Subic Surrender

DISCLAIMER: I don't fucking care how old you are. If you like the idea of two hunky young Marine's getting it on with each other then read on!

By the way, no Marine's were injured or killed in the writing of this story but that's not true of what's going on in the Middle East or other foreign places. I would ask your prayers, good thoughts or whatever for all the Marines serving our country (that's us guys!) around the world.

This is dedicated to every one who has ever served in the USMC - Semper Fi!

SUBIC SURRENDER - Part 24 MICHAEL'S STORY - Part 9 by RimPig 2003

That weekend in Key West was one of the memories that I most cherish. We made love so many times I lost count. We walked all over and talked. We talked about what we wanted our lives to be like now that we were going to basically be in charge of them. We had our own home and jobs. Our future was pretty well laid out and we were both happy with it. Well...maybe not completely. At least I wasn't - and Matt, as perceptive as always, knew it.

"Michael, what's wrong? What is it that's bothering you?" he asked as we sat on a quiet beach as the sun was setting.

"Something stupid." I said. I didn't really want to talk about this.

"If it's bothering you that much, it's not stupid." Matt said, leaning his head against my shoulder.

"Trust me, it's stupid." I said.

"Michael, we don't hold things back from each other. We trust each other with everything." Matt said.

And I reddened in embarrassment because I knew he was right. What he said was true. I could trust him with this. Even if he didn't understand, he would accept.

"I want us to have a son." I said quietly, hanging my head at the admission.

I felt Matt's arm come around my shoulders as he pulled me to him.

"I want the same thing. It's not stupid, Michael." Matt said.

"Yes, it is! No matter how much cum we shoot into each other's bodies, neither one of us is going to get pregnant. And with the laws the way they are, we can't adopt a child they way my Dads adopted me." I said.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about. You want to do for some kid what your Dads did for you." Michael said quietly.

I looked at him in shock! Yes, that was exactly it but I marveled at his ability to divine this in me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Babe, it's easy. I know how grateful you are to Mike and Rick. You want to show them that they did a good job raising you by raising a boy of your own. I couldn't agree more. I mean, it's perfectly normal for us to want to be fathers. Just because we're Gay, it doesn't change that part of our male natures." Matt said.

"No, I never thought it did. I've never felt like I was less of a male because I love you. I've never felt like we were abnormal or 'sick' or anything." I said.

"I did." he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked looking at him.

"Look, I didn't grow up with my Dads the way you did. When I was growing up with my Mom, I knew that I was attracted to guys when I was real little. I didn't know why I was because all the older guys I saw were into women. I just figured that I'd eventually change. Actually, I prayed that I would because I heard my uncles, my mother's brothers, talking about 'queers' and 'faggots' and I knew that was the most terrible thing on earth to be." he said.

"But you never seemed to have a problem with being Gay, even from the beginning." I said.

"When I came to live with my Dad, I was already convinced that I was never going to change. Plenty of guys my age were already going nuts over Playboy and stuff and it just left me cold. I was terrified of meeting my Dad because I didn't want him to ever know I was 'queer'. I was so relieved when he told me about him and Brian I almost cried! Knowing my Dad loved another guy made it okay because I really love my Dad and I wanted, more than anything, to be a man like him. I thought I'd have to go into the Marine Corps to become that, but I found out that day that I already was like him in some very special ways." Matt said.

"That is so cool!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is." he smiled. "Of course, when I met you, I was done for. I knew there was not only never going to be a woman in my life, I didn't think there was going to be another man. I guess I was just precocious or something. I know my Dad and Brian kind of took how I felt about you as an infatuation that I'd soon get over."

"Yeah, Rick and Mike took my going crazy over you as the same thing. I think they're all truly shocked that things have worked between us. I think they finally believe that we were meant to be together." I smiled.

"Soul-mates." Matt said.

"Yeah, I like that - soul-mates! I've found that what I feel for you doesn't just come from my heart or my groin. It goes deeper than that. I don't know how else to say it...without you, I can't see my life having any meaning at all." I said softly, licking at his neck.

