#juli is a bridesmaid too so she side-eyes her husband a little like in the amused mom way y'know? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peterxwade24 · 3 years

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Coral, Baby’s Breath, and Forget-me-nots

For Maribat March 2021 day 11 prompt Mominette.

this is a sort of sequel to day 5 prompt Last Time about Marinette and her husband, named Flynn (he’s British (sort of)).

enjoy ~

Marinette remembers the day she met her late husband.

They were in college, just trying to make it through. He had just moved to the states from London and didn’t really know anyone so she invited him to a study group she was going to. Marinette sat down beside Tim, Kon on his other side with Steph and Cass across from them. Marinette’s new friend, Flynn, sat across from her, and the six studied for hours, eventually moving the study group back to Marinette’s apartment.

They ran into Jason there, Marinette wrapping the older man in a hug as the other five filed into the apartment.

“Hey, Jay-Jay,” Marinette said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Whatcha doin’ here? Don’t you have your own place?”

“I don’t have Cool Ranch Doritos and Funyuns.” Jason pressed a kiss to Marinette’s forehead. “Hey Pix.”

“You know your brother, sisters, and Kon. The cutie with brown hair and blue eyes is Flynn from my Business Administration class.” Marinette smiled and settled against his side. “Flynn, this is my brother in all but blood Jason.”

“Hello, guy that my sister thinks is cute,” Jason said while looking at his other siblings.

“Hello, Marinette’s brother in all but blood.” Flynn smiled.

---

Marinette remembers her first date with her late husband.

Marinette rifled through her closet looking for something to wear on her date with Flynn. She knew she wanted something a little edgier than what she normally did, granted she usually showed up to class in sweats but it was the thought that counts.

Eventually, she turned to look at Jason, who was drinking a smoothie while lounging on her bed. “What do you think?”

“What about that Jagged Stone shirt you have, not the merch the one, the one that you made him that he gave you after you left Paris with a pair of ripped jeans, some heeled ankle boots, and a leather jacket?” Jason let a smirk spread across his face as Marinette stared at him before she tackled him, making sure that he didn’t spill his smoothie on her bed.

“Thanks, Jay-Jay.” Marinette pressed kisses to his cheeks before going back to her closet. “Hey, Jay-Jay? Can you do my hair for me?”

Marinette got dressed while Jason plugged in the curling iron and got out Marinette’s makeup, knowing that she’d ask him to do her makeup too.

Marinette wore a pair of dark grey ripped skinny jeans, a black oversized shirt with hidden embroidery of a musical note at the bottom hem, brown lace up wedge booties and a brown leather jacket (that she borrowed from Jason). Jason had curled her hair away from her face and the left side pinned in the back while her makeup was light. Her eyes were done in a mix of pinks and browns with copious amounts of glitter, a thin black wing, and light mascara. She had a light pink lip and gold highlight, which matched the gold earrings she wore.

Flynn, on the other hand, wore blue jeans with a nice tee and sneakers with his hair styled away from his face.

They went to lunch and walked around a local park, simply talking and getting to know each other.

---

And Marinette would never forget the day she got married.

Jason was her man of honour, wearing a beautiful coral suit jacket with coral dress pants. Cass, Steph, and Barbara were her bridesmaids, all in beautiful coral dresses. Their dresses were long dresses with lace cap sleeves and flattering on all three girls. Kate was stepping in as mother of the bride, and she wore a beautiful bronze coloured dress. The dress was off the shoulder, with a lace bodice and a satin skirt that reached her knees. Carrie was the flower girl, with a satin and tulle dress with flowers trapped inside the tulle. Her dress was white with coral coloured flowers.

Tim, Kon, Duke, and Damian were Flynn’s groomsmen, with Damian being his best man simply because the boys fought for it and Damian won. Tim, Kon, and Duke all wore black dress pants with coral dress shirts and baby's breath boutonnieres. Damian wore coral dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a black suit jacket with a baby’s breath and forget-me-not boutonniere. Dick was the only one not wearing coral, as he was dressed in a light gray three-piece suit. Dick had graciously offered to be the officiant.

Bruce wore a simple black three-piece suit with a coral tie and forget-me-not blue pocket square. Selina wore a stunning silver and bronze one-shoulder dress with forget-me-nots and baby’s breath woven into her hair. They were filling in for Flynn’s parents, who had disowned him for not wanting to follow in their footsteps. However, Flynn’s grandmother, a wonderful woman named Ariella, had decided to simply remove Flynn’s parents from her will and leave only Flynn in it because she had always been closer to Flynn than to his parents. She wore a lovely bronze shift dress and tan flats and sat in the first chair on Flynn’s side.

Marinette wore a white princess-style dress made of satin with a tulle overlay and matching coral flower petals trapped between the layers of tulle. She had baby’s breath and forget-me-nots braided into her hair. She would always remember it as the beginning of her happy life.

---

The days her children were born were some of the happiest days of her life.

Marinette and Flynn had prepped for months before their first child was born. Jaden was born just after midnight on September ninth. She had brown hair and her mother’s blue-gray eyes. Rowan, their second child, was born just before noon on January fifteenth. He looked like a miniature version of Flynn. With Charlie, their third, being born nearly a year later on January thirteenth at six in the afternoon. He had black hair and Flynn’s blue eyes.’. Haden, their youngest, was born two and a half years after Charlie, on July twenty-seventh at a little after six in the morning. She looked like a miniature version of Marinette.

Marinette would always say that her favourite creation in life was her children, and she would never regret a single second spent with them.

@maribatmarch-2k21

#maribat #maribat march #ml crossover #mlb crossover #ml x dc #mlb x dc #prompt : Mominette

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les-mis-still-makes-me-cry · 4 years

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Lily Evans Has a Boyfriend: Chapter One

A new Jily fic full of tropey goodness. Enjoy!

Lily really wished she understood what possessed her to say what she said on Monday 25th July, 1977. She wished she could find any way of justifying why she opened her mouth and said a sentence that would change the course of not only her summer, but her entire life. She wracked her brains in the following months, running the conversation over in her mind, trying to find a logical explanation for why her brain led her right to those words that she couldn’t take back. But time after time, it was no use. She just said it. And that’s how it all began.

***

It was the height of summer and the middle of the holidays, and the Evans ladies were taking full advantage in their back garden. Stretched out on towels underneath the glorious sunshine, they were the picture of tranquility. On either side lay 2 young women: one bony, tall, and bleach blonde, the other slender with fiery red hair. Between them lay their mother, short and plump with her friendly face hidden under her over-sized sun hat.

She took the hat off to fan herself for a moment, puffing air heavily as she attempted to keep cool.

“I swear you girls must be made of ice, I’m absolutely roasting in this heat,” their mother huffed.

“That’s me, Frosty the Snowman,” said the redhead.

“You’ve just got to have the dedication, Mum. Tanning is an art,” agreed the blonde.

“Well, it’s alright for you Petunia, you actually tan without burning like Lily and I,” sighed their mum, tapping Lily’s shoulder with her floppy hat. Lily flipped onto her stomach and grinned back at her.

“Beauty is pain mother dearest, we all have to suffer for our art,” she joked.

“Well, I think I’ve suffered all I can for just now. I’ll go inside and start getting lunch together,” said their mum, staggering up.

“No, wait, don’t leave us!” Petunia said, rather too quickly for Lily’s liking. She narrowed her eyes at her sister, but their mother butted in.

“I’m sorry Petunia, I just can’t handle lying out here all day doing nothing. Besides, it’s nearly 2 o’clock, I’m famished.”

“Ugh fine, I’ll come in too,” Petunia moaned. She sat up and started to roll up her towel. Lily couldn’t help herself from snapping at her.

“What, afraid you’ll become a freak too if you spend any time alone with me?”

Petunia glared and shot back immediately. “As if, thank god one of us is normal.”

“Boring, you mean.”

“I’d rather be boring than a freak.”

“Well, you’ve succeeded admirably then, Tuney.”

“I’ve told you not to call me that!”

“GIRLS!” shouted their mum, who both girls had forgotten was still standing there. “How on earth have you turned me making sandwiches into a fight?”

“She started it,” Petunia instantly answered.

“I don’t care who started it, you’re not children anymore. You’re getting married this December Petunia, act like it,” she scolded.

Lily smirked at this, causing her mum’s anger to shift target. “And you! You’re of age in the wizard world, don’t antagonise your sister over nothing. I love you both but you behave like absolute toddlers as soon as you’re together and I’m heartily sick of it. For goodness sake, can we not have one pleasant afternoon?”

She looked close to tears suddenly, anger dissipated, sunburnt shoulders slumped sadly. Lily and Petunia were both filled with regret. Lily stood to put her arms round her mother, while Petunia fiddled with the edge of her towel awkwardly.

“We’re sorry mum, we didn’t mean to ruin your afternoon,” said Lily.

Their mum held her arms to her side, refusing to hug her daughter back, although her face softened.

“Sandwiches would be amazing if you still want to make them, mum,” Petunia added, venturing an apologetic smile. Their mum sighed deeply and smiled back, throwing an arm quickly around Lily’s shoulders.

“Well I suppose I can’t let you starve, can I. You two sit there, I’ll be back in ten minutes.” She went in through the open back door, and moments later they heard her whistling through the kitchen window.

Lily and Petunia looked at each other for a moment, as though daring the other to start back up again. Ever since they had been little, their bickering had been a constant factor of their relationship. Lily would take a dig at Petunia; Petunia would call her a freak; Lily would insult her right back; and on it went. It was no wonder that their mother was sick of it.

It was only lessened by the fact that Lily was away at school 10 months of the year, and that Petunia had moved to London two years ago to take a typing course. It was there that she had met her fiancé, a large man called Vernon Dursley. It was safe to say he was not Lily’s favourite person. Lily remembered when she and Petunia were very young, before she learned about magic, when she and Petunia had dreamed of one day marrying tall, dark, handsome princes, and living in matching castles next door to one another. She doubted Vernon would even fit through the door of a castle.

Eventually Lily sat down again. Petunia was very clearly pretending Lily wasn’t there, eyes firmly closed behind glamourous sunglasses. This suited Lily just fine, and she buried her nose in the novel she’d brought outside with her until their mum returned with a plate stacked with sandwiches. Lily and their mum wolfed them down ravenously, whereas Petunia held back, only eating two before beginning to take them apart and only eating the filling.

“Eat up Petunia,” encouraged their mum, noticing her hesitance. “They’re not poisoned, I swear. Or are you on about avoiding carbs before the dinner again?”

Lily’s ears pricked up. “What dinner?”

Petunia huffed, looking irritably at their mum, who seemed even more confused than Lily.

“You haven’t invited Lily? Petunia!” she admonished, putting down her half-finished sandwich.

“Mum we spoke about this,” Petunia whined.

“And I remember telling you it would be very insulting not to invite your own sister!” said their mum.

“What dinner?” repeated Lily angrily. The other two stared at each other intensely for a second before Petunia finally caved with a frustrated sigh.

“On Saturday I’m having a dinner with all my bridesmaids and our partners, just a big quadruple date, that’s all,” she said defensively, crossing her arms.

“Mum told me you hadn’t picked your bridesmaids yet!” Lily said, aghast.

“Because I knew you would react like this! Look, everyone in the wedding party has a husband or a fiancé, it just ruins the symmetry of it to have you there!” Petunia replied, her voice suddenly very high pitched.

“So that’s it, in I’m not in the wedding because of your bloody symmetry?” Lily shouted.

“Language!” interjected their mother.

“So I can’t swear but she can kick her own sister out of her wedding party? That’s rich!” Lily was on her feet now.

“I haven’t kicked you out, you were never in it! If you had a boyfriend or something it would be different, but you don’t!” Petunia yelled, also on her feet.

“Well you wouldn’t even know if I did since you can’t say two words to me without one of them being ‘freak’!”

“And you can’t say two words without bringing up your witch nonsense! Everything just has to be about you, doesn’t it?”

“Says the most self-absorbed person on the planet!”

“You’ve never shown the slightest bit of interest in my life before now so why would I give a damn about yours,” Petunia spat. “You haven’t even asked me about the wedding once so why should you be in it.”

