“You two stand here, and we’ll go down so you can get the impact of the acoustics,” Ren instructed.

  We were at Centre Stadium in the dark, all four of us wearing headlamps, waiting for the sun to come up and scouting the wedding venue, testing what it would be like for a sunrise wedding.

  The pre-dawn air was chill, and I had on a sweater and full-length tights while Nayth was wearing a pastel sea foam green long-sleeve t-shirt and navy blue linen trousers. It was my favorite look on him, so I pulled him against me as Peydran and Ren made their way down the steps to the center of the stadium.

  Nayth bent his lips to mine in a gentle kiss, and Ren started singing.

  “Wow!” Nayth exclaimed, lifting his head and looking around. The morning sky turned lighter and Ren sang in a soft voice, but the sound filled the whole stadium.

  Centre stadium was carved into sandstone at the edge of the oasis, looking out over the desert below and was surrounded by Centre Coffee Plantation. Next spring, we’d have our wedding there amidst the blooming coffee trees at sunrise.

  “Listen to those acoustics,” Nayth commented. Then he added a harmony to Ren’s song. “La, la, laaa.”

  Ren stopped singing and spoke in his usual volume, as though we were standing right next to him. “Predawn, we start with the glass orchestra from Sturm. Then as the sun throws colors across the sky, we add layers: the Shurwinn orchestra, then Starlend.”

  Peydran joined the explanation, “As the sun peeks over the horizon, the two of you enter, one from each side. You exchange vows, just the two of you, with the sun as your officiant.”

  “Woah,” Nayth said, “now that’s proper drama!”

  Nayth took my hand as we made our way down the steps towards Ren and Peydran.

  “Then we have the Floria orchestra join in just as the sun comes fully up!” Ren announced.

  “Fountains of flowers erupt, Floria style, raining down petals from the sky all over the stadium,” Peydran concluded.

  As he said it, the tangle lit up in my mind. But it wasn’t the usual tangle pressing down on me. There was no pressure, no headache. Instead, in my mind I saw a ball of tangled yarn glowing with all the colors of the rainbow, beautiful, and pulsing with light.

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  I pushed the image into Nayth and Ren’s minds. Nayth’s breath hitched, and Ren said, “Oh!”

  Then Ren showed me that he stuck his thumb in Peydran’s belly button, and Peydran grunted and said, “What? Wait, what is that, Ren?”

  “I think it’s the tangle, Pey’o, only better than usual.”

  “Yeah,” I explained, “it seems happy or something.” Then I let go of the image and opened eyes I hadn’t realized were closed.

  “This is absolutely perfect, Peydran. Ren. Brilliant! It’s the most dramatic wedding I’ve ever heard of, and we will give all the 9 Galaxies the wedding of the millennia. Amazing start to finish,” Nayth crooned.

  I nodded my agreement, “Perfect.”

  “I have extra-great news to add: Ryst and I don’t have to go back to Sturm this year for the Ministry sessions because I applied for a proxy due to ‘wedding planning.’ I’m milking this wedding for all it’s worth and sending Rahel as a proxy to the sessions,” Nayth informed everyone.

  “Rahel’s cool with that?” Peydran questioned.

  “Yeah, Rahel’s husband has been wanting to go on an anniversary trip, so I told him to take a month off after the Ministry shindig is over. They’re gonna leave the kids with the grandparents and go on a cross-galactic Eclipse-Chasing Tour.”

  “That sounds like a good movie title: Eclipse Chasers of Yesteryear,” Peydran said in a dramatic voice.

  "More like a good porn title: Eclipse Chasers Up the Rear,” Ren scoffed.

  We all howled with laughter as Ren asked, “Hey Nayth, can we borrow your starliner so Produced by Peydran can make its first porn film, oh, and Freya too, and we’ll make fake hetero porn: Eclipse Chasers Up the Rear, the Cross-Galactic Adventure of a Lifetime!”

  “And an animated edition too, Eclipse Chasers of Yester Rear,” I chimed in.

  “Hah!” barked Peydran. “We are so doing the animated version!”

  “Can I have a copy to give Rahel for his anniversary?” Nayth asked

  Roaring with laughter, the four of us headed out of the stadium.

  Nayth wrapped an arm around my waist and said in our mental language, You up for date night to this morning? We have a couple hours before the construction crews show up.

  One Starliner Special and Shiki Shag coming right up, I grinned at him.

  An hour later, I was holding Nayth against me. In the weeks we’d been remodeling the casita, we’d had weekly date nights reserved for the Starliner Special and Shiki Shag, and we’d gotten so good at both, our bodies had learned to anticipate it.

  When I’d told Nayth about neurotransmitters and bonding hormones, he’d insisted that date night soulgasms be followed by a minimum of half-hour cuddle sessions.

  Nayth almost always held me, so I switched things up on date night and held him. But, apparently, it was date morning.

  “Are we ever going to fuck again, Nayth? Or are we just going to turn into permanently sappy lovers who make love slowly and cuddle all the time?”

  “You wanna bang one out? ‘Come Slammin’ Into Me, Baby?’ Well, we do owe Ren a re-creation of their first date. I can go work all day at the Centre so you get nice and lonely today. Then tonight we can go to dinner at J’s Ale House in Media and rent a cabin afterwards. I’ll wear a kurta, and you can handcuff me to the headboard, rip off my buttons, and tell me you’re gonna fuck me hard, and I better enjoy it. You game?”

  I laughed. It sounded awesome! “It’s a date. And we definitely win for being the hottest at first dates.”

  “Yeah, Ren and Peydran probably cuddle more than we do. They’re probably sweet and sappy all the time,” Nayth laughed.