"Like mine would without you?" Matt said.

"But I know we have enough love to give to a son. Between us, I know we could be good parents to him." I said.

"I know we would, too. But have you thought of something...what if we raised him and he turned out to be straight?" Matt asked.

"So? Would that make a difference to you?" I asked.

"I don't know. It would be kind of awkward, don't you think?" he asked.

"I don't know why it should be. After all, being raised by us, he sure wouldn't be homophobic." I grinned.

"No, there is that. I guess we should cross that road when we come to it." Matt said.

"If we ever come to it." I said.

"Well, you know what Father Gray says - 'Pray. Just be careful what you pray for.'" Matt said.

The last night, Sunday, we had dinner at Antonia's, the place that Mike and Rick love so much and then walked down Duval Street back to the hotel. We made love until it was almost dawn and then went down to the beach to watch the sun come up. We had breakfast and then decided to sleep until about ten and then head home. We drove back up US 1, hit the Florida Turnpike and drove back to Fort Lauderdale where we took I-595 back to US 1 and home.

We were exhausted by the time we got home and crashed on my bed in the cottage. We saw all the boxes when we walked in, stacked all over the place. Evidently, Mike and Rick had been busy over the weekend getting ready to move. The cottage would soon be ours and Matt and I could really start our life together.

A month later, Rick and Mike finally moved and it was Matt and my turn to spend the weekend in the cottage, cleaning, painting and getting things ready for the delivery of furniture and appliances that were due on Monday. Grandpa gave us the day off and he even showed up to make sure that everything got delivered on time. By the time the day was over, we were in our new home with all of our new furniture, including our new, larger bed. However, Grandma really saved the day when she showed up at the cottage late in the afternoon with two large shopping bags.

"So, how is everything?" she asked when we invited her in.

"Great, Grandma!" I said.

I was so happy with everything and she smiled at my elation.

"Could I make you a cup of tea? I'm just making a pot." Matt asked. He and I had decided to give up coffee and switch to tea as much healthier.

"Well, yes! I'd love a cup of tea! When did you two switch to tea?" Grandma asked.

"A couple of months ago. We decided it was a lot healthier." I said.

"I'm glad to see that all of my not so subtle messages were not lost on you - even though I think they were on your fathers." Grandma smiled.

"What's in the bags, Grandma?" I asked.

"Well, they are some things that you might need. I know the new bed was delivered this afternoon. Did you two think to buy linen for it? You know the sheets from your old bed won't fit the new one." she asked.

I looked at Matt, who shook his head 'no' and looked back at Grandma.

"No, Grandma, we didn't. We didn't even think about it." I said chagrined by our oversight.

"That's what I thought. Males never think of things like sheets and towels. So I brought some for you." said.

She started pulling sheets and pillowcases from one of the bags. They were all in pale blue and when I looked, all the sheets and all of the pillowcases were monogrammed, in royal blue, 'Michael & Matt'. Even the royal blue towels were monogrammed that way in white.

"Wow! Grandma! Their great!" I said.

"Oh, my God! They're just perfect!" Matt said.

We both hugged Grandma.

We went in and started making up the bed with the new linens and then all sat down and had tea. Grandma told us to come over for dinner with them tonight as she was sure we hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping. We thanked her and admitted she was right. We hadn't had the chance to go to the store yet.

"Well save that until after dinner. You'll find you spend less money at Publix when you shop after you've eaten, rather than before. Remember, you now have to feed two teen-age boys! You'll be shocked at what you have to spend keeping them in food!" She laughed.

Matt and I looked at each other and laughed with her.

"After all," Grandma added grinning. "You can't live on love. If you could - you two would probably weigh 350 pounds each."

"At least that." Matt said, reaching over and taking my hand.

"Now that you're moved in, have you started thinking at all about your wedding?" Grandma asked.

We looked at her in shock.

"But Grandma! We've got a year until that can happen." I said.

"Nonsense! It's June now. You turn 18 in December and Matt turns 18 in April." Grandma said.

Matt and I were silent, looking at each other.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Grandma asked, looking at the two of us.

