(i can't love you the way you love me.)

Several years later.

"Are you ready?"

"Of course," Crystal said as she smoothed the skirt of her dress. She smiled at her best friend, who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.

"Stop smoothing that skirt. We're going in anytime now," Gold commented, running a hand through his hair and smiling at her.

"Alright," she replied softly, but still continued to adjust the white dress, completely ignoring his advice.

"If Ruby walked in right now, he's going to throw a sissy fit if he sees you constantly smoothing out that dress, and then he'll never let me hear the end of it," Gold complained as he crossed the room and stood next to her. He took her hands in his. "You look beautiful just the way you are right now."

Crystal flushed at the praise, and at her reddened cheeks, Gold's eyes clouded over and he looked away, brushing a finger against his nose. She stood up, wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his.

"Thank you," she said quietly. His amber eyes gazed back at her, and a lump formed in her throat when she saw his eyes mist over. She bit her lip as she felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Gold hugged her back tightly, and she rested her head on his shoulder. A few seconds passed, with both of them trying to get a hold of their emotions, before Gold pulled back and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Pull yourself together," he ordered, grinning despite his red eyes. "Today is the day you've been waiting for. Don't ruin it by crying."

"I'm not crying," she murmured, resting her head against his shoulder again. "I've just got something in my eye."

He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her against him.

"Me too."

The organ played the familiar notes, and they could hear the faint shuffling of feet as everyone stood to welcome them.

Behind the closed doors, Gold turned to Crystal, who was gripping her flowers so tightly that her knuckles had gone white, and extended his arm towards her. She smiled at him, and wrapped her arm around his, hugging it tightly. He returned the smile, before turning back to face the now open doors.

Before them was a long aisle, and at the end they could see a young red-haired man, waiting patiently for them.

"Come on Cinderella," Gold said softly. "Time to go meet your prince."

They looked beautiful together.

The bride and the groom had just finished their first dance together, and now the groom, Silver, was chatting happily to his friends, Blue, Ruby and Platinum. Gold took a sip of champagne and scanned the room, curious about where the bride had disappeared to.

A hand tapped his shoulder, and he turned to see said bride, her namesake eyes filled with merriment, and her cheeks flushed.

"Gold," she said softly, clasping her hands together. "May I have this dance?"

He laughed. "Shouldn't I be asking you that instead?"

Her eyes sparkled, and she took his hands. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

The two of them found themselves walking towards an empty balcony, instead of the crowded dance floor. In a flash, Crystal remembered the times where they waltzed around Cherrygrove's flower fields under the night's stars. She glanced at Gold, and judging by the fond look in his eyes, he certainly had not forgotten those memories as well.

"Are you going to step on my feet?" Crystal asked, grinning as she rested one hand on his shoulder, and taking his other hand.

"Hey," Gold protested. "That was when we were twelve. My dancing skills obviously got better since then."

"Liar," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Fine," Gold said. "I'll lead."

As they spun around the balcony, they only had eyes for each other. The young man with the messy hairstyle and the glint in his eyes; and the pretty girl with flushed cheeks and sweet giggles.

Despite the ring on the girl's finger, nothing would ever come between their friendship and love for each other.

It was an unspoken promise, and the stars were their only witnesses.

AN:

There you have it! The alternate ending. Sadly though, I read through Part 2 and this section multiple times, but I couldn't find a way to link them together. I'm afraid they clash together really badly, because its so rushed and skipping ahead a couple of years. And the part where Gold and Crys were trying not to cry, might seem a little familiar, because it was from my old story, Bride :)

Anyhow I'm really sorry for not updating much, school is taking its toll on me. I really miss writing, and I hope I can update a lot more quicker! Thanks for always being so patient guys, it really means a lot to me :)

Happy belated birthday to Emerald, Blue and Pearl! I didn't get to write birthday stories for them ;_; maybe next year...