It is a perfect summer day on Shell Beach. Not a cloud appears in the brilliantly blue sky, and a pleasant sea breeze keeps the sun-kissed ground comfortable
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Schreber has been nervous for days but that is nothing compared to how nervous he is while the hours tick down to the wedding. He has to keep checking his heart and sit down, but he has John and Markus around to help him keep his head. They probably lose track of how many times he asks 'what if I forgot the vows' or 'what if I drop the ring' or other disasters. Once he tells John he hopes he doesn't have a heart attack when Sarah comes down the aisle.
And then they're all up on the dais and he's almost holding his breath and there she is. She's beautiful, so beautiful all dressed up, but he looks at her face and her eyes and it's still his Sarah, the one he knows and has lived with and loved a long time already. The groom beams through the ceremony and says his vows carefully so he he only pauses for breath between the words, and then he kisses her and it's all over. Or maybe it's just started. Either way it's good!
He walks her to the reception smiling and not saying much, but he feels more relaxed then he has in months. The cane is nowhere in sight today but he might let Orwell out later when people are finished eating. The house isn't that far away.
If there's anybody they can count on to be a calm rock, it's Markus. He patiently answers Schreber with a smile every time, telling him that he'll be fine once it actually starts. He's never actually been married, but he's been around long enough to have heard that's how it always works.
He's got a nice new tux, which you can bet Harley helped pick out, and he grins to see Harley and April both in their best for the wedding party. He'd have been happy just to be a guest, and he's honored to be a groomsman. Maybe someday he'll get to return the favor.
All the same, he's glad when it's over, the photos are taken, and it's time to party. That means he can undo the bow tie, right?
"Of course there are games around here somewhere." Harley replies to her daughter. To compliment the choice of flowers in the bride's hair (and cake), this blond bridesmaid is wearing a sunflower dress.
She smiles over at Markus. Noting his fidgeting at the bow tie. "And I am sure you could loosen the tie. If you wanted."
Markus grins and undoes the tie, then sweeps Harley into one arm to snag a kiss. "You look beautiful."
He strokes April's hair. "Both of you. And I'm sure we can find some kind of games. If we can't find 'em, we'll make 'em." She's getting too big for him to carry her on his shoulders, so he just takes her hand while they go to the reception.
"So I don't understand... why did Uncle Tom have'ta give Auntie Sarah away? Did she not want to marry Uncle Daniel? And why do they say that the groom may kiss his bride? Don't they both want to kiss each other?"
"And why did they get married, but not the two of you?" April looks pointedly at Markus and Harley. "Isn't living together good enough?"
"He tells them they can kiss because they've been holding back through the whole ceremony." Rat answers with a grin, but the last question makes him pause. Fortunately Harley's quick with a save, and April's off to see her friend.
He sighs, and squeezes Harley a little closer with the arm around her waist, giving her the most subtle questioning look he can.
Moving to rest agains Markus for a moment, Harley goes catch the subtle questioning look. She answers softly, assuming the words behind the look. "I am not ready for marriage myself. April forgets that, at times. For her it has been years since her father died, not months."
"Besides, life is treating us well now as it stands. I am afraid to do anything to mess it up."
Rat's chin rests lightly in Harley's hair, and for just a minute he pretends there's no one else around. Nobody's really paying attention to them, anyway. "I'll be here waiting. I can wait as long as you need me to."
She turns slightly to caress his cheek with her mouth. "I do imagine my life with you in it. Full time. And maybe in a few years, it would be under the title of husband."
"But right now. Titles don't matter. All that matters is that you are in my life. And that you do make me happy. And you do make me feel loved."
"That's... enough. It really is." He smiles and turns his face down to kiss her, smiling. It would be nice to be daddy instead of uncle Rat, but his life right now is better than he can ever remember it being, and he's content.
