A/N: I've seen most of Rescue 77 now, and I've read a couple of awesome fics by my friend poesie. Now comes the time when I add to the R77/Leverage crossover total, I guess ;)
Disclaimer: Any characters you recognise from Leverage or Rescue 77 do not belong to me.
This story is dedicated to the awesome peops that are poestheblackcat and Jesco123 - ladies, you are both such wonderful friends, I never want to be without you. Let your Kane love shine forever, girls! :D
Blonde Brides & Blood Brothers
He never expected things to turn out like this at all. Honestly, the idea of getting married was something he gave up on years ago, sure he would never want to settle down that way, and even more so that he never would find a woman who would want to have to deal with him 24/7 for the rest of her life. Perhaps he ought to have known better. From the day he met her, he knew she was different to any other woman he ever knew in his life.
Sure, blonde and beautiful were a lot of guys go-to characteristics for a girlfriend, a lover, maybe even a wife, but she was so much more than the beauty she appeared as she walked on down the aisle in that long white dress. If anyone would've asked him what he though about the concept of her dressed up that way, he would've laughed. She really wasn't the froofy dress type, and yet today she was elegant and stunning as ever she had been before. A mile away from the 'one of the boys' routine she so easily pulled most of the time. Being known by her last name, that was going to have to stop after today, Wick noted, as the woman they called Ryan reached his side and smiled. She was about to be Kathleen Lobo after all.
It hadn't exactly come out of the blue. It was years ago now that Ryan had first laid her lips on Wick whilst they were trapped in a science lab. She told him it was the methyl chloride poisoning that made her do it, the fear of dying alone perhaps. He bought it at the time, kind of, but there was no denying things changed between them after their near-death experience. Within a year they were dating, as complicated as that made things, and now here they were, an awful long way down the line, finally tying the knot.
Perhaps the only thing that was more surprising than the way they had come to end up a couple like this was the fact that Wick's side of the church contained a face that was all too familiar to his friends and colleagues, despite the fact they never met Eliot Spencer before. That was the way it was with twin brothers after all. Explaining the difference in name was a little awkward, but they managed to get through without telling all about Eliot's 'profession'. Of course, his own wife was a little trickier to explain, given that she seemed to be known by only one name, even though she stated she was married to her man.
The coincidence wasn't lost on the brothers Lobo, that they had both married blonde beauties, capable of looking after themselves. Clearly both twins just enjoyed the company of feisty fair haired beauties, and there was nothing wrong with that.
"You think you two will stay in touch after this?" Parker asked Eliot in a whisper as the couple at the front of the church exchanged vows.
"I don't know," he told her honestly. "I never expected him to call the way he did... pure dumb luck he even found me."
"Maybe that's the best reason to make an effort," his wife suggested. "Fate threw you back into each other's lives right when you both got married to hot blondes. That has to mean something."
Eliot smiled at her phrasing and put his arm around her shoulders pulling her close. He wouldn't change her or their life together for anything in the world, but she was right in what she said about Wick. They should make more effort.
When the two paramedics were finally pronounced husband and wife, and shared a kiss, Wick proved he was probably thinking just the same thing as his brother. Eliot was the first face he picked out of the crowd on the walk back down the aisle, arm in arm with Kathleen.
"Thanks for comin', bro," he said when he got close enough, grasping his brothers hand.
"Wouldn't've missed it, man," Eliot assured him.
He watched the couple pass by all the other wedding guests, already looking forward to meeting up with them again at the Reception and after. He and Wick had a lot of catching up to do, and getting to know his new wife would be interesting too.
"Hey," said Parker then, jogging him out of his daze when she stuck a pointy finger in his shoulder. "Do we get cake already?" she asked in earnest.
Eliot smiled and pulled her out of her seat by the hand.
"You, darlin', get anything you want," he promised her. "You will always be my beautiful bride, no matter how long we're married, y'know that?"
"Sure, yeah," she nodded in understanding and happily kissed him before they began walking out of the church. "But I still want cake!"
Parker had a mouthful of wedding cake, or rather a mouthful of frosting from the wedding cake, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Thankfully these days she didn't react quite so badly to being touched as she used to, but she was startled enough to almost choke on the sugary substance filling her mouth.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the bride immediately apologised. "Are you okay?"
"Uh-huh, yeah," Parker mumbled as she coughed some and tried to swallow. "Nice cake," she gestured to the rest of the slice in her hand.
"I know traditionally it should be the fruit kind, but neither me nor Wick were ever traditional," Kathleen rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm still not sure how we got this far."
"I never thought I'd get married either, especially to Eliot," Parker agreed as they two women looked across the reception room at the twin brothers that were their husbands. "When we first met, we really didn't get along."
"Me and Wick, we've had our ups and downs, and I never once thought I could love a guy like him, but... I don't know. I guess he just got under my skin. I couldn't imagine life without him now"
"I know what you mean," Parker nodded in agreement. "I thought I'd always be alone for a long time, and I was okay with that. Then you realise, it's kinda nice having someone there to catch you when you fall."
The woman formerley known as Ryan smiled warmly at her new sister-in-law then.
"I think we're gonna get along real well, Parker" she admitted, feeling the two of them were at least of one mind when it came to the men in their lives. "Y'know it means a lot to Wick to have Eliot back in his life. The fact you two came to our wedding, it made it so much more special."
At the same time, her husband was telling his brother the self-same thing, no matter how pathetically girly it made him sound.
"I know I really I should've made you best man," he apologised, "but Bell has been there for me, man, and I..."
"I get it, Wick, I do," Eliot assured the groom, his hand on his shoulder. "He's been the brother to you that I should've been, and... and I'm sorry about that."
"You did what you had to. I get it," Wick shrugged easily.
Sure it hurt that he and Eliot had been estranged so long, but he knew there were good reasons. His slightly older brother had been out fighting in wars, and in other ways that he wouldn't explain. He'd done his share of bad things, that much was clear, but he was on the straight and narrow now. On the outside of the law he may be, but he was saving people's lives, literally as well as figuratively. That made him a good man in Wick's eyes, as worthy a person as he was in his own job as a paramedic.
"Y'know I couldn't be happier for you, Wick," Eliot told him seriously. "Got yourself a good woman there. Don't screw it up."
"Hell, if you can keep Miss American Made over there happy, Ryan's gonna be a walk in the park," Wick chuckled as he looked across at both his bride and Eliot's wife. "I've really got stop calling her that now, don't I?" he realised, since Kathleen was decidedly a Lobo now and not a Ryan.
"Really don't think she cares about the name, Wick," his brother pointed out, slapping him on the shoulder, as the beautiful woman in the long white dress came walking on over. "Pretty sure she's just happy to be married to you, the crazy woman!"
Wick faked punching his brother in the arm right as Kathleen joined them, reminding him that they had a first dance to get over with. As the happy couple stepped out onto the floor to do their duty, Parker wandered over to Eliot and threaded her arm through his own.
"I like them," she said, her chin on his shoulder, and it was only when Eliot turned to look her way he spotted the frosting all over her face.
"I think they like you too, darlin'," he assured her, wiping the sugary paste from her cheek and then licking his thumb, cleaning her lips off a moment later with his own.
She laughed at that then sighed as they went right on back to watching the happy couple dance. It had been a beautiful occasion, a reunion for two estranged brothers, and a stunning white wedding. Still, when it was over they would all have to go back to their real lives, kicking ass and taking names, braving odds and saving lives. It was what these people were born to do, but at least they didn't have to do it alone.
The End