"We want to get married in June, Grandma." I said softly.

"June? When in June?" Grandma asked.

"June 2nd. Just like you and Grandpa and Mike and Rick." I said.

Grandma looked at us, and I could swear she had tears in her eyes. She reached out her hands to both of us and squeezed ours in hers.

"Thank you, boys. I'm as honored to share that date with you as I was to share it with Rickie and Mike." she said and let go of our hands. "However! Even though it's a year away, there are still plans to be made! There are things to arrange and I plan to see that everything turns out the way a wedding should! Now, first of all, the color scheme. I take it that like most males, your Dads included, that your favorite color is blue?" Grandma said.

"Just look around, Grandma." I laughed.

Everything in the cottage was now in some shade of blue from the lightest sky blue to deep royal blue.

"Yes, figures. I love the male of the species by you guys are really unimaginative when it comes to colors!" she laughed. "With you're permission, I'm going to make a beautiful wedding for the two of you. A little more elaborate than the one I did for Rickie and Michael now that I have more time to pull it together."

"But, Grandma, our Dads haven't even agreed to this and Father Gray hasn't either." I said.

"Michael, Matt, nothing against your Dads but the decision isn't their's to make. Don't you realize that once you turn 18 you are legally adults in all ways - except you still can't legally drink alcohol until you're 21? As to Father Gray, he and I have already talked. He is more than willing to marry the two of you. Don't forget, he's seen you over the last 5 years - the same as all of us have. We know how much in love you two are and how much you understand the meaning of marriage. My God! I think the two of you understand more about it than I did when I married Hank!" Grandma laughed and we blushed.

"Now, I didn't mean it that way!" Grandma laughed again. "I mean that you two have five years of loving each other and struggling against restrictions to be with each other, restrictions that were not meant to be harmful but were stupid nonetheless. None of us knew how to deal with two boys in love at so young an age." Grandma said.

"You've always treated us as a couple. You've always respected our relationship - from the very beginning. You never did think of it as just 'puppy love' the way our Dads did, did you?" Matt said.

"No, I never did. You're right. But I saw something between you two that your Dads and even Hank were too blind - maybe too 'male' - to see. It was that same indefinable thing I saw between Rickie and Mike the moment I saw them together. I've seen the same thing between your Dad and Brian, Matt. And I saw it between the two of you. I'll admit, I was shocked to see it between two twelve year olds, but I've learned to trust my instincts over the years and, so far, I've been right." Grandma said.

"You were sure right this time!" I said, putting my arm around Matt, pulling him close to me and burying my face in his long, golden hair.

"Well, then, do I have your permission to throw you the best wedding you've ever seen?" Grandma asked.

Matt and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Yes, Grandma. You have our permission." I said.

"As long as you understand that it's the ONLY one you'll ever do for us." Matt said and I squeezed him tighter.

"Oh, I know that! That's why I want to do this for you." Grandma said standing up. "I've got to go. I'm helping Molly get dinner ready and I've got to start planning. By the way, I take it that you are enough like Rickie and Mike that you want this to be informal?"

"Yes, please! We don't want to have to wear suits in June!" Matt said.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure." Grandma said as she went out the door.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Matt asked.

"Well, if it was Grandpa, I'd worry. He'd probably hire the New York Philharmonic and rent out the Broward Center for the Performing Arts! But Grandma is a lot more practical - and not such a spendthrift!" I said.

"Good. I want it to be nice, but not so lavish that it makes every one uncomfortable." Matt said.

"Look, babe, anything you want, just tell Grandma. She'll do it. After all, it's our wedding." I said.

"Well, there's at least one thing we don't have to worry about." Matt said.

"What's that?" I asked.

Holding up his left hand, he said, "We've already got the rings."

I pulled his hand to my face and kissed the Claddagh ring on his hand.

It didn't seem like a year passing - Matt and I were so busy learning all the ins and outs of the company and learning how to live together. We didn't think that being together 24/7 would be that much of a change, but it was. There were adjustments that we needed to make to each other but nothing major. I heard somebody say that you never really know someone until you live with them. I can tell you from experience that this is very true! However, the more I came to know about Matt, the more I loved him. All too soon, it was - unbelievably - the night before our Wedding.

