again in English."

Kitty and Illyana held each other's hands as they stood facing each other while the rabbi read the phrases they had carefully worded after many nights of discussion, with Kitty reciting them softly from memory as the rabbi spoke. Illyana watched with joy as Kitty smiled and shook while she whispered the words, her eyes closed, the happiness visible on her lover's face more beautiful and priceless than anything the Russian had ever seen.

Kitty had been surprised when Illyana had told her months ago that she had worked on a set of sheva brachot for the two of them for years, back when they were teenagers. Unfortunately, all of her writings about them had been lost, either in an attack on the school, one of their many moves, or just disposed of after Illyana had died. But she had remembered the spirit, the essence of each of them, and starting from there the two of them had crafted their own version of the seven blessings over the last few months.

It had been harder than either of them had thought, simply because both of them wanted to be honest and truthful. Illyana didn't follow the Jewish faith, no matter how much she might respect it and honor it, and she felt it would be dishonest and disrespectful to Kitty's faith for her to pretend or pledge otherwise. Kitty's initial reaction was surprise, until she realized that Illyana was being completely open and honest. This was important enough, their wedding and the sheva brachot sacred enough, that what they said had to be true and applicable to both of them. To do anything less would be facetious and disrespectful.

The rabbi paused for a moment as he finished the recitation in Hebrew. Kitty's eyes opened, and she nearly gasped at the enraptured look on Illyana's face gazing back at her intently, at the devotion and awe manifest in her bride's blue eyes. Devotion and awe for HER.

She had never seen Illyana look at anyone, at anything like that, EVER. Except her.

"And now, in English," said the rabbi, "the Seven Blessings.

"We are thankful for the gift of joy, and for the joy we find in committing ourselves to each other.

"We are thankful for this day, for this world, for this creation, in all its glory.

"We are thankful for all life, human, mutant, alien and all others.

"We are thankful for those who gave life and love to us and for all those who spread love and happiness to those around them. May we likewise bring love, happiness and life to others.

"We are thankful for our friends, our families and those who care for us, and for being with them once more.

"We are thankful in our commitment to each other, and we pray our union brings us great joy through our friendship, our companionship and our love.

"We are thankful for love, and we pray that our happiness and joy overflows so that all may experience it," the rabbi finished solemnly.

"I am thankful for you," Illyana said tenderly, staring into Kitty's brown eyes.

"And I'm thankful for you," Kitty replied, her entire body quivering with nervous energy.

There was a pregnant pause for a few seconds before the rabbi picked up an empty champagne flute, holding it up so those in attendance could see it.

"The final part of the ceremony is the breaking of the glass," he said. "For the Jewish people, this symbolizes the destruction of the Temple, as well as the persecution and losses suffered over the millenia. For today's ceremony, the breaking of the glass also symbolizes the persecution and deaths of tens of thousands of others who have been persecuted—mutant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, all precious and deserving of life and love."

The rabbi handed the champagne flute to Kitty, who solemnly took it and placed it lying down on the ground in front of her and Illyana as the rabbi continued. "This act reminds us that even in our moments of joy and happiness, we must always remember the losses and suffering all of our peoples have experienced, to temper our moments of rejoicing with the memories of our shared sorrows."

Quietly Kitty and Illyana both stepped onto the thin-stemmed glass, Kitty with her white flats, Illyana with her short black boots. The glass snapped and crunched beneath their feet while tears now leavened with sadness and remembrance dripped from the faces of both women.

The assembly was quiet other than the crunching of the glass and scattered sniffles and inhalations of breath, as those throughout the assemblage of guests thought about what had lost, about who had been lost, leading up to this day.

Kitty and Illyana both looked up, turning to face each other. Illyana's hands immediately went to the sides of Kitty's face, holding her carefully, tenderly as she leaned forward to kiss away the trails of Kitty's tears, first on her left cheek, then her right. As Illyana pulled back with the salty taste of Kitty's tears on her lips, she saw Kitty's smile beam at her, and it made all the terrors Illyana had suffered, all the losses and pain and anguish, feel like it had been worth it.

For Kitty, it was exactly the same. They had lived for each other. They had died for each other. They had grown apart, and they had found each other again. But most importantly, they had found themselves. Illyana had found herself before Kitty ever did, because the quiet, introspective Russian had always been better at cutting through the bullshit and self-delusions. For Kitty, it had been a longer process, but she had finally realized that who she truly was, the person at her very core, was the woman who loved Illyana.

It was that simple.

The rabbi raised his voice after the period of silence. "Friends, family, honored guests, I now present you Illyana and Katherine Rasputin!"

The crowd surged to its feet, cheering, clapping, shouting and whistling in a delirious, joyous wave of noise and praise, with more than a few cries of "Mazel tov!" thrown into the mix

Illyana and Kitty both surged forward so quickly that they nearly cracked their foreheads together as they kissed, breathing each other in as they did so. Kitty's left arm curled around Illyana's waist while her right hand cradled the blonde's left cheek; Illyana's arms both encircled Kitty's torso, holding her wife to her tightly as they kissed madly, deeply, their minds only conscious of each other's touch, of each other's smell, of each other's taste at that long-awaited moment.

When they finally parted, they gazed into each other's eyes, both smiling uncontrollably.

"I'm your wife," Illyana said, as if she was having trouble believing it.

"Yes, you are," Kitty said smugly. "And I'm your wife. We started this over a year ago, you know. Building a home together."

Illyana smiled. "We started this fourteen years ago," she said, gently correcting Kitty. "In that very room up there," she said, pointing toward the large mansion nearby and one specific window on the third floor.

Kitty smiled and turned to look at that same window, resting her head on Illyana's shoulder as the two of them held each other. "So we did," she said happily. "God, we were smart back then."

Illyana laughed, the sensation rich and thrilling against Kitty's head and chest. "Da, we were," she said as she kissed her wife's dark hair.

—O—

The moments immediately after the ceremony's ending were a blur to Kitty and Illyana. It was traditional for the newlyweds to be given a brief time alone with each other immediately after the ceremony, known as yichud, and for Illyana and Kitty, there was only one location here that would work for the two of them.

As they opened the door to their old room on the third floor, they gasped as they saw that the room had been dusted and swept. The tiny beds were bare and covered with thick plastic and the room remained mostly empty, but a small table had been set up next to the window, with a plate of food, a large glass of water and a single large glass of wine placed on the table, napkins covering the glasses and the plate. Two small stools sat next to each other, and a single glowing light hovered in the air over the table. Their two old beds had been moved together, something they had talked about doing many times when they lived here but never had the courage to do because of all the interruptions that tended to occur.

"It's everything we ever wanted," Kitty said softly, firmly gripping Illyana's hand as they took in the sight. "To be open with our relationship, to not hide anything."

"Yes," Illyana replied, her voice raspy as emotion welled up inside her again, as much from Kitty through their soulbond as her own. She looked once more around the room, then she slowly walked to the small table, where she extended her free hand toward the floating light. "Pixie did this," she said carefully, feeling the magic in the soft white glow. "I can feel her resonance."

"She's forgiven you," Kitty whispered in Illyana's ear as she watched and felt her bride struggle mightily with guilt and emotion, only to be overcome and start sobbing. Quickly Kitty gathered Illyana into her arms and held her tightly, letting her wife cry while she whispered soft I love yous and I've got yous to the blonde.

"I was a monster to her," Illyana mumbled.

"And now you're trying your best to make up for that," Kitty said. "You'll never do anything like that ever again, will you?"

"No," Illyana said weakly against Kitty's shoulder.

