Hazelnut 8, Prune 26
Author: Marina
Story: The Dragon World
Challenge: Hazelnut 8 (black tie), Prune 26 (as far as I know)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Malt (Nath’s Flavor Roulette prompt: Chase thinks he knows something but he’s completely wrong), Milkshake (Dean, Sage, and Nate)
Word Count: 1,240
Rating: G
Summary: Kevin and Laura dance together at Carrie’s wedding. Sidney and Chase notice.
Notes: See, Kevin/Laura shippers, I haven’t completely killed the pairing! For leg 2 of the 1k marathon as well as today’s flavor prompt.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ boomed, “the bridal party has arrived!”
Kevin straightened up from a partial slump against the wall and turned toward the patio doors. He could see figures behind the glass, lined up and waiting to be announced. An uneasy excitement swelled up inside him as he craned his neck to see around the crowd. Most of the guests-and indeed, the good majority of the bridal party itself-were short, by his standards.
“Please welcome the maid of honor and best man, Chase Mitchell and Sage Miller!”
Everyone clapped as diminutive Chase, clad in a white tux with a yellow cummerbund and bow tie, hopped out onto the patio arm in arm with Dean’s cousin, who wore a simple black sheath dress. Kevin bit back a laugh. Once again, Chase defied all expectations and didn’t seem to care one ounce. He’d held Carrie’s bouquet at the wedding with a smile of nothing but happiness on his face the entire time.
The two of them posed for a few pictures, most of them rather goofy, and then moved aside for the next pair-Laura, and a groomsman Kevin didn’t know. He held his breath. Laura had been in town a week, but Kevin had not seen her before the wedding because he had been busy with teaching and entertaining Sidney, who was staying with him for a couple of weeks. During the ceremony, his eyes had kept straying in her direction despite valiant attempts to keep them focused on the bride. It was even harder not to look at her now, because she was smiling and her cheeks were rosy with excitement. She wore a blue, strapless, knee-length dress with a full skirt, and a white rose tucked into her curly hair. It was a particularly attractive look for her, but more than that, she looked happy. His stomach twisted up in knots as he watched her.
The third pair, friends of Carrie’s and Dean’s that he didn’t know, pranced out and posed as the others had. “Drumroll, please!” the DJ shouted, once they had moved out of the way. Kevin reached behind him and pounded the wall in time with the rest of the group. “And now, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, for the first time ever…Dean and Carrie Dakamar!”
Dean and Carrie ran out, hand-in-hand, and beamed around at the crowd, who clapped wildly for them. A cheer went up as they kissed-not quite as long and passionately as at the wedding, thankfully. Kevin still had a hard time believing that little Carrie was old enough to be married. Has it really been ten years? he wondered, watching them.
The first dance was announced, and Dean and Carrie stepped onto the floor. After the first song, Sage and the groom who had escorted Laura joined them, followed by Eva and Sorin, and then Chase and Laura. More couples followed, but Kevin’s eyes lingered on the Mitchells, and his fingers tingled. The urge to cut in was so strong that he had to look away for a moment to calm down.
When the song ended, he turned back and saw Laura and Chase merrily hastening off the floor. Without thinking, Kevin weaved through the small throng of wedding guests to get to them.
Chase was gone by the time he reached Laura, for which he felt thankful. Laura had taken a chair and was fanning herself with her hand. At first, she didn’t notice him, but as he stepped up next to her, she glanced his way. To his relief, she smiled widely without hesitation. “Kevin!”
“Hey, short stuff,” he said, grinning down at her. “Long time, no see.”
“You’re not kidding. How long has it been? Since I moved to Nashville, at least.”
“Four years.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling a little sheepish at how quickly that answer had come to him.
“Four years,” Laura echoed, looking thoughtful. Her eyes skated away from his for a brief moment, but returned quickly. The smile never left her face. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping I’d get the chance to talk to you.”
Kevin offered his hand. “How about dancing with me? Or are you too pooped from prancing around with your brother?”
Uncertainty touched her features for the first time, but it disappeared quickly. “I’d love to,” she said, and allowed him to help her to her feet. Her hand curled tightly around his as they walked out to the floor.
