title; forever can never be long enough for me.
summary; ji bai reflects on their wedding discussions as xu xu walks down the aisle. — ji bai & xu xu
word count; 640
he stands nervously at the front of the altar, rocking back and forth on his heels. the chapel is quiet, with only maybe the first six rows full and a few stragglers in the back. the flower girls — yao meng's young cousins — are giggling as they skip up the aisle and into their respective pews. the preacher shifts behind him. zhao han winks at him from the second row. yao meng shoots him a smile and a shaky thumbs up.
and then, time stops.
the doors to the chapel have opened, and in walks xu xu.
"when should we have the wedding?" ji bai asks as they walk hand - in - hand down the street.
"you like the summer, don't you?" she replies. he smiles at her. "ahh, my little snail knows me so well. i do. how about that, then?"
she glances up at the sky as snowflakes begin to flutter towards them. her eyes stray back down to meet his.
"i think we should have it in the winter. winter is pretty." she blinks at him, and he reaches up to tuck a stray lock of hair back under her hat.
"you're pretty."
after that, xu xu didn't bring it up directly again, but after overhearing from yao meng how much she wanted it and seeing various wedding magazines with winter - themed cutouts, ji bai quietly acquiesced.
(he wasn't going to lie — he had really wanted a summer themed wedding, with fairy lights and a barn or maybe a vineyard or even a field with daisies and xu xu would look like a princess. it was perfect. he was convinced. but xu xu rarely asked anything of him, and after realizing how much it meant to her, he would be awful for not cooperating.)
but as xu xu steps into the wedding hall, he is glad they went with a winter wedding, because summer xu xu might have been a princess, but winter xu xu is a queen.
her dress is ankle length and just a little poufed with what looks to be actual, real - life snow crystals trapped and embedded in the tulle. the sleeves are basically decals that are molded to her skin, but they are silver contrasting with a gold that offers the illusion of a time now past. the neckline is dramatic, but not so much that it takes away from the simple necklace she is wearing.
the charms are blue and gold — a matching lion and snail. he feels his heart grow six times by the moment she approaches him.
"hi," she whispers shyly. her hair is longer now than what it was almost two years ago, almost brushing her delicate collarbones. today it's been partially braided and curled and he's sure there are thousands of bobby pins buried in there because her hair is so damn thick and he can practically hear yao meng cursing as she styles it.
his mouth tips into a grin, but he can't control it and it spills onto the rest of his face.
"hey."
"shall we proceed, then?" the preacher asks kindly.
the two of them look at each other as ji bai folds xu xu's hands into his.
"yes, i think so," xu xu murmurs softly.
and so he marries her in the winter, in a chapel that's buried under snow and ice; warmed by her twinkling eyes and the sweet kiss they seal their union with.
additional notes; yes hello i would like 12 hot servings of More ji bai and xu xu Fics Thank You
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