Grandma had spent the last year well. The patio and pool area where the wedding would take place was a wonderland of flowers! There was an archway installed and covered with roses where the actual ceremony would take place. There would be a pair of classical guitarist who would play for the wedding ceremony and the reception. There would not be a lot of people there, but there were people coming from the Copeland and Son and some of our friends were coming too. Vince and Josh were coming, along with Josh's Dad, and Grandma had even persuaded (with a pair of tickets, hotel room and the promise that neither of their parents would know that they were in town) Bart and Steve to fly down for the ceremony. What none of us knew, however, was who Josh had invited to the wedding. He'd talked to Grandma about it and she agreed but told him not to get his hopes up about it.

It was about an hour before the wedding was to start. The invitations had been issued with that time on it so that everyone could get there in plenty of time. There were drinks and appetizers ready with a dinner scheduled for after the wedding. Matt and I had decided we wanted the wedding in the evening so that it would be cooler. The invitations were for six in the evening with the wedding at seven and dinner immediately after. The guests had just started arriving. Steve and Josh along with Josh's Dad were about the first ones there, his Dad explaining that Josh had rushed them all to get them there early. I didn't understand when Josh winked at me when his Dad said this. I didn't understand, that it, until about ten minutes later when in through the gate walked a man I had never seen before. He was tall and very handsome. He was dressed in blue jeans and a denim sport coat with a pastel blue t-shirt underneath. He had very dark hair and green eyes and I wondered who he was.

When Josh's face lit up at the sight of him, I realized that there was only one person this could be - his Dad's former lover, Scott. The look on Josh's Dad's face confirmed this. His Dad's face was one of longing and trepidation, however. Scott had a look of determination on his face as he walked straight towards Josh's Dad.

"Hello, David." Scott said to Josh's Dad.

"Hello, Scott." Josh's Dad said and for a moment, it was very awkward between them.

Then Scott reach out his arms to Josh's Dad and said, "David, I've missed you more than I can ever tell you."

At this Josh's Dad moved into his former lover's arms and they kissed deeply. Pulling back from the kiss, Scott looked at Josh's Dad and said, "We need someplace to talk."

Josh and Vince took them into Grandma's house and from what I understood later, Grandma let them used the guest room to talk. Vince and Josh came back out and over to us.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Matt asked Josh.

"Scott's going to ask my Dad to go back with him. He's going to offer to move here to Florida." Josh said.

"You know all that already?" I asked.

"No, I talked to Scott on the phone a couple of night ago before he came down. He told me that he'd been miserable without my Dad and me. I told him about Vince and I and told him my Dad was just as miserable. I just hope the two of them won't let their male egos get in the way of them getting back together." Josh said.

"Well, we're all hoping the same thing for your sake, Josh." I said.

About that time, our Dads showed up and Father Gray. He asked to see us alone and we went into the cottage.

"Is there anything that you want to add or change in the ceremony? Now's the time to do it." Father Gray said.

"No, nothing. Everything we've discussed is just fine." I said and Matt nodded his approval as well.

"You know you two are the youngest people of any sexual orientation that I've ever married. I have never considered people as young as you to be of sufficient experience to really understand what the commitment of marriage really entailed. You two are the exception. I think you are very well aware of what marriage entails. It really is a pleasure for me to bless the union of the two of you - not that it needs my blessing really. I believe God himself intended you for each other and has already blessed your relationship." Father Gray said.

"We believe that as well." Matt said and gave me a significant look.

"Uhh, Father, there is something that we would like you to add to the ceremony. We know that there is a part of the blessing that talks about the possibility of having children. We'd like you to put that in." I said.

Father Gray looked at us quizzically.

"Is there something you want to tell me about that?" he asked.

I looked at Matt to explain.

"Father, we really want to have a son, a child to raise just as Mike and Rick raised Michael. We don't know how it will come about, but we are very committed to it. Not now, of course, when we're older." Matt said.

