Hi there, this is my first story so I sure appreciate you taking time to read it! I absoloutely adore this couple (and well, Charlotte in general, she's fabulous), and thought I'd start off with a fluffy oneshot. Please do review with any comments, or any ideas how to improve my writing. Thanks!
Also want to note that I own absoloutely NONE of Private Practice, it all belongs to Shonda Rhimes.
"You want what now?" Charlotte said in complete disbelief, quirking an eyebrow to mark her disgust, "No."
"C'mon Char, its tradition. Its a FUN tradition!" Cooper enthused, with what he guessed would wind up being a failed attempt to turn her mind around to the idea. Not that he minded really, it was all small potatoes at the end of the day. All that really mattered was marrying the woman he loved- finally.
"Cooper," she said in that disgruntled way Cooper found completely adorable, although he'd never dare to admit it. "There is no way in hell I am gonna get on some chair, in a DRESS, that our guests have to hoist up into the air! No. Way. In. Hell."
"You won't be 'hoisted'," Cooper grinned, "more like..." he paused as he searched for the right words, "lifted upwards in a secure fashion."
"Secure? Cooper, you're talking about a bunch of people literally lifting me above their heads, with their bare hands, all the while dancing around the place. You really wanna risk the life of your new wife for some sort of cracked tradition? Nice, real nice."
Cooper (badly) attempted to supress his laughter. He had to admit he loved seeing Char all wound up, her facial expressions could be priceless.
Charlotte continued, frustrated with Cooper's apparant amusement at the situation, "Besides, if it was the likes of Sam Bennet, or God forbid my own brothers, in charge of lifting up my chair I'd be screwed. Don't think that they wouldn't find it funny to just drop me Cooper, because we both know they would."
"Quit exaggerating, woman!" Cooper gave her a cheeky grin, "C'mon Char, its not like they're coming at you with a needle."
Cooper's smile only widened as he recalled the memory of that time early on in their relationship where she had marched him in with her for a HIV test. Charlotte had seemed fine up until she realised it was her turn to be tested, the blood had completely drained from her face and Cooper honestly thought she was going to pass out. Not to mention the fact that she'd almost turned her head round a full 180 degrees in her avoidance to look at the needle, something Cooper loved to tease her about at any given opportunity.
Charlotte responded with a look that could kill.
"Alright," Cooper relented, raising both hands in a mock surrender, "we'll give the Hora a miss."
"Thank you." She smirked, flipping the pages of the latest wedding magazine she had picked up on her way to work that morning. "Now, what about the china pattern? I liked the ones we saw yesterday, with the silver swirls around the edges, but since we're doing this whole 'compromise' thing..."
Ah, the 'compromise thing'. It was slowly becoming the bane of Charlotte King's life. Not because she was an unreasonable person but because she was a perfectionist plain and simple, and proud of it. However, she figured a bit of give and take couldn't hurt from time to time- even if it was driving her crazy.
"The ones with the silver swirls are fine," Cooper said. "Lovely in fact, absoloutely lovely," he added quickly, noting the unimpressed expression on Charlotte's face. "What about the centrepieces?" He continued, "Roses?"
"Eh..."
"Lillies?"
"No."
"Actually, I read in one of your magazines last night that some couples are choosing these water bowl centrepieces these days, with candles and rose petals floating in them. What do you think?"
"Are you joking?"
Cooper laughed, "Well, we've got plenty of time to figure that one out I guess."
Charlotte sighed, closing her magazine and tossing it onto the coffee table in front of her. "No we haven't, not really Coop. We've only got six months til the wedding, and in that time we have to get the catering organized, decide on a wedding cake, I've still got to find a dress..."
Cooper smiled and kissed the top of her head, nuzzling her beautiful blonde hair as he did so. "Hey, don't stress out, we'll figure it all out soon enough and once we do everything will run like clockwork," he said doing his best to reassure her.
To be fair it had become a far longer process to organize everything than either of them had initially realized. They were both stubborn as mules but they were working through it gradually, they were certainly getting there.
"Please, nothing ever goes like clockwork for us." Charlotte replied with a small laugh. "We must've been mad to think we could get this done so soon. Maybe we should push it back a little, give ourselves another year or something?"
"No way," Cooper shook his head adamantley. "Look at me," he said as he gently lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "I love you, I want to marry you, I want to be your husband and I can barely wait for these six months to pass let alone having to wait a whole year. We're sticking to the six month deadline, we can do this! I know we can, have a little faith."
Charlotte smiled as she lifted his arm around her shoulders, laying her head on his chest. Cooper had this way of making everything seem simple as can be, even if he was entirely overestimating their ability to actually meet each other half way on the rest of these wedding plans.
"You really think we can do this?" She asked him, not caring for an honest answer.
Cooper let out a soft chuckle, eyeing the stacks of wedding magazines surrounding him and Charlotte on the sofa. "Our blood pressure might be sky high by the time the big day actually arrives, but yeah, I don't see why not."