"I've done some pretty terrible things in my life, too," Kitty said. "I killed people. I ran from those who needed me. I..." She swallowed. "I abandoned my best friend. I left the woman I loved."

"You didn't rape someone's soul," Illyana argued, her voice rising. "I did to her what was done to me. I... I perpetuated the cycle."

"And now you're going to stop it," Kitty said firmly. "And Pixie knows that. She knows that you regret what you did, and that you'll never do it again."

"But it doesn't fix what I did to her."

"No. She has to learn to live with it, just like you."

Illyana lifted her head up but continued to hug her wife tightly, looking over Kitty's shoulder at the empty walls, where posters and pictures should have been. "We were so young then," she said sadly, knowing Kitty would understand they had changed subjects.

"Yeah," Kitty agreed quietly. "We were." She sighed. "And since then we've had our hearts broken, and we've broken the hearts of others. We're hurt others and been hurt by others. But we're still alive, Yana, and now we have to make up for lost time."

"You're the only one who gets to call me that now, you know," Illyana said, wiping her eyes.

Kitty smiled back. "I know. Thank you for letting me call you Yana. I know it's not the proper shortening of your name, but..."

Illyana kissed Kitty's nose, getting a soft laugh. "It was the playful name you first called me, long ago. And for me, that alone makes it special... and worth saving for you."

Illyana sighed before leaning her head on Kitty's shoulder as Kitty did the same with her, the two of them just standing, swaying softly to a silent rhythm between them. "We have to live each day fully," the blonde said quietly before placing a soft kiss on Kitty's neck just below the white choker. "For there's no guarantee of the next," she added somberly.

Kitty leaned back enough to look in her lover's blue eyes. "Breaking the glass reminds us that in joy, we must remember sorrow. But the converse is true, too. When we're sad, we must remember the happiness we've experienced, as well as the happiness that we will experience in the future."

Kitty carefully stepped back, holding out her hand to lightly pull Illyana forward. "Come on," she said with a smile. "I know you're starving. Let's eat something in peace while we can, because we've got a whole lawn full of people who want to see us soon."

Illyana smiled and let Kitty guide her to the table, when they both sat. Kitty slid the platter holding the plate of grilled chicken, potatoes, asparagus, apples and zucchini over to them. "It's still warm," she said, a bit surprised.

"Another charm," Illyana said, feeling the warmth of the heating magic. "What's that?" she said, pointing to the edge of the platter, where it looked like a piece of paper was sticking out.

Kitty looked at it. "I don't know," she said. "It looks like an old piece of notebook paper."

Illyana lifted the platter, and Kitty slid the visibly old piece of paper, with elegantly looping cursive handwriting visible beneath a Post-it note, toward them.

"Oh my God," Kitty said, holding the paper in place on the table with her left hand while her right hand flew up to cover her mouth.

Illyana looked over at the paper, reading the Post-it note first: Found this under the bed when we moved them together. We all thought it was pretty fitting. Thought you two might like to keep it. D.

"Dani," Illyana whispered as she removed the small yellow note, revealing columns of different combinations of the same names written in cursive: Katherine Pryde Rasputin. Katherine Anne Rasputin. Kitty Rasputin. Kitty A. Rasputin. Kitty P. Rasputin. Finally the writer seemed to settle on Katherine Anne Rasputin, as it was repeated several more times, the flourishes waxing and waning with each repetition.

Illyana looked up at Kitty, who once again had tears trickling from her eyes. "You practiced signing your name with my last name?" she asked, amazed.

"I-I-I did," Kitty said, a bit breathlessly. "I hid it, because I didn't want you to think I was presuming too much, that I might be pressuring you into something in the future."

"I think it's adorable," Illyana said with a grin, hugging Kitty again.

Kitty lifted the paper, and a grin crossed her face. "Piotr caught me doing this," she said, as if she was admitting a secret.

Illyana's eyebrows raised as she carefully took the paper from Kitty. "Really?"

Kitty nodded. "Of course, he assumed I was thinking of him when I was writing it. Little did he know I was thinking of a different Rasputin making me her wife..."

Illyana looked into Kitty's eyes for a few seconds before she suddenly giggled. It was so unexpected that it made Kitty do the same, which in turn caused both of them to start laughing. Kitty stepped forward, carefully putting her arms around Illyana so as not to fold or bend the paper the blonde was holding.

"The yichud is a great idea," Illyana said pleasantly, smiling as she basked in Kitty's embrace.

"Mmm, I agree," replied the brunette. "And we're not having sex in here. At least not during the yichud. It's tacky."

Illyana looked the slightest bit offended when she pulled back enough for Kitty to see her face.

"Don't even act like you weren't thinking it," Kitty said, trying not to grin. "I felt it through our bond. My underwear's already in danger of a flash flood with the feelings we're tossing back and forth, but I distinctly felt where you were going with that last comment."

"Oh, did you now?" Illyana asked.

"Uh huh. When certain parts of me start to tingle, I know you're thinking about what you want to do with them."

"Well, that's a handy skill to have."

"As if you don't feel it too."

"Why aren't we having sex now?"

"Because as easy as it would be to get these dresses off, getting them back on would suck. Plus the yichud isn't about having sex. It's about remembering that today is all about us, to give us the chance to catch our breath and just focus on each other between the wedding and the reception."

"Oh."

Kitty looked dubiously at Illyana. "Please. You already knew all that. You're just teasing me."

Illyana smiled, and for a moment Kitty saw that same adoring smile on the face of the girl she had fallen in love with fourteen years ago. "You're cute when you explain things," Illyana said. "I enjoy hearing that little teacher tone in your voice."

"Mmmm, good thing," Kitty said as she sat in Illyana's lap. "You're going to get to hear it for the rest of our lives, and then for whatever comes after that."

Illyana smiled as she wrapped her arms around Kitty, who leaned her head forward and pressed her face into Illyana's blonde hair. "I'm looking forward to it," Illyana said tenderly.

—O—

After quietly settling at the table, eating the plate of food and drinking some of the wine and all of the water over the next fifteen minutes, the two brides made their way back down to the reception.

The DJ for the reception was playing a remix of one of Alison's songs when Kitty and Illyana stepped into the large open reception area, with the stage that had been assembled in the center of the large lawn already filled with dancers to the point of being crowded. It only took a few seconds before the guests realized the newlyweds had returned, leading to cheers and happy shouts erupting through the assembly as the dance music stopped.

"Ready for our first dance?" Kitty asked, taking Illyana's hand and leading her up to the stage.

"I do not like dancing," Illyana said flatly. "But for you, I'll do it."

Kitty turned and flashed a bright smile. "You say the sweetest things, babe," she said playfully before leading Illyana up the shallow ramp up to the stage.

As they reached the stage and moved to the center, facing each other and smiling, the low notes and softly-spoken words at the start of Shania Twain's "Still the One" began to play from the speakers. Kitty and Illyana began to slowly sway back and forth, both focusing tightly on each other, Illyana doing so to keep from feeling self-conscious and Kitty doing so to keep Illyana's thoughts on her and not them dancing.

"I love you," Kitty whispered as the song played on and others began to join in around them.

Illyana looked back at her, staring into those gorgeous brown eyes. "I love you, too," she replied, leaning her head forward and resting it against Kitty's left shoulder.

They danced that way for the rest of the song, only slightly moving as they took comfort in each other, an island of just the two of them in a sea of their friends. There were many smiles and looks of happiness directed their way as the dance continued, but Illyana and Kitty only had eyes for each other as they held each other closely, barely moving as they grinned and kissed during their first dance as wives.

