"William, I see you have brought your groom to meet us."

My parents always assumed wrong when it came to me. They assumed I liked girls, whilst I didn't. They accepted me off course, but they thought wrong. They thought I liked football (soccer), whilst I'd much rather spend my time on a dancefloor, letting my body get swept away by the beat. So when they saw me sharing my horse with Nico Di Angelo, they assumed he was my groom. However for this once I could actually see their reasoning. Angelos ( was my horse, and u never let anyone else ride him. Even my best friends Lou Ellen and Cecil, who were also the stable workers, had never been allowed a ride on Angelos. I needed days of convincing by my parents before I would let anyone else take care of him.

Their assumptions at least had a motive this time. I would only share my horse with someone special.

Still I blushed furiously, and felt Nico tensed up behind me. My parents were still smiling obliviously down at us from the porch, whilst Lou came over to take care of Angelo. She stared at Nico and me for a second, then at my parents and back at our uncomfortable faces.

"Will, can you come with me to the stables, I'm not sure if they delivered the right food for Angelos."

Sometimes she was truly an angel, sent down from heaven to help me. I nodded, and quickly nudged Angelos forward, out of sight of my parents. As soon as we were out of earshot I breathed out in relief.

"Thank you. Lou Ellen, this is Nico Di Angelo. Nico, this is Lou Ellen, my best friend and personal caretaker of Angelos. Be nice, she just save our asses from a very uncomfortable situation."

Nico gave her a small nob, and slit down from behind me. He looked like he was about to collapse again. I dismounted Angelos and handed the reins to Lou. She led him away, leaving me with Nico.

"Listen, I'm sorry about my parents. No, I'm sorry about this entire situation, but can you play along, and pretend to be my fiancé so my parents will finally leave me alone about marriage. If that weird key plus lock thing was real, it must've meant something, right? So please play along for a while, and we'll get divorced in a few months"

Nico didn't respond for a few seconds, his eyes darting everywhere but my face. "Okay. I will. I guess the key thing did really mean something."

Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am. Now, let's go meet my parents."

I took his hand, and led him inside. My parents were sitting on the couch, awaiting patiently. 'mother, father, this is my fiancé, Nico Di Angelo."

I prayed to every divine power that they wouldn't recognize the name.

"Ma'am, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm sorry to visit so unannounced, but Will showed up a little unexpected."

I could see my parents approving of him. They were in love with his slightly old and Italian accent, I could see it in their faces. They fell into conversation, and after a while of observing I joined in. within two hours my parents had started to arrange our wedding in a week.

-One week later-

Today was the day. After a week of knowing Nico, I was going to walk down the aisle to marry him. Apparently, if you wave around a credit card you can get a wedding planned within a week and even get it to be very over the top. Everything was decorated with purples and lilacs, which were apparently the colours that fitted our relationship the most.

I was currently in a room getting changed. Cecil was sitting on my couch, sipping some champagne. My mom had picked my tie, and surprisingly it was lilac. Luckily I had gotten a say in my suit, so it wasn't lilac as well. I had somehow convinced my mother to get me a dark blue, almost black suit, which matched Nico's more.

"Will, five minutes." Cecil stood up from his chair and walked over to me. He put down my hands, which were fidgeting with my bowtie. "You'll be fine. You made the right choice. You love this guy. I see it when I looked at you two." That comment caught me off guard. We weren't in love. We didn't even try to act like it that much. I just hung out with Nico most of the week, teaching him about the modern world. He was clueless with the simplest things, but getting there. I never tried to 'look in love', as Cecil put it. I wouldn't deny that Nico is handsome, quite the contrary actually. He had feminine and masculine features, blended together perfectly. His eyes were dark pits, abysses, filled with secrets yet to uncover.

"Will, were you even listening? I said, we have to get going." "Cecil, I'm nervous. What if I mess up? You know me, I always mess up at the worst of times." I was starting to panic. I didn't know why, but I wanted everything to be perfect. "Will, look at me. You are not going to mess up. This is too important for you. You're happy. Just keep in mind, it's with Nico, the guy you love. Focus, he's waiting for you. You're going to be with him. Okay, calm down."

We'd arrived at the aisle. The priest was already waiting, and so were most guest. My dad substituted for Nico's father, without having much questions. They didn't question Nico's lack of family in general.

The music started playing, and the audience rose. The doors opened slowly, revealing first my father and then Nico.

My breath caught in my throat. He looked stunning. The dark suit contrasted flawlessly with his pale skin. His eyes sparkled in the soft lights. His hair shone in the light, seeming silkier than ever.

They were approaching the priest and I. then he was standing in front of me. I barely paid attention to the ceremony, only when I said I do.

"You may now kiss the groom."

We were leaning in. it seemed as if the guest, the room, everything disappeared. Only Nico was there, with his soft lips softly touching mine. A force like a magnet seemed to pull our lips together, and not letting them separate. There were no fireworks, just the feeling of being content, everything being right. All events had played out as they were supposed to.

When we pulled away I thought I saw the sky through the window lighting up lilac, but moments later that was gone again. I shook my head a little to get the image out of my head. Walking down the aisle I waved and smiled at people, keeping Nico close to my side. He seemed a little uneasy, tensed up at my side.

--

The room was crowded. Many interviewers, photographers and journalists were here to get a story on the famous new couple that will take over the Solace Company and estate. We were talking to a particular nosey interviewer from some popular magazine. At first the questions seemed innocent enough, but they got progressively more personal and invasive.

"Mister Di Angelo, there seems to be no member of your family present for this important day, what is the reason for this?"

Nico's eyes widened. Up until now these questions hadn't been asked, so we avoided the topic completely.

"I'd rather not answer that question."

"Why not. Do your parents disapprove of this marriage? Were they even aware of this marriage? Are you aware of the past rivalry between the Di Angelo family and the solace family..."

I cut her off before she could continue. "I think that is enough. You have no reason to ask these questions. As for the past rivalry, you said it yourself, it's in the past. Now if you'll excuse us, we are going to get some fresh air. Alone."

I led Nico out the door, my hand on the small of his back. He was shaking ever so slightly, and frankly it scared me. He had been fairly social all evening, only reacting slightly irritated to some questions, but answering the rest with a smile on his face.

"Nico, are you alright. I'm sorry for those questions. I should've cut her off way quicker. Let's get away from the party for a bit. Wait here."

Within minutes I had saddled Angelos, and was stood next to Nico again. I mounted the horse, and held my hand out to Nico. After a moment he tok it and let himself be hoisted up, sat in front of me.

I turned Angelos and sped down the path, leaving behind the mansion, the party, the journalists, the attention. Soon we eft the road and entered the forest. Without realising it, I let us back to the ruins. The sun was going down, and the ruins bathed in purples and lilacs, making the town look alive.

"Finally. I was waiting for you two to show up. You know how long 300 years is." A young girl was sitting on the runes of a house, and looking at us with golden eyes that read your soul.

"Sorry, what? Who are you and how do you know us?"

"William, I am Hazel. I have known Nico since the day he was born, but he was only known me since the day before he turned to stone. As for you, I knew you were going to be born before your parents were even born. You were always meant to come together, and complete the circle. Now this finally happened. Just always remember, nothing is coincidence. Happy living boys."

She disappeared with a flash. I turned to Nico, who was already looking back at me. I looked him in the eye, getting lost in the vast pits they were.

"Nico, the lock did mean something."

I pulled him closer by the waist, and slowly connected our lips.

fin