This Is Love, This Is Life

Wedding Day (Bongiovi/Sambora)

Author's Notes:

How many of you were missing the sex from the wedding night in the last chapter? Hope this one makes up for making you all wait for a week.

One more chapter to go then we're going to rest this AU for a while. We have big plans for our couples to visit Enslaved but it needs a bit of time to plan out.

So after next week, Esayel and I will be reworking Wanted. Tidying it up and updating the style to suit what I've become comfortable in. This will be in preparation for adding a continuation. So...for those of you who don't mind a little Master!Richie and his pets...you will be in for a treat😏🔥🥵

In the meantime...enjoy this Jon and Richie's morning after...

Love you all...❤️❤️

J💕💕💕

Wedding Day

Jon tugged Richie along by the vine lei, down a now very familiar route along the coastline. Giggling like teenagers and setting nearby dogs into barking frenzies or being yelled at by people for disturbing their sleep as they sang at the top of their voices, they walked hand in hand back toward their rental. When they weren't chasing each other and tumbling to the sand in a frenzy of kisses, they would stop to admire the view or each other.

"I can't believe I feel this giddy without a single drop to drink," Jon sighed happily as they sat on the sand. He was leaning up against some rocks with Richie between his legs, leaning back into his embrace. Jon had one hand inside Richie's shirt, over his heavily beating heart. His other hand was entwined with Richie's as they sat listening to the crashing of the waves not far from where they were sitting.

"It's a strange feeling, isn't it?" Richie said over his shoulder. "As Mike said, it's like that jigsaw. It looks complete from afar because that piece is just so infinitesimal in comparison to the overall picture...but fuck, it feels complete now. We feel complete, don't we?"

"You know...it does and we do," Jon agreed. "But the thing that's always frightened me was...and I know that we've covered ourselves as much as possible but...I've always had this fear that," he swallowed down the insecurities that reared their ugly heads now and again, "that if anything happened to either of us, that they'd take everything away from whoever was left. The house...the kids. Because we weren't what the law classifies as normal."

"Ah Cowboy...why didn't you ever say anything?" Richie asked, kissing the hand that was gripped in his.

"Because it was dumb, I know that," Jon replied. "And it happened more when Seb and Lia were babies. It seemed to dissipate somewhat as they grew older. I don't think I've had an attack over that for a couple of years now."

"I wish you'd told me, babe," Richie murmured.

"But had you thought about that at all?" Jon asked. "You know...I kinda got a taste of it with the hospital and your parents."

"My parents?!" Richie shifted to peer at Jon in the dark, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"After your assault...you were still unconscious...," Jon said, casting his mind back to those few horrible days where Richie lay lifeless in a hospital bed. "I wasn't even allowed in your room until Eddie authorised me to be there. Then...when your folks came in and tried to tell you that you were going home with them...that I wasn't needed anymore and that I should just leave. As if my life wasn't shitty enough with you all beat up and not waking up. They were going to take you away from me and I was so fucking angry with them."