When the song finally ended, applause rolled across the dance stage as everyone stopped to cheer the new couple.

"This is a bit overwhelming," Illyana said quietly, her lips brushing Kitty's ear.

Kitty's heart soared; for Illyana to admit being uncomfortable was highly unusual, and Kitty was proud that she was one of the handful of people to whom Illyana was comfortable admitting such feelings. "Let's move over to the side," she replied back to the blonde. "They're supposed to be dancing for us, anyway. It's our wedding. They can entertain us for a while."

The smile Illyana gave her in return was illuminating. "I like that idea," the Russian woman said, resting her head on Kitty's shoulder again.

Keeping her arm around Illyana, Kitty led them off the slightly-raised stage and over to the small table and chair that had been set up for them, off to the side with an unobstructed view of the dance stage. They each took their seats so guests could take turns coming up and speaking to them, offering congratulations, wishes for the best, and occasional advice.

"Always remember how much you love each other," Steve Rogers told them. "And always be faithful and loyal."

"Sometimes people need space when they get angry," offered Bruce Banner. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Be honest with each other," said Deadpool. "No matter how embarrassing, humiliating or demeaning."

("Did you invite him?" asked Kitty after he had shaken their hands and walked back toward the dessert table.

"No, I thought you did," answered Illyana.)

"Always remember to back up your hard drive," said the holographic image of Tony Stark, projected by Ironheart's armor.

"I'm, uh, just happy to meet you both," said the altered but young-sounding voice that came from the red-and-gold armor, slimmer than they were used to seeing in an Iron Man suit. "It's pretty awesome that you're getting married. Congratulations."

"Always be yourself," offered Paige Guthrie, currently sporting long, curly blonde hair in a pink ballroom gown.

Jonathan the Wolverine didn't have any advice to offer when Gabby set him on the table in front of Illyana and Kitty. He just looked curiously at the two brides for several seconds before gobbling most of Illyana's piece of cake.

"There's always more cake," Nico Minoru told them, having to raise her voice to be heard over Jonathan's whining and growling as Gabby carried him away. "Material things are just things. They come, they go. Don't lose sleep over them."

Laura Kinney smiled as she held her girlfriend. "Never lose sight of what's truly important in your lives," she added. "And always be ready to fight to defend it."

There was a brief pause in the stream of well-wishers before Illyana felt Kitty suddenly grab her thigh through her dress and squeeze it nervously.

"What is he doing here?!" Kitty hissed quietly.

Illyana looked up to see Peter Quill hurrying toward them, leaving a trail of shocked expressions in his wake. Rather than stand to intercept Quill, or use a stepping disc to teleport him away, Illyana simply sat back and waited, a confident smirk on her face.

"I swear I did not invite him!" Kitty said hurriedly, turning to Illyana. "I told them to not let him—" She stopped short at the surprisingly relaxed look on Illyana's face. "Hon?" she asked, more than a bit confused by Illyana's calm demeanor. "Yana, if you're going to kill him, please teleport him away first. I'd like to keep these dresses for our daughters to wear one day."

Illyana turned to look at Kitty, surprise on her face. "Would you still want to have children with me?" she asked, barely daring to hope. "Even after all I've done?"

Kitty immediately forgot about Peter Quill. She lifted her left hand to Illyana's right cheek and smiled when the blonde woman nestled her face against Kitty's soothing touch. "I wouldn't ever want to have children with anyone but you," she said softly.

Peter Quill made it within twenty feet of the two brides before the very air in front of him crackled and flashed violet; a deep reverberating rumble like thunder rolled through the air as Quill went flying backwards, all of his nerve endings stinging and hissing as if he had been mildly electrocuted.

The sound and flash of bright color next to them pulled Kitty's gaze away from her wife. "What was that?" she asked, watching at Peter twitched once on the ground before groaning and slowly sitting up.

"An anti-Peter ward," Illyana said quietly, still smiling. "On our sigils." She reached up and gently lifted the silver sigil that signified her and Kitty together that was hanging on Kitty's wedding gown. "My way of making sure that he didn't cause trouble today."

Kitty gave her a mildly disappointed look, which only made Illyana laugh.

"It's not going to hurt him unless he keeps trying to pass it," Illyana said, before she became serious. "I wasn't going to let anyone try to steal you away from me," she said carefully, looking at her wife worriedly. "I know that you wouldn't choose to go with him, Katya. I do know that, and I trust you. Please don't think otherwise. But we have had to deal with our friends and teammates being captured before, as you remember."

Kitty's expression was inscrutable for a few seconds before she smiled softly. She took Illyana's hand and lifted it to her lips, kissing it gently. "You were trying to protect me," she said lovingly.

Illyana smiled back, still a bit hesitant about how she hadn't told Kitty about the ward beforehand. "I was," she admitted softly. "I was trying to protect us both." She added her other hand to where she and Kitty's hands were clasped. "I think he's probably a good person, from what I've heard about him, but I also think he's impulsive and doesn't always think things through."

"I can't argue with you on any of those points," Kitty said. "I'm sorry I ever left Earth. I—"

"I'm not sorry," Illyana said, smiling at the look of surprise and the feel of the same emotion she felt flash through their connection. "Because it made you realize your place was back here."

Kitty smiled at the blonde again. "With you."

"Well, it took a BIT more time for you to fully remove your head from your ass."

Kitty gasped playfully. "Illyana Rasputin, did you just tell me that I had my head up my ass?" she asked, teasingly.

Illyana grinned. "Why, yes, Kitty Rasputin, I just did. We do have to be honest with each other, after all."

Kitty's brown eyes closed, and she smiled dreamily. "Oh God, you just called me Kitty Rasputin," she said softly. "And it's true." Her eyes opened again, and her smile seemed to Illyana like it could light up the entire world. "It's really true. I'm your wife."

"Yes," said Illyana, lifting their clasped hands to her lips so she could kiss Kitty's knuckles. "And I'm yours."

An audible crackling drew their attention away from each other. Standing just over fifteen feet away, his hand out and fingers extending as he carefully probed the limits of the ward, stood Peter Quill. A few wisps of smoke still rose from his jacket and pants, and it took him a moment to realize that Kitty and Illyana were both looking at him.

"Oh, hey!" he said, waving at them and getting nonplussed looks in return. "I, uh, just wanted to let you both know that I was, you know, happy for you both." He swallowed. "I really am." He looked at Illyana. "Kitty's happier here," he said. "She tried, when she was with the Guardians, and she was a great teammate, but I don't think she ever really felt comfortable out there."

"I wasn't," Kitty said, loud enough for Quill to hear. "Something was always missing. Something inside me, that just felt... empty."

She turned back to Illyana. "And I finally figured out what it was I needed to feel whole. To feel complete." She smiled. "I figured out WHO I needed."

Quill smiled. "I'm glad for you, Kitty," he said. "And for you too, Illyana, even though we really don't know each other. If Kitty loves you, then you must be pretty special yourself."

The stinging of threatened tears was entirely unexpected for Illyana, and she had to devote some concentration to keep them from escaping. It was more than a bit annoying... but also surprisingly touching.

"She is," Kitty said, speaking for both of them. "Thank you for telling us that, Peter."

"You're welcome," Peter said, lifting a hand in a wave goodbye. "If either of you ever need us, the Guardians'll be there for you."

"Thanks," Kitty said.

"Thank you," Illyana added, surprising herself a bit.

As they watched him walk away, Kitty quietly said, "Now aren't you glad you didn't kill him?"

"Mostly," Illyana replied quietly.

