i forgot i wrote this before napping but i dreamt that it happened so i woke up with my dream of maya and lucas getting married completely written out and it was wild this has nothing to do with anything, but yeah i hope you like it

"Maya," Lucas starts tenderly, a boyish grin gracing his lips. "Look, I can't promise you that our life together will be long and happy. I can't promise you that we will be unselfish and unwavering until death parts us. Hell, I can't even promise you that I won't fight with you about the paint that I'm sure you left all over the living room when we get back from our honeymoon."

She rolls her eyes in response, muttering an exasperated "He will." under her breath.

"Oh, I definitely will- but that's not the point. The point is that there is a lot that I can't promise you, but I can promise you that I will love you for as long as I know you." Somewhere along his speech, their fingers interlace between them and lead their bodies closer.

"So what if you forget me, Lucas?" Maya teases from under his chin, "Have you never seen The Vow?"
The minister's brows rise curiously as Lucas narrows his eyes. "Maya, I'm in the middle of my vows."
Maya gasps, taking her right hand from his grip and placing it on her chest dramatically. "Huckleberry, brain injuries have no schedule."
"Babe…" She bats her lashes at him innocently, his tone only drawing a smirk to her lips. "You're kind of killing my big moment here."

"Lucas Joseph, if you're not going to love me through a traumatic brain injury, I don't know if I want to marry you at all." She huffs playfully.

Lucas shakes his head with a chuckle. "Fine. I promise you that I will love you for all of eternity- brain injury or not."

A collective laugh comes from their audience, every person's attention settled on the young couple.

"You're my entire life, Maya. I couldn't imagine not coming home to you. Even if I could, I wouldn't want to. I've wanted to come home to you every day since we were fourteen and you held my hand during that Jaws marathon that you dragged me to at the $2 theater. I used to run home and tell my mama all about my beautiful best friend, the one with the brightest smile I'd ever seen, even if it wasn't around too much." He squeezes her hand when he sees tears welling in her eyes. "You were as much of a mystery to me then as you are now, even after I've had the pleasure of earning and keeping your trust and company, and I love it. I love that I constantly learn new things about you. You keep me on my toes, always ready for whatever's thrown at me because I know I have a support system in you no matter what I'm facing. I love that you make sure my head doesn't stay too high in the clouds because that's where it always is with you. I think nothing wrong can happen in the world when I love a girl this much." The pad of his thumb swipes away a tear slipping down Maya's cheek. "I love you, Shortstack. More than I can even describe honestly. And I can't wait to be the best husband I can be to you."

Lucas's mother wails from the front row, standing to offer Maya a few tissues from the stash in her purse.

The bride gratefully accepts, dabbing under her eyes in an attempt not to smear her makeup. She inhales sharply, her breath slightly shuddering as she holds back more tears. Her body twists towards her guests before she swings her thumb in his direction. "This guy, am I right?"

More laughter rings from their friends and family before they fall silent, eager to hear what Maya's vows in return will be. She fiddles with her fingers, anxiously tucking a loose curl behind her ear before slipping a folded napkin out from her bra.

"Ranger Rick," she beams, her eyes sparkling three shades brighter than normal as she stares down at her scribbled writing, "I'm probably crying right now because you're so sappy and disgusting that you've probably got this huge speech prepared and you're such a damn-" she winces, apologizing quickly to the church official on her left, "I'm sorry, dang huckleberry, so let's make this short and sweet because we paid a lot of money to paint me up this good, and I refuse to cry it off before we even take proper photos." Her eyes cast upward and find his, the butterflies in her stomach swarming as he smiles at her. A little laugh escapes his lips before he wipes away another tear on her cheek. "I love you, a lot. And I wanna marry you. Like I really wanna do it, so let's do it, y'know? I feel like this whole husband and wife thing really could suit us." She shrugs as nonchalantly as she can, her eyes quickly widening with the realization that she'd forgotten her final words. "Oh, right- love, Maya."

Hours later, they lay awake on a hotel bed. Tangled under the blankets, their formal clothes scattered around the floor all over the room, they fight to stay awake.

"I know we said we were gonna try to stay up 24 hours as husband and wife… but maybe we can be married while we sleep, too," Lucas yawns, blinking himself awake as his eyes threaten to stay closed.

Maya nods in response, stretching out her back before curling into him with a content sigh. "I'll stay up for a little bit longer. We ordered room service, remember? But you can sleep, and then after they get here I'll put it all away and sleep, too."

"But how am I supposed to sleep without you sleeping next to me?" he asks, a lazy smile tugging at his lips before his arms wrap around her to pull her even closer. "It's impossible."

She giggles in reaction, leaning back to prop her head up with her arm against the mattress. "I'll just tell you stories like I used to when we were in high school." They both remember those nights, her soft voice lulling him to his dreams when he had nightmares or the stress of world was keeping him wired.

He lets out a deep breath when her index finger glides down the slope of his nose, a trick her mother used to use on her when she was young. "A story," he reminds her softly, his chest already beginning to rise and fall in a smooth rhythm.

"Hm…I think I have something I can tell you." She continues to trace the trail on his face, her voice falling to just above a whisper beside him.

"With kindness, unselfishness, and trust, I vow my life to you, Lucas Friar."

His breath hitches, her words registering deep in his mind immediately.

"I vow to follow you in whatever journeys we take. I vow to help you care for all those damn stray animals that you let into our back door even though you think I won't notice. I vow to cut all the crust off your grilled cheese, even though that's the best part. I even vow to stop putting paint in your socks when I'm mad at you because I know you hate that feeling."
"No, you don't," he counters, his eyes opening to watch his wife as she pours out her heart beside him.

"You're right, I don't." Maya shrugs shamelessly, her touch on him persisting despite his more conscious state. "But I do vow to you that I will love you with all I have as long as we both shall live."

"What about when we die?" Lucas bickers, "Have you never seen Corpse Bride?"

"Babe…" she whispers harshly, mocking his response to her at their ceremony. "You're kind of killing my big moment here."

He raises his eyebrows, scoffing at her impression. "Maya Penelope, if you're not going to love me beyond the grave, I'm not sure I want to marry you at all."

"We're already married, you dork." She flashes her wedding band at him. "But I vow, even from beyond the grave, I will love you with all I have."

"Good," he fakes a sigh of relief, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. "I was worried for a second."

She shakes her head, leaning close to steal a kiss from his lips before pulling back with a giddy smile. "And I now pronounce us husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

He returns the expression, his left hand tangling in her hair before closing the gap between them, laughter erupting from the both of them, and he can't help but think that maybe she was right.

Maybe this whole husband and wife thing really did suit them.