Mark woke up to the sound of his ringtone going off. He glanced at the time. It was only 10:00 am, and he hadn't set the alarm to go off until 11:00, an hour before check-out. It was apparently an actual call. He rubbed his eyes and checked the name. Allison.

Even though he wasn't sure accepting a call from Allison was the best thing to do with Jinyoung right next to him, considering what they'd fought about in the first place, he couldn't ignore it if there was the slightest chance the call could be about Lou. He swiped to accept the call, sitting up in bed.

“Where are you?” Allison asked. “You're not answering the doorbell.”

“You're at my house?” Mark asked groggily. “Why? You didn't have another fight, did you?”

“The opposite. We've sorted everything out, and we've made our decision. We're eloping.”

“Eloping,” Mark echoed. He was too sleepy to process this. Of course, he'd suggested eloping himself the other day, but he hadn't thought they'd actually do it so quickly.

Jinyoung shot up in bed beside him. “She's eloping?” he mouthed.

“So, we need some witnesses and were going to fetch you and Jinyoung, but you're not here,” she continued. “Think you can make it out to the courthouse in an hour-and-a-half?”

“We're not exactly in a place where we have access to suits.”

“No need. It's a casual wedding. I tried to put on the wedding dress Mom got me, I really did, but I'm not feeling it. I'm just wearing a pink spring dress. As long as you aren't wearing ripped jeans, you'll be fine.”

Mark turned to look at Jinyoung. “How soon can you get ready?”

“I'm fine. We can make it.”

“All right, Allie. We'll be there.”

“Thanks. I hope you don't think I'm crazy for this, by the way.”

“Why is crazy a bad thing? I think this is the exact kind of crazy you need in your life.”

“YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT!” he heard Jackson yelling in the background. “See you soon, man.”

Jinyoung and Mark scrambled for their clothes, and went through the hotel room quickly to make sure they hadn't left anything inappropriate behind before rushing down to the lobby for checkout. Mark was again relieved they'd gone back and gotten Jinyoung nicer pants so he wouldn't ruin the atmosphere at the wedding. He wasn't sure if someone was going to be around to take photos—he only had his phone camera on him, which would be better than nothing—but he knew Jinyoung would die of embarrassment if he went down in family history for having worn hideous pants to Allison's wedding.

They made it out to Mark's car in good time and piled in.

“You know, you're really lucky this sweater covers up certain kiss marks you left last night,” Jinyoung said, adjusting his clothes. “And that I've regained some of my energy, because really, this could have been painfully awkward otherwise.”

“I'm pretty Allison knows we have , Jinyoung.”

“Yeah, but Jackson seems like the kind of person who'd make a running gag if I showed up to his wedding looking like we'd just had .” He reached over and squeezed Mark's thigh. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“I can't apologize directly to Allison because I don't want to burden her with anything on such happy day. But I'm really ticked off that I had envious thoughts towards her when she picked me as one of the witnesses for her wedding without a second thought. And I wanted to say I was sorry, even if it was just to you again.” He sighed. “I feel even worse, because she's never been angry at me for being someone you loved. I shouldn't have gotten angry about her.”

“Jealousy isn't known for being a rational feeling. As someone who makes mistakes, it's not like I can yell at you for making a mistake.” He glanced away from the road to smile at Jinyoung briefly. “But seriously. You have no reason to be jealous of anybody, okay? There's only one person I've experienced this kind of love with, and it's you. Do you need it tattooed on your forehead, after all?”

“Maybe not my forehead, but somewhere else,” Jinyoung joked. “I also wouldn't mind you reminding me of that fact constantly when we're living together.”

“I'll be sure to. I'll say it so often you'll get sick of it.”

“I doubt that, Mark Tuan. I really do.”

Jackson, Allison, and Lou were waiting for them at the courthouse. True to her word, Allison and Jackson were dressed on the casual side for a wedding. Allison's dress was pale pink, knee length, and had flowers pinned across the bodice, and would have been more suitable for a bridesmaid in a more traditional wedding. Jackson was wearing black pants and a pinstripe blazer with a plain white V-neck underneath. Lou had a sharp gray vest paired with a nice bowtie.

“There you are,” Allison said, sighing in relief. “They're ready for us whenever we are.”

“Wait, no rehearsal or anything?” Mark asked. He remembered weddings being a lot more complicated than this when he'd had one.

“They've already gone over everything with me and Jackson. It's just going to be the wedding vows, no full blown service or anything, so it's simple.”