Kitty turned to look at her wife, only to be met with a knowing grin.

"You're so easy sometimes," Illyana said.

Kitty blushed a bit. "Only for you," she added softly.

—O—

As the dancing continued and the guests ate and celebrated, several others came to greet the newlyweds, offering their congratulations.

"I hope your lives together are magical, in only good ways," said Dr. Stephen Strange.

"Doom extends his blessing upon your union," Victor von Doom said regally, receiving polite nods and thanks from the two brides.

"I always had my suspicions," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, also known as Northstar, smiling and holding hands with his husband Kyle Jinadu. "Toutes nos felicitations!"

"Congratulations, Kitty-Kat, Magik," said Ben Grimm in his deep, rumbling voice. "You two are plumb adorable together. Hang on tight and don't ever let go."

"We won't, Ben," Kitty said, tears in her eyes. "Thank you." She was about to get up when Ben leaned over the small table between the two of them and him, wrapping his massive arms around them where they were sitting and hugging them carefully.

—O—

Viv Vision looked at the two of them curiously for a few moments, her young synthezoid face captivating as emotions flitted across her features as expressively as any human. "I have found romantic expressions and gestures toward males lacking in emotional feedback," she finally said with a low voice; her ruddy skin coloration made it difficult to tell for certain, but Kitty would have sworn that the synthezoid girl actually blushed slightly. "Did the two of you experience the same discrepancies in regard to stimulus analysis of heterosexual contact before choosing to pursuing a homosexual relationship with each other?"

"Oh," said Kitty, a bit surprised.

"Mmm," Illyana murmured at the same time.

"Well, actually..." Kitty quickly said. "Illyana and I were each other's first... well, everything. First kiss, first love, first relationship, first time having sex."

Viv's head tilted slightly as she regarded the two women. "I have not had sexual intercourse," she replied simply. "I have kissed two different males with reciprocating glossal penetration of the oral cavity. Neither response was particularly notable. I have not yet pursued activities more intimate than kissing and embracing."

"There's plenty of time for you, Viv," Kitty said pleasantly. "Don't feel like you need to rush things."

"But I do advise kissing a few girls," Illyana said, a knowing smile on her face. "After all, you never know how you're going to react until you try it."

"A valid suggestion," Viv agreed with a nod. "I have already considered that course of action. Perhaps I will act on it sooner rather than later, and carefully analyze my cognitive and emotional reactions afterward." She looked at the happy couple again. "Thank you for your suggestions," she said with a smile. "And my best wishes on your ongoing romantic relationship and new civil union."

"Oh, hey, Viv!" said Kamala Khan as she stopped beside her fellow Champion. "Saying hi to the newlyweds?"

Viv turned to looked at her teammate and friend. "I was, in addition to discussing romantic relationships with them. I feel they represent a valuable source of advice given the particulars of their relationship."

Kamala grinned at Kitty and Illyana, oblivious of the way Viv was scrutinizing her profile. "That was a really cool wedding!" Kamala said eagerly. "Thank you for, uh, thinking of me and inviting me. You two are absolutely beautiful, too!"

"Thank you," replied Illyana, happy to no longer be at conflict with the young Inhuman and her people.

"Thank you!" Kitty said, a bit louder. "We're so glad you could make it! Yana and I have heard so many good things about you!"

"Same," Kamala answered with a smile. "I think it's really important, especially right now, for all of us here on Earth, mutant, Inhuman and human, to work on rebuilding our relationships."

"We couldn't agree more," Illyana said. "It's far too easy for a few radicals to lead others into violence, particularly when someone feels there isn't much to live for." She grimaced, then looked up at Kamala. "I can speak from personal experience."

"Hope's important," Kamala said, nodding. "And we might as well be the ones who publicly begin the work of building a relationship between mutants and Inhumans."

Kitty smiled and extended her right hand. "I like you, Kamala Khan," she said, pleased when the new Ms. Marvel shook it happily.

"I like you too," Kamala replied, smiling herself. She turned to Illyana. "And it's nice to meet you under more pleasant circumstances... um, Magik? I guess?"

Illyana smiled and took the girl's offered hand, shaking it politely. "You can call me Illyana," she said. "And yes, I'm glad the hostilities over the terrigen clouds are finished."

"Kamala," said Viv as Illyana and Kamala released each other's hand.

Kamala turned to her teammate. "Yeah, Viv?"

Viv looked curiously at Kamala for a moment before her expression brightened and she asked, "Would you be willing to participate in a sensory stimulus-response experiment with me?"

The smile on Viv's face was eager and hopeful, surprising Kamala. "Um, well... yeah, sure, I guess," Kamala answered. "What—"

The moment the words left Kamala's lips, Viv quickly but gently wrapped her arms around Kamala and kissed her warmly. Kamala's eyes became enormous, almost comically so for the first second or two, before they fluttered closed while the two kissed for several more seconds.

"I... wasn't expecting that," Kitty said quietly to Illyana as they watched the two girls.

"Speak for yourself," Illyana replied smugly.

After nearly twenty seconds, Viv and Kamala carefully pulled their lips apart, a soft noise marking the loss of contact. Kamala's eyes inched open to see bright photoreceptors staring into her eyes with a remarkable warmth. "That was..." she tried to get out, but her tongue was having difficulty forming proper shapes or positions for speech, as it wanted to go back to what it had just been doing. "W-wow."

Viv smiled at the dark-eyed girl. "Affirmative. My emotional and neural response to kissing you was nearly two orders of magnitude higher than I experienced with my attempts at kissing males."

"Um, yeah," Kamala mumbled, unable to keep from blushing. "What you said."

Viv's expression turned inquisitive again. "Perhaps more data acquisition would allow a better heuristic analysis," she said softly.

Kamala smiled. "Anything for science, right?" she said happily, mentally crossing off firmly heterosexual in her mind and penciling in possibly bi.

—O—

"We love you both," said Dani Moonstar, who was still holding Rahne's hand. "Your teammates—and I mean that for you too, Kitty—will always be here if you need us."

Rogue fought back tears as she carefully hugged first Kitty, then Illyana. "I'm so happy for both of ya'll," she said, smiling through her tears.

Psylocke offered Kitty and Illyana a rare smile. "I wish the two of you all the best," she said simply as she grasped their hands.

Hank McCoy stood in front of them quietly for a few minutes, wiping tears as he smiled down at both of them. A few times he tried to speak, but he was too overcome with emotion to produce any coherent words. Finally he just walked around the small table and knelt down next to the two brides, where he gathered them both into his long arms and hugged them both tightly.

"I'm so happy for you," he managed to whisper raggedly. "And so proud of you both. I am honored to call you both not just my friends, but my family."

All three of them were crying happily when he finally released them and stood up.

—O—

"Do you think he's ever going to come over?" Kitty asked Illyana after the fourth time Piotr started in their direction only to turn away before he drew close to them.

"No idea," Illyana said, more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

"He's still your brother, Yana," Kitty said softly. "He's the only real family you have left. I know you don't consider Mikhail much of anything at this point."

"Mikhail never had any use for me," Illyana said flatly. "I had distant cousins in Vladivostok I was closer to than him. But Piotr..."

Kitty held her wife's hand as she watched the emotions play across Illyana's face, felt them toss and turn through her own insides.

"Piotr will never again see me as anything more than the demonic imposter who stole his sweet, innocent little Snowflake and replaced her with a flawed copy," Illyana finally said with a sigh. "With something broken... and tainted."

The press of soft lips against her left cheek helped quell some of the inner turmoil Illyana was experiencing. "Then not only is he wrong, he's a fool, too," Kitty said softly. "Because you are that sweet, innocent sister he remembers, and you're not broken or tainted."

