Page 82 of Enemy Within
JACK RAPPED ON SERGEY’S door as politely as he could. A half second later, when it didn’t open, he slapped at it with his open palm, over and over and over again.
“Govno! What the hell?” Grumbling, within. “Son of a bitch…” Sergey, bitching up a storm. Jack smiled and leaned back, bracing his hands on either side of the doorframe.
“What the fuck do you want?” Sergey growled as he ripped open the door. His scowl was terrible, and nothing he’d ever turned on Jack before. As his eyes landed on Jack, his expression shifted, smoothing out until he merely frowned. “Jack? The hell are you doing?” He took all of Jack in, from the way he bounced on his toes to his face-splitting grin.
Jack’s cheeks ached. He glanced behind Sergey, into his shared cabin with Sasha. Silence and tension strained the air, enough to make a tuning fork sing. Sasha was lying on the bottom bunk, and had been facing the wall, but he rolled toward Jack when he heard Sergey say his name.
“I’d like to invite both of you to join me.” It was hard to speak around such a beaming grin. He leaned in and then back, almost rocking off the doorframe.
Sergey’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What is happening?”
“My wedding. And I’d like you to be my best man, Sergey.”
SERGEY, SASHA, AND SCOTT crammed into the captain’s cabin, taking their places on opposite sides of the cramped, tiny space. Sergey and Sasha huddled together, trying not to touch or look at each other as they stood side by side. Jack buzzed in front of them, practically vibrating.
Across the room, Ethan and Scott hovered by the door. Scott kept a running commentary going, bitching about Ethan’s hair, his day-old scruff, the gray in his temples and his beard. “You’re sloppy,” Jack heard. “Damn it, your collar isn’t even straight.”
Grinning, Jack turned to Sergey. “Well? How do I look?”
Sergey looked him up and down and scrunched up his face. He wagged his hand in front of him as if to sayso-so. “Is just a borrowed navy uniform, Jack.” He shrugged. “You look better in a tux.”
“We’re fresh out of tuxes on board, Sergey.” He reached for the buttons on the uniform top. “Ethan, let’s ditch the jackets. Black undershirts okay?”
Ethan nodded, but behind him, Scott rolled his eyes, and almost hurt himself in the process. He took the uniform top Ethan shrugged off, folded it, and then tossed it on the desk next to Jack’s. “Not like your wedding should be formal or anything,” Scott grumbled.
Anderson chuckled from where he stood, in the corner and out of the way as he finished buttoning up his dress uniform top. Behind him, the executive officer stood ramrod straight, silently staring at the scene before him like he was watching a train wreck in progress and couldn’t look away.
Anderson had changed into his service dress blues, his official uniform for important functions. Ribbons marched proudly across his chest, his gold braid sat perfectly, and his buttons gleamed. “Are we ready?”
Jack turned and met Ethan’s gaze. He couldn’t stop smiling.
Ethan held out his hand. Pure joy fell from his eyes, solely directed at Jack.
Jack laced their fingers together and stepped forward, standing before Anderson and facing Ethan. Their gazes locked.
“Let’s begin.” Anderson clasped his hands before him. “I’m, uh, going off the cuff for this one.” He raised his eyebrows. “So, bear with me.”
Time fell away. The hum and buzz of the sub faded, disappearing into the background. All Jack felt, all he saw, all he heard, was Ethan. Ethan’s hands in his, his thumbs stroking over his palms. Ethan’s eyes, his gaze fixed on Jack’s, filled with a brilliance to rival the sun. He swore he heard Ethan’s heart, beating in time with his own.
“We are gathered today with Jack and Ethan and their friends to celebrate the union of their marriage.” Anderson cleared his throat. “It’s an unusual gathering, to be sure. The Russian president, and a Russian Air Force officer.” He nodded to Sergey and Sasha. “A Secret Service agent.” Another nod to Scott. “And a Los Angeles-class fast-attack nuclear submarine. This must be the presidential equivalent of eloping.”
Jack laughed, loud and clear, and even Sergey and Scott chuckled. Ethan leaned in, kissing his cheek through his smile.
“Let us bow our heads together for a moment and bless Jack and Ethan as they begin their journey. Bless them with a long and loving life, full of the same joy and desire that we’ve already seen in them. Bless them with unconditional love for each other, for all time, and that their love remains strong and true from this day to their last. Bless, also, those who would wish Jack and Ethan their best, but cannot, sadly, fit into this tiny cabin.”
More laughter. Jack threaded his fingers through Ethan’s, holding him tight. Anderson’s voice seemed to fade and return, rising and falling in time with his heartbeat. The words were a distant thing, something removed from the reality of Ethan, his soon-to-be-husband, standing before him. Ethan. His husband.
“I’ll be honest,” Anderson said. “I have never seen a couple change the face of the world as much as these two men have. Their love has redefined our entire planet. You both have consistently dared the world to change. To grow. To accept what is before them: two people in the deepest kind of love.
“And the world did change for you. Your love changed the world, continues to change the world, this very moment. Your love knows no boundaries, no limits. Yours is a love that poets have written about, great playwrights and bards of ages past. Yours is a love that will continue to redefine the world, long after this day has passed into history.”
Ethan’s face flamed a deep burgundy, blushing hard as he listened to Anderson speak. Jack chuckled and cupped his cheek, and then leaned in and pressed a delicate kiss to his cheekbone. Ethan leaned into his kiss, smiling.
“Jack and Ethan,” Anderson said, turning to each of them individually. “From the moment you met, from the first moment your eyes landed on each other, there was a spark between you both. A spark that grew into a flame. A flame that grew into friendship. A friendship that grew into love. And now, you place the fires of that love into each other’s hearts, where each of you will care for it together for the rest of your days.”
Tears pricked at Jack’s eyes. He blinked fast, but one slipped free, trickling down his cheek. Ethan smiled and wiped it away with his thumb. He kept his hand on Jack’s face.
“Jack, please repeat after me.”
