Nothing Fancy, Nothing Traditional by Dragonflies Girl aka Ki Ki
Spoiler: Green Piece
Disclaimers: I don't own the recognized characters from CSI:NY. The idea half belong to me, though.
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Being in her position, Angela had seen many different – read crazy, insane, plain weird – people coming through the door. To her, it seemed as though today would be the same when one curly hair woman with striking features walked in with a brown-haired, broad chest and handsome man.
She had a green top with black pants on; he had on a suit. She did have a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
Nothing fancy, nothing traditional.
But then again, for people who walked through these doors, they usually were not looking for the fancy nor the traditional.
Some days Angela really hated her job, feeling as though she was offering the opportunity for men (or women) to cheat a memorably, once-in-a-life-time day from their partner. Not that the once-in-a-life-time notion was applicable any longer in the society now. Still, she continued to disagree with how everything could be reduced to a money order and a 15-minute ceremony.
Some days though, the people in the waiting room really intrigued her. Those two were obviously in love, definitely in tune to one another. Their kind of people rarely ended up in her waiting room. Their kind of people would normally plan an actual wedding – something that would allow for celebrations with their friends or family, or both. He didn't look to be rushing off to serve in a war (though he did have the distinct air of a military man) and she, in her form fitting clothes that accentuated her slim curves, didn't look pregnant. All in all, those two truly didn't belong, in her mind.
Yes, she was being presumptuous, but her musing wasn't harming anyone.
Maybe she should start looking for another job that didn't make her question her own beliefs any more.
But looking back at the couple now standing in her waiting room, she wondered what their stories were. They were standing close together, but weren't touching. His eyes never wandered far from her, and she had this amused, almost shy smile on her face at all times. She squinted to look at the lady's finger, but there was no ring.
So, likely not engaged either.
"What do you think Lindsay will think?" the woman asked her partner.
"She may not be too happy about it," he answered.
Interesting. So there was another woman involved. They didn't look the type, either.
"Eh, excuse me, sir, ma'am," she spoke out finally, getting their attention. "Can I help you?"
They both seemed to hesitate before turning to her, slight embarrassed light in their eyes.
"We'll waiting for someone, actually," the man answered, his voice smooth and firm. A leader's voice, she decided.
"Oh, okay," she nodded and pretended to turn away to do more work.
Truth was, Angela was intrigued, totally hooked now, to what the two people in front of her were doing. They really were not alike any other she was used to seeing at this office.
As she observed them further, they both looked nervous, almost as if they were expecting something bad to happen. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that these two did not belong here.
There was no doubt in her mind that those two were in love with one another.
So, she waited with them.
Finally, the door to her office opened again, and this time, she could see a clearly pregnant young woman with shoulder-length gold brown hair and a bad-boy guy behind her.
Now, those two were more along the line of the couples she was used to seeing in this office.
To her amazement, the two couples embraced just as the older woman handed the pregnant bride-to-be the bouquet in her hand.
She could feel her own smile at the gesture. Ah, so her usual perceptions weren't all that wrong.
"Do you have your money order?" Angela asked in her most official voice as the younger couple approached her desk. She did the transaction, recorded their names – Bride: Lindsay Monroe, Groom: Daniel Messer.
It seemed as though the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Messer wouldn't be needing her service as a witness.
"Are your friends to be your witnesses?" she had to ask. At their nods, she motioned for the couple to move forward to give their names.
"Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera," he replied for the both of them. The woman – Stella – quirked an elegant brow at his move, and he simply shrugged off her look.
It was a pleasure watching those two moved around one another, the fluidity and the connectedness they shared rivalled many of the long married couples. She watched them as the wedding party moved to the inside chamber for the civic ceremony, and she let her thoughts wonder.
This Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera were not the first couple to catch her interest for the years she had held her post at this office, but they were the first to rekindle her faith that there really were soulmates in this world. Regardless if the two of them had admitted to their mutual attraction, Angela was certain they had already formed a bond with one another that would be unbreakable. It all came from the small touches they had allowed themselves in the semi-privacy of the waiting room.
His gaze upon her, her shy smile at him, his hand brushing hers, her letting him take care of things.
The ceremony was over before Angela could return from her musing, and she watched as the 4 of them marched out of the chamber.
"So, how 'bout some celebration at Sullivan's? I'll buy," Mr. Messer spoke with his thick accent, and his new bride shot him a look before he raised in hands in mock surrender. "Ok ok, nothing alcoholic, I promise."
With a wry smile on his lips, Mac Taylor shook his head, "I don't think so, Danny. Stella and I were just going to grab something to eat before we head back to the lab."
"Aww, com'on, Mac," the younger man still tried to persuade him.
"Danny, you really don't want us around when Lindsay's leaving for Montana tomorrow," Stella reminded the younger man with mock exasperation in her voice.
"Plus, just because you've decided to take off and get married doesn't mean there is no work to be done at the lab," Mac continued. "Now, go before I change my mind and throw you back at the lab."
The newly wed finally waved goodbye to their friends before taking off out the door. The waiting room was returned to its normal quietness, with the brown-haired couple standing in the middle.
"So, we have plans?" Stella turned to her companion, and Angela noted a suspicious flush on the man's face.
"Well, unless you want to join those two – " he let his sentence off at that, but Stella had already laughed out loud at the implication.
"No, that's alright," she shook her head. "Plus, we need to get some food and get back to the lab. We do have a lot to do, you know, especially now that Lindsay's off and Danny's going to be half-hearted into the job."
"Well, Danny needs this," he shrugged into his coat and helped Stella with hers as he spoke. "And I'm sure I'll be able to handle his share of the lab work."
Stella turned around to face her friend, and in a move that surprised Angela in its boldness, she threw her arms around the man's neck, pressed a kiss to his cheek, close to the corner of his mouth, before leaning in to whisper in his ears.
Angela watched as the man became more flushed before he gently took one of her hands in his, a soft caress on the back of her hand, and led her out the door.
She could still hear the woman's laughter in her voice as they moved away from her desk, "We're still going to get something to eat, right?"
The man did reply in a soft scowl, but the voice was already muffled by the closing door behind the couple.
Angela wasn't too disappointed, though. She had already heard enough, more than enough to remind herself that there were still couples so in-tune, so in love, so meant to be together.
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A/N: Ahh… I haven't had the motivation to write for a long time, hence the recent drop in productivity, but I was determined to finish this… now that I'm writing this, I think this will serve as a sort of advanced-payment for the next instalment of Truth, which will likely tell this story's situation from Stella's pov (yes, I want Stella, because I have a really weird line in my head now between Danny & Stella).
Anyway, hope you liked it… let me know what you think!
Until next time
