Chapter 30: Danil

"Are you nearly ready?" I shout over to Dom.

"Almost," I hear.

"If we are late, I'm telling Papa it's your fault," I shout back.

The bedroom door opens, and Dom walks out, and suddenly, I do not want to go to the wedding. Dom looks amazing. He is in a three-piece black tux, but what makes him stand out are the satin lapels of his jacket, and matching bow tie, with black buttons on the dress shirt. The waistcoat and pants are the same material as the main body of the jacket, and I want to peel Dom out of it with my teeth. I knew he was going to look good, but I didn't think he would look drop dead gorgeous.

"Fuck the wedding. We are staying here," I say, licking my lips as I look him up and down again.

"I take it from that reaction that I look okay?" Dom asks as he twirls in front of me.

"Okay? Dom, you look more than okay. You know that you aren't supposed to upstage the grooms. You are going to be the sexiest man there."

"Matteo is wearing something similar, but no waistcoat," Dom states. "G wanted us to look similar but not the same."

"Remind me to thank G later," I say, then look at him and tap a finger to my mouth, "But there is something missing."

"Lorenzo is going to give us the flowers for our lapels when we get there," Dom replies.

"I'm not talking about flowers."

"What then?" Dom asks, looking confused.

"This," I tell him, and hand him the box that I have kept hidden behind my back.

Opening the box, Dom pulls out the cane that I purchased for him, just for today. I had spoken with his doctors to make sure it was okay and that I got the right height for him.

"Danil, this is beautiful," Dom exclaims, looking at it.

The cane is black with a T shaped silver hand grip that I had engraved with leaves and his initials. I had made a few of the employees in the shop lean on the cane to make sure that it was comfy.

"I know you weren't happy taking your normal cane, and so I got you this," I tell him.

"Thank you," Dom says, coming over. "I love it. I love you."

"Love you too, but let's get going," I say over to him.

"You look gorgeous, too," Dom adds.

"Not next to you."

My tux looks plain next to Dom. It's just your standard two-piece with a bowtie. When I was choosing my tux, I had seen one, that I had fallen in love with. It was a three-piece like Dom's, but the lapels and waistcoat were gray, and it came with a black tie not a bowtie.

Papa had tried to persuade me to buy it, but I hadn't been sure, then Papa had turned to whisper to me ‘you should get that for your wedding' and had walked off before I could say anything. The thought hadn't left my mind, and as I look over to Dom, I know that one day I will wear that suit to marry Dom.

"I am finding it so difficult not to pick you up and carry you into our bedroom," I tell him.

"Do it," Dom smirks.

"Move," I tell him, and he is still laughing as we walk out of our hotel room, he even wiggles his ass at me.

Papa and G had been concerned about all of us getting to the ceremony on time, and so he decided to rent out some rooms for us. I have no idea how Frank managed to book one room for me and Dom without G finding out, but last night had been interesting. We had all gotten together for dinner. I had arrived first, and Dom came in five minutes later. It only became difficult when I could see Dom getting tired and I had the room key. In the end, I had sent him a text to tell him I was leaving, and I would wait for him by the elevators.

Papa had also noticed how tired Dom was looking and so when I stood up and wished everyone goodnight, he had asked if I could make sure that Dom got to his room okay, as he was looking tired, and nobody thought anything of it.

The wedding is taking place in the main reception room of the hotel. They didn't want anything over the top, so they had chosen a white strip of carpet to act as the aisle with chairs in rows on either side of it, with a simple white bow on the chairs nearest the aisle. For a simple design, the room looks stunning.

Once all the guests are seated, the plan is for Papa and I to go down the aisle first, followed by G and Lorenzo. The original plan had been to tell everyone in the morning, but we realized that Wyatt, Liam, Trip and Matteo would have gone to sit down with the other guests already, and Papa and I couldn't figure out how to work it. But we have a plan now.

As we get into the reception room, I look across the lobby and see a woman that I never thought I would see today, and I can tell that she is trying to hide.

