Duke and Quinn

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this will be the last chapter of Duke and Quinn's love story. Thank you to everyone who's been there for me (and them) since day 1. I love and appreciate the fandom and feedback I get from the amazing readers

'By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss each other'.

I looked up at my now-husband. He looked at me. We both leaned in and embraced each other like never before. We briefly kissed before letting each other go while we stared at each other in awe, realising that that was our first kiss as a married couple.

Our guests in attendance all stood up and erupted in applause as Duke took my hand and we turned to face them together. The faces of people I loved greeted me and the faces of people I did not know but I knew I would grow to love greeted me also. Duke let go of my hand and put his arm around me and held me close to him as we waved at our guests, still in shock that we were married.

In the crowd, I spotted Maria and gasped but I saw that she was grinning and clapping for us; our eyes locked and she winked at me. I winked back and mouthed 'thank you' to her while my husband and I walked down the aisle together.

Flowers and other condiments were thrown on us as we made our way out of the building and to our limo with our tacky "Just Married" sign on the back. I hugged all my family members and my new family members and finally, Duke and I disappeared into the limo and shut the door behind us.

I collapsed into Duke's arms and he sighed.

'That was the longest tunnel of my life,' he said with a chuckle.

'Duke,' I said, cutting his laugh off, 'we're married. Like, rings and shit married. Like, together forever married.'

'We sure are. Why do you seem so surprised?'

'I don't know, it's just going to take a bit of getting used to,' I said.

'Well I'd hope you'd get used to it, otherwise I'd be a bit worried.'

'Oh shutup Duke, you know I love you more than anything.'

Duke smiled and reached over to a bottle of wine and grabbed two glasses for the both of us.

'Would you care for some wine, Mr. Halliwell-Erving?'

'Why, yes I would love some, Mr. Erving.'

Although I was content on taking Duke's last name, he didn't want me to lose mine in our marriage so we compromised on hyphenating it, even though it was a bit of a mouthful for my liking.

Duke poured me some, kissed me sweetly on the forehead and we dinged our glasses together and took a sip. We were headed to a reserved location to take some wedding pictures of just us two and then we were to meet everyone at our wedding reception.

Our photography session was more fun than it was romantic and lovey-dovey; most of our shots consisted of playful fun shots as opposed to typical holding hands and kissing on the forehead shots and that was the way I wanted it.

We finally made our way to the wedding reception and were introduced as an officially married couple as we made our way in followed by our wedding party. We sat at the wedding party table and I was still overwhelmed with an array of different emotions; I still couldn't believe that we were married.

It was my turn to give a speech and I was even more nervous than before; I hadn't written anything but I thought I would be mentally prepared for this and I was horrified to know that everything I had rehearsed in my head had completely disappeared.

'First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight and celebrating with us. I don't know if you know how Duke and I met, it's actually a funny story. Sophia's car had broken down and we pulled over on the side of the road and I decided to take the time to get some sun on the roof. And then I met Duke.' I was beginning to tear up, being the emotional wreck I was, but I willed myself to keep going. 'He started joking around with me and soon we had exchanged numbers. Duke was very upfront about wanting to see me so we started having regular dates and it was a bit early on in the relationship when I knew that he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I've never met someone so selfless, caring, kind and generous. Duke is the most perfect man for me. But above being a couple, Duke and I are friends. We are the greatest tag-team ever. He's the brains and the braun and I'm the beauty. I'm the cook and he's the eater. We share everything with each other and that is why I know that Duke and I are going to last forever.'

Everyone erupted in applause as I turned to face my husband who looked as if he was overwhelmed with joy; he got up out of his seat, dramatically ran over to me and took me in his arms, swinging me around in the air. I pressed my lips against his and patted him on the butt, telling him that it was his turn to give his speech.

'My Quinn, never one to shy away from telling the truth. Like he said, I want to thank everyone for celebrating this joyous moment with us. I beg to disagree, however; I'd say Quinn is the brains and the beauty of the couple and I only supply the guns. Quinn is intelligent, beautiful, kind and brutally honest at times. Our somewhat opposite personalities balance each other out to the point that we are perfect together. When I first met Quinn, I knew I had to have him. And then I got to know him and I was amazed at how truly beautiful his personality was. I love Quinn and I'm not afraid to admit it.'

The rest of the night was an amazing blur. Our first dance. Cutting of the cake. Everything was too great for words. And finally, Duke and I found ourselves back at our hotel which was decorated in rose petals that was left by Sophia and Phoebe.

We climbed into bed with each other, too exhausted to do anything but cuddle and sleep. Duke got behind me and had his arms around me like usual, but this time it was different because we were married.

'This is the best day of my life so far and for the rest of my life,' I whispered.

'Without a doubt,' added Duke.

He kissed me lightly on my neck and I felt his breath caress the hairs on my neck.

'I love you, Quinn Halliwell-Erving,' he whispered.

'I love you more than anything, Duke Erving.'