It was ridiculous. The white dress, the green and pink flowers and leaf petals weaved into her braided hair. The shell earrings and the shell necklace. But the most ridiculous thing of all was the sparkling golden crown with shells spiking along the top instead of jewels. She felt like a mermaid princess. A fat, pregnant mermaid princess. But when she turned around and saw the way Ava looked up at her with such awe, it made all of the ridiculous wedding things seem less silly.

"You look like the Queen of the Ocean."

Mira gave her a sly smile. "I kinda am the Queen of the Ocean." Zyoo was a giant ocean moon with scattered islands, so if she ruled it, it wasn't exactly untrue calling herself a Queen. "But you know what that makes you, right?"

Ava's eyes grew wide, her own hair braided and curled.

"That makes you the ocean princess."

Ava tried not to grin. "No, that makes your baby the princess."

"No," Mira said, picking up the basket. "You are both princesses. Besides, she already gets a whole planet. She care share its moon."

The possibility of actually being a princess made Ava jump from her chair. Though she was almost twelve-years-old, the idea still made her feel special. It was the little things, these small and big moments of happiness, that Mira was doing all of this for.

"You ready ladybug?" Mira asked her little sister, handing her the smaller bouquet of flowers.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She said, cocking an eyebrow. Then, Ava turned on her heel and started for the door. But she paused with her hand on the door knob. "I bet mom would have loved this... If she were here, she'd tell you how beautiful you are. And how incredibly brave." Ava looked back up at her big sister.

It was amazing to Mira to think about. Almost a year ago, they thought Ava was going to die. In a way, all of this was because of her—because of what Mira was willing to do for her.

"I love you," Ava smiled.

"I love you too," Mira said, kissing the top of her head.

Ava stepped out of the small dressing room and into the hall. They walked together to the end of the hall where the elevator was waiting. They got in the elevator together, accompanied by two Jayku guards dressed in suits. It was funny seeing them squirm in human clothes. Ezra had them specially made. "It's a human wedding, so everyone should wear human clothes... or the closest to it we can find," he has said.

The elevator doors opened to a patio built in between the first apartment buildings, and the zone mapped out for the second extension of more apartment buildings. Tomorrow construction resumes, but today, everyone is taking a break.

Wooden chairs are lined in rows, filled with Jayku and humans. My brother waits for me at the end of the aisle, and as I step up to link his arm in mine, I spot Beth and Shay. Beth had a baby in her arms, sleeping against her chest, and Shay had to have been ready to give birth at any moment. Mira swallowed hard and smiled at them as they met her gaze.

Then, her brother took her arm, and with Ava leading the way, they started down the aisle.

The sunset behind the alter, sparkling strung lights hung like drapes across the patio by an open frame. The ocean waves crashed to the sound of 'hear comes the bride' as the violins began. Her heart was beating so fast she could hardly breathe. The wedding, the lights, the sunset—it was nothing short of a fairytale. But the best part of it all... was him.

The world faded around him, until all she saw was his smile. His eyes. His lips. She wanted to run to him and kiss him and never let him go, but her brother kept her steady, walking down the aisle at a normal pace. And when he gave her arm over to Ezra's, it felt oddly human. The whole ceremony was human. But it was more than that. It was as if there was no more alien or human. No more Earther or Jayku. There was just them, together, as one.

A woman from earth, someone's mother probably, began to recite the classic vows. And when it was his turn to say I do, Ezra didn't stumble on a single word. Mira, said I do too quickly, getting a few silent chuckles out of the crowd. And then the words, "you may now kiss the bride," hit the air, and Ezra grabbed Mira gently and pulled her closer to him. Mira's hands got lost in the hair on the back of his head as their lips collided, and they joined as one, in all the possible ways, tying themselves to each other in every way they could imagine.

When they finally came back up for air, everyone was clapping, and Mira took Ezra's hand, and led the way to the dance floor. Music plays on a human radio, songs from earth with Jayku translation thrown in for fun. They danced and ate cake, and after several hours of celebration, Mira finally sat down to catch her breath. She watched as Ava and Ezra spun on together on the dance floor, and she couldn't help but smile at her new husband.