Story: Perfect

Author's notes: Kind of inspired by the 'Wedding Singer' but only in so that it randomly popped into my head when I should have been trying to get to sleep (as most of my stories do…) Also kind of ties in with a fan-verse of a friend (Corky!) in which Face and Murdock get married and have their little family

Just a short thing, quickly written and then checked through a couple times. Sorry if I missed any glaring typos.

It was days, just 5 days until the Big Day. Capital 'D'.

Face was far more excited and happy about it than he was letting on. Murdock was letting on exactly how excited and happy he was. To the point that he was at serious risk of approaching the big day with a black eye if he kept on at BA any more.

Their wedding planner was not so excited, nor happy. In fact, downright stressed and miserable was about right. Not because anything about the wedding was particularly difficult; they both wanted it as traditional as possible, but because both of them kept changing their minds about the smallest details; seating arrangements, flowers, table clothes, and so on, and so on.

But it was all eventually getting there. Two beautiful suits, made to measure, had arrived in plenty of time, and had fit like a dream. Murdock in black, Face in white. And whilst the conman hadn't been thrilled with being designated the 'woman', he had to agree that Murdock just couldn't have pulled off wearing white.

Rings were sized and bought, and given to BA to look after (who had then passed them onto his mother for extra-safe keeping).

Vows had been written, rehearsed, and were going through the final stages of preparation, with BA and Hannibal as sounding boards.

Face's vows were traditional.

Murdock's were not.

Invites had been sent out; artfully phrased and beautifully designed, and despite protests, Murdock had had little to do with the process, all of his 'helpful' suggestions being immediately vetoed by both Face and the planner.

Transport was arranged to and from the church, and the Honeymoon had been planned with both men in mind; Murdock was flying them there and back, and Face got to get a tan. They were both happy with the arrangement.

It was all going peachy and smooth, until-

"Face!" Murdock came skidding around the doorframe like he was being chased by flames, big eyes wide in urgency. "We forgot something!"

The blond looked up from over his paper, not really reacting to Murdock's alarm; it was probably nothing. "What?" He asked, more out of obligation than actual interest. It was 8 in the morning, still too early to get worked up over anything. Indeed, he had left Murdock in bed still mostly asleep, so the pilot must have literally just leapt out of the covers and rushed to the lounge, evidenced by the fact that he was still wearing only the pyjama pants he had slept in, and his hair stuck up almost vertical on one side.

"The Kiss! We haven't planned The Kiss!" More than used to Face's indifference, the pilot wasn't slowed in his urgency. Face lifted his eyebrows.

"The Kiss?" Since when was 'kiss' a proper noun?

"In the wedding." Murdock finally calmed a little, now trying to insist that his point really was valid, whilst also going to sit at the table and pour himself a cup of coffee, "It's the most important thing of the whole wedding. And everyone's going to see. And we haven't even given it a second's thought!" Murdock was looking at the conman with those big 'this-is-really-important-to-me' eyes, and Face sighed fondly, lowering his paper to give the pilot his full attention.

"Murdock, we've kissed plenty of times, I'm sure we'll do fine." He assured the pilot, trying oh-so-hard not to let the neurosis get to him. But Murdock didn't kind of have a point…and now he knew there was a good chance if they didn't figure this out, the inevitable kiss was all Face was going to be able to think about during the whole ceremony.

"But there's lots of different kisses." Murdock looked torn, adding a more than appropriate amount of sugar to his coffee, "What's church appropriate?"

Face didn't have an answer, really mulling it over, "Have you ever been to a wedding?" He finally asked.

"No." Not in a church at any rate.

Damn.

"Me neither…" Well that was no help. Being on the run/in a psychiatric hospital didn't exactly lend itself to social functions. "Well, we've got 5 days to think it over."

"Thinking isn't going to help." Murdock insisted with a small, childish frown, and Face couldn't help smiling.

"Fine, we've got 5 days to practice." He corrected, and Murdock perked up expectantly, "But not now." Face added quickly, "Let's at least have breakfast first." He got up to fetch the toast that had just sprung its way enthusiastically out of the toaster, landing haphazardly on the countertop, He stopped on his way to fix Murdock's hair, the pilot wasting no time in stealing the funnies from the newspaper.

From then on, every kiss was judged, and Face all-but gave up on showing the pilot any sort of affection that wasn't planned minutes in advance. But he didn't begrudge the pilot his judgements, knowing he only had to put up with it for five days. Or less if Murdock would agree that one particular kiss was 'wedding appropriate'.

And Face stopped having any expectations every time Murdock pinned him to the nearest surface and planted one on him. Although a couple of times the kiss had been just a little too good, and he hadn't really left Murdock with much choice but to finish what he started. Not that the pilot was complaining, and it did at least stop him judging their kisses for a while, since any exchanges during that time were certainly not church-friendly.