Father Gray sat there staring at us for a moment.

"Well...it's highly unusual, given the situation, but I think that I can arrange it." he said.

"Thanks, Father. We really appreciate it." I said. "I think we better go and get dressed now. You can use our other bedroom to change."

"Thank you." he said.

Matt and I had chosen matching outfits for the ceremony. The outfits were in a blue cotton gauze, a long collar-less top and drawstring pants with sandals. We found the outfits in the Undergear catalogue. We figured they would be cool in the heat. We would walk down the aisle and our Dads would be at the front waiting on us to act as Best Men and witnesses of our union.

Father Gray went out and assumed his place and then Matt and I waited until the guitarists struck up what we requested to be played as we walked down the aisle - Pachelbel's Canon. We did not hold hands, merely walked side by side. When we walked back down the aisle as a married couple we would hold hands. As we walked down the aisle, I suddenly looked over and there was Josh's Dad and his ex-lover Scott, sitting there - HOLDING HANDS! It was obvious that both men had been crying but there were huge smiles on their faces as they looked at each other, not really paying any attention to what was going on around them. Vince and Josh were sitting next to them, Vince with his arm around Josh and Josh with a beautiful smile on his face as he watched his Dad and his Dad's ex-lover. Maybe the one thing Josh wished for other than a lover for himself, had actually come true - his father and Scott were going to get back together?

I looked at the head of the aisle where Matt and I were headed. There were my Dads, who the same outfits that they had gotten married in so many years before, dark blue Hawaiian shirts and khaki slacks. Matt's Dads were dressed similarly, only their Hawaiian shirts were predominately red. We joined them in front of Father Gray and the ceremony began.

"I want to welcome you all, friends and family, to the celebration of the loving relationship between Michael and Matthew. Marriage is a state of relationship created by God for the mutual benefit of each person which enters it. It is not to be taken lightly because it is one of the most important steps that anyone takes in life - becoming one with another. Anyone who knows Michael and Matt know that they do not take this step lightly. They have waited a long time for this day and have worked hard to build a relationship with each other. A relationship so strong, so enduring that it brings us here today in celebration and recognition of what Michael and Matt have been to each other for so long - partners." Father Gray said.

"And so, Michael, will you have this man to be your partner, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" Father Gray asked me.

"I will."

"And, Matthew, will you have this man to be your partner, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" Father Gray asked.

"I will." Matt answered.

Then Father Gray turned to our family and friends.

"Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage?" he asked.

And all our friends and families said, "We will!"

Then Father Gray continued:

"O gracious and everliving God, look mercifully on these men who have come seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make. Amen."

Then it was time for us to make our vows to each other. I took Matt's right hand in mine. I looked deep into his eyes and said, "In the Name of God, I, Michael take you Matthew to be my partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

Slipping his hand from mine, he took my right hand and looking into my eyes, he repeated the same vows. We had decided that we wanted the traditional wedding vows rather than creating our own. They said everything that we wanted to say and we found that when it came to something like this, we were both very traditional in our thinking.

After the vows, it came time to exchange the rings. Since we had never had them off our fingers since the day we first put them on each other, Father Gray agreed to bless them while we still wore them and then we would make the changes afterward. We both extended our right hands on which the rings were and Father Gray blessed them.

"Bless, O Lord, these rings to be signs of the vow by which these two men have bound themselves to each other. Amen." he said.

Then I slipped the ring from Matt's right hand as he extended the left hand to me. I slipped the ring onto his left hand with the heart, crown and hand facing towards him symbolizing the fact that he was now married to me.

"Matthew, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you in the Name of God." I said and then kissed the ring on his hand.

Matt then took the ring from my right finger and placed it on my left, saying the same words and kissing the ring as I had. Then Father Gray had us join right hands while he wrapped one side of the white brocaded stole, that he wore over his cassock and surplice, around our joined hands.

"Now that Michael and Matthew have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I now pronounce that they are partners together in the Name of God. Amen. Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder!"

And all our friends and family shouted. "AMEN!"