Lily’s mouth opened but she had lost her voice. She realised that Petunia was right, she hadn’t asked about the wedding at all. Silence hung heavy in the air, both girls breathing heavily. Their mother looked from one to the other, regretting opening her mouth.

Finally Lily stepped back, snatching up the towel from beneath her. She knew she was in the wrong but her stubborn Gryffindor pride refused to let her leave without having the last word.

“Fine, don’t invite me. Just for your information, I do actually have a boyfriend, another freak like me. And he’s twice the man Dursley will ever be,” she said venomously, before stomping back towards the house. She made it all the way up to her bedroom before the tears gathering in her eyes started to fall on her cheeks.

She threw herself down on her bed, scrubbing the tears away from her eyes angrily, unsure whether she was angrier at Petunia for being so heartless or herself for caring about it so much. It was true, she hadn’t asked about wedding planning, she’d never shown any interest in the dull subject of Vernon Dursley. Petunia had just become the exact type of person Lily didn’t like, snooty and materialistic and always talking behind people’s backs. She avoided all conversation with Petunia where she could, always expecting the snide comments of “do your type even have those” and “I guess you must have picked it up in that school”. Why would she want to spend time discussing flower arrangements with a person who looked down on everything Lily did?

And yet, for some reason, she still desperately wanted to be her bridesmaid. She remembered those childhood daydreams of matching princes and matching castles, that had always come with matching weddings and being bridesmaids for each other. That’s what sisters did, right?

With every argument, every snappy retort, every underhanded comment, somewhere inside Lily still hoped that one day her sister would suddenly turn back to the way they were when they were nine - before Lily started jumping off of swings, before Snape showed up, before Petunia’s jealousy made her despise every little thing Lily did. They had really loved being sisters once, had done everything together. Lily had hoped that enough of that love still remained that Petunia would want her sister to be there for her on the biggest day of her life. But apparently not.

Lily tried to ignore the hurt she felt at her sister’s rejection and went to fix her appearance in her bedroom mirror. Classic redhead complexion, she thought self-pityingly, staring at the red blotches on her pink skin. She scrubbed at her eyes once more, taking deep breaths to steady her breathing.

“…But surely this fixes the problem?” A voice floated in through Lily’s ajar window, causing her to creep over and peek out. Petunia and her mother were still below in the garden arguing.

“If the only issue is the symmetry, then this fixes things! You won’t have to worry about the pictures!” their mum said encouragingly.

Petunia seemed less than convinced. “The only thing worse than having an unbalanced wedding party would be having some bloke we’ve never even met show up and ruin things! If he even exists that is, I guarantee she just said that to piss me off.”

Lily ground her teeth, itching to defend herself. Petunia had always had too good a sense for when Lily was making things up. There was no greater delight to her than ratting Lily out to their mum when she tried to cover up something.

“Now don’t be silly Petunia, Lily wouldn’t make up something this important,” their mum admonished. Lily felt a pang of guilt at her mother’s faith in her. “And you can meet him at the dinner, then you’ll be able to see that he’s a lovely boy, I’m sure.”

“He’s not coming to the dinner, I’m not having some freak-”

“Petunia Caroline Evans, I’m sick and tired of hearing you talk about witches and wizards like that. Lily is not a freak, she’s a girl with an interesting talent who has found a group of people like her, including whoever this boyfriend is. Now this is not up for discussion, you will invite Lily AND her boyfriend to the dinner, and you WILL be civil to them.”

“FINE, alright, they can come to the dinner,” Petunia said bitterly. “But if he acts weirdly or Vernon doesn’t like him then I’m not having her as a bridesmaid, I’m not ruining my day.”

“Of course not love, it’s your big day,” said their mum soothingly. “You want to spend it with the people you love. Now how about we go and look over the menu again, you know you weren’t quite settled on the starter.” Lily’s mum’s voice got softer as she led Petunia into the house.

Lily almost smiled, satisfied that she had won out this time. However very quickly her stomach lurched, realising what she had just gotten herself into.

She hadn’t had a boyfriend since 3rd year, when she had a brief puppy love with a 4th year Hufflepuff called David Cooke. She’d had a crush on him for weeks; he’d asked her to Hogsmeade; they had sat in Madam Puddifoot’s for an hour, making awkward small talk, Lily blushing furiously every time they made eye contact; he’d walked her back to the Gryffindor common room, kissing her cheek gently to say goodbye; then she didn’t hear a word from him for two weeks, eventually discovering she’d been dumped when she saw him kissing a Ravenclaw girl in the entrance hall.

The whole experience had put Lily off boyfriends, but not as much as the incessant asking-out that she faced in 5th year from the infuriating James Potter. She’d never met anyone so arrogant, assuming he could get any girl in the school because he was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and one of the school troublemakers. He couldn’t seem to understand why any girl would refuse to go out with him, so for the whole year he had made it his mission to break her will with elaborate proposals, embarrassing declarations of adoration, and constant showing off that only served to further her disgust.

The only good thing to come out of the fight between her, Snape and Potter during their OWLs last year was that Potter had ended all that nonsense. In fact, they’d barely spoken to one another over the past year. He’d shown a surprising level of restraint, not hexing younger students, barely fighting with Slytherins, and not even once did he ask her out to her great joy. However, she was still wary of this apparently reformed Potter, suspicious that at any time his head could re-inflate and bring back the same old toe rag that she hated.

Lily shook thoughts of Potter out of her head, getting back to the issue at hand. Who the hell was she going to bring to the dinner? For that endeavour you want someone reliable, someone who can keep a secret, someone you already have a friendship with-

“Merlin’s beard!” Lily leapt up, running over to her desk, and rummaging in a drawer for a quill. Lupin! He would be perfect! Model boyfriend material. Although she and Remus hadn’t been too close over the majority of their school career, largely due to an arrogant floppy-haired someone who she wanted to hex when he came within 3 feet of her, over the last year they had done Prefect rounds together and discovered they had a lot in common. They started spending even more time together when they partnered up for potions, since Peter didn’t qualify for NEWT level and Lily’s old partner was out of the question. She could probably say Remus was now one of her closest friends at Hogwarts, and definitely the only person she could trust with this task. She sat down and started writing.

Dear Remus,

Hope your holidays are going well. Mine were going swimmingly up until about half an hour ago when I made an absolute arse of myself.

To cut a long story short, I told my sister I had a boyfriend. I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that this was a lie, and a very obvious stupid one at that, but I need a boyfriend to attend a dinner she’s having for all her bridesmaids. Writing it out, I feel even more ridiculous, but please don’t judge me. If you had siblings, you would get it.

I’m writing to you, O wise, kind, and benevolent Remus, to beg for you to help me in this deceit. Please come to the dinner with me on Saturday and pretend to be my boyfriend, just for the night. I just need to convince her to let me be in the wedding, then we can fake breakup our fake relationship (although I would be fake distraught to see you go as I’m sure you would be a fantastic fake boyfriend).

I’ll cover your Prefect rounds whenever you want, I’ll look the other way if you and your friends want to pull a (small and harmless) prank - whatever grovelling you require, I will do. I am on my metaphorical knees here Remus.

Write back as soon as you can. I languish in despair at my own stupidity until then.

Your humble grovelling snivelling slave,

Lily

P.S. Was that enough grovelling? I can do more (grovel grovel grovel)

Lily went over to the other side of the room where her owl Scarlett was snoozing in her cage, hooting blearily at Lily as she opened the door and took her out.

“Wakey wakey, sleepyhead,” Lily whispered, giving her the letter. “Please get this to Remus as fast as you can and I’ll give you a nice treat when you’re back.”

Scarlett nipped her finger in acknowledgement. Lily approached the window and opened it wide, hoping none of the neighbours were looking up as Scarlett flew off in the bright afternoon sun. She really should have waited till dark, but Statute of Secrecy be damned, she had a fake boyfriend to acquire.

***

Chapter 2 here and Chap 3 here!

Further updates posted on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/24289330/chapters/58546243 and FFN at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13591650/1/Lily-Evans-Definitely-Has-a-Boyfriend if you want to read more!

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mariposalass · 5 years

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That One Important Question

Summary: Ron and Hermione have finally tied the knot, but their best man and childhood friend Harry has another surprise for everyone in store.

Notes: It’s the Gingers and Books wedding and the Love Beyond Magic proposal story in one. While not mentioned in this story, Harry and Issa are actually going to have a small intimate wedding back at San Francisco by either late June or early July, sorry folks: it’s their choice not to have a big fat wedding. The ring involved looks like this. A special cameo and shout out to @self-shipping-angel and my good friend from deviantART JENNY-87 with Sayeko, Levi, Erwin, Mike, & Hanji’s and Jenny & Snooper’s guest appearance here.

Setting: A Hotel and a Garden event venue in London, England; March 29, 2019

Tags: A wedding and an engagement in one event, Ginny has an angst-riddled epiphany here, Mari, Jenny, & Sayeko’s worlds will collide, self shipping crossovers, screw some of the senseless Battle of Hogwarts deaths: Fred, Remus, and Tonks are still alive in my SI’s world (and the same can be said for Sayeko’s too)!

“Forever can never be enough for me, To feel like I’ve had long enough with you, Forget the world, we won’t let them see, But there’s one thing to left do, Now that the weight is lifted, Love had surely shifted my way...” - Train, Marry Me

Mari was pacing up and down the hallway of the hotel the wedding party and select guests were staying in London as the preparations of her adopted big brother Harry’s friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger’s wedding were ongoing. She was being nervous about this for months on end due in part of Harry’s unpleasant experience dating Ron’s little and only sister Ginny after the Battle of Hogwarts. Mari has always been wary of Ginny for years as she was the main reason why Harry was scared of dating another woman until her friend and his girlfriend Issa started dating him, changing it in a different direction. Some good friends of their, Jenny and her cat detective husband Snooper, decided to join in the fun more than a week or two ago and the 8 of them traveled on an afternoon United Airlines flight from San Francisco to London a few days ago so Harry get ready for the wedding and spend some time in the city & the Wizarding World there despite some opposition from unsavory wizards and witches in the area.

She, Jenny, Issa, and Kairi had their makeup done earlier and they were already dressed up in simple cocktail dress, just killing time wondering what’s going to happen during the wedding. The previous time Harry went to a Weasley wedding, it ended in a total disaster near the end with Death Eaters haunting him down like it was open season hunting and wrecking havoc in the reception. Today however, it is different: Ron and Hermione won’t have Death Eaters to worry about ruining their big day, and Mari couldn’t be any happier for them and, of course, her big brother being there for them as they will say their vows soon.

As she went by walking frantically, she could overheard a soft gentle voice catching up on her as if it was drawing close to her, “Hello there. Harry had just informed me, Levi, and the rest of the Corps about you and your friends long before today’s event. Are you Mari Tan?”

Mari turned to see that a well-toned woman (approximately Harry’s age) already made for the wedding, dressed in mint, and with lilac hair which reminds her similarly of another of Harry’s friends, Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, who was also invited to the party with her husband (and Harry’s friend/mentor) Remus and their son Teddy, waving back at her. Speechless that someone would know her name despite just meeting for the first time, she had an internal panic attack with little words to speak of before regaining her composure to talk to the lilac haired stranger, “Yes, I am. I’m his adopted little sister to be exact: the Shobe if you want the Hokkien definition. I’ve heard that Ron and Hermione have known you for a long time and Harry shared the same birthday as you. What’s your name please? I can’t call you Miss Jane Doe for long.”

The woman giggled a bit before continuing their talk, “You sure have quite the mouthful of things to say. Actually, I’m married, although I can see why: Levi’s meeting with the guys right now delivering Hermione’s gift to Ron along with the rest of our group.”

“Okay… Apologies for that,” Mari blushed from embarrassment at her mistake of getting the woman’s civil status wrong.

“Don’t feel bad for yourself though, I never knew that Harry have sisters before until he broke the news to a majority of us after the Battle of Hogwarts,” she calmly reassured her, “I can relate to his adoption story too as I was taken in by Hermione’s family as well. Anyway, I’m Sayeko Ackerman, Lieutenant in the Survey Corps. Levi’s both my commander in the Corps and my husband, and we’re also good friends with your brother. I’m also the bridesmaid in the wedding as well.”