She smiled as Illyana turned to look at her. "None of us stay innocent. None of us can. We all have to grow up, and he needs to stop sticking his shiny head in the past like some stubborn ostrich. You're here. You're his sister. And either he accepts that and rebuilds a relationship with his sister, or he continues to throw his life away searching for something he'll never find."

They looked into each other's eyes for long seconds. "I love you, Katya," Illyana said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Kitty replied. She looked up. "Oh, speak of the devil," she said, seeing Piotr heading their way. "Looks like he's finally grown a pair."

Illyana looked at Kitty with disbelief. "Did you just say what I think you did?"

Kitty grinned. "Yup."

The sound of mystic electricity crackling and a rumble of thunder washing over their bodies made them both look up in time to see Piotr flying backwards away from them.

Kitty gasped, her mouth coming up to cover her open mouth, and the fact that it was curving into a smile.

"Dermo!" Illyana swore in Russian. (Shit!)

Kitty giggled. "I know that word," she said.

Illyana looked back at her lover. "Yes, you probably do."

"From the time you burned your ear with the curling iron."

"I seem to recall saying a few other words like it at the time."

Kitty leaned forward, puckering her lips out until Illyana kissed them sweetly. "I like you using those words in more pleasant circumstances," she said softly.

Illyana grinned. "Mm, and I like using them better under those more pleasant circumstances, too."

Kitty looked to her left, Illyana's right. "Piotr's getting up," she said.

"I really didn't intend for the wards to keep him out," Illyana said.

"Suuuure," Kitty replied, drawing the word out slowly. "I believe you, sweetheart. What is it I've heard you say? A large part of magic is intent?"

—O—

Karolina Dean and Julie Power both looked adorable as they stopped in front of Kitty and Illyana. Karolina was radiant in her light floral summer dress, her blonde hair long and loose as she held Julie's arm. The redhead was wearing a matching halter top and long skirt, both sage green, with an upside-down rainbow triangle dangling from her belly button piercing. They were both smiling, almost giddy with happiness.

"You two are our heroes," Karolina said, stepping around the table with Julie so they could hug both the brides. "We're so happy for you!"

"What 'Lina said," Julie added with her own big smile, trading brides with Karolina so they could each hug the other. "When they finally make a movie about your love story, I hope I'm still young enough to play one of you!"

"You're not bleaching your hair," Karolina said firmly to her girlfriend, lifting her hand to carefully run her fingers through Julie's red curls.

"Ooooh," Julie replied, her freckled cheeks flushing slightly. "Are you fond of my hair, babe?"

The look that Karolina flashed Julie was smoldering. "I think you're very aware of how hot I think your hair is," the blonde said as she lifted a lock of Julie's hair to her face and held it to her nose.

Kitty looked at Illyana; they shared a knowing look. Kitty cleared her throat softly, bringing both Karolina's and Julie's attention back down to the two newlyweds. "The mansion up there is unlocked," Kitty said quietly. "Shouldn't be anybody on the second floor."

"You might have to knock some of the dust off of the furniture," Illyana added just as quietly. "Or just do it standing up."

Julie and Karolina turned to look at each other, both giggling as they grinned and pressed their bodies against each other. Julie turned her head to look at Kitty and Illyana again, leaning forward slightly to quietly say, "When you can both fly, hovering is a valid option."

Kitty reached her arm out, taking Julie's hand. "Go get some," Kitty said with a wink and a smirk.

"And thank you for being here for us," Illyana added. "We expect an invitation when you two make it official."

"Count on it," Julie said.

"All the best wishes," Karolina said, smiling, before the two young women turned and hurried off.

"Hovering," Kitty said thoughtfully.

Illyana kissed her right ear, being careful not to be too loud. "We've done that more than once, my love."

Kitty kissed Illyana on the lips. "Oh, believe me, I remember," she replied.

"Hi," said a soft, hesitant voice.

Kitty and Illyana looked up to see Molly Hayes and Katie Power standing in front of them. They were both fifteen, faces and bodies still in the process of growing from girls into young women. But the biggest change was—

"You're not wearing a hat," Kitty said, blinking her eyes at Molly and her thick, long dark brown hair, twisting itself into hints of curls as it fell.

"Yeah," Molly said, looking a bit embarrassed. "Feels weird."

"I love your hair," Katie Power said, her own dark blonde hair now cut quite short. She ran her fingers through Molly's long dark locks.

"We, uh, wanted to tell you guys congratulations," Molly said, maybe leaning into her girlfriend's touch slightly. "And, maybe... ask you if you might feel like to talking to us about... some stuff."

"Some stuff?" Kitty said, turning to look at Illyana. She was already suspicious about what "some stuff" meant, and judging from the expression on Illyana's face, she was thinking along the same lines.

Katie's face was turning red as she said, "My sister Julie told us that, uh, you two k-kind of were... together when you were y-younger than Mol and I are," she managed to get out.

"Correct," Illyana answered. "Katya and I were thirteen when we became intimate with each other for the first time."

"Cool," Katie said, as a smile crossed her face. "It's just, you know, we can't really ask my mom questions about our, uh, our relationship, right?" she said, more a statement than a question. "And asking my sister about sex would just be too weird."

Kitty nodded, while Illyana just watched patiently. "We'd be happy to talk to you two about anything," Kitty said. "We really didn't have anyone to talk to about things like that when we were your age." She looked at Illyana. "It might have been nice, to have adults who would have been supportive. We had to figure everything out on our own."

"My mom isn't supportive of us being together," Katie said quietly; Molly quietly put her arm around the blonde and hugged her.

Kitty nodded slowly. "We'll give you our numbers," Kitty said. "That way you can text or call if you want to ask any questions, or if you just need somebody to talk to."

"Thanks," said the short-haired blonde.

"Thank you," Molly said as well, shaking both Kitty's and then Illyana's hands before pulling out her phone. It only took the two girls a few seconds to program in both new numbers, then they thanked the newlyweds again and hurried off.

"So stronger than Piotr?" Illyana asked, watching the slender, petite brunette with wiry arms and legs walk away.

"Stronger than Thor," Kitty corrected. "When her powers are activated."

"Hm," Illyana said simply. "We're keeping an eye on her for the X-Men, right?"

"Of course. But she's not going to join us. She loves her family too much to leave them."

Illyana nodded. "As long as she knows we're there if she ever needs us," she said. "That we're there for any of them."

"The Runaways?"

"Yes."

"I would be completely fine with that," Kitty said, knowing that the absence of Illyana's parents was painful for her bride today.

Kitty considered her next words before speaking. "Did... you see that my mother was here?" she asked carefully.

Illyana turned and looked into Kitty's rich brown eyes. "I did not," the blonde said. "But then I couldn't tell you a single person who was sitting in that crowd. My eyes were only on you."

Kitty blinked a few times. "Thank you," she said, her voice wet.

"For what?" Illyana asked.

Kitty looked into her wife's blue eyes. "No one else would have asked her to come to this," she said. "Or maybe threatened her if she didn't come."

Illyana lifted Kitty's left hand, placing another soft kiss on the knuckles of Kitty's hand before admiring the wedding band nestled against the engagement ring. "Truthfully, I only threatened her if she caused any trouble today. I simply told her that it would mean a great deal to her only child for her mother to be present on her wedding day."

