Noah arrived at the garden venue carrying a folder thick enough to contain evidence for a criminal trial.

Adrian took one look and groaned. "Tell me those aren't notes for your speech."

"These are the edited notes," Noah said. "I cut forty pages."

"I should have eloped."

"You tried that idea. Elliot said no."

"I can still disappear."

"He'll find you. He always does."

Adrian watched the guests gathering beneath the trees. White flowers decorated the aisle, and small lamps hung from the branches. Everything was warm and simple, exactly as Elliot had wanted.

He checked his watch for the fourth time. Noah noticed.

"You're nervous," Noah said.

"I'm not nervous."

"You said that at your first wedding. Then you cried before Elliot reached the altar."

"Allergies."

"In December?"

"Seasonal allergies are complicated."

Noah straightened Adrian's tie. For a moment, his teasing softened.

"You've done good work," he said. "Not the business kind. The marriage kind."

Adrian looked at him. "You really think so?"

"I think Elliot smiles differently now. That's worth something."

Across the garden, Elliot stood with Ryan, who was adjusting the cuff of Elliot's cream suit. Ryan stepped back and gave an approving nod.

"You look happy," Ryan said.

"I am."

"And terrified?"

"A little."

"Good. It means this matters."

Elliot glanced toward the aisle. He'd spent weeks preparing vows, but he kept thinking about the hospital room and Adrian's bewildered face when he'd learned his husband was married.

"I still can't believe he asked when I was getting divorced," Elliot said.

Ryan laughed. "You should put it in your vows."

"Noah will handle that."

"I have no doubt."

The ceremony began as sunlight filtered through the trees. Adrian turned when the music started, and his carefully prepared composure vanished.

Elliot was walking toward him, smiling through tears. Adrian remembered their first wedding, but this moment didn't feel like a copy. It felt like a promise made with open eyes.

When Elliot reached him, Adrian took both his hands.

"You look beautiful," Adrian whispered.

"You look like you're about to cry."

"Allergies."

Elliot laughed. The officiant waited patiently while they recovered enough to begin.

Their friends listened as Elliot spoke first. He described the strange experience of watching the man he loved fall for him all over again.

"I thought losing our memories would mean losing our story," he said. "But we learned that a story isn't only what we remember. It's what we do next."

Adrian's eyes shone. Elliot continued, promising to speak honestly, protect his own dreams, and make room for Adrian's.

Then Adrian unfolded his vows. He'd written several drafts, each longer than the last. In the end he put the paper aside.

"I used to think loving you was the easiest thing I'd ever done," he began. "I was wrong. Falling in love was easy. Learning to love you well took work."

Elliot squeezed his hands.

"I forgot our wedding. I forgot our first kiss. But somehow, I never forgot how to love you."

His voice shook, but he kept going. He promised to show up on ordinary days, listen when Elliot was hurt, and never mistake grand gestures for attention.

"And if I ever forget the details again," he said, "I'll ask you to tell me who you are. Then I'll listen."

Elliot wiped his eyes. The officiant smiled and invited them to exchange rings.

Adrian slid the new band into place beside Elliot's original ring. Elliot did the same for him. Their friends applauded when they kissed.

The wedding cake arrived slightly lopsided, and Adrian discovered this ten minutes before the ceremony. His first instinct was to demand a replacement. Then he imagined Elliot laughing at the absurdity of a perfect cake becoming a crisis.

He asked the baker whether it was safe to serve. She assured him it was delicious. Adrian thanked her and went back to fixing his tie.

Later, Elliot noticed the cake leaning gently to one side.

"Did you see that?" he whispered.

"I did."

"And you didn't panic?"

"I panicked privately. Then I remembered you like imperfect things."

"I like you," Elliot said.

"Exactly my point."

They cut the cake together while Noah took photographs. Adrian managed to get frosting on his cuff, and Elliot wiped it away with the corner of a napkin.

The gesture was so familiar that Adrian briefly stopped smiling. He remembered Elliot doing the same thing at their first wedding, when a smear of icing had landed on his lapel.

"What?" Elliot asked.

"Nothing bad. Just another memory."

"Tell me later."

"I will."

They saved the story for the car ride, where it became one more detail added to a life they were still making.

At the reception, Noah stood with a microphone and the expression of a man about to enjoy himself enormously.

"I have known Adrian Hayes for years," he began. "For most of that time, he was convinced he understood everything."

A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. Adrian closed his eyes.

"Then he met Elliot, and the universe finally gave him a problem he couldn't solve with money, spreadsheets, or an aggressively worded email."

Noah described Adrian's first year of pursuit, including the fourteen varieties of pasta and the infamous jazz concert. Elliot laughed into Adrian's shoulder.

"But the best part," Noah continued, "came after the accident."

Adrian sat up. "Noah."

"He announced that he was absolutely straight. Then Elliot walked into the hospital room."

Noah pressed play on his phone. Adrian's own voice filled the speakers: "So… when are you getting divorced?"

The garden erupted in laughter. Elliot doubled over, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Adrian covered his face with both hands. "I trusted you."

"That was your first mistake," Noah said cheerfully.

When the laughter faded, Noah raised his glass. "Here's to loving someone so completely that even forgetting doesn't stop you from finding your way back."

Everyone toasted. Adrian stood and hugged his friend, muttering a threat that sounded suspiciously affectionate.

Before the reception ended, Elliot found a quiet moment with his mother. She held his hands and told him she had worried when he'd sounded so lonely before the accident.

"I know," Elliot said. "I was lonely."

"And now?"

Elliot looked across the garden. Adrian was laughing with Noah, then turned as if he could feel Elliot watching.

"Now we talk," Elliot said. "Even when it's hard."

His mother smiled. "That sounds like a marriage."

Later, Ryan asked Elliot to dance. Adrian pretended to glare until Ryan returned him with an exaggerated bow.

"Your husband, sir," Ryan said.

"Thank you for your service," Adrian replied.

Elliot laughed. "You're both ridiculous."

They danced beneath the lights as the evening deepened. Adrian held Elliot close, and for once neither felt the need to fill every quiet moment with words.

When the music slowed, Elliot rested his forehead against Adrian's. "Are you happy?"

"More than I knew was possible."

"Even after Noah's speech?"

"I'm changing my name and leaving the country tomorrow."

"Can I come?"

"You're the reason I'm going."

They laughed, then kissed again. Their friends cheered from the tables, but the noise seemed far away.

At the end of the night, Adrian retrieved their bags. He'd booked a quiet seaside suite for a short trip before they returned to work and Elliot's exhibition plans.

Elliot caught him examining the reservation for the third time.

"Did you remember everything?" Elliot asked.

"Passports aren't needed. Rings are accounted for. No surprise jazz."

"Excellent."

Adrian swept Elliot into his arms. Elliot yelped, then looped his arms around Adrian's shoulders.

Adrian leaned close enough that only Elliot could hear him.

"Ready for our second honeymoon, husband?"