"Dom," I say. "Is that your mom?"

"Where?"

"Over there," I say, pointing.

"Yes, it is," Dom confirms.

Dom strides across the lobby and I go after him. There is no way I am going to let this woman spoil Papa and G's day. I have no idea how she found out where the wedding is taking place.

"Momma. You came," I hear Dom say.

"You invited her?" I ask him.

"I told her where the wedding was taking place," Dom confirms.

"Please, I am not here to cause trouble," Celeste says. "Just, Dom's and your words hit home. I wanted to come and see Giovanni get married. I am going to hide at the back and slip away before he sees me."

She referred to him as Dom. Not Domenico. That is something new, but I still need to ask, "Is your husband here?" I ask, looking around.

"Ernestos views are never going to change. He doesn't know that I am here," Celeste replies.

"Me and Momma have been talking," Dom says, "about what has happened over recent years and about Alessia."

"And what does that mean?" I demand, because I am worried that Celeste is here to cause trouble even though she said that she isn't.

"It means I have been listening to my son," Celeste states, and that's when I spot it. The woman in front of me is different. She is looking at me differently and I notice that she hasn't condemned our lifestyle once.

"Talking to Father Constantine helped, too I think," Dom admits.

"As in, Matt's Father Constantine?" I question.

"I got his details from Trip," Dom explains before looking at his watch. "Shit, Momma, I have to go and sit down. Please, stay after."

"Go and sit," I say over to Dom. "I'll find a seat for your mom." At least this way I get to talk to her alone, make sure that she is not trying to trick Dom.

"Thanks Danil." And Dom leans over, gives me a kiss and disappears across the lobby into the reception room.

"Mrs. Romano…" I start, but she interrupts me.

"My name is Celeste, and I know what you are going to ask. I married into the Romano family," she says. "I am not going to cause trouble for anyone. I am not here to trick anyone. I am here to see my son get married."

"You understand that it's hard to believe someone with so much hate can change?" I counter.

"I do understand. But losing a child changes a person. When you and Dom came to the house and told us you were together, I was devastated. I wanted you both out of my house. Then you said something, you told us that even though Dom understood we would never accept you, he still wanted us in his life."

"He did. He was so nervous telling you about us, at one point I even think he considered keeping you in the dark," I tell her.

"He told me that. But what made me think, is that even after all the hate he would have gotten from me and his Papa, he was still prepared to put up with it for a relationship with us. Then I thought about Alessia and how disappointed she was with me over Giovanni and Matteo. I couldn't disappoint her anymore."

"Alessia knew about us," I tell her, and Celestes eyes widened. "We told her the day she died. My lasting memory of your daughter is the smile she had on her face when she saw us holding hands, and the hard time she gave Dom for keeping us secret."

Celeste gives a little laugh at my words. "Sounds like my Alessia."

"Mrs. Romano," I say.

"Danil, please, it is Celeste," she tells me.

"Celeste. Dom is right, please don't leave after the wedding. If you are prepared to fight, I think you can have your boys back in your life, but it won't be easy," I tell her. "But Dom and I will be there."

"You really do love him, don't you?" Celeste states.

"Yeah, I do," I confirm.

"I can see how happy you make him, and that is all a mother should want. For her child to be happy."

"Will you stay?" I ask her, and Celeste goes to say something, but, in the end, just nods her head, and I hold out my arm for her to take and I walk her into the reception room. I manage to find her a seat towards the back of the room, slightly out of the way. She will be hard to spot, but she will be able to see everything that is going on.

As I leave the room to go and join my father, I spot Dom turning in his seat to look at me, and I know he is checking to see if his mom did actually stay. I smile and nod my head in the direction of his mom and he mouths ‘thank you'.

I am not sure if I should, but I need to warn Papa that Celeste is here, and assure him that I don't think she is going to cause trouble. I actually think she wants to mend some bridges and get her relationship with G and Matt back.

