James meets Chris in the airport, of course. That part isn't surprising, given James had asked for Chris' flight information. The fact that James is wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses isn't really surprising either, even if it'd taken Chris a second to recognize him.
What does surprise Chris -- pleasantly so -- is James grabbing him right in the middle of the terminal and kissing him passionately. Chris expects half of the crowd to be staring at them when they break, but everyone seems to be minding their own business, and it's another reminder that he has a lot to get used to in LA.
The drive back to James' apartment -- now their apartment! -- is so filled with need, from both of them, that Chris is surprised James manages to keep his eyes on the road as well as he does. James' hands wander though, up Chris' thigh and to Chris' arm and settling on Chris' neck, and he almost tells James to pull over so they can take care of things right there.
He's pretty sure they'd both regret that though, for many reasons.
James breaks their physical connection only briefly, as they get out of the car in the apartment parking lot and unload Chris' bags from the trunk, but then his hand is back as they drag the suitcases up the stairs and through the apartment door.
James' hand releases his as he shuts the door, and Chris shrugs off his backback before turning back toward James, expecting a kiss.
He gets one, but it's forceful and followed by James' body pushing him back against the door as James claims his mouth forcefully. Chris grinds their hips together, and James groans into his mouth. They're both hard already.
"Need you," James says when he breaks, his eyes full of need, and Chris nods.
James fumbles with the button on Chris' jeans, pulling them down along with his underwear in one smooth motion, and kneeling. Chris is expecting James to pull out a condom or something, but instead he takes Chris' cock raw, down to the root, and Chris yelps at the unexpected feeling of James' mouth on his length.
The thought that James had never done this before sticks in a part of Chris' mind, behind all of the pleasant chemicals circulating in his brain now. Chris had of course done this for James -- he thinks he actually enjoys the taste of semen, and James always kept himself impeccably clean anyway so he'd never been concerned -- but he knows James doesn't like doing this, and he'd never pushed, always content to wear a condom in the rare instances when James went down on him, these days.
The fact that James doesn't care about that now, in the heat of the moment, just builds Chris' own desire even more.
James is good at this, of course, and it feels different this time than usual. It isn't long before he can feel his orgasm approaching, and he paws at James' shoulders, trying to warn him. "James. I'm... gonna..."
To his surprise, James doesn't stop, sucking and nipping in all the right ways until Chris is finding his release in James' mouth and down his throat, and it's somehow the hottest thing James has ever done for him.
James releases him with a sound that shouldn't be sexy at all, but somehow is, and stands, smiling at him. Chris can tell there's a bit of disgust mixed in there, though, and he immediately feels bad about it.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I couldn't..."
James squeezes Chris' hand and shakes his head, smiling reassuringly, before spinning Chris around. Chris braces himself against the door, pretty sure he knows what James is thinking.
He watches as best he can as James pulls off his pants and boxers, letting the fabric pool at his ankles instead of removing them and folding them like he usually does, and Chris thinks idly about how that, too, is highly unusual for James.
Then James shifts out of his view, and James' fingers, slick with something, are prying at his entrance.
"Sorry," James says, need in his voice. "Using your cum. Is that okay?"
Chris' breath hitches at the thought that James couldn't even make it to the bedroom for the lube, and he nods. "I want you."
James makes an uncharacteristic noise and his fingers disappear, instead replaced by something much larger. Chris tells himself to relax as James slides into him, the feeling rougher than usual, but no less pleasant.
James bottoms out and stops, and Chris can feel James' breath on his neck. "That... okay?" James asks.
"Yes," Chris says, wiggling his ass against James' crotch, and James groans. "I need you."
He apparently needs Chris too, because James doesn't hold back, setting a pace that is probably too rough for their first time in a few months, but Chris can't bring himself to care. James' hands run up his front and James' lips kiss pleasurable noises into his neck and his own hands reach back, along James' sides and ass with the need to just touch him.
It doesn't take James long either. Then he's moaning into Chris' ear and his movements grow jerky before he stills, and Chris can tell he's climaxed. His hands find James' ass again, pulling him as close as he can as James' breath, hot and heavy, warms the side of his head.
"Sorry so rough," James says, eventually. "Didn't mean to."
Chris turns his head as best he can and kisses James. James tastes a little different, and it takes him a second to realize he's probably tasting himself on James' lips. "I didn't mind," he says, smiling into James' mouth as he kisses him again. "I needed that."
James nods, smiling back as he slides out. Chris thinks his ass is definitely more sore than usual, but he also wouldn't have it any other way right now.
"Shower?" James asks, and Chris pulls up his underwear so he at least won't make a mess on the floor on their way there. He's pretty sure, despite the fact that this was really all James' fault, he wouldn't appreciate having to clean up a trail of cum drops from the front door and through the bedroom, later.
"Definitely," Chris says, grabbing James and kissing him more properly.
This was a housewarming he could definitely get behind.
"Wedding?"
"Hm?" Chris looks up from his laptop, his coding haze broken but his brain still running over the remaining characters he was typing. James is standing in the doorway to the bedroom, looking into the living room and at Chris, sitting on the couch.
Chris thinks to himself that it's unusual for James to interrupt him like this. Usually, on weekdays when they were both home together, James was more than respectful of Chris' work time and the living room space that served somewhat as Chris' office.
"Sorry," James says, looking guilty now, but still filled with an underlying exuberance that Chris thinks is unusual. "You were working."
