Wedding Rehearsal: It looked so easy on TV.

[deathstoogood]

Everything looked practically picture perfect, at least the decorations and everything else were in place. The priest was preparing for the two of them to take the walk down the aisle to be sworn in, or whatever it was that they did. Reii wasn't certain, but he was hoping not to burst into flames or something similar when they went up there and did

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[subreptitious]

"I can banish tar from my lungs at will," she reminded him idly as she stomped out her second chain-smoked cigarette with the ridiculously high heels that she would be wearing with the dress. She figured that she might as well get some practice walking in them, lest she fall over halfway down the aisle. She'd also opted for a long navy dress -- one that trailed on the ground -- to rehearse not stepping on the fabric and going head over heels.

"My wedding rehearsals have all involved the full party, so there was a lot more ceremony to be observed. As it stands, I think that you wait at the altar, I practice my timing walking down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon in D and try not to trip over, the... whoever you arranged to marry us says whatever it is he intends to say -- which we are free to edit -- we exchange vows and rings, he pronounces us married, we share a wedding-appropriate kiss and it is over..." she explained, literally without taking a breath, running a hand through her hair and reapplying lipbalm for the nth time.

"As long as everything has been set up perfectly, it should not take long and be relatively stress-free."

[deathstoogood]

And the dress looked very lovely on her, anyone who wasn't Reii may have complimented her appearance, however he was too busy jittering himself to really pay any mind to something as mundane as clothing. Frankly she could have come wearing rags and he wouldn't have minded. The man folded his arms over his chest, nodding appropriately as Bel ranted off the instructions. She had planned everything so precisely and so well, he felt almost suffocated.

"Wedding appropriate. Exchanging rings. Rings. Bel, did...did you want a different ring than the one the curse gave you? I m-mean I know it's just a stupid symbol but.." He looked helplessly at her for a fraction of a second, the apathetic mask sliding off of his face as sure as water slides off a duck's back.

"And we're having somethin' of a celebration here after, right? What do you call it, the reception?" He asked her, stepping a little closer to the woman. He'd hoped some of Bel's calm would rub off on him some how, like a good luck charm. "Do we run through it now as well? Just a quick run through to see how it'll look? Maybe...say some stuff?"

[subreptitious]

"Oh, I overlooked the rings," she said flatly, feeling really stupid for a moment -- the only lasting symbol of the marriage, and she'd been too caught up planning the ceremony to even think of it. "I have grown rather attached to this one, though we could consider these engagement rings and purchase wedding rings if you prefer. I truly do not mind."

"Yes, a reception, where we have a first dance to 'our song', something we also do not have," and now she was jittering because suddenly there were a thousand things they'd overlooked: the seating arrangements, coordination with Abigail regarding the catering, any bridesmaids other than Abigail, the speeches -- oh LORD, the speeches -- whether Lester would bear the rings, who would give her away at the altar.

"Reii... the best man traditionally makes a touching speech about our unwithering love before we settle down to eat and seek intoxication. Abel cannot even be in my presence as of yet. We will need to spend much more time with him in the coming days," halfway through that rant she lit another cigarette, speaking with it hanging between her lips and sucking on it desperately, as if enough nicotine would solve all their problems.

"I thought I had everything covered, but there is so much left to do." There was an edge of panic to her voice.

[deathstoogood]

Optimism had reared it's hopeful head as Bel spoke, maybe they could walk through this just as he'd hoped and be done before noon, that didn't seem so bad. Hell, they even got to kiss at the end, there was nothing wrong with that at all, the longer she spoke it seemed the longer his expression and his face got. The smallest of details had fallen through the cracks.

Finally, as she finished, Reii threw his head back with great gales of laughter. Oh this was rich, they were finally here to plan and they had seemingly not done anything to prepare for this entire event. "Bel, sweetie. Dear. My moon and my light and all of that other nonsense. Stop sucking down nicotine and relax." All of it sounded like trifling details that could be dealt with if they spoke to a few people.

Following Bel with a gaze, he trotted nearer and took the woman's hand, caressing it with the other. "Then I'll talk to Abel. You find Abigail, I will of course find a song suitably romantic for us to share a dance or something of that nature and we'll come out of this on top, yeah?"

[subreptitious]

"Yes," Bel said in an almost robotic voice, repeating that sweet logic over and over in her head until the panic began to mellow back to a slightly edgy anticipation, and the frantic puffs of her cigarette slowed. "Yes, we still have time. Everything will be well."

Nicotine fix complete, she stomped the filter out on the ground with her heel again, clutching at Reii's hand like a lifeline. "This is the purpose of a rehearsal, I suppose -- to bring to light the flaws in a production."

Even managing a smile, she eventually brought Reii's hand to her lips, kissing the back of it, before steeling herself. "Shall we do this, then?"

[deathstoogood]

"Everything is fine. We have plenty of time before something happens. Uh, before things go wrong. Is what I mean." He amended quickly, pushing his hands promptly through his hair. He shut the door suddenly after a moment, barring the interior from their view.

"You know what might be fun? Not going through this exactly right now. Maybe waiting awhile first. We could...we could sit out here and marvel in the day for a bit. Look, doesn't that cloud look a bit like a...a...cloud?" he wrenched his hand away from Bel, suddenly panicking.

[subreptitious]

"Yes," she said indulgently -- now that her own edginess was vanishing it was easy enough to consider entering the hall, walking down the aisle and playing out the rehearsal. But now it seemed that Reii was having second thoughts.

"The sooner this is done with, the sooner we may do something pleasing before we set to work figuring out the kinks in our arrangements," she reasoned quietly.