“Why, gee thanks!” Mari felt like blushing again before she chatted up a storm again, “We even had another sister in Kairi. She was orphaned like Harry (albeit through different circumstances) as well during the attack of her home realm before coming over to the States and being taken in by our family.”

“Did you just mentioned me, Mari? I heard talking from you and, oh… Hello stranger,” Kairi asked as she dropped in the chat between the two women with Issa, Kirby, and Philip walking up to them when she (and the others) saw her older sister talking to someone they didn’t saw before.

“Hey, Mari. Who’s that lilac haired woman chatting with you?” Issa inquired on her talk buddy.

“Why… This here is Sayeko Ackerman: she’s an old friend of Harry and Hermione’s adopted sister,” she introduced Sayeko to the group.

“Hiii!” Kirby waved back at her with his tiny arms.

“So I see we got some company right now, isn’t it, Mari?” Philip cheekily noticed Mari’s new chat mate in a friendly manner.

“Either way, I’m Kairi, Harry’s other adopted sister,” the youngest of the siblings introduced herself to Sayeko.

Issa went next and continued the intros, “I’m Isabelle Miravelez, but please call me Issa. I’m dating your friend Harry for nearly 10 years soon by September.”

“Oh wow, that’s nice to know. I do remember that he wasn’t in good terms with Ginny these days, though amendments are on their way for sure,” Sayeko nodded back.

“Kaa-bii! Kabi, Kabi, Kabi!” Kirby squeaked in joy as he jumped up and down on the floor.

“And I’m Philip Hamilton,” Philip greeted back politely, “Your friend had accidentally brought back me back from the dead with another friend’s tablet two months ago.”

Sayeko’s eyes grew wide in shock upon hearing those words coming from Philip’s mouth, her hair and eyes changed color accordingly to that emotion before regaining her sense and replied back, “Erm… I don’t really know how to react to this properly without freaking out; I honestly don’t recall Harry bringing someone back from the dead, let alone by accident, until what happened to you months ago. I do apologize if I acted inappropriately to your situation right now.”

“Oh no, it’s fine, Sayeko, we’ve moved on from it nowadays,” he reassured her as her normal blue eyes and lilac hair returned back to normal, “Even Ron and Hermione were surprised as well since they weren’t with us when it happened. They only knew when we met them up via video chat on my birthday last January.”

“And they too recovered from the shock as well?” Sayeko asked about the soon-to-be-married couple’s reactions to which Mari nodded back as a reply when two more joined their little talk.

“Hey guys, we just heard you guys talking to… Oh hello!” Snooper came in as he and Jenny walked towards them to the lobby when the couple saw Sayeko was with them.

“So you guys must be Mari’s friends as well?” the lilac-haired Survey Corps lieutenant asked them out of curiosity.

“We sure are, Jenny and Issa have been best friends since the latter to moved to the States years ago,” Snooper replied back.

“That’s nice to hear about,” Sayeko replied, “It’s like we’re in a small world right now: knowing each other through some mutual connections.”

“No kidding,” Mari gasped with joy when Issa was checking on her phone, noting the time it was displaying.

“Well, we should better be going to the venue soon, don’t want to be late, do we?” she reminded the group, putting her eyes away from the phone for a short while.

“You’re on that point, Issa, we need to get going, though we better get Levi, Erwin, Mike, and Hanji quickly before they get left out here,” Sayeko agreed as the group headed out to find Sayeko’s husband and their friends.

“Poyo!” Kirby squeaked.

The venue where Ron and Hermione’s wedding, a garden with a gazebo as the centerpiece, is being held at was decorated rather simply but quaint enough to hold the amount of guests their families invited, though it would’ve been too cramped for their own good than expected hadn’t Mrs. Weasley had some self control on who to invite. Lanterns lined the aisle, bunches of yellow and white flowers were tied up to the first chair at the both sides: the mood has been set to get people ready for the day two individuals will tie the knot. Mari sat down with Kairi, Issa, Kirby, Jenny, Snooper, and Philip by her side, waiting for the event to start; right behind were the Survey Corps folks in Levi, Mike, Erwin, and Hanji who waved back at them, and even the mostly stoic Levi gave them a shy noticeable smile to boot: Sayeko had to leave earlier in a separate vehicle with the rest of the bridal party.

She can also spy with her own chocolate brown eyes some of the Golden Trio’s friends like Neville Longbottom who waved back at her and has brought along a date with him, Remus and Tonks whose their boy Teddy the ring bearer who ran around the venue out of boredom (only for Remus to pick him up to get ready with the rest of the wedding party), Hagrid and Olympe Maxime were also present when they spotted Mari and mouthed out a hello which she accepted, Xenophilius Lovegood was also present while his daughter (and the Golden Trio’s friend) Luna was with the bridal party, and Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting in front of her and her group.

Some of Ron’s siblings were there too such as Charlie coming back from Romania and Percy with his pregnant wife Audrey, though Bill and Fleur were not in the area just yet as they were busy trying to prevent their girls Victoire and Dominique from having flower girl meltdowns, Ginny was a bridesmaid, and the twins Fred & George were the groomsmen. There is even Viktor Krum who still remains Hermione’s pen pal and greeted her earlier when the guests were starting to enter the place, as well as a partially scarred Lavender Brown who has finally made amends with the couple previously a few years ago.

As the last few guests sat down, the music began to play out in the background and the procession began: Ron’s parents and Hermione’s mom sat down in the first row of seats, Ron walked down next, then came the groomsmen (Fred, George, and Harry) and bridesmaids (Sayeko, Luna, and Ginny) as they walked down the altar as pairs, dressed rather casually in white dress shirts, mint ties, gray slacks, & leather dress shoes and mint dresses respectively. Teddy toddled behind with the rings on his guard with Victoire and Dominque tossing flower all over the place as their parents assisted them in any way possible. There is a brief moment of silence before it gave way to the bride Hermione, dressed in a simple ivory dress with subtle bead work on the bodice, and her father by her side walking down from the steps of the main event building to share this tearful moment.

Issa swore that she can see tears running down from the eyes of all parties, but none so much outside the parents and Harry as the bride and her father walked toward the gazebo where Ron and the minister officiating awaited with the bridal party stand by each side of the gazebo. Soon Hermione broke away from her father as she continued her journey down the aisle until she finally reached the gazebo with Ron reaching out his left hand for her to grasp onto and her father sat down with the mom.

With that part ended, the minister then began his part, speaking up, “Dearly beloved, we’re all gathered here today to witness a union of two persons, Ronald and Hermione, as one. The two would like to thank you all for coming here today. Many have came near and far to be their witnesses to this special moment, as well as they are remembering those who can’t be with them today, they too played a special part of their lives...”

While the minister went about his talk to the couple, Mari was more concerned with any possible moment of Ginny possibly hurting her brother in any way, her eyes aiming at her like a sharp-eyed hawk: if she had her own way, she would undeniably punch that red-haired brat in a heart’s beat should Ginny decided to stop playing nice for the couple’s sake and Harry’s sanity. So far, she’s behaving rather well and Mari hoped that it will stayed that way for the rest of the day: all the worries went on a halt though when the minister took a moment to pause before informing the guests the next part of the event, “I may ask the couple to have some words to say to each other as they begin the next chapter of their lives.”

Hermione went first, bringing out a long piece of paper from what seems to be out of nowhere, and despite said paper’s long length, her vows were short, sweet, and straight to the point as she read out her vows to Ron, which left the red-haired groom bursting tears of joy upon hearing the words from her mouth. When Ron’s turn came, he couldn’t help fighting back the tears as he mustered up the courage to speak up, with being nervous choking him a bit. Nevertheless, he still managed to pull it through that part, and his words further warmed Hermione’s heart more.

“Now, can we have the Matron of Honour and the Best Man bring forth the ribbons for the handfasting?” the minster called out, alerting Sayeko and Harry to bring out a small box and open the lid, revealing two satin ribbons: one being mint and the other yellow.

“With these ribbons as the symbol of your souls being intertwined together, you have made the promise to be there for each other even at your darkest moments, to support each other’s endeavours, and to help each other for better or for worse,” the minister spoke to the couple as Harry and Sayeko wrapped the ribbons onto their hands: Harry tying the mint ribbon on Hermione’s and Sayeko wrapping Ron’s hand with the yellow ribbons, once they were done, he concluded this part, saying, “Let this bond between the two of you never break, nor should conflicts get the best of you. Now, onto the rings.”

Teddy walked up to his godfather Harry with his dad assisting him in carrying the wedding rings, both in gold and previously Ron’s parents’ bands, as Sayeko assisted in taking out the ribbons from her soon-to-be brother in law and her adopted sister: Harry then picked up the rings and passed it on with the minister who then gave the couple each a ring. Hermione has Ron’s ring on her hands and slipped it into his ring finger; Ron has her wedding band on his hand and he too slipped it into her ring finger, on top of her ruby engagement ring.

“Is anyone here not wanting to acknowledge this marriage now?” the minister questioned the crowd, only to get no rebuttals, he then turned to the couple and say, “Very well: I may now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Ronald, you can finally...”

He didn’t get to finish his words when he noticed Ron and Hermione already locking lips and kissing each other, knowing that the ceremony is finally concluded and they were aware that people were getting to become bored and hangry at any moment. The crowd cheered on as the couple made their way out to have some down time to sink in the feelings and the reality that they are now a married couple.

At the reception hall at the garden not far from the ceremony area, it was now lunch time and people were settling in for the party: both Ron and Hermione had settled onto their seats, choosing not to dance for they knew that Ron couldn’t survive the dance floor on two left feet; everyone began to dig in the food served in family style: chatting while taking a few bites at a time. Mari and her group were seated along with the Survey Corps. right besides the dance floor, whereas Sayeko and Harry were seated at the bridal party table. They shared stories about their lives and how Harry essentially brought them all together, albeit it took so long to finally to meet each other. Levi even told Issa that her name had reminded him of an old friend he and Sayeko used to know from Wall Maria who perished a long time ago, which she was blushed at the coincidences.

The guests were finishing lunch and Jenny, Snooper, & Philip was entertaining Kirby when Erwin did brought up one question to Mari over something he and the Survey Corps remembered seeing that morning, “Mari, I was wondering: why is your brother keeping a box in the pocket of his pants?”

“Well, Erwin: He dragged me, Kairi, Ron, Hermione, and Kirby into a shopping spree in New York last December; he didn’t want to explain himself over this thing,” she answered to the concerned Survey Corps. commander.

“Same here: when we met up with him earlier at the hotel, he didn’t want to spill the beans to us either,” Hanji agreed as she adjusted her eyeglasses a bit.

“Yeah, that’s true, Hanji. Harry has his lips sealed when we asked him over the box in his pocket situation earlier this morning,” Mike added in before taking another sip of water.

“Even if he’s a my godbrother, Harry doesn’t want to tell me anything about that box since you guys arrived in London. He isn’t that secretive all the time,” Levi sighed, “What is he hiding right now?”

“He has been hiding something inside of the box for months,” Issa explained.

“Geez, I wish I know what is in his head...” Mari sighed.

“Me too, sis,” Kairi nodded in agreement before she mumbled about a weird scenario, “Can you imagine him stepping on the center of the dance floor and asking Issa for a dance, with the box in his pocket?”

“Kairi, please don’t bring up too much...” Mari was cut off from her talk when Harry took to the stage and began to speak up nervously through the microphone, “Uh, excuse me. I just had something to announce today. I know this is weird to put a hold to a wedding, but this is really urgent.”

“Oh God, did I predicted something?” Kairi whispered to the group.

“So what’s next then?” Philip asked as he, the Snoopers, and Kirby finally took notice of the move.

“I would like to ask Isabelle Miravelez to come over to the dance floor, because I have something to ask her right now,” Harry then clarified the nature of the impending announcement and asked for Issa’s presence.

“Me, me?” Issa was even more confused as she proceed to walk up to the floor while Snooper brought out his video camera to capture the moment unfolding.

