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"You sure about this?" West asked again as they stood at the altar. The large hall was filled with flowers and other elegant arrangements.
Claire kept looking forward. "You're the one who wanted to include my family. I wanted to go to Vegas," she reminded him, keeping her voice low.
"Your dad would have killed me if I took his only daughter and married her in a $55 ceremony with Elvis officiating. Call it 'Self-preservation.'" The string of words came out as a low hiss. A snort of stifled laughter sounded behind them.
They both turned around. All other members of the wedding party had taken advantage of the lull in the pre-wedding festivities and vacated the area. They were alone except for Claire's uncle. Peter gave a look of pure innocence as Claire glared at him. "Oh. Don't mind me. Please continue."
"Using your super hearing is not helpful. Could you please get your mother to stop yelling at the minister? We don't have time to find another one before tomorrow," Claire pleaded.
"You got it, kiddo," Peter walked out of the hall, leaving the two soon-to-be-newlyweds alone.
Claire let out a frustrated groan and plopped down on to the step that led to the platform. "What happened to the nice, simple wedding we wanted?"
West sat down beside her, placing his arm around her, letting her head lean on his shoulder. "I think we lost it somewhere between the five course sit down dinner at the reception and the operatic trio from the Met singing Ave Maria," West noted wryly while giving her that goofy grin of his that never failed to make her laugh. "It might not be exactly what you wanted and your grandmother might be a little controlling (Claire let out a snort) but your family's here and they love you. At least one of us has a family that loves them no matter what."
A weight landed on West's shoulders, threatening to crush him once again. This happened when ever he thought of his family. It had been just him and his dad since his mom died, shortly before they moved from St. Louis to Costa Verde. His dad threatened to disown him after West announced that he planned to be a writer. Apparently learning that his son routinely navigated commercial airspace was the final straw. West hadn't spoken to his dad since he moved to New York three years ago.
"They're your family too," Claire reminded him. "My mother loves you. Nathan's boys adore you. They love having an insider's view of their favorite comic." West had relaunched 9th Wonders, supplying the words and with Caitlin, Peter's wife, providing the art. "We can create our own family too. We can have kids, screw them up. It might be fun."
"All we have to do is survive the next two days," West reminded her.
"Two more days of Il Duce then a lifetime of happiness. I can handle that." They looked at each other and began kissing.
"Hey guys, small problem…" Peter, seeing them in such an intimate moment, slowly left them, letting the two have a few minutes of privacy before breaking the news that their minister had just quit, after being reduced to tears by his mother.
"Hey you," Caitlin came up kissing his husband. "Need any help."
"Nah, I'm just giving them a few minutes alone before I bring them beck to reality." Peter gave her an appraising look. "You should be resting; tomorrow's going to be stressful enough. We don't need you to be going into premature labor."
"I'm fine. So are Ricky and Emily," her hand resting on her swollen belly. "Claire and West are all right. Stop worrying."
"I know. I just want them to be as happy as we are."
"We'll just have to set a positive example," Caitlin yanked on his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.