Thorn's never been to a wedding. First he was asked to be in the wedding party, and had to be convinced to wear a suit and stand up on the dais, but on the day itself he is horrified to see that there are so many guests, all of whom will be looking at the very front where he's meant to stand. There is a last minute panic attack, and only Courtney can convince him to go through with it all. He begs to have her sit somewhere close, so he can look at her instead of the rest of the crowd, although throughout much of the ceremony he closes his eyes. Eventually he realizes the focus is, of course, on the bride and groom, and his attention shifts to them as well. They're a sweet couple, and they mean much to him.
It is still a relief to step down and find Courtney's arm to cling to, once it's over. He's dyed his hair recently to hide the white, and despite the blisters of his face, and the general unruliness of his hair, he manages to look fairly sharp in a tuxedo that Courtney chose for him.
Courtney watches the happy couple with impassive dark eyes. She's polite and gentle, but it's hard to tell what she's thinking, and they might just find her presence a bit of a dark cloud in their sunny sky.
She has to admit that Thorn looks sweet, though. She has a smile for him alone, and submits to being clung to willingly. "Let's get a drink," she suggests.
And then they're all up on the dais and he's almost holding his breath and there she is. She's beautiful, so beautiful all dressed up, but he looks at her face and her eyes and it's still his Sarah, the one he knows and has lived with and loved a long time already. The groom beams through the ceremony and says his vows carefully so he he only pauses for breath between the words, and then he kisses her and it's all over. Or maybe it's just started. Either way it's good!
He walks her to the reception smiling and not saying much, but he feels more relaxed then he has in months. The cane is nowhere in sight today but he might let Orwell out later when people are finished eating. The house isn't that far away.
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He thoroughly enjoys the pageantry. His friends look happy, the weather is beautiful, it's an all-around perfect occasion.
The only problem is he's not sure if he's supposed to make a speech.
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He's got a nice new tux, which you can bet Harley helped pick out, and he grins to see Harley and April both in their best for the wedding party. He'd have been happy just to be a guest, and he's honored to be a groomsman. Maybe someday he'll get to return the favor.
All the same, he's glad when it's over, the photos are taken, and it's time to party. That means he can undo the bow tie, right?
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But she does need some fun. And soon is tugging on the bottom of Markus' shirt. "Uncle Rat... do you think Sarah has games?"
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She smiles over at Markus. Noting his fidgeting at the bow tie. "And I am sure you could loosen the tie. If you wanted."
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He strokes April's hair. "Both of you. And I'm sure we can find some kind of games. If we can't find 'em, we'll make 'em." She's getting too big for him to carry her on his shoulders, so he just takes her hand while they go to the reception.
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"And why did they get married, but not the two of you?" April looks pointedly at Markus and Harley. "Isn't living together good enough?"
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As for the second question, Harley looks for distraction. "Isn't that Charlotte over there?"
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He sighs, and squeezes Harley a little closer with the arm around her waist, giving her the most subtle questioning look he can.
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"Besides, life is treating us well now as it stands. I am afraid to do anything to mess it up."
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"I'll be here waiting. I can wait as long as you need me to."
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"But right now. Titles don't matter. All that matters is that you are in my life. And that you do make me happy. And you do make me feel loved."
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Trust Harley to throw that logic at him.
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First he was asked to be in the wedding party, and had to be convinced to wear a suit and stand up on the dais, but on the day itself he is horrified to see that there are so many guests, all of whom will be looking at the very front where he's meant to stand. There is a last minute panic attack, and only Courtney can convince him to go through with it all. He begs to have her sit somewhere close, so he can look at her instead of the rest of the crowd, although throughout much of the ceremony he closes his eyes. Eventually he realizes the focus is, of course, on the bride and groom, and his attention shifts to them as well. They're a sweet couple, and they mean much to him.
It is still a relief to step down and find Courtney's arm to cling to, once it's over. He's dyed his hair recently to hide the white, and despite the blisters of his face, and the general unruliness of his hair, he manages to look fairly sharp in a tuxedo that Courtney chose for him.
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She has to admit that Thorn looks sweet, though. She has a smile for him alone, and submits to being clung to willingly. "Let's get a drink," she suggests.
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