“Ohhh… Do I think this moment is coming?” Jenny’s eye began to well up in tears of anticipation, which further confused Mari further.

All eyes were glued to Harry and Issa as he then pulled out the velvet box from his pants pocket and finally spoke to his long-time Filipino girlfriend for nearly a decade in, “Well, Issa. It finally comes to this: being stared at by confused people in a wedding of all places. When my sister Mari first introduced me to you, I wasn’t in a good place at the time with all the troubles I went through in troubleshooting a failing relationship and I came out of it even worse after that June day over hot water of the figurative and literal kind.”

The last words alarmed Ginny in the heart: she knew deep in her heart that she had pursued the Boy Who Lived, or rather, an idealized version of him much longer than Issa did with the real guy, only for the two to crash and burn, and sank down to her seat further in shame. Tears were escaping her eyes, threatening to damage her eye makeup, as Harry continued his speech, “I didn’t think then that she will bring us together and I was too scared to fall in love again, yet here we are almost 10 years later. The time we have together isn’t all sunshine and rainbows with jealous exes, people thinking that we’re off our heads in this inter-fandom relationship, having petty ‘fights’ here and there, and even having doubts ourselves if we made the right decision to push through with it. And yet, we managed to grow with time and learning to accept each other, and loving each other unconditionally.”

She didn’t know why, but Mari could feel tears running down her cheeks. Now the librarian wasn’t too sure if she is happy or sad then, but she was too engrossed with the speech to care, and the same applied with Kairi who was now shedding tears as well and Philip, despite not having a clue of what’s going on to his defense, who quietly shed tears. The Snoopers were bracing for that one moment to come, feeling it is about to happen any time now, while Kirby, being a little puffball, was at awe at the moment, jumping up and down in excitement. The Survey Corps, including Levi who couldn’t help but to smile in advance, were also drawn to the speech that continued in as Harry went down on his right knee, taking a deep breath and giving himself a little pep talk, “Alright, Harry. This is it: you’re really going to do this...”

The plot then thickened when he finally opened the box that he had been hiding from most people for nearly 4 months, inside there was a dainty thin gold ring holding a small central midnight blue sapphire, which is flanked by 4 smaller diamonds and 2 small pearls on each side (2 diamonds to 1 pearl). Ohs and ahs filled the room as eyes took notice of the mystery ring Harry has on his hands. Issa couldn’t keep her composure stable as she gasped at the sight of the ring, cupping her mouth with her hands in shock, people were bracing themselves. Relieved that she reacted to it positively, he got the chance to pop that one important question, “Isabelle Miravelez: will you marry me?”

It took her such a long time to pull herself together and compose her thoughts, but sensing the full sincere thoughts her wizard boyfriend has and how serious he was with the proposal (as the big surprise as it was), but Issa couldn’t wait any more to give a quick, “Ay naku, Harry! I’m in a loss of words now. I have no idea why you hid that ring from me for this long, but you know what? I’m really going to accept it! So it’s a yes!”

The star news writer wrapped her arms around Harry tightly as many guests gushed and enjoyed the moment. The Tans, Philip, the Snoopers, Kirby, the Survey Corps, & Ron and Hermione finally understood the surprise Harry was able to hide: after all those nearly 10 years, he has come to accept that he was really heads over heels for Issa no matter what his younger self thought of then. Yes, he can be a hot mess at times (more so in his teen years), but he’s way better than he was when he came out of a toxic relationship with Ginny. Issa knew she didn’t have magic powers compared to her half-blood beau and the 2 pureblood exes he dated, but it didn’t matter at all: she was the shining light that he was looking for aside from his adopted sisters and there is nothing that can break them apart.

As Harry placed the ring on Issa’s left ring finger, Mari could hear cheers from the guests present. Sayeko and Levi cheered in joy, happy to know that their friend has finally gotten his happy ending; Mike gave Erwin and Hanji a big hug while screaming his heart off in happiness, while Philip did his best to keep his composure intact as he wiped his tears away. Meanwhile, Jenny and Snooper sent out in a sigh of relief with Ron and Hermione tearing up in joy, finally getting to see their friends getting engaged, Kirby squeaked in joy as he happily danced about in his famous Kirby Dance, and Kairi gave Mari a loving hug, knowing that their brother is going to settle down soon. She even saw the looks of happiness and pride in the Lupins, the Lovegoods, Neville, Hagrid, and Mr. & Mrs. Weasley’s faces too. The same can be said for Fred & George, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy (although the latter 2 didn’t want to let that be obvious).

And yet, Mari can hear something else too: it was sobbing from the bridal party table and she turned around to see Ginny slumped onto the table and crying her eyes off, murmuring in gibberish she couldn’t decipher. She guessed that the Weasley girl was regretting turning Harry off and pushed him away from her for so long that their relationship has become irreparable. Not even magic could save her from the years of despising him, she wept. For once, the librarian felt some sympathy for the girl who broke her brother’s heart, but it was sadly too late for both women to make some form of reconciliation on the red-haired woman’s part: almost 10 years too late… Ginevra Molly Weasley was a hot mess of regret, anger, and yearning in the inside.

The End

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ontheoddoccasioniwritestuff · 6 years

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Complementary (Collins x OC) Chapter 34: Vows

Summary: Nearly a year, Genevieve and Jack have been together; their big day is finally here.

AN: Thank you for being patient!

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Awaking alone after almost a year of the opposite was a strange feeling. Genevieve stretched languidly in the unfamiliar bed. Once up and out, which took a few seconds contemplation, she rehearsed her physiotherapy. The culmination of months of work. She was unsure about whether she should rehearse her walk a little more lest she push herself too far.

Then her sister arrived and the calm was broken.

“Why haven’t you come down for breakfast yet?” Lilly squeaked, “Big day!”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Genevieve mumbled, longing to collapse back into bed. Later, she remembered the one lump in the mattress directly underneath her back and the desire faded.

A hearty breakfast was laid out across the table. Genevieve didn’t think she could stomach it. There was a hint of sickness in her stomach for a last minute invite had gone out and she’d been somewhat regretting it since she dropped it through the post box slot. No mention of it was discussed with Jack, something she was regretting even more. But at least she would find out the result in a few hours. Fucking hell, a few hours.

Felt like longer as she ate, washed herself and slipped into her freshly washed dressing gown. Lilly could be heard downstairs with her son and husband, chaperoning them about to go

Genevieve did her own hair and makeup. Her “bridal” team was merely a formality, the women of the immediate families. They were getting ready downstairs at her request. But that didn’t stop them from occasionally poking their head around the door and squeaking something before dashing back downstairs to relate to the crew what her current status was. The only assistance she required was getting dressed. The dress was tighter than before but not so much for it to become uncomfortable. The issue was the buttons that lined her spine. Her mother helped her out there and Genevieve spent the next few minutes thinking about Jack without distraction.

He was in a small hotel function room with the few chairs in rows already filled with the guests, stood at the makeshift altar with his best mate Farrier and his brother Toby at his side. This was something he’d thought about briefly in his early RAF days, marrying Farrier in near matching suits. But now that couldn’t be further from what he wanted.

“Fifteen minutes, still time to make a break for it,” Toby whispered.

“So you can have Ginny? No chance,” Jack let out a laugh.

“Damn, you saw through my cunning plan,” Toby snapped his fingers before leaning in to whisper, “How’d you know she’s not already waiting for me in the car?”

“Helluva woman,” Farrier broke in and the two men glanced at him, “Marrying helluva guy. You’d be ridiculous if you thought one of these kids would leave the other at the altar.”

“You mean the collapsible table,” Toby snarked as Jack flushed at the compliment before busying himself with his mother sat in the front row.

“Eh, same difference,” Toby shrugged.

A collapsible table, no bridesmaids or over the top procession, just their nearest and dearest watching the ceremony and coming for the wedding breakfast. Simple, limited attention, despite Cora’s best attempts to “give them the wedding they deserved” which might have featured doves and fireworks. All that was missing was the bride.

She was nearly outside, tightly gripping the bouquet in the back seat of the car that was stuck in mild traffic. The end of today couldn’t come sooner.

Finally, Tony parked the car in his reserved spot, outside the hotel. He skipped around to open the door for her. She stepped out, feeling the heat of late July prickle her legs. Thank goodness she wasn’t in heels.

“God, I’m gonna fall over,” Genevieve muttered as she glanced at her cane left in the backseat of the car.

“I’m here, pickle,” Tony took her arm, perfect father of the bride, “Squeeze if you need more support.”

“Hello, Aunty Gem,” James beamed at her with shining cleanliness. It disgusted them both so Genevieve tousled his hair a little. Lilly sighed at this but passed James the box with rings in them, ushering him after his father.

“He just wanted to say hello,” She excused, swallowing before she finished, “I don’t think I’ll have to kick Jack. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, so do you,” Genevieve tried not to duck her head with the compliment, “Is everyone in? Uh, I don’t suppose you’ve seen an old man and his son come by. You wouldn’t know them.”

“No, why?”

Genevieve restrained a sigh. Of course they wouldn’t be coming. An invitation and the first letter in three years explaining all was not enough to convince two strangers to be at the wedding.

“Just wondering, don’t worry.”

That disappointment was replaced by the worry she assured others about, a spike of anxiety, one that also met with Jack. He stopped talking to the notary when James trotted down the aisle, clutching a small box and singing loudly that “they’re coming”. Lilly then quickly entered, repeating what her son had said before taking her seat beside her mother. An unorthodox beginning to the ceremony but that was the way with him and Genevieve.

His back was where she would appear and it stayed that way as he heard the door open. But he couldn’t stand it much longer and risked a peek for the first time in a day – that might have been a year. Jack wasn’t surprised, but still felt the full impact, that she looked so utterly radiant. In a dress that was simply a sleeveless, white polka dot version of his favourite and she was so far away – a whole twenty five feet. When she started moving towards him, his hand came over the right side of his face before pressing into his cheek to hide his tears. It didn’t work at all. Then he saw her left hand holding her cane, the last time that her finger would be bare, and he was gone, crushing his sobs and his laughter into his palm then closing it into a fist.

Very nearly did Genevieve fall to the same fate. She knew that Jack wasn’t going to be in his RAF uniform and thank goodness because he was so much more attractive in a kilt. The hand that occupied the bouquet was looped through her father’s arm; she had nothing to hide her smile behind. It only made her more beautiful.

After what seemed like hours, Genevieve reached the altar and, out of her bouquet, she pulled out a folded hankie. A wave of murmured laughter rolled through the room, Jack joining in as it was passed it to him.

“Thanks, love,” He dabbed his eyes dry.

Genevieve bit her lip which did nothing to hide her smirk, “Don’t mention it.”

With his tears mopped away, Jack tucked the hankie up his sleeve and the notary began the service. Genevieve kept checking Jack in the corner of her eye. It was hard to look away from such a vision. Occasionally she caught him looking too and they shared a smile.

If there were any objections to the ceremony, everyone held their peace – apart from Toby, who conveniently cleared his throat after this was made known. Proceeding, the notary signalled for James to bring the rings to her. He did so with immense pride. His smile looked as though it would fall from his face as he passed them over. Genevieve and Jack shared that respect as they each recited the vows with their names inserted to that chain of words. Jack went first and he beamed at finally learning Genevieve’s middle name, then came Genevieve who already knew his from grilling him about the subject months before.

A new ring sat on their left hands and it was with bubbling giddiness that such words were spoke: “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Already, Genevieve had her arms around Jack’s neck so all that was needed was a gentle dip of Jack’s head for them to seal the deal. Clapping from around the room echoed into the distance as they pulled away and smiled at one another.

“Hello, husband,” Genevieve whispered, rubbing her nose against his before cutting off his reply with: “Do you have any briefs on? I’ve wanted to ask since I saw the kilt.”

“Well,” Jack raised a brow with what was meant to be a smirk but ended up being a gleeful grin, “You’re not supposed to. It’s tradition.”

“Really?” Genevieve said disbelievingly, yet she was still smiling.

Jack’s glow shifted from dusty pink to fuchsia, “No scants under these petticoats.”