Kitty blinked against tears again. God, was she ever going to stop crying today? "You were right," Kitty said, just above a whisper. "It meant a great deal to me." She started to add more, but then she decided that more words couldn't convey the message any more succinctly. She swallowed, then said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Illyana said, her senses registering people standing near them, but she continued to look into Kitty's eyes until the brunette smiled and squeezed her hand. "I don't know if I should be sad or glad that she didn't stay to speak to you."

"Neither," Kitty said. "What she does isn't your responsibility. I just appreciate you asking her to be here."

Illyana smiled. "Of course. I knew it would make today a bit happier for you, so I had to do it."

"You're a good wife," Kitty said, reaching up to cup Illyana's left cheek with her right hand. "Maybe one day I'll have a relationship with my mother again, but you, Illyana Rasputin, are my family now, and you're all the family I need." Kitty got a devilish look in her eyes. "Until we have children."

"That's twice you've mentioned that subject," Illyana said, trying to ignore the way her heart began to race at the thought of holding their daughter, of seeing a head full of dark curls peeking out from beneath a carefully tucked blanket at night, of sitting down at a table with Kitty and two young children, one with unmanageable brown hair and another with straight blonde hair. Or maybe one with blonde curls and one with straight mahogany hair. Or maybe three, each with different hair but all with dark brown eyes filled with mirth.

"Come back to me, moya lyubov," Kitty said gently, smiling when she saw blue eyes focus on her again, now filled with wonder. "We have time, Yana," Kitty said calmly. The excitement inside her wife was palpable to Kitty, jumping and jittering through their soulbond. "I'm not trying to rush you, I promise. But yes, one day I want us to have babies."

"I would love that," Illyana said. "But I—"

Kitty hushed her by quickly kissing her on the lips. "I think you'll be a great mom. But we've just gotten married, so let's wait at least until the honeymoon to start trying to make a baby."

Illyana's blue eyes danced as she looked at Kitty. "That... would be acceptable," she managed to get out, surprised at how difficult it was to put words together at the moment.

"Hey, look at Spider-Man's family!" Kitty said, pointing at the trio walking toward them.

"How do you know it's his family?" asked Illyana.

"Well, the matching costumes are a big hint," Kitty said.

"Smart ass."

Kitty grinned. "They actually brought their daughter to the school to other day. They're thinking about enrolling her."

"Interesting," Illyana said, drawing out each syllable.

"Sweet kid. Smart, too. Has all his powers, just in a little package. His wife also has his powers; not sure how that happened. But they seem like good parents. Both really thoughtful, and it's clear they love their daughter. They're still very wary when it comes to secret identities, though. Did the tour in full costumes and masks."

"Hmm," Illyana mumbled, watching the Spider-Family approaching them.

"Hey, congratulations you two!" said Spider-Man, waving as he, his wife and their young daughter drew near. "Thanks for inviting us, we've had—WHOA!" He ended with a shout as he suddenly leaped about twenty feet backward, landing in a crouch.

Ahead of him, roughly fifteen feet away from Illyana and Kitty, Spinneret and Spiderling were standing, watching him curiously, expressions on their faces ranging from surprise to amusement.

"Oh..." Kitty said softly, her mouth open.

"...Shit," Illyana finished, her own eyes wide.

"You have to turn off that ward, Yana," Kitty said quietly.

"I'm sorry about that," Illyana said to the family, all of whom remained exactly where they were. "It's a protection ward that I forgot to turn off. For some reason it didn't like you, Spider-Man. Just give me a few seconds." She looked at the tall redhead and the young red-haired girl. "It won't affect you two, I promise. You're already inside its radius, anyway."

Illyana quickly grabbed Kitty's sigil with her left hand and her own with her right. She breathed a deactivation spell and relaxed when she felt the ward come down. "Alright, it's deactivated now, Spider-Man," she said. "And I'm sorry about that. It wasn't meant for you."

He sprung to his feet easily, bouncing once, then he took a few steps forward, his right hand held out in front of him. He eased closer, edging forward until he's standing with his family. "Cool, thanks," he said.

"You're not supposed to say 'Cool' like that, Dad," said the nine-year-old girl, looking up at her father and likely rolling her eyes under her mask. "You're old."

"You see the respect I get," he said, looking at Kitty and Illyana. "At least my wife loves me." He put his arm around the athletic redhead, who returned the favor by wrapping both her arms around him.

"I do," she said sweetly. "But you're still old."

"Hey!"

"And so am I, as far as this little one goes." She smiled lovingly down at the girl, patting her on the top of her mask.

"We're so glad you could come," Kitty said, standing with Illyana. "I know we only met the other day, but you seem like a sweet family. I'm sorry Illyana wasn't able to meet with you that day."

"I'm Illyana," the Russian woman said, extending her hand first to the red-headed woman, then to Spider-Man, then finally to Spiderling. "As you probably figured out during the ceremony," she added with a smile.

"Congratulations," said the redhead. "And I'm Spinneret. That was a beautiful ceremony."

"Have you been to a Jewish wedding before?" Kitty asked.

"We're from New York," the redhead said with a smile.

Kitty nodded and laughed. "Good point."

Illyana knelt down in front of Spiderling, smiling as she carefully balanced so as not to press her dress into the grass. "I hear you're thinking about enrolling here," Illyana said.

"Yeah!" replied the girl, enthusiastically. "It's SO cool!"

"We haven't made a decision on that yet," said Spinneret, glancing back at her husband. "There are pros and cons both for here and for her current school."

Kitty smiled as she watched Illyana conjure an armadillo—an armadillo?— made of something like clay or Play-Doh atop her hand, its little legs kicking as Illyana held it up by its belly before handing it to the girl, who quickly hugged it like she would a doll. The toy armadillo seemed to be content with that, because it visibly relaxed in her arms. "Well, even if she doesn't enroll here full-time, we'd always be happy to work with the three of you on training with her powers or letting her do some summer classes." Kitty looked back Spider-Man and Spinneret. "We're happy to help any way we can."

The armadillo seemed very relaxed as Spiderling continued to hold it. As Kitty watched, Illyana and the girl spoke quietly to each other, too soft for any of the adults to hear.

"Illyana handles all the school's magical security," Kitty said proudly. "And she's... really good with kids." Kitty felt her eyes sting again as she finished the sentence.

"Do you two have children of your own?" asked Spinneret, phrasing it gently rather than sounding prying.

Kitty shook her head. "Not now. One day we will, we hope."

"And you'll raise them at the School?"

Kitty looked at the redheaded woman and nodded. "We live there. Most of the senior faculty does." She turned to look at Spider-Man and his wife. "Some of the teachers at the Xavier School now taught Illyana and me, right here." She pointed in the direction of the mansion. "We shared a room here during high school years."

"Is this where you two started?" asked Spinneret, a knowing smile on her face.

"Yeah," Kitty answered softly. "This is where we met, became friends, then roommates, then fell in love."

"Not many people marry their high school sweethearts," the older woman said. "But sometimes those relationships turn out to surprise you." She turned to her husband, who put his arm around her and hugged her as she rested her hand on her chest and curled against him. "Isn't that right, tiger?" she asked him, a playful tone in her voice.

"Yep," replied the man in the distinctive mask. "Life's funny sometimes. But on a serious note, congratulations to you both." He shook Kitty's hand. "We'll let you know when we make a decision on the kid's school."

"But I wanna go here!" said the girl, her voice rising slightly. "They can make armadillos!" she said, bending backward to lift the armadillo still wrapped in her hug upward.

"You can't take the armadillo home, Spiderling," her mom said. "No pets inside."

"But Mom!"

"I need to send him back to his family, anyway," Illyana said gently. "Tell him you'll see him again soon."