Papa and G are waiting in separate rooms, away from the main reception room, and I know that we haven't got long before we need to head over to the main room. Papa was rather insistent that he was going to be waiting for G at the bottom of the aisle.

Walking into the room, I am surprised to see Papa pacing. "Papa," I call over to him, and when he stops and looks over to me, I have to stop myself from laughing. He's nervous. My confident, self-assured Papa is nervous.

"You okay?" I ask, going over to him and pretending to straighten his tie.

"What happens if Gio doesn't come?"

"You're joking, right?" I say, not quite believing that my Papa is uttering these words.

"Maybe he will realize he doesn't want to marry a man old enough to be his Papa," Papa says.

"Papa. G is not going to suddenly realize this on your wedding day," I tell him. "Plus, Mom would kick his behind into next year if he stood you up. He is never going to risk making Mom angry."

Papa laughs at this. "Your Momma is scary." Papa lets out a breath. "Right, lets get going."

"Papa, before you go, there is something you need to know." God, I hope he doesn't get mad. "Celeste is here."

"What? Why?"

"She said that she wants to see G get married. Something is going on with her. She said that she isn't going to cause trouble and I believe her."

Papa keeps looking at me before finally saying, "Okay."

"Ill keep an eye on her. Today, you just need to focus on getting married. Now, its time to go," I tell him.

The wedding had been beautiful, I think I even saw Papa wipe a tear from his eye when he saw G for the first time. But what I loved the most was how just before the officiant started talking, G had gone over to Dom and Matt and brought them up to stand with Lorenzo. I had felt so proud of him at that moment, plus nobody seemed to notice that he wasn't using his cane.

But, with the wedding over, it was time for mine and Doms big reveal, and I was the one that was suddenly nervous. Papa and Gs reception will be taking place in the same room as the wedding and so the hotel had requested some time to get the room ready. Most of the guests headed to the bar, where an area had been sectioned off for them. The wedding party was led to a separate room for a private family celebration first, before going to join them, or that is what Papa had told the guests.

Two weeks ago, when I had the idea of us being each other's dates, it felt like the perfect way to tell everyone about us. Papa had thought it was a great idea too, and it saved one side of the family finding out over the other. That is when I found out that Papa had invited Moms husband John to the wedding, and it's because of this, that we came up with the idea of having the family celebration. Because at that point everyone we loved would be there. The plan was that Papa would get everyone together, and then me and Dom were gonna enter. I just needed to find Dom.

It was time for our truth to come out.

It didn't take me long to find Dom, he was in the bar with Celeste, who looked like she had been crying.

"Dom," I say, coming up behind him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Mom just got a little emotional over the wedding," Dom explains.

"It was beautiful, and I could've missed it," Celeste sniffs. "You and Matteo looked so handsome standing next to Giovanni. I felt so very proud of you."

"Dom, sorry but its time," I say over to him, and I can see him hesitate and look over to his mom.

"Celeste. Dom and I have to go and do something," I wanted to say a family thing, but that feels wrong as I look over at her, "but we will be back. Papa is aware that you are here and its okay. Please stay."

Just before we walk into the room where the family is gathered, I turn to Dom. "How are you doing?"

"I feel a little all over the place. Momma coming surprised the hell out of me, but I'm glad she came," Dom says.

"She stayed, too," I tell him. "Before we go in, do you need your cane? You've been standing for a while."

"No, I'm good," Dom confirms.

Turning towards the door, I open it and stick my head in. "Papa," I say.

"Danil, did you find your date?" Papa asks.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"Well, bring him in," Papa says.

Turning to look at Dom, I give him a wink and reach out my hand to him, which he takes, pushing the door open wider as we walk in.

"Danil, wheres your date?" G asks, looking over my shoulder and missing the fact that I'm holding Doms hand.

"I'm here," Dom states.

A chorus of "What?" echoes around the room before, "you're dating?"

"Well, we are actually more than dating," Dom explains. "We are living together."

