Sucking in a deep breath, Blaise stopped rehearsing the words over and over in his head to straighten his tie. It was clearly off centre, and it threw the whole look. Theo would have been appalled if Blaise of all people ruined the wedding photos with a crooked tie.
He fiddled with it perhaps a little more than he needed, his nervous fingers trying to clumsily sort out faults in the fabric that didn't exist. Merlin, was he nervous. Not that anyone outside this room, meaning him, would see that if he could have his way. After all, he was Blaise Zabini, infamously the cool and collected Slytherin that could deal with anything without batting an eyelid. Sadly, however, that was a very carefully and skilfully, he acknowledged with pride, sculpted mask. An act, all fabricated to hide the fact that public events turned him into a nervous wreck. And this was definitely a public event – half the media and half of the pure-blooded wizarding population were going to be there! Not surprising, there was no way that these high society people would miss the marriage of two well established families, even after the war. It was the event of the year.
So as a result, he was going to have to stand up in front of who knows how many (he avoided looking at the guest list, he didn't need to get an exact number stuck in his head to taunt him) and he had no clue how. Just the thought made him feel nauseous.
Turning back to the notes on the hotel dresser, he started to run through the speech again. He needed to get it perfect! It was going to be difficult enough not fumbling nervously in front of the guests who would no doubt be so ready to catch him making a mistake. He knew he'd also have to be careful not to be distracted by Theo – Blaise knew already that the other man would be watching him say his bit with a soft look of love and support, because Theo was like that. Always did show his soul through his eyes. Blaise loved it normally. Truthfully, he'd love it during his speech too. But he also dreaded it – he knew all too well how easily he got drawn into the other man's eyes, and how easily he'd forget what he was meant to be saying in front of all those other eyes staring expectantly at him.
He ran through the words a few more times, sometimes in his head, and others aloud before a knock on the door startled him out of the focused zone he'd worked himself up into.
"Come in!" He told the knocker, who promptly let themselves into the room.
"Hey." Theo smiled at him. "Thought I'd come and see how you're doing – I knew you'd be working yourself into a frenzy."
"I'm not." Blaise replied defensively, his form falling automatically into a poised and practiced frame, "And you shouldn't be here! It's bad luck!"
"Oh shush, no it's not!" The brunet man rolled his eyes affectionately as he took one of Blaise's hands in his, "You're just nervous and don't want me to see it."
"So maybe you should respect that." Blaise said grouchily as he eyed their two forms in the mirror, admiring how his deep coffee coloured skin really made Theo's warm tan glow. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he started ushering his love towards the door gently. Theo went along with it willingly, a fond and knowing smile that was already undoing Blaise's composure and therefore needed to go away now. When they reached the door, the brunet stepped out into the hallway only to grab his attention by brushing a soft hand against his chin.
"Blaise, it's going to go brilliantly, Anyway, I love you and that's what matters here. Forget about everyone else!"
Blaise let out a huffed laugh at Theo, "There are a few people who might have a thing or two to say about that." Hearing footsteps, he looks up over the smaller man's shoulder. "Here's one of them now."
Theo turned and grinned at Draco as he walked their way, coming to a stop next to the couple. "Everything okay?"
"Fine." The dark-skinned man said just as the other man said, "Blaise is getting cold feet!"
Draco shot him a sharp look. "Really?"
Blaise shot a look at Theo, who in return flashed a cheeky smile back at him before announcing that he was needed elsewhere and walking off.
Turning back to Draco, he took one look at the concerned expression on his best friend's face and decided it was best to deal with this back in his room.
"What's going on Blaise?" Draco asked when the door was shut behind him.
"It's just nerves, I'm not backing out. I promise."
Draco eyed him for a few long seconds before apparently concluding that what he had said was indeed the truth. "Good," He let out a gusty sigh, "Because I was just coming to let you know that we need to head off if we want to arrive on time."
Blaise glanced at his watch with surprise, "Shit, sorry. I should have kept better track of things."
"Don't worry. I know what you're like when you're nervous." Draco told him. Blaise didn't know if he was thankful for the support, or just damned fed up that so many people could read him so well. He chose the latter, it was about time he cheered up a little. He was not going to do this wedding in a foul mood.
"How are you not?" He couldn't help but ask the man he almost viewed as his brother.
"Why should I be?" Was the reply, "It's all going brilliantly, and what will make it a great day is the important people, not what the press and the random socialites think."
Nodding, Blaise tried to get it into his head. Surprisingly, it did tone down his raw nerves.
Grabbing the portkey from the side table, the pair held tight and spoke the password. Once they had landed comfortably, Blaise quickly hurried off to make sure everything was as it should be, Draco following behind at a slightly more sedate pace.
Before he knew it, the ceremony was starting. Standing at the top of the aisle, he watched proudly as a look of adoration fell over Draco's face when Astoria was revealed in her gown. He was smitten. Glancing at Theo who was sat in the front row, he remembered feeling a very similar way on their wedding day.
From there, Blaise was surprised at how fast it all felt. He had no issues when he was asked for the couple's bonding rings, which eased a lot of tension, and before he really knew it, the time had come for his best man's speech. In front of several hundred judging pairs of eyes. Shit. He looked to his side, seeing the smiling, ecstatic faces of the newly married Mr and Mrs Malfoy and the equally proud face of his own spouse as they waited for him to start. They were all that mattered, Blaise thought. Do it for them and nobody else.
Amazingly, that seemed to work and he breezed through the speech without a slip or a stumble, the epitome of pure-blood poise. His mother would be so proud when she heard. Even so, relief was predominantly what he felt when he sat down again and a healthy gulp of champagne helped to ease any remaining tension. That was his part done and now he could enjoy his best friend's wedding. As the star couple stood for their first dance, Theo stepped up to stand next to Blaise and rested a warm hand on his.
"Well done, B."
Blaise leaned in and placed a peck on Theo's lips, "Thank you. Though I believe you deserve a congratulation too – Torie looks beautiful."
"She does, doesn't she?" The smaller man replied, "It'll be great for business. I bet we'll have all the stylists booked up for months come next week with the level of press here. But I'm mostly glad that Astoria is happy."
"She clearly is, Love." Blaise smiled at the woman in question as he caught her eyes. She beamed back and waved, inviting the couple to dance too. They happily did and others soon took it as the dance floor being open for all.
Theo and Blaise danced slowly in circles, looking effortless as they performed all the dances they'd been taught since childhood. They didn't talk, just enjoying the music and the other's company, occasionally breaking off to dance with a close friend. Blaise even took a spin with Draco, the blond smirking at him as he dipped the Italian low.
By the time the two men decided to call it a night, the dances had descended into what would better be described as drunken wobbling and the bride and groom were mysteriously missing. Taking his husband's hand, Blaise pulled him towards the cloak room where they managed to acquire a portkey back to their hotel.
Lying in bed half an hour later, Blaise pulled the drunk and sleepy Theo to his chest and buried his nose in the man's soft hair and fell asleep happy in the knowledge that not only had his closest friend's wedding been perfect, but that he got to go home with the loveliest person at the event.