The pair giggled like children at the thought of going commando and kissed again.

“You bought the cottage then?” Tony asked. Genevieve naturally rolled her eyes because of his tone. Even on her wedding day, he was interrogating her partner. Still, it couldn’t be helped and he wouldn’t sway her mind or heart.

“Yes, we managed to get that set of paperwork sorted out before this one,” Jack patted her hand in her lap and brushed his fingertips over her ring.

Ethel then jumped in, “So no honeymoon?”

“No honeymoon, but plenty of time off to ourselves, plenty of furniture to build,” Genevieve sighed, causing the table to snicker. In all honesty, spending time setting up their house to however they wanted, alone, was a perfect honeymoon in her eyes.

Dinner arrived and everyone continued conversation between mouthfuls. Genevieve and Jack barely parted contact, their hands returning to one another as if the rings were magnet and iron. Not that Jack would have minded if they were because a fad during the war, popularised by the absence from loved ones, meant that he could wear this token of affection and commitment. He could not be happier to wear one.

Despite holding prior knowledge of minimal speeches being a part of this ceremony, Farrier finished his dinner, downed his drink, then launched into his retelling of, when he first met him in RAF training, Collins being a skinny little bastard with knobbly knocking knees and a naïve smile that would not see the light of day once he started drill work.

Feeling the tranquilising effects of the alcohol, Genevieve pushed back her chair and leant over to Jack, “I need a quick break.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Jack asked, throwing a glance at Farrier finally taking a seat.

“No thanks, you stay,” Genevieve assured.

She then excused herself from the table and those seated at it, heading over to the back garden’s entrance. Passing the notary leaving the function room opposite, Genevieve stepped outside. It was a pleasant little section enclosed in the centre of the building and completely empty. Stretching her arms upwards, Genevieve linked her fingers and cracked her knuckles upwards with a deep inhale. The smell of the flowers dotted about in pots soothed any other anxiety she felt in that moment.

“Sorry we’re late.”

Genevieve turned to the voice and saw Mr Dawson removing his hat with a smile as he finished, “I saw you heading out here. Thought I’d catch you.”

A little stunned and almost lost for words, Genevieve nodded. Then she found those words: “No worries. We’re just having drinks, would you like to join us?”

“No thank you. I’m driving. I don’t trust Peter with my car just yet.”

“Peter?” Then the man himself appeared as if he were waiting to be named dropped before making an appearance. Of course he wasn’t still wearing the red jumper she’d seen him in six years ago. He was dressed in a casual suit like his father, minus the hat, and he looked so much older.

“I should slap you for not writing back, you cheeky bastard,” She joked. Luckily, Peter saw the levity in her statement and his body language slacked into relaxation.

“How are you both?” She continued, “Still sailing?”

“Try and stop us, every weekend.” Peter looked to his dad to see if he had any input on the small talk. But Mr Dawson was looking indoors, through a window. Jack was rocking back and forth with laughter in his chair at something Karen had said across the table. Genevieve could see that no one else thought it so funny and that Jack didn’t care about that.

“I can go get him,” Genevieve offered but Mr Dawson cut her off.

“No, that’s alright.”

There were tears in the old man’s eyes and Genevieve suddenly remembered that Jack was RAF like Mr Dawson’s eldest son. She felt rather stupid for not recalling this sooner and fidgeted with her hands. Filling the silence, Peter cleared his throat.

“We can’t stay. We just wanted to come and say congratulations,” He tugged on his coat sleeve before stepping forward and offering his hand for her to shake. Instead, Genevieve opened her arms for a hug and Peter graciously accepted, though he had to bend over a little bit.

“You got taller, I swear,” She mumbled over his shoulder forgetting that he was only a few years younger than her.

“Skinnier, actually,” and there was a hint of a smile on his face when he pulled back.

“Yeah, well, make sure you eat your crusts,” Genevieve quoted her sister’s mantra to James, “Get some hairs on your chest.”

The smile widened as he backed away, moving towards the reception. Mr Dawson and Genevieve followed, a few feet behind him so that they could talk too.

“He rather fancied you,” Mr Dawson muttered with a sly smile.

“I won’t say anything,” Genevieve promised, “Is he alright though?”

“He’s doing very well.” Mr Dawson halted, looking like he was struggling to say something. Genevieve kept the silence a little longer to let him figure it out. Slowly he took Genevieve’s left hand in his then gave it a careful pat.

“I’m glad that, if anyone was to survive the war, it was you two.”

Suddenly swamped with the possibility of crying, something she vowed not to do, Genevieve swallowed thickly, “You too. Thank you for coming.”

She walked with him through the reception and out the front, Peter at the far right side of the street where they were parked. Staying by the door, Genevieve watched them climb in. She didn’t notice Jack joining her side until he tapped her shoulder.

“You alright, love?”

“Just waving a guest off,” She said quietly. Jack followed her line of sight, brows furrowed until he saw Mr Dawson place his hat back on his head before getting into his car. The couple stared with one astonished expression and one of tearful happiness as the car pulled out and drove past their venue, honking the horn with an arm out the window waving at them.

“Let’s go back to our reception,” Genevieve said, taking his hand and leading the flabbergasted Jack indoors.

The rest of the day was a blur. At some point, Genevieve picked out a rosebud, free of thorns, from her bouquet and tucked it behind Jack’s ear. He was a little tipsy on the fact that it was his wedding – and the champagne that his brother Toby had ordered. He was giggling at James who was screwing up his face in disgust after a sip. The cake arrived and naturally Jack and Genevieve tossed each other pieces of cake into their respective mouths as opposed to smashing a piece onto their cheek. Farrier was all for that however and did it to both of them. James was about to join in but then the in-laws intervened, preventing an all out food fight.

“Sweet like you,” Jack had said after kissing off some of the icing from Genevieve’s cheeks. So naturally, she licked his cheek in return.

The families dispersed once the cake was doled out and the newlyweds were shown to their room by the concierge who had brought their single bag up earlier for them. It was a beautiful room. A double bed in the centre, an en-suite to the side, it was lavish with plump pillows, oak furniture that all matched, and lit up with a soft yellow glow from lamps dotted about. Money well spent, even if it was just one night.

“So, I suggest we take all the complimentary shampoos and soaps and biscuits,” Genevieve took off one of her shoes and sighed in the relief she felt, free from its pinching grasp. Once the other shoe was off, she flopped on the bed and sighed again, smiling broadly at Jack who was lingering in the doorway, undoing his tie after hanging up his jacket.

“Come here, you,” She beckoned with a pat on the space beside her.

Doggedly, Jack quickly kicked off his shoes and tugged off his hose. He landed next to Genevieve with a little leap onto the bed. Her hand curled around to cup his face that was smiling back at her, especially as he felt the new addition of her wedding ring comfort his skin. She then wriggled closer, her cheek snuggled into his shoulder.

After tracing across her arm for a few moments quietude, Jack rested his hand atop hers and said softly, “I can only think of one instance where you’ve been more beautiful than you are now.”

“Oh yeah?” Genevieve said teasingly although her cheeks alerted Jack that she was flattered at such a remark. He hummed to draw it out a little before he decided to finish his thought.

“When I saw you for the first time after the war was over,” He said as his chest swelled with remembering their intense and joyous reunion, his smile aching on his face, “A sight for sore eyes if there ever was one. It felt like that again, when I saw you at the end of the aisle.”

For once, Genevieve didn’t tell him to shut up. Instead she pushed up and kissed him, short but sweet. She then sat up but kept her back to him, talking over her shoulder:

“Help me out of this please? I want to lie down comfortably with my husband.”

Jack let out an eager giggle, hoping that she would catch on that he liked when she called him “her husband”. Such a lovely title he never thought he would be appointed and yet here he was, helping his wife out of her wedding attire. Well. He was trying to help anyway.

“I love the polka dots but God there’s so many buttons!” He grunted, fingers fumbling over them in an attempt to release her.

“I know, it’s ridiculous,” Genevieve groaned, “There should be a hook on the dressing table.”

There was and it aided Jack in popping them out. Jack tensed as the dress slacked, contrasting with Genevieve’s sigh of relief. It wasn’t a very tight bodice but movement was heavily restricted in such a device. The sigh was clearly held in from the moment she put it on. The sigh was also very obvious in displaying the comfort she found with Jack. They shared baths, for goodness sake.

Jack suddenly leapt for the drawer, “Wait!” Then he yanked out an envelope, “Vows!”

Neither of them wanted to disclose these vows; they were personal and their families did not have to be witness for these vows to mean something. So they decided to include them in the wedding but when they were alone. Now.

Dress still holding most of its position against her body, Genevieve retrieved her own envelope from the plant pot and dusted off the soil that clung to it.

“You wanna go first or me?”

“You go first.”

Shuffling on his feet, Jack cleared his throat then spoke, “You make me so much better with your awful taste in tea and your quips so I vow to celebrate you every day, in ups and downs and whatever direction you feel you’re going, I’ll be there take make us the ultimate team.”

Then he said at a quicker pace, “I also vow to dance with you at least once a week because I know you secretly love it.”

Genevieve shook her head as it dropped, hiding the eye roll in sheepishness, “You cheated; we said one each.”

“I know but I can’t really pin down how I wanna treasure you in one single vow. You’re lucky that was the only two.”

Wrinkling her nose at him, Genevieve rubbed it against Jack’s that was screwed up in solidarity, “I love it, and I love you.”

“I love you too. Your turn!”

She copied his technique and coughed to ease the lump in her throat then started reading off the paper, “Something you told me a few months ago: ‘you are my normal.’ You do not know how much those words mean to me. It wasn’t really the moment I knew I loved you for there are plenty of those. It was the moment where I knew you were the one for me; you were as committed as I was in spite of everything. I vow to make you feel as safe and as loved as I did when you told me that, because you are my normal too.”

There were no words to say back to that. All Jack could muster was hugging Genevieve tightly. Their breathing synced up, grips loosened, emotions settling down, the couple found themselves swaying. It was a first dance they could both get behind. Until Jack started humming a nauseatingly familiar tune that made Genevieve laugh more as he spun her out with a dramatic flair.

“We have a radio!” She reminded him, “Not that I don’t appreciate your gorgeous vocal chords.”

“Ok, first song that plays will be our song.” Once in agreement, Jack side-stepped to the wireless and switched it on. After fiddling with the tuner for a few seconds, Genevieve sighed loudly whilst Jack beamed as the very same song began to play.

“I didn’t even plan that!” Jack squeaked with excitement, drawing back to his wife and offering his hand, “May I have the pleasure of the first dance with you?”

“You may,” Genevieve said with a sigh that was meant to come across as reluctant due to the song choice. However, it appeared more whimsical as if she was about to be swept off her feet. She settled for that; it was more accurate to how she felt.

Their foreheads connected as Genevieve placed her hands on Jack’s shoulders, his already on her waist. Kisses intermingled with soft laughter. A hand swept through Jack’s hair and Genevieve’s fingers then curled underneath the bootlace that held her old tags, toying with the knot that rested below the back of his hairline. His were still hanging around her neck. Her fingertips grazed the nape of his neck caused Jack to shiver with delight for at the back of his mind, near those fingertips, lingered a reminder of the final tradition of a wedding: the first evening together as husband and wife.

It was as if Genevieve could read his thoughts for she touched his face tenderly with concern in her expression and he leant into it, eyes closing at her gentle palm on his cheek

“You know we don’t have to do anything tonight. I know you love me and you know I love you. It’s not the be all and end all.”

“I know,” Jack said with a hint of relief as he opened his eyes, “But I want to. Do you want to?”

“I do too.”

“I-” He was cut off by Genevieve’s stomach gurgling loudly and she went a darker shade of pink as he commented: “Hungry?”

They giggled as Genevieve’s tummy gurgled some more to answer for her. She didn’t have to say it was nerves; they already knew that. To shut him up, Genevieve leaned over, switched off the wireless.

“Are you alright?” She asked. She needed to hear that he was alright, especially since he started staring past her for a moment.