“We'll be in and out before anyone can stop us,” Jackson add. “You know what, I actually think I'll make a great rotten son-in-law, so this is really all for the best.”

“Jackson!”

“Seriously, don't I look like a son-in-law someone would shake a shotgun at?”

“Shotgun?” Jinyoung asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Wait, no, it's not that kind of wedding! I mean, not that I would say no to expanding the family eventually, but the getting settled into a new house business first is way more important.” He turned to Lou. “Ready for your first wedding, champ?”

“Like Kermit and Miss Piggy in my Muppets movie?” Lou asked excitedly.

“Uhh... I don't think your Mom would appreciate the Miss Piggy comparison, but sure.” Jackson looked back up at Mark. “You ready?”

“No. I can't just send you in there to get married without saying something first.” He clapped Jackson on the shoulder. “I'm counting on you, okay? She's betting her happiness on this, so you better be all in, too.”

Jackson for once gave him a very serious look. “I wouldn't go into this with anything less than everything. I'll take good care of her.”

Mark turned to Allison. “And you... you wanted to find someone who loves you from the depths of his heart. I'm glad you did. I'm so happy for you. No regrets, okay?”

Allison nodded, blinking back a few stray tears. “You too. I'm glad you found someone. No regrets.”

The five of them went into the courtroom together where the justice was waiting for them. Mark held Lou and Jinyoung's hands as he guided them into the front row of the court room. Jinyoung squeezed his hand, and Lou leaned into him, pulling him down so he could whisper in his ear.

“Daddy,” he said. “You said you love Jinny like Mommy loves Jackson, right?”

“Yes?”

“Then you'll get married too,” Lou said in a confident, happy voice. “I'll have a big family with lots of parents.”

Mark couldn't hold back a grin. “Does someone just want more birthday presents next year, hmmm?”

Lou giggled. “But I've been good! Mommy and Jackson said that getting married is a very happy thing. Daddy and Jinny should be happy, too.”

“I see.” He looked at his son seriously. “Then I'll have to think about it later, won't I?”

Lou nodded.

Mark couldn't deny that it was a strange feeling to watch his ex-wife saying her vows a second time. A strange feeling, but a happy one. Something had ended, but something new was beginning, and that new thing was his family reshaping itself to include someone who belonged within it. A nontraditional family people called it, but he didn't think those were the right words, especially since they were usually said with scorn by people who held the traditional as sacred. It was just a family. His family. His precious son, his precious former wife and her precious new husband-to-be, and his precious lover. He clutched Jinyoung's hand tightly in his. Just because it wasn't the same shape as what was held as the norm didn't make it any less sacred.

“I, Allison Staley Tuan, take you, Jackson Wang, to be my 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, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part.”

“I, Jackson Wang, take you, Allison Staley Tuan, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part.”

Mark smiled as he looked at the expressions on Allison and Jackson's faces, the blissful happiness they couldn't keep from their eyes. He understood what that kind of happiness felt like, and he knew it was worth every single price that had been paid along the way, the complicated and often difficult road they'd taken to get here. Maybe there was any number of paths their lives could have taken, but this was the right one—the one where Allison ended up happy with someone she loved and Mark ended up happy with someone he loved, and Lou shared in that happiness with them. He couldn't imagine their lives any other way.

With the power vested in him, the justice declared Allison and Jackson husband and wife. They kissed, and Mark snapped a picture with his phone for posterity. After wrinkling his nose in disgust (like many little boys, Lou was allergic to the sight of kissing) Lou ran up to his mother, jumping up and down. “Mommy, you were just like Miss Piggy!” Allison sighed heavily, but Jackson laughed hysterically.

“So, is there going to be a honeymoon after all this?” Jinyoung wondered.

“We'll take one officially later, but right now, we were thinking of celebrating at scenic Local Restaurant or breathtaking Nearby Pretty Landscape to take a few pictures,” Jackson answered. “You're welcome to come.”

“Honeymoons are just for the couple, aren't they? If you want, we can take Lou home with us and give you a few hours to yourself.”

“You'll regret it if you don't when your parents find out what you did and come over to chew you out,” Mark reminded Allison.

“Tempting thought. Jackson, what do you think?” she asked.

“All right, then. Let's get some champagne at Local Restaurant and toast our rebelliousness. To Mr. and Mrs. Wang! To the prosperity of Clan Wang-Tuan!”

“Get out of here,” Mark said, rolling his eyes.