Then Father Gray said, "Let us pray." and all of us bowed our heads.

"Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life, author of salvation, and giver of all grace: Look iwth favor upon the world you have made, and for which your Son gave his life, and especially upon these two sons whom you have made one flesh in Holy Matrimony.

"Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy.

"Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will, and theirs spirits in you Spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and one another all the days of their life.

"Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other's forgiveness and yours.

"Make their life together a sign of your Love to this sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair.

"Bestow upon them, if it is your will, the gift and heritage of children, and the grace to bring them up to know you, to love you and to serve you.

"Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection that they may reach out in love and concern for others.

"Grant that all married person who have witnessed these vows may find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed.

"Grant that the bonds of our common humanity, by which all your children are united one to another, and the living to the dead, may be so transformed by your grace, that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen."

There had been a stir among our Dads and among our friends and family when Father Gray read the part about the granting of children. I looked up and saw Rick giving me a strange look. I just smiled and winked at him. Finally, Father Gray put a hand on each of Matt and my head and quietly said,

"God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and keep you: the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. Amen."

He removed his hands and looking out at our friends and family said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Michael and Matthew - married partners for life!"

This was received with lots of cheering and applause as Matt and I kissed. We walked back down the aisle, hand in hand, now as a married couple. I have to admit there were tears of joy in my eyes and when I looked at Matt, I could see them glistening in his eyes as well. As we got to the end of the short aisle, I grabbed him and kissed him again, only this time much more deeply.

"I love you, Matt." I said.

"I love you, Michael." Matt said.

"You're now mine forever." I grinned.

"And don't you forget that you're mine forever!" Matt laughed.

That's all we had time for because everyone crowded around us offering their congratulations. Our Dad's were first, kissing and hugging each one of us and telling us both how proud they were of us. Then it was Grandma and Grandpa's turn. Grandma was still crying, as she had been from the moment we walked down the aisle.

"Grandma, don't cry!" I said.

"I will if I want to!" she said through the tears. "That was just as beautiful as Rickie and Mike's wedding."

"It ought to have been, you planned both of them." I said, giving her a hug.

Grandpa didn't say a word, I could see how he was fighting back tears. He simply hugged each one of us quite tightly and then took Grandma's arm and pulled her over to the drinks table.

Molly was next. She, like Grandma was in tears, dabbing at her eyes with a lace trimmed handkerchief.

"Oh, it was such a beautiful wedding! And you two are so beautiful!" she said, hugging Matt and me. "I never knew all those years ago that I would see this day in your life Michael. I thank God that I did and I'm sure that your Dad is looking down from heaven and smiling on the two of you."

"Thanks, Molly." I said. "I'm sure he is, too."

Vince and Josh were next. Josh had tears running down his face and Vince had his arm around him, supporting his lover.

"Oh, Josh! Not you, too!" I laughed.

"No! These tears aren't about your wedding! Though it was beautiful. My Dad and Scott have re- united and Scott is going to move here to Florida!" he said.

"Yeah, we're gonna be a family!" Vince said, beaming.

"Oh, God! That's wonderful, Josh!" Matt said, hugging our little friend to him.

At that moment, Josh's father and Scott walked up. The each shook hands with us. Scott looked at me. "I have already heard from Josh everything which you two have done for him, and for that I am very grateful. I love Josh as if he were my own son and losing him was almost the worst part of what happened to David and I. Now, it's your wedding that brought us back together so I am doubly grateful to you. David and I intend to talk to Father Gray and I hope you two will attend our wedding in a few months, once I can get moved down here."

"We would be honored to." I said, putting my arm around Matt and grinning at Scott.

"We plan to make it a double wedding." Vince said, hugging Josh to him who beamed up at his lover.

"That's right. A double wedding." Josh's Dad said smiling.

"Oh, God! That's great!" I exclaimed, hugging Josh and Vince.

Matt hugged both of them as well.

Our old friends Bart and Steve came up to us and hugged both of us.

"Well, you guys finally did it! You been wanting to do that ever since junior high, I'll bet." Steve said.