***
Chase ran into Sidney at the punch bowls and began talking with her more easily than he normally did with anyone but Laura and Carrie. He was in good spirits, and he hadn’t seen his friend for a couple of years, so there was quite a bit to catch up on. Besides, the DJ was currently playing a slow song, and he hated those, so he was in no hurry to get back to the dance floor. He planned to catch Carrie at the next fast one, if someone else didn’t snatch her first.
Armed with their punch glasses, they hurried away from the refreshment tables toward the tables. Chase figured he would sit with Sidney for a little while, since the other members of the bridal party were completely ignoring the long table set for them in favor of other things. As they went, he glanced around for Laura and saw that she was missing from the chair he’d left her in. His eyebrows went up in confusion.
“What’s up?” asked Sidney.
“Oh, uh, I can’t see Laura,” he said, trying to play it off as if it were nothing. “It’s fine, though, I’m sure she’s just getting punch or dancing or…something…” He trailed off as his eyes landed on his sister, weaving around on the floor in Kevin’s arms. His nose automatically wrinkled in distaste, but, satisfied that he knew where she was, he didn’t give it any further thought. “You were saying?”
Sidney began to talk about her college again. Chase listened the best he could, but he noticed that her gaze kept slipping away from him toward the floor. At the change in songs, she lost her train of thought entirely.
“Sid?” he asked. “Something wrong?”
“Do you know if Laura and Kevin were ever…you know,” Sidney said, slowly.
He automatically laughed. The idea was ridiculous, not that he wanted to say that to Sidney, who loved her brother about as much as he loved Laura. “No, she’d have told me. Why?”
She shook her head. “I just remembered something he said to me once. It’s probably nothing.” Yet, despite what she’d said, she didn’t turn back to him.
Chase followed her gaze and saw, to his surprise, that Laura and Kevin were still dancing together. Kevin said something Chase couldn’t hear, and Laura laughed in response as he twirled her. When he pulled her back in, she grinned up at him. Her cheeks were flushed, probably not in a way that meant she felt too warm as the temperature was likely beginning to drop toward sixty degrees or lower. There was something in her face that Chase had never seen before-not on her, anyway. He’d seen something similar in the way Carrie looked at Dean plenty of times.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation went up his spine. He cleared his throat and forced himself to look away. “Yeah, probably,” he said, a bit hoarsely.
Story: The Dragon World
Challenge: Hazelnut 8 (black tie), Prune 26 (as far as I know)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Malt (Nath’s Flavor Roulette prompt: Chase thinks he knows something but he’s completely wrong), Milkshake (Dean, Sage, and Nate)
Word Count: 1,240
Rating: G
Summary: Kevin and Laura dance together at Carrie’s wedding. Sidney and Chase notice.
Notes: See, Kevin/Laura shippers, I haven’t completely killed the pairing! For leg 2 of the 1k marathon as well as today’s flavor prompt.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ boomed, “the bridal party has arrived!”
Kevin straightened up from a partial slump against the wall and turned toward the patio doors. He could see figures behind the glass, lined up and waiting to be announced. An uneasy excitement swelled up inside him as he craned his neck to see around the crowd. Most of the guests-and indeed, the good majority of the bridal party itself-were short, by his standards.
“Please welcome the maid of honor and best man, Chase Mitchell and Sage Miller!”
Everyone clapped as diminutive Chase, clad in a white tux with a yellow cummerbund and bow tie, hopped out onto the patio arm in arm with Dean’s cousin, who wore a simple black sheath dress. Kevin bit back a laugh. Once again, Chase defied all expectations and didn’t seem to care one ounce. He’d held Carrie’s bouquet at the wedding with a smile of nothing but happiness on his face the entire time.
The two of them posed for a few pictures, most of them rather goofy, and then moved aside for the next pair-Laura, and a groomsman Kevin didn’t know. He held his breath. Laura had been in town a week, but Kevin had not seen her before the wedding because he had been busy with teaching and entertaining Sidney, who was staying with him for a couple of weeks. During the ceremony, his eyes had kept straying in her direction despite valiant attempts to keep them focused on the bride. It was even harder not to look at her now, because she was smiling and her cheeks were rosy with excitement. She wore a blue, strapless, knee-length dress with a full skirt, and a white rose tucked into her curly hair. It was a particularly attractive look for her, but more than that, she looked happy. His stomach twisted up in knots as he watched her.
