Chapter 10: Wedding Bells
Attea had never stopped smiling. From the moment Sandra, Gwen, and Lili helped her put on that white dress to the moment she said 'I do', she'd been as happy as can be. Now, as Carl Tennyson opened the reception, she was even happier. They were married. She finally had her life partner. Holding hands, the two made their way to the head table where they found seats as the rest of the crowd trickled in. The Tetramand delegation got a space all their own. Looma Redwind looked regal in her official state raiment. She was mostly recovered from Attea's last minute bachelorette party. It had been a bit of a risk inviting her, but they were both glad she was here. Just now she had a smile for both of them. The young couple smiled and waved back.
The minister spoke a prayer for the good health of the happy couple, and then got out of the way and let the feast begin. The servers began moving through the room, setting out food for all the guests. For the newly-weds, it was a chance to let their hair down a bit. Though she appreciated Sandra Tennyson's concern, Attea found the healthy living in the Tennyson home a little too much to bear sometimes just like her husband. She was young, and she wanted to enjoy life.
As the guests ate, the happy couple got up and began making the rounds, greeting the guests and thanking them for coming. Attea got introduced to some of Ben's more obscure family members, and she was unsurprised to find that many of them were Plumbers. It seemed that Ben and his immediate family were outliers in the Tennyson clan. They were all gracious in the presence of someone who might have looked a lot like Public Enemy Number One to them.
When they got to the Mann Family, Lucy had words for Ben. She was a little miffed that he'd never even given her the time of day. At the same time, she was really happy for the new couple and looked forward to seeing her new relations enter the world. Still, she had to have the final word, and she gave Ben a kiss that left Attea fuming as she dragged Ben away from the sludge-puppy.
Moving on they stopped by Looma's table, finding the Tetramand Queen enjoying the feast. Good thing Looma likes the chicken, thought Ben, as he stared at the pile of empty plates. If they had had to feed her steak, she would have bankrupted them. As it was, Ben would be paying for Looma's dinner for months. Rising, Looma proposed a toast. She didn't seem at all put out that Attea had latched onto Ben. Calmer now and feeling like she had less to prove, Looma was maturing into a leader. The two love-birds thanked her for coming, and Ben silently thanked her for skipping the ceremonial fly-by of the Tetramand fleet that she'd wanted to give them.
Arriving at his cousin's table, Ben asked, "so when are you two gonna' do it?" Kevin flushed and looked away, tugging at his collar as he did so. Ben's best man had confided that the tuxedo felt a lot like a noose. He didn't understand how Ben could do this to himself. Ben had reminded him that he really better get used to having a noose on. If he wanted to keep Gwen it was going to happen sooner rather than later. Ben's cousin wasn't going to be in college–or a teenager–forever.
"Boy, she looks huge," opined Kevin as the two walked away. "She's carrying triplets," Gwen reminded him. "Wow," muttered Kevin. "Ben's gonna' have his hands full..." Kevin was a no kids kind of guy. "And what if I want kids, Kevin," asked Gwen? Kevin's face went red-hot. Everyone knew the Osmosian rogue was wrapped around her pinky. Gwen got her way. She always got her way. Seeing his discomfort, Gwen muttered, "not now, dummy. I still need to finish school." Which came as a serious relief to him. Gwen told him, "I want you to give it some real thought, Kev. Not your usual knee-jerk response."
Gwen had never seen her cousin happier. She was happy for Ben and proud of him for being a man. He was doing all the right things. He and Attea were working on picking somewhere to stay. The last sticking point was school. Having seen the abuse Attea had suffered, he refused to send his son and daughters to Incursean-Space to attend school. He wanted them to be grounded in a normal life before having to see the ugliness that their mother still dealt with.
Done with greeting their guests, Ben and Attea returned to their table to eat. As the champagne flowed and the courses got laid out, the two of them exchanged pleasantries with the guests at their table. In a show of solidarity with Attea, Ben drank water. It was probably the first–and last–opportunity for him to have wine until he hit twenty-one, but he gave it up for the woman he loved–and the kids that he was so anxious to see.
Dinner over, the middle of the room got cleared away for dancing. The happy couple opened the evening by dancing together in front of everybody. As he twirled Attea around the floor, Ben remembered the dance lessons they'd had. Since neither of them had any skill at it, Sandra had sent them both to dance school so they wouldn't be embarrassed. As it turned out, Ben had enjoyed the experience more than his future wife–at least until the young Incursean was finally able to relax. Now, as they danced, the two of them almost forgot about their guests. It was the closest they'd had to intimacy since Dr. Rush declared that it was too dangerous for the kids for them to be fooling around. "Alright, alright," interrupted Max Tennyson. "You want to let the rest of us have a shot, kids?" Laughing, Ben took Attea back to their table as the other guests had their fun.