"Yep! You've got that right!" Matt grinned.

"So how things going with you guys?" I asked.

They looked at each other and both blushed. Same old Bart and Steve! Still having trouble talking about their feelings for each other.

"Father Gray gave us the name of a priest that will marry us out in LA." Bart said quietly.

"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed and Matt and I hugged both of them all over again.

"We just figured that if you guys could do it, we could, too. We know that we want to spend our lives together. There hasn't been any question of that since that night when you helped us get back together. It was one of the things we talked about that night. For the first time, we actually talked about what it was we really wanted our lives to be and the only answer we could really come up with was 'together'. We will let you know when it happens, in case you can come out to be there." Bart said.

"There's no way you could keep us from it!" I said and Matt agreed.

Dinner was served and after it, Mike stood and got everyone's attention.

"At a traditional wedding, it's the Best Man's prerogative to make the first toast. Since there were four of us, we flipped coins to see who got to go first. I won!" Mike said and everyone laughed.

"Michael, when Rick and I brought you home from New York, we never even dreamed that we would see a day like this in your life. To be honest, we had several conversations about what we would do if you ended up straight!" again, laughter filled the patio.

"But when you and Matt met, we had trouble believing the two of you when you said you were in love, as young as you were. You both seemed to have wisdom beyond your years because here you are, married to each other. Rick and I wish you the same happiness that we've had all these years." Mike said and sat down.

Then Rick stood up.

"We had a little talk with Father Gray, here," Rick said, indicating the priest. "We thought he had made a mistake in the ceremony putting in that part in the blessing about having children. He told us that the two of you had asked him to leave that in and why. I just want you to know, that we think that someday you will both make excellent parents and Mike and I both pray that you get that chance if that's what you two really want. I know from our experience, we can really recommend having a son as one of the most wonderful things that can happen in your life."

Matt's Dad was next.

"Matt, Michael, I'm not a man for a lot of words. I'm proud of both of you and I hope you will allow me to call you both 'son'." he said and then sat down.

Brian stood next to his lover and looked at us.

"Michael, I remember when they brought you home from New York. I remember the rush we were in to get your room built for you. There was a lot of love and care and concern that went into the building of that room because of the way that all of us felt about your Dad, Rick and your Grandpa, Hank. I still think it is probably the best piece of construction that Copeland and Son ever built and, if you do have a son of your own, I hope that will be his room as well." Brian said and then sat down.

We thought that things were over until Grandpa and Grandma stood up. They looked at us and Grandma went first.

"Michael, Matt, now that you are both 18 and legally adults, there are some things that Hank and I want you to have. First of all, this is for you." she said, handing us a large, thick white envelop. "That is the deed to this property, the front house and the cottage. They will be transferred into your names tomorrow so that should something happen to Hank and I, you will always have your home here."

"Now these envelops go to each of you." Grandpa said, handing out six manila envelops - one each to Matt and I, Mike and Rick and Brian and Matt's Dad. "In them you'll find partnership agreements. You six men now own sixty percent of Copeland and Son Construction. To Rose and I, this makes it truly a 'family' business. You all are like son's to us and your sons are our grandchildren. And, Michael, Matt, if you do have a son, you make sure he takes over the business after you!" Grandpa laughed and we all did.

We stayed up late talking, with all our friends and finally Matt and I went back to the cottage together. We were scheduled to drive to Key West in the morning for our honeymoon - where else but at the Pier House in the Hemingway suite, this time courtesy of our Dads.

I went to go into our new bedroom when Matt grabbed my hand. He pulled me into our old bedroom and to the old, double bed.

"I'm superstitious. This bed gave us a really good start last time. Let's let it start our marriage as well." Matt said, kissing me gently.

I pulled him too me and kissed him passionately as we fell across the bed, still in each other's arms.

THE END of Part 24 of SUBIC SURRENDER. MICHAEL'S STORY - Part 9

If you like the story, write me at rimpigfl@yahoo.com.

I have a lot of other stories on NIFTY. If you want a complete list, write me and I'll be glad to send it to you.

RimPig