"See you soon, Squirmy," the girl said, giving him a careful squeeze before the doughy creature vanished. She looked at Illyana, a grin across her face. "That was so cool!" she said excitedly.

Illyana smiled. "I bet you'll see him again before long," she said pleasantly. "But for now, don't give your mom and dad a hard time, okay? If they don't want pets inside, then they've probably got good reasons for it. Parents usually do, even if you don't always understand why."

The girl looked down at the grass, toeing her left foot into the ground lightly. "Yeah, I guess," she mumbled.

"Good girl," Illyana said, gently pressing her left hand to the side of the girl's head in a comforting way before standing back up. She turned to the girl's parents. "Thank you both for coming," she said to them. "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you the other day when you were here for the campus visit. I was dealing with an interdimensional incursion of angry spirits on a different plane of existence."

Spider-Man and Spinneret looked silently at Illyana for several seconds before he said, "I can't tell if you're joking or being serious, and that bothers me."

Illyana smiled. "Serious, actually."

"You didn't take any students with you, did you?" asked Spinneret, concern in her voice.

Illyana shook her head as she said, "Oh, no, no. None of them here are advanced enough for anything like that. Their safety has to come first. I was doing it to help out Stephen." Seeing both faces staring at her, Illyana added. "Dr. Strange. He was otherwise occupied."

Now Spider-Man and his wife both nodded.

"Thank you all for coming," Kitty said, moving to stand beside Illyana before hugging Spinneret, then Spider-Man, then kneeling down to hug Spiderling. "We appreciate you being here for our big day."

"We appreciate the invitation," the red-haired woman said, smiling. "We'll be in touch. There'll probably be paperwork that needs to be filled out for registration and admission if Spiderling enrolls here, so I'll give you a call when you get back from your honeymoon, if that works. We can talk some more about it then."

Kitty beamed as Illyana hugged her with her left arm. "That sounds wonderful," Kitty replied. "We should be back in a little over a week."

"Great!" said Spinneret. "I'll call before stopping by."

"Okay. Have a good day, and thank you again for coming!" said Kitty as the trio waved and walked away.

"Nice job, Headmaster," Illyana said quietly. "I think you just enrolled another student."

"I hope so," Kitty said quietly. "They seem really sweet. All of them."

Illyana nodded. "I agree."

—O—

The well-wishers had dwindled at this point, as it felt like every hero they had ever met had stopped to speak to them. Kitty and Illyana had taken the opportunity to eat a bit more real food, then have some more of their wedding cake (without Jonathan eating it this time) in between guests. They sat and watched the spirited dancing of their friends and guests on the large dance stage, laughing and soaking up the sight of watching people whom they cared about, people who also cared for them, having a good time and enjoying themselves.

Finally a different trio approached them. Angela, whom Kitty knew from the Guardians of the Galaxy, Sera, who was friends with Illyana, and a young dark-haired woman in green who seemed to trail behind the other two, her face downcast as she walked a few steps.

"Angela!" said Kitty, rising from her seat to hug the tall, powerful angel.

Angela smiled and gathered Kitty in her arms. "All our blessings on your Joining Day," she said softly as her white and gold ribbons playfully wrapped themselves around Kitty as well. "We are honored to be witnesses to such a happy event."

"Hello, Sera," Illyana said with a warm smile, wrapping the curvy brunette in a hug that was warmly reciprocated.

"We're so happy for you both," Sera said, "Congratulations."

"Katya, this is Sera, a good friend of mine who possesses both an intellect and a tongue sharper than my Soulsword," Illyana said happily.

Sera grinned as she opened her arms for Kitty, giving her a hug. "Guilty as charged, my dear, I must say," she said pleasantly. "Illyana is one of the most wonderful people I've ever known," she said softly to Kitty. "I have long wished for her to find someone who could truly love and accept all of her... and I think she's found it in you."

"Thank you," Kitty said, blinking back tears.

Angela stepped forward and offered her forearm for Illyana to clasp, a gesture which the blonde returned without hesitation. "Stories of your fierceness and bravery are well-known through the galaxy," said the angel, looking down at Illyana. "But I have heard many stories of your heart as well. Best wishes on your union, brave warrior. Know that we will answer your call should you ever have need of us. Or if you just wish for company in visiting the Grimaldi's of Brooklyn. Their pizzas are the finest in the Ten Worlds."

"Thank you," Illyana replied with a smile. "I'm honored to finally meet the woman who won Sera's heart. She's been a dear friend for some time. And thank you for looking out for Kitty while she was away from Earth."

"It was my honor to do so," replied Angela. "Although she has proven that she's quite capable of caring for herself, it warms my heart to know that she now has company in caring for her."

Illyana turned to look at the third member of their party. "Who's thi—" She stopped short when she saw the young woman, maybe still in her teens, crying as she looked at Illyana with a forlorn look that nearly broke Illyana's heart. She had never met the girl, she was sure, but there was a flicker somewhere deep in her being that felt achingly familiar.

"Illyana, Kitty," Sera said, stepping aside to stand next to Angela. "This is our daughter Leah, who wanted to be here today out of love and respect for one she's lost."

Kitty and Illyana both fell silent, looking sympathetically at the raven-haired girl who was barely holding herself together, her chest shaking from fighting back sobs.

"Leah was a refugee from another reality," Sera said softly. "And in her reality, she and her Illyana fell in love and built a kingdom together, which they ruled for years."

"Oh, God," Kitty breathed, feeling her heart twinge as she realized where this was going. "She..."

"Their world was destroyed," Sera said, fighting the sting of tears herself. "And her love, her Illyana, was lost in the cataclysm."

Without another moment slipping past, Kitty rushed forward and threw her arms around Leah, hugging her tightly. "I'm so, so sorry," Kitty whispered to her, only tightening her grip around Leah's torso when the girl broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I know what it's like to lose her, too," Kitty said tenderly, fighting back tears herself as she let the girl clench her hands in her dress and cry on her shoulder. "I'm so terribly sorry for what you've had to go through."

Leah held on tightly, part of her resenting this woman who got to have Illyana, who could kiss her and hold her and make love to her and cry with her, while another part of her was grateful to meet another who could understand what it was like to lose someone so unique and special as her Illyana had been. She let those sides of herself war with each other while she clung to Kitty like a drowning child.

And then she smelled Illyana, the scent that she was never able to adequately describe despite years of intimate experience, as she felt another set of arms wrap around her and Kitty both, the warmth and velvety but steely strength in those limbs as familiar to her as anything she had ever known. She moved her hand to try and grasp some part of this Illyana, to draw some warmth and comfort from her as she clutched tightly to this woman who was and wasn't the woman she loved.

They stood there several minutes, Illyana unsure what to do other than quietly offer support but willing to do just that, Kitty with her own heart aching as she remembered losing her Illyana not once but twice, and Leah clinging not just to this living reminder of all she had lost but also the woman who had apparently taken Leah's place in Illyana's heart in this reality.

As bizarre as the situation was, Leah drew comfort from this unusual embrace. Kitty had shown no resentment or jealousy like Leah had struggled with over the last few months after hearing of the upcoming nuptials; instead, this Kitty had been the first person outside of her mothers to embrace her and try to comfort her regarding her loss. And this Illyana, despite it not being the woman she had loved and lost, was trying to offer what comfort she could. And as well as Leah knew her Illyana, making such an attempt was not something done lightly by the troubled sorceress.

And so for several minutes, Leah kept her eyes tightly closed but her face lifted enough to press into this Illyana's hair, breathing in all she could of her lost love as it was so generously offered by this couple. After years of missing her dear Illyana, this was a taste of Valhalla to Leah, and she wasn't sure she could ever properly repay it.