Shockingly, Max took Verdona out on the floor. While they had invited the ornery Anodite, Ben was a little surprised to see her. She'd gotten bored of the Tennyson family after giving birth to Ben's dad and uncle, and the only time she'd really spent on them after that was when she tried to snatch Gwen and take her to Anodite space to be 'trained'. Ben had been a little ambivalent about his grandmother since then. Now he was happy to see her and hoped she and his grandfather were getting on well.
As he watched his parents, aunt and uncle, and even Kevin and Gwen circulate on the dance floor, Ester slipped up to the side of the table. With a smile for Attea, she announced, "looks like you won after all..." Attea grinned that big grin of hers. "Mind if I take the groom out for a spin," asked the Kraaho girl? Attea gave it a moment of thought. "Alright," she said. She trusted Ben.
Taking Ben's hand, Ester led him out to the dance floor. As the two danced, she said, "well... you two look pretty cozy." With a heavy sigh, Ben said, "we better be. We've got three kids on the way." Sadly, he said, "it's not what I expected my future to be, but I'm ok with it. I'm... sorry for the way things went with us..." Ester said, "no more apologies, Ben. It's the past. I'm over it. Honestly... I wanted to say that I'm happy for you. Both of you." Ben was surprised by that. He'd invited Ester for the sake of trying to bury their past. Now he thought maybe they really could be friends. Ben hugged her, then headed back to his wife.
Before he could get off the dance floor, an unpleasantly familiar voice announced, "I'd like a dance..." Ben turned around to find that a party-crasher had invaded his happy event. "Sunny," Ben greeted his obnoxious cousin. The anti-Gwen was dressed to kill in a slinky little black dress. She was the epitome of the sexy little home-wrecker, and Ben couldn't help wondering what she wanted. As far as he knew, he was their grandmother's biggest disappointment. He didn't see where she should be jealous of him. "Ok," said Ben, as he decided to feel her out and see what she was up to. With their grandmother here, he thought they were safe.
"So," asked Ben, as they danced, "what gives?" "You didn't invite me," retorted Sunny. "Didn't think you wanted to see us," Ben replied. "You're my cousin, Ben," replied Sunny with an impish smile. That actually made him more nervous. "You're cute when you frown," she announced. Which comment had him really wondering what this was about.
"How's Antonio," asked Ben, even as he wondered, where's Antonio? With a shrug, Sunny announced, "I dumped him... Really he wasn't going anywhere with his life... And me... well, a girl's got to grow up..." Somehow Ben doubted Sunny had 'grown up'. "You sure have matured," announced the sneaky witch. "Though I didn't think amphibians were your type..." Ben answered that charge with, "I like the color green..." He also seemed to have developed a taste for bad-girls. "I'll have to remember that," announced Sunny. "Well," said Ben, as he stepped back from her. "I hope you and grandma Verdona enjoy the reception. Maybe we can all do lunch before you guys head back home to Anodyne..." And without a further word, he slipped back through the crowd to his wife's side. He left a grinning Sunny, who now had a new target for her torments.
Returning to Attea, Ben sat down in the seat next to her, took her hand, and said, "remind me never to invite my cousin to anything..." "We didn't invite her," retorted Attea. "What did she want, anyway?" "Usual," replied Ben. "Fuck with the Tennysons. I think you're supposed to get jealous and burn the Earth to a cinder." Attea laughed. As if.
Carl Tennyson moved to the center of the room and announced they would be cutting the cake and throwing the bouquet and garter. Attea and her husband got up and moved to the banquet table, where the staff was bringing out their cake. Together, they cut the first slice and offered pieces of it to each other as the cameras flashed. They had agreed not to smush each other with it, rousing a chorus of boos from some of the rowdier guests. And then Attea took her bouquet and moved to the center of the room to toss it to the rowdy bachelorettes in the room.
In spite of her competitive nature, Looma had agreed to sit this one out rather than accidentally crush one of the other guests. As Attea tossed the bouquet over her shoulder, their friends and family jostled. An appalled Ben was startled to see Helen Wheels actually use her speed to try and get an edge on the other girls–much to Manny's horror. Unfortunately it was Sunny, making flagrant use of her powers, who caught the bouquet, leaving all the women glaring daggers at her. She merely gave Ben a smirk and ducked into the crowd.