“Sorry,” Jack excused when he came back to Earth, shaking his head a little. A strand of hair fell into his forehead as a memory of December came to mind. He fidgeted with the scratching material of his kilt as he glanced at the bed then back to Genevieve. There was a nervous laugh with his next sentence: “I only know what I’m doing in theory.”

“I’m with you there,” Genevieve said, taking his hands away from the wool.

It wasn’t that Jack expected her to be a virgin too but he was still a tad surprised at their shared experience, “So you’ve never…”

She shook her head, “No, not with a man.”

Ah. Jack nodded, accepting the connotations of that revelation, “That’s ok; I’ve never done it with a man either.”

The pair burst into giggles and suddenly it occurred to them that this didn’t have to be such a serious affair like every eavesdropped conversation or snippet of gossip had told them. It could be whatever they wanted. And all tension dropped from their bodies.

Leaning his forehead back against hers with an uncontrollable smile, his voice teeming with joy, Jack said, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” She replied, punctuating her words with kisses, “So. Damn. Much.”

Lightheaded, Jack reciprocated. He tried to pull off his waistcoat, but he did so with such haste that he ended up getting his elbow stuck where his arm once was. Genevieve didn’t realise for a bit, simply petting his hair to placate his eagerness, but then she caught sight of his half T-Rex impression and start laughing again.

“You can slow down, my love,” She helped him out of his predicament, “Can’t rush these things.”

“I’m just excited,” Jack said, sounding ever so slightly out of breath.

“Me too.” Genevieve found herself experiencing the same symptoms as Jack started to unbutton his shirt, placing a hand on his chest as she continued, “But we have all night. All week.” Jack nodded, understanding what she meant. Honestly, he didn’t want to rush either. So he kissed her again, more gentle, appreciating the present moment where Genevieve was touching the sliver of skin available from his shirt’s now plunging neckline.

Taking a deep breath, Genevieve pulled away and held up the hook between their faces, “Now, get me out of this dress.”

Everything Tag: @tomgcsglasses and @scottishlowden

Dunkirk Tag: @lowdenglynnstyles, @kgcurtis30, @carneylowdenwhitehead, @theres-no-paradise, @blondeeee-e, @luleraina, @starryrevelations and @orphan-with-a-stutter

Jack Lowden Tag: @musicallisto, @adriennelenoir, @lowdensnose, @from-the-clouds, @johannalauraaa and @lowdenfanpage

Complementary Tag: @you-are-the-first-dream, @disneydirectioner, @lavidademarimar, @sweetsugarhoneyfics and @prettyboytgc

#collins imagine #collins series #collins x oc #collins dunkirk #collins x reader #jack lowden #jack lowden imagine #jack lowden series #jack lowden x oc #jack lowden x reader #my writing #dunkirk #dunkirk series #dunkirk imagine #wc: 1k-#r: female #complementary

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mythsofmodern · 4 years

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Lily J. Evans Potter

Lily J. Evans was born to Mr and Mrs Evans, two Muggles of the Evans family, on 30 January, 1960. Her family lives in Cokeworth, England. She has an older sister named Petunia, whom she was quite close to. At the age of nine, Lily became friends with Severus Snape, who lived down in Spinner's End, which was within walking distance of the Evans' house. However, her family was apparently better off, since Petunia sneered at Snape for coming from that poverty-stricken neighborhood

Severus was the first person to tell Lily that she was a witch, and he went on to teach Lily a great deal about the wizarding world while the two eagerly awaited the time when they could attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together. Lily's magical abilities and friendship with Severus caused problems between the Evans sisters. Envying her sister's abilities, Petunia wrote to Dumbledore, asking if she could attend Hogwarts with Lily. However, the headmaster kindly refused her petition.

At the age of eleven, Lily bought her wand from Ollivanders in Diagon Alley. The wand was 10¼ inches, willow, "swishy", and according to Garrick Ollivander, good for charm work. Shortly before her depart to Hogwarts, Lily and Petunia argued about magic again. Her sister called her a "freak" for possess that power and said it was better that she went to that school so "normal people" would be safe. At the age of eleven, Lily started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she was Sorted into Gryffindor house. She became quite skilled at Potions, attracting the attention of Professor Horace Slughorn, who made her a member of his Slug Club for the students that he considered talented and possibly successful in the future.

In her fifth year, Lily stood up for her then best friend, Severus Snape, when he was being bullied by James Potter. Lily attempted to stop his bullying, addressing James only by his surname and vice versa in this moment. However, Snape lashed out at her in his humiliation, calling her a "filthy Mudblood." He then begged for Lily's forgiveness, but she asked him if he still intended to join the Death Eaters. When he didn't deny this, Lily realised that Snape did not understand what was wrong with the Death Eaters. This led to a parting of ways between Lily and Snape, as the former had already become dismayed by Snape's fascination with the Dark Arts and friendship with his Slytherin house-mates Mulciber and Avery, both of whom were aspiring Death Eaters.

By Lily's fifth year, James had developed a crush on her, but she didn't reciprocate, calling him an "arrogant toerag" because he bullied other students, particularly her former best friend. While she didn't approve of his bullying, she did admire how James stood up for his friends and other people who were cruelly treated by aspiring-Death Eater.

During their seventh year, James matured somewhat, proving himself to be responsible and brave. However, it is implied that he still had the desire to bully Snape, but was willing to stop actually doing it for Lily's sake. This led to her agreeing to go out with him; gaining genuine affection for him in the process. Due to their academic achievement, skill, and responsibility, the young couple eventually were chosen to be Head Boy and Head Girl.

In late 1977, Lily and James had a disastrous first meeting with Petunia and her then-fiancé, Vernon Dursley, which took place over Christmas break. The evening ended with both Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant and Lily bursting into tears.Petunia was married by the end of 1977. Though Lily and James were invited to the wedding, her sister refused to have Lily as a bridesmaid, upsetting her deeply.

Sometime after graduating from Hogwarts in 1978, Lily and James married, the wedding took place sometime between the summer of 1978 and the autumn of 1979, with Sirius serving as James' best man. Petunia and Vernon refused to attend the wedding, and Lily had little contact with her sister from that point on. Living off James' family fortune, the Potters became full-time members of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation dedicated to fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, along with their friends Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. During the war, Lily and James defied Voldemort on at least three occasions, the first being when they refused to join his cause when he tried to recruit them.

Lily became pregnant in the autumn of 1979. Around the same time, Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy in front of Albus Dumbledore, predicting that "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches" and would be "born to those who have thrice defied him". The first part of the prophecy was overheard by Lily's ex-friend, Snape, who had since become a Death Eater.

The Potters went into hiding while Lily was still pregnant.Their son, Harry James Potter, was born on 31 July, 1980. Due to the danger they were in, Lily and James chose to keep Harry's christening a "very hurried, quiet affair" with Sirius as the only guest. The couple also chose Sirius to be their son's godfather. Lily sent a birth announcement to Petunia; it was to be the last piece of information she ever sent her sister, though Petunia would later send Lily a vase for that Christmas.

The Fidelius Charm was placed on their home in Godric's Hollow. Their Secret-Keeper, Peter, was chosen as a less-likely target for the Death Eaters than Sirius, but he betrayed the Potters by telling Voldemort of their whereabouts barely a week later.

Lily is a beautiful woman with thick, dark red hair that falls to her shoulders, and almond-shaped, bright green eyes. Lily is known for being a vivacious, talented, and popular student. She was a responsible student and leader to be Head Girl in her final year at Hogwarts. Horace Slughorn noted that Lily was witty and charming. Remus Lupin once described her as an uncommonly kind person with a habit of seeing the best in others, even when they could not see it themselves. Lily is a woman of sound moral principles and would stand by them no matter what it cost her, though her actions sometimes were ineffective.

Though she has a sharp tongue and had no problems in standing up to others when she is in a temper, Lily is still the type of person who would give others a second chance when they had proven themselves worthy of it.

Since even Lord Voldemort was willing to overlook Lily's Muggle-born status and ask her to join him, this is proof that she was a truly powerful and accomplished witch. She was noted for her particular talent in Potion-making and was able to conjure a corporeal doe Patronus, a mark of superior magical ability.

Magical abilities and skills

Love: Lily displayed a tremendous amount of love throughout her life. When she was only 21 years old, she lovingly sacrificed her own life for her only son despite being given the choice to leave him behind and live. It was this very sacrifice that enabled Harry to survive the Killing Curse, which rebounded off him and destroyed Voldemort's body. It protected her son from her murderer for 16 years after her death, especially due to their blood connection.

Duelling: Along with her husband James, Lily was able to defy and escape Lord Voldemort three times, which showcased her remarkable talent in martial magic.

Potions: According to Slughorn, Lily was an excellent potioneer who impressed him. She had an "instinctual understanding" of the subject.

Charms: Lily excelled in charm-work - her wand was described as being "nice for Charms work". She was able to animate teapots to make "[them] sing" and effectively conjure a corporeal doe Patronus, which is an incredibly advanced piece of protective magic.

Transfiguration: Lily was revealed to have been proficient in transfiguration. When home from Hogwarts for the holidays, she "turned teacups into rats". She also transfigured a lily petal into a fish, which Slughorn described as "beautiful magic, wondrous to behold".

Control of Underage Magic: Before attending Hogwarts, Lily already had a level of control over her magic - once she literally flew into the air after jumping off a swing and subsequently slowed her descent to lightly land on the ground. She also went on to manipulate a flower to open and close its petals like "some bizarre, many-lipped oyster".

from Harry Potter WIki

VERSES

Hogwarts Years Verse: This focuses on Lily's years at Hogwarts. Especially fifth, sixth and seventh year, mostly sitxth and seventh tho. For unplotted things I'll just randomly choose one, however for plotted things I will most likely specify which year. For now the individual years stay untagged. This might changes later. follows canon heavily influenced by headcanons. ( muggle born witch grown // 𝓛.𝓟. marauder era verse. )

The Other Chosen One Verse: The Longbottoms and the Potters get told about the prophecy and since Dumbledore can't really tell which boy it's about, both families go into hiding. However Voldemort chooses the Longbottom's son and after torturing their secret keeper, he finds the family and kills them, failing to kill little Neville and disappears. Everyone assumes he is dead. James and Lily survive and get to raise Harry. ( not marked by death // 𝓛.𝓟. the other chosen one verse. )

Ghost Verse: Everything follows canon until Lily dies. However she can not pass to the other side, then she got an unfinished business. The urge to make sure her son, Harry, is alright keeps her here. Dumbledore forbade her to contact Harry before he got his Hogwarts letter, but let her move to Hogwarts, where she is now living as one of the ghosts. ( darling dearest dead // 𝓛.𝓟. ghost verse. )

Future/Golden Era Verse: Dumbledore sends some members of the Order on a mission at the Ministry, which includes Lily too. They get into a fight and Lily has an accident with some time turners and another unidentified objects that sends her into the future. Dumbledore can't explain what happened, but since Lily doesn't have a place to go, he decides to let her go back to school, since she can still pass as a student and live in Gryffindor until he figures out a solution to send her back in her own time. ( lost in time // 𝓛.𝓟. golden era verse. )

Professor Potter Verse: As Porfessor Slughorn plans his retirement, he decides to write his old student, Lily Evans - now Potter, a letter asking her how she would feel about taking the position, as he plans to put in a few good words for. After thinking about it for a few days Lily decides she likes the idea and ends up being the new Potions teacher at Hogwarts. ( the student becomes the master // 𝓛.𝓟. professor verse. )

Fantastic Beasts Verse: Lily was born in 1899. After finishing her education at Hogwarts, she decided to become a healer at St. Mungo’s. A few years into her education, Lily travelled abroad, to gain experience at other healing institutions as well. It can depend on the thread, if she went to New York, Paris or if she is back in England. In this verse she is not married to James Potter and clearly Harry wasn’t born. ( a different time a different place // 𝓛.𝓟. fantastic beasts verse. )

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thephillyphiles-blog · 5 years

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The Meet Cute

Meet Cute: Fact or Fiction?