But before anyone can say anything Matt pipes up, "Dom, where is your cane?"

"That is my other surprise. I was cleared to not use it for a few hours. I wanted to walk into G's wedding unaided, but I will have to use it later," Dom tells them.

At this point, I think they are more excited that Dom is able to stand and walk without his cane, than they are about us dating, as they rush over to hug him, making him drop my hand. A small part of me is a little disappointed that there wasn't more of a reaction.

"Wait, wait," G suddenly shouts, "you're living together?"

"Talk about a delayed reaction," Dom answers, "but yeah, we are living together."

"And how long has this been going on?" Matt demands.

"Dom moved in two weeks ago," I tell them.

"How long have you actually been an item?" Trip asks.

"That is complicated," Dom answers. "Thanks to Rory."

"You're the man that Danil was seeing," G pipes up. "That is why Rory went after you."

"Yeah," I confirm, and the group goes quiet as this information sinks in.

"But that was like four months ago," G says, and I can see that he is trying to connect all the dots.

"Rory broke us up. Before that, we had been dating for around three months. When Dom came to the party two weeks ago with Katie, we both realized that our feelings for each hadn't changed."

"And we got back together," Dom finishes.

The room goes silent, and for a moment I am worried that they disapprove and are trying to figure out the words to say.

"This does leave us with a little dilemma," G pipes up, but I can see a smile tugging at his lips.

"Which is?" I question.

"Who is going to give you the big brother talk? You know, the one that says, if you hurt our brother we will come after you? Because none of us would be able to hide from Feliks," G says.

"None of you will be giving either of them a talking to," Maria says, "because if either of them hurt each other again, they are going to be dealing with me."

"Now that is scary," G mutters, and the whole room bursts into laughter.

As I look around the room and take in all the faces of the family, all I can think about is Celeste and how she needs to see this.

"Hey G, Matt, can I talk to you for a minute?" I call over to them. "Trip, you better come over too." Papa hears me calling them and comes over to join G. I think he senses what I am going to say.

"There is no easy way to say this, but Celeste is here," I start.

"Momma is here. Why?" Matt asks.

"To see G get married. Dom gave her the details, not thinking she would show, but she did, and she stayed."

"Look, I know this is going to sound weird, considering everything that has happened, but can I go get her?" I ask.

"Of course," Trip states.

"Trip, what the hell?" Matt exclaims.

"Matt, think about it. She came to your brother's wedding and stayed. That is monumental for her and a very good indication that something has changed. Everyone has the capacity to change. You did," Trip says.

"Do you know how much I hate you at times?" Matt says as he pulls Trip in for a kiss. "Danil, go get her."

Walking out of the room, I go over to the bar, hoping that Celeste is still there, and feeling a sense of relief when I see her in the same place we left her.

"Celeste," saying her name gently. "Will you come with me?" But she looks hesitant. "Its okay."

Celeste doesn't say anything as we walk back over to the room, and when we enter, all eyes are trained on us.

"Hey, Momma," Dom says, going over to her. "Come on in."

"Momma," Matt says, coming over to her. "I cannot believe that you are here."

"When your son gets married, it is something to be celebrated. Well, that is what Father Constantine says. Love in any form is something to be cherished and not shunned," Celeste says.

Before Celeste has the chance to say anything more, Matt is pulling her into a hug, and I can see the tears streaming down their faces as Celeste mumbles, "I'm so sorry, Matt."

"Thank you," Dom says, coming up next to me as we watch the scene in front of us. Matt lets go of Celeste and we see G walk over. He doesn't pull her into a hug like Matt did, but he listens as she talks.

"I did this for her as much as for you and them," I say over to him.

"Do you think we will be okay?" Dom asks.

"There is a lot of talking that needs to happen. A lot of forgiveness, but with time, I think it will be okay," I tell him.

"How can you be sure?" Dom asks.

"‘Cause were family," I tell him, leaning down and locking our lips together.