The third pair, friends of Carrie’s and Dean’s that he didn’t know, pranced out and posed as the others had. “Drumroll, please!” the DJ shouted, once they had moved out of the way. Kevin reached behind him and pounded the wall in time with the rest of the group. “And now, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, for the first time ever…Dean and Carrie Dakamar!”
Dean and Carrie ran out, hand-in-hand, and beamed around at the crowd, who clapped wildly for them. A cheer went up as they kissed-not quite as long and passionately as at the wedding, thankfully. Kevin still had a hard time believing that little Carrie was old enough to be married. Has it really been ten years? he wondered, watching them.
The first dance was announced, and Dean and Carrie stepped onto the floor. After the first song, Sage and the groom who had escorted Laura joined them, followed by Eva and Sorin, and then Chase and Laura. More couples followed, but Kevin’s eyes lingered on the Mitchells, and his fingers tingled. The urge to cut in was so strong that he had to look away for a moment to calm down.
When the song ended, he turned back and saw Laura and Chase merrily hastening off the floor. Without thinking, Kevin weaved through the small throng of wedding guests to get to them.
Chase was gone by the time he reached Laura, for which he felt thankful. Laura had taken a chair and was fanning herself with her hand. At first, she didn’t notice him, but as he stepped up next to her, she glanced his way. To his relief, she smiled widely without hesitation. “Kevin!”
“Hey, short stuff,” he said, grinning down at her. “Long time, no see.”
“You’re not kidding. How long has it been? Since I moved to Nashville, at least.”
“Four years.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling a little sheepish at how quickly that answer had come to him.
“Four years,” Laura echoed, looking thoughtful. Her eyes skated away from his for a brief moment, but returned quickly. The smile never left her face. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping I’d get the chance to talk to you.”
Kevin offered his hand. “How about dancing with me? Or are you too pooped from prancing around with your brother?”
Uncertainty touched her features for the first time, but it disappeared quickly. “I’d love to,” she said, and allowed him to help her to her feet. Her hand curled tightly around his as they walked out to the floor.
***
Chase ran into Sidney at the punch bowls and began talking with her more easily than he normally did with anyone but Laura and Carrie. He was in good spirits, and he hadn’t seen his friend for a couple of years, so there was quite a bit to catch up on. Besides, the DJ was currently playing a slow song, and he hated those, so he was in no hurry to get back to the dance floor. He planned to catch Carrie at the next fast one, if someone else didn’t snatch her first.
Armed with their punch glasses, they hurried away from the refreshment tables toward the tables. Chase figured he would sit with Sidney for a little while, since the other members of the bridal party were completely ignoring the long table set for them in favor of other things. As they went, he glanced around for Laura and saw that she was missing from the chair he’d left her in. His eyebrows went up in confusion.
“What’s up?” asked Sidney.
“Oh, uh, I can’t see Laura,” he said, trying to play it off as if it were nothing. “It’s fine, though, I’m sure she’s just getting punch or dancing or…something…” He trailed off as his eyes landed on his sister, weaving around on the floor in Kevin’s arms. His nose automatically wrinkled in distaste, but, satisfied that he knew where she was, he didn’t give it any further thought. “You were saying?”
Sidney began to talk about her college again. Chase listened the best he could, but he noticed that her gaze kept slipping away from him toward the floor. At the change in songs, she lost her train of thought entirely.
“Sid?” he asked. “Something wrong?”
“Do you know if Laura and Kevin were ever…you know,” Sidney said, slowly.
He automatically laughed. The idea was ridiculous, not that he wanted to say that to Sidney, who loved her brother about as much as he loved Laura. “No, she’d have told me. Why?”
She shook her head. “I just remembered something he said to me once. It’s probably nothing.” Yet, despite what she’d said, she didn’t turn back to him.
Chase followed her gaze and saw, to his surprise, that Laura and Kevin were still dancing together. Kevin said something Chase couldn’t hear, and Laura laughed in response as he twirled her. When he pulled her back in, she grinned up at him. Her cheeks were flushed, probably not in a way that meant she felt too warm as the temperature was likely beginning to drop toward sixty degrees or lower. There was something in her face that Chase had never seen before-not on her, anyway. He’d seen something similar in the way Carrie looked at Dean plenty of times.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation went up his spine. He cleared his throat and forced himself to look away. “Yeah, probably,” he said, a bit hoarsely.