If you’ve seen any romantic comedy*, then you are at least somewhat familiar with the so-called “meet cute,” that serendipitous, seemingly random, typically adorable occurrence in which two individuals meet each other and instantly connect. In movies, it often involves some level of clumsiness at a time when neither party is actively looking to fall in love, but fate demands they come together. Sometimes what starts out as dislike turns to understanding and affection when one individual gets to see the softer side of the other. I love a movie meet cute, the kind that makes your heart swell and convinces you for a brief moment that if you go to enough farmers markets or record stores, you too can literally run face-first into your soul mate. It’s organic and effortless and the two participants are good looking and it seems simple enough.

But the question facing us today is whether the meet cute is just a sweet-sounding device of romantic fiction, or if it’s actually plausible in today’s largely digital dating scene. Is it really possible to meet someone when you’re simply going about your business and not necessarily looking to find love? Or, forget love, is it possible to just get a date this way? And...why am I so desperate to meet cute?

But Everyone Says It’s Impossible

I’ve run this idea of the modern-day meet cute by numerous people, both single and in relationships, of varying ages, and the consensus is bleak: no, they say, the meet cute is a myth in this day and age, it will never happen. All agree that it’s a nice idea, but it’s simply not feasible. For the most part, people seem to believe that dating apps have replaced almost every other method of meeting people, and that singles are so focused on swiping or on hooking up that the necessary ingredients for a chance meeting simply do not exist. Even my therapist told me that it’s no longer possible to meet someone out and about--it just doesn’t happen anymore.

I’m not completely satisfied with this answer. Is it possible that we’re simply not aware enough of what is going on around us to pick up on signals from potential cute meeters (someone help me with the grammar here)? When I leave my house, I’m almost always in workout clothes with little to no makeup and dirty hair. I have headphones in, my phone is glued to my hand, and the fact that I’ve left the house most likely means that I’m hoofing it somewhere and don’t have time to stop and pet the puppies in Rittenhouse Square Park. I suppose my look would not be categorized as “approachable” and if someone were to approach me I wouldn’t hear them over My Favorite Murder playing in my earbuds. If someone were to look past my disheveled appearance and the fact that I’m walking at an olympic-level pace and actually want to spark a conversation, there is almost no chance that I’d notice. And if I did, my cynicism from years of dealing with gross guys would probably deal the final blow. Perhaps I’m diminishing my own chances of experiencing the elusive meet cute.

Testimony on Behalf of the Meet Cute

In writing this, I am reminded of two real-life stories about girls I know meeting their now-husbands in very romantic serendipitous ways (names have been changed to preserve anonymity). First, the story of Amy, an extremely accomplished doctor living in Philadelphia. Amy had left Philly to do her residency, where she began a serious relationship with a fellow doctor, but when residency was over, she realized this guy wasn’t worth staying for, so she ended it and moved back home. Being the badass that she is, Amy bought her own house in Passyunk and lived there happily with her dog, content to be single again after a trying relationship in which she felt she had lost herself. One day, Amy was walking her dog and, in the middle of a crosswalk, a man going the opposite way stopped to pet him. Amy was struck by how cute this man was and how good he was with her cantankerous dog, so, in an act that Amy describes as completely unlike her, she asked the man if he wanted to walk with her to the dog park. The man, who is very shy and unassuming, was somewhat gobsmacked by her offer and agreed. After talking for a while and exchanging numbers, the two began dating, fell in love, and got married. They share a beautiful daughter and a beautiful life and I’ve yet to meet two people more perfect for each other.

The second story is about Bella, a twenty-something Philadelphian who had been rather unlucky in love. Despite her best efforts, she seemed to keep picking guys who turned out overly possessive and sometimes a little scary. Given this past, Bella was not desperate to meet someone and she was happy to take a girls-only trip down the shore to Sea Isle City. One evening, Bella and her friends were at a popular Sea Isle bar for happy hour and she made eye contact with a guy. She thought he was cute but wasn’t interested in meeting anyone, and besides, he was standing and talking closely with another girl. After a few minutes, the guy approached Bella with a drink, clearly wanting to make conversation, but she turned him down, thinking it was extremely rude of him to hit on her while he was there with another girl. Bella is one of those girls who can shut you down with a brief withering look, so the guy went sheepishly back to his friends, defeated. Later that evening, a mutual friend (because it’s Sea Isle and the bars are packed mutual friends) asked Bella what the guy had said to her, to which she responded he didn’t have to say anything, she saw he was with another girl. The friend explained that the girl was actually just his cousin, nothing more. Bella thought for a moment about whether to apologize for shutting him down. She bought two drinks at the bar and approached the guy with one of them, sorry for the immediate brush off. Although it was purely a good-faith gesture, the two began talking and it turned out they had much more than their friend in common. They got married earlier this year and are incredibly happy together.

So maybe the meet cute isn’t dead after all.

*My Favorite Movie Meet Cutes (just a few favorites):

Bridesmaids (2011): Kristen Wiig meets Chris O’Dowd when he pulls her over for erratic driving, then tears up her ticket because he’s the sweetest Irish cop in Milwaukee. Their paths continue to cross and his kindness strikes a chord at a difficult time in her life.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence meet at a dinner party and instantly begin to spar, seemingly despising each other. But when the conversation turns to which psych meds they’re each taking, a deep connection is formed between them.

The Wedding Planner (2001): JLo’s Gucci heel is stuck in the road and she refuses to abandon it despite the dumpster hurtling toward her at full speed. Matthew McConaughey pulls her to safety just in time, saving JLo and her shoe.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993): possibly the most beloved meet cute in modern film history, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are perfect for each other but fate seems to keep them apart, until they finally meet on the top of the Empire State Building and they just know.

Pretty Woman (1990): Julie Roberts is a sex worker with a heart of gold who gives the antiseptic, acrophobic Richard Gere directions. Charmed by her boldness, he performs a Pygmalion-like transformation and they realize they each have exactly what the other needs.

When Harry Met Sally (1989): the classic polar-opposites meet cute takes place when Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan drive across the country together after college, discovering immediately that they could not be more different. But it turns out that’s exactly what makes them perfect for each other.

What’s Next

In an effort to determine whether a meet cute is actually possible, I will attempt a few things: leaving my house more, dressing like an adult, washing my hair with more frequency, and generally trying to seem like a person you might want to interact with. It’ll be tough, but I think I can handle it. I also want to do a little more digging on the subject and try to determine why a meet cute seems so much better than meeting someone online, a preconceived notion that I’ve had immense trouble shaking. So stay tuned for continued ~insights~ on this topic.

As I wrote last time, I am forcing myself to try Hinge and Bumble again. I hope to answer many questions and try to see the upside of it all, as well as share some choice interactions. Again, if you have recommendations for other apps or tips on how to best to approach the online game, please let me know. If there are any topics/questions you want me to address or specific things you want me to try, feel free to contact me. Also, if you have experiences you’d like to share please send them to me! You will remain anonymous!

Contact and follow me at:

Twitter: @thephillyphiles

IG: @phillyphiles

Email: [email protected]

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star-nova · 5 years

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The Lives of the RiffRaff: Vergil Cho-Far From Home

Previous chapters here.

The library's open on Saturdays from ten until three, but IT only runs on Monday through Friday. Saturdays belong to me and Tracy, and Saturdays are usually spent taking our weekly checks out into Stonesville for a movie followed by Dave and Buster's.

By the 4th of July weekend, Tracy and I had seen all of the summer blockbusters worth seeing: Avengers: Endgame, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Aladdin, MIB: International, and Toy Story 4, and now all that was left before Crawl was Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Having had my fill of Disney by this point in the summer, I was excited for another superhero flick. I never cared for Disney, but supported Tracy's love of it. She's the kind of fan that dresses up in Disneybound to see every movie. She wants me to dress up with her, but I'm just not creative enough.

Spider-Man Saturday is special for two reasons: the first is that it's on the long 4th of July weekend, which begins for me and Tracy on the holiday itself and ends the following Monday. The second is that it falls on Anna Ming's birthday. Anna and her husband, Mamoru, are the biggest movie buffs I know, and superhero flicks are their favorites after monster movies.

We're doing something a little different than Dave and Buster's tonight. Tracy and I go out to Party Fair and come back with Spider-Man partyware and three shiny Mylar balloons—one blue, one “Happy Birthday,” and one with Spider-Man's face. We stop at the Costco to get a cake, and spend the hour and a half before the five-thirty show setting up a nice little spread in the kitchen. And even though it isn't technically a Disney movie, Tracy dons her Spider-Man costume tee with her red beanie in honor of the occasion.

When we meet up with Anna and Mamoru at their place, neither one of us says anything about what we have planned. For me, this is easy, since I don't normally say anything at all. In Tanager, remaining silent means you think you're too good to talk to people, or else you've got something to hide. In the eyes of the Others, both of these applied to me. But those who knew me just knew how bad I was at coming up with anything to say. I'm more of a thinker than a talker, and right now I'm thinking about Spider-Man and birthday surprises, chocolate cake with Oreos on top, and Tracy's two long braids hanging down from her red beanie.

Far From Home wasn't the best Spider-Man movie I'd ever seen, but it definitely wasn't the worst either.

On the way back to the house, Mamoru, Anna, and Tracy chatter on about the original Spider-Man trilogy, while I focus on driving and ruminate in a private corner of my mind about how Marvel might incorporate the new Venom into the Spider-Man films. My thoughts are interrupted when Anna announces that she and Mamoru have big news. “The biggest news,” she adds on, “the best news.”

“What is it?” Tracy asks immediately.

“You'll see,” Anna says with a smug grin, which is the only answer I could ever expect out of Anna Ming. She likes to bust balls.

I forget about Spider-Man and Venom for a second and come up with all sorts of speculations: maybe Mamoru got promoted to foreman at the electrician's firm, maybe they're going on some amazing vacation to Hawaii or the Carribbean or somewhere else exotic, maybe someone dropped a monumental birthday gift. For just a second, a spooky feeling crosses my mind that they might be moving away, but I dismiss it almost instantly; Tanager was a hick town at the best of times and a total shitshow at the worst, but it was home. The RiffRaff were home, and you didn't just go and leave them behind.

When we get to the house, the first thing Tracy says is, “Okay, so what's your big news?”

Mamoru and Anna exchange smug grins. I fold my arms and give them my best “I'm waiting” look.

“We'll tell you,” Mamoru says with a smirk, “when we're good and ready.”

Tracy stands in front of the front door. “I'm not lettin' you in till you tell.”

“Oh gosh!” Anna laughs. There's no way out. She nudges Mamoru with an elbow. “You tell them, Mamoru.”

“You do it,” Mamoru says. “It's more your news than mine.”

“We need a table, you guys,” Anna tells us. “We gotta armwrestle for it. Sorry, Trace, but you gotta let us in.”

“You guys are the worst,” Tracy says lightheartedly, but she opens the door. “We'll go to the kitchen,” she says, shooting me a conspiratorial little smile that I return. She damn well knows that she's just as much of a ball-buster as the two of them are.

When we get to the kitchen and they find our set-up, with the chocolate-Oreo birthday cake right in the center, Anna says, “Oh gosh!” again. “You guys...” She looks at me and Tracy, then pulls us both into hugs, which we both return.

Tracy orders pizza from Castellano's, Mamoru and I set up 7 Wonders, and Tracy asks again, “So, what's your news?”

Mamoru and Anna look at eachother again, silently exchanging the big secret between their smiles. Then Anna says, “All right, we'll quit trolling and tell you now. Mamoru and I are going to have a baby.”

Holy crap! This is more than I ever could have expected.

“Oh! Oh my gosh!” Tracy practically dives at the both of them with her hugs. “Oh, congratulations! This is awesome!” As usual, I have no idea what to say, but I hug them too. “Congratulations,” I tell them. Really, what else can I say?

“When did you guys find out?” Tracy asks, her eyes glittering with the excitement of it all.

“Just before the 4th,” Anna says, “but we wanted to keep the announcement intimate. We'd rather gradually spread the word around than shout it to a whole party full of people.”

I ask Mamoru, “Do you think you're ready now?” For a while, I had doubts that Mamoru would ever be ready for a kid. His reluctance had gotten him in trouble with his ex-wife.