But after 4 days, even Face was started to get a bit frustrated. The wedding was a little over 24 hours away, and they still couldn't decided on a kiss. Murdock had managed to condense every kiss they shared into one of three categories; too short, too long, and porn. Non of which were suitable. More than a few times Face had thought they had it, but according to Murdock something was missing. The conman gave up asking what that was after a day.

Breakfast was passed anxiously, Murdock fidgeting restlessly at the table whilst Face tried to act cool.

"Stop worrying." He told the pilot as he tucked his shirt in and rolled up his shirt sleeves, getting ready to leave. They both had things they needed to sort out separately during the day, and then would meet only briefly in the evening before Murdock left to stay with Hannibal for the night. They wouldn't see each other again then until the wedding.

"But we cant get it right! What if it goes really wrong!" Face couldn't help a smile; Murdock was really overreacting, and it made him feel a bit better about his own worry.

"It's just a kiss, Murdock. We have a lifetime to get it right." He assured him, heading around the table towards the door.

"No we don't…we have until tomorrow." Murdock mumbled petulantly, but lifted his head obligingly when Face leaned down for a kiss. Sure pressure, good angle, but too short for a 'Just Married' kiss.

Face knew he had just been judged, but didn't mention it, "I'll see you later. Have fun with BA." He squeezed the pilot's shoulder reassuringly before grabbing his keys and heading out.

Face heard Murdock come through the front door at 7pm, the shuffle of his feet telling the conman that he was weary even before he made he way into the lounge.

Face was on the couch with an accounting book and a pen, tallying up the incomings and outgoings, doing what he liked to do best in his spare time. He had only been back for about an hour himself, and even despite the anxiety about the kiss, he had been fighting the urge to sit there with a huge, excited grin about the following day. Getting all the final preparations finished today had really made it sink in.

Murdock didn't look so thrilled, and after kicking off his shoes, he crawled onto the three-seater couch and buried his face in the conman's side with a long groan, long legs hanging over the arm of the sofa. Face could tell by his tone he wasn't really upset though; just tired.

"Long day?" He asked, setting the book down and running his fingers through Murdock's hair.

"BA was mean to me all day." The pilot's voice was muffled, and Face's chest jumped in an amused chuckle.

"So that means you got everything sorted, and we're all set for tomorrow."

There was a long silence, and the blond could tell from the stillness of the pilot that he was pouting that Face wasn't consoling him, "…yes."

"Good." He pulled his hand away when Murdock squirmed to turn over, resettling with his head in Face's lap instead, "What time is Hannibal picking you up?"

"He said about 8." The pilot replied, only just lifting a hand in time to cover a big yawn.

"And you've got your bag packed, right?" Face added, able to tell the pilot was settling for a nap.

"Did it th'smornin'." Came the mumbled reply, Murdock's eyes already closed, and Face let out a fond sigh, but decided to let him rest, just for a bit.

He let the pilot sleep for 40 minutes, only having to pause once in his scribbling when Murdock shifted onto his side, putting his face against the conman's stomach. More than used to the arrangement, Face continued to work, easily manipulating the pen and paper with one hand.

At 7:45 Face gently shook the pilot to wake him. As usual, he woke quickly, but still looked sleepy when Face finally convinced him to sit up.

"Hannibal will be here soon." Face informed him, gingerly standing to stretch his legs and go fix himself a coffee. There was a certain nervous excitement in the air that these were the last few minutes they would be together until the wedding. As usual, Face tried to act cool, but Murdock suddenly surged to his feet.

"Face-!"

"If this is about the kiss, just stop worrying. It's going to be fine." Face assured him, whilst also trying to assure himself, "We obviously cant force it." They had spent the last 4 days trying to do just that.

Murdock still didn't look happy, and made his way over to hover near the conman whilst he set the coffee on to brew.

"But-"

"No buts." Face turned to lean back against the counter, "Just do what seems appropriate at the time." Murdock let out a big, heavy sigh, worrying his lip, and Face lifted a hand to his cheek, smiling fondly, "There's more to a wedding than just a kiss." He reminded him, and Murdock nodded.

"Yeah, I know." He finally smiled, "Just want it to be perfect, y'know?" He insisted, fingers resting lightly on the conman's hip.

"And it will." Face insisted, "Just stop worrying." He leaned up, hand sliding back along the pilot's jaw as he kissed him, fingertips just lightly dipping into his hair. Not holding possessively around the back of his neck, or hanging uselessly at his side; an affirming touch that matched the one-handed hold the pilot slid around his waist as the kiss firmed. Heads tilted for a surer angle, lips only slightly parted; not chaste, but nothing too intense. Something familiar and warm, lasting a comfortable breath before a natural end, allowing for unhurried smiles and soft gazes.

Something right.

"See?" Face said quietly, "It's not something you can force." It had been too perfect he didn't even need to sound relieved. It had just been…natural. Something that had always been there, and that would have presented itself if only they had stopped looking for it so hard.

And finally those big, stupid grins broke through, and then they were laughing. Excitement and relief winning through as they both finally realised that it was all good. Everything was going to be okay. They had been being so silly, but in the end, it was all going to be absolutely perfect.