Now Ben got to take the garter off Attea's leg for the traditional toss to the bachelors. As the men in the crowd hooted and hollered, Ben slid Attea's long skirt up her lean legs. Grinning like a fool, Attea extended her right leg to let him slip the elastic band off. He actually kissed her dimpled knee, leaving her blushing. Then, rising, Ben faced his pals, closed his eyes, and tossed the garter at them. Naturally, the one guy who didn't want anything to do with it got hit in the face. Kevin Levin growled, "you did that on purpose, Ben!" Sheepishly Ben told his soon-to-be cousin-in-law, "hey. It's not so bad. You'll get used to it."
"Time for pictures everybody," announced Carl Tennyson. The wedding party lined up for pictures, with Ben and Attea crowding the line for first place. Ben wanted to go soon. Attea had a very specific request for their wedding photo. She made Ben sit down in one of the chairs. Then, settling into his lap, she made him put his arms around her. It was the pose from her dream. As the photographer snapped pictures, she was delighted to see there was nobody busting in to stop them.
After the photos, Ben and his bride slipped out of the reception, headed for home. His parents had graciously agreed to let them be alone for a change, and now the two snuck down in the service elevator to the parking garage where a limo was waiting to whisk them away. Riding in the limo, Attea snuggled up to her husband in contentment. The two chatted about the future as the limo rolled across Bellwood to the Tennyson family home.
Opening the limo door for his wife, Ben wore a delighted smile. They were finally done with all the ceremony. As the limo pulled away, Ben took Attea's hand and led her up the walk to his parents' house. They would be staying here a bit until Attea gave birth. Then Ben was going to start looking for somewhere they could stay. As a full-fledged Plumber, he had a salary now, so he had the option of renting them an apartment, which he insisted on doing in spite of Attea's hints and suggestions that she could simply have her subjects put up a palace on the edge of town. Honestly, besides the obvious, Ben had a few motivations for wanting to go it alone. He didn't really want the kids exposed to that so early. He loved Attea, but he didn't love the way she'd grown up.
Standing at the door, Ben took a good, long look at his beautiful bride. She couldn't stop smiling. She'd been smiling all day and most of the evening, and Ben hoped he never gave her reason to regret tonight. With the door open, Ben surprised her by scooping her up and carrying her inside. Attea squeaked in surprise, and she very nearly jumped out of his arms. But then, as he stood there in the doorway, she lay her head against his and said, "I love you..." With a shit-eating grin, Ben kicked the doorway shut and carried her over to the couch, depositing her there with a laugh.
Kneeling down before his wife, Ben held her hand as their eyes locked. Attea sighed. This was the part where they were supposed to make love all night. Unfortunately Betty Rush had put paid to that ambition. The last thing either wanted was to hurt their kids. "Hey," said Ben. "I've got some ideas for some fun things we can do..."
The two had the house to themselves, and they moved to the living room and settled in on the couch with a tub of pistachio ice-cream–a shared favorite–and the latest Playstation and Xbox along with a stack of new games. Ben took his girl onto one of the best servers, and the two had a grand old time dissecting every pack of hard-core gamers they came across. For Attea, it was child's play. She was a soldier, after all, with years of experience in real battle. She knew how to slice the pie with the best of them.
As they slaughtered their way through some of the best gamers from around the world, the two laughed and joked about old times and all the stupid things they'd done. Laying with her head on Ben's shoulder, Attea could only think of one thing that would have made this better. She kind of felt like they should have waited a bit longer. You were supposed to get knocked-up on the honeymoon!
Setting the controller down with a sigh, Attea announced, "this sucks, Tennyson! You know that?!" Ben flinched. "You had to knock me up first time," grumbled the pretty princess. "I know," sighed Ben. Kevin had started calling him Ronson–lights on the first strike. Struck with an inspiration, Ben said, "hold on a second!" Reaching for the Omnitrix, Ben dialed up Bullfrag. Attea was stunned. In all the time they'd been together, Ben had never expressed an interest in trying things out as an Incursean. At the same time, she was a little surprised to realize that Bullfrag didn't make her weak in the knees anymore.
Reaching out, Attea touched his handsome face and said, "much as I fantasized about this moment... I think I want my ugly ape back." As Ben stared, she said, "I grew up, babe." "Weeell, toots," said Ben. "I got an idea..." And he flicked that long, sticky tongue suggestively. Before Attea could half register what he was up to, Ben dove under her skirt. "Eeeee," squealed the pretty Empress. "Beeeennn!"
Later, as the two of them lay cuddled up in Ben's brand-new bed, Attea told him, "you sure know how to treat a girl..." Ben chuckled. Turning to face him, Attea said, "remind me to reward you at some point." He promised to do just that. They just had a few more months to go. Then they could have as much fun as they wanted, no strings attached.