“Well...” Mamoru fiddles with his 7 Wonders cards. “Between Anna and little Gojira himself, I'm going to have one hell of a team on my side. This is gonna be an adventure for all three of us. Yeah, I think I'm ready.”

Tracy laughs. “Are you really going to name him Gojira?”

“Oh, no!” Anna says, laughing too. “Gojira's just what we're calling it until we know if it's a boy or a girl. If it's a boy, his name will be Raleigh Mamoru Hayagawa.”

“And if it's a girl,” Mamoru says, “she'll be Mako Anna Hayagawa.”

Pacific Rim names. The two of them join hands and exchange another secret between their grins. They must be thinking about their wedding nearly three years ago, which had been four days before Halloween. They'd gotten married dressed in Pacific Rim suits. I had been a groomsman, and Tracy was a bridesmaid.

As we start up the game, I expect Tracy to be full of chatter—exchanging fantasies of babysitting and all of the games she plans to teach them, and all of future birthday parties and Christmas presents. But she's surprisingly silent. I figure that she must've gotten all of the excitement out of her system and so she has to wait while a new batch of it generates. Anyway, nobody's talking about the baby anymore. We're talking about the cards we draft and the structures we build. But Tracy isn't talking about anything at all, and that's disturbingly out of character for her.

I give her a little nudge. “Tracy? You all right?”

“'Course I'm all right,” Tracy says, “why wouldn't I be all right?”

“You're awfully quiet,” I point out.

“I'm just thinking, Verg,” she says, and she doesn't say anything else. I leave her to it, though I can't say it doesn't concern me. It concerns me so much more when the pizza gets here and she walks out the door.

“Tracy?” I ask. “Where are you going?”

“I'm gonna go get us some sodas,” she says, and shuts the door behind her before I can ask if she wants me to come with.

Within the span of a few minutes, something has changed Tracy Kwan. It scares me because I don't know what it is.

Anna completes the game's frirst wonder, we're all on our second and third slices of pizza, and there's still no sign of Tracy. The sun's gone down now except for a tiny sliver, and the cicadas that wouldn't shut up all day have finally gone mute. She didn't go out to get sodas...

My first instinct is to get up and go after her, but I don't. She isn't the nerdy little girl I have to protect from the mean girls at school anymore. Besides, out here all we have are the Whisperers and the Hecklers. The Whisperers are easy as hell to just ignore, and the Hecklers are just kids. There's Talia Santiago, but she doesn't go after RiffRaff.

Still, it doesn't feel right without Tracy around, without knowing where she is. It's even worse knowing that something secret is bothering her. All of our lives, Tracy has never kept a secret from me. Her joy was my joy, her pain my pain, her triumphs my triumphs, and vice-versa. If something was eating at her I was always the first one to know.

I can't lie and say we've never spent any time away from one-another. We've been apart for what amounted to much more than slipping out of the house. But we always kept tabs on one-another. I could be gone all day, but Tracy would always know where I am, and vice-versa. To go out on some secret nightly mission with some flimsy alibi like “going to get sodas” was something we just didn't do. Nobody took thirty-five minutes to get sodas in a place like this.

A spooky ass feeling settles over me. I know Tracy doesn't need to be protected, but not knowing where she is is beginning to make me feel like something awful is about to happen, or already did. I can't focus on the game anymore. There's just too many questions. Where did you go for real, Trace? Are you close by or are you far away? How far from home are you? Far from home—what an ironic choice of words.

“Vergil,” Mamoru says, breaking into my thoughts, “it's your turn.”

“Mhm.” I play a resource card. What's going on with you, Tracy? I know you're not all right. This isn't “all right” for you. Just tell me what it is...

Anna asks, “Is something up?”

I look at the clock on the cable box. It's been forty minutes. The sun is just about all the way down. It seems much darker than it is.

I get up. “I'm going out to find Tracy.”

They don't stop me. They know they can't. With Tracy far from home, so am I. Tracy is home.

When Tracy doesn't answer my call or my texts, my worst suspicions are all but confirmed. She went out on foot, so I'll stay on foot too. It would feel a little bit invasive to go chasing her down in a car.

I don't call out for her. I just make my way into the night, watching for a Spider-Man t-shirt and a bright red beanie. I pass by Paige's place, Ramona's, Jager's, and John's. Paige and John are home. Should I go and ask them if they've seen her? No, Vergil, you dope, of course they've seen her. She had to pass by here to go out to the stores.

The stores. She'd said she was going out to the stores, and though I know now it was just a front, there's no reason she couldn't be out near there. I send her another text, “Are you at the Sun-Mart? Or the 7-11?” When I reach the end of the next block, passing by Kammie's lit-up house, she still hasn't answered.

That nasty feeling is close to overpowering me. I'm not a guy who cries, but I feel like I might start up now. At the heart of everything, Tracy is all I have. If something were to happen to her, I don't know what the hell I'd do. The truth is that without Tracy, I don't feel like Vergil. My earliest memories are of the two of us in the summer that we were three and four years old, sipping grape juice out of sippy cups and dribbling it down our astronaut and dinosaur t-shirts. We started preschool that September and walked in holding eachother's hands, scared of the strange new world ahead of us. I've known Tracy longer than I've known how to read.

My heart starts to race. Without thinking about it, I'm making my way up Kammie's front porch steps. I ring the bell. I feel a cold sweat as I wait for her to answer. Maybe she's not home, she just left her lights on...

“Vergil?” Kammie looks surprised to see me at her door. “What's up, man?”

I swallow back a burst of air. “Kammie,” I say, trying my damnedest to keep my cool, “did Tracy come by here a while ago? Did you see her?”

“I haven't seen her,” Kammie says. “Why? Did she go off somewhere?” Her concern is the best possible comfort. RiffRaff look out for one-another.

“She stepped out about forty-five minutes ago to 'get sodas,'” I say, trying and failing to keep the frenzy out of my voice. “We were in the middle of a game with Anna and Mamoru. She won't answer her phone, she won't answer her texts...” I'm starting to shake. Between that and my frantic, raving voice, Kammie can't stay uninvolved. “We'll drive around,” she says. “Hang on.” Yes, we'll drive around. It's become necessary. Tracy wouldn't be ghosting me unless something really happened. I text Mamoru, “Going with Kammie Redrun to look for Tracy. Will be back. Sorry.” I feel like a jackass for leaving them alone in my house on Anna's birthday. But Mamoru understands, as RiffRaff do. He texts back, “OK.” It means Tracy's been ghosting them too, and that she still hasn't come back...

There's no sign of Tracy at any of the stores.

Kammie pulls into the parking lot of the closed deli, and we check the 7-11, the Sun-Mart, and then hop a few blocks over to where the grocery store sits beside Castellano's and the China Wok. No Tracy. We get back in the car and head out to the library, which is also closed by now on a Saturday. I walk around the entryway garden, check the reading benches situated along the sides of the building, and go around to the back to search the smoking area and lounge. Tracy isn't there. A woman—an Other—calls to me from her safe place on the block across the grass. “Young man, what are you doing scuttling around back there?” Young man. I'm twenty-fucking-five. I don't give her an answer, just make my way back to the car.

“Do I have to call the police?” she hollers after me.

Yeah, go ahead and call them. They won't find anything when they get here. Still, I don't answer her. It finally hits me that I should ask her if she's seen Tracy. I turn back around, but she's already off on her way. She doesn't care about Tracy anyway. If she had seen her or not, her answer would be the same: And why are you chasing that woman around town? The Others pretend to know what they're talking about. In actuality, they know jack shit.

I climb back into Kammie's car and I'm about to suggest McEvoy's, if anything because there's likely to be a strong RiffRaff presence there. I didn't want to leave our familiar haunts and end up in territory that belonged entirely to the Others. The Others would want to know what I'm doing running around looking for her. They'd want to know what motivated a woman to take off into the middle of the night and not come back. They'd start up about how we were a man and woman living together unmarried—a cardinal sin, for sure—and then they'd hyper-focus on that and only that, before making up their own stupid explanations for her disappearance that they'd take as the only fact. I'm not about to put up with that shit right now. Oh, Tracy. I sink down into the naugahyde seat. You see what I have to deal with when you go and leave me alone like this? I must look like a sight, because Kammie eyes me for a good long while. I definitely don't look, or feel, like Vergil Cho.

Kammie puts her arm around me and pats my back. “Let's check the park,” she says.

Of course. The park. It's Tracy's favorite place in town, and why didn't I think to check there before? Because I'm not thinking at all, that's why. That spooky feeling that had me before comes back even stronger now that I remember that the only people who come out to the park at night are the junkies and the boozers. Sometimes we hold our games of manhunt out there just after dusk, but it was getting late even for those. Oh, please, I plead, please let Bex or Ramona or anybody be out there playing manhunt right now.

“Vergil!” Kammie nudges me and points. “Look, Vergil!”

She's pointing at a cherry tree in one of the roadside gardens leading out to Cricket Road, an Others street. She shines her headlights on it. There it is, the form of red and blue perched up there on a middle branch like Spider-Man himself.

“Pull over!” I cry, and Kammie does.

I nearly fly out of the car door, and I have to remember that I can't climb for shit to stop myself from scrambling up that tree. Tracy doesn't look at me. She's looking out towards the distant mountains and doesn't even see that I'm here.

I call out, “Tracy!”

“Vergil?” Tracy looks down and finds me standing there at the base of the tree. “You came out all this way?”

“I had help,” I say. “Kammie's here. What are you doing up there?”

“Nothing,” she says. “Thinking.”

“About?”

“Things.”

“You had to come all the way down to Cricket Road and climb up in a tree to think about things?” I try to hold back the edge in my voice. I'm scared, not mad. “Trace, why don't you come on down now?” I hold out my arms for her. “Come on. Come down.”

She makes her way down, and I scoop her up the moment she touches ground. In that moment, Tracy Grace Kwan is the single most precious human being alive. Tracy. My Tracy. Without thinking about it, I give her a swift little kiss. She pulls back in surprise My god, I've crossed a line...

“Vergil...”

“Tracy, I'm...” I look down at the ground and her red Converse sneakers.

“Vergil, you're crying.” She catches me by my shoulders. Her dark eyes look so big behind her hipster glasses.

“I am?” I put a finger to my cheek. It's wet with tears. I'm as shocked as she is.

“It's okay, Verg.” Now it's Tracy's turn to take me up in her arms. “I'm all right. I'm so sorry, Vergil.”

“Why'd you take off, kid?” I ask, without letting her go.

“I'm sorry,” Tracy says again. “I know I shouldn't have. But I guess...well...I needed to think, Vergil.”

“Think about what?” I ask.

“The kid,” Tracy says, finally releasing me, “little Gojira—Anna and Mamoru becoming a mom and a dad. Vergil, what happens when RiffRaff have a kid?”

“Anthony has Melinda,” I remind her. “And Kane has Mara. I know they're both grown, but...”

“It's different,” Tracy says. “They weren't born into it, Vergil.”

She's right. “But this kid will be,” I say.

“It's never happened before,” Tracy says.

“If a kid is born to RiffRaff,” I go on, “is the kid already RiffRaff, or do they have to earn it, like Melinda?” Knowing the Others, I feel like I already know the answer.

Tracy sighs, and turns away for a second. “Little Gojira will be born into a world of Others,” she says. It's a depressing thought. I think about all of the crap we've had to put up with from the Others in our past four years as RiffRaff; the whispers and the heckles, the rumors treated as gospel by people who can't keep their mouths shut, the isolation of a little hamlet where people come up with their own reasons why you'll never really belong. But all the same...

“He'll also be born into a world of RiffRaff,” I say. “He'll have one hell of a team.”

She turns to me. “Like we do,” she says.

“Exactly.” My hand makes its way into hers, and without any sort of thought behind it, I kiss her again. This time she doesn't move. I pat the top of that red beanie. “Kammie's taking us home, kid. Let's go.”

“We left Anna and Mamoru...” Tracy says uncertainly.

“They're fine,” I say. I reach for my phone and shoot Mamoru a text right now: “We found her. She's all right. So am I.”

#Fiction by Me #The Lives of the RiffRaff #writing #work in progress

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