Finally Leah gently pulled back, signaling for Kitty and Illyana to release her from their joint embrace. Leah looked fondly in Illyana's blue eyes, so familiar that it made her very soul ache. "You look so much like her," she said quietly, "but I know you're not her. Thank you for giving me one more glimpse, one more moment, when I could feel myself in her arms once more."

Illyana started to reply, but no words would come out, and Leah was already turning her head to Kitty anyway. "Thank you for sharing your heart with me instead of feeling threatened or challenged," Leah said quietly. "I would never try to come between the two of you."

Wiping her own tears away, Kitty offered Leah a smile. "Maybe your Illyana is still out there somewhere, searching for you. Stranger things have happened."

The sadness that infused the weak smile Leah offered in reply was clear. "Perhaps," she said, sighing tiredly. "It's a bitter choice to make. To keep looking for her, to not give up hope of being with her again, or to let my lost love die forever and try to move forward."

A tearing sound beneath them drew their attention to the sizable canine biting several holes in Leah's long dress. Seeing that he had their attention, the dog (or maybe wolf) looked up and opened his mouth, allowing smoke and a few glowing embers to spill out as he rumbled, "More tears have been shed for love than for war."

"Thori!" Leah said scoldingly. "Rude. And you tore my dress."

The creature looked up at his mistress, tilting his head slightly. "Truth is often most bitter when it is least wanted," he said in the same grumbling voice.

"That's... an interesting dog you have," Kitty said, considering trying to pet the creature but deciding against it.

"Thori is part Hel-hound, part magical wolf," Leah said, kneeling to pet him for a few seconds until the creature suddenly snapped at her fingers, getting a light open-handed pop on the head for doing so. "No biting those who love you," Leah said firmly.

"But they are the most delicious to bite," replied the dog.

Leah fixed Thori with a glare, causing the creature to lower his head slightly and settle at her feet, smoke lightly curling upward from the sides of his mouth. "Behave," she said firmly, then she stood again.

She saw Illyana and Kitty whispering to each other, now with Kitty looking at Illyana and nodding in agreement with something before they turned to look at Leah again.

"Leah," spoke Illyana, and just hearing her name spill from those lips, in that voice, make Leah's jaw tremble. A flash of white light in Illyana's open palm gave way to what looked like a small charm or talisman now in her hand, connected to a thin silver chain.

"This is a locating talisman," Illyana said, lifting the object by the chain and letting it dangle in front of them. "I made one for Kitty and this one for myself, in case something ever happened to one of us. With just a little adjustment, you should be able to attune this one to your Illyana." She extended her hand holding the locating talisman to Leah; Illyana's blue eyes glistened with tears, but she had a hopeful smile on her face. "I truly hope you can find her, because I'm sure she's missing you just as much as you're missing her."

Leah simply stared into Illyana's eyes in wonder as Illyana placed the small silver talisman in the girl's hand, lowering the chain and slowly closing Leah's fingers around the charm. "I..." she began, only to stop. "Wh— I, um... I-I—"

"Breathe," Kitty said gently, resting her own hand atop Leah's.

The jet-haired girl closed her eyes, causing the tears gathering in them to trickle forth, spilling down her cheeks. After several seconds she opened them again. "Thank you," she managed to get out, looking at Illyana, then at Kitty, then at Illyana again. "You've given me hope I did not have when I awoke this morning. That is something I can never repay."

Kitty smiled. "Just let us know when you find her. Maybe we can all have dinner one night."

"I swear it," Leah said, a tiny smile breaking across her lips. She threw her arms around Kitty, hugging her tightly for several seconds. Smiling more broadly, she moved from Kitty to Illyana, closing her eyes as she moved in to hug the Russian so as not to be tempted to kiss her out of pure reflex. She held the woman tightly for a few seconds before forcing herself to let her go.

"Thank you both, with all my heart," Leah said softly. "Best wishes on your marriage, and may your years together be many and marvelous."

"Thank you," Kitty and Illyana both replied together, each putting an arm around the other.

"Thank you for trying to help our daughter," Angela said, smiling. "There is no surer way to the heart of a parent than through her child."

Sera stepped forward, taking one of Kitty's and one of Illyana's hands in her own. "My lovely wife's eloquence speaks truth," she said pleasantly. "As you have shown kindness to our daughter, may we one day do the same for yours." Sera's smile grew. "Come over for dinner when you get back from your honeymoon, maybe? I make a lovely grilled chicken and asparagus with sun-dried tomatoes and Tabasco sauce."

"Maybe go a bit easy on the Tabasco, and it's a deal," replied Kitty. She grinned and looked at Illyana. "I get all the hotness I can handle with her."

Illyana rolled her eyes and laughed, followed by Sera, Angela and Leah. Around them the reception and party continued for hours into the night, illuminated by the combined light show of Dazzler and Jubilee, as everyone celebrated a wedding that had been many years in the making. When the two brides quietly slipped away in the glow of a stepping disc to begin their honeymoon, the celebration continued without them, exactly as they had wanted.

They had each other. They had their future together.

That was more than enough for them.

—O—

Author's Afterword: I'm a bit torn as to whether continue this with one more chapter, but after consideration, I think this is a perfect place to stop this particular story. I had wanted to give a glimpse into the future for Kitty and Illyana, but I might do that as a separate stand-alone story later on, as this one feels complete.

Thank you for reading this celebration of Illyana and Kitty. They're going to have many years of happiness together, I promise.

For those of you interested in the honeymoon destination, Kitty and Illyana decided upon the Resort Hotel and Spa in Parnu, Estonia. Peace, quiet, pampering and privacy were what they wanted. They also made an appearance at a Pride parade in Talinn while they were there, since they did deliberately get married during Pride Month.

Finally, for those of you unfamiliar with Angela, Sera and Leah, a quick explanation. (Which by no means makes up for the fact that you need to read their story, much of it summed up in the amazing but short series Angela, Queen of Hel. There is a trade, and it's affordable. Read it, because it's fantastic.) Leah, or this Leah at least, is a remnant from a lost universe. She was created from Hel's severed hand to be the goddess's handmaiden, but she had other plans. When Doctor Doom seized the power of godhood and created Doomworld, Leah wound up there, where she fell in love with the Magik of another realm. Together the two of them defied Doom and the order of Doomworld, leaving the safety that existed behind the Wall and creating their own kingdom of monsters, demons and outcasts which they happily ruled together for years. When Doomworld was destroyed and reality restored, Leah found herself in a new universe without the Magik that she loved. In this new reality, Leah found Sera and Angela, helping Angela overthrow Hela herself and rescue Sera from imprisonment. Once Angela and Sera were reunited and free, they adopted Leah and raised her as their daughter for seven years, a time during which they were happy and their house was full of love, an all-too-rare occurrence in comics nowadays. At the end of that time, Leah thanked her mothers for teaching her what love and family was truly about, then she set out on her own with Thori, her Hel-hound who has a tendency to speak in grim, disturbing truths, to find her own future.

For this story, Leah has come back to New York to see her mothers and attend the wedding of this reality's Illyana, whom she has never known or met, out of respect for her lost love. As such, it's a most bittersweet experience. Her mothers are aware of how painful this is for Leah, but they're proud of her for listening to her heart and for honoring, not forgetting, the woman she loved.

Sera also attends the monthly semi-dark sorceresses meetings with Illyana and Nico. She usually brings homemade cookies.

(Did you think I was kidding about those meetings?)