“I’m an alien, remember?” He winked at her.
Azura’s soul sparkled the entire night as she talked with guests, danced, and laughed as she had never wept into the depths of the darkness.
She thought about her parents being there, even spoke about them to some of her old friends from high school, and felt joyful that she had been so blessed in having them in her life.
Everyone danced and drank deep into the night. Azura and Onyx were exhausted by the time everyone filtered out and sat next to each other as the cicadas sang their dark song.
They watched as the attendants that Onyx had hired took the tent down and gathered all the abandoned plates and glasses. He was leaning against Azura’s shoulder, and they looked up into the stars.
“Do you think we can see Nova Aurora from here?” Azura asked.
Onyx leaned against her face, and she laughed, knowing he’d had a few drinks that night. He picked up her hand and raised it into the air with his own.
“If you squint really hard,” he said dozily. “And move right over here, you can see a pink-ish glimmer on the clearest of nights.”
Their fingers lined up while their cheeks pressed together. Azura squinted but couldn’t catch exactly what he was referring to. The action, however, was so romantic that she decided to hold his finger in the air for a moment longer.
“We’ll have to do the same when we get back home,” she said quietly.
“Home,” Onyx repeated.
Azura turned to face him. He turned back, his eyes swimming with adoration.
“I can’t believe I get to go home with you,” he crooned. “You are my wife now, isn’t that nuts?”
Azura let out a childlike giggle, and Onyx began snickering on his own. A few of the attendants looked over with a frown, which only intensified their laughing fit.
Once they were done laughing, Azura leaned her chin against Onyx’s shoulder.
“God, I love you so much,” she said through gritted teeth.
He leaned his head against her forehead, then quickly lifted his eyebrows up and down.
“I can’t wait to show you how much I love you once these bastards leave,” Onyx said.
Azura had to cover her mouth before beginning another laughing fit, which only set Onyx off again. She cradled her husband in her arms as their laughs echoed into the late-night air.