Mark, Jinyoung, and Lou watched as they got into Jackson's SVU and waved as they headed off to their destination. Mark glanced over at Jinyoung. They still had more growing left to do, more trust to solidify in each other, more confidence to gain in themselves. But he knew the day would come when they'd go on a similar journey together. The world was a pretty uncertain place, but he was at least certain that he'd found the love he needed, a love that may not have been perfect but was just right enough to complete him inside.

Just like Allison had said, he didn't want to fall in love again, with someone else. This is it.

A lot of things had changed all at once, so there were moments of instability as their world reoriented itself. Allison's parents were naturally furious when they'd found out what Jackson and Allison had done. Apparently they'd made a lot more plans for the fancy wedding that now wouldn't be happening than Allison had originally thought, and they now had to scramble to cancel all the plans they'd never consented to in the first place. Allison, determined not to have a repeat incident of them stepping into her affairs without her permission again, laid down the law—if you want to continue to have a relationship with your grandson, you have to stop this. Stop trying to get me to cut Mark out of his life. Stop treating me like I'm failing at raising him when he's a sweet, kind boy. Stop telling me I'm doing everything wrong when I'm not.

Jinyoung also decided it was time to do something serious about the problems he was having with his assignment. He told his placement counselor about his treatment at the hands of the observing teacher, asking for her opinion as to whether or not the teacher was stepping out of line with him or not. His placement counselor investigated with the assigned school and came back to him for a few days later with some information.

“This was that teacher's last year at the school,” Jinyoung explained to Mark. “She was being let go. When it was announced I was coming in as a student teacher, she decided it meant that the school was going to replace her with me when it was all over. All of that...everything she did...it was all retaliation. She wanted to make sure I didn't take her job.”

“Well, ,” Mark said, wincing. “And now what?”

“They're trying to deal with it internally. They say how she tried to sabotage me was unacceptable, and they're trying to replace her with a substitute for the last few weeks of school. It's short notice, but...” Jinyoung sighed darkly. “You know, I wanted this to come to an ending. But the kind of ending where someone winds up losing their job and does something like this out of desperation...it's just not the ending I wanted.”

“I know,” Mark said, gently rubbing Jinyoung's back. “But you can't control other people, you know? You can only control yourself. And you did nothing you have to be ashamed of. You know that, right?”

“I do.” Jinyoung rested his head on Mark's shoulder. “So I'm just going to focus on doing my job and doing it well. They always say hard work and effort won't betray you. So let's just see what happens now.”

“I'm sure it will be fine.”

“I'm sure it will be fine, too. Because you'll be there.” Jinyoung turned his head and kissed Mark's shoulder. “And my reward when all of this is over is getting to live with you.”

“Hopefully you'll still think of it as a reward after you live with me for awhile. I'm sure leaving dirty socks around isn't my only weak point.”

“Of course it isn't,” Jinyoung said. “You also don't clean the bathroom enough, you need like 50 reminders to feed Fishy on time, you never throw anything away, and sometimes you drool. On me.”

“Uh...I wasn't actually asking you to make a list...”

“But isn't it a good thing? I know all the amazing things about you and all the difficult things about you, and I still love you entirely, every single bit of you. And maybe one day you'll figure out everything obnoxious about me like the fact that I'm still an idiot kid trying to become a competent adult and sometimes I get jealous for stupid reasons, and you'll still love me, every bit of me.”

“I think that's a given, at this point.”

“I think so, too. I've thought a lot about it recently, and really, who could you possibly find that's better than me at loving you? So there's no reason for you to toss me aside for anyone else.”

“And you call yourself an idiot kid,” Mark leaned in to kiss him, but was stopped by a loud “EWWWW” at the doorway. Naturally, it was Lou.

“Daddy, you're so gross!” he yelled. “You're supposed to take me over to Kit's!”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Jinyoung said in his teasing voice. “Stop getting distracted and actually do some proper parenting for once.”

“Excuse me, but you need to do some proper parenting, too,” Mark said, hauling Jinyoung up to his feet. “After all, Lou wants us to have a wedding too someday, right?”

Lou nodded.

“Well, I can't get married to someone who makes me take the fall on proper parenting all the time.” He grinned at Jinyoung. “Let's both take him to Kit's. As long as you promise not to pay too much attention to BamBam and ignore me, all right?”

Jinyoung had flushed a little during that speech, but tried to recover himself quickly since Lou was watching him. “Huh. The things I do for you two.”

“You love it.”

“I do. I love both of you.” He reached out and took their hands. “And always will.”