"It's okay," Chris says, setting his laptop down and smiling at his fiance. "What did you say?"
"Wedding?" James says, and it takes Chris a second to understand.
"Wait, did the ruling come out?" Chris grabs his laptop again and glances back at James, who hasn't moved.
He holds an arm out in James' direction, wanting to make clear that he didn't mind the interruption anymore. James seems to get the message, because he walks over and kisses Chris gently before sitting on the couch next to him.
"Yes. Legal now."
"Oh." Chris' fingers automatically pop a new tab and he stares at the blank search bar before the words, and their implication, finally sink in. "Oh!"
A messenger window from a coworker pops up. Congratulations! You and James can get married now!
He sets the laptop aside again, turning back to James and gently kissing him. James seems to melt into the kiss and deepens it, and by the time they break, they're both breathless.
"Wedding?" James asks again, grinning now, and Chris thinks his joy is infectious. "Can look up restaurant reservations."
"Sorry, let me make sure I have this straight. You're asking if I want to get married... soon? At a restaurant?"
James nods. "Been engaged too long. Want to be your husband." He pauses. "Unless you're not ready. Or want bigger wedding."
Chris shakes his head. "I'm definitely ready, and we've talked about wedding size, already. I definitely still do not want a bigger wedding. Getting married soon has the advantage of also being an excuse that I can give my mom as to why we're not having a big wedding."
"Parents not too far. Give them some notice. They could be here." James shrugs. "Don't care if mine are here, but yours would care."
"My mom would kill me if we got married without her," Chris says, thinking about how excited she'd been when the two of them had gotten engaged. "Were you still thinking just parents?"
"Should invite sister too," James says. "And her husband. So you should have someone too. Would be fair. Could ask Janet or Jake or Adam. Or all of them if you want."
"Then it wouldn't be so small anymore," Chris says, smiling. "Maybe just Janet and her husband? That's four people each, so we just need a reservation somewhere for ten."
"Good number," James says. "Courthouse then dinner?"
"Um." As much as that makes sense, Chris doesn't really like the idea of being married by a government official, and he wonders how they'd never discussed that part, before. "How do you feel about finding a private room at a restaurant and hiring an officiant and just getting married there?"
"Probably fewer cameras than courthouse," James says, nodding approvingly. "Better plan."
Chris pulls out his phone. "I can call my mom and Janet now, and at least see if they have any potential conflicts in the next few weeks."
James looks a bit guilty at that. "You're working. Sorry. Was excited and distracted you. Don't have to call now."
Chris shakes his head and kisses James again. "It's okay. This is important. I'm... actually really excited for this now, too."
James kisses him back and stands. "Will call my parents too. And sister."
"Um." Chris sets his phone back down. "Actually..."
James raises an eyebrow as Chris stands and takes his hand.
"I think we need to celebrate the ruling, first," Chris says, pulling James toward the bedroom.
Chris is idly aware of the photographer snapping away -- his mom had insisted on that part -- as he stares into James' eyes. James smiles at him, but his eyes are shiny with what Chris thinks might be tears, and Chris thinks it's the first time he's seen James like this.
"I, James, take you Chris," James starts, and Chris tells himself to pay attention because he'd have to recite the same thing from memory in a few moments, and his memory for spoken things wasn't nearly as good as James'. "...to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will love you and respect you every day until death do us part."
"Thank you, James," says the officiant. "Chris?"
"I, Chris, take you James," Chris says, a tear running down his cheek. "...to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward. To, um.." He stops, embarrassed at forgetting the next part already, but also overwhelmed by emotion.
James continues smiling at him, the hand in Chris' squeezing as James mouths 'for better'.
"...for better or for worse," Chris continues, wondering why it was so hard to remember a few sentences, but thinking at least part of it was the current circumstances. He can hear his mom crying, and that doesn't help. "In sickness and in health. I will love you and respect you every day, until death do us part."
He realizes afterward he'd skipped a part, and he hopes no one notices. James, at least, doesn't seem to care, and Chris thinks James' eyes are definitely teary now.
"Chris and James will now exchange rings," the officiant says, and Chris turns to Janet, who's holding one out in his direction with a grin. Chris laughs, despite himself, as he takes it. "Repeat after me, Chris. With this ring, I thee wed."
Chris slips the ring onto James' finger, loving the look of it there, even though it really doesn't look all that different from the engagement ring that had been there for years. "With this ring, I thee wed."
James' hand squeezes his before taking the ring that Janet offers him.
"James, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed," James says, slipping Chris' ring on his finger.
"The ring is a circle, with no end, symbolizing your love and commitment to each other, which also has no end. Let these serve as a daily reminder to you for the promises you've made to each other this day, in the presence of your family and friends."
"I love you two so much!" Chris' mom blurts out, and Chris would normally be embarrassed, but right now it just makes him think about how supported he's always been, especially by everyone surrounding him today.
The officiant doesn't seem fazed, instead looking between the two of them. "By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss each other."
This part, at least, is easy, Chris thinks as he and James meet in the middle, holding their kiss for longer than is probably appropriate, but screw it.
They break, eventually, James' hands moving to Chris' shoulders, and Chris doesn't want to look away from his eyes.
"You got married, Chris!" Janet says from somewhere beside them, and Chris watches a tear run down James' cheek.
"We got married," Chris repeats, moving in to kiss James again.